Liverpool FC Forum

[stmichael]

A special midweek bonus edition:

1. Drugs in the game. We all know about Adrian Mutu, Edgar Davids, Jaap Stam, the recent story about the 3 England internationals and if we travel back in time we get to people like Maradona, Frank McAvennie and others. Do you think that it is a very very small pondry, or that it is a big issue that seems to be covered up by clubs or the FA who have had their stars fall under the narcotics spell?

2. Ruud van Nistelrooy. True European great as suggested by Slur Alex this week, or man in the right place at the right time?

3. The transfer window. Is it really doing the job it was supposed to? i.e make the whole transfer system fairer by giving all clubs the same amount of time to buy and sell players, or is it a hinderance? i.e smaller clubs cant sell their best players when it suits them and other clubs cant delve into the transfer market to cover for injuries, suspensions etc?

4. Premiership player of the year. Who gets your vote at this stage?

5. The Uefa Cup. Any point to it anymore? Have Uefa done the right thing, with trying to copy the hugely successful Champions League format? Or has it totally destroyed the the F.A cup style competition?   

[LFC #1]

1. TBH, there is extensive testing for players these days. I can't imagine any of our lads are on any illegal substances. Small pondry.

2. Never a "European Great", he hasn't done THAT much in the game to warrant such an accolade. But he will be remembered as one of the best strikers to play in England over the last decade or so. Top class player, never a "great" though.

3. Good idea IMO, gives enough time over the season for new players to be signed IMO. As for injuries, most sqauds can cope and their is conditions in place which accomodate for these things. For example Everton were allowed to sign Westerveld on loan as all their keepers went down injured outside the window.   

4. Tough one. Gerrard, Carra and Finnan have had good seasons for us. Realistically I can't see either Carra or Finnan in the running though. RVN has had an excellent season for Manure. The usual suspects like Terry and Lampard will be in the running and probably Henry as well.
IMO Joe Cole is probably the standout for me, he's had a great season with stiff competition in the squad.

5. UEFA cup league format is a bore, should be a straight home/away knockout from the start. No one really bothers with the UEFA cup until the later rounds anyway.

[Redman in wales]

1. (abit heavy for midweek   ) anyway. yes i think it does go on but i think most of the time the clubs dont actually know about it. I dont think it is rife, and most professionals are just that, keep physically fit as well as mentally fit. but it wouldnot suprise me if a player every once and a while does a cheeky line, or smokes abit one night to de-stress. I dont think there are many proper junkies around, - as they are easy to spot, and these are the ones who generally get outed.

2. A great striker. If you are in the right place at the right time games after game season after season you have to be doing something right. I wouldnt put him top 5 in europe.... but top 5 in the prem? - yes.

3. tough one to call. I can see it from both sides. not sure what i think about it really, but i suppose i liked it better when we could buy/sell anytime.

4. Stevie G from a biased point of view but i think Henry has shown his class yet again and pulled a struggling arsenal side from midtable through to challenging for 4th and champions league wins.

5. Yes i think the UEFA cup is still very much a good thing, otherwise whats the point for the aston villas, man citys, blackburns, spurs etc once they clear relegation? they not gonna break into the top 4 (barring arsenals poor season this year)

but i dont think they should have tried the league format. Straight FA-cup-style knockout competition is what it should be

[JC_81]

1.  I don't think it's a big problem.  If it was then the press would be all over it, it wouldn't be that easy to cover it up.

2.  One of the best goalscorers the premiership and CL has seen in recent years.  But very unconvincing at International level imo, not a true 'great'

3.  No club seems to like the transfer window, therefore I think it should be scrapped

4.  Henry.  Simply the best player in the world imo.  He's carried Arsenal through much of this season

5.  The league format has wrecked it, the straight knockout was much more exciting

[stmichael]

as per normal, my two cents:

1. I think it's a pretty big problem. Too many players with too much money, too much time - too few ideas how to enjoy themselves.

2. I think he's an excellent goal scorer - however some of the fuss being made about his ability as a footballer are over the top. 

3. The advertised reason for bringing it in was to force clubs to use the players they had at their disposal, rather than allowing the continuation of cheque book management. In that respect it's worked. We're seeing it ourself as Rafa is having to work with the players he's got rather than bringing in a midfielder or striker. I'm neither hugely for or against it - I quite like the way it used to be, but I don't mind how it is now. I do miss the transfer gossip - but I suspect that's tailed off as much due to the fact that clubs are becoming increasingly prudent in their management. The fact this has happened at the same time as transfer windows is coincidental.

4. I'd give it to Joe Cole or Wayne Rooney. The two most naturally gifted footballing talents this country have produced since Gazza.

5. I think the expansion of the CL has killed the UEFA cup. I really can't see what they could do to save it. Even leaving it in the old format wasn't really going to help.

[Scottbot]

A special midweek bonus edition:

1. Drugs in the game. We all know about Adrian Mutu, Edgar Davids, Jaap Stam, the recent story about the 3 England internationals and if we travel back in time we get to people like Maradona, Frank McAvennie and others. Do you think that it is a very very small pondry, or that it is a big issue that seems to be covered up by clubs or the FA who have had their stars fall under the narcotics spell?

2. Ruud van Nistelrooy. True European great as suggested by Slur Alex this week, or man in the right place at the right time?

3. The transfer window. Is it really doing the job it was supposed to? i.e make the whole transfer system fairer by giving all clubs the same amount of time to buy and sell players, or is it a hinderance? i.e smaller clubs cant sell their best players when it suits them and other clubs cant delve into the transfer market to cover for injuries, suspensions etc?

4. Premiership player of the year. Who gets your vote at this stage?

5. The Uefa Cup. Any point to it anymore? Have Uefa done the right thing, with trying to copy the hugely successful Champions League format? Or has it totally destroyed the the F.A cup style competition?   

1- Drugs in the game? I don't think it's a major problem (atleast not compared to athletics or cycling) and agree that the media would probably catch a few more players red handed if half the league were getting high every off-season. I find it strange that we don't get may players getting banned for performance enhancing drugs in football. I guess it's because the game is as much about skill, touch and intelligence as it is about athletic ability.

2- RVN - May well be remembered as a European great once he has retired. This will probably depend on him winning a few trophies for Utd (something he has pretty much failed to do) and the national side. I think he is a fantastic player and is very underated by most (particularly by us Red men) because he plays for the mancs, is an ugly fuxxer, is a born whinger and he rarely scores from outside the box. Will never happen but RVN would be awesome playing in Rafa's system at LFC. He is perfectly suited to the way we play - He's strong, holds the ball up, turns on a sixpence, has a very sure touch, rarely gives the ball away, is a VERY clever player and he guarantees you goals. If he was a Liverpool player we would all be hailing him as a European great. I'd swap all our strikers for RVN.

3- The transfer window completely sucks. I don't understand why it was ever introduced. Does anyone know what purpose it is supposed to serve?

4- EPL Player of the year. For me it's neck and neck between our Stevie, Lampard and Rooney at the moment. Gerrard has been absolutely awesome this year (as we all know.) Head and shoulders above any other Liverpool player and without a doubt the finest midfielder in the country. Is there a better midfielder in Europe? Lampard will be there or there-abouts despite his recent quiet spell. His goals have pretty much carried Chelsea to the title this season. Should the mancs catch and overtake Chelsea (don't see it meself) then Rooney will be shoe-in for the award. I don't quite understand the clamour for Joe Cole. He's a cracking player not worthy of the the best player award just yet. Just because he was supposed to be the next big thing and it has taken him years to get his game in order and nearly as long to win a regular spot in the Chelsea team does not make him the best player in the country. a lot will depend on how the season pans out. If our Stevie lifts that FA Cup trophy at the end of the season he will stand a good chance and if Arsenal win the Champs league you can guarantee that Henry will win the award regardless of his form during a shocking 1st half of the seaosn in the EPL.

5) They really have killed the UEFA Cup. It was dead the moment they killed off the Cup Winners Cup and then started allowing losers from the Champ League first round to enter it as a consolation prize. It doesn't really matter what they do to it now. At least the trophy still had some credibility the last time we won it beating Olympiakos, Roma and Barca along the way.

[stmichael]

The transfer window completely sucks. I don't understand why it was ever introduced. Does anyone know what purpose it is supposed to serve?

It was implemented to put the brakes on the big teams but it makes no difference because they've got big squads to cope. The rest of the also rans just pray that they don't get swamped in the treatment room. So it probably is unfair on the rest but at least it forces clubs no matter how big they are to give youth a chance if necessary.

[The Ace1983]

1. Who knows the size of the problem? I remember Bosnich saying that whenever a player is out with a mysterious injury, it's a drug thing and is on leave so he can't be tested. It happens, and it will never totally go away.

2. The Horse could become a great, but at the moment is merely very good. He is too reliant on other players (Rooney and Beckham), but there is no-one better than him at what he does. Poach. Stick him in the ox with the ball at his feet and you expect him to score every time. Needs some European glory to be counted as a "Great".

3. I think it's a good thing. Can you imagine what this forum would be like if transfer stuff was going on all the time? I think it's fairer and it forces players to commit and not jump ship when things aren't going their way.

4. Frank Lampard has to be up there. Rarely misses a game scores loads and pushes Chelsea forward. Gerrard, Carragher, Rooney, Henry, D. Bent and maybe even Carrick would get on my short list, but Lampard has been great.

5. There is a point, in that it tends to reward clubs (in this country at least) who have gone above and beyond. Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal will continue to dominate the top 4, so it's important that other clubs get a chance to work in the European format. As for the style, I'm really not bothered.

[crazyhorse]

A special midweek bonus edition:

1. Drugs in the game. We all know about Adrian Mutu, Edgar Davids, Jaap Stam, the recent story about the 3 England internationals and if we travel back in time we get to people like Maradona, Frank McAvennie and others. Do you think that it is a very very small pondry, or that it is a big issue that seems to be covered up by clubs or the FA who have had their stars fall under the narcotics spell?

2. Ruud van Nistelrooy. True European great as suggested by Slur Alex this week, or man in the right place at the right time?

3. The transfer window. Is it really doing the job it was supposed to? i.e make the whole transfer system fairer by giving all clubs the same amount of time to buy and sell players, or is it a hinderance? i.e smaller clubs cant sell their best players when it suits them and other clubs cant delve into the transfer market to cover for injuries, suspensions etc?

4. Premiership player of the year. Who gets your vote at this stage?

5. The Uefa Cup. Any point to it anymore? Have Uefa done the right thing, with trying to copy the hugely successful Champions League format? Or has it totally destroyed the the F.A cup style competition?   

1. I think that the use of recreational drugs by footballers has increased over the last decade, but not to an extent to which it is a major problem. However i can see the situation getting worse in the future if player salaries increase at the rate they are; there will always be footballers who press the self destruct button.

2. Van Nistelroy is an exeptional player, but has not won enough with Manure for me to consider him a European star in the way that Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke did before him.

3. The transfer window is a good idea in essence, but it is biased towards clubs with the most money who can buy adequate cover in the summer so that there is no need to buy in January. Smaller or not so rich clubs often have to struggle with the bare bones of theor squad due to injuries.
In the past LFC have fallen foul of this.

4. Premiership player of the year... steve Gerrard has to in the top three along with Frank Lampard and Thierry Henry. Henry gets my reluctant vote.

5. The growth in prestige and financial reward in the Champions league has diluted the importance of the Euafa cup. But the competition is still valid - ask any Middlesborough fan if they think it is important to them... I know that when we lifted the trophy last i was overjoyed and would be so again should we win it. Having said that i would want the PL, Cl or the FA cup first if given a choice.

[adamnbarrett]

1. It's not a big problem. These players are being SNIFFED out

2. Right place at the right time IMO. He cannot score from out of the area and is a poor headerer of the ball. But in saying that, he is probably the only player you'd expect the ball to fall to inside of the 6 yard box for about 75% of his goals. That's what makes him good.

3. It's a no win situation for both arguments. It is bad if you need players to cover for injuries and suspensions but good because it ends (some) speculation when closed. It does give enough time. There should be an extended date for those clubs who sell players for big amounts jst before/on deadline day.

4. I know I'm biased but it's got to be Stevie G. I think you all know why he can be considered for this honour. Sheer class.

5. The UEFA cup used to be highly regarded IMO. I just don't think it has been publicised enough. For example, in England anyway, the UEFA cup was on BBC and was advertised, now it is on Channel 5 and sometimes ITV2 (rarely) and never advertised. Whereas the Champions League is often advertised and put on main channels like ITV1 and Sky Sports. I know the CL is  bigger competition that the UC but you can see my point.

[stmichael]

1. It's not a big problem. These players are being SNIFFED out

for that you get one of these

[AlanHansen]

[quote="stmichael"][/quote]
1. Probably a bigger problem than we think, drug testing is hardly there, I'm sure we've all heard the stories about such and such premiership footballer coked up.
There is probably a lot more going on besides, didn't wenger have a go a while back about players coming for trials with excess red blood cells in their blood and stuff...

2. Not a great, just a very very good finisher

3. I'm not sure, but I think it makes the season more interesting. It's tougher on the small clubs because they can't bring in replacements - look at Brum

4. Alonso, Henry, Lampard, Dunno

5. It's finding it tough to compete with the CL, the CL should be shrunk so that more top clubs are in the UEFA and the tv and revenue would follow them, and it should stay a knockout - maybe with regional heats, best of the uk etc...