Liverpool FC Forum

[Rafa D]

The name Eto has appeared several times on this thread... He would be my preferred signing but I do not think we stand a chance of getting him.

Should he leave Barca he will go straight to Italy. Milan, Inter or Juve.

We will not stand a chance; the same goes for Villa.

The reasons for this are not financial; but the majority of African, Spanish and Latino players see the PL as inferior to La Liga and Seri A - it is a sad fact.

We will have to win the ECL to stand a chance.

I put this in another thread crazy horse but it sums up my view on the Eto'o situation.

If Barcelona let Eto'o go in the summer it would be the worst piece of footballing business since Houllier was allowed to spend the best part of £15m on the duds from Senegal (Diouf and Diao).

  Eto'o is literally a striker who has it all. Blistering pace, energy to burn, brilliant footballing skills, technical ability, finishing, and a desire to be the best. He is almost a perfect striker in my eyes and you would struggle to name a striker better than him in the world at present. He has had his injury problems this year and also his greatly publicised off the field problems with Ronaldinho and Frank Rijkard but I highly doubt Barcelona would let him go. Theres no use talking of money - Barcelona are swimming in it. Their style of football is also vastly different to ours and to be honest would suit Eto'o better, more direct, attacking etc. There pedigree as a football club is up there with the best of them (including us) and could be argued they are the best club in the world at the moment. There stadium is fantastic and there fans love Eto'o. Why would he want to, and why would they let him go?

However if you delve a little deeper, there are a few possible promising signs. Firstly his spat with the manager and Ronaldinho - he seems to have a grudge with the way the goofy one is treated, he seems to be able to do what he wants and the club just go along. Eto'o is not happy about this and rightly said so. There was that PR stunt with them hugging and kissing but lets be honest would you be happy if you were Eto'o? There is obviously a grudge there somewhere and if push came to shove, who would Barcelona keep, Eto'o or the million shirt selling Ronaldinho?

Secondly the racism that is present is Spanish football is absolutely disgusting and eto'o has been on the receiving end of this first hand. Remember him trying to leave the field against someone? Would you want to play in a country where the colour of your skin somehow devalued you to the paying masses? I wouldn't.

  Thirdly and possibly most importantly, the Premiership is widely reguarded as the best league in the world now. Its the most popular world wide, as you can see with the new TV deals that the clubs have struck. Its watched by billions of people on the planet and watch player in the right mind would not want to play in the best league in the world? Some may say Milan, Inter, Real or any other top European team would want him, but think about it, why would he go anywhere else than the Premiership, the new money obviously is going to mean better wages, the new TV deal will mean a bigger audience and as the sudden influx of foreign owners have proved - the Premiership is where its at in todays football.

A major stickling point with many fans from Barcelona and Liverpool, is that IF he does leave, he would want to go to Chelsea. I had heard Barcelona fans say it, Liverpool fans, Everton fans and even Tranmere fans! And to be honest I am quite convinced that if he does leave Barcelona in the summer, Chelsea certainly won't be his destination. How? Think about it, think back. Firstly just a minor point - remember the treatment he and his teammates received at Chelsea in 2005, the ugly scenes at the end of the match? What type of impression did that leave on him?

  Secondly and my most potent argument is Drogba is at Chelsea and after this season he is a hero there. Both being African and both being brilliant, Eto'o and Drogba have always had a rivalry namely over the African Player of the Year award. There have always been having little digs at each other and sometimes its got quite nasty between them. Why on earth would Eto'o go somewhere were he is going to be 2nd choice behind Drogba. Say what you want about Drogba but he is brilliant. And after this season he will definetly be Chelseas top dog next year. Eto'o would not want to go to a club where his is 2nd fiddle to his major rival.

I don't honestly know what to make of it all, to be honest and I doubt whether Barcelona would let him go. But if things are as bad as its meant to be there, then for me Liverpool seems his perfect destination.He's experienced Anfield in full flow the other week and what player would not of been impressed by that. The "new" owners and their money is obviously a big plus for us and shows Eto'o how we are committed to be challenging every year for major honours. Our history and our recent European success must have some sort of influence and the fact that Rafa has chased him so vigourously in the past must mean something. I think a player like Eto'o likes to be loved, he thrives on the fans adulation and to be honest, at this time where Liverpool are crying out for a top class striker, there's nowhere in the world where he would get the love and reception that the Anfield faithful will lavish on him.

Come on Eto'o , get that passport out and come and join the greatest club in the world.

[crazyhorse]

The name Eto has appeared several times on this thread... He would be my preferred signing but I do not think we stand a chance of getting him.

Should he leave Barca he will go straight to Italy. Milan, Inter or Juve.

We will not stand a chance; the same goes for Villa.

The reasons for this are not financial; but the majority of African, Spanish and Latino players see the PL as inferior to La Liga and Seri A - it is a sad fact.

We will have to win the ECL to stand a chance.

Sorry mate but them days are long gone, our league along with la liga are far and away the strongest and most attractive, serie a is lagging behind now.
IF Eto'o or Villa were to leave, they would definately be more likely to end up in England than Italy.
Our clubs have far more financial muscle than they used to and also we are now consistantly getting to the latter stages of the european cup competitions again.
Italy has had its day and serie a is in the shadows now. FACT !

I know that the PL is the best league in the world... but if you interview most African, Asian, Spanish or South American players they all dream about playing in Spain, Italy and England - mostly in that order. What you say in the cold light of day is indeed Fact; but the rest of Europe have not caught up yet.
I still say it would be difficult to attract Eto'o to Anfield, and like Rafa Dodd i would be amazed to see Barca letting him go - he is after all still under contract.

[Ace Ventura]

I would also be amazed if they let him go, but there is no way in the world that he would end up in Italy, there league is poor now, with no excitement.
It will take them a while to get over all the match fixing scandal and the crowd trouble problems.
Its a massive if, but if Eto'o left Barca England would be his likely destination.

[puroresu]

The name Eto has appeared several times on this thread... He would be my preferred signing but I do not think we stand a chance of getting him.

Should he leave Barca he will go straight to Italy. Milan, Inter or Juve.

We will not stand a chance; the same goes for Villa.

The reasons for this are not financial; but the majority of African, Spanish and Latino players see the PL as inferior to La Liga and Seri A - it is a sad fact.

We will have to win the ECL to stand a chance.

I agree.  Italy may be ranked 3rd but the fact is many European and South American players till deem the Premiership as the inferior league.

[Ace Ventura]

The name Eto has appeared several times on this thread... He would be my preferred signing but I do not think we stand a chance of getting him.

Should he leave Barca he will go straight to Italy. Milan, Inter or Juve.

We will not stand a chance; the same goes for Villa.

The reasons for this are not financial; but the majority of African, Spanish and Latino players see the PL as inferior to La Liga and Seri A - it is a sad fact.

We will have to win the ECL to stand a chance.

I agree.  Italy may be ranked 3rd but the fact is many European and South American players till deem the Premiership as the inferior league.

An established world class player like Eto'o would imo rather play in the premiership than serie a IF HE WAS TO LEAVE BARCA.
I can see that kids or younger players might prefer the italian league due to similar climate, cultures and style of football etc.

But a player at the peak of his career would prefer the attraction of the premiership now, with the extra cash injections and the higher profile of our league.

[stmichael]

Chelseas game last night was another example of what we are lacking. Quality in the final third. I know there have been a million threads on this, but again Chelsea played pretty poorly and because of a bit of genius in the final 3rd came away with a win. They were completley under the cosh until Shevchenko scored. It again just goes to show what we are lacking.

[puroresu]

The name Eto has appeared several times on this thread... He would be my preferred signing but I do not think we stand a chance of getting him.

Should he leave Barca he will go straight to Italy. Milan, Inter or Juve.

We will not stand a chance; the same goes for Villa.

The reasons for this are not financial; but the majority of African, Spanish and Latino players see the PL as inferior to La Liga and Seri A - it is a sad fact.

We will have to win the ECL to stand a chance.

I agree.  Italy may be ranked 3rd but the fact is many European and South American players till deem the Premiership as the inferior league.

An established world class player like Eto'o would imo rather play in the premiership than serie a IF HE WAS TO LEAVE BARCA.
I can see that kids or younger players might prefer the italian league due to similar climate, cultures and style of football etc.

But a player at the peak of his career would prefer the attraction of the premiership now, with the extra cash injections and the higher profile of our league.

Really.  Well I gurantee that when Dinho leaves Barca his going straight to Milan.  I dont think the Prem is even on his radar.

When Kaka leaves Milan he will go to Spain and not England.

[crazyhorse]

Chelseas game last night was another example of what we are lacking. Quality in the final third. I know there have been a million threads on this, but again Chelsea played pretty poorly and because of a bit of genius in the final 3rd came away with a win. They were completley under the cosh until Shevchenko scored. It again just goes to show what we are lacking.

I agree 100%. We have 1 player capable of a strike like that...

Chelski have 3 or 4.

[grayghost]

ACE VENTURI I think your mistakin. In the world cup Tevez played on the wing through out the tornement. And it's not rearly about posistions it's about class. If a world class player is leaving your club then the fans want a world class replacment it may well be to early to call Tevez world class but the signs are there.

[JC_81]

The name Eto has appeared several times on this thread... He would be my preferred signing but I do not think we stand a chance of getting him.

Should he leave Barca he will go straight to Italy. Milan, Inter or Juve.

We will not stand a chance; the same goes for Villa.

The reasons for this are not financial; but the majority of African, Spanish and Latino players see the PL as inferior to La Liga and Seri A - it is a sad fact.

We will have to win the ECL to stand a chance.

I agree.  Italy may be ranked 3rd but the fact is many European and South American players till deem the Premiership as the inferior league.

An established world class player like Eto'o would imo rather play in the premiership than serie a IF HE WAS TO LEAVE BARCA.
I can see that kids or younger players might prefer the italian league due to similar climate, cultures and style of football etc.

But a player at the peak of his career would prefer the attraction of the premiership now, with the extra cash injections and the higher profile of our league.

Really.  Well I gurantee that when Dinho leaves Barca his going straight to Milan.  I dont think the Prem is even on his radar.

When Kaka leaves Milan he will go to Spain and not England.

I hear what you're saying mate, and I agree that sometimes it seems top foreign stars prefer to go to Serie A or la liga, but I don't think it's because they deem the premiership to be an inferior league.

I think there are 2 reasons:

1.  The lifestyle.  Better food, better weather, better beaches and fitter birds in Spain or Italy than there is in the UK.  Lets not beat around the bush about it.  If you're a young lad with cash and have the choice between that and the depressing as fu.ck weather over here I know what I'd choose.  For some top stars I just don't think they fancy the change in lifestyle and that's fair enough.  It's an advantage Spain and Italy will always have over the UK in terms of attracting players and it doesn't matter how much money we try to throw at them to compensate.

2.  Plenty of top stars have come over here and flopped after excelling in Spain or Italy.  It's a completely different style of football and I reckon some top stars don't want to risk being a failure over here and would rather save their reputations and stay abroad.  I can't think of too many players who make it in Italy but not Spain or vice versa, but plenty excel in England but not the continent and vice versa.

[DAV]

After watching us recently I have changed my view a little. Mainly on the strker situation. Seems to me they arnt scoring because they get no service (well everyone knows that I here you say). Most of our shots come from outside the box, Gerrard Arnie,Alonso even Agger. Take the Bolton game, our one decent ball in the box came from pennant who was a sub. I no we need wingers but Strikers I'm not so sure now. If we bort Villa,Eto or even had the great Pele in our team, they would need the service which we havent been giving Strikers for years. For some reason at Liverpool for the past 6 or 7 years, we seem to want Strikers to cover at the back be able to cross balls, hold up the ball and everything that in my opinion does not make a great strker. We lack goals and I think this is more down to tactics than ability. And when strikers don't score for a while they lose confedence so when 1 of the few chances comes along they mess it up.
Gerrard is a waste on the right (but we all no that) Sissoko aint good enough yet, are wingers are .

[stmichael]

After watching us recently I have changed my view a little. Mainly on the strker situation. Seems to me they arnt scoring because they get no service (well everyone knows that I here you say). Most of our shots come from outside the box, Gerrard Arnie,Alonso even Agger. Take the Bolton game, our one decent ball in the box came from pennant who was a sub. I no we need wingers but Strikers I'm not so sure now. If we bort Villa,Eto or even had the great Pele in our team, they would need the service which we havent been giving Strikers for years. For some reason at Liverpool for the past 6 or 7 years, we seem to want Strikers to cover at the back be able to cross balls, hold up the ball and everything that in my opinion does not make a great strker. We lack goals and I think this is more down to tactics than ability. And when strikers don't score for a while they lose confedence so when 1 of the few chances comes along they mess it up.
Gerrard is a waste on the right (but we all no that) Sissoko aint good enough yet, are wingers are .

Those who are defending our strikers and blaming the midfield for not creating anything should look at the stats or even the games and see just how many chances we have missed. Some of them have been terrible misses, others have been half chances which a clinical striker would put away 9 times out of 10. If those chances had of dropped to someone like an Eto'o or Villa or even an Owen we would have 15 more points this season minimum and beaten Arsenal in the FA Cup.

The 2nd point is that Steve Finnan is very similar to Gary Neville, and Man United don't seem to struggle on an attacking sense with him at right back. Every team needs stability at the back so I'm not sure how an Alves for the weak teams and Finnan against the top 4 would work!

The criteria is simple and still the same as in 2004 when Michael Owen left, we need a quality right winger, probably a left winger, and a fast striker who can also score goals. The rest is just cosmetic.
 
Dont think anybody is saying the strikers dont need to improve - they do - but a wide player who poses a threat one on one, who can cross the ball and score a few goals would give them so much more time and space - Kuyt and Bellamy in particular will both be more settled next season.

The point being we will be a better team next season even if we dont sign anybody.

But if we do add a genuine threat on the left we'll be even better - that threat could be Gonzalez, it could even be Kewell but its been the weakest part of our team this season by a long way not our strikers.

if you do actually look at our strikers conversion rates you'll find they are up there with Yakubu, Van Persie, et al........if you look at Crouch's assists he's top of the charts mins/assists.

[grayghost]

We need Stevi G back in the middle he played there the start of the season we had a bad spell that loses us the title we move him back in the middle and we start to break records again scoring goals and keeping clean sheets we move up the table maybe a late title challenge Momo comes back and stevi is thrown back on the wing again and we lose any chance of chanlegeing for 1st and 2nd

[grayghost]

If your best player is not happy were he is playing that negative felling is gonna filter down right throw the squad get your captain happy first and fore most. and the team will start scoring again.

[stmichael]

If your best player is not happy were he is playing that negative felling is gonna filter down right throw the squad get your captain happy first and fore most. and the team will start scoring again.

And if thats his attitude he can f#ck off aswell. This is Liverpool FC, he plays where is best for the team.