Liverpool FC Forum

[Ace Ventura]

we all know pennant is a good player, but what about when gonzalez joins us in the summer?
also, who else here is liking stevie on the right with alonso/sissoko in the middle?
pennant would be a great squad player but hes tasted non stop first team football with birmingham and i dont think hed be happy sitting on the sidelines. if his head is in the right place then yes he would be an ideal buy as whenever ive seen him play he has been outstanding. but if his temperament upsets the balance of the squad then we have to look elsewhere

Dawson you may be right but i doubt it, i think the lad would jump at the chance to sign for Liverpool whether he would be guaranteed a starting place or not.
He seems to be a confident and a touch arrogant lad, someone like that imo would think once i get in...i will stay in.
Also anyone who has watched us this season can see that the manager makes plenty of changes so even squad players get plenty of time.
Pennant would be a top squad player and if he cost between 3-6 million then i think it would be sound business.

[Cool Hand Luke]

The main question I have for people is: not considering financial resources, would you be happy if Jermaine Pennant was bought in as the first choice right winger for next season?

[Cool Hand Luke]

On the issue of Steven Gerrard. I don’t think he will be happy staying out on the right hand side, he has done it for most of this season because we desperately needed him there. If Rafa was to say to him at the end of the season “Steven, I am not going to bring a right sided midfielder to the club in the summer, maybe just a back up player like Pennant, but my main plan is to use you on the right mainly, with you sometimes playing in the centre”

What do you think Gerrard would think, I think he would be quiet off, he has clearly said that his best position is in the centre and that is were he likes to play, at the end of the day you must build your team around your best players.

[Ace Ventura]

On the issue of Steven Gerrard. I don’t think he will be happy staying out on the right hand side, he has done it for most of this season because we desperately needed him there. If Rafa was to say to him at the end of the season “Steven, I am not going to bring a right sided midfielder to the club in the summer, maybe just a back up player like Pennant, but my main plan is to use you on the right mainly, with you sometimes playing in the centre”

What do you think Gerrard would think, I think he would be quiet off, he has clearly said that his best position is in the centre and that is were he likes to play, at the end of the day you must build your team around your best players.

I see what your saying Luke but are you sure that stevie would be that f'cked off if he was to play right side again.

We all know he said he would do it for the team for now, but after the season he has had...his best ever, he might feel different for all we would know.
Also Pennant is fully capable of being a regular starter for LFC anyway imo. He needs to have more end product to his game, but in a side like ours with better players around him and more space i think he would have.

[david wayne]

next season

reina ( carson)
alves (finnan)
aruelio (riise, warnock)
carra ( palletta)
sami ( agger)

x alonso
momo sissoko ( hammann)
gerrard ( garcia zenden)
gonzalez ( zenden, riise, andeson)
pennant ( alves, garcia)

defoe ( would like torres) (crouch, fowler)

benitez will play a 4-2-3-1 system in all the top games, but with this system will have two truly attacking full backs and two really quick wingers. At home against teams he does not rate we will play 442 and  i believe one more striker will arrive could be the dutchman kujt. troare, kewell, le tallec, morientes, pongolle, cisse, diao, kronkamp, cheyrou, kirkland and dudek all off to raise some funds defoe 6m plus kewell, pennant 5m and alves 9m will still leave rafa with plenty of funds and we could hace a really special surprise signing!!!!

[Scottbot]

I wasn't too hot on the idea of signing Pennant when it first got bandied about but have kept an eye on the lad over the 2nd half of the season and must admit i would be in favour of signing him to back up Gerrard. Stevie should start on the right in most of our games next season. I'm sure he still prefers the middle but i get the impression he likes the freedom he gets on the right, and lets face it he hardly plays an orthodox right winger, he just happens to start the game in that position. Also notice Gerrard has not been quoted about playing back in the middle or 'doing a job for the team' for several months now. Get in Pennant 3-4 million and spend the money on a TOP drawer striker would be my preference.

As for Guily. I'm not convinced he would get on in the EPL. He's technically very good and looks a clever player (much like Simao) but looks a bit lightweight and i'm not sure he is capable of pure magic like our own lightweight Luis.

[A.B.]

Since when did wingers look like they were big and hard? Most wingers look lightweight but looks are decieving. You can't see someone's strength based on appearance. Wright-Phillips is a midget and looks like you can walk all over him but he's had no problems with physical opponents.

I don't agree that we should play Gerrard on the right next season. He's at his best when he's in the central midfield position.

[66-1112520797]

Since when did wingers look like they were big and hard? Most wingers look lightweight but looks are decieving. You can't see someone's strength based on appearance. Wright-Phillips is a midget and looks like you can walk all over him but he's had no problems with physical opponents.

I don't agree that we should play Gerrard on the right next season. He's at his best when he's in the central midfield position.

You have just given Shaun-Wright-Phillips as your example, but where was he born and brought up, where did he learn to play ?  He learned his game in England, thats why he has no problem with the physical side of the game. Rule of thumb tells you, that if a player looks slightly lightweight and less likely to get stuck into a tackle in say Spain or Portugual he doesnt really have much hope when getting knocked about by midfielders and defenders week in week out in the prem. Although Nando isnt a winger that fact is he cannot handle the tempo and physical grunt of the Prem. On the other hand though Garcia has adapted considering his build and size to this game but he is one of a few who rarely does. So this is why I say rule of thumb.

I agree with Scottbot that Gerrard should stay out wide and maybe someone like Pennant be bought in for cover. We are in need much more of a striker than a right winger and the more Rafa has to spend on a striker the better. Sissoko and Alonso should stay in the Center IMHO and what Gerrards been doing out on the right most of the season has been exceptional.
Why change a winning formula ?

[JC_81]

I wasn't too hot on the idea of signing Pennant when it first got bandied about but have kept an eye on the lad over the 2nd half of the season and must admit i would be in favour of signing him to back up Gerrard. Stevie should start on the right in most of our games next season. I'm sure he still prefers the middle but i get the impression he likes the freedom he gets on the right, and lets face it he hardly plays an orthodox right winger, he just happens to start the game in that position. Also notice Gerrard has not been quoted about playing back in the middle or 'doing a job for the team' for several months now. Get in Pennant 3-4 million and spend the money on a TOP drawer striker would be my preference.

As for Guily. I'm not convinced he would get on in the EPL. He's technically very good and looks a clever player (much like Simao) but looks a bit lightweight and i'm not sure he is capable of pure magic like our own lightweight Luis.

Totally agree with this and I've been saying it myself for a while.

Why do people keep saying Gerrard is strongest in the centre when clearly he is just as good, if not better, on the right.  Player of the year and 23 goals would seem to suggest he's better on the right I think?

Yes he's a good tackler and yes he drives the team forward - which is why he's so good at centre mid.  But when you play him out wide he has the freedom to express himself a lot more.  People don't seem to recognise that one of Gerrard's major assets is his pace - after Cisse he's probably our fastest player - and when he's out wide he can use this pace along with his strength to tear fullbacks apart.

When Gerrard first emerged at LFC he was championed as the 'tackling' midfielder we always missed.  And he filled that role well for a while.  But he's not that player any more.  Yes he can tackle, but he is an attacking midfielder more than anything and he is wasted when given defensive duties.

On top of that I really think Sissoko and Alonso complement each other better in the middle.  Alonso and Gerrard both try to dictate the pace of the game when they play together in there (something which Xabi is better at by the way) and it doesn't always work.

Definitely keep Gerrard on the right - he's been the best right mid in the premiership this season - and bring in a cheaper right mid as cover such as Pennant.  Up front is our major weakness and that's where nearly all of our funds must go.

[Ace Ventura]

Definitely keep Gerrard on the right - he's been the best right mid in the premiership this season - and bring in a cheaper right mid as cover such as Pennant.  Up front is our major weakness and that's where nearly all of our funds must go.

Spot on.

He has played the majority of the season on the right....with the licence to drift around the final third and he has been fantastic. His best season in a red shirt.
There is no way we should be changing that if we dont need to, we should be looking at bringing in 2 strikers with the bulk of the money and i am sure we will.
Pennant at 3-4 million would be a very decent signing that would help strengthen the squad and give us more options.

[GOAT]

Definitely keep Gerrard on the right - he's been the best right mid in the premiership this season - and bring in a cheaper right mid as cover such as Pennant.  Up front is our major weakness and that's where nearly all of our funds must go.

Spot on.

He has played the majority of the season on the right....with the licence to drift around the final third and he has been fantastic. His best season in a red shirt.
There is no way we should be changing that if we dont need to, we should be looking at bringing in 2 strikers with the bulk of the money and i am sure we will.
Pennant at 3-4 million would be a very decent signing that would help strengthen the squad and give us more options.

Yeah i agree, main concern should be the strike force, gettin cisse and morientes out and replacing them with 2 class strikers. Once that is sorted we can maybe think about a winger

[woof woof !]

Definitely keep Gerrard on the right - he's been the best right mid in the premiership this season - and bring in a cheaper right mid as cover such as Pennant.  Up front is our major weakness and that's where nearly all of our funds must go.

Spot on.

He has played the majority of the season on the right....with the licence to drift around the final third and he has been fantastic. His best season in a red shirt.
There is no way we should be changing that if we dont need to, we should be looking at bringing in 2 strikers with the bulk of the money and i am sure we will.
Pennant at 3-4 million would be a very decent signing that would help strengthen the squad and give us more options.

Gerrard has certainly had a brilliant season starting "wide right " .This is probably because the fella is such a complete footballer he could play virtually anywhere  I don't however agree that it's his best or indeed preferred position .The strength of Alonso and Sisokko at center mid has allowed us to use Stevie G as cover for a position that currently no one else can adequately fill . It is however my belief that he's only operating at 80% when playing out wide .Yes he can whip in some wicked crosses but he has been most effective when he has excercised his "licence to drift around the final third " and not stuck out on the touchline .

On the form Gerrard has shown this season in Rafa's shoes I'd be very tempted to sort out right mid with the best we can afford and play 4-4-1-1 , with Stevie playing centrally between midfield and the lead striker . (    not forgetting that at present Stevie is our leading striker/goalscorer      )

[joko]

sorry if having been mentioned before, but how old is pennant?
i mean, since he's not a bad player, now it would particularly be depending on his age and his price

[Scottbot]

Since when did wingers look like they were big and hard? Most wingers look lightweight but looks are decieving. You can't see someone's strength based on appearance. Wright-Phillips is a midget and looks like you can walk all over him but he's had no problems with physical opponents.

I don't agree that we should play Gerrard on the right next season. He's at his best when he's in the central midfield position.

AB when i said lightweight i don't just mean in the literal sense of the word. I've watched Guily play several times this season and he doesn't strike me as being a player who likes a tackle (making and being on the end of them.) I have a feeling he will get pushed about, won't win many headers and can see him getting outmuscled in England. While he's quite quick he's not blessed with the pace of a Robben or Wright-Phillips and i don't think he is as clever player as Garcia with whom he shares many of the same attributes. As for comparing Guily to Wright-Phillips there very different. If you look at SWP he's a stocky little bugger with a very low centre of gravity and as a few others pointed out, he has played in the rough and tumble of English football his whole life.

I think Simao would also struggle if he were to play in England but think he stands more of a chance because he is a VERY intelligent player who (like Garcia) has a habbit of finding space and exploiting it.

As for Stevie moving back to the middle. How can anyone argue with him playing on the right after the season he has just had? Also i thought he was pretty quiet on the occasions this season when he did play in the centre. Can anyone remember a really special performance from Stevie in the middle this season?

[Scottbot]

It is however my belief that he's only operating at 80% when playing out wide .Yes he can whip in some wicked crosses but he has been most effective when he has excercised his "licence to drift around the final third " and not stuck out on the touchline .

Bllody hell Woof! If that was Stevie operating at 80% what's he gonna come up with this season!

The point about Stevie playing wide right is that he only starts the game there and has some defensive responsibilities down that flank when we lose the ball. When we're in possession he pretty much has a free role. He can go walkabouts so often because Sissoko covers so much ground behind him and when Finnan gets forward (as he often did this past year) he tucks in ahead of Xabi and Momo. If Kewell is on the opposite flank stevie just gives a shout and they swap flanks. Look back at all of Stevie's goals this season and you will notice the majority of his shots have come from central positions on the pitch so he still does plenty of good work in more central areas but now when he gets the ball it is in far more advanced positions than when he plays centre-mid. There were a few occasions this season where he wasn't seeing much of the ball on the right (as can happen to wide players) but they were rare.

I agree he can do a good job playing behind the main striker but see a couple of problems with this. 1- We don't really have anyone to play the lone striker position effectively (Van Horse anyone?) & 2- Gerrard is a lot easier to pick up from a defensive point of view when he plays that second striker role, you can have a defensive midfielder shadow (try to!) him or ask one of the centre-backs to step out. He's a nightmare for defenders playing on the right because it's virtually impossible to ask someone to follow him because he spends half the game on the flank and the rest of it wherever he wants to go. Plus his runs are so much more effective when he starts from a deeper position, you would lose this playing him at 2nd striker.

I wouldn't change it. The position is perfect for him. I think Rafa probably thinks the same, hopefully Steve Mclaren will figure it when he gets the England job and maybe Stevie himself maybe coming around to the idea.