Liverpool FC Forum

by **Coley** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 2:18 pm

Just watching the Utd-Fulham game and i've been really impressed with Malbranque on the right for Fulham. He looks real quality, has great feet and is creative. Just think of a midfield of Kewall, Hamman, Gerrard and Malbranque. Not bad eh?

by **REDTILLDEAD** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 3:42 pm

No more french!!!.....pleeeeeeeeese!! GH take them with you!! :angry:

by **azriahmad** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 4:48 pm

Malbranque is perhaps one of the better French players in the English game. While not quite at the top echelon like Henry, Viera, Pires, he can be a good addition to the squad. However, I don't think Houllier's tactics and football philosophy would necessarily make players as talented as Malbranque become the players who would make a difference to Liverpool.
In other words, I believe we need a fresh approach from another manager who has more ideas and is not so rigid and tactically inept as Houllier.

by **115-1073096938** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 5:09 pm

someone who wins the uefa cup, 2 league cups an fa cup a supercup and a charity shield aswell as amassing 80 points in a league season and managing to consistently beat manchester united with a squad of players with alot less talent is tactically inept?

please!!!

redtilldead i agree... no more french players. they're all cr#p. Zidane, Vieira, Henry, Anelka, Cisse, Pires, Gallas, Thuram etc etc.

by **azriahmad** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 5:34 pm

I respect your opinion, stu. At least you did not resort to personal attacks on me as you did not agree with me. Personally, I think Liverpool under Houllier has improved in terms of player discipline on and off the pitch and he made produced a very good defensive based counter-attacking play. We won those trophies because the defense was rock solid and the counter-attacking play worked well.
However, we have become very negative due to this pattern of play and when the general plan fails like it had always been in the past 2 seasons (due to injuries, loss of form, players playing out of position etc.), Liverpool has failed to effectively change the playing style except for resorting to long balls by Gerrard for Owen to chase, often more in hope. We have seen it all too many times, with the frequency having occurred on an alarming consistency of late. Only recently have Liverpool adopted a more attacking play but alas, not successfully as other parts of our game crumbles.
We have skillful players like Kewell and Diouf, yet still play the same style home or away. Arsenal and Manure (I really hate to say this!) have been successful by not playing our type of game i.e., more penetration and more attack minded and they can vary their game to overcome difficulties and get results.
Why can't we do something similar? Less talent? Perhaps, but not by that big a margin.
Liverpool always keep struggling against well-organised teams like Charlton and gets beaten by fast attacking play (notice how many times we get beaten by Valencia, home or away?).
When our players get frustrated by the likes of Charlton, we don't see any alternative ideas. This is waht I mean by tactical ineptness of the present management. You may disagree, but the results and the overall sterile game play does not lie...
I hope you are right that Houllier may turn the club around if he has does not have the injury problems, but after over 5 years, I don't think he has it in him.

by **long sleeved joe** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 9:06 pm

He'd be a quality addition and Houlliers shown interest before. I like him because like Kewell he can play wide and upfront and he creates and scores the type of goals that are required in Champs lge football against the top sides.

by **Stan Laurel** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 9:26 pm

I wouldn't mind to have him to play for Liverpool but he is French, I had enough of too many Frogs to play for Liverpool.
I like to have different players perhap Damien Duff, I heard he is not happy at the moment because of Arjen Robben will be arrive in Stamford Bridge this summer who play same position as Duff, so Duff want to play first team football at Chelsea, but I got a feeling Robben will be first choice player.

by **REDTILLDEAD** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 9:59 pm

One player even if he has potential?..wont bring the title back to anfield. we need players with proven ability, we have to much dead wood in our squad, we should be competing with the best!...for the best!! trouble is GH does not reconise a class player when he sees one? we may soon find ourselves playing the french national anthem? instead of youll" never walk alone!!

by **banana** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 5:14 am

Malbranque would have been an excellent signing. He is definately much better than Murphy, Smicer, Le Tallec, Heskey, Riise, Biscan and Cheyrou. All these players have played several games in midfield this season. Malbranque is a flair player, inventive, hard working, relatively quick with good ball control. He has scored quite a few goals over the last few seasons for Fulham. I believe he is almost just as good as Pires....

by **JBG** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 5:01 pm

I'm a major advocate of signing Malbranque.

He is proven in the Premiership, and won't cost the earth.

We have had a problem at right midfield all season and signing Malbranque, and perhaps ditching Cheyrou or Smicer, will only strengthen the squad without a huge outlay.

He can play across the midfield or behind the front two, and is an excellent penalty taker....probably only behind Shearer and RVN in terms of success rate from the spot.

by **115-1073096938** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:31 pm

JBG he's missed a couple yanno.

I also disagree about the "not costing the earth comment".

I think at the start of the season end of last he would have cost about £5m. Now i think it would be more in the region or £8m or £9m.

If we could get him for £7m or under tho i'd definately say he'd be woth the money. Someone compared him to Robert Pires in another thread... and altho not as good i can see why the comparrisson was made.

by **JBG** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 12:37 pm

Stu, I said he won't cost the earth because last summer when Malbranque was trying to engineer a move to the Pool his agent said that he had a contract which allowed him to move in the region of £4-5million, i.e. a buy out clause.

I don't know if thats true or not but surely Malbranque is coming near the end of his contract at Fulham now?

Malbranque has missed a few penalties, but so has RVN and Shearer. However, he scored a huge amount of penalties last season and is Fulham's regular peno taker.

I'm not saying we should sign him due to his penalty taking prowess - that would be silly - but it is another string to his bow.

by **RedSi** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 1:24 pm

I'm with you JBG, the signing of Malbranque would represent a major boost to our attacking flair. Let's get rid of some of the other french/french speaking dross if people are worried about having too many, there's not one of them with Malbranque's class.

Sorry Stu_the_Red but comments on GH are fair, his departure remains long overdue....

by **JBG** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 5:35 pm

I think the biggest plus in signing Malbranque is that he is proven in the English game. He is everything Smicer and Cheyrou should be but aren't.

by **chiggz_likes_owen** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 6:16 am

malbranque is good, but not as good as pires. pires is just quality

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Malbranque - Would be a good additionto the team

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