Liverpool FC Forum

[matt_evans2006]

good point. But Trezeguet's been scoring goals for years for Juventus in a strong Italian League while Kuyt only been doing it in the dutch league. Heskey would be good in the dutch league.

[flipmode]

good point. But Trezeguet's been scoring goals for years for Juventus in a strong Italian League while Kuyt only been doing it in the dutch league. Heskey would be good in the dutch league.

What about Van Nisterooy, when Utd bought him he was in Dutch league look how many he has scored

[stmichael]

Hero Fowler lands role as Kop mentor Jul 28 2006

By Chris Bascombe With The Reds In Switzerland, Liverpool Echo

 
ROBBIE FOWLER was today handed the role as 'mentor' for Liverpool's new boys.

Rafa Benitez sees his experienced striker proving an inspirational figure on and off the pitch in the season ahead.

The Anfield boss says Fowler has a presence at the club which will be channelled to positive effect on recruits such as Craig Bellamy and Jermaine Pennant.

And with the Reds' 'new' number nine already showing glimpses of his class in the opening pre-season games, the wisdom of keeping the 31-year-old for another season is already evident.

"When we signed Craig Bellamy and Jermaine Pennant, both mentioned how Robbie was a player they loved watching for Liverpool when they were younger," said Benitez. "He is someone they look up to.

"With Robbie, we have a player at the club who is already a legend for the supporters and some of the players, and that can be a positive influence, particularly on the youngsters we have here.

"They look up to Robbie and admire him and he will enjoy helping them as much as possible."

Fowler has looked sharp in the first two friendlies of the pre-season, turning creator for both Bellamy and Craig Lindfield to hit the goal trail.

He'll be hoping to maintain his form in tomorrow's clash with Kaiserslautern, in a game where Jermaine Pennant is expected to make his debut.

"Robbie has played very good games so far," said Benitez.

"His movement and work for his team-mates have been really good. He is still trying really hard in training and working with Pako (Ayesteran). He knows there is still work to be done on his fitness, but we're happy with him."

***********************************************
good lad robbie, keep the bad boys in check



great for robbie though, he must really feel as proud as punch. and he deserves it to be so warmly thought of. lets look forward to seeing him back in his old shirt weaving that old magic.....

so he will be teaching them how to bear your ar$e and sniff goal lines then?  

[Billy_5_Times]

This is our year for 1 reason and 1 reason only. We are the best team in the prem, NOW.

Compared to the other big clubs we have the better players.

Pepe Reina is the better keeper out of all 4. Cech is good but not as good as Pepe. Van Der Sat is too old and Lehmann is a nutter.

Carra/Sami Hyypia and Terry are equal but both are miles ahead of Ferdinand, Carvalho and Toure. our full backs are as good as any in the world. Finnan best right back in the prem last year. Aurelio, Riise or Warnock take your pick out of 3 boss left backs. we have Agger, Paletta, and our youth cup winning centre halfs, Jack Hobbs and Godwin Antwi to come in  should we need them.

Stevie and Xabi are the best centre mid pairing in the world including international teams. Stevie is a better player all round than Ballack and Lampard because Fat Frank only scores and nut much else and Ballack i dont feel is going to be prepared to get as stuck in as Stevie. Xabi wins as many tackles as Makelele and is a well better passer. The Mancs dont have any centre mids anymore and Arsenals are a joke. Gilberto is one the worst signings in football history and i wouldnt even swap our youth team for Fabregas. also we have Momo Sissoko to come in should we need him and i dont see any other of the top 4 being able to bring in someone like him.

Pennant and Gonzalez is exactly what we need. 2 natural wingers and now we have wingers that can compare to Robben and Joe Cole. Giggs and Step Over Ronaldo arent anywhere near Pennant or Gonzalez and Aresnals wingers are none exsistant. Paul Anderson and Garcia on the right. Zenden and Kewell on the left can all do a job. also Kromkamp and Stevie G can go on the right if its really necessary as can Riise, Aurellio and Ste Warnock on the left.

Up front we have hight, pace and the best natural finisher in the world. Crouch with his height will cause trouble, a lot more than Drogba, Saha or Adebyor. Bellamys pace is quicker than Drogba or Saha.
Fowlers natural ability to score is better than Shevchenkos, Van Nistlerooys and Henrys. And before anyone starts Fowler is a better NATURAL finisher than Henry because Henry has never scored a tap in unless he has taken it past the oppisiton, his own team and even the ref.

All in all i think we have the best starting 11 and subs bench in the prem now. so this is our year. Rafa is taken us back to the good old days. COME ON YOU REDS

[Bad Bob]

This is our year for 1 reason and 1 reason only. We are the best team in the prem, NOW.

Compared to the other big clubs we have the better players.

Pepe Reina is the better keeper out of all 4. Cech is good but not as good as Pepe. Van Der Sat is too old and Lehmann is a nutter.

Carra/Sami Hyypia and Terry are equal but both are miles ahead of Ferdinand, Carvalho and Toure. our full backs are as good as any in the world. Finnan best right back in the prem last year. Aurelio, Riise or Warnock take your pick out of 3 boss left backs. we have Agger, Paletta, and our youth cup winning centre halfs, Jack Hobbs and Godwin Antwi to come in  should we need them.

Stevie and Xabi are the best centre mid pairing in the world including international teams. Stevie is a better player all round than Ballack and Lampard because Fat Frank only scores and nut much else and Ballack i dont feel is going to be prepared to get as stuck in as Stevie. Xabi wins as many tackles as Makelele and is a well better passer. The Mancs dont have any centre mids anymore and Arsenals are a joke. Gilberto is one the worst signings in football history and i wouldnt even swap our youth team for Fabregas. also we have Momo Sissoko to come in should we need him and i dont see any other of the top 4 being able to bring in someone like him.

Pennant and Gonzalez is exactly what we need. 2 natural wingers and now we have wingers that can compare to Robben and Joe Cole. Giggs and Step Over Ronaldo arent anywhere near Pennant or Gonzalez and Aresnals wingers are none exsistant. Paul Anderson and Garcia on the right. Zenden and Kewell on the left can all do a job. also Kromkamp and Stevie G can go on the right if its really necessary as can Riise, Aurellio and Ste Warnock on the left.

Up front we have hight, pace and the best natural finisher in the world. Crouch with his height will cause trouble, a lot more than Drogba, Saha or Adebyor. Bellamys pace is quicker than Drogba or Saha.
Fowlers natural ability to score is better than Shevchenkos, Van Nistlerooys and Henrys. And before anyone starts Fowler is a better NATURAL finisher than Henry because Henry has never scored a tap in unless he has taken it past the oppisiton, his own team and even the ref.

All in all i think we have the best starting 11 and subs bench in the prem now. so this is our year. Rafa is taken us back to the good old days. COME ON YOU REDS

I appreciate the enthusiasm, mate, but some of your assessments are well over the top:

1) Reina is a fantastic young keeper, no question, but don't dismiss Cech (who has been outstanding for 2 seasons) nor Van Der Sar

2) I would not say that Carra, Sami or John Terry are "miles ahead" of Ferdinand, Carvahlo or Toure.  I despise Ferdinand and Carvahlo but they are still top defenders.  Toure has done a fantastic job for Arsenal over the last two years and I would discount him either.

3) Aurellio we haven't even seen play in England yet.  Riise is solid but not spectacular.  And Warnock amongst the league's top left backs?  You're having a laugh!  Ash Cole and Gabriel Heinze are far and away the league's best leftbacks.  Even Wayne Bridge is better than Warnock.

4) You'll get no argument from me about Stevie, Xabir or Momo.  But, our youth team midfielders over Fabregas?  Come on!  The kid has been a fixture for Arsenal for more than a season and he was a key player for Spain we he came on in the World Cup.  No one in our youth set-up is anywhere near that level yet.

5) Again, we've not seen Gonzales kick a ball in competitive league play yet so how can he already be better than Robben, Cole, Giggs, Ronaldo, etc?  Pennant's a proven talent but that doesn't make him better than Joe Cole or Christiano Ronaldo in terms of footballing talent.

6) Crouch is a handful and I love him for that but Drogba has been quite effective for Chelsea and Saha and Adebayour are not the same type of player.  Fowler is fantastic and, god, do I rate God highly but its a bit hyperbolic to say that a 31-year old Fowler is still a better finisher than Henry or RVN (Shevchenko I'll leave out of this for the moment since he hasn't yet played in England)

All in all, I think we have assembled a fantastic squad on a tight budget, filled with cagey veterans and hungry young players brimming with quality.  But it is folly to say that we have, man-for-man, the best starting 11 in the Prem as well as the best squad. 

Loyalty to Liverpool and enthusiasm for the coming season are fantastic things to have, mate, and I share them.  But I think it is important to temper it all with a touch of realism--otherwise we'll lose all sense of perspective if we don't sweep all before us (including Chelsea) this season! 

[Billy_5_Times]

Bad Bob i'm sorry to say but i think you are wrong about Ste Warnock. i personally feel Warnock should be our regular left back.

My reasons for this are as follows. the feller has had 2 broken legs yet still doesnt bottle out of any tackles, which is the way Liverpool Football Club fans have been brought up to do. just like Tommy Smith, Alan Hansen and Joey Jones would. he loves the club just as much as you and me. and given the chance he gets up the left and puts in some decent crosses and if he gets into the positions he can score like he did against Fulham in our 5-0 routing of them last year and while he was off on loan to Coventry a couple of years ago he scored some John Arne Riise esque goals and he won their fans player of the year award while he was there.

So maybe i went over the top with him being the best in the league but i wouldnt regard my views as having a laugh.

[aCe']

hehehe....gotta love the enthusiasm billy... i totally agree that by playing gerrard/sissoko/alonso .. we have the most commanding centre midfield in the league....and our defense is simply fantastic....just dont try to compare indivisually because we all know that it doesnt go that way...we had the best defensive record in the league last season and i hope our defense carry on their form this season...reina is good...but again....do not compare indivisuals because we more often than not have the lower hand ! mmm... our wingers arent the best (manutd and chelsea) have the best wingers in the league) but they are very good to say the least ...neither are our full backs( manutd and arsenal)....mmm...definetely our forward line needs improvement (chelsea by a landslide) ...but we are looking too strong for almost all the prem. sides except for chelsea ! so.... given a quality signing upfront...2nd place is guaranteed and a shot at the title isnt so far away !
but...overall...we have a wonderfull squad with great teamwork and workrate...a squad that can go places

[Billy_5_Times]

Shevchenko who missed the pen in Istanbul, the dirty cheating diving Drogba and the long haired yeti Crespo costing around 70m or Fowler, Crouch and Bellamy for the small fee of 12m. i know which 3 i would rather have. Fowler a better NATURAL stiker than Shevchenko. Crouch 10 times better in the air than Crespo and Bellamy a better finisher with better speed than that waste of space Drogba

[Cool Hand Luke]

Bad Bob i'm sorry to say but i think you are wrong about Ste Warnock. i personally feel Warnock should be our regular left back.

My reasons for this are as follows. the feller has had 2 broken legs yet still doesnt bottle out of any tackles, which is the way Liverpool Football Club fans have been brought up to do. just like Tommy Smith, Alan Hansen and Joey Jones would. he loves the club just as much as you and me. and given the chance he gets up the left and puts in some decent crosses and if he gets into the positions he can score like he did against Fulham in our 5-0 routing of them last year and while he was off on loan to Coventry a couple of years ago he scored some John Arne Riise esque goals and he won their fans player of the year award while he was there.

So maybe i went over the top with him being the best in the league but i wouldnt regard my views as having a laugh.

i think yes what about you

[Billy_5_Times]

what exactly do you think yes about Luke?

[aCe']

i'd rather we had shevchenko, Crespo and drogba ! maybe fowler instead of crespo for all he's done for liverpool and his reputation and all else he's great in...but...in the real world....chelsea's forward is far better than ours...

[Billy_5_Times]

aCe i'm sorry to say this to a fellow Red but you dont have a clue about football mate. Drogba can only score when he cheats and Bellamy scored almost 20 goals last season for a middle of the road club like Blackburn, where as Drogba scored less than 15 for a team who have all the money in the world.

[aCe']

yep...okay...i respect what you have to say billy but trust me...as much as i'd love to agree with what you said...just like badbob said earlier...i hope ur havina a laugh here mate.. everyone around here is a red but only a few would be with you on that one.... crouch/bellamy/fowler better than shevchenko/drogba/crespo ??? WHAT ?!

[DavvaMak]

yep...okay...i respect what you have to say billy but trust me...as much as i'd love to agree with what you said...just like badbob said earlier...i hope ur havina a laugh here mate.. everyone around here is a red but only a few would be with you on that one.... crouch/bellamy/fowler better than shevchenko/drogba/crespo ??? WHAT ?!

if your talking about who has the better forward line on paper, then sheva, crespo and drogba probably edge it, but if your talking proven premiership quality then, sheva is unproven, crespo is about as prolific as morientes, and drogba.... cows a*se and banjo spring to mind.

so im with billy_5_times on the forward line, but i agree with everything else that Bad Bob said

[vlady16.1]

now no one has ever accused me of impartiality but lets review what we have here.

shevy, crespo, drogba-- well well well -- shevy may bomb russian/uke types are unproven quantities and if the nhl is any illustrator when the chips are down they run -- not people you go to war with
--- crespo wants out bad -- he'll have his heart in it
-- drogba -- definitely not world class --overrated and wants out too

lets see-- bellamy fast 15 goals at blackburn - knows this is his last chance and he's motivated
           -- crouchzilla -- will be a great partner to him or god -- he will and does cause defence problems
          --- god -- what more can you say -- still mad he ruined my shirt(haha i'll still wear 11) HE WANTS TO BE HERE

well they may be better on paper but 1 is unproven and 2 are unhappy -- i'd rather go into this with our boys -- face everyone in th pl have talent heart can make them better