Liverpool FC Forum

[maguskwt]

Well, not only do we need wingers, we need a support striker and a very good CB as well. Skrtle is just not good enough and right now agger is struggling because of this... He needs a much more solid partner in the mould of vidic...

[stmichael]

We miss Yossi Benayoun in games like last night.

[maguskwt]

We miss Yossi Benayoun in games like last night.

Yes but then again Joe Cole is suppose to be a much better player than Yossi... 

[Zidane]

I'm convinced Joe Cole is cr@p now, I had high hopes for him but unfortunately just another over hyped English player.

[metalhead]

I'm convinced Joe Cole is cr@p now, I had high hopes for him but unfortunately just another over hyped English player.

He isn't cr@p, he is a better footballer than Kuyt and probably better than Maxi. He just needs a run in the side which he hasn't got yet.

[stmichael]

Kuyt needs to be dropped pronto.

[worcester_red]

I'm convinced Joe Cole is cr@p now, I had high hopes for him but unfortunately just another over hyped English player.

He isn't cr@p, he is a better footballer than Kuyt and probably better than Maxi. He just needs a run in the side which he hasn't got yet.

Either Joe Cole is injured or Kenny just doesn't rate him at all, I think it's more the latter and I agree.

[SouthCoastShankly]

I'm convinced Joe Cole is cr@p now, I had high hopes for him but unfortunately just another over hyped English player.

He isn't cr@p, he is a better footballer than Kuyt and probably better than Maxi. He just needs a run in the side which he hasn't got yet.

Either Joe Cole is injured or Kenny just doesn't rate him at all, I think it's more the latter and I agree.

He clearly is not cr@p, he is still unfit. Last season he was riddled with injury. This season, at least twice he has gone off injured for us.

When he gets fit he will displace either Maxi or Kuyt, no doubt. He is far more capable of changing a game than either of those two.

[stmichael]

The bottom line is our wingers aren't good enough at dribbling, passing or holding the ball up which means that we have three of our front four who simply aren't all that good at keeping the ball, or creating space for themselves. It means that we find it hard to create much against well-drilled teams.

It sounds strange given our dismal away record this season but I think the Wolves game proved that in many ways we're set up better to play away from home if the tactics are right where we can use Torres pace in behind when the opposition defence play a higher line.

[aCe']

Selling Pennant and Riera without replacing them was a big problem that we never got over..
We currently have Kuyt, Maxi, Joe cole and Jovanovic who are all able to play down the flanks.. The only one from the bunch who can potentially play as an out and out winger is Maxi... However, we always seem to play him down the left where he has to cut inside and thus slow down our play and allow the opposition to regroup at the back...

Before we sold Babel I advocated playing him down the right flank on a regular basis... Jovanovic down the left flank was another option to consider to offer that bit of width we seem to lack...
Personally, I dont expect us to sign any wingers until the summer. All the players we have been linked with arent wingers and will do little to fix our problems in this department... They do however seem to suggest 2 things :

1) Neither Gerrard nor Meireles will be played behind Torres very often if/when Suarez is signed.
2) The signing of Charlie Adam suggests that one of Gerrard/Meireles will be dropped or moved from their position to make way for the new arrival.

I can see us playing something like this if we sign Suarez and not Adam (likely scenario):

           (Adam/Meireles)        (Lucas/Poulsen)

(Kuyt/Gerrard)             Suarez                (Maxi/Cole)

                                 Torres

[mart]

I'm convinced Joe Cole is cr@p now, I had high hopes for him but unfortunately just another over hyped English player.

He isn't cr@p, he is a better footballer than Kuyt and probably better than Maxi. He just needs a run in the side which he hasn't got yet.

Either Joe Cole is injured or Kenny just doesn't rate him at all, I think it's more the latter and I agree.

He clearly is not cr@p, he is still unfit.

He has not shown anything for a couple of years.

[red till i die!!]

I'm convinced Joe Cole is cr@p now, I had high hopes for him but unfortunately just another over hyped English player.

He isn't cr@p, he is a better footballer than Kuyt and probably better than Maxi. He just needs a run in the side which he hasn't got yet.

Either Joe Cole is injured or Kenny just doesn't rate him at all, I think it's more the latter and I agree.

He clearly is not cr@p, he is still unfit.

He has not shown anything for a couple of years.

cole definately isnt a player and like mh says just needs a run in the side.
steve clarke could be the key here as he knows cole well and should be able to get the best out of him.at 29 he's hardly over the hill and  he has at least 2-3 seasons left in him at this level.
it is sad though that a player with his ability cant even make the bench on a regular basis.

[Kash_Mountain]

What i'd like to see are some wingers that can dribble pass the opposition. Maybe someone in the mould of John Barnes or Steve McManaman et al.

[parchpea]

Think Kuyt needs a break but we dont have a big enough squad to leave him out. I dont deny hes not technically gifted but when in top shape can cover the ground of two players and will run through walls for the team. Its this kind of commitment thats left him shagged after the world cup. Width is important but overall we need players all over the pitch that can carry the ball and run at pace, keep moving the opponent about. Think we have been left behind completely in how we set up and whats effective in the modern game and thats a big part of our problem. We simply dont have the personnel or the strategy to compete and it will take a while to put that right.

[redhayesy]

We miss Yossi Benayoun in games like last night.

totally agree mate! we needed urgency & creativity on the wings last night-yossi was brilliant for us in those type of games.