Liverpool FC Forum

aspas did look good but it has to be said we werent exactly up against the brazillian 1970 world cup squad there today.
the teams we ultimately need to beat are the uniteds, chelsea`s, city`s, arsenals and tottenhams of this world, not the preston north end`s.
we will have to wait and see if he can help bridge the gap between us and the teams above us but even if he cant he looks an upgrade on borini anyway, so at the very least the squad has improved in terms of a back up striker.

We so completely outclassed Preston it is impossible to make a genuine judgement if we have made any
kind of progress.

If we are making life easy on ourselves the manner of victory was so comprehensive it must be encouraging
given Oldham Athletic bullied us into submission not that long back.

Winning is a good habit and a debut goal is always a great confidence booster.

Just as well they didn't field Kevin Davies who would have been guaranteed a goal today or at least barged
Mingolet into the net with the ball in his hands, but then again I could have played in goal for us today such
was our dominance.

Overall we looked stylish and the new lads fitted into the system really easy which is why Rodgers picked
them out to play here, but we still need 3 top class players this window to have a realistic chance of 4th
with Suarez, and at this point that seems like a lot of work and negotiation to do between now and mid to
late August.

Don't know if I posted this here (Due to illness) or mentioned to a mate. But I said Coutinho might outshine Suarez in different role. Look at the end of last season. And the last 10 games was 8 wins out of ten, or something like that,and they wern,t exactly the league's worse. In fact that was PREMIERSHIP FORM

And Moyes first game I charge ends in defeat.:)

Liverpool’s latest signing Iago Aspas marks debut with goal and assist in 4-0 victory over Preston North End

With Daniel Sturridge injured and Luis Suarez checking property prices in London and Madrid, Brendan Rodgers can be encouraged by the introduction to English football of one of the few strikers he can call upon at the start of this season.

By Chris Bascombe
5:13PM BST 13 Jul 2013

Liverpool’s latest La Liga import, Iago Aspas, marked his debut with a goal and and assist as Rodgers’ side began their pre-season with a 4-0 victory over Preston North End.

Aspas, who played the second half, curled Liverpool’s fourth from 20 yards, the highlight of an afternoon during which Simon Mignolet, Kolo Toure and Luis Alberto also made their first appearance for the club.

The 25 year-old striker may be burdened with more goalscoring responsibility than he imagined following his £7 million signing if Suarez leaves. Liverpool need him to be as instantly effective when the serious stuff gets underway.

As well as scoring on 75 minutes, he provided the pass for Raheem Sterling’s 64th minute goal.

Philippe Coutinho’s penalty and teenager Jordan Ibe’s first half drive had earlier provided the platform for a sedate introduction to English football for the new Spanish arrivals.

For Toure and Mignolet it was a meek opening examination. The Belgian goalkeeper, set to be confirmed as the first choice for the start of the season, was called into meaningful action just once, pushing aside a Scott Laird shot from distance on 35 minutes.

Liverpool, still without Steven Gerrard and Sturridge who’ve been recovering from injury, could stroll through proceedings at Deepdale in a fixture organised to commemorate what would have been the 100th Birthday of Bill Shankly – who served both clubs with such distinction as player and manager.

The other notable absentee, of course, was Suarez currently on extended leave following the Confederations Cup.

As the club desperately try to cling onto him, at least they can console themselves another South American is ready to fill any emotional void on The Kop.

Coutinho was a catalyst for an encouraging finale to last season and will also be the source of optimism heading into this campaign.

It was the Brazilian who earned and converted the 16th minute penalty to open the scoring after he was dragged to the turf by former Liverpool midfielder John Welsh.

If the 21-year-old’s presence sustains hope, pre-season also allows less distinguished others to imitate shop window mannequins. Rodgers doesn’t just want to add more recruits, he wants to shift plenty too.

Jay Spearing and Oussama Assaidi’s inclusion will have been for the benefit of watching scouts as much as their fitness.

Liverpool doubled their lead when 17-year-old Ibe drove past Declan Rudd from the edge of the penalty box before Sterling – one of ten half time Liverpool substitutes - was sent clear by Aspas on 64 minutes.

The Spanish striker took centre stage with an excellent goal of his own 15 minutes from time.   

highlights

http://vimeo.com/70254975

Good start but not much of a test. The signings looked interesting.