Liverpool FC Forum

by **chiggz_likes_owen** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 8:32 am

If i can remember correctly, we were slagging of Houlier's signings but it just figures he hasan't made any. From the top of my head, these were the signings he made.

Hyypia - we can't thank holluier more for him.

Henchoz - was quality, dunno if he still is as he hasen't got a fun of games recently.

Riise - Looking determined and working hard for us.

Hamann - Quality when it comes to cleaning up for us and can score the odd good goal

Kewell - We all know hes quality and im sure will get back to his best form

Cisse - We know he is a rare talent and will show us his talent when he comes back

Baros - No need to explain

Biscan - played in the wrong position last season, we can clearly see Biscan has attacking qualities and not f/ucking defensive qualities

Traore - was always good but Holluier was scared to put him on under his management cause he knew he wasan't good enough but against Depor atleast he showed us what hes capable of.

Kirkland/Dudek - No need to explain

Diouf - his natural position is striker and i bet if we put him there, he would score goals for us. hes already proving it by playing striker at Bolton and hes already scored a couple.

Its just like Biscan playing in his natural position and play very very well so it would be the same for Diouf.

The only signing im not convinced by is Salid Diao. The mans patethic and weak and does not derserve to wear a famous reds shirt.

So as far as i'm concerned, thats 1 bad signing and even the top managers in the world have made atleast 1 or more bad signings Like Wenger paid 10M for Jeffers and was a wastage in Wengers eyes. Im also pretty sure Sir Alex has made a some useless signings.

My point is Holluier never made any bad signings.

ByeBye and have a nice day.

by **DAV** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 8:45 am

thats your point, u must be having a laugh

Heskey
Diomede
diou

r the 3 that come straight to mind

Heskey-is possibley the worst signing and player i have ever had the misfortune to watch. Owen went to madrid 4 £8million
Heskey cost us more. whats that about

by **who the hell is diarra** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:02 am

DAV wrote:thats your point, u must be having a laugh

Heskey
Diomede
diou

r the 3 that come straight to mind

Heskey-is possibley the worst signing and player i have ever had the misfortune to watch. Owen went to madrid 4 £8million
Heskey cost us more. whats that about

Not havin a go dav but do you really think you can make an evaluation on a player based on his transfer value

If Heskey is the worst player you have seen u must live in a cave , ok Diomede i'll agree with you n Diao is awfull . Igor and Djimi have been revitalised as of late with igor finally lookin like a international Captain no a player in a pub side. GH made good signings but couldn't get the best out of them . Spot on post Chiggz to many ignorant people can't see what GH achieved

Signing players isn't an exact science Fergie has made some bad signings but no-one ever questions him do they .

by **laza** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:09 am

who the hell is diarra wrote:
DAV wrote:thats your point, u must be having a laugh

Heskey
Diomede
diou

r the 3 that come straight to mind

Heskey-is possibley the worst signing and player i have ever had the misfortune to watch. Owen went to madrid 4 £8million
Heskey cost us more. whats that about

Not havin a go dav but do you really think you can make an evaluation on a player based on his transfer value If Heskey is the worst player you have seen u must live in a cave , ok Diomede i'll agree with you n Diao is awfull . Igor and Djimi have been revitalised as of late with igor finally lookin like a international Captain no a player in a pub side. GH made good signings but couldn't get the best out of them . Spot on post Chiggz to many ignorant people can't see what GH achieved Signinfg players isn't an exact science Fergie has made some bad signings but no-one ever questions him do they .

Yeah Fergie has tossed aside more keepers then Rooney

by **who the hell is diarra** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:16 am

Kirkland is injury prone Westerveld was error prone Dudek too (less so though) but Massimo Taibi they ain't

If were talkin about cra* manc signings i got two words Remy Moses

by **azriahmad** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:44 am

Guys, the main thing with Houllier is that he has failed to get his signings to do the job for him. That sums it up because if you buy 5 or 6 players and 2 didn't work out but the rest did what they are expected to do, then taking things into perspective, you can say that those purchases are worthwhile and the transfers in have been successful.

Houllier, unlike Wenger or Fergie, did not have this success to failure ratio - in short most of his signings did not work out as compared to those who actually became a success.

For every Jeffers Wenger bought, he had the successes in Pires, Henry, Viera, Ljungberg etc. so he can still afford to blow 10 million because his other signings worked and Arsenal won honours. The same goes for Manure. It had not been the case for Houllier. Lately, Ferguson is having a bigger signing failure rate than before - Kleberson, Djemba Djemba etc. - perhaps due to inevitably him getting older and being under pressure to deliver the goods againsts Arsenal and Chelski.

Also, if it takes another manager to bring out the best in the players that one had bought, it shows that one has a serious flaws in assessing how potential transfers can fit into one's system and that one needs to improve his own ability to get the best out of players. Imagine that a different person in charge can get more out of the same player, this must really mean that the original manager is not up to the task.

by **Redrider** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:54 am

The problem with the Houllier signings is that too many of them were players with 'Potential' and they needed to be seeded with one or two proven stars.
Also the Houllier coaching squad seemed incapable of improving players with potential, indeed thay seemed to have the 'knack' of sending their development into reverse !! But having said that Diouf was an out and out bad buy, the lad was known to have a wayward reputation, why did they think they could change him ?

by **taff** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 12:04 pm

The other point about Houllier is

HE HAS LEFT

So if we win something this year is it Houlliers players

Same if we lose

Raf is now the gaffa :cool:

by **who the hell is diarra** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 12:35 pm

GH had a good eye for a player but his systems n tactics were spectacular in their inability to get the best out of them

by **who the hell is diarra** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 12:35 pm

GH had a good eye for a player but his systems n tactics were spectacular in their inability to get the best out of them

by **Big Niall** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 2:14 pm

don't see the argument here. some players good , soom bad overall the TEAM was poor and that's the bottom line.

by **bigmick** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 4:37 pm

His record in the transfer market was absolutely abysmal in my view. A disaster. A scattergun mishmash of misfits and naerdowells that never really looked like a football team. Anyone who comes on and says "five trophies etc etc" I'll say the same as I do to Man U fans when they talk about their CL success. Lucky. They got outplayed that night by Bayern and got lucky. Just like them in that period we got every bounce and ricochet going. We all loved the "success". Were we a good side? What honestly, really? Nope.

by **SouthernScouser** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 4:49 pm

Agreed
Everyone Bangs on about Chelski having the money
But didn't Houllier spend approx £120 mil - and where are we now - re-building again

Shame we can't give Rafa 120 mill

Mick - your right about that Cup winning era (if I'm honest with myself)
We weren't playing very good footy
In fact - we didn't beat Arsenal - Michael Owen did didn't he
(think I got that right - the 2-1 was part of those 5 trophies wasn't it)
point was - we were lucky not to be dead and buried at half time in that game

by **wiped** » Fri Nov 19, 2004 4:24 am

chiggz_likes_owen wrote:If i can remember correctly, we were slagging of Houlier's signings but it just figures he hasan't made any. From the top of my head, these were the signings he made.

Hyypia - we can't thank holluier more for him.

Henchoz - was quality, dunno if he still is as he hasen't got a fun of games recently.

Riise - Looking determined and working hard for us.

Hamann - Quality when it comes to cleaning up for us and can score the odd good goal

Kewell - We all know hes quality and im sure will get back to his best form

Cisse - We know he is a rare talent and will show us his talent when he comes back

Baros - No need to explain

Biscan - played in the wrong position last season, we can clearly see Biscan has attacking qualities and not f/ucking defensive qualities

Traore - was always good but Holluier was scared to put him on under his management cause he knew he wasan't good enough but against Depor atleast he showed us what hes capable of.

Kirkland/Dudek - No need to explain

Diouf - his natural position is striker and i bet if we put him there, he would score goals for us. hes already proving it by playing striker at Bolton and hes already scored a couple.

Its just like Biscan playing in his natural position and play very very well so it would be the same for Diouf.

The only signing im not convinced by is Salid Diao. The mans patethic and weak and does not derserve to wear a famous reds shirt.

So as far as i'm concerned, thats 1 bad signing and even the top managers in the world have made atleast 1 or more bad signings Like Wenger paid 10M for Jeffers and was a wastage in Wengers eyes. Im also pretty sure Sir Alex has made a some useless signings.

My point is Holluier never made any bad signings.

ByeBye and have a nice day.

eh ..... wrong ....

Jean-Michel Ferri: £1.7million from Istanbulspor - December 1998
Who? Exactly. Houllier brought this defensive midfielder to Anfield as his first signing. He picked up an injury shortly after his arrival from Turkey, but even when fit he looked well short of the required quality. The French international made only two substitute appearances, in defeats at Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday, before being shipped to French side Sochaux in the summer.

Rigobert Song: £2.6million from Salernitana - January 1999
Song came to Anfield from Italy with a good reputation as a solid defender and was a fixture in the Cameroon side. He began well and became something of a cult hero on the Kop. But Houllier insisted in playing Song at right-back rather than in his favoured position in the centre of defence. Song played just 38 games for Liverpool before they almost recouped the transfer fee when he was sold to West Ham in November 2000. He was shocking for West Ham and is now in Ligue 1 with RC Lens.

Frodde Kippe: £700,000 from Lillestrom - January 1999
This Norwegian defender was heralded as a real star of the future when he moved to Liverpool - the Reds had pulled off a real coup in securing his services. Rather than being a Kippe, he was more of a red herring. He made just two substitute appearances for Liverpool in the League Cup before twice being loaned out to Stoke City. He left the club a year ago to return to Lillestrom for a nominal fee.

Djimi Traore: £550,000 from Laval - February 1999
This is an interesting one. Signed ahead of interest from AC Milan, Paris St Germain and Lazio, Liverpool can consider themselves to have got value for money on the transfer fee. Traore has been a fixture in the starting eleven this term after spending most of the 2001/02 campaign on loan at RC Lens. However, Traore looks anything but the real deal and Liverpool would be unlikely to win the championship with him in their defence. The French player has now made 59 appearances for the Reds.

Sami Hyypia: £2.6million from Willem II - May 1999
Hyypia will almost certainly go down as Houllier's best signing, a snip at £2.6m from Dutch side Willem II. A superb, assured defender and a commanding presence, the Finnish international would slot into probably any defence in the Premiership. Houllier handed him the club captaincy a year ago, and he has now played over 200 games for the Reds.

Stephane Henchoz: £3.5million from Blackburn - June 1999
Henchoz was rescued from life in the Football League by Houllier after Blackburn dropped out of the Premiership, and he soon forged a superb partnership at the heart of the defence with Hyypia. Henchoz has been worth every penny in his 174 games for the club - with the added extra of a few cheeky handballs when the officials aren't looking!

Sander Westerveld: £4million from Vitesse Arnhem - June 1999
Westerveld may have been Houllier's number one at Anfield for two seasons, but he was prone to errors - in keeping with the great tradition of Liverpool goalkeepers! Houllier made him the most expensive goalkeeper in British football when signing him from Holland, a tag he certainly failed to live up to. Although he certainly had ability, he came over-priced after the gaffe which led to defeat at Bolton in August 2001 was the final straw and he was sold to Real Soceidad.

Titi Camara: £2.6million from Marseille - June 1999
After a half decent first season at Anfield, in which he scored ten goals and only trailed Michael Owen in the club's scoring charts, Camara was discarded by Houllier after 18 months. West Ham again came to the rescue by giving Liverpool most of their money back, playing only 11 Premiership games for the Hammers before being loaned out to Al-Ittihad in January.

Vladimir Smicer: £4.2million from RC Lens - July 1999
An incredible fee for a player of such limited ability, Houllier had hardly found the replacement for Steve McManaman. But Smicer remains a manager's favourite and is invariably in the 16 on a matchday. Smicer has many critics on the terraces, but he still earned a new three-year contract last summer and now, remarkably, has played 142 games for the club.

Erik Meijer: Free from Bayer Leverkusen - July 1999
Liverpool fans can only be pleased this misfit striker didn't cost any money, because he was a complete failure in his 17-month spell at Anfield. The Dutch player scored just two League Cup goals in a total of 26 appearances before being loaned out to Preston North End, where he scored no goals in nine games, and then released to join German side SV Hamburg.

Dietmar Hamann: £8million from Newcastle - July 1999
The final signing of a £25million summer transfer frenzy for Houllier, Hamann has been a valuable player since making the move from Tyneside. But at £8million, then a club record, the German international was probably over-priced for a defensive midfielder.

Emile Heskey: £11million from Leicester - March 2000
At the time this transfer was the worst kept secret in English football. After netting 22 goal in his first full season at the club, Heskey has struggled. A fee of £11m for a striker who doesn't score goals is excessive to say the least, although the player has suffered from being played out wide at times. The England international has scored just six Premiership goals this season.

Bernard Diomede: £3million from Auxerre - July 2000
Another mystery name with a big price tag, Diomede has a World Cup winners' medal from France '98, you know. But he is now back home with relegation candidates AC Ajaccio after being loaned out in January. The French winger has played just five games for Liverpool, only two of those in the Premiership.

Markus Babbel: Free from Bayern Munich - July 2000
Houllier was very unlucky with Babbel. The German veteran had a fine first season at Anfield, but was then sidelined after developing Guillan-Barre Syndrome. This affects the central nervous system and means you are unable to use your limbs properly. He did make an emotional return in the Community Shield in August but is yet to play this year.

Gary McAllister: Free from Coventry City - July 2000
McAllister was a superb Bosman capture by Houllier. Although used as a substitute for much of the time, his goals were priceless as Reds picked up five trophies in 2001. The lure of the manager's job at Coventry proved too strong last year, and Liverpool have failed to replace his experience and guile in the centre of the park.

Pegguy Arphexad: Free from Leicester City - July 2000
Signed as a back-up keeper and, despite a brief loan spell with Stockport County, first team football continues to elude him.

Nick Barmby: £6million from Everton - July 2000
Barmby's move across Stanley Park caused a storm at the time, but his two years at Anfield were barely worth the bother. After a useful first season a combination of injuries and Houllier's selection policy limited his involvement and last summer he joined Leeds United, at almost a third of the cost.

Gregory Vignal: £500,000 from Montpellier - September 2000
Despite getting a few first team games under his belt over the course of the last two years and looking a useful player, Houllier cast him aside at the beginning of the season. Vignal is now out on loan in France with Bastia.

Christian Ziege: £5.5million from Middlesbrough - September 2000
For all the trouble this caused, Ziege was effectively a waste money. The two clubs are still arguing about the way in which Liverpool went about luring the player to Anfield. Ziege started just 11 Premiership games before being sold to Spurs after just one season.

Daniel Sjolund: £1million from West Ham - November 2000
The Finland Under-21 international was signed as a player for the future but has failed to make the grade, and is now on loan at Djurgarden until the end of the season.

Igor Biscan: £5.5million from Dinamo Zagreb - December 2000
How much! Biscan must be one of the worst players ever to turn out for a club of Liverpool's stature; in fact he would struggle to make a impression in the First Division. Houllier paid a ludicrous amount of money for the Croatian defender/midfielder. Biscan has made 23 Premiership appearances in almost two-and-a-half years.

Jari Litmanen: Free from Barcelona - January 2001
Criminally underused by Houllier, Litmanen could have contributed so much more to a Liverpool side that has often looked short of a creative influence. The Finnish striker returned to former club Ajax after making only 12 Premiership starts.

John Arne Riise: £4.6million from Monaco - June 2001
Leeds United must wish they had stumped up the cash for the player when they had the chance a year earlier, as Riise has taken to the Premiership with great aplomb. A pacy, skilful wing-back or midfielder, Riise has lived up to his price tag in a big way. He was strangely underused at the start of the season but is now a firm fixture in the side.

Milan Baros: £3million from Banik Ostrava - August 2001
It could prove to be an astute piece of business by Houllier, although he lost a whole year as the old rules on non-EU players meant he couldn't get into the first team squad. Looks a lively player and should develop into a top striker, given time.

Jerzy Dudek: £4.85million from Feyenoord - August 2001
Signed to replace Sander Westerveld, Dudek had a brilliant first season, but started this term badly and was to blame for a number of goals - most notably the opener in a 2-1 defeat to arch rivals Manchester United. He is only back in the side due to Chris Kirkland's injury but looks to be getting back to his best.

Chris Kirkland: £6million from Coventry - August 2001
After paying such a lot of money for a back-up goalkeeper, Kirkland was handed his chance due to Dudek's inept performances. However, a cruciate ligament injury sustained at the start of the year put him out of action. Houllier spent nearly £11million on two goalkeepers on the same day - completely unnecessary and it was almost as if he was trying to stop any of his rivals signing Kirkland.

Nicolas Anelka: On loan from Paris Saint Germain - December 2001
Eyebrows were raised when Houllier opted to against making his loan move permanent, and Anelka himself was far from happy. The French striker was never prolific during his six-month stay, but it was thought he'd done enough after netting five goals. Instead, Houllier turn to El Hadji Diouf.

Abel Xavier: £800,000 from Everton - February 2002
Again a transfer that surprised many, but a good start was the limit of his contribution to the side. Xavier played just 21 games for Liverpool before being loaned to Galatasaray in January. It's hard to see him returning to Liverpool to battle for a place in the team - more money wasted.

El Hadji Diouf: £10million from RC Lens - June 2002
Houllier signed the Senegal striker at the start of the World Cup, and although he would go on to be named in FIFA's team of the tournament he has looked a poor acquisition. The striker has scored only three Premiership goals in 24 appearances for the club, although he has been played out wide at times. He has a lot to do to justify the fee.

Bruno Cheyrou: £3.7million from Lille - July 2002
Cheyrou has been very inconspicuous since his summer move, featuring in 25 games this term. He looks as though he may benefit from a year in the Premiership and come back stronger in the new campaign. The jury is very much still out and the price tag looks a little large right now.

Alou Diarra: Free from Bayern Munich - July 2002
Diarra was loaned out to Le Havre almost as soon he'd joined Liverpool, and as such remains an unknown quantity in the English game.

Patrice Luzi: Free from Monaco - August 2002
A young goalkeeper signed for the future who has yet to feature - currently fourth in the pecking order at the club.

Salif Diao: £5million from Sedan - August 2002
Again, Houllier has broken the bank for a player of limited ability. Although he did start his Anfield career promisingly, he has tailed off in the latter part of the season and looks to be out of his depth at this level.

by **polygemus** » Fri Nov 19, 2004 8:02 am

The quality of the signings average out ok. But I believe aside from Milan Baros, we haven't made a "star signing", have we?

So what is a "star signing"?

1. Alessandro Nesta (Lazio to AC Milan in 2002)
2. Andriy Shevchenko (Dinamo Kiev to AC Milan in 1999)
3. Lilian Thuram (Fr Monaco to Parma in 1996, then Parma to Juve in 2001)
4. Pavel Nedved (Sparta Prague to Lazio in 1996, then Lazio to Juve in 2001)
5. Roberto Carlos (Fr Inter Milan to Real in 1996)
6. Ruud van Nisterooy (Fr SC Heerenveen to PSV in 1998, then PSV to Man U in 2001)
7. Theirry Henry (Fr Monaco to Juve, Juve to Arsenal, all in 1999)
8. Luis Figo (Sporting Lisbon to Barca in 1995, Barca to Real in 2001)
9. Michael Owen (Liverpool to Real in 2004. Ouch)

I left out Zidane. Aside from a few spectacular matches he has been woefully inconsistent since his transfer from Juve to Real. And France's obession with passing the ball to Zidane rather than utlizing the electric pace of Henry turned them into a snail (and subequent humiliation in World Cup 2002 and Euro 94)

My opinion only

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