Liverpool FC Forum

After yesterdays performance and the farce that was Galatasary I am dismayed that anyone can possibly think that we can win the Premiership. I am not a traitor but a realist and will follow Liverpool to the grave but you have to be honest with yourself. You have to look at our performances over the past two seasons and ask what is going wrong. With the squad of players we have and the 100 million that has been spent over the past five years we have made very little progress and to be honest we took three steps back last season. Unless something radical happens with our tactics and we manage to fill that void between midfield and attack we are going to be debating the same topics at the end of this season, as we are doing now.

I have been asking myself the following question recently and thought I would throw it out to a wider audience. Is Gerard Houllier still the right man for the job or is it time for a change? He said in the beginning that he had a five year plan, that time has come and gone without a title. We need to fix this right now and put Liverpool FC back on top were they rightfully belong.

Sickboy

I believe, and I hope I'm proved wrong, that we will be lucky to make it to the Champions League next season judging on what I've seen in pre-season. True pre-season isn't the best indication of how a team will be during the season but if you look at the teams we've played the only ones we've been impressive gainst are the no hopers, Everyone else technically outclassed us, with no sign that Liverpool have improved. This I believe is not down to the players but to the philosophy of the manager who won't let the players paly. We have one of the best squads if not the best squad in the Premiership and with a proper manager Liverpool would be back on top in English football.

What has Houllier done?

His only real success came as director of French football in 1998 and I'm sorry but anyone including me and you (whoever's reading) would have had success with the likes of Henry, Anelka, Trezeguet etc etc.  Can Houllier really cliam success for these superstars? He failed to get France through a mediocre group for USA 1994 even drawing with Egypt! With Roy Evans lfc would have finished in champions league spots every season (had fourth place been able to get in to that competition then) Houllier has got us in twice in five years. As for the trophies, the success of 2001 proves that Houllier is a good manager but good is not good enough for Liverpool FC - We've won 18 top flight titlesand four European cups for goodness sake.  Alaves and Birmingham were always going to be beatable (and didn't we make a meal of beating both?) and as four the FA cup Owen won us that not Houllier's tactics. The only real success LFC have had under Houllier is 2002 season where we finished second. We had a super defence and some have said it was the best in Europe (I'm sure a few of the Italian teams would have something to say about that) and our performances were  generally very good; getting tothe quarters of the CL wasn't bad either. But you must remeber 1/3 of the season Houllier was not there and with the quality in Liverpool we should have won at least the league that year. I really believe that Sami, Stevie, Michael and our Goalies are world class. We may even have a better squad in terms of cover for first team quality than Man U and certainly Arsenal.  My point is this I don't know whether Houllier is good or bad, i just feel that any success he has had is to do with the individuals he's working with rather than his brilliance.  Also if he's so respected in France why does Wenger manage to get Henry. Pires and Vieira and Houllier gets Diomede, Micheal-Ferri and Cheyrou.  I also believe he's tha godfather to Zidane's Son. To close, being a season ticket holder at LFC nobody more than me would like my assessment of Houllier to be wrong and LFC to win the premiership this season, but I just don't think it will happen (I bet we don't even get close, can you say fifth place again?).  I feel that Houllier has taken us further than even he is able and it's now time to say goodbye and embark on a new era which I believe with the right man at the helm coupled with the squad we have i.e Sami, Stevie, Michael, our goalies, LFC will see glory again.

If you disagree, please respond politely and we will discuss this topic

I agree with your comments,akeem.I wrote a similar piece back in april.I feel Houllier has taken his style of play to the limit.Granted he has given us success,which we craved,but we are no nearer a champion side than we were 2 years ago.I believe we are beginning to roll backwards unless Houllier decides on a complete change of game-plan.I think,with the players we have,we should take on a more attack-minded assault on the premiership rather than a cautious defensive approach.I am sick of being bored to death,watching the same predictable style thats well sussed by the opposition.I do hope Gerrard Houllier removes the shackles,that are stifling our players,and declares an exciting,entertaining and all out assault on the title....please!

Bob Hope wrote:The Newkit Mods Suck Cock

oh dear........have you nothing better to do??