Liverpool FC Forum

by **ivor_the_injun** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 10:51 pm

Terrible night for us in the Champions League. We're out, it's over for another year. To be honest I'd resigned myself to it when Cisse came on for Kewell, but there you go.

It's hard to find plusses, but they are there.

Our fixture list is now a lot less strenuous. We've got 10 games left in the Prem, and up to 3 more in the FA Cup (unless there are replays). Straightaway we have 5 less midweek fixtures to play. Sven will probably be delighted from a World Cup point of view, as this'll mean that Gerrard, Crouch and Carra will be a little fresher for him in the summer.

There's still a very good chance of us getting 2nd. Man U were very fortunate to get their win at the weekend, and their fixture list looks on paper to be a lot more difficult than ours.

In the remaining games, hopefully we'll see more of Agger and Kromkamp, who have both impressed in the few games they've played. I also hope we see players like Anderson and Barragan getting time on the pitch. If we can start putting games to bed, we can use the remainder of the season to bring players through and get them involved. This'll set them up nicely for a first team push next season.

Our strikers now all have a point to prove as well. Morientes, Cisse and Fowler are playing for their Liverpool, and it wouldn't hurt for Crouch to start asserting himself more as an attacking force.

It's not much, I admit, but our season is far from over. We're gutted to be out of the competition, but lets get behind the team and ensure that they get 2nd in the Prem and qualify for the main draw without having to travel to the middle of nowhere in early season.

Walk on, lads and lasses. These nights will happen, but there's a hell of a lot more to come from us. :buttrock

by **Redman in wales** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:11 pm

i like the optimism... but in order to have any optimism our stikers need to score.. we rely on midfield to score and we're 3rd in league and out the cups... strikers need too start scoring... then the optimism starts to rise....

by **Alonso_Rulz** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:13 pm

we can forget about the 2nd spot. man utd is going to be 5 points ahead with 7 of the last 11 at home. we have little chance to get 2nd. the players will prefer to have more games then less... i have to say, the amount of games we have played is hurting us now. alonso and gerrard are just not at the best. and of cause our stinkers.. there is no positives i can find after losing just now.

by **Paul C** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:25 pm

Plenty to play for but without goals we can't win games, simple as, this isn't a knock on effect from tonight but we have to face facts!!!

by **ivor_the_injun** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:30 pm

That's why Crouch and Fowler should see out the rest of the campaign up front together. It's also why Anderson should probably get a game or two on the right.

We're still very good going forward at times, but in Morientes we've got a striker that looks like he's never scored a goal in his life.

I just hope tonight's result doesn't undermine a positive season and drag us down. I'd like to think our strikers will respond in the right way as opposed to letting their heads hang a bit.

by **neilE** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:39 pm

I see no reason to be pessimistic. We got knocked out of the toughest cup competition in the world today. True we were beaten by a team we were expected to beat, but that happens - as fans of Juventus, Chelsea and Milan know very well! It's also true that we have obvious problems scoring goals, although tonight I think losing the left side of the defence made it much harder for us. No team with Traore in it can expect a clean sheet. The lack of goals is temporary though - no-one was talking about it 3 months ago when we were unbeatable. We will have to buy a quality striker in the summer, but the squad we've got is good enough to easily finish in the Champions League positions, and have an excellent chance of winning the cup. I would much rather be in our position than say Man U or Arsenal, because they both need total overhauls before they'll win the league again. Our shortcomings are obvious, and therefore easier to rectify. We will win the league again soon, and there's no reason to think we'll never win 6 European cups either. Let's just hope Stevie G is as fired up on Sunday as he was tonight, and it won't matter who our strikers are (as long as it's not Morientes that is, who has surely had his last chance now)

by **ivor_the_injun** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:50 pm

We've already got Pongolle on the books to come back to the squad, and surely selling Morientes and Cisse will give us at least £12m to put towards a striker. Our problems aren't enormous, and they are nothing that a bit of prudent business can't solve. Even our well-documented problem right wing position - bunging Anderson or Finnan out there would be no bad thing.

If our keeper was w*nk, defence was sh*t and midfield were f*cking atrocious I'd be very worried about where our club's going, but that's obviously not the case. We've been doing everything right other than score recently, and every team in the league bar Chelsea would kill to have a list of problems that short.

by **Woollyback** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:23 am

dunno about £12m for cisse & moro but they defo need to go the pair of them

even if we get £10m we could surely add £6/7m to that and get a world class striker (crespo anyone?) + another, bring pngolle back and we'd certainly have a lot more goals in us than now

it does my head in, 10 yerars ago we could score for fun but leaked like a sieve at the back, then under houllier we tightened up at the back for a year or two but stopped scoring, now it has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous, WE NEED TO CHANGE THINGS UP FRONT!! Assuming we buy at least one top striker in the summer and we stay the same in all other areas then surely we could be pushing for honours left right & centre? we are potentially one or 2 players away from being at the pinnacle of english footy so we should no doubt be disappointed but cartainly not distruaght?

by **azriahmad** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:33 am

We did notplay at all badly, in fact overall play is good, just the strikers especially failing to score. That's Liverpool's story of the season.

Morroientes must surely go, and Traore too.

by **greenred** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:37 am

We got beaten by the better team over the two legs.No point in crying over it.Though my two kids were tonight.

by **En1gma_LFC** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:18 am

Just dont get at all excited when we have a chance anymore, half expect that we just wont finish it. Changes have to be made and im sure they will. Depression will end by tomorrow i hope. YNWA

by **65-1140560321** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:22 am

Its a disgrace.

Rafa seems to be gettig Gerard Houllier syndrome.

playing cisse on the wing, when he;s a striker.

playing moro who cant score in 14 games

Crouch..... no class.

traore centre back!

i mean come on ....0-3 on aggregate and no goals in two games by us

not rocket scince.

by **greenred** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:26 am

Chill out mate,remember Istanbul.Rafa will get us there...ok not tonight,but he will get us there.

by **AussieKopite** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:31 am

ivor_the_injun wrote:We've already got Pongolle on the books to come back to the squad, and surely selling Morientes and Cisse will give us at least £12m to put towards a striker. Our problems aren't enormous, and they are nothing that a bit of prudent business can't solve. Even our well-documented problem right wing position - bunging Anderson or Finnan out there would be no bad thing.

If our keeper was w*nk, defence was sh*t and midfield were f*cking atrocious I'd be very worried about where our club's going, but that's obviously not the case. We've been doing everything right other than score recently, and every team in the league bar Chelsea would kill to have a list of problems that short.

Does anyone know what kind of transfer fee Dirk Kuyt would attract?

by **The Manhattan Project** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:51 am

Rafa is an intelligent man. He knows where we are lacking. Almost every interview he gives now he refers to the lack of goals, so he's clearly aware that the striker situation is a pressing concern. I have full confidence that he'll address the problem in summer after the World Cup. For now, I hope Arsenal win the Champions League (I have no problem with them, it's Everscum, Chelski and Manure I dislike), and we still have the second place spot in the Prem and the FA Cup to deal with. We'll be back in the CL next season, and we'll be stronger than ever.

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