Liverpool FC Forum

by **stmichael** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:52 am

as previously stated, the main stumbling block with kewell (as it was with diao) is the wages he is on. nobody in this country outside the top four is going to realistically pay £60,000 a week for a guy who's injury prone.

as far as i'm concerned, if he's fit, he's our best left sided player after a hugely improved season last year, but that doesn't mean that i wouldn't get rid of him if a decent offer came in in the summer.

personally, i'd love to see morten gamst pedersen at liverpool (anyone see his goal for norway last night?). don't tell blackburn we're after another one of their players though.

by **BOODIDDY** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 12:11 pm

why do we want to get rid of harry? Lets not forget it wasn't just half a good season from him. He was one of the best players for liverpool last season. The lad is class and still the best left sided player in prem whn fit. Ask Chelsea, last season he was unplayable.

As for his wages, so what? We got him for 5m. 60k a week isn't that much for a class player. When you think that we tried to get duff for 12m. I'd rather take kewell any day.

He's injured at the moment but when fit i believe he should be in the team before the not so speedy gonzalez.

by **kazza** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 12:58 pm

I have said this many times and I will say it again. Kewell only started playing well after Australia qualified for the World Cup, as if he was using us to get fit to play for his country. I said then, that when the WC is over the old Kewell will return (not the one that played for Leeds but the one that seemed to always be injured for us and when he was not injured he played at 60% so as not to get injured which clearly did not work). If we do not sell him he is gone for free so in that case I will take one million for him, hell for five million I will throw in my sister as well.

Kewell is a talented player with no heart to play football. When he leaves and I look back at his career at Liverpool, it will not be game winning performances or even great goals but rather tackles he pulled out of, headers he could have reached but pulled out of, substituting himself out of the game in Istanbul when he thought it was going to be a long night and his beautiful hair

I think he will think more fondly about the club than the club will think of him.

It is a shame really because I was really excited about him playing for us and I feel let down. I would rather Gonzalez as he seems at least up for it.

As it stands Kewell never really played for the Reds, he played for himself.

by **tubby** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 1:00 pm

I dont think Rafa will sell him in January (maybe next season depending on how well Gonzales and Aurelio fit in). But if Spurs wanted him id say........swap for Aaron Lennon.

by **Bad Bob** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 1:17 pm

Personally, I don't question Harry's commitment nor blame him for the injuries he's had over the years with us. I think that the two are part and parcel, in that he's rarely 100% fit and when he's troubled by a niggle he may give the appearance that he can't be a.rsed.

I think a 100% fit Harry Kewell is a player with a lot of heart and a tremendous asset to the club. We saw that after December last season and, if we're honest, he played a very important role in our success down the stretch (Tottenham at home, Everton at home, Chelsea in the FA semis all spring to mind).

As such, I think it's a tad bit harsh to claim that Kewell is a cynical little bugger who only plays when a World Cup is looming etc. I just don't see that.

But, the reality is that Kewell spends far too much time on the treatment table to be a reliable option for Liverpool. This arthritic condition is the latest in a long list of niggles that are enough to keep him out of the time for indefinite stretches. It's not as though the lad is breaking metatarsils, which can be rehabilitated on a time frame. This is what frustrates--you never know how long he'll be out, when he'll be ready to play again and at what fitness level (because if he comes back before he's 100%, as we've seen, he can be rubbish on the pitch).

Thus, were any club to offer us a reasonable fee--and I do believe 5 mill for a perpetually-crocked player is a reasonable fee--I do think we should take it. That's just good business in my books.

by **66-1112520797** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 2:03 pm

[quote]We saw that after December last season and, if we're honest, he played a very important role in our success down the stretch (Tottenham at home, Everton at home, Chelsea in the FA semis all spring to mind).

As such, I think it's a tad bit harsh to claim that Kewell is a cynical little bugger who only plays when a World Cup is looming etc. I just don't see that. [quote]

On your first point Bob I'd expect a player of Harrys calibre to play an important role over more than three games or so. Also around that time when he burst into life, even the least sceptical fans would find it hard not to question the ' why now is he showing us glimpses of class , funny the WC is around the corner'. Do not forget he's had the opportunity to prove that before.

Also I reckon it could be come quite easy to be accustomed to the treatment table or even not get a game and just take the wages (see McManaman for that or SWP ). Even you had a dig at Diao for that, so why cannot Kewell be a cynical little bugger, and suddenly play his heart out for Liverpool to get a chance to play at the WC. I remember his performance against Uruguay, apparently he wasnt fit, but NEVER put a performance like that in for Liverpool.

Anyway all in all he aint worth the weight in gold, and call me fickle or whatever but he's NEVER " turned " it on for Liverpool and I doubt he will start now.

by **Bad Bob** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:05 pm

Bamaga man wrote:
We saw that after December last season and, if we're honest, he played a very important role in our success down the stretch (Tottenham at home, Everton at home, Chelsea in the FA semis all spring to mind).

As such, I think it's a tad bit harsh to claim that Kewell is a cynical little bugger who only plays when a World Cup is looming etc. I just don't see that.

On your first point Bob I'd expect a player of Harrys calibre to play an important role over more than three games or so. Also around that time when he burst into life, even the least sceptical fans would find it hard not to question the ' why now is he showing us glimpses of class , funny the WC is around the corner'. Do not forget he's had the opportunity to prove that before.

Also I reckon it could be come quite easy to be accustomed to the treatment table or even not get a game and just take the wages (see McManaman for that or SWP ). Even you had a dig at Diao for that, so why cannot Kewell be a cynical little bugger, and suddenly play his heart out for Liverpool to get a chance to play at the WC. I remember his performance against Uruguay, apparently he wasnt fit, but NEVER put a performance like that in for Liverpool.

Anyway all in all he aint worth the weight in gold, and call me fickle or whatever but he's NEVER " turned " it on for Liverpool and I doubt he will start now.

Bamaga Man...

I reckon Harry had quite a few quality performances for us on the backside of last season. I just named those three because they really stood out. There was certainly a lot less complaining about him the last few months of the season so he was clearly doing something right.

As for the injuries and World Cup stuff, I guess it's a matter of interpretation. I certainly can understand people's cynicism given the timing of his good performances. For me, though, I would chalk it up to finally being fit from the persistent groin troubles he has had over the past few seasons. That injury seriously hampered his football--especially since he kept delaying surgery and coming back before he was fit. I had hoped that, with the groin problem sorted, we would see an extended run in the team for Harry and that he would carry the added lift from the World Cup forward into this season. Alas, he's picked up another mystery illness of indefinite length. Now, feel free to be as cynical as you like about his true commitment and about whether he's grown accustomed to the treatment table. I'll still give him some benefit of the doubt and think that he's gutted to be sidelined rather than playing for us.

The bottom line, however, is the same for both of us: whether Harry is desperate to play for us or can't be a.rsed, the fact is he's injured far too much to be of significant use and I think (as do you) that the time has come to cash in on him. Hopefully, he'll get himself fit, put in some good performances and give us the opportunity to sell him for a decent amount in January.

by **account deleted by request** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:59 pm

We are "stuck" with Kewell till Christmas anyway so give the lad ANOTHER chance. If he plays well and helps in our push for the EPL title keep him, if he is injured or shows no real intent to play well we can always try to sell him at Christmas. The wages he is on will make for a difficult sale anyway, so we may end up with him walking away for nothing. We may as well get a few games out of him,you never know he may surprise a few of you and earn a new contract yet!

by **The_Rock** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 5:50 pm

stmichael wrote:as previously stated, the main stumbling block with kewell (as it was with diao) is the wages he is on. nobody in this country outside the top four is going to realistically pay £60,000 a week for a guy who's injury prone.

as far as i'm concerned, if he's fit, he's our best left sided player after a hugely improved season last year, but that doesn't mean that i wouldn't get rid of him if a decent offer came in in the summer.

personally, i'd love to see morten gamst pedersen at liverpool (anyone see his goal for norway last night?). don't tell blackburn we're after another one of their players though.

Yes, Pedersen is one player i would love to have at our club.... He has a pretty decent goal scoring record for a left winger..... Guess his transfer value went up a few million quid after his goal against Hungary.

Blackburn seems to be lucky with their left wingers don't they (ie.....duff, pedersen).

Hopefully blackburn gets relegated so that we can get pedersen on the cheap (and also for the fact that i hate Mark Hughes)

http://soccervoice.com/n060901.htm

Man Utd and Liverpool target with a fantastic finish in Euro qualifier

Morten Gamst Pedersen, previously linked with Manchester United and Liverpool, scored one of four goals in Norway's 4-1 away win against Hungary.

Pedersen scored the 3-0 goal on a volley from close range. A fantastic finsih for the Blackburn player. This was Gamst Pedersen's 2nd goal in a row. He was also the goalscorer when Norway drew against Brazil in a friendly in August.

by **GunGod** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 8:43 pm

I really don't wish to open up a whole new can of worms but if the logic over Fowler (I love the guy btw) is that he puts a lot of heart into playing for us that's why he should be on the pitch, then why not resign John Barnes.

That's stretching it but if we based our assessment purely on performance and not sentimental reasons then last season's performances from both Fowler and Kewell would certainly give us the conclusion that if we can keep Fowler and not sign another striker nor let SFP take his slot, why can't we keep Kewell?

Yes I understand the reasoning about the wage bill and value about them both. But as I mentioned earlier, we've been spending loads this summer and for the sake of 5m should we even risk having an outright inadequacy in the left which could undermine our whole campaign. Selling Kewell for 5m is not as straightforward as it seems too. We need to bring in a replacement. Please then, name someone whom we could get who can be as good as Kewell for 5m?

Kewell played quite a bit last season so the constant reminder of him wasting our money w/o playing is pretty invalid unless his current injury drags on again.

Anyway that's hardly worse than what I'm going to mention next and its likely to beget some negative reactions from people in here.

If, as BigMick mentioned, Kewell can only justify his wage bill by scoring 10 goals and be top 3 in the assist chart, then where does Alonso fit into this equation? He's had a below par season last time round and also this season so far (subject to individual interpretations of course) and that certainly means that he is not living up to his wage bill and 10M transfer fee if we go according to Mick's equation? He's had a couple of good games last season e.g. scoring 50 yarders etc but he absolutely goes missing in most of the matches. An occasional good 40-50 yards pass keeps reminding us of what he can do but the consistency is just not there. TBH if not for Alonso's higher defensive capabilities, perhaps even a certain 30 years old David Beckham could have contributed more to our attack from the middle. For me, he seems to be a player living on the credit of a great start to his Liverpool career which he had failed to improve on.

I like Alonso too (in fact the only guy I don't really fancy in the team is Gonzo) but from the start I've said he's been a good player but not a truly great player.

In retrospect last season perhaps only SG, JC and Finnan could compete for the best performing and most consistent player award with Kewell. We simply did not wait a couple of seasons for Kewell to get fit so that we could farm him for 5M just as he's beginning to produce the goods.

In essence, given our overt spending in the market this season, 5m is hardly a sum that we should be tempted with particularly since it could undermine our season. We can bring in 14 Zendens on free transfers after Kewell leaves but that will still not improve our performances with 1 Kewell on the pitch.

by **Bad Bob** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:48 pm

GunGod wrote:He's had a couple of good games last season e.g. scoring 50 yarders etc but he absolutely goes missing in most of the matches. An occasional good 40-50 yards pass keeps reminding us of what he can do but the consistency is just not there. TBH if not for Alonso's higher defensive capabilities, perhaps even a certain 30 years old David Beckham could have contributed more to our attack from the middle. For me, he seems to be a player living on the credit of a great start to his Liverpool career which he had failed to improve on.

I like Alonso too (in fact the only guy I don't really fancy in the team is Gonzo) but from the start I've said he's been a good player but not a truly great player.

Complete and utter bollox. If you can't see the quality that Alonso brings to the side then there's really no pointing debating with you over the finer points of Kewell's value. :no

by **stmichael** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 10:23 pm

GunGod wrote:I like Alonso too (in fact the only guy I don't really fancy in the team is Gonzo) but from the start I've said he's been a good player but not a truly great player.

wtf?

did you not watch his display away at juventus? it was one of the best defensive midfield displays i've seen given that he'd only just come back from injury. his performance that night elevated him from a very good player to a great player in my book. not to mention completely running the show against the bluesh#te at anfield last season after gerrard got sent off, the two magnificent goals against luton etc etc.

in the words of stu the red, get a clue lad.

by **66-1112520797** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:29 pm

s@int wrote:We are "stuck" with Kewell till Christmas anyway so give the lad ANOTHER chance. If he plays well and helps in our push for the EPL title keep him, if he is injured or shows no real intent to play well we can always try to sell him at Christmas. The wages he is on will make for a difficult sale anyway, so we may end up with him walking away for nothing. We may as well get a few games out of him,you never know he may surprise a few of you and earn a new contract yet!

You know what S@int, after I got off the computer last night I thought bascilly that to myself aswell. Either Kewell will let his contract run down and look elsewhere for a club. Or Rafa might talk him into an extra years extension, like Robbie. I have the incline that Rafa likes Kewell the player and he may well offer him up that kind of deal, but obviously reduced wages would have to be offered

by **El Nino_#9** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 12:32 am

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHEN KEWELL IS DUE BACK?

by **account deleted by request** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 12:46 am

September 9th was last date I heard, but whether that was date he would be able to play or start full training, I am not sure.

Liverpool FC Forum

Spurs in for kewell

Who is online