Liverpool FC Forum

Effes wrote:

Rafa-Dodd wrote:The whole of the right side needs to be strengthened in my view. Cover for Finnan, and a new winger, a first teamer. And a "big" goalscorer is needed, if we are to compete with the Mancs and Chelsea next year.

HEAR HEAR

" Big goalscorers ?"

They unfortunately seem to be as rair as rocking horse s.hit these days. 

Ace Ventura wrote:

aCe' wrote:

Ace Ventura wrote:

aCe' wrote:if u dont change... you lag behind

we did a bit of changing... credit to rafa...
quality of players we brought in (bellamy, Pennant, Gonzales...etc) .. not good enough... id be willing to give all the signing enough time to gel in and play their best...but imo... THIS season is the time wen u do all ur picking and sorting out... we are already out of the title race...things not looking so good in the champions league... etc
for next season...with the new financial situation...we have an opportunity that i think we should go for... sign players we obviously need (though sometimes refuse to admit) !
at left back... riise...i mean...i like the guy... one of my fav. players int he world... but... come on... if we have the chance of signing a player like lahm... i say we go for it..
Ribery instead of M.Gonzales or Aurelio.... i mean... sure we can give Gonzales and Aurelio the next 2 years to adapt to the english league and all... but... ribery will probably be in some other big club by then....and if that club is manutd or chelsea ...there you have it... gap is only getting bigger...
Chelsea are signing players.... Manutd are making some quality signings (carrick) , we too have made good signings (bellamy, pennant)  but in comparison...what we do is more like baby steps..
time to bridge the gap... only way i see that happening is by us signing better players !

What a poor excuse for a post this is.

Bellamy now his court case is out of the way is showing exactly what he is capable of, and has been our best player the last couple of games.
Gonzalez has had unfortunate injuries and while the jury is still out he has already scored 3 times, i think Kewell scored about 4-5 in the whole of last season.
Pennant has been poor and seems to lack passion and desire but lets just hope he starts showing what he is capable of soon, like Bellamy has.
And btw Ribery is predominately a right winger, so if he was signed i very much doubt it would be to replace Gonzalez or Auellio.

Carrick is not a good signing at all. He has nothing to his game, his tackling is OK, passing OK, shooting OK, he doesnt dicatate the pace of a game like Xabi does for us, and doesnt have one outstanding quality.
A vastly over rated player imo.

I agree with the posters that say give the current players time, if it wasnt for over rotation at the start of the season and the worst set of fixtures in recent memory we wouldnt be so far off the pace at this stage.

court case...hahahah
yea...guess he'll go on to score 30 goals in the league this season heh ?!
lsn... bellamy is not that good a player; him scoring 3 or 4 goals against relegation battlers in recent weeks doesnt mean sht to me !
mark gonzales is not a good a player.. scored 4 goals... good for him... id pick kewell if he was fit any freakin day of the week ! the guy lacks quality and its so obvious... wat are you saying !
pennant is poor. given a chance he might improve, but still dont think he has the quality needed.
Gerrard is better in cenrtral midfield.
Ribery can play in the left flank as well as the right flank.
Carrick is a good player. i think hes overrated too but cant say he is not a good signing at all. they r top of the table and imo that says it all.

So a court case with a couple of years inside is not going to affect a players performances at all ?
Bellamy was one of the top scorers in the league last season and scored all different kinds of goals with both feet, he is a nuisance to play against and works so hard for the team, as well as having decent awareness.
Gonzalez looks a bit raw but deserves a bit of time, he is settling in to a totally different country with a different style of football and has scored some goals already.
Carrick cost silly money and doesnt have anywhere near the ability of Alonso who we already have so i dont see your point there.
United may be sitting top of the table but there fixtures have been a piece of p!ss, they are yet to visit any of the top sides away, while we have played them all.
They will drop plenty of points this year and the only reason their midfield has been half decent this year is because they have Scholes back....nothing to do with the over rated Carrick.
Ribery could play on the left but is a right winger, why not give the players rafa signed a chance instead of disrupting the squad with loads of new signings again ?

Rafa-Dodd wrote:Good post Bazza,

  The questions you have posed have made me think about what direction the current crop of players are heading in. After the signings Rafa made in the summer, the squad is probably the strongest we have had in the Premiership. The strength in the first team and the squad depth is very impressive. A strong squad is vital in the Premiership and Rafa has developed the squad a lot since his arrival.

  At the end of the 2005/2006 season, a very sucessful season, the main question marks over the squad were the wings and the strikers. At some points in the season it looked very easy to defend but a lot harder to put the ball in the oppositions net. Rafa identified this problem, like many of fans and duly set about fixing it. Morientes was shipped out, as was Djibs and Bellamy and Kuyt were brought in. The additions of Gonzo and Pennant were a must and Aurelio is a welcome addition to push JAR for the LB spot.

  At the start of the season I was very happy with the squad. There are obviously some teething problems for the likes of Aurelio, Gonzo and Kuyt. There foreign to this league and we have to give them time to adjust. Bellamy has just started to show what he can do and I think he was a steal at 6m and hope he can produce the goods on a regular basis as his recent performances have been what we expected from him. Pennant has been a major let down for me. I did not really rate him when he came but he has been abysmal so far in a red shirt. He has come out of his shell a bit recently against Galatasaray and Charlton, but for what we paid and all his reputation, he has definetly been a let down. I would not suggest shipping it out. He should get a season, but if he does not improve rapidly in the 2nd half of the season I would be ready to cut our losses and bring in a top quality replacement. The right wing is still a problem area for me.

  Also the right back position is the most obvious and weakest in the depth of it as we only have Finnan and Peltier there. Finnan has been a great servant the last 2 years and he is only 30 but I expect Lucas Neil to be the player pushing for a place there. I would also like to see another buy for the RB position. Finnan and Neil are good but both in the 30+ bracket in the summer. However it would be foolish not to take note of Benitez back line at Valencia. His average age in the 2003 season was around 34. He likes his back line to have experience so I would not be surprised to see him stick with Neil and Finnan for a couple of seasons.

The only other area I would like to see strengthened in the summer is the striking department. Our current crop is quite well balanced. Crouch is probably our most effective forward and I have developed quite a fondness for our "freak". He really is a excellent footballer and I am extremely happy that we have him. Kuyt is a work horse, he is skillful and looks like a great addition. Bellamy is our pace, he is hard to defend against and is finally showing the sort of form that made everyone sit up and take note. Unfortunetly Robbie's season has not hit the highs that we would of loved. He is still a great finisher, as his goals in the Ataturk proved. However, and I write this with a heavy heart, Robbie's last season is this season. He is good player and a legend at Liverpool but he does not look like he has goals in him in the Premiership. I love Robbie and he is my hero, but I think this will be his swansong.
    I would like us to buy a big proven goalscorer in the summer, Villa, Torres along those lines. I think we need a guarenteed 20+ league goals a year man. Bellamy, Kuyt and Crouch are all superb players but we need someone to bang them in, something we have not had since the departure of Owen.

  So in conclusion, I am very very happy with our squad but like everything in life, things can be improved. The whole of the right side needs to be strengthened in my view. Cover for Finnan, and a new winger, a first teamer. And a "big" goalscorer is needed, if we are to compete with the Mancs and Chelsea next year.

Onwards and Upwards....

Rafa-Dodd wrote:Good post Bazza,

  The questions you have posed have made me think about what direction the current crop of players are heading in. After the signings Rafa made in the summer, the squad is probably the strongest we have had in the Premiership. The strength in the first team and the squad depth is very impressive. A strong squad is vital in the Premiership and Rafa has developed the squad a lot since his arrival.

  At the end of the 2005/2006 season, a very sucessful season, the main question marks over the squad were the wings and the strikers. At some points in the season it looked very easy to defend but a lot harder to put the ball in the oppositions net. Rafa identified this problem, like many of fans and duly set about fixing it. Morientes was shipped out, as was Djibs and Bellamy and Kuyt were brought in. The additions of Gonzo and Pennant were a must and Aurelio is a welcome addition to push JAR for the LB spot.

  At the start of the season I was very happy with the squad. There are obviously some teething problems for the likes of Aurelio, Gonzo and Kuyt. There foreign to this league and we have to give them time to adjust. Bellamy has just started to show what he can do and I think he was a steal at 6m and hope he can produce the goods on a regular basis as his recent performances have been what we expected from him. Pennant has been a major let down for me. I did not really rate him when he came but he has been abysmal so far in a red shirt. He has come out of his shell a bit recently against Galatasaray and Charlton, but for what we paid and all his reputation, he has definetly been a let down. I would not suggest shipping it out. He should get a season, but if he does not improve rapidly in the 2nd half of the season I would be ready to cut our losses and bring in a top quality replacement. The right wing is still a problem area for me.

  Also the right back position is the most obvious and weakest in the depth of it as we only have Finnan and Peltier there. Finnan has been a great servant the last 2 years and he is only 30 but I expect Lucas Neil to be the player pushing for a place there. I would also like to see another buy for the RB position. Finnan and Neil are good but both in the 30+ bracket in the summer. However it would be foolish not to take note of Benitez back line at Valencia. His average age in the 2003 season was around 34. He likes his back line to have experience so I would not be surprised to see him stick with Neil and Finnan for a couple of seasons.

The only other area I would like to see strengthened in the summer is the striking department. Our current crop is quite well balanced. Crouch is probably our most effective forward and I have developed quite a fondness for our "freak". He really is a excellent footballer and I am extremely happy that we have him. Kuyt is a work horse, he is skillful and looks like a great addition. Bellamy is our pace, he is hard to defend against and is finally showing the sort of form that made everyone sit up and take note. Unfortunetly Robbie's season has not hit the highs that we would of loved. He is still a great finisher, as his goals in the Ataturk proved. However, and I write this with a heavy heart, Robbie's last season is this season. He is good player and a legend at Liverpool but he does not look like he has goals in him in the Premiership. I love Robbie and he is my hero, but I think this will be his swansong.
    I would like us to buy a big proven goalscorer in the summer, Villa, Torres along those lines. I think we need a guarenteed 20+ league goals a year man. Bellamy, Kuyt and Crouch are all superb players but we need someone to bang them in, something we have not had since the departure of Owen.

  So in conclusion, I am very very happy with our squad but like everything in life, things can be improved. The whole of the right side needs to be strengthened in my view. Cover for Finnan, and a new winger, a first teamer. And a "big" goalscorer is needed, if we are to compete with the Mancs and Chelsea next year.

Onwards and Upwards....

Bamaga man wrote:

aCe' wrote:

Anfield rapper wrote:I completely agree with the first post. There have been quite a few signings since Rafa arrived and now i think he has made the team his own and should only really be signing one or two at most per transfer window. Last season we started terribly but at the end of the season we were unbeatable. It seams to be happening again. OK we have played many of the top sides away but even against poor teams we have struggled at times. I just think next summer if we do get the investment Rafa should consentrate on signing one world class player not 3 or 4  £10m players who all need time to settle in.

Just look at Chelski, they signed Ballack and Shevc*nto and eventhough they haven't really performed its only two players so it hasn't really affected the teams form and sooner or later the two of them will come good and be great players again.

chelsea signed :

Shevchenko
Ballack
A.Cole
Khalid Boulahrouz
J.O. Mikel
W.Bridge (loan)
Kalou

3 or 4 of which feature almost every game.. if not starting, as subs !

Just compare the quality of signing we made to theirs and you'll see where im going with this .

we have a good squad...many player who will improve if given time... that much i agree with...
just not good enough if you ask me !
in this league, u can beat the likes of charlton and wigan all you want.. that wont win you the league... it might get u to 3rd spot.. our current standing.
if you want to win the league... you are expected to have a team better than the other 19 clubs competing with you.. chelsea had that for the past 2 seasons... imo they still do.. juventus had it in italy...now inter have it .... barca has it in spain... bayern in germany..
you cant honestly tell me u expect liverpool with the current squad of players to win the league... u can kid urself all you want... i just cant buy it !

im not saying go out and buy 5 or 6 new signings... im just saying that if we want to win the league, we need to improve the quality of players we have. 2 or 3 signings in the rite positions would do imo !

I understand your sentiments aCe' and I'm sure you've heard this before, but answer me this ............

How did Rafa beat the finacial clout of Barca and Madrid with Valencia ?

Sure he had some quality players, but then again so do we. He beat them on team formulas, tactics and cohesion surely.
Even Chelsea, yes they do have great names in their team and as much as it pains me to say you still need a good manager to get you the results, the players dont do it alone my friend. If say Neil Warnock, Gareth Southgate or Graeme Souness had Chelsea's squad at their disposal do you really believe they'd conquer the prem, I dont think so, its more than just big names.

redmikey wrote:

Rafa-Dodd wrote:Good post Bazza,

  The questions you have posed have made me think about what direction the current crop of players are heading in. After the signings Rafa made in the summer, the squad is probably the strongest we have had in the Premiership. The strength in the first team and the squad depth is very impressive. A strong squad is vital in the Premiership and Rafa has developed the squad a lot since his arrival.

  At the end of the 2005/2006 season, a very sucessful season, the main question marks over the squad were the wings and the strikers. At some points in the season it looked very easy to defend but a lot harder to put the ball in the oppositions net. Rafa identified this problem, like many of fans and duly set about fixing it. Morientes was shipped out, as was Djibs and Bellamy and Kuyt were brought in. The additions of Gonzo and Pennant were a must and Aurelio is a welcome addition to push JAR for the LB spot.

  At the start of the season I was very happy with the squad. There are obviously some teething problems for the likes of Aurelio, Gonzo and Kuyt. There foreign to this league and we have to give them time to adjust. Bellamy has just started to show what he can do and I think he was a steal at 6m and hope he can produce the goods on a regular basis as his recent performances have been what we expected from him. Pennant has been a major let down for me. I did not really rate him when he came but he has been abysmal so far in a red shirt. He has come out of his shell a bit recently against Galatasaray and Charlton, but for what we paid and all his reputation, he has definetly been a let down. I would not suggest shipping it out. He should get a season, but if he does not improve rapidly in the 2nd half of the season I would be ready to cut our losses and bring in a top quality replacement. The right wing is still a problem area for me.

  Also the right back position is the most obvious and weakest in the depth of it as we only have Finnan and Peltier there. Finnan has been a great servant the last 2 years and he is only 30 but I expect Lucas Neil to be the player pushing for a place there. I would also like to see another buy for the RB position. Finnan and Neil are good but both in the 30+ bracket in the summer. However it would be foolish not to take note of Benitez back line at Valencia. His average age in the 2003 season was around 34. He likes his back line to have experience so I would not be surprised to see him stick with Neil and Finnan for a couple of seasons.

The only other area I would like to see strengthened in the summer is the striking department. Our current crop is quite well balanced. Crouch is probably our most effective forward and I have developed quite a fondness for our "freak". He really is a excellent footballer and I am extremely happy that we have him. Kuyt is a work horse, he is skillful and looks like a great addition. Bellamy is our pace, he is hard to defend against and is finally showing the sort of form that made everyone sit up and take note. Unfortunetly Robbie's season has not hit the highs that we would of loved. He is still a great finisher, as his goals in the Ataturk proved. However, and I write this with a heavy heart, Robbie's last season is this season. He is good player and a legend at Liverpool but he does not look like he has goals in him in the Premiership. I love Robbie and he is my hero, but I think this will be his swansong.
    I would like us to buy a big proven goalscorer in the summer, Villa, Torres along those lines. I think we need a guarenteed 20+ league goals a year man. Bellamy, Kuyt and Crouch are all superb players but we need someone to bang them in, something we have not had since the departure of Owen.

  So in conclusion, I am very very happy with our squad but like everything in life, things can be improved. The whole of the right side needs to be strengthened in my view. Cover for Finnan, and a new winger, a first teamer. And a "big" goalscorer is needed, if we are to compete with the Mancs and Chelsea next year.

Onwards and Upwards....

well balanced positive yet realistic  post

one of the best I've read in ages mate apart from lando rants which always make me howl

loved this post

ALONSO wrote:I think a new right back, centre back because Hyppias getting on and a right mid would really benefit us. I hope to see Lucas Neill, Giles Barnes, Carlos Edwards and a world class signing join us.
The first 3 I mentioned would be cheap and if FSP returns he could make a difference too .
Does anyone know what Neills best position is?