Liverpool FC Forum

[The Ace1983]

1. We've scored a bagfull of goals this season already, so which one do you think was the best?

2. Yossi, Fernando, Ryan, Andriy, Alvaro, Sebastian... A lot of new players have donned the red shirt this season. Who's impressed you the most and why?

3. We thrashed Toullouse, hammered Derby, got cheated by Chelsea, cruised past Sunderland and pushed past Villa. Which performance impressed you most?

4. We now have a very young squad with the likes of Babel, Torres, Agger, Pennant, Sissoko and Arbeloa all having many years ahead of them being the right side of 25. Is this the basis for a new dynasty at Liverpool? How important is the age of our squad?

5. Despite the amount of players brought in and our impressive start, can you identify any part of the team/squad that is not up to scratch? Are we still missing a certain something or do we look like a complete unit?

6. There are two areas of the pitch where Rafa is obviously going to have to perform some balencing acts: Central Midfield and up top. What do you see as our best pairings in those two areas? And who's going to suffer from piles grown on our bench?

[jaytoothetee]

1. gerrard's against villa. great shot, and more importantly it got us the 3 points.

2. voronin, because tbh i wasn't expecting him to be as good as he has been. he's made a fantastic start for us, and it's been a very pleasant suprise.

3. chelsea. we played fantastically, chelsea didn't even look like scoring until styles gave them that "penalty". .

4. definitely think that the age of the squad is important. rafa is building for the future here, especially with all the teenagers he has brought in. players like agger, mascherano and torres are all great atm, despite still being young. imo they will all be seen as "world class" in the next couple of years.

5. not really. if anything, riise looks a little vulnerable at left back, but with arbeloa's form right now, and aurelio set to return, this isn't really a problem because he will mainly be used at lm anyway.

6. don't think that we will have a preferred pairing in either of these positions. every player will have their chance, but if i had to pick, i would say xabi and gerrard at cm, and torres and voronin up front. doubt anyone will spend much more time on the bench than everyone else.

[destro]

1) I like Babels from yesterdays game, the feint to leave the two defenders on their @rse and then finish so calmly.

2) The speed and strength of Torres was something I didn't know he had in his locker, for me Voronin has been the pick so far, great link up play and his finishing with either foot , and all that on a FREE .

3) The Chelsea game for the way we attacked them and made them look ordinary, the Derby game for the way we never sat back at 2-0 and thought game over, the ruthlessness we went at them was a joy to watch.

4) I think they are of the right age to go on and become a great team, its keeping them all happy that may be the problem , we seem to have the right blend of youth and experience, I would like to see a few home grown lads break through but there is no room for sentiment if Rafa's way brings results and trophies.

5) Like most people I always thought right back would be an area we provided cover for but from what I have seen there is no rush just yet.

60 Torres and Voronin is my preferred front pairing, Midfield is a bit trickier, Stevie and any other depending on the opponents, Xabi, Momo and Masch are all just as capable of filling in for each other, its a case of horses for courses.

[roberto green]

1.Gerrard (got us off to the perfect start)

2.Toress (world class signing,one for now and the future)

3.Derby (i know it was a pis poor opposition we played but we were very good which will give us even more cofidence)

4.Yes it looks very promising with the group of players we have now and the age they are,Rafa has done a fantastic job when you look at the side 2 years ago to the team he has now, but even better is the thought of the team we can have once these players mature

5.To be honest at the moment i cant really find a weakness, if i had to pick one it is our defending around corners i always think were a bit vunerable defending set pieces.

6.I think the midfield 4 of Gerrard,alonso,mascharano,sissoko will all get games this season so i dont see any problems here with a home game pairing of gerrard/alonso and away game pairing of gerrard/mascharano or sissoko.
The front pairing will be Torres/voronin and kuyt alternativley.As for crouch he has already squealed dont get me wrong i like him but i class the other 3 above him and so does rafa by the looks of things.Expect crouch to be sold in January:O

[RichardLFC1]

1. We've scored a bagfull of goals this season already, so which one do you think was the best?

2. Yossi, Fernando, Ryan, Andriy, Alvaro, Sebastian... A lot of new players have donned the red shirt this season. Who's impressed you the most and why?

3. We thrashed Toullouse, hammered Derby, got cheated by Chelsea, cruised past Sunderland and pushed past Villa. Which performance impressed you most?

4. We now have a very young squad with the likes of Babel, Torres, Agger, Pennant, Sissoko and Arbeloa all having many years ahead of them being the right side of 25. Is this the basis for a new dynasty at Liverpool? How important is the age of our squad?

5. Despite the amount of players brought in and our impressive start, can you identify any part of the team/squad that is not up to scratch? Are we still missing a certain something or do we look like a complete unit?

6. There are two areas of the pitch where Rafa is obviously going to have to perform some balencing acts: Central Midfield and up top. What do you see as our best pairings in those two areas? And who's going to suffer from piles grown on our bench?

1) Id say Gerrard against Villa. It was a fair way out and it was so important

2) Torres. Hes Scored 3 goals in 4 League games. Something weve been missing from the past season.

3) Id say Derby. Not only because we put 6 past them. Because the goals came from 4 diffrent scorers and they was well made.

4) I think it will be very important as it will be great for the future and have been excellent at present.

5) Weve scored 11 in the league and 5 in the cl so i think our forward line is excellent. Pennant has been Excellent down the right and the back have been great to concedeing only two. TWO PENALTIES. So i think we may be sorted

6) I think in the league we will se Torres start 99% of games and probably with Kuyt starting most alongside him. Voronin i think will start Most champions league ga,es and start a few league games. Crouch has started both league games but hasnt been in any of the 4 squads in the league so i think he wont feature alot in the league. Gerrard has started in the cm both games he was available and i think Rafa Knows this is his best position. Mascherano, Alonso and Sissoko are all good defending midfeilders. Mascherano for me will start more Cl games and Alonso more premiership. Can only see Sissoko coming off the bench for most of the time

[NiftyNeil]

1. I just loved the way that Babel put those two defenders on their arses then smashed the ball home.

2. The obvious one is Torres, he oozes class. But I'm going for Voronin, purely for value for money and that there wasn't much expectation when he signed.

3. The Villa result stands head and shoulders above the rest. A tricky first game way from home. When they equalised it brought back all the bad memories from last season of not killing off teams. The winner and the ensuing celebrations sent out a message - one that said "we are here, we are ready, this is our season!". If we wouldn't have won that, then doubts would of been cast early - not only in our minds, but the minds of the players.

4. Age is important, and Rafa seems to always be planning for the future. It's good that we can compete for the likes of Babel now. 12 months ago and we would of lost out to someone else.

5. I don't think there's something missing, but we certainly lack depth in defence in comparison to our midfield and attack.

6. We have four great central midfielders and any combo seems to be working at the moment. I would say on paper that Masch and Momo are the weakest combo attack-wise, but then again, they looked shit hot the other night. I think the same for our strikers. We have a good balance. They're like the fantastic four - each brings their own powers.

[Forever_Red]

1) I'd have to go for Gerrard's fee kick as well, really kick started our season

2) Torres or Voronin. While Torres is class it was expected at £20m whereas Voronin was free so I'm more impressed with Voronin

3) The performance against Derby was great but also Toulouse cos it showed that we have strength in depth now

4) The fact that we have lots of young players is great, lays good foundations for years to come and with experience they will get better

5) I don't think theres too much of a weak spot at the moment but I'm sure such a thing will be noticed as the season goes on

6) It's the depth of these two positions that's going to go a log way this season, Gerrard has to play any other is fine, just depends on the oppo on the day

[username]

1. Torres vs Chelsea, he showed his class, but Gerrards has to be the one

2. Torres, hes just class stacked on class.

3. Chelsea, it showed then why we should have high hopes, and how easily we were contolling the game

4. We have great youngsters in our main team, and adding to our youth team like crazy, the future looks good

5. When playing Riise at eft mid, i feel we are lacking, but when we have Babel and Pennant (why is he not picked for england?) playing, we have nothing wrong

6. Up top i would go with Torres and Voronin, with CM, any combo works

[Bammo]

1) Voronin against Toulouse. Brilliant shot from distance.

2) Torres. I was worried about the supposed lack of quality and missed chances but his ability to create something from nothing impresses most.

3) Derby, simply because for the first time in years we kept attacking and didn't settle for 2 or 3-0.

4) I prefer the majority of players to be 28 or under, which is what we have now. I wouldn't want the squad to become too young though or we'll end up like arsenal - always 2 years away from a brilliant team.

5) We need a right back to push Finnan. With Arbeloa playing more on the left now, this is where we need a player to share the duties. Possibly Peltier will be brought through for this position.

6) For the league I think Torres and Kuyt are the best partnership up front. In midfield I'd play Alonso/Gerrard against weaker opposition and Gerrard/Mascherano against stronger teams. Thankfully any combination seems to be formidable.

[The Manhattan Project]

1- Stevie G against Villa.

2- Torres because he looks like he can cope with the physical Premiership style.

3- Chelsea, because they are serious title contenders and they had to rely on a favour from a ref to get anything out of that match.

4- Young players show that we have one eye on the future too if the players are properly nutured, although some older players are essential too for any good team. They add experience and much needed steel.

5- There is always room for improvement in all positions.

6- No idea. I trust Rafa to know best regarding who to pick.

[LiverpoolMadman]

1- Stevie G against Villa and Torres against cheshit

2-  Torres because he looks like he have been playing for BPL/EPL before but he is the "new kid of the block".

3- All the matches ... We really play like the "champion". 

4- The best way to make them "grow" is to let them play all the time, that what Rafa will play rotation system. 

5- To becoming a "better" team all the time, is to improve "everything" from the boardroom, to the staff and to the players. When you improve that we can call it " the best just got better".

6- Depends on who is playing well at the last match. Depends on who are we facing now and the next 3 match but I think that Torres, SG and Carra are players should/will pick by rafa to play every single match. Unless they are injured or the team that we face not that "strong".
And who's going to suffer from piles grown on our bench?
I think (I sorry because a lot of ppl like him) PC will be most of the time not even in 1st 11 and maybe in the sub too.

[NiftyNeil]

I'm disappointed that 4 out of 9 people (disregarding LiverpoolMadman who picked all) thought that the Chelsea game was our best performance. We beat them on their previous two visits to Anfield 1-0 and 2-0. A 1-1 draw is a backwards step. However well we played, and whatever ref decisions happened, we still failed to kill them off.
Do not be happy with second best - we are Liverpool FC, we're better than that.

[66-1112520797]

1. We've scored a bagfull of goals this season already, so which one do you think was the best?

2. Yossi, Fernando, Ryan, Andriy, Alvaro, Sebastian... A lot of new players have donned the red shirt this season. Who's impressed you the most and why?

3. We thrashed Toullouse, hammered Derby, got cheated by Chelsea, cruised past Sunderland and pushed past Villa. Which performance impressed you most?

4. We now have a very young squad with the likes of Babel, Torres, Agger, Pennant, Sissoko and Arbeloa all having many years ahead of them being the right side of 25. Is this the basis for a new dynasty at Liverpool? How important is the age of our squad?

5. Despite the amount of players brought in and our impressive start, can you identify any part of the team/squad that is not up to scratch? Are we still missing a certain something or do we look like a complete unit?

6. There are two areas of the pitch where Rafa is obviously going to have to perform some balencing acts: Central Midfield and up top. What do you see as our best pairings in those two areas? And who's going to suffer from piles grown on our bench?

1) Gerrards freekick at Villa park.

2) Fernando, but name big price and the undoubted pressure to go with it. Scored three good goals, shown glimpses of real class, battles away and hasnt shirked from the hussle and bussle of the Prem.

3) Derby, we were absolutely ruthless, something last season we missed.

4) Fairly important, although experiance is good to blend with youth.

5) At the moment we look pretty complete, maybe another CH may be needed but I'm happy with what we've got.

6) Gerrard Mascha, CM combo, although Mascha may get his fair share of splinters. Upfront Torres and Kuyt .... maybe, not sure, ask me next month.

[stmichael]

1. We've scored a bagfull of goals this season already, so which one do you think was the best?

2. Yossi, Fernando, Ryan, Andriy, Alvaro, Sebastian... A lot of new players have donned the red shirt this season. Who's impressed you the most and why?

3. We thrashed Toullouse, hammered Derby, got cheated by Chelsea, cruised past Sunderland and pushed past Villa. Which performance impressed you most?

4. We now have a very young squad with the likes of Babel, Torres, Agger, Pennant, Sissoko and Arbeloa all having many years ahead of them being the right side of 25. Is this the basis for a new dynasty at Liverpool? How important is the age of our squad?

5. Despite the amount of players brought in and our impressive start, can you identify any part of the team/squad that is not up to scratch? Are we still missing a certain something or do we look like a complete unit?

6. There are two areas of the pitch where Rafa is obviously going to have to perform some balencing acts: Central Midfield and up top. What do you see as our best pairings in those two areas? And who's going to suffer from piles grown on our bench?

1. I'm going to go for Voronin against Sunderland. Brilliant team goal. If United or Arsenal had scored that, the press would have been creaming over it for moinths. Just beats Gerrard, who's free kick against Villa was one of the best I've ever seen.

2. Torres. I think there was a lot of scepticism after what happened with Morientes but this guy is completely different. He's the real deal and will become even better for playing with better players.

3. Chelsea at home, particularly the first half when we completely dominated the game.

4. This is a relatively young squad so the future looks good as far as I'm concerned. I mean Gerrard and Carragher are considered veterans now and they're 27 and 29 respectively. The potential of the likes of Torres and Babel to improve is frightening.

5. The only area where we lack depth is defensive cover. I think we're a centre back short still (although Hyypia is still top drawer) and we could also do with another full back in January.

6. Torres and Kuyt is the best partnership upfront although this doesn't necesarily mean I think they're the best two strikers. Personally I think Crouch would score more goals than Kuyt but obviously wouldn't offer the workrate that Kuyt does. In central midfield I'd welcome any two of the four playing, depending on the opposition.

[der_kaiser]

1. Stevie G's freekick -. goal of the month

2. Torres - the guy hasn't broken stride since arriving, looks like the real deal.

3. Villa - it was important we won the first game. when they scored our heads didn't drop and we pulled it out of the bag.

4. Very important - we're getting better all the time competing more each season. this helps to keep the young players we already have at the club and also attract new ones.

5. Left wing / Center back - I think we could maybe improve in on the left wing but then again its still pretty strong at the moment. another quality player for center back would be nice cover in case carra or agger are out cos sammy probably only has this season left in him.

6. Midfield - games where we can go all out attack (like derby at home) i'd play Stevie and Alonso. games were we need it a little bit tighter and more protection (scum away) Stevie and Mass.
Upfront - Torres has to be the main man, his speed and power make him stand out from the rest. IMO i prefer him with Kuyt as they link up well.
I think it's gonna be a long old season for Crouch on the bench...