Liverpool FC Forum

[Leonmc0708]

Well last nights game highlighted one thing for me and something i have been discussing with various people over the summer - We still lack someone with the ability to play in a wider area who can create something for us and help unlock defences . babel coming back will strengthen us more but will still need a arshavin or a silva type player and not spend 18 bloody mil on barry another dm .

Arshavin and Silva are like chalk and cheese.

but both can create and provide great attacking options from both a wider and central area - something we lack bar gerrard .

You said we needed  width then suggested Arseshaving.

Classic falling for the hype transfer demand.

[RedEire]

Realistically, i cannot see any new players coming into the squad ahead of the close of the transfer window.  So we have to look at what we have already.
Babel - on the left has shown some promise but will need to deliver this year if we are to really compete for the top honours - he needs to have the belief and ability to put the head down and take on defenders down the left wing and whip in crosses to Torres/Keane and a forward charging Gerrard.  He also needs to chip in with 10+ goals
Kuyt - on the right is a great workhorse, tireless but very one dimensional and no defender i feel fears him.  However he does off great protection for our right full back.
Pennant - has shown glimpses of brilliance down the right and then fecks up and starts acting the .  If he was to just be given the brief of head down and take on full back down right wing and NOT try cut in then he is an option.
Ngog - I would like to see this lad out wide - from what i have seen so far, he has the speed and self belief to take on players - perhaps is too young and lacks experience but he cannot be any worse that what we have at moment
Benayoun - is a strange player that i still cant put my finger on.  Has some good moments but i feel he is too flaky and loses possession very easy
Lastly, Gerrard - put on the right, you lose the threat he poses coming down the middle

[burjennio]

RedEire Posted on Aug. 15 2008,10:05Realistically, i cannot see any new players coming into the squad ahead of the close of the transfer window.  So we have to look at what we have already.
Babel - on the left has shown some promise but will need to deliver this year if we are to really compete for the top honours - he needs to have the belief and ability to put the head down and take on defenders down the left wing and whip in crosses to Torres/Keane and a forward charging Gerrard.  He also needs to chip in with 10+ goals
Kuyt - on the right is a great workhorse, tireless but very one dimensional and no defender i feel fears him.  However he does off great protection for our right full back.
Pennant - has shown glimpses of brilliance down the right and then fecks up and starts acting the .  If he was to just be given the brief of head down and take on full back down right wing and NOT try cut in then he is an option.
Ngog - I would like to see this lad out wide - from what i have seen so far, he has the speed and self belief to take on players - perhaps is too young and lacks experience but he cannot be any worse that what we have at moment
Benayoun - is a strange player that i still cant put my finger on.  Has some good moments but i feel he is too flaky and loses possession very easy
Lastly, Gerrard - put on the right, you lose the threat he poses coming down the middle

I think the 2 holding midfielders give him room to roam from the right hand side into a more central or direct attacking role RedEire. The longer it gets from the 05-06 season the more i come round to remembering how effective he was, though he's hardly garbage as a central mid or a second striker. ffs he'd probably give Pepe a run in nets if he put his mind to it! The only minus about him wide is that he has stated about 500 times he doesnt want to play there so it would likely come down to him agreeing to it 100%, then not moaning about it to the Echo.

[GYBS]

Well last nights game highlighted one thing for me and something i have been discussing with various people over the summer - We still lack someone with the ability to play in a wider area who can create something for us and help unlock defences . babel coming back will strengthen us more but will still need a arshavin or a silva type player and not spend 18 bloody mil on barry another dm .

Arshavin and Silva are like chalk and cheese.

but both can create and provide great attacking options from both a wider and central area - something we lack bar gerrard .

You said we needed  width then suggested Arseshaving.

Classic falling for the hype transfer demand.

I said we need someone who can go into the wider areas and create then i said we need someone like arshaving OR someone like silva

[stmichael]

I hate the word "winger", it applies that anyone who plays out wide is a winger.

[GYBS]

I hate the word "winger", it applies that anyone who plays out wide is a winger.

prefer the word wide attacking midfielders mate - not many real wingers about these dyas bar downing,swp and maybe lennon - no teams really play with a true winger anymore and dont need one - need someone who can play in wide areas and create.

[flamingpoe]

sorry gybs but there are still teams that believe in "wingers" the champs last year had to many options out wide, i hate to say it but thats where manure's strength lie, lets face it if they didn't have ronnie or park or nani etc etc....they wud struggle especially being that the "best" player in the world is a winger, also i know valencia struggled but they have many wide players, some old and some young but they still have wingers!!, vicente, joaquin, silva..........barca have also many wide options, not to mention juventus, with nedved and camoranesi

[Scottbot]

Arshavin and Silva are like chalk and cheese.

They are not all that different mate. Silva is more your typical winger BUT both are very clever players who drop into space, have good vision and pass the ball well. Neither is blazing quick but both have a trick or two and both players are small, diminutive types. I'd be delighted to have either one but it ain't gonna happen unfortunately   

[Toffeehater]

We have Dirk Kuyt, though.

I want us to sign Joe Cole, apparently he's going for around 15m. Won't happen but I can hope

I've heard that cole would cost more than barry maybe around 20 million to start with as chelsea need the money for robinho . I think it would be money well spent on a proven player but than again there are better players out there than joe cole who would cost slightly more , madrid were willing to let snijder go for ronaldo , could be worth a bid for him , or that polish lad that we are looking at , would cost cheaper and he's class as well . TBH , i don't think we will sign any more players this summer , keane was our first and last big signing , now its up to the lads to perform this season and bring us closer to the title , or by some chance us winning it , as i think manure and arsenal will have slow starts to the season . The team to bit this season would be chelsea i reckon

[Toffeehater]

Topic: Attacking options.

Post:

About the attacking options I remember 3 major demands last season:

1)Proper partnership for Torres
2) Left wing sorted out.
3) Right Wing sorted out

I trust Rafa and Toshack when they think Keane will be the man to tackle point one.

But in point two, we've lost Kewell, who we expected to have during last season (and failed us again), and no-one has come. So we'll just have to cross fingers or pray about Babel making a great season there. A gamble. I simply don't know why we haven't signed somebody for there. We all know Benayoun is an option, and a valid one, but not the kind of player that will give us that little extra to win the league.

Right wing? Kuyt has done a decent job both in Liverpool and Holland in a right winged position. But that talks little about the competition that men like Pennant posed last season -- I really expected more of him. The right wing is not that crucial as the left wing, because you always have the option of using Gerrard as RM and still have Alonso and Mascherano to play in the middle.

So, either we play Gerrard on the right, or BOTH left and right wings will be decent, good at times, but not good enough to be champions. We lacked a prolific striker and now we have Torres. We have a great keeper. We have IMHO a great defence. And we have Gerrard Mascherano and Alonso for the middle. What we need is to sort out the attacking wing options, we cannot live always sending balls  and using the speed of Torres, and the Gerrard shots, we need more attacking options. And we have to jump from decent to very good. In the left that means Babel making a boost in his game or sign up somebody. In the right that means using Gerrard there permanently or sign up somebody.

good post sabre but i think kewell was the best winger in our squad , pity he was injured quite a bit but he was fit last season and rafa should have used him more often than he did , he created a good goal for torres in the champions league . He's the type of player who can make something happen when he's given a chance . He may have been a injury prone player and many here hate him for earning free money but would you blame him? How long does a soccer player's career last for? Secondly , it was not his fault that he was always injured , down to bad luck i suppose , these things happens .

As for pennant , i've always liked him , arsenal paid good money for him when he was younger , i think he was the most expensive teenage signing , which tells you something . Sure , he has a bad attitude but he's also the type of player that if you give him a decent run , like 5 games or so , he gets the confidence and does well and no questions about it he can dribble past his man , his crossing is his biggest problem but that can be worked on . I think if we are not going to sign any wingers , and till babel does not return , we should shift kuyt to the left and try pennant on the right . Last season , and the season before that , when pennant was given a run of games , he actually played well , ran ashley cole ragged 2 seasons ago . He's a good player and a run of games is exactly what he needs to get his confidence up , he may not be a world beater but its the best we can do for now .

[maypaxvobiscum]

We have Dirk Kuyt, though.

I want us to sign Joe Cole, apparently he's going for around 15m. Won't happen but I can hope

I've heard that cole would cost more than barry maybe around 20 million to start with as chelsea need the money for robinho . I think it would be money well spent on a proven player but than again there are better players out there than joe cole who would cost slightly more , madrid were willing to let snijder go for ronaldo , could be worth a bid for him , or that polish lad that we are looking at , would cost cheaper and he's class as well . TBH , i don't think we will sign any more players this summer , keane was our first and last big signing , now its up to the lads to perform this season and bring us closer to the title , or by some chance us winning it , as i think manure and arsenal will have slow starts to the season . The team to bit this season would be chelsea i reckon

when the hell did chelsea ever had a problem buying players?

[Toffeehater]

Beats me , if not why would they be offering an increase in price by 1 or 2 million everytime their initial bid got rejected? They would have just offered what real want which is more close to 30 to 40 million. Could be that the sugar daddy is tightening his purse

[Rockthekop]

Pennant on the right? yeah right!  Rafa loves Kuyt too much to drop him.  I detest that, especially when we are needing a goal and he subs a striker instead of an ineffective Kuyt.  Not Kuyt's fault he's got as much threat as one of my farts.  He's not the answer, time Rafa realised that.

[Toffeehater]

This is not a kuyt bashing thread , we've already got enough people doing that without your help , we can argue till the cows come home but it the end its rafa that picks the team , and he must be seeing something in kuyt to keep picking him .

[Effes]

Well last nights game highlighted one thing for me and something i have been discussing with various people over the summer - We still lack someone with the ability to play in a wider area who can create something for us and help unlock defences . babel coming back will strengthen us more but will still need a arshavin or a silva type player and not spend 18 bloody mil on barry another dm .

Arshavin and Silva are like chalk and cheese.

but both can create and provide great attacking options from both a wider and central area - something we lack bar gerrard .

You said we needed  width then suggested Arseshaving.

Classic falling for the hype transfer demand.

Leon, if you hadn't seen Arshavin before the Euro's you might well think it's all "hype" surrounding him.

I couldn't think of anyone (around the Barry fee) who would be more
ideal to play in Kuyt or Babel's position.

He has tremendous pace, can score goals and has a great eye for a pass. Plus, he can beat people easily.