Liverpool FC Forum

[yckatbjywtbiastkamb]

i watch a little bit of spanish footy on sky and from what i`ve seen of the lad, whilst he`s obviously skillfull, he does look to go to ground at any opportunity.
i dont think he`s robust enough for the prem.
i`ve not been convinced by gonzales either but some players take longer to settle in than others.
i`d be a bit deflated if we raided spain in the off season and never came back with a player with the profile of a villa, alves, eto or torres.

The fact that some players dive in Spain also has to do with it works for some teams in our liga. He was excellent in the dive-less segunda division

But I wanted to ask, granted, for the right side Alves is great, and Villa is great.

But for the left wing, who would you suggest?

Sabes, what am I missing???

I think we agree on Gonzo, but now you and Bob have me confused.  Are we talking the same thing?

Sorry, my english is cráp. I meant that I wrote  a post only to say that I was surprised I'm not the only one to believe in Gonzo. But I deemed my OWN comment as irrelevant, and another question was left in the previous page, so I copied and pasted it.

Meaning, it was all my fault, nothing wrong with you!

i`d stick with what we`ve got.
i`d go with kewell next season and play aurellio behind him, i thought after a slow start aurellio was starting to look top top class and his deliverys into the box were probably as good as i`ve seen from a left back. (against arsenal at anfield the balls he was putting into the box was like beckham used to do for united).
if kewell breaks down i`d pair riise up with aurelio, they were starting to form a decent balanced partnership before aurellio done his achilles and infact for the first time since kewell was on form the left looked as potent a threat as the right side.
unlike arbeloa (who admittedly is still new to the set up) aurellio knows when to step up in a line as well, he looks well drilled where as recently arbeloa has played a few players on recently when everyone else is pushing out.

[Bad Bob]

Sabes, I too am holding out for Gonzo to perform.  Those who say he has lacked signs of flair have a short memory.  That goal he scored against the Israelis in the qualifiers was absolutely vital for us to be in the position we are today.  Hopefully the lad will settle more in training, and we will have a combination of Harry/Gonzo to use next season.

As far as Pennant, the comparisons cannot truely be made.  The lad grew up in England, so no settling was required.  He was shocking early on this year, but he continued to get a run out on the pitch.  This allowed his confidence to grow, as the team improved through out the season.  Rafa has not shown the same trust in Gonzo as he has JP.  He does not put him out there in important situations, ever.   See Bolo in the semis as an example.

Back to the thread topic!  It is nearly impossible to watch the spanish game here in the states.  It is not on TV anywere.  I have seen both Silva and Vicente in the Champions League, but that is it.  That being said, I would prefer to groom Gonzo, and pray Kewell stays fit, so we can focus our transfer money on our two serious needs.  Left back and a target man.

Sorry, mate, but I can't agree with what you've said here.  I'll keep my Gonzales comments to a minimum but I would suggest that Pennant's been given more of a run than Gonzales by Rafa because Rafa has more faith in Pennant as a player.  Put another way, this is the gaffer's way of saying that, at the moment, Pennant is fit to wear the shirt whereas Gonzales is not (at least not in games that matter).  Based on their comparative form over the whole season, I find very little wrong with that assessment.

As for not needing a LM as much as a LB, I would suggest that, in Riise and Aurelio (with Arbeloa as back-up), we have good skill and depth at LB.  Whereas, in Kewell and Gonzales, we have a player who's rarely fit and a player that has not yet shown that he is remotely suitable for a team challenging for major honours.  So, I ask you, which position requires more attention this transfer window? 

Bob, I don't think that I articulated my point about Pennant well enough.  From your comments, I believe we are in agreement as to Pennants place in the team versus Gonzo's.

I love argueing the same side w/ someone.  It's like talking to my wife!

As far as the LB v. LM arguement, I think many on the board would agree w/ me that Riise is better suited in the midfield rather than the back line.  Aurellio has had a bad injury, and will need a lot of time to come back.

I still think that we should get a class LB and stick with what we have in the midfield.

Just my opinion.  If we all agreed on this board, then Lando would not have anyone to slag off.........

Sorry for the confusion, mate.  I thought from one of your comments that you were suggesting that Rafa had it wrong for giving Pennant a chance while not giving Gonzales the same opportunity.  If that's not what you meant, my apologies.

Riise is indeed a solid LM but, IMO, it would be a step back for us if he were our first choice LM most weeks next season.  Now, if Kewell gets fit, stays fit and stays with us, then he wouldn't be.  But, if Kewell's still a sicknote and we don't bring anyone in, Riise and Garcia become our only viable LMs.  Zenden is off, I'm sure and I just don't share your optimism that Gonzales will come good.

Given that we know Riise can get the job done at LB--he has his detractors but our defensive record the last two seasons is a useful counterpoint--and given that I'm sure Aurelio will be back at some point, I think we need to focus on LM rather than LB.  Moreover, our biggest problem is creating chances and scoring goals...which is precisely why we need to invest in a quality left winger rather than settle for what we've got in that position.  IMHO, anyway.   

[zarababe]

Sabe - do you think, given recent history with players from la liga and the premiership that Villa could be successful here ?

He'd be as succesful as Alonso, IMHO.

In that case bring him over 

[mikopool]

I think if we get another winger, it will be Simao, no sense in replacing Gonzalez with someone who looks to be a carbon copy. I think Gonzo needs more time to prove himself, he was used to playing for a club in a seldom physically demanding league, he like anybody needs time to adapt, yeah a little longer then I am sure anyone would like but with a fresh start we could have the best wingers in the league (if Pennant gets his head out his )

[SuperScouser]

Dont Rate Him

[red_guy]

Silva...hmm. Good player. Anyway, speaking about Gonzo, really want him to do well  but until now, he's not 'that' good. Pace , yes he got that but in terms of first touch and crosses, kinda awful, don't you think?Oo one more thing, he used to left the ball behind everytime he tried to run with the ball.

[gato_busta]

As of right now we have many players on the left side. Kewell, Riise, Gonzales, Garcia, Zenden at LM at the moment which leaves only Riise and Aurelio as LB. Arbeloa in NOT a LB. He had never played on that position until his debut against Barcelona. Zenden will leave and for the pre season we will have Garcia and Kewell once more for the first team. Bringing in one more player for LM would be pretty risky IMO unless we get rid of a few players. We should try to get a versatile player, someone like Riise that could cover both positions just in case.

This should go in the rumor section but since were already taking about this position, reports here say that Liverpool have been monitoring Juan Vargas at Calcio Catania. He is peruvian, plays as LB at catania, also plays at LM for the national team. He has been one of their better players this season and I would love to see him in liverpool since he came from Universitario, my team

[ivor_the_injun]

The acid test for me the left is to look at who we've got, and see if you could imagine them on the left for Chelsea or Man U. Improving what we have is one thing, but what we actually need now are players that will mean we're a better team over the course of a season than the top 2.

For me, a fit and in-form Kewell is the only one that would get near their first 11s. It's not Garcia's best position, Riise is a makeshift at best, and both Gonzo and Zenden have looked like youth team players playing out of their depth.

Aurelio is interesting, as he was starting to look like a class act for us, but could you see him dislodging the likes of Ryan Giggs or Joe Cole from a teamsheet?

I think I've only seen Silva play a couple of times, but from what others are saying, he'd make an interesting signing. Particularly as Kewell and Aurelio will do well to get through a season without at least a month out with injury. The point remains though - would he get a game under Fergie or Maureen?

I just hope that the summer will bring genuine world-class talent to the club. The last thing I want to see is 4 or 5 signings arrive, and then we get to the end of next season and we're f*cking third again, with a similar gap to the top 2.