Liverpool FC Forum

[supersub]

I very dissappointed we lost yesterday,but I know we are heading in the right direction,we just have to off-load Heskey,get a decent centre-half,a good centre-forward and get Chris Kirkland in goal.If it means GH has to go first then so be it.

[redandblue]

Sorry, pal, but I couldn't disagree more. We are not heading in the right direction and if you think that heading for fourth place is a good result, then you have accepted the mediocrity that seeps out of Anfield these days.

Liverpool are a long way behind Arsenal, United and Chelsea in terms of class, players and results. We are NOT heading in the right direction. We are headed for mid table obscurity. Check out our results over the past year. This is not a blip. This is a long term trend.

Of the eight matches played against the four teams who finished above us last season, we won once. If we add on the three matches against the three heavyweights from this season, it reads..played 11, won 1, drawn 3, lost 7. That is an appalling record for a side costing so much money.

Cause for optimism? No, the results speak for themselves. I can only assume that you are having a laugh by suggesting that this side is heading in the right direction. Either that, or you are a United fan in disguise!!! Let's start getting optimistic when GH finally gets the boot.

[supersub]

Which players would you get rid of?
Who in your view isn't good enough?
Who do you have lined up to replace GH?

[mistyred]

Hi guys, just me! good to be back had some hard times at work lately but nothing compares to this SS.....
Supersub likewise GAZ..i'm always on your side fella but sorry
this time calls for action.

I personally have nobody in mind to take the job but it has be soon,and it needs to be somebody that has a pedigree in europe and a grasp of the english language at least...

Did u see heskey spend the whole match on his backside? and that miss says everthing about the guy..
Ever notice in cup games he comes good sometimes, then u get the GH puke..
Then in big games when nothing is going for him he goes to ground all the time clutching his leg to get replaced,the guy is a bottler in the highest order,and if u dont believe me watch the next big game we play...always the same big game act injured....
We are in deep DOODOO my friends....

[Red]

I very dissappointed we lost yesterday,but I know we are heading in the right direction,we just have to off-load Heskey,get a decent centre-half,a good centre-forward and get Chris Kirkland in goal.If it means GH has to go first then so be it.

I agree with you totally super. Although what we want and what will happen are two very different things. GH will most likely survive until the end of the season.

I do think our playing list is very strong, (heskey aside) especially when you look at the ages of some of these talents. We need to perform better so we can keep these good players. Eventually some club which is consistently in the Champions League will come knocking and we could lose not only Le Tallec, Pongolle, but maybe even Owen.

The two things I can see we are missing the most, are not players, but luck and a motivating manager. We are playing well, we outplayed Arsenal and Man U,(marginally) we just didnt finish em off. They have the winning feeling, they have the past 10 years results driving them.

We need to beat them, and beat them well, to take this team to the next level. Thrashing them will increase the teams belief in itself, tenfold.

[Foolsy's lad]

I would get rid of Smicer, Heskey, Traore, Zidane I mean Cheyrou, Pisscan, Houllier, Thompson and Diao. Give some of the kids a go for the rest of the season coz if we go on like this we aint gonna get in champs league anyway.
Dont know who should take over but am definately warming to O'Neill. At the moment I'd take the ghost of Shanks just like Obi Wan in star wars. He could come and tell sammy lee what to do.

[supersub]

I do believe you,I'm heskey's biggest critic,was when he arrived,was when he scored a lot of goals when we did the treble,have been ever since.I would swap him for any centre-forward playing for any team in the premier and a good few in the 1st.
The midfield is fine,there's nothing wrong with the 6-7 players fighting for the 4 places.
Centre-halves we are struggling..we need a new dominant centre-half to take command.
Dudek is too dodgy..Kirkland has to be given the no.1 spot.
I'm convinced January will see a couple of new faces arrive.
I actually hope we have Viduka in the side for the remainder of this season,with a view to buy if he does the business.
When supporters come on to air their views,I wish they would give them value by telling us what they would do NOW!! to change things,to help the Reds pull out of our up and down season,to make things better for them.Remember it's November and the only managers available are the ones who have failed so far this season.The good managers are still in jobs,probably competing for their respective leagues and getting their teams through to the final stages of the champions league,so basically they are unavailable.We can't buy any players till January so we are stuck with what we have at this moment in time.
So to sum up,what would you do NOW!!

[Red]

Give some of the kids a go for the rest of the season

I definately agree with you there, give Pongolle, Le Tallec, Riise more onfield time. I dont know about letting Smicer go, I think he has played well this season.
Heskey, I wont argue with you there, perhaps a swap deal with Leeds and Viduka plus some cash. Leeds can hardly afford to lose more players, maybe if we offered them Heskey and 2 million, they'd take that for Viduka. Heck offer them straight swap to start and see if they jump for that.

[Foolsy's lad]

We need to voice our opinion at the games not just here. Weve never had to do this before but desperate times call for desperate measures. Dont sing GH's name after the match but call for his head. I think the backroom staff are good enough to take over for the rest of the season and give some of our own home grown players a go. Players who know what it is to play for Liverpool. We need a team with a heart again. We might not qualify for the champs league but at least well have learnt something about the players weve got. Whats the point in putting a huge portion of your resources into an academy if your just going to use it as a greenhouse for other clubs in the lower divisions. If GH gets to finish the season we probably wont make the Uefa cup the way things are goin. What bile will we hear then spew forth from Geds arrogant Gob?

[supersub]

Heskey for Viduka is a fair deal.
I would keep Smicer.
Pongolle and Le Tallec will get more games but they are young,so lets not hang all our hopes on them.

[Foolsy's lad]

Smicers done well this season but has just never really done it for me in the time hes been here. Not consistent enough. We need big players who will perform to the same levels week in week out.

[Red]

Im thinking Gerrard, Kewell, Diouf, Smicer, Murphy is an excellent group of midfielders to pick from. What were you looking for Beckham, Zidane, Veron, Vierra?

[JBG]

My own thoughts on the matter are.....

1.We all agree that Heskey is simply not good enough. We should sell him while he has some value - the likes of Middlesbro or Spurs would probably offer us a few million for him.

2. While it is true that Smicer has improved this season, realistically he is still not good enough to match the likes of Ljunberg, Scholes, Cole, Duff, even Gronkjaere and Parlour etc. Just because he has improved does not mean that he's now good enough for a championship winning team. Maybe selling him would be drastic, but at least sign a better player in his place. He might do a job for us coming off the bench or as a squad player, but nothing more.

3. I was a massive, massive fan of Jerzy Dudek when he first signed. However, he is a confidence player and occasionally lets in a few soft ones, such as the goals in the UTD game. Kirkland looks like an immense keeper and maybe we should bite the bullet by selling Dudek and making Kirkland number 1.

4. Steven Gerrard still has a long way to go. Part of the reason McAllister was signed was to pass on his experience to Gerrard and Murphy, but neither have fulfilled their potential yet. Gerrard is far too ambitious with his passing, with too many crazy first time balls which are just mopped up by the opposition defence. This needs to be addressed. Gerrard would benefit from a specialist coach who would show him how to vary his passes. What about hiring Ronnie Whelan for 12 months?

5. We need to make up our minds about Diao and Cheyrou. There is absolutely no point in allowing these two players rot in the reserves. It is of no benefit to the club nor to the players themselves. We should decide to give them a decent chance but giving both a long run in the side, or just sell them. They are never going to get better if they are only given 7 or 8 starts each a season.

6. Le Tallec and Pongolle are fantastic talents but we shouldn't put too much hope in them yet. They need to be nurtured, but I recommend using them a lot as subs, with the occasional start.

7. The defence is becoming a problem. Hyppia was very good against UTD, but overall he is showing signs of decline. Henchoz hasn't been himself since 2002, and Traore and Biscan, while improving, will never win us the championship.

My proposals for change are.

1. Replace Dudek with Kirkland.
2. Sell Traore and Vignal, put Riise in as regular full back, but sign a young deputy for him.
3. Buy a good, pacy centre back who can pass the ball forward. They are in short supply, I know, but maybe Boumsong or Mexes could do a job for us. If the club had real ambition it would try to get the likes of Chivu (I'm not sure that he has actually signed a long term contract with Roma) or even Gallas of Chelsea, who doesn't seem 100% happy there.
4. Get in a good, skillful midfielder to replace Smicer. I think Malbranque fits the bill perectly.
5. Sell Heskey, sell Mellor, and buy a proven goalscorer. Again, if we had real ambition, we should have tried to sign someone like Roy Mackoy in the summer, but instead Houllier is bent on signing Bjbril Cisse, who in my opinion will only be another under performer. Man UTD took a gamble on Eric Contana, maybe we should take a gamble on Mark Viduka?
6. Sack Houllier and replace him with Martin O' Neill.

We have the foundations of a good side, but the club is not using its resources properly.

[greenred]

as usual jbg you are spot on.houllier hasnt got it in him for massive upheaval so unfortunately your last point has to be addressed first.houllier out ,oneill in.

[big al]

The only problem with liverpool is Houlier and Biscan.  JBG as you pointed out some posts ago now.  Many of these players were on the buy list of some of the biggeset clubs in europe. These players have all went badly down hill. even Owen and Gerrard our being de-skilled in a system and regime that seems hell bent on ruining great players.  What we have is lots of kids in development.  Just like James we are starting them off too early,  Liverpool run the risk of turning into a nursery club, if owen, heskey, gerrard, pogolle, traore, Diouf, cheyrou etc move on we will have schooled them for nothing.  What these kids need is harden seasoned professionals around them to teach them what the game is about, to takepresure of their young carreers.  Houlier's right the team is young but the tw#t can't see that that's the bloody problem. The three trophies were won with a mixture of youth and experience. JBG your spot on McAllister showed Gerrard how to play, but he also showed the rest of them what being a professional is all about.  These kids need more of the same. So Liverpool should take a look around football find the maodel professional and bring him to anfield.  Strachan is that man so make him manager.