Liverpool FC Forum

[fivecups]

Each player must be judged in their own era.

Exactly right.

In addition team loyalty and togetherness were probably greater than they ever will be now.

[JBG]

Too right JBG. Putting aside his calamitous spell as manager, Souness was an absolutely fantastic player in my view. Those performances that we've all seen too often over the last ten years, you know the ones, Liverpool start brightly but concede a goal on the half-hour mark. Rest of game, lots of Liverpool posession but no penetration and we never look like scoring. Those games never occured when Souness played, seriously he'd drag the equaliser and likely the winner out of the team. What a footballer.

You've hit the nail on the head there Bigmick.

Roy Evans side got a lot of criticism, but there were many times when a lot of the basic ingredients were there but the side was crying out for a leader. Had Souness or Steven Gerrard been around for Roy Evans' tenure I think he would have been more successful.

[JBG]

If Dalglish said "If you can run for 90 minutes and tackle, there's a fair chance you can play in the Prem League" then that explains his failiure as manager at Newcastle. Thats the biggest pile of ****** i've ever heard. One of the lads who plays for my team can run endlessly and is a superb tackler, yet he's not the outstanding player at the club.

Gunnar Halle

[gabbyh]

Mind you, we are talking about the Premiereship after all. Totally different to the Italian, French and German leagues.
British football has always been equated with the speed of the game, tough tackling. Skill on the ball is not the usual requirement. Foreign players require time on the ball, the Premiereship doesn't always allow that.
Liverpool players of the past had a good first touch of the ball, could control it and pass it immediately. One touch football I think it was called. I watch Liverpool now, and wince at the lack of first touch, even Steven Gerrard. I have watched him make more effort at being dirty and getting away with it than actually be the player we all know he can be.
Also can I say this, the Liverpool teams of the past had tactical nous, they could as a team adapt to the play of the opposition and not have to wait til half time to be told what to do.
I admire players of the old Liverpool team. THEY were professional because they weren't paid as much as todays stars. I would hope that todays players on £30,000 per week were professional. They are paid to be and keep fit... but not all of them do.