Liverpool FC Forum

[115-1073096938]

Alot of you slag Houlliers signings... yet NO-ONE here is willing to give credit where its due. The worst two players on the pitch for my money where Luis Garcia and Josemi (not that they played badly. The rest were quality tonight.

This to me points out Houllier was right about Biscan and Traore, i've always thought they had something myself. Its just Benitez seems to be able to get the best out of them. I've always said i can see what Houllier wanted from Biscan and Traore even though they never performed. Well tonight you saw it.

Excellent performance and hopefully will continue.

[adayinthelife]

Cmon stu even you were admitting Traore was a lost cause awhile ago

As for Biscan he was rightly a laughing stock but yet again he was played out of position and desperately low on confidence.

Benitez deserves the credit for getting the best out of the 2 lads in 3 months what houllier failed to do in 6 years.

[LFC #1]

fair point stu, but as you said Rafa can get the best out of these guys and Houllier failed to do that, proabaly due to the fact that his player management skills just weren't up to scratch.

[A.B.]

Most (Not all but most.) of his signings were quite horrible, a complete waste of money. When he had the chance to buy quality players such as Damien Duff he did not do so.

Benitez can get the good qualities from Biscan and Traore because he is a good manager but there are those who are completely hopeless such as Salif Diao even with the likes of Benitez.

[Santa]

Stu, you admitted that Troare would be a good but never be a classy defender...how quick you change your tune. But I understand...because Troare and Biscan played well tonight. If Houllier is still in charge, we will NEVER see this level of play from any of them, so big credit must go to Rafa for "resurrecting" their career (and playing Igor at the correct position). My conclusion can only be that Houllier can spot a decent player but it takes people like Rafa or a Wagner to bring out the best in them.

[wee_boi888]

Yeah, i was arguing with a mate of mine for that but decided not to post anything in case i get a boot up my ****** for saying so.

GH can see talent, but he doesnt have the managerial (is that a word?) touch to make them grow. Big Sami and Henchoz were fantastic in the trebble season, both GH signings - but after his heart condition, the building of the players went down dramatically (not using that as an excuse, just ironic really). GH was never the same. IMO his signings have quality, or have the promise to become quality.

What makes a good manager different from a great one is that a great manager can see quality and then also help it grow from a player.

[DAV]

some managers can make
a bad player average
an average player good

houlier could not, the new guy seems to be able 2
well done biscan and jimmy
lets hope our manager can work his magic on kewell

[Starbridge42]

Biscan and Traore ahve been revelations when they've played under Benitez (although Biscan is still a LONG LONG way from being as GH described him 'the croatian Zidane').  GH could spot potential, but couldnt mould them.  Actually I said that near the end of last season when he was still manager, I suggested at the time that maybe a coach with good man-managment skills to help GH would be good.  Benitez was an even better decision.  Biscan and Traore will never be world-class although they could become very, very good.  Kewell on the other hand.  If Benitez can correct his flaws then we could be looking at the next Ryan Giggs or George Best (maybe an exaggeration but look what Benitez has got out of Biscan and Traore).

If the players continue at this rate what are they going to be like next season?

[Leonmc0708]

Fair Point Stu, I have had my eye wiped with Djimmy this season, and Biscan has now the chance to move from cult figure of fun to genuine cult hero if his performances continue in the same vein.

You did miss out Milan, who is looking more and more like a snip at £3M from Banik Ostrava, and Houllier percevired with him despite some weight problems in the first year or so.

[azriahmad]

I don't think the guys and gals here slag off Houllier's signings just for the sake of slagging them off or if they are anything personal against him.

The bare facts are that too many of Houllier's signings did not work, in fact, a majority of them did not perform to expectations. This was the main bone of contention amongst us. Look at other managers - Wenger or Ferguson. They have bought many players, but the majority of them worked, performed. There are no perfect managers but in order to be percieved as a success, your methods, signings and results have to work in your favour most of the time, not a small portion of the time.

Even so, it took another manager to produce positive results from Houllier's signings. What does that tell us? It tells us that Houllier has got it wrong on the playing side, tactical side and the man-motivating side. It took 4 years and a change of managers, playing style and tactics to get Biscan to perform decently.

It is amusing to me to see why some people miss the big picture!

[Redrider]

The Houllier, Thompson, Lee, Patrice and Corrigan 'Boot Room' team, seemed to have the skill of taking promising players and coaching their ability out of them. A lot of players have seen their career's go into reverse upon arrival at Anfield.

[azriahmad]

It has a lot to do with the ultra cautious and narrow style of play advocated by them. When it worked, fine. But when it did not, they panicked and bought wide players like Kewell, expect him to do miracles, while the rest of the team were instructed to play much the same way. Creative players like Litmanen were sparsely used. Liverpool suffered when the accurate passing range of MacAllister was gone. None of the players before Benithez came, Gerrard included, are consistent long passers.

Houllier, after his French side let in 2 late goals and destroyed their 1994 W Cup campaign, instilled a very cautious approach in his players and stifled individualism, so much so that "flair" players are deemed "not Liverpool type of players"

Notice how Liverpool of the past 2 seasons are so predictable, try to pass through the middle and when this fails, the only alternative was route one with Gerrard and Murphy (if he plays) punting the ball for Owen to chase and hopefully score. Stevie G was forced on too many occassions to make risky long passes or try to take the game by the scruff of the neck and lead by example. How many times can one player keep doing this?

[JBG]

Biscan: one or two good performances in 4 years at just under £7m (plus no doubt £20g+ a week wages) hardly constitutes good business.

Its great to see Igor doing well last night, but the guy is an adult and a professional footballer, its about bloody time he started delivering something back to the club.

[greenred]

Consensus seems to be that Benitez is a manager and Houllier is a scout.

[azriahmad]

I am not sure about the scout part, Greenred. Scoputs should be able to judge both potential and ability and it seems that houllier is not really good at either.

What he is good at is doing the administration side - like what he did at Clairfontaine by setting up the infrastructure, the training ground and running this side of the football development.