Liverpool FC Forum

[kunilson]

be in the title race until april. good run in the CL/FA Cup. that will be a good season


oh and manure and chelski to not win the CL....i find their quest for it like the holy grail funny as fook. im sure they see ours for the premiership in the same way. hope we knock out one of them in the CL, preferrably manure im sick of playing chelski now.

[redmikey]

Alonso (if we go for a 4-4-2 and gerrard/mascherano can form a decent partnership then he might be seen as surplus)
Sissoko ( not going to go there again but to me... he currently is surplus)

to say these two are suplus is nuts mate....

you can't just say SG and masha are the best middle 2 and the others are surplus, they are not giong to play 70 games together with out getting a ban,knock,etc

alonso and momo are essential to us even breaking into the top 2 this season

imho i can see past manure unless they have some top player out with injury

[Mick-o dywer]

destro - you're tard.........
i edited my initial post entirely...why would i need to google search that  list of players. spastic

[aCe']

Alonso (if we go for a 4-4-2 and gerrard/mascherano can form a decent partnership then he might be seen as surplus)
Sissoko ( not going to go there again but to me... he currently is surplus)

to say these two are suplus is nuts mate....

you can't just say SG and masha are the best middle 2 and the others are surplus, they are not giong to play 70 games together with out getting a ban,knock,etc

alonso and momo are essential to us even breaking into the top 2 this season

imho i can see past manure unless they have some top player out with injury

im not sayin alonso IS surplus atm...
im sayin that he can easily be replaced if we do go for gerrard-mascherano and it works and we decide to play the pair whenever fit and on form... scholes and carrick did the job for manutd last season and so did gilberto and cesc for arsenal... to say that a 3rd choice (IF) player that is worth around 15mill pounds is not replacable is what is nuts imo...
sissoko i hope he does come good this season and does feature in many games but with gerrard-alonso-mascherano-lucas.... he is far from indispensable imo... again... most if not all other top clubs only have 2 or 3 quality central midfielders... why we NEED 5 is beyond me... its not like we got all the other positions figured out and are now looking to have quality (and quantity) backup at different positions.
if lucas can live up to his reputation.. the only way i can see all 5 of them having an important role in the squad is by rafa overly rotating the central pair and that is something i would hate to see !

[woof woof !]

Are there any of the current squad who can't get away with a dreadful season?

Yeah ,for a variety of reasons.

Arbeloa
Finnan
Hyypia
Agger
Riise
Sissoko
Kewell
Gonzalez (thats if he's still here)
Pennant
Voronin
Torres
Crouch
Kuyt


and BENITEZ

[Penguins]

Besides the central defense, the central midfield is something that should be rotated the least to grow an understanding between the 2 players.
Rotating every other game so all cm's get to play would be devastating.

[RedorDead]

Are there any of the current squad who can't get away with a dreadful season?

Obviously everyone but I mean can Crouch continue to get away with missing chances? Can Kuyt get away without being able to control a ball? Can Riise still get away with his lack of pace? Will we allow Sissoko another season without a goal?

On the other hand will Daniel Agger improve even further and prove my point that he is the world's best centre half? Will there be any complaints if Torres scores 30 odd goals? Will we still see Carra playing his heart and soul out?

Is this a make or break season for certain members of the Liverpool squad. Will we acknowledge the good things players do even if they're not a favourite of ours and will we continue to make excuses for the ones we do like it goes wrong?

Will anyone complain if Torres scores 30 goals? Erm...let me think...!!!

With regard to the "make or break" question....well I guess in this day and age of wheeling and dealing players come and go with such regularity that NOONE can afford a bad season. I suppose the likes of Gerrad and Carra are safe if they don't do too well but everyone's place in the squad is always under constant review, as it should be.
In the spirit of the thread though I guess Kewell springs to mind straight away as someone who really is on his last chance. I don't personally blame him for his injury problems and I do think he is potentially one of our best players but this season is probably his last chance to show it.
Pennant showed some real promise at the tail end of last season too and if he continues that form he could cement a place in the line up but if he doesn't keep it up then Rafa will spend big in that position (if he doesn't anyway) and he might find his chances limited to the League Cup.

[woof woof !]

Besides the central defense, the central midfield is something that should be rotated the least to grow an understanding between the 2 players.
Rotating every other game so all cm's get to play would be devastating.

I understand where you're coming from but this kind of observation compartmentalize's the team and suggests that it's acceptable to rotate some areas of the team but not others . I don't agree that a midfield partnership needs to develop more understanding than for example a striking partnership or indeed for that matter the partnership between say a RB and a RM .

I'm old school , if they're fit , play your best eleven each and every game in the competitions you aim to win , in Rafa's case , Premiership and Champions league .

[RedorDead]

Besides the central defense, the central midfield is something that should be rotated the least to grow an understanding between the 2 players.
Rotating every other game so all cm's get to play would be devastating.

I understand where you're coming from but this kind of observation compartmentalize's the team and suggests that it's acceptable to rotate some areas of the team but not others . I don't agree that a midfield partnership needs to develop more understanding than for example a striking partnership or indeed for that matter the partnership between say a RB and a RM .

I'm old school , if they're fit , play your best eleven each and every game in the competitions you aim to win , in Rafa's case , Premiership and Champions league .

While I hate to use the words "old school" to describe myself I am with Woof  If Rafa wants to win the league he will need to find a starting 11 and settle on it pretty quickly. I think he knows that 11 and bar one or two signing I think we could hazard a pretty good guess at it too....and I thin kit is a good enough line up to be honest, at least to mount a respectable challenge this time round which I think a lot of us would settle for.

[destro]

destro - you're tard.........
i edited my initial post entirely...why would i need to google search that  list of players. spastic

Spastic ? Ha,Ha, how old are you 5 !

Try thinking off the top of your head before you post then you wouldn't have to edit at all

Silly Boy

[god_bless_john_houlding]

With Bellamy and Cisse all but gone I suppose selling Dirk Kuyt is out of the question, which saddens me but this year is his make or break but no doubt if he plays poorly this season everyone will make the excuse that his father died this year. Of course losing anybody is upsetting but you've got to move on and as far as I'm concerned he can't afford a bad season.

I think this year everyone of our european players will be playing their heart out to ensure they are in their nations euro 2008 squad so there should be some improvement from players who have only been average of late.

Pennant was good last year when Sky cameras weren't on him. He improved dramatically towards the back end of last year and during all that time bar the European Cup we wasn't live on sky. I think if he starts well, as he already has against Wrexham, he will make that right wing his own and then Rafa has to decide where he plays Gerrard.

As for Agger being the best centre half in the world, I was propbably wrong because nobody gets ahead of Carra, so Dan Agger is number 2 now folks, hope that made you all feel better. Yet I put Agger back at number 1 if we concentrate solely on ball playing centre halfs.

Agger against fellow ball playing centre halfs
Agger 5mill or Ferdinand 30? Agger wins
Agger 5mill or Carvalho 18? Agger wins
Agger or Toure I'd still go Agger

[RedorDead]

With Bellamy and Cisse all but gone I suppose selling Dirk Kuyt is out of the question, which saddens me but this year is his make or break but no doubt if he plays poorly this season everyone will make the excuse that his father died this year. Of course losing anybody is upsetting but you've got to move on and as far as I'm concerned he can't afford a bad season.

I think this year everyone of our european players will be playing their heart out to ensure they are in their nations euro 2008 squad so there should be some improvement from players who have only been average of late.

Pennant was good last year when Sky cameras weren't on him. He improved dramatically towards the back end of last year and during all that time bar the European Cup we wasn't live on sky. I think if he starts well, as he already has against Wrexham, he will make that right wing his own and then Rafa has to decide where he plays Gerrard.

As for Agger being the best centre half in the world, I was propbably wrong because nobody gets ahead of Carra, so Dan Agger is number 2 now folks, hope that made you all feel better. Yet I put Agger back at number 1 if we concentrate solely on ball playing centre halfs.

Agger against fellow ball playing centre halfs
Agger 5mill or Ferdinand 30? Agger wins
Agger 5mill or Carvalho 18? Agger wins
Agger or Toure I'd still go Agger

While Agger is a player of immense promise to refer to him as the best centre back in the world is a little over the top.
He is young and has shown that with time and experience he could become a very very good player in that position.
I am all for him and Carra starting this season together and building on their partnership and establishing themselves as our number one pairing but lets keep our feet on the ground.

[lakes10]

Agger..................Had not so bad year but i am not sure he is cut out for our team
Pennant..................good speed but his passing has been poor
Kuyt ..................was looking like a good workhorse but we needed goals
Arbeloa....................poor in most of his games and lucky to still be here
Torres.....................needs a good first year with us.

Hyypia........................ there is no make or break for him, we should just respect what he has done for us over the years, This will be his last


BENITEZ ..................spent a lot of money now and has had some good results but the gap at the top needs to come down a lot this year, we need a top 3 place by the end of the football year and we need to be in the hunt for top stop with only 3 games to go.

[heimdall]

Agger..................Had not so bad year but i am not sure he is cut out for our team
Pennant..................good speed but his passing has been poor
Kuyt ..................was looking like a good workhorse but we needed goals
Arbeloa....................poor in most of his games and lucky to still be here
Torres.....................needs a good first year with us.

Hyypia........................ there is no make or break for him, we should just respect what he has done for us over the years, This will be his last


BENITEZ ..................spent a lot of money now and has had some good results but the gap at the top needs to come down a lot this year, we need a top 3 place by the end of the football year and we need to be in the hunt for top stop with only 3 games to go.

As long as we are a lot closer to the top two then I'll be happy, plus maybe another chapions league win

I don't think we will win the league but then I didn't thing Manure would win last year but they got Scholes back (Kewell) and got Ronaldo played his socks off, (Quaresmo) and it all clicked into place.

here's hoping, but as for who could be gone, all of them if they don't perform, no one should be safe not even Carra or Stevie or Rafa but we have to be reasitic as well and not expect too much. as long as we improve I'm happy.   

[SJD]

For me this is the season that will make or break Rafa Benitez.

Since he arrived in 2004, there is no doubt that Liverpool have gone on to acheive great things under the guidance of the Spanish one. The Champions League win, the F.A Cup win and then another trip for the red army to watch the best team in the land in another European Cup Final are obviously the major highlights of what has been a profitable 3 years in charge for the man from Madrid.

But ask any true red, and what matters most is the league. Its our bread and butter, and its what the team is truly judged on and frankly, Rafa for all his tactical nous, rotational policies, set piece ingenuitiy and zonal marking, has not made the grade for me.

Ask yourself, have we actually developed in that area? Since he has been the gaffa, Rafa has finished, 5th, 3rd and 3rd in his cup laden years at Anfield.

Respectable? Yes
Expected? Yes
Improved? Yes

Enough? NO.


We as Liverpool supporters want the league, Rafa knows it, Parry knows it and we all the noise coming from Uncle Tom and Uncle George, I think they know it too. The last few years have been dominated by Chelsea and United, people can point out that Rafa has not had the money to compete with these two teams but thats all changed now. Rafa has got the financial backing, as the torres transfer proves.

Rafa stated earlier on in the summer that this year, the league is his priority this year (what the hell was his priority last year?!?), so for me, its time for Rafa Benitez to prove why he is such a coveted coach in world football and turn us into title challengers again.


Can he do it? Possibly.

Me personally, I have every faith that Rafa can do it, as long as he rights his mistakes.

*NO silly rotation, play your best eleven especially in the first 5 games of the season.

*NO pussyfooting about with our best player, play him centre mid, week in, week out.

*NO change of tactics to suit the opposition, play our way and make them worry about us.


With great expectation, comes great responsiblity.