Liverpool FC Forum

[Santa]

There have been pockets lined with the clubs money, inexplicable signings that cannot be justified by any other conclusion than corruption.

I have asked this before...anyone here got a breakdown on the fees paid to agents for the past 10 years?

[Santa]

I remembered vividly a fuming Houllier once said while we were leading Leicester 2-1 at home and went on attack trying to increase our lead..."They even wanted to score a third goal, which is beyond me sometimes". That's Houllier and his freaking philisophy!!!

[jim_morrison_supported_liverpool]

I remembered vividly a fuming Houllier once said while we were leading Leicester 2-1 at home and went on attack trying to increase our lead..."They even wanted to score a third goal, which is beyond me sometimes". That's Houllier and his freaking philisophy!!!

thats exactly right. that sums it all up.

[banana]

Interesting to read some of the posts in this thread.

It is clear that the memories of Houllier will haunt us for years. His astonishing transfer failures, and his defensive style makes Benitez task a hard one.

First he has to start teaching the lads to play proper football. We have not had a gameplan and a strategy for years. Maybe we knew how to defend. But I will say, not really. Our defensive strategy was only one of dropping deep down into our own half. Using 4 defenders inside the box and 4 midfielders as a shield just in front of them. That is a bad strategy long term, and NOT the way Liverpool should play. I have been really surprised how the board could allow this to go on for so long.

Second he has to live with 15 players he don't want at Anfield. These players are impossible to sell since no other club will pay their high wages. The best he can hope for is to loan them out and let them sit out their contracts elsewhere.

Third he has to accept the fact that Houllier has spent all the money. Not only did he spend £ 80 million in his 5 years. He also signed £ 14 million Cisse and walked away with 10,7 million. That means he reduced Benitez spending power by £ 25 millions AFTER HE WAS GONE. Only creativity and the sale of Owen and Murphy made it possible for him to sign the spaniards. And I daresay the signing of Alonso tops ALL Houllier signing by a mile. Including Hyypia and Hamann.

Fourth he has to deliver results NOW. If there is a failure to go far in Europe and to finish in top four we are heading for more trouble. If we want to compete against Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea we have to secure CL revenue and we have to be in the CL to attract the best talent. It is a massive task. It is a case of getting worse, before we can get better. We will concede more goals pushing the midfield and defence higher up, but we will also win the ball in more favourable positions and put more pressure on the opposition. In short; he has to undo the Houllier damage, and build a team fast.

Fifth. He has to live under a lot of uncertainty. No one knows what this club will look like in 5 months. Will there be a new owner, will the stadium issue get sorted out etc.? Things should be sorted out FAST so the managment and owners can incorporate a long term plan and a vision.

I only think all the negativity around Houllier and LFC will be forgotten when we win major throphies. If Benitez can win the CL thropy or the premiership it would heal the wounds and give everybody a boost.

[bigmick]

His task is immense. However, I don't know if its just me but I think our manager is a massively impressive man. I like the way he conducts himself, the way he talks about the game and the style of play he favours. The team he built at Valencia was an absolutely fantastic one. Style and efficiency welded into an irresistable force. Everything he has done sofar has been sound by me. Note his ruthlessness in his handling of Diouf from day one. His resistance of the temptation to say "well I never signed him. 14 million?" when Cisse disappointed. his utilization and encouragement of our IMHO fairly average crop of young players is to be applauded. His major signings, Alonso and Garcia have quality for all to marvel at. The way he conducts transfer dealings, discreetly and with integrity. The way he spoke at the AGM. Even the way he complains about a refereeing decision, with clarity, calmness and class. Not for him the whisky fuelled rantings of an incensed Ferguson or the restricted view ramblings of a nonplussed Wenger. This is the second coming, he is the chosen one. Us oldies on the forum can remember when we were a good side. A really good side and the signs are good.
It's gonna be a rollercoaster but we're on our way back. Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.

[Mikz]

I agree Mick. Some of the quality of the football we are playing is superb,perfect balance of attack and defence,and hes also giving the youth a chance in true tradition. He speaks well too as you say, when i think of what he left to take on this job,I really want him to succeed not just for Liverpool -but for him too. Even when we lose these days its like water off a ducks back because we all know -WE ARE IN GOOD HANDS. 

[The_Rock]

The quality of our football is superb (at least the attacking aspect). It is even more astonishing given that some of the players we have in our line-up now cannot be described as top-quality.

Rafa is the man.

Once he gets his targetted players (in a season or 2 depending on the transfer funds), we probabily outplay all the other teams (like what valencia did to us ). And that will be a sight   

[The_Rock]

Was also impressed with david raven. Looks pacy too. We should include him in the bench in place of diao.

Any other strikers breaking records in our youth system at the moment ?

[Santa]

... If Benitez can win the CL thropy or the premiership it would heal the wounds and give everybody a boost.

Not "IF", but "WHEN"... I am confident about that with Rafa at the helm.

[banana]

... If Benitez can win the CL thropy or the premiership it would heal the wounds and give everybody a boost.

Not "IF", but "WHEN"... I am confident about that with Rafa at the helm.

Let's hope so.

[mrcool2003]

stu likes to talk out of his ****** im afraid

first of all sell gerrard and then ****** like houllier was a good manager for us

stu are u on drugs half the time, cause theres not many ppl that would agree with you i tell you that

[A.B.]

If Gerrard wishes to leave this club then we shouldn't stop him. There are many clubs that want Gerrard wearing their club's shirt and we should get a huge amount of money for him.

[mrcool2003]

yeah but thats all speculation, if thats true then of course if a player wants to leave then theres no point stopping them, but to be honest, if he does go, it'll be difficult to replace a player like him

[fivecups]

yeah but thats all speculation, if thats true then of course if a player wants to leave then theres no point stopping them, but to be honest, if he does go, it'll be difficult to replace a player like him

If he's made up his mind to go - and he might have - then we let him go. But no-one should forget that he's our best player, by miles and miles. You are right when you say he would be hard to replace, I think that sort of midfielder is in short supply - that is why he is valued at over 30 MILLION!!

In purely business terms dont think we will make a killing on the sale of Stevie, we'll simply recieve the market value on a truly world class midfielder.

[Santa]

The sad fact is we might receive £30M or less for Stevie. Remember the likes of Houllier (sorry to bring this up again) blow £30M on ****** like Diouf, Cheyrou, Diao and Biscan who combined are as talented as Stevie's little toe.

Yeah, it's frustrating with the prospect of losing Stevie because not only we will be losing our most influencial player, we will lose a leader, affect team morale and be another 5 years behind our opponent. Let's hope that if he does go, he will go to another league and pray that Rafa will be allowed to use the proceed to enhance the team overall.

That's the price to pay for failures...