Liverpool FC Forum

[TheLad]

----------Gerrard----------
Kuyt                          Silva

       Villa      Torres

[Fauxy]

Seriously all this talk about Villa joining us is ..

For a start they would want a hell of a lot of money, and Villa does not want to leave Valencia or Spain.

Dont get your hopes up thats all im saying 

I'd say David Silva would be a realistic target.

[Greavesie]

christ some of us are well optimistic round here arent we?

[aCe']

Arshavin on ManUtd and Liverpool

Andrey Arshavin tested himself against the rest of the Big Four following his move to Arsenal in February, but the Russia star rates Fulham as the toughest opponent he has faced so far.

The 28-year-old is in bullish mood going into the new season and has designs on seeing the Gunners leapfrog Manchester United following Cristiano Ronaldo's defection to Real Madrid.

Arshavin twice lined up against the Barclays Premier League champions last season: first in Zenit's defeat of United in the UEFA Super Cup last August, then in Arsenal's goalless draw at Old Trafford in May.

And he certainly doesn't count Sir Alex Ferguson's team as the toughest he's faced.

'None of the teams have been easy,' he told FourFourTwo magazine. 'A lot depends on the course of the game.

'Fulham were a particularly difficult opponent, not fun to play against. They were very organised, very disciplined, constantly closing you down.

'But if you're talking about Manchester United and Liverpool, Liverpool were the much harder to play against.'

For the season ahead, the £15million recruit from Zenit St Petersburg is looking down at the teams trying to snatch fourth place, as well as the clubs he believes Arsenal can overtake.

And he thinks Ronaldo's move to Spain might just make United vulnerable.

'It's impossible to replace Cristiano Ronaldo,' he said, 'and I hope they'll be weaker as a result. If there were many others like him, Real Madrid wouldn't have paid £80m.

'On the other hand, Alex Ferguson has won a lot of titles over the years, a lot of them without Cristiano Ronaldo, so he knows how to win trophies with other players.

'But it will take time for them to compensate for his absence and I hope that we can make use of this and overtake United.'

..... etc etc

[tubby]

He also mentioned some time ago that Anyukov should go to Liverpool.

[roberto green]

He also mentioned some time ago that Anyukov should go to Liverpool.

He is a very opinionated young man Arshavin.A very good player tho, we should of signed him

[devaney]

Only if we have Villa alongside Torres - then YES YES YES - oh please let it happen Rafa - imagine what Stevie could supply to those two !!

[heimdall]

getting them in nice and early

just like Kuyt does 

   

[devaney]

Didn't realise that Villa was 27 - £40m is a lot based on that and the possibility that he would find the PL a lot tougher La Liga.

[Highland Red]

Buy David Villa and put him up front with Nando. Drop Stevie back into midfield with Javier.

Simplez.

[Toffeehater]

Buy David Villa and put him up front with Nando. Drop Stevie back into midfield with Javier.

Simplez.

, in theory it is , where's the money going to come from for it to happen

[Highland Red]

Buy David Villa and put him up front with Nando. Drop Stevie back into midfield with Javier.

Simplez.

, in theory it is , where's the money going to come from for it to happen

Depends on the valuation of Villa?

We have enough if the Xabi saga goes through and you add the other trasnfers as well.

I'm not so sure Rafa is being totally open regards his targets. I'm thinking he's playing cards very close to his rotund chest!

It's well known that Villa would jump at the chance to join the Rafalution and has stated that he'd love to play with Nando, something Torres has said himself.

Until the transfer window shuts, i hold out hope. 

[stmichael]

Whether we think that Gerrard should be moved back into midfield or not, I just don't see Rafa doing it. I just don't think that being a box to box player is what Rafa looks for in a midfielder. You couldn't for example, easily see Benitez fitting Lampard in his team, though you could see him slotting Essien right in.

I'm of the opinion that Alonso's role was restricted at Anfield, for tactical reasons. This isn't a pro-Alonso or Anti-Benitez rant, before anyone jumps to Rafa's defence, it's just a genuine observation. It might well be that it was the best use of Alonso for us, but as we've seen for Spain, he is certainly capable of much more in the opposition half.

I think it's pretty much nailed on that Lucas will start against Spurs with the Gerrad-Torres axis remasining up top. The only issue for me is whether Benayoun or Riera start on the left.

[aCe']

Whether we think that Gerrard should be moved back into midfield or not, I just don't see Rafa doing it. I just don't think that being a box to box player is what Rafa looks for in a midfielder. You couldn't for example, easily see Benitez fitting Lampard in his team, though you could see him slotting Essien right in.

I'm of the opinion that Alonso's role was restricted at Anfield, for tactical reasons. This isn't a pro-Alonso or Anti-Benitez rant, before anyone jumps to Rafa's defence, it's just a genuine observation. It might well be that it was the best use of Alonso for us, but as we've seen for Spain, he is certainly capable of much more in the opposition half.

I think it's pretty much nailed on that Lucas will start against Spurs with the Gerrad-Torres axis remasining up top. The only issue for me is whether Benayoun or Riera start on the left.

yea but is a Lucas-Mascherano partnership going to be any good ?
i cant see it working tbh and i think if we play the 2 down the middle we'll have to rely heavily on the like of Benayoun and Gerrard carrying the ball from deep to start attacks... failing that we'd just have to hoof it upfield from the back and hope for the best...

and i dont know about others but to me Essien is the definition of a box-to-box midfielder... probably even slightly better than Gerrard in doing that role... Lampard is more an attacking midfielder who tracks back occasionally but isnt that great when he does so...

[stmichael]

is a Lucas-Mascherano partnership going to be any good ?

The way our team plays it would certainly be better than Gerrard-Mascherano partnership. That has been proved not to work in the past. Playing those two centrally doesn't work because both are 100mph players. Neither have that much positional discipline (unless you tell Gerrard to do so and therefore restrict his attacking influence). We'd have nobody to put their foot on the ball.