Liverpool FC Forum

[ethanr]

Just watched the replay... City looked in shambles. Manure have played well in the preseason and city not so much, and it showed.  No matter who manure had on the pitch they were able to fit in, but city struggled to cope with anything.  Their communication is all off and they seem so used to always having the ball that they do a lot of ball-watching while on defense.

[metalhead]

I will put a bet that the Mancs will win it again this season, Man City to bottle it because Mancini's tactics are very strange and I don't think he is capable of getting best out of his team (I hope I'm right!), if we get a good run I think we can pip Chelsea for 3rd

[dawson99]

I will put a bet that the Mancs will win it again this season, Man City to bottle it because Mancini's tactics are very strange and I don't think he is capable of getting best out of his team (I hope I'm right!), if we get a good run I think we can pip Chelsea for 3rd

I'll take that bet, United will not win it this season. Not saying we will, but cant see united doing it.

We have improved, we have a a winnig manager now. Not wearing rose tinted specs or anything, just know we are a fukk of a lot better than last season showed

[Reg]

Chelsea will win the league this season.

[metalhead]

Chelsea will win the league this season.

Difficult to say, their priority is Champions League so I guess they will sacrifice a bit domestically for Europe. They also have an ageing squad and haven't invested in new players yet, but if they end up with Modric then its a different story.

Daws, if we don't win it I really hope Man City does but I'm skeptical about Mancini as I don't think he has what it takes to win the league (I might be wrong)

I agree with you about Kenny, but let's get CL spot first then build for the title one step at a time.

The good times are back

[crazyhorse]

This season I will mostly be fearing Giants 

Football wise we should fear no one ! WE ARE LIVERPOOL!

[Octsky]

i am not going to diss on mancs becoz i didnt see enough of them to make a judgement.
but IMPO i think this current team is sill a bit far off from their peak. the team consist of schmeichaels, keane, beckham, giggs (young), scholes, sheringham, schokjaer etc etc.

back to LFC, i saw the new guys played (Hendo, Adam, Downing). Downing is fast, good dribbler, and can cross the ball. and Hendo and Adam both have no problem spraying balls left, right, centre from 30-40 yards. and dare i say, Alonso will look ordinary playing with them.

Lucas is effective and Carroll is seriously fast for a big guy, just need to get the match fitness back.
Defense is something that is worrying...if Agger and Aurelio stay fit then we are good.
plus we still have Suarez and Gerrard to look forward to.
if Kenny can gel this team together, we will be a very scary team to play against.

[jacdaniel]

and dare i say, Alonso will look ordinary playing with them.

Agree with most of your post except this part... are you suggesting that Hendo + Adam are better than Alonso?

[Ola Mr Benitez]

You always have to fear Man U and then Man City, and Chelsea and Arsenal.

I think Chelsea have made a big mistake by not moving their squad forward.  It is old and they dont seem to have much youth coming through. I think they will struggle to get top 3 this year.

Arsenal have all the same problems as they have had the last few years, no grit or steel right through the spine of their team.  If they lose Fabregas I think they will not make top 4.

You still have to watch Spurs as their team is still young and has another years experience.

After them there is nobody I fear and I also think our team is stronger than last year and has a manager who understands our club. Will we win the league? Proabably not, but I wouldnt write us off just yet.  Will we get top 4, I think we will, I really do.

[aCe']

I think all the sides around us added quality to their sides and lets not forget that their starting positions were some distance ahead of ours...

Imo, we havent improved enough given the money we spent... Our signing of Henderson can be best compared to ManUtd's signing of P.Jones.. Both arent good enough for top level competition this year but represent decent potential for the future... The big difference is that ManUtd payed the 20mill or so knowing that their starting 11 are pretty much set and hard to improve on unless a top top player is available... Similar scenario with A.Young and Downing.. They got the better player imo but still hes not good enough to replace Valencia/Nani who are both better than anything we have/had for a while..

Realistically, we shouldnt be looking at ManUtd, ManCity, Chelsea or even Arsenal given the current circumstances... 5th seems about right and competition from Tottenham is closer to our level I would think...

Looking at the Arsenal side that many are expecting to see drop out of the top4, I cant help but think they've actually improved as a team since last season and if anything might actually push further this season rather than drop... They added Gervinho and look set to add atleast one more defensive signing.. Their main players are fit again (Varmaelen, RVP and Fabregas) and their younger starters have more experience in the league (Wilshere)..
Their starting lineup will probably look something like this:

Szczesny
Sagna   Koscielny   Varmaelen   Gibbs
              Song       Wilshere   
Gervinho        Fabregas        S.Nasri
                   VanPersie

They also have a strong bench with the likes of Djouro, Squillaci, Eboue, Diabi, Ramsey, Rosicky, Arshavin, Walcott, Vela, Bendtner, Chamakh

On Squads, they're right up there with the best of them from the midfield upwards.. Where they struggle is defensively and if they manage to sign G.Cahill as expected then I'd tip them for a top 2 finish given their manager and style..

If they sell Fabregas and get 40mill or so I'd expect them to invest that as well because Wenger is under a lot of pressure to spend (funny isnt it) and came out recently saying that they will make signings (regardless of the Fabregas situation).. Even if they dont, An attacking midfield trio of Gervinho-Nasri-Arshavin/Walcott isnt too bad is it ?!

[ethanr]

Looking at the Arsenal side that many are expecting to see drop out of the top4, I cant help but think they've actually improved as a team since last season and if anything might actually push further this season rather than drop... They added Gervinho and look set to add atleast one more defensive signing.. Their main players are fit again (Varmaelen, RVP and Fabregas) and their younger starters have more experience in the league (Wilshere)..
Their starting lineup will probably look something like this:

Szczesny
Sagna   Koscielny   Varmaelen   Gibbs
              Song       Wilshere   
Gervinho        Fabregas        S.Nasri
                   VanPersie

They also have a strong bench with the likes of Djouro, Squillaci, Eboue, Diabi, Ramsey, Rosicky, Arshavin, Walcott, Vela, Bendtner, Chamakh

On Squads, they're right up there with the best of them from the midfield upwards.. Where they struggle is defensively and if they manage to sign G.Cahill as expected then I'd tip them for a top 2 finish given their manager and style..

If they sell Fabregas and get 40mill or so I'd expect them to invest that as well because Wenger is under a lot of pressure to spend (funny isnt it) and came out recently saying that they will make signings (regardless of the Fabregas situation).. Even if they dont, An attacking midfield trio of Gervinho-Nasri-Arshavin/Walcott isnt too bad is it ?!

I think you overate them a bit.  If Fabregas stays around he's not gonna have it in his heart to really play like he's capable, and I think the same goes for Nasri.  If they sell Fabregas and Nasri, who do they replace them with?  What CM will they replace Fabregas with? He's an amazing player, and it won't be easy.  I don't think Sneijder would want to go to Arsenal because I don't think he has the patience to wait to win instead of being placed on a team that has a great chance to win. 

Their main players actually aren't fit again.  RVP and Varmaelen are both injured again and are set to miss the first game of the season, and possibly (And hopefully) their game against us.  Gibbs is also injured.  THey are rumored to sign a CB as much as us, but truth be told they really need 2 because their best one in Vermaelen is extremely injury prone, and the rest make a lot of mistakes.  I mean, AAAA lot of mistakes.  I do agree that Gervinho actually looks a decent signing, but the thing with Arsenal is that every signing they make looks really good at first then starts to die off with injuries or inconsistencies (Vermaelen, Chamakh, Eboue, Clicky, Arshavin, etc.)  They still don't have a keeper.  They should have tried to sign Given a long time ago because he's way better than what they have.

Their bench isn't that great either.  Some of those players just aren't good enough. Djouro, Squillaci, Eboue isn't even on the team anymore mate, he was traded, Vela and Chamakh.  I think Bendtner still wants out if I'm not mistaken?  And for some reason Wenger doesn't like Arshavin even tho he's one of their better players.  Ramsey is a decent player, but more for the future.  Rosicky is good experience-wise, but his age has been catching up to him.  If Nasri leaves, I expect Walcott to start for him instead.  Walcott might actually start regardless, I think he's a really talented player.

Arsenal have  a lot of debts because of their stadium, and their business model is to never spend more than £12 million for a player.  If they sell Fabregas,  don't know if they will be willing to splash out more than £15 million on any single player, so in the end they just get worse.

Wenger's a great manager, but I feel his time at Arsenal is all but over.  His system doesn't work there anymore and there just seems to be this tension all around the club.  I'm not sure he'll be around too much longer if I'm honest.

But Arsenal are Arsenal and you get a lot of the same every year.. THey are actually a lot like LIverpool last year when it comes to playing in the bigger games.  THey can beat anybody any day, but they can lose to the bottom garbage any day as well.  They will have moments in the season where they are literally the best club at that moment, but they will have moments where they just can't get their together.  I could see them finishing maybe 3rd, but I could easily see them finishing 5th as well.

[alwayslfc]

Who should we fear? I feel we should be more fearful of our awful defence and inconsistency which can make the forthcoming season a nightmare than fearing any PL side. It is worrying to know that we are very quiet in the transfer market for good central defenders. I hope we get Enrique and 2 quality defenders of the Hypia/Hansen standard before the window closes.

The preseason games not only showed our defence need an overhaul but also we are still not consistent, same old story as last season where we can beat anyone at home but can lose to anyone away from home. Kenny still need 2 more seasons before he can build another formidable squad like the 87/88 season. Good Luck Liverpool. YNWA.

[metalhead]

I think all the sides around us added quality to their sides and lets not forget that their starting positions were some distance ahead of ours...

Imo, we havent improved enough given the money we spent... Our signing of Henderson can be best compared to ManUtd's signing of P.Jones.. Both arent good enough for top level competition this year but represent decent potential for the future... The big difference is that ManUtd payed the 20mill or so knowing that their starting 11 are pretty much set and hard to improve on unless a top top player is available... Similar scenario with A.Young and Downing.. They got the better player imo but still hes not good enough to replace Valencia/Nani who are both better than anything we have/had for a while..

Realistically, we shouldnt be looking at ManUtd, ManCity, Chelsea or even Arsenal given the current circumstances... 5th seems about right and competition from Tottenham is closer to our level I would think...

Looking at the Arsenal side that many are expecting to see drop out of the top4, I cant help but think they've actually improved as a team since last season and if anything might actually push further this season rather than drop... They added Gervinho and look set to add atleast one more defensive signing.. Their main players are fit again (Varmaelen, RVP and Fabregas) and their younger starters have more experience in the league (Wilshere)..
Their starting lineup will probably look something like this:

Szczesny
Sagna   Koscielny   Varmaelen   Gibbs
              Song       Wilshere   
Gervinho        Fabregas        S.Nasri
                   VanPersie

They also have a strong bench with the likes of Djouro, Squillaci, Eboue, Diabi, Ramsey, Rosicky, Arshavin, Walcott, Vela, Bendtner, Chamakh

On Squads, they're right up there with the best of them from the midfield upwards.. Where they struggle is defensively and if they manage to sign G.Cahill as expected then I'd tip them for a top 2 finish given their manager and style..

If they sell Fabregas and get 40mill or so I'd expect them to invest that as well because Wenger is under a lot of pressure to spend (funny isnt it) and came out recently saying that they will make signings (regardless of the Fabregas situation).. Even if they dont, An attacking midfield trio of Gervinho-Nasri-Arshavin/Walcott isnt too bad is it ?!

Ace, if Arsenal stay with that team and add a defender then I would agree with you, however it looks likely that Nasri and Fabregas are leaving so this weakens them. They already spunk 12m on an unproven young player right now, and I don't think Wenger is going to ditch his philosophy. Even replacing Fabregas is still not an improvement. They will struggle if they don't invest.

[Boocity]

I don't fear any of the top sides, I fear complacency against the so called minnows

[stmichael]

I don't fear any of the top sides, I fear complacency against the so called minnows

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