Liverpool FC Forum

[tubby]

Just what we wanted to hear. More of the same from Fernando please..

[maguskwt]

Good news. Things are looking up! Now only Torres is left. The rest of the squad, I'm not too worried. Mascherano is a world class player but to me he is still replaceable.

[Igor Zidane]

Great news , just nando now and mascherano .

[metalhead]

very good news, torres will follow

[jono]

STEVEN Gerrard today committed his future to Liverpool FC.

The Reds skipper ended months of speculation as he welcomed the signing of Joe Cole from Chelsea and admitted he cannot wait to play alongside him.

The news will come as a massive boost to Liverpool supporters - the second in 24 hours.

Gerrard said of Cole: "It is a great signing for us. I know Joe well through the England set-up and have seen first hand just how good a player he is.

"He has proved his ability over many years in the Premier League - sometimes against us - so it will be fantastic to play alongside him in a red shirt for Liverpool."

Gerrard, who has been at Anfield since he was eight years old and has never in recent seasons expressed any desire to leave despite the speculation this summer, added: "I've told him what a great club this is and I'm sure Joe's the sort of exciting talent our fans will love to see. I made it clear that I simply needed to concentrate on the World Cup and then have a decent holidaty with my family.

"I wanted the chance to meet Roy Hodgson privately and having done so, I'm very impressed with his plans for the future."

[tubby]

To be honest I don't think there was ever any chance of him going anyway. Madrid would have been his only real option and with the suits looking after transfer matters these days only a silly amount would have tempted them to sell.

Torres is a different situation... fingers crossed though he commits too.

[In and Out]

Nice swan

[Dundalk]

Good news

[Fauxy]

Torres will probs stay now

Mascherano probably wont as he is digging himself a hole at the moment.

[andy_g]

*pulls on the benny the noon mask*

yeah, but he hasn't actually outright said the words "i will play for liverpool this coming season and have no interest in playing for anyone else".

*takes off benny the noon mask*


flippin good news though, eh?

[Thommo's perm]

Torres will probs stay now

Mascherano probably wont as he is digging himself a hole at the moment.

Surely he could pay someone to do that for him?

[Ben Patrick]

Tbh i thought he was a gonner at the end of the season.

Proper made up with what's happened in the last 24 hours.

[bigmick]

*pulls on the benny the noon mask*

yeah, but he hasn't actually outright said the words "i will play for liverpool this coming season and have no interest in playing for anyone else".

*takes off benny the noon mask*


flippin good news though, eh?

The "Benny the Noon mask" . My guess is even Ben will admit that is funny  .

Great news though, and one by one all the predictions of absolute carnage which some extremely concerned fans were voicing are being shot down in flames. I'm sure they are just as happy about that as the rest of us.

I have a little hunch that we are going to see a re-incarnation of Gerrard as a Lother Matheus style sit in front of the back four playmaker this season or soon. A midfielder who disctates, not with hollywood passes (he'll have to learn this bit) but with astute interventions and suble changes of rhythm. I've no doubt that we'd still see Stevie popping up with the odd goal here and there, arriving from the rear as it were, but he'll do the job Masherano and Lucas did between them, only much better. In this circumstance it would mean Lucas would be a filler inner, and probably Aquilani would play alongside/in front of Gerrard. Feck me we'd a bit of attacking thrust then with Cole in hole, Gerrard as a holder and Aquilani in the other midfield slot.

[andy_g]

i don't think gerrard is quite ready for that sitting and playmaking role you mention, mick. not for another season or two. as long as he is able to make those lung bursting runs that is what his overpowering natural instincts will force him to do, and that is what his manager will have to accommodate. if he drops back into midfield alongside a holding mascherano, or even lucas if it comes to it, that will be a better position for him to use all the aspects of his game. the problem is what to do with aquilani though, and i'm a big believer that he will show us what a good player he is this season. if cole plays off torres, which i guess he should, then there is no room for him. if cole plays out left then there is nowhere for the promising sounding jovanovich to play, unless he drops torres.

its a great problem for the manager to have, mind.

[In and Out]

i don't think gerrard is quite ready for that sitting and playmaking role you mention, mick. not for another season or two. as long as he is able to make those lung bursting runs that is what his overpowering natural instincts will force him to do, and that is what his manager will have to accommodate. if he drops back into midfield alongside a holding mascherano, or even lucas if it comes to it, that will be a better position for him to use all the aspects of his game. the problem is what to do with aquilani though, and i'm a big believer that he will show us what a good player he is this season. if cole plays off torres, which i guess he should, then there is no room for him. if cole plays out left then there is nowhere for the promising sounding jovanovich to play, unless he drops torres.

its a great problem for the manager to have, mind.

Agreed. I'm hoping we can get another season or two out of him as a box to box midfielder. I had voiced my concerns about the possibility of his game declining. Yet, with the optimism and fresh start along with signing Cole, Gerrard may have me fooled and roll back the years with the kind of performances that made him a household name.

But he isn't ready for me yet to 'sit', I think, rather hope he can be that box to box player that he is naturally suited to. Ideally Masha would be the sitter and destroyer with Gerrard paired up with him. If those two clicked in the engine room, that would be poetry in motion.