Liverpool FC Forum

by **Ben Patrick** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 7:05 pm

rocky29 wrote:id rather sell gerard and buy david villa. but i know ulot are far to sentimental towards him. we have to look at the future. the next 2 seasons are gona be vital for us. look what happened when henry left arsenal. the team played better cos they didnt rely on one player!

ignoring your point about selling our best player, how have Arsenal done since Henry left ?
How much have they won ?

Think they were better with Henry, is the point i am making.

by **fivecups** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 7:09 pm

Superb against Sunderland. Best midfield tackler in the world.

by **leep33** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:56 am

Anybody know how close he is to signing his contract?

by **Owzat** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 9:09 am

Ben Patrick wrote:
rocky29 wrote:id rather sell gerard and buy david villa. but i know ulot are far to sentimental towards him. we have to look at the future. the next 2 seasons are gona be vital for us. look what happened when henry left arsenal. the team played better cos they didnt rely on one player!

ignoring your point about selling our best player, how have Arsenal done since Henry left ?
How much have they won ?

Think they were better with Henry, is the point i am making.

Wasn't just Henry that left though, the "invincibles" was long ago disbanded and that is my main concern about Wenger/Arsenal, that they construct a great team and then it breaks up. BUT at the very least he constructed it without paying the earth, the side they have at the moment needs a top quality goalscorer and a bit of luck with injuries.

Just take a look at the players from the 2006 CL final :

Lehmann, EBOUE, Toure, CAMPBELL, A.Cole, Pires, Gilberto Silva, FABREGAS, Hleb, Ljungberg, Henry, Flamini, Almunia, Reyes

Players in CAPS are still at the club, well Campbell came back. Just THREE of the EIGHTEEN players that were in the squad or played are at the club now. From our final just ONE year later we've got SIX of the 18 that night still at Anfield. I looked at the mancs 18 from the 06/07 semis and they've still got ELEVEN, Chelsea from their semi with us and they have TEN. I maintain the reason the mancs took over from Chelsea after their two league titles was because the mancs didn't change their side much at all while Chelsea made one or two too many changes - and left themselves short of CBs.

We didn't make many changes on last season's best XI, but they were arguably key changes - the sale of Alonso and Arbeloa, in coming underused Aquilani and overpriced Johnson. Add to that the more consistent use of Lucas and Insua, the lessened use of Riera and that's four changes.

Insua has already made 3x as many appearances this season as last

Arbeloa may have been less than 100% convincing defensively, but Johnson has been (as predicted) not that convincing defensively either.

Lucas played 25 times last season, about half of those as sub, this season he's missed just two Premiership games.

Riera made 28 appearances last season, most of them starts. This season he's played 12 times in the league, as sub in three of those and been an unused sub eight times.

While some may point at injuries we haven't had it any/much worse than last season, just to emphasise the point here's the comparitive 08/09 vs 09/10 apps figures for players still here and for the league after 32 games

Premiership 08/09 apps vs 09/10 apps (@ 32 games)

Reina 32-32
Gerrard 27-27
Carragher 32-31
Kuyt 32-31
Benayoun 26-25
Torres 19-21
Skrtel 18-19
Lucas 21-30 (+)
Agger 13-18 (+)
Mascherano 21-29 (+)
Insua 7-30 (+)

Aurelio 20-14 (-)
Babel 23-19 (-)
Riera 25-12 (-)

In red are those played three more or three less times, with the direction +/- in brackets, although players like Aurelio, Babel and Skrtel aren't certs for the starting XI if everyone is fit, nor really is Agger as Skrtel has been preferred at times in the past. I've left out N'Gog as he has been cover for Torres this season with no Keane here, and he has notched up over half his appearances this season from the bench

Frankly those who've played 3+ less games are more down to selection issues except Aurelio who is a constant injury worry anyway. I'd say any losses are more than countered by Agger and Mascherano playing more while people have long since drawn their own conclusions as to what Lucas playing more means and does.

And the principle point from the above is people find everything to blame, but I think the fact that we've not had massive injuries or the supposed injury crisis one thread refers to, but the biggest differences are Alonso's absence, the underuse of his replacement and that Gerrard isn't playing as well and the whole team is suffering

by **Kerry07** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:07 am

Watched the 90 minutes again.. Masch was outstanding.

Benfica controlled large chunks of passing in midfield, but Masch sprayed some cracking passes around himself. Nice throughball for Torres clincher also.

by **leep33** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:13 am

I am hoping he will sign a new contract but it all seems quiet, does anybody know how near he is to signing?

by **Kerry07** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:36 am

MOTM again.

Great defensive mid but such an underrated passer

67 passes, 65 completed, many of which were 30 yard plus crossfielders. 5 interceptions, 5 ot of 5 on tackles.

Buying a top top creative central midfielder to play alongside him remains top priority.

by **RED BEERGOGGLES** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:45 pm

Kerry07 wrote:MOTM again.

Great defensive mid but such an underrated passer

67 passes, 65 completed, many of which were 30 yard plus crossfielders. 5 interceptions, 5 ot of 5 on tackles.

Buying a top top creative central midfielder to play alongside him remains top priority.

He really is top quality Midfielder ,I love the speed of his recovery after executing a crunching interception ,another thing is his balance which some people fail to mention this is a prominent trait in most Argentinian players ,but in Mascherano its exceptional

by **RedSi35** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:58 pm

Truely outstanding. So much energy throughout the 90mins. His passing is also underated badly

by **shawnk** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 12:47 am

Mascherano reveals River dream

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has revealed he would like to move back to River Plate within the next four years.

Javier Mascherano has said he is happy at Liverpool
Mascherano, 25, played for River between 2003 and 2005 before moving to Brazilian side Corinthians, where he played alongside Carlos Tevez.

A brief and unhappy spell at West Ham followed in 2006, but he reignited his career with a move to Liverpool. Mascherano remains grateful to the club and, despite indications he was eager to move to Spain last summer, he has since suggested he would like to extend his stay at Anfield.

Asked how he has found life at the club, he told FIFA: "It's been fantastic and I don't get tired of saying that. They've treated my family and I superbly right from day one and we don't have any complaints. Liverpool is a lovely little city, too, and it's growing fast."

Mascherano admits, however, that he misses his native Argentina.

"I've been away for five years now and you always miss home and feel nostalgic about it when you're away," he said. "I've gradually got used to it, though.

"Even so, when the fixture list comes out I always check when the season ends so I can start booking flights."

Asked if he could return to Argentina soon, he said: "You never know and I don't want to be tied down by what I say, but I don't think I'll be staying on forever. Right now, I'm thinking about playing for another three or four years at the highest level and returning home to play at a good level there.

"I want to enjoy Argentinian football for four or five years and I'd love to do it at River (Plate), the club that gave me everything and treated me so well."

by **Dundalk** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 1:00 am

25 now, if we can hold on to until he hits 30 we will have done okay. He is only going to get better

by **Aussie Style** » Mon May 17, 2010 8:18 am

Javier Mascherano has described his failure to secure a move to Barcelona last summer as "a shame" and cast further doubt on his long-term future at Liverpool by revealing his difficulties with life in England.

GettyImages

Javier Mascherano joined Liverpool from West Ham

Mascherano was a transfer target for the Spanish champions but a deal was not agreed between the two clubs. Speaking candidly about the transfer talks, the Argentina captain admits he was keen to leave Anfield.

"The situation with Barcelona really affected me," Mascherano told the News of the World. "It was a shame it didn't happen as it was the city I wanted to live in.

"There were many discussions and problems during that month and a half. They were difficult times for me. One day I was off to Barcelona, the next I wasn't. And Liverpool said I was non-transferable.

"Psychologically, it affected me as I couldn't think in Liverpool and I was focused on other stuff and not on my work, my training and playing. Also we were having problems with Argentina as our qualification to the World Cup was in danger. There was a lot of complicated stuff at that time."

Mascherano also admits his family have struggled to settle in England and has painted a lonely picture of his day-to-day life on Merseyside.

"I don't do much stuff in my free time, that's the truth," Mascherano said. "I could go to London with my wife to do some shopping but I have already been to London 1,000 times and if I want to go to another city I would have to take a plane.

"What kills me about living in Liverpool is that there are only two Argentinians here with me, Emiliano Insua and Maxi Rodriguez. Insua and I live in a private neighbourhood. He lives in one tower and I live in the other. There are 15 metres between us and we used to look at each other through the window.

"Sometimes Zabaleta comes from Manchester but there is no way Carlos Tevez comes here. If I want to see him, I have to go to his place and knock on his door. He doesn't like to leave his home. So during the winter, during those four or five months, I have to stay at home all day with my family.

"I have no problem living in Liverpool, but I think my wife and daughters deserve to enjoy every day to the full and live their lives - but they have to be at home all day. My wife doesn't speak a word of English, so she depends 100% on me. I live here with them. That's my world, that's my life."

It was reported on Saturday that Mascherano has postponed talks over a new contract with Liverpool as he waits to see whether Rafael Benitez will remain at the club.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news....cc=3436

by **Ciggy** » Mon May 17, 2010 8:36 am

Aussie Style wrote:Javier Mascherano has described his failure to secure a move to Barcelona last summer as "a shame" and cast further doubt on his long-term future at Liverpool by revealing his difficulties with life in England.

GettyImages

Javier Mascherano joined Liverpool from West Ham

Mascherano was a transfer target for the Spanish champions but a deal was not agreed between the two clubs. Speaking candidly about the transfer talks, the Argentina captain admits he was keen to leave Anfield.

"The situation with Barcelona really affected me," Mascherano told the News of the World. "It was a shame it didn't happen as it was the city I wanted to live in.

"There were many discussions and problems during that month and a half. They were difficult times for me. One day I was off to Barcelona, the next I wasn't. And Liverpool said I was non-transferable.

"Psychologically, it affected me as I couldn't think in Liverpool and I was focused on other stuff and not on my work, my training and playing. Also we were having problems with Argentina as our qualification to the World Cup was in danger. There was a lot of complicated stuff at that time."

Mascherano also admits his family have struggled to settle in England and has painted a lonely picture of his day-to-day life on Merseyside.

"I don't do much stuff in my free time, that's the truth," Mascherano said. "I could go to London with my wife to do some shopping but I have already been to London 1,000 times and if I want to go to another city I would have to take a plane.

"What kills me about living in Liverpool is that there are only two Argentinians here with me, Emiliano Insua and Maxi Rodriguez. Insua and I live in a private neighbourhood. He lives in one tower and I live in the other. There are 15 metres between us and we used to look at each other through the window.

"Sometimes Zabaleta comes from Manchester but there is no way Carlos Tevez comes here. If I want to see him, I have to go to his place and knock on his door. He doesn't like to leave his home. So during the winter, during those four or five months, I have to stay at home all day with my family.

"I have no problem living in Liverpool, but I think my wife and daughters deserve to enjoy every day to the full and live their lives - but they have to be at home all day. My wife doesn't speak a word of English, so she depends 100% on me. I live here with them. That's my world, that's my life."

It was reported on Saturday that Mascherano has postponed talks over a new contract with Liverpool as he waits to see whether Rafael Benitez will remain at the club.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news....cc=3436

See yer lar.

by **bunglemark2** » Mon May 17, 2010 11:07 am

Looks like he's off-ski to me...
I wouldn't blame him either - family is more important and if they're not happy, what can he do ? (Assuming that's all true, I mean...)

by **Greavesie** » Mon May 17, 2010 11:13 am

He'll only go if Barca come in for him, I reckon they're gonna spunk their load on Fabregas tho. We'll see

Liverpool FC Forum

JAVIER MASCHERANO - Official Thread

Who is online