Liverpool FC Forum

by **banana** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:27 pm

Oh no not another thread you might think. And I agree. Too many threads are being started on the same topics. But I couldn't care less. This is my 500th post so I think it deserves a place in the sun.

However, this post ain't about me. It is of course about LFC. And as you all know we have been through a tough period lately. Bad results against Man U, Boro, Chelsea, Burnley etc. have hit us hard. Last nights performance was really bad. Only the impressive Whitbread, Warnock, Baros and Hyypia played well. The rest sucked. I was particularly doisappointed with Igor Biscan's display. There is no way he is going to force himself into the first 11 with uninspired performances like that. Burnley's midfielders had much quicker feet and Biscan was always late. Welsh also struggled with the pace of the game. What more, these two players never provided any creativity whatsoever. Welsh has been paraded as the next big thing. I do not understand why. He has little skills on the ball, he lack pace and strenght and so far he has shown no creativity or determination. Another disappointment last night was Nunez. Madrid was lucky to get rid of him like that. We got a player we don't want and Madrid got a player they don't need. Potter looks better than Welsh, but he is still far away from even a squad player status. Raven had a good game against Spurs, but last night he struggled. Traore controlled his left side well, and almost all of Burnley's attacks were on Raven's side. Traore and Raven also should have provided more attacking runs. Those runs did not exist last night. Now that Otsemobor is back, he should get in ahead of Raven in the pecking order. Mellor was not even considered good enough for the reserve team and should consider his options. If we are going to compete against Madrid, Munich, Chelsea and Juventus, there is no room for Mellor at Anfield. For him it must be a lot better securing a long term contract with Wigan or Sheffield United. Both clubs apparently interested in his services.

I will not criticise Benitez for our early exit. Benitez has done exceptionally well with a thin squad and poor Houllier players. We can not expect to compete in all four competition with the current injury plagued squad. And since our top priority is finishing 4th in the league, followed by a good run in the Cl. This is what we get.

Houllier has made Benitez job very difficult. Houllier mad some quality signings in our defence. Players like Riise, Hyypia, Heggem, Traore, Henchoz, Kvarme, Babbel, Finnan are all decent players. But when Houllier tried to strenghten the team in midfield or up front he failed miserably. His midfield signing track record is a complete joke:

Biscan
Diao
Diomede
Ferri
Smicer
Le Tallec
Cheyrou
Diarra
Mc Allister
Barmby

In my opinion ONLY Mc Allister was good enough to wear the red shirt. And he was on a FREE. The rest was friggin expensive. That is an abysmal track record in the market. And a complete waste of good money.

Houllier also tried to buy some strikers

Diouf
Riedle
Meijer
Baros
Heskey
Camara
Sjolund
Dundee
Litmanen

Litmanen was decent, Camara ok for 6 months and Heskey for a year. Baros has turned out great. All in all STILL an abysmal track record.

So now what? We are left with a bunch of overpaid unsaleable players from the Houllier reign. Diarra, Cheyrou, Le Tallec, Vignal, Diao, Diouf are all LFC players away on loan with long expensive contracts not nearly good enough to play for LFC. What was the point in signing Diarra. 3 years after he signed, he has yet to set his foot in Liverpool. Shocking. This means Benitez will have his hands tied also next year unless he manages to sell some of the ******. This does not seem very likely. Most players would struggle to get even half their LFC wages another place, and they will sit out their contract here and leave us on a bosman later. Particularly Biscan, Diao and Cheyrou are sensationally bad signings. Look at that Valois guy last night. A player like that would have been 3 times more useful than any of those lads and a lot cheaper too.

The good things about this season fortunately outweight the bad things by a wide margin. We are playing attacking football once more, we have a manager with a eye for the tactical strategical aspects of the game. For so many years have we played like 11 headless chickens. Now we defend and attack as a team. There is a identifiable pattern and strategy to our game. This is clear to the eye. Also we have signed experienced players with a winning mentality. This will be invaluable in the closing stages of the season. We have a immensly talented midfielder in Alonso and a potential 10 + goals per season player in Garcia. I know Garcia has received a bit of criticism lately. I think some of that has been well of mark. Garcia is an important player for us. He adds a lot of creativity to the team and he is extremely hard working. A true team player. He runs a lot and because of this he gets into dangerous positions and scores goals. Also with a little bit of luck, our injury list would not be so long and we would have gotten more from the referees.

The referees in england are shockingly bad. In the Man U game for instance I think Heinze should have had 5 yellow cards from his dirty tackling. He even hacked down Morientes inside of the box with a two footed tackle from behind and nothing was given. That was a clear penalty to me and a solid yellow card. Man U are a bunch of dirty lads. Heinze, Neville X 2, Scholes, Keane, Brown, Smith and so on are all dirty. Only Giggs is a decent lad. It looks like the only way to win is to play it rough. Chelsea for instance managed to take Alonso out of the game by applying rough tactics. It is not a coincedence that some of our best skilled players suffer injuries. English referees does not provide enough protection. No wonder why there are so few good technical players in britain. They just get hacked down from an early age and disappear from football. And britain end up flooded with untalented psychos. Like Muscat, Short, Dunne etc. Something must be done with the referreing standard soon.

by **jonnymac1979** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:42 pm

Evans signed Riedle, dude, with his best days behind him.

by **jonnymac1979** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:43 pm

And Dundee. He played 5 games for us. Nowt to do with GH.

by **jonnymac1979** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:45 pm

Congrats on 500 though.

by **maximus** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:52 pm

banana wrote:His midfield signing track record is a complete joke:

Mc Allister

Mcallister was one of Houlliers BEST signings, a model professional. Absolute quality

by **The_Rock** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:54 pm

it hurts like hell to lose to burnley just after losing to manure........ I can't even think straight now....

how the hell can u come up with such a long post ?

But have to agree with you on 1 thing, if we are gonna challange with the madrids & milans of the world, we have to have a better squad. Rafa has done an excellant job with a limited squad......... but, i guess its time to be rutless. (ie...no biscan, no traore, no mellor, no nunez..etc {very tempted to add hyppia & garcia in the list too..but willing to give them more time}).

I am not saying get rid of these players asap....but by the start of next season, when rafa hopefully gets his preferred players here, they can be sold....

Now, the only thing can make me slightly happy is if exeter beats the scums & knock them out too.....

by **banana** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:31 pm

Sorry bout Riedle and Dundee. Evans players. Both pathetic.

by **Fowler_E7** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:35 pm

kvarme was also an evans buy, i suggest you check your facts before posting.

by **109-1105722616** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 5:14 pm

alright leave the lad alone will you, he gets it wrong a bit but the fact remains houllier left a lot of deadwood in the squad, and rafas job is made a lot harder because of this

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