Liverpool FC Forum

by **Ciggy** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:01 pm

So it looks like Robbie Keane will be leaving in January then after Lawros latest revelation what Gerrard said to him on Saturday night in the players lounge.

Torres & Crouch have been the only successfull strikers since Rafa arrived, ok Cisse got a bag full but was deemed surplus, Babel has looked like a total different player to that of last season.

Now this isnt a dig at Rafa before anyone says your not a proper fan bla bla.

What will we do if Keane leaves? Go out and spend 20 odd million on David Villa or someone and turn them into a fucking workhorse who can't score goals anymore?

I was looking at some stats the other day our strikers and attacking midfielders, wingers that have signed since Rafa arrived and only Torres & Crouch turned out to be succesfull.

Morientes, Bellamy, Gonzales, Keane, Kuyt, Benayoun, Pennant, Zenden all saw their goals to games ratio drop once they signed for us. Kuyts record in Holland was acceptional you dont go from scoring 30 odd goals a season to 8 without reason, and season by season his goal scoring record has got worst

You would expect strikers to score more goals in a top side but apart from Torres & Gerrard we dont look like scoring.

Does Rafa take something away from a players natural game that its effecting our chances in front of goal?

Ive got to dash out now sorry if the post is a bit rushed. I will finish it when I get back.

by **Dundalk** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:06 pm

What did Gerrard say to Lawro?

I missed that

by **bigmick** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:07 pm

Ciggy wrote:So it looks like Robbie Keane will be leaving in January then after Lawros latest revelation what Gerrard said to him on Saturday night in the players lounge.

Torres & Crouch have been the only successfull strikers since Rafa arrived, ok Cisse got a bag full but was deemed surplus, Babel has looked like a total different player to that of last season.

Now this isnt a dig at Rafa before anyone says your not a proper fan bla bla.

What will we do if Keane leaves? Go out and spend 20 odd million on David Villa or someone and turn them into a fucking workhorse who can't score goals anymore?

I was looking at some stats the other day our strikers and attacking midfielders, wingers that have signed since Rafa arrived and only Torres & Crouch turned out to be succesfull.

Morientes, Bellamy, Gonzales, Keane, Kuyt, Benayoun, Pennant, Zenden all saw their goals to games ratio drop once they signed for us. Kuyts record in Holland was acceptional you dont go from scoring 30 odd goals a season to 8 without reason, and season by season his goal scoring record has got worst

You would expect strikers to score more goals in a top side but apart from Torres & Gerrard we dont look like scoring.

Does Rafa take something away from a players natural game that its effecting our chances in front of goal?

Ive got to dash out now sorry if the post is a bit rushed. I will finish it when I get back.

Lynds, just for the benefit of those of us who are currently boxed up in a sunny, ideallic but ultimately boring as feck hellhole 12000 miles away, what was Lawro's revelation?

by **neil** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:10 pm

and what was lawros previous revelation?

by **Redman in wales** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:13 pm

MARK LAWRENSON: I’m not sure Liverpool will keep Robbie Keane
Dec 16 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

RAFAEL BENITEZ decided not to take up the offer of using Robbie Keane when it was demanded against Hull City on Saturday.

But if any offers come in for him during the transfer window, I’m not so sure he will pass those up as well. Because it could be time to bite the bullet – both for Liverpool and for Keane himself. Quite simply, it hasn’t worked out. Robbie hasn’t suddenly become a bad player but he hasn’t fitted into the system at Anfield at all – and it’s hard to see how he ever will.

Benitez’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation isn’t suited to his game. Steven Gerrard has to be in the middle of that three supporting Fernando Torres when he’s fit. If he isn’t, Keane really can’t play up front on his own. And even though Benitez hinted he could play wide when he first signed, it’s always been obvious that he is not a winger. And as such, he hasn’t been played there. It really leaves Keane with nowhere to go – except through the exit door. Which is fine. If both parties agree something hasn’t worked out then there’s no shame in parting ways rather than hanging round to sort out an issue that can’t be resolved.

The Irish captain is 28 and he’s not going to change the way he plays now and he isn’t likely to improve either. But he is still a very good footballer who hasn’t been afraid to move on if he isn’t playing football, because that is all he wants to do. He wrote off his move to Inter Milan as a bad idea, and he soon left Leeds when he couldn’t compete with Alan Smith and Mark Viduka for a place in the forward line. The place he has been a great success is Spurs – where he stayed around long enough to establish himself over time. At this stage, it might not be a bad idea for him to head straight back there.

As for Benitez, while I understand his reasons for not bringing on Keane on Saturday, I just feel it is yet another snub that indicates all is not well. Look at the amount of times Keane has been brought off when he has started this season. Even against West Brom, when he had already scored twice, he wasn’t given the chance to stay on and get his hat-trick.

Yet even that double strike didn’t give the player the confidence he needed. After all, when the manager doesn’t have much confidence in you, there’s not much point. It’s all very unfortunate for all concerned but if a decent price can be sealed in January, Rafa might get an attacking player who can fit into his system more readily than Keane has.

But neither the manger not the player can be blamed for this move not working out. Benitez shouldn’t be criticised for wasting money and Keane can’t be blamed for not finding his form for the club he so desperately wanted to join.

It’s just that in football – cruel and unforgiving as it is – these things just happen sometimes.

Mark Lawrenson was speaking to NICK SMITH

link

by **Ciggy** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:14 pm

Gerrard 'suggests Keane could leave'

Steven Gerrard fears that Ireland international Robbie Keane could very well leave Liverpool during the January transfer window, according to former Reds legend Mark Lawrenson.

Keane has had a tough time at Anfield since he joined the club from Tottenham over the summer - only scoring four goals - and was left on the bench for the 2-2 draw with Hull City over the weekend.

And Lawrenson, speaking on Today FM’s ‘The Last Word’, has revealed that Gerrard told him that he expects a move to materialise for the striker next month.

“I had a drink with Steve at a function on Saturday night,” Lawrenson explained. “He said they share the same agent and he thinks something’s going to happen with Robbie Keane in January.

“It sounds like he might be moved on.”

The Reds have reportedly only paid a quarter of the transfer fee due to Spurs for the player, which could facilitate a return to White Hart Lane in the near future, Lawrenson added.

However, Premier League rules forbid a player going back to a club within 12 months of being transferred or having their registration cancelled.
http://www.setanta.com/....d-31774

by **stmichael** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:15 pm

Owen would be a no brainer for me if it wasn't for the fact that his wages are ridiculously high. With the exception of Man City I just can't see anyone paying him what he wants.

All in all Rafa's defensive buys have been far more successful than his attacking ones. I mean Cisse is now scoring goals in a poor Sunderland team. I liked Bellamy but he was shipped out after a season. Crouch when he started games pretty much averaged 1 in 2 and still was still sold.

Go for Eidur Gudjohnsen. He's not getting games at Barcelona and would be ideal to play with Torres.

by **Redman in wales** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:17 pm

Lynds put the article up so have edited this one... except from the important bit!

Lawrenson, speaking on Today FM’s ‘The Last Word’, has revealed that Gerrard told him that he expects a move to materialise for the striker next month.

“I had a drink with Steve at a function on Saturday night,” Lawrenson explained. “He said they share the same agent and he thinks something’s going to happen with Robbie Keane in January.

“It sounds like he might be moved on.”

by **andy_g** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:19 pm

not much of a revelation from the arch pundit lawrenson there, more of a series of ifs, buts and possiblys. if we do move keane on in january we are absolutely going to have to spend the money on another striker in the torres mould. that is the way rafa likes to play and that is the way we play best. torres will surely get injured again and we need someone who can fit in seamlessly. the two problems are though that we are never going to get back anywhere near what we paid for keane and we're going to have trouble finding a quality player who's happy to sit on the bench for weeks on end when torres is fit.

edit: i wrote this before seeing the second of ciggy's posts about the gerrard angle. doesn't take away from the fact that lawrenson is full of shabite though...

by **bigmick** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:21 pm

Well whatever anyone thinks of Keane (and indeed Babel as well), if they can't get a game up front when Torres is injured and the opposition is Dirk Kuyt, then clearly they are no good to us. That doesn't mean i don't rate Keane, I do. It also doesn't mean I don't rate Babel, I sort of do. I'm no Babelian

but I think he's got ability (that last bit was totally pointless, just an excuse to use Babelian).

The simple fact of the matter is though that i don't pick the team, Rafa does (thank feck for that etc etc) and if he deems them surplus, then we are better employed using the funds they would release (obviously it'd be nowhere near the 31 mill we paid) on people who are actually going to play. We aren't rich enough as a club to have 31 million quids worth of striker sitting on the bench, with Dirk Kuyt playing in front of them.

by **Redman in wales** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:22 pm

Ciggy wrote:"...he thinks something’s going to happen with Robbie Keane in January...”

yeah... he's gonna start scoring!!

by **we all dream...** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:22 pm

lawros a

tho isnt he.... what an ars*hole... needs to learn to keep his trap shut.

by **bigmick** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:24 pm

we all dream... wrote:lawros a tho isnt he.... what an ars*hole... needs to learn to keep his trap shut.

Does he post on here, perhaps he should and then when he puts his opinion up people can respond in a similar way.

by **Igor Zidane** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:40 pm

bigmick wrote:
we all dream... wrote:lawros a tho isnt he.... what an ars*hole... needs to learn to keep his trap shut.

Does he post on here, perhaps he should and then when he puts his opinion up people can respond in a similar way.

Think what he means mick , is that gerrard obviously told Lawro this in confidence and now he's spurted it out in the press. Don't be so defensive mate , not everyone is having a go at you. :;):

by **Leonmc0708** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:45 pm

Possibly offensive joke removed - apologies.

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