Liverpool FC Forum

by **mkingdom** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 2:20 pm

stmichael wrote:I've heard that Benitez wanted to bring in Gareth Barry, Wayne Bridge, Emile Heskey and Keane in the summer

Wayne Bridge...has Rafa got a full back fettish? :oh:

Mind you, if it meant not signing Dossena then I'd be in favour

I think with Aurelio and Insua we have two decent left backs. Now, another RB would be nice.

I really hope Rafa, Torres and the rest of spaniards can convince Villa to join us...and of course that we can afford him. That signing would be a real step forward for us I think.

by **Toffeehater** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 7:08 am

Can torres and villa actually play together?

by **JoeTerp** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:18 pm

Toffeehater wrote:Can torres and villa actually play together?

yes. Did you watch the Euros? Torres himself might play better with Gerrard, but the combination as a whole of Torres-Villa does score goals.

by **JoeTerp** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:25 pm

watched Palmerias yesterday and well I have been watching them a lot since January and I am very impressed with a lot of their players (granted the Paulista is not the highest level of competition) But I know we amongst others are looking at Keirrison (which is pronounced Kay He Son by the commentators I listen to) and he has been impressive. 2nd most impressive is Diego Souza a midfielder with a good bit of attacking flair. They said that Lenny was being looked at by Arsenal and he did some spectacular things but he is also very tiny and dives a lot. Marquinhos, 19, is another very talented winger that they have. He was supposed to be the star of the Brazil U20s, but was injured during the south american tournament

by **Cool Hand Luke** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:57 pm

Toffeehater wrote:Can torres and villa actually play together?

In the games I have seen them play together I saw nothing to make me believe that they compliment each other. I don’t think that Villa is the right partner for Torres.

by **SupitsJonF** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:02 pm

Cool Hand Luke wrote:
Toffeehater wrote:Can torres and villa actually play together?

In the games I have seen them play together I saw nothing to make me believe that they compliment each other. I don’t think that Villa is the right partner for Torres.

Same. It was the midfield that would create the chance, and then one of the two of them would finish. Torres and Villa together I think might of had 2 assists together, but I think only one. However it would be nice to have another world class forward to scare defenders, but only if it doesn't ruin the gerrard/torres partnership.

by **Toffeehater** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:59 pm

JoeTerp wrote:
Toffeehater wrote:Can torres and villa actually play together?

yes. Did you watch the Euros? Torres himself might play better with Gerrard, but the combination as a whole of Torres-Villa does score goals.

Yes i did watch the euro and torres did not score up till the finals and that was due to villa being out injured . I've not seen anything of the sort that says torres can play with villa

by **JoeTerp** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:17 pm

Toffeehater wrote:
JoeTerp wrote:
Toffeehater wrote:Can torres and villa actually play together?

yes. Did you watch the Euros? Torres himself might play better with Gerrard, but the combination as a whole of Torres-Villa does score goals.

Yes i did watch the euro and torres did not score up till the finals and that was due to villa being out injured . I've not seen anything of the sort that says torres can play with villa

thats not true. Torres scored before the finals, and Spain AS A TEAM were scoring a bunch of goals. Isn't that the idea? for the team to score a lot, and NOT put all the pressure on one player?

Torres scored against Sweden and Villa had 4 goals in the first 2 games. Assured of going through, neither played against Greece. And in the first demolition of Russia, Torres went of early to save his fitness for the rest of the tournament. Torres was also taken off with the lead against Russia in their 2nd meeting.

by **Toffeehater** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:12 pm

JoeTerp wrote:
Toffeehater wrote:
JoeTerp wrote:
Toffeehater wrote:Can torres and villa actually play together?

yes. Did you watch the Euros? Torres himself might play better with Gerrard, but the combination as a whole of Torres-Villa does score goals.

Yes i did watch the euro and torres did not score up till the finals and that was due to villa being out injured . I've not seen anything of the sort that says torres can play with villa

thats not true. Torres scored before the finals, and Spain AS A TEAM were scoring a bunch of goals. Isn't that the idea? for the team to score a lot, and NOT put all the pressure on one player?

Torres scored against Sweden and Villa had 4 goals in the first 2 games. Assured of going through, neither played against Greece. And in the first demolition of Russia, Torres went of early to save his fitness for the rest of the tournament. Torres was also taken off with the lead against Russia in their 2nd meeting.

He wasn't performing that well thats why he was taken off , not to preserve his fitness , yes he scored 1 against sweden and a brilliant finish against germany . 2 goals in the whole tournament is hardly proof that they can work together , unless he got a sh!te load of assist . Yes the idea is for the whole team to score goals but villa is a big big risk for that kind of money , it could disrupt torres's game , villa might not adapt or it could be the best partnership the world has ever seen , either one of the 3 , at with the kind of money we have i don't think rafa will take that risk . I think we will be in like someone for aguero if we get taken over , rafa is a keen admirer and perhaps another right winger

by **GYBS** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:23 pm

Torres does play ok when playing with villa but torres does a lot of the unseen work that enables villa to get his goals - torres works a lot better without Villa as witnessed in the final of the euros when he was outstanding

by **Red H** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:43 pm

I think if we sign another striker there are have got to be two key components; 1)Can play in tandem with Torres. 2) Can play in his position, and role, when he is not available. I think Villa can do this, but he cannot be the only option, and would he be the best value for Money ?

by **Reg** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:07 pm

If Rafa bought a top striker would it be as a week-in week-out partner for Torres or as a rotation partner?

by **mkingdom** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:49 pm

Podolsky (sp?) or Klose would be worth a look IMHO.

Good players, with strength and an eye for goal.

by **aCe'** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:14 pm

heard we were in for Llorente (sp?) from bilbao i think... dont know much about him he seems pretty good from what i've seen but maybe Sabre would know a little more about him..

by **JoeTerp** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:19 pm

Reg wrote:If Rafa bought a top striker would it be as a week-in week-out partner for Torres or as a rotation partner?

Bad Bob wrote:Let's not cloud the issue with a specific focus on Keane. Saint's point is sound: yes, Torres and Gerrard are the heartbeat of our team in an attacking sense and we go well when they're playing together 9 times out of 10. But, the reality of football is that one or both will get injured for spells most seasons and we can simply not afford to be reliant on them staying fit all season if we want to properly challenge for the title. If not Keane, we need some other credible attacking threat to compensate for their inevitable absences and, ideally, more than one. Rafa's got some important work to do on that front this summer, presuming he stays.

and that is the 50 million dollar question. Both in the theoretical and in the pragmatic, of who we should bring in. I think in theory, we have a great set of back up right now. Players like Kuyt and Babel should be able to play up top as that is what Babel says he is all the time and Kuyt was a pretty decent goalscorer in Holland. And we have a wild card player in Yossi who can fill in anywhere across the attacking midfield 3. Then we have a "promising" "on the rise" 19 year old with height and pace that just needs some good ol' fashion Liverpool molding and coaching before he is the next Trezeguet, and meanwhile wont be in any kind of position to complain about not playing every week.

Theoretically, a lot of people seem to be in the by Torres a partner. Someone who is nearly just as world class and that will fit well with Torres in a 4-4-2, as well as being able to play with Gerrard in the 4-2-3-1 in the same way that Torres can.

When you buy a player of 20 plus million at Liverpool, as I read from Bigmick this summer, you have to play him every week. Keane started off the season playing in just about every game. And whenever he was dropped, it made news splashes (something that doesn't happen at United). So this means that if we do buy a big time player, which is what almost everyone is calling for, they are going to need to be able to fit in in the starting XI as well as working as replacing one of the two or possibly both roles in the Gerrard-Torres relationship that is currently working so well.

How do we answer that riddle? Either we change the system a bit (Gerrard on right in 4-4-2, Gerrard in middle drop one of Alonso or Mascherano in 4-4-2, or try a 3-5-2 system with Gerrard in an attacking mid role supporting both Torres and his new partner) OR we buy someone who will start over Kuyt, Babel, or Riera and mostly play out wide, but who is also better than Kuyt and Babel at playing up top on his own, and as a bonus, able to partner Torres in a (gerrardless) 4-4-2

And once we answer these theoretical questions its a matter of seeing who in the real world fits the bill, how much do they cost, and how much do we have spend, and is it worth selling others in order to have enough to buy?

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