Liverpool FC Forum

Posted: **Fri Mar 16, 2007 1:46 pm**

ther are rumours that crouch could be joining spurs in some sort of swap deal with berbatov the guy is class rafa should defo break the bank to get him he is just what we need.

Posted: **Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:49 pm**

wrighty (not mark!) wrote:Sod it, let's go for 2 quality wingers who can score goals. For sure, Kuyt hasn't scored as many as he has in the eredivision or wateva the dutch prem is called:D but I feel that he and crouch would benefit from the likes of quaresma and joaquin/simao/lennon blistering down the flanks. It makes me drool........

Just a thought;

Maybe Kalou is an option.
Great on the right wing, great on great left wing and also able to play in the centre. Still young, able to score a lot of goals, was Kuyt's mate in Rotterdam, isn't happy at Chevski (heard PSV wants him).
Think might be great for LFC :idea

Posted: **Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:57 pm**

FRfanatic wrote:
wrighty (not mark!) wrote:Sod it, let's go for 2 quality wingers who can score goals. For sure, Kuyt hasn't scored as many as he has in the eredivision or wateva the dutch prem is called:D but I feel that he and crouch would benefit from the likes of quaresma and joaquin/simao/lennon blistering down the flanks. It makes me drool........

Just a thought;

Maybe Kalou is an option.
Great on the right wing, great on great left wing and also able to play in the centre. Still young, able to score a lot of goals, was Kuyt's mate in Rotterdam, isn't happy at Chevski (heard PSV wants him).
Think might be great for LFC

No offence, mate, but from what I've seen of him in the prem, "great" is not an adjective I'd use. No thanks.

Posted: **Fri Mar 16, 2007 5:34 pm**

grayghost wrote:ther are rumours that crouch could be joining spurs in some sort of swap deal with berbatov the guy is class rafa should defo break the bank to get him he is just what we need.

don't think Jol will ever let Berbatov leave...he single handlely keep Jol in the job just when their season was about to sink into some real bad shape

Posted: **Fri Mar 16, 2007 7:29 pm**

If he ever gets properly fit again, and remains injury free - should we just bite the bullet and buy Michel Owen back??

I cannot see any player mentioned here who is better than a fit Owen.

He is still young, and would not cost the earth; he would also jump at the chance to come back. It is not my ideal solution and I am not altogether for it, but just throwing the idea out for discussion.

Posted: **Sat Mar 17, 2007 1:16 am**

Getting Owen back is just a matter of pride. The board (previous) just didn't want to spend money on a player that they already let go. Also, saying that a fit Owen was leathal for us (which he was certainly) is all fine and well. but it's keeping him fit. He seems to be too injury prone and lost some of his edge when he damaged that ligiment. Like Fowler, he just wasnt the same after it. Where the hell has our renowned ability to bring or capture natural finishers that we were once famous for gone? Why hasn't there been a new Owen, Fowler, Rush, Keegan etc etc?!

Posted: **Sat Mar 17, 2007 9:52 pm**

Quote St Michael:

"And in addition to that, how often do we break forward only to see 2 players in the box and 2 central midfielders around the half way line, when instead one fo them could be arriving into the box?"

Steven gerrard .......

Actually playing where he can and has proven himself as a world class player for the last 5 years or so?

Sorry to bring it up again but our biggest downfall this season has been Gerrard everywhere except where he can do the most damage...(a lot of the time)

Posted: **Sat Mar 17, 2007 9:58 pm**

crazyhorse wrote:If he ever gets properly fit again, and remains injury free - should we just bite the bullet and buy Michel Owen back??

I cannot see any player mentioned here who is better than a fit Owen.

He is still young, and would not cost the earth; he would also jump at the chance to come back. It is not my ideal solution and I am not altogether for it, but just throwing the idea out for discussion.

How do we know if Owen will ever be the same player again?

That injury at the world cup was very nasty and it was he knee, remember the ramifications of Robbies injuries?

For me the Owen ship has well and truly sailed. He was a great goalscorer for us and I will always remember him for what he done in the treble season but its a "no thanks" from me.

He left us and didn't even give Benitez a chance, he wanted to go and he sold us short with the pathetic £8m fee we got for him. Even Cashley Cole signed a new contract with Arsenal to keep his fee high and not sell them down the river. Owen didn't. He's far too interested in being "Mr England" as well for my liking. Last year when he done his metarsal, he was just saying he would be back for the World Cup, World Cup? I 'm sure thats exactly what the Newcastle fans wanted to hear after the board had spunked £17m on him.

Thanks but no thanks.

That Liverpool chapter is well and truly a closed book.

Posted: **Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:51 am**

We bought Robbie back for a support contribution, Owen would be no different, he's finished. Why not go the whole hog and bring Kenny back ffs?

We need 2-3 top-top yongsters and it'll take 3 years to find them, but the key is we start right away.

Posted: **Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:01 am**

I'd have Owen back in a second. The lad can finish, he may not have the pace anymore like Bellamy - but after Robbie, he'd be the best finisher in our squad. If he were to stay fit, I'd love Owen to return. Wouldn't give him Garcia's shirt though. Make him wear 11.

Posted: **Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:17 am**

I dont get it. He's lost his sharpness, he lost his confidence years ago and he's an injury liability. Why would we want to buy someone like that?

We've have greater needs than that and there are better players who would jump at the opportunity to come to Liverpool.

Posted: **Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:28 am**

I agree 100% with this. Our creativity and product from midfield has been virtually non-existent this season, especailly with Garcia being injured since January. Gerrard will never score, create or hurt the opposition as much playing centrally as he would do on the right. Alonso doesn't score enough goals for me, Pennant and Gonzalez have scored maybe 4 goals between them and Sissoko hasn't scored yet. Hell our biggest attacking threat in midfield is Riise at times and like you say, most of his efforts are long range ones. Compare this to manure who've got Ronaldo, Giggs and Scholes in midfield who have probably scored 30 goals between and provided countless assists. That's the difference. Their strikers have been no more prolific than ours.

So how comes you've noted that Scholes is a threat from a central mid position, but a bit before that you said that Gerrard " will never score, create or hurt the opposition as much playing centrally" ?
If Scholes is a constant danger from the center why will Gerrard never be as much ?

This has really gone away from topic and I'm sorry but people who believe that Gerrard is more effective on the right obviously see their football differently to me.
I think the fact that he scored 20 odd goals from that position in one season has really got people believing thats his best position. Okay the goals return was fantastic from a midfielder but would you honestly expect him to reach that same tally every season ? Surely not, but does that mean this same debate would come up again if he didnt bang in as many goals from RM, I bet it would.

For me, to get us anywhere nearer to challenging for the title Gerrard playing in the middle would be some way to pushing us in the right direction. As well as the obvious signings both wide and upfront. And Rafa will have to learn to stop meddling with team rotations at the start of the season.

But let me go back to gerrard for a min (I'm like a dog with a bone

). His style of play, lack of quick pace over five yards and sublime ball skill wouldnt have me down as a natural right mid. I think if he stayed in that position season after season he'd stagnate into another Beckham and just look to whip in decent crosses. Thats not enough for me, Wingers like Ronaldo, SwP, Giggs, Robben, Joaquin, even Kewell on his day are in a totally different catergory of player to Gerrard. He's not and never will be an orthadox winger, he doesnt even have the skill any of those players have above. But then when you say names like Vieria, Keane, Lampard (overated I know) Scholes in a sense and so on, well more of your box to box midfielders Gerrard name wouldnt look out of place along them.
And do you know why ? Because its his best postion his games suited too.

Posted: **Sun Mar 18, 2007 1:51 pm**

good thread:D

i think we're pretty close, but the main positions that people say we need improving are

Striker
Right + left wing

i agree with these, and i think we should sign villa, who is like an owen at his peak, but is two footed and can also hit free kicks (goal vs inter anyone), and ribery + quaresma. they can both dribble + beat their man, and can both play both sides.

Also, people keep saying that we need a central attacking mid player, and it's been said that we already have this in gerrard. rafa should play just the one holding player, although i think the team he likes to play with alonso/momo playing deep could be effective with a better left winger.

Apart from those 2/3 players, i think we are close to a title winning side, and only need to avoid the big changes of last season* (ie 5/6 new players in the side) and we will have a big chance next season.

*interestingly, look at how ferguson was criticised last year for only bringing in carrick, but look at how their team has gelled this year, and what they've achieved (:angry: bloody scum)

Posted: **Sun Mar 18, 2007 1:54 pm**

also, i would love to do a cash/crouch deal for berbatov. people rightly praise crouch's technique (ie bicycle kicks this season) but not only does berbatov have this, but he gets power on his shots aswell (volley midweek!!). can't see jol letting him leave tho, maybe we've missed out there...

Posted: **Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:44 pm**

I still remember what I did the day we won the league the last time. Since then it has been a real rollercoaster to be a Liverpool supporter. So many false dawns, so many 'almost there', but the truth is that we are still sooo long away from getting nbr 19 which is really what mattters. I know this will be seen as an over the top reaction after the game today but I have bit my tongue so many times but today I just can not.

Our side is still so obviously not good enough. We have now gone three games without scoring. We have no creativity. We have no real width. We have no real goalscorers. We just cannot create soemthing from set pieces.

Defensively we are OK, and that is OK to get us to where we are. But, to really take the step up towards the level needed for nbr 19 we need to improve dramatically in the final third. I have tried to be optimistic about our players but today was the final straw for me.

SG had a very disappointing game today, but the problem is what happens when he does. Today was also my worst day in terms of confidence in Rafa. Why keep Mascherano after the first 45? Why keep Aurelio? Why keep Momo? Why on earth not have Alonso on from the start? Why not a double substitution at half time: Pennant on the right, Alonso and SG in the middle, take out Momo and 'Masch', only problem is what to do with Faubio A since we did not have Gonzales there to replace him.

I know that today was just one game, but it still summarises our shortcomings for so many years. I guess in a way it is not to surprising given that we have been competing at the second level in the transfer market for so many years.

We need much better quality on the wings and in front of goal! Let's hope we can get that backed by Mr Hicks and Mr Gillet. After trying to see the positive side after so many years I just feel today that the answer is not a small, gradual improvement bu rather an quite drastic rearrangement of most of our offensive resources. Lets hope for the best......

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