Houllier. Great Scout, poor manager.

evilhomer

looking at the liverpool squad you can't help but think they have a lot of potential.
i mean there are young players with talent like; le tallac, baros, cisse, pongolle(i know thats not spelt right ) all signed by houllier.

these are good players with plenty of prospect for the future.

but as i said great scout, poor manager. he just cannot bring players on, motivate them or play them in there proper positions.

i reckon under benitz there will be a marked improvement in the liverpool team this year. the team that houllier put together!
after all benitz is a good manager.

mayordenis

id agree with that id even go as praising nearly all of his signings. le tallec got 2 last night - legend

Dub13

I remember an interview he did last year and he said that his biggest fear was that he would not be at the club when all the young players came good...looks like that happend.I think he was to much of a "NICE GUY".

Dub13

He signed alot of good young players but he also got a lot of PLONKERS like...Bernard Diomede,Eric Meijer,ziege,Jean Michel Ferri,Frode Kippe,Sean Dundee....so he got it wrong a few times.

Bannor

Originally posted by Dub13
He signed alot of good young players but he also got a lot of PLONKERS like...Bernard Diomede,Eric Meijer,ziege,Jean Michel Ferri,Frode Kippe,Sean Dundee....so he got it wrong a few times.

Bernard Diomede - had a falling out with Houllier shortly after arriving, he refused to take part in defensive duties of the team. Played very well in the reserves. A "plonker" with a World Cup winners medal.

Eric Meijer - a model professional who was brought in on a short term contract to offer an option in the event of injuries.

Jean Michel Ferri - signed to be Houllier's mole in the dressing room when he became manager at the club. Ferri identified the trouble makers, Houllier got rid of them and Ferri moved on to another club.

Christian Ziege - a dream signing - refused to defend. Threw a strop when Houllier refused to play him. Houllier got rid of him quickly.

Frode Kippe - A player who showed great potential, didn't develop and was let go.

Sean Dundee - signed by Roy Evans. Got rid of by Houllier.

Bannor

After recovering from his heart surgery he wasn't the same man. That's why there is such a contrast between the development of the players in the last two years and what went before.

Guy:Incognito

Originally posted by Bannor
Bernard Diomede - had a falling out with Houllier shortly after arriving, he refused to take part in defensive duties of the team. Played very well in the reserves. A "plonker" with a World Cup winners medal.

Eric Meijer - a model professional who was brought in on a short term contract to offer an option in the event of injuries.

Jean Michel Ferri - signed to be Houllier's mole in the dressing room when he became manager at the club. Ferri identified the trouble makers, Houllier got rid of them and Ferri moved on to another club.

Christian Ziege - a dream signing - refused to defend. Threw a strop when Houllier refused to play him. Houllier got rid of him quickly.

Frode Kippe - A player who showed great potential, didn't develop and was let go.

Sean Dundee - signed by Roy Evans. Got rid of by Houllier.

I like your optimism in defending people but its a bit houllier-esque.


Biscan, this man cannot be defended- rubbish
Diuff(sp?)- Big letdown
Diao- Big letdown

Dub13

All the players I named Bernard Diomede,Eric Meijer,ziege,Jean Michel Ferri,Frode Kippe,Sean Dundee...how many times have they played for LFC....not many,it does not matter if you have a world cup medal if you dont work at getting into your club team.

leeroybrown

Ultimately, Houllier's biggest failing (and the one that got him sacked) was that in recent years his team played poor, boring, unimaginitive football and were incapible of passing well. The defence held them together for a season or two but once that declined a bit so did the results. Generally, the club got it's points due to the qualities of individual players and not because of good team play.

Bannor

Originally posted by Stekelly
I like your optimism in defending people but its a bit houllier-esque.


Biscan, this man cannot be defended- rubbish
Diuff(sp?)- Big letdown
Diao- Big letdown

It may come as news to you that Benitez actually rates Biscan as a player. :eek:

Diouf has been a let down - has a poor attitude and the club don't like his off the field exploits and are trying to get rid.

Diao hasn't really been given a chance. He did well when played in central midfield but he is not a central defender or full back which is where he played mostly.

JohnnyBravo

he tried to swap baros out of the club when ye wanted to sign diouf
So obviously not that good a scout

Bannor

Originally posted by JohnnyBravo
he tried to swap baros out of the club when ye wanted to sign diouf
So obviously not that good a scout

You're saying Houllier tried to get rid of him six months after signing him? That's complete ****e.

JohnnyBravo

im telling ya
the deal was done but baros didnt want to go
Houillier never even heard of baros except Smicer rated him
So he bought him

cerbeus

there has been mutterings that while Baros is a good player he can be a bit of a whinger off the pitch and was being lined up for either a loan deal or a transfer before he got injured.

eirebhoy

Originally posted by JohnnyBravo
Houillier never even heard of baros except Smicer rated him, so he bought him

And I thought the story that Fergie signed Miller just because Keane recommended him was a bit far fetched.

JohnnyBravo

That was a story

The Rooster

Biscan might be a good player. He looked like he could be a Vieria when he came first and was a regular in central midifield for a couple of months. In the last 2 years he's never played in central midfield but always as a winger, a full back and a centre back. And (as I imagine Vieria would be) he's been cack in those positions.

At least it looks like Benitez will give him a chance in his best position, and finally we'll see whether he is or isnt good enough.

Houllier was also foolish not to give Le Tallec and Sinama more opportunities. TLT could be as good as Ronaldo - remember it took Ronaldo many dire games before he came good. Sinama was outstanding when he came on for 15 mins against ManU - but hardly got a game after that.

Paladin

Heres the complete list of Houllier signings. Judge for yourselves:

Jan 1999: Jean-Michel Ferri from Istanbulspor £1.5million
Jan 1999: Frode Kippe from Lillestrom £700,000
Jan 1999: Rigobert Song from Salernitana £2.7m
Feb 1999: Djimi Traore from Laval £550,000
May 1999: Sami Hyypia from Willem II £2.6m
Jun 1999: Titi Camara from Marseille £2.8m
Jun 1999: Stephane Henchoz from Blackburn £3.5m
Jun 1999: Sander Westerveld from Vitesse Arnhem £4m
Jul 1999: Dietmar Hamann from Newcastle £8m
Jul 1999: Vladimir Smicer from Lens £4m
Mar 2000: Emile Heskey from Leicester £11m
Jun 2000: Bernard Diomede from Auxerre £3m
Jul 2000: Nick Barmby from Everton £6m
Aug 2000: Christian Ziege from Middlesbrough £5.5m
Sep 2000: Gregory Vignal from Montpellier £500,000
Nov 2000: Daniel Sjolund from West Ham £1m
Dec 2000: Igor Biscan from Dynamo Zagreb £5.5m
Jun 2001: John Arne Riise from Monaco £4m
Aug 2001: Milan Baros from Banik Ostrava £3.4m
Aug 2001: Jerzy Dudek from Feyenoord £4.85m
Aug 2001: Chris Kirkland from Coventry £6m
Sep 2001: Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama Pongolle from Le Havre £6m
Jan 2002: Abel Xavier from Everton £800,000
Jun 2002: El-Hadji Diouf from Lens £10m
Jul 2002: Bruno Cheyrou from Lille £3.7m
Aug 2002: Salif Diao from Sedan £5m
Jul 2003: Steve Finnan from Fulham £3.5m
Jul 2003: Harry Kewell from Leeds £5m

Total: £128,600,000

Thats a fair bit of money for such few established stars...

JohnnyBravo

And people complain about chelsea

eirebhoy

Jan 1999: Jean-Michel Ferri from Istanbulspor £1.5million
Jan 1999: Frode Kippe from Lillestrom £700,000
Jan 1999: Rigobert Song from Salernitana £2.7m
Feb 1999: Djimi Traore from Laval £550,000
May 1999: Sami Hyypia from Willem II £2.6m - Great Signing
Jun 1999: Titi Camara from Marseille £2.8m
Jun 1999: Stephane Henchoz from Blackburn £3.5m - Good signing
Jun 1999: Sander Westerveld from Vitesse Arnhem £4m - Also a good player IMO
Jul 1999: Dietmar Hamann from Newcastle £8m - Good signing
Jul 1999: Vladimir Smicer from Lens £4m - Good player, couldn't play under Houllier.
Mar 2000: Emile Heskey from Leicester £11m - ****
Jun 2000: Bernard Diomede from Auxerre £3m - Played 3 times for France in the World Cup '98. He was good for most of his Auxerre years but his form dropped during his last 1 or 2 seasons. Unfortunately Houllier thought he could sort that out.
Jul 2000: Nick Barmby from Everton £6m - Was he a bad signing for Everton? Most people would say no and he cost around £5.75 for Everton. He also improved during his time at Everton so good signing, couldn't play under Houl's.
Aug 2000: Christian Ziege from Middlesbrough £5.5m - He was definitely worth £5.5m from his performances for Boro alone. Liverpool got most of the funds back when he joined Spurs.
Sep 2000: Gregory Vignal from Montpellier £500,000 - If he avoided injury and had a different manager he'd probably be a regular for Liverpool ATM.
Nov 2000: Daniel Sjolund from West Ham £1m - I honestly never heard of this fella.
Dec 2000: Igor Biscan from Dynamo Zagreb £5.5m - Played out of position at Liverpool. His stats for Zagreb are very good.
Jun 2001: John Arne Riise from Monaco £4m - Great signing. Transformed from a virtual unknown to one of the best "left backs" in a season.
Aug 2001: Milan Baros from Banik Ostrava £3.4m - They could triple the money they paid for him if they put him up for sale tomorrow which says it all.
Aug 2001: Jerzy Dudek from Feyenoord £4.85m - He made a few howlers but he's still a top class keeper and I'd say he probably paid a lot of his transfer fee back to the club with his saves.
Aug 2001: Chris Kirkland from Coventry £6m - Suposedly England's future No.1.
Sep 2001: Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama Pongolle from Le Havre £6m
Jan 2002: Abel Xavier from Everton £800,000 - He was linked with all the top clubs before his move to Liverpool. 20 caps for Portugal.
Jun 2002: El-Hadji Diouf from Lens £10m - Being French, Houllier most likely watched the French league on a regular basis and was impressed with him. I still rate him but the club did pay way too much.
Jul 2002: Bruno Cheyrou from Lille £3.7m
Aug 2002: Salif Diao from Sedan £5m - Played out of position in every game. He's a defensive midfielder.
Jul 2003: Steve Finnan from Fulham £3.5m - Good signing, one of Fulham's best players
Jul 2003: Harry Kewell from Leeds £5m - Bargain


BTW Didn't Houllier sign the one and only Gary McAllister?

super_furry

Jan 1999: Jean-Michel Ferri from Istanbulspor £1.5million - Bizarre one this. Although the actual fee paid was closer to £500,000. There were even rumours that Houllier signed him in order to have an 'insider' in the dressing room.

Jan 1999: Frode Kippe from Lillestrom £700,000 - Poor signing, didn't work out, but a small fee.

Jan 1999: Rigobert Song from Salernitana £2.7m - Flattered to decieve all too often, was promptly shipped out.

Feb 1999: Djimi Traore from Laval £550,000 - Money well spent at the time, one of the most promising defenders in Europe and chased by a host of clubs. Will make a profit when sold.

May 1999: Sami Hyypia from Willem II £2.6m - Great player, cheap at four times the price.

Jun 1999: Titi Camara from Marseille £2.8m - Hugely talented, but as Jamie Carragher said "probably the laziest player I've ever met"

Jun 1999: Stephane Henchoz from Blackburn £3.5m - Great player, immense value for money.

Jun 1999: Sander Westerveld from Vitesse Arnhem £4m - Good goalkeeper prone to silly mistakes. Another victim of the Joe Corrigan school of goalkeeping coaching.

Jul 1999: Dietmar Hamann from Newcastle £8m - Great player, great signing.

Jul 1999: Vladimir Smicer from Lens £4m - A good squad player and just about value for money.

Mar 2000: Emile Heskey from Leicester £11m - Bought during the height of transfer price madness. Had a great first year and half then became the Heskey we all know now.

Jun 2000: Bernard Diomede from Auxerre £3m - Never worked out, poor signing.

Jul 2000: Nick Barmby from Everton £6m - Had a great season for the Reds during the Trebble season but picked up some injuries and after struggling to force his way back into the squad, was never the same.

Aug 2000: Christian Ziege from Middlesbrough £5.5m - Good player, but wasn't what we needed at the time.

Sep 2000: Gregory Vignal from Montpellier £500,000 - Promising youth, who, much like Traore will probably be sold at a profit

Nov 2000: Daniel Sjolund from West Ham £1m - £1m? Rubbish, he was part of the Titi Camara deal and cost us nothing from West Ham.

Dec 2000: Igor Biscan from Dynamo Zagreb £5.5m - I still have faith that, if played in his proper position and given the chance, Biscan could prove all his doubters wrong.

Jun 2001: John Arne Riise from Monaco £4m - Good player, good signing.

Aug 2001: Milan Baros from Banik Ostrava £3.4m - Good player, good signing.

Aug 2001: Jerzy Dudek from Feyenoord £4.85m - Good player, good signing.

Aug 2001: Chris Kirkland from Coventry £6m - Good player, good signing.

Sep 2001: Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama Pongolle from Le Havre £6m - Huge coup and the rewards of which will only be felt in the years to come.

Jan 2002: Abel Xavier from Everton £800,000 - Bizarre signing. We didn't need him and he was a poor player. Reckon he might have just been signed to piss off the Toffees.

Jun 2002: El-Hadji Diouf from Lens £10m - Poor signing.

Jul 2002: Bruno Cheyrou from Lille £3.7m - Showed his quality in fits and starts but never did anything with any consistancy.

Aug 2002: Salif Diao from Sedan £5m - Poor signing.

Jul 2003: Steve Finnan from Fulham £3.5m - Good signing, good player.

Jul 2003: Harry Kewell from Leeds £5m - Complete bargain, great player.

irishgeo

Every manager has made poor decision in the transfer market.

Fergie had that goalkeeping thing where he bought that Tabbi feela and bosnich and forland need i go on.

Wenegr how much did he pay for wiltord, i thing it was 11 million and he left for nothing.

Houllier made some bad buys but some class ones and he is gone from liverpool.

The present is now , lets forgot the past and the future.

phenom

He was never the best of Managers but defenitley brought some good talent to Anfield . Afew bad players like were made but doesnt every team?

mayordenis

well he actually is an excellent manager he could have us still plazing verz defensive football and being a sucessful side like in the treble eason but he was pressured into a change of style which he did not know how to manage.

eirebhoy

Originally posted by eirebhoy
BTW Didn't Houllier sign the one and only Gary McAllister?

Can anyone answer this? If he did, how come he's not on the list of transfers?

Drag00n79

He moved in Summer 2000, as far as i can remember. Hou def bought him on a Bosman from Coventry. Maybe why he's not on buy lists you read?

Shred

Signed on a bosman in 2000 from Coventry and left in 2002:

"My most inspirational signing," said Gerard Houllier about the capture of Gary McAllister who went on to be a Liverpool legend.

Drag00n79

Must say I always felt that Liverpool never really found a replacement for McAllister when he left. Every team needs an "old head", and we didn't really have one for a couple of years.

Shred

Totally agree with you. He was a great player and the midfiled was a lot more cohesive with him in it. There weren't so many long balls then:rolleyes: