Liverpool Signings and General Rumours Thread

copacetic

Stekelly wrote:

I'd be willing to pull off the pope in return for a guarentee of winning the CL,

better you than me!

copacetic

~Rebel~ wrote:

First and foremost - QUARTER FINALS!!! YEEAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!


Now. A lot of poeple saying how bad it was, but we had 3 strikers who each absolutely should have scored. Imagine the difference the game is if they all put their quite easy chances away. Granted Valdes did well with Kuyts rebound of bellamys shot. Bellamy should have gotten something on the Gerrard cross that went over Kuyts head and landed on his lap bouncing harmlessly away. I know you can say he wasnt expecting it, but he's meant to be a top striker, he should be ready for any chance. Crouchs miss from Pennants beautiful beautiful ball at the death was woeful. he was ahead of his marker, and the keeper went the wrong way.

We need people who can finish the gilt edged chances.

Otherwise, Liverpool were the better of 2 teams that didnt quite hit top form. Barca were really bad i thought tonight, some of it may have been the harrying etc, but they really didnt offer much until the last 15minutes! Eto'o's touch was a bit off and he got no real chances. Messi was anonymous. Ronaldinho was only ok beyond his fantastic run that he should have finished.

Sissoko had a second dodgey game, but im still gonna reserve calling for his head, everyone has bad runs, his passing is noticeably worse then normal in the last 2 games. Thats ok, its something that can be worked on in training, his workrate is still second to none, and what a shot off the crossbar!

Finnan, Agger and CARRA were immense!

and again to finish...QUARTER FINALS!!! YEAAAAHHHH!!!! COME ON YOU REDS!!

P.S. Someone get a petition going for Ken and Deirdre to divorce and get married again!

like you say momo was poor, within the first 3 mins saw the best and worst of him, takes the ball off them twice, just about holds on to it once and misses a 5 yard pass the second time.

However I've never seen anyone win so much ball off the oppo, if he can just learn to give simple passes and get some kind of touch he'll be a great player. He'll run all night, is really quick and can tackle...

Guy:Incognito

daveym wrote:

I do goats

We can all edit stuff you know. It's not funny unless it's a genuin eslip though.:)

copacetic

Stekelly wrote:

We can all edit stuff you know. It's not funny unless it's a genuin eslip though.:)

it was pretty funny!

and I was going to wait a while until it wouldn't be below the other one but didnt want anyone to think
you wear offering to pull off the pope. for some reason it is worse than offing the pope!

Guy:Incognito

daveym wrote:

it was pretty funny!

and I was going to wait a while until it wouldn't be below the other one but didnt want anyone to think
you wear offering to pull off the pope. for some reason it is worse than offing the pope!

Right i'll just say it so.

I'll off the pope for the cl.

I'll pull him off for the League.

copacetic

Stekelly wrote:

Right i'll just say it so.

I'll off the pope for the cl.

I'll pull him off for the League.

at least we would have the league sown up first!
otherwise that would be nasty..

Tusky

$lattman wrote:

Although we should have won and gave the ball away way too much, I don't think it was that bad. Did anyone see Dunphy? "Gerrard has been exposed as a nothing player", "Alonso is a poor player", "Benitez has been found out tonight". Is this man having a laugh or is he really an "expert"?

Yup, heres my post from the other thread.

Tusky wrote:

My summary of the game :

Absolutely perfect first half from Liverpool, don't know how they didnt score. Bossed Barcelona off the pitch, hit the bar twice, ball was cleared off the line 3 times. They also had many more shots on goal than Barca. Liverpool continued in the same form in the second half but about halfway through the half you could see they were (understandibly) tiring. They dropped deeper and their retention of the ball was dire.

What I found most shocking was the RTE pundits, they are the most depressing bunch of fellos I have ever seen on tv. Don't get me wrong, they come out with some intelligent comments but you would swear it was the end of the world by the way they talk about teams. OF COURSE Liverpool looked nervous towards the end of the second half, they were playing against Barce for a place in the quater finals. Any team in Europe would have adopted a defensive mentality. I couldnt believe how negative the pundits were. Liverpool are never going to match Barcelona for skill or flare and it would be silly to try. They really tore into Liverpool about playing in a negative way. The only reason I would fault them was that they gave the ball away time & time again.

[edit] forgot to mention, I honestly dont understand why Rafa took Bellamy off.

DaBreno

$lattman wrote:

Although we should have won and gave the ball away way too much, I don't think it was that bad. Did anyone see Dunphy? "Gerrard has been exposed as a nothing player", "Alonso is a poor player", "Benitez has been found out tonight". Is this man having a laugh or is he really an "expert"?

Why are people still getting wound up over what Dunphy says? If an old drunk in the corner of some pub starts ranting, do you listen to him? Same thing! The instant the game ended, I turned over so as not to listen to the "Experts". I was in too good a mood after the game to take their feckin moaning.

Delighted at going through. We should have beaten a team well before the final whistle but didnt for the send time in a week, thats the only worry. Some immense performances again last night and the crowd were great.

Starting to get a good feeling about this one Lads!!!

mickith

thought in the first half we were very good, plenty of chances and limited barca to not many at all.
could barely watch the last 10 minutes of it, but we did it in the end and over the two legs well deserved to go through.

i would like to no why raffa keeps on taking bellers off in a lot games at nearly around teh same time. again last nite i thought that when the ball was thrown up the field from the back line that bellamy was the best player to have up there chasing and harrying the barca defenders. it didnt look like he was too tired or anything. for all the running that kuyt did and it was a lot i think bellamy should have stayed on.
great performance over the two legs and delighted that we are through, alls thats left to do now is sit and wait for us to be drawn against chleski and once again throw em outta europe

redspider

Liverpool 0-1 Barcelona (Agg: 2-2, Liv 4-3 on away goals)

Well, Liverpool got through, and deservedly so it has to be said. I thought Benitez got our game plan and formation spot on, although at times there was too much of 'letting them have it'. I was pleasantly surprised to see Liverpool come so close to a couple of goals early on and in the first half. Riise had intent, and Liverpool did everything but score in that goalmouth triple-chance.

I thought Barca's line-up was not as strong as it could be. Ronaldinho did okay in the centre but Etoo out left is not where he plays his best. Think of a Cisse in a winger position. Barcelona were stretched and couldnt find a way through. They had a lot of possession but most of it was in their own half and they created little danger. A few half chances but Liverpool's offside traps were working well.

Until Pennant came on. The goal I would blame as follows: Arbeloa for playing them on. Finnan (yes, he did make a mistake, but was immense at other times in the match) was getting sucked into the centre too much, and Pennant, well for being Pennant. He is not a left back. When Gerrard was at left midfield it was a better set-up.

Rafa's subs were unusual to say the least. Kuyt looked more heavy legged than Bellamy, but to be fair to Kuyt he ran his socks off. Kuyt could have done better on a couple of occasions he got some chances. Bellamy too. I was surprised to see Riise taken off. Even though, Crouch very nearly scored and 1-1 scoreline would have been the least that Liverpool deserved on the night.

So, well done.

I concur with what many posters have said about the players. Carra, well, what can be said about him - immense. If there was a top-10 tackles of the season competition, he would feature in half of them I have no doubt. Without him I would fear for Liverpool.

Finnan had a very strong game I thought, apart from the goal. Gerrard was good, although he didnt have his shooting boots on. A screamer from him would have been 'nice'. Riise was good. Kuyt worked well. Sissoko, a lot is being said about him since his return. Its the seasons long discussion about midfield. I think his passing is rustier than it was before his injury. He will never be an Alonso, but he will get slightly better. And he certainly performs a function in breaking up opposition play.

Of course, his being on the pitch upsets the central pairing of Alonso and Gerrard which most managers would die for. I think having Sissoko as a defending midfielder in the back 4 wouldnt be a good solution to out either as he would give away a lot of free-kicks.

Overall, a good night for Liverpool Football Club and its followers.


> Why are people still getting wound up over what Dunphy says? If an old drunk in the corner of some pub starts ranting, do you listen to him? Same thing!

Exactly. I think I've written the same thing here several times in the past.

Giles was the best of the analysts last night. Brady was in a bad mood, probably because he fancied Barca because they had beaten Arsenal in last seasons final. Liverpool getting past them makes Arsenal's painful loss even worse. Dunphy is dumb-fy .... good craic to listen to in the pub, but he himself fully admits that he is no expert and is nothing more than a mouth and a loud one at that. Before the CL win in 2005, he claimed that he would give up punditry, media even, if the 'shambolic Liverpool' would win it. He didnt. He has no "moral courage". "He is not a Great Analyst."

No wonder Apres Match get so much mileage from them, they are comical as they are without parody.

Redspider

mike65

http://football.guardian.co.uk/Match_Report/0,,2028139,00.html

Mike.

The Rooster

Can't fathom why he takes off Bellamy and not Kuyt. Bellamy's pace and trickery causes far more trouble for defences than Kuyt's strength.

Agree with everyone that Carra and Finnan were superb, ably assisted by Agger, Arbeloa and Reina. Personally I thought it was Reina's best performance this season. His handling was top notch, actually catching both shots and crosses!

I'm glad Gudjohnsen didnt feature more over the two legs.

Barca created nothing in the last 10 minutes - for that I give Liverpool a lot of credit. I was sure wholesale panic would ensue when we conceded, and it looked that way for about 60 seconds, but after that we were composed, and the only time I felt nervous was when Pennant was in the vicinity of the ball (he was appalling) - but even he did well in injury time!

mike65

Youtube - Dunphy Last Night

Facinating to see the likes of even Giles misread what Rafa and Liverpool are about. Liverpool let Barca play only where they could do little damage.

Beauty of the game (to quote Brady) my arse.

Mike.

Tusky

mike65 wrote:

Youtube - Dunphy Last Night

Facinating to see the likes of even Giles misread what Rafa and Liverpool are about. Liverpool let Barca play only where they could do little damage.

Beauty of the game (to quote Brady) my arse.

Mike.

I can't believe that those guys get paid for that. I think the stats for the match were

shots

---

Liverpool 16
Barcelona 8

ontarget

---

Liverpool 6
Barcelona 4

or something along those lines, Liverpool hit the bar twice, had 3 shots cleared off the line. They defending really really well, let Barcelona have the ball in their own half but closed them down immediately once they came closer. They would never beat Barcelona in a game of skill and the pundits should know this and shouldnt put them down for approaching the game in the smartest and most effective way.

PiE

Oh the bitterness is so sweet. They clearly had substantial amounts of money on Barcelona to win the tie. Either that or they've got serious short-term memory loss... as in they completely forgot the first half.

Giles, even through his encroaching senility, was the only one who offered anywhere near a balanced view. And it was only Bill who noted the fact that it was "only the width of a goalpost" that stopped Liverpool being 3-0 up by half time.

And Brady... dear me. He must be the most blinkered and biased pundit to ever make it onto TV.

fred funk }{

I think our finishing last night let us down again, so many really good chances. I really think we need a top quality striker for sure.
Anyone else think Gudjohnsen would do well at Liverpool?

mike65

Shush your mouth! (yes).

Mike.

Chucky the tree

PSv, Bayern, Valencia, Roma, United, Chelsea, and AC Milan all in the 1/4's. What team do people want?

I'd take PSV definitly. I just want to avoid united, chelsea and Valencia. The rest are very beatable i think.

el rabitos

why would u want to avoid utd? dont think we've anything to fear from them over 2 legs. tbh i think benitez is a very difficult manager to outwit over 2 legs. if his tactics are wrong in one match, odds are they're right in the other.

personally i'd like valencia, id love to see pool knock morientes out. nothing happening piece of *bleep*, goes and bangs the goals in for them and not us. that alone deserves retribution

tbh i dont think pool have anyone to fear over 2 legs

RE*AC*TOR

PSV would be the best I think, seem to be the weakest team left.

After that, maybe AC or Roma.

Would like to avoid Chelsea/Manu. Actually I would quite like if they got each other.

Dont be at yourself

I'd be wary of PSV. AC Milan would be my wish!

mike65

I'd take PSV first. I don't think AC Milan would allow themselves to get mugged by Liverpool twice.

Mike.

~Rebel~

What id like is;
Pool - PSV
Chelsea - Man U
Roma - Milan
Valancia - Bayern


When is the draw?

mike65

Good pairings.

Friday 10.30 am

Mike.

Guy:Incognito

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

PSV would be the best I think, seem to be the weakest team left.

Yeah, look how well that worked out for us last year.

I think our best shot is a tough run like in 2005. play the best, the lads always seem up for th ebig teams.

shatners basoon

nekkid bible man wrote:

I'd be wary of PSV

we beat psv already though so its not like we dont know how to play against them. PSV's talent is mainly the level of effort but we can match them on that front..

As said before i'd fancy our chances against anyone... except maybe a full strength Chelski team. Glad Arsenal are out for our sake. They've knocked us out of too many competitions this year for my liking!

Chucky the tree

2 english teams will definitly be drawn together i think. UEFA wont be happy with 3 english teams in the semi's.

shatners basoon

Oooooo.... Uefa conspiracy!
Its not like there haven't been same nation finals before.
How many English teams made it to the Qs that time Leeds did well- 3 or 4?
Its mathematically probable that there will be an all English encounter though. Kinda hope not however. An all English final would really piss Dunphy off!

5starpool

I've checked the last 80 posts or so, and I don't think it has been posted.

This is the most viewed thread on Boards.

Here's hoping for PSV or else United so we can shut them up. The alternative to that pairing doesn't bear thinking about tbh.

PiE

It's been noted.

As said by Ste, I hope we get a tough tie in the next round. We tend to do a helluva lot better when we're the underdogs.

The Rooster

Is it possible to draw PSV given we already played them?

Even though they're miles ahead of us in the league, if we got Chelsea or the mancs it's be a 50/50 tie. There really isn't anyone else to be scared of - though I think Valencia would be the draw I'd like least.

zing

The Rooster wrote:

Is it possible to draw PSV given we already played them?

AFAIK Yes - keeping clubs that have played in the group stages apart only applies in the first knock out round iirc. Similarly clubs from same national associations can meet each other from the quarter finals onwards.

smoke

Ye anyone can play anyone in the quarter finals.

Daemonic

Stekelly wrote:

I think our best shot is a tough run like in 2005. play the best, the lads always seem up for th ebig teams.

Couldn't agree more. If we want to win it we have to beat the big teams eventually and we always have a better shot over 2 legs. Lets avoid PSV until the final

Stky10

Australian teenage goalie signed

http://www.thesoccerblog.org/premiership/liverpool-sign-australian-goalkeeper/

Tusky

Summer Transfers :

SELL

---

Crouch 10 -11m
Cisse 6 - 8m ?
Pongolle* - 3m
Kewell - 2m (hope this doesnt happen)
Zenden - 1.5m (or is his contract up?)
Fowler - free
Dudek - free

TOTAL : 24.5 - 27.5

* I wish Rafa would wake up and see the talent that Pongolle is, I really like the chap. Hes currently on one less goal than Villa and one more than Torres in Spain, playing at a lesser club and getting less time on the pitch. I think given the chance, he would shine. This obviously isnt going to happen as he has brought Veronin in and will more than likely bring another striker in, selling one of the current 3 (not including Fowler).

1 Frederic Kanouté (MLI) Sevilla 18
2 de Assis Moreira Ronaldinho (BRA) Barcelona 17
3 Diego Milito (ARG) Zaragoza 15
4 Ruud Van Nistelrooy (NED) Real Madrid 12
5 Fernando Morientes (ESP) Valencia 10
- David Villa (ESP) Valencia 10
- Fernando Baiano (BRA) Celta 10
8 Florent Sinama-Pongolle (FRA) Recreativo de Huelva 9
- Fernández Luis García (ESP) Espanyol 9
- Raúl Tamudo (ESP) Espanyol 9
11 Fernando Torres (ESP) Atlético de Madrid 8

I seriously doubt he will sell Kuyt or Bellamy as they have only had one season and neither have been big let downs. He has also shown this season that he favours them over Crouch. I would also like to see Kewell given one last chance with Liverpool, he was fantastic last season and he hasnt been fully fit for a long time. He scores goals, creates them, beats players and is a good passer of the ball. Certainly the best left winger at the club.

So that leaves 27m coming into the club, I have no idea what the transfer kitty will be this summer, maybe around 20 - 25m ? That leaves a total of roughly 50m to spend. I dont think many new players need to be brought in this summer. Theres LOTS of good players at Liverpool, but not many world class players. I think Rafa should pick up 2 or 3 top players and leave the rest of the squad as is.

In my opinion he needs to buy quality on both wings, wingers that can beat players, get crosses into the box and most importantly, score goals. Alot of people have been giving alot of attention to the fact that we dont have a striker thats scoring 20 a season. While I think its important that we pick up a clinical striker, I think its just as important that we start to see goals coming in from the wings. Pennant has scored one, Riise has scored a couple and Gonzalez got a couple also. So the question is, who will Rafa buy?

I think he will make another attempt at picking up Alves, although I think his price tag will be higher still than last season. Liverpool may need to splash out around 15m to get him as he has had a great season. Liverpool have also been linked with Eto'o, Villa and a couple of Seria A strikers. I personally can't see Rafa spending 20-25m on any one player which is what they former two would cost. Someone I would love to see Liverpool make a bid for is Ricardo Quaresma. He can play on both wings, left or right foot and always looks dangerous when I see him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFmYhZW63qI

I think Teves might be worth a bid aswell. Good friends with Javier and if things keep going the way they are for West Ham, he might be a good buy. A couple of other possible striker targets, Darren Bent, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Huntelaar & Klose. Bar Darren Bent I dont know enough about these guys to comment.

BUY

---

Alves - 14 m
Quaresma - 9-10 m (no idea how much he would cost)
Eto'o,Villa,Torres,worldclass striker - 20m

all of that could be afforded with a little left over. What do you think Rafa will do and what would you do if you were Rafa ?

Please note : I would say 90% of the above is inaccurate and most of it will probably never happen! Purely speculation. Ive probably got most of the transfer prices wrong also.

gary the great

I think someones been playing a little to much football manager

Tusky

gary the great wrote:

I think someones been playing a little to much football manager

Ive only ever played the demo of Football Manager 05/06 . Just bored.

mickith

* I wish Rafa would wake up and see the talent that Pongolle is, I really like the chap. Hes currently on one less goal than Villa and one more than Torres in Spain, playing at a lesser club and getting less time on the pitch. I think given the chance, he would shine. This obviously isnt going to happen as he has brought Veronin in and will more than likely bring another striker in, selling one of the current 3 (not including Fowler).

i agree about flo po. saw one of his last goals he scored and the pace he showed was scary. i couldnt beleive he was that quick. rafa has been keepin in touch with him though. i read that somewhere, dont no where. so he knows all about what he is up to. id say there is a good chance of him comin back next season hopefully.
also i hope carson is with us for next season. if rafa lets him go it would be a terrible loss. obviously he knows about carsons talent but just after signing another new young keeper, who knows what will happen

Vokes

Can only see the following being sold / let-go:

Pongolle - 2mil
Cisse - 8mil <- i think this is already agreed upon with Marseille ?
Fowler - Free
Kewell - Free
Zenden
Dudek - Free

And in:

Voronin
Some youngsters

So no real major changes - Rafa will just lose the rest of the above dead wood, with Voronin the only senior squad addition.

Tusky

SofaKing wrote:

Can only see the following being sold / let-go:

Pongolle - 2mil
Cisse - 8mil <- i think this is already agreed upon with Marseille ?
Fowler - Free
Kewell - Free
Zenden
Dudek - Free

And in:

Voronin
Some youngsters

So no real major changes - Rafa will just lose the rest of the above dead wood, with Voronin the only senior squad addition.

Ah yes, forgot about Dudek. I seriously doubt Veronin will be the only addition to the senior squad. Kewell has another year on his contract doesnt he ? Don't think he would be let go on a free...if he gets himself fit again of course.

RE*AC*TOR

Tusky wrote:

Ah yes, forgot about Dudek. I seriously doubt Veronin will be the only addition to the senior squad. Kewell has another year on his contract doesnt he ? Don't think he would be let go on a free...if he gets himself fit again of course.

with the money in this summer i expext Benitez to sign some of his targets he couldn't land over the last couple of years.

I'd say Daniel Alves is high on that list.

Simao maybe.

Tusky

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

with the money in this summer i expext Benitez to sign some of his targets he couldn't land over the last couple of years.

I'd say Daniel Alves is high on that list.

Simao maybe.

Aye, Liverpool have played some great football this year and show bags of potential but the lack of creativity and goals is evident for all to see. He would be very foolish not to try and tackle this.

~Rebel~

I think Rafa will definately bring in more then those mentioned above.

The spine of the team leading up to the forwards is good, but out wide and 1 new striker we definately need improvement. Who Id love to see come in/back would be (as mentioned) Quaresma [heard that he can be quiet in some games and go missing, but i've never seen it happen] or other top class winger, Pongolle [deserves one last chance with a proper run given his success in spain], 1 proper top class striker come in, basically someone who if they get a chance is more likely to put it away.

Vokes

I just don't think Rafa intends to sell Kuyt, Bellamy, Crouch.

And with Voronin on the way, well, that's 4 strikers - no room for a fifth (although saying that, i wouldn't say no to the likes of Villa, Eto'o, etc..)

I can't see any more additions after Vorinin (perhaps Alves, but Sevilla aint doing half bad). Waiting for new players to bed down contributed to the bad start in the current campaign.

zing

SofaKing wrote:

I can't see any more additions after Vorinin (perhaps Alves, but Sevilla aint doing half bad).

Rafa will be pushing the new board for every penny he can get - and rightly so as it sets down a precident for future years for Gillet/Hicks. If given the money/backing of the board I expect him to be quite ruthless with the currnet squad and make a number of changes throughout the pitch

Gillet/Hicks have spoken about investing in the team and they need to come up with with the readies this summer to reassure the fans that they're commited to ensuring the success of the club.

Tusky

SofaKing wrote:

I just don't think Rafa intends to sell Kuyt, Bellamy, Crouch.

And with Voronin on the way, well, that's 4 strikers - no room for a fifth (although saying that, i wouldn't say no to the likes of Villa, Eto'o, etc..)

I can't see any more additions after Vorinin (perhaps Alves, but Sevilla aint doing half bad). Waiting for new players to bed down contributed to the bad start in the current campaign.

Kuyt & Crouch are very similiar but Kuyt is more mobile. I think Crouch will be sold. The one thing none of our strikers have (bar Fowler) is a clinical finish.

Stky10

zing wrote:

If given the money/backing of the board I expect him to be quite ruthless with the currnet squad and make a number of changes throughout the pitch

I'd agree to a large extent. Rafa is very popular with the fans, who recognise the job he did to win a champions league with the likes of Traore, Baros, Cisse, Biscan & Nunez, and how he's done well with the resources he's had available. But as Houllier found out, the failure to do well in the league will get him sacked sooner or later no matter how well we do in Europe.

So yeah, the deadwood will be cut, and I think we'll have some high profile signings during the summer. I just hope we don't get ripped off like Villa did paying 10m for Ashley Young, just to show how keen they were to be seen to be spending money.

Personally I'd be willing to let Kuyt move on if we got an offer of what we paid for him. He's a hard worker, and has created a few goals for others, but for the money we paid for him, I'd expect more. I'm not sure about Crouch, he might be worth keeping on as a Plan B option.

Tusky

Stky10 wrote:

I'd agree to a large extent. Rafa is very popular with the fans, who recognise the job he did to win a champions league with the likes of Traore, Baros, Cisse, Biscan & Nunez, and how he's done well with the resources he's had available. But as Houllier found out, the failure to do well in the league will get him sacked sooner or later no matter how well we do in Europe.

So yeah, the deadwood will be cut, and I think we'll have some high profile signings during the summer. I just hope we don't get ripped off like Villa did paying 10m for Ashley Young, just to show how keen they were to be seen to be spending money.

Personally I'd be willing to let Kuyt move on if we got an offer of what we paid for him. He's a hard worker, and has created a few goals for others, but for the money we paid for him, I'd expect more. I'm not sure about Crouch, he might be worth keeping on as a Plan B option.

I'd bet my house that Kuyt wont be sold. Rafa rates him highly, was looking to sign him for a number of years before he eventually did. At the moment he is number one on the teamsheet when it comes to strikers and has played more minutes than any of the rest. I think he was partially bought as a replacement for Crouch because they are quite similiar.

Chucky the tree

I'd always pick Kuyt ahead of Crouch.