Liverpool Rumours And General Discussion 2007/2008

Cyrus

raven136 wrote: »

think i might avoid this forum till late july sometime,too much sh#t being talked here.We lost the league due to an inability to win games against weaker teams.In general despite no trophies it has been a decent season,not great just decent and im resonably optimistic.We scored more,have found a formation that gerrard can work in while not trying to do everything.
We still lack width but hopefully we can fix that with two wing backs and one,possiby two wingers.
United deserved the title and fair play to them but im not jumping up and down about their stlye of football,who cares how boring we are(despite a record goal haul),its winning that matters.I dread to think of united as 18 times champs and thats why we need to get our game right.
We are not far,maybe Gerrard is right and we are just 4 signings away.We have our wing abck signed already and 2 more kids i think.hopefully bentley or a similar type player wont be far behind.
here's to a summer where the cowboys go home and we sort out the boardroom quickly.Hopefully no more drawn out transfers either

no, have you not read anything posted? you say too much ****e being talked and then proceed to talk more?

we lost the league due to an inability to beat the other top 3 sides!

Our record against weaker sides is the same as the champions i.e. about as good as you could hope for over a season :rolleyes:

NotWormBoy

[edit]Ignore me, I'm being retarded and not using my brain.

Cyrus

read it again

NotWormBoy

Indeed, here's me talking crap about Voronin, and not clicking the difference between goals average over a season and goals per season for about five minutes... Smooth.

spockety

zing wrote: »

The Independent reporting (very vaguely of course) that Gillet didn't quite dot all his 'i's and cross all his 't's somewhere in his dealings with Hicks & DIC and that the expected imminent sale of his shares to DIC won't happen until the end of the summer at best. If true then it presumably means the 90 days has to start all over again.

Could he really have been that stupid ? Considering who he brought in as a business partner then I guess he could well be..

Hopefully TB will rubbish this article tomorrow - fingers crossed.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/benitez-left-in-limbo-after-gilletts-oversight-extends-liverpool-turmoil-827576.html

Aye it's very vague on details, in fact there are none. If you look carefully, you'll see that both stories in that article are entirely made up!

Also, Lawrenson sticking his f***ing oar in as usual.

rosboy

jonny24ie wrote: »

I don't know. Its weird but for a while I've been thinking that rafa might pull off the following formation soon:

---

Reina

---

---

Skrtel----Carra----Agger

---

RWB

---

LWB

---

Masch--Alonso

---

---

Gerrard

---

Babel---

---

Torres

---

He seems to like his wing backs and Gerrard/Babel like coming in on the inside so 2 wing backs overlapping would be a decent formation to adopt if the players are right for it that is.

I've thought about this before, but have never been too convinced by it. Have we got enough CB's to play this formation? Skrtel, Carra & Agger sound like a good option, but what happens if one gets injured? We have Hypia then, or maybe Hobbs/San Jose/Huth. A little light for my liking.

Cyrus wrote: »

we lost the league due to an inability to beat the other top 3 sides!

Our record against weaker sides is the same as the champions i.e. about as good as you could hope for over a season :rolleyes:

raven136 wrote: »

We lost the league due to an inability to win games against weaker teams.

Ye could both argue ye're point all day long, and neither of ye could definitively put the topic to bed.

The only thing that we can say for certain is that we didn't win the league because we didn't get more points than ManU. Thats a fact.

If we had picked up picked up more points than the other teams we would have won. Thats a fact.

Lets take the fact that we finished 11 points behind ManU as our example. If we had turned 6 of our 14/15/16 (I can't remember the exact number and haven't got time to check) draws into wins we would have won.

Alternatively, If we had beaten all of the big four we would have won.

Alternatively, if we had done a mixture of both and got 12 points more we would have won.

The bottom line is that we need to get more points......FACT!!!!

spockety

rosboy wrote: »

Ye could both argue ye're point all day long, and neither of ye could definitively put the topic to bed.
The only thing that we can say for certain is that we didn't win the league because we didn't get more points than ManU. Thats a fact.
If we had picked up picked up more points than the other teams we would have won. Thats a fact.
Lets take the fact that we finished 11 points behind ManU as our example. If we had turned 6 of our 14/15/16 (I can't remember the exact number and haven't got time to check) draws into wins we would have won.
Alternatively, If we had beaten all of the big four we would have won.
Alternatively, if we had done a mixture of both and got 12 points more we would have won.
The bottom line is that we need to get more points......FACT!!!!

I think that at the end of any given season, the teams expected to chase for the title really only have the champions to compare themselves to. This season, the difference between Liverpool and the champions United, is that United had a far superior record against the other 3 teams in the top 4. It's a very simple comparison for sure, but there's no disputing that that is the difference between them being champions this season, and us being 11 points behind, in a head to head comparison.

Cyrus

yes FACT

but our record against teams outside the top 4 is as good as you can reasonably expect it to be FACT

Therefore you have to look at our record against arse/man u and chelsea FACT

It is abysmal FACT

You cannot expect to win the league and not beat any of your major rivals FACT

does it make it truer now that i have put FACT in caps after everything?

Chardee MacDennis

the debate is academic, if we improve our team to the point where we can improve our record against the top 3 then our record will also improve against the the other 16 teams.

done and done....

Can people stop saying "FACT"?

mormank

ppl who say fact while having a discussion like this are a special breed imo. its almost like they dont even believe what they are sayin themselves

IrishMike

Call_me_al wrote: »

the debate is academic, if we improve our team to the point where we can improve our record against the top 3 then our record will also improve against the the other 16 teams.

done and done....

Can people stop saying "FACT"?

Very true al
A stronger squad and stronger first 11 will obviously lead to improved performances
against every team you play against


Ps 2+2=4 FACT!

Chardee MacDennis

there should be a fact smiley, that wouldnt annoy me as much anyway!

Cyrus

i want to say my use of fact was ironic and i do not condone its use either

IrishMike

Cyrus wrote: »

i want to say my use of fact was ironic and i do not condone its use either

Is it not sarcastic rather than ironic?

GBX

The fact of the matter is, as supporters, we are always gonna criticise, second guess or claim to know how the team works or should work. It has gotten to the stage were people are more tuned into the dealings of the club and feel they know better than the next person. While everybody is entitled to an opinion, 2 or 3 people are always going to disagree. This is what makes these discussions interesting and why I keep coming back here. I enjoy the banter, opinions, criticising etc.

As for how we are gonna win the league... why not wait and see what players come & go rather than after one person speculates telling them "no thats wrong, it will never work like that". Its very easy to throw your 2 cents in and putting FACT after it.
Lets enjoy the summer break and all the gossip, speculation and rumours and see what happens come the start of the season. :cool:

stick-dan

and you can take that as FACT! sorry wanted to get my 2cents in.. wonder how much the newspapers/media will have gerrard and torres going for today?lol:)

Cyrus

IrishMike wrote: »

Is it not sarcastic rather than ironic?

it can be either

DeadSkin

Facts Schmacts :pac::p

Spud83

Kimbot

Villa seem upbeat about keeping Barry...

http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~1312030,00.html

Stky10

jonny24ie wrote: »

Villa seem upbeat about keeping Barry...

http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~1312030,00.html

Hopefully it gets decided one way or another in the next 2-3 days and we're all saved the headwreck of will he/won't he for the rest of the summer.

Boggles

Stky10 wrote: »

Hopefully it gets decided one way or another in the next 2-3 days and we're all saved the headwreck of will he/won't he for the rest of the summer.

It will be 100% up to Barry, don't think it will be resolved in the next few days or even weeks, Villa need to strengthen the squad to push for a CL place. I think if Barry sees the Club are serious about progressing and bring in the right faces, this would be one of the major factors in getting him to stay.

zAbbo

There's more to it than that, he wants to play more for England, and having seen the difference between the amount of caps he has, and the amount Gerrard has, I'm sure he's not going to make the same mistake again.

Dub13

Just testing the new You Tube tags,good work by Cult.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMvsDq6ku14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82I6pTXem-k

mike65

Good news

from telegraph

As Benitez ties up his backroom staff he may consider sending striker Andriy Voronin out on loan to Stuttgart next season.

The Spaniard, who will spend the summer overhauling his squad, could agree a short-term deal with the Bundesliga club who have expressed an interest in the 29-year-old.

Voronin has failed to win over Liverpool fans since his arrival on a Bosman free from Bayer Leverkusen and could favour a return to Germany.

Too many coulds in that snippet but its hopeful

Mike.

astrofool

Whats the point in sending a 29 year old out on loan to the same league he was previously in? If he starts scoring again, at best, it shows he hasn't adapted to the prem league style of play, if he doesn't, his value drops even lower.

Boggles

astrofool wrote: »

Whats the point in sending a 29 year old out on loan to the same league he was previously in? If he starts scoring again, at best, it shows he hasn't adapted to the prem league style of play, if he doesn't, his value drops even lower.

Pay his wages.

Chardee MacDennis

with a view to a permanent deali would hope...

Chardee MacDennis

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/7401046.stm

confirmation sammy is in talks with Rafa...

Dub13

astrofool wrote: »

Whats the point in sending a 29 year old out on loan to the same league he was previously in?

Maybe nobody will buy him.

scruff321

i hope them american idiots sell up and someone who is prepared to put some real cash on the table comes in garath barry??? not imo a great player

gucci

astrofool wrote: »

Whats the point in sending a 29 year old out on loan to the same league he was previously in? If he starts scoring again, at best, it shows he hasn't adapted to the prem league style of play, if he doesn't, his value drops even lower.

Worked with Cisse? We got a good deal out of that one.

DeadSkin

Dub13 wrote: »

Maybe nobody will buy him.

Can we just give him away? :pac:

Chardee MacDennis

would love us to be in for Zarate, he'll be a top talent in a year or two.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/7400878.stm

el rabitos

Call_me_al wrote: »

would love us to be in for Zarate, he'll be a top talent in a year or two.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/7400878.stm

yeah kept an eye on him during the year, mostly came on as a impact sub for birmingham, but looks a talent. wouldnt mind seeing us bid for him, the team that own him are after stupid money though alegibly

Chardee MacDennis

agent says 10m, could be worth it.

~Rebel~

Rafa did mention a few weeks ago that he's been keeping track of mauro and his brothers for a few years...id also love if he joined.

Thanx 4 The Fish

Yes but would he be any better now than for example El zhar or even Nemeth who I think could do a job if called upon for the first team.

Melion

Just going on the UEFA final tonight. Anyone think Arshavin would be a fúcking great addition to our squad?

Bounty Hunter

If Voronin could be got rid of (or at least left on loan as suggested) and Crouch bought for 10-15mil then Zarate would make sense to me.

Torres, zarate and Nemeth with Babel and Kuyt as Wing forwards who could fill in, in an emergency would be better than Torres, Crouch, Voronin and the two WF's IMO

...hope Villa are in for him though, hes obviously willing to live in Brum

Chardee MacDennis

he's not really a striker though is he? i could imagine him playing left or right wing or behind torres. may need to bulk up a bit more though.

gary the great

Melion wrote: »

Just going on the UEFA final tonight. Anyone think Arshavin would be a fúcking great addition to our squad?

Oh yeah, i mentioned him a few pages back. I watched him a lot this season (also Skertl before he joined Liverpool) as Zenit are my second team, hes class week in week out, theres gonna be a few big clubs after him i think.
But i think hes exactly what we need, Prognaback would be nice to

dc69

So who is gona be carras partner next year,skrtel or agger?

Personally I think Agger is better but only time will tell whether he comes back the same player.

el rabitos

i actually think come around xmas time assuming agger and skittle are injury free your going to start seeing carra being shifted around to accomodate them as the preferred central pair.

probably be seeing carra in the centre for more of the european games but on the whole moving into 2009 i reckon that'll be the preferred line up for the centre of defence. i hope it is anyway.

carra's been awesome and all, but man am i sick to death of seeing him receive the ball and pump it upfield -> opposition receive the ball -> commence opposition attack

i much prefer agger receives ball -> carrys ball towards halfway line -> feeds ball out wide or to alonso to distribute.

its a minor detail but i think its something that costs us in games against the other top 3 teams. we sacrifice possesion to much and i think carra is criminal when it comes to it.

obviously we lose carraghers experience but i think we gain 2 players comfortable on the ball and solid at the back. it'll be interesting to see what happens with the selection anyway

mayordenis

i also love it when he thumps the ball into the top corner.

gucci

Call_me_al wrote: »

he's not really a striker though is he? i could imagine him playing left or right wing or behind torres. may need to bulk up a bit more though.

Oh christ, not another striker that we play on the wing why not just buy a winger? Anything I seen of Zarate looked positive this season,but i only seen him maybe twice, so I wouldn't be able to make a call on him.

Pyjamarama

gucci wrote: »

Oh christ, not another striker that we play on the wing why not just buy a winger? Anything I seen of Zarate looked positive this season,but i only seen him maybe twice, so I wouldn't be able to make a call on him.

Does the fact that he couldn't secure a place in a poor side not scare people off?? I mean he may turn out to be class but 10m seems a lot. What chances of a loan deal first to see if he'll make it?

Malice

dc69 wrote: »

So who is gona be carras partner next year,skrtel or agger?

Personally I think Agger is better but only time will tell whether he comes back the same player.

Chances are they'll both be first choice with Carragher fitting in at left or right back as required. Hopefully Sami will be spending a lot of time on the training ground showing them all how to score from corners!

el rabitos wrote:

Carra's been awesome and all, but man am i sick to death of seeing him receive the ball and pump it upfield -> opposition receive the ball -> commence opposition attack

i much prefer agger receives ball -> carrys ball towards halfway line -> feeds ball out wide or to alonso to distribute.

its a minor detail but i think its something that costs us in games against the other top 3 teams. we sacrifice possesion to much and i think carra is criminal when it comes to it.

I agree. As much as he's a fantastic reader of situations and tackler, Carragher really isn't much of a passer.

GBX

In the BBC football paper gossip section this morning:

Liverpool striker Andriy Voronin is wanted by German outfit Bayer Leverkusen. (The Sun)

I wouldnt say no to that. (granted its from the sun, but theres always hope).

Malice

From here:

Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has claimed talk of him leaving Anfield this summer is well wide of the mark.

The Spanish schemer has had his preparations for the European Championship interrupted by reports emanating from both Spain and Italy that have suggested his time on Merseyside could be drawing to a close.

Both Real Madrid and Juventus have been credited with holding a long-standing interest in Alonso, with talk of Gareth Barry's possible arrival at Anfield doing little to silence the rumour mill further.

Rafa Benitez has spoken of how Barry's signing would be to complement rather than replace existing members of his squad, with the Reds boss alluding to the fact Aston Villa's captain is capable of occupying various positions and not just the central-midfield berth favoured by Alonso.

It was only in June of last year that Alonso signed a contract extension that binds him to Liverpool until 2012 but, to his exasperation, the Spanish press repeatedly intimate that a return to his homeland is on the cards.

Alonso remains fully committed to Liverpool and has no intention of swapping the Premier League for La Liga or Serie A any time soon.

"It surprises me because I know the real truth," Alonso told skysports.com, when quizzed on reports of an approach from Real Madrid.

"There has been no movement from Real Madrid, whether official or otherwise.

"At the moment I am with Liverpool, I have a contract with Liverpool and I want to be at Liverpool.

"I have been surprised and very disappointed to read that I want to leave Liverpool. The people who write these things have clearly not done very rigorous research."

I like the remark about knowing "the real truth". Well in Xabi!