Liverpool Rumours And General Discussion 2007/2008

Tusky

MementoMori wrote: »

Updated from the BBC website

The agent of Liverpool's reported target Albert Riera said his player has not been in contact with any Premier League clubs, but is open to offers. (BBC Sport, 1025 BST)

What do people think? Seems liek someone is looked for a move. I can't remember any rumours about Riera.

There have been lots of rumors about Riera.

On the signing of Degan. I dont want to be too pessimistic but Its pretty disappointing. We now have three players competing for the right back position. Finnan, Arbeloa & Degan. All of them are squad players and nothing more. At 25, Degan isnt first choice for Switzerland or B.Dortmund.

The Italian left back, Dossena, that we are supposedly close to signing is highly rated although I know nothing about him myself.

Chardee MacDennis

Tusky wrote: »

There have been lots of rumors about Riera.

On the signing of Degan. I dont want to be too pessimistic but Its pretty disappointing. We now have three players competing for the right back position. Finnan, Arbeloa & Degan. All of them are squad players and nothing more. At 25, Degan isnt first choice for Switzerland or B.Dortmund.

The Italian left back, Dossena, that we are supposedly close to signing is highly rated although I know nothing about him myself.

it's degen btw and i dont understand how people can be that annoyed with a free transfer and considering he will probably be back up to Arbeloa who will be first choice right back if we get Dossena in for first choice left back.

yom 1

Tusky wrote: »

I dont want to be too pessimistic but Its pretty disappointing.

Dont worry your not, its very disappointing, in fact its a disgrace. The yanks need to put up the money to make us challenge or fcuk off and let DIC do it. G&H since you dont have these funds, do everyone a favour and take your profit and disappear.

How can we honestly catch Utd and Chelsea when we sign a squad player for free to shore up a problem position in the 1st team compared to chelsea spending 16m on the same problem.:mad::(

Tusky

Call_me_al wrote: »

it's degen btw and i dont understand how people can be that annoyed with a free transfer and considering he will probably be back up to Arbeloa who will be first choice right back if we get Dossena in for first choice left back.

The reason I'm annoyed is because Arbeloa isnt good enough to be first choice right back. I rate the guy and hes a fantastic utility player but he doesnt have enough quality to be first choice. In a summer when Man U, Chelsea, Barcelona & Liverpool are all in the market for full backs, its a real sign of intent on who everyone signs. With Alves, Lahm, Bossingha, Rafinha and others on sale its just disappointing that we go for a player that isnt good enough for a B.Dortmund team that finished 13th in the Bundesliga.

There are a few Swiss/Dortmund fans on another forum and not a single one of them rates him.

Arsenal - Sagna, Clichy
M.Utd - Evra, <new signing>
Chelsea - Cole , Bossingha

we are miles behind the teams we are competing with in terms of full backs. I was hoping that would be put right this summer.

IrishMike

Tusky wrote: »

The reason I'm annoyed is because Arbeloa isnt good enough to be first choice right back. I rate the guy and hes a fantastic utility player but he doesnt have enough quality to be first choice. In a summer when Man U, Chelsea, Barcelona & Liverpool are all in the market for full backs, its a real sign of intent on who everyone signs. With Alves, Lahm, Bossingha, Rafinha and others on sale its just disappointing that we go for a player that isnt good enough for a B.Dortmund team that finished 13th in the Bundesliga.

There are a few Swiss/Dortmund fans on another forum and not a single one of them rates him.

Maybe it was a marketing decision to try and market to the gay community?

Rockee

Call_me_al wrote: »

any news on friendlies yet? besides the usual wrexham one...

Not sure of the date but as part of Reinas transfer contract we owe Villareal a friendly.

Chardee MacDennis

Tusky wrote: »

The reason I'm annoyed is because Arbeloa isnt good enough to be first choice right back. I rate the guy and hes a fantastic utility player but he doesnt have enough quality to be first choice. In a summer when Man U, Chelsea, Barcelona & Liverpool are all in the market for full backs, its a real sign of intent on who everyone signs. With Alves, Lahm, Bossingha, Rafinha and others on sale its just disappointing that we go for a player that isnt good enough for a B.Dortmund team that finished 13th in the Bundesliga.

There are a few Swiss/Dortmund fans on another forum and not a single one of them rates him.

Arsenal - Sagna, Clichy
M.Utd - Evra, <new signing>
Chelsea - Cole , Bossingha

we are miles behind the teams we are competing with in terms of full backs. I was hoping that would be put right this summer.

well then the difference is i think arbeloa can do a great job as a first choice defensive rb, when you obviously dont.

Also Sagna and Clichy are terribly over rated, although we'll see how Sagna shapes up next season i dont rate Clichy at all.

Finally Rafa is obviously doing his best to stretch whatever money he has so we'll have to see how the summer pans out.

missingtime

Call_me_al wrote: »

Also Sagna and Clichy are terribly over rated, although we'll see how Sagna shapes up next season i dont rate Clichy at all.

I would say Clichy is better than anything we have at the moment.

Tusky

Call_me_al wrote: »

well then the difference is i think arbeloa can do a great job as a first choice defensive rb, when you obviously dont.

Also Sagna and Clichy are terribly over rated, although we'll see how Sagna shapes up next season i dont rate Clichy at all.

Finally Rafa is obviously doing his best to stretch whatever money he has so we'll have to see how the summer pans out.

Sagna and Clichy are among the best full backs in the league. I think Arbeloa can do a good job. I just think we should be aiming for someone who can do an excellent job.

Secondly, I dont blame Rafa. He obviously doesnt have lots of money. However, if he signs 6 average/good players rather than 2 excellent ones, I will blame him.

Good post on another forum -

Personally, it's not the Degan signing which pisses me off. I think we'd all like a world class right back (Alves for ex) but it's quite obvious that we don't have the funds. So it makes sense to get one for free and splash the little money we have on the positions that really need strenghtening.

And that's why the Barry transfer is the problem for me. As it looks more and more like we're not going to have a lot of moey this summer, why waste a lot of time and energy and a big chunk of our transfer kitty on a, at best, a player who is as good as the ones we have now? Why waste money on the one position that can be left untouched for the next 10 years?

During the season we all agreed that what we lacked was quality full backs, but most importantly quality attacking midfielders. Yet we get to the summer and instead concentrating all our ressources on getting those players ( who ARE available- Ben Arfa can leave today if an offer of around 10m comes in), we go spend a big chunk of our money on players we don't need. Why??

It still irks me that we missed out on Ribery last year. Why? Because we went and paid 16.5m combined on Babel and Benayoun instead of just 17m on Ribery. We missed out on Duff in 2002, at his pomp, becasue we refused to pay 17m for him yet splashed the same amount for Diouf and Cheyrou.

What we need TODAY to be in with a chance to win the league is quality in the final 3rd. We have limited funds. Why not focus all those funds on players in those positions? Will another centre mid, who will be rotated heavilly, make that much of a difference?

raven136

clichy and sagna werent exactly tearing up tress before they joined arsenal,rafa likes degen and who knows he may be excellent.
We havent the money to buy the one major signing,is it worth the risk if he doesnt work out or broke a leg 2 games in.
For the games against the so called lesser teams we could do with barry and degen and whoever to freshen up the team.Its not ideal but i dont think we should get our hops up for a torres esc signing unless dic or someone buys the club and even then im not sure.
God its a tough life as a pool fan;)it'll be tougher if united win tomorrow

IrishMike

raven136 wrote: »

We havent the money to buy the one major signing,is it worth the risk if he doesnt work out or broke a leg 2 games in.

Yes of course it is.
One winger worth 20m and 2-3 cheap bosman signings is a much better option
than spending 25m on 5-6 average players who are not going to overly improve the first team.
Spending 25m on glorified reserves is pointless imho.
Why not buy villa or silva and take a chance on plessis anderson and insua?
Darby at full back was the reserve team captain and is an england U20 player.
Is he not a better option that Degen who cant make the Dortmund team
since Christmas or the Swiss team regularly ?
This is the same Swiss team on which Senderos is a regular.
I honestly blame the Yanks for this, Rafa is trying to bolster the squad but
he should be given the money to bolster the squad with 3-4 top class players.
Otherwise it will be another year of frustration in the league and punching
above our weight in Europe.

Attractive Nun

raven136 wrote: »

clichy and sagna werent exactly tearing up tress before they joined arsenal,rafa likes degen and who knows he may be excellent.

Clichy was signed when he was a kid, came through the Arsenal ranks and is only 22 right now. Sagna was highly rated in France - he was in the Lique 1 team of the season, voted best right back in France, etc. This Degen fellow might well turn out to be a great player, but it's probably unlikely given his age/what he has achieved so far.

In the circumstances, signing Degen kinda makes sense - but I'd agree with the broader point that Liverpool need to stop signing players like him. They need to start taking risks with their money and stop signing average squad players. Look at the big money signings Rafa has made - Torres, Mascherano, Alonso - these have been the successes.

It's very rare that managers are able to spot Fabregas for half a million. To win a league these days you need to spend. I think Rafa understands this, though the owners certainly don't seem to.

redzerdrog

was Degen not injured all year and thats the reason why he wasnt in the dortmund team

mike65

As we don't why Rafa signed Degan maybe we should trust his judgment. He might just think he is good enough (shocker).

Mike.

yom 1

IrishMike wrote: »

Yes of course it is.
One winger worth 20m and 2-3 cheap bosman signings is a much better option
than spending 25m on 5-6 average players who are not going to overly improve the first team.
Spending 25m on glorified reserves is pointless imho.
Why not buy villa or silva and take a chance on plessis anderson and insua?
Darby at full back was the reserve team captain and is an england U20 player.
Is he not a better option that Degen who cant make the Dortmund team
since Christmas or the Swiss team regularly ?
This is the same Swiss team on which Senderos is a regular.
I honestly blame the Yanks for this, Rafa is trying to bolster the squad but
he should be given the money to bolster the squad with 3-4 top class players.
Otherwise it will be another year of frustration in the league and punching
above our weight in Europe.

Excellant post and I agree 100% with it

Rafa has been trying to emulate Wenger in bringing young players to the club in the hope that they turn good. The problem is if he never gives any of them a chance why waste valuable transfer fees in bringing them here. This season in my eyes would be perfect for 2/3 to step up with the likes of Insua, Plesis, Nemeth etc shining for the reserves in taking the league. Let them step up and pay the money for 1/2 top notch players instead of 5/6 average ones

Always we look for quality, no!

Cyrus

no point moaning until we see him play

if he had to have cost 10m we'd be delighted, he could be a decent player

jesus_thats_gre

yom 1 wrote: »

Rafa has been trying to emulate Wenger in bringing young players to the club in the hope that they turn good. The problem is if he never gives any of them a chance why waste valuable transfer fees in bringing them here.

Yes, he has said that he is trying to emulate what Wenger has achieved. But he only started the process a year or two ago. This sort of thing takes time. You will only only ever get 1 or 2 players coming through a year anyway. How many players has come through Arsenal's system in the past 2 or 3 years. Tis more than most but they stil spent decent money on Gallas, Hleb, Rosicky and so on. Sanga was signed at the age of 24 for 8 million.

Quite a few players that did make it through to the first team has proven to just not be good enough - Senderos, Denilson, Djourou, Eboue, Hoyte and even maybe Traore

You also have to consider what Wenger has actually won since employing this policy. Our goal is to win the league but Wenger has not really come any nearer than we have since this policy was inacted.


Ye are all getting slight head of yourselves.

Mr Alan

this thread is rather depressing.

Championship Manager/SoccerManager has everyone thinking they know how to manage a team and deal in the trasfer market, i swear its hilarious at times.

The Swiss lad i've never seen play, but he is a free and is much more of an attacking threat than we currently have, so if Rafa thinks he can do a good job while freeing up money to be spent on other areas fo the squad, brilliant.

the Italian lad, again i've never seen play so he is highly rated so that looks like it could be another good signing.

Barry would be an excellent signing if we can pull it off, a midfield four of Alonso/Gerrard/Mascherano/Barry is ****ing immense.

with Voronin and most likely Crouch on their way, we will most likely have at least another one striker coming into the club, fingers crossed its a world class player but lets not get overly pessimistic if its not. lets see how things pan out for watever players come into the club before writing them off as being ****e-anyone who expected Alves,Silva,Villa,Lahm,Barry as our signings for the summer or anything like that is absolutely insane.

the likes of Vidic,Evra,Sagna,Skrtl,Agger etc were hardly established superstars when they came to England, so lets just see how things work out for any signings before writing em off please.

colly10

Tusky wrote: »

The reason I'm annoyed is because Arbeloa isnt good enough to be first choice right back.

Totally agree, he's an awfull player (ok i suppose he'd do a job if someone got injured but thats about it). I said a while ago that Rafa should get the boot if he's still first choice next season. If anyone believes that we can honestly challange for the premiership next season with a few players of his standard then they're kidding themselves.
As a defender he stands off too much, gets turned to easily and isn't great at blocking crosses.

Remember the Riise og, for that cross I remember there was a player to Arbeloa's right making sure the Chelsea player couldn't go down the line, ye wouldn't have been too worried if the player tried the outside so his main concern should have been to stop a cross, but the cross came in

but he is a free and is much more of an attacking threat than we currently have, so if Rafa thinks he can do a good job while freeing up money to be spent on other areas fo the squad, brilliant

I see what your saying, if he got a cb on the free it would be grand, but RB is one of the weak points of our squad and we can neither rely on Arbeloa or this free chap to do the job, it shows a lack of ambition (unless we buy someone decent for the position before the start of the season)

Mr Alan wrote: »

the likes of Vidic,Evra,Sagna,Skrtl,Agger etc were hardly established superstars when they came to England

Don't know about Sagna but the other 3 were seen as players with good potential, this chap isn't

5ForKeeps

Welcome to Liverpool Football Club Philip..hope you become a great signing for team and squad as a whole.

Don't forget lads, Rafa will have more options on the bench next season in the League, 6 outfield players to choose from instead of just 4. More options and more ways to change games.

Mr Alan

colly10 wrote: »

Totally agree, he's an awfull playerI said a while ago that Rafa should get the boot if he's still first choice next season

You couldnt be more wrong. arbeloa has been pretty excellent for us, is still young and getting more used to the PL, unless we are going out to sign a world class right full, i'm happy enough with Arbeloa there. We cant expect world class players in every position, i cant think of any club with that!\

so Rafa should get the boot if a young player who has been excellent for us in the main, is first choice next season? very strange altogether

as for the Riise O.G, i thought if anyone deserved blame for that, it was Tommy Mascherano, is he ****e too? should we get rid?

yom 1

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Yes, he has said that he is trying to emulate what Wenger has achieved. But he only started the process a year or two ago. This sort of thing takes time. You will only only ever get 1 or 2 players coming through a year anyway. How many players has come through Arsenal's system in the past 2 or 3 years. Tis more than most but they stil spent decent money on Gallas, Hleb, Rosicky and so on.

Yeah I agree it will take time for this to occur but surely some of them are ready to make the step up now to at least be part of the squad. In doing this it would allow Rafa to then spend his decent money.

I've never seen Degen play and I will give him the benefit of doubt in the hope he turns good. But I did the same with Voronin. Nobody here can be happy that we have to take players for free when Chelsea have spent 16m on one for the same position.

Cyrus

Mr Alan wrote: »

You couldnt be more wrong. arbeloa has been pretty excellent for us, is still young and getting more used to the PL, unless we are going out to sign a world class right full, i'm happy enough with Arbeloa there. We cant expect world class players in every position, i cant think of any club with that!\

so Rafa should get the boot if a young player who has been excellent for us in the main, is first choice next season? very strange altogether

as for the Riise O.G, i thought if anyone deserved blame for that, it was Tommy Mascherano, is he ****e too? should we get rid?

agreed, and now he is in the spanish squad which is brimming with talent

5ForKeeps

What i can't understand is why are people criticising Arbeloa. He has been a great player for us since he joined. After seeing him Live in the skin at the Nou Camp in his debut for us, he is a class act. It's not that easy to get in the Spanish squad just look at Joaquin and Raul.

Give the man a break ffs, if anyone should be getting criticised for performances this season its Finnan and Riise. As full-backs they didn't offer much. It's hard to say about Finnan, he has been Mr. Consistent all through Rafa's reign. Riise has been stagnating for 2 years now.

5ForKeeps

yom 1 wrote: »

Yeah I agree it will take time for this to occur but surely some of them are ready to make the step up now to at least be part of the squad. In doing this it would allow Rafa to then spend his decent money.

If the youths are not ready Rafa will not risk them espeically if it is detriment to there confidence if they have a bad debut. Rafa is very methodicgal, he will judge all aspects before bringing them up physical, mental and of course technical ability.

colly10

Mr Alan wrote: »

You couldnt be more wrong. arbeloa has been pretty excellent for us, is still young and getting more used to the PL, unless we are going out to sign a world class right full, i'm happy enough with Arbeloa there. We cant expect world class players in every position, i cant think of any club with that!\

so Rafa should get the boot if a young player who has been excellent for us in the main, is first choice next season? very strange altogether

as for the Riise O.G, i thought if anyone deserved blame for that, it was Tommy Mascherano, is he ****e too? should we get rid?

Arbeloa excellent? Has to be the first time i've heard that. I hardly expect class in every position, like aurelio wouldn't be great but he does a job in there, he's a decent player. The fact is were still quite a bit behind both Chelsea and United, so our first team is not strong enough. It's Rafa's job to indetify the weak areas and improve on them, RB is one of our weaker areas, the signing he has made will probably not improve this area (the player were bringing in will probably not be second choice)
I know you like Arbeloa but tell me then what positions do you think we need to improve on to make a serious title challange (bearing in mind that were quite a bit off the mark this season, a half decent striker, along with the addition of Barry and a few squad players won't do)?

5ForKeeps wrote: »

It's not that easy to get in the Spanish squad just look at Joaquin and Raul. .

Its a little easier in the defence

5ForKeeps wrote: »

Give the man a break ffs, if anyone should be getting criticised for performances this season its Finnan and Riise. As full-backs they didn't offer much. It's hard to say about Finnan, he has been Mr. Consistent all through Rafa's reign. Riise has been stagnating for 2 years now.

Neither can be considered first choice, Arbeloa is

Smegball

As a United fan, I always thought Arbeloa was a decent player, not great but a pretty good buy if you ask me.

Mr Alan

i think if we signed another good striker, and an attacking wide player we'll improve dramatically next season (thats in addition to the degan,the italian lad, and Barry)

say we got something like villa and silva then we'd be doing well, but i think thats a little over ambitious unfortunately.


If we could get something like Ashton in to replace Crouch and Silva/Aimar in, we'd improve greatly.

Tusky

Mr Alan wrote: »

this thread is rather depressing.

Championship Manager/SoccerManager has everyone thinking they know how to manage a team and deal in the trasfer market, i swear its hilarious at times.

The Swiss lad i've never seen play, but he is a free and is much more of an attacking threat than we currently have, so if Rafa thinks he can do a good job while freeing up money to be spent on other areas fo the squad, brilliant.

the Italian lad, again i've never seen play so he is highly rated so that looks like it could be another good signing.

Barry would be an excellent signing if we can pull it off, a midfield four of Alonso/Gerrard/Mascherano/Barry is ****ing immense.

with Voronin and most likely Crouch on their way, we will most likely have at least another one striker coming into the club, fingers crossed its a world class player but lets not get overly pessimistic if its not. lets see how things pan out for watever players come into the club before writing them off as being ****e-anyone who expected Alves,Silva,Villa,Lahm,Barry as our signings for the summer or anything like that is absolutely insane.

the likes of Vidic,Evra,Sagna,Skrtl,Agger etc were hardly established superstars when they came to England, so lets just see how things work out for any signings before writing em off please.

In fairness Alan, you are an eternal optimist when it comes to the club. Rafa, nor LFC, can put a foot wrong in your eyes or so it seems. Rafa could sign Clinton Morrison and you would be singing his praises.

In regards to Barry, whatever way you look at it, its baffling.

Answer me these questions.

1) Currently what is the strongest position in our squad ?

2) What are the two weakest positions ?

3) Do we seem to be short of cash for the summer ?

4) Do we want a CM with the ability to play on the left, playing on the left, or should we buy a genuine winger/attacker ?

5) With the above answers in mind, can you honestly say that Barry would be a good signing ?

Mr Alan wrote: »

You couldnt be more wrong. arbeloa has been pretty excellent for us, is still young and getting more used to the PL, unless we are going out to sign a world class right full, i'm happy enough with Arbeloa there. We cant expect world class players in every position, i cant think of any club with that!\

so Rafa should get the boot if a young player who has been excellent for us in the main, is first choice next season? very strange altogether

as for the Riise O.G, i thought if anyone deserved blame for that, it was Tommy Mascherano, is he ****e too? should we get rid?

Yeah Arbeloa has done well when you consider his transfer fee and that he has played in a number of positions. He has done well in the same way that Brown has done well at Utd. But what are Utd doing ? They are upgrading on Brown. That is exactly what we should be doing with Arbeloa. Hes a good little player but is back up standard if you ask me.

yom 1

5ForKeeps wrote: »

If the youths are not ready Rafa will not risk them espeically if it is detriment to there confidence if they have a bad debut. Rafa is very methodicgal, he will judge all aspects before bringing them up physical, mental and of course technical ability.

Obviously some of them arent ready, but if rafa can give the likes of Insua and Plesis a few games towards the end of the season he must feel they are close. If so let them step up to take a place on the bench and start to use them as subs and make appearances against your wigans and fulhams.

I just want quality bought not quantity, and with the limited funds it appears we have, this is the easiest way to do so imo.

redspider

So, its a Hobson's choice for Liverpool fans in terms of the CL final tomorrow night, as in which winning team would be the better option for Liverpool FC.

If Chelsea win it, even if ugly, it will mean that Abramovich's dream of buying CL success has come to pass. It will also make Chelsea even more attractive to prospective players.

If Man Utd win it, even if in an ugly fashion, perhaps there is a chance that it may see the beginning of the end of Ferguson era.

A brilliant match would be bad for Liverpool FC, as strange as that may seem to come from a neutral supporter, as that would be a solid advertisement for both Man Utd and Chelsea no matter what the outcome.

Liverpool followers find themselves in an uncomfortable position of being neutral to an extent but not really neutral at the same time. It may even be painful to watch and perhaps some wont even watch it.

I will, sucker that I am .........

Redspider

IrishMike

Mr Alan wrote: »

i think if we signed another good striker, and an attacking wide player we'll improve dramatically next season (thats in addition to the degan,the italian lad, and Barry)

say we got something like villa and silva then we'd be doing well, but i think thats a little over ambitious unfortunately.


If we could get something like Ashton in to replace Crouch and Silva/Aimar in, we'd improve greatly.

Villa and ashton would cost 35m +
No chance in hell that will happen.

5ForKeeps

colly10 wrote: »

Its a little easier in the defence


Neither can be considered first choice, Arbeloa is

Arbeloa is there on merit in both cases and deserves to be given his performances this season. Finnan was our number 1 until Arbeloa came and he shifted Finnan. Well Riise was at one stage first choice under Rafa as we had no alternatives other than Djimi Traore until Aurelio and Arbeloa came in. Now that Insua has progressed to the fringes, maybe he could be a future left back but not yet ready to do it full time on a consistent basis.

5ForKeeps

yom 1 wrote: »

Obviously some of them arent ready, but if rafa can give the likes of Insua and Plesis a few games towards the end of the season he must feel they are close. If so let them step up to take a place on the bench and start to use them as subs and make appearances against your wigans and fulhams.

I just want quality bought not quantity, and with the limited funds it appears we have, this is the easiest way to do so imo.

Combined between the two of the have less than 10 appearances in the first team so far, we have already been doing this so far in the case of Plessis and Insua?? in games that are dead rubbers been honest they have been involved in. The case is can we depend on them if we are in contention for the title and the pressure that comes with it would they be able to handle it at such young ages. Maybe next season they can get more involvement but with the demands next season on Liverpool they will getting games in the League Cup more so. The FA Cup cannot be taken lightly next season espeically with the significance of the 20th Annisversary of Hillsborough.

As i referred to earlier in thread with a post of mine, were severely hindered by the debt and goings on finanically with G&H which is why we won't have big money signings like Villa and Silva which are frequent names popping up.

joe123

redspider wrote: »

So, its a Hobson's choice for Liverpool fans in terms of the CL final tomorrow night, as in which winning team would be the better option for Liverpool FC.

If Chelsea win it, even if ugly, it will mean that Abramovich's dream of buying CL success has come to pass. It will also make Chelsea even more attractive to prospective players.

If Man Utd win it, even if in an ugly fashion, perhaps there is a chance that it may see the beginning of the end of Ferguson era.

A brilliant match would be bad for Liverpool FC, as strange as that may seem to come from a neutral supporter, as that would be a solid advertisement for both Man Utd and Chelsea no matter what the outcome.

Liverpool followers find themselves in an uncomfortable position of being neutral to an extent but not really neutral at the same time. It may even be painful to watch and perhaps some wont even watch it.

I will, sucker that I am .........

Redspider

As a devoted liverpool supporter im 100% up for chelsea tomorrow night. No way in hell do I want to see united win.I hope chelsea play immense. One because I hate united and two Avram Grant got so much stick from these sunny day fans that I hope he does it. Any pool fan who says theyd rather see united win is not a true liverpool fan.

Worst final outcome but still im ABU for tomorrow.

Mr Alan

Tusky wrote: »

In fairness Alan, you are an eternal optimist when it comes to the club. Rafa, nor LFC, can put a foot wrong in your eyes or so it seems. Rafa could sign Clinton Morrison and you would be singing his praises.

Not strictly true

I just am not going to write off a 23 year old who has played very little this season due to INJURIES, who WAS offered a new improved contract by his club, but has instead chosen us instead. Maybe thats overly optimistic, but i dont wanna write him off before he kicks a ball for us.

Tusky wrote: »

1) Currently what is the strongest position in our squad ?Cental Midfield or centre half when fully fit.

2) What are the two weakest positions ?left wing and left full

3) Do we seem to be short of cash for the summer ?yes

4) Do we want a CM with the ability to play on the left, playing on the left, or should we buy a genuine winger/attacker ?the money we would spending on Barry (incl the transfer of one of our own to Villa) would not be enough to buy an out and out world class winger/attacker

5) With the above answers in mind, can you honestly say that Barry would be a good signing?yes,i think that the signing of Barry would definately improve us as a team,also with Lucas most likely on his way to Italy, its essential to get a third man. the ability to play at LM and LB (our weakest positions imo)is a massive bonus, as well as being an excellent player,with excellent delivery from dead balls, who is used to the PL and in his prime

Tusky wrote: »

He has done well in the same way that Brown has done well at Utd. But what are Utd doing ? They are upgrading on Brown. That is exactly what we should be doing with Arbeloa. Hes a good little player but is back up standard if you ask me.

Are Utd upgrading on Brown for definate?

i thought they just gave him a new major pay increase in his latest contract signed in the last couple of weeks?

didnt Utd win the league 2 seasons on the trot with Brown as their first choice right back nearly the whole time?

IrishMike wrote: »

Villa and ashton would cost 35m +
No chance in hell that will happen.

Silva and Ashton be around 25 million i reckon, which may be more realistic.

joker77

redspider wrote: »

So, its a Hobson's choice for Liverpool fans in terms of the CL final tomorrow night, as in which winning team would be the better option for Liverpool FC.

If Chelsea win it, even if ugly, it will mean that Abramovich's dream of buying CL success has come to pass. It will also make Chelsea even more attractive to prospective players.

If Man Utd win it, even if in an ugly fashion, perhaps there is a chance that it may see the beginning of the end of Ferguson era.

A brilliant match would be bad for Liverpool FC, as strange as that may seem to come from a neutral supporter, as that would be a solid advertisement for both Man Utd and Chelsea no matter what the outcome.

Liverpool followers find themselves in an uncomfortable position of being neutral to an extent but not really neutral at the same time. It may even be painful to watch and perhaps some wont even watch it.

I will, sucker that I am .........

Redspider

I know what you mean - it's going to be very difficult to watch, I really want both teams to lose...

I'm coming round to a position of wanting Chelsea to lose more though, they're horrible to watch and I just don't want that kind of team to be European champions.

joker77

joe123 wrote: »

Any pool fan who says theyd rather see united win is not a true liverpool fan.

F*cking ridiculous statement - what age are you - 12?

whatawaster

I really think Zarate would be a perfect signing for us. He's had time to get used to the prem, he's young, we have loads of Spanish speakers to help him bed in. We are crying out for a second striker if we play 442. I think he'd be fantastic in that role. Likewise in our current system. He could do a good job in any of the attacking 4 positions.
I think if we bid for him we'll definitely get him. He said he wants to stay in England and i doubt any of the other big four teams want him, they all have similar players (Rooney/Tevez, Van Persie/Eduardo, Kalou/Cole). Rafa has said he likes him and that they had monitored him last year. The only thing that could scupper it is if we hadn't the funds. And 10 million isn't a huge outlay.

Tusky

1) Currently what is the strongest position in our squad ?Cental Midfield or centre half when fully fit.

2) What are the two weakest positions ?left wing and left full

3) Do we seem to be short of cash for the summer ?yes

4) Do we want a CM with the ability to play on the left, playing on the left, or should we buy a genuine winger/attacker ?the money we would spending on Barry (incl the transfer of one of our own to Villa) would not be enough to buy an out and out world class winger/attacker

5) With the above answers in mind, can you honestly say that Barry would be a good signing?yes,i think that the signing of Barry would definately improve us as a team,also with Lucas most likely on his way to Italy, its essential to get a third man. the ability to play at LM and LB (our weakest positions imo)is a massive bonus, as well as being an excellent player,with excellent delivery from dead balls, who is used to the PL and in his prime

So to summarize.

Center midfield is our strongest position.

We are short of cash.

Our weakest positions is on the wings.

We dont want Barry playing on the wing.

Barry is likely to cost around 15m.

Should we be signing Barry, a central midfielder ? NO!

whatawaster

Tusky wrote: »

So to summarize.

Center midfield is our strongest position.

We are short of cash.

Our weakest positions is on the wings.

We dont want Barry playing on the wing.

Barry is likely to cost around 15m.

Should we be signing Barry, a central midfielder ? NO!

It's very strange. We do need another central midfielder, but not at the expense of quality elsewhere. Of course we could have a normal summer's transfer budget of around 25 million (very reasonable considering our CL run) and along with 25 million in sales we might not be as broke as we think.
Then we can maybe expect:
Degen Free
Dossena 8
Barry 15 (maybe less)
Zarate(please) 10
Silva 16

or something like that. Remeber it's not really a case of G&H not being willing to fund transfers. They never have. It's always come from the clubs own income streams (particularly CL and TV money). So that may not change this summer.

redspider

Hobson's Choice was used in its colloqually common, yet incorrect usage form.

Hobson's choice is often misused not to mean a false illusion of choice but simply a choice between two undesirable options.

The CL final can more aptly be described as a Morton's Fork, or even a Buridan's Ass.

I know what plenty of us would like to call it!
Whatever the outcome it will not be very palatable ......

Redspider

Karmafaerie

God.
If I hear another person here talking about how broke we are!!!
Please, enlighten us on how you know this?

You have no idea.
I have no idea.
Stop stating it as gospel.

What proof do you have?

We've been linked with a load of odd players.
What's new there?!
We and every other team are linked with a miriad of ridiculous and outlandish players every year!

We signed Degan on a free.
Did we not sign Voronin on a free last year, and then go on to buy Torres and Babel (and later Skrtle and Masch)!

We haven't made any big name moves yet.
Again, so what!
Was Fernando Torres (publically;)) wearing a Liverpool jersey this time last year?
No.



Basically, I'll tell you exactly when we'll all know how much money Liverpool have to spend this summer.
All you have to do is wait untill the last day of the transfer window!!!

Boom_Bap

whatawaster wrote: »

It's very strange. We do need another central midfielder, but not at the expense of quality elsewhere. Of course we could have a normal summer's transfer budget of around 25 million (very reasonable considering our CL run) and along with 25 million in sales we might not be as broke as we think.
Then we can maybe expect:
Degen Free
Dossena 8
Barry 15 (maybe less)
Zarate(please) 10
Silva 16

or something like that. Remeber it's not really a case of G&H not being willing to fund transfers. They never have. It's always come from the clubs own income streams (particularly CL and TV money). So that may not change this summer.

Why are people talking about Zarate? He's played a couple of games and scored a couple of goals, didnt feature in the last few games of the season, didn't score in the last game where Birmingham scored 5 goals.

He might be something special but it it worth outlaying 10mil to find out? We should be buying players who have proven quality and not the latest-long-haired-alice-band-wearing-player-from-South-America-who-has-scored-a-few-goals

DeadSkin

joker77 wrote: »

F*cking ridiculous statement - what age are you - 12?

Ah hang on one minute, give 12 year olds some credit :pac:

All this transfer speculation is makin' me dizzy, if he goes/if he comes in, we'll have this amount of money etc etc....

whatawaster

Boom_Bap wrote: »

Why are people talking about Zarate? He's played a couple of games and scored a couple of goals, didnt feature in the last few games of the season, didn't score in the last game where Birmingham scored 5 goals.

He might be something special but it it worth outlaying 10mil to find out? We should be buying players who have proven quality and not the latest-long-haired-alice-band-wearing-player-from-South-America-who-has-scored-a-few-goals

He oozes class. Just because Alex McLeish didn't always use him doesn't mean Rafa shouldn't buy him. He would give us something none of our other forwards have - that extra bit of guile we've been missing for about 10 years

missingtime

Boom_Bap wrote: »

We should be buying players who have proven quality and not the latest-long-haired-alice-band-wearing-player-from-South-America-who-has-scored-a-few-goals

Hah ha! LOL

With the european championship this year I think our purchases need to be made quickly.
If a player that we are after performs well then the price will skyrocket so the sooner we sort it out the better.

Tusky

Karmafaerie wrote: »

God.
If I hear another person here talking about how broke we are!!!
Please, enlighten us on how you know this?

You have no idea.
I have no idea.
Stop stating it as gospel.

What proof do you have?

We've been linked with a load of odd players.
What's new there?!
We and every other team are linked with a miriad of ridiculous and outlandish players every year!

We signed Degan on a free.
Did we not sign Voronin on a free last year, and then go on to buy Torres and Babel (and later Skrtle and Masch)!

We haven't made any big name moves yet.
Again, so what!
Was Fernando Torres (publically;)) wearing a Liverpool jersey this time last year?
No.



Basically, I'll tell you exactly when we'll all know how much money Liverpool have to spend this summer.
All you have to do is wait untill the last day of the transfer window!!!

Well we have been linked with dozens of cheap player for a start. Secondly, Gerrard has come out practically begging the owners to back Rafa during the summer. Why would he do that if everything was dandy ? Thirdly, with the situation at the club I wouldn't be surprised if the owners didn't want to pump money in. Lastly, Rafa has hinted numerous times that we will have to sell to buy. This is backed up by the fact that the majority of deals we are linked with, have one of our players going the other way.

Its not gospel, but theres no smoke without fire.

Chardee MacDennis

IrishMike wrote: »

Darby at full back was the reserve team captain and is an england U20 player.

Darby wont make the step up at Liverpool imo, he is very limited player, the reason he is captain and in the under 20 team is due to his determination and grit a la Carragher. but he isnt the fastest and his technical skills arent really up there. Insua is a class ahead of him when i have watched the reserves.

i do hope i am proved wrong though.

missingtime

To be fair it doesn't bode well for the reserve players.

Were leto/lucas really that bad?