Liverpool Rumours And General Discussion 2007/2008

Chardee MacDennis

so are we still not happy being a point behind chelsea with a game in hand and still unbeaten in the league?

coz i am so far...

Guy:Incognito

Call_me_al wrote: »

so are we still not happy being a point behind chelsea with a game in hand and still unbeaten in the league?

coz i am so far...

AAH yes, point behind Chelsea eh, what does that matter? they arnt top. If Chelsea finsih fourth and we are a point behind, will you be happy then?

I used Utd as a comparison over the last few weeks and people were asking why Utd. Well they are top and we are 6 points behind.

Chardee MacDennis

well considering the pundits are saying it's gonna come down to united and chelsea for the league i am happy to still be very much in touch with them, with a decent run of winnable games coming up.

Guy:Incognito

Call_me_al wrote: »

well considering the pundits are saying it's gonna come down to united and chelsea for the league i am happy to still be very much in touch with them, with a decent run of winnable games coming up.

Did we not have that before? I seem to remember talk of "we should win the next 6 games handy enough. We then drew 4 of them.

Chardee MacDennis

well with that attitide we may as well withdraw from the league and not bother competing.

can you tell me what is acceptable so i can know for next time? top with 1 game in hand? 3rd?

Mr Alan

Javier Mascherano has once again spoken of his desire to stay at Liverpool so he can form a long-term partnership with "one of the best players in the world".
The player Maradona described as a 'monster' is desperate to extend his Anfield deal beyond the summer, claiming Merseyside is the best place for him to become a world-beater.

"By staying here I will become a better player and that way I can help Liverpool to be more successful," said the 23-year-old, who already has 33 international caps to his name.

"It would also be fantastic to form a long-term partnership with Steve Gerrard - everyone knows he is one of the best midfield players in the world."

Mascherano's declaration comes just days after Rafa Benitez reiterated his desire to keep the midfielder at the club.

"I am calm and relaxed about it," added the Argentine. "From my point of view it is simple - I want to play for Liverpool, I want to sign a permanent deal.

"I have told Rafa Benitez this and he has told me he wants to keep me.
"I have had enough of travelling the world from club to club. I want roots, and I want them here in Liverpool. I don't want to move again next summer but if I do not sign for Liverpool then I will not play for another club in England. Not Manchester United, not Chelsea or Arsenal.

"If I am not with Liverpool I don't want to be in England. It would be impossible for me to play against them in the Premier League because of the respect I have for the club. I want to stay in England, but only with Liverpool.

"The club created an opportunity for me which I am grateful for so no other English club will come into my thoughts."

Thanx 4 The Fish

Above quoted from LFC.tv.
When I read it it certainly made me smile. I hope that we do stump up the money and that MSI do not piss about with the price as we have new owners who will spend when necessary.

Jesus Wept

I Mascherano

Dont be at yourself

Hopefully we agreed the future fee when we signed him on loan. He's worth a lot more than the 15 million or so being quoted, so if we got him for that it would be an absolute steal.

PHB

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

Hopefully we agreed the future fee when we signed him on loan. He's worth a lot more than the 15 million or so being quoted, so if we got him for that it would be an absolute steal.

That's the real question I think, with City rumoured to have already bid 16 million, they obviously think that theres a going rate. I remember hearing back when he signed that there was a pre-agreed fee of 10 million, but it's clear that doesn't seem to be the case. Will Rafa be willing to stump up the cash for another midfield, especially considering the other areas of the squad that need strengthening

Dont be at yourself

It's all rumours at the moment though.

Rumours that Liverpool agreed a deal to buy him outright.
Rumours that City and Barca are in the wings.

What's concrete is that Macherano has come out and said that a) he wants to stay at Liverpool, and b) Rafa wants to keep him. With these two in mind, I'd be fairly confident that he'll be a 'pool player next season - and hopefully the deal won't dent our transfer budget too much.

I wonder did Rafa hang onto Sissoko 'just in case'? I can't see him getting much playing time with Macherano, Lucas, Alonso and Gerrard in contention for 2 places. Juventus apparantly offered 10 million euro for him in the summer, so was keeping him an insurance policy?

Mr Alan

Between the fact that he has said he only wants to play for Liverpool, and that Rafa has said he wants him, i can see no other outcome other than him being ours come next season. Cant wait.

Liverpool wouldnt be stupid enough not to have a deal in place when the loan/short term purchase was originally put together.

Great young spine to a team we have......

Reina-Agger-Arbeloa-Mascherano-Lucas-Babel-Torres

all ours for years and years

Ya can keep dreaming PHB, but it aint happening

redspider

Whew, I'm glad it all ended rosy in the end for us over the weekend. Rafa, surprisingly, and perhaps to counter the many public critics of his rotation system, picked the same starting 11 as for the Besiktas match. Liverpool were creating the better of the chances, but we couldnt score. However, the deadlock was broken towards the end with a well taken goal by Torres. Why he didnt start the match I dont know, as I would always have him in the team when fit, but as an impact sub he is good. The penalty was perhaps outside but the result was a fair one and Fulham can have no quibbles.

The downside was that this result could have easily petered out to a 0-0 and a dropped two points. So, whilst it was an okay result in the end, it was no more than expected and overall Liverpool made heavy work of it. Still, after an 8-0 there can be a 'hangover' so the win is welcome nonetheless in whatever format it comes. The "winning ugly" mantra that we so often hear. What with Chelsea drawing, it was a good weekend in the shape-up of things and keeps Liverpool on course for a safe top-4 finish.

Lets see what happens next time .......

Redspider

spockety

I'd be very surprised if the media/public influenced Rafa in terms of him picking the same eleven that started against Besiktas.

Mr Alan

redspider wrote: »

Whew, I'm glad it all ended rosy in the end for us over the weekend. Rafa, surprisingly, and perhaps to counter the many public critics of his rotation system, picked the same starting 11 as for the Besiktas match. Liverpool were creating the better of the chances, but we couldnt score. However, the deadlock was broken towards the end with a well taken goal by Torres. Why he didnt start the match I dont know, as I would always have him in the team when fit, but as an impact sub he is good. The penalty was perhaps outside but the result was a fair one and Fulham can have no quibbles.

The downside was that this result could have easily petered out to a 0-0 and a dropped two points. So, whilst it was an okay result in the end, it was no more than expected and overall Liverpool made heavy work of it. Still, after an 8-0 there can be a 'hangover' so the win is welcome nonetheless in whatever format it comes. The "winning ugly" mantra that we so often hear. What with Chelsea drawing, it was a good weekend in the shape-up of things and keeps Liverpool on course for a safe top-4 finish.

Lets see what happens next time .......

Redspider

As was said above, I don't think Rafa made any decisions to please the press. And i don't think that us getting a result at the weekend was because he kept a settled side.

I think that a MASSIVE positive to be taken from this game is the fact that Fulham came to Anfield determined to get a point and set up their stall as such. In years gone by these teams would've been the ones that frustrated us and we would have dropped two points, at the weekend we didnt. We had enough quality to come off the bench and change the game.
We dominated the game just as much as we did against Besiktas and i thought it was a good performance.

Hypia showed he can still contribute in the PL although not nescessarily against the top teams, but all the criticism of him may be a bit harsh considering we have the best defensive record in the PL even with him playing and us going through a bad patch.

Questioning why Torres didnt start? Probably because he was just back form injury and Rafa didnt wanna risk him getting a knock!? If Rafa had started him and he got a knock i am in ZERO doubt that your synopsis on a monday would have been critical of Rafa for selecting him when he was just back rfom injury.

As Carlsberg, our beloved sponsors would say:

Liverpool Fans - Probably The Moaniest Fans In The World

Dominating a team for 90 minutes, having the quality to break this team down a get a result. Failing to see how this could be anything other than positive.

We'll be there or there abouts this year, i can feel it in my waters

Spud83

Mr Alan wrote: »

Hypia showed he can still contribute in the PL although not nescessarily against the top teams, but all the criticism of him may be a bit harsh considering we have the best defensive record in the PL even with him playing and us going through a bad patch.

Joint best.

Mr Alan

ok-

joint best.

with a game in hand

Guy:Incognito

Mr Alan wrote: »

with a game in hand

thats not a good thing. The goals against can only stay the same or get worse in the game in hand.:)

Mr Alan

oops! monday morning-wat can i say

Spud83

Stekelly wrote: »

thats not a good thing. The goals against can only stay the same or get worse in the game in hand.:)

True. It means Liverpool have conceded slightly more goals per game compared to Utd.:)

Utd = .4615 per game
Liverpool = .5

Guy:Incognito

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

True. It means Liverpool have conceded slightly more goals per game compared to Utd.:)

Utd = .4615 per game
Liverpool = .5

Dont use logic to win arguements, it's beneath you. It's all academic anyway, because the game in hand will result in a 6-0 win.:)

Either way, .5 sounds better than .4615. You lot just sounds liek nerds.:D

Mr Alan

point remains the same though.

People (including myself) have been slightly over critical, all defenders make mistakes.

Spud83

Mr Alan wrote: »

point remains the same though.

People (including myself) have been slightly over critical, all defenders make mistakes.

True. Liverpool's "problems" can not really be blamed on the defence. Its a matter of turning draws into wins. Fulham was a good start could have easily ended up a draw, but yas managed to pull out a win. Thats what yas need to do on a more regular basis.

Mr Alan

And beat the **** out of the mancs in december in Anfield

Spud83

Mr Alan wrote: »

And beat the **** out of the mancs in december in Anfield

True but could be tough with your important game aganist Marseille the Tuesday before it. Maybe an interesting question, maybe not, if Liverpool fans had to pick would you take a win over Marseille and qualification from the CL group stages if it meant losing to Utd, or lose to Marseille and not qualify but get a win against Utd.

PHB

Beating United will have a small effect on the title race imo. It's unlikely that any of the top 4 are going to do amazingly well against the other top four. It's likely to all even out. The league will be won by beating the rest of it.

mike65

I'd take the win over Utd over CL knock-out qualification.

Mike.

jesus_thats_gre

Incredibly short sighted to take a win over united over CL qualification..

Guy:Incognito

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Incredibly short sighted to take a win over united over CL qualification..

Slightly longe rterm so. I'd take a win over UTd that leads to winning the league over beating Marseilles and even going on to win the cl.

mike65

Not intersted in the CL this season, its a bauble at best. A distraction at worst.

If Liverpool are in the PL mix in April and really need a win the keep the pressure on but Rafa has a few injuries to consider and a CL semi-final beckons, which would the boss favour in his team selections?

Mike.

Mr Alan

Prefer to beat em both

I dont know to be honest....would love to beat the mancs, but the CL is still important in my mind.

I think he'd favour the PL tbh Mike.

Kanney

Why does everyone give Riise such a hard time. I think he is one of the best left backs in the premier league. Take away maybe Cashely Cole and Evra, now I may have slipped a few names but I think he still has a great shot, but can't produce it with every shot, look at Ronaldo and his free kicks. Scores one belter, then another in a charity match, and still takes them, even tho Rooney is much better or Giggs.
His defense is solid too I think. He has such a passion to play for the Pool and that is clear to me everytime I see him. He hasn't got the pace but can still beat players on the outside, and I'm pretty sure hes gotten a good few assists this season with his crosses.

On a better note: got my Torres t-shirt today
http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/torres%20tshirt.JPG

whatawaster

Kanney wrote: »

Why does everyone give Riise such a hard time. I think he is one of the best left backs in the premier league. Take away maybe Cashely Cole and Evra, now I may have slipped a few names but I think he still has a great shot, but can't produce it with every shot, look at Ronaldo and his free kicks. Scores one belter, then another in a charity match, and still takes them, even tho Rooney is much better or Giggs.
His defense is solid too I think. He has such a passion to play for the Pool and that is clear to me everytime I see him. He hasn't got the pace but can still beat players on the outside, and I'm pretty sure hes gotten a good few assists this season with his crosses.

On a better note: got my Torres t-shirt today
http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/torres%20tshirt.JPG

Sorry, who were you describing above, cos it's certainly not Riise.

~Rebel~

Kanney wrote:

he still has a great shot, but can't produce it with every shot,

I think this is a lot of the problem. He has a great shot. He knows he has a great shot. So instead of looking for a clever pass, or searching for potential openings, he just wallops it whenever within 35 yards of goal.

I still dont mind him at LB, he holds the line well still which is important with the way LFC play, and he's ok defensively, he'll usually bust a gut to try and cover his mistakes. He does have an annoying habit of not linking up well with the left winger though. He's usually a bit too selfish in this respect.

All in all, i would have no problem keeping him, but i dont want him being a regular first choice starter anymore. With a bit of cop on, he could still be an asset, and if we don't need the money i don't see the need to get rid.

Cyrus

something was pointed out to me a few months back and i now notice it more and more

riise is pretty selfish on the left and rarely makes his teammate ahead of him look good, thats why when aurelio or even arbeloa play lb we look more fluid down that side

IrishMike

Anyone have any links for the goals against fulham?
Thanks

~Rebel~

IrishMike wrote:

Anyone have any links for the goals against fulham?
Thanks

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LIEZ3tcq-c4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIEZ3tcq-c4

Really good highlights package of the second half. Had kind of forgotten how many chances we had!

mike65

Aragonés not a total B*&^%d after all, Torres is'nt being called into the Spanish squad.

Mike.

whatawaster

mike65 wrote: »

Aragonés not a total B*&^%d after all, Torres is'nt being called into the Spanish squad.

Mike.

and people say racists are bad people.

mike65

I said TOTAL. he's now merely 99.9% a (edited not to fall foul of moderation)

Mike.

Peyton Manning

AS Roma says aware of possible U.S. interest
9:47 ET, Mon 12 Nov 2007
MILAN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The controlling shareholder of Italian soccer club AS Roma said on Monday it had been informed by a third party of possible interest from an unnamed U.S. investor.

Shareholder Italpetroli said it had not been contacted directly or indirectly by the potential investor.

An unsourced report in Italy's Corriere Economia on Monday said the owners of English soccer club Liverpool are buying up stock in the Italian side.

Rules on soccer club ownership are strict, however, and generally prevent one group owning more than one team.

American sports tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks agreed to buy Liverpool for $340 million in February.

Roma's share price has been on the rise for several months, with the club previously saying in September it knew of no reason for the rally other than strong financial results and good performances on the pitch.

Hicks and Gillet investing in Roma now which is quite strange. Wouldnt this mean that both clubs would not be allowed participate in the same tournament in the future, such as the Champions League?

Mr Alan

Archimedes wrote: »

Hicks and Gillet investing in Roma now which is quite strange. Wouldnt this mean that both clubs would not be allowed participate in the same tournament in the future, such as the Champions League?

Sounds a bit dubious to me tbh, an unnamed italian source? need a bit more than that. As you pointed out, wat'd be the point?!

AdrianII

doesnt abranivich own chelski and some russian team CSKA or something

astrofool

His company sponsored CSKA.

The Roma thing is a bit weird, they know the rules. Unless they want to dump Liverpool already, it's a bit far fetched. That's not to say however that someone else is going to take over Roma, and they want to make some money on the shares (possibly to fund Liverpool's debt on Stanley park).

Dub13

Some new t shirts you may be interested in.....

Link

Zapp Brannigan

Hicks denies interest in Roma
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_2879143,00.html

GBX

As much as its a nice Tshirt, it could be out of date in 2 weeks. Thats all it took us to beat Arsenals record.. but after 2 records been done so far this year, who knows how long it may or may not last

Mr Alan

T-Shirt is tacky as ****, and not in a good way

spockety

Speaking of Riise... from liverpoolfc.tv

John Arne Riise has vowed to rediscover his best form after admitting he hasn't yet reached his usual high standards this season.
Despite figuring prominently in Rafael Benitez's first team plans, the Norwegian international is disappointed with his displays so far this term and knows he needs to improve to keep a place in the team.

"I was happy with my performances in pre-season, but when the season started I felt I wasn't reaching my true level," he said.

"I've noticed the fans haven't been too happy with my form and rightly so.

"I'm my own biggest critic and I know when I haven't performed well. Now I think I'm getting my sharpness back and hopefully returning to my real level."

Riise is also hoping a return to form will secure an extended contract offer having again reiterated his desire to remain with the Reds for the rest of his career.

"There was a story about me moving to Aston Villa in January," he added.

"I was away with the national team at the time and Liverpool are quite big in Norway so a lot of people were asking me about it. But it's completely false.

"I have 18 months left on my contract here and have no intention of leaving. Liverpool is the club closest to my heart and it's where I belong.

"If it wasn't for Liverpool I wouldn't be the player I am today and there is no chance that I'm going to ask for a transfer. I want to finish my career here and hopefully I can do that."

redspider

Mr Alan wrote: »

Hypia showed he can still contribute in the PL ... but all the criticism of him may be a bit harsh

Questioning why Torres didnt start? Probably because he was just back form injury

Liverpool Fans - Probably The Moaniest Fans In The World

I didnt think I was over-moany, for once! ;-)

Hyppia is fallible. Yes, he does have strengths, such as when an opposition is crossing the ball a lot as all match long he can head it out each time. His aerial defending is usally good (although he has been known to have the odd slip-up in understanding, such as leaving it, etc, but it is unusual).

His weak spot is pace and turn of pace, so if Liverpool are defending up 'high', he cant mark and follow and snuff out an attacker on the run. That's a major weak spot which usually sees other players having to cover for him, the full-backs and usually Carra, who has to cover both sides of the defence and who has saved us on many's an occasion. It also means we cant defend up high and so it allows oppositions to come on to us. This is not a new problem as it has got progressively worse over the last few seasons. Agger is not a speed merchant either, but he is faster than Hyypia and has the ability to change directions quicker.

> Liverpool's "problems" can not really be blamed on the defence. Its a matter of turning draws into wins.

Well, the 2-2 draw with Spurs was mainly the defence being beaten on two occasions.
Also:
1-1 Arsenal
1-1 Porto
1-1 Chelsea

With a stronger defence, we could have turned this season into a much better one. (am I moaning again ??? ;-) )

Redspider