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Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/2014
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Nuri Sahin wrote: »If I gave my full thoughts on Given, I'd be hounded out of here
I've always believed he was overrated amongst Irish and namely Newcastle fans. Good shot stopper at times, sure. Never was the most commanding, distribution was poor, etc.
Are you just saying this because you think it sounds good or do you actually believe this? Because it's way off the mark. I'd be willing to bet on seeing Given in the flesh more than most in this forum. He has his issues as a keeper but kicking accuracy certainly wasn't one of them.
We went through a six or seven match period with Ireland a few years back near the beginning of traps reign where the plan from every goal kick and every open play collection of the ball by given was to basically hit Kevin Kilbane on the left touchline....and he would try and flick it on to Doyle or Keane.....every single time and Kilbane would just stand in the same exact spot. It was clearly a training ground thing.
And be it from his hands or from the deck Given hit him pretty much perfectly every time. It was beckham esque to be fair. I can think of a number of other top keepers who wouldn't have the confidence or ability to do that and would just lump it upfield. Most of them do.
There are other aspects to distribution like quick release and having good feet that I couldn't tell you how good he was compared to other keepers.....but kicking accuracy was never an issue for Given. He was always good at it.0 -
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Well thats a given goes without saying:PNuri Sahin wrote: »Any suggestions? I have none. Don't dare say Given
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I have a feeling that if we sign him that Rodgers will mention that he has known about him for a longtime, maybe from his days training/scouting youth.
It seems we are in the market for previously highly rated youngsters that have just stalled or fallen into the cracks.
Maybe , from what I've read he had actually a very good season on the wing prior to last year but because of the success they had in converting Coentrao, they probably thought they could do similar and move him on for big money. It just hasn't worked out that way. I'd say the scouts have probably looked at all this and thought he'd probably make a good wing back which is kind what I think Rodger's may be looking for.
I do think the below tweet is bang on the money
@natefc 3m - so I read Liverpool are supposedly after a young raw, attack-minded left back. In related news, Atletico paid €10m for Insua last January.
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Selling Insua was one of the dumbest transfer decisions of the last few years, and there's plenty to mention. Him and Kelly showed great potential at the time, the club needed to show patience with him.
Those few months were absolutely terrible under the club, probably the worst I can remember since supporting Liverpool.
To think.. we sold Insua was bad enough but then to add to it we bought Konchesky 0 -
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Lorenzo Melgarejo (SL Benfica)
Portuguese teams have always had a longstanding reputation for importing players from South America. The talent pool is huge and the likes of FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon have a history of importing young players with great potential with a means of selling them on for huge sums when they become established players and household names on the continent. Portugal is basically a home from home for such players due to the similarities in language and way of life coupled with the fact that work permits are not presented as an obstacle as they are in other European countries.
Moneyball, which was a word often mentioned by Fenway Sports Group when they took control of Liverpool Football Club, is none more appropriate to both FC Porto and Benfica. The likes of Anderson (Manchester United), Lisandro Lopez (Lyon), Lucho Gonzalez (Marseille), Fredy Guarin (Inter Milan) and Radamel Falcao (AS Monaco) were all acquired for modest sums from South America and then sold on for large sums. Likewise, Ramires and David Luiz (both Chelsea) and Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid) were all brought over from South America by Benfica on the cheap and sold for millions to the giants of Europe. And that brings us onto Paraguayan left-back, Lorenzo Melgarejo, who is likely to become the next player to depart Lisbon for pastures new.
Lorenzo Melgarejo started out as a left-winger at Club 12 de Octubre, who were in the Tercera Division (third tier) in Paraguay whilst Melgarejo played for them. Aged just 19, he was promoted from their youth set up in 2009 and made an instant impact when he scored seven goals in just 22 games, from the left-wing. It was not long before Primera Division giants, Club Olimpia, came calling and took the young winger to Asuncion in 2010 where Melgarejo would go on to make just 12 substitute appearances in the Clausura Championship.
The following season, Lorenzo Melgarejo was sold to Segunda Division side, Independiente FBC on a four-year deal. A step down a level proved to be just what Melgarejo needed as he went on to score an impressive eight goals in just 17 appearances and provided 12 assists from his position out on the left. However, during the mid-season break in the Segunda Division and after his impressive performances for Independiente FBC and with both Benfica’s and Vitoria Setubal’s scouts having followed his progression closely during his time at Olimpia, Benfica snapped up Melgarejo for an undisclosed fee in June 2011.
As is often the case when FC Porto or Benfica snap up young talent on the continent, it is quite often the norm for the player to be sent straight on loan to a team in the lower echelons of the league; and that was the case for Melgarejo as he was immediately sent on a season’s loan to Paços de Ferreira where his performances and goals from the left-wing helped Paços retain their Primeira Liga status as he finished the season with 10 goals in 29 appearances finishing the season as Paços’ top scorer.
The following summer saw Lorenzo Melgarejo return to his parent club and Benfica coach, Jorge Jesus, immediately handed him a starting place in Benfica’s team. However, this was not the biggest surprise as Jorge Jesus announced that Melgarejo would not be playing on the left wing but at left-back, which had been a problematic position for Benfica ever since Fabio Coentrao had left the club for Real Madrid in July 2011.
Now Jorge Jesus is a highly-respected coach in Portugal but he is also known for being extremely stubborn and pig-headed. Where Fabio Coentrao was successfully converted from a left-winger into a fine left-back under the tutelage of Jorge Jesus, the Benfica coach felt Melgarejo could follow suit. However, Melgarejo would struggle at times due to not knowing the position all that well but Jorge Jesus kept faith and continued to play Melgarejo in defence throughout the season. Both Benfica fans and the local media would often lay into the coach during post-match conferences, as Melgarejo was often the culprit for Benfica conceding goals and opposition teams soon latched onto this as they would target the left-back position as Benfica’s weakpoint.
So that leads us onto Lorenzo Melgarejo’s strengths and weaknesses. Without doubt, Melgarejo’s natural position is as a left-winger. He is blessed with raw pace and trickery and has a direct style of play which means he will not just stay on the wing but will look to cut infield as he likes to score goals as well as to create them. As a left-back he is far less comfortable. He is still learning the positional aspect of the role and he was caught out numerous times last season where he was either ball watching or failing to clear his lines, where he would try and play his way out of danger rather than keeping it simple. Onto his physique, Melgarejo has a slight stature and he did find it a struggle last season when he came up against strong forwards who would try and knock and bully him off the ball. Being just 5ft 7in, he also struggled in aerial duels which eventually led to Jorge Jesus sticking him on the post when defending corners or marking players when defending free-kicks.
Where Lorenzo Melgarejo did show promise was when he came up against fast wingers or wide players. His knowledge of the role was a great asset as he was able to read and nullify danger from wide positions by using his recovery pace and aggressiveness in the tackle. His bravery also meant he was able to stop crosses into the box more often than not. Another aspect that was a plus was his ability to throw the ball a long distance at throw-ins which was used to great effect at times last season.
As for Liverpool’s interest in Lorenzo Melgarejo, it seems that Brendan Rodgers is looking for a senior player to offer some real competition and cover for Jose Enrique at left-back. Aly Cissokho of Valencia was reportedly on the radar last week but that deal seems to have gone on the backburner for some reason or other.
Although predominantly a winger, Melgarejo could be seen by Rodgers as someone who could offer something further up the pitch when Liverpool are chasing a goal or playing against a side who are going to be set up more defensive-minded. Where Jose Enrique is a fine defender, going forward he does have the tendency to slow play down and often fails to deliver a cross when presented with the chance. Melgarejo could be seen as someone who could do just that from the left-back position.
Brendan Rodgers also had a tendency to change tactics mid-game last season and quite often reverted to three central defenders with Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique acting as wing-backs. Where Johnson offered a threat in a more advanced position, Jose Enrique failed to do likewise on the other side. Lorenzo Melgarejo could quite easily play such a wing-back role and would offer a far more direct and attacking threat than Jose Enrique was capable of producing last season.
Any such deal for Lorenzo Melgarejo will be on a loan basis with an option to buy next June. This, of course, gives the manager a chance to look at the player first hand without parting with a fee which is always a good way to gauge whether to make the deal permanent at a later stage. Where a problem may arise is due to Melgarejo only having one international cap to his name and whether he will be able to gain a work permit to play in England next year. If this obstacle is overcome, Liverpool will finally have senior cover at left-back which was something that Brendan Rodgers certainly needed to address this summer transfer window.
http://anfieldforever.co.uk/?p=6280 -
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