Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14 Mod warning post#7005

Utopia Parkway

mike65 wrote: »

Anyone watching Konoplyanka? Probably the best player out there, some lovely touches and pace (left Dawson for dead a couple of times, okay not that hard). The pitch is a typical east European disgrace - he'd be brilliant on grass!

What odds Spurs sign him now in the Summer?

GTR63

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Some Aqua fella is looking fairly decent at the moment for Fiorentina (my dark horse for the EL despite Italian clubs not really taking it seriously over the years!) though.

If both them & Juve get through they'll face each other in the next round. That'd be fun.

Francie Barrett

Konoplyanka looks to have a few tricks alright, but he's saying in a fairly awful team relative to the Spurs reserves.

Nuri Sahin

GTR63 wrote: »

If both them & Juve get through they'll face each other in the next round. That'd be fun.

I take back what I say about dark horse so! Shame, watched a fair bit of them this season. Very entertaining team.

Nuri Sahin

Goloooooooplyanka!

*Ade sobs uncontrollably*

GTR63

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

I take back what I say about dark horse so! Shame, watched a fair bit of them this season. Very entertaining team.

If they get Gomez fit & firing stranger things have happened. Montella is a fantastic manager imo. They miss G.Rossi though.
1-0, Konoplyanka peno

Agent Coulson

Well that's it then Spurs will try for Konoplyanka in the summer now.

happyoutscan

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Well that's it then Spurs will try for Konoplyanka in the summer now.

Exactly my thoughts too.

Morzadec

Swansea going more or less full strength against Napoli.

Hopefully good news for us with some tired legs on Sunday

Nuri Sahin

He only does MOTM performances I swear. Only watched the last 30 minutes, but going by elsewhere, easily MOTM tonight.

mike65

The only thing Kono lacked tonight was better players round him (and grass).

Francie Barrett

Yep, that pitch was a shocker even by Russian standards. You can see why we're in for him though, he's got the jinking runs and the cleverness in buckets.

Nuri Sahin

GTR63 wrote: »

If they get Gomez fit & firing stranger things have happened. Montella is a fantastic manager imo. They miss G.Rossi though.
1-0, Konoplyanka peno

Aye. Gutted for Rossi. I was open to Liverpool taking a punt on him despite his bad injury at Villarreal.

Agent Coulson

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Well that's it then Spurs will try for Konoplyanka in the summer now.

If they don't get top 4 they might not even be an option for him

DrumSteve

Veltman looks decent for ajax.

DrumSteve

rarnes1 wrote: »

If they don't get top 4 they might not even be an option for him

True that, though we should only go for him if we miss out on Robbie Keane.

Agent Coulson

rarnes1 wrote: »

If they don't get top 4 they might not even be an option for him

Or we both get top 4 and they try and bid for every single player we are linked with :eek: Which is a sacry thought really.

Milkers

googled eyes wrote: »

Just for sh1ts and giggles

Rafa was a fantastic manager for Liverpool.

I think Rodgers will be too.

marno21

This Rafael lad playing in goals for Napoli is quite good, can't see Napoli hanging onto Reina and those wages if he keeps playing this well.

(even though Trevor Welch keeps calling him Cabral, suppose if he's commentating on LFC there's a Leiva fella playing DM. Although there's someone called Verm playing in goals for Swansea and Kieron Dyer is playing too)

marno21

On another note, former keeper Peter Gulacsi started for Red Bull Salzburg who currently lead 3-0 away to Ajax

mav79

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/AFEC94E9571048367379215736832_1fba50347a3.4.8.12219895696080207576.mp4?versionId=.FsP116J1ZgGVQ2vqpaDKW1hdLSVFeC.
Kono just toying with Spurs.

Courtesy Flush

googled eyes wrote: »

Just for sh1ts and giggles

Amazing. And some people here still arent sure if Rodgers is the right man for the job :cool:

Seaba

mav79 wrote: »

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/AFEC94E9571048367379215736832_1fba50347a3.4.8.12219895696080207576.mp4?versionId=.FsP116J1ZgGVQ2vqpaDKW1hdLSVFeC.
Kono just toying with Spurs.

I do like that burst of pace at the end. Left your man for dead in a split second

Morzadec

mav79 wrote: »

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/AFEC94E9571048367379215736832_1fba50347a3.4.8.12219895696080207576.mp4?versionId=.FsP116J1ZgGVQ2vqpaDKW1hdLSVFeC.
Kono just toying with Spurs.

Right, f*ck that I'm convinced! Sign him up!

Slattsy

googled eyes wrote: »

Just for sh1ts and giggles

Rafa didnt have to contend with money bags City and to an extent Chelsea, and also Spurs were useless back then.

Makes what Rodgers is doing serious form.

djPSB

Slattsy wrote: »

Rafa didnt have to contend with money bags City and to an extent Chelsea, and also Spurs were useless back then.

Makes what Rodgers is doing serious form.

Rodgers also had that awful start to his first season.

Both excellent managers.

Charlie19

Some difference in the goals, 53 more scored for Brendan. I would have thought Rafa had the better record but there's not much in it tbf.

mike65

Cisse, Baros, Pongolle then Crouch were his strikers in the first 18 months.

Charlie19

mike65 wrote: »

Cisse, Baros, Pongolle then Crouch were his strikers in the first 18 months.

Crouch the only striker he bought in that period?

Rodgers has bought Borini, Sturridge and Aspas.

Gbear

Charlie19 wrote: »

Some difference in the goals, 53 more scored for Brendan. I would have thought Rafa had the better record but there's not much in it tbf.

I suppose you only have to look what Rafa had up front in his first two seasons.

Was it Bellamy, Crouch, Baros, LeTallec, Pongolle and Garcia? (ETA Cisse, although he spent most of it injured).
Was Kuyt there the 2nd season?

As bad as we were last season (although there was of course lots of progress from the previous year), we were atrocious in the league in Rafa's first season.

Of course a large part of that was that we got to 2 cup finals, particularly the CL, but we finished 5th on 58 pts.
At the time that was our lowest pts total since 98/99 and, I think, the joint 3rd lowest points total we've had in the last 20 years.
If we'd lost in Istanbul Rafa would've had to face some very tough questions.

I'm surprised Rodgers has had more pts in that time. We must've finished the end of Rafa's second season very strongly because we ended up on 82 pts.

It is interesting that despite Rafa getting painted with the "defensive" brush, and Rodgers with the "attacking" one, Rodgers has drawn more games and lost fewer.

Ganymede Glow

super_furry

I'm looking forward to getting into the Champions League next season if only to bring an end to the daft midweek discussions when there's nothing else to talk about.

mike65

mike65 wrote: »

Cisse, Baros, Pongolle then Crouch were his strikers in the first 18 months.

Charlie19 wrote: »

Crouch the only striker he bought in that period?

Rodgers has bought Borini, Sturridge and Aspas.

I was referring to the strikers in the squad, not who bought who. Suarez and Sturridge are clearly better players but the way Rodgers sets the team up as compared to Benitez is the main difference. He now wants to attack and is less obsessed with traditional controlling of the game by pitch area whereas Rafa was fairly big into that aspect of the game.

Charlie19

Gbear wrote: »

I'm surprised Rodgers has had more pts in that time. We must've finished the end of Rafa's second season very strongly because we ended up on 82 pts.

It is interesting that despite Rafa getting painted with the "defensive" brush, and Rodgers with the "attacking" one, Rodgers has drawn more games and lost fewer.

Was it not Rafa's third season we hit the 82 points?

Thats a good point about defensive'and attacking, I would of thought benitez be well out in front regarding wins and had fewer defeats, its really showing up my knowledge of the club I support. Credit to Rodgers he really is starting make good progress.

Mike listed the strikes Benitez had for his first 18 months, Think Keane signed before Bellamy.

Charlie19

mike65 wrote: »

I was referring to the strikers in the squad, not who bought who.

I was just adding to that by saying the first striker bought by Benitez was Crouch and I never would guessed it, If asked.

mike65

True that!

Charlie19

Who could forget Morientes;)

Vinz Mesrine

Pretty sure Morientes was the first striker Rafa signed in January 05.

Agent Coulson

Morientes and Litmanen before him were players I really really wished could have played for us at their peak.

MD1990

Ganymede Glow wrote: »

goals for shows that Rodgers is a much more attacking manager than Rafa

mike65

Yikes! :eek:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-transfers-jordon-ibe-poised-3167469?

Birmingham City? The dullest team in the league?

jcsoulinger

mike65 wrote: »

Yikes! :eek:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-transfers-jordon-ibe-poised-3167469?

Birmingham City? The dullest team in the league?

Great, he needs games. pity it didn't happen sooner.

Gbear

Charlie19 wrote: »

Was it not Rafa's third season we hit the 82 points?

Nope. 2nd.

Charlie19 wrote: »

Mike listed the strikes Benitez had for his first 18 months, Think Keane signed before Bellamy.

Keane didn't sign till after Torres - Rafa's 4th season. He was promptly sold a few months later, despite doing pretty well on the face of it.
Bellamy and Kuyt signed in 2006, so Rafa's 3rd season.

MD1990 wrote: »

goals for shows that Rodgers is a much more attacking manager than Rafa

As has been pointed out, Rafa had nobody of the calibre of either Sturridge or Suarez until Torres arrived in his 3rd season.

Not arguing with you in general but our quality is a huge reason why we're scoring so many goals this season.
Suarez is the best striker that's played for Liverpool in a very long time and Sturridge is showing himself to be not far off Torres (their goalscoring is fairly similar but Torres scored a few more spectacular goals, I think).

MD1990

Gbear wrote: »

Nope. 2nd.



Keane didn't sign till after Torres - Rafa's 4th season. He was promptly sold a few months later, despite doing pretty well on the face of it.
Bellamy and Kuyt signed in 2006, so Rafa's 3rd season.


As has been pointed out, Rafa had nobody of the calibre of either Sturridge or Suarez until Torres arrived in his 3rd season.

Not arguing with you in general but our quality is a huge reason why we're scoring so many goals this season.
Suarez is the best striker that's played for Liverpool in a very long time and Sturridge is showing himself to be not far off Torres (their goalscoring is fairly similar but Torres scored a few more spectacular goals, I think).

Suarez & Sturridge were scoring about half as much before Rodgers worked with them though

Gbear

As a general point on Rafa I think he was too much of a perfectionist, at least as far as the league went (his attention to detail clearly paid massive dividends in cup competitions).
If he hadn't bothered his arse trying to fill the squad and improve every little bit with some hidden gem out of nowhere and spent 15m quid on fast, skillful attacking players every window until there wasn't any room left we might've been better off.
But you take the bad with the good, as with any manager.

I think Rodgers greatest strength has been his flexibility. He had a bit of fortune in inheriting Suarez and nobody but Sturridge's mum thought he's been as good as he has. But how he's managed the hand that was dealt him has been exceptional. Instead of imposing his philosophy rigidly he's mostly incorporated our strengths into our game and we're a two pronged nightmare in the final third.

Hangballlouie

The time to start comparing is when Rodgers puts trophies in the cabinet.
Rodgers has done nothing yet, but he is showing great potential and he looks the real deal.
Rafa wins trophies wherever he goes and is the real deal.

K-9

I look at Kono and think Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho, yes please!

Then I get out of FIFA/CM mode and wonder why the manager doesn't see DM as a priority.

Suppose it's similar to why we had N'Gog as back up to Torres. Benitez had his priotities, Rodgers his. It's philosophies, football managers can have such high flaluting terms!

mike65

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpools-glen-johnson-trained-week-3167465?

Glen Johnson is set to return for Liverpool

Johnson has trained all week at Melwood and Brendan Rodgers is expected to include him in the Reds' squad for Sunday's home game against Swansea.


Liverpool feared Johnson might have needed surgery to correct the problems, but he has responded well to treatment.

klose

mike65 wrote: »

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpools-glen-johnson-trained-week-3167465?

Probably the last we'll see of kelly so

billy2012

Is the match on TV?

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/exclusive-suarez-debt-gratitude-liverpool-6729708