Rafa to poach another kid

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:

Batman wrote:
How many Rafa signings have improved as players during their time at Liverpool? i can't think of many.

You're not trying hard enough.

Finnan*, Agger, Sissoko, Mascherano and Crouch have improved dramatically under him, plus when fit he seems able to get the best out of Kewell*.

*not a Rafa signing

How bad was he before he come to Liverpool then?

Spankeltoe wrote:

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:

Batman wrote:
How many Rafa signings have improved as players during their time at Liverpool? i can't think of many.

You're not trying hard enough.

Finnan*, Agger, Sissoko, Mascherano and Crouch have improved dramatically under him, plus when fit he seems able to get the best out of Kewell*.

*not a Rafa signing

How bad was he before he come to Liverpool then?

he was considering a move to Everton.

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:

Spankeltoe wrote:

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:

Batman wrote:
How many Rafa signings have improved as players during their time at Liverpool? i can't think of many.

You're not trying hard enough.

Finnan*, Agger, Sissoko, Mascherano and Crouch have improved dramatically under him, plus when fit he seems able to get the best out of Kewell*.

*not a Rafa signing

How bad was he before he come to Liverpool then?

he was considering a move to Everton.

Good answer.

There's at least 5/6 Rafa signings who have improved during their time at Liverpool, so batmans point was rubbish

Spankeltoe wrote:

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:

Batman wrote:
How many Rafa signings have improved as players during their time at Liverpool? i can't think of many.

You're not trying hard enough.

Finnan*, Agger, Sissoko, Mascherano and Crouch have improved dramatically under him, plus when fit he seems able to get the best out of Kewell*.

*not a Rafa signing

How bad was he before he come to Liverpool then?

Really awful actually, glad he's left Spain, he was single-handedly bringing the league down.

oh and glenn like you have any idea how agger was before...and maschanerano was already a top player, he hasnt looked amazing at pool at all, just good games here and there.

L r d wrote:

oh and glenn like you have any idea how agger was before...and maschanerano was already a top player, he hasnt looked amazing at pool at all, just good games here and there.

If ignorance really is bliss lrd........

You're right, I don't know how good Agger was at Brondby - but that wasn't the question numbnuts. He has improved under Benitez. Unlike Reina and Arbeloa, who I chose to omit, he hadn't played at the highest level week in week out.

Lame.

At the start of his Liverpool career, Reina made quite a few mistakes and was hardly commanding, but now many see him as one of the best keepers in the world. I call that improvement! Arbeloa looks much better now than he did when he joined too.

Reina was a Barca reject and Arbeloa was laughed at by his teammates when he told them he was moving to pool. They're both very consistent and very decent players now...improvement!

Nice twist on things. Wasnt Reina the Villareal num 1? and they were doing pretty well. And Arbeloa had a very good debut from what i remember. Of course some players surely improved a bit. It's more systems and tactics than allowing players to express themselves with rafa though. So does your overall game improve i dont know.

Reina, Agger, Mascherano were all quality...Benitez hasn't had to do anything special with them. Same with Crouch, he's still inept at scoring with his best asset (his head) but manages to display surprisingly good foot skills.

I'll give him Sissoko for the brief good spell he had last season, but then take it away again because he's so utterly useless nowadays. The only player who has "over-performed" is Arbeloa, who iirc was a Madrid academy reject who was doing ok but nothing great at Depor, but is now doing very well for Liverpool even in the CL.

Not to mention the fact that he owned Ronnie when we played you guys at the Nou Camp.

Christmas Turkey wrote:Not to mention the fact that he owned Ronnie when we played you guys at the Nou Camp.

That was his debut correct? So if he was great from his first game, where has he improved under rafa, he was just one of the few successes in the 300 signed players

Christmas Turkey wrote:Not to mention the fact that he owned Ronnie when we played you guys at the Nou Camp.

Yes, that's what I was referring to, along with his other good performances against all the teams you face.

But without meaning to sound like sour grapes, it needs to be added that looking back in hindsight, Ronaldinho's terrible physical level and general form last season played a big part in how easily every fullback he played shut him down. Even Boulahrouz looked like a legend, but after that hardly put in a single solid performance for Chelsea.

L r d wrote:

Christmas Turkey wrote:Not to mention the fact that he owned Ronnie when we played you guys at the Nou Camp.

That was his debut correct? So if he was great from his first game, where has he improved under rafa, he was just one of the few successes in the 300 signed players

Ummm, well as Kas said he was nothing special at Deportivo, so Rafa must have worked wonders with him in training before his debut.

Christmas Turkey wrote:

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:

Spankeltoe wrote:

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:

Batman wrote:
How many Rafa signings have improved as players during their time at Liverpool? i can't think of many.

You're not trying hard enough.

Finnan*, Agger, Sissoko, Mascherano and Crouch have improved dramatically under him, plus when fit he seems able to get the best out of Kewell*.

*not a Rafa signing

How bad was he before he come to Liverpool then?

he was considering a move to Everton.

Good answer.

There's at least 5/6 Rafa signings who have improved during their time at Liverpool, so batmans point was rubbish

Sissoko has gone backwards imo and could be fifth choice soon: Alonso, Gerrard, Mascherano, Lucas, Sissoko.

Mascherano was probably one of the best players at the 2006 World Cup.

If Crouch had improved dramatically under Rafa then why isn't he starting more game for Liverpool?

How many signings have not improved during their time at Liverpool in your opinion?

I can think of Aurélio, Pennant, Kuyt + all the players he has signed then sold a year or two later.

Carson was a Benitez signing who was pretty unknown - England keeper now.

Christmas Turkey wrote:Carson was a Benitez signing who was pretty unknown - England keeper now.

How many games has he started for Liverpool?

Christmas Turkey wrote:Carson was a Benitez signing who was pretty unknown - England keeper now.

He wasnt unknown though. He was wanted by numerous clubs and Liverpool paid more and got him. For me this is not spotting young talent, i mean like wenger getting cesc. An unknown to the majority type.

As i said in my original post, i think Benitez just gets as many as possible and then hopes a few turn out to be very good and gives them a chance, if it doesnt work get rid of them and buy loads more. He has a similar mentallity with the first team.

I can't win. He's improved goddamnit. He's a Benitez signing! What more do you want?

Leeds goalkeeper Scott Carson has completed his £1m transfer to Liverpool, signing a four-and-a-half year deal at Anfield.
The 19-year-old chose Liverpool ahead of a move to Chelsea, and will provide competition for Jerzy Dudek.

Carson said: "It's a relief that everything has been completed. I'm delighted to be here and can't wait to get started."

Clearly not unknown. He's improved, maybe we can credit Pardew and O'Neil with the improvement though?

L r d wrote:

Christmas Turkey wrote:Carson was a Benitez signing who was pretty unknown - England keeper now.

He wasnt unknown though. He was wanted by numerous clubs and Liverpool paid more and got him. For me this is not spotting young talent, i mean like wenger getting cesc. An unknown to the majority type.

As i said in my original post, i think Benitez just gets as many as possible and then hopes a few turn out to be very good and gives them a chance, if it doesnt work get rid of them and buy loads more. He has a similar mentallity with the first team.

good point. Wheras Fergus found Pique playing barefoot on the beach. It's amazing, given Rafa's so many obvious flaws, that he has been so successful. The nerve of the man to sign players, and then how dare he get rid of the ones that aren't working. It's almost as if he doesn't want to fail.

Is Fergus any different? Really? Ok he dragged Ronaldo, Rooney, Louis Anderson and Narnar from obscuirity and spotted the potential that no one else did, how about Ding Dong Fanmagnet, Djemba Djemba Djemba, Cruyff, Nevland, Blanc, Bosnich, etc etc etc

Liverpool will sack Beardnetiz if he fails to win the Premiership, hes doing a good job.

another Manager who failed against SAF and to some lesser extent Wenger

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:

L r d wrote:

Christmas Turkey wrote:Carson was a Benitez signing who was pretty unknown - England keeper now.

He wasnt unknown though. He was wanted by numerous clubs and Liverpool paid more and got him. For me this is not spotting young talent, i mean like wenger getting cesc. An unknown to the majority type.

As i said in my original post, i think Benitez just gets as many as possible and then hopes a few turn out to be very good and gives them a chance, if it doesnt work get rid of them and buy loads more. He has a similar mentallity with the first team.

good point. Wheras Fergus found Pique playing barefoot on the beach. It's amazing, given Rafa's so many obvious flaws, that he has been so successful. The nerve of the man to sign players, and then how dare he get rid of the ones that aren't working. It's almost as if he doesn't want to fail.

Is Fergus any different? Really? Ok he dragged Ronaldo, Rooney, Louis Anderson and Narnar from obscuirity and spotted the potential that no one else did, how about Ding Dong Fanmagnet, Djemba Djemba Djemba, Cruyff, Nevland, Blanc, Bosnich, etc etc etc

Pique was unknown to the majority yes. As was Rossi. Who was Ronaldo to you? most flair young players signed come here and flop. Barely any of these guys have. Dong was signed to make money. djemba kleberson were poor signings nothing to do with young talent. Stop living in denial you cant move forward

Ok, lots of top clubs were trying to sign Carson, but he was still pretty unknown...I didn't know who he was when we were linked with him, and I doubt you did Lardy!

Christmas Turkey wrote:Ok, lots of top clubs were trying to sign Carson, but he was still pretty unknown...I didn't know who he was when we were linked with him, and I doubt you did Lardy!

Highly rated young english keeper, i believe had played for england u21 or something like that. and chelsea pool among others were bidding for him. To me this is not unknown. Lets compare to Ben Foster....some guy playing at Wrexham, nobody knows about this guy, fergie signs him up, 2 years later boothroyd says he will be the best keeper in the world.

lrd, Rossi was at Parma, Pique at Barcelona. Hardly obscurity. Everyone knew about Ronaldo, Houlier had an eye on him but wanted to wait a year, he was already in the national squad and was a wonderkid on Chmpionship Manager. You don't pay £13m for a nobody.

Your double standards are hilarious!

L r d wrote:

Christmas Turkey wrote:Ok, lots of top clubs were trying to sign Carson, but he was still pretty unknown...I didn't know who he was when we were linked with him, and I doubt you did Lardy!

Highly rated young english keeper, i believe had played for england u21 or something like that. and chelsea pool among others were bidding for him. To me this is not unknown. Lets compare to Ben Foster....some guy playing at Wrexham, nobody knows about this guy, fergie signs him up, 2 years later boothroyd says he will be the best keeper in the world.

Oh so this logic applies to Liverpool players but not to United players, good one

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:lrd, Rossi was at Parma, Pique at Barcelona. Hardly obscurity. Everyone knew about Ronaldo, Houlier had an eye on him but wanted to wait a year, he was already in the national squad and was a wonderkid on Chmpionship Manager. You don't pay £13m for a nobody.

Your double standards are hilarious!

Ha sure thing. Well you change the view of the topic. Rossi was of course mostly unknown and fergie saw him spotted the talent and got him ditto pique. Now seeing talent and buying it a la ronaldo anderson nani rooney also very good, doesn't matter if you spent a lot all were big risks and all look like being big success stories. While Rafa...pennant babel not you know exactly happening.

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:

L r d wrote:

Christmas Turkey wrote:Ok, lots of top clubs were trying to sign Carson, but he was still pretty unknown...I didn't know who he was when we were linked with him, and I doubt you did Lardy!

Highly rated young english keeper, i believe had played for england u21 or something like that. and chelsea pool among others were bidding for him. To me this is not unknown. Lets compare to Ben Foster....some guy playing at Wrexham, nobody knows about this guy, fergie signs him up, 2 years later boothroyd says he will be the best keeper in the world.

Oh so this logic applies to Liverpool players but not to United players, good one

What logic? I didn't say fergie improved him i said fergie spotted the talent of an uknown guy and spent 1 mill no questions asked. Rafa simply saw a highly rated english keeper, who had played for the u21, chelsea were interested in and came in for him. Nobody knew who foster was

anyway thats enough of this

L r d wrote:

Christmas Glenn Hysén wrote:lrd, Rossi was at Parma, Pique at Barcelona. Hardly obscurity. Everyone knew about Ronaldo, Houlier had an eye on him but wanted to wait a year, he was already in the national squad and was a wonderkid on Chmpionship Manager. You don't pay £13m for a nobody.

Your double standards are hilarious!

Ha sure thing. Well you change the view of the topic. Rossi was of course mostly unknown and fergie saw him spotted the talent and got him ditto pique. Now seeing talent and buying it a la ronaldo anderson nani rooney also very good, doesn't matter if you spent a lot all were big risks and all look like being big success stories. While Rafa...pennant babel not you know exactly happening.

Short memory. Ronaldo was a laughing stock when he turned up, proving Houlier right that it was a year too soon for him.If you write Babel off after a handful of appearances then you are an idiot.

SAF could have signed Rossi or Lupoli from Parma.

If you look at the stats, according to Arsenal fans, then it would say that Lupoli was the better player at Parma. But at this present time Rossi > Lupoli.

At Sporting it was the option of Ronaldo or Quaresma, SAF chose Ronaldo. Ronaldo > Quaresma.

SAF doesn't need to sign 10 players just to find one gem because SAF has got an eye for talent, especially strikers.