Liverpool Football Club 08/09

And what's happened to Pennant these days? Injured or just miles away from the first team?

debaubler wrote:And what's happened to Pennant these days? Injured or just miles away from the first team?

He is being punished for costing us 5 million by not accepting Stoke's bid

For what it is worth I still think he is a better player than Kuyt or Benayoun. He'll do well at whichever clubs gets him on the cheap

Sheffield gunner wrote:Is Agger injured?

Either Rafa is off his face and is selling him or he is simply teaching Agger a lesson, and a dangerous lesson at that.

Love Agger and what he brings to out team but he has been below his usual standards though that could easily be down to match rustiness from missing well over a season.

Hypia should be alright. He has looked very good in the games he has played. Plus there aren't any pace merchants in the Hull side, so we should be alright *kiss of death*.

I think Sami is starting for a variety of reasons, to get some playing time under his belt (prolly would have started mid-week if he was registered). Looked solid when he has recently played, Agger stalling over contract negotations.. and of course Sammi can be a handful from set-pieces which maybe how we break Hull down today.

Still it doesn't look good for Agger.

Not overly concerned with the line-up, definately strong enough to beat an overachieving Hull team. I've preferred to see Kuyt through the middle as opposed to the right, still it would have been nice to see both him and Keane start, go 4-4-2 and really have a go at Hull from the start.

Keane should be starting to be honest, if you pay 20 mil for him and Torres is injured you've got to be starting him at home.

Don't know what you're worried about. If there is one position Benitez has shown he can pick up good players it is defenders.

Khadrim wrote:Don't know what you're worried about. If there is one position Benitez has shown he can pick up good players it is defenders.

I'm not speaking for everybody but i'm not worried its just fustrating if we have to get another centre back in, bed him in.. and hope the new defender fits in. Its even more fustrating when Hyypia days are numbered leaving more opportunities for games. Agger is also our only ball playing centre half and is at that one of a rare breed of centre back.

Agger was fantastic in midweek as well, does baffle me.

Festive Genius wrote:

Khadrim wrote:Don't know what you're worried about. If there is one position Benitez has shown he can pick up good players it is defenders.

I'm not speaking for everybody but i'm not worried its just fustrating if we have to get another centre back in, bed him in.. and hope the new defender fits in. Its even more fustrating when Hyypia days are numbered leaving more opportunities for games. Agger is also our only ball playing centre half and is at that one of a rare breed of centre back.

I'd be in the same boat as FG's comments. Agger is unique in what he offers the team in general. Not just defensively. His contribution with bringing the ball out of defence(making the team move up), his distribution, technique, shooting abilty and so on make him a very valuable asset.

The lad hasn't been at his best this season lets be honest. Probably down to missing so many games, when he was injured for a entire year. Just needs to get the cobwebs out of the system so to speak and like I said above Hypia has looked solid and is a threat from set-plays.

Well well well... 1 point gained instead of 2 lost eh

Seriously though. Fucking disgraceful second half that. The shape didn't work yet it wasn't altered at all. Kuyt was miscontrolling everything in sight, yet he stays on I like Dirk Kuyt, both as a human being and, at times, as a footballer, but it was obvious that he was offering the square root of f@ck all as a goal scoring presence in the box today. What's the point of having players on the bench if they don't get a chance when things are going as poorly as that.

The substitutions were a bad joke. El Zhar ahead of Babel and Keane(in Rafa's mind) in the pecking order which is incredible and Keane didn't get a sniff again for the 2nd game in a row. Clearly Rafa wants rid... you don't pay £20M for a striker and then not bring him on for two successive league games. I'm not blaming El Zhar but more so Rafa btw.

Shocking treatment of Keane. He obviously doesn't want Babel either - £33M obviously down the drain in the managers own opinion seemingly.

Hull clearly targeted on our weakest part of the team, Dossena that was so utterly obvious. That's what another £8M down the drain in feels like at this moment in time. What was wrong with Insua, he along with Alonso and Reina were our best players v B'burn...

Rafa cannot moan if there is no money to spend in January as he has wasted £33-41m on 2-3 players who for some reason he now seems reluctant to use.


Repeating myself a bit. But no matter what anybody thinks of Keane nobody can tell me he didnt deserve a run ahead of El Zhar & Lucas.Hate to say it but his treatment of certain players is criminal. Crouch last year and Keane this year.

A lot of people I know have been going on about Michael Owen returning...You know what, for the first time since he left I'm beginning to come round to that way of thinking.

Now relying on Spurs and West Ham to do us a favour. It seems improbable that both will.

I said at the start of the season I'd settle for second place as it shows sign of improvement, but with Chelsea and United slipping up this was our best chance of actually dare I say winning the title and cause of some odd descions we are shooting ourselves in the 'nads.

Aresnal next at the Emirates... I'll be at the game.
I'm just praying we don't get a hiding..

41 million down the drain

You should have brought Tevez for 30 million and Heskey for 11 million

The excuse of coming to Anfield and parking the bus can hardly be used for the game against Hull. Sure they defended deep mainly due to our dominance, however... they counter attacked at every occassion with at least 4 men, making it even more surprising Rafa did not use Babel and his pace to exploit space.

An age old story under Benitez's reign, bar Gerrard and without Torres, nobody else looks capable of providing a goal threat... with a repetitive yet evident display from our wingers, and second choice striker force (minus Keane today, however the odds of him coming on and scoring would not be particularly high)

Without Torres, it begs the question if we were unable to keep Crouch, why didn't we replace him suitably with a striker who is at least capable of a.) scoring b.) giving us an option up top.

We have depth in our squad, however we still lack vital components to drive us to the league title... match winners.

I thought Liverpool played well intent was there (even though Hull should be credited they have been a good watch this season) and your rivals also dropped points so I wouldnt worry that much if I were you and hope Torres is back as soon as possible.

DS wrote:I thought Liverpool played well intent was there (even though Hull should be credited they have been a good watch this season) and your rivals also dropped points so I wouldnt worry that much if I were you and hope Torres is back as soon as possible.

Well we should be well clear at the top at the minute. We have arsenal away next week and while I don't think it is an overly vital match to our title chances, it could start a downward slide and knock confidence were we to lose. I do fancy our chances of winning it though more than I do against any park the bus side without torres

We are just lucky that chelsea and united are equally vunerable at the minute but there is an overwhelming sense that we are missing our chance to get ahead

We arent playing well adjusting a bit to Berbatov and a new way of playing , Chelsea will probably win today and are going to be the best tip for the title.
Sincerely if Liverpool win the title I dont have a problem with it because whatever anyone says if you win it after 38 games then you would deserve it.

Sharabi Gunda

we wont win the title this season, we showed yesterday and we showed against Fulham, West Ham and Stoke that physiologically we're not up to it. You can bet your bottom dollar that if one of those sides had gotten an early goal or two we would have got back into the game, like yesterday or against City, but getting a winner seems to present a mental brick wall.

Also without Torres and Gerrard we're fucked. I had a dream last night night that we had to sell Gerrard to Real Madrid and I wept like a bitch.

People might say that this is our year because Arsenal are still not ready, Chelsea are getting used to a new coach and Manchester United are shit, but I don't see much changing in the next few seasons. United have serious problems, not least Fergle leaving while I don't see Arsenal making a challenge in that time either. Our squad isn't a big problem either, perhaps we need 3 players but the first XI is good enough. The only thing missing in my opinion is the mentality, which will come next season, after we have narrowly missed out or bottled it this time.

Glenjamin Hysénus wrote:Sharabi Gunda

we wont win the title this season, we showed yesterday and we showed against Fulham, West Ham and Stoke that physiologically we're not up to it. You can bet your bottom dollar that if one of those sides had gotten an early goal or two we would have got back into the game, like yesterday or against City, but getting a winner seems to present a mental brick wall.

Also without Torres and Gerrard we're fucked. I had a dream last night night that we had to sell Gerrard to Real Madrid and I wept like a bitch.

People might say that this is our year because Arsenal are still not ready, Chelsea are getting used to a new coach and Manchester United are shit, but I don't see much changing in the next few seasons. United have serious problems, not least Fergle leaving while I don't see Arsenal making a challenge in that time either. Our squad isn't a big problem either, perhaps we need 3 players but the first XI is good enough. The only thing missing in my opinion is the mentality, which will come next season, after we have narrowly missed out or bottled it this time.

True

Once behind it's as if the players give that ten percent extra which makes the difference but as soon as they are level they drop to their normal conscious level again and we struggle

However, Rafa is really not helping matters with his bizarre selections and subs

I think we have got a good chance of hanging around until near the end of the title chase and you never know once that happens. It really does depend on gerrard and torres being fit and at their best though. We literally have no strikers when torres is not playing. With kuyt or keane up front we are playing with ten men

At least one positive is that Torres has been well rested in this first half of the season. If he stays fit for the rest of it, he'll need very little rotation, which could be crucial come the title run-in and CL knockout stages.

we've had this before with Owen and Fowler, a great start to their career following by frustrating times with injury. The cynic in me says Torres will be an injury prone nightmare for the next few years.

He was doing fine until breaking down twice while with the Spanish national team...so it seems that Liverpool know how to handle him, but the Spanish national team doctors don't.

Only watched parts of the 1st half and a bit towards the end of the 2nd half in the Pompey v Newcastle game and I'm gutted.

Gutted to see one of our youth products in Danny Guthrie play solidly for Newcastle and then seeing our Brazilan dynamo Lucas, do eh nothing for us having cost a fair few quid.

Said in the summer, we should keep Guthrie and sell Lucas, and nobody uttered a response.

The lad was suberb for Bolton and was voted their player of the season and was the best player againist Bayern in the UEFA Cup in Munich. Solid all round midfielder if unspectacular.

Like I said, seeing Lucas play for us and then Guthrie play for Bolton, now Newcastle and playing well is a bit sad. Probably wouldn't have settled for being 4th choice for us.

Guthrie

Guthrie had a really good game against us last season when he was onloan at Bolton.

How old is he?

he's 29

Ade Alves wrote:Only watched parts of the 1st half and a bit towards the end of the 2nd half in the Pompey v Newcastle game and I'm gutted.

Gutted to see one of our youth products in Danny Guthrie play solidly for Newcastle and then seeing our Brazilan dynamo Lucas, do eh nothing for us having cost a fair few quid.

Said in the summer, we should keep Guthrie and sell Lucas, and nobody uttered a response.

The lad was suberb for Bolton and was voted their player of the season and was the best player againist Bayern in the UEFA Cup in Munich. Solid all round midfielder if unspectacular.

Like I said, seeing Lucas play for us and then Guthrie play for Bolton, now Newcastle and playing well is a bit sad. Probably wouldn't have settled for being 4th choice for us.

Guthrie

Lucas is a better player than guthrie. Rafa took a punt on lucas and it has failed so far. Somehow he was brazilian player of the year and very highly thought of over there so it isn't totally rafa's fault. Maybe he will suddenly morph into a good player if he moves to italy or spain.

Either way neither of them are good enough to start for us

Rafa is in hospital with kidney stones


Just thought I would let you know Batman incase you get worried it is something a bit more serious

Did he catch that off Scolari?

Keane's a goner:
http://football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_4656018,00.html

Thats hardly very conclusive now is it...

He said she said chinese whispers...

I'll wait untill January comes around, theres no chance in hell he'll move on without a very suitable replacement available, after all Keane is a proven Premiership striker irrespective of his initial goalscoring form for ourselves, who could be brought in with a higher chance of success during the January transfer window?

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4656799,00.html

Liverpool football club announce Keane is staying put.

for Kas

If you're going to shoot the messenger I'm most certainly going to fight back:

"Mark Lawrenson's remarks are his interpretation of a private chat between the two of them," raid the statement.

"They do not accurately reflect Steven's opinion of Robbie Keane and they certainly do not tally with Steven's recollection of the conversation itself."

That sounds to me like PR-speak trying to cover for Gerrard's (alleged) comments, and certainly no more credible IMO than what Lawrenson has said. Official statements by football clubs don't mean a whole lot when it comes to transfer rumours.