Speedy to leave?

[Speedy]

I might be semi-banned, but no way am i leaving.

[leftpeg]

Thing is, people point to players like Pires saying what an improvement they made in their second season etc, but Pires was pretty good in his first season and excellent in his second. Gonzalez has chipped in with a few goals but other than that he's looked like he couldn't beat an egg. What's the chances he's going to offer us what we need next season? Slim I'd say. If I'm being brutally honest I've realised of late that he more or less has to go.

I think that's a little unfair. Pires, at 27, would have been considered a seasoned pro when he arrived at Arsenal. Gonzalez on the other hand will turn 23 this summer and played something like 30 or so matches in the Spanish leagues between Albacete and Sociedad before playing for us, so he's obviously a bit behind on his experience.

That said, at the moment he's obviously not offering too much, but it's also possible that he will improve considerably. I reckon that left wing is a position that Rafa is looking at though going into transfer season. So, I guess we'll see.

[AFII]

I don't think that it's a coincidence that this comes out a couple of weeks after Kewell showed that he is fit again.

Now when Kewell is fit then that probably means that he will stay and with Leto also coming in the summer, then Gonzalez is the man to make way for him and not Kewell.

Kewell first choice on the left with Leto as Backup IMO.

[Diego]

if we can keep Kewell fit, and that is a BIG if...

i'd like gonzalez to go one loan to reading or something like that, and see how he adapts if he gets to play week in week out...

[leftpeg]

Definitely a big if, but fingers crossed. I hope Harry gets a good injury free run. And Leto has even less experience than Gonzalez. Lanus are hardly the kings of Argentine football. Of course, we'll have little Luis and hopefully Aurelio coming back. Losing both of them when we did was a tough break.

[carheex]

This report appears to be based on Bascombe's report in the Echo today, which says the same thing.

The writing's on the wall for Gonzalez, I reckon.

The same bascombe that wrote a stinging article on Liverpool a few months ago saying we were 5 years behind arsenal? the guy's a proper crank.

[Morph]

The same bascombe that wrote a stinging article on Liverpool a few months saying we were 5 years behind arsenal? the guy's a proper crank.

no more so than any other reporter, but that's his opinion at the end of the day, he's usually spot on with the facts

[Jack D Rips]

if we can keep Kewell fit, and that is a BIG if...

i'd like gonzalez to go one loan to reading or something like that, and see how he adapts if he gets to play week in week out...

He certainly wont get in ahead of Hunt at Reading

[Mattshark]

He certainly wont get in ahead of Hunt at Reading

Thats cos Hunts makes sure no one has a head.

[wavydavy]

I'd happily let him go. He doesn't seem with it at all this season. I know he's had injuries and it's his first season but I can't see him making the next leap up to PL standard. Besides, I think he was aquired cos he was relatively cheap and Rafa must of thought he was a punt worth taking. We now have greater resources available and I think he'll be on his way along with quite a few others.

[REDSCOUSER]

Looks like a summer clear out for Rafa. I would like to see Gonzo get another season just to see if he can adjust better and improve his form.
If he was already a prem player like Bellamy then I would say sell but his situation is different.

[wavydavy]

Looks like a summer clear out for Rafa. I would like to see Gonzo get another season just to see if he can adjust better and improve his form.
If he was already a prem player like Bellamy then I would say sell but his situation is different.

Agree totally with your first statementI think there will be far more casualties at Anfield this summer than some people are anticipating.

[Johnny]

Agree totally with your first statementI think there will be far more casualties at Anfield this summer than some people are anticipating.

I think Rafa knows wholesale changes affect our 1st 10 games of the season.He`ll be making only a few neccessary changes,IMHO.

[AFII]

Agree totally with your first statementI think there will be far more casualties at Anfield this summer than some people are anticipating.

Not me. I have said all the time that Rafa will get rid off a lot of players. We already have a very big squad and if Rafa want to give our youth team players a chance then he will have to sell a lot of players.

[Red_Polo]

A more apt comparison might be Finnan - looked a bit **** when he came after good performances for Fulham. Took him a while but now most Liverpool fans think he is one of the leagues best right backs.

But again, Finnan wasn't useless in his first season. He was a bit average yeah, but he showed signs he was a good defender who could be an asset if he just reached a better level of consistancy for us. Gonzalez hasn't just been a bit average for us, he's offered next to nothing. One start in three maybe he shows on one occasion he can kick the ball past someone then beat them with pace, and that's being generous.

I think that's a little unfair. Pires, at 27, would have been considered a seasoned pro when he arrived at Arsenal. Gonzalez on the other hand will turn 23 this summer and played something like 30 or so matches in the Spanish leagues between Albacete and Sociedad before playing for us, so he's obviously a bit behind on his experience.

That said, at the moment he's obviously not offering too much, but it's also possible that he will improve considerably. I reckon that left wing is a position that Rafa is looking at though going into transfer season. So, I guess we'll see.

Put it this way, do you think he's done enough to deserve the same number of starts again to prove himself next season ahead of any new player we might sign, Leto, and Hammill? I don't. Can't justify it at all.

We could make an argument that any new signing from abroad who's been poor 'just needs another season', but usually it's only true when in their first season they have shown the kind of thing you can expect from them, only not with the same confidence and regularity you'd want. How many moments can you recall from Gonzalez where you thought 'why can't he do that more often, if he'd be quality for us'? A couple at most for me. That's not enough. Give him another 20 starts to adjust and he might well be decent for us, but we really shouldn't be investing loads of starts in players just for them to be decent and nothing more.