Articles post Wigan

[Imy]

I think we all are at this stage.

Doesn't make it any less depressing when it happens each year though.

oh well there's always next year

[Rich]

the amazing £9m striker who still functions despite being suspended in a vat of treacle

Had to chuckle.

You have to say that very good players are out there; Martin Petrov would have worked wonders last night for us, and he was *only* £4.7m.

[reds123]

when you consider the waste of money we have, kuyt, pennant and compare them to Arsenal's Adebayor rosicky or hleb , it makes me cry!!! arsenal infact spent less on them than we did on kuyt, pennant and crouch.

[The Birdman]

But it's all relative isn't it, how many of us would put up with Petrov walking away from an attack in a strop because he didn't get the ball like he did to Vassell against us, he doesn't work back so that doesn't make him a 'Rafa type player'
If we bought Elano and played him off Torres where would we put Gerrard? wide right? we couldn't play him in the middle because Elano would be in all the spaces Gerrard would want to break into.
I actually think the Blog is a pretty accurate read but then again they haven't compared Bianchi (sp) with Crouch have they because it doesn't suit the arguement.

[The Birdman]

when you consider the waste of money we have, kuyt, pennant and compare them to Arsenal's Adebayor rosicky or hleb , it makes me cry!!! arsenal infact spent less on them than we did on kuyt, pennant and crouch.

That's the comparison, it's so embarrasing I don't even want to think about it.
Throw in Van Persie for the peanuts he cost as well!

[bigfooty]

Gerrard spent a large chunk of 2005-2006 playing wide right, scoring lots of goals and making assists. He can do it from there just as he can playing through the middle.

[Imy]

Just like they did under Houllier, Liverpool set themselves up not to lose, and anything else is a bonus. Which is fine if all you want to do is win cups, but every single fan at Anfield knows that doesn't cut it any more. Not even in Europe. This is Benítez's fourth season in charge, and Liverpool's attack is still the complete shambles it was under Houllier. As Michael Owen was to Ged, so Torres is to Rafa - and if he doesn't score, it's up to Steven Gerrard to chip in from midfield. With defence the premium to the cost of everything else, players seldom bother piling into the box. Rarely has a team with title pretensions relied so heavily on witlessly welting the ball goalwards from distance, a fact borne out by the presence of two Liverpool players (Kuyt and John Arne Riise) in the Premier League list of top five least accurate shooters.


Benítez might also regret falling out with Pako Ayesteran: idle speculation in Spain, where Benítez already has a reputation in some quarters as a lucky manager who struck gold while Barcelona and Real Madrid were in the doldrums, suggests his erstwhile No2 may have been the real brains behind the project.

Whether that's unfair or not is moot. Liverpool haven't been noticeably better or worse since Pako's departure - with or without Ayesteran, they've been consistently pedestrian - but either way it's time for Benítez to prove his true worth. It might not be too dramatic to suggest the January transfer window represents Benítez's last throw of the dice; if he can't get Liverpool playing attractive, attacking football by the end of the season, his chance to forge a lasting Anfield legacy amounting to more than a couple of cups may, like this year's title chances, be gone.

Good read the above are the key paragraphs especially the first. one.

[tomasjj]

To be honest, I always thought this year was too early for us.

Even the owners said that much before this season.

[KK07]

I'd find it hard to disagree with much of what was said in that article.

I still think Rafa will come good though. :blind faith smiley:

[rage]

every year will be one too early for us if we continue to buy crap. I'm not saying we need to spend more money, far from it, we just need to spend it on fewer players.

We're in a mess as a team and drastic action is needed. The team needs a major overhaul.
Carson, Riise, Momo, Pennant, Crouch, Kuyt, Voronin, Guthrie, need to be sold. It'll give us at least 40 million. Add an annual budget of say 25 million (not unachievable) and we have 65 million.

1 striker 20 million
1 winger 18 million
1 centre back 10 million
masche 17 million

If our squad looks a bit bare then promote some of the reserves. It is the only way we will ever compete.

We don't need a big squad. ffs we'll still have

GK - Reina, Charles
FB - Aurelio, Insua
FB - Finnan, Arbeloa
CB - Carra, Agger, New
CM - Gerrard, Alonso, Masch, Lucas
RM - Yossi, ????
LM - New, Hammil
Strikers - Torres, Babel, Resrve kid, New

Really do think a major overhaul is needed and the selling needs to start today.

[simey85]

Im pissed about this to we can dominate teams possession wise but we don't seem to have a midfielder or winger that can go by someone or spot a clever through ball. I think we need a player in the scholes role someone like diego maybe. I would even like to see Bently on our right wing because i feel as an attacking force our midfield doesn't have enough imagination. It may mean selling someone like xabi, masher or even gerrard but when teams sit back against us we just can't break them down.

[Joe King]

Yep, totally agree with the article. I wouldn't want to agree with it but it makes some really good points.

Everyone raves on about Rafa's brilliant signings but you compare them with Arsenal and even City, it is very embarrasing. The old adage 'Sack Parry' would be useful here but thats not the point.

This was the season where we had spent big and were making a massive impact on the Premiership a la Chelsea when Abramovich bought them from Ken Bates. Although we haven't spent as much as Claudio Ranieri did, we didn't need a massive overhaul and spending spree for the sake of it. If one were to look at Chelsea's team circa 2003, it is clearly inferior than the Liverpool team of last season.

It was blatantly clear that we needed a centre back, left back, striker and a pair of wingers. Liverpool got no centre back, no left back, Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benyoun, although the latter isn't much of winger, he gives a creative spark, a person who can provide a Garcia Kodak moment and so far he has delivered. So Rafa had disappointed in the transfer market as he placed all his eggs in one basket with Heinze as a 'reserve' centre back was desperately needed.

What Rafa Benitez has bought with the first two is potential along with Brazil's Player of the Year, Lucas Leiva. At this moment in time, does Liverpool need potential or players who are at their peak in order to maximise the chances of the side to win the Premiership. This maybe the rebuilding of Pompeii after we were left with the ruins left from Ged. What is clear is, is that Liverpool have a lot of players that clearly aren't championship material.

Arsenal took three years to properly contend for the title, three years since they went unbeaten and eventually winning the title. Is Rafa asking for another season for his potential to mature and steadily become a title challenging side? I am starting to think he has given up and wouldn't be surprised if rotation is firmly placed to an extreme level when Champions League football is started again.

The hallmark of champions is to win when not playing at your best and I mean being battered left, right and centre and taking the chances. Liverpool just don't look like a side who can do a smash and grab, they don't have enough match winners. As the article says, Liverpool look at Torres and then Gerrard to chip in with a few goals. This is all of a sudden very de ja vu from dare I say, the latter, horrid, inconsistant Ged years. Clearly what Rafa Benitez needs is an inspirational signing. Someone who has the ability of lifting the spirits of not only the team but also the crowd. The team does look disjointed, low on morale, low on confidence. The crowd seem very edgy as well hence the lack of atmosphere and the murmers and groans when something goes wrong. Liverpool pulled somewhat of a masterstroke when signing Fowler on an initial six month contract as he scored an impressive five in thirteen in the league. Manchester United did it last season with Henrik Larsson.

Watching yesterdays performance and a lot of the Premiership performances, Liverpool still need a few more pieces to solve the puzzle that is the title. Manchester United have Tevez, Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs to some extent and Scholes when he is back. Arsenal have Hleb, Rosicky, Fabregas, Adebayor, Van Persie and now Eduardo. Chelsea have Lampard, Drogba, Cole and someone who has 'stepped to the plate' recently Ballack. Liverpool need to start shopping in Marks and Spencers and not Sainsburys where all the best quality of players lie. Arsenal does shop in Aldi but many forget he does like to shop in Marks. Many forget Rosicky was £7m, Hleb £10m, Walcott £16m, Eduardo £8m, Adebayor £7m.

Its up to Rafa to buy quality players, some players are cheap for a reason. Very rarely does a manager find a gem for dirt cheap. Its up to Rafa to convince the owners he is the man for the job by finishing as high in the table as possible and delivering a cup as the Premiership is now a faint and distant dream.

[Red_Al_77]

To be honest, I always thought this year was too early for us.

Even the owners said that much before this season.

Manure, Arse, and Chelski aren't gonna wait for us to catch up. That is the reality of the situation. They will strengthen again whereas we may lose one of the best holding midfielders we've had in many a year. Also you can't integrate too many players at once. The top three are financially and team building wise moving further away window by window and season by season.

[AFII]

Manure, Arse, and Chelski aren't gonna wait for us to catch up. That is the reality of the situation. They will strengthen again whereas we may lose one of the best holding midfielders we've had in many a year. Also you can't integrate too many players at once. The top three are financially and team building wise moving further away window by window and season by season.

G&H need to back Rafa 100% or sell up or else we won't win #19 until a season or two after the new stadium is finished. That means 2012 or 2013.

[dww]

Manure, Arse, and Chelski aren't gonna wait for us to catch up. That is the reality of the situation. They will strengthen again whereas we may lose one of the best holding midfielders we've had in many a year. Also you can't integrate too many players at once. The top three are financially and team building wise moving further away window by window and season by season.

I'm not sure I agree with that. They are certainly currently ahead but as Arsenal have shown this year team/squad building isn't a linear process sometimes one or two players coming in or developing can have a huge influence on the team as a whole.

I do agree that we are chasing a moving target but I'm less convinced that it is impossible to catch. We have solid foundations for now and the future within our squad even if Mascher goes IMO. We do however have to think as a club at both management and board level about how we intend to progress.