Problems - what to do?

[Jennings]

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Plus we could play with more intent to attack from the first. Too often we are timid and allow teams to grow in confidence by showing them too much respect.

I totally agree with this and eluded to it in a post on a different thread. This is particularly applicable to teams that show no intent of beating us (City and Wigan for example). We have players who can run at players and force errors. At the least we can force free-kicks/cards etc. As you say we should be battering at their door from the outset.

[CAD]

Let's say we sell Sissoko, Carson, Riise, Pennant, Kuyt, Alonso and Voronin in this window. That's surely £50m right there? Crouch is another who could go.

With that money buy Mascher, a top attacking player (winger or playmaker) and a top defender.

And if the Yanks would sanction more spending money, all the better.

Have you ever seen that kind of activity from LFC in a jan window? Maybe Carson and Momo at best. At best.

[El Jefecito]

OK, So at the moment Liverpool FC are not doing to well.

So, its time to try and find the problems.

Firstly, the main problem at LFC is the board and management. A club cannot feature without a solid hierachy and this is the first problem. The owners lied to us, they are lying to us and problems need to be sorted out. Things are NOT ok and we have seen this over last few months.
You do not see any problems with the boards in any other top clubs at the moment?

Secondly, the squad, we all thought we had a great squad and have such depth which we have found out is not true. Our first team cannot beat Wigan never mind a reserve team.
We know we need centre back cover and a left back, possibly someone who can play both if possible.
We need ATLEAST one winger and ATLEAST one striker.

Goodbye Voronin, Kuyt and Sissoko. These are definately not good enough. Everyone else in the squad is decent enough to make a good squad. Definately not the 1st team but atleast the squad. I do not like Pennant or Riise but they will do until summer.

Now, Rafa, what are you playing at? 5 in midfield at home?
We really should be playing Gerrard on the right wing, he is the best option we have there and until we sign a good enough winger then put him there and try Yossi behind Torres.
You are partly to blame for the draw against Wigan, but there is only so much you can do. A team including Carragher, Masha, Alonso, Kewell, Gerrard and Torres should make an embarrasment of Wigan. Is the commitment there from the players?
I have my doubts...

Overall, until the board (if they ever do), decide to stop messing around with one of the biggest clubs in the world, we are going nowere.
They have messed us around so much, Stadium? Signings? They have no idea..

The atmosphere inside Anfield is shocking. Possibly the worst i have ever seen and heard. I am 20, and have been going to games since i was 8 and i can never remmeber it being so silent. I had a phonecall and could actually speak on the phone...What is that about. I would never even dream about speaking on my phone inside the ground a few years ago mainly because i wouldn't be able to hear anything..but now its crazy, all you hear is people saying how bad players are etc etc.

I am really dissapointed, i am seeing possibly 60% of my life going downhill and i cannot do anything about it. There is nothing WE can do as fans, since we have been taken over by some selfish, arragant ******s who have lied their way through all the pre investments tests.

We have problems and they need to be sorted. If we win our next 5 games there will still be problems, the club is lagging behind the Top 3 teams in the league.
We are a laughing stock at the moment and i do not like it one bit.

The board does not have anything to do with the performances on the pitch.

You call it 451 I call it 433. Kewell was crap, SG was crap, JP was OK. Our primary issue is that we can't get behind the opponents defence and that is because our wingers are crap. Rafa has been hamstrung every time he's gone after decent wingers. Give it a year or two to build out the wings (with other than 2nd choices) and you'll see us run away with it.

At the moment all we can do is work through the middle and that's much harder than have the option of outside lefts/rights.

[CAD]

The board does not have anything to do with the performances on the pitch.

You call it 451 I call it 433. Kewell was crap, SG was crap, JP was OK. Our primary issue is that we can't get behind the opponents defence and that is because our wingers are crap. Rafa has been hamstrung every time he's gone after decent wingers. Give it a year or two to build out the wings (with other than 2nd choices) and you'll see us run away with it.

At the moment all we can do is work through the middle and that's much harder than have the option of outside lefts/rights.

Hello Speedy

Did Rafa not know that he has got wingers who couldn't score at a Manchester United x-mas party? Did he only learn that against Wigan? 4-3-3 my foot

Good to see you up and posting though.

[El Jefecito]

We were in the summer, getting Torres, Babel and Lucas signed very early on.

The Heinze thing dragged on a bit, but that wasn't down to us.

I'll admit getting deals done in January is much more difficult than in the summer. But we've got to try.

BS, we've known we need a CH for ever. Carra is on 4 yellows. Parry should have had a CH turning up on Jan 1.

[lfcruleus]

Had had a ****e day when I wrote it, so the wording was harsh. "Take a chance" would be more suitable.

He seems to react rather than being proactive.

Plus we could play with more intent to attack from the first. Too often we are timid and allow teams to grow in confidence by showing them too much respect.

Thats your most sensible post for a good while Niall.

[lfcruleus]

The board does not have anything to do with the performances on the pitch.

You call it 451 I call it 433. Kewell was crap, SG was crap, JP was OK. Our primary issue is that we can't get behind the opponents defence and that is because our wingers are crap. Rafa has been hamstrung every time he's gone after decent wingers. Give it a year or two to build out the wings (with other than 2nd choices) and you'll see us run away with it.

At the moment all we can do is work through the middle and that's much harder than have the option of outside lefts/rights.

Sorry dude but it was neither 433 or 451 Rafa himself thought it 4141, either way it was not right for a game where we should have been letting them worry about us. Often Rafa overthinks about the oppo, especially at home where noone should trouble us. I think he was Para because of the Brum game so he tried something different, and to be fair if stevie had connected with that clearance properly this thread wouldnt exist!

[The Glove]

Sell Sissoko and Crouch. That would pay for Mascherano.

It would also finance a winger and forward.

I said it would buy a winger and a striker - I never mentioned Masher; but seeing as you're privvy to the financial goings on at Anfield - thanks for informing me/us that £17m will be put aside to buy him. Any other inside info by the way? Feel free to share.

I'll have to get myself a job as a steward if I really want to know what's going on I suppose.

There you go.

You said it would also get us a winger and striker. This following on from AF saying 17 mil would get us mascherano. If you mean spend 20 mil on a winger and a striker Instead of mascherano then you should say.

Oh and dont try and belittle me pal, you cant even construct a sentence properly to say what you mean so you have no chance of being anything worth while. :whatever:

[Howard_lfc]

There you go.

You said it would also get us a winger and striker. This following on from AF saying 17 mil would get us mascherano. If you mean spend 20 mil on a winger and a striker Instead of mascherano then you should say.

Oh and dont try and belittle me pal, you cant even construct a sentence properly to say what you mean so you have no chance of being anything worth while. :whatever:

I never mentiond Masher you cretin.
I said £20m would a winger and a striker. That's it. kapput. Finito.

Then you came back with a sarcastic comment about a winger and striker for £1.5m each when I had never even alluded to the £17m for Masher.

I'll pm you rather than post on here.....

[biscan252000]

All this talk about needing new wingers, I just wonder if Rafa really knows what he is looking for in this postion, or does he really do his research on the players. He has brought in a fair few wingers into the club who have either not performed consistently (Pennant), look uncomfortable as an out and out winger (Yossi, and Babel) or were just bombed out of the club for a year later (Nunez and Gonzalez)!

The Gonzalez saga was interesting situation - here was a player that we signed (for the same amount of cash Man City brough Petrov, who seems to be playing ok on the left wing). He didn't get a work permit, and if you believe all the stories etc Rafa was incenced by this. It apparently was an critisism of his professional judgement etc we were told. What happened he arrived at the club, wasn't good enough and was bombed out a year later. I hear th same arguement from people - he didn't have the cash etc. So for the cash he spent on Pennant, Gonzalez, and Paletta (another player bombed out after a year) he could have potentially brought in Alves. Instead he goes for the quantity over quality.

I would rather see some of these young kids get blooded by playing with quality players than some of these expensive average players blocking up the team. Can anyone tell me that Guthrie would have done a worse job in the centre of the park than Sissoko? Hammill/Anderson over Gonzalez last season. I also think Hobbs has not really put a foot wrong (probably no more than Sami at time this season) and probably could have been trusted against the Wigan front line. And from I've seen of him anyone would be better than Voronin.

[tomasjj]

All this talk about needing new wingers, I just wonder if Rafa really knows what he is looking for in this postion, or does he really do his research on the players. He has brought in a fair few wingers into the club who have either not performed consistently (Pennant), look uncomfortable as an out and out winger (Yossi, and Babel) or were just bombed out of the club for a year later (Nunez and Gonzalez)!

The Gonzalez saga was interesting situation - here was a player that we signed (for the same amount of cash Man City brough Petrov, who seems to be playing ok on the left wing). He didn't get a work permit, and if you believe all the stories etc Rafa was incenced by this. It apparently was an critisism of his professional judgement etc we were told. What happened he arrived at the club, wasn't good enough and was bombed out a year later. I hear th same arguement from people - he didn't have the cash etc. So for the cash he spent on Pennant, Gonzalez, and Paletta (another player bombed out after a year) he could have potentially brought in Alves. Instead he goes for the quantity over quality.

I would rather see some of these young kids get blooded by playing with quality players than some of these expensive average players blocking up the team. Can anyone tell me that Guthrie would have done a worse job in the centre of the park than Sissoko? Hammill/Anderson over Gonzalez last season. I also think Hobbs has not really put a foot wrong (probably no more than Sami at time this season) and probably could have been trusted against the Wigan front line. And from I've seen of him anyone would be better than Voronin.

This is an important point. Buying squad fillers instead of quality hampers the progress of youngsters AND fills our first 11 with some average joes.

[Jesus]

Thats an easy one fella, just give Rafa the money he needs to bring in the quality players he wants then, BINGO, number 19 is ours

If it was just all about spending big money why did we bother going for Rafa?

And bringing in the quality players he wants won't stop the excessive rotation and over complicated tactics and game-plans, which are the root cause of our inconsistancy.