Laurel's prediction....

[ronanm]

Nickname: Reds
Ground: Anfield
Capacity: 45,362
Last season: Fourth
Manager: Rafael Benitez (June 2004)

606: DEBATE
Do you agree with Lawro?

Lawro's verdict: I think Liverpool will improve on last season by one position and finish third.

Robbie Keane is a very good signing but I am worried already by manager Rafa Benitez saying that he can play on the right or left of midfield. I'm sorry Rafa, but I think Keane has to play either just behind or alongside Fernando Torres. When Keane is playing well he is a cheeky chappie who is very inventive in the penalty area but if you stick him out wide you will lose that.

Liverpool look a bit light down the left, particularly in an attacking sense. I would not sign Gareth Barry for £18m, instead I would look for a left sided player. However, Liverpool do have a very solid backbone with the likes of Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger, Jamie Carragher, Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard.

KEY MAN: Steven Gerrard. A massively obvious choice but clearly correct. He is Mr Liverpool.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7540723.stm

[Sarb]

Nickname: Reds
Ground: Anfield
Capacity: 45,362
Last season: Fourth
Manager: Rafael Benitez (June 2004)

606: DEBATE
Do you agree with Lawro?

Lawro's verdict: I think Liverpool will improve on last season by one position and finish third.

Robbie Keane is a very good signing but I am worried already by manager Rafa Benitez saying that he can play on the right or left of midfield. I'm sorry Rafa, but I think Keane has to play either just behind or alongside Fernando Torres. When Keane is playing well he is a cheeky chappie who is very inventive in the penalty area but if you stick him out wide you will lose that.

Liverpool look a bit light down the left, particularly in an attacking sense. I would not sign Gareth Barry for £18m, instead I would look for a left sided player. However, Liverpool do have a very solid backbone with the likes of Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger, Jamie Carragher, Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard.

KEY MAN: Steven Gerrard. A massively obvious choice but clearly correct. He is Mr Liverpool.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...em/7540723.stm

[Elvoz]

lauro is known for getting it wrong - he has here

number 19 is coming

[Dessy]

Nickname: Reds
Ground: Anfield
Capacity: 45,362
Last season: Fourth
Manager: Rafael Benitez (June 2004)

606: DEBATE
Do you agree with Lawro?

Lawro's verdict: I think Liverpool will improve on last season by one position and finish third.

Robbie Keane is a very good signing but I am worried already by manager Rafa Benitez saying that he can play on the right or left of midfield. I'm sorry Rafa, but I think Keane has to play either just behind or alongside Fernando Torres. When Keane is playing well he is a cheeky chappie who is very inventive in the penalty area but if you stick him out wide you will lose that.

Liverpool look a bit light down the left, particularly in an attacking sense. I would not sign Gareth Barry for £18m, instead I would look for a left sided player. However, Liverpool do have a very solid backbone with the likes of Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger, Jamie Carragher, Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard.

KEY MAN: Steven Gerrard. A massively obvious choice but clearly correct. He is Mr Liverpool.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...em/7540723.stm

Barry is a left sided player you thick cunt.

[Dessy]

Lawro that is.

[pezzzer]

Lawro that is.

[Elvoz]

Barry is a left sided player you thick cunt.

he is hardly an attacking player

[badpiggy]

lawro really just posts this **** in. he is clearly an idiot and i hate what he has become media -wise. he tries to come up with clever soundbites but fails abysmally. he gets even minor predictions during a game ludicrously wrong.

[rudedog]

Nickname: Reds
Ground: Anfield
Capacity: 45,362
Last season: Fourth
Manager: Rafael Benitez (June 2004)

606: DEBATE
Do you agree with Lawro?

Lawro's verdict: I think Liverpool will improve on last season by one position and finish third.

Robbie Keane is a very good signing but I am worried already by manager Rafa Benitez saying that he can play on the right or left of midfield. I'm sorry Rafa, but I think Keane has to play either just behind or alongside Fernando Torres. When Keane is playing well he is a cheeky chappie who is very inventive in the penalty area but if you stick him out wide you will lose that.

Liverpool look a bit light down the left, particularly in an attacking sense. I would not sign Gareth Barry for £18m, instead I would look for a left sided player. However, Liverpool do have a very solid backbone with the likes of Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger, Jamie Carragher, Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard.

KEY MAN: Steven Gerrard. A massively obvious choice but clearly correct. He is Mr Liverpool.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...em/7540723.stm

lol - no mention of Torres in his 'backbone'

[Kenneth]

But he's completely right with that assessment.

[Elvoz]

But he's completely right with that assessment.

except for the finish 3rd bit

[Kenneth]

except for the finish 3rd bit

Of course

[friedk]

But he's completely right with that assessment.

in your opinion of course.

Although I agree with most of his assessment, I feel the success or failure of the coming season will depend a lot on our attacking full-backs, especially Dossena.

I feel we are in fact significantly stronger than last season. When we went through our bad run last season, we were totally reliant on Hyppia & Carra at the back. Now have also have Agger & Skertle who are both good enough to feature in any team in Europe.

Babel has a full season of experience and has the ability to be a very big player for us.

Keane is one of the few players around who can play in a strike partnership and consistently manages double figures in the league, something we have not managed from a second striker in many years.

Dossena I can't vouch for, but if pre-season is an indication, he is a step up from Riise, with more pace, a better delivery, and does not have the idiotic instinct to shoot as soon as he crosses the half-way line.

Ngog will take some settling in, but he is tall enough to be a target man and has far more pace than Crouchie.

If, for example, we have a starting line-up of:
Reina
Arbeloa Carra Agger Dossena
Mascherano Gerrard
Kuyt Keane Babel
Torres

We have cover from the likes of Skertle, Hyppia, Aurelio, Lucas, Plessis, Xabi, Ngog, Cavalieri, Insua, Yossi, Finnan (if he stays), Degen (between injuries), and a collection of youngsters who will hopefully get a running in the league cup. Maybe all are not good enough to play consistently week in week out, but I would say we have more cover in our squad than at any time since 1990.

We have the players for 5-3-2, 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 (Xabi-Masch-Gerrard behind Babel-Torres-Keane) which gives us a lot of options.

I would say that what is glaringly obvious though, is that we do not have the players for 4-4-2 because our wide midfielders are not good enough.

I really hope Alonso starts tonight and stays, because I think he is quality, but I can understand why Rafa wants Barry, because he would slot in perfectly on the left of a midfield 3.

[rage]

much of what lawro describes is spot on, especially the bit about keane's role.

[Kenneth]

in your opinion of course.

Although I agree with most of his assessment, I feel the success or failure of the coming season will depend a lot on our attacking full-backs, especially Dossena.

I feel we are in fact significantly stronger than last season. When we went through our bad run last season, we were totally reliant on Hyppia & Carra at the back. Now have also have Agger & Skertle who are both good enough to feature in any team in Europe.

Babel has a full season of experience and has the ability to be a very big player for us.

Keane is one of the few players around who can play in a strike partnership and consistently manages double figures in the league, something we have not managed from a second striker in many years.

Dossena I can't vouch for, but if pre-season is an indication, he is a step up from Riise, with more pace, a better delivery, and does not have the idiotic instinct to shoot as soon as he crosses the half-way line.

Ngog will take some settling in, but he is tall enough to be a target man and has far more pace than Crouchie.

If, for example, we have a starting line-up of:
Reina
Arbeloa Carra Agger Dossena
Mascherano Gerrard
Kuyt Keane Babel
Torres

We have cover from the likes of Skertle, Hyppia, Aurelio, Lucas, Plessis, Xabi, Ngog, Cavalieri, Insua, Yossi, Finnan (if he stays), Degen (between injuries), and a collection of youngsters who will hopefully get a running in the league cup. Maybe all are not good enough to play consistently week in week out, but I would say we have more cover in our squad than at any time since 1990.

We have the players for 5-3-2, 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 (Xabi-Masch-Gerrard behind Babel-Torres-Keane) which gives us a lot of options.

I would say that what is glaringly obvious though, is that we do not have the players for 4-4-2 because our wide midfielders are not good enough.

I really hope Alonso starts tonight and stays, because I think he is quality, but I can understand why Rafa wants Barry, because he would slot in perfectly on the left of a midfield 3.

Good post. I don't think it disagrees with Lawro much though. Do you think 3rd is too pessimistic?