Houllier - summer 2002, Benitez - summer 2006

[Craig_H]

It's too early after the game for those jokes

If i dont make jokes and laugh, i'll actually cry.

[ninja]

Is Bellamy better than Cisse though ? That may be the more relevant question.

I Think he is..... His all round play is better and he will continue to improve. Dont forget he has only played about 12 games for us. Time and a few goals from him will see a huge improvement. Kuyt has already benefited from Bellers. I have faith

[Bob]

Erm, what ?

He's plays better from the inside-right position, rather than being an out and out striker. A goalscorer Bellamy has never been. He's played his best football from deep, picking scraps from second balls or being fed in from deep, while the striker/winger pulls the defence out of shape.

Admittedly when playing with the likes of Kuyt this role has interchanged throughout a game. This role-reversal is a common football tactic. But ultimately Bellamy is an inside-right, the Welsh boys may add/argue to/with this (he can play from the left wing for instance, though i'm yet to how he can be effective here).

[Harv]

Aurelio, Bellamy, Pennant and Gonzales aren't good enough to mount a title challenge with, that's the honest truth, the majority of them were bought because of a discounted price pinned to their shirt. I genuinely can't see anything in Aurelio to suggest he's worth having at the club, we've already got two left backs and two left wingers, very odd decision from Rafa. I suppose he was free, *shrugs*.

Rafa should've have gone for quality, not quantity (our squad's already too big), this summer. A bit of extra cash would've secured a long term transfer target, such as Daniel Alves or Guily.

We're out the title race and it's only mid October, it's depressing, yet not unfamiliar, I'd take fourth place now if it was offered, without question.

So, the question I pose is this; could Rafa's transfer aquisitions in the summer of 2006 have an equally influential impact as Houllier's summer of 2002 ?

kneejerk perhaps? 2games ago we were flying and looking like it was only a matter of time before we caught Chelski....a draw and a loss later and we are out of the race.

How do you know if Alves would of made a massive difference.....he is slightly better than Aurelio in the Liga....im not convinced he would slot straight into the prem.....he would take time to settle. Gonzalez was equally as impressive in the Liga as Alves was, so the same goes for him......Guily didnt want to come here, he wanted to stay at Barca....so stop dwelling on it.

You seem to have forgotten a certain Mr Kuyt Where does he figure in all of this? He will get the goals that Djibs got, Bellemy wasnt expected to score the same amount that Djibs had....well i certainly didnt expect him to 15 in all comps would be good from him. Its his chasing and harrasing that i look for. So thats more goals than Djibs got right there.....you seem to have negleted this in your post....

Rafa's signings will impact LFC in a GOOD way, they all have shown glimpses of what they can do. Kuyt will be a massive player for us. Aurelio was a free, and has shown glimpses. He has a great left foot, its just a pity that his defesive duties suffer a tad. Gonzalez didnt cost the world, and in the few games he has had he has produced. I would like to see him given more games. Pennent- well the jury is out on that one, i dont think he has been bad at all, but there are some that didnt want him here, and still dont...nothing he does will win them over

in summary compare the two most expensive players from these two summers i question....Diouf 10mill vs Kuyt 9mill. There is no comparison for me, Diouf was a cnut of the highest order, Kuyt is already on his way to LFC stardom.

I'll leave it at that

[Craig_H]

How can you accuse him of having a kneejerk reaction, whilst saying Kuyt is on his way to LFC stardom in the very same post?

Consistency?

[Harv]

How can you accuse him of having a kneejerk reaction, whilst saying Kuyt is on his way to LFC stardom in the very same post?

Consistency?

because Kuyt has shown something in everygame he has played....he wants to win and will do anything to win......i have heard many people talk about him being a LFC star. Yet i have only heard people talking about us being out of the title race after this result......thats called a kneejerk reaction in any book. If we beat manure next week you watch them change their mind

[Craig_H]

With each game we dont win, but Chelsea and United do, the likelihood that we're out of the title race increases. That's a fact.

And to be honest, it's more daft to take the handful of games that Kuyt has played as evidence that he'll be an LFC star, than it is to take our league games so far this season, in comparison to United, Arsenal and Chelsea, and use them as evidence to suggest that we're not going to take any serious part in the title race.

[MrMichael]

Dirk Kuyt is on his way to LFC stardom though, I have faith in very few things but that is one thing in which I do

Positivity

[Harv]

With each game we dont win, but Chelsea and United do, the likelihood that we're out of the title race increases. That's a fact.

And to be honest, it's more daft to take the handful of games that Kuyt has played as evidence that he'll be an LFC star, than it is to take our league games so far this season, in comparison to United, Arsenal and Chelsea, and use them as evidence to suggest that we're not going to take any serious part in the title race.

there you go with your pessimism again DJ, glad to see your consistency hasnt changed

****en lighten up man, we had a bad game, we often do after international breaks. I didnt expect us to win the league this year, and i still dont. I just want us to be right up there challenging all the way. Granted we arn't consistent at the moment, mainly due to our usually sound defence allowing crazy goals. Hopefully they click into gear soon.

Anyway, your missing my main point, Kuyt IS infinetly better than Cisse. He may not be a star in your eyes....but in mine and many others eyes he is already on his way to becoming a star.

[Craig_H]

Call it pessimism if you like, i think it's a realistic viewpoint.

I never said Cisse was better than Kuyt, i dont think he is. I just think it's early to say that Kuyt's a star, or on the way to being one, because we've not seen enough of him yet IMO.

Back to us and the title...we're now 20/1, compared to 4/9 for Chelsea, 7/2 for Man Utd and 11/2 for Arsenal.

There's a reason why our price is so long now.

[Guest]

With each game we dont win, but Chelsea and United do, the likelihood that we're out of the title race increases. That's a fact.

We'll see if United and Chelsea will continue winning at that rate. I'd take having a slow start than a slow finish. Chelsea are not impressive at all this season and they've been grinding out wins more often than not. Yes, they've had points in the bag but their football hasn't impressed me.

As for United, i predicted they would be flying at the start of the season anyway because they had the less disruption to their squad because of only one summer signing in Carrick. If they lose Rooney or Saha for an extended length of time, we'll see what they can do. And i have a sneaky feeling that we'll beat them at OT next week.

[Le Chacal]

I cant find the words to describe that game. Abysmal.
A DISASTER. Worst game at Anfield since S'ton 3 years ago.
Nothing, Absolutely nothing.

[Guest]

I cant find the words to describe that game. Abysmal.
A DISASTER. Worst game at Anfield since S'ton 3 years ago.
Nothing, Absolutely nothing.

... but we will improve.

[Le Chacal]

... but we will improve.

It will be hard to be worse than that...

[Kopite_Colin]

Is Bellamy better than Cisse though ? That may be the more relevant question.

Look at the goalscoring stats. He most definitely isn't. 2 goals in how many games? But rotation isn't helping him.