Are we really any stronger or should I be worried?

[Craig_H]

I'm not so sure.

Maybe there judgement is just very bad. But either way just coming on saying players are **** is worthless.

Well it's certainly a very lazy way to go about expressing an opinion, i'll give you that

Sometimes though, i'll be in a mood where i cant be arsed to go all long winder and analytical, so it's easier to just use one word which might sum up one's feelings. For example, in the James Milner thread, i was a bit tired and very nearly just posted 'no thanks, he is ****' as a reply Purely because i didnt have the will to go into major details as to which parts of his game arent upto scratch in my view.

Oh i dunno. I just dont think expressing that you think a player is '****' is 'abusive' personally. But some people obviously do. L&LL.

[Rafael Benítez Maudes]

from elsewhere
closed the window
can't remember the link

Remember back in the days when everything about George and Tom was new and we all thought that we'd be entering a whole new era of investment in a new stadium and new players to take us forward? Back before the harsh reality of the Hicks and Gillett stewardship hit us like a bad smell?

George Gillett was quizzed about potential transfer spending and just what money there would be to invest. As George obviously knew nothing about top class football players, he came out with some statement to demonstrate that they were prepared to spend whatever money was required. Something along the lines of "If Rafa said he wanted to buy 'Snoogy Doogy' we would back him"

It caused a lot of amusement at the time but as time has gone by, sadly we have had very few opportunities since to crack a smile where Hicks and Gillett are concerned.

True we did buy Fernando Torres and if any player has the capability to fire us to trophies then Torres is the man. The problem is that as we all know, we are still too over-reliant on Torres and Gerrard and really asking too much for them to be the main drivers of our team right through a long, hard season.

We went very close to winning the Premiership last year and it's debateable at this point whether we start the season in better shape or not. The loss of Alonso and Arbeloa has been addressed by the signings of Aquilani and Johnson. As Aquilani is currently unfit, it would be fair to say we start the season weaker than we finished the last one, especially as we have lost Sami Hyypia from central defence.

To become champions of England again surely we need to be signing more players to assist Torres and Gerrard, more players who can be match winners and become real powerhouses within the team?

Torres in particular needs someone to help him up front. Another class player who will terrify defences in tandem with Fernando but also on his own if Torres is unavailable for any reason.

Rafa has come out in the press and suggested that Aquilani can be the difference this year, the player himself also seems confident. We all hope that they are right. The value of Fernando Torres to the team cannot be under estimated. It certainly isn't by the club as the recent hefty wage rise for the striker clearly demonstrates.

We've spent money this summer on Johnson and Aquilani but as I understand it, we were owed money by Portsmouth from the sale of Crouch so how much did we give Portsmouth in real terms for Johnson's signing? Likewise the deal for Aquilani seems to be structured with so much up front and then a series of payments.

We supposedly received £30m for Alonso from Real Madrid and £3.5m for Arbeloa. If Hicks and Gillett have handed Rafa a transfer kitty too then you would think there is money still there to sign one or two more players? Where is it then?

The season begins for us today with a tricky trip to Tottenham - try saying that after a few pints - and we have been struggling for fit centre backs plus Steven Gerrard is carrying an injury. Latest news is that Carragher and Skrtel should play and that Gerrard "has a chance".

The margins at the top will be even tighter this year so we'll need as many match winners as possible. At present the squad looks light in a few places and you wonder whether Rafa will be able to get the players we need to fill in any gaps?

Hicks and Gillett have supposedly given more control of transfers to Rafa but control of a limited budget may be worse than what he had to live with before. The Americans have recently had to restructure the debt and you have to wonder has that meant changes to other finances?

The opportunity existed this summer to make the step-change we need to go from second place to champions, especially as Chelsea have to bed-in yet another manager and United have lost Ronaldo and Tevez. Arsenal have lost players too - although it didn't seem to hinder them too much at Goodison yesterday - and big-spenders Man City will take time to build a settled side.

The right players signed now could make the difference. We still have the time but do we have the money? We'll just have to wait and see.

As I said earlier, the trip to Tottenham is a tough one and could be made even tougher by the potential presence in the Spurs side of Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch. Two players deemed surplus to requirements at Anfield they may well relish the chance to scupper our start to the season.

We lost at Spurs in the league last season after being all over them and taking the lead. We gained revenge on the last day of the season at Anfield but arguably that defeat from the jaws of victory at White Hart Lane earlier was one of the pivotal events that ultimately cost us our first Premiership title.

We need to get off to a good start today.

Good luck at Tottenham lads, let's get off to a flying start and get on our way to title number nineteen.

[Rafael Benítez Maudes]

17.08.09 | tribalfootball.com
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is confident manager Rafa Benitez is still working the summer transfer market.

He told the News of the World: "What's encouraging is now there seems to be a unity at the club from top to bottom which can only help.

"There have been stages where we've been in the papers for what's gone on upstairs, but hopefully that's all over with.

"Bringing Kenny Dalglish back to the club as an ambassador was also a fantastic move which I know gave the players a big lift.

"I honestly don't see a lot more changes being needed to the side, but we do have to find consistency from the first game. That showed last year when it was draws, not defeats which cost us.

"We are good enough to win it.

"Our keeper is the best in the world, defensively we're very solid and we've got matchwinners such as Fernando (Torres).

"There's no two ways about it, Xabi Alonso going to Real Madrid will leave a hole. But there's an opportunity for Lucas to show what he can and hopefully for Alberto Aquilani to show how good he is. If we give Alberto time maybe he'll make sure we don't miss Xabi too much and I'm sure Rafa will be working as I speak to bring a few more in."

[Craig_H]

Right, that'll do for me. He clearly has **** for brains. Sell.

http://www.est1892.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=1400368&postcount=43

dumbest 11 million pound footballer ever

http://www.est1892.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=1400405&postcount=50

Because he's absolutely ****.

http://www.est1892.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=1400450&postcount=54

I wonder if anyone will notice the above 'abuse' and condemn it.

I doubt it. But if certain posters had made the exact same posts as those above, they'd have been pulled up for 'abusing' the players.

Depends who posts it, i guess.

[DannyMan2006]

I wonder if anyone will notice the above 'abuse' and condemn it.

I doubt it. But if certain posters had made the exact same posts as those above, they'd have been pulled up for 'abusing' the players.

Depends who posts it, i guess.

As you said before, it's not really abuse.

[Craig_H]

As you said before, it's not really abuse.

It's abuse when some say it, but not when others do. Apparently.

Double standards from a select bunch of hypocrites. And no, i'm not referring to the posters i've quoted above.

[DannyMan2006]

It's abuse when some say it, but not when others do. Apparently.

Double standards from a select bunch of hypocrites. And no, i'm not referring to the posters i've quoted above.

It's impossible to argue with that.

[Craig_H]

I know

I await fredo's take.

[EwarWoo]

I wonder if anyone will notice the above 'abuse' and condemn it.

I doubt it. But if certain posters had made the exact same posts as those above, they'd have been pulled up for 'abusing' the players.

Depends who posts it, i guess.

It does depend who it is. If it's a poster you know well who as an history of intelligent, constructive posts when they have a bad day and blert it's a completely different situation to someone who comes on and posts semi abusive messages about players.

Saying that but he is completely correct, Babel IS ****e. After last night further constructive explanation is hardly necessary.

[Ben_Itez]

Also calling him the dumbest 11 million pound player ever isnt abuse, it's an opinion and he quite clearly has **** for brains. The only one you could deem abuse is Shaggy's 'he's ****'. But i think we all know that when most people call a player **** on here they dont mean he's absolutely useless at football ( as obviously they're not) just not good enough to play for our first XI.

[Fierce]

Craig, I agree with you, but all I'm getting here is

[Guest]

It's about how you say it Craig. And I never said you were culprit of saying 'he's ****', I was just arguing with you on why, IMO, it's disgraceful to say so.

Shaggy said it well yes, he's got 40,000 posts and I've known him as a poster for years, as for flyboy, he's averaged 100 or so posts and generally they've been negative and not constructive.

That is all. And I've said numerous times that I've got nothing against you. It's just that we don't see eye to eye sometimes, and it doesn't make our independent reasoning flawed for that matter.

[Craig_H]

Also calling him the dumbest 11 million pound player ever isnt abuse, it's an opinion and he quite clearly has **** for brains. The only one you could deem abuse is Shaggy's 'he's ****'. But i think we all know that when most people call a player **** on here they dont mean he's absolutely useless at football ( as obviously they're not) just not good enough to play for our first XI.

So calling someone thick isnt abuse. Ok.

And when SOME people call someone ****, it's ok (because they dont mean he's absolutely useless at football ( as obviously they're not) just not good enough to play for our first XI). But when others call them ****, that caveat doesnt apply.

Brilliant

[Craig_H]

It's about how you say it Craig. And I never said you were culprit of saying 'he's ****', I was just arguing with you on why, IMO, it's disgraceful to say so.

Shaggy said it well yes, he's got 40,000 posts and I've known him as a poster for years, as for flyboy, he's averaged 100 or so posts and generally they've been negative and not constructive.

That is all. And I've said numerous times that I've got nothing against you. It's just that we don't see eye to eye sometimes, and it doesn't make our independent reasoning flawed for that matter.

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Nothing to do with whether you have anything against me or not. I have nothing against you. But when you're two-faced about stuff, i'll tell you, as i've done here. I've provided evidence and as Danny rightfully pointed out, there's no real argument against it. I've proven my point and even when presented with factual evidence, you still try to dodge the issue. It's funny

[Reece]

Craig you really seem to be the only person making a big issue out of this. From a mod's point of view when someone continually comes out calling players **** here there and everywhere and doesn't contribute in any other way then we're going to put a stop to it. And there have been plenty of instances of that in the past. That's not directed at you in the slightest

You'll probably just find that posters who are deemed as negative (whether you agree or not you are deemed in that way ) will get pulled up on things more by the masses. It's not as if you've been "told off" by a mod for doing it. Whereas if a poster posts something like that out of the blue then people tend to react differently to it.