Depressing

[windy1983]

What a difference a year makes:

March 2009 = Fast Flowing Football = Goals, Points and excitement.

March 2010 = Dull, Slow, Predictable = Nowhere FAST!

Rafa can not get this team to play anymore, simple as, Jose is the obvious choice, Hodgson can obviously get mediocre players playing as a team.

Gerrard has been carrying us for a good 5 years or so now and this season he really dosen't look fit, but due to where we find ourselves he has to play every game and a 50-90% fit Gerrard is better than anything else we currently have.

Fernando is getting increasingly frustrated by the ****e he has to play with and wouldn't be suprised is he wasn't wearing a Liverpool shirt next season.

Tottenham, Spurs, Villa and Man City have bigger and better squads compared to ours.

I'm depressed.

[The Red Cardinal]

What a difference a year makes:

March 2009 = Fast Flowing Football = Goals, Points and excitement.

March 2010 = Dull, Slow, Predictable = Nowhere FAST!

Rafa can not get this team to play anymore, simple as, Jose is the obvious choice, Hodgson can obviously get mediocre players playing as a team.

Gerrard has been carrying us for a good 5 years or so now and this season he really dosen't look fit, but due to where we find ourselves he has to play every game and a 50-90% fit Gerrard is better than anything else we currently have.

Fernando is getting increasingly frustrated by the ****e he has to play with and wouldn't be suprised is he wasn't wearing a Liverpool shirt next season.

Tottenham, Spurs, Villa and Man City have bigger and better squads compared to ours.

I'm depressed.

Tottenham AND Spurs? Blimey! You left out Citeh! And Aston!

[Nick77]

And of course they do - their squads all cost more than ours except Villa's which cost roughly the same as ours...

[Craig_H]

And of course they do - their squads all cost more than ours except Villa's which cost roughly the same as ours...

So cost automatically equates to quality then?

Was Shevchenko the best striker ever to grace the Premier League?

Our squad and team is better than Villa, Spurs and City as of now and this season. Not miles ahead, but enough for us to get 4th. The key is how it is used.

[Lecter]

So cost automatically equates to quality then?

Our squad and team is better than Villa, Spurs and City as of now and this season. Not miles ahead, but enough for us to get 4th. The key is how it is used.

There is some correlation between cost and quality

Even you would have to accept that

I think Spurs' squad is better than ours (not a better 11 but a better squad), Citys might also be slightly better but again not the first 11

That said I still expected us to get 4th

[Craig_H]

There is some correlation between cost and quality

Even you would have to accept that

I think Spurs' squad is better than ours (not a better 11 but a better squad), Citys might also be slightly better but again not the first 11

That said I still expected us to get 4th

Of course there's correlation, but it's no hard and fast rule, as the post implied - eg, it sounded like 'of COURSE they have better squads, they cost more, so they MUST have' kind of thing.

Neither of Spurs, City or Villa have a world class player in their squads, IMO. Not one between them. We have four.

I agree about depth - we lose a first teamer, and we bring in someone average maybe. They do, and they bring in someone 'good' (not brilliant, but good, decent, etc). This certainly applies to Spurs and City, though not Villa.

Having said that, our squad isnt as weak as some make out.

Take aside the first team:

Reina
Johnson
Carra
Agger
Aurelio
Kuyt
Mascherano
Lucas
Riera
Gerrard
Torres

And you still have:
Skrtel
Kyrgiakos
Insua
Aquilani
Benayoun
Babel
Riera
Maxi

Those 8 are all good players and good enough to play a role in a squad of a side in the top four.

So that's 19 squad members who are not out of place in a squad with top-four ambitions. Part of our problem as i see it, is that we've got it into our heads that only Torres and Gerrard can do the business for us, and maybe some of the other players subconsciously feel the same. It's always about them two to win us games, when in truth, the likes of Kuyt, Babel, Yossi, Maxi, Riera etc are all good enough to take some of the burden, not as often or consistently, but still, between them, they should be able to do it often enough.

That's my case for the prosecution, anyway

[red g]

I think spurs and city have better squads only for the reason that we have zero quality up front bar torres.

Our squad would be better IF we brought in 1/2 attackers and i meant 1 or 2 not SWP

[Lecter]

I agree about depth - we lose a first teamer, and we bring in someone average maybe. They do, and they bring in someone 'good' (not brilliant, but good, decent, etc). This certainly applies to Spurs and City, though not Villa.

This is what I meant

The quality of their squad as a whole is better than ours

Although we have better players and probably better 1st 11's

[Craig_H]

This is what I meant

The quality of their squad as a whole is better than ours

Although we have better players and probably better 1st 11's

But then, look at the list of 8 'reserves' i posted, and tell me that we dont have backup of a good quality too? Obviously they're not in torres or gerrard's league - but that's the problem, as i alluded to before. We've fallen into the trap of looking at torres & gerrard and thinking that quality in depth equates to having people of their ilk to come in, when it doesnt. No club has backup of that level.

But look at the names, are they not all internationals, mostly for strong nations? I havent gone back and double checked that, but i'm sure they all are, or nearly all of them.

We have around 20 players in our squad who are plenty good enough for the level required to be in the top four - if correctly used.

[Lecter]

But then, look at the list of 8 'reserves' i posted, and tell me that we dont have backup of a good quality too? Obviously they're not in torres or gerrard's league - but that's the problem, as i alluded to before. We've fallen into the trap of looking at torres & gerrard and thinking that quality in depth equates to having people of their ilk to come in, when it doesnt. No club has backup of that level.

But look at the names, are they not all internationals, mostly for strong nations? I havent gone back and double checked that, but i'm sure they all are, or nearly all of them.

We have around 20 players in our squad who are plenty good enough for the level required to be in the top four - if correctly used.

The 8 players are ok players (barring Insua who is **** and currently 1st choice )

The thing is we are light in certain positions rightback cover will be Kelly (who I actually quite like), or Carragher or Mascherano

Leftback cover for Insua as things stand today would be.........

Cover for Torres in N'Gog who whilst I think tries hard is not in the same league as Torres

[Chrono]

What a load of bollocks, we have a far better and larger squad than every other 4th place challenger. We have also spent plenty of money. It's always the same tired excuses.

Spurs, Man C, Villa or any of these other teams that are supposed to have better players and squad would kill for a Reina, Gerrard, Mascha or Torres and the rest of our first team isn't too shabby either. That's 4 world class players, who do they have? So fed up of the excuses, Rafa has run out of ideas and can't motivate this team and now needs to go. Lovely guy and gave us so much but it's done now. We are a ****ing mess with awful football and shocking results.

[Armchairkopite]

I cant believe I am saying this but right now I feel like giving Rafa another season to to rectify things.

At the end of the day player power should never win and he is a top class manager.

He has also shown in the past that he learns from his mistakes, I think if he stayed he would sell Kuyt, Babel and one or two others such as Benni and Reira.

[einar]

I cant believe I am saying this but right now I feel like giving Rafa another season to to rectify things.

At the end of the day player power should never win and he is a top class manager.

He has also shown in the past that he learns from his mistakes, I think if he stayed he would sell Kuyt, Babel and one or two others such as Benni and Reira.

Sums things up for me.