Houllier

[Craig_H]

Is Houllier far better a manager than many of us, and plenty of rival fans/neutral observers gave him credit for, when he left Anfield?

His Lyon side are virtually unbeatable in Ligue 1, and whilst it's easier when you inherit a side that's just won their 3rd or 4th title on the trot, he's delivering in the CL too.

2-0 in Madrid tonight and sure to top their group, they're also rated by many to be a serious contender in this season's competition.

Not only this, but they also play some very attractive and attacking football, some may argue the compete opposite of what we played during his time on Merseyside.

All this despite generally being what you might call a 'selling club'.

So, being as objective as possible, is Houllier actually a lot better than the last 6-12 months of his LFC reign suggests?

And if so, what went wrong for him at LFC, and why hasnt it gone similarly wrong at Lyon?

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Move on if he was back will all be giving out about him i could guess that the majority of us on here couldnt wait to get rid of him when it came to the end of term as our Manager

[Rohan]

Some would say that he was never the same for us after he collapsed and had the heart surgery.

Maybe he has rested properly now and is back to his best.

The purchase and subsequent crap play of Diouf, Diao, Cheyrou and others didn't help matters.

I always thought he was a good manager for us.

R

[Craig_H]

Move on if he was back will all be giving out about him i could guess that the majority of us on here couldnt wait to get rid of him when it came to the end of term as our Manager

What do you mean 'move on' ? I havent NOT moved on.

It was just a thought which occurred to me and i wanted to see what people thought.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

What do you mean 'move on' ? I havent NOT moved on.

It was just a thought which occurred to me and i wanted to see what people thought.

[Craig_H]

Some would say that he was never the same for us after he collapsed and had the heart surgery.

Maybe he has rested properly now and is back to his best.

The purchase and subsequent crap play of Diouf, Diao, Cheyrou and others didn't help matters.

I always thought he was a good manager for us.

R

The illness would've had an impact, certainly.

But to be honest, did we really play the kind of attractive football that Lyon do, at ALL during Ged's time? I couldnt honestly say yes to that.

I'm curious as to why we never (or rarely) saw it, given the way he's got Lyon playing.

[Craig_H]

Thanks

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Never the same after his illness for sure its a shame. The guy almost died for us and won many Cups so he should never be forgotten.

[MrsB]

But to be honest, did we really play the kind of attractive football that Lyon do, at ALL during Ged's time? I couldnt honestly say yes to that.

I'm curious as to why we never (or rarely) saw it, given the way he's got Lyon playing.

I've been wondering about that too.

[Nic83]

Is Houllier far better a manager than many of us, and plenty of rival fans/neutral observers gave him credit for, when he left Anfield?

His Lyon side are virtually unbeatable in Ligue 1, and whilst it's easier when you inherit a side that's just won their 3rd or 4th title on the trot, he's delivering in the CL too.

2-0 in Madrid tonight and sure to top their group, they're also rated by many to be a serious contender in this season's competition.

Not only this, but they also play some very attractive and attacking football, some may argue the compete opposite of what we played during his time on Merseyside.

All this despite generally being what you might call a 'selling club'.

So, being as objective as possible, is Houllier actually a lot better than the last 6-12 months of his LFC reign suggests?

And if so, what went wrong for him at LFC, and why hasnt it gone similarly wrong at Lyon?

Who knows what happened to him over the last year. No matter what it is, it doesn't change the fact that he was a bad(some good points obviously but in general, not good enough) manager while at Anfield. FAR too conservative.

TBH, I think he has learned from his mistakes at Anfield and has now adopted a whole new (and far mor attacking) approach to the game.

[Red Chilli]

Some managers are suited to a league, I suppose it's like players. Houllier is obviously suited to the French league. His Lyon team had won 5 consecutive titles when he took over.

The great managers can adapt to different leagues. I don't think Houllier ever got to grips with the premiership. In our best season I think Phil Thomson managed us for half of it.

[Craig_H]

Who knows what happened to him over the last year. No matter what it is, it doesn't change the fact that he was a bad manager while at Anfield. FAR too conservative.

TBH, I think he has learned from his mistakes at Anfield and has now adopted a whole new (and far mor attacking) approach to the game.

Do you really think it's so easy for a coach to completely change his approach and ditch the playing style that he previously swore by? It's abandoning one's own footballing-style belief, isnt it? Almost like changing religion - you believe in and adopt a certain thing vehemently (sp?) for ages, then you suddenly just abandon it all and change? Surely that's not too likely?

[anfieldanfield]

I watched the first half of the Madrid Lyon match, three things struck me..

1) There's no way Madrid will win the Champions league this season, far too suspect defensively, and the supply to Ruud is often quite limited against better opposition.

2) Lyon are probably the third or fourth best side in the competition and with a bit of luck and a nice draw, could go all the way to the final. Some of the fluditiy of their football is sublime. Rember Houllier was forced to sell Essien and Diarra in the past two seasons, what he's achieved is very, very impressive.

3) John Carew is a hell of a player, I would have loved to see Rafa bring him here. He's a far superior player to Crouch and possibly as good as, if not better than Kuyt.

[Nic83]

Do you really think it's so easy for a coach to completely change his approach and ditch the playing style that he previously swore by? It's abandoning one's own footballing-style belief, isnt it? Almost like changing religion - you believe in and adopt a certain thing vehemently (sp?) for ages, then you suddenly just abandon it all and change? Surely that's not too likely?

It's not as hard as you make out. I'm not talking drastic changes here. He's kept a lot of his ideas but he's moved the line of the back four up 20 yards or so.

He's adopted a new mentality. Moving the line up allows you to dominate the ball in the opponents half without relying on counters. If you have the better players, these are the tactics you should adapt more often than not and he has now realised this.

[Red Chilli]

3) John Carew is a hell of a player, I would have loved to see Rafa bring him here. He's a far superior player to Crouch and possibly as good as, if not better than Kuyt.

Is this a joke?