Liverpool Thread

[Misfit]

Suspicion is looming over Sir Alex Ferguson's transfer deals after it emerged that Manchester United paid £12.2million for Cristiano Ronaldo - a staggering £7.4million than what Liverpool offered.

Liverpool and Arsenal had bids of approximately £4.8million each accepted for the player but Sir Alex swooped and instead of offering slightly more, it is claimed that the Old Trafford outfit went straight in at £12.2million.

What makes it even more "puzzling" is that Sporting Lisbon are United's overseas feeder club. Reports also add that agent Tony Hendry was "mysteriously" axed from handling the deal just days before the affair was concluded.

Sir Alex is currently involved in a messy legal row with majority shareholders John Magnier and JP McManus over the stud rights of the former racehorse Rock of Gibraltar. It is widely known that private investigators are digging into all of Ferguson's personal and commercial affairs in attempts to expose him as some kind of fraudster. Numerous things are been fed to the press every week by the agency who are said to be digging at everything.

 

[Misfit]

Liverpool have again been linked with Tottenham winger Simon Davies.

The 24-year-old Welsh international - who recently returned to action following a hip injury - was linked heavily with Liverpool last year but no bid was ever forthcoming.

It is claimed today that Gerard Houllier is prepared to pay around £4million for him in the summer.

 

[Misfit]

Liverpool have made a late swoop for Deportivo La Coruna striker Diego Tristan.

Gerard Houllier is trying to sign the 28-year-old Spanish ace on loan until the end of the season and negotiations are currently underway.

The striker recently had a bust-up with coach Javier Irureta following a heated touchline exchange during a cup match against Atletico Madrid and has indicated that he wants out.

If signed within the next couple of days, Emile Heskey could be sold after all. Middlesbrough recently stated that they had ended their interest in the player but if a deal could be finalised before the transfer window closes, they would definitely do business.

Reports also suggest that Fulham have made an offer for the Liverpool striker.

'Deportivo de La Coruna striker Diego Tristan has a bit of a reputation and a lot of a mouth. He is the nightlife-loving Sevillian who whipped himself into shape for one match by losing 30,000 pounds - in a casino. The footballer caught on camera sitting on the bench, leading a bitching session against the man he loves to hate, manager Javier Irureta. The man who rolled his eyes at doubting Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez and asked: "What do you want - a footballer or a monk?" Yet Diego's not just a pretty face with a big gob - he's also an outrageously talented forward of power, fantasy and goals,' - The Guardian, Oct 2003.

lets hope we get tristan and ship emily donkey to boro!!!

 

[Boro]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I hate you misfit! damn you

 

[footieBalla]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I hate you misfit! damn you

haha, well it aint misfits fault emiles moving to boro :mrgreen:

-azn

 

[ninjabreakz]

Boys, ignore the newspapers, wait for the official statements from the clubs. You all get into the newspaper hype too much. It`s 9 times out of 10 a load of shite. What did I read the other day? Oh yeah, Beckham is interested in Chelsea. Yeah, whatever. Why? When? It`s a fact that the British tabloids are fulla shite, they need to sell their rags, so they print bullsh*t. Next . . . .

 

[Misfit]

Boys, ignore the newspapers, wait for the official statements from the clubs. You all get into the newspaper hype too much. It`s 9 times out of 10 a load of shite. What did I read the other day? Oh yeah, Beckham is interested in Chelsea. Yeah, whatever. Why? When? It`s a fact that the British tabloids are fulla shite, they need to sell their rags, so they print bullsh*t. Next . . . .

hell,youre right....

 

[ninjabreakz]

Misfit, thats getting a bit boring now. Got anything new about United? Its Ronaldinho`s problem if we wants to play for a "big" flop club like Barcelona. Actually, they remind me of a premiership club that plays in red and signs shite Senegal players . . . . . .

 

[Misfit]

Misfit, thats getting a bit boring now.

never is for me bud....

 

[northstandhero]

Harry Kewell??? :oops: Oh how we need him, poor boy big ego , no ambition.

 

[Misfit]

It is reported today that Liverpool ace Didi Hamann has a special release clause in his contract that enables him to walk from his Anfield contract providing any interested clubs offer £5million or more for him.

The inspirational midfielder has been linked with a possible return to Germany in the summer and is said to have been unimpressed with recent suggestions by Gerard Houllier that he has to prove himself before earning a new contract.

Both Hamann and Houllier have had a mixed relationship over the last couple of years with various twists and turns. Despite this, word recently had suggested everything was ok but the fact that the Reds are in no rush to discuss a new deal is worrying, even though both sides say they will hopefully sort something out

i seriously hope he quickly signs a new deal as he is without a doubt one of the best players we have...

 

[Misfit]

Harry Kewell??? :oops: Oh how we need him, poor boy big ego , no ambition.

yeah?was that how demento was thinkin?

 

[ninjabreakz]

Harry Kewell??? Oh how we need him, poor boy big ego , no ambition.

Well, its obvious he had no ambition, he went to L`pool!

 

[EatonTJ]

What's the problem with Kewell? Sure he hasn't looked inspired lately, but he's still the best left midfielder we have, the second leading scorer on the team, and we only paid, what?, 6 Million?

Sounds like a great deal to me.

 

[Misfit]

What's the problem with Kewell? Sure he hasn't looked inspired lately, but he's still the best left midfielder we have, the second leading scorer on the team, and we only paid, what?, 6 Million?

Sounds like a great deal to me.

5mill only actually,very good deal indeed....

 

[ninjabreakz]

Misfit wrote:

5mill only actually,very good deal indeed....

Only 5 million, with Houllier spending more money on other class acts, that make L`pool look the fantastic team they are today. 8)

 

[Super Quinninho]

Only 5 million, with Houllier spending more money on other class acts, that make L`pool look the fantastic team they are today

he has made some bad signings but to give him a little credit he has signed some quality players
henchoz, hyypia, risse, murphy? were unknows really
add them to baros, la tallec, pongolle and the players he has developed like gerrard etc then you can say he hasnt had a bad time at liverpool
won quite a lot of silverware its just making that extra step into the top places in the premiership

 

[mathewsss]

I think if Liverpool have their best starting XI, then we're a good team.
The problem has been with the fringe players.
When we're missing the first team players, we have been poor.
Our squad as a whole is not good enough for the top 3.
There lies the problem. It is a vicious cycle, if we don't have the squad, we can't win much, if we don't win we can't get good players.
While Houllier has made some great signings and some below-par signings,
I am wondering who can replace him. At times he has showed more inclination towards some good attacking football, but there have been times when he looks lost of ideas.
I am hopeful that Djibril Cisse could give our attack a new dimension.
He will share the burden with Owen and that can only be good for the team. With Baros, Pongolle as good backups.
But we also need to have a good backup for the back four.
We can't keep relying on Biscan, Traore, Riise.
We still lack a right winger. Diouf is not the solution. I honestly don't know where he can play, he is not a striker, nor a midfielder.

Houllier may not be my favourite manager, but who do we think can REALISTICALLY replace him?
Please don't suggest names like Capello, Hitzfeld. I can't really see it happening with both Roma & Bayern currently doing well.
Are there any good British managers who can replace Houllier?
I'm not too sure O'Neill is the answer. Who else is there?
We can't gamble on some inexperienced manager.
Or will we look abroad ? What's the guarantee he will be more successful than Houllier ?

 

[EatonTJ]

The one good thing about 'Pool being forced to deal with injury throughout most of the season is that many players were able to get a good run out to see what their potential might be.

So far:

Ostomober (apologize for I'm sure a mis-spelling) - did pretty well in his times in at RB... pacey, good at going forward. I'd rate his potential at a B.

Cheyrou - Obviously has scored quite a few goals in limited appearances so that's great. Looks better on the ball than Diouf to me, I'd be glad to give him a longer run in the starting 11. So far, A-/B+.

Le Tallec - Looks good at times, gets better with each appearance. Seems to be getting used to the pace of the game and looked capable today of handling the physicalness of the league. I think he'd be a good partner for Owen as they linked up a few times during the Newcastle game (one thing I do find odd is how rarely Heskey and Owen connect on Heskey's flick ons... I don't know who's to blame of the two, but there did not seem to be a problem with Le Tallecs... weird). An obviously promising player, overall B+, should improve to an 'A' by end of season.

Flo Sinama-Pongolle - looks decent, nothing too spectacular but puts out good effort and has nice pace. Needs experience but should turn out to be okay. C+

Luzi - ? Well saw him for a few harrowing seconds against Chelsea... seemed not to be an idiot. No real chance to judge him though, but I liked his aggressiveness at coming out to stop attacks... Uh... so he gets a B.

Diouf - Has had a significant run-out with the first team this year and has been horribly inconsistant. In fact the only thing he has been steady in performing is earning a booking. He is also quite susceptible to being taken out of the game mentally by the opposition. On the plus side, has shown some nice moves on occasion and hustles up and down the field. On the negativev side, never scores, and lacks pace. Plus, he misses a big part of every season going to play for Senegal. Probably only playing so often because of GH's lack in options. I give him a C+. I think his potential is probably quite limited in the EPL... we may have seen his best.

Traore - Has had some good (even great) games and some not-so-good. Has all the qualities of an up and coming CB, but gets put out on the left. Not a bad defensive option in my opinion as he tackles well and uses his size/strength well... plus he's not too slow. BUT, he just can't seem to get forward to cause any real threat. Too early to tell as he should get better with age, hopefully he'll develop into at least a substitute quality player... he doesn't lack anything that Carragher has physically, he just needs Carragher's mentality to go to the next level. B-

Biscan - A player without a real position. Doesn't seem able to perform consitantly anywhere on the field. Certainly seems willing to try anything to secure a place on the field, but he will likely no longer be considered in front of Henchoz at CB or anywhere else in defense as everybody is back from injury. He did a reasonably good job as a fill-in. Unfortunately, he doesn't look to figure in as a midfielder either... Hamann and Gerrard will likely start every game they are healthy and even Murphy has a better chance of figuring in the side. He doesn't look like a player worth keeping around, although he should be regarded kindly as a player who never complained at being forced to play out of position. He earns a C for being a good sport, a C- based on actual performance.

Anyone else I'm missing?... anyway, this is my impressions of how GHs "players with potential" have performed this year... feel free to chime in with your opinion.

 

[Misfit]

agree with most of it tyler,but i rate pongolle very highly indeed.a C+ is way too low considerin traore gets a B-.how would ya rate diao though?i actually thought he looked in the world cup but has never got the chance to prove himself in his rightful position(CM).would love to see him get some games if gerard or hamann gets injured...

 

[EatonTJ]

Well, I wasn't trying to rate based on potential, but more for performance. I think Pongolle will be much better than Traore, but I think Traore has put in better performances so far this season.

Traore's game against Chelsea was absolutely wonderful... so far, I haven't seen Pongolle have a similarly sparkling performance. However, I don't doubt Pongolle might put one up before the season is over and surpass Traore for a better seasonal performance.

 

[EatonTJ]

agree with most of it tyler,but i rate pongolle very highly indeed.a C+ is way too low considerin traore gets a B-.how would ya rate diao though?i actually thought he looked in the world cup but has never got the chance to prove himself in his rightful position(CM).would love to see him get some games if gerard or hamann gets injured...

Oh, and as for Diao, I'd probably rate him as a C. He has looked just a bit better than Biscan in the limited times I have seen him but not by much. And considering Biscan has been playing out of position that's not saying much. I've only seen Diao twice for Liverpool and neither time did he look like doing anything more useful than slide tackling. He seems to have better than average technique, but doesn't seem to have the ability to make passes that open the field. To be fair, he never really got a proper run out with the first team, but I don't see him being useful at all to Liverpool with Gerrard and Hamann playing so well. Really doesn't even deserve a bench spot either as I'd put Riise and Biscan in front of him as players who can cover both midfield and defense.

 

[Super Quinninho]

john welsh.
give him 3 years and he will be in the first 11
heard quite a bit about him and hes highly rated

 

[Stu-Pid]

Houllier takes a lot of stick over his signings but his good ones (Hyypia, Henchoz, Dudek, Kirkland, Kewell, Hamann, Riise, Finnan) have been excellent signings and all for very reasonable money (Hyypia = £4m, Ferdinand = £30m :mrgreen: ). He's also bought some young players that show real potential (Le Tallec, Pongolle, Cheyrou, Diouf (let's not forget that he's only 22!) and Traore), and while some of those may not have really shown their best yet, they definitely are all talented and there is no way that we should expect them to set the world on fire from day 1.

I'd also include Heskey in the good signing bracket, now I'll admit that his goal return has been poor, but his overall workrate and his understanding with Owen has been excellent, and if that wasn't the case then he wouldn't have been picked for England!

On paper, our starting XI for next season (assuming that Cisse does sign and Owen stays) is excellent, and hopefully will include Le Tallec who I think has the potential to be a great player, and certainly better than Christian Ronaldo.

I also think that the effect of Owen being injured for such a large part of the season can't be under emphasised. Imagine the effect on Man Utd or Arsenal if V. Nistelrooy or Henry had missed half the season, do you think that Forlan or Kanu would have stepped in and scored the goals instead?

Personally, my biggest fault of Houllier isn't his signings, but the fact that he seems to refuse to play the right side, and plays players out of position so much - Henchoz at full back?!?!?!?!?. Also, we started the season playing some great attacking football, but seem to have reverted to the long ball defensive style again. I'm also amazed that he hasn't experimented with Diouf's position a bit more, I would have thought that he was perfect for a role in the hole behind the front two, or even playing Diouf and Kewell behind Owen. We've got a lot of attacking options, let's use them!

 

[Vannizzlefashizzal]

I actually thought lfc played well on Saturday, both teams did to be fair but lfc edged it in the 2nd half, lovely 2nd goal, topped of Stevies performance, just hope we get you's in the next round.

 

[ninjabreakz]

SuperMickMacarthey wrote:

won quite a lot of silverware

Yes, Houllier has won L`pool the "Mickey Mouse" Cups but hasn`t got our trophy yet (the Championship) and forget the Champions League, it will be a good few years before the Reds can challenge for that!

 

[Misfit]

Jean-Alain Bounsong has launched a scathing attack on Gerard Houllier after not taking too kindly to suggestions that he didn't deserve to wear the Red shirt of Liverpool.

When it was announced that the Auxerre defender has agreed a transfer to Glasgow Rangers instead of Liverpool, the news came as a shock to Liverpool fans who were under the impression that the deal was nailed on.

Gerard Houllier responded to the news by claiming that the player had no desire to play for the Reds which has seriously angered the player who said he believed he was Anfield bound.

Boumsong explains that he turned to Glasgow Rangers because Liverpool left him and Auxerre in the dark as to whether or not a transfer to Anfield would happen.

He said: At the end of last season, an agreement had been found between Liverpool and Auxerre. Gerard Houllier explained to me that he was then going to sumbit my contract to his board of directors at Liverpool.

"I awaited a confirmation, some news, but nothing came. After patiently waiting until November, I took it that Houllier did not want me any more ego.

"Houllier led me up the garden path, me and Auxerre. I find that attitude a bit amazing, especially as he said afterwards that I didn't deserve to wear the red shirt of Liverpool.

"I think he should question his own integrity. I'm not the first one he's done that to. Another time, when I was at Le Havre, he did the same thing to me. It's very upsetting and I am a bit sickened.

"I wonder if a man like him deserves to lead such a great club. His way of treating players will tarnish the great image of Liverpool.

"When I understood that that would not go with Liverpool, I took the initiative to find another club. Everyone thought that I had signed (for Liverpool) so we had to enter the market again which was difficult at that stage of the season.

"I actually signed a pre-contract with Rangers for the next five years. Rangers came to me and I got on really well with them. I really felt that they wanted me. For me, the relationship is of primary importance.

"Scotland doesn't have a very competitive league but Rangers is a large club. People have to stop believing that it is about an old people's home for old boys or players on the decline. They want to build a young and competitive team.

"It is an interesting challenge. Maybe Rangers will be a springboard for my career. I won't have any regrets because I just want to play for someone who wants me."

this might be "the one that got away"...

 

[Misfit]

we've drawn pompey in the FA Cup.shouldnt be too much of a problem for us.looks like we're heading for the quarter finals...

 

[Nickybaker]

we've drawn pompey in the FA Cup.shouldnt be too much of a problem for us.looks like we're heading for the quarter finals...

Oh dear that quote could come back to haunt you! :mrgreen:

 

[Sabac Red]

Good win on saturday, the look on Shearer's face in the post-match interview was priceless.

The thing with Cheyrou is that he needs a little bit more time and a good runout in the team. He may not show the ability of Robert or Pires yet, but just give him some time.

Something that i've been impressed with him so far is his ability to get into the box and that has resulted in goals. He could be a key figure for us in clinching a CL place if he keeps doing that.