new liverpool thread - everyone loves them (2 Viewers)

[Hector Grey]

interview with carroll. apparently he's been self harming an listening to nothing by cradle of filth since last night. poor lad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/feb/01/andy-carroll-liverpool-no9

 

[oh shit]

Big clubs don't look to make a profit when making marquee signings.

I was making the point that Pool have sold a world class player to one of their English rivals and traded him for a talented but unproven one. Does it not show how the club has fallen in stature in recent years?

It's good to see them splash the cash tho. I'd be excited if I supported Pool. But they are still miles off the pace, as a team and a club, imo.

Bollocks, unless you regard Arsenal and Lyon as small clubs. The 'big' club can be measured by revenue, not by the owner's oil reserves. And if it's a choice between playing the market sensibly or throwing away money like Chelski, Madrid and City, I know which I'll take. You do realise that Chelsea will be ineligible for the Champions League in three years time if they repeat this year's £70m loss?
Does Nando realise that? Does he give a fuck? No, cos he'll be past it by then.

 

[Jerry Twig]

interview with carroll. apparently he's been self harming an listening to nothing by cradle of filth since last night. poor lad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/feb/01/andy-carroll-liverpool-no9

Now THAT'S PR

 

[Franco]

Bollocks, unless you regard Arsenal and Lyon as small clubs. The 'big' club can be measured by revenue, not by the owner's oil reserves. And if it's a choice between playing the market sensibly or throwing away money like Chelski, Madrid and City, I know which I'll take. You do realise that Chelsea will be ineligible for the Champions League in three years time if they repeat this year's £70m loss?
Does Nando realise that? Does he give a fuck? No, cos he'll be past it by then.

You criticise clubs for spending silly money, yet you're happy for Pool to spend 60m on two players relatively untested in the Premier League. I dunno if Pool fans can continue to keep the high moral ground over transfer fees with that kind of outlay. Surely this is a case of 'if you can't beat them, join them'?

Pool have to play catch up, and have to spend a bit, but my point is they are playing catch-up to City and Spurs now, not just Chelsea, Manu and Arsenal. I just don't see how the sale of Torres to a 'rival' can be anything other than a sign of the diminished status of the club. They are not in the big four anymore. He is a world class player in his prime - talk of him being finished in 3 years is petty.

Yeh, Financial Fair Play will have an effect, which is exactly why the likes of City and Chelsea are spending big now. But we won't really know what effect until down the line. In the meantime, Liverpool will continue to chase them, in vain, imo.

 

[Hector Grey]

i'm optimistic about the future now, and i'd just like to thank fernando for hanging around for an extra six months pulling his plum and sulking on the pitch, cos if he'd left in the summer, statler and waldorf would have spunked that wad on the loans. this way it gets invested. gas thing is that chelsea aren't even guaranteed champions league for next season yet. far as i'm concerned, 4th is back on for lfc. come on the reds! mindless fucking optimism, the bane of my life! play up! shelvey for england!

 

[Jerry Twig]

mindless fucking optimism, the bane of my life! play up! shelvey for england!

As long as we call it what it is, I'm all for it!

I hope we lash the fuck out of Chelsea to start. That would be nice

 

[Hector Grey]

that would be the stuff of dreams. don't know if i can watch it, it would be like watching a sex tape of an ex who left me for a guy with a big car.

 

[Wheels]

More signs of improvement tonight. A few months ago Stoke would have assaulted their way to a win and the Liverpool players wouldn't have had it in them to fight back. Tonight the team defended and attacked as a unit and it was great to see Suarez make such a positive debut. Three wins on the trot and three clean sheets add up to a much rosier outlook for the rest of the season.

 

[oh shit]

gonna stick a fiver each way on meireles or suarez to bang one in against chelski. hodgson was almost worthwhile just for signing meireles

 

[Hector Grey]

if rafa had signed him instead of aqua man, we might not be in this mess.

 

[coast to coast]

if rafa had signed him instead of aqua man, we might not be in this mess.

I don't think Aquilani was the cause of the problem at all. The club was riven with political and financial turmoil as well as on-field difficulties in replacing players of the calibre of Alonso and Hyypia and to a lesser extent Keane and Arbeloa.

I read some seriously amazing rumours sourced from a driver from the club, all these tales emerged just before Hodgson's sacking. Liverpool's transfer budget in summer 2009 was entirely determined upon which clubs they had credit with because all the Xabi money was taken and spent on interest payments. Hence Glen Johnson from Portsmouth (owed us a good bit of the Crouch transfer) and Roma (owed us £3m for Riise) used as the down payment of 5m euro on Aquilani. I honestly wouldn't be suprised if its true given how bonkers things had gotten.

Meireles is finally playing in his best position and showing his quality. Certainly I think his style is far more suited to our style and the league than Aquilani. He's probably not as technical but I'd say far more effective. And definitely not as much of a wuss, though thats not to say he's keen on tackling. Delighted though, as I thought he might turn into another talented player turning it on twice and year but mainly being a complete passenger. Good to see, as was the Suarez goal.

 

[Wheels]

Mascherano is mouthing off again about Liverpool. Claims he was villified (like Torres) for leaving when the club didn't do enough to keep him (glossing over the fact that he was offered a new contract by Rafa and cited his wife's unhappiness as a reason for wanting to shift). Fuck him.

Not that he had anything to do with that situation, but I'm very pleased that Dalglish has instilled a 'with us or against us' mentality back into Anfield. Pouting heroes who were skulking around the pitch and overpaid underachievers are out, and if he keeps the post I'd say he'll do well in the Summer transfer market too. We'll still need a winger and left back though Kenny.

 

[maims bond]

Sunday's game is shaping up to be a corker. If he plays the same system as Wed then there's Skyrtel, Agger and The Greek all there to kick lumps out of Torres. Chelsea are starting to hit form again but Dalglish has instilled a sort of siege mentality as a result of the Torres saga, should be great.

 

[Hector Grey]

I don't think Aquilani was the cause of the problem at all. The club was riven with political and financial turmoil as well as on-field difficulties in replacing players of the calibre of Alonso and Hyypia and to a lesser extent Keane and Arbeloa.

I read some seriously amazing rumours sourced from a driver from the club, all these tales emerged just before Hodgson's sacking. Liverpool's transfer budget in summer 2009 was entirely determined upon which clubs they had credit with because all the Xabi money was taken and spent on interest payments. Hence Glen Johnson from Portsmouth (owed us a good bit of the Crouch transfer) and Roma (owed us £3m for Riise) used as the down payment of 5m euro on Aquilani. I honestly wouldn't be suprised if its true given how bonkers things had gotten.

Meireles is finally playing in his best position and showing his quality. Certainly I think his style is far more suited to our style and the league than Aquilani. He's probably not as technical but I'd say far more effective. And definitely not as much of a wuss, though thats not to say he's keen on tackling. Delighted though, as I thought he might turn into another talented player turning it on twice and year but mainly being a complete passenger. Good to see, as was the Suarez goal.

i think aqua is a good player, i would like him to come back stronger, but the problem was that he wasn't a replacement for alonso and more importantly, he was crocked. that sounds true, that shit, because another thing is that aqua wasn't a rafa player. as rafa proved by never playing the fucker when he was fit.

 

[Hector Grey]

Mascherano is mouthing off again about Liverpool. Claims he was villified (like Torres) for leaving when the club didn't do enough to keep him (glossing over the fact that he was offered a new contract by Rafa and cited his wife's unhappiness as a reason for wanting to shift). Fuck him.

Not that he had anything to do with that situation, but I'm very pleased that Dalglish has instilled a 'with us or against us' mentality back into Anfield. Pouting heroes who were skulking around the pitch and overpaid underachievers are out, and if he keeps the post I'd say he'll do well in the Summer transfer market too. We'll still need a winger and left back though Kenny.

he also says that torres doens't have to worry, because he did his best for liverpool. right. so swanning about undermining your team, your tactics and your manager for six months and only turning it on against the team you want to play for is your best. i don't blame torres for wanting out of the mess at liverpool, especially when he looks at his mates in the spanish team, nut he took the piss this season,and then fucked off. right now, we're better off. the club fucked up big time, but his atitude didn't help. lfc are in teh position they're in now for alot of reasons, and the players are one of those reasons.

 

[oh shit]

i think aqua is a good player, i would like him to come back stronger, but the problem was that he wasn't a replacement for alonso and more importantly, he was crocked. that sounds true, that shit, because another thing is that aqua wasn't a rafa player. as rafa proved by never playing the fucker when he was fit.

not sure if you read the comments that coast to coast referred to, they were linked on red and white cop last month. basically, if it's true - and it does sound plausible - the reason rafa didn't pick aquilani was that the amount of money owed to Roma was based on appearances, so Purslow was leaning on Rafa not to play him. this also explains why rafa once threw him on for 2 minutes at the end of a CL game - this cup tied him and was a fuck you to purslow. no doubt that if this is all true, rafa will have been properly paid off to keep schtum about it for a long time. maybe some day it'll come out. or not.

mascherano was never the sharpest tool in the shed, let's be honest.

 

[Unicron]

Sunday's game is shaping up to be a corker. If he plays the same system as Wed then there's Skyrtel, Agger and The Greek all there to kick lumps out of Torres. Chelsea are starting to hit form again but Dalglish has instilled a sort of siege mentality as a result of the Torres saga, should be great.

Chelsea played with a 3 man attack on Tuesday, not their typical one with a central focal point and two wider players but with a front 2 and one in behind, going 3 vs. 3 at the back isn't a great idea usually, especially if you're playing a superior side (or 3 vs. 1 at the back like the game midweek turned out to start but Stoke are so shit on the ball they're not able to take advantage of the numbers in midfield) so I don't think that a repeat of the tactics used this week will do you much good. But it's certainly a positive move that Kenny/Clarke are taking a thoughtful approach to how to handle opponent's style of play.

 

[Hector Grey]

Chelsea played with a 3 man attack on Tuesday, not their typical one with a central focal point and two wider players but with a front 2 and one in behind, going 3 vs. 3 at the back isn't a great idea usually, especially if you're playing a superior side (or 3 vs. 1 at the back like the game midweek turned out to start but Stoke are so shit on the ball they're not able to take advantage of the numbers in midfield) so I don't think that a repeat of the tactics used this week will do you much good. But it's certainly a positive move that Kenny/Clarke are taking a thoughtful approach to how to handle opponent's style of play.

that's sounds scarily plausible. they fucked up the club, statler and waldorf and rafa played his part. i can't blame torres and masch and alonso leaving, the place was a mess.

however, masch and alonso never gave less than all they had. s'funny, i thought that even if liverpool had won in 09, this still would have happened.

 

[coast to coast]

Chelsea played with a 3 man attack on Tuesday, not their typical one with a central focal point and two wider players but with a front 2 and one in behind, going 3 vs. 3 at the back isn't a great idea usually, especially if you're playing a superior side (or 3 vs. 1 at the back like the game midweek turned out to start but Stoke are so shit on the ball they're not able to take advantage of the numbers in midfield) so I don't think that a repeat of the tactics used this week will do you much good. But it's certainly a positive move that Kenny/Clarke are taking a thoughtful approach to how to handle opponent's style of play.

I've read that the three centre backs is a formation Kenny liked to use against mongo-long ball teams in the 80s (I'm looking at you MK Dons former life). Zonal Marking prescribes 3vs2 at the back (or 2vs1) because of the proposed shortage in midfield but Liverpool were playing four central midfielders against Stoke. Plus its Stoke and they were unlikely to dominate possession in the midfield anyway, because a big bunch of nasty wankers who don't like it up em on a "cold Wednesday night in Anfield." Either way I'd agreed, I there's very little chance of Liverpool lining up in that formation again this weekend. I reckon it'll be Carra and Agger because they are the two best defenders on the though neither is particularly good in the air.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how good Torres can play. He certainly flicked the switch and played deadly against Chelsea earlier this season, can he now just turn it back on once his miserable time at Liverpool is over? Also have Liverpool only won three games on the trot because they've been at home or against shit teams? Who knows?

Liverpool's record at Stamford Bridge is woeful and Chelsea should be hot favourites. As a Liverpool fan I would say its best not get hopes up just yet and start thinking about fourth, which would only be a slim possibility if we win on Sunday. If we lose though - fuck it and just keep on picking up points where we definitely should (Wigan at home West Ham away, etc.) That'll see us into a European place in all likelihood.

Hope to see Carroll soon, I'm looking forward to having a threat from set pieces for the first time since Sami Hyypia left.

 

[oh shit]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/feb/04/john-w-henry-interview-liverpool

That commitment to sound financial management was followed, not breached, Henry asserted, in the £35m Liverpool paid Newcastle United for Andy Carroll, a fee that astonished English football. Henry said the £35m made financial sense because Liverpool were only paying to Newcastle what they were to receive from Chelsea by selling Torres, whom they allowed to leave because he had become too evidently unhappy at Anfield.
"The fee for Torres was dependent on what Newcastle asked for Carroll," Henry said, explaining that Liverpool wanted Carroll, plus £15m, to replace Torres. Together with the £6m sale of Ryan Babel to Hoffenheim, that effectively financed Liverpool's £22.8m signing of Luis Suárez, meaning the club bought two strikers but net, spent almost nothing. "The negotiation for us was simply the difference in prices paid by Chelsea and to Newcastle," Henry said. "Those prices could have been £35m [from Chelsea for Torres] and £20m [to Newcastle for Carroll], 40 and 25 or 50 and 35. It was ultimately up to Newcastle how much this was all going to cost. They [Newcastle] made a hell of a deal. We felt the same way."