presido1:

I hear say "Mr Fact" bought 76 players sold 68 since he come to liverpool.

. . , O. , kay ?

The great delusion

Liverfool, How market?

I'm just getting over last night's defeat, but its all good. we can bounce back starting with the Scummies this weekend.

I think if we had had a little creativity in our midfield yesterday, things might have gone better, N gog was definitely going put one in eventually. Well, thats what u get when u have two defense minded midfielders.

this might sound crazy but without Gerrard and Torres, i still think we can beat Man Utd.

but some very good news :


http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N166157091021-1437.htm
Alberto Aquilani has been named among the substitutes for tonight's reserve league clash with Sunderland - a match you can watch live and exclusive on LFC TV and online.
The Italian international resumed full training at Melwood last week after recovering from an ankle injury, and could now be set for his first action in a red shirt as John McMahon's side look to record their fifth consecutive victory.

The match kicks off at 7pm, but our coverage on LFC TV - which can also be watched online via the e-Season Ticket - gets underway at 6.30pm.

The Liverpool team for tonight's game is:

Martin Hansen
Stephen Darby
Robbie Threlfall
Daniel Sanchez Ayala
Chris Mavinga
Steven Irwin
Nathan Eccleston
David Amoo
Nikola Saric
Daniel Pacheco
Alex Kacaniklic

Substitutes:

Emmanuel Mendy
Dean Bouzanis
Jordy Brouwer
Alberto Aquilani
Vincent Weijl


so cheer up guys, WALK ON!!!

YNWA.

I thnk Rafa made a really wrong gamble buying an injured player(Aquilani). . . . of what use will he be when were almost out of the running in the EPL/ECL?

Such impulsive actions have come to characterise our gaffer,Im sorry to say. . .like the 'rotation policy' some seasons ago & the unexplainable substitution of Yossi on Tuesday. . .I have a long list of these. Anyway Im sure he knows more than anyone else that Sunday is do or die

Illusion2
United-Liverpool game thread. . .waiting for ya.

As long as Rafa keeps doinghis trial and error thing in the transfer market nay on the field of play. He will continue to have trial ad error results. Win 3, lose 4, draw 1, win 2, lose 2, win 4, draw 1, by the way, i typed that in trial and error .

Of course, he gambled by buying an injured player. But remember he signed an injured and 'not-yet-proven' Fernando Torres. I'm sure some fans like u had doubts about that too. The same season Spurs got a below average striker for 20 million in Darren Bent! You would have prefered Darrent Bent then no doubt.

But what if the Aquilani gamble pays off eventually? Aquilani is only injured but he is surely one of the best replacements for Alonso.
And he tried to sign to Barry and Van der Vaart in the last transfer window but the money wasn't forthcoming. He tried to sign Barry in the early days of transfer market but money wasn't available and Barry was a little skeptical.
So give Rafa a break, dont blame him for everything.

Cristalz:

Illusion2
United-Liverpool game thread. . .waiting for ya.

Sorry Cristalz. . .I was really busy . . .but thanks for putting it up. . .I meet up subsequently. thanks.

It's okay.
And thank you for volunteering to join in.

After the Lyon match I was very upset but also so proud to be a Liverpool supporter. As the match ended, there where no boos for the players and no insults directed at the coach. A proper football club with decent fans.

Are Liverpool fans deluded or what? 4 straight loses in the league, 2 out of three champions league games lost, a coach that has bought 76 players and spent 229 millions pounds and left with a team that has no strength in depth and the Liverpool fans are planning a 10 thousand man match against the owners and not the coach before the man u game! truly amazing! The average football fan on the red side of the Mersey would tell you Rafa is not the problem but, Gillette and Hicks.

I am a fan and though I believe we should keep faith with Rafa as sacking him would be a knee jerk reaction. To be honest I am beginning to have my doubts about Rafa. How can a team that pushed Man U right to the wire last season, won the top 4 mini league last season be so bad this season?

I will try and explain the Liverpool problems on the pitch from my perspective. Feel free to disagree with me.
In goal we have Pepe Reina, winner of Barclays Golden Glove: 2005/06; 2006/07; 2007/08. One of the best on the European Continent.  Has remained solid this season. He surely is not the problem

The defence, an area Liverpool has been solid for Benitez’s 1st three seasons  “zonal marking or not”.  We had Sami (in my opinion the best bargain of the premiership) and Cara. Last season our defence became less reliable,  Sami was old and not getting as many games and Cara, though playing regularly is not quite as fast made up with “heart”. We had let Riise go and Fabio Aurelio looked the part. Our right back was considered our Achilles heel where we had to improve. This season, enter Glen Johnson, the England right back. He is so attack minded that the right back position is a forwarding address as he is never there.  Sami is gone, Cara needs a new pair of legs. Skertel still has his doubters, Agger and Aurelio have had injury worries and i am not a big fan of Insua. Our back 4 cannot be compared to the back 4 of the other big 4 sides 4 now.

Midfield, with Mascherano, Kuyt, Alonso and Stevie G as regulars we had the best midfield in the land. We lost Alonso and Lucas steps in. One thing about Alonso, that we miss is that 90 percent of the time when he receives the ball, his first ball is forwards, thus being the launch pad for a lot of our attack and his passing range was awesome. What he lacked in pace he had in ball stroking abilities. He is gone and Lucas cannot do the same. I have seen aquilani play and he has similar passing ability. I hope he does the same for Liverpool. We cannot now bring Stevie G back to a deeper role because his knack for joining the attack empties our midfield quickly making us prone to counter attacks. 

In attack. Torres, what else can you say about Fernando, just keep him fit!

Of the bit part players Benayoun remains the only player capable of coming off the Bench to change a game. Babel is a waste pipe and would only score the third or fourth goal when Liverpool are winning but not when we are struggling. Ngog, Voronin, Riera, all not match winners.

My verdict: I believe this is a temporary blip. We will get a result against man U tomorrow, Aqulani will be back and do well and in January we will shore up.

Will we win the league? I hope so. Will Rafa be there at the end of the Season? Yes. Will he be in Anfield next season? I seriously doubt that.

Nice piece, very nice. Where have you been hiding??

EARLMAGIC:


The defence, an area Liverpool has been solid for the Benitez’s 1st three seasons “zonal marking or not”. We had Sami (in my opinion the best bargain of the premiership) and Cara. Last season our defence became less reliable, Sami was old and not getting as many games and Cara though playing was not quite as fast but made up with “heart”. We had let Riise go and Fabio Aurelio looked the part. Our right back was considered our Achilles hill where we had to improve. This season, enter Glen Johnson, the England right back. He is so attack minded that the right back position is a forwarding address as he is never there. Sami is gone, Cara needs a new pair of legs. Skertel still has his doubters, Aurelio has been injured and i am not a big fan of Insua. Our back 4 cannot be compared to the back 4 of the other big 4 sides 4 now.

Midfield, with Mascherano, Kyut, Alonso and Stevie G as constants we had the best midfield in the land. We lost Alonso and Lucas steps in. One thing about Alonso, with that we miss, 90 percent of the time when he receives the ball, his first ball is forwards. Thus the launch pad for a lot of our attack and his passing range was awesome. What he lacked in pace he had in ball stroking abilities. He is gone and Lucas cannot do the same. I have seen aquillani play and he has similar passing ability. I hope he does the same for Liverpool. We cannot now bring Stevie G back to a deeper role because his knack for joining the attack empties our midfield quickly making us prone to counter attacks.

attack. Torres, what else can you say about Fernando, just keep him fit!

Of the bit part players Benayoun remains the only player capable of coming off the Bench to change a game. Babel is a waste pipe and woul score the third or fourth goal when Liverpool are winning but not when we are struggling. Ngog, Voronin, Riera, all not match winners.

My verdict: I believe this is a temporary blip. We will get a result against man U tomorrow, Aqcullani will be back and do well and in January we will shore up.

Will we win the league? I hope so. Will Rafa be there at the end of the Season? Yes. Will he be in Anfield next season? I seriously doubt that.
After the Lyon match I was very upset but also so proud to be a Liverpool supporter. As the match ended, there where no boos for the players and no insults directed at the coach. A proper football club with decent fans.

LOL @ bold. That's the problem with most attacking RBs and LBs.

Okay. . .I think in addition to your ''temporary blip'' verdict you should added ''Rafa needs to beef up his squad''.
Injuries will always happen. A team's gotta be prepared for that. The importance of squad depth is now being realized by most.

In attack, Torres is the only game changer from what you've implied. And Gerrard. Your other strikers that are more or less flat.
Voronin and Ngog. . .little difference whether they are on the pitch or off.
Rafa needs to buy well, or if he doesn't want to, don't you guys have an academy or something? Young hot players.
He should use them, develop them and provide some help up there for Torres. Have some quality back-up. Why doesn't he do that?

Your midfield is only solid as long as Gerrard and Aquilani are in to combine with Javier and Kuyt.
Hopefully they get back soon, but again, the issue of solid deputies raises its head. When these guys get injured, what happens?

Now that defense is the real issue. Reina's defense has let him down one too many times.
Like you correctly stated, he is not the problem.
Carragher plays with heart, true, but Rafa should start seriously looking for a good replacement. Guess he uses the dude mostly 'cos hez got no better option.
Glen Johnson can be spoken to to be more mindful of his defensive duties.
Skrtel, Insua and Jamie. . .*sigh*

Just Rafa's luck that most of his key players are injured at the same time. Shit happens.
But this just emphasizes the fact that the man needs to buy well, or build his youths.

And, I'm not a fan.
Concerned observer.

Cristalz:

Nice piece, very nice. Where have you been hiding??

Okay. . .I think in addition to your ''temporary blip'' verdict you should added ''Rafa needs to beef up his squad''.
Injuries will always happen. A team's gotta be prepared for that. The importance of squad depth is now being realized by most.

I am new Nairaland, My first contribution was after we lost to Sunderland.

I totally agree with you, last 2 Seasons, one of our strengths was our strength in depth, how qucikly that changes with a few departures and mediocre replacements. we Turned man U over last season without Torres and Gerrard, we will need at least one of them tomorrow if we are to get anything from the game

Just beat Manure tomorrow and your season is back on track, shikena !

Q: Whats wrong with Liverpool this season why have they lost 4 straight games?

A: Don't mind them they like walking alone

Hehehe i'm just kiddin like Jason
Come on Scousers!! Y'all need to go hard tommorow i don't want to see Rafa sacked

Hi Earl,Nice one. . . .my tots below :

EARLMAGIC:

After the Lyon match I was very upset but also so proud to be a Liverpool supporter. As the match ended, there where no boos for the players and no insults directed at the coach. A proper football club with decent fans.

Solid observation,the fact is that unlike the other BIG 4 ,Liverpool is the only team yet to taste the premiership in its current format (almost 20 years). . . so most Liverpool fans are genuine diehard fans,unlike the others who only associate with their ‘clubs' cos of recent successes.

EARLMAGIC:

Are Liverpool fans deluded or what? 4 straight loses in the league, 2 out of three champions league games lost, a coach that has bought 76 players and spent 229 millions pounds and left with a team that has no strength in depth and the Liverpool fans are planning a 10 thousand man match against the owners and not the coach before the man u game! truly amazing! The average football fan on the red side of the Mersey would tell you Rafa is not the problem but, Gillette and Hicks.

The only reason , I’ll pass the blame to Gillette & Hicks is becos they hadn’t fired Rafa earlier. A more decisive owner would have put his/her  footdown earlier. . .while sad ,this is the way the modern game is. 

Like you said the amout spent is staggering, & despite this i see a lot of really poor judgement when it comes to player transfers.  Some examples:
1. We still don’t have any deep bench?
2. Why for heaven’s sake would you allow Xabi go for 30 million & you couldn’t add 1 million to 11 million bucks to get  Barry from Villa ? The guy was obviously pissed off,he moved to a yet unproven Man C at the earliest opportunity. .
3. . I don’t know how much you follow Liverpool  transfer news, but do you know Rafa  nearly sold Gerrard to Mourinho after our Champions league triumph in 2005?
4. Unispiring buys=  Kiriakos,Babel,Voronin? Why buy an injured player(no matter all the hype)- Aquilani? Of what use would he be when we’re out of contention for EPL & UCL or is he saving him for Europa league?
5. Why did keane go?
The list is endless. . . . .


Apart from his poor transfer judgements, while not calling to question his tactical ability. .  .I feel he’s a bit too IMPULSIVE. He tries to act out any funny idea that comes into his mind? Remember the ‘rotation’ policy of a few years back?
Whatever happened to youth team and developmental football? All other teams have these quite exciting youngsters coming up via deliberate policy ,where are Liverpool’s? Except the last few games when we were forced due to injuries?

EARLMAGIC:

The defence, an area Liverpool has been solid for Benitez’s 1st three seasons  “zonal marking or not”.  We had Sami (in my opinion the best bargain of the premiership) and Cara. Last season our defence became less reliable,  Sami was old and not getting as many games and Cara, though playing regularly is not quite as fast made up with “heart”. We had let Riise go and Fabio Aurelio looked the part. Our right back was considered our Achilles heel where we had to improve. This season, enter Glen Johnson, the England right back. He is so attack minded that the right back position is a forwarding address as he is never there.  Sami is gone, Cara needs a new pair of legs. Skertel still has his doubters, Agger and Aurelio have had injury worries and i am not a big fan of Insua. Our back 4 cannot be compared to the back 4 of the other big 4 sides 4 now.

Zonal marking is a problem. Cara has served us but he’s old. . . . Kiriakos looks older

illusion2:

3. I don’t know how much you follow Liverpool  transfer news, but do you know Rafa  nearly sold Gerrard to Mourinho after our Champions league triumph in 2005?

yes I remember. Stevie G was very close to leaving. The only thing that kept him in the club was the fact that he was a local lad and loves the club.

Keane left because Rafa did not want him. Rafa was upset that Rick Parry would not meet the asking price from Villa for Barry and would shell out 20 million for Keane. Remember the Sheva and Mourinho saga, only this time it lasted much shorter, six months and a ten million loss.

yes he played 99 consecutive games with constantly changed team and for the 100th game he did not make a change. It tells you how stubbron this man is.
I think with regards to youth policy that has taking a knock with the big teams with big money coming to the premiership. Look at Chelsea, John Terry is the only player from the ranks in the 1st Eleven. Man U have a few. Wenger has loads as the stingy man will never spend big money.
We have Gerrard, Carragher, now Spearing and Kerry. Unfortunately the Warnocks and other youngsters from the Liverpool team that won the youth FA cup have been sold off.
Will be back after the confrontation in anfield

EARLMAGIC:

Will be back after the confrontation in anfield

Yes man ^{*keeping fingers crossed*}

@illusion ,


sack rafa and hire who?

thank God u are not in charge.


Stevie wanted to leave and how was that Rafa's fault? I remember clearly, he only implied that ' no player was indispensable'. You probably expected Rafa to roll on the floor and beg him to stay.

Na wa for una. You will all probably swallow up ur complaints after this victory.

illusion, u need to get more info before jumping to conclusions about transfers.

bgees:

illusion, u need to get more info before jumping to conclusions about transfers.

My friend we just won a vital game . . . no need for this at this time,ok? Lets rather celebrate our success & analyse the future.

bgees:

Stevie [s]wanted to leave [/s]and how was that Rafa's fault? I remember clearly, he only implied that ' no player was indispensable'. You probably expected Rafa to roll on the floor and beg him to stay.

Like I stated above . . . no need for this . . .unfortunately some players ARE by an large indispensable in the modern game ,so anybody saying this is only been mischevious. I doubt he ever said this & my record of those events is clearly different from yours.

I stand by all my comments & can't be swayed by one victory no matter how exciting it may be.

Tactically Rafa is very sound ,but everyone agrees he's not been up to it with player transfers. . . ^{(everyone but bgees that is  )}

And please don't tell me im 'jumping' to conclusions. . .state your point of view or disagree with mine . . . but never question motives ,ok?

We're on the same team. . .remember?

As always :

[center][size=38pt]  YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE[/size][/center]

@illie^^^^^shey you're happy now ?? Lol, don't begrudge yourself the "excitement of being swayed by this victory" . Live for the moment and enjoy jare. There'll be more to come .

maedan:


@illie^^^^^shey you're happy now ?? Lol, don't begrudge yourself the "excitement of being swayed by this victory" . Live for the moment and enjoy jare. There'll be more to come .

no begrudging my dear . . . .u can't imagine how thrilled i was to see Fergusons's face all blushed abi na flushed up

Wish we could keep that look on his face there permanently . I actually like Man U a little but because they came against my SweetyPool - I had to back the winning team. May it always be so !!!!

maedan:


Wish we could keep that look on his face there permanently . I actually like Man U a little

@Maedan

The bible says rejoice with them that rejoice, so I rejoice with Liverpoo even if its only becos they helped bring Manure down a peg or two.
But don't rejoice too much yet, una still get plenty problems and we will definitely burst yur bubble in the Carling cup. I trust my young guns.

duduspace:

But don't rejoice too much yet, una still get plenty problems and we will definitely burst yur bubble in the Carling cup. I trust my young guns.

Watch this space

@ illusion,
as much i 'd like to explain myself more, i think i should just leave it.

rafa of course has his on faults but a lot of what u read about him and his management are just myths, no facts at all.

ynwa!

hope we improve from here.

bgees:

@ illusion,
as much i 'd like to explain myself more, i think i should just leave it.

rafa of course has his on faults but a lot of what u read about him and his management are just myths, no facts at all.

ynwa!

hope we improve from here.

Good man. . . . . We all want this. . . . .
Lets continue by destrying Arsenal boys in Carling cup

This is what i'm talking about

"There was a wounded animal aspect to the game and it was something we did not overcome. It was a disappointing performance by us, in the first half in particular. We did not handle the decisions against us. Liverpool created the better chances and I have no complaints". The words of Fergie. I have read with so much amusement the varying comments after the defeat of United. Well they looked everything but united in Anfield on that day.
My take.
Though Liverpool had not been playing too well. United also had been struggling but getting results. In the biggest fixture in the EPL, something (someone) had to give and it was United. They were played off the pack in the first half and the better side won.
Benitez got his tactics right and his players stood up to the occassion. Aurelio in front Inusa to protect the Argentine from the pace and strength of Valencia was good. Mascherano and Lucas constantly hounding carrick and Scholes in the midfield, pairing Kuyt with Torres to keep both centre halves busy and playing Benayoun wide right was brilliant. At Stamford bridge Torres was left upfront on his own he was not really effective but with Kuyt alongside him, the manu defence was under pressure. You could see that Vidic was still scared stiff of Torres after the torrid time he got at old Trafford. Now add Rio to the list. Rio has not been at his best for club and country but he should not be blamed for the first goal. Torres was just too good. The option was to bring him down and risk a penalty and a red card.
The Decisons.
the referre was handling his first big 4 fixture and in my opinion he did well.
Was Carragher's tackle on Carrick a Penalty? I dont think so. there were three United players around the tackle. Carrick (who was tackled), Berbatov and Rooney. None of them raised there hands, appealed to or even looked at the referre. We all know footballers, if they had the slightest inkling that Cara tackle was a foul they would have raised their hand and chased down the referre to berate him for not giving the decision. I have also listened to the opinion of a lot of analysts and they all have the same opinion + Graham Poll (retired referre) "CRACKING GOOD TACKLE"! The only differing opinion is that of Fergie. Cara got enough of the ball.

Vidics red card followed  a second yellow card for a foul on Kuyt and Cara got a yellow for a similar offence on Owen. Thats consistency. You might object by saying "a second yellow or straight red vidic was off anyway". The ref deemed it a yellow card offence and punished with a yellow. Lets not 4get "two yellows you get a one match ban and for a straight red its 3 matches. Which would have been bad for united as he would have missed Blackburn, Away to Chelsea and then Everton. Now he is only going to miss the Blackburn match which United can do without. So the referre knew what he was doing.

All said and done. We have stopped the rot.Thanks to all those a kept the faith. The carling cup match would not be a test of our recovery as both teams may field a weakened side. The real test is @ Craven cottage at the weekend. Fulham are on a good run and would not just roll over. then there is the match in Lyon.
Hey watch out red fans you might get to see Aquilani tomorrow!!