The OFFICIAL Liverpool Supporters thread

[GalwayBayBoy]

while not being convinced about reina the person that liverpool most need to get rid of is benitez

Who do you suggest replacing him with?

Truth is he is trying to compete with Man U and Chelsea and we just don't have the financial muscle of those two clubs. Under the circumstances he's done remarkably well.

We have only ever bought one €20+ player and that was last Summer. Man U and Chelsea have a number of them and there's the difference.

[Stalin]

YesIWould (!!!!) If you think Liverpool should get rid of Reina then youre a clown. (!!!) You could count the number of blunders he has made since joining us on one hand. (!!!!) Compares favourably with his supposed peers in Cech, VDS et al. (!!!!)

Lynchbhoy that statement about Benitez is ludicrous. From that I would surmise that your knowledge of English soccer is comparable to your 'knowledge' of Derry football. Theres no questioning his record.

As for Kuyt, say what you want about the guy, but theres no denying he is a big game player. Admittedly he is lacking a bit offensively, but he more than makes up for this with his endeavour. He is crucial to the system Rafa favours. Without him, the side would be very much weaker, and i sincerely doubt we would have progressed as far as we did in the CL without him in the side.

[Mentalman]

Would agree with a lot of what was said about the squad for next year. Keeper is fine, centre backs are covered, middle of the pitch looking better than it wasa few months back, Alonso is a mjor question mark, and Torres up front. Still leaves a lot of positions to cover though. Priority would probably be wings, yet again, it would make you despair. Babel, despite some reservations, it well worth persisting with. Given that your talking about at least 1, if not 2, wingers. My preference would be Bentley, I think he's hungry, has got the work rate, and is cocky enough to fit straight in. If we could get another I'd go for Martin Petrov from City. We are also well short at fullback. With Finnan on the outs, and Arbeloa no where near good enough, the right back slot is probably a priority, but I have no idea who they could get in. At left back I actually like Aurelio, but Riise's game is played out. Was never a good enough defender in my book, game as hell, but not technically good enough. That would leave the two major positions on the pitch we have no cover for - Stevie G and Torres. I'd like to see Rafa give Yossi a go in the free role at home against non-top 4/5 opposition, he could help rest Gerrard up, who I think is being asked to play too many games. I honestly don't see them bringing anyone in near the quality of Stevie or Nando, or even trying, this summer, and if either were to sustain a long term injury Liverpool would suffer an even more unsuccessful season. On that note, if Man City are genuine contenders for Ronaldinho, and I doubt they are, I don't see why Liverpool couldn't be, or is that just crazy talk?

[ExiledGael]

Wouldn't go near Ronaldinho. Seems to have gone like Ronaldo/Adriano and by reports in Spain his off-field activities are a major problem. He couldn't be any further from the 'Benitez type' player anyway.

[Mentalman]

Just trying to think of a good creative player who is on the market for playing "in the hole".

Gerrard didn't seem to be Benitez' type either in many ways, although maybe that was all part of deflating his ego. Benitez has had creative and tempramental players in his sides previously, the likes of Aimar/Kily González/Claudio López for instance? I think primarily Benitez is a pragmatist and, unlike say Ramos, he has shown he will work with most players and is willing to give them a chance - for instance Bellamy. On the other hand if they fcuk up under his watch, he's not slow to rid himself of them either - for instance Bellamy.

As for Ronaldinho, these problems seems to be recent enough. Previously he was very much talking the talk about the team ethics etc. for both Barca and Brazil. With the problems in Calatunia this season it's hard to know whether his antics are a cause or a consequence.

[ExiledGael]

Bayern Munich getting well tanked tonight, would Franck Ribery be a realistic target for that role?

[GalwayBayBoy]

Bayern Munich getting well tanked tonight, would Franck Ribery be a realistic target for that role?

He'd cost a fair whack anyway.

Not sure if we have that money to spend especially given all the shite going on in the board room.

[J70]

Afraid not Corn, I am just not convinced by Reina!! Too unpredictable under high ball and crosses. Good shot stopper, but always feel that he is never far from a costly blunder.

Yet they rarely happen.

I cannot see why anyone thinks Reina is an issue for Liverpool. What other top keepers are out there that would be much better? There isn't a keeper on the planet who doesn't make a mistake every now and again. Even the mighty Cech has made on or two this season, not least Babel's shot last night, which could have proved hugely costly. Reina is by far the best keeper Liverpool have had since Grobbelaar quit. Goalkeeper is very, very low in the list of problems Liverpool need to solve.

[Yes I Would]

My uncertainty with him stems from his performances against Man U in recent years. Jaskilinin from Bolton has always impressed me as a very consistent keeper in a poor side. I admit i may have been a bit hasty with handing him his p45, just pissed off with the way this season has gone yet again, and cant see much light at toffhe end of the tunnell. Worry would be that with another poor season Torres may decide to take himself away and then we really are fucked!
Kuyt, i have not been convinced is worth the 10 million quid or whatever was forked out for him, and Rafas persistance with him i cant understand.

[Norf Tyrone]

Deserved to lose first half, deserved to win the second half. In the end mistakes are punished at this level and they were tonight.

Thought the Hypia challenge was a peno for us, ref looked like he was giving it but didn't.

At the moment couldn;t give a toss about the final. Roll on Euro 2008.

Torres was obviously taken off with a hamstring injury that will keep him out of Euro's and give him good rest for next year.   Need two full backs, two wingers and a second striker of quaility. All who started on the wings and FB's can go. Keep them for cover maybe. Crouch I'm sure will leave, at his own request.

Finally, how plastic are Chelsea's fans. It was like a concert trying to get an atmorphere.

Destiny - Romans Moscow.

What? I was at the Bridge last night, and everyone was in agreement that it was the greatest atmosphere the place has ever seen!

I see the seasonal circle of this thread has gone full tilt too. Optimism in August, to who's in/who's out in April!

[Stalin]

Norf I hope the irony of the Chelsea fans singing to us last night 'your support is shit' wasnt lost on you. 21000 flags handed out post kickoff last night to try to create an atmosphere, which came nowhere near the decibel levels of Anfield. Why do the club feel the need to hand out these flags? Is it because they know the fans arent passionate enough about the team to bring their own? A contrived, fabricated atmosphere was witnessed last night, and the harsh reality of it all was exposed when Torres equalised, you would have sworn the mute was pressed on the Chelsea 'fans'.

PS- if thats the greatest atmosphere the place has even seen, I despair for you.

[bingobus]

Deserved to lose first half, deserved to win the second half. In the end mistakes are punished at this level and they were tonight.

Thought the Hypia challenge was a peno for us, ref looked like he was giving it but didn't.

At the moment couldn;t give a toss about the final. Roll on Euro 2008.

Torres was obviously taken off with a hamstring injury that will keep him out of Euro's and give him good rest for next year.   Need two full backs, two wingers and a second striker of quaility. All who started on the wings and FB's can go. Keep them for cover maybe. Crouch I'm sure will leave, at his own request.

Finally, how plastic are Chelsea's fans. It was like a concert trying to get an atmorphere.

Destiny - Romans Moscow.

What? I was at the Bridge last night, and everyone was in agreement that it was the greatest atmosphere the place has ever seen!

I see the seasonal circle of this thread has gone full tilt too. Optimism in August, to who's in/who's out in April!

What i meant was that the atmosphere seemed to very organised and forced. Plastic falgs, some singer on field waving a scarf as the teams came out, songs directed at Liverpool supporters - "Your support is f*cking shit", "Murderers", "In your merseyside slumps"....great team support there.

I'm sure the place was buzzing but if it takes songs played over the tannoy, free flags, and random singer on the pitch to get the place going on a CL semi then i'm struggling to see the attraction. Don't get me wrong, I could hear the noise at certain times but after Liverpool equalised the only Chelsea song I heard for about 15 mins was "Murderers"!!! WTF!

Anfield can be a quiet place on a league game but at least for the big games it normally pumping and the songs generally relate to the players, the club, the history, the manager...not the opposotion. Even at Man United game last year, I was beside the kop in the main stand and the Gary Neville song got sung about twice, and that was it against our biggest rivals.

Well done, by the way. Porb deserved it on the night and were due a bit of luck against us. Best of luck in final and may the best team win (cough...chelsea.cough) 

[EC Unique]

Norf I hope the irony of the Chelsea fans singing to us last night 'your support is shit' wasnt lost on you. 21000 flags handed out post kickoff last night to try to create an atmosphere, which came nowhere near the decibel levels of Anfield. Why do the club feel the need to hand out these flags? Is it because they know the fans arent passionate enough about the team to bring their own? A contrived, fabricated atmosphere was witnessed last night, and the harsh reality of it all was exposed when Torres equalised, you would have sworn the mute was pressed on the Chelsea 'fans'.

PS- if thats the greatest atmosphere the place has even seen, I despair for you.

If atmosphere won premierships maybe Liverpool would have a few by now

[bingobus]

Norf I hope the irony of the Chelsea fans singing to us last night 'your support is shit' wasnt lost on you. 21000 flags handed out post kickoff last night to try to create an atmosphere, which came nowhere near the decibel levels of Anfield. Why do the club feel the need to hand out these flags? Is it because they know the fans arent passionate enough about the team to bring their own? A contrived, fabricated atmosphere was witnessed last night, and the harsh reality of it all was exposed when Torres equalised, you would have sworn the mute was pressed on the Chelsea 'fans'.

PS- if thats the greatest atmosphere the place has even seen, I despair for you.

If atmosphere won premierships maybe Liverpool would have a few by now

How boring..yes the premiership started in 1993 with Sky. Before that nothing happened every saturday.

I suppose if United win the European Cup this month, then it will be a case of "We've won the Champions League twice, Liverpool have only won it once" 

[lynchbhoy]

while not being convinced about reina the person that liverpool most need to get rid of is benitez

Who do you suggest replacing him with?

Truth is he is trying to compete with Man U and Chelsea and we just don't have the financial muscle of those two clubs. Under the circumstances he's done remarkably well.

We have only ever bought one €20+ player and that was last Summer. Man U and Chelsea have a number of them and there's the difference.

That I cant answer

He just doesnt seem to fit into the club or hasnt really been ruthless enough
he is only marginally better (arguably) than houllier (measuring him on his team selections and tactics /changes when things go wrong - not on cups etc).

Was thinking recently, even if Liverpool had a bigger warchest than man u , chelsea etc, houllier would not be able to properly integrate any big money players as he just doesnt seem to have a fixed plan of how he wants a team to play and for me , that is the bottom line.
He has had long enough to buy players to fit into any scheme he has planned but just cannot deliver.