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The Liverpool FC Thread XII

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Original post by Zerforax
Unseeded in the last 32 of the Europa League which isn't going to help us..

Do we try and perform over the next 23 league games or do we just focus on the 9 Europa League games? :colondollar:

We play another 10 games in the premier league so actually it would only be 13 leage games or 9 Europa League games - maybe we see how close we are in that final third of the season and then put all our eggs in one basket? :biggrin:


Either way, we need to get some form back. We can put all our eggs in the basket but if we are so far behind top 4, we cannot expect to even get close to the EL final if our domestic form is terrible.
Original post by samir12
Yh, he made an impact when he came on as a sub against Sunderland aswell, still need to see if he can provide the same impact when he's actually starting a game though.


Probably be on the bench against Man Utd and start in the FA cup tie.
Original post by Fideo
depends on the bookie http://www.oddschecker.com/football/europa-league/winner

Not enough in it between any of Roma, Liverpool, Tottenham and Napoli to call one of them a favourite based on odds. On form it'd be Roma though.

Fair enough. On form it's certainly not Liverpool, but it's a couple months away to the knockouts so anything can happen there.

I personally wouldn't expect Spurs to get the beating of Napoli, Roma or Liverpool though - Liverpool have thrashed them on previous meetings.

All those sides are beatable though, so even Spurs have a chance. None are invincible.


Original post by Zerforax
Unseeded in the last 32 of the Europa League which isn't going to help us..

Do we try and perform over the next 23 league games or do we just focus on the 9 Europa League games? :colondollar:

We play another 10 games in the premier league so actually it would only be 13 leage games or 9 Europa League games - maybe we see how close we are in that final third of the season and then put all our eggs in one basket? :biggrin:

EL doesn't start again til February. I believe Liverpool will have a better idea what's more realistic then. If within 5 points of United then, you'd have to think League - if more it would be a struggle even in the case of a difficult fixture list for United. Arsenal have that tendancy to pull away so you would also want to be even with them especially as their end of season fixtures look really good.
(edited 9 years ago)
I wouldn't back us against the Italian teams in the Europa at all right now. Rafa is a tactical master and I hope to God we don't have to face him. Roma are strong too, great team and probably the best in the competition.

As with everything so far this year, it's just a waiting game, on Sturridge. Would be nice if Brendan dropped 20m on Lacazette.
Original post by JamesR12
I wouldn't back us against the Italian teams in the Europa at all right now. Rafa is a tactical master and I hope to God we don't have to face him. Roma are strong too, great team and probably the best in the competition.

As with everything so far this year, it's just a waiting game, on Sturridge. Would be nice if Brendan dropped 20m on Lacazette.


Why not get Bony or Benteke?


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ImageUploadedByStudent Room1418384848.370135.jpg


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Original post by IceJJFish(II)
Why not get Bony or Benteke?


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Exactly.
Original post by IceJJFish(II)
Why not get Bony or Benteke?


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Benteke's injury record scares me, and Bony is a risk because his style of play isn't what we are, really. He's a great finisher but he is still predominantly a target man (despite his ability to play at number 10 proving that he is better with his feet than most strikers). You'd think we want a player with pace, Lacazette is basically a Sturridge-lite. I'd have sanctioned Bony in the summer but after seeing how Balo and Lambert have flopped and how crap our altered style of play is, I'd be weary of bringing in a third target man.
Original post by JamesR12
Benteke's injury record scares me, and Bony is a risk because his style of play isn't what we are, really. He's a great finisher but he is still predominantly a target man (despite his ability to play at number 10 proving that he is better with his feet than most strikers). You'd think we want a player with pace, Lacazette is basically a Sturridge-lite. I'd have sanctioned Bony in the summer but after seeing how Balo and Lambert have flopped and how crap our altered style of play is, I'd be weary of bringing in a third target man.


Surely dropping a large amount of money on a player unproven in the PL isn't the best of ideas? Bony can get in behind and hold up the ball, he can do both and he'll get goals. He's proven, crucially.

Benteke had one Achilles' tendon injury iirc, his first season he was fit all the way and got 20+ goals.



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Bafa Gomis was available on a free transfer. If you got him as third choice instead of Lambert, and a better second choice striker who is more mobile and fitting of the previous system, it's immediately better business.

I wouldn't have gone for Bony btw. Wouldn't have been much value there for his actual returns if he moved.
Predictions?
Original post by JamesR12
And then told you that the comparison is merely a means to show his remarkable level of performance for a teenager, rather than giving any kind of conclusive answer as to how he ranked vs Hazard last year.

(your point is kinda negated anyway when you see that Hazard, in a predominantly defensive team lagged way behind Sterling on all four defensive stats)

That's true but Hazard is our source of creativity in a defensive system. He's not going to do well defensive wise because of that and attacking wise he'll also struggle because there's no support as everybody is playing defensively. The tactic was pass to Hazard for a reason. It obviously is the closest to perfect 1/2-0 tactic as it showed last season.

Although tbh Hazard isn't as efficient or clinical as we'd like him to be but I believe that's down to playing with inferior players in the AM position. He's essentially playing with 2 box to box midfielders next to him than actual playmakers and I'd still argue Suarez and Sturridge playing in front of you is better than having Costa, Oscar and Willian to play with.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by luke829
Predictions?


United to win and we'll fail to score.
Original post by Mackay
United to win and we'll fail to score.


Have you see the back four we're going to be playing?

I can't see you scoring from open play but i'm sure Gerrard will score his customary set piece/questionable penalty.
Original post by Mackay
United to win and we'll fail to score.
You know its bad if that happens. Regardless of who we're playing, the opposition will get their chances.

Saw on the 10 things to look out for this weekend on the Guardian, showing Gerrards stats. 17% shots on target this season. :s-smilie: I know people were talking about his tendency to go for Hollywood when things get tough but that a horrendous stat if true. Later on gives Sigurdsson as 42%.
Lambert to score a 10 yard hattrick ala Dirk Kuyt :colondollar:
Liverpool news conference

Posted at 14:43

Brendan Rodgers also confirms reports that midfielder Adam Lallana broke some of his ribs in the 3-1 win over Leicester on 2 December, but says the former Southampton playmaker is available to face Manchester United.

Guess that's why he didn't play against Basel?
Original post by sr90
Have you see the back four we're going to be playing?

I can't see you scoring from open play but i'm sure Gerrard will score his customary set piece/questionable penalty.


We'll see but I really doubt it.
Original post by Fizzel
You know its bad if that happens. Regardless of who we're playing, the opposition will get their chances.

Saw on the 10 things to look out for this weekend on the Guardian, showing Gerrards stats. 17% shots on target this season. :s-smilie: I know people were talking about his tendency to go for Hollywood when things get tough but that a horrendous stat if true. Later on gives Sigurdsson as 42%.


Yeah I saw that, too. Love reading their 10 things to look out for.

Not a surprise about Sigurdsson - but he's found his level at Swansea. Unsure whether he'd be able to cut it at a club that was bigger than, say, Everton.
Original post by IceJJFish(II)
Surely dropping a large amount of money on a player unproven in the PL isn't the best of ideas? Bony can get in behind and hold up the ball, he can do both and he'll get goals. He's proven, crucially.

Benteke had one Achilles' tendon injury iirc, his first season he was fit all the way and got 20+ goals.
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Like I say, I like Bony a lot. I always have. He's someone that guarantees you 15 league goals a season, and a player like that is worth his weight in gold. If you look at someone like Rooney, in only 2 of his 10 seasons at United, has he got more than 17 goals for the season - so Bony's goalscoring record is outstanding and he'd be an excellent player for any team in the league. Bony is powerful, a great finisher from the edge of the box and a genuine goalscorer. Like I say, my main issue with him is just that he is still predominantly a target man, and bringing him in would mean that would just mean that we're better at a style of play that limits the rest of our team. He'd do Ricky's job much better than Ricky does it, but in an ideal world we want someone to be playing like Sturridge up front, not like Ricky. We already have (in Ricky and Balo) two Lambert style players. I wouldn't be opposed to Bony at all and the more I think about it, the more I want him, but there's still doubts over how he'd fit in.

Lacazette is just a name I'm throwing out because we were vaguely linked in the summer, he's done well this season, and he seems to have transitioned from youth prodigy (he won France a youth world cup iirc) to an accomplished senior pro. When I saw videos of him in the summer he seemed to fit us pretty well, he likes taking on his man, shooting from range, he's rapid and strong and he's scoring goals properly now, he's like Sturridge without the finesse.

I think the risk of 'unproven in the league' is overrated - in general imo if the player was genuinely good enough in the first place then he'll work here. Imports like Kagawa flopped because they were misused/underused, players like Gaston Ramirez were never good enough in the first place, and even someone like Forlan, long been painted as the classic 'couldn't adjust to the PL' flop was simply not given enough games and was mistreated. I think in general if the player is good enough and given time, they'll work out. Lacazette has the frame and the style of play to succeed. There will be a Veron here and there but I don't think it's a big enough risk to not buy a player from abroad if they're more suited to your style of play and you can live with an adjustment period - because it's not as if players from smaller teams in the PL haven't struggled when moving to big clubs.
Original post by Gob Bluth
Bafa Gomis was available on a free transfer. If you got him as third choice instead of Lambert, and a better second choice striker who is more mobile and fitting of the previous system, it's immediately better business.

I wouldn't have gone for Bony btw. Wouldn't have been much value there for his actual returns if he moved.

I don't think Bafa is much better than Lambert, and I think Lambert has been over-used and is now underperforming due to fatigue.

As I said above, Bony pretty much guarantees you 15 or more goals a season. That's outstanding and few players do that really. Dzeko and Lukaku are of the same calibre and they both moved for £30m. Bony is a snip at £20m.

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