The Liverpool FC Thread VII

True, Benitez had virtually no money to work with. He had to sell to buy in his last 2 seasons. When he was actually backed in 07-08 he signed Torres, Babel, Lucas, Mascherano and Skrtel.

Yeah, they were all great signings. I just hope that we win the next two games, the FA cup would be a wonderful consolation for not getting champions leauge

No doubt.

People concentrate on his errors - e.g. Alonso for Gareth Barry, and so on, but when you consider the pressure he was under to perform under such a dodgy board (Hicks/Gillett), it's quite understandable that he made a couple of outstanding errors. For the most part, he was overachieving. Especially in the first half of his tenure, in which his transfer policy brought some wonderful players in, like that world class midfield. We neglect that even some of his less glorified transfers, like Agger/Skrtel, have ended up being excellent players for us.

As a tactician, he was obviously one of the best around, and at the club's height in 2008, he succeeded in playing pretty attractive football too.

As much as I want you guys to falter on Wednesday night, I do hope you go far in the FA Cup and in the process thump Manchester United on our behalf. It could well have been another Liverpool v City fixture but I think we've all had our fix of Liverpool v City games to last us until next year.

I don't think Champions League football is beyond you. I wouldn't rule out the prospect of Spurs nose-diving into a mini slump of sorts but you do face some stiff competition with Chelsea, Arsenal and perhaps Newcastle.

And given that Arsenal and Chelsea's top 4 position is under threat they may well put all their eggs in one basket with the Champions League and if they were to win the thing and finish outside the top 4, they would qualify automatically ahead of whoever finishes 4th. So Liverpool would need to string together a good run of form and hope that Arsenal and Chelsea either finish in the top 3 (unlikely) or not win the Champions League (again unlikely but never impossible).

Alonso for Barry a mistake? The summer Rafa tried that, no one wanted to buy Alonso for circa £15mil. Alonso then had a great season and hasn't looked back but Barry is a starting regular for Man City, the club with the most money in the world - he can't exactly be that bad then can he?

I never meant to suggest otherwise, but neither at the time nor in retrospect have I thought that it would have been a good idea. Benitez ultimately failed anyway, and only ended up disenchanting a key player of the side in the process. Babel was another mistake of Benitez's etc. etc. - I was only using Barry vs. Alonso as an example to illustrate a separate point.

Babel looked like he could have been a great player at Ajax but he just never had the mental attributes to become the player he could have been.

****ing shameful on saturday.

Too many players with their eye on City, but honourable mention to Adamfor stinking the place out.

Be very useful for wednesday if Lescott and Balotelli were banned..

Wishful thinking for Lescott and Balotelli my friend but I fear Balotelli may have bitten off....stamped off (lol) more than he can chew and may well find himself a disgruntled spectator for the next few weeks if the FA decide to go all Lance Corporal on him.

Alonso for Barry a mistake? The summer Rafa tried that, no one wanted to buy Alonso for circa £15mil. Alonso then had a great season and hasn't looked back but Barry is a starting regular for Man City, the club with the most money in the world - he can't exactly be that bad then can he?



Chelsea/Arsenal are not going to win the CL.. their defences are way too leaky so they won't even be able to luck through imo.

Spurs are going to get hammered soon.. they have Wigan next, but after that their fixtures are brutal.
Liverpool (A)
Newcastle (H)
Arsenal (A)
Man Utd (H)
Everton (A)
Stoke (H)
Chelsea (A)

After that, their fixtures are relatively easy so they should finish strong but the coming period could destroy all their confidence and put a lot of pressure on them.

I agree with you on Arsenal and Chelsea's defence but I'd be more concerned about their attacking flair/prowess or lack of.

Spurs don't have the resources to last the distance nor the quality of individuals and they could potentially lose at least 4 or 5 of those games. I don't see them getting anything at Anfield or the Emirates or Stamford Bridge. A point against United would be a miracle. Newcastle are fighting for a top 4 finish and Everton and Stoke aren't exactly pushovers. Oh yeah and they got Wigan too who in all fairness did push Man City which you would expect of a team languishing at the wrong end of the table and fighting for their lives. So if Spurs fancy their chances of the title or even a top 3 or 4 finish then this is pretty much their acid-test.

Very surprised that the City game went to general sale and the Utd game is now going to members with one PL game.

Could we even fill a massive stadium on a regular basis?

I still fancy one English team to get the rub of the green and do well (semi finals) but we'll see what happens.

Mmm think you're underestimating Spurs. Their players are on form, avoided injuries generally and have a strong 18 player squad. Lot of pace in the side and passing quality and having Adebayor has helped them a lot imo. Think they will do okay in the period, with a win or two against big teams but also draws/losses. Just a question of whether Chelsea can catch them up.

Perhaps I am underestimating Spurs but I can only go off what I've seen in recent memory and I'm not sure they have the prowess or mindset to last the distance. Also their disrespect of the Europa League (even if it is essentially a Mickey Mouse cup) left little to be desired for. At the end of the day any team striving for success should treat all tournaments as a great opportunity for silverware and last time I checked Spurs weren't exactly European Footballing Powerhouses to be in a position to degrade the Europa League.

As for English teams in the Champions League well this isn't the best Arsenal or Chelsea squads of recent times so I don't fancy their chances.

When Liverpool won in 2005 they at least had some quality players; Gerrard, Carragher, Alonso, Hyppia, Henchoz, Baros, Smicer and of course Mr Dudek who gave vintage performances in that season. There's nobody with that flair in either the Arsenal or Chelsea squads at this time and the likes of Drogba, Lampard and Terry have seen their stars wane. Arsenal rely far too much on Van Persie and Walcott still isn't "the real deal" in my eyes.

Very surprised that the City game went to general sale and the Utd game is now going to members with one PL game.

Could we even fill a massive stadium on a regular basis?

It's down to the price at the end of the day.

Most will have bought the Carling Cup semi ticket prior to the fa cup draw, and not many people can justify two 45 quid tickets within a week of each other the month after crimbo.

Also, we aren't winning anything at the momment. We won't be filling any 60k stadium unless we are successful and tickets are cheap.