The Liverpool thread

[Amir]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc well it was faxed to every major club around europe by man united

And you happen to work for Liverpool...so you grabbed teh fax and saw it, yes?

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc true but heinze was perfect cover for lb and cb and cheap at 6.3m.. as for gallas he would never leave london for the north if there was an opportunity.. I do not need to be sunshine.. when you live in the city where the club you support exists you get to see things which others do not

are man-u not based in Toronto?

[Nakhuda]

Thanks to the penalty denied to Everton we limped to a derby win only for a dodgy European side to humiliate us due to which we'll now have to win our remaining matches to have any chance of qualifying!.The Arsenal totally outclassed us but thanks to Stevie Gerard our captain...midfielder...dribbler...tackler...winger ...forward and everything else we managed to hold them at bay!.Alonso,Torres and Mascherano seem to be out for a while now making our position even more difficult,don't even mention Kewell!!!.I for one am sick and tired of the now predictable comments of our manger and wish he'd do us a favour and fk off back to Spain!

[madaboutlfc]

whilst Arsenal dominated the game the keeper was not troubled.. their goal was conceded because of reina losing his footing.. we are going through a terrible patch of form where we are missing half the team but still are 6 points of the top.. Sunday was a good result because without half the side we did not lose.. Rafa will lead us to glory and inshAllah we will be champions at the end of the season

[Oxy]

Guys - lets face it...we are playing pretty poorly by our standards.

Yet we remain unbeaten.

Lets take solace from that - fact is LFC finishes stronger than any other team.

Personally I dont want the distraction of the CArling Cup - so dont expect (nor want) us having to do overtime in that tie on Wed.

A couple of things niggling me - Hyypia's best days are past him (not a criticism as he has overseen our most succesful side in years) - but we lack pace, and that worries me.

[madaboutlfc]

totally agree oxy with all points.. i think in the carling cup we will play the kids.. the biggest advantage we have this time around is as we are entering november we are not out of the title race and are strong finishers..

[Toony™®]

Oxy, you were right about his address bit..the sun have taken that off. Although, the image showing is address is widely spread now.

[madaboutlfc]

toony can u pls remove the scum link

[Toony™®]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc toony can u pls remove the scum link

boycott still on eh - you live on merseyside?

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Toony™® boycott still on eh - you live on merseyside?

boycott will always be there till they give an apology from the heart not something to recover sales...
yeah i live around 5 miles from anfield..

[Oxy]

Got back from Anfield at 4.30am!!!

madaboutlfc - were you there? And your opinion of the Cardiff fans?

[Saj]

I heard there was quite a bit of trouble at Anfield with some of the Cardiff fans in the Kop and other areas allocated to Liverpool fans?

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by Saj I heard there was quite a bit of trouble at Anfield with some of the Cardiff fans in the Kop and other areas allocated to Liverpool fans?

Officially there were 6000 fans in the Anfield Road End.

Must have been about an extra 2000 Cardiff fans in amongst the other areas including about 200 in the Kop.

2 incidents in the Kop that I saw - 1 in the Cardiff end. I guess if you go in with away colours into the Kop and act like jerks - your gonna get battered! Which is what happened I think.

Great atmosphere utside the ground before & after the game - shame about the little 9 year old gipos/chavs that wreck all the cars unless you give them a fiver cider money....

I doubt Anfield has seen an atmosphere like that from the away fans in a long time....guys next to me kept on asking 'why are they still singing' - because it lasted for 90 mins!

They will have to admit that they were outsung last night...

[madaboutlfc]

yea i was there.. there were some knobs from cardiff in the kop... i have never seen so many bizzies for a game and these were like well outside the stadium as well which normally does not happen

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc yea i was there.. there were some knobs from cardiff in the kop... i have never seen so many bizzies for a game and these were like well outside the stadium as well which normally does not happen

HOw did the away fans atmosphere compaare to other sides - I want to know anfield is capable of..

[Saj]

Everton fans perhaps ?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...de/7103019.stm

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Saj Everton fans perhaps ? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...de/7103019.stm

possibly BUT a scousers a scouser, robbing is in their blood

[Saj]

Rumours that the American owners are getting sick of Rafa's outbursts and he could get the chop.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Saj Rumours that the American owners are getting sick of Rafa's outbursts and he could get the chop.

a straight swap for Allardyce

[Oxy]

I dont think it's rumour - Rafa & his bosses differ on what should be made available for the January transfer deadline.

I think he has to make do with what he has personally.

[Has]

Apparently the big issue is around Javier Mascherano, Rafa doesn’t want to wait until next summer to arrange a permanent deal and wants to get the important people at Liverpool and the players agent to agree a deal so that the move is made permanent in the window.

Rafa is afraid that Parry will once again mess things up in terms of transfers and we will lose Mascherano. But the board are telling Rafa to stay out of it and let Parry sort the deal out whenever suits him and the Americans.

In addition, the Americans are coming over in mid December to discuss the transfer window, this will be a busy period on the field and is too late to be making initial movements in the market and some deals take a long time to arrange in today’s world.

[Oxy]

Has - I appreciate that December is too late to be discussing the transfer deadline - all the 'best' picks will have probably been assigned to their new clubs by then.

If Masherano is the 'issue' - then I agree that his permanent move has to be secured asap.

If its additional buys - I dont think Rafa has a particularly strong argument - look at his buys in the summer - and look at how many starts they have made in the Premiership between them....

[Has]

“How many starts they have made in the Premiership between them” is not really fair considering that we all know that Rafa rotates.

Torres has played 90% of the time when he has been fit and has done well.

Babel was always a long term project, he is a raw player bought on the basis that he is a long term project to me moulded into a top quality first team player and he has had a decent amount of playing time and shown glimpses of quality with his rawness.

Benayoun was bought as a proven Premiership player who can play a number of roles. The truth is, when everyone is fit he will warm the bench. He has done well every time he has figured and added some to our squad.

Lucas was bought straight from Brazil and no one really expected him to play much. He has also done well and is bedding nicely.

Leto was bought on the cheap, he hasn’t done well so far and hasn’t featured much, fair enough.

When it comes down to it, in the last 3 years Rafa has won a Champions League and got us to another final, that would have swelled our coffers a fair bit, and add to the fact that our net summer spending was less that £30 mil, I don’t think it is unreasonable that he wants to discuss brining in 1 or 2 and selling 1 or 2.

[Saj]

9 points behind Man Utd and the heat is firmly on Rafa now. Looks like another seaosn without the League Title for the red half of Merseyside.

I thought they played quite well today but lacked that creative edge in midfield. I thought Rafa left the substitutions too late and should have brought Babel on earlier.

[Sufyan!]

Liverpool are the best and always have been!

[Sufyan!]

Originally Posted by iqbalharoon213 not bad for free

Yea i agree with you haroon!!

[qadoos]

Originally Posted by Saj 9 points behind Man Utd and the heat is firmly on Rafa now. Looks like another seaosn without the League Title for the red half of Merseyside. I thought they played quite well today but lacked that creative edge in midfield. I thought Rafa left the substitutions too late and should have brought Babel on earlier.

Agee with you but i also thought crouch was better option to start the game with i could not belive it when i saw kuyt, he looks out of depth,also torres had quite game for his standard.

[foojam]

seriously guys i think benitez's time is up..he just cant think on his feet this guy..

[Nakhuda]

Man for man there isn't much between us and the Mancs but they certainly have a psychological edge over us for whatever reason.Today we had the better chances but the the lucky bstrds end up getting the goal right before half time
They are more consistent and question every decision made by the ref where as we are more laid back and often lack the passion to win.Don't see the point of sacking Rafa yet but will definetly need to consider our options at the end of the season.The bottom line is that he has spent big money on players who apart from Torres havn't made that great a contribution.

[Amir]

Originally Posted by Nakhuda Man for man there isn't much between us and the Mancs but they certainly have a psychological edge over us for whatever reason.Today we had the better chances but the the lucky bstrds end up getting the goal right before half time They are more consistent and question every decision made by the ref where as we are more laid back and often lack the passion to win.Don't see the point of sacking Rafa yet but will definetly need to consider our options at the end of the season.The bottom line is that he has spent big money on players who apart from Torres havn't made that great a contribution.

lol lucky? Maybe if we beat you once you can say that. However in our last four encounters we beat you. And we could have easily turned up teh pressure when we wanted too. Just that we choose to play defensively once we had the lead.

Once again blaming the ref eh? What about when your little pretty boy clipped our goalie? Want to call that one? Or when you guys got an insane amount of free kicks near the end? NO? If anyone had the ref on their side, it was you.

And Torres got shut down by the best defence in the league, nothing more satsifying than that.

[Punter]

We need a win against Portsmouth this week or we could drop to 8th

[Gooner]

Poor old Liverpool, No title for 19 years now hehe!

All this talk about Liverpool, Chelsea and United to be the top 3 lmao!

[Geordie Ahmed]

from bbc.co.uk/sport

Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano is on the verge of finalising a permanent deal with Liverpool. The 23-year-old, whose contract is owned by the Media Sports Investments consortium, moved to Anfield on loan from West Ham just over a year ago. Mascherano can sign for Liverpool outside the transfer window because he does not belong to another club. "Maybe this week or next week we will be able to say everything's finished," Mascherano told Liverpool's website. "We can't say it just yet but hopefully in a few days everything will be OK," added the Argentine, who is believed to be valued at about £18m. "There are no problems with the fee or with the contract, it's just getting the papers finished." Mascherano moved to Liverpool after an ill-fated stint at West Ham and played a key role in the club's run to the Champions League final last season. He has remained a strong presence in the team this season and is keen to stay at Anfield despite past stories linking him with a move elsewhere if a permanent deal failed to materialise. The financial uncertainty that has surrounded Liverpool's American owners this season is thought to have delayed the resolution of the matter. Mascherano added: "I have always said I want to stay here and so it hasn't been a difficult time for me. "I have wanted it to be finished because I have my family behind me and I want to know what my future is going to be. I am calm and relaxed because I know that everything is almost over. "I am very happy that in the next week I will be able to say I have signed for Liverpool. "It will be the best moment of my career to be able to say I will be playing my football with Liverpool."

Its a lot of money BUT he is young and has done very well for Liverpool - he is keeping Alonso out of the team and that is no mean feat.

[OzPride]

About F**king time they signed Masch and all...lol

Poor old Arsenal no Champions league title for.......EVER...LOL

[Saj]

Goals from last nights game against the Hammers

http://www.rojadirecta.com/foros/viewtopic.php?t=36495

[SameerM]

hammmmmmers got rinsed

[Raul Madrid]

That was a wonder goal from Steven Gerrard.

Funny how they started ok this season than serious dip has cost them.

On their day they can compete with anyone.

Rafas Rotation..........

[Geordie Ahmed]

from bbc.co.uk/sport

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has been named Barclays player of the month for February. Torres scored a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Middlesbrough in a February which yielded four goals in two league games. The Spaniard's triple was his first in the Premier League and he added to the one he scored against Reading in the Carling Cup earlier on this season. He is currently on 18 goals in the top-flight scoring charts, with Emmanuel Adebayor, who is on 19, and 21-goal Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of him.

[Geordie Ahmed]

He has been excellent for Liverpool and was outstanding in February.

He has already started March with goals and Im sure he will be in contention for the award for this month aswell.

[Saj]

Former Liverpool defender Stephane Henchoz says the Reds are too reliant on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to challenge for the Premier League.

The 33-year-old, now at Blackburn, won three trophies with Liverpool in 2001 but was one of the first to leave the club when Rafa Benitez joined in 2004.

"If Gerrard and Torres are not playing at their best, you hardly see where the goals are coming from," Henchoz said.

"They probably need two or three very good players if they want to compete."

Gerrard and Torres have scored 30 of Liverpool's 55 league goals this season.

Their title hopes were effectively dashed against Manchester United last Sunday when a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford put them 14 points behind the reigning champions with seven games left.

Henchoz left Anfield in January 2005 - just seven months after Benitez took over - and the defender made no secret of his anger at the way he had been treated by the Spaniard.

The 33-year-old has not been impressed by Benitez's squad rotation policy this season.

"The rotation system sometimes in the league was not the best," said the Swiss speaking at the Liverpool leg of BBC Your Game.

"They drew too many times and if they kept their best XI, they would have won a few more games."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ol/7316707.stm

I think he's spot on, too reliant on 2 or 3 world class players, while the others are good to average.

[Geordie Ahmed]

I agree with him aswell - Its all about Torres and Gerrard which I can understand since they are their best players BUT you cant rely on 2 players to do the business for you no matter how good they are.

Liverpool need to sign atleast another 2 players that are Torres/Gerrard like in terms of importance to the team

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed I agree with him aswell - Its all about Torres and Gerrard which I can understand since they are their best players BUT you cant rely on 2 players to do the business for you no matter how good they are. Liverpool need to sign atleast another 2 players that are Torres/Gerrard like in terms of importance to the team

its like saying united cannot rely on just Ronaldo or Arsenal on Adebayor.. great players shine and if they dont there arent as good then

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc its like saying united cannot rely on just Ronaldo or Arsenal on Adebayor.. great players shine and if they dont there arent as good then

BUT Man-Utd have all round contribution, yes Ronaldo has largely shone for them BUT they do have goals throughout the side and as a team they are playing top class football.

At the moment it looks to me that Liverpool simply look to Torres and Gerrard for inspiration, other players are not really stepping up to the challenge.

You cant argue that a couple of more class players are required, you certainly need another striker to chip in with more goals.

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed BUT Man-Utd have all round contribution, yes Ronaldo has largely shone for them BUT they do have goals throughout the side and as a team they are playing top class football. At the moment it looks to me that Liverpool simply look to Torres and Gerrard for inspiration, other players are not really stepping up to the challenge. You cant argue that a couple of more class players are required, you certainly need another striker to chip in with more goals.

which statistically is incorrect

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc which statistically is incorrect

which comment is incorrect?

[Straight Bat]

Lionel Messi 6 Barcelona
Cristiano Ronaldo 6 Man. United
Zlatan Ibrahimović 5 Internazionale
Frédéric Kanouté 5 Sevilla
Raúl González 5 ' Real Madrid
Steven Gerrard 5 Liverpool
Karim Benzema 4 Lyon
Fernando Torres 4 Liverpool
Filippo Inzaghi 4 Milan
Ruud van Nistelrooy 4 613' Real Madrid
Robinho 4 Real Madrid
Deivid 4 Fenerbahçe
Luis Fabiano 4 Sevilla
Didier Drogba 4 Chelsea
Goran Pandev 4 Lazio
Mirko Vučinić 4 298' Roma
Liedson 4 540' Sporting
Cesc Fabregas 4 Arsenal
Wayne Rooney 3 Man. United
Carlos Tévez 3 Man. United
Óscar Cardozo 3 Benfica
Cristiano Lucarelli 3 Shakhtar
Lucho González 3 Porto
Lisandro López 3 Porto
Yossi Benayoun 3 Liverpool
Thierry Henry 3 Barcelona
Mario Gómez 3 Stuttgart
Boubacar Sanogo 3 Bremen
Ryan Babel 3 Liverpool
Dirk Kuyt 3 Liverpool



shows others can hold their own weight.

and since we're playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, we don't need another torres type striker. We could use a player like ribery though to play on the right of the 3 instead of dirk kuyt.

Actually an even better player for the formation would be aguero, he could play in the middle of the 3 and Gerrard could play on the right with Babel on the left. Or if we can't afford aguero then I'd like to see aimar.



-------------------------Torres-------------------

---babel---------------Aguero----------------Gerrard

-------------Mascherano---------Lucas/Alonso


-Aurelio-----Carra/Agger-------SKretl------Arbeloa

-------------------------Reina------------------------

[Geordie Ahmed]

Are those the CL stats?

What about the League?

[Geordie Ahmed]

from bbc.co.uk/sport

Liverpool's Javier Mascherano has admitted a charge of improper conduct in relation to his red card against Manchester United on Sunday. The 23-year-old has asked the Football Association for a personal hearing with the case set to be heard on 3 April. Mascherano was charged for his reaction towards referee Steve Bennett after the sending off in the Reds' 3-0 defeat. The Argentine is suspended for Sunday's match against Everton, but he could now miss an additional two games. But any domestic ban would exclude the Champions League quarter-final first and second legs against Arsenal on 2 and 9 April. The FA had given Mascherano an extra 24 hours to respond to his improper conduct charge because he had been away on international duty with Argentina. Mascherano appeared to question Bennett's decision to caution Fernando Torres against United, and was then shown a second yellow card himself. Liverpool's next two Premier League games after the Merseyside derby clash with Everton are against Arsenal on 5 April and Blackburn eight days later.

I would be surprised if he doesnt get an additional ban, this is the perfect chance for the FA to set an example.

[Geordie Ahmed]

from bbc.co.uk/sport

Fresh doubts have been raised over the future of Liverpool after co-owner George Gillett revealed relations with partner Tom Hicks are now "unworkable". BBC Sport understands Hicks is aiming to take sole control of the club, while investment group Dubai International Capital also wants to invest. But Gillett said: "This partnership has been unworkable for some time." He also said his family has received "phone calls in the middle of the night threatening our lives - death threats." However, despite the threats, Gillett revealed he and his son Foster - a club director - intend to travel to England to attend one of the upcoming games against Arsenal next week. Speaking to radio station Fan590 in Canada, Gillett said that selling his share of the club to Hicks is now "an untenable alternative". He added: "We were very fair. We gave our partner a long period of time to try to make arrangements to buy us out. "We didn't put pressure on him but he ultimately did not get to the finish line. "In the meantime, because of the things he said, the fans' reaction has been so negative towards him - and towards us if we sold to him - that has now made that an untenable alternative for us. "When your public persona is more important than the facts, it's tough to have a rational relationship." In a lengthy interview, Gillett went on to say: • "(The fans) do not want him (Hicks) to have any controlling interest in this club - they do not even want him to have any ownership in the club." • "He (Hicks) threatened to block me selling to Dubai - that was certainly one of the things that made the fans upset." • "Lord knows DIC have the money; with oil prices going up every day, that's not an issue. They certainly have the history and they are fans. I think they would have been very responsible owners." • "It's been very difficult for my wife - we receive many phone calls in the middle of the night threatening our lives - death threats." • "Instead of thinking about selling I might think about buying." • "The pieces on the chess board are moving", regarding his plans for his stake in the club.

Everyone has known for a while that these 2 have issues - this whole saga has been going on for ages and doesnt look like its ending any time soon

[Amir]

What I don't understand is why he is so mad at Hicks? If you want DIC so badly and they are such responsible owners....why doesn't he sell his share?

Doesn'the realize the fans just dont hate Hicks...but they hate you as well? He is acting if he is some sort of victim of some evil businessman.

madaboutlfc, give your input on all of this. I thought Liverpool fans hate both owners equally?

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Amir What I don't understand is why he is so mad at Hicks? If you want DIC so badly and they are such responsible owners....why doesn't he sell his share? Doesn'the realize the fans just dont hate Hicks...but they hate you as well? He is acting if he is some sort of victim of some evil businessman. madaboutlfc, give your input on all of this. I thought Liverpool fans hate both owners equally?

Sounds like he is trying to win over the fans by playing the victim card - It seems to me that the fans hate Hicks more cos he seems to be the guy blocking any sale to DIC BUT Im sure the fans want both the yanks gone asap

[Amir]

Hicks is blocking DIC....but wasn't Mr. Gilly the first to be approached by DIC and rejected them away? I really would love to hear a Liverpool's fan take on this. I don't live at Anfield...so I am just curious if this is true what he is saying?

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed Sounds like he is trying to win over the fans by playing the victim card - It seems to me that the fans hate Hicks more cos he seems to be the guy blocking any sale to DIC BUT Im sure the fans want both the yanks gone asap

that ship sailed a long time back.. I have not personally met Gillett but a mate of mine has and according to him he comes across as a very likeable chap.. I feel he is better than hicks in the sense that he tries to do the right thing and respect the culture.. hes not washed the dirty linen in public.. I would like both to f off

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Amir Hicks is blocking DIC....but wasn't Mr. Gilly the first to be approached by DIC and rejected them away? I really would love to hear a Liverpool's fan take on this. I don't live at Anfield...so I am just curious if this is true what he is saying?

no he did not reject them.. American problems stem from the premise that there would be no debt on the club which happened as they lied

[Geordie Ahmed]

So are you lot confident that DIC will eventually take over?

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed So are you lot confident that DIC will eventually take over?

i think the credit crunch would probably be more of a reason than anything else.. i would much prefer fans to be the owners barca style than any rich benefactor

[Saj]

What a mess. I never thought Liverpool would get themselves in such a situation. A club that has always been stable on and off the field.

DIC to the rescue I think - but will Hicks and Gillet both sell up.

I guess there's a message in this for clubs who think foreign owners are the be all and end all.

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Saj What a mess. I never thought Liverpool would get themselves in such a situation. A club that has always been stable on and off the field. DIC to the rescue I think - but will Hicks and Gillet both sell up. I guess there's a message in this for clubs who think foreign owners are the be all and end all.

i think it has a lot to do with the vision of the owner.. David Moores was born with a silver spoon and got lfc through family.. if he had shown the vision of the people at Arsenal we would not be in so much debt and we would still have LFC fans as owners..

[Geordie Ahmed]

Hicks and Gillett will eventually go, they simply cant stay with all that animosity BUT it is hurting the club right now which isnt good for the fans/players/manager

They messed up by selling to the Americans in the first place, that was a bad bad move on their part

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed Hicks and Gillett will eventually go, they simply cant stay with all that animosity BUT it is hurting the club right now which isnt good for the fans/players/manager They messed up by selling to the Americans in the first place, that was a bad bad move on their part

a little bit of research would have helped but we were blessed with dumb and dumber.. this season was ruined when Hicks opened his gob as till then we were playing unbelievable football and it took 7 weeks to recover..

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc a little bit of research would have helped but we were blessed with dumb and dumber.. this season was ruined when Hicks opened his gob as till then we were playing unbelievable football and it took 7 weeks to recover..

Who is dumb and dumber referring to? Parry and Moores?

I was shocked at the time that they would overlook a fantastic investment like DIC in favour of a couple of yanks who have nowhere near the money that DIC have

[Saj]

I'd hate to have to watch Ryan Babel week in week out. Does all the difficult things and yet makes a mess of the simple pass.

In todays game at Everton he was so frustrating to watch.

[Geordie Ahmed]

from bbc.co.uk/sport

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has been banned for a further two matches and fined £15,000 by the Football Association. Mascherano was found guilty of improper conduct after being sent off against Manchester United on 23 March. He appeared to question referee Steve Bennett's decision to caution Fernando Torres, and was then shown a second yellow card himself for dissent. The Argentine, who admitted the charge, initially refused to leave the pitch. Mascherano had to be calmed down by Reds manager Rafa Benitez before he relented and left the field. The midfielder, 23, was fined two weeks' wages by his club and banned for one game by the FA. But after requesting a personal hearing, he has been punished further. His suspensions only relate to domestic fixtures and having already missed the Merseyside derby against Everton he will also be absent for the Premier League games against Arsenal on Saturday and Blackburn a week later.

No surprise there - the 2 additional games was expected.

I just hope the FA can remain consistent in the future

[Geordie Ahmed]

from bbc.co.uk/sport

Liverpool striker Peter Crouch says he will decide on his future at the end of the season. The club have offered the 27-year old a new contract, but he believes he needs to be playing regularly. Crouch said: "I'll have to look at it at the end of the season. Now I'm concentrating on winning something. "I've got to be realistic, if I want to have any aspirations of playing for England, or furthering my career, then I have to be playing." Crouch bagged Liverpool's goal in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, and despite not being able to win a regular starting place, maintains he is happy at the club. He said: "I'd love to stay, it's a fantastic club and I love everything about it, but I've got to be realistic." Reds manager Rafa Benitez says the offer of a new contract is a sign the club do value the striker and the Spaniard believes he will stay. He said: "I have confidence he will sign. The player wants to. "At the moment, we are playing with only one striker, but we can play with two. It is not a problem. "I know he is happy here and that he wants to play. But that is football. We have offered the contract and we need to wait." Crouch has scored nine goals in 33 appearances for the Anfield outfit this season.

[Geordie Ahmed]

I hope he signs that contract asap cos there are rumours we are interested in him

[Saj]

Well LFC fans, Torres was suposed to be the missing link, the final piece in the Premiership jigsaw. He's done his bit, but you guys still stand 11 points behind Man Utd and Chelsea.

Where's it gone wrong?

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by Saj Well LFC fans, Torres was suposed to be the missing link, the final piece in the Premiership jigsaw. He's done his bit, but you guys still stand 11 points behind Man Utd and Chelsea. Where's it gone wrong?

Laurel & Hardy's antics in the boardroom!

Rafa's rotation at the start of the season. Rick Parry looking out for 'No.1'

The soap opera continue.

But you aint going to win the EPL with only 5 quality players out off 11

[OzPride]

Originally Posted by Saj Well LFC fans, Torres was suposed to be the missing link, the final piece in the Premiership jigsaw. He's done his bit, but you guys still stand 11 points behind Man Utd and Chelsea. Where's it gone wrong?

Im sure the Indian fans would say that was Andrew Symonds....LOL .

Nah too many 5-10 Million players, Rafa usually buys 4-5 of these a year. And then u have the free ones like Voronin who runs around like "My little pony" without producing anything.

20mill buys u world class players like Gerrard, Masch and Torres. Even better would be to identify these kinds of players at an earlier age and pay squat for them, like Wenger does.

The boardroom squabbles dont help either but i think its a case of still not enough quality players.

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Saj Well LFC fans, Torres was suposed to be the missing link, the final piece in the Premiership jigsaw. He's done his bit, but you guys still stand 11 points behind Man Utd and Chelsea. Where's it gone wrong?

i think its quite obvious where we went wrong.. we do not have a united club pulling in the same direction.. when the problems started we were i think top of the league.. I did not expect to finish fourth and its a great job Rafa has done in face of adversity

[Nakhuda]

The simple truth is that we still have too many mediocre players.Still struggling to compete with the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea in the transfer market.Until we can regularly spend around £15 million on a player like they do we'll not be serious contenders no matter who the gaffer is!.Perhaps we'll have a chance if DIC ever takeover.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Saj Well LFC fans, Torres was suposed to be the missing link, the final piece in the Premiership jigsaw. He's done his bit, but you guys still stand 11 points behind Man Utd and Chelsea. Where's it gone wrong?

I think the rotation was the problem.

Is it a coincidence that Liverpool went on a winning run when his best players were playing week after week - some people blame the boardroom squabbling BUT that is taking place right now, how come that isnt doing any damage now?

I agree the boardroom problems have NOT helped BUT i think the bigger issue was rotation altho he seems to have learnt from that

If he can sign a couple of world class players they will DEFINATELY challenge for the Premiership next season - tho the sooner the yanks go the better for them

[Saj]

It will be interesting to see who Liverpool purchase in the season.

They arent really that far from challenging for the Premiership title next season, as long as Benitez realises that his rotation policy was rubbish. Also the formation that he played with Gerrard just playing off the main striker was spot on.

[OzPride]

Originally Posted by Saj Also the formation that he played with Gerrard just playing off the main striker was spot on.

His diving skills improved heaps because of this as well....LOL

[Saj]

The bottom line is that Liverpool are far too reliant on Gerrard, Torres and Carragher. The rest of the squad are nothing more than average to decent players that dont exactly frighten the opposition.

As for Robbie Keane - I think he's a waste of £20M or whatever he cost.

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Saj The bottom line is that Liverpool are far too reliant on Gerrard, Torres and Carragher. The rest of the squad are nothing more than average to decent players that dont exactly frighten the opposition. As for Robbie Keane - I think he's a waste of £20M or whatever he cost.

its funny he is a waste of 20m after playing 4 games

[Saj]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc its funny he is a waste of 20m after playing 4 games

I thought he was a waste when Liverpool paid £20M for him - anyway lets see how things go for him at Liverpool. Time will tell, but if he plays regularly and doesnt score 20 plus goals this season, then that is simply not good enough.

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Saj I thought he was a waste when Liverpool paid £20M for him - anyway lets see how things go for him at Liverpool. Time will tell, but if he plays regularly and doesnt score 20 plus goals this season, then that is simply not good enough.

hes not playing as a striker 15+ in the league would be phenomenal..he scored 22 i think last seaon in all

[Saj]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc hes not playing as a striker 15+ in the league would be phenomenal..he scored 22 i think last seaon in all

He's not playing as a striker ?? Whats he playing as then ?

Dont tell me he's been thrown into midfield - good old Rafa

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by madaboutlfc hes not playing as a striker 15+ in the league would be phenomenal..he scored 22 i think last seaon in all

Well he is playing alongside Torres or just off him if you like

15+ goals would be a good return BUT more importantly if he can get a partnership going with Torres then it will be worth it

[madaboutlfc]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed Well he is playing alongside Torres or just off him if you like 15+ goals would be a good return BUT more importantly if he can get a partnership going with Torres then it will be worth it

he is playing as a link man which is a much deeper role