Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14 Mod request post#5808

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 10:43am

I'm not going to get romantic about Agger's tattooes. I love the guy, but this is football, not superfriends. IF and when he's underperforming, Liverpool are underperforming. We should play our best squad.

mike65 · 03-09-2013 10:44am

Kess73 wrote: »

Well our next cup game will require a full strength starting XI if we want to get anything out of it.

Nah, Moyes will play the kids, Utd usually do in the League Cup until the quarters

Agueroooo · 03-09-2013 10:44am

Am I right in saying Skrtel can still be sold to a Russian side?

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 10:45am

Not after Sunday

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 10:51am

Agueroooo wrote: »

OK lets score up the transfer window out of 10.

for me its a 7

Could have gone either way in the end but a good mix of experience and youth, but we will need more than one of the 'prospect' signings to play out of their skin for us to break into the top4.

I do not think the top4 is any closer than when we finished last season, and the reason's are a mix of internal and external factors - us still being a team that's learning, new and building, plus the fact that those around us battling for those CL spots have also strengthened considerably.

Its critical that Jan window should not be seen as a 'top up' but as an integral part of our rebuild and I hoping the scouts are out working today with that in mind, and funds available to reflect the managers desire...no more begging via the media.

summary:
could have been worse - could have been better.

Aspas - has looked like a tricky player. i think he will be very much like yossi was for us. i dont think he will score loads of goals but he will be a handful for most oppositions and when suarez is in the team it will give him more space. with both of them and suarez up front that is bound to open up deep tight defenses. considering where he played before this he looks like a talent. im pleasantly surprised.

Alberto - potential. has looked confident but he hasnt played enough to be judged. he will be in the resie team this year and more a squad player who will probably play the cup games. in the little bit i seen of him he does remind me of a slight variation of Garcia with his touches. tidy player.

Toure - has done more than impress us all. the man has been a beast and is quickly becoming a fan favourite. we got him in on a free and we all though it was a bad sign of a summer to come. but he has been brilliant in defence and exactly the type of leadership we need back there. for me if agger did leave he would be the vice captain

Ilori - potenial also. he will also be on the fringe we'd assume but he aparantly has pace strenght and is good with the ball and in the air. he sounds like an all rounder but im sure alot of it is over hype. if he can be half as good as he is talked up as then we will have a great player on our hands

Sakho - great player. bit nuts but feck it. he is strong and has a bit of pace. cant pass to save his life but as long as he plays beside someone who can play ball he will be grand. maybe its why people have said they would like him beside agger but two left footers?? although right footers often play left side so i dont see why left footers can play right side. i still think ilori and sakho might be teh partnership 3 or 4 years from now

Moses - fast player with a bit a strenght about him. if anything he gives sterling more time to improve his game before we use him as a regular starter. if he does well we can finish in the top 4. we wont have an option on him but it wont matter because we can attract someone better withy champions league. moses is purely here to get first team and we only want him to help us get to 4th. a mutual affair that both sides get what they want

Cisokho - we where after him before. was suppose to be the next big thing a couple years ago but failed to impress in spain due to injuries and just bad luck. hopefully this is his last injury here and he can shake off the cobwebs and get some game time. if he plays i think he'll do well but i fear we have another Aurellio on our hands though. at least we have him on loan so we can take our time deciding if we want to keep him

Mignolet - has been brilliant. pulled off some lovely saves already and saved us 2 points on the opening day thanks to agger:D after a nervy opening game he looks comfortable and has replaced the imo overcomfortable reina

listen we spend 45+ million or so. i dont know how much net and i dont care. we spent 'x' amount. for that we could have bought a lot of players who went to clubs for less than that this summer. but we had a weak squad. our bench was a joke. we had no second string. last season we had 16 year olds playing. we had to sign a few players. we could only afford 'x' amount and we could only attract what we could. mhky and costa prove that. yes it could have been a better window if we had more to spend but i do think trhe palyers we signed are players we wont be trying to ofload this time next year(bar the loans)

7/10 - because it was a near perfect window for what we needed. the players might end up being better or worse than expected but in terms of getting what we needed it was near perfect. may a striker and a def mid would push it to 10/10

gimli2112 · 03-09-2013 10:52am

Agueroooo wrote: »

OK lets score up the transfer window out of 10.

for me its a 7.

8/10 for me.
Defence looks much stronger on paper now. With Suarez coming back and the addition of Moses I have litte concerns up front. Lot depends on Gerrard in midfield still imo.
We should be far better equipped to break down "lesser" teams going forward and look solid at the back.
It could have went better but we lost out on a number of targets as better options came in for them.

Oh and I do think the owners stepped up particualrly compared to some other teams. Utd almost had a disaster and their window was a bit farcical - not sure Fellini is the answer to their problems. Arsenal got one fantastic addition but really blew it overall considering the money they apparently had to spend.

Jason Todd · 03-09-2013 10:55am

Does anyone know anything about the brazilian Fernando at Porto? Would he be a good shout for DM / competition for Lucas?

MD1990 · 03-09-2013 10:56am

Hodgson is apparently trying to get Ilori to play for England
can't understand why Sterling was called up to the England for the games this week either
he is gettin rewarded too quickly whivh could hamper his development

Speak Now · 03-09-2013 10:57am

Dickerty · 03-09-2013 10:58am

Looking at a little compilation of our best 25 goals of last season, and they were all about Sturridge, Suarez, Gerrard, Hendo and Coutinho. All of our back 4 showed up at some stages, and cameos from Sterling and Downing.

I suspect the same this season - Sturridge, Suarez, Gerrard, Hendo and Coutinho. Add in Moses/Aspas, and an improved keeper and CB options, and we have a solid team that is capable of making and taking a lot of chances. We have limited distractions, only domestic cups, so there is no excuse for resting players too often and losing our momentum.

Come January, we will have money to spend, very little dead wood to remove, and we'll know what we need to push on - maybe another scoring option, maybe a stronger CM, or maybe nothing at all...

mike65 · 03-09-2013 10:58am

Good to see velour is back.

Kess73 · 03-09-2013 10:59am

Jason Todd wrote: »

Does anyone know anything about the brazilian Fernando at Porto? Would he be a good shout for DM / competition for Lucas?

A few on here rated him highly in the past. From the games I saw him play in, he does look a good player albeit maybe one that might not appeal to the way Rodgers seems to set up a midfield.

leposean · 03-09-2013 11:01am

Anyone got any idea of Moses and Sakho's squad numbers?

I've been a huge Sakho fan for years, bought him in every football manager save I've ever had haha. Want him on my jersey

Mr Alan · 03-09-2013 11:05am

In isolation, this transfer window is a 6 or 7 for me. Take into account what our competitors did and it as an opportunity for us to really take strides toward top 4, it's a 5. I think the first 11 is looking good but we're still lacking in a couple of key areas in my opinion.

Mignolet

Johnson---Sakho----Agger---Enrique

Lucas

Gerrard

Suarez

Coutinho

Moses

Sturridge

This would be my first 11 with Suarez/Moses/Coutinho all interchanging throughout.

I'm not quite sure what Rodgers plans are with CB, but I'm not quite buying into the Toure love (although he has done well), but some of his defending against Villa was frankly bizzare and a little all over the shop. That said, I do like him but Agger is still our best defender for me (Sakho is yet to kick a ball for us, and I don't know enough about him previously to comment). However, I'm not sure how substantial an issue it could potentially be for us to play 2 left sided CBs?

It's when we get to backup players we fall short in comparrison to our rivals imo (defence we're hot to trot, but goalkeeper, midfield & up front for me we're lacking imo).

Available backup players off the top of my head:

-Jones
-Skrtel
-Toure
-Llori
-Kelly
-Cissokho
-Henderson
-Allen
-Sterling
-Alberto
-Aspas

Any sort of substantial injury to the following players Mignolet/Lucas/Gerrard/Suarez/Sturridge and any slim chance of top 4 for me is gone.

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 11:06am

Kess73 wrote: »

Well our next cup game will require a full strength starting XI if we want to get anything out of it.

i agree kinda. we have southamopton at home the saturday before it (the game will be midweek) and then sunderland away on sunday evening.

now while id love us to throw a full strenght side out to beat united id prefer 6 points from those two games.

by my estimations(the 60+ goals not included;)) we need around 70 points to finish 4th. that is going back to the start of the 20 team format. its sometimes 72 73 but it could also be 65 68 etc so around 70 is the aim?

so that is 23 wins and 1 draw = 70 points.

we have 3 wins. if we get the two against southampton and sunderland thats 5 wins leaving only 18 to go. surely that has to be our aim instead of the cup that they slag us of for winning under kenny

i think we can afford to swap our defence in the game

Glen---Toure---Sakho---Erique

for

Kelly---Skrtel---Agger---ilori its tsill a pretty good defence

our midfield is shakey yes but id rest gerrard anyway and maybe even coutinho.

Gerrard---Lucas

Coutinho

for

Hendo---Allen

Alberto

maybe luacs should play as he would provide cover for the back but if we could get anyone else to cover the role for that game we should rest our first teamers. maybe sakho will be still getting use to the team or ilori could play there.

up front we will have moses still getting use to the team we will have sterling crying out for a game and we have suarez freshly coming back into the set up

--Moses

Aspas

Sturridge

for

--Moses

Sterling

Suarez

i think for this game we can use a strong line up but rest some players such as lucas gerrard sturridge toure if possible. lets protect the core of the team so we can get the 20 more wins we need to get 4th place

Outkast_IRE · 03-09-2013 11:07am

Honestly think Aspas has gotten himself into some great positions but sturridge has been very greedy in some poor positions taking shots which had little to no chance of going in rather than squaring the ball across the box

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 11:11am

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Honestly think Aspas has gotten himself into some great positions but sturridge has been very greedy in some poor positions taking shots which had little to no chance of going in rather than squaring the ball across the box

I have to agree. Aspas should probably have a goal by now which would help him.

Nuri Sahin · 03-09-2013 11:12am

Paulegend wrote: »

wtf you on about???

cringe worthy stuff??

you are either really young or just are blinded by your not wanting to agree with someone else's opinion that isnt of the norm

as i said a billion times. i think Ozil is a great signing and a great player. i think he will go on to be player of the year material. i do think he will be a success.

but i also said that better players have failed to live up to their name. Kaka Shevechenko Torres Ronaldinho and Etoo(their moves to italy. albeit etoo second season was impressive). you also had veron Wiltord Aquillini Cissee. all players who came with huge names to their clubs and failed to live up to the hype

i was told that a player that plays for the worlds biggest club(arguablly) and plays for teh german national team cant fail

i said Kaka played for one of the biggest teams in europe and the brazilian nationla team and he failed at madrid. to the degree he left on a free transfer yesterday.......................

how is what im saying in any way cringeworthy or stupid??? to disagree with me your doing it for the sake of it!!!! im merely pointing out the fact that big transfers dont always "HAVE to work out"

0_o

Derp. I have no problem with someone having the minority opinion so long as they aren't trolling or being abusive, they also need to be able to see both sides of the coin.

Cheers for basically calling me really young (I wish) and blind though. Appreciate that.

As for Ozil. You're comparing Ozil, a player who is 24 years old and is still a couple of years of being arguably at his peak.. with players who've peaked already.

Given your posts in general in the Arsenal thread, I wouldn't give you the benefit of even trolling tbf. I actually like posting in other teams thread without the need of being abused of who I support because of potentially how people view one of my so called fellow supporters.

Paulegend wrote: »

Nuri Sahin - @ Paulegend, please stop posting drivel in the Arsenal thread especially regarding Ozil. Cringe worthy stuff.

surely i have the right to retort to someone trying to talk down to me and look like the big man.

seems to be this on going group mentality on here these days

It's a conspiracy, a conspiracy I tells ya!

Grayditch wrote: »

I was gonna pop into the Arsenal thread and congratulate them on Ozil, but between some of them targeting Suarez in January, and the others spitting bile at Liverpool thanks to Paulegend, I'll leave them to it.

Bingo.

They're far from sorted and I don't agree they're challengers all of a sudden, sure they've had two top class players before in recent years in Cesc and Van Persie and didn't achieve anything. It's a topic for their thread if anything so I'll stop there. But credit to them, they finally found the wallet and spent big on genuine class.

5starpool · 03-09-2013 11:15am

I'm reasonably happy with the transfer window provided we get a motivated version of Luis Suarez back, which I think we will. It has been a stellar success but we are in a better place than we were 12 months ago, both player wise and start to the league. We need to get around 1.75ppg from here on in to get to the 70 point mark I felt we needed to get close to in order to sufficiently progress. The target should be higher obviously, although I think stating we will get more than that is a bit fanciful just yet. All the relative sweetness and light can disappear quickly after a couple of bad results, but hopefully there is enough determination about the club this year to not let setbacks affect them too much.

The next 6 games might be easier on paper, but they are certainly not easy. If we are on 20 points from the first 9 games I think that will be good, and not an unreasonable ask either at this point.

viper006 · 03-09-2013 11:16am

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Honestly think Aspas has gotten himself into some great positions but sturridge has been very greedy in some poor positions taking shots which had little to no chance of going in rather than squaring the ball across the box

Ya i have noticed this myself. If Sturridge has squared the ball to him he could have had 1 or 2 goals.Having said that though i still thought he was poor vs villa and utd. He just wasnt getting involved in either match and Gave a away some stupid free kicks and got booked in both games as well. BR has thrown him into the deep end so he has big learning curve in fairness to Aspas, just hope he adapts quickly as its clear BR sees him having a large role to play this season

Mr Alan · 03-09-2013 11:16am

Paulegend wrote: »

for me if agger did leave he would be the vice captain

klose · 03-09-2013 11:21am

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Honestly think Aspas has gotten himself into some great positions but sturridge has been very greedy in some poor positions taking shots which had little to no chance of going in rather than squaring the ball across the box

2 minutes into the united game sturridge could have squared it to aspas and would have put it sway but sturridge tried to cut in and shoot, not that i mind of course as we won but he will score goals imo.

As for the window getting a rating, its a 7 manybe 8 out of 10. Think some people are dissapointed as a result of spurs window snd arsenals subsequent capture of ozil which shouldnt be as spurs had 100+ mill to spend and arsenal made the second most expensive in the league history as theyd a ton of money too. We divided our funds well across all areas of the pitch

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 11:24am

Nothing to do with us, but I thought I'd share anyway. From the bottom it says ten seconds in, Bale had earned enough for his lunch, then ... Well...

http://whatbaleearns.co.uk.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/

Luckycharms_74 · 03-09-2013 11:25am

I see Reading are linked with Momo. As Lloyd and others said we could do alot worse than have him as backup.

Reading are hopeful of securing a deal for former Liverpool and Juventus midfielder Momo Sissoko on a free transfer.

The 28-year-old was in Reading yesterday with director of football Nick Hammond but no announcement was made before last night's 11pm transfer deadline.

He has cancelled his contract with current club Paris Saint Germain, however, and is now a free agent, meaning he can sign for a club outside the window

IK09 · 03-09-2013 11:27am

Ya its fair enough sayin that if Sturridge had laid it off once or twice Aspas may have a goal under his belt. Its a valid point.

However, i prefer my strikers greedy, it is that greed and desire to score goals that we have been lacking for the last few years.

Yes Suarez was great at it. But now we have another player that is great at it. It will be an interesting dynamic seeing both Sturridge and Suarez in the same team gunning for the goals....
it could cause problems....or it could keep us on top of the league. These are factors that cannot be overlooked or taken lightly.

Courtesy Flush · 03-09-2013 11:27am

Kess73 wrote: »

Well our next cup game will require a full strength starting XI if we want to get anything out of it.

I would rather lose the cup game and win the league match a few days later tbh
Use the cup games to give the fringe players a chance to show what they can do

ebbsy · 03-09-2013 11:30am

Happy with the business done by Rodgers yesterday.

Seems like the Benny hill show was taking place at OT yesterday.

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 11:31am

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

0_o

Derp. I have no problem with someone having the minority opinion so long as they aren't trolling or being abusive, they also need to be able to see both sides of the coin.

Cheers for basically calling me really young (I wish) and blind though. Appreciate that.

As for Ozil. You're comparing Ozil, a player who is 24 years old and is still a couple of years of being arguably at his peak.. with players who've peaked already.

Given your posts in general in the Arsenal thread, I wouldn't give you the benefit of even trolling tbf. I actually like posting in other teams thread without the need of being abused of who I support because of potentially how people view one of my so called fellow supporters.

It's a conspiracy, a conspiracy I tells ya!

i gave my opinion. i had a solid foundation for what i though. plus i SAID I THOUGHT HE WOULD BE A GOOD SIGNING.................. (just in case you didnt notice the first billion times)

all i mentioned was that others who yes where at their peak failed. but they where world class players non the less when they made their world record moves

if anything the fact that they where in their prime should have made it easier for them

but you didnt agree with me so you just try to say some crap in here that i should stop posting drivel. when in fact it is an opinion based on facts

you dont have to agree with me but when you talk s##t about me then im going to react.

as for the conspiracy its typical in here. you mention im posting drivel and next you get a couple of thanks even though as stated what i said had factual base

how is what im saying even close to trolling. if anything your s##t talk to me is you trolling me.

ps i would feel bad about my arrogance towards you if you wherent such a flower to me

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 11:32am

Yeah, I can't see you getting away with that one, Paul.

djPSB · 03-09-2013 11:36am

Spelled the C word wrong too.

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 11:38am

Mr Alan wrote: »

of course lucas is a contender. hell ive always been a lucas fan but i do think that Toure has leadership qualities similar to Carra. he does alot of shouting on the pitch. he doesnt need to be a captain or vice captian. there should be more players on the pitch communicating anyway but i just think he would be a good vice captain to have.

Lucas seems very quiet. i just couldnt see him dragging suarez to the side and giving him a boll##ing

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 11:38am

Grayditch wrote: »

Yeah, I can't see you getting away with that one, Paul.

a bit much?:o

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 11:39am

djPSB wrote: »

Spelled the C word wrong too.

and how is it spelt:D

Mickalus · 03-09-2013 11:40am

Courtesy Flush wrote: »

I would rather lose the cup game and win the league match a few days later tbh
Use the cup games to give the fringe players a chance to show what they can do

We need a good cup run as well. Did you forget who we're playing against?

Kess73 · 03-09-2013 11:45am

Courtesy Flush wrote: »

I would rather lose the cup game and win the league match a few days later tbh
Use the cup games to give the fringe players a chance to show what they can do

I understand that and would want the three points in the league, but a hiding at Old Trafford would not exactly be a great way to go into a league game nor would it do much for the fringe players.

We should still be able to put out a pretty strong team at Old Trafford without having to use the likes of Jones, Alberto, Ibe, Sterling etc.

Could have Suarez, Apsas and Moses as the front three.

Allen, Henderson and one of Gerrard/Lucas as the middle three.

Mignolet in goals.

Kelly or Wisdom and Cissokho at full back.

Sakho at Centre back with one of SKrtel/Toure/Agger alongside him.

That way we avoid relying too much on the less experienced players and have a mix of players that is made up, for the most part, of players with plenty of game experience in the career to date.

The players that start against Man U that would also be in line for the next league game would be the likes of Mignolet, Sakho, Suarez, Henderson, and maybe Moses. All the outfield players from that short list are known for having high levels of stamina.

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 11:45am

Mickalus wrote: »

We need a good cup run as well. Did you forget who we're playing against?

i would give a loss to united and a 3rd round knockout in the fa cup if we got 4th place

its just this season we need 4th. after that we can attract bigger stars and we can challenge for everything then. but for now we need 4th and its all that matters

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 11:47am

When we go to Old Trafford, we should go to win, regardless of the cup involved.

5starpool · 03-09-2013 11:49am

Grayditch wrote: »

When we go to Old Trafford, we should go to win, regardless of the cup involved.

When we go into ANY competitive match, regardless of competition, we should try to win.

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 11:49am

I mean in terms of squad selection. Above and beyond for this fixture.

Mickalus · 03-09-2013 11:51am

Paulegend wrote: »

i would give a loss to united and a 3rd round knockout in the fa cup if we got 4th place

its just this season we need 4th. after that we can attract bigger stars and we can challenge for everything then. but for now we need 4th and its all that matters

With 4th being so important it will be hard to give any fringe players a run out. So far the logic for team selections in the cup is a mostly first team with a few fringe/young players being brought in.

Rodgers has been saying that's how it will be this year, last year he put out too many youngsters in one team and it was a mistake, cos we got knocked out.

I agree, the fringe players need experience around them, otherwise they'd be better off playing in an under21 match.

I agree 4th is more important than either cup, but can't sanction giving utd anything. Selling your soul to a red devil

Anyone · 03-09-2013 11:52am

5starpool wrote: »

When we go into ANY competitive match, regardless of competition, we should try to win.

Hmmmm....although it worked out in the end, I wasn't too happy when we beat Blackburn in '95.

Given a similar situation(ie us beating a team hands the league to a big rival) I wouldn't be too put out if we didnt try and win.

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 11:53am

Grayditch wrote: »

I mean in terms of squad selection. Above and beyond for this fixture.

but what if by playign gerrard in his 2nd a 3 games in a week it leads to him getting getting an injury in the 3rd game. our midfield couldnt cope with him out for a long time. surely resting him would be smarter . against a united team of potentially kids we should have more than enough in our fringe players so gerrard would have a week between games rather than 3 days

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 11:55am

Anyone wrote: »

Hmmmm....although it worked out in the end, I wasn't too happy when we beat Blackburn in '95.

Given a similar situation(ie us beating a team hands the league to a big rival) I wouldn't be too put out if we didnt try and win.

That's the kind of mentality that the young players should never be exposed to.

The only time we win anything when rivals lose, is when we're playing them.

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 11:57am

Mickalus wrote: »

With 4th being so important it will be hard to give any fringe players a run out. So far the logic for team selections in the cup is a mostly first team with a few fringe/young players being brought in.

Rodgers has been saying that's how it will be this year, last year he put out too many youngsters in one team and it was a mistake, cos we got knocked out.

I agree, the fringe players need experience around them, otherwise they'd be better off playing in an under21 match.

I agree 4th is more important than either cup, but can't sanction giving utd anything. Selling your soul to a red devil

but there would be plenty of experience

kelly---skrtel---agger---ilori

allen

sakho

hendo
sterling

moses

suarez

taht kind of team would give loads of players a rest while giving game time to players who need it. sakho ilori and moses need as many games as possible to get up to speed.

agger and skrtel at the back is teh same partnership that played the weekend. surely a united young team would struggle against this we would hope. although since its liverpool they might have a few first teamers

segadreamcast · 03-09-2013 11:59am

Bitta blasphemy here but - sorry, I have to ask - are there any forums (preferably locked or private ones - I'd probably even be willing to pay a few quid a year) with good analysis and discussion of LFC and football matters?

Also: Podolski out for at least the rest of the year with a torn muscle, according to Arsenal thread.

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 12:04pm

segadreamcast wrote: »

Bitta blasphemy here but - sorry, I have to ask - are there any forums (preferably locked or private ones - I'd probably even be willing to pay a few quid a year) with good analysis and discussion of LFC and football matters?

Also: Podolski out for at least the rest of the year with a torn muscle, according to Arsenal thread.

In fairness, before your edit you talked about a lot of stuff you had to scroll past, I'm sure some people would feel the same about Arsenal injury worries.

Nuri Sahin · 03-09-2013 12:04pm

In regards to the transfer window. I think I said it was a 7 to 7.5 for me after the we made the three signings we did yesterday morning. I'll settle for 7 for now.

Signings...

Bringing in Sakho is huge. Before the summer, I'd have given us no chance in hell of signing him. None whatsoever.

Luis Alberto is Shelvey's replacement and I'll hold judgement on him.

Aspas will be a useful squad player for the most part. I hope he's not entirely relegated to being a wing forward, because he can offer more than that based on last seasons game v Real Madrid where he was Bellamy MKII.

Toure has been an outstanding bit of business so far. Fairly clear to me he's a leader on the pitch and off the pitch and his performances in the first two leagues, especially when up against Benteke was superb. He was in a war with him and Toure came out on top. Not many defenders can say that. Hopefully, fingers crossed he finds that form when he returns if he does back into the starting XI. I'd honestly love to see a Toure - Sakho partnership. It's a shame he's not younger, a real shame.

Cissokho was a fine addition. Sickened by what did happen to him though. I thought in his brief time on the pitch at Villa Park he was quite good. Added some much needed power and pace to the team when he came on.

I'm not the person to comment on Ilori tbh, I do reserve judgement on his ability till I see him. From what I read, he can play across the defence which is a nice thing to have in a player and his natural pace means we can play him in a high line at least.

With Moses , while I highly doubt his ability in front of goal, I'll give him a chance. He does have attributes we badly needed in strength and natural speed though. It is disappointing we don't have an option to buying him but I suppose it's not that big of a deal as we can still bid on him next summer if he is a success here. Not sure if Chelsea want to sell if that happens though hence the lack of stipulation.

Mignolet was not my first choice, second choice or third choice. But he's an improvement on Reina that he actually makes saves. Match winning saves too. He is suspect when punching the ball, hopefully that improve in time as does his distribution. Reina certainly has the edge when it comes to distribution. Overall though, I'm pleased with us signing him so far.

As for missed targets...

Mkh, well I was in a win-win situation at most know and IMHO, he made the right decision in joining Dortmund. I won't ramble on about this as I've talked about it briefly and at length, but look up Dortmund's CEO's comments on the Mkh situation. We did bid on him. We were close. Dortmund swooped in. It wasn't just the fact Dortmund could offer CL that Liverpool missed out. There's a pic of Mkh when he was 8 or so with a Dortmund jersey too btw :P I don't blame the club for not signing him.

Willian we weren't interested in, but we saw an opportunity to get him on the cheap and it's disappointing we seemingly didn't budge on the offer. Yer man Kia is prat, BUT Willian would have strengthened the starting XI without a question of doubt. Would Chelsea have swooped in and stolen him if we were the ones signing him anyway? Probably.

Diego Costa we were interested in but he and his agent used us for a new contract. Nothing more to it really.

Papa I'd have dearly loved to have seen here (imagine a partnership of Papa and Sakho :eek:) but his injury concerns were justified by the club. If he can get back playing and show he's over his knee injury, it wouldn't surprise me if we're back in for him as early as January depending on Skrtel's situation.

What we needed...

We needed cover for DM. People wanted a starting XI DM to replace Lucas. I honestly never saw this happening hence why I continually mentioned Sissoko and ruled out for example forum favourite Medel. Lucas offers a lot to the team much like Toure does, except for a couple of challenges he has been superb from pre-season up to now. Excellent in the first two league games and one of the better ones v United.

I also rather we had spent money on a starting LWF too. Even just looking at Willian and Diego Costa playing there, I'd have been equally happy signing a Mohammed Salah or Memphis Depay for a third of what the former two cost. Moses will hopefully step up as I see him getting a fair amount of game time there, but this will have to be addressed once again as does cover DM further down the line.

We kept Suarez. We showed we won't bend over and be shafted like Arsenal have done for years. Credit to FSG for keeping their promise as I thought they were BS'ing. No top 4 and I fully expect him to be off.. to a club a on the continent though. We'll cross the road if and when it comes.

TL:DR...

Happy, but more could have been done. 7 out of 10 is fair.

Paulegend · 03-09-2013 12:05pm

segadreamcast wrote: »

Bitta blasphemy here but - sorry, I have to ask - are there any forums (preferably locked or private ones - I'd probably even be willing to pay a few quid a year) with good analysis and discussion of LFC and football matters?

well you could sign up to the official site. its a little more open discussion wise than this. alot more opinionated. but its mostly just liverpool fans.

you can use most of the forums for free but if you have a membership you gain access to an extra part of the forum where the "real fans" are apparently.

at the moment they are down for maintainance but tehy will be back up and running on the 9th

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/forums-down

Mickalus · 03-09-2013 12:05pm

Paulegend wrote: »

but there would be plenty of experience

kelly---skrtel---agger---ilori
allen
sakho
hendo
sterling
moses
suarez

taht kind of team would give loads of players a rest while giving game time to players who need it. sakho ilori and moses need as many games as possible to get up to speed.

agger and skrtel at the back is teh same partnership that played the weekend. surely a united young team would struggle against this we would hope. although since its liverpool they might have a few first teamers

Sakho can play LB as well, replace Ilori with Sakho at LB and put Lucas or Gerrard in midfield and I'd be Ok with that team.

Edit: I have no idea about Ilori, so not sure if he could play LB?

Grayditch · 03-09-2013 12:08pm

That LFC paid forum isnt the haven you might imagine.

Boards should rent out it's own little forum spaces for privats clubs of all kinds, maybe.

Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14 Mod request post#5808

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