Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 11/12 MOD POST #1130

Mr Alan wrote: »

Good to see it stated in that piece that Carroll is only available if we get an offer of £20m, however I'd worry with us being so open about him being surplus to requirements you have to wonder if he does end up staying the damage it'll do to his confidence & if he'll now force us to let him go at a cheaper price.

Leiva wrote: »

Agger to Barca just won't go away

Reminds me of the Masch time.

Leiva wrote: »

I think he will be a big surprise next season and we could be talking this time next year how disappointing it will be to see him go permanently .

Dickerty wrote: »

So what does that give us? Rush middle, Luis right, Robbie left?

Ecky thump!

JOE COLE says all his prayers came true when Brendan Rodgers was appointed Liverpool manager.
Cole, who was signed by Roy Hodgson then farmed out on loan to Lille by Kenny Dalglish, was named in the Reds’ 34-man touring party which left for the USA yesterday.
And now he is hoping to get the chance to reignite his Anfield career under the new boss.
“When I was hearing about Liverpool looking at certain managers, I was praying it was going to be Brendan,” said Cole.

“Not just because he’s not an unknown for me and I know his philosophy on football, but I think for the club the owners have made the right choice.
“He has just impressed everyone so much since he’s been here.
“What you get from him is honesty – he’s made that perfectly clear – and you’re going to know where you stand.”
Cole was snapped up on a free transfer from Chelsea this time two years ago, but endured a troubled start to his Liverpool career.
Red-carded on his Premier League debut and enduring the ignominy of missing a penalty on his home European debut, he suffered a hamstring injury in October 2010 and missed a large chunk of the season.
When he returned Hodgson had been sacked and replaced by Dalglish, and the former England midfielder made just four starts – three in the Europa League – before moving across the channel to Lille.
The switch gave a huge boost to his flagging career and he enjoyed an excellent season in the French League, form he is now hoping to reproduce under Rodgers, with whom he worked at Stamford Bridge.
“The manager knows what I can do,” he added. “He’s seen me in France and knows what I can do from Chelsea and England.
“Now is about getting fit, pushing myself every day and in the friendlies, and taking my chance.
“In the next two or three weeks, I just want to get myself fit, get two or three games out the way and then we’ll see where we are.
“I’m happy I’m here, I’m playing football. I’m at a great club and I want to be part of it. I think we can do something good this year.
“Tactically, he’s (Brendan Rodgers) very astute.
“You look at what he did not just at Swansea, but also when he was at Watford. He’s been a success, he’s young and hungry.
“I think a lot of clubs are steering towards that in English football now.
“He’s going to be a success at Liverpool and if we all stick together and pull round, we can do some great things at this club.
“I know him from my Chelsea days when he was there and I can’t see anything other than positive things.”
“It’s been a breath of fresh air. A new manager always brings a lift, but the gaffer has come in and really impressed everyone.
“You talk to anyone – any of the players to the ground staff to the guys on the door – everyone is really impressed with him.
“The manager has made it clear, it’s not just the players it’s everyone in and around the club.
“For us to get the results we want, we’ve all got to come together.”
Cole was brought up in a West Ham Academy renowned for passing football and he believes he can flourish at Liverpool under the same philosophy that Rodgers is trying to implement.
“That style is what I was brought up with at West Ham and Chelsea,” he said. “At West Ham, we didn’t have the top, top players, but we always tried to play. At Chelsea, we always tried to get the ball down and play and move it.
“For me, that is football.
“I love the style of play. At Lille, we played like that as well – getting the ball down and moving.
“I think sometimes in English football, people automatically think you need to be aggressive – but look at Spain. No-one works harder than Spain.
“They pass and move the ball quickly, and sometimes physically it’s harder to do that because you’re constantly on the move and you’re fighting and have to be dogged.
“I firmly believe in that and I think it’s the way forward in football for footballers and clubs now.
“We’ve seen Spain and Barcelona and how successful they are. The top teams get the ball down and play and move – and that’s what we’re going to try and implement here.
“But it takes time to change things – and great things take time.
“It’s going to be a building process. As long as we stick together and try to do what the manager wants us to do, this club will move steadily forward again.”