Liverpool thread

[WorkingForTheEnemy]

Was that the game when Alonso scored from 6 miles out??

Reaction from Gerrard was classic. It was like " What are you doing , why didnt you pa......oh, nice goal"

[Carl]

Didn't a punter have a large payout due to Alonso scoring from his own half?

Im sure I read it somewhere...

[Darren]

Originally Posted by Carl

Didn't a punter have a large payout due to Alonso scoring from his own half?

Im sure I read it somewhere...

Pretty sure your right Somefolk will bet on anything though

[Darren]

Parry: Wants new stadium for Reds

We're committed to stadium - Parry

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry insists the Anfield club "remain absolutely committed" to building a new 70,000-capacity stadium.





There had been suggestions the ongoing situation in the financial markets may impinge on plans for the new ground but Parry told the club's official website that plans are unaffected.
"We remain absolutely committed to the building of a new stadium which will improve on the original design inherited by Tom Hicks and George Gillett when they came into the club," he said.
"It will have a capacity of around 70,000, be higher quality and have a substantially increased Kop which will form the centrepiece of the new plans.
"Ever since the original designs were unveiled, we have been continuously revising and refining with the intention of delivering the best possible solution to our future needs.
"The situation in the credit markets has not affected our design, programme, or implementation of building our new stadium.
"The priority has always been to build a winning team on the pitch and everything else we do is geared towards that."

[davidmphill]

Read those reports about the Stadium being shelved which was worrying news as Anfield just isnt big enough these days. There has to be a 60,000+ ground for the future.

[AJ]

I wonder if the stadium funding stories are linked to the lack of cash for players ? Is the cash drying up ?

On a different note, what does todays defeat do to Rafas job security, would you have him out and Klinsman in ?

[peteg40]

Talking about this on Five Live....... Doesn't sound too good at Anfield at the moment!!!!!!!

[Sharpe1ne]

After that game how can Benitez justify £17 million,to Hicks and Gillette,for Mascherano.If any game he needed to have a blinder it would have been this one.

[kevshat]

Who in their right mind would have Klinsmann over Benitez .

[doublecee]

The longer this saga goes on, the better the Dubai offer appears to have been. Should it have been accepted?

[AJ]

Originally Posted by kevshat

Who in their right mind would have Klinsmann over Benitez .

I'd give it serious thought; Rafa is in his third season and the title appears to be slipping away from him again. Domestic success is the benchmark he's being measured against now, CL finals are all very well, but its a cup comp and nowhere near as important as the EPL.

Long way to go this season, and anything could happen but he appears to be failing. A week out from Xmas he's 10pts off the pace and not even in the top 4. Not seen many people win the league from that position.

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by AJ

I'd give it serious thought; Rafa is in his third season and the title appears to be slipping away from him again. Domestic success is the benchmark he's being measured against now, CL finals are all very well, but its a cup comp and nowhere near as important as the EPL.

Long way to go this season, and anything could happen but he appears to be failing. A week out from Xmas he's 10pts off the pace and not even in the top 4. Not seen many people win the league from that position.

I did say who in their right mind

Regardless of what their fans would love, their owners will want the thing which generates the most income and that's the CL. End of the day though, Klinsmann never has been and never will be fit to lace Benitez's boots as a manager so if anyone would take him over Benitez I'd be amazed.

[Sharpe1ne]

Originally Posted by kevshat

Who in their right mind would have Klinsmann over Benitez .

Bang on

Klinsmann took a decent German team to 3rd place on home soil in the World Cup,which to me was a very average World Cup where a number of team underperformed.He never changed formation and were very lucky not to go out to Sweden and Argentina.
If anyone deserves the credit it was there massive array of backroom staff.When Klinsman was sunning it up in California these backroom staff picked and nurtured the players.

All Rafa needs to do is play his best team week in week out in the Premier League,then when it comes to Europe they already know whats needed to be done and rise to the challenge no matter what(these are the massive games they have always dreamt about playing in).When you keep resting players there bound to pick up injuries more frequently than when there constantly playing.

[Darren]

Klinsmann to replace Benitez? Catch yourself on!

I think Fergies sussed Rafa's weaknesses out though, this pile everyone into the box on defending a corner is bollox. Goal may have had a huge chunk of luck (no Sky that was nothing to do with the Rooney and Tevez understanding, jaysus christ) but they knew were they could hit us and, well, they did. How many of the goals in this fixture between the two have been set pieces now? Ours were hopeless yesterday, again. Lay off to Riise - hits wall. Could have told you that before he hit the bloody thing.

2nd half was a load of bollox. We were shite. Unlucky in the first half (perhaps) pure dung in the 2nd. Created next to fcuk all.

When we actually beat Man U, in the FA Cup, we too a barrage of attacks in the 2nd half. Don't recall any massive saves but there was lots of last ditch defending and all. Where was that yesterday? Man U were far too comfortable.

Rafa v Fergie P7 W0 D1 L6 GF 1. No idea of the GA in the league, the one for was John O'Shea. That's not good enough. Add that to the 3 home games played against the other 3 (Chelsea, Arsenal, Scum) this season 2 points. 1 less than we deserve. Not good enough either.

We brought in a European manager though, he clearly doesn't have that much feeling for the Premiership with the lineups he has thrown out at times over the past few years. Time is running out for Rafa I feel, but he still has time.

[Darren]

Originally Posted by doublecee

The longer this saga goes on, the better the Dubai offer appears to have been. Should it have been accepted?

No.

[Darren]

Originally Posted by Sharpe1ne

After that game how can Benitez justify £17 million,to Hicks and Gillette,for Mascherano.If any game he needed to have a blinder it would have been this one.

I like Mascherano a lot. But 17M for a midfielder who can't create Probably part of the reason I was a lot less football than I used to, its all got very dull in places. Used to have 2 midfielders who could create in a 442, now you have 433 and 442 with holding players. Techinically great, shite on the eye.

[AJ]

and so it starts............. (on another topic, 17m for Javier ?, it's a lot but what did Utd pay for Hargreves ??, pretty similar class / style of player imo) Liverpool downgrade stadium plan

This artist's impression, released in November, will have to be revised Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry says spiralling costs have forced the club to scale back plans for a futuristic new stadium. The Reds are still committed to building a new 70,000-capacity ground. But Parry said the design would be "slightly downgraded" from plans released earlier this year. "It will be a massive improvement on where we were 12 months ago, if not quite as dramatic as the plans unveiled in the summer," said Parry. "We are now considering two schemes but the stadium will be a 70,000-seater. 606: DEBATE What does this news mean for Liverpool? "The new stadium will be a significant improvement on the original plans and a slightly downgraded version of the new ones. "The single tier Kop remains fundamental to the design and we are not expecting any delays - it should be on schedule for 2011." The cost for the proposed stadium in Stanley Park was estimated at £400m, but that figure is now set to be reduced.

[Sharpe1ne]

Originally Posted by AJ

Thats a fine looking structure

[Darren]

CHELSEA 2-0 LIVERPOOL Wednesday 19 December 2007 19:45 , Carling Cup

CHELSEA 2-0 REDS: THE REPORT Liverpool's quest for an eighth League Cup is over for another year after a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in which Peter Crouch saw red. Frank Lampard's 58th minute strike - which took a wicked deflection from Jamie Carragher - and a late hit from Andriy Shevchenko gave Avram Grant's side victory in a thrilling quarter-final. The Reds had to play the last 30 minutes with 10 men after Crouch was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Mikel. The tie could have gone either way before that but Rafa Benitez's men will now have to focus their energies on the three competitions which, at the start of the year, every fan would have labelled the priorities. With Sunday's drab defeat to Manchester United still fresh in the memory, Liverpool at least set out to entertain the travelling Kop from the off. It took them just eight minutes to find their attacking stride, Lucas - playing in an advanced midfield role for the first time in a red shirt - crafting a chance for Peter Crouch. Unfortunately, the big man dragged his low drive well wide. The home side quickly countered with a dangerous strike from Solomon Kalou, who tested Charles Itandje after being put through by Shevchenko. Seconds later the ball was back in the Chelsea box when Ryan Babel wriggled past two or three men before failing to find Crouch in acres of space. An end to end start, then. The goalmouth action continued with a couple of threatening corners from Frank Lampard right in front of the away fans (who, happily, took no notice of Sol Campbell's plea for a little more respect). Xabi Alonso was next to have a pop, though it failed to trouble Petr Cech, with a trademark hit from the half-way line. The sell-out crowd hadn't had chance to draw breath when Lampard found himself through following some sloppy play by the otherwise impressive Jack Hobbs. Thankfully, the young centre-back had his blushes spared by a fantastic save from Itandje. Another trio of Liverpool chances came and went: Lucas should perhaps have scored after a lay off from Crouch; seconds later the big man shouted for a penalty following a barge from Tal Ben Haim; then Alonso came close with a low volley from outside the box. How was it still 0-0? Michael Essien, who'll soon be on his way to the African nations, came within inches of breaking the deadlock on 36 minutes with a great volley from distance. Just wide. The game had everything except a goal, even an extravagant flick from Momo Sissoko which, had his teammates been on the same wavelength, could have produced something special. It all made for a cracking atmosphere, despite the arctic conditions. The away fans were in particularly impressive form even without the scores who were forced to turn back due to an accident on the M40. The ones who did make it had their hearts in their mouths on 54 minutes when Essien looked to have opened the scoring from distance. It was that man Itandje - who's known as The Cat at Melwood - who came to the Reds' rescue with a save that did his nickname justice. The second half was picking up where the first left off, with the next chance falling to Crouch after a mistake from Ricardo Carvalho. The England striker tried to lob it over Cech but, ironically, he couldn't find enough height. Then came the opener thanks to a massive piece of luck, Lampard the beneficiary of a hefty deflection from Carragher which took his shot over the helpless Itandje. It went from bad to worse almost immediately for Rafa Benitez's side when Martin Atkinson, with 30 minutes remaining, flashed a straight red at Crouch for a two-footed challenge on Mikel. It was a wild attempt to get the ball, but Avram Grant's over-the-top protests were an unnecessary addition to proceedings. The game took a while to settle after the sending off, with the Reds failing to create another serious chance until substitute Nabil El Zhar hit a low shot wide on 77 minutes. There was plenty of huff and puff but it was always going to be difficult to overturn a deficit in an arena where the home side have now failed to lose in 51 games. Shevchenko doubled Chelsea's advantage on 89 minutes, hitting the ball past Itandje from a tight angle. The return of Alonso will provide some comfort ahead of a busy Christmas period, as will decent performances from Lucas, Hobbs, Itandje and Aurelio. Stay logged on to Liverpoolfc.tv on Thursday for highlights of the game. Teams Chelsea: Cech, Bridge, Carvalho, Haim, Belletti, Sinclair, Lampard (c), Obi Mikel, Essien, Kalou, Schevchenko. Subs - Ballack, Cole, Cudicini, Ferreira, Sidwell Liverpool: Itandje, Aurelio, Carragher (c), Hobbs, Arbeloa, Babel, Alonso, Leiva, Sissoko, Crouch, Voronin. Subs - Benayoun, El Zhar, Hyypia, Martin, Riise Referee: Martin Atkinson Conditions: Attendance: Unavailable Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Lucas

[Darren]

Decent, open match last night. No quibbles on the red card, it was a dangerous and wreckless challenge. No striker on the bench though? Thats what pisses me off. I don't understand the thinking behind that at all. We should give Rafa a towel as well, as we gave up again. 1 down and down to 10 men we simply conceded defeat. Thats poor. And twice in 4 games we have done that now, the manager has taken the defeat with plenty of time to spare.

Dunno what it is about Lampard but he scores so many deflected goals it can't just be luck. He does hit a lot of shots though.

The first half was nice and open but in the second Chelsea had begun to turn the screw. They brought on Joe Cole, we brought on El Zhar. Nuff said.