Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:29 pm  

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

What do LFC fans make of the news that they are looking to offload Nuri Sahin back to Real Madrid ASAP?

Would it be fair to say that this will come as a disappointment to the majority, who thought they were getting some sort of wonder player when he first arrived?

Its good that they have the safety net that it was a loan deal and that they weren't suckered into a permanant deal, but considering the lad's previous reputation, the whole move has been a bit of an anti-climax??

As for the player himself, is it a case that he simply wasn't suited to the English game, or is he not quite the player that people made him out to be??

Is it any coincidence that for the second year running, after the joke that was Royston Drenthe, Real Madrid have tried to offload a supposed up and coming star of the future onto a Merseyside club and, both times, both players have been huge flops??

I said when we signed him that I felt he'd take time to settle. I still think that but it appears Rodgers isn't willing to wait. When he's played he's shown he has all the quality, I never doubted he'd show that, but I always felt he'd take a while to start 'running' games and getting used to the play off the ball, i.e. defending and battling. Anybody who's followed his career will see he's had to work hard to get where he did. He was a wonderkid at an early age, then he struggled to live up to the rep, then he became the best midfielder in Germany, and now he's struggling to live up to the rep again. I've no doubts he'll be an absolute superstar once he finds a club that trusts him and will give him the time to settle, it's just a pity that Rodgers prefers what we currently have. Like Aquilani before him, Sahin isn't a bad player, he's just at the wrong club.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:00 pm  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

Just hand over the League Cup now and save us the bother of having to go through the formalities. (If we somehow happen to screw it up, the Fat Spanish Waiter is the new Avram Grant - only worse.)

.....Can I be the first please??....

[Durham Giant]

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Wed Jan 09, 2013 11:25 pm  

What was Ivanovic doing. I can only assume he had a couple of Brandy's in the warm up. Terrible mistakes for the goals.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Wed Jan 09, 2013 11:47 pm  

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

:lol: .....Can I be the first please??....

I just love it when arrogance comes back to bite

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:28 am  

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

I'm confused...

What exactly do you see a 'number 10's job has??.....I've always thought of it as a second striker, the skill and guile to go alongside the brawn of the number 9.....Maradona and Pele are the classic example - For Liverpool, for some reason, your 'number 10' has traditionally been your number 7 (Keegan and Dalglish being the obvious examples).

Sheringham was the classic number 10, similarly players like Zola and Bergkamp......I'm just confused as to how you fit that type of player in a side with Suarez AND Sturridge?

The 'number 10' seems to vary from country to country. I generally view the '10' as somebody who creates and pulls the strings, generally in the final third. Riquelme and Zidane were great examples of this. I generally view this term 'false 9' as somebody who looks to occupy this role, yet scores the majority of goals and doesn't play with a 'natural 9' ahead of them. So Messi technically plays up front on his own, but he doesn't always play up front, he drops off, picks up the ball deep and creates chances and runs at defenders.

With regards to Suso, he's a fantastic talent but he's a long way from getting the keys to our team. For now he'll be used out wide, generally being asked to cut in and create, but there's a lot more to come from him playing on the right. He needs to run with the ball more and show off his fantastic end product. Maybe with Sturridge being in the team it will give him somebody to look up and play the ball ahead to, rather than link up like he does with Suarez. Suso will probably end up playing centrally, but he's quite slight and doesn't have Fabregas-like maturity.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:52 am  

Durham Giant wrote:

What was Ivanovic doing. I can only assume he had a couple of Brandy's in the warm up. Terrible mistakes for the goals.

A level of defending that is bordering on the criminal. His appalling distribution has been increasing of late, but today's goals were gifts from him.

Mourinho lost one game in 3 and a bit years at Stamford Bridge. That game was against a Barca side aided by a ref who sent off a Chelsea player for a yellow card offence.

Benitez has managed to lose at home to QP ****ing R and Swansea City in two months.

That, Bobby "Scouse" Campbell, is part of the difference between the very best managers like Mourinho, and the merely good like Benitez.

Today's performance, apart from the gifts from Ivanovic, was pretty good. We played all the football, had all the chances. Swansea didn't do a thing. But we didn't do enough to win the game. We didn't do enough to earn an equaliser. And now, because of Ivanovic, we've got a tough tie in a fortnight.

I still stand my by "arrogance" that this tie, and the cup, should have been a formality. I still think we should win this tie. And if we don't it will just confirm that Benitez has zero chance of getting the job. Quite frankly Benitez could go, Torres needs to go, and if Ivanovic is going to play anything like that again, he needs kicking out too.

The main positive of tonight will hopefully be that Roman finally sees his folly and brings back Mourinho and gives him the control he asks for.

Benitez needs slapping for picking Torres ahead of Ba. Ba produced 10 times the output of Torres after replacing him after 70 minutes. The ref was an absolute joke for booking Ba. Benitez, the ref, Torres, all ****'s. But the biggest **** of the night was Ivanovic.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jan 10, 2013 2:57 am  

I think Rodgers sees Shelvey as a no. 10 type player and to be honest, he's better further up the pitch. The amount of times he lost the ball in the middle of the pitch on Sunday was embarrassing but in that final third he put two cracking balls through to Sturridge.

I think we have to play Sturridge up front, with Suarez just behind him. No idea who this number 10 type player is going to be and where he'll fit him in the team to be honest, both Sturridge and Suarez will be wasted out wide.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:56 am  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

A level of defending that is bordering on the criminal. His appalling distribution has been increasing of late, but today's goals were gifts from him.

Mourinho lost one game in 3 and a bit years at Stamford Bridge. That game was against a Barca side aided by a ref who sent off a Chelsea player for a yellow card offence.

Benitez has managed to lose at home to QP ****ing R and Swansea City in two months.

That, Bobby "Scouse" Campbell, is part of the difference between the very best managers like Mourinho, and the merely good like Benitez.

Today's performance, apart from the gifts from Ivanovic, was pretty good. We played all the football, had all the chances. Swansea didn't do a thing. But we didn't do enough to win the game. We didn't do enough to earn an equaliser. And now, because of Ivanovic, we've got a tough tie in a fortnight.

I still stand my by "arrogance" that this tie, and the cup, should have been a formality. I still think we should win this tie. And if we don't it will just confirm that Benitez has zero chance of getting the job. Quite frankly Benitez could go, Torres needs to go, and if Ivanovic is going to play anything like that again, he needs kicking out too.

The main positive of tonight will hopefully be that Roman finally sees his folly and brings back Mourinho and gives him the control he asks for.

Benitez needs slapping for picking Torres ahead of Ba. Ba produced 10 times the output of Torres after replacing him after 70 minutes. The ref was an absolute joke for booking Ba. Benitez, the ref, Torres, all ****'s. But the biggest **** of the night was Ivanovic.

seems fair comment LGJM

to select Torres in front of Ba who must have been feeling on top of the world after a great debut and an in form proven goalscorer with the kind of service he would have had from the brilliant Mata is total madness

I recall 'Arry doing it with Defoe when he was in top goal scoring form and obviously feeling like he could score with every touch of the ball only to be found warming his derriere on the bench

I know i'm no expert but please, that's taking the p$ss !

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:45 am  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

A level of defending that is bordering on the criminal. His appalling distribution has been increasing of late, but today's goals were gifts from him.

Mourinho lost one game in 3 and a bit years at Stamford Bridge. That game was against a Barca side aided by a ref who sent off a Chelsea player for a yellow card offence.

Benitez has managed to lose at home to QP ****ing R and Swansea City in two months.

That, Bobby "Scouse" Campbell, is part of the difference between the very best managers like Mourinho, and the merely good like Benitez.

Today's performance, apart from the gifts from Ivanovic, was pretty good. We played all the football, had all the chances. Swansea didn't do a thing. But we didn't do enough to win the game. We didn't do enough to earn an equaliser. And now, because of Ivanovic, we've got a tough tie in a fortnight.

I still stand my by "arrogance" that this tie, and the cup, should have been a formality. I still think we should win this tie. And if we don't it will just confirm that Benitez has zero chance of getting the job. Quite frankly Benitez could go, Torres needs to go, and if Ivanovic is going to play anything like that again, he needs kicking out too.

The main positive of tonight will hopefully be that Roman finally sees his folly and brings back Mourinho and gives him the control he asks for.

Benitez needs slapping for picking Torres ahead of Ba. Ba produced 10 times the output of Torres after replacing him after 70 minutes. The ref was an absolute joke for booking Ba. Benitez, the ref, Torres, all ****'s. But the biggest **** of the night was Ivanovic.

Jose lost against charlton in league cup as well I think.

[John_D]

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jan 10, 2013 9:02 am  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

Benitez needs slapping for picking Torres ahead of Ba. Ba produced 10 times the output of Torres after replacing him after 70 minutes. The ref was an absolute joke for booking Ba. Benitez, the ref, Torres, all ****'s. But the biggest **** of the night was Ivanovic.

The difference Ba made after coming on was alarming. With even ten more minutes on the pitch, I feel fairly sure Chelsea would have had something out of the game. Had he started, I really can't see how they'd have lost it, Ivanovic's gifts or not. It would beggar belief if Ba doesn't start every game he's available for from now. There is no case to be made for the continuing selection of Torres.
And no, he shouldn't have been booked, and neither was it a penalty.