Posted October 21, 2009 Benitez, I believe, has never made a quality signing. Alonso was less then 10 million I think, and Reina. I'm pretty sure that both Torres and Reina have said if Rafa leaves so will they, sacking him when the club clearly has no money would be a stupid move imo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 (edited) Alonso was less then 10 million I think, and Reina. I'm pretty sure that both Torres and Reina have said if Rafa leaves so will they, sacking him when the club clearly has no money would be a stupid move imo. Just over £10m, £10.5m. Alonso, I'm not sure about. I know a lot of people say he is underrated etc but I just don't see it. I think he is good, but hardly the best defensive midfielder out there, he can't mark a man or tackle. His passing though is phenomenal. Reina is another of those I think maybe slightly overrated. He was a product of Barca and Villareal so Benitez knew what he was getting. I think occasionally his decisions are off. Take the weekend for example. The whole beach ball thing. That ball had been in front of him for a while, he didn't move it and in the end this cost him. Claiming he was distracted by it shouldn't be an excuse, he had known it was there for a while. Liverpool have a decent team, one that should be performing. I just have a personal resentment for Benitez. A thought. If the exact same Liverpool team were in La Liga how do people think they would get on? I think they would do quite well and if wasn't for the ridiculously talented Barca team at the moment I would think they could win it. Anyway.......... Edited October 21, 2009 by Fresh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 It's almost insane to think that Chelsea parted Mourinho over much lesser circumstances. I don't think they've been quite the same since. Certainly not as "invincible" as they had seemed to be whilst under him. You've got the wrong team mate, these are invinicbles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 Lol, Reyes........ Quality little player, his head was just in the wrong place. Crap about being homesick and him disliking Henry ruined it for him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 Take the weekend for example. The whole beach ball thing. That ball had been in front of him for a while, he didn't move it and in the end this cost him. Claiming he was distracted by it shouldn't be an excuse, he had known it was there for a while. He put the beach ball into the back of his net, off the field of play and out of his line of sight. It was blown back onto the pitch by the wind. I'm just nit-picking here because he should have popped the fucking thing, but i don't understand how/why you would use this situation as an example of his decision making as a goal keeper..? Reina is a damn good keeper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 He put the beach ball into the back of his net, off the field of play and out of his line of sight. It was blown back onto the pitch by the wind.I'm just nit-picking here because he should have popped the fucking thing, but i don't understand how/why you would use this situation as an example of his decision making as a goal keeper..? Reina is a damn good keeper. To further the point, it was the refs responsibility to stop play. So Reina should not have even had to move the ball, the ref should have blown, picked it up and gave it to a steward to get rid of. Personally I rate Reina, I think he's a decent shot stopper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 He put the beach ball into the back of his net, off the field of play and out of his line of sight. It was blown back onto the pitch by the wind.I'm just nit-picking here because he should have popped the fucking thing, but i don't understand how/why you would use this situation as an example of his decision making as a goal keeper..? Reina is a damn good keeper. Umm, because it was the most recent and suitable. If you want another, ok. Look at the first Lyon goal, messed up the corner. Doesn't know when to go and when to stay on his line. Happy now? He is young though, and will learn but at the same time makes some awful gaffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 You've got the wrong team mate, these are invinicbles. You have to admit though, Chelsea were something else under Mourinho. Saying that, Athletico learned a hard lesson against them tonight. I thought they looked quite promising early on, but then they just seemed to fade. One thing, though: I cannot stand Deco. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him. Very, very pleased with the win tonight over CSKA. If the game had finished 0-0, I would have been quite happy by that, as it's a tough place to go. But, to come away with the win is awesome. Another goal for Valencia too, who I thought looked good. Nani seemed to turn up as well. Some mistakes here and there, but he played really well, I thought. Lots of United fans get on his back, but I want to see him do well. Really, I would love it if he just became his own man this season. Fresh: If Liverpool did offload Reina, who would they bring in as a replacement? I think he's a good keeper, and whilst he does make some mistakes, he seems to be quite consistent for the most part. He's certainly no Fabian Barthez. He was either brilliant or bonkers. You just didn't know which one would turn up. You can't have that in a goalkeeper. You need someone who is consistent over the course of a whole season. In Reina, Liverpool have that. Whilst I dislike The Pool, they were hard done by last week. The referee should have stopped play, as Ramar says. Saying that, in my heart, I believe that Sunderland would have gone on to claim the win anyway that day. They were something else, and they look pretty great this year. I know nobody can say for sure, but...it's a loss for Liverpool. So, I'm happy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 I did not watch the Villa game. I was tucked up in bed, under the illusion that Chelsea would win so decided to have a lie-in. Thank fuck for MoTD AND Football First! it was a great win Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 Umm, because it was the most recent and suitable. If you want another, ok. Look at the first Lyon goal, messed up the corner. Doesn't know when to go and when to stay on his line. Happy now? He is young though, and will learn but at the same time makes some awful gaffs. Messed up the corner? He made a triple save and the defenders around him did nothing. Admittedly the first punch was a bit eccentric, but he got to it and cleared it out to the edge of the box. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 21, 2009 (edited) Messed up the corner? He made a triple save and the defenders around him did nothing. Admittedly the first punch was a bit eccentric, but he got to it and cleared it out to the edge of the box. That's exactly what I mean when I say that Reina is the most consistent player in the Liverpool backline. The defenders just don't react to anything. Carragher is probably their worst offender at the moment. He has no pace. He's got the heart, but not the legs. To the United fans, what did you think of Fabio? I thought he was pretty damn great. Got caught out once or twice, but recovered well and his tackling overall is good. I really can't wait to see what becomes of the twins. When Rafael plays, it gives me a huge lift. Edited October 21, 2009 by Fierce_LiNk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 22, 2009 Messed up the corner? He made a triple save and the defenders around him did nothing. Admittedly the first punch was a bit eccentric, but he got to it and cleared it out to the edge of the box. Maybe I don't give him enough credit. I still think he can improve and he certainly has age on his side. Regarding Fabio, I'm not sure about him. The twins in general. I know they come from the same school as Roberto Carlos and Daniel Alves but I don't know if that is what united need. Like Evra learnt when he first arrived at OT his first priority is defence. Once they master this they, I'm sure, will be quality players. At 19 playing in the Champions League group stage, Sir Alex must think highly of him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 22, 2009 For the first time since the spanish regime started at Liverpool im finding myself starting to get annoyed with Benitez. Not for his signings, i have faith with him on that (Benny, Aurelio, Torres, Reina, Agger, Alonso) except maybe Lucas..... but for his decisions on and off the pitch. The whole Man U fact sheet last year heaped that much pressure on us that we couldnt cope and handed away the title, and taking off our only real threat against Lyon and replacing him with a player who barely gets a look in.... madness. Martin Kelly looks like a good player though :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 22, 2009 Ive never really been a big fan of Benitez. He always seems to make questionable subsititutions, backs bad players like Sissoko and Lucas way longer than he should and probably his biggest problem is that he never really has a plan B. If his first plan doesnt work then we tend to get stuck very easily. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 22, 2009 There was me thinking yesterday "Wow, Rangers are fucking lame for playing a 4-5-1 at home in Europe. They deserved to lose" What do Celtic do - play a 4-5-1. What do they do - get beaten. Starting to have my doubts about Mowbrays ability in these big games... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 23, 2009 There was me thinking yesterday "Wow, Rangers are fucking lame for playing a 4-5-1 at home in Europe. They deserved to lose" What do Celtic do - play a 4-5-1. What do they do - get beaten. Starting to have my doubts about Mowbrays ability in these big games... A pet hate of mine are teams who revert to "obscure" formations. 4-5-1, 4-3-2-1, 4-3-3..3-5-1. I just think sometimes that the typical 4-4-2 is simple but effective. Why complicate things? The weekend has come...I'm personally so excited yet nervous for Sunday. The thing is, I missed this fixture last season...because I was in Belgium! Same situation, again. I hope that's not a bad omen. I see that Rooney and Fletcher are both doubts for the game, but is it just part of Fergie's mind-games? I would expect Rooney to recover in time. Fletcher I think will be fine, too. But, not entirely sure if he'll make the first 11. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 24, 2009 Come on, Liverpool! Tomorrow is our season.. and I have faith Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 24, 2009 Looks like Leeds are gonna have their first loss of the season. Shame it's to Millwall. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 24, 2009 (edited) Not to labour a point like, but we had the biggest crowd in the country by a mile today with nearly 44,000 joining me at St James's to watch our thoroughly unconvincing win over the mighty Doncaster Rovers. Just saying, seeing as various little herberts on other forums were gloating about us facing ~20k crowds this season. Newcastle - Doncaster 43949Chelsea - Blackburn 40836 Spurs - Stoke 36031 Derby - QPR 30135 Wolves - Villa 28734 Sheff Utd - Cardiff 25021 Hull - Portsmouth 23720 Birmingham - Sunderland 21723 Coventry - West Brom 20871 Burnley - Wigan 19430 Preston - Boro 16116 Palace - Forest 15692 Swansea - Blackpool 14724 Barnsley - Bristol 11314 Plymouth - Ipswich 10875 Peterborough - Scunthorpe 8051 Edited October 24, 2009 by BlueStar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 24, 2009 Great win by Chelsea today!! They demolished Blackburn... Biggest surprise was Joe Cole tbh, he played such a great match on his comeback, I'm really, really impressed by the overal performance today:bouncy: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 24, 2009 Not to labour a point like, but we had the biggest crowd in the country by a mile today with nearly 44,000 joining me at St James's to watch our thoroughly unconvincing win over the mighty Doncaster Rovers. Just saying, seeing as various little herberts on other forums were gloating about us facing ~20k crowds this season. Impressive numbers, but that table misses off Norwich's 24k which is an amazing attendance for League 1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 24, 2009 Impressive numbers, but that table misses off Norwich's 24k which is an amazing attendance for League 1. Actually Leeds drew 32k when they played Charlton. And they've had a much higher average attendance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 24, 2009 Actually Leeds drew 32k when they played Charlton. And they've had a much higher average attendance. But Leeds wouldn't be on the table of todays attendances because they were away. But yeah, they've got equally impressive attendances. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 24, 2009 Up to 3rd in the league w00t, Norwich taking Lambert is probably the best thing that happened to us, Aidy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
