Smyth94
Norm Smith Medallist
I've said it before...if we start to pick up some injuries then nup.
Official Essendon fans EPL Thread
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I've said it before...if we start to pick up some injuries then nup.
I think your list is better than last seasons. Wenger has already mentioned big money will be spent in the January transfer window. Without trying to come across biased, but Liverpool have the healthiest list to cover all competitions )despite primarily concentrating on the league itself this time round), but as we've come to know, more rotations than ever also.
Man Utd's strength is also its weakness. Stable consistent line up, but a couple of key injuries/suspension and they drop off due to a thin squad. Rooney and Ronaldo will have to carry them once more.
DonMania#5
Norm Smith Medallist
We have around $100 mil for the January transfer window.
Smyth94
Norm Smith Medallist
It's never been Wengers style to splash the cash even when he did have funds to spend and I don't think thats going to change any time soon. I expect him to bring in maybe one or two players in the January window but I'm expecting they will hardly be big names.
RAFA ... thinks he's the new Hoddle
http://www.thesun.co.uk/discussions/forums/show/215.page
[/SIZE]Rafa thinks he's new Hoddle
By STEVEN HOWARD
October 05, 2007
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2007460232,00.html#haveYourSay
FIRST there was Glenn Hoddle. Then came Tinkerman Claudio Ranieri.
Now Rafa Benitez is trying to prove himself the master puppeteer, pulling all the strings to show managers - not players - how to win games
Hoddle took it to extremes. There were times when his sides might have been winning 2-0 at half-time and he would still change the formation.
Now Benitez is caught in the rotation game. Except it’s far more basic than that.
Like picking totally the wrong players.
The Liverpool boss could have selected either John Arne Riise or Ryan Babel on the left against Marseille on Wednesday. Instead, he went for untried Argentine Sebastian Leto.
Leto was so far out of his depth, Benitez hauled him off after 51 minutes.
His stubbornness, though, precluded him from doing the same with Momo Sissoko, who should have been put out of his misery at half-time. Benitez kept him on and reaped the whirlwind when Sissoko lost possession in the build-up to Marseilles’ winner.
While all this was going on, Javier Mascherano was sitting on the bench. Probably wondering why Benitez bought him.
Sure, it was only Liverpool’s first defeat of the season. At the same time, it was a particularly spectacular one with the team even unable to rouse the crowd, sections of whom booed them off at the end.
Liverpool’s gradual decline from early-season grace is leading to dissent.
There are also suggestions Benitez has little relationship with his players other than football. And that this shows in his attitude.
At one recent game, it’s claimed he was heard telling Peter Crouch to warm up. The actual words used, apparently, were “Crouch, run”. And Crouch did.
At another, Babel was substituted and got no more than a cursory handshake from his boss. The Dutchman then sat down next to reserve keeper Charles Itandje and asked: “Did I do OK?”
Benitez’s former No 2 Pako Ayesteran left the club amid claims of a breakdown in the relationship and that he had been marginalised.
You are left with the deduction there is no one on the staff to ask any questions, to suggest where things may or may not be going wrong.
Extraordinary as it seems, you wonder whether Benitez’s remarkable achievement in winning the Champions League in his very first season is affecting his judgment.
That having pulled off one miracle, he is unwavering in his belief that others will follow. That, in the end, all the pieces will fall into place.
He may well prove the growing list of doubters wrong.
As for now, Sunday’s clash with struggling Spurs at Anfield has suddenly turned into a test of not only Martin Jol’s credentials.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/discussions/forums/show/215.page
[/SIZE]Rafa thinks he's new HoddleBy STEVEN HOWARD
October 05, 2007
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2007460232,00.html#haveYourSay
FIRST there was Glenn Hoddle. Then came Tinkerman Claudio Ranieri.
Now Rafa Benitez is trying to prove himself the master puppeteer, pulling all the strings to show managers - not players - how to win games
Hoddle took it to extremes. There were times when his sides might have been winning 2-0 at half-time and he would still change the formation.
Now Benitez is caught in the rotation game. Except it’s far more basic than that.
Like picking totally the wrong players.
The Liverpool boss could have selected either John Arne Riise or Ryan Babel on the left against Marseille on Wednesday. Instead, he went for untried Argentine Sebastian Leto.
Leto was so far out of his depth, Benitez hauled him off after 51 minutes.
His stubbornness, though, precluded him from doing the same with Momo Sissoko, who should have been put out of his misery at half-time. Benitez kept him on and reaped the whirlwind when Sissoko lost possession in the build-up to Marseilles’ winner.
While all this was going on, Javier Mascherano was sitting on the bench. Probably wondering why Benitez bought him.
Sure, it was only Liverpool’s first defeat of the season. At the same time, it was a particularly spectacular one with the team even unable to rouse the crowd, sections of whom booed them off at the end.
Liverpool’s gradual decline from early-season grace is leading to dissent.
There are also suggestions Benitez has little relationship with his players other than football. And that this shows in his attitude.
At one recent game, it’s claimed he was heard telling Peter Crouch to warm up. The actual words used, apparently, were “Crouch, run”. And Crouch did.
At another, Babel was substituted and got no more than a cursory handshake from his boss. The Dutchman then sat down next to reserve keeper Charles Itandje and asked: “Did I do OK?”
Benitez’s former No 2 Pako Ayesteran left the club amid claims of a breakdown in the relationship and that he had been marginalised.
You are left with the deduction there is no one on the staff to ask any questions, to suggest where things may or may not be going wrong.
Extraordinary as it seems, you wonder whether Benitez’s remarkable achievement in winning the Champions League in his very first season is affecting his judgment.
That having pulled off one miracle, he is unwavering in his belief that others will follow. That, in the end, all the pieces will fall into place.
He may well prove the growing list of doubters wrong.
As for now, Sunday’s clash with struggling Spurs at Anfield has suddenly turned into a test of not only Martin Jol’s credentials.
He was talking about their national side dopey, but not expecting you to understand the problems that national side faces.
Thanks for throwing in Anderson (despite being from portugal), despite being from Brazil!!!!! Nevermind. He's not showing as much talent as Sebastien Leto(ha ha) but he's showing enough for a 19 year old.
Here comes the little boy with big ego, always speaking in hindsight. Your own manager has mentioned his frustration in Anderson's pricetag and failure to deliver. Anyways, good to see you're still breathing, this thread was dying a slow death for some unknown reason, but Im glad some fish are still biting. How are those financial tips of your coming along, little boy?
Coventry 'pest' knocks Man U out of League Cup
Article from: Herald Sun
September 28, 2007 12:00am
MANCHESTER United crashed out of the League Cup as Coventry's Maltese striker Michael Mifsud scored twice in his side's shock 2-0 victory at Old Trafford yesterday.
Sir Alex Ferguson rested all 11 players who started against Chelsea on Sunday and his lack of interest in the third-round tie was reflected in a sloppy display by United's reserves.
It was the Premier League champions' first defeat in six matches, but a team including big-money signings Nani and Anderson deserved little better after being stung by Mifsud.
The 26-year-old is nicknamed the Mosquito and he was a pest for United all night as Ferguson's side lost to lower league opposition at home for the first time since defeat to York City in 1995.
Ferguson admitted the 2006 title winner had no excuses for the shock result.
"I'm flabbergasted by our performance. It is a big shock for us all," Ferguson said.
"These are young players that we have shown great hope for and trumpeted them in a loud way.
"You hope that the young players will look at it and want to improve themselves.
"Their temperament, against a team who was ready for a cup tie, was certainly an issue in the first half, so maybe they are not used to that kind of cup-tie football."
Article from: Herald Sun
September 28, 2007 12:00am
MANCHESTER United crashed out of the League Cup as Coventry's Maltese striker Michael Mifsud scored twice in his side's shock 2-0 victory at Old Trafford yesterday.
Sir Alex Ferguson rested all 11 players who started against Chelsea on Sunday and his lack of interest in the third-round tie was reflected in a sloppy display by United's reserves.
It was the Premier League champions' first defeat in six matches, but a team including big-money signings Nani and Anderson deserved little better after being stung by Mifsud.
The 26-year-old is nicknamed the Mosquito and he was a pest for United all night as Ferguson's side lost to lower league opposition at home for the first time since defeat to York City in 1995.
Ferguson admitted the 2006 title winner had no excuses for the shock result.
"I'm flabbergasted by our performance. It is a big shock for us all," Ferguson said.
"These are young players that we have shown great hope for and trumpeted them in a loud way.
"You hope that the young players will look at it and want to improve themselves.
"Their temperament, against a team who was ready for a cup tie, was certainly an issue in the first half, so maybe they are not used to that kind of cup-tie football."
bomberandy
Senior List
The way your playing at the moment I doubt you'll need to spend much. Maybe a big name striker or a new keeper that'd be about it I'd say
When has he mentioned that? He is coming off missing 6 months with a badly broken leg, and missed 4 weeks at the start of the season with a hamstring injury, and he's 19! Why would he be frustrated with his pricetag? If he didn't think it was reasonable he wouldn't have bought him. Show me that quote and i will gladly say i'm wrong. Although looks like you get your world game fix from the herald sun, a big Grantly Bernard fan by the sounds of it.
Smyth94
Norm Smith Medallist
Scoring goals isn't Arsenal's problem
Thursday's HS from memory, possibly Wednesday. Aside from that, I utilise the premier league website. What, you're going to tell me they're not up to your standard, shirtlifter??
Well i was right then, you are a Grantley Bernard fan, and that little comment was his editorial, no quotes involved. He is a basketball writer, no idea why he has crossed over to reporting on the World Game but he has no idea about it. So yes anything written by Grantley Bernard in the Herald Sun is not up to any sort of acceptable standard. I love how you get abusive when you know you're wrong.
Only when it comes to you. You're an easy target, especially after that sook about not backing you up. Poor baby. Still waiting for those financial tips of yours.
Stop embarrassing yourself. I forgot to say i love how you deflect and change topic when you are wrong as well. This is the EPL thread, if you want to be pathetic and abuse me you can private message me.
You do throw the word 'love' freely on here. Sure you dont want to make a big announcement?
Nuts4Bolts
Cancelled
- Feb 1, 2006
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The amount of times you keep raising the subject Crave, I wouldn't be suprised if you were the one coming out of the closet. And so what if he is, are you a homophobic?
Rafa's numbers just don't add up
20:51pm 8th October 2007
Study the extended sequence of numbers below and see if you can crack this week's sporting enigma code. The puzzle is: 6, 6, 4, 7, 5, 5, 6, 2, 9, 7, 5, 5.
Any ideas? No, it's not some tedious Sudoku grid. It isn't Stephen Hawking's chassis number. It's got nothing to do with bingo either, although it is associated with a lottery of sorts.
The sequence actually details the extraordinary number of changes made by Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez in every game this season.
Following victory over Aston Villa on the opening day, the Anfield boss has chopped his personnel around so often that he is averaging more than five changes per match.
When his team is winning, this squad rotation policy can be seen as an astute management of resources. But when Liverpool struggle, Benitez is cast as a man trying to solve a Rubik's cube despite being colour blind.
Fiddling for fiddling's sake doesn't provide an answer, as another magnificent statistic demonstrates; one so startling it deserves to be served on a silver platter and accompanied by a glass of vintage red. In a total of 153 matches, Benitez has named an unchanged side only once.
So what happened that week? What was different? The momentous occasion, which deserves to be commemorated by The Kop in song, occurred last season on Tuesday, October 31, 2006 — three days after Liverpool had beaten Villa at home.
On that night, Benitez confounded everyone by selecting the same 11 against Bordeaux in the Champions League, a wild and crazy notion that was rewarded with a 3-0 victory.
Afterwards the Liverpool manager justified this behaviour, saying: 'I thought if we are playing well, we have the confidence and we have time, then we can use the same team.'
Brilliantly simple. But not so brilliantly simple that he ever tried it again. And if that was his rationale back then, are we to presume that he hasn't opted for the same line up again because his side hasn't been playing well in the intervening period? Not even after beating Derby 6-0? Or was Benitez being contrary for a more selfish reason that night?
The Bordeaux game was his 99th in charge and it is more likely his selection had less to do with fitness and more to do with him wanting to dodge headlines referring to a 'century of tinkering'.
Whatever the reasoning, all this twisting and turning is obviously not doing much good right now. It's not so much a rotation policy as a tragic roundabout.
Liverpool have picked up one League victory since September 1 and a single point from six in the Champions League.
The devil in any successful operation is in the detail and Benitez analyses the data more than most. As he sifted through the debris of another disjointed performance against Tottenham on Sunday, he spared nobody. Except himself, that is.
'We need to learn,' he seethed. 'The small details change games.' And indeed they do. The smallest of details can make the difference between a win, a trophy, a title, or absolutely nothing at all. But how can players concentrate on the small details when they are having to double-guess who will be playing alongside them week in and week out?
A team succeeds by building an almost telepathic understanding on the field, forging instinctive relationships that enable them to trust and react to one another without a second thought.
That doesn't follow when the numbers on the teamsheet look as if they have been plucked off a roulette wheel. Right now, the Liverpool players look like strangers to one another. They are spinning in and out of the team so often they are bound to be a little disorientated.
Yes, it can all click for a cup run, and there is silverware enough in the cabinet to excuse Benitez from criticism in a knockout scenario.
But the League requires consistency, team spirit, self-belief and a certainty that the best 11 equipped for the job are on the field, with reinforcements on hand if required. Isn't that how titles are won?
This Anfield scenario might sound horribly familiar. Liverpool have certainly been cursed by the revolving door approach to selection before.
In 2002, Gerard Houllier managed to go two years without sending out the same side in consecutive matches. He also had success in cup competitions but, like Benitez, never found the consistency required to succeed in the League.
History is now repeating itself and at a moment when Liverpool were supposed to have their best chance of being crowned champions in almost two decades.
Benitez is an astute, intelligent manager and even in this sticky patch of form it is worth remembering Liverpool have yet to lose a league match, so this mini slump hardly ranks as a crisis. However, there is no doubt the manager has put himself in a difficult situation when he has to stubbornly insist his complicated calculations are right, even though they keep spewing out the wrong results. Benitez may even be close to the ideal winning formula by now but if it happened, how would anyone be able to tell?
20:51pm 8th October 2007
Study the extended sequence of numbers below and see if you can crack this week's sporting enigma code. The puzzle is: 6, 6, 4, 7, 5, 5, 6, 2, 9, 7, 5, 5.
Any ideas? No, it's not some tedious Sudoku grid. It isn't Stephen Hawking's chassis number. It's got nothing to do with bingo either, although it is associated with a lottery of sorts.
The sequence actually details the extraordinary number of changes made by Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez in every game this season.
Following victory over Aston Villa on the opening day, the Anfield boss has chopped his personnel around so often that he is averaging more than five changes per match.
When his team is winning, this squad rotation policy can be seen as an astute management of resources. But when Liverpool struggle, Benitez is cast as a man trying to solve a Rubik's cube despite being colour blind.
Fiddling for fiddling's sake doesn't provide an answer, as another magnificent statistic demonstrates; one so startling it deserves to be served on a silver platter and accompanied by a glass of vintage red. In a total of 153 matches, Benitez has named an unchanged side only once.
So what happened that week? What was different? The momentous occasion, which deserves to be commemorated by The Kop in song, occurred last season on Tuesday, October 31, 2006 — three days after Liverpool had beaten Villa at home.
On that night, Benitez confounded everyone by selecting the same 11 against Bordeaux in the Champions League, a wild and crazy notion that was rewarded with a 3-0 victory.
Afterwards the Liverpool manager justified this behaviour, saying: 'I thought if we are playing well, we have the confidence and we have time, then we can use the same team.'
Brilliantly simple. But not so brilliantly simple that he ever tried it again. And if that was his rationale back then, are we to presume that he hasn't opted for the same line up again because his side hasn't been playing well in the intervening period? Not even after beating Derby 6-0? Or was Benitez being contrary for a more selfish reason that night?
The Bordeaux game was his 99th in charge and it is more likely his selection had less to do with fitness and more to do with him wanting to dodge headlines referring to a 'century of tinkering'.
Whatever the reasoning, all this twisting and turning is obviously not doing much good right now. It's not so much a rotation policy as a tragic roundabout.
Liverpool have picked up one League victory since September 1 and a single point from six in the Champions League.
The devil in any successful operation is in the detail and Benitez analyses the data more than most. As he sifted through the debris of another disjointed performance against Tottenham on Sunday, he spared nobody. Except himself, that is.
'We need to learn,' he seethed. 'The small details change games.' And indeed they do. The smallest of details can make the difference between a win, a trophy, a title, or absolutely nothing at all. But how can players concentrate on the small details when they are having to double-guess who will be playing alongside them week in and week out?
A team succeeds by building an almost telepathic understanding on the field, forging instinctive relationships that enable them to trust and react to one another without a second thought.
That doesn't follow when the numbers on the teamsheet look as if they have been plucked off a roulette wheel. Right now, the Liverpool players look like strangers to one another. They are spinning in and out of the team so often they are bound to be a little disorientated.
Yes, it can all click for a cup run, and there is silverware enough in the cabinet to excuse Benitez from criticism in a knockout scenario.
But the League requires consistency, team spirit, self-belief and a certainty that the best 11 equipped for the job are on the field, with reinforcements on hand if required. Isn't that how titles are won?
This Anfield scenario might sound horribly familiar. Liverpool have certainly been cursed by the revolving door approach to selection before.
In 2002, Gerard Houllier managed to go two years without sending out the same side in consecutive matches. He also had success in cup competitions but, like Benitez, never found the consistency required to succeed in the League.
History is now repeating itself and at a moment when Liverpool were supposed to have their best chance of being crowned champions in almost two decades.
Benitez is an astute, intelligent manager and even in this sticky patch of form it is worth remembering Liverpool have yet to lose a league match, so this mini slump hardly ranks as a crisis. However, there is no doubt the manager has put himself in a difficult situation when he has to stubbornly insist his complicated calculations are right, even though they keep spewing out the wrong results. Benitez may even be close to the ideal winning formula by now but if it happened, how would anyone be able to tell?
DonMania#5
Norm Smith Medallist
True, but i still think we need another winger. If Rosicky or Hleb go down the replacements are Diaby or Walcott. Both have been good so far but are both inexperienced and could fall in the late and important part of the season. Compare those to the wingers of Liverpool which are Pennant, Benayoun, Kewell and Babel, their depth is much more better.
- Jan 30, 2006
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That is why Liverpool can't be considered a serious title contender. Stability is the key just look at Man United and Chelsea. They have a team that is built around a foundation of 7 or 8 players that play week in week out gelling as a team and playing hard football.
This method suits Champions League, players are fresh and will lift for the big games. Good on Liverpool do well in Europe, but will finish 3 or 4 every year until this changes.
Internationals this weekend, England should be victorious but the game im looking forward to the most is Ireland vs Germany, should be a cracker.
This method suits Champions League, players are fresh and will lift for the big games. Good on Liverpool do well in Europe, but will finish 3 or 4 every year until this changes.
Internationals this weekend, England should be victorious but the game im looking forward to the most is Ireland vs Germany, should be a cracker.
High Ryder
Premiership Player
Are the rams on Fox tonight?
Well with the way Liverpool are traveling he could probably cancel his foxtel subscription and get back online.
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