Greenlizard0 Weekend Football Thread ** spoilers ** [27th - 28th August 2011]

Andybtsn said:
Adam didn't seem to deep, they have Lucas for that duty.

I think there wouldn't be much of a change with Gerrard coming in, only improving the team more.
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At some point there will be a major drop-off with Gerrard. He was an incredible player, no doubt about that and as a Man Utd fan i have no problem acknowledging it. However there is only so long you can be the swashbuckling box to box inspirational game-raiser who also chips in 15 odd goals a season.

Im not sure his style of play lends itself to a longer career into his mid 30s?
 
I don't think it will be as simple as Gerrard replacing Adam. I actually think Adam will play more often than not but we've got the players to play so many different systems and with Gerrard being able to play so many different positions, he's going to find his way in the team 1 way or another.

As above, Gerrard's injury has nothing to do with our improved form. In fact Gerrard played in what has arguably been our best performance over the last 8 months or so, against Utd where he put in a very underrated role sitting in midfield. Our performances have picked up because of the change in manager, it's as simple as that.

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At some point there will be a major drop-off with Gerrard. He was an incredible player, no doubt about that and as a Man Utd fan i have no problem acknowledging it. However there is only so long you can be the swashbuckling box to box inspirational game-raiser who also chips in 15 odd goals a season.

Im not sure his style of play lends itself to a longer career into his mid 30s?
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While I don't expect a massive drop in his levels and I do believe he can play well into his 30s, there will be a point where he has to adapt his game, in fact that point may have already come. He's had more than his fair share of injuries and seems to have lost half a yard of pace over the last year or 2 so can't still play that high tempo game he's excelled at recently.

Throughout Gerrard's career he's adapted his game to play a variety of positions. He got his first run in the side at RB, then as a more defensive midfielder, a box to box midfielder, then a RM and most recently an attacking midfielder. In the few games he did play under Dalglish since his return, Gerrard's played a more withdrawn role in midfield and I can honestly see him making that position his own for years to come. He's got all the attributes to play it and seems to have gained that tactical discipline over recent years.

He's far too good a player just to fall away.
 
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Thing that winds me up is, really, why weren't Arsenal in for Suarez? Was he a secret, no, was he Chelsea/City/Utd/Real/Barca priced at 35+mil, no. Were Arsenal in the champs league while Liverpool were bottom half of the table, yes, could Arsenal have seriously done with someone who could play upfront/wide, who is actually seriously good quality, yes.

He may still have chosen Liverpool, but when you hear he's available, and look at Theo ruddy Walcott, or Chamakh, or Nasri and think, we could get Suarez and we have like 100mil in the bank and we know Fabregas is leaving........ grrrrrr we should have at least been in for him.
 
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No one is writing him off but the fact is you paid an absolute premium fee for him in January and the reason for a premium fee is to minimise the risk of him not working out. You should never spend £35m on a "punt" or a player with injury problems or a player who may not fit into your system etc. £35m should buy as close to a "sure thing" as possible. Of course there will always be unforeseen situations that make or break a transfer but at these prices they should be minimal.

The point with Carroll that there are still a lot of question marks about him. He COULD be awesome, he COULD be poor. He COULD lead the England line for a decade or he may not be capped. For £35m you shouldnt have to worry about these things. That price should secure proven quality.

Its not Carrolls fault but its a fact.
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Im not disputing the fee or if it was a premium cause it was but the sure thing players like you mentioned and others who come to mind i doubt we could get.

Im not saying you are personally righting him off just many places seem to be imo.
 
I think Carroll is a good alternative option for them, but the money they've paid for him is ridiculous. For that sort of back up player (which is virtually what he will be) you don't want to be forking out £35,000,000.
 
He won't be a back up player though.

edit: And his fee was dictated by the circumstances at the time. Undoubtedly we paid a premium but he was the player we wanted and because of the fee we received for Torres we were willing to pay what it took.
 
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BaZ87 said:
Throughout Gerrard's career he's adapted his game to play a variety of positions. He got his first run in the side at RB, then as a more defensive midfielder, a box to box midfielder, then a RM and most recently an attacking midfielder. In the few games he did play under Dalglish since his return, Gerrard's played a more withdrawn role in midfield and I can honestly see him making that position his own for years to come. He's got all the attributes to play it and seems to have gained that tactical discipline over recent years.

He's far too good a player just to fall away.
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I'll happily bow to you as you watch the team but i dont see Gerrard as anywhere near the player he was if he doesnt have the goal threat. Thats not to say he is a bad player but if i was picking a withdrawn midfielder on the criteria they need to have i wouldnt pick Gerrard.
 
drunkenmaster said:
Thing that winds me up is, really, why weren't Arsenal in for Suarez? Was he a secret, no, was he Chelsea/City/Utd/Real/Barca priced at 35+mil, no. Were Arsenal in the champs league while Liverpool were bottom half of the table, yes, could Arsenal have seriously done with someone who could play upfront/wide, who is actually seriously good quality, yes.

He may still have chosen Liverpool, but when you hear he's available, and look at Theo ruddy Walcott, or Chamakh, or Nasri and think, we could get Suarez and we have like 100mil in the bank and we know Fabregas is leaving........ grrrrrr we should have at least been in for him.
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It seems you have imploded and Arsenal haven't even played yet :p
 
Mark1989 said:
Im not disputing the fee or if it was a premium cause it was but the sure thing players like you mentioned and others who come to mind i doubt we could get.
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Ive heard this line so many times and it still makes no sense.

"We had £35m to spend but no real strikers worth that amount would come to us so we spent £35m on one that would".

That is what you are effectively saying and its complete madness.
 
Sheffield Wednesday won :D

3-2 against Scunny! Good win, shaky second half but pretty good game over all, very end to end :)

Also; nice to see a referee change his mind about a penalty he'd given after talking to his officials, clearly never a penalty.
 
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Ive heard this line so many times and it still makes no sense.

"We had £35m to spend but no real strikers worth that amount would come to us so we spent £35m on one that would".

That is what you are effectively saying and its complete madness.
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Its madness but we dont decide the money do we? So what ever our club pays we live with it we cant change it and nor is it the players fault we paid that much for him.

Im saying that cause its true, Do i agree with his price personally? No, But ill support him as he plays for our club.

Anyway were going off topic completely here all my point in general was i was getting irked off with people imo here and other places not giving him enough time.
 
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I'll happily bow to you as you watch the team but i dont see Gerrard as anywhere near the player he was if he doesnt have the goal threat. Thats not to say he is a bad player but if i was picking a withdrawn midfielder on the criteria they need to have i wouldnt pick Gerrard.
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He can pass the ball as well as anybody in the league and you'd be hard pushed to find a tougher tackler. The only criticism of him in the past was a lack of positional/tactical discipline and tbf to him, that only came about in Houllier's last couple of seasons where he was relied on to do everything.

In the odd game he's played in a deeper midfield position over the last couple of seasons, his positional discipline has been far better and as I mentioned above, his performance in that role against Utd last season was excellent imo.

Just like Adam, if he were to play in a 2 man midfield, he'd still have license to get forward though and he's still got enough about him to be a big attacking threat for us for a couple more seasons too.
 
Mark1989 said:
Its madness but we dont decide the money do we? So what ever our club pays we live with it we cant change it and nor is it the players fault we paid that much for him.

Im saying that cause its true, Do i agree with his price personally? No, But ill support him as he plays for our club.

Anyway were going off topic completely here all my point in general was i was getting irked off with people imo here and other places not giving him enough time.
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Oh yeah, of course. Time will tell if he is considered as a good signing or not howevere the fact remains that give the fee the bar is set a lot higher for what would be called a "success".

I still think he will do well to top his work in Karate Kid 3
 
BaZ87 said:
He can pass the ball as well as anybody in the league and you'd be hard pushed to find a tougher tackler. The only criticism of him in the past was a lack of positional/tactical discipline and tbf to him, that only came about in Houllier's last couple of seasons where he was relied on to do everything.

In the odd game he's played in a deeper midfield position over the last couple of seasons, his positional discipline has been far better and as I mentioned above, his performance in that role against Utd last season was excellent imo.

Just like Adam, if he were to play in a 2 man midfield, he'd still have license to get forward though and he's still got enough about him to be a big attacking threat for us for a couple more seasons too.
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You're right to be fair, i guess i just see him as the attacking and goalscoring guy he is known for.

However it does still pose the question of how he will be worked into a winning team.
 
I will say this more in hope than expectation. Kenny is the new Redknapp. 18 months down the line the English players in this team will stop playing so well and it will all collapse. At the moment they are like spurs were. Give it a season in the champions league and we shall see.
 
Good News

Apparently Drogba is ok after todays events.

I hate him with a passion based on his diving but after todays scare its good to hear its not too serious.

Hope he's back soon.
 
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