Silverware can help Reds' lacklustre season to shine

75 million for Caroll, Henderson and Downing is not making any sense right now. Caroll and Henderson are still relatively young and could prove to be a decent buy though. Although you can't help but wonder if the money could have been spent elsewhere, like Silva, Aguero, Mata, VDV etc.

Liverpool fans......suddenly theres no pleasing us, we gave Benitez and Houllier time but as soon as the former was gone we want instant league titles or our manager isn`t good enough. It`s time we realised we have had 20 years of being left behind through lack of investment, bad signings and bad management, not neccessarily by the managers but by the former owners and chairmen, be it the much hated Hicks and Gillet or by Rick Parry and David Moores, we are not a great club anymore we are a club that will once again take time to be great so how about people back off because everyone apparently wanted Kenny back and give them the time to improve the squad and its going to take YEARS not MONTHS! so heres an idea stop moaning and remember you're koppites so sing and cheer and back your team stop whining because we aren't the best anymore

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Caroll had a very solid game, but the price tag remains a burden. Bellamy was excellent as an impact sub, throwing Everton off-balance almost instantly.

I`d agree with the assessment of there being a psychological block on Everton`s side. There was no reason whatsoever to lose the game. They were a 100% match for Liverpool and one goal up, yet they lost after a late blunder and cheap goal from a corner. What a disappointing finish.

Despite their ghastly season, Liverpool still keep "it". They are at core hungry and when they feel an opportunity, they will seize it. There is a promise in this team and I`d surely say they have a decent chance of winning the final, tho whether they`ll be any threat in next season`s league remains questionable.

The league form has been poor: a result of never quite getting the momentum in the first half of the season, struggling for goals and hitting the post too many times. But they have played very good football at times, the defence has been good, they'e played well against the big teams and made 2 cup finals. Players like Reina, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Lucas & Suarez could get into any of the teams above them. Carroll has been poor, but is young enough to be worth persisting with. Other than an all round centre forward and a real right winger, there's not much I'd actually change about the team. Yes, they've missed out on the champions league, but with two cup finals, can you really complain that much?

The culture of modern times is to get rid of the manager after a poor or disappointing season. They're almost always the scape-goat for the situation but i believe in this case, Dalglish needs to be given time. Granted that some of his signings haven't been as effective as we'd like but Henderson is young and Downing shows small sparks of what he can do on occasion. I do however think we need to take the hit, sell Carroll & Adam and invest in cheaper, better and more effective alternatives. Next season will bring with it a much more fruitful campaign, i believe. Lets not forget we've had the most outrageous bad luck in front of goal, hitting the woodwork over 30 times. 1 cup in the bag and the chance for a 2nd, points to a successful season but our league position shows there is so much more work to be done. But with patience and by allowing Dalglish time to manage the team, and with more intuitive buys, there can be a real challenge by the Reds. But of course, we say that every season.

75 million for Caroll, Henderson and Downing is not making any sense right now. Caroll and Henderson are still relatively young and could prove to be a decent buy though. Although you can't help but wonder if the money could have been spent elsewhere, like Silva, Aguero, Mata, VDV etc.
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It's very easy to play footy manager but how many players like that would have considered going to Liverpool with no European football and without the wages of Chelsea and Man City?

This is a business. For those of you not in business, these are the conversations:
1.
Backers: Financial retursn are crap without Europe, What are you doing to fix it?
John W Henry and chairman Tom Werner: Give it time
Backers: You're fired
2. 1.
Backers: Financial retursn are crap without Europe, What are you doing to fix it?
John W Henry and chairman Tom Werner: We fired someone
Backers: If results (financial) aren't great next season, you're fired

Even an FA-Carling Cup double won't change the fact that this has been a disastrous season for Liverpool. It's Champions League football that helps a club move forward because this is what the best players in Europe all want; without it they will continue to be unattractive to the top players - and managers - and will have to continue settling for the likes of Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, etc. Then there's the possibility that Suarez, far and away their best player, may get frustrated at the lack of European football and look elsewhere. For all Dalglish's talk about their cup successes being proof of a good season, I bet there are few Liverpool fans who wouldn't happily swap their Carling Cup and FA Cup (assuming they win it) for Newcastle United's current league position with only a few games to go. Still, if it keep Dalglish in a job for a bit longer then, as a Manchester United fan, I'm happy. Here's hoping they do the double.

The league table doesn't lie. After all that money spent to not get remotely close to the Champs league?! Poor showing from Dalglish. Are the owners daft enough to give him another year on the back of cup competitions? Probably so yes.

Liverpool fans really need to realise that hitting the woodwork so often isn't bad luck, it's bad finishing.

Henderson does not deserve a place in the squad, let alone a starting one, Diwning has been mediocre at best and it's been a blessing that Adam has been injured for the season run in. All three of these players need to be shipped out on the first day of transfer business. Carroll finally appears to be putting a better run of form together and whilst it will take a while longer I believe he can still be a valuable player for us. The craziest thing is the talk of selling Maxi, as soon as he came on for the abysmal Henderson the dynamic changed and the team started showing more passion and desire to get forward, ditto when Bellamy replaced Downing. By no means has the league form been good enough and obviously next season this needs to change, but if the management are prepared to be ruthless, ditch the obvious dead wood and make a couple of astute buys then I think we might be better prepared come next season.

@Greysuit

Werner and Henry are the principle backers. Henry is the largest investor in the group, not a hired hand. The threat may exist in terms of investors leaving, but Henry and Werner's positions are about as secure as can be.

As a united fan who despises Kenny Dalglish for the way he has handled his managerial role (especially with the Suarez affair) i feel he has ultimately done a good job. carling cup win and an FA cup final is decent, however they have a team of average players that were lucky against everton as without the Distin error they would have lost the game.

None of Dalglish's signings have come off and i am still not convinced with Suarez. Yet if they were to spend another 100 million more wisely on a world class cental midfielder and two match changing wingers they would be capable of challenging for the league.

However not with Dalglish who cant hanle the 21st century media attention, and i fear will do a Benitez stle destuction of any potential title challenge.

Not exactly a dirth of trophy's in the last 22yrs since the last title,but the 33 point gap between Utd and Liverpool tells you all you want to know. Looking at a very tired Dalglish gives you the impression his time in charge is limited,Indeed,Red Issue claims he has offered his resignation twice this season and will resign at the season's end.
The sight of the banner at Anfield telling Utd to come back when they have won 18 titles brings a smile to this Utd fans face. If you look at the table,they are as far behind Man Utd as they have been these last 20 odd years and it's hard to see a comeback anytime soon.The 26yr gap of Utd..1967-1993 will surely be broken.

@ 11. Bookface:

"Liverpool fans really need to realise that hitting the woodwork so often isn't bad luck, it's bad finishing."

Exactly. And that's the good news. Because it also shows that, rather than just blaming their luck, just a small adjustment in overall finishing could have changed the look of Liverpool's season.
That and the fact that they have dominated in most of the games they have drawn & even lost, shows that whatever the lack of success in results, Dalglish has got the team playing like they should be playing, EVEN with the several under-performing elements in the squad. He just can't get on the pitch & put the ball in the net!

So with that in mind, Liverpool fans can afford to feel optimistic for the future.
Henry himself, depending on his objectives, could learn from various football dynasties... or from Roman Abramovic.

I think it was difficult for Liverpool once they lost Champions League football. Their squad was getting old and they wanted the next generation of players to match their ambition. But because they couldn't offer Champions League football or City/Chelsea level wages they had to try a different route- it appears they've built (or rather are in the process of building) a side based on passion and work rate over technicality. A team, in other words, which is more than the sum of its members. That would obviously be a long term projection so the squad would need more time to gel, but I'm not sure how effective such a strategy really is.

However, does anyone else think they might not have been as hindered in terms of offered wages? considering the amount they've spent on the transfers they must presumably have that linked to contract costs of players? Chris Samba on a five year deal could have been £10m transfer say and a five year deal on 50k per week would be another £10m or so- rather than £35m on Carrol plus his wages? Not playing football manager, just seems they might have done better to get a few quality signings who are proven than numerous middleweights imo (bar Suarez and Enrique).

So the British media darling, David Moyes - who has achieved absolutely nothing in 10 years of managing a mediocre midtable club - is, once again, cut some slack?

Losing to Kenny's Jurassic XI would normally be enough for the Fourth Estate to try and oust a non-British manager in similar circumstances.

Moyes's job must be the easiest in the EPL:

Low-table finish: ''We haven't got the financial clout to push for a top 6 place''.

Mid-table finish: ''We haven't got the financial clout to push for a top 6 place''.

Top-half finish: ''We haven't got the financial clout to push for a top 6 place''.

CL qualification: ''We haven't got the financial clout to push for a Champions League group stage place''.

:rollseyes:

No Liverpool fan would argue that we have not achieved what we wanted too in the league. The only plus points on the campaign is that we have dominated 75-80% of the games we have played but have failed to finish teams off despite the amount of chances created. Just look at the home game against utd, I can't remember fergie coming to anfield and ever playing that defensive looking for a draw at best!
So dominating games and hit the bar 30 odd times shows we are lacking a fix in the box striker and just a little bit of luck.
Yes kenny has made tactical errors but what manager hasn't? Commoli paid the price for overpaying but carroll, who worked his socks off today, and Henderson are still young and will get better. Carroll needs a good run and Henderson will be good in a 3 or 5 man midfield

As an advertisment for English football that was a very very poor game. Two dreadful defensive errors and a lot of huff and puff.

Moyes may have done well with the lack of resources he has but it's all relative. This is a very average Everton team. Cup football is always unpredictable and not a barometer of anything. The league performance shows the quality of a team over the long haul and 7th and 8th is just about right for these two teams.

When you consider that Sunderland, Fulham, Swansea, Norwich, West Brom and Stoke are all only 3 or 4 points worse off than Liverpool it says it all. Right now it looks like it will be a very long time before we see a title challenge coming out of merseyside and continuing to miss out on the Champions League only makes it harder to bridge that gap.

It's all a very long way from the late 80's when these two teams represented the best of English football.

Jamie Carragher's schoolboy defending - which led to Everton's goal - epitomises the poor standard of English player.

This is a guy who - despite turning his back on his country, a la Paul Scholes - is held up as a ''good, honest English centre-half'' by those who are drunk on the Sky Sports propaganda beer.

Very poor effort.

A few people mention all the 30+ pieces of "woodwork" affecting Liverpool's season.

Assuming some of those happened in games that were won, and that there will always be "some" posts & bars hit during the season, if you just imagine that 15 of those could have been scored & made a difference to the points, say half turning a loss to a draw (+1 pt per match) and the other half a draw to a win (+2pts per match), those 15 misses might have yielded an average of 1.5 pts per game, or about 22 pts overall. That would put Liverpool 2 pts above Arsenal in 3rd at the moment.

Totally unscientific and hypothetical (and maybe even conservative) I admit, but it does underscore how this one improvement could make a massive difference (besides the effect of added confidence if it could have been done).

22. At 02:34 15th Apr 2012, Kennys_Heroes wrote:
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Riiiiiiiiight.

So you didn't factor into your equation all the times that Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea have hit the woodwork this season? :scratcheshead:

If there's one straw to clutch, then a Liverpool fan will always grab a bundle. :rollseyes:

Some of the criticism, from man utd fans in particular, is hilarious....

1.Obviously most of them don't remember, or even know of, when they were struggling to win any sort of title! They shouldn't forget the times they went through and the developments undertaken, to get to where they are, even under a much younger Fergie.

2.They whinge about money spent by Liverpool, when if it wasn't for Carroll/Henderson/Downing, then De Gea/Jones (along side Torres) could be seen as some of the biggest wastes of money in the EPL this season.

3. Finally, they could still conceivably come second to city in the league, ...then what do they have...? An abysmal campaign in both national cup competitions and an embarrassing European campaign, a second placed league finish to their local rivals, and Champions League qualification that seems to guarantee no progress at the moment...., suddenly two cups and the europa league don't seem so bad (FOR NOW).

Onwards and upwards, see you in the europa league next season united!

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

24. At 02:41 15th Apr 2012, MartinKelly_futureofLFC wrote:

then De Gea/Jones (along side Torres) could be seen as some of the biggest wastes of money in the EPL this season.
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Oh, behave yourself!

Whilst Lance Corporal Jones is obviously a shocking waste of £20m, the sizzlingly sensational Spanish stopper, David de Gea, is one of the finest keepers to ever grace the EPL.

@24 "then De Gea/Jones (along side Torres) could be seen as some of the biggest wastes of money in the EPL this season."

Only by a very delusional Liverpool fan who hasn't a clue how to evaluate players!
All in all a very funny and enteratining post but not as good as post 22! That's just comedy central.......post 23 sums it up perfectly.

Nothing like a good laugh on a Sunday morning!

I've been disappointed by Jones, a good deal of which can probably be traced to how hyped ridiculously hyped he was early in the season (I remember a rather ridiculous article here), but De Gea has really stepped up in the second-half of the season. For me, he has become one of the best keepers in the league; an amazing achievement at such a young age and with all the different back fours he has had to work with. He's going to have a very long, very successful career at Old Trafford

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

@ 23. The_soul_patch_of_David_Villa:

"So you didn't factor into your equation all the times that Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea have hit the woodwork this season?"

Do you have the figures? Liverpool hit the woodwork 12 times last season; I would imagine 15 is a reasonable average, so yes, consider them "factored into" my equation as I have only reduced the Liverpool woodwork count to that hypothetical average.

Being "hypothetical" of course assumes there are all kinds of factors that might or might not be taken into account to a wide range of degrees. "If", by definition, doesn't exist.

(":rollseyes:" I would stop taking that stuff if I were you! ;-))

30. At 03:02 15th Apr 2012, Kennys_Heroes wrote:
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:palmsface:

You've made some random claim that Liverpool would be two points ahead of Arsenal, if some of their shots which hit the woodwork (ie. Missed the goal) had gone in.

Yet, you've failed to also add the ''potential points'' which Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea may have gained through this bizarre reapportioning of off-target efforts.

Still, bending facts, logic and reality to fit a preconceived agenda must come as second nature to Liverpool fans. :strokeschinthoughtfully:

I want no pathetic Chelsea excuses after they get thrashed at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Gap between kick-off times.

Real Madrid (home game - away game) 72 hrs 45 mins
Chelsea (home game - home game) 73 hrs 45 mins
Bayern München (home game - home game) 75 hrs 15 mins
Barcelona (away game - away game) 94 hrs 45 mins

Please stop crying.

@ 31. The_soul_patch_of_David_Villa

Hmm, maybe you should read what I wrote again. All I'm doing is reducing the woodwork count to the same hypothetical "average" as everyone else. If you take it to zero for everyone, then you could double the point gain for Liverpool which would put them on over 90pts. Hardly realistic (even by my own admission). Give us your own hypothesis on an equivalent woodwork-count basis.

I'm really curious though to learn more about the "preconceived agenda" of Liverpool fans. Please elaborate.

Btw, I agree (@ 26) that De Gea was an inspired signing & I reckon he will be one of the PL's best keepers over the years to come.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Top players want Champions League football so Liverpool have to buy at the 2nd tier of players, therein lies the problem of Dalglish, he is unable to attract the best.

As there are only 3 major trophies for the 92 Englsih teams, so to win one isn't bad at all, to win two would be very good for Dalglish in his first full season.............. very good indeed.

33. At 03:37 15th Apr 2012, Kennys_Heroes wrote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------

I have read what you wrote. You factored in potential points for Liverpool (if their strikers could hit a barn-door!), yet failed to also acknowledge how - using the same bizarre missed-goal meter - Arsenal, Tottenham, et al. would have also gained these imaginary points.

I can't give you a reading on your woodwork count. Hitting the woodwork = missed the target.

You should be more worried by the fact that the likes of Suárez, Gerrard and Carroll keep on missing the target, rather than clutching at straws because they ''almost'' got their shot on target.

As for the "preconceived agenda" of Liverpool fans, then I'd rather not go too deeply into that.

Suffice to say, everyone reading that quote - outside the red half of Liverpool - knows exactly what I mean. :strokeschin:

@35: Except that the two domestic cups have been seriously devalued in recent years. Hence the big teams frequently putting out weakened line-ups. The bigger teams couldn't care less about the Carling Cup and the FA Cup holds nothing like the prestige that it once did.

It's all about the League and the Champions Legaue for the top teams. Like it or not, money rules the game thses days and those two competitions (one obviously leading to the other) are the be all and end all for big clubs.

Everything else is incidental and to be taken with a pinch of salt.

I think the point is that Kenny has received a fair amount of criticism himself, much of which has focused on how much time he has spent away and how little he must know about the modern game. However, once upon a time, the FA Cup used to be a big deal and even getting to the final a tremendous acheviement. Unfortunately, The FA have allowed the Premier League to devalue the FA Cup. For me, Kenny getting us to two Cup finals in his first full season back is progress. When was the last time any manager achieved that? Let alone one that has spent a fair while on the sidelines.

@35 "Top players want Champions League football so Liverpool have to buy at the 2nd tier of players, therein lies the problem of Dalglish, he is unable to attract the best."

While that is a somewhat valid point, it still seems a little like an easy excuse. Just look at Newcastle, they aren't able to attract the 'best', proven champions league players, but through clever scouting, bargain buys and well-played football on-the-pitch, they're still making a real push for 4th. If Newcastle can do it, by all logic Liverpool should be able to as well.

Also, just a question, how many Liverpool fans would be happy with just the Carling Cup and FA Cup Final appearance? Do you feel you need to actually win the FA Cup to salvage the season?

It was also very sad to hear, yesterday, that the Livorno midfielder, Piermario Morosini died after collapsing on the pitch during a Serie B game at Pescara.

R.I.P. Piermario. :(

@3

What utter nonsense from yet another delusional Liverpool fan. "No luck in front of goal" - hmmm try getting a decent FINISHER, that might help. As for poor decisions, I think every team can claim a bag full with the current crop of FA officials. Injuries to one or two key players? Give me a break, Man U have had an injury crisis for half the season and they're still top! And as for Suarez, I think you will find he was charged and then found GUILTY of racially abusing Evra. No big conspiracy, just an ordinary team with fans still suck in the 1980s. Get over it

@ soul patch david villa - rollseyes, hasachuckle, wisheshewouldgoaway....

As a Liverpool fan, whilst being disappointed with our PL standing and performances, particularly in 2012, surely this season can only be seen as a success whether we win the FA cup or in fact lose it.

How many teams above us will finish with silverware? Just one, unless Chelsea can pull off the shock of the CL - even then I am sure they will bottle the final again. As for the devaluation of the Carling Cup and FA Cup, Liverpool have beaten strong Everton, Man City, Chelsea and Man United sides to progress to both finals and will have to repeat beating another team above them if they are to lift the cup again. Are Chelsea and Spurs going to field weak teams today when realistically this is their only chance of winning any silverware? I think not.

Belittle Liverpools achievements this year, it matters little. We are bedding in a lot of new young players, who will improve next season after settling in to the team and even more so if they get the taste of winning silverware. oes anyone remember a certain Mr Ronaldo looking like a one trick pony, a fish out of water in his 1st season.....would you have predicted recouping £80 million 5 years later - no chance. Whilst the signings may not have been the shrewdest, no one can argue with 2 pieces of silverware as not being an improvement (even 1 piece should we lose the final) and our first in nearly 6 years. Even if we made the CL, we wouldn't win it.

TBH, no English club is capable of winning the CL as English teams are inferior to Barca and Real at the moment, along with Bayern so making the CL, money aside, only affords English teams the chance to be either humiliated or do what the English do best - defend and hope to score from a set piece. I thoroughly expect an embarrassing scoreline when Chelsea host Barca on Wednesday. I canny wait.

The progress has begun....let's keep it going!

75 million for Caroll, Henderson and Downing is not making any sense right now. Caroll and Henderson are still relatively young and could prove to be a decent buy though. Although you can't help but wonder if the money could have been spent elsewhere, like Silva, Aguero, Mata, VDV etc.
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It's very easy to play footy manager but how many players like that would have considered going to Liverpool with no European football and without the wages of Chelsea and Man City?
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Yes it is, but how many of these players (Henderson, Dowling, Caroll) would WALK into any of the top 5 teams (By ladder position)?

I cannot understand why you would waster 75 million on technically inferior players when non-english technically brilliant, quality players exist?

The arguement that why would they come to Liverpool does not hold water.

e.g. Jelavic or a multitude of quality, cheaper players are available. The whole world is the player market. Not just England.

That is the biggest issue I have with Kenny at the moment. Why restrict ourselves to sub standard players. Henderson an England player? Compare him to the multitude of Spanish, French, Dutch, Croatian midfileders.

They are just NOT good enough.

43. At 04:24 15th Apr 2012, luissaurezisamazing wrote:
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Sorry, mate, but your post just oozes the delusion which most aficionados of the beautiful game - such as yours truly - expect from the average Liverpool fan.

''Road'', ''Progress'', ''Journey'', blah blah.

Roughly translated as: ''Kenny is a relic of the Jurassic period, and is an anachronism in the modern game. But, I refuse to state the obvious, because I'm a slavishly loyal Liverpool fan who forms his opinions on sentiment and emotion, rather than logic and cool-headed reason.'' :rollseyes:

Barcelona will batter Chelsea on Wednesday (in terms of performance) - my expert pick:

Chelsea 0 FC Barcelona 2

FC Barcelona 5 Cheatsea 1

(FC Barcelona win 7-1 on aggregate)

43.
At 04:24 15th Apr 2012, luissaurezisamazing wrote:

"Does anyone remember a certain Mr Ronaldo looking like a one trick pony, a fish out of water in his 1st season.....would you have predicted recouping £80 million 5 years later - no chance."

Please enlighten us as to where the 'hidden' future Ronaldo might be among that bunch of misfits???????????

C-Ron was poorly managed by Alex ''chequebook'' Ferguson.

His footballing growth was stunted by the poor man-management skills of Ferguson.

Since then - under the expert tutelage of José ''almost the G.O.AT.'' Mourinho - C-Ron has flourished into one of the finest attacking footballers in history.

C-Ron was absolutely right when he was lamenting the borderline slavery which he endured when he was shackled to his contract at Old Trafford by bitter old ''chequebook''.

It's no coincidence that C-Ron has attained footballing levels beyond the wildest dreams of Ferguson, after he's moved to a bigger club and become coached by a far, far better manager.

@47

Maybe he would have prospered even more under the biggest cheque book manager of them all Pep Guardiola

48. At 05:03 15th Apr 2012, Robbie wrote:

Maybe he would have prospered even more under the biggest cheque book manager of them all Pep Guardiola
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Oh, behave!

Valdés - £0
Adriano - £6m
Puyol - £0
Piqué - £5m
Busquets - £0m
Keita - £12m
Iniesta - £0
Xavi - £0
Messi - £0
Tello - £0
Pedrito - £0

Total cost: £29m

£29m. That's about the kind of money which Manchester United blow every year on a squad player. :rollseyes:

If you think that the handsome, suave and debonair gent, Pep, is somehow a ''chequebook'' manager, then please give your head a shake.

I'm sure you will appreciate that rubbish players such as Anderson and Phil ''Lance Corporal'' Jones were on the market for £20m each. :shakeshead:

@49

Pep Guardiola has spent 275,000,000 EUR (Approximately 226,500,000 GBP) since he took over in 2008. That is an average of 68,750,000 EUR (56,420,000 GBP) per season.

Sir Alex Ferguson has spent 483,150,000 GBP in the last twenty years. This is an average of 9,157,000 GBP per season.

Cold hard facts and it is all out there on the internet

50. At 05:17 15th Apr 2012, Robbie wrote:
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Pep's big-money signings have been luxury ones. He doesn't need to have a squad chock-a-block with £10m-£15m+ signings, unlike someone.

Chequebook Charlie has to full his squad with about 50 central midfielders and defenders, because he's completely tactically inept. #pepthegoat

@51

So yo do not dispute that Pep has spent this money then?

Here is five biggest flops:-

Martin Caceres

Alexander Hleb

Dmytro Chygrinsky

Keirrison

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

@18

@18

Unlike that great Spanish manager in the EPL Roberto Martinez

@45 Soul patch rollseyes : P

I am not saying that KD is the man to take Liverpool forward long term or even short, what I am merely pointing out is that in his 1st season in charge, with players that he has recruited, we have made 2 finals, won 1 trophy and could potentially win another based on a 1 off game. Last season we were the same position and went out early in both cups so you must be able to see an improvement.

For the last 10 years, Liverpool have been a cup team - this is a fact. In no way am I delusional enough to think we will be mounting a credible title challenge next season but we are definitely moving in the right direction. We have a lot of young players in our squad who will improve with time. I don't see us outlaying much in the summer, maybe a couple of additions (hopefully a striker to compliment Suarez) and I am hoping the team gets a chance to gel because let's be honest, even Real/Barca would struggle a lot more with 4/5 new players in the starting 11 week in, week out.

@46

I am not saying that there is any evidence to suggest we have one of the best 3 players in the world hidden in the players we signed but Ronaldo looked like a waste of £12.2 mill (me thinks) when he signed. Hindsight is wonderful. In answer to your question I don't see one but neither did you when it came to CR.

Don't get me wrong, Ronaldo, Messi and RVP are the best in the world at the moment but what always makes me laugh is they all take penalties so their goalscoring prowess is massively inflated by the number of penalties their team get per season. Great players, Messi the best of my generation by a mile but if you are a professional footballer and don't score 80% of your penalties + from 12 yards, you should look for a new profession.

Soul Patch, bore off!!
:rollseyesandrealisesthatwriting withoutspacesmakesonelooklikeanimmaturechildwithnofriends

Give Kenny time, he will come good. We have not been consistent in the EPL due to the fact we dont turn up for small games. Against the big teams and big games(derby) we perform well. Kenny is still experimenting with the squad, its not really his squad, he has added a few of his choice but they have not gelled yet.

You look at the players and before they arrived you can see what he was thinking. Andy carrol ( physical presence and strong aerial ability )
Downing ( Great crosser and direct )
Adams ( Great passer )
Henderson (energy and flashes of tallent)
The shocker has not been bad purchases from KD but bad performances from individuals. These individuals have proved they have tallent at there previous club and the will eventually show form at LFC given time.

Realistically from the start of the season we where not favs for a top four finish, we did expect to be closer to top 4 but i am happy with 2 cups if we get it and finishing 6th or 7th.

At start of season the favs to finish in top 4 - arsenal, man u chelsea and man c. As kenny has said we are a work in progress and 2 possible cups = progress

we defo need a quality striker finisher(falcao from a.madrid) and a right winger (jesus navas from Seville) would be on my wish list. Both players not playing in CL.

two questions:

1 : was there an important game on

2 : has D Moyes's chance of being af successor been given a boost

3 : who was it that paid 35million+change for a Kudu with a Pony Tail

4 : Will Dalgliesh walk? or be pushed ?


Up the Arsenal !

1. haha

2. Moyes has no chance of getting OT job, they need some one experienced of buying and dealing with top end players.

3. comolli

4. stay for 5-10 years win prem 2014

All this user's posts have been removed.Why?

Not been impressed with how Liverpool have conducted themselves this season, making it hard to sympathise with them.

Dalglish seems incapable of accepting (accurate) criticism or simply responding to questions that he can't form a good a good response to.

And it always irks me to to see Suarez have the gall to appeal for a handball against anyone.

The phrase 'pot calling the kettle black' now has two meanings for him!

To the Arsenal fan - please remind me how many trophies you've actually won in the last 6 or so years. Is it none at all?

I totally agree with the post re Champions League and English teams. There is no team in our league remotely good enough at the moment to match the Spanish teams and unless the standard of our league improves dramatically it will get worse. It is no accident that there is only one English side in the semi finals of all European competitions and the number 1 team in our league were right royally tonked recently by a Spanish team that were 7th in their league

@Bj

Its nothing to with lfc conduct or suarez irking you, its a case of you not liking lfc, thats what opposition fans do they find faults and make a big hoohaa of it.

*find small faults

Everyone blames the manager but Ozzy D is spot on. No one thinks about the archaic and fossilized, past owners and chairman, contributing to the current state of affairs. It will take time to sabilize the squad before a genius is brought in for the long term. Just look at Arsenal under Graham and Wenger. That is a 15 to 20 year horizon. I beleive the new owners are realistic about the timeline and so is the King himself.

Completely accept that Liverpool aren't particularly great anymore - with the exception of their history. I also accept it will take anyone time, but having been given serious financial backing and without the distraction of Europe there's no denying this season's league campaign has been dissapointing.
What concerns me most is some of the tactics and selections. Five at the back, Carra in a holding midfield role and Kuyt as a lone striker - at home against Stoke. Fine if you're fighting to stay up, but not following £115m investment. Skrtel at right back against Spurs - myself and all my following supporters predicted a red card. Then when down to 10 men we shifted Carroll - not exactly reknown for mobility - to wide right leaving a more nimble Suarez alone up front.
Hauling Carroll off at St James with 12 minutes to go, why? This merely served to subject him to isolated ridicule. Everytime he's started to look reasonable his been dropped, not really a ploy that will help his confidence.
Kenny is a legend and perhaps does need time, but I have been baffled by his tactics and decisions and what can only be described as fairly negative. Even three centre backs yesterday, to accommodate Carra? The players looked confused and on top of each other at times.

your first sentence covers it all .... papering over cracks ..... by the end of the season lfc could be well over 40 points behind the top two. .... and long may it continue ....

have to agree with one comment I saw saying that was a very oor advert for english football and I hope todays other semi is alot better...Carroll should have had a hat trick and a more accomplished forward who would have cost less would have scored a hat trick....the fact that the owneers went bac to florida speaks volumes...believ that in the off season you will see alot of rumours etc that they want to sell..no real return on their invest, and no real sign of it, and they do not have as deep pockets as citys owners

KD's selection was pretty negative, but I suspect he was expecting Everton would try to push forward and put pressure on Liverpool's 3rd choice keeper.
Moyes just played 1 up front and relied on mistakes and dead ball situations and got the result he deserved for his lack of faith in the abilities of his own team.

KD has done nothing extraordinary for lfc. They 've been a cup team really. Benitez did even better to win the CL and few cups with one of d weakest liverpool teams in history. I dont see lfc going forward under KD and i cant see FSG giving KD another £100m cos they are not dat rich. Besides, KD could spend £30m on Lee Cattermole. His signings have been absurd. If u spend £20m or £35m on a young player, then d player must be a world class talent. Just look at Alex Ox-Chamberlain at £12m. Henderson and Carroll can never be merseyside class, let alone England class or world class irrespective of d improvements they make. I expect d worse for LFC next season cos there will be no big money to spend on poor british players and the Cup is anybody's trophy. Ask portsmouth

26.
At 02:51 15th Apr 2012, The_soul_patch_of_David_Villa wrote:

24. At 02:41 15th Apr 2012, MartinKelly_futureofLFC wrote:

then De Gea/Jones (along side Torres) could be seen as some of the biggest wastes of money in the EPL this season.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, behave yourself!

Whilst Lance Corporal Jones is obviously a shocking waste of £20m, the sizzlingly sensational Spanish stopper, David de Gea, is one of the finest keepers to ever grace the EPL.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I wondered what the name was of that disheveled, scruffy young duffer who attempts to play between the sticks at Utd - thanks.

@61 Bj "And it always irks me to to see Suarez have the gall to appeal for a handball against anyone.

The phrase 'pot calling the kettle black' now has two meanings for him!"


Good point, fair play. Why not go a step further though: In future, players who have previously committed dangerous tackles should just accept it when they receive the same treatment. Are you a United fan by any chance who believes Roy Keane was fully vindicated in his crusade to end Alf Inge Haaland's career?

In all seriousness though, this season hasn't been good enough. Cup wins are great, and if we'd ended up 5th having challenged till the final day for a Champions League place I'd have probably been happy. However, we're further away from the top 4 than we were at the end of last season, and this is with an additional 70millions+ "worth" of players in the squad.

I think the truth is, we have to cut our losses with at least Downing and Carroll; admit we got it wrong, take a financial hit and move on.

Adam, at 9mil, was hardly an extravagant signing and I feel is worth having in the squad.

Henderson is young and is worth keeping, but not if he's stationed on the right wing: no pace, no skill/trickery and a delivery about a tenth as good as Gerrard's.

Basically this summer it is crucial to get he signings right and dispense with this nonsensical policy of "buying British". Foreign players are usually better and cost a fraction of the price, as Newcastle have proved this season.

I agree we can't attract the top, top players without Champions League football, but we're still the biggest club in England, United aside (hate to admit that). Besides, I don't believe to get top 4 we really need to be looking at the best money can buy. This season we could have easily challenged with slightly more frugal investment, and a bit less arrogance when we played the "lesser teams". Arsenal have the worst team on paper since Wenger took charge, Chelsea have spent even less wisely than us and Spurs have collapsed since 'Arry started getting judged as an international manager.

Still, if I wasn't a Liverpool fan, I'd have relished watching us fail this season after we've made PR blunder PR blunder, to the extent we've made Fergie look like an affable, kind-hearted old chap.

I'll close by saying how shocked I am that no one on this thread has yet started beating the Woy Hodgson drum...

Of course if Liverpool win the FA Cup this season Kenny, rightly unless he feels he no longer wants to, will be given more time to build. However, how many sides can win 2 cups each season? That would give him some breathing space but in reality the league form for 12/13 would have to dramatically improve.

To finish (at present) over 30 points behind the champions is nothing short of embarrassing for Liverpool, they need Champions League football if they want to attract the players that can help make the next step. The main issue will come during the transfer window, will the Fenway group want to sanction another spending spree following the disappointing transfers of the past 18 months? If they don't the ability to step up against Utd, City, Chelsea and Arsenal will be even more difficult and you can add Spurs to the list of better sides.

Kenny bought poorly and can't claim to have lacked support, he targeted players for a future he may not actually be a part of. The main problem has been the contradictory messages from the boardroom, the management and the fan base.

One one hand the owners claimed that Carroll was always going to be purchased for £15m less than the amount Torres went for (which was strange to say the least), then when the transfer went south it was all Comolli's fault for sanctioning the deal. However, Kenny then takes personal responsibility for all dealings. Then the Suarez saga becomes a PR disaster with Dalglish looking a greater fool as time goes by, now claiming he would do things differently but unable to explain what that would mean.

Comolli may be in line for some stick but I am constantly reading Liverpool fans stating how good Enrique (I agree)& Suarez are, how good Carroll, Henderson, Downing & Coates can't become and at the same time claiming how bad Comolli is for wasting all of Kenny's money.

Liverpool fans want it every way-the criticism will flow big time next season if the cups do not provide an out route for another dreadful league performance. The League shows you how good you are, not the cups.

I guess that a semi-final win over Everton, combined with making Comolli the scapegoat for Liverpool's disastrous transfer dealings over the last 18 months will paper over a few cracks and buy KKKenny another season in charge at Anfield

You can even argue that if Liverpool can pull off a huge upset against whoever wins the second semi-final, it will be a reasonable season. The problem is that big teams measure themseves in terms of the premier league, where Liverpool are now a mid-table team, competing with Everton, Sunderland, Norwich, West Brom et al for a place in the top half of the table.
While they have had good cup runs, in league terms, the gap between Arsenal in 3rd and Liverpool is bigger than the gap between Liverpool and Blackburn - Liverpool are closer to the bottom 3 than the top 3, and significantly closer to being bottom of the table than they are to being top.
Throw in the fact that with the exception of Suarez, the best players at Liverpool (Kuyt, Bellamy, Gerrard) are the wrong side of 30 and the young players look distinctly average, all the signs are of a team in decline. Particularly with no Champions League football, and a new stadium to build. Even with a handout (free Land) from Liverpool council (I never realised merseyside was so prosperous that they could affod to give council tax payers money to a sports team), as Arsenal found out, building a new stadium has a huge short term impact

that should read 'can become' no can't, apologies!

Does anyone else think Commolli has been made a scapegoat? Whilst Liverpool's signings have largely underperformed that's only in comparison to their stats previously.

As an example, Downing's assists, Carroll's goals etc. Have they been poorly managed? Downing must have been bought for Carroll's benefit, how it is they've not scored/assisted more between them is bizarre.

re #68 footiefan

The wage bill was slashed (in spite of the new recruits), there's a huge new kit deal with Warrior Sports coming thru, and there's the Standard Chartered deal as well. Lots of global promotional and marketing initiatives as well. Revenues are up, costs are down, and business-wise, the owners will be very pleased indeed. But because they're ambitious & successful businessmen they want on-field success as well. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but Comolli paid the price for our poor league performance.

By the way, it's ManUre's owners who live in Florida, not LFC's.

It looks like some LFC fans have the same disease as some Utd fans - being all too willing to write off their team and individual players.

Forget the price tags and focus on what you have for the future:
1) Carroll will give you something different - could be an impact sub that grabs vital goals for years to come - that's the worst case scenario. If nurtured properly Inthink he had the potential to be Drogba-esque.
2) Downing has frustrated at times but he's also been unlucky - especially cutting in from the right where is shots have often hit the woodwork or drawn spectacular saves - with a bit of confidence he could be Robben-esque.
3) Charlie Adam has shown flashes of what he can do - his set-pieces are useful and he plays better without Gerrard - him and Lucas could be the anchors for the next 5 years in a decent side.
4) Henderson is young and versatile - could develop into a Park Ji Sung type player but with more strength.
5)Bellamy is the most underrated forward in Premirr League history.
6) Suarez needs to play the role he plays for Uruguay and played for Ajax - then you'll see more goals.
7) Enrique best left back in prem apart from Cashley.

All in all - better next year as it stands - grab a decent striker and a world class midfielder (Alonso? Mascherano anybody) and you'll be top 4 easily.

It took Ferguson 7 years to win the title after he joined Man United.

All the Liverpool signings that have been questioned are coming good - match changing performances from Carroll, Henderson and Downing in recent weeks.

I can't believe McNulty is questioning the position of Dalglish in this manner - it's gutter journalism at it's worst.

If he was fired the next headline would ultimately be 'why are managers not given more time?'.

Pathetic.

LFC. Anfield.

Let's do the time warp again.

next season will be better with the same squad with lucas in. trust me. I have watched most lfc games this season and the squad is ok/good. it has a solid spine whic is good start moving forward. nesv stated its looking like a 5 yr plan to get to the top so we will have to wait to see.

I feel since lucas was injured. gerrard is playing deep as our anchor man which is not what hes best at as we all know. his place is in a free role creative central position or if needed on the right wing. because of the lack of creativity from adam, henderson,spearing in the centre of the park downing has been coming inside and playing central. Thats not his game. as villas top goalscorer last season with 15 if i recall he was much more potent on the counter playing wide. the whole team has been bent out of shape since lucas was injured and it was underpeforming before but with 5 new additions to a revolving first 14 (not eleven but not the whole squad is classes as first teamers) it will take time to adjust. I thought this season we were defending very well as going from rafas zonal marking to man to man would take time but we look much more solid which is good moving forward.

In the summer LFC need to buy cover for lucas. He was cover for macherano until we lost him to barca but now we have no-one. Its a shame but i feel if we could keep our best player lucas fit. then we would have gerrard forward, downing as a out an out winger and maybe push johnson up onto the right wing. or buy another out an out winger.

4-4-2 doesnt seem to prevail in europe. thats why fergie changed everything years ago as utd were useless in europe. 4-3-3 is more suited but 4-4-2 can still be solid in the english game. I think carroll needs it (look at when he was at newcastle). he needs service up there and with one more addition to the right wing (first team wise) i think we could have a very well balanced team.

I personally didnt want to see suarez bought buy liverpool as from the world cup he seemed a dirty player which isnt LFC but i have to admit he is great to watch and most neutrals would agree. Football wise He is an asset to lfc. Listening to stan collymore on talksport shows he has a great passion against diving and i agree but ashley young did it the other weekend so no one can really call anyone for it anymore. sad but its got to that point. Every team just about has a diver in there. Thats one thing i dont like about suarez. same as drogba but i would welcome him into lfc anyday for his other attributes. Anyway digressing a bit there...

2 cup wins would definately give kenny time. I understand that he has to stand accountable for the current league position but ultimately the players do too. When have united changed so many players in their first 11 since being gifted virtually a whole team from the youth setup in the mid 90's???

They havent. fergie is very clever and knows it will unbalace the team if you introduce more than one or maybe 2 a season. they do take time to gel. Thats why he deamed to basically spend utds whole transfer budget on 1 player each season starting with rio the rooney then berba to name a few. He also new he was buying quality that given time would come good, and they did.

LFC dont need a new manager. they need time. I believe that all our signings will be better next season once bedded in. Carroll has looked sharp for a good few games now. His touch is amazing for a tall guy. better than most of the other teams to be honest. We shouldve loaned henderson out to get experience but it didnt happen so at least hes getting it because he definately needs it. looks poor at the moment.

2 cup wins would be great and to me, it wouldnt matter whether we finished 7th or 14th. We are in europe and we are building. The squad isnt there yet but it will get there in the end. you cant rush these things. Look at how much we have spent compared to the 500 mil plus man city have???

They still havent won the league and probably wont this year. got knocked out early in champions league and of both cups. They have tried to rush it and it wont happen until the squad and definately the team create a sense of unity and togetherness/belief that they can do it. That takes time.

@Demison, Top 4 easily? Are you sure-you envisage a 20 point improvement over Utd, City, Arsenal, Spurs & Chelsea (I am a Newcastle fan but accept we will find it hard to repeat this seasons efforts) without major (and good) investment? Carragher is looking past his best, Gerrard needs to be injury free to become a force again and I don't see Henderson stepping up. Lucas will be an unknown quantity after such a serious injury and you can bet your life that at least two of the top 6 (City & Chelsea) will add to their already good squads.

Utd have the Fergie factor and things do genuinely seem on the up at Arsenal, Spurs may be the ones to suffer if boardroom indecision paralyses their efforts to move on following Harry's inevitable move into International management. How Liverpool will 'easily' slip into the top 4 again within the next season is a strange announcement.

For anyone who read a recent Guardian article will realise - Gerard is not a long term solution for Liverpool in any way. If Kenny's got a pair he'll begin to use him as an impact sub next year. That is unless Gerrardcan adapt his game a la Scholes.

This LFC team is shaping up quite well as far as I can see for a Stevie-less future:

Reina
Johnson skrtel agger Enrique
Lucas. Adam
Downing. Suarez. Sterling?
Carroll

Disastrous, Kenny should go, ....etc, etc, blah, blah!! What tosh!! Liverpool have played some great football this year & have been unlucky infront of goal. It's not hitting the woodwork that's unlucky - it's the fact out of the 33 times not one has hit the inside of the post & gone in or hit the back of the keeper's head & gone in or fell at the feet of another Liverpool player - NOW THAT's UNLUCKY!!
For me, the Arsenal game at Anfield typifies this season where we have been irresistible to watch, battered the opponents, been clearly the better team BUT for all that, we've lost the game where the opponents have just one or two attempts at goal!! A striker, a poacher is all that has been missing from this season being a GREAT season and with some tweeking in the summer and an astute purchase - we will be there or there abouts!!!

BBC Sport blog editor | 22:49 UK time, Saturday, 14 April 2012

"Win those two domestic cups and in so many respects it must be regarded as a good one - lose the FA Cup final and the desperately poor Premier League season will inevitably come into sharper focus."


So: we have a sample of roughly FIFTY games, but we shall judge a football team based on the result -not even the performance- of ONE game.

If this is the way of thinking of the "chief football writer" god spare us from the rest.



.

"22.At 02:34 15th Apr 2012, Kennys_Heroes wrote:
A few people mention all the 30+ pieces of "woodwork" affecting Liverpool's season.
Assuming some of those happened in games that were won, and that there will always be "some" posts & bars hit during the season, if you just imagine that 15 of those could have been scored & made a difference to the points, say half turning a loss to a draw "

You are asssuming that those 15 shots would not have been saved if they were more accurate - if they are on target they are also closer to the keeper even if you make the huge assumption that they have gone from missing the target, to being just inside the goal.

There was a stat last seasonthat if every shot that hit the woodwork had gone in (for all teams), then Arsenal would have won the league with 3 games to spare - it is completely meaningless.

It makes no difference whether your shot hits the woodwork, the corner flag or row Z, you have still missed the target.

@79 - "It took Ferguson 7 years to win the title"

...And? Things have changed significantly in that time in terms of football being a business centred around money. Teams can't be built in the same way, players now need to be attracted by champs lg football or massive wages, neither of which Dalglish can offer yet. Whether he's given 5,10, 15 years to build (a la David Moyes) surely he's going to struggle as FSG aren't going to give him £100m every year to spend?

18. At 02:16 15th Apr 2012, The_soul_patch_of_David_Villa wrote:
So the British media darling, David Moyes - who has achieved absolutely nothing in 10 years of managing a mediocre midtable club - is, once again, cut some slack?

Losing to Kenny's Jurassic XI would normally be enough for the Fourth Estate to try and oust a non-British manager in similar circumstances.


What a great comment

Hellsbells with better finishing and luck at home Liverpool would have had 15 extra points this year. It's a snowball effect - after a few dropped points at home due to bad luck, the likes of Adam and Downing's confidence started to dip . Plus they lost Lucas - perhaps best player in the team.
Bulk up the squad - spend 20 mill on a quality midfielder and 15 mill on a decent striker (Demba Ba?) and they'll be a threat to the others.

Chelsea are still mourinho's team and made a mistake in sacking AVB - they need major overhaul.
Spurs need a new manager - all depends on the appointment. Plus if they don't replace Adebayor they have no chance of top 4 next year.
Arsenal I think will remain the 3rd best side in the country - but even they can be mentally frail and have needed ageing Rosicky and Arteta to help them out.

A potential two trophies out of three is all well and good, but the fact of the matter is that this Liverpool side has been set up for the blood-and-thunder Englishness of domestic cup competition, which is shown by the absolutely abysmal league performance.

Three league wins in 2012, one of them against the rock-bottom side and another a decidely iffy last-gasp win against a parlous Blackburn side, cannot simply be brushed aside as bad luck.

A combination of poor tactics, naive team selection, dodgy substituting and the quite obvious problem of trying to bring in too many players, some of them simply not up to standard, at the same time have all contributed to the problems seen this season.

And while another trophy in the cabinet along with the almost blind adulation from the locals will probably see Dalglish get another season in the hotseat, he has to drag this side - and possibly his own footballing philosophy - into the 21st century if he is to stop this great club slipping further into mid-table mediocrity.

All this talk of being "unlucky" by hitting the woodwork is absolutely bonkers!

A goal is about 7x2.5m that's a target of nearly 18 square metres, how on earth is hitting the frame of that "unlucky" and not poor finishing?! If there was a stat for putting the ball an inch wide, we wouldn't say it was bad luck would we!

#84 do you have any stats to prove that not once when you have hit the post has the ball fallen to a Liverpool player (including times where that player has missed the rebound).
You can point at Arsenal's win at Anfield, but the simple fact was that in van Persie and Chesney Arsenal had the two best players on the pitch. Apart from that Liverpool probably just shaded it, but look at the reverse fixture. Arsenal missing half the squad through injury and suspension dominated until an inexperienced midfielder got himself sent off. Even then it took a lucky deflection and an offside goal to win the game.

If it took KKKenny £35 million to get Carrol (more than Newcastle spent on Ba, Cisse and Ben Arfa put together), I hate to think how much woud it cost him to sign a 20 goals per season striker. Hope he stays as Arsenal have a few squad players that we good probably get good money out of Liverpool for (Wonder how much they would pay for Chamack and Park)

@87

This idea that CL football attracts better players is a bit of a myth.

The example I give you is Arsenal - qualify year in year out for CL yet their best players are all leaving.

Why? Because players want trophies, or the huge wages that only Chelsea and Man City can deliver.

A cup double for Liverpool would not be 'good', it would be 'legendary'.

I think it is quite clearly Kenny that is bringing the club down, rather than the signings themselves. Case and point? SAF over at Manure.

Jones, Smalling, the twins, Nani, Carrick, De Gea, Evans - none of these players are good enough to break into Utd teams of the past, let's be honest. (apart from maybe De Gea if he continues to improve) but my point is, if a team with a core of such sub- standard players can be top of the league whilst players of relatively the same ability over at Liverpool are struggling to keep a top 6 finish, then surely the difference between the two clubs must be the managers.

I'm no Liverpool or Utd fan -- far, far from being either, and I dislike SAF just as much as the next guy, but I do honestly think that without him Utd would struggle for 4th, and with a manager of his calibre Liverpool could be right up there at the top.

@93 - Arsenal is an interesting example, but is that not because it's more likely (long-term) that city would compete for the bigger trophies given their financial clout. That and a massive wage packet which again Liverpool (and in fairness everyone else) can't offer?

I agree that players want trophies but are they going to go to Liverpool for the chance of winning the FA/League cup? Are they honestly the trophies Liverpool want to be competing for year in year out?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

@94

In some respects you are right.

You're kinda forgetting that SAF has been in his position for 20 years and Dalglish only 1 year.

On that note - two cup finals in the first year as a manager and still the likes of McNulty question his position. Quite unbelievable really.

#92
You can point at Arsenal's win at Anfield, but the simple fact was that in van Persie and Chesney Arsenal had the two best players on the pitch. Apart from that Liverpool probably just shaded it
===================================================
Just SHADED it!!! Watch it again bro LOL!! Oh and RVP was far from the best player on the pitch but he WAS the most clinical - he only touched the ball twice!! Your keeper was MOTM which kinda backs my point!

Well for such a poor club we do attract a lot of attention from the so called supporters of top clubs. One trophy in the cabinet and now an excellent chance of collecting a second. Lets hope it's Chelsea in the final so we can rub Mr Torres' nose in it. Yes the league form has been poor and every club see's the top four as the holy grail because of the financial benefits, but ask the players what they have achieved when they are getting closer to retirement. Arsenal regular top four, play some super football but what medals will their players have from there playing days when they retire? Someone on here has commented that Liverpool would trade two cups for a top four finish, I don't think so. Yes the benefits are massive but you don't get a medal for finishing third and fourth. Perhaps the comment was from a Manc worried about our overall trophy haul continuing to grow ever larger.

To the moaning Liverpool fans, get behind your club we have had five years of absolute turmoil and we have made progress this season. There is not a lot wrong and with a couple of quality signings (striker and creative midfielder) next season looks really good.

YNWA

@97

Youre right. 2 cup finals in first year of management from being our of it for 10 years would be am amazing accomplishment but for some reason hes under pressure. Forget the 6 league defeats on the bounce as we've turned them around but still chip double in touching distance. Some achievement.