Why - As far as I can see he is exactly the player we need - RSC not good enough and Adebayor too lazy.
Perfect player for the crosses of Johnson and Silva so whats the problem?
He's a fine player alright but he's yet another example of how class has been replaced with money at City.
RSC "isn't good enough"? has he started more than 5 league games for you yet? Ach well, he was only £18m, it doesn't matter.
Adebayor is "too lazy"? Who knew?! What with him being such a workhorse at Arsenal and well worth buying 18 months ago. Ach well it was only £25m, it doesn't matter.
What about Bellamy? "who?" I hear you cry. Last years player of the year, but hey at £13m he's not worth mentioning.
Oh yeah and Balotelli? £25m 4 months ago. But hey, 9 games later we can dismiss him and go for the next target. dzeko is going to cost £30m so he must be REALLY good eh?
Does this really smack of a club with a clear transfer policy to you, or does it look like a small child who want the next shiny toy only to get bored with it as soon has he gets it?
'Sir Alex Ferguson says he won't make any signings during transfer window'
No shock there.
Wouldn't expect him to buy unless something unusual presented itself but I wouldn't expect anything other than him saying he wasn't signing anyone regardless of whether he was or not.
That is the thing, Roy is just that "decent", nothing flashy, gets on well with the British media, has a good repuatation with them, but as an actual football manager his record isn't really that impressive.
He over-achived big time getting Fulham to the Europa League final, and on the back of that got the Liverpool job, from where he has just looked out of his depth from day one.
Trying not to be tooo biased here, but it is very difficult to see where they go from here, if they do sack Roy "in the morning", then who do they get as a new manager? Do they write this season off, placate the fans and appoint Kenny Dalglish until the end of the season, and let Commoli deal with the transfer window, or do they get a full-time manager in.
If they go down the latter route, just who would they go for, as anyone not connected with "the Liverpool Way" (like Roy has been seen as), starts off with a minus point against his name straight away,
There is a prominant manager who is available, but do they really want Big Sam....sorry to go back to Rafa??
I just don't know which manager they would go for, yes it is all right saying, "Sack Roy", that is the easy part, the hard part is getting the right man for the job, who that would be I just don't know.
Agree with this.
I don't really care about Liverpool Football Club, but I said from the off that Hodgson just was not the man for a club the size & stature of Liverpool & with the ambitions that they have.
I don't really care about Liverpool Football Club, but I said from the off that Hodgson just was not the man for a club the size & stature of Liverpool & with the ambitions that they have.
Perhaps they need to take a look at those ambitions then.
All the expectation, little willing to do anything in practice to actually live up to it.
It's funny this idea that what many fans called for in the summer, a 'rebuilding' of Liverpool football club has suddenly turned into outrage that things haven't improved immediately with largely the exact same group of players.
"They were good enough not to even break into the top six last season, let alone challenge for the title or a CL space - but why the hell are we not good enough this season. It makes no sense, anyone would have thought with the exact same team the new manager would have been much, much more successful!"
The good thing is, they'll pay for it. They'll probably be mid table in the Championship in three years time when it'll dawn on them....
'Hmm...perhaps sacking six managers a season all because we're constantly outraged that we haven't won the league yet, isn't the best of ideas'.
Leeds had better player than Liverpool when the roof fell in.
Liverpool have one world class player who is clearly not interested, a former world class player who must be wishing he left when he had the chance, and a very good goalie who is well, very good.
Leeds had better player than Liverpool when the roof fell in.
Liverpool have one world class player who is clearly not interested, a former world class player who must be wishing he left when he had the chance, and a very good goalie who is well, very good.
The rest are at best average.
Liverpool have a goalkeeper, an aging midfielder and an injury prone striker.
Benitez, when the CL money was there over the course of many seasons, had the chance to strengthen. Instead he left the team looking like pish with the aforementioned three surrounded by those whose talents were barely comprehensible.
I'm not saying this with my Manchester United football club hat on....i don't own one, I'm not six......but sticking by Roy Hodgson, in retrospect, will be seen as one of the smartest decisions Liverpool have made.
It's obvious what you do, you have patience and you see what he does when he's able to shape the team in his image.
I challenge even Alex Ferguson to make a championship contending campaign out of that mob.
I always remember when he used to get shirty with the press when he suggested he may go on as long as Bobby Robson. I believe Robson was around the same age at the time and Fergie angrily scoffed at the idea.
...yet here he is. Thank god.
He can't go on forever but the key to his longevity is delegation, no question. He doesn't do it all now. He does some of it as and when he has the energy or inclination. As long as his body stays fit and his mind active, he'll be here for the foreseeable future.
I always remember when he used to get shirty with the press when he suggested he may go on as long as Bobby Robson. I believe Robson was around the same age at the time and Fergie angrily scoffed at the idea.
...yet here he is. Thank god.
He can't go on forever but the key to his longevity is delegation, no question. He doesn't do it all now. He does some of it as and when he has the energy or inclination. As long as his body stays fit and his mind active, he'll be here for the foreseeable future.
As I can't sleep much just now I've watched a few of the PL Years shows and it's remarkable how he has remained the same while the world round him changes.
In one of the reviews, from maybe 10 years ago it showed a clip of an interview and it could almost have been word for word what he said this week. "we need to be in contention come new years day, if we are we have a good chance".
He was just as right a decade ago as he was this week.
As I can't sleep much just now I've watched a few of the PL Years shows and it's remarkable how he has remained the same while the world round him changes.
In one of the reviews, from maybe 10 years ago it showed a clip of an interview and it could almost have been word for word what he said this week. "we need to be in contention come new years day, if we are we have a good chance".
He was just as right a decade ago as he was this week.
It does seem strange. It's like one of those action replays on that frightful ITV1 gameshow 'The Cube' where the contestant remains frozen in the middle whilst the camera somehow zooms around them in motion'..
...not at all like that really, but the analogy sounded good in my head when I visualised it.
Liverpool have a goalkeeper, an aging midfielder and an injury prone striker.
Benitez, when the CL money was there over the course of many seasons, had the chance to strengthen. Instead he left the team looking like pish with the aforementioned three surrounded by those whose talents were barely comprehensible.
I'm not saying this with my Manchester United football club hat on....i don't own one, I'm not six......but sticking by Roy Hodgson, in retrospect, will be seen as one of the smartest decisions Liverpool have made.
It's obvious what you do, you have patience and you see what he does when he's able to shape the team in his image.
I challenge even Alex Ferguson to make a championship contending campaign out of that mob.
I have been getting some stick for having a go about Torres with my friends, as they say as a United fan, I don't have the right to criticsise him, considering Rooney's form, (and they point out that at least Torres has scored in open play this season).
But the thing that I contest is that, at least the work rate from Rooney is there, you can see that he really wants to score, plus he has created a fair few chances for others, whereas what has Fernando actually done?
Scored a few but his overall play is just nothing to write about at all.
Apart from the Chelsea match, I honestly cannot remember the last time he really did anything of note.
Gerrard has the myth following him everywhere about how good he is, yes he chips in with a few goals, but I honestly don't see his ability as all that good, I would rate him behind Lampard any day, nevermind the pocket genius that is Scholes.
People hear Andy Gray's commentary from the Olympiakos game a few years ago, and just believe the hype.
Pepe Reina is a good goalkeeper no doubt, but he must get a tad bit bored of picking the ball out of the net every single game he plays.
He must be looking at his future, and thinking it is away from the club, if only for the sake of his standing in the game.
Now apart from those players, alot of the others, wouldn't be out of place in a lot of other mid-to-lower half teams, (such as Johnson, N'Goo, Babel, Maxi, Koncheky, etc).
They just need to learn to accept their role in life, until circumstances change, they are a mid table team, what they did in the 1980's, 1970's etc has no bearing on today's team whatsoever, other than to look nice showing in the clubs museam.
To be a big club, you have to have a modicum of success I would say, having lots of fans is just one element.
And over the past 10 years, what exactly have they got to show for it?
Cantona called them a cup side earlier, and thinking about it, that is what they are now, until they can change things off the pitch as well as on it, that is what they will remain, as thinking of league titles is just fanciful, and only for the true dreamers.
They have a long way to go, and the club needs a whole overhaul, and dragging into the 21st centuary, a new stadium is a must, as in purely financial terms (forgetting the historical element), Anfield is a relic, and is very poor indeed.
They need to change the way they market the club, so that they can attract more corporate people, as like it or not, money talks, and attracting people with the money is key.
Then they need to look at the footballing side of things, the squad is rubbish, and an outlay is needed for that no doubt, people mention different figures, (£100, £200 million etc), but it is not a case of just spending a lot of money, it is spending the money on the right players.
As Sir Fergie says, it is all about value, for the price City paid for Tevez outright, we got Nani, Ronaldo, Vidic, Evra and Van der Saar, now that is some value.
So until they can sort all of that out, the future for them, is just a mid-table side who we will still have a rvialry with, (that will never go away), and who will celebrate a victory over us, as if their season depended on it, but will not challange the top sides for the forceeable future.
Ferguson suggesting Cleverley could be on his way back. Deal with Wigan only up until January and plan always was to discuss it with Wigan in January. He mentioned that he's now short in midfield what with Park out for January and Valencia not back until end of February.
He's a fine player alright but he's yet another example of how class has been replaced with money at City.
RSC "isn't good enough"? has he started more than 5 league games for you yet? Ach well, he was only £18m, it doesn't matter.
Well seemingly being permanently injured/returning from injury doesnt help
Adebayor is "too lazy"? Who knew?! What with him being such a workhorse at Arsenal and well worth buying 18 months ago. Ach well it was only £25m, it doesn't matter.
What about Bellamy? "who?" I hear you cry. Last years player of the year, but hey at £13m he's not worth mentioning.
no city fan is saying who - we wish he was still here
Oh yeah and Balotelli? £25m 4 months ago. But hey, 9 games later we can dismiss him and go for the next target. dzeko is going to cost £30m so he must be REALLY good eh?
Does this really smack of a club with a clear transfer policy to you, or does it look like a small child who want the next shiny toy only to get bored with it as soon has he gets it?
Yes a very clear transfer policy. In simple terms, we are on an upwards trajectory, but to move on you need to get better players and you cant go from mid-table players to CL players in one go. Therefore players like Adebayor et al were brought in to get us to Europa Leage/top four boundary. Now we can attract better players.
The players brought in that Mancini believes will compete at the next level will stay. For instance Nigel De Jong, Vincent Kompany, Barry (prob), Adam Johnson
I wish football wasn't all about money nowadays but with the Champions League money creating a (nearly) closed shop, to compete you need an injection of big money. Tottenham have had this as well but over a longer time period.
To be a big club, you have to have a modicum of success I would say, having lots of fans is just one element.
And over the past 10 years, what exactly have they got to show for it?
2 FA Cups
2 League Cups
1 UEFA Cup
1 European Cup
Obviously it's lacking the one they all really want now but It's not a bad record to have over a decade in all honesty. They'll always be a big club, just like United were in 70's and 80's.
Yes a very clear transfer policy. In simple terms, we are on an upwards trajectory, but to move on you need to get better players and you cant go from mid-table players to CL players in one go. Therefore players like Adebayor et al were brought in to get us to Europa Leage/top four boundary. Now we can attract better players.
I wish football wasn't all about money nowadays but with the Champions League money creating a (nearly) closed shop, to compete you need an injection of big money. Tottenham have had this as well but over a longer time period.
nah, sorry I'm not buying that. £25m for Adebayor from CL regulars Arsenal and he isn't good enough for the CL? Former Bayern Munich player RSC? England international and former Chelsea player Wayne bridge? It's not an upward trajectory, it's a completely scatter gun approach.
Make no mistake, Dzeko can be purchased for £30m next week but if he doesn't hit the ground running he will be discarded in June in favour of whatever player happens to have scored a pile of goals between now and June, and if THAT player doesn't have an instant impact he will go the same way too.
I genuinely wonder how much pleasure a title will bring City fans after the initial excitement? What will it prove other than that they have more money than anyone else. It's like winning at poker simply because you have bought in for 10 times the money everyone else has at the table or winning the lottery by buying every combination of numbers.
well shity have unlimited money so it doesn't matter if they spend 400m, 500m or 800m. its trial and error with them and signing players. players only go there for money but its hard for someone to turn down a 100k+ pay rise, thats why they go to shity
well shity have unlimited money so it doesn't matter if they spend 400m, 500m or 800m. its trial and error with them and signing players. players only go there for money but its hard for someone to turn down a 100k+ pay rise, thats why they go to shity
Of course it matters, don't be so completely ridiculous.
Obviously it's lacking the one they all really want now but It's not a bad record to have over a decade in all honesty. They'll always be a big club, just like United were in 70's and 80's.
Not bad, certainly, but if I remember correctly, were they the only members of the so called "G14" (or "G32" as it ended up being I think), to not have won a league title in over 20 years?
The one thing those trophies have in common is the word at the end, "cup", this certainly adds to what was said before about them being a cup team and nothing more than that.
(Unless you count the Champions League, as a league, because of the league bit at the end of its name, which would be daft).
Comments
He's not dead.
Really?:eek:
I never knew that.;)
'Sir Alex Ferguson says he won't make any signings during transfer window'
He's a fine player alright but he's yet another example of how class has been replaced with money at City.
RSC "isn't good enough"? has he started more than 5 league games for you yet? Ach well, he was only £18m, it doesn't matter.
Adebayor is "too lazy"? Who knew?! What with him being such a workhorse at Arsenal and well worth buying 18 months ago. Ach well it was only £25m, it doesn't matter.
What about Bellamy? "who?" I hear you cry. Last years player of the year, but hey at £13m he's not worth mentioning.
Oh yeah and Balotelli? £25m 4 months ago. But hey, 9 games later we can dismiss him and go for the next target. dzeko is going to cost £30m so he must be REALLY good eh?
Does this really smack of a club with a clear transfer policy to you, or does it look like a small child who want the next shiny toy only to get bored with it as soon has he gets it?
No shock there.
Wouldn't expect him to buy unless something unusual presented itself but I wouldn't expect anything other than him saying he wasn't signing anyone regardless of whether he was or not.
Agree with this.
I don't really care about Liverpool Football Club, but I said from the off that Hodgson just was not the man for a club the size & stature of Liverpool & with the ambitions that they have.
Perhaps they need to take a look at those ambitions then.
It's funny this idea that what many fans called for in the summer, a 'rebuilding' of Liverpool football club has suddenly turned into outrage that things haven't improved immediately with largely the exact same group of players.
"They were good enough not to even break into the top six last season, let alone challenge for the title or a CL space - but why the hell are we not good enough this season. It makes no sense, anyone would have thought with the exact same team the new manager would have been much, much more successful!"
The good thing is, they'll pay for it. They'll probably be mid table in the Championship in three years time when it'll dawn on them....
'Hmm...perhaps sacking six managers a season all because we're constantly outraged that we haven't won the league yet, isn't the best of ideas'.
Too big to happen? Heard that before.
Liverpool have one world class player who is clearly not interested, a former world class player who must be wishing he left when he had the chance, and a very good goalie who is well, very good.
The rest are at best average.
Liverpool have a goalkeeper, an aging midfielder and an injury prone striker.
Benitez, when the CL money was there over the course of many seasons, had the chance to strengthen. Instead he left the team looking like pish with the aforementioned three surrounded by those whose talents were barely comprehensible.
I'm not saying this with my Manchester United football club hat on....i don't own one, I'm not six......but sticking by Roy Hodgson, in retrospect, will be seen as one of the smartest decisions Liverpool have made.
It's obvious what you do, you have patience and you see what he does when he's able to shape the team in his image.
I challenge even Alex Ferguson to make a championship contending campaign out of that mob.
I always remember when he used to get shirty with the press when he suggested he may go on as long as Bobby Robson. I believe Robson was around the same age at the time and Fergie angrily scoffed at the idea.
...yet here he is. Thank god.
He can't go on forever but the key to his longevity is delegation, no question. He doesn't do it all now. He does some of it as and when he has the energy or inclination. As long as his body stays fit and his mind active, he'll be here for the foreseeable future.
As I can't sleep much just now I've watched a few of the PL Years shows and it's remarkable how he has remained the same while the world round him changes.
In one of the reviews, from maybe 10 years ago it showed a clip of an interview and it could almost have been word for word what he said this week. "we need to be in contention come new years day, if we are we have a good chance".
He was just as right a decade ago as he was this week.
It does seem strange. It's like one of those action replays on that frightful ITV1 gameshow 'The Cube' where the contestant remains frozen in the middle whilst the camera somehow zooms around them in motion'..
...not at all like that really, but the analogy sounded good in my head when I visualised it.
I have been getting some stick for having a go about Torres with my friends, as they say as a United fan, I don't have the right to criticsise him, considering Rooney's form, (and they point out that at least Torres has scored in open play this season).
But the thing that I contest is that, at least the work rate from Rooney is there, you can see that he really wants to score, plus he has created a fair few chances for others, whereas what has Fernando actually done?
Scored a few but his overall play is just nothing to write about at all.
Apart from the Chelsea match, I honestly cannot remember the last time he really did anything of note.
Gerrard has the myth following him everywhere about how good he is, yes he chips in with a few goals, but I honestly don't see his ability as all that good, I would rate him behind Lampard any day, nevermind the pocket genius that is Scholes.
People hear Andy Gray's commentary from the Olympiakos game a few years ago, and just believe the hype.
Pepe Reina is a good goalkeeper no doubt, but he must get a tad bit bored of picking the ball out of the net every single game he plays.
He must be looking at his future, and thinking it is away from the club, if only for the sake of his standing in the game.
Now apart from those players, alot of the others, wouldn't be out of place in a lot of other mid-to-lower half teams, (such as Johnson, N'Goo, Babel, Maxi, Koncheky, etc).
They just need to learn to accept their role in life, until circumstances change, they are a mid table team, what they did in the 1980's, 1970's etc has no bearing on today's team whatsoever, other than to look nice showing in the clubs museam.
To be a big club, you have to have a modicum of success I would say, having lots of fans is just one element.
And over the past 10 years, what exactly have they got to show for it?
Cantona called them a cup side earlier, and thinking about it, that is what they are now, until they can change things off the pitch as well as on it, that is what they will remain, as thinking of league titles is just fanciful, and only for the true dreamers.
They have a long way to go, and the club needs a whole overhaul, and dragging into the 21st centuary, a new stadium is a must, as in purely financial terms (forgetting the historical element), Anfield is a relic, and is very poor indeed.
They need to change the way they market the club, so that they can attract more corporate people, as like it or not, money talks, and attracting people with the money is key.
Then they need to look at the footballing side of things, the squad is rubbish, and an outlay is needed for that no doubt, people mention different figures, (£100, £200 million etc), but it is not a case of just spending a lot of money, it is spending the money on the right players.
As Sir Fergie says, it is all about value, for the price City paid for Tevez outright, we got Nani, Ronaldo, Vidic, Evra and Van der Saar, now that is some value.
So until they can sort all of that out, the future for them, is just a mid-table side who we will still have a rvialry with, (that will never go away), and who will celebrate a victory over us, as if their season depended on it, but will not challange the top sides for the forceeable future.
no city fan is saying who - we wish he was still here
Yes a very clear transfer policy. In simple terms, we are on an upwards trajectory, but to move on you need to get better players and you cant go from mid-table players to CL players in one go. Therefore players like Adebayor et al were brought in to get us to Europa Leage/top four boundary. Now we can attract better players.
The players brought in that Mancini believes will compete at the next level will stay. For instance Nigel De Jong, Vincent Kompany, Barry (prob), Adam Johnson
I wish football wasn't all about money nowadays but with the Champions League money creating a (nearly) closed shop, to compete you need an injection of big money. Tottenham have had this as well but over a longer time period.
2 FA Cups
2 League Cups
1 UEFA Cup
1 European Cup
Obviously it's lacking the one they all really want now but It's not a bad record to have over a decade in all honesty. They'll always be a big club, just like United were in 70's and 80's.
nah, sorry I'm not buying that. £25m for Adebayor from CL regulars Arsenal and he isn't good enough for the CL? Former Bayern Munich player RSC? England international and former Chelsea player Wayne bridge? It's not an upward trajectory, it's a completely scatter gun approach.
Make no mistake, Dzeko can be purchased for £30m next week but if he doesn't hit the ground running he will be discarded in June in favour of whatever player happens to have scored a pile of goals between now and June, and if THAT player doesn't have an instant impact he will go the same way too.
I genuinely wonder how much pleasure a title will bring City fans after the initial excitement? What will it prove other than that they have more money than anyone else. It's like winning at poker simply because you have bought in for 10 times the money everyone else has at the table or winning the lottery by buying every combination of numbers.
Of course it matters, don't be so completely ridiculous.
I never said he couldn't. It just becomes utterly pointless though.
Not bad, certainly, but if I remember correctly, were they the only members of the so called "G14" (or "G32" as it ended up being I think), to not have won a league title in over 20 years?
The one thing those trophies have in common is the word at the end, "cup", this certainly adds to what was said before about them being a cup team and nothing more than that.
(Unless you count the Champions League, as a league, because of the league bit at the end of its name, which would be daft).
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/3915/18timesf.jpg