This is long (fair warning), and there's a lot in here that could come back to bite me in the ass, but I’m learning that’s what blogging is all about.
The New Boys
In: Ryan Babel (£11.5m), Yossi Benayoun (£5m), Lucas Leiva (£5m), Sebastian Leto (£1.8m), Fernando Torres (£20.2m), Andrei Voronin (free) -- £43.5m
Out: Craig Bellamy (£7.5m), Djibril Cisse (£6m), Jerzy Dudek (free), Robbie Fowler (free), Luis Garcia (£4m), Mark Gonzalez (£3.5m), Florent Sinama Pongolle (£2.7m), Bolo Zenden (free) -- £23.7m
Expectations probably couldn't be higher for the coming season amongst most Liverpool fans. I've already expressed my own a number of times. All are drooling over winning the league after a 17-year drought, and hopes have been raised even higher (probably too high, but that's the modern game) thanks to the summer dealings.
For the first time, Liverpool's spent big money on a single player in Fernando Torres (Cisse and Heskey don’t count). He's got big shoes to fill with that price tag, and I'm certain Torres will improve Liverpool on the whole, but I don't necessarily think it'll show up in his goal tally. There's the standard period of time to adjust to the pace and play of the Premiership, especially for forwards, while Torres has never been known as a high-scoring striker. Don't get me wrong, he's got an eye for goal (his first Liverpool goal was a very deft touch), but he misses them as well. However, his creativity (a word that's going to be repeated a fair bit throughout), strength, and eye for a pass will help a great deal.
Torres' price tag also goes a long way towards making people forget that Ryan Babel is Liverpool's 3rd most expensive transfer. I've been trying to lessen expectations for Torres, and Babel's should be even lower. There's a reason he's so highly regarded -- we saw it at Ajax, we've seen it when he's played for Holland, and we've seen glimpses in preseason. But they've been glimpses. And he's 20. He will take time to adjust to the Premiership, to how Liverpool plays, and to living abroad. I think we'll see great things from him, but not necessarily this year. And for that reason, it's essential that Harry Kewell attains some consistent level of fitness and repays the faith Benitez has had in him.
The players Liverpool brought in for less money will have their roles as well. From the look of preseason, Voronin and Benayoun will both see a good amount of playing time, while Leto and Lucas are for the future. All will have first-team opportunities. Voronin's gotten some ink with his performances, and has an opportunity to become a cult hero for Liverpool in the vein of Igor Biscan, but he'll most likely see less time than Torres, Kuyt, or Crouch. Although from what little we saw, he has the potential to be the best link-up striker in the squad; he's strong and clever, and he's got great awareness for what's going on around him. Benayoun's going to see time on both the left and right, depending on the fitness and play of others, and if he can continue to be active and push the ball forward while spreading the field, he'll continue to get opportunities.
All in all, Liverpool replaced the players released or sold with better quality. Cisse and Pongolle didn't figure into the plans last year, while Torres and Voronin are fairly direct replacements for Bellamy and Fowler. Liverpool will make up what they've lost through Garcia (and Gonzalez and Zenden to a lesser extent) through Benayoun and Babel, who are younger, more talented, and more direct, and offer more varied possibilities.
Tactics?
I've written it in nearly every post over the last month, but there's not too much that can be divined from preseason matches. You get an idea about new players and general impressions of the team, but that's pretty much it. That said, it stood out that in every game Liverpool lined up with 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 strikers. With the players brought in over the summer coupled with the fact that Rafa's known to chop and change, I thought it likely we'd see a variety of different formations: 3 strikers, 5-man midfields, maybe even wingbacks. But that hasn't happened.
There's still been a fair bit of deviation in how Liverpool’s played though. Pennant and Benayoun have switched flanks at will. Babel's played on the left, right and as a striker. Kewell's versatile as well. The different combinations of strikers leads to different styles of play. Liverpool can come from a number of different angles, but from preseason play it looks like Benitez plans on keeping the formation fairly static.
The biggest problem last year, and still one of the biggest concerns given the totality of the Benitez era, was the away form. Liverpool picked up 3 points on the road against the top-7 last season (a win at Spurs). The overall record away from Anfield was 6-4-9, with a -2 goal difference. That's clearly not good enough for supposed title contenders. Often, Liverpool played too conservatively, and seemed to aim for a draw against lesser opposition on the road, especially when challenged by a physical team. It didn't help that a lot of important away games came early in the season, when players were still working towards full fitness after the World Cup and a shortened preseason, but that's a poor excuse.
Another (related) criticism is Liverpool's inability to score when the opposition plays negative, defensive football. It's partly linked to the problems on the road, but there were games at Anfield that stick out in the memory as well: 0-0 v Everton, 0-1 v Man U, 0-0 v Portsmouth, and 1-1 v Blackburn for a start. The conclusion I came to during last season was that Liverpool was short on creativity, and the absence of Garcia (and to an extent, Kewell) didn't help matters in the slightest. Garcia's gone (sigh), but the addition of Torres, Babel, Benayoun, and Voronin (and a fit Kewell?) all should change that. We’ve said a lot about Liverpool’s lack of creativity and craftiness in the past, and all of the new players should help remedy that once they settle.
It's why we've heard so much about Benitez wanting to play more attacking football, and why that and the new signings have heartened Liverpool fans so much. Honestly, I'll believe it when I see it. Don't get me wrong, with the options at their disposal, Liverpool should get more goals, but Benitez will always play moderately conservative, control the tempo football. The additions to the front line should garner more goals, but what's even more important is a better scoring rate from midfield, and more of that guile and nous that Liverpool lacked (although the two are related) when the opposition has 10 men behind the ball.
Players to Watch
Despite the blog's title, I've always emphasized that Steven Gerrard isn't the end-all, be-all of Liverpool Football Club. At times, especially last season, he needed to do a better job of fitting into Benitez's team concept, as Rafa has always focused on the unit as a whole. But I can't emphasize this strongly enough, even though it seems somewhat obvious: Gerrard will be crucial to Liverpool's season, and it's essential that he play better than he did last year. As Gerrard goes, so goes Liverpool, and that will be even truer this season.
Liverpool dearly missed Gerrard's goals during the last campaign. His 23 goals in 05-06, compared to 11 last year, were another reason for the difference in point totals between the two seasons. As said, the midfield needs to chip in with more goals, and Ste's one of the best goal threats from midfield in the world.
I know that Gerrard played mainly on the right wing (with license to roam) the season he scored 23 goals, but I'm heartened to hear that Benitez is planning on playing him in the center more often. Don't get me wrong, there's a time and a place for Gerrard to play on the right (and it will happen at times), and it's hard to argue leaving out either Alonso or Mascherano (or Sissoko), but Stevie's more dynamic (and far happier, which can't be underestimated) barging through the center. What this means for Alonso, Mascherano, and Sissoko is hard to say, but I think we'll learn within the first month or so how Rafa intends to manage his rotation. Because there will still be rotation.
The continuation of Jermaine Pennant’s progress and good form to finish last season will also allow Gerrard more time in the center, as well as giving Liverpool more width and attacking flair. Pennant’s improved in beating his man and getting to the byline throughout last season, as well as working harder to improve the defensive aspects of his game. He’s going to have an important part to play this season. However, he still needs to improve in two areas: whipping in his crosses instead of lofting them into the box, and delivering more of a goal threat from midfield.
Liverpool's defense is still their strongest area, even considering that on paper they've also got one of the best central midfields in the world. 20 clean sheets last season, 22 the year before. And despite Rafa's known love of rotation, the back line's remarkably consistent: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Agger, and Riise. Reina and Agger are a year older and a year better adjusted to the Premiership, while Carragher's still the heart and soul of Liverpool and neither he nor Finnan have yet lost a step. Riise still frightens me defensively at times, but you can't argue with past results, and I’m fairly sure Liverpool’s stinginess will continue.
I admittedly am worried about defensive depth though. Arbeloa’s been a huge boon; he can fill in anywhere along the back line and cost £2m to boot, but there’s questions at every other position. Hyypia’s one of the best defenders Liverpool’s had, but he’s declined over the last couple of seasons. I love him as a back-up and am glad he’s stuck around for at least one more season, but strikers with pace can take advantage of him. Paletta is still young, but he hasn’t yet settled in England and hasn’t looked good enough (although he has had few chances to play with Reina, who makes all the defenders better), while Aurelio is too frequently injured, and despite my crush on Insua and belief that he’ll be a hell of a player in time, that time isn’t yet. With injuries (knocking on wood furiously), there could be questions in defense.
So…
It's a new era at Liverpool with the new ownership. It's evident in the money spent, in the new stadium plans, and in the hype surrounding the team and the season. And I truly believe that Gillett and Hicks mark a new stage in Liverpool's fortunes.
So do I think Liverpool will be better on the road this season? Yep. Do I think they'll get more goals from both strikers and midfield? I do. Will they get more than 68 points, and be less than 21 behind the leaders? Absolutely.
But it’s probably too much to ask for the title this season. That's not to say it’s out of the realm of possibility, or that's it's even unlikely. And I’m sure the Premiership trophy will be paraded around Liverpool during Benitez's reign (and hopefully it'll be before they leave Anfield). But maybe, despite all I've written and the high hopes I've helped to foster, expectations should be a little lower than they are right now. At least until the Villa, Toulouse, and Chelsea matches. After the first month of the season, we’ll know a lot more than we do now.
07 August 2007
06 August 2007
Chances are, the final table will look nothing like this
1) Chelsea
2) Liverpool
3) Manchester United
4) Tottenham
5) Arsenal
6) Blackburn
7) Portsmouth
8) Newcastle
9) Aston Villa
10) Everton
11) West Ham
12) Reading
13) Middlesbrough
14) Fulham
15) Manchester City
16) Bolton
17) Birmingham
18) Sunderland
19) Wigan
20) Derby
Don’t slay me for having Chelsea over Liverpool, especially at this stage.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m very excited about the coming season. But I also subscribe to similar beliefs as those of Carra: Chelsea is the yardstick by which other teams are measured, and that looks likely to continue. Malouda and Ben Haim, among others, will help Chelsea immensely. Mourinho’s declaration that he’ll ditch the diamond formation to revert to the tactics that won the Prem two years running will be another boon. The biggest question is how they cope during the African Nations Cup, when Drogba, Essien, Mikel, and Kalou will all be out for a month right in the middle of the season. True, there are already fitness concerns (Terry’s out for the next month; Drogba, Sheva, Makalele, and Kalou all sat out the Community Shield as well), while keeping everyone in the squad happy will be Mourinho’s biggest challenge as a manager. But I still see Chelsea as the team to beat.
United, meanwhile, couldn’t possibly have had a better season than the last, could they? They weren’t hit hard by injuries outside of Neville missing a ton of time, while Ronaldo had the season of his life (although sadly, he’s got the potential to be even better). Scholes and Giggs are a year older, and I don’t know how much impact Nani or Anderson will have this year; both being very young and coming from the Portuguese league, they’ll need time to settle. Yes, Hargreaves and Tevez (although I am curious how he and Rooney will play together) will make United even more dangerous, but I just can’t see them performing to last year’s level. Ferguson’s also already identified the defense as a possible problem area, and they may still keep Heinze out for the season for his flirtation with Liverpool.
If I was a Blackburn fan, I’d be excited about the upcoming season. They’re my darkhorse pick in the league and the cup competitions this season. I’ve seen predictions putting them as high as fourth, and while I greatly sympathize with that forecast, I just can’t go against Arsenal and Tottenham fighting it out for 4th and 5th, as they have in recent years. But Rovers already have a good core of players in McCarthy, Bentley, Samba, Gamst Pederson, and Friedel, while the additions of Roque Santa Cruz and Marco Rigters will add more goals. You can’t underestimate Mark Hughes as a manager either. If they can stay healthy, a shout at a Champions League place is a possibility, but 6th is a lot more likely.
I do believe this will be the season that Spurs finally pips Arsenal to 4th, although it should have happened in 05-06. They massively overpaid for Darren Bent, and Gareth Bale to a degree, but both will be important this coming season. Also, they’ve managed to hold onto Dimitar Berbatov, which is a bit surprising given the hype around him back in May. Their defense isn’t as solid as Arsenal’s or Blackburn’s, but defense has never been a focus at White Hart Lane, and they have the offensive capabilities to beat anyone when they’re on form. Plus, I really do believe that Bale at left back, even with his inexperience, will help a problem area for Tottenham, while Chimbonda, King (who missed a lot of last year) and Dawson are good players in their own right.
And I do think that Arsenal’s going to struggle, relatively speaking. I understand that Wenger’s got a good track record of selling players before they decline, but the Gunners will assuredly miss Henry and probably Ljungberg as well. Despite his scoring rate in Croatia, Da Silva will need time to settle, and neither Adebayor nor van Persie are known for being prolific strikers. Arsenal’s been lauded for having a deep crop of talented youngsters, now is certainly the time to see if they can make good on that potential. I am interested to see how Eboue does if he consistently plays on the right of midfield, which looks likely.
As always, the bottom half of the table is where I’m most indecisive. Derby is this year’s Watford (young combative manager, diligent work ethic, on paper probably the worst side in the Prem), while I think Wigan will dearly miss Paul Jewell. But I debated 17th place in my mind nearly all of last week. I’d like to see both Birmingham and Sunderland stay up, and when they were promoted a couple of months back, I thought it possible. But every team who was in the relegation fight last season has strengthened to the point where I think the leadership of Roy Keane won’t be enough to keep Sunderland afloat. And besides, it’d probably be funny seeing Keano have to give press interviews while in a relegation struggle.
Other thoughts:
- I’m hoping that this is going to be one of Everton’s down years, although picking them in 10th doesn’t really reflect that. Yeah, it’s partly my overwhelming bias, but there’s also some precedent (7th in 02-03, 17th in 03-04, 4th in 04-05, 11th in 05-06, 6th in 06-07). Plus, it looks like Cahill’s going to miss some time and the only incoming players as of right now are Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar. Leighton Baines looks likely to sign as well and he is a good left back, but I find the Lucho Gonzalez for £11m talk both unlikely and hilarious.
- Manchester City may have spent a lot of money, but none of the new players have Premiership experience, the new owner makes Abramovich look like an altar boy, and wait for it… Sven Goran Eriksson is the manager. Maybe it’ll work -- Elano’s a good player, Petrov did well for Atletico and Bulgaria, and Bojinov was a heavily hyped youngster for a while (can’t say much about the others) -- but I don’t buy it. It’s a big ask for 6 or 7 new starters to settle into the Prem at the same time, with Svennis as their gaffer to top it off.
"Most of the players I have never seen in action live," [Eriksson] said. "I have seen videos of them, though, and I have checked them out with friends who have seen them play. I am very confident they will do well." That’s reassuring. The last time he said that, he brought Theo Walcott to the World Cup. That went well.
- I think 6 through 9 is going to be a fun battle. I like Blackburn a bit more than the others, but Newcastle, Portsmouth, and Villa all look like they’ll be tough to beat, and I probably switched these places 5 times while writing this preview. Again, I know, it’s a preseason game, but I was impressed by Portsmouth when they played Liverpool in Hong Kong. Redknapp’s built a good team, and if Jamo can keep away from the tendencies that got him called ‘Calamity James,’ Portsmouth will be fighting it out for a European spot. Meanwhile, Villa’s only going to improve under O’Neill, even if they didn’t break out Lerner’s checkbook as often as I thought they would this summer (although Reo-Coker should flourish there), and Allardyce is best at fixing what are Newcastle’s main problems: defense, fitness and team spirit.
- Bolton will miss Sam Allardyce immensely, Reading will probably have a marginal sophomore slump, and I don’t really trust West Ham, despite the fact they’ve spent a good deal of biscuit money on players that Curbishley actually wants.
2) Liverpool
3) Manchester United
4) Tottenham
5) Arsenal
6) Blackburn
7) Portsmouth
8) Newcastle
9) Aston Villa
10) Everton
11) West Ham
12) Reading
13) Middlesbrough
14) Fulham
15) Manchester City
16) Bolton
17) Birmingham
18) Sunderland
19) Wigan
20) Derby
Don’t slay me for having Chelsea over Liverpool, especially at this stage.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m very excited about the coming season. But I also subscribe to similar beliefs as those of Carra: Chelsea is the yardstick by which other teams are measured, and that looks likely to continue. Malouda and Ben Haim, among others, will help Chelsea immensely. Mourinho’s declaration that he’ll ditch the diamond formation to revert to the tactics that won the Prem two years running will be another boon. The biggest question is how they cope during the African Nations Cup, when Drogba, Essien, Mikel, and Kalou will all be out for a month right in the middle of the season. True, there are already fitness concerns (Terry’s out for the next month; Drogba, Sheva, Makalele, and Kalou all sat out the Community Shield as well), while keeping everyone in the squad happy will be Mourinho’s biggest challenge as a manager. But I still see Chelsea as the team to beat.
United, meanwhile, couldn’t possibly have had a better season than the last, could they? They weren’t hit hard by injuries outside of Neville missing a ton of time, while Ronaldo had the season of his life (although sadly, he’s got the potential to be even better). Scholes and Giggs are a year older, and I don’t know how much impact Nani or Anderson will have this year; both being very young and coming from the Portuguese league, they’ll need time to settle. Yes, Hargreaves and Tevez (although I am curious how he and Rooney will play together) will make United even more dangerous, but I just can’t see them performing to last year’s level. Ferguson’s also already identified the defense as a possible problem area, and they may still keep Heinze out for the season for his flirtation with Liverpool.
If I was a Blackburn fan, I’d be excited about the upcoming season. They’re my darkhorse pick in the league and the cup competitions this season. I’ve seen predictions putting them as high as fourth, and while I greatly sympathize with that forecast, I just can’t go against Arsenal and Tottenham fighting it out for 4th and 5th, as they have in recent years. But Rovers already have a good core of players in McCarthy, Bentley, Samba, Gamst Pederson, and Friedel, while the additions of Roque Santa Cruz and Marco Rigters will add more goals. You can’t underestimate Mark Hughes as a manager either. If they can stay healthy, a shout at a Champions League place is a possibility, but 6th is a lot more likely.
I do believe this will be the season that Spurs finally pips Arsenal to 4th, although it should have happened in 05-06. They massively overpaid for Darren Bent, and Gareth Bale to a degree, but both will be important this coming season. Also, they’ve managed to hold onto Dimitar Berbatov, which is a bit surprising given the hype around him back in May. Their defense isn’t as solid as Arsenal’s or Blackburn’s, but defense has never been a focus at White Hart Lane, and they have the offensive capabilities to beat anyone when they’re on form. Plus, I really do believe that Bale at left back, even with his inexperience, will help a problem area for Tottenham, while Chimbonda, King (who missed a lot of last year) and Dawson are good players in their own right.
And I do think that Arsenal’s going to struggle, relatively speaking. I understand that Wenger’s got a good track record of selling players before they decline, but the Gunners will assuredly miss Henry and probably Ljungberg as well. Despite his scoring rate in Croatia, Da Silva will need time to settle, and neither Adebayor nor van Persie are known for being prolific strikers. Arsenal’s been lauded for having a deep crop of talented youngsters, now is certainly the time to see if they can make good on that potential. I am interested to see how Eboue does if he consistently plays on the right of midfield, which looks likely.
As always, the bottom half of the table is where I’m most indecisive. Derby is this year’s Watford (young combative manager, diligent work ethic, on paper probably the worst side in the Prem), while I think Wigan will dearly miss Paul Jewell. But I debated 17th place in my mind nearly all of last week. I’d like to see both Birmingham and Sunderland stay up, and when they were promoted a couple of months back, I thought it possible. But every team who was in the relegation fight last season has strengthened to the point where I think the leadership of Roy Keane won’t be enough to keep Sunderland afloat. And besides, it’d probably be funny seeing Keano have to give press interviews while in a relegation struggle.
Other thoughts:
- I’m hoping that this is going to be one of Everton’s down years, although picking them in 10th doesn’t really reflect that. Yeah, it’s partly my overwhelming bias, but there’s also some precedent (7th in 02-03, 17th in 03-04, 4th in 04-05, 11th in 05-06, 6th in 06-07). Plus, it looks like Cahill’s going to miss some time and the only incoming players as of right now are Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar. Leighton Baines looks likely to sign as well and he is a good left back, but I find the Lucho Gonzalez for £11m talk both unlikely and hilarious.
- Manchester City may have spent a lot of money, but none of the new players have Premiership experience, the new owner makes Abramovich look like an altar boy, and wait for it… Sven Goran Eriksson is the manager. Maybe it’ll work -- Elano’s a good player, Petrov did well for Atletico and Bulgaria, and Bojinov was a heavily hyped youngster for a while (can’t say much about the others) -- but I don’t buy it. It’s a big ask for 6 or 7 new starters to settle into the Prem at the same time, with Svennis as their gaffer to top it off.
"Most of the players I have never seen in action live," [Eriksson] said. "I have seen videos of them, though, and I have checked them out with friends who have seen them play. I am very confident they will do well." That’s reassuring. The last time he said that, he brought Theo Walcott to the World Cup. That went well.
- I think 6 through 9 is going to be a fun battle. I like Blackburn a bit more than the others, but Newcastle, Portsmouth, and Villa all look like they’ll be tough to beat, and I probably switched these places 5 times while writing this preview. Again, I know, it’s a preseason game, but I was impressed by Portsmouth when they played Liverpool in Hong Kong. Redknapp’s built a good team, and if Jamo can keep away from the tendencies that got him called ‘Calamity James,’ Portsmouth will be fighting it out for a European spot. Meanwhile, Villa’s only going to improve under O’Neill, even if they didn’t break out Lerner’s checkbook as often as I thought they would this summer (although Reo-Coker should flourish there), and Allardyce is best at fixing what are Newcastle’s main problems: defense, fitness and team spirit.
- Bolton will miss Sam Allardyce immensely, Reading will probably have a marginal sophomore slump, and I don’t really trust West Ham, despite the fact they’ve spent a good deal of biscuit money on players that Curbishley actually wants.
05 August 2007
Port of Rotterdam Tournament and the Community Shield
Apologies for the radio silence over the weekend. Surprisingly, I wasn’t able to catch either game in the Port of Rotterdam Tournament. I’ve got a plethora of excuses, but I doubt anyone really cares.
I don’t know what bothers me more. That I’ve missed both games this weekend or the fact that I’m upset about missing two preseason games. This isn’t healthy. It’s the preseason.
Friday’s game was one thing. It wasn’t a full-strength line-up, unlike today’s game, although players like Torres, Crouch, and Finnan were involved. And while I would have loved to see Torres’ first goal, Leto’s debut, and the new boys get more time to settle, it sounds like it had all the hallmarks of a preseason game, especially with the weaker opposition (did the chairman really play the first 5 minutes?). I’m pleased to hear Leto and Insua looked handy down the left though, and especially that Leto sounded impressive.
I’m actually glad I missed today’s game. Okay, that’s a lie, I’m never glad to miss a Liverpool game, even in the preseason, but from what I can tell, there’s little to take away other than another good Gerrard goal and some amusing handbags at the end. It was full of yellow cards, a Kuyt goal wrongly ruled out, a dubious penalty (although saved by Reina), and overall petulance. There are the standard ‘Liverpool are unimaginative, and can’t break down negative teams’ rants on the various forums. I’ll just reiterate my belief that preseason is for gaining fitness, varying personnel to see what options you’ve got, avoiding injuries, and building team spirit. All of those things happened today.
In lieu of summarizing what little I saw through highlights and read, I’d rather point you in the direction of the match reports at the Liverpool blog at The Offside, the Liverpool Echo (Bascombe’s match reports are usually the best in the business), and even those at the official site (although they’re always somewhat Orwellian).
I did however catch the Community Shield. As the game did little to capture my full attention, I just want to share a few thoughts that struck me.
- At least the goals were well taken. The match was dreary and disjointed, but both goals were nicely executed. Giggs’ was the culmination of very good team play, while Malouda’s showed the quality the player has. Admittedly, Malouda worries me. From the look of him during preseason, I don’t think he’ll take long to settle. And while that was a pretty goal, what was more impressive was the way he held off Rio Ferdinand, who’s supposedly one of England best defenders.
- Malouda, Mikel, Vidic, Evra and yes, Van der Sar were the only players who impressed at all today. Today’s game was a lot like last season’s FA Cup final, except this time the teams went at an even slower pace as we’re still in preseason mode. United were better over the course of the match, but Chelsea was missing more of their first-team regulars.
- While I’m well aware that the Community Shield is still the preseason and I’m not putting too much stock in it, I still don’t see anything that makes me think that Liverpool will be completely unable to keep pace with United and Chelsea this season. Yes, we’ve yet to see Hargreaves, Tevez or Anderson in a Manchester shirt, but I still don’t think they will perform at the level they consistently did over last season, while Chelsea looks likely to have problems achieving harmony and balance in their squad.
- Chelsea is awful at penalties. This was even worse an effort than against Liverpool in the CL semis last season. Pizarro and Lampard put their penalties in the exact same place, Wright-Phillips shot straight at Van der Sar after telegraphing it the entire run-up, and for being “the best keeper in the Premiership,” Cech sure doesn’t save many spot kicks. Although it was amusing to see him take his helmet off for them.
- Since 2000, the only time the Community Shield winner went on to win the Premiership was 05-06. Just saying.
For the rest of the week, I’ll have a couple preview articles on the coming season going up. It’ll start tomorrow with my guess at a table and an explanation of how I think the Premiership in general will go, on to Friday when we’ll finally be back in the regular groove with a preview of Saturday’s opening match against Aston Villa. Good times.
I don’t know what bothers me more. That I’ve missed both games this weekend or the fact that I’m upset about missing two preseason games. This isn’t healthy. It’s the preseason.
Friday’s game was one thing. It wasn’t a full-strength line-up, unlike today’s game, although players like Torres, Crouch, and Finnan were involved. And while I would have loved to see Torres’ first goal, Leto’s debut, and the new boys get more time to settle, it sounds like it had all the hallmarks of a preseason game, especially with the weaker opposition (did the chairman really play the first 5 minutes?). I’m pleased to hear Leto and Insua looked handy down the left though, and especially that Leto sounded impressive.
I’m actually glad I missed today’s game. Okay, that’s a lie, I’m never glad to miss a Liverpool game, even in the preseason, but from what I can tell, there’s little to take away other than another good Gerrard goal and some amusing handbags at the end. It was full of yellow cards, a Kuyt goal wrongly ruled out, a dubious penalty (although saved by Reina), and overall petulance. There are the standard ‘Liverpool are unimaginative, and can’t break down negative teams’ rants on the various forums. I’ll just reiterate my belief that preseason is for gaining fitness, varying personnel to see what options you’ve got, avoiding injuries, and building team spirit. All of those things happened today.
In lieu of summarizing what little I saw through highlights and read, I’d rather point you in the direction of the match reports at the Liverpool blog at The Offside, the Liverpool Echo (Bascombe’s match reports are usually the best in the business), and even those at the official site (although they’re always somewhat Orwellian).
I did however catch the Community Shield. As the game did little to capture my full attention, I just want to share a few thoughts that struck me.
- At least the goals were well taken. The match was dreary and disjointed, but both goals were nicely executed. Giggs’ was the culmination of very good team play, while Malouda’s showed the quality the player has. Admittedly, Malouda worries me. From the look of him during preseason, I don’t think he’ll take long to settle. And while that was a pretty goal, what was more impressive was the way he held off Rio Ferdinand, who’s supposedly one of England best defenders.
- Malouda, Mikel, Vidic, Evra and yes, Van der Sar were the only players who impressed at all today. Today’s game was a lot like last season’s FA Cup final, except this time the teams went at an even slower pace as we’re still in preseason mode. United were better over the course of the match, but Chelsea was missing more of their first-team regulars.
- While I’m well aware that the Community Shield is still the preseason and I’m not putting too much stock in it, I still don’t see anything that makes me think that Liverpool will be completely unable to keep pace with United and Chelsea this season. Yes, we’ve yet to see Hargreaves, Tevez or Anderson in a Manchester shirt, but I still don’t think they will perform at the level they consistently did over last season, while Chelsea looks likely to have problems achieving harmony and balance in their squad.
- Chelsea is awful at penalties. This was even worse an effort than against Liverpool in the CL semis last season. Pizarro and Lampard put their penalties in the exact same place, Wright-Phillips shot straight at Van der Sar after telegraphing it the entire run-up, and for being “the best keeper in the Premiership,” Cech sure doesn’t save many spot kicks. Although it was amusing to see him take his helmet off for them.
- Since 2000, the only time the Community Shield winner went on to win the Premiership was 05-06. Just saying.
For the rest of the week, I’ll have a couple preview articles on the coming season going up. It’ll start tomorrow with my guess at a table and an explanation of how I think the Premiership in general will go, on to Friday when we’ll finally be back in the regular groove with a preview of Saturday’s opening match against Aston Villa. Good times.
03 August 2007
Liverpool gets Toulouse
Tricky draw, but it could have been worse.
None of the British teams have it easy. Sparta Prague won’t be a walk in the park for Arsenal, Celtic will struggle against Spartak Moscow, and if Rangers comes through their second leg against FC Zeta, it looks like they’ll get the former Red Star Belgrade, Crvena Zvezda.
Toulouse finished 3rd in the French league last year, one point ahead of Bordeaux (who Liverpool beat 4-0 "on aggregate" in the two group stage games last year). Ligue 1 isn’t the Prem, Serie A or La Liga, but Toulouse isn’t some no-mark team. Their leading scorer, Swedish striker Johan Elmander, was one of the best forwards in the French league this past season. They’ve got their own Sissoko, Moussa (although he’s not related to Momo), and young LB Jeremy Mathieu is great on Pro Evo, but that’s about all I know about their squad.
I do think Maccabi Haifa last year was a trickier tie than this will be. Naturally, nothing’s ever certain in football, but there’s little doubt in my mind that Liverpool’s the better team. I’d rather see Liverpool play Toulouse, even though they’re a marginally tough team to play in the qualifying stages, than have to travel to, say, Kazahstan, Turkey, or Lithuania, even if it means they'd draw an easier team, especially with the game coming the weekend after the first leg.
It still somewhat bothers me is the away leg of the tie is first, and it’ll be 3 or 4 days before Liverpool hosts Chelsea. For a league game in August, that’s going to be an important one, and Liverpool may treat the Toulouse match differently because of it. But against Graz in 04-05 and CSKA Sofia in 05-06, Liverpool sealed the tie away from home, and was able to rest players for the Anfield leg. Let’s hope that happens here too.
Full 3rd qualifying round draw below. The games will be played August 14/15 and 28/29, actual dates determined probably later today. Ties involving British teams in bold.
FH Hafnarfjordur or BATE Borisov v Zaglebie Lubin or Steaua Bucharest
Tampere United or Levski Sofia v Astana or Rosenborg
Spartak Moscow v Celtic
Werder Bremen v NK Domzale or Dinamo Zagreb
FK Ventspils or FC Salzburg v Pyunik or Shakhtar Donetsk
Ajax v MSK Zilina or SK Slavia Prague
Valencia v Debreceni or IF Elfsborg
Genk or FK Sarajevo v Dynamo Kiev
Fenerbahce v Anderlecht
Rangers or FK Zeta v FK Crvena Zvezda or Levadia Tallinn
Toulouse v Liverpool
Benfica v FC Copenhagen or Beitar Jerusalem
Lazio v Dinamo Bucharest
Sparta Prague v Arsenal
FC Zurich v Sheriff or Besiktas
Sevilla v AEK Athens
None of the British teams have it easy. Sparta Prague won’t be a walk in the park for Arsenal, Celtic will struggle against Spartak Moscow, and if Rangers comes through their second leg against FC Zeta, it looks like they’ll get the former Red Star Belgrade, Crvena Zvezda.
Toulouse finished 3rd in the French league last year, one point ahead of Bordeaux (who Liverpool beat 4-0 "on aggregate" in the two group stage games last year). Ligue 1 isn’t the Prem, Serie A or La Liga, but Toulouse isn’t some no-mark team. Their leading scorer, Swedish striker Johan Elmander, was one of the best forwards in the French league this past season. They’ve got their own Sissoko, Moussa (although he’s not related to Momo), and young LB Jeremy Mathieu is great on Pro Evo, but that’s about all I know about their squad.
I do think Maccabi Haifa last year was a trickier tie than this will be. Naturally, nothing’s ever certain in football, but there’s little doubt in my mind that Liverpool’s the better team. I’d rather see Liverpool play Toulouse, even though they’re a marginally tough team to play in the qualifying stages, than have to travel to, say, Kazahstan, Turkey, or Lithuania, even if it means they'd draw an easier team, especially with the game coming the weekend after the first leg.
It still somewhat bothers me is the away leg of the tie is first, and it’ll be 3 or 4 days before Liverpool hosts Chelsea. For a league game in August, that’s going to be an important one, and Liverpool may treat the Toulouse match differently because of it. But against Graz in 04-05 and CSKA Sofia in 05-06, Liverpool sealed the tie away from home, and was able to rest players for the Anfield leg. Let’s hope that happens here too.
Full 3rd qualifying round draw below. The games will be played August 14/15 and 28/29, actual dates determined probably later today. Ties involving British teams in bold.
FH Hafnarfjordur or BATE Borisov v Zaglebie Lubin or Steaua Bucharest
Tampere United or Levski Sofia v Astana or Rosenborg
Spartak Moscow v Celtic
Werder Bremen v NK Domzale or Dinamo Zagreb
FK Ventspils or FC Salzburg v Pyunik or Shakhtar Donetsk
Ajax v MSK Zilina or SK Slavia Prague
Valencia v Debreceni or IF Elfsborg
Genk or FK Sarajevo v Dynamo Kiev
Fenerbahce v Anderlecht
Rangers or FK Zeta v FK Crvena Zvezda or Levadia Tallinn
Toulouse v Liverpool
Benfica v FC Copenhagen or Beitar Jerusalem
Lazio v Dinamo Bucharest
Sparta Prague v Arsenal
FC Zurich v Sheriff or Besiktas
Sevilla v AEK Athens
31 July 2007
Macca slams Liverpool's chances!!!!! (?)
Liverpool news has been sparse over the weekend, and outside of the reserve XI game against Colchester on Saturday, the only thing that caught my eye was the headlines about an interview with former Liverpool midfielder Steve McManaman.
What stood out is that the headlines state that Macca says Liverpool’s got no chance of winning the league this season. Say it’s not so…
BBC: McManaman cool on Reds title bid; McManaman doubts Liverpool title chances (audio)
Daily Mirror: Macca in Liverpool blast
Setanta: McManaman writes off Pool chances
It’s not so.
The problem is that Macca didn’t write off Liverpool’s chances, and really didn’t say much that’s newsworthy. I recommend listening to the BBC’s audio, which is where the quotes seem to come from. And the transcript of that…
This is writing off Liverpool’s title chances? This is news?
It is going to be difficult. All the top teams have strengthened. Liverpool’s focus will be on the league, and it’s necessary that the team is competing for the title if not winning it this year. All of these things are pretty much common knowledge. But did Macca say anywhere that Liverpool won’t or can’t win?
It’s become too common for me to criticize the 'mainstream media' for their portrayal of events and quotes on this blog, and I’m cognizant of repeatedly striking the same note. But this is yet another case of putting words in someone’s mouth. Every time it drives me crazy, but this time it seems more egregious than usual.
When it’s someone like Macca, Liverpool fans are going to pay attention. I know Macca’s one of the lead commentators on Setanta this season, so he’ll show up in the news a fair bit more, and probably say some things that will rub Liverpool fans the wrong way. And that’s both fine and fair; he is a pundit now. But it’s a complete disservice to Macca, Liverpool, and Liverpool’s fans to portray these comments in this light.
Naturally, the headline and story from the Liverpool Echo focuses on McManaman’s comments about Torres (“Torres is right man for the job – McManaman”), and doesn’t mention his comments regarding the league until the end of the story.
Sigh.
What stood out is that the headlines state that Macca says Liverpool’s got no chance of winning the league this season. Say it’s not so…
BBC: McManaman cool on Reds title bid; McManaman doubts Liverpool title chances (audio)
Daily Mirror: Macca in Liverpool blast
Setanta: McManaman writes off Pool chances
It’s not so.
The problem is that Macca didn’t write off Liverpool’s chances, and really didn’t say much that’s newsworthy. I recommend listening to the BBC’s audio, which is where the quotes seem to come from. And the transcript of that…
Macca - I think they’ll do as well as every single year. I think it’s important for Liverpool to win the Premiership. It’s going to be very difficult for them. I certainly think they’ll be in the top four, like every single year.
Interviewer - Is that good enough though for Liverpool?
Macca - Well, no, of course it’s not. Everybody who hankers on about the Premiership, the holy grail for Liverpool is the Premiership. For Chelsea and Manchester United, it’s the Champions League isn’t it? But because Liverpool haven’t won it in a significant amount of time, that’s important for them to win the Premiership.
Whether they will do this year, who knows? They've strengthened, but so have the teams above them who finished 15, 16, 20 points ahead of them have also strengthened, so it's going to be very difficult for them.
This is writing off Liverpool’s title chances? This is news?
It is going to be difficult. All the top teams have strengthened. Liverpool’s focus will be on the league, and it’s necessary that the team is competing for the title if not winning it this year. All of these things are pretty much common knowledge. But did Macca say anywhere that Liverpool won’t or can’t win?
It’s become too common for me to criticize the 'mainstream media' for their portrayal of events and quotes on this blog, and I’m cognizant of repeatedly striking the same note. But this is yet another case of putting words in someone’s mouth. Every time it drives me crazy, but this time it seems more egregious than usual.
When it’s someone like Macca, Liverpool fans are going to pay attention. I know Macca’s one of the lead commentators on Setanta this season, so he’ll show up in the news a fair bit more, and probably say some things that will rub Liverpool fans the wrong way. And that’s both fine and fair; he is a pundit now. But it’s a complete disservice to Macca, Liverpool, and Liverpool’s fans to portray these comments in this light.
Naturally, the headline and story from the Liverpool Echo focuses on McManaman’s comments about Torres (“Torres is right man for the job – McManaman”), and doesn’t mention his comments regarding the league until the end of the story.
Sigh.
30 July 2007
Fantasy Football Reminder
We’re less than 2 weeks away from the start of the season, so I figure now is a good time to put up one last reminder (although it will stay linked on the sidebar until the start of the season) about the fantasy football league I’m attempting to run.
To join, create an account at http://fantasy.premierleague.com, create a team, and then choose to join a private league. The league’s name is “Oh You Beauty” (clever, I know) and the passcode is 70973-17577.
We’ve nine teams so far, which is actually more than I thought the earlier mention would generate, but it’s also made me too bullish. So I bring it up again in the hopes of getting a few more people involved.
With more than 10 people in the league, I might feel obliged to have a prize for the winner. Something like Guillem Balague’s “A Season on the Brink” or a t-shirt, or something else similarly priced. I honestly haven’t thought that far ahead, and there’s obviously wiggle room involved.
You’ve got no excuses not to.
To join, create an account at http://fantasy.premierleague.com, create a team, and then choose to join a private league. The league’s name is “Oh You Beauty” (clever, I know) and the passcode is 70973-17577.
We’ve nine teams so far, which is actually more than I thought the earlier mention would generate, but it’s also made me too bullish. So I bring it up again in the hopes of getting a few more people involved.
With more than 10 people in the league, I might feel obliged to have a prize for the winner. Something like Guillem Balague’s “A Season on the Brink” or a t-shirt, or something else similarly priced. I honestly haven’t thought that far ahead, and there’s obviously wiggle room involved.
You’ve got no excuses not to.
27 July 2007
Liverpool 0-0 Portsmouth
Portsmouth wins 4-2 on penalties
Reina
Finnan Hyypia Agger Riise
Pennant Alonso Sissoko Kewell
Kuyt Babel
52’ – Torres for Kewell
65’ – Benayoun for Babel
74’ – Arbeloa for Riise
76’ – Carragher for Agger
82’ – Leiva for Sissoko
85’ – Gerrard for Pennant
Penalties
Utaka misses; Gerrard scores – 0-1
Taylor scores; Kuyt scores – 1-2
Lualua scores; Torres saved – 2-2
Hreidarsson scores; Benayoun saved – 3-2
Kranjcar scores – 4-2
Well, if Liverpool was going to lose its first game on penalties under Benitez, this was the right place to do it. And if I didn’t know any better, you could have convinced me I was watching a mid-season game between these two Premiership sides.
Admittedly, neither team played as well as they could have, the heat and humidity were obvious impediments, and there were signs that some of the players weren’t completely on the same page. However, in tempo and in the way the game played out, it looked a lot like previous Liverpool/Portsmouth meetings. Liverpool presses, is unable to break Pompey down despite the better chances and more of the possession, and Portsmouth always looks like they could nick an undeserved one, their best chance being on a Gary O’Neill one-on-one after the defense was split far too easily, but Reina was able to make himself big and block the shot at the top of the box. Kuyt was the main example of Liverpool’s wastefulness; he had four decent chances in the first half alone, twice putting it wide or high and twice bringing good saves from David James, but he wasn’t alone.
That full time ended 0-0 isn’t completely out of line with past matches, either. Nor is the fact that Pompey snuck away with a win. Maybe now is a good time to reiterate that yes, this is the preseason.
And since it is the preseason, I’m not too bothered about the result. I am a bit bothered about Liverpool’s inability to break a stubborn team down, which brings back some bad memories of seasons past, although it is the first time it’s happened this preseason. New players (and returning ones – hi Harry) weren’t always on the same page, Gerrard barely made a cameo, fitness levels and match practice weren’t completely up to par, and the conditions exacerbated these problems. But this game came perilously close to déjà vu; I’m sick of hearing about Liverpool's lack of ruthlessness. While writing, I can hear Jason McAteer in the background comparing Liverpool to Arsenal in profligacy and looking for the ‘perfect goal.’ Ugh. David James did have a great game, you know. Which, for some reason, he always seems to do against Liverpool.
Don’t get me wrong. I do think this season will be different, especially after players like Torres, Babel, Kewell, and Kuyt get on the same page. And I was a little surprised not to see Crouch or Voronin come on, but they’ve played the most minutes out of all the strikers in preseason. Plus, I’ve still seen a lot of positives in the past couple of weeks.
Pennant has probably had the best preseason of all Liverpool’s players. He’s continued his good form to close last season and continued to be a threat down Liverpool flanks. He was less effective on the left, where he played for the majority of the second half, but that’s not all that surprising, and it’s something that needs to be worked on (which is what preseason’s for). It’s become obvious that Rafa wants versatility out of his players, especially in attack. We’ve seen it in previous games with Rafa varying the players while keeping a fairly static formation and saw it today with Babel and Kewell switching positions in the first half. Based on what gone on so far, Babel, Kewell, Benayoun, and Pennant all look likely to play in different places throughout the season.
Alonso has also demonstrated why he’s so essential to the team, showing his range of passing and in dictating the flow of the game. While he didn’t continue his trend of scoring stunning free kicks, Riise’s also stood out, covering gaps in defense well while getting forward from left back as usual. The goals haven't hurt his cause, either. And Sissoko, who I fall in and out of love with multiple times in the same game, has put in some very energetic and typical ‘destroyer’ performances. I still think Momo is an offensive liability, and although he was more composed today, I don’t think Liverpool will get enough goals if he plays in every game. But I also don’t think he’ll play every game. There’s a time and place where Momo is very valuable; Barcelona last season is a perfect example of that. The aforementioned Voronin has also been a plus, as he’s been impressive every time he’s played.
I’m not going to jump on, say, Torres, who still hasn’t scored (yawn) and missed his penalty, as he showed his class and cleverness at times and because he’s behind in pre-season training with his ankle knock and lack of international clearance, or Babel, who showed that burst of speed which Liverpool will need, despite not quite linking up well with his teammates, or Kewell, who didn’t show the quality I know he still has or, like Babel, seem to be on the same page as everyone else. It’s preseason, and I’m not wavering in my belief they’ll come around.
Liverpool’s still demonstrated potential, is still to get the new signings fully settled, has picked up no injuries, and is working hard to improve fitness levels, evidenced by the fact that when players were subbed off you could see devices strapped to them that looked like heart rate monitors. Again, that’s what preseason is all about. And as said above, and in all the other reviews, some players have excited. Which is why I’m not that bothered by a loss in the Asia Trophy at the end of July.
Yes, at times, the defense has looked shaky, especially in holding a high line in the offside trap, and yes, for the first time in the preseason, Liverpool were unable to score (and at times were even wasteful), and it was in a game against Premiership opposition. But all the problems are rectifiable things, and I’m still pretty sure it’ll be a different story when we actually get to the season.
The last two preseason games are in the Rotterdam tournament, against Shanghai on August 3rd (12:30pm) and Feyenoord on August 5th (2pm).
Reina
Finnan Hyypia Agger Riise
Pennant Alonso Sissoko Kewell
Kuyt Babel
52’ – Torres for Kewell
65’ – Benayoun for Babel
74’ – Arbeloa for Riise
76’ – Carragher for Agger
82’ – Leiva for Sissoko
85’ – Gerrard for Pennant
Penalties
Utaka misses; Gerrard scores – 0-1
Taylor scores; Kuyt scores – 1-2
Lualua scores; Torres saved – 2-2
Hreidarsson scores; Benayoun saved – 3-2
Kranjcar scores – 4-2
Well, if Liverpool was going to lose its first game on penalties under Benitez, this was the right place to do it. And if I didn’t know any better, you could have convinced me I was watching a mid-season game between these two Premiership sides.
Admittedly, neither team played as well as they could have, the heat and humidity were obvious impediments, and there were signs that some of the players weren’t completely on the same page. However, in tempo and in the way the game played out, it looked a lot like previous Liverpool/Portsmouth meetings. Liverpool presses, is unable to break Pompey down despite the better chances and more of the possession, and Portsmouth always looks like they could nick an undeserved one, their best chance being on a Gary O’Neill one-on-one after the defense was split far too easily, but Reina was able to make himself big and block the shot at the top of the box. Kuyt was the main example of Liverpool’s wastefulness; he had four decent chances in the first half alone, twice putting it wide or high and twice bringing good saves from David James, but he wasn’t alone.
That full time ended 0-0 isn’t completely out of line with past matches, either. Nor is the fact that Pompey snuck away with a win. Maybe now is a good time to reiterate that yes, this is the preseason.
And since it is the preseason, I’m not too bothered about the result. I am a bit bothered about Liverpool’s inability to break a stubborn team down, which brings back some bad memories of seasons past, although it is the first time it’s happened this preseason. New players (and returning ones – hi Harry) weren’t always on the same page, Gerrard barely made a cameo, fitness levels and match practice weren’t completely up to par, and the conditions exacerbated these problems. But this game came perilously close to déjà vu; I’m sick of hearing about Liverpool's lack of ruthlessness. While writing, I can hear Jason McAteer in the background comparing Liverpool to Arsenal in profligacy and looking for the ‘perfect goal.’ Ugh. David James did have a great game, you know. Which, for some reason, he always seems to do against Liverpool.
Don’t get me wrong. I do think this season will be different, especially after players like Torres, Babel, Kewell, and Kuyt get on the same page. And I was a little surprised not to see Crouch or Voronin come on, but they’ve played the most minutes out of all the strikers in preseason. Plus, I’ve still seen a lot of positives in the past couple of weeks.
Pennant has probably had the best preseason of all Liverpool’s players. He’s continued his good form to close last season and continued to be a threat down Liverpool flanks. He was less effective on the left, where he played for the majority of the second half, but that’s not all that surprising, and it’s something that needs to be worked on (which is what preseason’s for). It’s become obvious that Rafa wants versatility out of his players, especially in attack. We’ve seen it in previous games with Rafa varying the players while keeping a fairly static formation and saw it today with Babel and Kewell switching positions in the first half. Based on what gone on so far, Babel, Kewell, Benayoun, and Pennant all look likely to play in different places throughout the season.
Alonso has also demonstrated why he’s so essential to the team, showing his range of passing and in dictating the flow of the game. While he didn’t continue his trend of scoring stunning free kicks, Riise’s also stood out, covering gaps in defense well while getting forward from left back as usual. The goals haven't hurt his cause, either. And Sissoko, who I fall in and out of love with multiple times in the same game, has put in some very energetic and typical ‘destroyer’ performances. I still think Momo is an offensive liability, and although he was more composed today, I don’t think Liverpool will get enough goals if he plays in every game. But I also don’t think he’ll play every game. There’s a time and place where Momo is very valuable; Barcelona last season is a perfect example of that. The aforementioned Voronin has also been a plus, as he’s been impressive every time he’s played.
I’m not going to jump on, say, Torres, who still hasn’t scored (yawn) and missed his penalty, as he showed his class and cleverness at times and because he’s behind in pre-season training with his ankle knock and lack of international clearance, or Babel, who showed that burst of speed which Liverpool will need, despite not quite linking up well with his teammates, or Kewell, who didn’t show the quality I know he still has or, like Babel, seem to be on the same page as everyone else. It’s preseason, and I’m not wavering in my belief they’ll come around.
Liverpool’s still demonstrated potential, is still to get the new signings fully settled, has picked up no injuries, and is working hard to improve fitness levels, evidenced by the fact that when players were subbed off you could see devices strapped to them that looked like heart rate monitors. Again, that’s what preseason is all about. And as said above, and in all the other reviews, some players have excited. Which is why I’m not that bothered by a loss in the Asia Trophy at the end of July.
Yes, at times, the defense has looked shaky, especially in holding a high line in the offside trap, and yes, for the first time in the preseason, Liverpool were unable to score (and at times were even wasteful), and it was in a game against Premiership opposition. But all the problems are rectifiable things, and I’m still pretty sure it’ll be a different story when we actually get to the season.
The last two preseason games are in the Rotterdam tournament, against Shanghai on August 3rd (12:30pm) and Feyenoord on August 5th (2pm).
25 July 2007
Gillett and Hicks and the new stadium
There will be a fair bit of talk about the new stadium, with 3 photos of the new design released today, and many others will cover it far better than I’m able to.
Liverpoolfc.tv main article
Liverpoolfc.tv portal to other articles
Liverpool Echo main article
BBC Sport article
RAWK stadium thread
I’d just like to make one point in regards to Gillett and Hicks.
The new owners said their first priority would be signing current players to new deals. Gerrard, Carragher, Reina, Alonso, Sissoko, and Finnan all now have new deals.
They then said money would be made available for new players, with no set figure, just depending on Rafa’s needs and wants. Well, Torres was signed for ~£20m, Babel for £11.5m, Benayoun for ~£5m, and Lucas for ~£5m, while bringing in Voronin on a free and innumerable youth players, with only £20m or so recouped through the sales of Bellamy, Cisse, Garcia and Pongolle.
Gillett and Hicks also promised a redesign of the new stadium plan, to take into account fans’ desires and the legacy of the Kop, making the new stadium more unique to Liverpool, while leaving room for possible expansion to increase the number of seats from 60,000 (which is what the first planning application approved) to a potential 76,000-78,000. With today’s announcement, it appears they’ve fulfilled that promise as well, although there’s still a good bit of work to be done. But they’ve made all the right steps, including tailoring the new design to make the new planning application as near to the old one as possible in the hopes it will be expedited, and beginning discussions over improving infrastructure to the stadium which would allow in the increase in capacity.
Yes, it’s still early, and yes, I’m still not completely convinced, but honestly, Gillett and Hicks have done everything they’ve promised so far, and that needs to be recognized.
Liverpoolfc.tv main article
Liverpoolfc.tv portal to other articles
Liverpool Echo main article
BBC Sport article
RAWK stadium thread
I’d just like to make one point in regards to Gillett and Hicks.
The new owners said their first priority would be signing current players to new deals. Gerrard, Carragher, Reina, Alonso, Sissoko, and Finnan all now have new deals.
They then said money would be made available for new players, with no set figure, just depending on Rafa’s needs and wants. Well, Torres was signed for ~£20m, Babel for £11.5m, Benayoun for ~£5m, and Lucas for ~£5m, while bringing in Voronin on a free and innumerable youth players, with only £20m or so recouped through the sales of Bellamy, Cisse, Garcia and Pongolle.
Gillett and Hicks also promised a redesign of the new stadium plan, to take into account fans’ desires and the legacy of the Kop, making the new stadium more unique to Liverpool, while leaving room for possible expansion to increase the number of seats from 60,000 (which is what the first planning application approved) to a potential 76,000-78,000. With today’s announcement, it appears they’ve fulfilled that promise as well, although there’s still a good bit of work to be done. But they’ve made all the right steps, including tailoring the new design to make the new planning application as near to the old one as possible in the hopes it will be expedited, and beginning discussions over improving infrastructure to the stadium which would allow in the increase in capacity.
Yes, it’s still early, and yes, I’m still not completely convinced, but honestly, Gillett and Hicks have done everything they’ve promised so far, and that needs to be recognized.
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