Official Liverpool Thread

[Summers]

If you say they play shite football, you're saying they're shite.

Isn't that the only thing a football team should be judged on? It's not alehouse footie, it's winning footie.

[Guest Pirate Chasin' Booty]

Who cares what type of football it is, a wins a win man.

[pigeon]

Yeah, I'm sure Everton fans would agree with you on that, but I don't remember people saying that when we came second under Houllier.

At the end of the day, Everton deservedly beat us, and they've been winning lots of matches but who would say that Everton play better football than Arsenal or Manure? Even most toffees I know would agree that they're not good to watch (although they don't care about that).

[Summers]

I enjoy watching Everton.

[pigeon]

No accounting for taste kidda.

Moving on from the derby, we've got Portsmouth tonight at Anfield. I'm working so it's the first home match I can't make in 3 seasons. Alls I can say is they better win.

And Kirkland has been replaced by Dudek.

Rafael Benitez brushed off the disappointment of Saturday's derby defeat and insisted: "We'll be in the top four at the end of the season." 

As Rafa prepares his team for tonight's 'game in hand' against Portsmouth at Anfield, he refuses to be downbeat following the loss at Goodison and insists his team will become a stronger force in the second half of the campaign.

 

He said: "I've said it many times before but I have a lot of confidence in the team and we will be in the top four by the end of the season. Why? We have a good squad, good players who are training hard and who understand the situation, and it only takes two or three games to change everything.

 

"We have got a high level at home. The main thing now is to see what we can do differently away.

 

"But we have played most of the teams at the top of the table away from home already so in the second half of the season most of our away games, with the exception of Arsenal, will be against teams in the bottom half of the table. All the top teams, except Arsenal, have got to come to Anfield and we can beat anybody at home.

 

"I don't like to see the gap between my team and the rest but I am very confident we will close it and if we can take three points off the top teams it can change very quickly.

 

"In the next two months we don't have Champions League football and so that is the team when I want to see the real level of the squad.

 

"The most important thing now is the mentality of the players for the next game. We were very disappointed by Saturday's result but I said to the players in the dressing room afterwards, 'You have one day to be disappointed, then you must start thinking about the future'. We cannot think about the last game now. We must think about the next game and the three points."

[pigeon]

Nice to get a win today after a couple of dodgy results.

I don't care what anyone says, Kluivert's goal was offside.

Other than that, it was a comfortable win. Baros was class today.

[lazy_arse]

Liverpool have made a £3.5m offer for Morientes. He has said that he would be interested in Liverpool, but I doubt he will go for £3.5m. Anyway, if they do get him then he will be a great acquisitian.

Morientes to Liverpool?

[pigeon]

Yeah, the story has broke in a few places. Here the Liverpool Echo's version:

LIVERPOOL have bid £3.5m for Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes.

But the Reds have been told to double their offer to sign the 28-year-old forward (left) before January.

Negotiations between both clubs are ongoing as Rafa Benitez tries to land the player he first targeted last summer.

Benitez is confident Morientes wants to move to Merseyside, despite being linked to former club Monaco for much of the season.

Having now made an official approach, the Reds boss must play a waiting game before securing his number one target.

Madrid officials insist they want £7m, but that's beyond the Reds' valuation.

A fee of around £5m could eventually land the highly rated target man, who was the star of last season's Champions League.

Morientes could have moved to Anfield last August as part of the deal which took Michael Owen to the Bernabeu.

Instead, he opted to stay and fight for his place in Madrid, but the early departure of exmanager Jose Camacho has left Morientes in limbo.

Benitez has made no secret of his admiration for the centre-forward, and he's been the top priority throughout the season - despite late interest in Manchester City's Nicolas Anelka.

Liverpool officials have not been given the green light to discuss personal terms with the player yet, but negotiations will continue throughout this week.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Madrid apprently want Gerrard in some sort of swap now. So many rumours about him leaving Liverpool yet I can never see it happening, he just seems like a true Liverpool man to me and if he left then it'd be the biggest blow to Liverpool in years. Hopefully he don't go too and still Liverpool somehow get Morientes.

[therockbox]

We won't be swapping Gerrard for Morientes. There are plenty of other options (Andy Johnson, etc), who would probably be a lot cheaper and better than Morientes.

[Summers]

I hope Liverpool don't actually buy Andrew Johnson. I like him too much.

[Guest Pirate Chasin' Booty]

Andy Johnson better than Morientes? pffft. Not likely.

[The Quasi Juice]

Haha, like Vince McMahon would say: NO CHANCE IN HELL.

Andy Johnson is good but Morientes has far more experience and just is better then Johnson now

[fineintent]

I hope Liverpool don't actually buy Andrew Johnson. I like him too much.

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[therockbox]

Exactly. In terms of the money we'd be spending on Johnson and being able to keep Gerrard, it'd be a better deal than swapping Gerrard for Morientes.

Of course, if we could get Morientes and keep Gerrard then that would be the best option hands down.

[Summers]

I hope Liverpool don't actually buy Andrew Johnson. I like him too much.

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Andy Johnson better than Morientes? pffft. Not likely.

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I think the point the Rock Box made was that if it came down to the only way to sign Morientes was to swap Gerrard, Liverpool fans would much prefer to sign someone like Johnson and keep Gerrard.

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Yeah.. and I was just saying, I like Johnson too much, than to want to see him at Liverpool.

[therockbox]

Why? Even though we're doing pretty shit right now, he'd accomplish much more at Liverpool than he ever will at Crystal Palace.

[pigeon]

I'd rather Anelka than Andy Johnson. Andy Johnson is another pacy striker, we need someone who can bring others into the game and play with their back to goal. Morientes would tick all the right boxes for me.

[Summers]

Why?  Even though we're doing pretty shit right now, he'd accomplish much more at Liverpool than he ever will at Crystal Palace.

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I know he would.

But I don't like Liverpool.

And I like Andrew Johnson.

[therockbox]

But surely if you like AJ, you'd want to see him be successful?