I really doubt someone of John Henry's caliber would be that stupid. How do I know? Well he's won the World Series with the Red Sox and you don't achieve success and makes millions by being stupid.

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Added on January 29, 2012, 11:54 pmKing Kenny on Carroll.

http://www.emirates247.com/premier-league/...-01-29-1.440099?

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jan 29 2012, 11:54 PM

Someone posted this on RAWK

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jan 30 2012, 08:48 AM

Martin Kelly gets some recognition by being named in soccernet's team of the week. Dalglish is also in as manager.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story...9,-2012?cc=4716

We've been focusing on players coming in but what about players leaving? Martin Hansen wants to opt out after limited opportunities at the club. Can't say I blame him since Doni can't even get a sniff in. Gulasci is out on loan and looks to be above him in the pecking order.

Here's a question though. Do young keepers have a future at Anfield? I can't remember the last time we promoted someone from within the ranks. In fact I don't think we ever have. The bloke that came the closest was Tony Warner as far as I can remember. We've had heaps of young keepers come in over the years but non have amounted to anything.

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Added on January 31, 2012, 8:48 amOur interest in Nathan Dyer seems to have cooled. I thought he'd be a good option to have being a wide right player. Scored a beauty against Arsenal the other day.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jan 31 2012, 08:48 AM

I don't subscribe to the notion of signing replacements. Gerrard is one of the best midfielders in the world. The fact that Pele said he's walk into any one of Brazil's national sides over the years speaks volumes of how much his talents are appreciated not just at Liverpool, but on a global scale. You will not find a replacement for him whether it be in the form of Jordan Henderson or in the shape of Charlie Adam. Over the years, we've had so much talk about "the next Zidane" or "the next whoever else", I think the search for individuals are in vain. These players are special because they are unique. Let's appreciate our lads as the individuals that they are, and not someone's replacement. Lucas for example has stamped his own mark and made a name for himself by neither emulation Alonso or Mascherano, the players he "replaced".

I agree with you. He isn't exactly the most loyal bloke isn't he? Bellamy may be a firecracker and a loud mouth but he's committed and he works hard. I can't think of too many nice things to say about Tevez other than he is a pretty good footballer. I get the feeling however that there are fans who only care about ability.

Not many clubs have done anything during the transfer window what with prices being inflated and all. I'm fine with us working with what we have. Far as I'm concerned, it's status quo for all teams given the lack of activity.

Get in Andy! I know you have it in ya!

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Feb 1 2012, 05:01 AM

The Travelling Kop singing Fields of Anfield Road again. Been really frequent since the return of the King.

"All round the fields if Anfield Road, where once we saw that King Kenny play, and could he play!".

Carroll's growing in confidence, well pleased for him. Prove em all wrong Andy.

Last season's top scorer adds to his tally.

Well done Dagger. Another majestic display at the back for us.

Since arriving from Newcastle, much has been expected of Andy Carroll. By shelling out $35 million pounds for him, Liverpool effectively made him the most expensive British footballer of all time, and the 8th most expensive signing in the world. Comparisons with Alan Shearer were already rife on Tyneside and expectations were soaring high after Carroll was handed the famous no.9, worn by Anfield legends such as Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush and Ian St. John. A lot of pressure to dump on a budding 22 year old footballer indeed, especially since he was seen by some to be a direct replacement for one Fernando Torres who packed his bags to look for greener pastures at Stamford Bridge. Comparisons were drawn and unfairly so. While Fernando Torres was already an accomplished international who had just won the World Cup with Spain, Andy Carroll had very little experience in top flight football.

Just a few games into his Anfield career, fans grew restless. Carroll often looked sluggish, displayed poor touches and rarely displayed the aerial prowess he has become to be known for. Some attributed this to the fact that he had just retured from injury and wasn't fully fit, whilst others saw a player short of confidence, unable to deal with the pressures that came along with his price tag. Some quarters were going impatient, labelling him a flop and a panic buy to replace Torres who let despite pledging his future to the club just 3 weeks earlier. Indeed, he still has some ways to go but it is really too soon to label him a failure in my books. As Paul Tomkins noted, players who aren't blessed with raw physical abilities like blistering pace or sublime coordination need experience to hone their abilities. How many front men in his mould attained success as his age? Whilst he may be a huge physical presence, one needs to note that unlike in other leagues where you get smaller centrebacks like Cannavaro and Cardoba, Premier League defenders like Robert Huth, John Terry, Nemanja Vidic and Christopher Samba are all at least 6'1" with fair bit of Premiership experience under their belt. Carroll is blessed neither with pace nor lightning feet and therefore needs to work on maturing his game to get the better off savvy, seasoned defenders.

His performances against Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers suggests to me that all he needed was an injection of confidence. After creating the winning goal for Dirk Kuyt against Man Utd, he followed it up with a goal against Wolves. He showed great desire to win balls, held up play really well, got those around him involved and scored a poachers goal. Sure it was against a club in relegation trouble but it's during games like these that he needs to step up and continue to build his confidence.

Another boss performance from Daniel Agger. His failure to to spot Agger's obvious talent is if you ask me, another one of Hodgson's biggest failings. He is as good as any other centreback in the league at the moment and it isn't mere coincidence that we became a tight defensive unit when he returned from injury. Hope he stays well away from the injury table.

He's not my favourite player la, that title goes to Jamie Carragher. I am however a fan of Carroll. Have been since he was making waves with Newcastle. I was happy we signed him though the amount caught me by surprise but I've never stopped backing him to justify his fee. I really want him to succeed and I do hope he's found his mojo and continues to ride this crest of confidence throughout the remainder of the season. We can't judge his contribution on goals alone. Bellamy's goal against Bolton came courtesy of an Andy Carroll assist as did Dirk Kuyt's against the mancs. When in imperious form as he was against Wolves, he draws defenders to him like a human magnet which is why those playing off him have acres of space to run into.

Just as one bad game doesn't define a player's season however, neither does one good game and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Carroll continues to deliver as I believe he will.

Good problem to have indeed. I see the possibility of playing both Suarez and Bellamy off Carroll who leads the line on his own. Suarez seems to favour attacking the goal from diagonal angles rather than straight on and could easily be played out further wide. This will allow Henderson to tuck into a more central role which favours him. Our width will be provided through Enrique and Johnson/Kelly.

-------------Reina--------------
Kelly----Skrtel--Agger----Enrique
-----------Spearing-------------
----Henderson---Gerrard--------
-Suarez----------------Bellamy-
-----------Carroll----------------

Suarez and Bellamy are both nippy forwards who can benefit from Carroll's knock-ons. Kuyt is an option we can use if we choose to adopt a more defensive approach, coming on for either Suarez or Bellamy. His work ethic is second to none and he's often seen tracking back to help out in defence. Henderson and Suarez can both interchange their positions when we're attacking with Suarez coming infield and Henderson going out wide to provide some width.

This formation can easily morph into a 4-5-1 with Suarez and Bellamy dropping deeper if required. Both have good pace and can apply ample pressure by pressing the ball the moment it crosses the halfway mark.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Feb 1 2012, 03:11 PM

Not long ago we used Emile Heskey as our target man with Michael Owen playing off him. Targetmen don't often end up being top scorers as they primarily are deployed to hold up play or to knock on the ball. This doesn't however mean they don't score goals. If you look at Carroll's movement against Wolves, he gets to the ball, holds it up for a supporting teammate, passes it back and then moves quickly to take up position in the box. Perfect play IMO. It's absurd to expect him to beat defenders with pace or fancy footwork.

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Added on February 1, 2012, 8:55 pmOn the transfer window...

We do know Kyrgiakos made his way back into the Premiership. It was mentioned a couple of days ago. He was my pick for player of the moment at one point in the season before he left and it's really good to see him back. Scored a couple of important headers for us.

I'm a little surprised at Saha's move to Spurs though. Didn't think they needed another striker what more one who has spent a lot of time on the injury list lately. Spurs already have the likes of Adebayor, Defoe, Crouch and Pavluchenko vying for starting berths.

I think QPR made a couple of really good signings. First they signed Taiwo who has World Cup experience with Nigeria. Now they've signed Bobby Zamora who is a streaky player. He has bags of experience and at one point was playing so well, he got an England call up. They have also signed the pacy Djibril Cisse which sees another former red return. Rafa inherited him but played him mainly as a winger meaning he was always going to replicate his goalscoring form for Auxerre.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Feb 1 2012, 08:55 PM

Right about Crouch. My mistake. They have Dos Santos on the bench. Makes more sense now but last I check Pavlyuchenko was still in the squad.

Good for Rafa. He's always wanted to manage Real Madrid and now he may become a reality. Managing the 'Galaticos' may be a challenge for him though. Rafa doesn't exactly stroke egos and he micro manages his players, something the big names may not appreciate. They may find themselves a little restricted. Anyway good luck to Rafa. Hope he gets the hot seat.

Yup I was corrected on Crouch earlier and already admitted to making a mistake. On Pavlyuchenko, he hasn't signed yet. Pending a medical.

On an unrelated note, Terry's trial has been pushed to 9th July after the Premiership season and more importantly after Euro. How nice. This is so that Chelsea's players will be available to testify in court. Does this mean our players have more time to spare? The FA conducted their investigation of Suarez during the season and called up players from both our team and Man Utd. Why should the court cater to the schedule of the players? If they have to appear in court, that's the end of it. What does it matter if it's during the season or not?

I agree that we should move on but I disagree that we should forget it. Why do you think big cases involving important figures are often dragged on? Same with big cases in this country involving top politicians no? It's so people forget. What happens when the same thing happens again? We just forget about it again? It is exactly what those in power want to happen, for us to forget.

Like you've just mentioned, we're still pretty well placed despite losing Suarez for 8 games and we should look forward and put his case behind us, which we have. No one is asking for a retrial here. However I feel we should remember this case and use it as precedence for relative upcoming cases. It is a matter of principle and thus, we shouldn't forget or else, what's to stop the powers that be from doing the same thing over and over again?

The moaning isn't about the injustice done to Suarez I believe. It's to do with the double standards practiced by the FA or in this case, the English. If there are no calls for consistency and everyone remains silent, there's no pressure on the FA to practice equality.

I did not forget that the trial was moved by the court. That fact that it is makes things worse. Ask any lawyer if a case was ever moved to suit the schedule of witnesses. Should they only be in session after work hours then from now on? If you are called you get called up to court, you show up, end off. Now courts make concessions for footballers simply because they aren't free? What kinda BS is that.

The FA weren't involved in that decision of course (or at least I don't think they were) but since they're taking racism so seriously, why not plead with the courts to deal with the case immediately to resolve this issue and force the relevant clubs and players to make time for the hearing? Give Chelsea a week off la and have them play at a later date.

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Added on February 2, 2012, 12:00 pmI've constantly urged everyone to stop reacting based on weekly results and to focus on the bigger picture. Time and time again, I see posters asking why we didn't buy this player or why we aren't spending? If you think it's all doom and gloom and what I've been posting is rubbish, do have a read please.

http://www.themerseyjuror.co.uk/2012/02/01...wide-successes/

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Feb 2 2012, 12:00 PM

This is true. We were extremely reliant upon Torres for goals at one point. The only other match winners we had then was Gerrard and in my opinion Benayoun. I don't think Torres benefited from excellent service during his time at Anfield. The only person he seemed to forge a good understanding with was Steven Gerrard and his richest vein of goalscoring form came when Gerrard was deployed right behind him. In Gerrard's absence, we passed him the ball and would hope for him to take on defenders all on his own and create something out of nothing. He exceeded my expectations of him that's for sure and then one day, he just shut off and looked to have lost interest. His body language was negative and he didn't show the same fire and passion he did before.

I personally have no solid conclusion as to why he's lost his form. All I know is that he should be at his peak now and if he doesn't recover soon, he'll go down the same road Robbie Fowler took. The latter was done before his time.

We had Sunderland at home as our season opener. We were piss poor in that game.