FA Premier League Thread

[rajputwarrior]

i hope jose still wants the job in liverpool...

[Guest]

i hope jose still wants the job in liverpool...

Since when did Mourinho want to go to Liverpool? The way I see it, he's lined up for the Barca job.

[rajputwarrior]

I heard that if the job was available, jose said he would be interested...

[HilariousNinja]

Jose likes Liverpool, but in the same way he admires all clubs, he admires United and Arsenal and all other clubs.

Is it me or are Liverpool getting even worse this season? Everyone saying this was their year, yet, they could prove to not even get a Champions League spot.

Great win for United, everyone saying moral doesn't improve after a great performance must be joking. With a performance which could have beaten the tally of that 7-1 game, and Arsenal completely losing the plot with a sending off (and more cases for another) can't be anything but lifting for Man United.

Everyone's lauding Anders and Nani but I have to say my Man of the Match goes to Fletcher. Yes, he got 2 goals, but he kept Fabregas quiet all game, and proved he can cut in the big games.

[Kev1n]

My god Arsenal truly were horrible. None of the players had any drive to actually play... in fact we were lucky to lose 4-0, could have been 8-0. Embarrassing and disgraceful from them.

[Brodel]

Yes it was certainly a shocker! I'm not sure about the point you are making about the team selection though, the team Rafa selected today was very strong and should have easily dealt with Barnsley. Infact, I heard a lot of people before the match critisising Benitez right before the match for not including any young talent in the team!

Itandje, Finnan, Riise, Hyypia, Carragher, Lucas, Alonso, Benayoun, Babel, Crouch, Kuyt. That was the starting line up, and man for man we had a better team than Barnsley and we should have beat them, but that is not the way football works sometimes.

Liverpool where flying at the start of the season and where top of the table for a while before Tom Hicks came out and started acting like a total *insert swear word of choice here*, and even the players have admitted that off the field problems have seriously affected our "title challenge".

Hopefully, we will get rid of the Americans soon, maybe stengthen the squad in the summer...and have another go next summer, with Rafa in charge. Of course, that is in an ideal world.

They should have dealt with Barnsley but they didn't, not dissimilar to Luton Town previously. I know it's a clich? but it is the FA Cup and these things happen in it. Rafa should have just played Torres to being with and stuck Reina in goal, got ahead and then made subs in my opinion.

With regards to Jose Mourinio, I don't think he'd go to Liverpool. Weren't there rumours just the other day that he was being eyed up Rijkaard's replacement and might be taking Drogba with him? I dunno, way too early to speculate over rumours anyway.

[Martyn]

Jose likes Liverpool, but in the same way he admires all clubs, he admires United and Arsenal and all other clubs.

Is it me or are Liverpool getting even worse this season? Everyone saying this was their year, yet, they could prove to not even get a Champions League spot.

Well Liverpool are not getting worse this season...at the start of the season we where flying and where top of the league. But, it is since all the off the field controversy has happened that we are struggling. Under Houllier we where struggling to qualify for the Champions League in the last few years of him being in charge, and under Rafa we have got to seven finals in three seasons so far, and hopefully we will get to one more this season. Not exactly a bad record is it?

They should have dealt with Barnsley but they didn't, not dissimilar to Luton Town previously. I know it's a clich? but it is the FA Cup and these things happen in it. Rafa should have just played Torres to being with and stuck Reina in goal, got ahead and then made subs in my opinion.

Torres is still not match fit enough to play, Benitez himself said it would of been a huge risk to play him against Barnsley and he should focus on getting fit for Inter. I found an interesting quote from Rafa yesterday as well, when he was asked if he should of started Gerrard from the off...

Asked if he regretted his decision not to start with skipper Steven Gerrard, Benitez added: "If you play against Barnsley at Anfield and you are thinking about just one player, then something is wrong."

[Mike]

Well Liverpool are not getting worse this season...at the start of the season we where flying and where top of the league. But, it is since all the off the field controversy has happened that we are struggling. Under Houllier we where struggling to qualify for the Champions League in the last few years of him being in charge, and under Rafa we have got to seven finals in three seasons so far, and hopefully we will get to one more this season. Not exactly a bad record is it?

top of the league for one game?

ignoring the first 2 or 3 games as thats rarely a true reflection, you were first for 1 game then slipped and have stayed around 4th / 5th, not exactly an improvement after spending ~?45m is it? or is that all the owners fault?

[rajputwarrior]

top of the league for one game?

ignoring the first 2 or 3 games as thats rarely a true reflection, you were first for 1 game then slipped and have stayed around 4th / 5th, not exactly an improvement after spending ~?45m is it? or is that all the owners fault?

yeah dev is right, they were never really "up" there. This season worse then last and last year we qaulified for champions with 45m less spent. Chances are we are not qualifying for it this year...

[Martyn]

top of the league for one game?

ignoring the first 2 or 3 games as thats rarely a true reflection, you were first for 1 game then slipped and have stayed around 4th / 5th, not exactly an improvement after spending ~?45m is it? or is that all the owners fault?

That table is inaccurate considering we have had either 1 or 2 games in hand on most other teams for the majority of the season due to Champions League qualifiers, a potential six points. Arsenal where lucky and rescheduled their missed game quickly because they had a space in their fixture list. I doubt we would have won the league, but we would certainly be further up the table than we are now without all the stuff going on that is affecting the club. Gerrard even recently came out stating how it is affecting the pretty little souls of the players.

As for the transfers...

In:

Lucas - 5 million (rising to 6 million),

Torres - 20.2 million,

Benayoun - 5 million,

Babel - 11.5 million,

Skrtel - 6.5 million,

TOTAL:?48.2 millionb>

Out:

Garcia - 4 million,

Cisse - 6 million,

Bellamy - 7.5 million,

Gonzalez - 3.5 million,

Paletta - 1.2 million,

Sissoko - 8.2 million (rising to 10 million),

TOTAL?30.4 million/b>

So we have spent a net ?17.8 million, hardly breaking the bank are we? We have spent roughly the same as what we did when David Moores was in charge! So basically, in todays market with that 17.8 million we could get ourselves a Darren Bent and have money left over for a pizza from dominoes! See, not much is it?

[Crazysah]

Arsenal are going to bounce back in the CL but we were horrible against Man Utd!

[Rappy Veteran]

Pretty lucky win for us today, we certainly lack any killing power.

[Martyn]

Torres hat-trick :D

Torres makes me question my sexuality sometimes, he is just THAT good :p

[NightCrawler.]

Torres hat-trick :D

Torres makes me question my sexuality sometimes, he is just THAT good :p

:huh:

[Martyn]

:huh:

Ahh you would not understand, you are not a member of the Facebook group "I secretly find Fernando Torres attractive" :p

[Rappy Veteran]

LOL at Newcastle, isn't that like a second time that Man Utd have beaten Newcastle by 5.

[Sigurd]

LOL at Newcastle, isn't that like a second time that Man Utd have beaten Newcastle by 5.

It was 6-0 a while ago to Man Utd back in January, Im so glad arsenal only drew today hopefully Man Utd will be back on top soon enough.

[rajputwarrior]

i love that torres guy... he is the next reds jersey i will be getting, or crouch, crouch is amazing...

edit: so i watch that taylor tackle... WOW, maybe not lifetime like wagner is calling for, but at least rest of the season ban. And honestly, soccer players are a bunch of pussies, if something like that happened in a hockey game, that player would die... in seconds. If i was an arsenal player on that pitch, i would have jumped him... not sit there waving my arms asking him what the hell is he doing

Edited February 23, 2008 by rajputwarrior

[Crazysah]

I feel terrible for Eduardo. What a horror tackle that was!

Anyways... we should have won the match and the penalty should not have been there!

I hope Eduardo's injury is not that bad!

[rajputwarrior]

what do you think the chances of rafa playing torres next game... can't wait until the end of the season and then he will be gone.

[Martyn]

what do you think the chances of rafa playing torres next game... can't wait until the end of the season and then he will be gone.

Torres will play in the next game he is fresh as he has only just returned from injury, and I am glad you are looking forward to more Houllier days if Rafa goes.

[Tel]

I hope Liverpool don't sack Benitez. As long as he is in charge of Liverpool they will NEVER will the Premier League.

[Rappy Veteran]

I hope Liverpool don't sack Benitez. As long as he is in charge of Liverpool they will NEVER will the Premier League.

:laugh:

[rajputwarrior]

Torres will play in the next game he is fresh as he has only just returned from injury, and I am glad you are looking forward to more Houllier days if Rafa goes.

really, at least he won the EPL and did pick his lineup using a dartboard with players faces on it... benitez is honestly an idiot. You don't see man u or arsenal or even chelsea or anyone else good in this world flopping around their lineups EVERY game, it's stupid and makes no sense.

Houlier was there for six years, in the third year he won the league cup, fa cup, UEFA, carling and the super cup. Bentez isn't even close to what houllier accomplished and houllier did it in his third year, this is what? year four or five for rafa?

I hope Liverpool don't sack Benitez. As long as he is in charge of Liverpool they will NEVER will the Premier League.

+1

[Rappy Veteran]

Talks between Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks and Dubai International Capital about selling his share in the club are continuing, BBC Sport understands.

Hicks has again strenuously denied renewed claims that he plans to sell his 50% holding in the club.

But the American is believed to have held talks with DIC although they are not believed to have been given access to the club's accounts.

DIC may also try to buy out Hicks's partner George Gillett's 50% stake.

Though that may not be as simple as it sounds as an agreement between Hicks and Gillett is understood to give the other first refusal on the other's shares.

Hicks and Gillett beat off competition from DIC to take over Liverpool in February 2007, but the Dubai club have recently renewed their interest.

The relationship between the two American businessmen is also understood to have broken down.

While Hicks' unpopularity on Merseyside was underlined when his son Tom Jnr was spat at and chased out of a pub following Liverpool's victory at Anfield on Saturday.

A statement from Hicks on Tuesday said: "Reports in the UK media that I am about to sell my stake in the Liverpool Football Club, or to invite DIC to examine the club's books in preparation for such a sale - like other such reports planted in the UK press in recent weeks by parties with their own self-interested agenda - are absolutely and categorically false.

"The reality is that I am personally, professionally and financially committed to the club and its supporters and that I will continue to honor that commitment to the best of my ability now and in the future."

Last month, Liverpool confirmed a ?350m refinancing package, with ?60m to be used as start-up money for the new ground in Stanley Park.

That repackaging deal, which also piled ?105m of debt on the club, only lasts 18 months and the renewed takeover talk appears to be driven by the fact that Hicks and Gillett will soon have to start renegotiating their debts.