Will Carroll Add To The Long List Of Great Liverpool No.9s?

By dedlfc

First of all I must say I like many of the qualities Andy Carroll has to offer and know that with the right service he will score a lot of goals for us.

I have my reservations about his ability to keep up with play which may seem a bit harsh as he has been fighting with injuries throughout his short time at LFC.

We had the option to take the money from the sale of Torres in January and bide our time until summer to look for the quality player to play alongside the mercurial Suarez.

I understand the club’s stance that they didn’t want to go through the last quarter of the season with just Suarez and Ngog as the main strikers – what has happened since January is that Dirk Kuyt has re-emerged as a viable alternative to play with Suarez through their knowledge of Dutch football and their respect for each other’s game.

With Suarez and Kuyt playing the majority of the games since January the need for Carroll has not been as important except in one game vs Man City when he was outstanding. Suarez and Kuyt have provided the cutting edge which has driven our team up the table from 12^th to a respectable 6^th place.

This was shown in the constant running and movement against Man Utd, Fulham, Birmingham etc., this type of play is not what you can see Carroll being able to produce because he is a different type of player but to cause teams problems it has been proven that pace and speed of thought are the main ingredients.

Now it seems that Sergio “Kun” Aguero has now announced he is ready to play in the Premiership and LFC and Man City are going to bid close to £40m for his services – I just feel that if we had not gone so hastily for Carroll we may have put ourselves in a better position to sign Aguero – who is world class and would compliment Suarez’s silky skills with his pace and speed of thought.

Interested to know what other LFC fans think?

By dedlfc

Who should We Sign In The Next Transfer Window?

Question posed by our very own Prince of Leon:

Guys...what would be your four players you would like us to sign ????

LACK OF INSPIRATION AND QUALITY IN SHORT SUPPLY

By Kop Post

The good ship inspiration steered by King Kenny and his Able Seaman Luis Suarez, up until the Spurs game when it hit the rocks, patently ran aground against Aston Villa.  Apart from an attempt by Lucas cleared off the line and Skrtel just failing to get hold of Aurelio’s free-kick, we were just not at the races. Just as in the previous game the hard work from the team could not be faulted, but the lack of ingenuity leaves the team looking almost one dimensional and heavily reliant on Suarez to create something out of nothing.

The team missing the inspirational driving spirit of the irrepressible Gerrard finally hit the wall.  Gerrard offers goals, creativity, drive and defensive capability as well inspiration and it is for reason we hope Stevie Gerrard, who sat with our away support, comes back fully fit and revitalised.  With the ever improving Meireles and Suarez Liverpool should be capable of challenging strongly for a Chanpions League position and even an outside chance of challenging for the Premiership with no European football.

The club will have to work the oracle to bring some top buys in the summer transfer window with no European football, even the Europa Cup has some value.  Camolli will have to prove his worth, but this is where having Kenny Dalglish as the manager will be beneficial, as wth the signings of Suarez and Carroll he seems able to sell the club as part of the attraction is surely the manager himself.  Luis Suarez, undoubtedly a world-class player, talks about the manager not just with respect for his managerial abilities, but with reverence for what he achieved as a player.

It may well be that Liverpool will be forced to look more towards the home market with a view to bringing in quality signings in the summer, but we are not far away and with the right additions and a sprinkling of foreign buys creativity and inspiration my not just rest on the shoulders of Suarez and Gerrard, but with the team as a whole, especially with the foundations already in place both on and off the pitch.

By Kop Post

Potential future LFC player dents Euro League hopes once and for all

Potential future LFC player dents Euro League hopes once and for all

By dedlfc

If he was trying to impress LFC management Stewart Downing must be given full marks for producing the one moment of real quality in a scrappy game to give Aston Villa their first victory at home to Liverpool since February 1998.

The England international fired home from a narrow angle off the underside of the crossbar in the 33rd minute to end our chances of overtaking fifth-placed Tottenham in the race for Europa League qualification.

We again seemed quite subdued and struggled to get going, giving King Kenny plenty to consider as he prepares for his first summer transfer window.

Midfielder Joe Cole made his first start for more than two months - and his first in the Barclays Premier League under Kenny Dalglish - as Liverpool made three changes for their final match of the season at Aston Villa.

The England international returned alongside fellow midfielder Raul Meireles and defender Fabio Aurelio as Glen Johnson, Maxi Rodriguez and Andy Carroll were left out of the squad completely having featured in last week's 2-0 defeat to Tottenham.

With injured Reds captain Steven Gerrard sat smiling among our travelling supporters we started better than we had a week ago against Spurs.

Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker was booked as early as the seventh minute for a rash foul on Jay Spearing, at the time you wouldn’t have thought it would be a key moment but it affected our game play quite significantly, Spearing, who lasted just four minutes longer before trudging off down the tunnel to be replaced by Jonjo Shelvey.

The first shot of note went to Meireles, whose right-footed effort on the turn was deflected for a corner from which Lucas Leiva had a shot cleared off the line by Ashley Young.

With 20 minutes gone we were temporarily reduced to 10 men with Jamie Carragher forced off to have treatment on a bleeding head wound after a clash with Lucas at a Villa corner.

Downing smashed home a shot past Jose Reina from a narrow angle off the underside of the crossbar.

Liverpool came close to equalising when Aurelio's bending free-kick only just evaded a diving Martin Skrtel at the far post.

Cole had a chance to atone for an anonymous opening 45 minutes when Lucas' lofted ball picked him out in the penalty area but he ballooned a shot well over.

Kyle Walker was booked for pulling back Luis Suarez, having an unusually quiet game for him, as he tried to break into the box but Meireles' free-kick failed to clear the wall.

The Portugal midfielder had a chance to make amends just past the hour when Suarez's cut-back took out the sliding Walker and James Collins but former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Friedel clawed out the shot.

A disappointing afternoon for Cole was ended in the 67th minute when he was replaced by David Ngog and he now faces an uncertain Anfield future. In the 10 Premier League matches Cole has played at least 45 mins in – we have won just 8 pts out of a possible 30 pts.

Aurelio drilled wide a 25-yard free-kick and Suarez fired over from the edge of the area as the match entered the final quarter.

Villa substitute Gabriel Agbonlahor somehow missed Darren Bent's cross from three yards to wrap things up while Petrov was denied only by the diving Reina.

Ashley Young's withdrawal minutes from the end saw the player, entering the last year of his contract and linked with both Liverpool and Manchester United; applaud all four sides of the ground.

We found out a couple of important things going into the summer from the last two games the lack of pace has negated our play and ability to stretch teams.

This summer King Kenny, Comolli and co will have the perfect chance to address this, with an opportunity to pick up some quality players i.e. Young, Nzogbia – untried in the Premiership but class players i.e. Hazard and continue blooding fresh young local talent from within the LFC ranks i.e. Sterling, Coady.

Finally had we won points all season at Dalglish's rate (33 from 18), we'd have finished 4th. At Hodgson's rate (25 from 20) we'd have been 10th. Thanks to Christian Purslow’s poor managerial choice at the start of the season which has cost us a place back on the elite table of European football.

By dedlfc

AFTER THE LORD MAYOR’S SHOW, LIVERPOOL COME DOWN TO EARTH WITH A DOSE OF REALITY

The disappointment of not qualifying for Europe following our sparkling champagne display against Fulham was made all the more gauling with this pitiful performance, which was as bad as any this season.  The lack of creativity raised its ugly head again in the absence of Meireles.  Carroll’s return highlighted the lack of real width and the inability to get quality crosses into the last third, thus negating  Andy Carroll’s potency and with no Meireles to provide the link between the midfield and the forward-line we played and a more sedate pace, unable to live with van der Vaart and Mondric who led our midfield a merry dance.

As always Luis Suarez was a class apart looking like a Sebastian Vettel Red Bull amongst a side full of Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworths.  He was incisive and bright, but without the help of a Meireles driven midfield he could not shake a defence bolstered by the return of the imperious Ledley King.

Dodgy referee decision or not we failed to get a hold in this game and were never at the races.

Every once in a while on our King Kenny inspired run we’ve run head long into an impasse and the realisation that even with Luis Suarez, drive and passion can only get us so far and the very real fact that the next transfer window will go a long way to determine how soon we be in a position to mount a challenge to the top four.

By  KP

KOP-POST MAN OF THE MATCH: LUIS SUAREZ BY A COUNTRY MILE

Liverpool Maxi-mize Potential With Scintillating Suarez At The Ready

By KP

Sitting in among the Fulham fans in the Hammersmith End would have been tough at the best of times as this times as they always seem extra hyped when the Reds come to town.  But this was different for three reasons, the first two were Jay and Sameer, the Reds I sat to throughout the match who were superb company and are Reds to the core. The third was that we quite simply awesome, devouring a Fulham side who have made Craven Cottage into a fortress in recent months.  We were led by the inimitable Luis Suarez who is fast becoming as important a leader from the front as Jamie Carragher is at the back.

Liverpool started like a bullet from a gun, with Suarez making inroads down the left and his cross could only be turned away into the path of the ‘predator’ Maxi who dispatched with aplomb.  Five minutes later, Lucas doing a decent impression of his club captain, his laser guided pass found the marauding Glen Johnson, whose cross was dispatched with the minimum of effort on the volley by Maxi Rodiguez full of confidence which only comes from a player at the top of his form.

Fulham were shell-shocked.  Liverpool were playing as well as they had all season – how many times have we heard that recently?  If Fulham were looking to get back in the game their plans fell apart like a fake Armani suit, when the normally reliable Schwarzer mis-handled Kuyt’s low angled drive from the right side of the area to see the ball dribble in behind him.  As with Maxi, Dirk Kuyt is enjoying a purple patch and his unselfish play has made Luis Suarez successful acclimatisation less of a struggle.  Suarez, as he gets fitter is providing Liverpool with another all-action forward, but allied with natural brilliance which is taking this Liverpool team under Dalglish into new realms this season. 

Mark Hughes summed up Suarez performance, “We never really dealt with the quality of Suarez. I haven’t seen a great deal of him, but obviously he’s a talented player.

“He was always mobile, always in little pockets of space. Maybe we allowed him too much time and never really dictated to him.  It was always the other way round and when good players have time and space, they can hurt you, which he certainly did.  He was outstanding tonight.”

Dalglish agreed saying “He graced the pitch every time he’s played on it.”

Fulham started the second-half brightly, dominating the opening 15 minutes and with Bobby Zamora coming on, he provided a focal which didn’t come close to having in the first half. It case as no surprise when Zamora laid on a pass to guided a beautiful shot in the corner pass a very angry Reina, which shows the levels of performance we setting.

The wind was taken out of Fulham’s sails when Maxi after a collecting a pass from Flanagan, who performed admirably in the left-back position, showing character to bounce back from his first below par performance against Newcastle.  Maxi strode forward and dispatched a glorious 30 yard drive leaving Schwarzer flailing. 

King Kenny’s comments suggest Maxi will be a part of his Liverpool squad going forward, “He’s a really intelligent footballer, he knows where to go and when to go.” 

“Everything’s happening for him at the moment, he deserves the accolades.  A lot of balls have been falling to him in the box, but you’ve got to be there to put them away and he has been.  No greater compliment for player than to have King Kenny pay tribute.

Liverpool hadn’t finished.  Jonjo Shelvey coming on for the injured Meireles slipped Suarez through to drop a shoulder leaving Schwarzer grasping, to pass the ball into the unguarded net and milk the acclaim of the adoring Liverpool away faithful. That Fulham scored a consolation didn’t seemed to matter.  To be at Craven Cottage when Jamie Carragher made his 666th appearance, going ahead of Anfield stalwarts the late Emlyn Hughes and Ray Clemence, made it all the more special.

We are now in a great position to get into the Europa League and have an outside chance of the Champions League. Who would have believed it?

Kop-post Man of the Match: Luis Suarez - simply devastating.

Suarez Quality Shines Through

By KP

The first clash with the Magpies since the transfer of Andy Carroll was a disappointing affair in terms of the quality of football produced.  Luis Suarez stood out like a lighthouse amongst the darkness of inferior technique and shoddy play. Everything and anything that was good about the game had the Suarez stamp of quality on it.  Liverpool took time to get a hold of the game, which was no surprise as the recent slick passing seemed to have been left behind at the Birmingham game.

The sloppy start didn’t stop Liverpool from opening the scoring on the 10 minutes when after a great interchange between Kuyt and Maxi, John Flanagan produced an excellent cross forcing a tepid defensive header. Maxi’s volley deflected of Simpson, wrong-footing the keeper, giving Liverpool the lead.  Rather than taking control, Liverpool proceeded to play at the same sedate pace, a part from a Spearing shot which almost fell to the marauding Kuyt and Meireles, allowing Newcastle to get into the game and increasingly look more threatening from dead-ball situations.

Newcastle should have scored early in the second half, with the possible Liverpool bound Joey Barton (if you believe the rumours!) failing to score from close-in when it seemed harder to miss.  That was the Magpies last real attempt as ten minutes later, as he has on so many occasions, Pepe Reina was the protagonist behind a Liverpool goal.  He launched a long goal-kick down field in the direction of Suarez who refusing to give up on the ball,  being ushered out by Newcastle’s Williamson, capitalized brilliantly on the defender’s lack of concentration, keeping the ball in play.  Williamson hauled down Suarez and Kuyt firmly side-footed home the resultant penalty.  Kuyt almost made it three, minutes later when he glanced Meireles deliciously floated free-kick wide when unchallenged.  A minute later the game was over, when Suarez pass inside fortunately landed at the feet of Kuyt in the area, who played a great ball back in the path of Suarez with the outside of his right foot, with all the touch of a Tiger Woods bunker shot, for Suarez to dispatch with aplomb.

That Suarez has adapted to the English game quicker than most foreign players is testament to his clash and strength of character.  It’s  easy to  fit it to a highly successful side surrounded by quality players; he has adapted in a side flirting with the lower regions of the table on his arrival which says a lot about his will to succeed.  He already has two created partnerships within the team, the first with Meireles at times seems almost telepathic and the second, Kuyt, is one borne out of the hard work and the obvious respect they have for each other.

Suarez closes out the game (Image: The offside.com)

Liverpool coasted through the remaining half hour, with Carroll, Shelvey and Cole making appearances Lucas and Spearing producing yet another top class performance in tandem, ably assisted by Glen Johnson in attack.  John Flanagan struggled for the first time since he arrived on the scene, as in Newcastle’s Jose Enrique and Gutierrez he was up against one of the strongest left-sides in the Premiership.  King Kenny wisely swapped sides in with Johnson  for the second-half as Flanagan picked up a yellow card for a rash tackle on Gutierrez. He showed that he was unaffected by the experience, putting in some solid challenges in the second-half – the experience will hopefully be a positive one in the long-run.

We are now fifth, having leap-frogged Spurs on goal difference who have one game in hand.  We have a chance of finishing fifth, but moreover, the side is showing that as much as we want Steven Gerrard back, there is enough talent in the squad to show that we can succeed in his absence.

KOP-POST MAN OF THE MATCH: LUIS SUAREZ