0-0 with Everton, 2-0 losses to Chelsea and Leicester......what an end of season collapse - just shows how valuable experience is...

Excuse me while I cry into my beer.....

I know this happened last week but what was the reason that goal by Everton didn't count? The one where Westerveld took the free-kick and it bounced off the Everton player's back and went in the net?

According to the ref he hadn't blown the whistle, and (apparently) Hutchinson wasn't 10 yards away - either way Sander was bloody lucky that he wasn't made to look like a goat, and I don't know why he just didn't wait for the whistle to go before kicking it anyway...

Having finally acknowledged Liverpool's ascent it is very disappointing to witness the afore-mentioned matches. Perhaps though, it is fitting that the top three places are filed by ManUtd, Arsenal, and Leeds.

Well I've said before that I feel that Arsenal, Man U and Chelsea are better than Liverpool (and Gerard Houllier also added Leeds to that list), but I feel we're as good as (if not better than Leeds), and it's just unfortunate that this two game losing streak comes at such an important time. I'm disapointed but when u look at the big picture this season has been very surprising, and like Leed's 6 game winless steak just a fortnight ago, I think Liverpool's bad patch both now, and at the begining of the season could be put down to a lack of experience - Liverpool are, officially, the youngest team in the league (in terms of average age), and they can only improve.
However, by merit, I still believe that Liverpool warrant a top 3 position (we've beaten Arsenal and Leeds twice each), but I guess that would be unfair to Leeds.....

Hopefully Everton can do us a favour by beating Leeds, and we help ourselves in our next two games - I feel the Champions League experience would be invaluable for most of our young players; Owen, Heskey, Gerrard, Thompson, Carragher et al - just look at the composure of young Jody Morris and Jon Harley at Chelsea.

Wow ..... nine months of hard work and planning by Houllier gone in 90 minutes. I think the way Liverpool played showed that they are not ready for CL competition. But the job they did was great. 4th in the Premier League with so many injuries. They will be a force next year, provided they stay healthy.

The performance against Leicester was a disgrace. Slow, not creative, and the worst: NO FIGHTING SPIRIT! Leicester outdid Liverpool in tackels. Only Berger showed his class.

Hamman was simply pants. I start to question his purchase. On a good side, Fowler looked sharp, can't wait until he gtes his form back.

Hey! Don't question Hamman's purchase after just a few bad games in an excellent season - he's been just as an important part of our defensive record as Sami and Stephane - he's a brilliant defensive midfielder - reminds me of Ronnie Whealan - you don't really notice him running up with the ball, or doing anything spectacular, but he's always there to clean up the midfield, and keep things under control - a bad game or two in a good season doesn't mean a bad purchase - if that was the case I'd have already shot Michael Owen for his lackluster 'Shearer-esque' performance against Chelsea.

Hm, Neutral, shouldn't Hamman be taking the role of creating attacks and dropping passes upfront? Don't want to piss you off, but I think Hamman is a bit lazy. he got the ball, passed it, that's it. No tracking back, no tackles to keep out the opposing mid, etc. Enough abot Hamman... I just want to say that I am really disappointed with this match. Dropped from 2nd to 4th in a 2 horce race....... Typical end season results. =(

Give them a break- this end of season has been just as disapointing to you as it has been to me, but finally it looks like this team has some stability. Under Roy Evans we were in the same place - near the top, but not nearly as good as Arsenal or Man U, we had a good attack, but our defence was pathetic as was the mentality of our players - the whole 'spice boy' image really rang true at Anfield under Evans - but in just one year Houllier has brought respectability and stability - and I think we'll put up a serious challenge for the title next year, and the year after I think we'll win it.
As for Hamman's role; "creating attacks and dropping passes upfront" - isn't that Redknapp's job? Three bad games, that's all -look at Leeds, they lost 5 or 6 in a row! We must win our next two, hope the Toffees do us a favour - even if we don't get 3rd this season has been a success - just remember people were predicting we'd finish 7th or 8th, and some (Danny Kelly) said we'd finish as low as 11th.
You have every reason to be upset at this end of season collapse, but take it into context - we're young, we're improving, and next year we'll be true challengers.

Seems like you got off your rant mode, eh. =) Well, I am quite pleased with our position now, compared to last year. Just the fact that we could've done better and we didn't that really bothers me.

Yes, I can finally see a young and solid team in LFC. An improved and improving team. Some say that Leeds' youngsters are "rocking the PL", but I say that LFC's young players from Academy and Reserve sides(Gerrard, Thompson, Partridge <when will he get a chance to play at Premiership> ) are the guarantee for long term success. Let's hope we can bring back those Shankly days.

'If you're not sure what to do with the ball, just pop it in the net and we'll discuss your options afterwards.' - Shankly

"Let's hope we can bring back those Shankly days."

I hope so too http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif

Okay, okay, break-up this love fest. I have one question for you Liverpol fans( because if their's a set of fans I love to rile; it's Anfield's). There is an underlying theme to your posts, that being, you expect the team to continue to improve without additions. I contend that doesn't happen in the modern game, you always, ALWAYS, need a purchase or two; which brings me to my question: Assuming that all the top teams are also going to have that natural improvement, whom are Liverpool going to acquire to give them that "extra". Until you (neutral) caressed him into absolving Hamman, he was on spot in my opinion, and you unknowingly also admitted that the central combination of Redknapp and the aforementioned don't seem able to get Liverpool over the final hurdles of Arsenal and Man Utd. Mind you those teams are going to be stronger next year with rumours of their attempts to acquire Trezeguet and/or Kluivert, and/or Campbell. And especially Arsenal who have implemented the final phase-out of their celebrated back four. I await your comments, denials, or arguments to disprove.

First of all, Houllier has to get a new left back - Liverpool have been linked with Bixente Lizarazu (mmm, yes please!) and Ben Thatcher (amongst others) for ages and I'm sure Houllier will sweep for a top class left back this summer. Markus Babel will be coming in on the Bosman and he'll stake his place as our right back (who can also cover as a central defender) - which means Rigobert Song will be leaving (shame, especially when you look at how he shut down Giggs, and Overmars in games this season, but has also made some bad mistakes - see the Sunderland game). Houllier will also need a back up goalkeeper - Brad Friedel won't be staying because he, Paddy Berger, Smicer, and Henchoz all need work permits and you can only have 3 playing at once, and Jorgen Nielsen isn't up to scratch - I think Houllier will bring in Tranmere's young Joe Murphy as a backup for Westerveld (who is only 24 himself). And Liverpool will need another attacking central midfielder - here I don't know, I've heard wild wild persistent rumours of BIG name player who may come (a good personal friend of Houllier's) , but I doubt Liverpool have the money to get him and I'm too afraid to say who he is for fear of being ridiculed - because really I don't believe it either (you'll have to find out who this 'rumour' is yourselves). Realistically, it'll hurt us to attact a big name attacking star if we don't have champions league football, but one name that springs to mind for me is Frank Lampard Jr, who is an excellent young player at West Ham. I've also heard Nakata wants out at Roma - but hey, who am I kidding - why would he come to Liverpool? (just wishful thinking I guess)
One name that (I sincerely hope) you will be hearing next season is that of Richie Partridge who's one of Liverpool's rising young stars and may make an impact next year, and Vladimir Smicer who's been injured all year (only played 5 games in a row this year) will surely be an impressive attacking player next year.

antithesis, what's this 'final phase out' of the arsenal back four? Silvinho yes, but who's replacing Keown, Adams and Dixon - surely not Luzhny (31 yrs old), and Grimandi? Maybe Upson, but Wenger doesn't like to throw his youth into the fire....
Sol Campbell? Would Spurs sell him to Arsenal? Would Alan Sugar take the risk of losing the Tottenham fans COMPLETELY?!? Upson and Campbell would go good together, but no matter for me - everytime Emile Heskey goes up against Campbell, poor Sol ends up looking like a piece of cr@p http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif

"And Liverpool will need another attacking central midfielder - here I don't know, I've heard wild wild persistent rumours of BIG name player who may come (a good personal friend of Houllier's)" --> how about Zidane? Juve has the tendency to sell their star players and buy young players, Zidane might be the next.. (gosh, this will start a new debate, I think). French manager, French player... you work it out.

Campbell, uh-uh. He was named for ManUtd's interest. I don't think he fits well with Arsenal,,,,,,,,and I think you ought to apologize for your cynicsm with regard to Giles Grimandi. That guy is talented and he fits if, if, if as I have heard from the Premier League Trinidadians and Tobagonians (Yorke, Hislop, John), that Arsenal are going to try to purchase LeBoeuf. Andddd, I hope you really don't mean Zidane, because if that guy goes to Liverpool I will eat my mouse. Have you heard about Kluivert to Arsenal and Hasselbaink to Barcelona?

antithesis,
if Zidane goes yo Liverpool I'll gladly eat YOUR mouse! (not to mention i'd give my right arm and a kidney)

sounds ridiculous doesn't it, and while I'm 99.9999999999999999999999% certain it won't happen, there are some interesting questions;

who was french technical director for 7 years in the 90s?
who was one of the main figures in the youth set up for the French national team in the 90s?
who has Zidane mentioned as one of his biggest influences on his career?
and who's Zidane's kids' godfather?

4 quesitons, one answer......

(like I said though, Bangaldesh will win the World Cup before this deal happens)

As for Frank 'Don't talk to me, I won the World Cup' LeBoeuf - why would Arsenal want him? He's only 2 years younger than Tony Adams!

Kluivert to Arsenal I've heard - Overmars has said before that he wants to join the Dutch outfit in Barcelona, and Kluivert said he wants to play in the Premiership at one point in his career - do u see a player + cash deal? If so, that would also fit in with Hasselbaink going to Barca too...

Rumours, rumours....

Not to mention that this news came from Thrash Talk... but I would really love to see Zidane in LFC shirt.

yeah, krap talk, and a couple of other sites too, plus the Guardian and a couple of other newspapers ran stories along these lines.
Not going to happen, but I can dream - no matter, Steven Gerrard and Partridge will do just fine...

Let this be a good sign....
From Robbie's website:


No more silly mistakes!

I don't know if I am going to be playing against Southampton on Sunday, but if I am selected I feel I would be fit enough to last. I got a decent run-out against Leicester in midweek and I felt quite sharp. I had two very good chances which their keeper saved. On another day I would have been running away celebrating goals, but the keeper had one of those nights where he saved everything that was thrown at him.

We have a lot of strikers at Liverpool and we could do with a goal at the moment because we haven't managed one for three games. Since Emile Heskey arrived people have just assumed that we will only play two forwards but, who knows, there could be room in the team for three or even all five of us!

The final decision is down to the manager. If he wants to use one striker or five then we have to respect his decision. What really matters is that whoever plays has to play to the best of his ability at all times. I stress that we have to accept the manager's choice and I don't want people to interpret this as me saying that we should play with three forwards, but speaking purely from a personal point of view, other teams have done it in the past, so there is nothing to say that we couldn't too.

To be honest, I don't know the reason why our performances haven't been as good in recent games. In fact, I don't think anybody does. Let me say first of all that it's got nothing to do with me being back in the squad!

We had been very confident when we went into the first of our last four games. Now we have to rely on other teams to slip up if we are to get into the Champions League, as well as relying on ourselves to get all the points from our last two matches. At the moment we are doing a bit of praying.

What we've done in the last two games is give away stupid early goals. Because of that it's been hard to get back into the games. That sort of thing is criminal and, no disrespect to Leicester, if we want to play in the Champions League then we'll be playing far better teams than them and who will give us much more of a threat.

Last Saturday, the simple fact was that Chelsea were a good team and they were better than us. No-one can dispute that. But, I again mean no disrespect, we should be beating the Leicesters of this world. Southampton fall into the same category, and it's up to us to do better this time.

Finally, I'd just like to say how pleased I am for my friend, Steve McManaman, who is just 90 minutes away from playing in the Champions League final with Real Madrid. I didn't see their game against Bayern Munich in midweek because we were playing Leicester at the time, but I believe he played very well. I am made up for Macca. I really hope he goes all the way and picks up the trophy so he can show off his medal to me!

All the best,

Robbie (5/5/00)

Liverpool will beat Soton but lose to Bradford.
Leeds will draw with both Everton and Westham.
Thus, Liverpool will still finish above Leeds and win a place in next season's CL.

Firstly, NO , Kluivert won't be going to Highbury, not now, not in the near future. Why ? Arsene has committed himself to stay within Arsenal's pay/wage structure, which rules Kluivert out. I have heard and read the rumour that Barca will swop De boer brothers for Overmars. This is a more likely move, but it's still a rumour.
And no Leboeuf for Arsenal either, Arsenal will most likely not buy a defender in the off season. Why ? Keown and Adams are still there, Grimandi is always a likely sub, Upson will be back and Weston has made good progress. Silvinho, Winterburn, Luzhny and Dixon is enough with one of the Arsenal youngsters likely to feature if anyone of these should get injured.
Anyway, back to the topic
I agree with neutral, they need to buy both a left and a right back, although Babbel will most likely fill that right back position. Backup for Westerveld is needed. But I think Liverpool might also want to look at decent wingers, especially for back up to injuries. Strikers they've got more than enough.

No need to be so affirming. They are just rumours. As for pay structure, there are always loopholes to get around that. Like? Talking to Nike and making a case that playing in Britain would do more for his deal with them and letting them meet the salary difference. There is precedent for that. As for having defenders, you can never have too many good players. My information is that Wenger is a mite away from leaving the team to coach internationally, and I don't think Dixon and Winterburn will be satisfied with bench time, so harsh decisions wil be made. Remember, and I am happy with the form at present, Arsenal have been trounced by ManUtd. They will lose by as many as ten points or more. That means they are way, way behind. They looked pathetic against Barcelona. They have to make a change. Being a horse racing fan it always makes me laugh when a horse flying late for second is made the favourite next time out. The bottomline is Arsenal are second best by a long way. I say sell Kanu or Bergkamp, somehow they don't seem to fit together, and attempt to lure Cole. Get rid of Petit and make a bid for Lampard. Trade Overmars(seems he wants to leave) and bargain for Zenden or Cocu.

Fascinating trade rumours!

Another thing that bodes well for Zidane coming- he has been saying for a while now that he wants to play in a city by the sea, Barcelona and Marsaille would often get mentioned, so why not Liverpool, and don't underrate the fame the Reds have in the world, who wouldn't love to play for them?!

Liverpool seem to be having what Leeds had over April

If you consider Leeds lost to Aston Villa because of a foul - imo we would've won if that hadn't been given - we lost to Chelsea because Kelly fell/was fouled (twice in 2 weeks that happened http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/frown.gif), lost to Man Utd because Bowyer missed an open goal, and Arsenal could have been so different if Kewell's run had led to a goal/Harte hadn't been sent off unfairly...

Then I think it's fitting for Leeds to get the CL place. Which is far from secured now anyway.

Dbubbs thta are been the story of our season just a bout it....
we could still be in Europe
1st leg in Gala we played well in the second half and 2 stupid goals were given away

but the villa loss started it(stupid ref
smithy has been having a preety bad season aswell

all the reds supporters have been talking who to sign so who do u think Leeds should sign??

personally i think we need to strenghthen the defence a bit more (but hiden and molenaar are still coming back) but disapoinynly maybury broke his leg..

the midfield is looking very strong
Wilcox, Kewell (when he plays there), Macphail, Batty, Bowyer, Hopkin, Bakke, Jones

there was strong talk of Oliver Dacourt joining but that has subsided recently....

up front is the main problem in my opinion and we need a class striker to bang then in
a strong player who can hold up the ball well and can finish well.
Viduka was linked but he was linked to almost every other PL club aswell..
cort or gayle?

well anyone else care to voice their opinion?

Antithesis - Last time transfer speculation linked us to Kluivert it was rumoured he was earning in the 45k pound category a week. Now considering Arsenal are currently at a limit of about 25k-30k a week, I doubt anybody is going to make up the difference, not even Nike or Sega.
Arsenal have not been made favorites by anybody cept you horse pundit.
And Arsenal have not been trounced by man utd at all, but rather by a lack of form when it mattered. We lost games against insignificant opponents, something man utd hasn't done.
As for your suggestions regarding team changes at Arsenal, why not sell Adams and Keown, thrown in Henry and Vieira as well ?? Let's get rid of all the good players, buy Leboeuf and some other over rated players and sink to the depths of div1 ??
Attempt to lure Cole ? Why don't we rather just go ask wrighty to come back, at least the fans like him .
Sell Kanu or Bergkamp, good idea, then we have no inspiration in attack. Sell Petit, the workhorse of the Arsenal midfield ??
And how did Arsenal's two matches against Barcelona differ from Man utd's two matches against Real madrid ?? WELL ?
I do agree that one or two fresh faces are needed, but Arsene will buy wisely as he has done in the past, don't expect Cole or Leboeuf though.

Dbubbs - All teams have such run's, it's just that better teams don't fall over the hurdle but rather stumbles ( well, in this case team , only Man utd have not fallen when they had a bad run ). And please don't say Harte had been sent off unfairly, cause what he did and what beckham did during WC98 is exactly the same, and both very deserving of a red.

As for who and what Leeds need to buy. Better back up for their defenders. Certainly a striker and maybe a top class central midfielder. I think Leeds has a pretty good team, but they need that bit of flair and experience which has been lacking ( apart from Kewell and Bridges at times ). I think Leeds will be a lot stronger next season even if they don't buy a single player, they will have learnt a lot this year and will have a few players back from injury too.
As for who in defence I can't say, the current guys all play well, so I don't think signing a big name is going to help but will rather unsettle some of the regulars.
Midfield - How bout Lampard ? I would like to see him at Arsenal, but that ain't gonna happen anytime soon. And he's a youngster and will fit the Leeds youth policy.
Striker - O' Leary should lay down the money and buy a top notch striker. Bridges is good, but the rest are ordinary. The biggest problem is I don't think O' Leary isn't too keen on buying anymore foreign talent, pity though. If he's gonna stick to british talent how bout trying to pick up Burchill or going for WBA's Hughes when he's fit again. Otherwise, if he's to go european how bout picking up Frenchman Wiltord.
Oh yeah, and what about a decent reserve goalie, cause if Martyn ever gets injured Leeds is going to be in for a rough time. Martyn has been absolute great this season, and should be the England numero uno for Euro2000.

haha, you made me laugh Canoe. Our good players have led the team from being two points away to a dozen points adrift. And it's simple economics, sell high, and buy low. You need to sell good players to get money. And you and others say Wenger has bought these unknowns to Highbury. WHO ARE THEY? Henry, Petit, Vieria, Bergkamp, Grimandi? These players seem to have been notorious long before they graced Highbury. Anelka? You can argue that, although it seems he was a horse for a course. And, Petit is no workhorse, he rarely defends when Vieria plays. Have a look and you'll see. When Vieria plays he thinks he's Zidane. As for KEOWN and ADAMS, MARK MY WORDS, when the 'wall"hits; its quick and sudden. they are showing obvious signs that they are not going to be as effective next season. That's hard for me to say, because I love those two players, but Chelsea, Leeds, and Manchester are going to be even stronger next year. By the way Yorke, Dwarika, and Andrews scored as Trinidad and Tobago beat Haiti 3-1, at home in the first leg of their World Cup Qualifier. Not that anyone besides me cares,lol.

Although we dont have a big name second string keeper we have Robinson who is a england u/21 keeper, danny milosevic, australia u/21 keeper and recently (few months ago) we signed the england u/17 keeper

now theres some talent for the future!

o Leary has said that his policy for target players are young, british or scandenavian...

this was how Eirik Bakke was picked up and he has been a revelation in place of Batty...

Speaking of which, lets have a little 'game of sorts. Using your soccer gaming knowledge, pick out a few complete unknowns from the lesser or youth leagues of Europe and we'll see whether they actually make it - hers my bash:

Martin and Markus Persson (Trelleborgs FF): Sweden's answer to the Nevilles. Markus has played for Sweden's U21 side, and Martin, little brother, has had a Sweden U-18 call. Markus may be making a move to England in the summer.

Rune Lange (Rosenborg?): Can't remember where he plays, but he's a big strong midfielder in the Scholes mould. Will be a huge success if he moves to Fiorentina in the summer as has been suggested.

Go on - make some outlandish predictions, and I'll try and dig out a soccer-related prize for anyone who comes up trumps.

Kewell - O'Leary should stick with the youngsters in goal then, no need in buying a big names reserve keeper and chasing the young players away.
And you're right, Bakke has filled Batty's shoes quite well this season, even scored some good goals.

Antithesis - I'm glad I made you laugh, just as much as an Arsenal/Chelsea supporter made me laugh. Anyway..
So u reckon our good players aren't good enough ?? Seeing as how they sunk us from being second to, gasp, being second ! Maybe a new face or two will help freshen things up. And since when do you need to sell good players to get money ? We sold Anelka for a fortune didn't we ?
And please tell me about the 'notoriousness' of the signings by Arsene Wenger. Was Vieira, Petit and Anelka French internationals when he purchased them ? Heck, only Petit was a regular first team player. Grimandi wasn't too good first two seasons, but this past season he has been brilliant as a team player. Henry and Overmars were big names when he bought them. With Kanu he took a risk few others wanted to take, and Kanu has been great for Arsenal. And if you wonder about the purchase of Bergkamp by Wenger, jeesh, I'm not gooner waste my breath.
Adams and Keown have already hit the wall, critics have put them down for the past two seasons and yet they continue forth.
And unless Chelsea win the FA cup I can't see a team with no european prospect holding on to all their stars nevermind attracting new ones.

Drinky - Rune Lange (not really an unknown to be fair to him) could very well prosper but needs to get his butt in a decent league.

My pick is Stern John of Nottingham Forest.
Canoe! I thought I explained the dual team support, and mate, I was not laughing at your comments. I laughed at your comment! That being, "why not sell all our players". Taking a risk on Kanu. What risk? The guy's salary is comparatively small, he was enormously insured. That's like buying Microsoft before they launch Windows'98. And...you can't be happy with second place, especially when Arsenal don't have the pedigree to win the Champion's League. I am not questioning the skill of any of those players. My point is clear and articulated. When you "win" second place, TWICE, AND THE GAP IS WIDENING, YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

Tomasz Hajto, Polish right wing-back on Duisburg, since they got relegated(I think...) he will be moving on to a new team this summer.

Jurek Dudek, Feyenoord(Ok sorry I know he don't count since he's already famous.)

Bartosz Karwan, Legia Warsaw, right wing-midfield, 24 years old, Jari Litmanen called him the best player on the field when Finland played Poland last week.

Canoe,
Didn't Bruce Rioch sign Berkamp? I'm not sure, but I remember Rioch signing him in the same year they signed David Platt - a year before Wenger came...
?

damm!
2 points dropped at home!!!!

1 game left for us and reds.....
we play west ham away
liverpool play bradford away!

i never thought id say this but....
CMON BRADFORD!!!!!!

but really destiny is in our own hands now..

good to see bridges get onto the score sheet the last few games aswell!

ye, Hajto joins Schalke

Drinky- Here's another two
Magne Horseth, (I think he plays for Molde) as attacker.
Stuart Taylor - Arsenal youngster, also kept goal for England u/16 and u/18. And he's of good build, a lot more like Manninger in size.

Antithesis, the risk with Kanu was his health. And the risk was never really in the money departement, but more in the capability departement.
And why can't I be happy with second when at one stage it looked like we might end up out of the top 4 ? Sure I would've loved them to have won it this year, but we don't have the consistency of man utd, nor has any other club. Now if you want Arsenal to become Chelsea by buying and selling half of their team each season then good for you, but I think apart from one or two purchases Arsenal should not change personnel. They have a lot of youngster who can break through in the coming two seasons, and it'll be vital to keep the youngsters here rather than loose them.
If Arsene buys, I'll be happy with whomever he brings in, cause he's turned Arsenal in a top team since coming here ( two 2nd places, one third in his first half year, and one top spot ). I remember when we ended up 12th in '95, now that hurt. But when we end up 2nd even when trailing by ten odd points, that doesn't matter one bit to me.

Good call Neutral, thank goodness, I thought I was the only one that realized Bergie was not bought by mr Wenger.

Kewell - I've been shouting this for the past few weeks, albeit for different reasons. CMON BRADFORD, beat the drop, drop the Dons.

Okay, we are starting to argue the same points. That's what I said......ONE OR TWO PLAYERS. Everyone knows Wenger is a top tactician, but I am sorry, second place 12-15 points behind is like tenth place. Forget the Champions LEAGUE SPOT FOR A MOMENT. IF YOU WERE TOLD ARSENAL WOULD FINISH THAT MANY POINTS BEHIND AT THE START OF THE SEASON, I AM CERTAIN THAT WOULD HAVE DISAPPOINTED. Having said so, it is felt that two points a game ought to give you a title, so Arsenal has had a good season. But, the Premier league does not have parity, there are only three teams who have any chance of winning, and only two teams with a realistic chance; therefore, and this has to sink in eventually, losing by a dozen is not a good thing. It cant be! And KANU was not a risk. What would have happened had he not performed? More playing time for Suker and Ljungberg? That would have sunk the team to the first division methinks. Buying a half a team every year has certainly hurt Chelsea huh? Maybe when you were crying in 95 you forgot where they were. Neutral.....I have held my mouth for too long on you and your potent strike force at Anfield. I await your declarations and possibly acknowledgement that Liverpool plays like paint drying. I bet you wish you had Cole now. I think your top Striker has like 9 or 10 goals. Is that the new version of total football. MAYBE LIVERPOOL OUGHT TO BUY Jordi AND GIVE HIM THE #14 SHIRT. JUST KIDDING MATE. I FEEL FOR YOU!AND IF YOU GUYS ARE RIGHT, CAN'T BELIEVE BERGKAMP HAS BEEN THERE THAT LONG. Time flies.

[This message has been edited by antithesis (edited 05-09-2000).]

Antithesis - YES, agreed , one or two players. And second place even at 30 points behind is still second. If I was told Arsenal would finish 15 odd points behind man utd, that would've made me sad. But if I was told that we would finish 15 odd point behind man utd but still in second place, and end up in the UEFA cup final that would've been a lot better. YES, dropping out of the Champs league was disappointing too, but at least we are in the UEFA cup final.
Remember when Arsenal won the double ? We won the premiership with two games to spare, but lost the final two games and ended only a point above man utd. Now does that mean that man utd was just a point away from the premiership , were we only a point better ? Nope. It does mean that Arsenal was tops and Man utd was second

And what I was trying to imply with Kanu was that had he not been medically fit after being at Arsenal for a few weeks for whatever reasons, we would've been lower down the table now and that's a fact. Why ? Cause Kanu was very important for us in the early half of the season, when it was virtually he and he alone that was keeping the Arsenal score ticking on. Henry was on poor form, Bergkamp was indifferent, Suker had a good game or two but nothing earthshattering, and Ljungberg only played as striker once, and that was against Man utd when tough times in the striking department was present. Just look at the Chelsea game, and by all fairness Arsenal were poor, and should've lost 2-0 but for the talent of Kanu. And not only did he win it for us, he gave the team a massive confidence boost too. Money was not a problem, but finding a replacement would've been.

And you are the only person that wants Cole. To come to the defence of the Liverpool players, not one of them has had enough games to rattle up 20 odd goals, because of injury and injured players returning.

And I've had fun with this thread, but don't you think we should end it soon ??

Yes Antithesis,
Liverpool are just crap. Yes, Owen was only leading scorer in the EPL the past two years, and still managed 11 goals in an injury filled season - but, what am I thinking? He sucks! 20 years old - ha, they should release him now and save themselves the embarassment of playing a striker who surely doesn't even deserve to lace the boots of the incredible Andy Cole.
Fowler - bah! Injuries and only 8 starts are no excuse, I'm sure you'll agree that in 8 starts Cole would have scored at least 30-35 goals (quite possibly more), yep, we better get rid of that Fowler bloke too - and at 24 he's surely over the hill.
Heskey, bah! 11 million and for what? Did u see him against Argentina - he was so bad! And look at him, so skinny and small, I've never seen him win a header in my life, nor set up anyone else - useless - bah! 'needing to adjust to a new team' - what a paltry excuse - we all know how amazing Andy Cole adapted to United's play - the way he so excellently missed that chance against West Ham that would have won United the league in his first season - of course, he did that deliberately right...

And look at the way we play! Like watching paint dry with our other crap young players like Gerrard and Thompson - I think we should send a petition to the FA so that we can get relegated rather than Sheffield Wednesday since we're so horrible.

I also think we should make you our new Chairman - we need someone like you, a man who can never be pleased, a person who has standards that no one can live up to - and surely you'll invest in a plan to take Hansen, Dalgliesh, Souness, Pele, Maradona, Charlton, and (of course) Andy Cole's DNA to create genetic clones so that we can have exciting and open play that will please you.

http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif

In two years when we win the league, will you be an Aresenal/Chelsea/Liverpool supporter? If so I'll be sure to push you off and in front of the bandwaggon so we can run you over on our way past.
Cheers http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/wink.gif

[no offence intended, just a little 'friendly' banter]

Jesus! What a hammering I have got. Almost felt like a Liverpool supporter. I think you are right mate, let's put this post to rest. I am not going to refute anything you two have said....they are all excellent points and arguments. I am going to wait for the day though when you and the rest of the world acknowledge that Cole is the best striker in the Premier League. I am going to hibernate for a while until another post of interest is born.

Owen, Fowler and Heskey are better than Cole.