Welcome back,
With the majority of football fans in Singapore being Liverpool fans, it's no wonder there was dead silence in the heartlands on Thursday morning after Milan beat the Reds in the Champions League final.
But the disgruntled moanings can still be heard, despite all the post-match analyses in the media yesterday. Milan were lucky. Liverpool were unlucky. The Italians are always lucky...and the English always unlucky.
Why did Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez field the hopeless Boudewijn Zenden from the start, they asked? But wasn't he useful in the stages leading up to the final?
Why leave Peter Crouch on the bench? Why start with Dirk Kuyt?
But honestly, did you really curse and swear to yourself (especially if you were a Liverpool fan) when the lineup was announced for the final?
Did you think a horrible crime had been committed, when Peter Crouch and Craig Bellamy had been left out? Or even that Steven Gerrard was put in a free role behind Kuyt?
Benitez's actual lineup was, after all, pretty much what the English media had predicted. Television commentators went on saying how Kuyt was in fact, the best man for that kind of job. But when things went wrong, oh... how they wondered.
The New Paper's Stanley Ho, says on Page 66 in today's (Friday 25 May) edition, that the real truth is that Milan were really a class apart.
So what if this Liverpool team was widely seen by the English as the better team all round, compared to the 2005 team that beat Milan in the final? Liverpool's vintage could never compare with Milan's. You know what they say about wine.
Benitez said after the game: "When you look at the champions Manchester United spending £20m ($60m) on a midfield player, and we have been paying only £8m to £9m for our strikers, you know what must be done."
Therefore, the Postman's Question of the Week: Do you agree that Liverpool lacks real class, and should Benitez spend big, following the Real Madrid or Chelsea way, or go with the cheaper but shrewd Arsenal buying way?
Consider too, if real class can be bought overnight.
Answer in not more than 200 words, by 3pm on Monday, and the usual spread of letters will be carried on Tuesday, in The New Paper.
Post your views here by clicking on "comments" below my poll here, or e-mail to The New Paper's sports desk under the title "Dear Postman" (by clicking the link on the right).
At your service,
Ernest Luis
The Postman
The New Paper
(PS. E-mailers and bloggers, you all should e-mail us your full name, age, occupation, contact numbers and favourite teams, to be considered for the last round of Adidas prizes for May)
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73 comments:
Yes, Liverpool lacks real class and should follow the Chelsea or Real Madrid way. Rafael Benitez should spend big..
To Be Continued
It is always easy to provide excuses after a match. Playing 5 in midfield allowed Benitez to match Milan. Zenden was perhaps the only choice at left wing. It was always going to be a risk if he had started with Kewell who has missed almost the entire season. Kuyt was also probably played because he is more mobile than Crouch and can defend from the front.
In Carra's words "No excuses, we just not good enough", instead of focussing on what could have been, perhaps credit should be given to Milan for showing that Dad's Army can still perform at the highest stage.
Buying big is hardly the solution if they are bought wrongly. Certain players may come at big prices but are hardly suited for the EPL. Benitez's transfer strategy has always been quantity over quality. Hence, in games like this where one needs just that extra bit of quality to put away a chance, Liverpool loses out.
Yes, Liverpool lacks real class. It is rumoured that Benitez would get a $50m kitty. However, if you put this into the context of today's inflated transfer market, you would wonder how many world class players Benitez can buy. 2?Benitez to choose quantity over quality again? Don't bet against it.
Cheers,
kel
Forget about Milan and the Champions League. Because even without true class, Liverpool still outplayed (if not outclassed) Milan in the dinal, and Liverpool have shown themselves to be one of the toughest teams to beat in Europe in recent times.
Instead, it’s only in the EPL where Liverpool’s lack of class makes a more telling difference.
Bill Shankly once said, "A football team is like a piano. You need eight men to carry it and three who can play the damn thing."
Right now, what Liverpool lacks are the players who can "play it". Recently in an interview (with liverpoolfc.tv) assistant manager Pako Ayestaran mentioned that he felt Liverpool lacked world-class wide players, especially when compared to Man U (Giggs and Ronaldo) and Chelsea (Robben).
And that is why the first players to go this summer are going to be the likes of Zenden and Gonzalez. I don’t usually like to engage in transfer speculation, so I won’t name any names, but definitely, Liverpool just needs that 2 or 3 wingers and strikers that are on the TOP of Rafa’s list.
As a fierce rival fan, definitely I'd go as far as to say Liverpool lacks class right down to their fans (the faeces and urine throwing ones, the ambulance-attacking ones, the ones that made the football world cry due to Heysel and Hillsbrough and the list goes on but generally the fans in Singapore are a decent bunch even if we can't get enough of their past glories reminder time and time again...) but that's a different story altogether from the question being asked here.
If their new owner is brave enough to be another Roman Abravomich, definitely they would go the way of Chelsea, buying big stars or in other words, players with qualities (Boulahrouz, Ballack & Sheva not included as they are past their sell-by date).
But honestly who can they attract other than Spanish-based players, who are more accustomed to Benitez than say, Italian, French or German players??? Don't get me wrong, I dare say Liverpool are more organised at the back than United. They need to build on this foundation and improve the midfield and attack. The acquisitions of Arbeloa and Mascherano I feel have added more steel to their defensive tactics.
I actually like Mark Gonzalez but he's too soft for the Premiership. Likewise I think Harry Kewell should leave. He's a liability and just earning free wages ala Winston Bogarde. Fowler, Dudek, Zenden and Gonzalez out, perhaps Hyppia is next.
All in all, they really need to buy big if they wanna challenge United, Arsenal and Chelsea for the Premiership. But me being me, hope that they'll still buy players in the mould of Kvarme, Meijer, Diao etc... :)
The current Liverpool team lacks strong consistent strikers. I always find it painful to see the team trying to score a good goal all season except the weaker teams. The period of 1970s and 1980s with 11 EPL championship titles have distinguished names like Jimmy Case, Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, John Toshack, John Aldridge, John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Ian Rush and Paul Walsh. Winning the UEFA championship in 2005 and getting to the finals of 2007 on the current team is an over-achievement for Liverpool due to a strong manager Rafa Benitez! Meeting AC Milan is a true test of the credentials of a class team but it is not to be as Liverpool has proven to be really ordinary.
Real Madrid and Chelsea bought expensive players but they did not buy classy players. You cannot find cheap and classy players in today's EPL. Chelsea has spoilt the market. Arsenal development of young players is a good example of building team of the future but you need to bring in the best players to play in the best league in the world! With more money you can compete for better players in Europe and Latin America instead of fringe players of Spain only.
The true test of Rafa Benetiz will be: Will he a shrewd manager if he is given the extra money and form a EPL Championship title team and capable youthful back-ups?
Samuel Ng, Finance manager
51, Always Liverpool
Yes, Liverpool lacks real class in English Premier League and the Cups competions in Enlish League, FA and the Champions League as they do not have enough money. Liverpool don't need to buy expensive players like Chelsea because money don't buy success. They should follow the example of Manchester United, buy a few young players and sign up a few players from the Liverpool youth academy. Liverpool should do the examples of how the manager Bill Shankly and Kenny Dalglish bring success to Liverpool. Buy players like Ian Rush, John Barnes and Jamie Redknapp who will perform for the love and committment to Liverpool Football Club.
No matter how scintillating a team performs but however fails to score the goals (eg. Arsenal), doesn’t it lack real class? It’s the same case with Liverpool. Both Milan and Liverpool had their chances in that game. The class difference between them is that one took theirs beautifully (even the supposedly fluke one was special in its own way) while the other couldn’t even put the simple ones away.
World-class players can be bought overnight but real class can only be build over the long term because it involves the players and the managers (/coaches) gelling up as one.
Benitez has always been buying players that will fit into his system. To go the Real Madrid way, it will probably create another Shevchenko. Even if new players (eg. David Villa) do come to Anfield at a hefty price, it is only because of the massive kitty Benitez will be having. Benitez’s criteria for buying a player will not change.
Frankly speaking,the whole Liverpool team besides Gerrard and perhaps to a lesser extent of Xabi Alonso,there was not much class in the squad.Compare to the strong teams like Milan,Man U,Chelsea or Arsenal,these teams do have more class in terms of their players.However Reds have always been playing committed strategic football rather than the classy one,so perhaps that just spells it all.
On spending astronomical transfer fees like what Real Madrid and Chelsea has done,I think Rafa should have a mixture of transfer policy on buying big players and bargains buys ala the Arsenal way.Good players surely have a massive tansfer fee tag over their head so if Rafa reckons whoever can aid their EPL title chase then spending big on 1 or 2 players perhaps is justifiable.However if he keeps on buying big,not only that might not bring success and a waste of money,clubs will blackmail the Reds if they ever have any interest in their players.Its all about luck and good foresight in the transfer market when it comes to good signing.It won't always be the case of money as Wenger has showed us.
By simply comparing both benches during the Champions League Final, it revealed a stark contrast in quality. Man for man, Milan had the better players capable of making a difference off the bench. Liverpool, on the other hand, had players lacking the necessary experience at the highest level.
2 Champions league finals in 3 seasons in probably the world’s toughest club competition highlight Liverpool’s massive potential to be a classy team. Hence, Benitez has to see what improvements he can make to the team and build a quality squad capable of competing for top honors domestically and in Europe.
In the past, Benitez has often settled for players with potential. But with Liverpool’s newly-obtained financial muscle, Rafa can finally compete in the transfer market and fancy his chances of landing his first-choice transfer targets.
However, Liverpool doesn’t necessarily need to spend big to get quality players. What’s more important is ensuring he gets the right players who suit his playing philosophy, rather than splurge on player’s reputation alone. Mascherano is a prime example of a quality player at a bargained price.
While money doesn’t necessarily buy you class, it does go a long way in helping build a classy team.
It was a painful end to an exciting match. The numerous chances created and not converted into goals sent me into spasms.
It is only normal for any neutral fan to jump on the bandwagon and agree that Liverpool lacked class. Those Liverpool fans who agree that the team lacked class should ask themselves if they are supporting the right team.
Liverpool matched Milan in all areas, but they failed to convert their chances and Milan had luck on their side with the first goal. Liverpool had their own class, and Milan theirs. Had Liverpool won, would the papers have questioned Milan's class? As they all say, it's all about winning. Playing beautiful football is secondary.
Liverpool are in a class of their own, and with the purchases lined up for next season, they can only get better.
Regards
Ashraf
31, Executive
"When you look at the champions Manchester United spending £20m ($60m) on a midfield player, and we have been paying only £8m to £9m for our strikers, you know what must be done."
When Benitez uses this as an excuse for needing more funds, it is just a screen to hide his failure in the transfer market. Yes, Man U may have spent $18m on a midfielder. But in the past 3 years, Liverpool have spent much more than Utd. While Utd pools its resources on quality, Pool goes for quantity. Well, if you pay peanuts, you get peanuts. The truth is Benitez seeks players who are cheap and good and very often they disappoint. What this man needs is a clear direction of what he hopes his transfer targets will bring. Grooming the likes of Agger etc takes time. And if he intends to challenge for the title, he needs that bit of quality real fast.
Perhaps the youth academy does plays a part in causing Benitez to go for quantity in the squad to compete on all fronts. From the likes of the O Shea, Brown, Fletcher and Richardson, though not outstanding are useful squad players. But other than Gerrard and Carra, I can't think of any other players brought up through the youth system.
Looking at the players he bought in the past 3 seasons, I have my doubts on whether $50m will be sufficient for Pool to achieve a wee bit more class.
Cheers,
kel
The problem is, you do have to wonder whether it is Rafa who chooses to go for quantity instead of quality, or someone else at the club does. We know for a fact that we wanted to buy Simao, but in the end couldn't pay the high price for him. We also know that Rafa's targets included the likes of Vidic, Alves, Walcott, some of whom have went to the other clubs. I don't know whether Rafa is just showing his frustration or is he genuinely blaming the club (I hope it's just the former) but I do know that in the case of Liverpool's board, sometimes they do dilly-dally on some things (for instance, the Gerrard contract issue problem right after the '05 CL final). We also know Rafa's previous issues with his former club Valencia, where he got "table lamps" when he wanted "sofas"...
So how much of who we bought can be put down to Rafa or the board, I can't figure it out without knowing the full facts. Probably only he himself will know. But one thing's for sure, players like Pennant were never top of Rafa's list. So if his 5th or 6th choice signing fails, should he blame himself or the money people?
Samuel,
>> Chelsea has spoilt the market.
No offense, but that doesn't make any sense. The only team seriously affected by the "spoilt market" is really, only Chelsea.
Hadi,
>>2 Champions league finals in 3 seasons in probably the world’s toughest club competition highlight Liverpool’s massive potential to be a classy team. Hence, Benitez has to see what improvements he can make to the team and build a quality squad capable of competing for top honors domestically and in Europe.
Or.. it could also mean a team that hardly plays to win in three other competitions it is supposed to be involved in. Any good team can win the Champions League if they prioritise playing in the Champions League. Look at Arsenal in 2006, Liverpool in 2005, Milan and Liverpool in 2007. All of them made it to the final because they had nothing else to play for.
I am also agreeing with Kelvin on this myth that Liverpool has no money to buy players. Liverpool has been spending roughly around 90 million pounds in the past three seasons.
I doubt 50 million pounds more is gonna do much of a difference.
>>Do you agree that Liverpool lacks real class,
There are many definitions for the word class, what do you mean by it? Quality? Class as in a respectable club? Which? Personally, I think Liverpool has no class but that won't be answering the question..
>>and should Benitez spend big, following the Real Madrid or Chelsea way,
He spent 90 million pounds, if that isn't spending big, he should stop dreaming, not every club has an oil tycoon owner.
>>or go with the cheaper but shrewd Arsenal buying way?
Arsenal's youth policy is to be admired, but there have been several controversial legal issues that will be too lengthy to be mentioned here. Also, if they want to buy the Arsenal way, I assume they would be allowed to complain about their "youthful" team as well?
>>Consider too, if real class can be bought overnight You can't buy class. Class is earned. You don't see class for sale anywhere, do you?
PS Sorry for the multiple postings, it'll be too confusing posting it all together.
..and follow Jose Mourinho style of buying players if he wants Liverpool to go anywhere near the Premiership.
I am still angry with Gerard Houllier for killing the traditional SHORT PASSING GAME of Liverpool. His successor Rafael Benitez, although plays interesting tactical football, I still like the SHORT PASSING GAME of the days of Roy Evans.
No doubt Liverpool has class in the days of Roy Evans and I still like James, McAteer, Redknapp, McManaman and Fowler spice boys days.
Look at the Chelsea side now. Chelsea play a classy SHORT PASSING GAME that won us the Carling Cup and FA Cup double.
Liverpool has no class. Unless Raphael Benitez plays back the SHORT PASSING GAME tradition that Houllier killed.
Qyaerus-Syahrein
25
Waiting To Be Accepted Back To Temasek Polytechnic
Chelsea
hahaha...don't make me laugh q-s,Chelsea playing a what?Classy short passing game?If they are playing classy short passing game then Reading will be world class,the Devils passing game will be out of this world and the Gunners passing game will be belonging to another galaxy.If indeed Chelsea is playing classy football then the problem of Roman wanting Mourinho out won't surface.Know why?Because Roman wants classy football and Mourinho is not producing it.Are your eyes blinded by the eagerness of wanting to be the writer of the month prize and wanting to appear on the papers?Get your facts right boogeyman...
anonymous said.......
its not the main reason LIVERPOOL lack world class players.CHELSEA and REAL MADRID,had they been in the champions league in the final?They are good in their own league compared to LIVERPOOL.Theres a few main reason y LIVERPOOL lost to MILAN.They controlled the game very well in 1st half n its about 2 to 3 minutes to half time when they conceded free kick just outside penalty box.They had been repeating their mistakes in EPL n still no improvements.Did MILAN give LIVERPOOL free kick in danger zone?NO,because they know players like GERARD,RIISE and ALONSO can score from this position.As for the 2nd half goes by,BENITEZ was too desperate to get an equaliser n without much thinking he took off MASCHERANO n put CROUCH to partner KUYT upfront.Remember in ISTANBUL when LIVERPOOL was trailing 3-0 at half time?In 2nd half BENITEZ put HAMANN to stop KAKA and it really worked and how LIVERPOOL get back and won the game.So when MASCHERANO was substituted KAKA had the last laugh and he proved BENITEZ wrong in 4 minutes time when MASCHERANO left the pitch the killer goal came from INZAGHI supplied by KAKA.Maybe the main reason for BENITEZ is that he took safety precaution to avoid MASCHERANO being booked for 2nd yellow and resulted in LIVERPOOL playing 10 man.BENITEZ should changed the formation from 4-5-1 to 3-5-2,replaced either CROUCH or BELLAMY and took out FINNAN.Lastly if BENITEZ need to buy players he need to strengthen in all areas,should buy FRIEDRICH from GERMANY and ALEX from PSV EINDHOVEN
to strengthen LIVERPOOL defence,while in midfield he should buy RIQUELME from ARGENTINA and LIONEL MESSI,lastly striker he should buy TEVEZ or DAVID VILLA for next season
There. That's the reason why people like me - I MAKE YOU LAUGH. *Drumrolls* *Ka-ching*
Ya.I have to agree with you on that q-s.You are a big joke man.haha...
cfcfan,
Or.. it could also mean a team that hardly plays to win in three other competitions it is supposed to be involved in. Any good team can win the Champions League if they prioritise playing in the Champions League. Look at Arsenal in 2006, Liverpool in 2005, Milan and Liverpool in 2007. All of them made it to the final because they had nothing else to play for.
I believe Liverpool has been erratic in their performance be it in the Premier League. During both seasons they left their chasing till the second half of the season. This was also the same period of time where the Champions League matches were played. If Liverpool had concentrated on the Champions league only, i believe they would have been overtaken by Spurs, Bolton and Reading whom have lesser to concentrate on.
Which teams can we identify as classy?The simplest way to find out is to watch football and then wishing how the team you supports can emulate those classy teams playing style.I can simply pick out a few,although not all might agree with my choice but most will I guess.
First of all,Barcelona with players like Messi,Eto and Ronaldniho almost a fantasy trio for any football fan.Definately classy with their brand of attractive attacking play.Then we have the newly crowned Man Utd.Old class of Scholes and Giggs mixed with the youthful sparks of Ronaldo and Rooney.Classy with their attack at all cost,not so with the sometimes leaky defence,but I will still take it.Look at the way Chelsea and Real Madrid play now.They are bring drilled like some kind of a machine which makes you feel as though the players are playing with a 10 tonnes chain ball tied on their legs.Classy players they might have but it isn't evident on the pitch mainly due to the way their coach want them to play.
While Liverpool isn't playing like machines but they are playing like the markers on the drawing board.Everything is just so tactical,too tactical.Same problems with the machines I see.Perhaps that is what stopped the class from these supposingly classy teams oozing out.
>>This was also the same period of time where the Champions League matches were played. If Liverpool had concentrated on the Champions league only, i believe they would have been overtaken by Spurs, Bolton and Reading whom have lesser to concentrate on.
Fair enough. But, fighting for a Champions league spot in the league is certainly not difficult for a club with players of quality like in Liverpool. Spurs are weak defensively, while Bolton and Reading are simply just not good enough.
But fighting for the top position in the league.. thats a different thing altogether.
If Liverpool lack real class, they have more than compensated up with their grit in defence, with Reina keeping the most clean sheets in EPL this season which just ended.
And how often have we seen true grit triumph over real class?
Real class can be bought overnight but that cant guarantee you success overnight. Real Madrid 03/04 is an example of having plenty of class but achieving no silverware.
Since Rafa has so far gone with the cheap signings (maybe due to a tight budget), I will like to see him spend big like the Chelsea way and see if he can really bring real class to Liverpool.
Liverpool seem to lack class and some players are yet to be in the high level. They have quantity over quality though it may be a decision by Rafa to sustain a hectic schedule in a relatively tight budget.However, this would change with new owners and Liverpool must follow Real.Spend big but wisely.Even Arsenal would spend big towards Ribery if they had the cash.Between 24 and 27,players of this age group are just out of 'youth' status and building up towards their peak.These players shall provide immediate quality and hope for the future as well. I wonder why Luca Toni was not bought.Expensive and shorter than Crouch but Toni has the record and experience. Liverpool seem to need a striker,central defender and a wide player. Malouda,Quaresma and Martin Petrov can be good alternative buys with Andrade,Coloccini and Capdevila,defenders from fallen giant Deportivo. Real class cannot be bought overnight.Good players from money would only be a catalyst but what more important is consistency.The consistency to maintain a high class of quality would be one key factor leading to 'Real Class'. There is a reason why Real,Barca,Milan,Juve,Manchester and Bayern are forces to be known.
I have to agree that Liverpool lacks real class, not this season, but for the past decade. As far as I can remember, players like Daglish and Rushie are a class apart from the rest and after they left, nobody really makes a huge impact that will bring the title back to Anfield.
Rafa really needs someone who can make a mark, like Tevez or Riquelme, someone who can really makes a difference on the pitch. You cant win the title with Sissoko or Gonzalez, you need Kaka, Ronaldo or Messi.
Chelsea showed that class can be bought overnight, but of course with solid financial backing.
If Liverpool were to spend big, the question will be what kind of players and will they be able to adapt quickly enough. I believe they are going in the right direction,however, signing top class players with the right mentality is equally important.
Chua San How, 20
Student
As a Liverpool fan, it pains me to see us have a trophyless season. We had a good run in the Champions League, despite the loss in the final. We couldnt defend our FA Cup. Our youngsters lost in the Carling Cup to Arsenal's youngsters and the Premier League tittle chase was over after the fist few months.
I really believe that we need some bulking up, especially in the wide areas and up front. What we need is a flamboyant winger who can make things happenon both wings, not people like Zenden and Kewell who simply fill up areas on the pitch or Pennant who isnt Premier League Standard. Up front, we need a goal machine, a 20-goal a season striker, who can play with Crouch or Kuyt.
WIth a few additions, Liverpool could challenge for the tittle but only if Rafa makes the right signings and only if they can settle and adapt to the English Game.
Come on people! The reality in this world is that MONEY is almost everything.
I meant that, the money could buy you things. In the world of soccer, buy you players, which you want, fancy, need and those who have class.
Get REAL! That's the fact of the current world of soccer! Money buys everything. Players, managers, stadiums, trophies and even fans.
Where was Chelsea before Roman came? They were just some club that no one noticed. But when the money comes, it's a whole different story!
Players who have 'class' as described comes with a huge price tag. They don't come cheap.
Class. What is the meaning of the word here to you all in the world of soccer? Playing good? And just playing good?
Haley Harrison
Student 14
Liverpool
94307049
Well Harley,in fact I find the Chelsea before Roman came is a class act with Zola,Leboeuf,Di Matteo,Petrescu and Flo playing some of the most exciting football at that time,although they did not make such a great challenge for EPl title but they sure did caught a lot of people attention.And now its just nothing but money money money.Just read that Roman isn't going to dig deep into his pockets anymore,interesting to see how things will go around the Blues camp.
>>Come on people! The reality in this world is that MONEY is almost everything.
I meant that, the money could buy you things. In the world of soccer, buy you players, which you want, fancy, need and those who have class.
Get REAL! That's the fact of the current world of soccer! Money buys everything. Players, managers, stadiums, trophies and even fans.
You just nailed it right there, Haley. Now football is a business and an entertainment industry. Money is bound to have a strong influence in The Game.
>>Where was Chelsea before Roman came? They were just some club that no one noticed. But when the money comes, it's a whole different story!
Sorry, but its because you're ignorant that you don't know about Chelsea. Besides, how can you not know Zola, JFH, Gudjohnsen?
>>Players who have 'class' as described comes with a huge price tag. They don't come cheap.
Class. What is the meaning of the word here to you all in the world of soccer? Playing good? And just playing good?
Personally I don't know what its supposed to mean either. It has a wide range of meanings.
>>Well Harley,in fact I find the Chelsea before Roman came is a class act with Zola,Leboeuf,Di Matteo,Petrescu and Flo playing some of the most exciting football at that time,although they did not make such a great challenge for EPl title but they sure did caught a lot of people attention.
Yeah we were like what Arsenal currently is. All so pretty but you don't win much that way. Liked by everyone because we played beautiful football or "sexy" as Gullit called it, we were never much of a threat to the Big Three so they liked us too. We were labelled the "Almost there but not quite yet" team. Now that we're winning, everyone who feels threatened hates us.
I think there is a question of whther rafa can handle class or flare players with creativity. He has a system - a set script to follow, and if you fall outside of it you are no longer a Liverpool player. Creative players may come in and may not want to play for LFC for many years if their creativity will be stifled. You may also have a situation like Owen and Cisse where players with pace may work best in spurts (obviously there will be exceptions to this rule) but will be deemed inadequate because they are not like Kuyt - run around rather than scoring.
Another issue is about Rafas favoured players. eventhough Cisse was a one trick pony who scored many goals from being played out of position he was deemed less favourably than those who did not score as much. likewise for some reason Crouch was not used as much, in the CL final, as he should have been whereas Kuyt, though he scored a goal, was and is ineffectual as a goal scoring machine.
I am only using this as an argument, so please don't think it is gospel.
Creativity and flare are needed and that is what separates good players from great players. Kuyt is a good player, but you can always predict he will take one too many touches on the ball. Henry and Ronaldinho are great players. I am sure Tevez will be.
Maybe Zola, Leboeuf, Di Matteo, Petrescu, Gudjohnsen were not in my time. Sorry that I missed them out.
But although they had those players, they weren't as big as Liverpool, Arsenal and of course Manchester United then.
It was only when Roman's money came in, Chelsea slowly turned into a 'BIG' club. Their popularity then slowly rised.
Like Barcelona's forward Samuel Eto'o said that the English clubs will gain control in the Champions League because the English clubs are much richer compared to the others.
Let me repeat the fact why I support Chelsea..I supported them since Jose Mourinho take over BEFORE they even won the Premiership after 50 years.
I really respect Jose Mourinho. The most heartfelt past I discovered about him is..his dad was a football manager too and was sacked after losing just one match.
I also respect Roman Abramovich. He was born poor. Both Jose and Roman earned my respect because they are born poor and DESERVE their richness now by working hard.
I was born poor too and someday I'm going to work hard for my family just like my father. (Though my father is still controlling me now that I'm 25)
*Disappointed look*
Hm...Does anyone cares about why you support Chelsea or whether you are under the guardiance of your dad or the surveillance of IMH?q-s poor chap no one cares about you...
This is the LAST time I'm replying to your post, jury. People I play street soccer with and people in my class in Polytechnic DO CARE about me. And YOU certainly care about me if not why do you bother to comment on me? From this moment on, I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU!
I think it's a no-brainer as to why your dad is controlling your every movement, cos he's afraid you might be a menace to the public, just like how you are a menace in here. If you can control your feelings and emotions, definitely he will leave you alone and not treat you like your shoe size. Comprende?
I tell you why I'm a menace in here ONLY - I wasn't invited to that damn photoshoot in December.
I'm a nice guy in and outside my house so if you don't know me THOROUGHLY, don't jump into conclusions.
Oh well,for a 25yrs old who acted in such a childish way because of being snubbed for the photoshoot,as a 14yrs old I feel ashamed for you.Oh and about me caring for you,why not put it this way and say I care for the others here.The other bloggers here don't deserve your overboard comments ya.If I didn't remember wrongly you claimed to be the who on street soccer court,oh the Blues midfield general Frank Lampard.Please don't tarnish his name,you could jolly well be one of the Lamp-post on the roadside man.
Since you like to be photographed,hey why not take a clip of yourself clowning around and post it on youtube,you could be famous overnight and free yourself of the anger you have been having,kid.
Firstly he said his anger towards the Postman stems from the fact that his letters were not published and he was not selected as Writer of the Month.
Next he claims that he was not invited to the Photoshoot in December. What divine right does he have to be called upon to be featured?
His comments in here are at best, mediocre. Most of them are filled with emotional angst and anger. Why should the New Paper be glorifying him when he has not been acting graciously and maturely like other bloggers in here?
A sick, demented person like him who lives in denial that he is insane in the membrane should not be taken seriously and I guess the people who sieve through all the comments know better than to put him on a pedestal so that he can shout to the whole world what a great commenter and intelligent player he is... NOT!!!
I am not insane in the membrane. Anyone in Ang Mo Kio Secondary School 1997 can agree with me.
How many times must I repeat it's my father who wants to save face after I confessed to him I fell in love with a teacher by sending me inside 'there'.
The more medications I take, the more 'insane' I become.
I'm sick of people who do not know me personally jumping into conclusions that I'm like a supervillian.
Rather than blame your father and in turn tarnishing your family's good name, you should think over why your dad sent you "there". There won't be smoke without fire.
And even you once admitted the results showed you were suffering from bipolar disorder. You should be thankful your father at least cares for you and wants to see you treated and lead a normal life.
Pls don't be ungrateful towards your parents. Like any other parents, they only want the best for their kids. And pls don't wash your dirty linen in public. There's already enough ammunition for others to go against you with all your confessions. Some things are best left to yourself, especially the personal ones. If I were you, I'll just disappear away from here.
You're sick of people who jumped into conclusion you're one big supervillian?haha..Hey get this right dud.We are sick of your childish behaviour here and who started all these?It was none other than you!And if you feel hard done now then too bad,because you had the chance to put this right but you decide to go a step further and this is what you get.How about this,I'm sure everyone here are all very forgiving people.You just have to apologise to everyone and stop your nonsenses from this moment on.Maybe we can still change our views on you or you can keep on being your own little angry monster and terrorising here.
From now on I'm IGNORING ALL my haters. Mr.Ernest Luis, can you come up with a new post please? I'm more interested in answering your post than entertaining these people who likes to start the smoke before the fire.
Oh...Someone running away from his crime scene by asking for a new post.At least I see an improvement there,that's good.What smoke and fire you are talking about?You have already got yourself burnt quitty-slimey...
I have been reading this blog since January and besides other bloggers commenting and debating on the topics setted,and there you are ranting on some irrelevant issues,even to the extent of taking it out on a boy who is older than me.I know Ernest said to everyone to ignore you,I follow suit so as not to interrupt this blog.Now the season has ended,I have decided to give you an end of season judgement.Read that next week there will be a section on postman series class of 06/07.You will sure be up there alone in the Dud of The Season.Hereby an early congratulation.
Back to the topic. United have already made their intentions clear for the next season with the transfer coup of Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani with another striker set to complete the number of arrivals at Old Trafford.
It's definitely a good move to get the two youngsters to have a season or two to learn from the likes of Giggs and Scholes, who they will replace in time to come. I think the capture of Anderson caught everyone by surprise, me included but I think they've made a great move on a player who was shining for Porto in the Champions League this season. Anyone who had caught their games would have noted how Anderson attacks opposing defences with pace and trickery.
United have thrown down the gauntlet on their rivals and it's really gonna be interesting to see what the other teams are gonna do to bolster their squads. But what we know is that the Premiership is gonna be a hell lot exciting, with open attacking football all round. Can't wait for the new season already...
About 17 million pounds for Anderson, Nana and Hargreaves EACH.
And they say only Chelsea spend big..
Until United spends 100 million pounds worth of players in a close season, they're never gonna be the new Chelski. Well at least we can be sure they're not gonna play boring football like a certain London outfit.
Just had my birthday and Man U sure did gave me a big present by signing Nani whom along with Hargreaves and Huntelaar are the players I will love to see in action in Old Trafford next season.With the deals on Nani and Hargreaves done,the signing of Anderson surprises me as there was not much rumours linking him to Man U.Well,the track records of Brazilian (the last one being Kleberson) in the Theatre of Dreams does not seem that good,so hope this will turn out to be a good one just like the Argie curse with Veron but Heinze's arrival broke that spell.
If one Ronaldo is not terrifying enough,how about two now?The potential of Nani is definately there so lets see whether he can emulates his Portuguese mate's achievements.These signings have really excite the Man U fans with the season just barely ended.Now shake off some fringe players to get some funds back for Huntelaar,that will be enough for me.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, ERIC KNG! Miss you since the prize collection. LOL
Well I'm not keen on Heinze leaving. I'd rather Silvestre goes cos his tendency to switch off is much higher than Gabby. Why Fergie is not interested in bolstering the defence is cos he has Gerard Pique, Jonathan Evans, Philip Bardsley coming back and also Kieran Lee and Adam Eckersley coming up the youth ranks.
With the strengthening of United's midfield, I guess the likes of Kieran Richardson and perhaps Darren Fletcher (Fergie's pet) might know their time is up. Or maybe give them a final season to shape up or go since Nani and Anderson need time to acclimitise to the Manchester weather and the pace and physicality of the Premiership.
Yes, the jury is out on the wonderkids, whether they would have the same impact as Ronaldo or turn out to be another Djemba-Djemba / Kleberson. From Youtube clips I watched of the two, they looked like frightening prospects, but we all know what the Premiership could do to players with a high reputation (Shevchenko, Ballack, Veron, Morientes, Cisse etc).
So to my fellow Unitedites, let's not get too carried away with the signings yet. Just be thankful that at least the club is moving forward and looking to secure for the future...
Let me be childish for a while..
How many titles did Man U win..
One. (Premiership)
How many titles did Chelsea win..
Two. (FA Cup and Carling Cup)
Carling Cup? Yes, you really are childish!
haha let him be.Chelsea spent 30m on Sheva,8.5m on Boulahrouz and a huge wage package to hire Ballack,and end up with 2 cups thats very worthy isn't it.While Man U spent just 17m on one Carrick to win the more coveted league title.Who did the better business is pretty evident.
"How many titles did Man U win..."
Well he didn't state last season, so I dare say the history books say that United's trophy haul so far is about ten times more than what that team down King's Road have, which is only bettered by the Reds of Merseyside. Heck, even Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest are better!
Childish indeed!
>>Until United spends 100 million pounds worth of players in a close season,
As long as you remained owned by Glazer, surely, you can't expect to spend all that in one season..
>>they're never gonna be the new Chelski.
Why would they need to be, after overspending every other club in the premiership bar the last 4 seasons?
>>Well at least we can be sure they're not gonna play boring football like a certain London outfit.
Yeah Fulham's pretty boring. Milwall too.
>>Until United spends 100 million pounds worth of players in a close season,
As long as you remained owned by Glazer, surely, you can't expect to spend all that in one season..
>>they're never gonna be the new Chelski.
Why would they need to be, after overspending every other club in the premiership bar the last 4 seasons?
>>Well at least we can be sure they're not gonna play boring football like a certain London outfit.
Yeah Fulham's pretty boring. Milwall too.
Oh dear. Double post. Sorry.
PM,I agree with you that Silvestre should be shown the door instead of Heinze.What more now that Bale has ended in Spurs' hands.
Another to follow will be Richardson.He really is at best just an average player to me.Yes,he did had that great season with West Brom who escaped relegation on the last day of the season back then,thanks to Richardson efforts in their unlikely survival.But a look into the quality Man U starting 11,the chance of him holding down a regular place is quite low.I guess the fact he is in the England is mainly due to him being left footed and he plays for a big club in England.Thats all.
Fletcher is not a flair player,he just works very hard for the team.Theres no doubt against his commitment,the game against Roma in Old Trafford is a good piece of evidence.Every team needs players like him,so even if he won't be a regular,he is still a pretty good backup for Devils even though I admit I don't really like him.heh.
CFCFAN I was referring to your team, if you ever really need any confirmation about it. :P Of course United have been splurging over the years but not as much as your team at one go. That's what I meant actually, but that's changed now with 50 million worth of players bought. ...
Eric, I'm amazed at Fletcher's apparent "deterioration". When he was still in the youth team, he was touted as the next big thing because of his exceptional passing and dribbling skills. Then he broke his leg and everything went downhill from there. All we see now is an honest player who works hard for the team, he actually reminds me of Phil Neville...
I was on messenger last night with my overseas girlfriend and she asked me for prediction between England Vs Brazil. I said 1-1 and I was right!
That's 3 in a row for me after predicting Chelsea 2 Manchester United 0 and AC Milan 2 Liverpool 0. I came close for both! :D
i predicted Terry would score first for England and Diego would equalise for Brazil. Cool ain't I?
PM,
;P
After watching Portugal match against Belgium,I must say that Nani really is a threat with his pace and close control of the ball and one thing to note is he do not show off his tricks as much as Ronaldo.Man U could have got themsleves a gem in him and Portugal should be glad that they have such talents in their squad.What a winning goal by Postiga too,simply awesome.Worth sacrificing a bit of my sleeping time to do some personal scouting on Nani.haha.
Yeah I caught the goal through Youtube. Been watching Nani for sometime now, his game is very direct, in-your-face dribbling without much fancy footwork. He normally bulldozes his way towards goal.
I believe Anderson is on par with Ronaldo when it comes to the tricks and stuff. So we have to expect another round of selfish play if Anderson resorts to Ronaldo's previous indulgence. I think Nani will adapt much better / faster to the Premiership than Anderson. We can only hope they both get off the blocks as quickly as possible...
Hey peeps,if you guys have a squad of soccer-mad players,looking for fun and competition at the same time but yet tired of the lack of opponents and meaningless friendlies,now you got a chance to play in a competitive league of your own on Sundays.Car forums teams are welcome too.
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So football craze people,get your friends and soccer kits ready and join us.Please visit www.playsports.com.sg for more details.
Sorry Ernest for this little ad,hope you don't mind.Cheers to all.
If there is one thing Nani needs to change,that will be his goal celebrations.His acrobatic somersaults don't seem to be doing his knees any good really.Last thing I want to see is watching him injured because of celebrating a goal.
Well there's a technique in doing somersaults Eric, and I'm sure his coaches and club physios would have told him that or taught him the right techniques of landing. Kiatisuk Senamuang has done it for ages and is still playing the game so that's not too worrying...
Looking at the headlines about Liverpool fans being the worst in Europe somehow made me smile and think I must have prophesised something when I said they lacked class earlier in this particular entry. They should be following their Asian counterparts as far as I can say...
Hello all!
Now that the season has ended, will there be anymore activities on this blog from now till the start of the next season? =D
To Pujangga Malam: Though I know that Sammy Lee took over the helm with 2 games to spare in the last season. How do you rate him since his appointment at Bolton so far?
Tedrid, I think you've asked the wrong person. If I was a Liverpool fan, then I guess I could give you a fair comment on Sammy Lee. This is his very first role as manager and it is difficult to gauge his credentials having only been a first-team coach at Liverpool, with England, and then assistant to Big Sam.
Let's see now, Bolton lost 3-1 to the Hammers away and drew the Villains 2-2 at home. If we were to judge on paper, well the results don't look too good. However it should be noted that by then Bolton have done enough to secure a place in Europe.
Sammy Lee would have learnt a few tips from the likes of Houllier, Sven "Playboy" Eriksson and Big Sam (I refrain from mentioning Souness and Evans as they made Liverpool a crap team). Being an assistant would have made him got used to the set-up, style of play and gaining the respect of the players.
It's still too early to say but if he retains the core of his players, including one Incredible Sulk, I think he should carry on the good work left by his predecessor. My only hope is that he doesn't adopt Eriksson's and Houllier's boring tactics...
Ahem, btw, anyone else here going to the Jun 30th game? I don't think TNP has really published anything about it right... (in a way, that's also good, so tickets won't be sold out so fast, hahaha)? But I've already bought 11 tickets for people in the past week.
Anyway, in case you all still don't know (I really seem to be the only one around who knows!), on Jun 30th, there'll be this National Stadium tribute thing. There'll be two matches, the first match features the Singapore veterans against the Malaysian veterans at 5pm, and at 7.30pm, our Lions will take on the Socceroos... :)
Apparently, there'll be fireworks at the end too (NDP!!)! Tickets now on sale through sistic.... visit www.sistic.com.sg for more details.
ps. dont ask me if my lover harry will be playing. or even timmy cahill. i have no ideaa. the aussie asian cup squad will only be announced on jun 15th.
Awww shucks... Looks like I'll be missing out on the big thingy cos I'll be next door watching Christina Aguilera on the same night... Oh no!!! That area is gonna be packed and jammed again!!!
Don't worry, even a half-fit Harry is enough for Australia to call him up. They really need all their star players...
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