….any time now, Jova and Poulsen

We’re about to head into August and we’re about two weeks away from our first Premier League match against Sunderland.

Milan Jovanovic and Christian Poulsen are still-STILL-on the squad. Certainly no Liverpool fan would have had it that way at the start of this summer.

Jova has had one foot out the door for the whole summer and it looks like his wages are a sticking point for teams interested in taking him on. His wages are currently £60k p/w and he needs to be honest with himself right now: There is nothing that he has done at Liverpool that makes him worth that. Nothing. I’ll give him credit for coming and giving a consistently high effort but all that effort was really without much quality. He’s just not a Liverpool player, plain and simple.

It’s harder to find Christian Poulsen’s wages but he’s probably getting paid something similar to Jovanovic. I can only hope it isn’t higher.

He was signed to be a replacement for Javier Mascherano and failed massively. He turned 31 last season and it seems as though the game has passed him by. We ended up doing Juventus a huge favor by taking his wages off of their hands and paying £4.5 million for him. We would have been better off keeping Damien Plessis in the long run, the man whose shirt Poulsen took.

Poulsen, too, has been linked with a few teams for a move away from Anfield. When his former club FC Copenhagen were interested in him, Poulsen’s agent Jorn Bonnesen said that there would be no move to Copenhagen and proclaimed that Poulsen’s future was at Liverpool.

No, it’s not. He’s not good enough. He could help at a team like Fulham but for a team that is pushing to get back into the Champions League in England, he just can’t bring anything to the table.

I would have thought that Paul Konchesky-one of Roy Hodgson’s worst deeds at Liverpool-leaving would have prompted the other two to switch. Konchesky realized that the payday was not worth rotting on the bench. If Jovanovic and Poulsen had the sense, and maybe an agent to give them a nudge, they’d realize the same thing.

Joe Cole and David N’Gog are different, at least to me. They can give us something. For Cole, it might be a little bit of neat passing and fresh legs as a sub, and he’s versatile enough to play a few spots. He’s not the star that we thought we signed but he could be a threat from the bench. David N’Gog has shown some promise as a 22-year old striker. Sometimes he looks the part, sometimes he doesn’t. His wages can’t be that expensive at this point and the position depth for less important games like early Carling Cup and FA Cup games would be beneficial for resting our starters. Adam Morgan might be another striker that we could use in this role but I would hate to see N’Gog go and finally realize his potential for another team.

Let Us Go Forward Together!

This has definitely been one of the strangest seasons I have ever seen. By November 2010, I really couldn’t wait for the season to be over and to look to be able to look to the summer months hoping that they would bring in some new exciting signings to help re build the team. Now, five months later and I don’t want our season to end as we are playing some of the most enjoyable, attacking football I have seen since 2008/2009 season when we finished second.

When Rafa Benitez ended his reign during the summer of 2010 I have to say, I was filled with optimism when Roy Hodgson came in. Now before you slate me for saying this, I was basing this on what I had seen the previous season. I thought that Hodgson had done a great job at Fulham and would hopefully bring some good fortune and fresh players in to Anfield. He had gone into the transfer window and had signed some players who I was excited to see play such as Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic.

How wrong I was. Hodgson’s time at the helm of Anfield was rightfully short lived after the lacklustre performances in the first half of the season. By this point, there was only one man who could step in and save Liverpool Football Club’s season. Every Liverpool fan around the world was crying out for Kenny Dalglish to return as manager in January.

The recent results that we have had such as the destruction of the Manchester teams, the 5-0 thumping of Birmingham and the ever satisfying defeat of Chelsea 1-0 have restored happy times to Liverpool Football Club. The very way the players go about their job’s on the pitch is truly magnificent. We have seen four local lads break through into the first team this year and this is all thanks to the academy and  to Kenny Dalglish for giving them the confidence and saying that he believed they could do it. Furthermore, the way Dalglish talks in the post match interviews just shows how much he cares for Liverpool. He constantly refers to how great the result was for ‘the football club’ showing how he is unifying the whole club.

The signings of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in January were a statement of intent from the owners. They are obviously willing to inject the much needed money to invest in new players to help take Liverpool back to the force that we should be. These two fantastic signings we made in January have been immensely pleasing to watch. Suarez has an incredible amount of skill and has set up many goals in the short amount of time he has been here for. Any Carroll showed why he is such a great player against Man City stunning the crowd with two fantastic goals. Also, the way no one can challenge him in the air is a great asset to have in the forward line.

With all this in mind, I am thoroughly looking forward to the final games of the season as unlike in November I am excited for the next game to come along. I can also only hope that the owners are putting together a deal for Dalglish to allow him to remain permanently at Anfield as he has done an amazing job in the time that he has been here. Finally, I am really looking forward to the summer and seeing which players are bought to strengthen our squad.

 

YNWA, Hugh

 

Twitter @hughjolly

Tom Hicks’ Massive Summer Transfer Window Revealed

On February 1st, 2010 Tom Hicks claimed that the Summer Transfer Window of 2010 will be a massive one.

Here is the full breakdown, I am showing that 11 players have arrived while 17 players have left.
Roy is facing the same headaches that Rafa had to deal with (lack of funds), for the 4th consecutive transfer season the club has had a negative or zero net spend. Yes, there are some transfer fees that are undisclosed but from what I am seeing so far, the club spent £25 million while selling £38.1 million. This probably means that Roy put £13.1 million in the bank to probably cover the interest on the loan that Hicks & Gillett burdened on our club.

Also good to point out that Roy brought in Joe Cole on a high salary and looks like he was compelled to send out a few players on loan to reduce his salary bill to make up for Joe’s.

In (11):
Jonjo Shelvey - 18 years old - from Charlton Athletic (£1.7 million)
Milan Jovanovic – 29 years old – The Serbian has penned a 3 year contract (Bosman)
Joe Cole - 28 years old - From Chelsea (Bosman)
Danny Wilson - 18 years old – from Rangers (£2 million)
Fabio Aurelio – 30 years old - Returned (Bosman)
Christian Poulsen – 30 years old – From Juventus (£4.5 million)
Brad Jones - 28 years old -From Middlesborough (£2.3 million)
Raul Meireles – 27 years old -  From Porto (£11.5 million)
Adam Hajdu - 16 years old – From MTK Budapest (loan)
Paul Konchesky - 29 years old – Joined from Fulham (£3 million)
Suso -16 years old – - Made his loan move permanent (Undisclosed)

Total Spend : £25 million* (+ undisclosed fees)
Average age of players signed : 24.5

Out (17):
Mikel San Jose – 20 years old (at time of release) – To  Athletic Bilbao (Undisclosed)
Fabio Aurelio – 30 years old - (released)
Yossi Benayoun – 30 years old - To Chelsea (£7 million)
Francisco Duran -22 years old - (released)
Albert Riera – 28 years old – To Olympiakos (£3.3 million)
Phillip Degen - 27 years old – To Stuttgart (loan)
Alberto Aquilani - 26 years old – To Juventus (loan)
Diego Cavalieri – 27 years old – To Cesena (£1.3 million)
Krisztian Nemeth – 21 years old -  To Olympiacos (£1 million)
Javier Mascherano - 26 years old - To Barcelona (£24 million)
Nabil El Zhar -24 years old - To Paok (loan)
Emiliano Insua -21 years old – To Galatasaray (loan)
Damien Plessis - 22 years old – To Panathinaikos (Undisclosed)
Lauri Dalla Valle -18 years old - To Fulham(trade)
Alex Kacaniklic -19 years old – To Fulham (trade)
Vincent Weijl -19 years old – To SD Eibar (Fee undisclosed)
Nikolay Mihaylov -22 years old – To FC Twente (£1.5 million)

Total Sales : £38.1 million* (+ undisclosed fees)
Average age of players sold/released : 23.6

Of course I am not claiming that these fees are accurate but even if they are off by a couple of million it shows you the sad state of affairs at our club. We hope and pray that by next transfer season we will have new owners who will invent some money into our club, we need it badly.

Y.N.W.A.

-Antoine Zammit
Follow on Twitter @empireofthekop

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The Daily Antoine 20/8/2010 LFC News Digest

Well we won last night, we should have scored more but a clean sheet at home I will take it more…
(Poor Joe Cole I am gutted for him, however everyone seems to forget that he assisted Babel in that goal)

Joe refuses to dwell on the penalty miss more…
(Remember the assist you had, forget the penalty)

Roy admits that there is still a lot of work to be done more…
(Agree)

The gaffer also admits that he might send Aquilani on loan more…
(No)

According to a report by a Dutch paper Dirk Kuyt is off to Inter more…
(I don’t buy it)

Looks like the sale might drag on a little more…
(Due Diligence??? What a crock of … Due diligence is usually done after the fee is agreed on)

But now the Chelsea Chief Executive is involved in our sale more…
(What is going on? )

This report suggests that a takeover by RBS is remote more…
(Are they selling or what?)

Many Greek clubs are after Nemeth more…
(I am gutted to see the kid leave)

However we did capture another youngster from Oldham more…
(Excellent)

Milan Jovanovic will not forget his Kop debut more…
(Y.N.W.A.)

And Clint Dempsey is the latest player linked more…
(Now that is one Yank no one mind having :-) )

Carlton Cole is happy at West Ham more…
(Good for him)

Roy “Signing Poulsen was one of my easiest decisions” more…
(I have a feeling that Poulsen will do very well under Roy)

The Gaffer also says that Reina’s blunder is forgotten more…
(Of course it was, I don’t think we had anything to forgive)

And that he wants to offer Masch a new contract more…
(The Masch saga is taking so long)

The Toivonen talk heats up more…
(I have a feeling this might happen)

PSV want double the money for him though more…
(uggh)

Thommo praises Ngog more…
(Ngog has been brilliant)

Danny Murphy admits that Liverpool are interested in Paul Konchesky more…
(Interesting development)

Carra had a hard time finding boots for last Sunday’s game more…
(That is ridiculous, The Adidas CEO should have had his employees work overtime to make him a pair and he (the CEO) should have personally delivered it to Anfield)

And finally here is an excellent read more…
(Excellent stuff Rory)

Liverpool one, Trabzonspor nil.

It was a win for Liverpool but whether it will be enough to get us into the group stage of the Europa League remains to be seen. Roy Hodgson made seven changes to his weekend line-up with Steven Gerrard given a night off, and it certainly disrupted the rhythm.  The only goal came on the stroke of half time: Ryan Babel finishing smartly from a Joe Cole fine delivery. The second half was better. The introduction of Fernando Torres lifted the crowd performance on the pitch, but it didn’t lead to more goals. Joe Cole had a penalty saved after a foul on Lucas, and Christian Poulsen was denied a debut goal by the referee. All in one it means: decent, we take that, but it could have been better.

Or like our gaffer said: “I think we probably deserved more but can only blame ourselves. We missed a penalty and if do that you can’t blame anyone else. With the second-half performance we deserved a second goal, which would have made the trip to Turkey more comfortable. Now it won’t be comfortable at all.”  

True. There were chances enough. First the early header by Sotirios Kyrgiakos. Than the penalty. Then several chances by Torres and then Poulsen’s denied goal. Speaking of whom … Christian looks an intelligent player, with this nice, simple penetrating passes. The firts half wasn’t a smashing one by him, he didn’t look much mobile, but I take that as a warming up. In the second half he  was noticeable better, and it could have been a perfect debut for him in the red shirt, but the referee crossed his plans.

In the first half Liverpool haven’t been brilliant in overall. There were few moments but they weren’t enough to capture the Turkish side. The impressive moments came from Soto, who really had a good day. The one who shined was Jovanovic: so powerful, so determined, outstanding.

The one who scored, and the one who nearly did: Ryan Babel and Joe Cole

Ryan Babel scored the goal after Cole’s cross. Very well then. It still didn’t convinced me about him and his staying at Anfield. I truly do not understand why so many keeps on backing him. He was disappointing in the past. He is disappointing in the present. He scored yesterday, fair enough, so what? I can’t notice any measurable development either in his performance or in his attitude. I think many are being unfair against Ngog as they keep on criticizing him despite his superb performance and development. Ryan keeps on disappointing, then he has the one moment and he already is a hero. How does that work? I don’t understand. He brought some fresh air? I’m sorry, when did that happen? Didn’t notice … This is also unfair against Lucas, who’s trying so hard to improve, and the pundits keep on moaning. Speaking of which … The only thing Ryan Babel keeps on improving is moaning. But when he gets the chance to play, and o to show his qualities, he doesn’t. The one moment yesterday? This is so not convincing me. Luckily Joe Cole was sticking around … Ryan needs to change his attitude first, then I’ll – perhaps – back him fully. I do support him, ‘cause he’s our player, but I do not back him.

The second half was much better by Liverpool. Torres replaced Babel and made an immediate impact on the Turkish goal. He must have learned from Kuyt, because he seemed to be everywhere. Fernando was sharp und very impatient to score, and as I mentioned, the team played better straight away but, unfortunately, it didn’t help us to score. The one who got it into the headlines again was Joe Cole. Poor Joey, ay. In my opinion he really did well yesterday, he only wasn’t that lucky with the penalty. A shame, but what can you do? We cannot change this. Just as little we can change the refs’ decision on Poulsen’s goal. What a shame. Trab’s keeper did the most, if you ask me … I liked what I’ve seen from Poulsen, and I’m looking forward to more.

José Reina got his costly mistake against Arsenal out of the system when he denied Umut Bulut a precious away goal with the Trabzonspor captain unmarked in the area.

So what did we learned from yesterday’s match?

That Roy seems to be the right man for us (so far). He seems to get us back on our route. That’s good. That’s very good. I like that. It makes me feel (realistic) positive. We’ve seen a good mix of young and experienced players on the pitch which worked, and I liked that as well.

We’ve seen some sweet moves by Joey. Oh, I love this lad! We’ve seen an outstanding Soto and a shining Jovanovic; my MOTM.

Furthermore we’ve seen our King Kenny in the stands, which always is a delight.

All in one it could have been better, but it always can, so I take the win, and stay positive. We still can do it, the door to Europe aren’t shut yet.

Let’s focus on Manchester City now.

-Amanda

amanda@empireofthekop.com

The Daily Antoine 6/8/2010 LFC News Digest

The Europa league draw is today more…
(Bring them on)

Good win yesterday, we should have scored more but at the end of the day it was a comfortable stroll. Nice to see Cole & Jova getting there debut more…
(Y.N.W.A.)

Roy delighted with Joe’s debut more…
(Joe was awesome)

The Gaffer is not fazed by the buyout talks more…
(:-))

Stevie G also praises Joe more…
(Y.N.W.A.)

Stuttgart are close to signing Degen more…
(Good luck)

N’Gog welcomes Torres’ decision to stay more…
(Y.N.W.A.)

The Chinese government backs Huang’s bid more…
(Is this good news?)

But Huang denies it more…
(This is more confusing then ever)

And then they pulled out more…
(confucius says)

SOS says that the club MUST get the sale right this time more…
(All these ups and downs it is killing us)

The club wants formal bids more…
(Yes please as this thing is turning into a circus)

Shaun Wright-Phillips and Wayne Bridge are being linked again more…
(Wright-Phillips got speed)

Rabotnicki have been charged by UEFA more…
(Good)

And the Texas Rangers have been auctioned off more…
(the guy is hopeless)

Stuff like this makes me very proud to be a Red
(Y.N.W.A. we don’t just say it, we mean it)

Boro have rejected our bid for their keeper Jones more…
(Bummer)

And now we could be in the hunt for Federici again more…
(He is the Reading keeper)

Michael Owen blames his bad start at Man Utd on the Wembley grass more…
(Why don’t you blame the water at OT? It would have been a more credible excuse)

Shocking crime out of Brazil as the former Flamengo keeper is charged with murder more…
(Horrible)

And finally congratulations to Everton who beat Everton more…
(So which Everton won?)