Asian Persuasion

Well our week tour is over, both games won, 10 goals scored. 85 million shirts sold. All good.

This pre-season seems to have a lot more purpose than the dross we were used under Rafa the clown. His pre-season involved 43 player getting 25 minutes each every 2nd game and wondering why we didn't have clue for the 1st 6 league matches. Kenny and Stevie Clark clearly have a different view. Pre-season is about match fitness, players learning to play with each other in different combinations and most importantly confidence through scoring.

He seems to be employing 4-2-3-1 which seems to suit the players we have at the moment. With Downing added, no real need to change that however we do have the option. In the 1st half Joe Cole and Chucky ran the show. Carroll worked hard and gave some good knockdowns but has no pace whatsoever.He is going to be a set-piece and crosses threat and possibly 2nd ball man for us. They scored a cracking equaliser just on HT with a great freekick into the top corner.

Second half and whole new team, this time it was Shelvey,Kuyt and Aquilani running the show. The Roman Emperor was particularly impressive, having a hand in all five 2nd half goals. On this performance ,(opposition not withstanding), he looks a player. We cant keep him Cole and Meireles, so King Kenny has some hard decisions to make on that front.

I have always been in the Meireles corner and still am, but Aquilani does appear to be at the pace of the game and was more influencial than any other player today. One performance does not a career make, but it is food for thought. Let see how the he performs in the rest of pre-season. I suppose if we get any offers for him we will probably take them.

A rare outing for Insua, he looks to have beefed up a bit.Alas he still looks like a startled rabbit when someone runs at him and his lack of pace is frightening. He looks like he is running through treacle with a piano on his back, perhaps its the one Dirk appears to have shed...... He did provide 2 of the crosses for Ngog and Maxi's goals today. Galatasaray want him permanently, hopefully we can make that happen.

On the leftback front, it seems Mr Enrique wants to play Champions League football next season, so that bombs us out.A bit odd considering 18 months ago he was playing Championship footie. These players very quickly get ideas above their station.

We now appear to be after Aly Cissokho from Lyon. He has been picked by Laurent Blanc for les bleus, so he can't be completely useless.......

If that gets done, then I think its time to offload the passengers. Poulsen (Copenhagen),Cole (anywhere -probably Spurs once they lose Modric),Insua (Gala),El Zhar(Camel jockey at Morrocan resort),Degen(Mars),Jovanovic (Back to Belgium). Then either Meirles or Aquilani. I wouldnt like to lose them both, in fact I would keep them both. If Aquilani doesn't work out we can still move him on in Jan without any traumas.

Whatever funds we get from all of the above moving on we should be able to get one more real player in. I think it should be a centreback. Carra is getting on,Agger has fitness issues and Soty isnt top class. He cost us a few point last year, we need to be thinking of who steps in for Carra. Cahill looks like he is off to Chelski or Arsenal, so I would have a look at Shawcross. Big,strong reads game well and is a goal threat from corners, something only Soty seems able to do for us. Plus being English thats another 'homegrown' player in the squad. Otherwise it Europe for an untried and untested guy and we see how well that has worked out for Arsenal!

Goalkeepers..... Very confused by the protracted signing of Doni.

Firstly we have 3 top keeper already. Reina,Jones and Gulacsi. The latter 2 dont get much opportunity at present, as Pepe is without doubt the best we have and indeed one of the best in the world. I fail to see how signing another one helps Jones and Gulacsi. We only have the League and Domestic Cups this season so even less chance to rotate keepers. Unless we are going to sell one of them.I know there is talk of Gulacsi going on loan to Hull which is fine as he is young and the experience with do him good. But where does that leave Jones? He is effectively now 3rd choice, having done nothing wrong. I expect him to leave.

Secondly Doni is Brazilian, which means he is probably crap. The only exception in 100 years has been Tafarell. Every other Brazilian keeper is a clown. Dida,Gomes,Julio Cesar. I watched Cesar let in 2 straight under him against Ecuador the other night and he threw a few clangers in againt Bayern in the CL last season. Brazil do not good keepers make. FACT

So back home for the boys before a trip to Hull next Saturday. Lets see if we sign anymore players before then.

YNWA

sniff,sniff I can smell the new season!

Signings!

Well it appears I should have gone to Vegas sooner, or perhaps Comolli read my blog.

While I was away we finally completed the signing of Adam. Welcome to Chucky!!!. He does add some quality to our team. Hopefully we will let him continue to take corners and get in on the act at freekicks. Stevie G would be better using his height to score from corners rather than taking them. Adam has a good engine and an eye for a pass and I am sure our fitness people will ensure he loses some of the porridge he is carrying.

Downing is on his way as I type, although again I am baffled by the £20mill price tag. ManUre paid less than that for Young and I think he is a better player. Still we mustn't complain Downing contributed 7 goals and 7 assists last year in a team that struggled.If he can repeat or surpass that we will be happy. He is a left-footed winger and English, so he ticks all the right boxes. Anyway he looks better in a red kit, he never really looked right in a Villa one!

So far our new owners have provided serious financial backing in the transfer market and I imagine thre will be 1 or 2 more arrivals at Anfield before the window closes. A big big thank you to Mr Henry and Mr Werner. These owners are clearly a cut above the muppets we had before.

I think who we can get will now depend largely on what we can get for the players we dont want. Thankfully Konchesky has gone to Leicester, thats about his level. How he fooled us into thinking he was Prem quality is beyond me, just shows how much the Fulham team were covering for him!

Talking of Fulham great to see the return of 'The Hammer of Thor',John Arne Riise to the Premier League. Looking forward to seeing a few of his trademark thunderbolts at the Cottage this season.

Left back is now a priority and Luis Enrique at Newcastle seems the most likely at this stage. Strong, quick, good defensively he is exactly what we need. Flanno is good back up and he has gained invaluable experience with is late season run in the team last season, especially in the games against Arsenal and Man City. I suppose we can even swop Johnson over and let Kelly play at rightback as well if needed.

Another centre-half might not go amiss. Carra turns 34 in January and we seriously need to look for replacement. Perhaps moving Kelly inside with Skrtel is the long-term plan. I love Dan Agger however his fitness is a continual worry and as he is the only footballing centrehalf we have, thats probably what we should be looking for. Soty is decent cover but not really a top drawer player.

Some of my friends this we need more firepower upfront. I am not convinced. Carrol,Suarez,Kuyt and Ngog seems pretty strong to me.They are all different and that creates problems for opposition defences. Suarez is obviously going to be tired after his Copa America exploits however i think he will be our best player next season by soem distance. I can see him getting 20 plus goals. Carroll will weigh in heavily as well, especially with Adam,Downing,Gerrard and hopefully still Meireles providng the ammo. Think we will become the new Bolton and Stoke and be deadly from set-pieces.

Meireles situation disturbs me still, he is a quality player and I dont see how we can look to move him on. Joe Cole is taking a reputed 90k a week off us and he barely gets on the bench. I am sure Raul's wage increase, which he was promised, is nowhere near that. Aqua-man is back at the club, Juve seem a bit gun-shy to take him permanently. Probably down to them having no dosh. I believe Aqua-man was one of their better players last season. Tellingly Aquilani does not have a squad number on the club website and wore the 8 shirt against Guangdong. He looked decent against the modest opposition, as did Joe Cole but I cant see either of these 2 staying. Cole is effectively blocking Pacheco's progress a player who has more potential and brighter future ahead of him. Who knows what King Kenny is thinking about these players. My point is keep Meireles and move the other 2 on.

Our game against Guangdong was quite entertaining, a step up from the boring pre-seasons we suffered through under Benitez. These seemed more about getting heartrate stats than trying build up some momentum or team cohesion for the new season under Rafa. Kenny blooded several Academy graduates and other youngsters. It was great to see Flanno,Robinson,Coady(rasper!),Wisdom,Pacheco all getting a run. We went to sleep in the last couple of minutes and conceded 2 soft goals to dampen a solid performance from 4-1 to 4-3.

Kenny stuck to the 4-2-3-1 formation, not sure if that was down to resources available, ie no Suarez, or if thats how he intends to play. The player seem comfortable with it. We might switch it up a bit this season with 4-4-2 at home and 4-2-3-1 away. I think that would ensure we get the most out of our squad.

My home midfled would be Downing-Adam-Gerrard-Kuyt, away Lucas-Gerrard then Downing-Meirles/Adam and Kuyt.

Yep, no Henderson in either formation for. He is young and I really dont think he will cut the mustard. He isn't a winger I am not convinced with his centrally either. He was completely ineffectual in the England's U21 campaign ( along with 17 others!) Think he will be a bench warmer for most of the season. Spearing also loses out however in his case he can cover for Lucas or Steveie G in either formation so he will still get plently game time with Stevie's dodgy groin!

I hope to see a lot more of Flanno,Coady,Robinson,Pacheco to during the season and hopefully a bit of Raheem Sterling and Tom Ince in the Carling Cup. Getting into the top4 again is our priority and with the nonsense going on at Arsenal (Nasri and Fabregas) and Spurs (Modric), I think that is achievable.

Unfortunately I have to be honest and say that with the signings the Legions of Doom have made make them very strong for next season. Man City still have too many players and losing Tevez will be terminal. Mancini is too negative, almost any other manager would be getting a lot more our of what he has. Villas Boa at Chelsea needs to deliver the Champions League so will they really be contenders this year? Not sure anyone can take the CL of off Barca for the next 2 or 3 years.

I think Sunderland will usurp Everton and Fulham as the 'best of the rest'. Bruce has made some very good midfield signings, let just hope they don't gel just quite yet when they visit Anfield on the opening day.

I see Spurs are in South Africa to take on the Soweto giants Kaiser Chiefs and Orlando Pirtaes as part fo their pre-season, all I can say on that one is........
Viva The Buccaneers, Viva the Amakhosi!

Malaysian X1 for us on Saturday should see another hatful of goals and again add to the fitness and cohesion of the team.

YNWA

Commoli Coma.... Stinking Aroma

Well our boys report back for pre-season tomorrow.

Except for Lucas and Maxi who have just started the Copa America. Brilliant idea! I moaned about this last posting so I wont say anymore.

So signings - I quote 'Its going to be a busy summer at Anfield' - Mr Commmoli.
Really? Where is the busyness???? JORDAN HENDERSON for 16 mill???????

NO LEFTBACK. We seem to have lost out on Clichy. We only offered 6mill, Man City 9mill. No pirzes for guessing the winner there. We seem to have been messing around with this one. We either wanted him or we didn't.If we did stump up the cash and move on.

Charlie Adam, twice now we have told it will be done in the 'next 48 hours'. Clearly time in France works differently. Mr Commolli if you have noting to say to the media then dont you just make yourself and the club look stupid. On the Adam deal, like Clichy one, we again seem to be squabbling over a couple of mill. Which is odd considering we couldn't throw our money at Sunderland quick enough for Henderson. The funds from which Bruce has added 6 players to his squad.

We are trying to sweeten the Adam deal by offering Shelvey and Darby on loan. For both these youngsters it will give them good experience and a season with Holloway has got to be priceless just for the laughs!

A rather disturbing caveat to the Adam transfer is that it will signal the departure of Meireles. Apparently he signed on reduced terms on the promise that they would be increased this season.With Hodgson and Hicks gone that seems to no longer be on offer, was he not one of our better players last season? I am distressed by his possible departure.

We still have Cole and Aquilani on our books surely they should be moving on before Meireles???

We keep hearing we want to strengthen the squad, Adam certainly does that. However the selling of Meireles weakens it again. He is arguably our 2nd best central midfielder after Stevie G. Even if you count Adam. Adam and Henderson are not wingers................. So we have about 8 central midfielders now........

The left back focus now appears to on Luis Enrique who is clearly our 3rd choice after Baines and Clichy attempt have failed. I quite like hime so hopefully that goes ahead. Pardew may even be dumb enough to accept Konchesky as a part exchange!

Still dont see any wingers. Cant play 4-4-2 without them. N'Zogbia is would still be my #1 choice as he can play on both flanks.James Milner is a name being bandied about. I quite like him he has a great workrate offers decent crosses from both flanks and can take some of the 'Duracell Bunny ' workload off of Dirk.

The Liverpool website brags that we have been linked with 66 players in June, yet only 1 has signed. ManUre have been linked with 5, 3 have signed. There seems to be a more coherent approach from Crappinton. All 3 of their signings make them stronger. So far I cant say the same for our 1 overinflated signing.........

Also looking back at the Torres deal we seemed to be adamant about getting teh £50mill to fund Carroll deal. We were offered £45mill and Sturridge. That looks like something we should have done, we could have put a deposit on Carroll,let him finish teh seeaon and then got him on reduced fee this summer. Sturridge,Suarez,Carroll and Kuyt, now that would have been firepower. All different but all capable of playing with one another.

I see Chelsea have decided to add the services of Torres' personal trainer. He did such a good job keeping Torres out teh team for us, perhaps Boas Villa has seen the complete lack of impact he has on the pitch these days! Excellent news for the rest of the Premiership, expect a raft of ankle and knee injuries and 'prima donna dont give a fuck attitude' to ripple throughout the squad! Oh wait...........

Defoe would be a good one if we could. They are talking less than 10mill for him. We could offload Ngog then.

Off to Vegas during the week. Hopefully the fact that it will be a 'busy week at Anfield' comes to pass, as much for the arrival of quality player as the departure of the raft of useless ones.

YNWA

Commoli Coma.... Stinking Aroma