Very much agree. The few times he and Vlad Smicer played together they brought the best out of one another and looked the biz. We did not do right by Litmanen and we did less well as a result than we might have otherwise.
Naby Lad
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Very much agree. The few times he and Vlad Smicer played together they brought the best out of one another and looked the biz. We did not do right by Litmanen and we did less well as a result than we might have otherwise.
Litmanen was quality. Houllier just never played him.
One of the more frustrating episodes in my 30 years watching the club.
One of the more frustrating episodes in my 30 years watching the club.
yes, agreed. I know we had tried to get him a few times before but failed, and it was almost as if we bought him because he had finally become available but by that point we had forgotten what we had intended to do with him!
It was a real shame and very odd too, because Houllier actually did know how to use older experienced players with good effect (McAllister being the obvious example) alongside the younger players. He just didn’t do so with Litmanen.
I felt he was tidy but nothing more....
I guess tidy is best you can do when you are playing for Roy Hodgson. I expected Meireles to have the kind of impact Alonso or Mascherano had in midfield....i.e became indispensable player in the spine of the team.
Damn, you had high expectations.
He scored some great goals and was infinitely better than all of Burgies other signings so for me he was a bright spark in a dreadful season. Bit annoyed we sold him to Chelsea, but I suppose it went part of the way to funding Hendo so it was worth it in the long run.
I think Houllier's rationale was that Owen was the key man in the team, and needed Heskey's physicality to bring out the best in him. Hence the Heskey loyalty.
There was a way he could have played all three though - Litmanen could easily have played at no.10 behind 2 strikers.
The goal Meireles scored at Wolves is genuinely brilliant and one of the most underrated LFC goals. IMO.
A story did the rounds about that time which obv.I can't substantiate but which I can believe given some of the other things GH did. It was said that Litmanen was giving Heskey some pointers in a training session one day when GH, who coached the strikers himself at that time, told him to leave off as that wasn't his job. Apparently Litmanen replied "Well, someone had better give him some help because nobody else is doing it at the moment" and his card was marked from then on.
And that's one of the reasons I never really liked GH
I maintain that we'd have won the league if he'd stuck with Keane that season.
I can't even remember the details now, but at the time I was convinced.
The only thing I remember about Keane playing for Liverpool was that volley he scored from a long ball and I don't even know who that was against. But it was a banger
I also have no idea what he did after Rafa fucked him off, apart from vaguely recalling seeing him back at Spurs not doing anything of note
I also have no idea what he did after Rafa fucked him off, apart from vaguely recalling seeing him back at Spurs not doing anything of note
I bet you remember that Palace game though. He was sooooo good that night.
I was made up when we signed him, even though he was struggling with a lot of injuries in the later stages of his career.
But he was used only sparingly, which was a shame, cos we were crying out for a playmaker for so long, even from the days of Uncle Roy. Such a talent wasted.
I think if you just read the sentence slowly it will collapse under it' own weight and then do a shitty cartwheel.
I'm not sure that follows at all, especially when you consider the type of injuries he's sustained and the quality of our medical team.
Of course it is a supposed aphorism in rugby that more injuries occur from pulling out of tackles than going in full-blooded, but having played rugby for many years I seriously doubt that, it's basically just said to cajole players into committing to tackles. For Keita it just seems that his body is not built for the physicality of the PL. Lots of niggles and minor, as well as more serious, injuries (15 in 3 years, ignoring Corona) however very little at RBL though a few injuries at RBS in Austria maybe a pointer.
There were a few 1 or 2 games lost to various niggles / illness (9 games) and 6 games to Corona. Then we have 13 games to an ankle injury (see below), 3 x groin injuries (11 games) and 6 x Hamstrings (27 games missed). This doesn't point to a lack of stomach but susceptibility to muscle injuries (maybe caused by the type of tactics Klopp employs, Naby being well known as a strong presser so short-sharp spurts).
Liverpool.com
Perceptions can be deceptive. The idea that Keïta somehow isn’t tough enough doesn’t take into account the punishment that he has withstood. Against Manchester United, he was treated by the physio on the pitch on three occasions, including the tackle to which he eventually succumbed, that saw Paul Pogba sent off. All three of those challenges were reckless at best and dangerous at worst. It was a symptom of Manchester United’s inability to handle his intelligent movement, tigerish pressing and passing range, and so they decided to start kicking him like a bunch of eight-year-olds.
While being stretchered off at Old Trafford, no one would have predicted that Keïta would start the next league game six days later. He may have been lucky that his standing leg wasn’t planted as Pogba came through it, but to even line up against Brighton showed precisely the kind of toughness that many believe he doesn’t possess.
This latest injury owes as much to the overall fitness of the group as it does to Keïta. If Klopp had more midfielders to choose from, the suspicion is that the Guinean would have had more time to recover from his multiple knocks in Manchester. A hamstring problem can often be traced back to a heavy workload, and it appears starting his ninth game in 27 days for club and country was a step too far.
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It's complicated!
I can't remember if we sold him in January or if he played the full season.
I can't remember how many points we finished behind the winners
I refuse to look any of this up.
But I know how I felt at the time.
Hopefully this isn't collapsing under its own weight again.
Yes...that only made it more disappointing. Far better player than we had the right to sign, at that time. But we proceeded to fuck it all up anyway.
The thing I remember about the Keane season was some nil nil draw where he missed a few sitters and got hooked early. I'd had an invite into corporate and was sat next to his family. His dad did nothing but call him shite, go on about how he's always been shite, how he'd never not be shite. I ended up feeling sorry for him. Imagine that every day for your entire life.
Oh yeah, and that goal against arsenal. That was boss.
Oh yeah, and that goal against arsenal. That was boss.
Roy Kent’s dad was a bit like that in Ted Lasso, wasn’t he ?
His DAD called him shit???????????
Yeah. Same energy
His girlfriend / wife (tiny little fit blonde thing) got off after about half an hour and didn't come back. Maybe she just didn't like the footy, or maybe his dad was being a bigger twat than normal and she couldn't hack it
Jamie Tartt?
I hope he gets savaged by a nogsy massif and we get an insurance payout.
What did Keane's dad have to say about Naby?
He does sound like a complete cunt but on the other hand he's got an eye for talent. Keane was shit.
He does sound like a complete cunt but on the other hand he's got an eye for talent. Keane was shit.
I thought Meirles was pretty good actually. But he was gone quickly for many reasons. That goal v Chelsea was fab!
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