After yesterday, I'm beginning to believe you. He's fast as fuck, but his control and passing is lacking. His finishing is a little suspect.

I reckon he's lost his bottle.

So 2 things, Crouch and Kewell.

I have no sympathy for Harry Kewell. He hasn't looked interested since his start to the club wasn't as great as he suspected, and he just drags the team down when he is on the pitch. I think he's right down Rafa's list now anyway.

As for Crouch. I hate being negative of players before they've had the chance, but what the fuck is Rafa playing at.

Morientes is better than Crouch in the air. Considering his size he's pretty average really.

Also LOL @ Everton, losing to Thailand U23's

Liverpool would have been better off getting Ashton - younger, probably cheaper and a better allround striker than Crouch. When you've got Morientes you don't need Crouch and £7m is a lot for someone who's only really established himself as a premiership class striker over the past 6 months, and could well be backup.

I reckon he could end up being viewed by Liverpool fans in the same manner as Heskey, which is unfortunate for him.

I agree with Ashton.

I've honestly never been impressed by Cisse, be it for Auxerre, Liverpool or France. Poor attitude and a woeful finisher. I've never seen him play particularly well.

He bagged a few goals in the French league, right enough, but I think players need more than that to justify a £14 million fee. Kapo of that Auxerre side looked a better player, and already Juventus are trying to get rid of him. Mexes hasn't looked the business at Roma, either, nor has Boumsong looked particularly special in the short time he has played in England.

An overrated heap of players, that Auxerre side was.

Give Crouch his chance, he did well when he was at QPR, Pompey and the Saints! He wasnt given a chance at Villa but when he played he did ok. He hasnt got the best goal scoring record but he is no where near by far the worst front man out there. Anyway Liverpool have only signed him as he's the only man tall enough to get on the end of Zenden's crosses!

lmao at Harry Redknapp:

'people say there is something special about the kid, the only thing I can see thats special is he's 6'8 !!'

Yeah thats right its got nothing to do with the fact that Crouch was absolutely everytime he played in the top flight bar last season? Seriously if ever there was a player having a one season wonder I believe its him. The next Michael Ricketts? Probably not now because he's moved to Liverpool and will score some goals but a good striker he ain't.

-----

Anyway Emre is going to be great I can feel it.

Yeah Crouch is shite.

Emre is a great player, but odds are he'll get 3 red cards before Christmas and be out on loan to Galatasary or Fenebache before the season's out.

Career of Peter CROUCH
Club Championship European Competitions Caps
99-00 Tottenham (-)
00-01 Queen's Park 10 Goals, 38 Games (-)
01-02(mar) Portsmouth 18 Goals, 37 Games (-)
01-02 Aston Villa 2 Goals, 12 Games (-)
02-03 Aston Villa 14 Games (-)
03-04 Aston Villa 4 Goals, 16 Games (-)
04-05 Southampton 12 Goals, 27 Games (-)
05-06 Liverpool (Champions League Cup Winners Cup + UEFA Cup)


Career of Belozoglu EMRE
Club Championship European Competitions Caps
97-98 Galatasaray 2 Goals, 24 Games (-)
98-99 Galatasaray 2 Goals, 27 Games (-)
99-00 Galatasaray 5 Goals, 24 Games (-)
00-01 Galatasaray 4 Goals, 27 Games 8 Games (Champions League) 2 Games
01-02 Inter Milan 13 Games 6 Games (UEFA Cup) 1 Goals, 7 Games
02-03 Inter Milan 3 Goals, 25 Games 1 Goals, 12 Games (Champions League)
03-04 Inter Milan 21 Games 4 + 2 Games (Champions League + UEFA Cup)
04-05 Inter Milan 19 Games 6 Games (Champions League)
05-06 Newcastle United (Champions League Cup Winners Cup + UEFA Cup)


Career of Luis BOA MORTE
Club Championship European Competitions Caps
97-98 Arsenal 15 Games (-)
98-99 Arsenal 8 Games 1 Goals, 3 Games (Champions League)
99-00(déc) Arsenal 2 Games (-)
99-00 Southampton 1 Goals, 14 Games (-)
00-01 Fulham 18 Goals, 39 Games (-) 2 Games
01-02 Fulham 1 Goals, 22 Games (-)
02-03 Fulham 2 Goals, 29 Games 2 Goals, 5 Games (UEFA Cup)
03-04 Fulham 10 Goals, 33 Games (-)
04-05 Fulham 8 Goals, 31 Games (-) 1 Goals, 3 Games

Whats that supposed to prove.

Career of Dean ASHTON
Club Championship European Competitions Caps
00-01 Crewe 8 Goals, 21 Games (-)
01-02 Crewe 7 Goals, 31 Games (-)
02-03 Crewe 9 Goals, 39 Games (-)
03-04 Crewe 19 Goals, 44 Games (-)
04-05(jan) Crewe 17 Goals, 24 Games (-)
04-05 Norwich City 7 Goals, 16 Games (-)

Career of Djibril CISSE
Club Championship European Competitions Caps
98-99 Auxerre 1 Games (-)
99-00 Auxerre 2 Games (-)
00-01 Auxerre 8 Goals, 25 Games (-)
01-02 Auxerre 22 Goals, 29 Games (-) 5 Games
02-03 Auxerre 14 Goals, 33 Games 1 + 0 Goals, 3 + 3 Games (Champions League + UEFA Cup) 3 Goals, 9 Games
03-04 Auxerre 26 Goals, 38 Games 2 Goals, 7 Games (UEFA Cup) 2 Games
04-05 Liverpool 4 Goals, 15 Games 1 Goals, 9 Games (Champions League)
05-06 Liverpool (Champions League Cup Winners Cup + UEFA Cup)


Career of Yakubu AYEGBENI
Club Championship European Competitions Caps
03-04 Portsmouth 16 Goals, 37 Games (-)
04-05 Portsmouth 13 Goals, 30 Games (-)
05-06 Middlesbrough (Champions League Cup Winners Cup + UEFA Cup)

Micheal Ricketts -
95-96 Walsall 1 Goals, 1 Games (-)
96-97 Walsall 1 Goals, 11 Games (-)
97-98 Walsall 1 Goals, 24 Games (-)
98-99 Walsall 8 Games (-)
99-00 Walsall 11 Goals, 32 Games (-)
00-01 Bolton 19 Goals, 39 Games (-)
01-02 Bolton 12 Goals, 36 Games (-)
02-03(jan) Bolton 6 Goals, 22 Games (-)
02-03 Middlesbrough 1 Goals, 9 Games (-)
03-04 Middlesbrough 2 Goals, 22 Games (-)
04 - present - who knows, the fat piece of turd is probably retired on the mega wages he took boro for a ride for!

nothing, I am just putting the stats on so that people can see the actual figures of goals to games of the players mentioned above!

Well those stats are worthless when Emre and Boa Morte aren't even strikers.

Peter Crouch - 145 games - 46 goals. ave=1 goal every 3.15 games
Dean Ashton - 175 games - 67 goals. ave=1 goal every 2.61 games
Cisse - 181 games - 80 goals. ave=1 goal every 2.26 games
Yakubu - 67 games - 29 goals. ave=1 goal every 2.31 games
Ricketts - 196 games - 54 goals. ave=1 goal every 3.62 games


Emre - 227 games - 29 goals. ave=1 goal every 7.82 games
Boa Morte - 206 games - 41 goals. ave=1 goal every 5.02 games

Boa Morte has been used as a forward on more than one occasion! I put Emre's stats on here out of curiosity as you think he is going to be great so i was letting you see his history! Personally I will reserve judgement as am wondering where you will play him and alongside who?

Have you never watched Crouch play never mind the fact hes a fucking giant hes terrible in the air.

Apparently centre attacking mid probably alongside Parker. Again leaves Jenas out :( but oh well. I'd like to see him out wide to accomadate Jenas but he ain't much of a winger like Robert or anything.

Villa are being linked with Baros again I hope we don't bother. I'm interested in all the talk about Saviola coming our way but again I'm not 100% he'll be a Premiership success. Still another striker is needed since Vassell doesn't look like he'll ever be a 20 goal striker.

We're stilling crying out for another midfielder though. Been a allright summer though, Berger will do a allright job for a bit I'd say. O'Leary has wanted Philips forever so I'm hoping he can do something if we supply him and Angel. I love the signing of Taylor think he'll be great be good to see him and Sorenson push each other.

Hughes will be handy to have for cover. If we could add one more central midfielder to challenge Hendrie for a spot along McCann I'd be happy. Be happier if we managed to sell off Vassell and got in one more striker to go with Angel, Philips, Moore and another.

Be good to see how Davis does too and get Mellburg and Laurson togethere for a good run

Hilariously, a load of papers gave Cisse the man of the match award for yesterdays game (according to my mate at least)

:wtf:

But yeah anyway, I dunno who Souness is gonna pick in midfield, I mean Parker and Emre should be in the starting lineup IMO (I have higher rep so obviously I know what i'm talking about :cool: ) and i'm thinking he's gonna put Dyer on the right, Jenas on the left, or maybe give N'Zogbia a first team place, and put Dyer playing just off Shearer.

I suppose not having enough strikers aint too bad when you think about what Chelsea have done with just Drogba and Gudjohnsen :o

nah I have a higher rep than you and I'm willing to bet you know more about soccer than me.

wtf why do I keep coming in this thread

http://www1.sbs.com.au/home/index.php3?id=60760


Guus Hiddink has confirmed he will become the new coach of the Socceroos.

Hiddink has told reporters in South Korea he and Football Federation Australia (FFA) had reached an agreement for him to coach the Socceroos while keeping his current job with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.

The Dutchman said he would juggle both jobs until the World Cup play-offs against the fifth-placed South American side in November.

If Australia qualified for the World Cup finals he would continue on as Australian boss and then re-evaluate his position with PSV.

"We (FFA and I) have to work out some details which I proposed to them," Hiddink said after PSV drew 1-1 with French club Lyon to bow out of the Peace Cup pre-season tournament in Suwon, South Korea.

"In case that we do so, then it's both jobs until November. And afterwards we have to see if they qualify for the World Cup."

"But in any case, I will keep my job with Eindhoven. For the moment, we agreed that my job with Eindhoven will be kept."

While Hiddink will combine both jobs until November, it is understood he has committed to being present every time the Socceroos are together, including the two matches against the Solomon Islands in September.

"If Australia qualify for the 2006 World Cup, then I will take over (by) November," he said.

The FFA refused to officially confirm Hiddink's appointment but it is believed Hiddink will be officially unveiled as Socceroos coach at a press conference in Sydney on Friday afternoon.

He will replace Frank Farina, who was sacked after Australia's elimination from the Confederations Cup last month.

Hiddink's appointment as Socceroos coach had already been considered a fait accompli, with FFA officials waiting for PSV to bow out of the Peace Cup tournament before making any official announcement.

The Dutchman is regarded as one of the world's best coaches, leading Holland and South Korea to the World Cup semi-finals and winning the 1988 European Cup with PSV.

He took PSV to the Champions League semi-finals last season and has also coached Real Madrid, Valencia and Real Betis.

Hiddink's first official duty as Socceroos coach will be a training camp next month in the Netherlands.

Australia then plays its Oceania World Cup qualifiers against the Solomon Islands on September 3 and 7.

If, as expected, the Socceroos beat the Solomon Islands, Australian officials hope to line up two friendly matches in Europe in October before the South American World Cup showdown matches in mid-November.

Good news for the Aussies, Hiddink is one of the best coaches around.

Bobo Balde is a cunt.

Breaking somebody's leg in a friendly is a bit extreme.

You can see the tackle here. It's not great footage but you can still see it's a horrible challenge.

lol that's nothing, someone at my club (in under 17s no less) did a 2-footed tackle at training, on his own team mate.

Yes, it's nothing and it broke his leg. He's only 17 too.

In fairness, it's hard to do worse than a 2 footed tackle on your team mate

:nono:

Who was that young Birmingham lad against Brann Bergen who broke one of their players legs. That was fucking horrific, they were taking him off with his leg pointing in 2 different directions.

They both went for the ball, it was nicked away. 50-50 challenge. Broken legs happen.

No, Weso knicked the ball and then Balde goes intentionally for his leg. Broken legs happen but with malicious challenges like that in a friendly game is just plain stupid.

Balde went for the ball and it was nicked away. Don't be stupid about this, like Levein. It was a strong challenge. Those types where the ball goes loose between two players are called "hospital balls" for a reason. There's no way you can stall your momentum when the ball is nicked away, life doesn't play out in slow motion. You can't pull out once you've committed yourself to the ball. Usually pulling out is what gets your leg broken.

He never made a play for the ball once the defender came in though

You can see on the slow-mo one that he could have taken the ball, but he misses it and raises his foot, even though the ball is on the ground. The thing that really annoys me is that Balde or Celtic haven't apologised, and it was in a friendly, i'd be more understanding if it was a competitive game, but it wasn't.

Call me stupid all you like but if it happened to an Irishman in an international, friendly or not, then i can't see you reacting in the same way and being calm about it.

Yes, I would. If it happened to me, I would be calm about it. That's the way those tackles go. Looking at it in slow motion and saying he had time to adjust is just stupid. Look at it in real time to see how quickly it happens.

Every tackle looks worse in slow motion.