How far we 've come...

[Zippy]

...in the last decade. The other day I was thinking about us targetting and being able to sign players like Torres, Babel and Lucas (Brazilian footballer of the year) etc and comparing it to the 90's when we used to pursue the likes of Massimo Paganin (as far as I know an average Italian central defender) and be unable to sign them.

 

Anyway the point of this thread is who is the worst or most uninspiring players you can remember that we appeared to seriously pursue (who either wouldn't come or we decided against in the end).

 

The one that sticks out for me was the period under Roy Evans when we were apparently after Egil Ostenstad as our top striking reinforcement!

[Captain]

Christ, had forgotten about Østenstad. Thank fuck we dodged that one.

[Rashid]

...in the last decade. The other day I was thinking about us targetting and being able to sign players like Torres, Babel and Lucas (Brazilian footballer of the year) etc and comparing it to the 90's when we used to pursue the likes of Massimo Paganin (as far as I know an average Italian central defender) and be unable to sign them.

 

Anyway the point of this thread is who is the worst or most uninspiring players you can remember that we appeared to seriously pursue (who either wouldn't come or we decided against in the end).

 

The one that sticks out for me was the period under Roy Evans when we were apparently after Egil Ostenstad as our top striking reinforcement!

 

I have to say the most livid I was at a players signing was Peter Crouch. Liverpool signing Crouch was the like "yep we have finally arrived at the table of mediocrity, the club of Rush, Aldridge, Fowler and Owen now has Crouch". To be fair to the guy he has done well and conducts himself with dignity. A top man.

[Zippy]

Christ, had forgotten about Østenstad. Thank fuck we dodged that one.

 

It was at a time when Roy and the Echo had a fixation with Norway (No offense intended to Captain or any other Norwegian fans). I think it was because they believed that Scandinavians were the only foreigners who could cope with the premier league and our weather etc. Plus it coincided with Norway having some really good results at International level and Rosenborg beating some of the top teams in Europe. I can remember that Phil McNulty's column in the Echo would regularly advocate that we should get either Egil Olson or Nils Arne Eggen to replace Evans.

[Andy M]

One word: Boumsong

[Zippy]

I have to say the most livid I was at a players signing was Peter Crouch. Liverpool signing Crouch was the like "yep we have finally arrived at the table of mediocrity, the club of Rush, Aldridge, Fowler and Owen now has Crouch". To be fair to the guy he has done well and conducts himself with dignity. A top man.

 

I have to admit when I first heard the link I was underwhelmed (largely because all I knew of him was his height, that he had been relegated and that Graham Taylor signed him once) for a range of very weak reasons. However thankfully he was a revelation and a very good signing.

[Zippy]

One word: Boumsong

 

He actually sounded good to me! But you're right we dodged a big bullet there!

[185]

We were linked with Ben Thatcher for about 2 years when he was at Wimbledon weren't we. Another one that got away!

[Captain]

It was at a time when Roy and the Echo had a fixation with Norway (No offense intended to Captain or any other Norwegian fans). I think it was because they believed that Scandinavians were the only foreigners who could cope with the premier league and our weather etc. Plus it coincided with Norway having some really good results at International level and Rosenborg beating some of the top teams in Europe. I can remember that Phil McNulty's column in the Echo would regularly advocate that we should get either Egil Olson or Nils Arne Eggen to replace Evans.

 

I think both Bjørnebye and Heggem did well at Liverpool. Leonhardsen partially so, but he was played out of position a lot. To this day, I cannot understand how Roy put Leo on the left of midfield with Berger on the bench. It's incomprehensible. Of course, Heggems's career sadly ended prematurely due to injury, but imo he managed to show he had it.

 

Our national team's success was largely down to Egil Olsen, the best national coach we ever had. I doubt our national team will see his like as long as I live. Of course, England fans know all about our team back then.

 

Same goes for Rosenborg, the key was Nils Arne Eggen. The best coach any club in Norway has had. He was unique, and had his say at every level at the club. From the groundsman up to the CEO. Again, a unique man. He is the Shankly of Rosenborg.

 

What Olsen and Eggen had in common was, at each their level, the ability to consistently produce teams that ran like clockwork and whose total exceeded the sum of their parts.

[Rashid]

I think both Bjørnebye and Heggem did well at Liverpool. Leonhardsen partially so, but he was played out of position a lot. To this day, I cannot understand how Roy put Leo on the left of midfield with Berger on the bench. It's incomprehensible. Of course, Heggems's career sadly ended prematurely due to injury, but imo he managed to show he had it.

 

Our national team's success was largely down to Egil Olsen, the best national coach we ever had. I doubt our national team will see his like as long as I live. Of course, England fans know all about our team back then.

 

Same goes for Rosenborg, the key was Nils Arne Eggen. The best coach any club in Norway has had. He was unique, and had his say at every level at the club. From the groundsman up to the CEO. Again, a unique man. He is the Shankly of Rosenborg.

 

What Olsen and Eggen had in common was, at each their level, the ability to consistently produce teams that ran like clockwork and whose total exceeded the sum of their parts.

 

I always saw Olsen as a Graham Taylor clone - long ball, drillo style regimented football. However he did great for Norway and was a legend with his green Wellington boots.

 

I loved Heggem, what a class right back, and had so much ability. As for Leonardson, he wasn't a bad player, Evans bought him without thinking about how to play him or where to play him. I guess we didn't really need him in the same team as McManaman.

[cochcaer]

Lee Bowyer.

[Rashid]

Lee Bowyer.

 

If ever there was a player who wasn't a "Liverpool Player" it was he. Another Houllier cock up (nearly) and for £8M - when he went for free the following season!!

[lfclad_4eva]

im going for lucas neil i have always thought he was shit, if he was good, us chelshit scum arse madrid barca etc etc, would have been after him.

[cochcaer]

Darren Anderton. I thought he looked a good prospect but he was injured more than Redders.

[Sut]

I was going to say Bowyer as well.

[Guest PaddyBerger15]

Thank the lord that Bobby Robson beat us to the punch and managed to waste 8m of Newcastle's money on Viana before Houllier could waste 8m of ours.

 

Lee Bowyer is a good shout....a horrible, ugly, rat faced little shithouse of a 'fella' who would have had his face kicked in every night in Liverpool if he had gone out with that cockney big shot footballer attitude. Thank Buddah that didn't happen as well.

[ScouseAndy]

At the same time look how far Man U, Chelsea and Arse have pulled away from us in that time.

[Rashid]

At the same time look how far Man U, Chelsea and Arse have pulled away from us in that time.

 

When you buy squad player after squad player there is only so much they can do. He will have limited ability but be able to play in a team. Fergy made a mistake in buying Djembax2, Kleberson etc but has now gone back to buying first teamers mainly and plays them most games.

 

To win the league you need players who can win a game even when they are playing shit. To win games now we need our players to play well every week and that's not easy.

[RedBrian84]

At the same time look how far Man U, Chelsea and Arse have pulled away from us in that time.

 

Good point, although the wheels may have come off the Arsenal bandwagon this time. If they fuck up again this year then Wenger will be off, and you can be damn sure he'll take Fabregas with him. That'll mean one less side in our way!

 

Hard to see United being derailed though isn't it? It may come when Slur decides to retire and find some corner of the world to drink himself into oblivion.

[Rashid]

Good point, although the wheels may have come off the Arsenal bandwagon this time. If they fuck up again this year then Wenger will be off, and you can be damn sure he'll take Fabregas with him. That'll mean one less side in our way!

 

Hard to see United being derailed though isn't it? It may come when Slur decides to retire and find some corner of the world to drink himself into oblivion.

 

There is less pressure on Arsenal though as they spend fuck all in comparison to the other three. They have a different business model based on selling players for a top price as soon as they are past it and signing young players either for decent money or cheap and intergrating them into the team to play good football. They are the new Ajax I guess.

 

As for Fergy drinking thing, I find this tiresome. He has won 9 titles to our zero these past 17 years - we must be shit if he has been able to do it drunk!!

[Newport]

I always saw Olsen as a Graham Taylor clone - long ball, drillo style regimented football. However he did great for Norway and was a legend with his green Wellington boots.

 

That's the usual presumption about him (also among a lot of ignorant Norwegians), but Norway actually played some great attacking football in the qualifiers while in the play offs they played much more defensive. Probably because the other teams were better, but they stuck to it and we've got crazy memories from his time like beating Brazil.

 

I read a book about his time at Wimbledon and basically most of his staff and some players treated him like shit and them being relegated was inevitable.

[Zippy]

I think both Bjørnebye and Heggem did well at Liverpool. Leonhardsen partially so, but he was played out of position a lot. To this day, I cannot understand how Roy put Leo on the left of midfield with Berger on the bench. It's incomprehensible. Of course, Heggems's career sadly ended prematurely due to injury, but imo he managed to show he had it.

 

Our national team's success was largely down to Egil Olsen, the best national coach we ever had. I doubt our national team will see his like as long as I live. Of course, England fans know all about our team back then.

 

Same goes for Rosenborg, the key was Nils Arne Eggen. The best coach any club in Norway has had. He was unique, and had his say at every level at the club. From the groundsman up to the CEO. Again, a unique man. He is the Shankly of Rosenborg.

 

What Olsen and Eggen had in common was, at each their level, the ability to consistently produce teams that ran like clockwork and whose total exceeded the sum of their parts.

 

 

You cannot argue with the success those coaches had but IMO their style of football was very un - Liverpool like and as such McNulty was wrong to be advocating them for the managers role. Bjornebye did a good job and Heggem had real class and could have been a star for us. However I didn't like us pursuing/buying so many Norwegian players at a time when the Premiership was beginning to be able to attract players from the more technical countries - Brazil, Italy etc. I believe that generally foreign players should be signed to provide what your own country lacks. England has many players who work hard but lack high class technique - the majority of Norwegians are/were the same IMO. Leonhardsen should never have been a Liverpool signing in a million years - he just did not have the quality needed as with Kvarme who got his move on the back of a good game against Milan.

 

This isn't an anti-Norwegian post - JAR, Bjornebye, Heggem etc were all good additions to the team. However I still maintain that the club and Echo seemed to have a strange fixation with Norway at the time because of outdated ideas about latin players not being able to cope in England.

[RedBrian84]

There is less pressure on Arsenal though as they spend fuck all in comparison to the other three. They have a different business model based on selling players for a top price as soon as they are past it and signing young players either for decent money or cheap and intergrating them into the team to play good football. They are the new Ajax I guess.

 

As for Fergy drinking thing, I find this tiresome. He has won 9 titles to our zero these past 17 years - we must be shit if he has been able to do it drunk!!

 

True, very true. But I like taking the piss out of him. It deflects attention away from the success he has had. Maybe Rafa should hit the bottle?

[rargh]

I think both Bjørnebye and Heggem did well at Liverpool. Leonhardsen partially so, but he was played out of position a lot. To this day, I cannot understand how Roy put Leo on the left of midfield with Berger on the bench. It's incomprehensible. Of course, Heggems's career sadly ended prematurely due to injury, but imo he managed to show he had it.

 

Our national team's success was largely down to Egil Olsen, the best national coach we ever had. I doubt our national team will see his like as long as I live. Of course, England fans know all about our team back then.

 

Same goes for Rosenborg, the key was Nils Arne Eggen. The best coach any club in Norway has had. He was unique, and had his say at every level at the club. From the groundsman up to the CEO. Again, a unique man. He is the Shankly of Rosenborg.

 

What Olsen and Eggen had in common was, at each their level, the ability to consistently produce teams that ran like clockwork and whose total exceeded the sum of their parts.

 

Apart from the 3-3 against Man Utd and that purple patch in 96/97, Stig couldn't cross a fuckin' road!!!

[Kopite]

Apart from the 3-3 against Man Utd and that purple patch in 96/97, Stig couldn't cross a fuckin' road!!!

 

Argh Count Stigula, he had a real problem with crosses.