[Dave_L]

I think your opinion should be disregarded since you consider carrick a poor man's xabi alonso...

But i may as well talk about their signings. I hate to hop on the bandwagon, but i don't have a lot of hope in Kuyt...I think he's a good player, but I highly doubt he can adjust in the prem.

who else have 'pool signed? palleta is the only player that comes to mind...i think he's been pretty good so far. plus he was free.

I get a little orgasm in my head when i think of huntelaar(>____________________>) but he would cost loads more than kuyt i'm sure. younger, and labelled as the next van basten(which i think he rightly deserves). as a united fan i would have picked huntelaar every day of the week instead of carrick(if they were for the same price). I rate carrick, but i think huntelaar will develop into something magnificent.

[retired_chiquita]

Carrick is a poor mans Xabi alonso. About Kuyt i dont think he will score anywhere near the volume of goals he scored in Holland, but you have to look at the overall picture, his assists and his massive workrate and his ability in the air. If Rafa Benitez had wanted an out and out goalscorer im sure he would have gone for somebody else, But to me he looks like a Rafa Benitez type player.

And if anyone is judging him on his world cup displays, by that thinking Ronaldinho is the worst player in the world.

[Dave_L]

But Ronaldinho has proven himself in nearly every other competition he's played, whereas kuyt only really played in the dutch league which doesn't guarantee he'll do well in the premiership(kezman,anyone?)

Anyway, I'm not saying he's a bad player, I quite like him, i'm just not expecting him to perform as well as what's anticipated.

And calling carrick a poor man's alonso is just 'pools fans way of downplaying carrick. Carrick plays a different role that xabi. All xabi does is pass, whereas Carrick is a hard working centre mid that often makes runs defends well, whereas xabi alonso does virtually nothing other than pass.

By your logic, we should call any good passer in the world a poor man's xabi alonso, regardless of any other skills, just because xabi is better at passing.

Anyway on topic- i forgot about pennant in my last post. I think he'll do surprisingly well at liverpool.

err, also sorry for the double post in my last post. any way to delete posts here?

[SKT174]

Ruud only played before in Holland as well and turned out to be a massive assist for United and I more compare Kuyt with Ruud rather than Kezman because his strike rate is as good as Ruud's in Holland and the physique is nearly the same.

Hey people, don't forget we have got Bellamy and Pennant who in my opinion will be ace this season and Agger looks really good as well.

[retired_chiquita]

Originally Posted by Frystorm

But Ronaldinho has proven himself in nearly every other competition he's played, whereas kuyt only really played in the dutch league which doesn't guarantee he'll do well in the premiership(kezman,anyone?)

Anyway, I'm not saying he's a bad player, I quite like him, i'm just not expecting him to perform as well as what's anticipated.

And calling carrick a poor man's alonso is just 'pools fans way of downplaying carrick. Carrick plays a different role that xabi. All xabi does is pass, whereas Carrick is a hard working centre mid that often makes runs defends well, whereas xabi alonso does virtually nothing other than pass.

By your logic, we should call any good passer in the world a poor man's xabi alonso, regardless of any other skills, just because xabi is better at passing.

Anyway on topic- i forgot about pennant in my last post. I think he'll do surprisingly well at liverpool.

err, also sorry for the double post in my last post. any way to delete posts here?

Im only getting a rise out of you with the Carrick jibe I think hes a great player. I do think you payed about 8 million too much for him though, but then again he is English.

What i meant was anyone who is judging Kuyt SOLELY on his world cup performances.

[SunShine7672]

I'm judging Kuyt on his World Cup 'performances' and his last match in the Dutch team. He was bad, he came on and made three backward passes whereof one wide, lost the ball 5 times and managed one decent ball into the area.

[Dave_L]

I know the dutch leage has produced some great players, but what i'm saying is that you can't use his scoring record to say that he will be a success. there have been plenty of flops in the prem with good records in the erdivisie, so i don't take it to mean too much. Also, kuyt is a different player than ruud.

Originally Posted by jimbob

Im only getting a rise out of you with the Carrick jibe I think hes a great player. I do think you payed about 8 million too much for him though, but then again he is English.

well then, mission accomplished >_>

I just get annoyed, because it isn't the first time i hear a liverpool fan say that about carrick. I do think we overpayed, but you're using the 18.6 figure, which isn't really true...it's 14-18.6. I reckon he's worth about 12-13 but oh well fergie always gets ripped off, it seems. also he's english, so add a few mil to the estimated price =/

I guess i haven't really seen that much of kuyt to determine whether he'll be succesful or not...But i've seen enough to know his style of play. Who knows, he might be able to pull it off.

[Dynamic]

I'm not too sure about Kuy either. it could all end up like Kezman or Morientes, huge expectations, but ended up flops.
I hope i'm wrong though as he could be a great player for us.
It'll be hard for Rafa to choose between Kuyt, Crouch, Bellamy, Fowler.

I think Aurelio and Paletta will be good, although I can only see Aurelio being played if Gonzalez or Riise get injured. Palleta and Agger are lookign good for the future, with Hypia getting old now and Carragher isnt that young, we need some new defenders.

Pennant, i'm not sure, he could be good if he has the commitment.

[laytownking]

Originally Posted by Frystorm

I think your opinion should be disregarded since you consider carrick a poor man's xabi alonso...

But i may as well talk about their signings. I hate to hop on the bandwagon, but i don't have a lot of hope in Kuyt...I think he's a good player, but I highly doubt he can adjust in the prem.

who else have 'pool signed? palleta is the only player that comes to mind...i think he's been pretty good so far. plus he was free.

I get a little orgasm in my head when i think of huntelaar(>____________________>) but he would cost loads more than kuyt i'm sure. younger, and labelled as the next van basten(which i think he rightly deserves). as a united fan i would have picked huntelaar every day of the week instead of carrick(if they were for the same price). I rate carrick, but i think huntelaar will develop into something magnificent.

Liverpool have signed Bellamy, Pennant, Gonzales, Aurelio AND Paletta besides Kuyt! Not ONLY Paletta and Kuyt! And he didn't come for free. Lpool paid 2m for him, got him from Banfield. River Plate had reserved a no. 6 shirt for him but Rafa still managed to get him.

So before you start 'disregarding' my opinion, sharpen your footballing knowledge a bit.. And yeaha, Carrick's the poor man's Xabi Alonso... There's a reason why one of them was winning MOTM awards in the WC while the other was on the bench...

And he only passes, nothing else?! LOL man, have you even seen him play?! Statistically he makes more tackles than Gerrard! He plays the quarter-back role, so does Carrick! They play in almost the identical position! And calling him the poor man's Alonso isnt insulting him in any way. He's a very good player. What i meant to say was that Alonso is MUCH better than him and cost Liverpool half as much.

[CnixZ06]

Liverpool have been the smartest club in the transfer market in my eyes.

Bellamy was an outstanding signing.