Topic: John Arne Riise...

[Phil M]

I see your point but how you can argue he is a better header or more dominant
in the air than Agger or Carragher is beyond me. Anyways it's getting late I'll leave
it on that and let someone else take up the argument discussion. 

[NasEscobar]

Bill Shankly :
"Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple."

I'm not convinced Riise can do any of the above to the required standard for us.

[-HH-]

Riise offers more to the defence than Finnan does, with Hyypia out he is our best defensive header of the ball.

He is our best defensive header of the ball, he doesn't offer more to the defence than Finnan does. He also doesn't offer more going forward in any real sense given his poor technical ability. Smacking one in from 30 yards every so often masks that a lot of the time.

[Redrider]

Sadly, time for Riise to move on !

Although, he could be happy to remain as the left side utility player, who is called upon for cameo roles and cover for injury!!

[shangtsung]

Disagree. He won most of the headers against Gardner. Riise is very good in the air for a full back, certainly better than his other three partners in their position.

Better than Carra??? Carra is almost as good as Sami in the air, and Agger certainly is no mug.

[Hank Scorpio]

It is NOT time for Riise to move on.  Just not to play on the wing.

It is like playing a lorry at left wing.

[PaislyShankley]

There's more chance of a lorry going past someone.

[Hank Scorpio]

Better than Carra??? Carra is almost as good as Sami in the air, and Agger certainly is no mug.

I think that the weakest part of Agger's game is his heading.

Riise is great in the air for a full back.  One of his strengths.

[marvellous10]

No Saturday was one of Crouch better games to be honest.

I take that as a joke?  Riise plays sides onside too much of the time. great going forward, but lacks a bit at the back. wouldn't sell as no obvouis replacement, which is a main reason as to why he's still here

notice how often we play Arbeloa at LB when we need to be careful of a tricky winger etc, or away from home?

[cornelius]

I can't believe how far this thread has been allowed to descend, it makes the Owen ones look classy.

[Kaizer]

I take that as a joke?  Riise plays sides onside too much of the time. great going forward, but lacks a bit at the back. wouldn't sell as no obvouis replacement, which is a main reason as to why he's still here

notice how often we play Arbeloa at LB when we need to be careful of a tricky winger etc, or away from home?

Riise does not play teams onside often at all, his understanding with the rest of the back four is superb.

For your Arbeloa point you might want to switch the attention to the fact Riise often play in midfield against tricky opponents to double the cover on the left and because if a team is good enough for us to take such steps Riise`s good off the ball movement will usually set him up with a few good scoring chances something thats vital in such tight affairs.

[PaislyShankley]

notice how often we play Arbeloa at LB when we need to be careful of a tricky winger etc, or away from home?

Or Aurelio is inavailable.

[Redcap]

Riise does not play teams onside often at all, his understanding with the rest of the back four is superb.

For your Arbeloa point you might want to switch the attention to the fact Riise often play in midfield against tricky opponents to double the cover on the left and because if a team is good enough for us to take such steps Riise`s good off the ball movement will usually set him up with a few good scoring chances something thats vital in such tight affairs.

He does play teams onside actually. The most recent occasion being  against Feyenoord. He was a good three or four yards behind the rest of the back four for their goal.

[BazC]

He does play teams onside actually. The most recent occasion being  against Feyenoord. He was a good three or four yards behind the rest of the back four for their goal.

What about before that?

Riise is a good header of the ball... but no way is he better at defending than Finnan because of it. Thinking about the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka etc going at Riise gives me the shits as much as if I were thinking about them going at Hyypia... but at Finnan? No problems. He handled those fuckers last season without a problem... yet I seem to remember Riise getting raped at the end of the Milan match after Masch went off.

[bigbear]

He does play teams onside actually. The most recent occasion being  against Feyenoord. He was a good three or four yards behind the rest of the back four for their goal.

I think our first choice back 4 (which includes Riise) is very good at getting offsides right.

It was noticeable the few games that Warnock played and Traore to a lesser extent how much they failed to come out in aline compared to the others. This is definitely not a weakness of Riise.

I think he's a pretty good full back. Not brilliant but there are not many in the League I'd swap him for when you look at the whole package. He's very good in the air, reliable and pretty calm. He's played in lots of big games and NEVER let us down.

Can produce the odd special goal and is rarely injured and able to do a half decent job in midfield if required.

Every player that you prefer ahead of him will be weaker in some discipline than he is.

[I wandered lonely.]

theres been a few reports lately linking john to villa. any truth to them i wonder. personally, i wouldn't lose any sleep if he left, if only because we'd be saved the torture of seeing him play at lm.

[andrew1978]

i hope he doesn't leave. he may not be at his best at the mo but he is a quality player who has a passion to play for this club.
It would be a huge loss to the squad if he was allowed to leave.

[MFletcher]

i hope he doesn't leave. he may not be at his best at the mo but he is a quality player who has a passion to play for this club.
It would be a huge loss to the squad if he was allowed to leave.

No it wouldn't.

[Hank Scorpio]

Don't want him to leave.

Don't want him playing left wing.

[otitito]

i hope he doesn't leave. he may not be at his best at the mo but he is a quality player who has a passion to play for this club.
It would be a huge loss to the squad if he was allowed to leave.

Agreed entirely

[D🐶G]

i hope he doesn't leave. he may not be at his best at the mo but he is a quality player who has a passion to play for this club.
It would be a huge loss to the squad if he was allowed to leave.

Would it fuck. He's 'not been at his best' for the past two seasons and a bit. Get rid of the over-rated one dimensional bugger.

[tax_man]

I like Risse a lot, it's hard not to like him. But at the moment he's just an average left back and a poor left winger. He frustrates with his constant long range shooting, which seems to have gotten worse.

Having said that, if Risse doesn't mind playing second fiddle to Arbeloa I'd be happy to keep him. As long as he doesn't play left wing (which if course isn't up to him)

[todda]

Riise has been a good servant to the Club and although he does lack defensively, I don't think we're in a good enough position down the left side to think of selling one of our best options down the left at the moment.

[labyrinth]

He is an average player who has passion and never give up. His passes are bad, understanding of the game little above average, percent of long ranges shoots are criminal. When he play winger slow down other players and, in situations when he must pass to free player he thinks too much and ruins chances. He is tough and disciplined player but, in modern game its far from enough. We have Arbeloa and Aurelio and they suite the position well. When we want to drag lines closer opponents box we should use Aurelio, when we want deeper defend Arbeloa is ok.  But problem is left winger, Babel still has to learn and he will earn some minutes but not main role, Kewell is unpredictable in medical terms. So, if we can buy left winger in January we should sell Riise.

[rafathegaffa83]

I think his time in this squad is coming to an end. The writing has been on the wall for some time as his performances have lacked a consistent level of quality over the past two seasons. We have outgrown Riise and he hasn't been able to raise his game in conjuction with our rising standards.

[The Cappuccino Kid]

He's only had two good seasons for us, and the cynical side of me says he only pulls out the stops for a new manager or for a new contract.

It really saddens me how a player of such limited ability can play 300 odd games for this football club. I'd really like somebody to give me a few of his attributes because apart from having a good shot, he's got fuck all else. He used to have great athleticism, but in the last few years his pace has been on the wane for some reason.

He's a fucking waste of a red jersey and the thing is, he's a saleable asset as some actually rate him, due to the odd wonder goal on MOTD. If we were offered a decent price for him, I'd drive him to his next club as Arbeloa and Aurelio have the left-back slot sorted.

Apologies for being brutal, but I can't abide players showing a lack of effort, and for the last few years, Riise has put very little in at all, in my opinion.

[potatomato33]

With Aurelio, Arbeloa, and Insua available for left back, selling Riise wouldn't be the end of the world. The main problem would be left mid: Kewell is out for who knows when, Leto is still learning, Babel and Benayoun aren't real wingers, Pennant can play there if MBE is put on the right, and whilst Aurelio can do a job there, it'll limit options for left back.

[LFC on tour]

Riise has been a good servant to the Club and although he does lack defensively, I don't think we're in a good enough position down the left side to think of selling one of our best options down the left at the moment.

He is good enough to be on the bench, and to only play LM. His defending is atrocious, and his creativity is limited to 1 wonderstrike a season.

Ask yourself why Arbeloa is playing LB 90% of the time..

[andrew1978]

Carew encourages Riise to move
October 15 2007
Aston Villa's John Carew has told compatriot John Arne Riise that he should move to the Birmingham club.


The Liverpool star has been a long-standing target of Villa manager Martin O'Neill who is tipped to make a bid for the Norwegian in January.


Carew has now backed his countryman to link-up with him at Villa Park.


"It seems like John Arne wants to go, so I can't see why not?" Carew told Dagbladet.


"There is a possibility.


"He would fit very well in Villa, so that would just be positive."

[Keso]

Well since Carew and Riise work well together I can't see why not either

[Hoppy]

Carew encourages Riise to move
October 15 2007
Aston Villa's John Carew has told compatriot John Arne Riise that he should move to the Birmingham club.


The Liverpool star has been a long-standing target of Villa manager Martin O'Neill who is tipped to make a bid for the Norwegian in January.


Carew has now backed his countryman to link-up with him at Villa Park.


"It seems like John Arne wants to go, so I can't see why not?" Carew told Dagbladet.


"There is a possibility.


"He would fit very well in Villa, so that would just be positive."

Didn't Carew floor Riise once...??


Best friends all of a sudden are they?

[Tomo-the-red]

I think be bad move to sell him, scored some great and important goals for us. Anyone know why he says "It seems like john arne wants to go" ? has Risse come out and said somthing that i missed ?

[smicer07]

I think be bad move to sell him, scored some great and important goals for us. Anyone know why he says "It seems like john arne wants to go" ? has Risse come out and said somthing that i missed ?

No, and neither has Riise.

[Tim]

He's only had two good seasons for us, and the cynical side of me says he only pulls out the stops for a new manager or for a new contract.

It really saddens me how a player of such limited ability can play 300 odd games for this football club. I'd really like somebody to give me a few of his attributes because apart from having a good shot, he's got fuck all else. He used to have great athleticism, but in the last few years his pace has been on the wane for some reason.

He's a fucking waste of a red jersey and the thing is, he's a saleable asset as some actually rate him, due to the odd wonder goal on MOTD. If we were offered a decent price for him, I'd drive him to his next club as Arbeloa and Aurelio have the left-back slot sorted.

Apologies for being brutal, but I can't abide players showing a lack of effort, and for the last few years, Riise has put very little in at all, in my opinion.

I agree with all of that.

[PaulF]

JAR is a decent left sided player and has been for us. During Rafas rebuilding he was a decent option and is good enough to hold a first team place in most teams. He is more than likely good enough to play every week for Villa, he however probably isn't good enough for  a regular slot in a side challenging for the title? [Although argubly Traore isn't good enough for a CL winners medal either......]

--EDIT--
If we assume now though that Riise now a squad player, do we really want rid? We'd have to replace him surely and then there's the problems of finding someone to fit in. Getting them used to zonal and other things he is well acquainted with. We'd also need to find a player at least as good as him, but no so good they'd be expecting first team play?

[labyrinth]

I think be bad move to sell him, scored some great and important goals for us. Anyone know why he says "It seems like john arne wants to go" ? has Risse come out and said somthing that i missed ?

Riises performances scream: I'm John, sell me.

[Johnny Foreigner]

Didn't Carew floor Riise once...??


Best friends all of a sudden are they?

Carew decked Riise on the team coach prior to a international. Carew got most of the blame, but Riise was a twat prior to that and pushing him to hit.

After a couple of weeks/months, they were in again and best pals.

They are a good fit in terms of self-belief and intellectual capability

[BHB]

Close the door on your way out John

[rushyman]

Close the door on your way out John

Yeah John youve done nothing for us, fuck off

 

[labyrinth]

Riise is a great player.

Was a great player.

Or are you saying you know better than Benitez?

Of course not. But legendary status don't improve his recent games. LFC doesn't want to live only for past. And if we want future we might sell players who didn't play well for a while. My intension is not to insult Riise but debate of his ability and way how he can improve our game. Debate is not taboo, particularly on sites which encourage discussions. Rigidness not help. Or?