Topic: Happy with our Strikers?

[Notayesman]

Just wanted to get an idea of peoples opinions on our strikers for next season! Presuming Baros leaves (as is looking likely) that leaves us with Cisse, Moro, Le Tallec and Pongo. Personally I'd be happy with these four as it stands, as I think they're all extremely gifted and all offer something different. I know Mellors still with us but I honestly don't think he's gonna cut it in the longterm. Its definetly not one of the positions we need to worry about.

[-Gianni-]

If Baros leaves we will certainly need to buy someone to replace him and i would keep mellor befor le tallec

[Ian-TN]

I think we need a 5th. Someone that has proved he can score goals at this level before.

And that would be a man for every game really with different options in them 5.

[SMD]

Happy with our Strikers?

Yeah, thanks for asking.

[Code72]

If Baros leaves I`ll be very unhappy, cause he is our best striker!! 

[sirjames]

I think we need a 5th. Someone that has proved he can score goals at this level before.

And that would be a man for every game really with different options in them 5.

first one to shout fowler can buy me a beer

[Ace]

I'd be looking to Rafa to buy a youngish (i.e. inexpensive) striker just starting to come through in La Liga, and someone who plays with more guile, and perhaps deeper, than Milan. But also perhaps a young target man to groom as a long term replacement for Nando... I suspect Rafa has a five-year plan...

[peekay]

I'd be looking to Rafa to buy a youngish (i.e. inexpensive) striker just starting to come through in La Liga, and someone who plays with more guile, and perhaps deeper, than Milan. But also perhaps a young target man to groom as a long term replacement for Nando... I suspect Rafa has a five-year plan...

Tony LET

[Gnurglan]

Yes, I am happy with the strikers we have.

I may be in the minority, but I still trust in Baros. And don't forget Mellor. He finds the net more often than Pongolle. It doesn't matter how much more exciting FSP is, Mellor is the goalscorer and that's something we should remember.

I have faith in ALT, but not as the main man. Rather as a future supporting striker.

[Curly Tom]

FOWLER! It's a done deal 

[waffle]

if baros leaves we will have no one who has scored more than 5 goals in the prmership. i think we would defo need another strike

[Notayesman]

Fair enough, but Le Tallec and Moro have only been at the club since Jan this season and Pongo was injured just as he started making his name. We all know what happened to Cisse, so that would go a long way to explaining why no-ones scored that many.

[Dowling10]

i am happy, if baros stays or he goes, i am still happy

[Gnurglan]

Fair enough, but Le Tallec and Moro have only been at the club since Jan this season and Pongo was injured just as he started making his name. We all know what happened to Cisse, so that would go a long way to explaining why no-ones scored that many.

Yeah, but it's still a valid point. Cisse and Morientes are yet to complete a full season in the PL. Remember Veron. He was a top class player in Italy, but ended up being a shadow of that player in the PL. Not saying Morientes and Cisse will fail, just that we don't know how good they will be for us. It's all about assumptions at the moment. ALT and Pongolle are not good enough yet.

[waffle]

Yeah, but it's still a valid point. Cisse and Morientes are yet to complete a full season in the PL. Remember Veron. He was a top class player in Italy, but ended up being a shadow of that player in the PL. Not saying Morientes and Cisse will fail, just that we don't know how good they will be for us. It's all about assumptions at the moment. ALT and Pongolle are not good enough yet.

Exactly

[ksparks063]

i think we're good, cisse, nando, sigma, mellor, Le Tellec... i think were decent

[18Times]

but Le Tallec and Moro have only been at the club since Jan this season.

Hasn't Le Tallec been with us a few years now?, fair enough he had a season away but he's played before then under Houllier, he used to be favourite over Pongo.
As for the other strikers, well, if Milan ups sticks and leaves then do we really have the quality cover. It basically leaves us with Nando as are main man (not disputing he's world class for a minute), Nando obviously needs a partner so if Milan goes who else is there.....

Cisse - To be honest i don't know to many people who where that impressed with what he'd done so far, finishing didn't look to good, made some pointless runs, never really made full use of his pace. and now he's got this injury which may take him time to recover from (will he still be as quick). Not doubting his record in France but at the same time i wasn't doubting Cheyrou's when he came over. He's still young an hopefully this injury has given him plenty of time to settle in Liverpool, i think Rafa will turn him into the player we need but ready in time for next season i'm not to sure,

Then there's the kids..

Mellor - i don't think so, not gonna cut it as a 15 - 20 goal a season player, he may have a good reserve record but he never really looked like he would set the world alight,

Pongo - Maybe a decent sub, but he's nowhere near ready. He's definetly got the pace but its using it correctly, he needs a few seasons yet,

Le Tallec - is probably the most promising out of these 3 kids, a real clever player with bags of potential but again only offering his game as a supporting striker.

So going back to the original point, yes we deffo need a striker. Someone who is gonna bag us 15 - 20 a season someone who is proven. ( Michael back maybe? ) It all depends on the funding in the summer so it may be a swap deal with Milan going one way an someone coming the other.

[Walton-red]

i think that baros and le tallec should go, maybe with pongolle to.
i really dont rate baros at all, hes not a team player and his touch is piss poor. would like some sort of recongnised goals scoring strker such as owen and a youngster (preferably british) as a replacement. i still have faith in mellor, goal scorers are becoming endangered and mellor has the potential to become very good in my opinion.

[Notayesman]

Fair enough. Whatever about Le tallec, he needs to show a bit more in the PL but I think Pongo has shown what he has to offer. Great control, quick and very aware. The only way Le Tallec will show if he has what it takes is to play games.
If you sign another striker then you restrict these chances and you also have another player unproven in the prem unless you but within the prem, however who do you buy? No-one stands out. Le Tallec has fantastic potential and provided the attitude is right then he deserves a shot.

[Walton-red]

maybe your right, but do we have the time an points risk to fully bread a striker. if mellors going to make it maybe a loan is the best option. i agree with what you say about pongo, but when it comes to it does he provide enough goals (in my opinion no), does he provide enough assists (in my opinion no) or is he a target man, definatly no. i think he could be a super striker for a lesser club but he will never make our best eleven and i dont think in a few years down the line hel be accepting watchin football from the bench.

[Gnurglan]

maybe your right, but do we have the time an points risk to fully bread a striker. if mellors going to make it maybe a loan is the best option. i agree with what you say about pongo, but when it comes to it does he provide enough goals (in my opinion no), does he provide enough assists (in my opinion no) or is he a target man, definatly no. i think he could be a super striker for a lesser club but he will never make our best eleven and i dont think in a few years down the line hel be accepting watchin football from the bench.

Don't think we have the time to breed TWO goalscorers, but we should try to do it with one. Mellor or Pongolle?

Mellor is a goalscorer. That may be all there is to his game, but I put great value on that. I've also been impressed with his attitude in the past. His goals/games ratio this season is good enough for a 4th pick striker. If I had to pick FSP or Mellor, I'd pick Mellor. In particular if we keep Morientes, Cisse and Baros.

[Crazy-Horse]

Slimey Sports.

Liverpool's Anthony Le Tallec has become the second Premiership striker in a week to suggest that he will look to move to Paris Saint Germain if he cannot make himself a regular in England.

Following Jeremie Aliadiere's comments that he would prefer a move to PSG if he cannot become a key player for Arsenal, Le Tallec has confessed that the capital club is the only option for him in Ligue 1.

"I will take stock with my agents soon about my future," Le Tallec told But!.

"I must play and show myself, but this summer will see a lot of departures from Liverpool, so we will have to see the officials' position.

"I would love to stay here because it is a great club, but at the moment my situation is vague.

"I will probably not be coming back to France, except to go to PSG - which will always be the club of my heart."

[Notayesman]

I'll have to completly disagree with both of you there (no offence lads) but I think Pongo's gonna be an excellent player for us in the future. He's still very young but apart from being a little on the small side he has all the attributes of a great striker. Mellor may be a goalscorer but only in the reserves, he's been no great shakes in the PL, never mind the goal against the arse. Much as I'd like him to make it I don't think he will.

[classycarra]

i think that baros and le tallec should go, maybe with pongolle to.
i really dont rate baros at all, hes not a team player and his touch is piss poor. would like some sort of recongnised goals scoring strker such as owen and a youngster (preferably british) as a replacement. i still have faith in mellor, goal scorers are becoming endangered and mellor has the potential to become very good in my opinion.

i cmpletely diasagree with everything you have written except for your name

baros if he stays or goes i'm not gonna bother arguing in this thread. i'd like him to stay and to get 1 more proven scoring striker.

Le tallec and pongolle are twenty. i think. and if u look how flo po has progressed this season into getting a bit of strength about him, winning headers againgst the likes of terry etc, and taking people on (arsenal game comes to mind) i think it would be stupid to sell him
le tallec was favoured under houllier over flo po because at the time he looked better/clever but now i think pongolle is better

le tallec i would also like to stay tho cos he also has undoubted potential

mellor can't cut it at this level i don't think and unless hes happy being a stop gap for all but the worst injury crisis he will leave

maybe one striker and a sacrifice to a god to end our injury probs would be best for the preseason

[ricflairandy]

why assuming baros leaves? benitez said today that he doenst want him to leave.

[BazC]

why assuming baros leaves? benitez said today that he doenst want him to leave.

source?! i really hope he stays!

[Notayesman]

Benitez said he has two years left on his contract and so is a Liverpool player, he didn't say that Baros was staying, certainly not in the same terms as he spoke about Gerrard. I think the fact that we need cash and that Baros doesn't seem to be a Benitez player may lead to him leaving the club. If the Valencia presidents comments are to be taken seriously then Baros is obviousley already on the lookout. Personally I like Baros and what he brings to the team but still think he'll move on in the summer.

[alonso767]

helder postiga and mateja kezman! both are proven quality strikers in the prem.


in all honesty i do think we need another striker. pongolle looked like he was coming good before he got injured, and the jury is still out on le tallec, although he looked good against juventus, the fact that he was barely used at a shite french club when on loan is disturbing. we need another striker between 20-24 who has demonstrated ability. especially with the injury jinx at anfield the way it is..

[ricflairandy]

benitez said he has 2 years left and he wants him to stay at anfield.

I realy dont see were all of the anti baros feeling comes from. He works his arse off, yes hes having a bit of a lul in form and got sent off after being kicked off the park but what has he really done wrong?

[khalilur]

I would keep all our strikers, especially Baros. We just need to keep working on them and they should come good soon.

They all have different attributes that are useful in different situations.

Baros is hard running and very solid. He scares the defenders just by running at them. You hack him and he gets up again - no quarter given. When we occasionally resort to long balls, he's the best bet to get them. None of our other strikers has the pace to get the ball and the physique to shrug off defenders. Should get his head up more often and not try to beat the defenders all the time but those are areas we can work on.

Morientes has all the ball skills plus he's got a great header as well. Might be a bit lacking with pace but that has never been a major part of his game. Still settling in so he should get better next season.

Flo has the pace and trickery but lacks the physique. Could do very well in a quick passing team, which is what I hope we will be by next season.

Cisse hasn't actually convinced in the few games he has played for us but we all know his pedigree, so I'm willing to give him more time.

Le Tallec is a bit of an enigma. Was preferred to Flo when Houllier was around but has now dropped in the pecking order. We know he has the skills, he just needs to perform more consistently. Hasn't actually done anything that eye catching.

Mellor knows where the goal is. Quite sharp in the penalty area but does not provide that much in the build up.

If we have to axe a few strikers, I think it should be Mellor and Le Tallec. Of course, I would prefer us to keep all of them, but 6 strikers might be two strikers too many.



 

[SMD]

Of course, I would prefer us to keep all of them, but 6 strikers might be two strikers too many.

This season disagrees. As do many previous seasons.

[khalilur]

This season was an aberration. If we want to consider the possibility of an injury crisis like the one we are having then it's not just the strikers,  each position would surely need at least 3 world class players.

In some circumstances even 4 strikers are too many. Just look at Spurs. They have Defoe, Kanoute, Mido & Keane. Keane wasn't too happy about being on the bench, was he? He threw a tantrum recently and was fined by the club.

Look at Madrid. They only have 3 top strikers - Ronaldo, Raul & Owen. Was Owen happy to be on the bench? Like hell he is! According to the press he is even contemplating a return to Liverpool!

So, even though I would like us to keep all our strikers, we might just have to sell a few of them to keep the rest happy. Especially since at times Rafa seems to prefer using a lone striker.

Letting some of then go would also ease our wage bill.

[SMD]

This season was an aberration. If we want to consider the possibility of an injury crisis like the one we are having then it's not just the strikers,  each position would surely need at least 3 world class players.

I disagree. As far as I can remember, we've always had injury troubles up front, exasperated by the lack of back up. It was no coincidence that the season we had four top class strikers (Owen, Heskey, Anelka and Litmanen) who were relatively injury free compared to previous years, we finished with our best ever placing.
Like I said in another thread, I remember when we had a half fit Karl Heinz Riedle leading the line. I remember when Titi Camara was the only fit striker at the club. Strikers are different to all other outfield positions. You can always get someone to 'do a job' for a while and rearrange your tactics to try and not concede if you have a defensive shortage. You could always try and get full backs to provide the width your injury hit midfield can't produce. It's very hard to find a player in midfield or defence who's as clinical as a forward, though.
Obviously I'm not saying that the forward's position is miles ahead of all the others in specialism but just compare different attackers to see that certain players have a knack for scoring while others don't.
When Manchester United won the treble (ngh) they had Cole, Yorke, Sheringham and Solskjaer. To perform on all fronts, you need that freshness up front, even if we're playing a lone striker's role, there are two wingers who are going to have to get amongst the goals too.
This season was an aberration mainly because of the injuries afflicting the whole squad, as opposed to just the strikers.

[HIRA]

If the strikeforce remains the same next season, there will be no problems. The forward situation should be the least of our concerns.

One thing we are not sure of at all is whether Benitez has Baros in his long-term plans. And also whether Baros will be unhappy if Cisse and Morientes turn out to be the first-choice pairing.

[robbie77]

If Baros goes, we need another top striker. Pongo is good but not the finished article and I don't think Mellor will ever fully make the grade at Premiership level. Morro and Cisse are quality. just get Owen back instead of Baros and we're laughing.

[Gnurglan]

The number of strikers - I reckon 4 is enough. With Cisse, Morientes and Baros, three is enough. Then you need a promising player or two for backup. If we go through a season where everyone is injured that's unfortunate. But we can't plan for the worst case scenario. If we do that, we'll end up with 30 players. That will cost us and should we have a season with few injuries it will just be one big crowd of players. This happened under the previous manager.

Injuries happen. If we have a season like this one, we won't challenge for the title. But long term we'll be much better off keeping a smaller squad. Take this season for instance. We've had plenty of injuries, but what's the effect? Plenty of young lads have played. We've seen what Biscan and Warnock are made of. We have a fair idea of what Mellor can do for us. We can now make up our minds about their futures at the club. And because of that, we'll know where we need to strengthen the team/squad.

Keep too many players and the problems are hidden. There's always a possibility to say "oh, we've been without Player A, that's why our season has been poor". And the next season it's another player's injuries that explains why we haven't reached our goals. You get away with excuses.

[RedJedi]

helder postiga and mateja kezman! both are proven quality strikers in the prem.

You are kidding aren't you? Kezman? I wouldn't even play him in a reserve team. I bet he won't be in the prem next season.
I think in Mori and Cisse we will have the best strike partnership in the prem next season. Golden boot next season will be Cisse. 
I don't think a striker should be our main priority in the summer, but if a bargain turns up then maybe.
What do you think about Clinton Morrison? He's scored some great goals and is unhappy with his club situation, he could be a real steal ! or maybe Robbie Keane he's a proven prem goal scorer and also unhappy with his club.

[mr_mad_master]

yes. if your convinced milans gone than youd have to be just as much inclined that owens coming back. not saying milan wont go but i dont think its that way yet.

[LiamG]

Keep Baros,

Cisse,baros and nando will do me fine

[BazC]

i agree that 4 very good strikers is a potential problem- someone rightly quoted tottenhams keane situation.

i think that 3 strikers we have are brilliant, and will get their chances.

however, with the possibility of a 4-5-1 formation next season we may hear about a couple of our strikers having problems with starting- when pongolle comes back throw him into the equation as well...

baros
cisse
morientes
le tallec
pongolle

maybe it would be best to keep 2 of the good 3, and the 2 youngsters. but i wouldn't like any of them to go- the lack of opportunities may test their commitment though.