Topic: Anthony Le Tallec

[Andy]

I don't think a few months in the reserves will do them any harm at all. If they are both still playing superbly for the reserves then gradually bring them in. But GH will no doubt do the right thing by them.

Plus, if we can keep them in the reserves for a while, with any luck we'll bring home 2 titles this year!!  

when evans was reserve manager, did he win 11 titles in a row? think i heard it somewhere, but may have mis-remembered...

[daddymac]

Le Tallec should not feature against Chelsea.  Too much of a big game to debut at.  He probably hasn't even seen a live Premiership game yet!  

I read an interview which he said that since signing for us over a year ago he watched every live match and read all our match reports to know the players and their styles.

He is ready and he is good enough. Just watch United fully utilise their 'wonderboy' - he is absolute diamond aswell.

[Skeeve]

He is ready and he is good enough. Just watch United fully utilise their 'wonderboy' - he is absolute diamond aswell.

Firstly, I think he should be on the bench, his performances in preseason were good enough to merit that place, especially with injuries/suspensions reducing the number of midifelders we have available.

Secondly, I don't think the mancs will overplay their 'wonderboy' since he already has the pressure of that recently inflated transfer fee.

[Pheeny]

Option 1-shove him in now burn him out in 2 or 3 years and go looking for a new one.

Option 2- let him play in the reseveres and maybe a few Worthy games and have a player thats still around in 10 years(yes I know it might not be with us)

I know which option I'd take.

[john_mac]

Some people just can't help justifying my image of internet football fans, and particularly Liverpool internet fans, being short-sighted, uninformed and clueless when it comes to football knowledge.

[Andy]

you called?

 

[ttnbd]

Personally I think both Le Tallec and Florent will be fantastic talents for the club.  However given Houllier's record on young talent I think I will let him decide what best to do with them.  He has seen what has happened with Fowler, Owen and Gerrard.  He doesn't want anything like that happening again.

Houllier went out on a limb to get these two lads before anyone else knew about them.  He is not about to throw that down the drain by bowing to fan pressure to play them.  He bought Kewell to put straight into the first team.  He has no need to throw Le Tallec in at the deep end.  Give him outings in some cup matches (maybe some sub appearences in Europe) but interms of the premiership they need to be kept away from there for a little while as the first thing that will happen as soon as either get the ball, they wil be targetted by the opposition for a good kicking.  That itself will put pressure on them early on.

[Stanley]

Agree, let them bloom & learn in the reserves with maybe a few Worthy appearances from sub bench, surely they were bought to further develop their game to be of benfit to the club in a couple of seasons? Do not want to threw them in too early and put too much pressure on them too early. I can understand the "if they're good enough" philosophy to an extent but believe the club & the players are better off letting them develop. They will learn from just watching the game on Sunday from the stands.

[KFC]

My 2 cents on whether he should be on the bench.

I tend not to think about it from the burn-out, etc, perspective because we WILL NOT be playing him regularly that is for sure, because our strongest XI should consists of the followings in the midfield :

Kewell
Gerrard
Hamann
Murphy

And I don't think Le Tallec has what it takes to squeeze out any of the above.  While makes me think who should be his direct competitors.  I just have a couple of names in mind -- Smicer and Cheyrou (Diouf's case is a bit different, but we will talk about him another time -- in short I see him as a great sub for Kewell).

I watched all the games Le Tallec played in preseason (from the official site) -- I was at the HKG game as well and I was trying to make comparisons mainly between him , Smicer and Cheyrou.  What my conclusion is that : ALT has the best potential of all three (for obvious reasons), but given the consideration of the existing form and the level of understanding of the others game, I will rank them as

(1) Smicer (good pre-seaon form, good understanding with the team formation)
(2) ALT (good pre-season form, minimal understanding with the team -- FSP excepted)
(3) Bruno (indifferent pre-season form, not much understanding with the team)

If we agree on the above rankings, then we take a look at our potential team on Sunday.  No Hamann.  No Gerrard.  No Smicer.  Diao half-fit.  This is what we probably end up with:

Kewell Biscan Murphy Diouf

Now look at the bench.  We would put a goalie there (Kirkland), a center-back there (Traore / Babbel), a striker there (Baros / Heskey depending who we play with Owen), a defensive midfielder (probably Diao, Welsh very unlikely) and an attacking midfielder -- this is our main question.  I think we are down to either ALT or Cheyrou.  And just think when we will play this attacking midfielder -- the only time that I think we need to put in a attacking midfielder is either :

Kewell / Murphy breaks down (touchwood it would not happen) or they cannot continue because of stamina problems (I think there is a chance that Kewell might not stand for 90 minutes)

In this case it doesn't matter who we put in, we just put in the best, and given the circumstances, it is going to be ALT.

we are chasing the game (1 or 2 goals) with 20-30 minutes to go

In this case ALT works even better because there will be less expectations on him to do well compared to Cheyrou.

we are level with Chelsea with say 10 minutes to go and GH wanted a change


I bet you that GH would probably put Diao in replacing Kewell!!

I just don't see any reason to give Cheyrou a game ahead of ALT.  For ALT he can fail, but nobody is going to blame him.  The same cannot be said to Cheyrou because everybody knows he is already 25 and on his 2nd year so it is kind of 'make or break' season for him.  Putting him in with 20-25 minutes to go in a high-pressure, high-calibre game like Chelsea is going to wreck him unless he produces wonders -- which I really doubt he can do.

What happens after the game?  What I know is that Smicer would be back, Gerrard would be back and so will be Diao.  So to me it really shuts the door for ALT (and unfortunately, Cheyrou) already.   If I am GH I will tell ALT that he will be on the bench for Chelsea game as a reward for his great pre-season form, but he will probably only play for 15-20 minutes -- enjoy the game, try your best but no expectations.  And tell him after this game his place on the bench will be taken away by Smicer / Diouf with Gerrard back and he will then be mainly used for Worthington Cup / Reserves to gain experience -- I don't think ALT will refuse this offer.

For Cheyrou, I think he has kind of lost the battle already (not to ALT, but Smicer) and unless he does really great in Worthington Cup / Reserve or we have serious injury crisis -- I don't think he would be given a good run in the team given his indifferent pre-season.  If I am GH I will tell him that he have not done well enough in pre-season to earn you are starting place, but he still needs to be ready for the Worthington Cup and he will be considered if we have injury problems.  I will also tell him that ALT will also be mainly used on reserves / Worthington Cup so he needs to fight with him for the chance -- I think it will be good kick on his backside and if his attitude is right it could be good for him.

Oh I haven't really talk about how good is Le Tallec.   From what I have seen, he is pure quality and while I will not see him as the new Zidane (Zidane is once in a life time talent), I think there is a very high chance that he will be our Pires -- and that is good enough for me.  His passing is crisp, his vision is second to none and he has got a good shot.  He is especially effective with Pongolle and is not afriad to get stuck in.  However, the best competence I think he has is that he has the composure which is unreal for an 18 year old.  He is not afraid to hold the ball and he know what exactly he is doing with it -- the only other guy in Liverpool that I have ever seen with the same level of composure as a 18 year old is, who else, Michael Owen.

So I will say, put him on the bench for just this one game and then use him primarily in the Worthington Cup, unless we have crisis situation in suspensions / injuries.  And put him to train with the likes of Owen / Baros / Kewell so that he can learn their games, not with the reserve team.

[john_mac]

Now I must admit that I'm not his biggest fan, but I don't think that Bascombe is too far off the mark on this one. I have already sadi that I thought that Owen was Liverpool's poorest performer on Sunday, and it had nothing to do with him being starved of service. I also think the reaction to Cheyrou has been completely 'over the top' as was the general reaction to the defeat.

Anyhow:

"In most cases, paying £12m for a teenager would be considered rank stupidity, over-indulgence or, at the very least, a gamble which even Chris Kirkland's dad would shy away from.

When Manchester United do it, it's a stroke of transfer genius.
According to everyone who they make listen, United have just signed the best teenager in the world. By God are we hearing about it.

I'm not doubting Ronaldo's abilities. Clearly he's a talented kid who may be on the threshold of greatness. It just strikes me as rather odd that no-one has given the same attention to Liverpool's equally stunning new teenage recruit.

It seems Gerard Houllier's mistake with Anthony Le Tallec was to buy him early rather than delay until everyone in Europe wanted him. Obviously, Liverpool should have waited until Le Tallec's value was £12m.

Soon enough, the rest of the nation will wake up to the fact Le Tallec and Ronaldo played in the same world youth championships not so long ago and it was the Liverpool new boy who was voted the best player.

No doubt both Gerard and Sir Alex watched those same youth championships in Malaysia a few years back and noticed the same players.

Indeed, Liverpool had already signed Le Tallec by then and were strongly linked with Ronaldo themselves, but can't afford to splash out like United.

Time will tell who's got the better deal, but for value for money I know who I'm backing. It's a bit like Houllier and Ferguson have both dined at the same top class restaurant and had their pick of the best main courses on the menu.

Houllier has managed to get his dish at a quarter of the cost Ferguson has paid, and yet it's his rival who is getting all the praise.

Indeed, I'm getting an eerie sense of deja vu when it comes to theman dubbed TLT who's about to explode onto the Premiership. I remember how slow our London based number one writers were to realise who Steven Gerrard was a few years back.

The Kop Magazine I once wrote even launched a campaign to get him in the England squad, so little attention was he receiving. Then, when the rest of the country noticed a year later, they decided to make him their own property.

It was a similar story with Wayne Rooney at Everton. A friend of mine who works on a national newspaper tried to get a feature on Rooney into his paper in the summer of 2002. They were having none of it. How times changed three months later when "Rooney Opens Crisp Packet" stories were making the front page.

Le Tallec won't get the same attention as Rooney, Gerrard or Michael Owen because he ain't English. But the few glimpses I've had of him remind me so much of the first time I saw Gerrard.

So young, yet so full of class. So clearly ready to play at the highest level and begin the learning curve which will take him to the top of the game.

One of the most encouraging, but sadly overlooked parts of Sunday was Le Tallec's being named a sub. Pity he didn't get on, although Houllier said he was prepared to play the youngster if the circumstances of the game had been different.

The career paths of Le Tallec and Ronaldo are sure to cross regularly over the next decade. Should the French gem prove himself the better player, you never know, maybe the manager who signed him will get a bit of credit.


How awful it was to watch on Sunday, don't you think?

A team flooding the midfield, sitting back, making no effort to take the game to their opponents but content to hit on the break.

I mean? One man up front against one your biggest rivals? What were they thinking? And how they paid a price for their caution when in the late stages their opponents scored a well deserved goal.

Liverpool? Try Chelsea.

Chelsea were impressive, but it seems Claudio Ranieri is allowed to use these counter-attacking tactics while Liverpool are not.

I dare not think of the reaction had Gerard Houllier taken a team to Stamford Bridge and played one striker. Even if his side won!

Last week, I wrote a column saying whatever happened this season, it would be progress to leave Anfield feeling suitably entertained. Well, I was. It was a fine match between two excellent sides and Liverpool contributed to it.

All that was wrong with the performance was the result. Entertaining,
losing football is still better than boring, losing football. The next
trick is to entertain and win, something I'm sure will happen if Liverpool play with the same commitment and attacking intent they showed on Sunday (and have Steven Gerrard in the side),

Of course, the TV and radio bandits had decided Bruno Cheyrou and Igor Biscan were going to be rubbish regardless of what happened. Cheyrou and Biscan had their best games for the club on Sunday. Whether that's still good enough is another matter, but they weren't Liverpool's worst players.

No, that honour went to those beyond criticism whose name is likely to be sung first and loudest.

Liverpool lost because they didn't defend properly when they were called upon. Something which cost them key points last year too but is conveniently overlooked by cowards who pick easy targets."

[MC-Red]

Good points in your intro and in the article Jon.

 

[Hugh]

Absolutely spot on about the game.

Was unfortunate enough to watch Monday Night Football last night with Le Tosser and Alan Smith, all they did was have a go at GH for putting Kewell behind the front two then praised him when he was played on the right at times in the game, this after criticising him for playing him on the right in pre season. ABSOLUTE FUCKING TOSSERS!

[mikeedee]

I agree with most of Bascombe's comments regarding TLT and Ronaldo, but am I the only one who would prefer it if the press have collective orgasms over Fergie's new pet and just let our "little gem" settle in and find his feet. The papers going OTT on all things United is nothing new, and I'm more than confident that we not only got the better deal, we also got the better player.

Not so sure about the rest of the article though. Mentioning that Chelsea played a similar brand of football to the one that has got Houllier so much criticism is all well and good, but it overlooks the fact that this was an obvious game for Ranieri to use these tactics. Playing counter-attacking football away from home has served us very well in the past few seasons, it's the fact that we settle into this mode for the majority of our home games that causes the problems.

And that was Bruno's "best game for the club"!!!???

[Gus 1855]

I think Bascombe is about right there.

[weeman]

I think Bascombe wrote a brilliant article!!!! Totally summarised the game. Unlike many of the nationals who said liverpool played like last season!!! I just wonder did they send an reporter to the match and if so were they sober!

[john_mac]

Well the only other games that I think may come into that catagory were a friendly at home Lazio and Arsenal away last season.

I would say it was Cheyrou's best game for the club.

Had it been his debut there would not have been the comments made that have been, in fact I'd say there would be some optimism over at least three first half passes. As it is it is about his eigth PL start, so of course its time to write him off!

[mikeedee]

Writing Bruno off now would be way too hasty, and anyone doing such would be out of order. But I've seen enough football in my life to know when a player isn't having a good game.

It might well be that Sunday was Cheyrou's best game but that has more to do with the fact that he's done next to nothing so far. If you want to stick to the opinion that he did OK, then that's your right, but all I know is this- there are a lot of people who don't agree with you.

[adamski]

I didn't think Cheyrou was as poor as everyone's making out.
People went into that game thinking, "What the hell is Cheyrou in the starting 11 for?" - immediately negative.  Because the game didn't go according to plan, it was easy to apportion all the blame on Bruno.  Had we won, I doubt people would have been so outraged by his performance or analysed it as much.    

[Rushian]

TLT???

Pongolle was voted best player, LeTallec came second ....

Tournament was in Trinidad and Tobago not Malaysia

We spotted them the previous season in the Euro U16 championships in England ......

[Hugh]

Tony Le Tallec.

[keithcun]

All in all  a pretty good assessment by Bascombe.

[Walshy nMe®]

Rushian, im pretty sure Le Tallec was best player and Pongolle was top scorer.

[Old-Scallywag]

No doubt both Gerard and Sir Alex watched those same youth championships in Malaysia a few years back and noticed the same players.

Sir Exlax even went on record to say that he phoned Le Boss to congratulate him on this transfer coup as he coverted both players himself

[daddymac]

A good article there and i agee about Igor (even though i am biased). I thought he needed testing for banned substances after the first 20 minutes as he thought he was very good.

Where i disagree is about Cheyrou. He was by far the worst player on the pitch and looked so far out of his depth i felt very sorry for him as i knew he would receive so much stick after the match. I refuse to join in on this but the gulf in quality was there for all to see.

To say he had his best game in a red shirt is deliberately going against the dickheads who moan and boo but at least Bascombe should go against their view points with some rationale or it just sounds daft.

[Stevo]

For once i find myself agreeing with bascombe.

As for Cheyrou, he didn't do too badly, but i was very surprised he was selected ahead of Diouf, i think Cheyrou has a lot of ability, but he's going to need a long run in the side before we really see it. He also seems to be lacking in a lot of confidence. No surprise though as whenever either him or Igor had the ball the crowd were immediatley on their backs. Some people have no patience.

[Adeemo]

Rushian, im pretty sure Le Tallec was best player and Pongolle was top scorer.

'tis true, Le Tallec won player of the tournament, and Pongolle won the top goalscorer trophy.

[jean paul]

I believe Bascombe also got it mostly spot on in his match report on the Liverpool Echo.  Link here:http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liverpoolfc/page.cfm?objectid=13306839&method=full&siteid=50061&page=1

As for Biscan, I believe we saw glimpses of the same lad at Old Trafford in 2000.

Cheyrou, I believe he had one of his better performances so far, even though not exactly world class, but would Diouf have had the same effect had he started from kick off?

[MichaelA]

After the result, people have been looking for scapegoats, and Cheyrou was always going to be the obvious candidate. I thought he played reasonably well in the first half, until he got his arse in the way of Kewell's shot.

Likewise Igor had a few headless chicken moments, but nothing on a par with some of Djimi's greatest efforts last season. If we had drawn that game, half of this criticism would never have materialised.

Or am I deluding myself?  

[Spartacus.]

I think even if we would have won the game certain people would have come out with the same old criticisms.  

[Adeemo]

To be honest I really didn't see anything impressive about Bruno's performance, and as for it being his best yet for The Reds, I don't think it was anywhere near as good as his performance at Arsenal.

[Sat1]

I thought it was a good article, although I dont agree with the part about Chelsea playing the same brand footbal as Liverpool. Ok they used counter attacking football but with alot of good flowing football and good movement, had we been like that last year no one would of said we were boring.

I feel for Bruno and Igor, they will no matter be the worst players on the pitch simply because their names, before kick off they will be named the worst players on the pitch no matter what the prformance.

I hope GH will give them more games, its going to be hard but its the only way they will get use to the league and it will build their confidence, which is very important.

I can see Stevie and Biscan partnering this weekend, well I'd like to

[MichaelA]

Le Tallec won't get the same attention as Rooney, Gerrard or Michael Owen because he ain't English.

Or playing.

[Rushian]

Walshy/Adeemo

I'm right. Bascombe is wrong.

Topscorers
9 Florent SINAMA PONGOLLE (France)   Golden Shoe Award
5 Femi OPABUNMI (Nigeria)             Silver Shoe Award
4 CAETANO Prosperi Calil (Brazil)   Bronze Shoe Award
3 Maximiliano Gaston LOPEZ (Argentine), Wilfried Leon Bakary SANOU (Burkina Faso), Anthony LE TALLEC, Samuel PIETRE (both France), Kairimu SHAIBU (Nigeria), Armando ALONSO Rodriguez (Paraguay)

Best players
1.Florent SINAMA PONGOLLE (France)   Golden Ball
2.Anthony LE TALLEC (France)         Silver Ball
3.Femi OPABUNMI (Nigeria)            Bronze Ball

http://www.rsssf.com/tablesw/wc-u17-01.html

Florent Sinama-Pongolle arrived from French club Le Havre along with Anthony Le Tallec in the summer of 2003.

An exciting young striker with feet like a traction engine, Sinama - as he likes to be called - is a proven goalscorer and will join his pal Le Tallec in providing Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Milan Baros with some some healthy competition for the striker's position.

His goalscoring exploits were seen in May 2001 at the European U16 Championships in England when Pongolle scored six goals en-route to the final but then lost out to Spain 1-0.

France fared better in September of the same year, when played a major role in France winning the under-17 World Championships in Trinidad. He won the golden ball for the tournament's best player and the golden shoe for top goalscorer with nine goals, setting a new tournament record with hat-tricks against USA, Japan and a goal in the final against Nigeria.

The future of France, possibly. The future of Liverpool, definitely.

http://www.4thegame.com/playerprofile.d?personid=4006

Gerard Houllier secured the double transfers of French wonderkids Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama Pongolle when they arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2003.

The pair had previously both been on a season's loan at French side Le Havre, and Houllier's capture is a shrewd one as Le Tallec and Pongolle were in much demand throughout the football world.

Pongolle is an exciting young striker with blistering pace and a great habit of finding the net on a regular basis.

His goalscoring exploits were very much in evidence in May 2001 when Pongolle scored six goals en-route to the final but France lost out to Spain 1-0 in the European U16 Championships in England.

There was better fortunes for Pongolle in September 2001 as played a major role in France winning the under-17 World Championships in Trinidad. Sinama-Pongolle won the golden ball for the tournament's best player and the golden shoe for top goalscorer with nine goals.

He set a new tournament record with hat-tricks against USA, Japan and a goal in the final against Nigeria.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/squad/sinamapongolle/

French striker Florent Sinama Pongolle, who set a new FIFA U-17 World Championship record with nine goals, received the adidas Golden Ball, given to the most outstanding individual performer at FIFA tournaments.

Sinama Pongolle garnered 36 votes from the 44 ballots cast.

Joining his team mate on the award platform was French midfielder Anthony Le Tallec, winner of the adidas Silver Ball.

The adidas Bronze Ball was awarded to Femi Opabunmi, the standout midfielder for runners-up Nigeria.

Le Tallec said, "Being world champions, of course, is the greatest satisfaction. But then to also receive the adidas Silver Ball, and to be chosen from among so many great players, is truly an honour."

FIFA Official U17 site

[Filler.]

maybe the difference is that United play Ronaldo, while we keep leTallac on the bench?

In a recent thread about whether Le Tallac should play, there was much discussion about burn-out etc on all these young players, so was wondering. I haven't seen Le Tallac play yet (only briefly), and not sure whether v Chelsea he would have made a difference, as I thought GH got his substitutions pretty much spot on IMHO, but I feel that Bascombe's article was filler I'm afraid. Your thoughts?

[hoonin]

lol. That should settle it Steve. It was defo Pongolle, not that my word will add anymore to the links above

[Spartacus.]

maybe the difference is that United play Ronaldo, while we keep leTallac on the bench?

We have had ONE game and he would have came on if it was not for an injury to another player

[Filler.]

I know we've had ONE (in capitals) game, I'm not a GH 'out' member christine   .
I was glad to see him on the bench of course, but would he have got there if StevieG and Hamann were fit. And Vlady?

I'm just of the opinion that if he's good enough, he's good enough... plus am also wondering (the main point of my thread), if Le Tallac can change a game, singlehandedly, like Kewell, like Stevie G can, and obviously, like Ronaldo can.

[Sat1]

My guess is if we played an inferior team and were winning then GH would of put on Le Tallec, and given him the chance to take on those opposition tired legs.

I really want to see Sinama and Tallec play and would like to see it soon, but more than anything I want their future to be one of less injuries, so im glad GH will introduce them carefully

[Spartacus.]

I know we've had ONE (in capitals) game, I'm not a GH 'out' member christine   .
I was glad to see him on the bench of course, but would he have got there if StevieG and Hamann were fit. And Vlady?

Who knows   I have no idea what goes on in Ged's mind with straightforward decisions let alone his team selection.

I'm just of the opinion that if he's good enough, he's good enough... plus am also wondering (the main point of my thread), if Le Tallac can change a game, singlehandedly, like Kewell, like Stevie G can, and obviously, like Ronaldo can.

From what I have seen of him yes but then I haven’t seen enough to make a true judgement on him, what I don’t agree with is all the hype and pressure being placed on him before he has even kicked a ball.  Heaven help the lad if he takes time to settle or is slow to adapt because the usual suspects will just line him up as another waster.

[Filler.]

what I don’t agree with is all the hype and pressure being placed on him before he has even kicked a ball.  Heaven help the lad if he takes time to settle or is slow to adapt because the usual suspects will just line him up as another waster.

... but it is up to US to NOT to get on his back. For me, there is no pressure, and would like to think I speak for most on this. We can't let the boo-boys become the majority. It would be absolutely fatal. We all understand he's young, or should do at least, and when you are young, you make mistakes. But LFC is a club ALL about supporting their players. Fuck the usual suspects and fuck the media whatever happens, get behind him, let him know he is being supported. He's got a good manager beside him... he'll be OK, but we have our job to do too.