Topic: John Arne Riise...

[cornelius]

So you accept he was poor last season. What makes you think there's been an up turn this new season. Or are you clinging onto the hope he will suddenly come good again?

Have you been following this thread or have you just jumped in? I've said all along he was dire last season. I said I was one of the first on RAWK to criticise his performances almost 2 years ago and it was met by some with derision. I also said he wasn't very good yesterday.

Riise had a bad season both on and off the pitch. We know he had off field problems. I'm not making an excuse for him but, as I've tried to stress, I feel that given his past performances for us that he deserves the opportunity at least to have another go. If, when he plays, his dire performances continue then by all means let him go but I still feel he has something to offer the squad, even if it is just his uncanny knack of coming up with something.

[cornelius]

More like enough rope to hang himself!

Oh yeah right, Rafa is clearly in a position to pick players who have stinkers just so he can justify getting rid. Jeezus if that's the mentality we're dealing with...

[Sweet Silver Song]

Have you been following this thread or have you just jumped in? I've said all along he was dire last season. I said I was one of the first on RAWK to criticise his performances almost 2 years ago and it was met by some with derision. I also said he wasn't very good yesterday.

Riise had a bad season both on and off the pitch. We know he had off field problems. I'm not making an excuse for him but, as I've tried to stress, I feel that given his past performances for us that he deserves the opportunity at least to have another go. If, when he plays, his dire performances continue then by all means let him go but I still feel he has something to offer the squad, even if it is just his uncanny knack of coming up with something.

You guessed right.  I didn't read through all 12 pages, and just jumped in. You are fair in  what you say. And his off field problems may have contributed to his poor form.

Whilst you say we should try and  and accommodate him.  I disagree. By all means accommodate him, pamper him, counsel him or whatever, but not at the expense of the first 11. We can't afford passengers if we are to seriously challenge in the league this season. I'd much rather have Insua, Arbeloa or even Aurelio (when fit) there at the moment. Riise will be welcomed back when he's ready.

[kopite matt]

Oh yeah right, Rafa is clearly in a position to pick players who have stinkers just so he can justify getting rid. Jeezus if that's the mentality we're dealing with...

No, he isn't (or maybe after playing Zenden.........).

He will play him to let him prove himself and if he doesn't it's off to the gulag. Riise's grown up enough, surely, to realise he needs to work hard and improve. If he doesn't he's dumb, ginger AND shite!!!

opinions are like arseholes lid, everyones got one. And I realise i'm leaving myself wide open to purile abuse - from the wools on here, but c'est la vie - with that comment

[Fat Scouser]

You know, I used to think the media was full of shit headed lazy pricks that couldn't be arsed making their own minds up and just went along with the majority. I also used to fall for that Liverpool fans being the most knowledgeable football fans.
This thread just shows how wrong a fat boy can be.

[barbudo]

If you had 11 players like Riise in your team you would win a lot of matches, if you had 11 players like Pennant you would not win a single one.

Weakest link in the whole side?

What a completely fucked up statement.

What a completely unfalsifiable hypothesis.

[cornelius]

You guessed right.  I didn't read through all 12 pages, and just jumped in. You are fair in  what you say. And his off field problems may have contributed to his poor form.

Whilst you say we should try and  and accommodate him.  I disagree. By all means accommodate him, pamper him, counsel him or whatever, but not at the expense of the first 11. We can't afford passengers if we are to seriously challenge in the league this season. I'd much rather have Insua, Arbeloa or even Aurelio (when fit) there at the moment. Riise will be welcomed back when he's ready.

I never said he had to be in the first 11 (unless his performances warranted it) I'm just saying that he is worth another year in the squad and he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

He will play him to let him prove himself and if he doesn't it's off to the gulag.

Fuck me that's what I've been saying for the last hour.

from the wools on here

I've said this before and I'll say it again - if I was remotely bothered by this kind of dig, I wouldn't put my location in my profile would I? Like I said, mentality...

[chris2006]

Rofl @ 'class'. Class is a word I'd associate with Alonso, Raul, Henry etc. Not fucking JAR.

Yeah but u talk out ya arse 24/7 and 365 days a year so i would listen to a single word that comes out of your mouth. JAR is class and has class.

[mikek1984]

If you had 11 players like Riise in your team you would win a lot of matches, if you had 11 players like Pennant you would not win a single one.

Weakest link in the whole side?

What a completely fucked up statement.

what the fuck are you talking about

i mean, do you have some sort of impairment

[heather123]

This topic on every LFC forum gets more boring by the day.  Some people like/rate him, others don't.  Constant threads like this do fuck all, end of the day, whilst he's wearing a red shirt on that pitch, get behind the lad.

[Sir Capon of Debaser]

This topic on every LFC forum gets more boring by the day.  Some people like/rate him, others don't.  Constant threads like this do fuck all, end of the day, whilst he's wearing a red shirt on that pitch, get behind the lad.

what she said

[-HH-]

This topic on every LFC forum gets more boring by the day.  Some people like/rate him, others don't.  Constant threads like this do fuck all, end of the day, whilst he's wearing a red shirt on that pitch, get behind the lad.

As someone said earlier - he gets plenty of support in the ground like everyone else. What happens outside is just people discussing their opinions not 'getting on his back'. It's always happened, just it used to only be in the boozers or at work the day after not on the net.

[heather123]

As someone said earlier - he gets plenty of support in the ground like everyone else. What happens outside is just people discussing their opinions not 'getting on his back'. It's always happened, just it used to only be in the boozers or at work the day after not on the net.

Fair enough, but what I was getting at is that it's getting a daily thing to slag him off everywhere, I think the point has been now made without everybody adding their two pennies worth every 2 minutes.

[-HH-]

Fair enough, but what I was getting at is that it's getting a daily thing to slag him off everywhere, I think the point has been now made without everybody adding their two pennies worth every 2 minutes.

OK, but the same can be said of those who rate him. I agree it goes round and round and never gets anywhere but you seem to be somehow suggesting it's more laudible to praise him whether he deserves it or not. A kind of 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all' for footballers. It'll never happen.

[heather123]

OK, but the same can be said of those who rate him. I agree it goes round and round and never gets anywhere but you seem to be somehow suggesting it's more laudible to praise him whether he deserves it or not. A kind of 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all' for footballers. It'll never happen.

Not at all, simply pointing out that it's getting boring, same as the whole Gerrard slating was.

[Red_in_Holland]

Anyone else notice that Riise seems to be more aware of his precarious position in the squad nowadays ?

He will try shots now that even he would of flinched away from previously.   The worry over how secure his place is, is spoiling his concentration, and forcing him to be greedy now, where before he would have looked for the cross/pass.
There was one shot yesterday that said it all for me, his face after he tried it, told me he knew he should of passed it.

Thats a serious worry for a lad in his position, I hope he tries to show his value in more ways than crashing it as hard as he can, anytime he is over the halfway line.

Bit unfair critique going on in this thread, he certainly isnt the be-all and end-all as either a LB or LM, but as said he has tried his utmost and delivered winning scorchers for us in the past.  So deserved respect for his service to LFC as much as anything else.

As I stated, I think he can feel the end drawing near, or at least feels threatened enough, that his play seems wilder than normal.  Trying too hard maybe..  just a thought.  I can see him being replaced, Heinz as stopgap, but Insua is groomed and will be ready in a season or so.

JAR is not my favourite player by any means, certainly not shit either though.

RiH

[Art Vandelay]

Johhhhnnnnnn Arne Riise
Ooooh Ahhhh
I wanna knoo-ooo-oow
How you get in the team....

[mikek1984]

mister art

i see your avatar is homer

is that the scene from wacking day?

[Art Vandelay]

mister art

i see your avatar is homer

is that the scene from wacking day?

Yes it's an animated gif of him from whacking day...but it doesn't actually move on here...I guess the file is too big or something.

[mikek1984]

thats a shame that is

[rakey_lfc]

Rofl @ 'class'. Class is a word I'd associate with Alonso, Raul, Henry etc. Not fucking JAR.

Maybe not world class, but definately has had some sheer moments of brilliance since hes been here.
I am a fan of riise but i dont deny hes not been as good as when he first joined. Hopefully with Babel and Kewell breathing down his neck he'll get hes arse back in gear

[L10 RED]

Ask every fan to name our best defence from a fully fit squad, and what would you get?

I'd say 99.99% of fans would select Reina, Finnan, Carragher and Agger as 4 of the 5.

Then there'd be a split between Riise, Aurelio and Arbeloa for the left back slot.

That tells me, that despite Riise being at the club for so many years, he still hasn't made that position his own. Speaks volumes. It's a weakness.

Excellent post and very valid final point.

[billypilgrimnz]

If you had 11 players like Riise in your team you would win a lot of matches, if you had 11 players like Pennant you would not win a single one.

Weakest link in the whole side?

What a completely fucked up statement.

Even by your standards Kaizer, this is a terrible line of reasoning. I mean, utterly abysmal. Even a 5 year old child would be embarrassed to offer that as an argument.

[RigBon1892]

He had a stinker last season, but you have to bear in mind that for starters he got injured twice in the first month, and then the off field situation with his money was bound to affect his performances a bit

Give him til January to see how he goes, then by all means, if we get someone else in get rid, until then I dont feel safe enough, given that Aurelio and kewell can be injury prone...

Thats my two cents anyway...

[JamesG L4]

If you had 11 players like Riise in your team you would win a lot of matches

He's total shite in goal.

[albertared]

Lol ! A bit harsh mind.

The 'Come on Heinze' thing though, I will agree with wholeheartedly. An absolute quality player. he was by far the best LB in the country in his first season at OT. And what he would do in our team, would not merely be quality in both defence & attack from the LB position, but it would allow us to play a more attack minded LM ahead of him, & still have the solid base. Something that cannot be said with either Riise or Aurelio at LB.

read your own post again, noteably the line that includes "in his first season", and possibly reconsider your opinion of heinze.

i agree that he WAS awesome in his first season but he has been useless since his return from injury and he is only going to decline from here. i just don't see why we want to pay top money and huge wages just so that he can have a nice fat retirement fund.

no, leave him rot at OT.

as for JAR, i agree he is limited and we definitely do need an upgrade but surely kewell is the answer for left mid and aurelio at LB so what is really the problem?

[The Infamous_LFC]

Even by your standards Kaizer, this is a terrible line of reasoning. I mean, utterly abysmal. Even a 5 year old child would be embarrassed to offer that as an argument.

[Redcap]

Even by your standards Kaizer, this is a terrible line of reasoning. I mean, utterly abysmal. Even a 5 year old child would be embarrassed to offer that as an argument.

Behave. Kaizer's standards as a RAWK poster are top notch. Far better than Riise's standards as a footballer

[gritsvanilla]

Behave. Kaizer's standards as a RAWK poster are top notch. Far better than Riise's standards as a footballer

Maybe we could get Kaiser to play Left Back, an obstinate defender and prone to the odd wild moment in attack, a definite improvement on Riise 

[barbudo]

as for JAR, i agree he is limited and we definitely do need an upgrade but surely kewell is the answer for left mid and aurelio at LB so what is really the problem?

You're right, but as long as the "upgrades" are accident-prone JAR is unlikely to be put on the open market.  Aurelio is a far better footballer (by any criterion) than JAR, but could succumb to an injury lacing his boots, and Kewell looked like he'd had one injury too many in pre-season.

[Redcap]

Maybe we could get Kaiser to play Left Back, an obstinate defender and prone to the odd wild moment in attack, a definite improvement on Riise 

You're right, but as long as the "upgrades" are accident-prone JAR is unlikely to be put on the open market.  Aurelio is a far better footballer (by any criterion) than JAR, but could succumb to an injury lacing his boots, and Kewell looked like he'd had one injury too many in pre-season.

We've got plenty of options in both positions though. Heinze looks like he'll be coming in. When he does we'll have no less than 5 options for the LB position. Even if Aurelio gets injured and Riise gets shipped out we'll still have the so far very reliable and ever improving Insua to back Heinze up. And even if one of those two got injured there'd still be Arbeloa. We have more depth there than any position but CM in fact.

As for LM- Kewell, Aurelio, Benayoun, Babel, Leto. Again plenty of 'possibilities'.

[barbudo]

G

We've got plenty of options in both positions though. Heinze looks like he'll be coming in. When he does we'll have no less than 5 options for the LB position. Even if Aurelio gets injured and Riise gets shipped out we'll still have the so far very reliable and ever improving Insua to back Heinze up. And even if one of those two got injured there'd still be Arbeloa. We have more depth there than any position but CM in fact.

As for LM- Kewell, Aurelio, Benayoun, Babel, Leto. Again plenty of 'possibilities'.

I'm sure I've seen a figure of 7M bandied about for Riise on RAWK in the last few days.  So, would SAF give us Heinze and some old nets in exchange?

[Bob Loblaw]

No problem with John being in the side at all, but only at LB. I never want to see him at LM again, some of the things he did and tried to do on Saturday were, quite frankly embarrassing. He's much better at running into space from deep.

[Redcap]

No problem with John being in the side at all, but only at LB. I never want to see him at LM again, some of the things he did and tried to do on Saturday were, quite frankly embarrassing. He's much better at running into space from deep.

Agreed

[otitito]

If you had 11 players like Riise in your team you would win a lot of matches, if you had 11 players like Pennant you would not win a single one.

Team of Carraghers would win less than Pennants then? ;p

JAR deserves his place in the team. Fast, strong, defensively stable.
He's not the best defender, but I wouldn't mind if the back line produced most cleansheet in 2 seasons in a row.
Then, he can attack too, which is the quality we need more now.

[shangtsung]

Yeah but u talk out ya arse 24/7 and 365 days a year so i would listen to a single word that comes out of your mouth. JAR is class and has class.

You know NOTHING about football if you believe Riise is class. You must be a shite footballer yourself too. Riise is technically inept, atrocious at times in fact. No awareness or composure in possession. He has a good shot and works hard. Let's sign Pedro fucking Mendes.

[shangtsung]

Rofl @ Kaizer probably thinking Riise is better than Zambrotta.

[chris2006]

rofl @ you for rofl'ing at people. Bellend

[Notayesman]

Riise created our two greatest chances yesterday and helped neutralize Villa`s right hand side, but in general he was not up to his usual standard.

But to start a thread about him because of this is worse than Riise`s performance.

My God the unbelievable irony of that post.

[azer]

what idiot said aurelio was better than riise??

There isnt a better left back in the PL at the moment, he has been doing it week in week out for a good few seasons.
Can anyone name a better, more consistent left back over the last 3-4 years?