Falconhoof

Clearly W Brom are going down but i'd rather it was Portsmouth. From the t*** with the drum to the fact that they are practically in Northern France.

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Sullivan too, in fact he's worse.

Lots ? Really ?

His articles are getting better. Even if he's a bit of a t*** he's a far better bloke to be in charge of a football club than people like Gold. He showed David Gold up good and proper with that article.

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The original post was right to say we are doing a lot more now, thats obvious. One or two trialists under Houllier doesn't change the fact that we're doing a lot more now. Don't see what you are arguing with TBH.

Le Tallec and Pongolle cost a fair whack too but they have been included to bolster the numbers of promising young players Houllier brought in. Look at the long list I posted earlier in this thread and its clear that Rafa has already brought in more young players in than Houllier did in the entire time he was manager.

How old was Vignal. Diarra 21, yeah but if you include him then you could just as well include Alonso 22 and Momo 20. However you look at it, benitez has brought in far more young players than Houllier ever did.

Yes but its not about building an Academy is it ? You can spend as much as you want on the buildings and facilities but it won't make a blind bit of difference if you haven't got the scouts to find the right quality of young players. Under Houllier we stuck too rigidly to the new rules where trainees have to be born and bred locally. Rafa and his scouts have circumvented this rule by getting top quality young players from the lower leagues and abroad, paying relatively little for them. You only need to watch the reserves to see that they all have the potential to play at the premier legue level in the future if they keep working at it. I'm not saying Houllier left the academy in a worse state but what he did with it was extremely disapointing considering his work with young French players in their national system. Some have said that its still early days for an academy to bear fruit and we'll start to see the 1st few come through soon. The way Rafa is handling it is far more pro active and sensible IMO. He's finding the right quality of young player from far and wide and not just relying on the assumption that the coaches will be able to develop kids from merseyside into the necessary quality.

Rafa has signed the following teenage prospects in the short time he's been here Hobbs Anderson Antwi Carson Rogue (edit: I mean Roque) Barragan Mimms Calliste Martin Idrizaj and the Argentinian centre half who's yet to arrive. and now this Rushden and Diamonds striker on trial. I doubt Houllier took that many in the whole time he was at Liverpool, let alone in 2 seasons.

Its a dream come true for a 17 year old playing at Rushden and Diamonds. Imagine when his manager told him Liverpool were interested and wanted him to go for a trial. We seem to be picking players up a lot earlier into their careers than we used to. There's Anderson who'd only just made the breakthrough at Hull, same for Carson at Leeds and Hobbs at Lincoln if I remember rightly. The scouts are finding a lot more young prospects than they did under Houllier. the reserve and u19 results seem to suggest its all working well.

We can't afford to lose him for the Chelsea game. He's key to us winning that game IMHO. Am I right in thinking any suspension is always a game later, meaning if he's booked against Bolton the suspension kicks in for the Chelsea game but if he's booked against blackburn then the suspension starts after the Chelsea game ?

I also enquired about our shares recently and was quoted a price of £3000 for a share. They have been that way for about 18 months according to the guy I spoke to at Blankstone Sington. I'm just a bit wary of forking out what would be a lot of money for me without knowing what might happen with any possible takeover.

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Looks like it took a lot of time and effort to make. Will it be shown on tv anywhere ? i'm guessing not in the UK or SKy because its just for our team.

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Its all irrelevant anyway because there's no way Owen will stay there without European footy.

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Personally I agree with you but i'm just thinking of Newcastle and their approach to things. Its probably nothing.

So why would he say it then ? While I can't imagine Owen captaining Liverpool unless as 5th choice backup, I can see him being the automatic choice for Newcastle skipper. Hasn't he worn the armband for England ?