Flo Po...

[floyd the barber]

looking really good in spain this season...seems to have bulked up a bit and scored 2 this weekend..

 

cant help but feel hes a far better option than kuyt or voronin....and would certainly have had his fair share of chances this season..

 

 

Anyway its all very good in hindsight.....still im glad hes doing well as i always thought he was a tidy player and was dissapointed we sold him...

[Maldini]

He's only scored 3 all season for them, he did well for them last season though, but he wasn't good enough and he didn't want to stay here. I still think we ruined him and Le Tallec.

Edited February 11, 2008 by Maldini

[muleskinner]

Le Tallec ruined it for himself with his attitude and performances when given the chance. He didn't and hasn't exactly set the world alight on loan either.

[£440,000]

I've been working at all Recre's home games and he's not been doing that well. He's definitely stronger now though. Caceres looks like he could be a player.

[mick]

I still think we ruined him and Le Tallec.

 

Please explain how?

[Earl Hafler]

Please explain how?

 

Pissing them about on loan abroad, not giving them first team games at a crucial age.

 

I think Wenger and Fergie could have made them stars, more likely with S-P.

[mick]

Sorry but what a load of rubbish. They weren't good enough - end of story. There's plenty of promising 16 year olds who star in youth tournamens and are never heard of again.

 

I heard at the time there was loads of European 'giants' after them which I don't believe - if there was why the hell would they come to us instead of Barca, Real etc???? Don't say the Houllier factor - ultimately the only dross he attracted from France was the likes of Traore, Diouf, Daio Cheyrou who probably couldnt believe their f***in' luck.......

 

And when I'm at it Welsh and Patridge are in the same boat - not good enough.

[growler]

the fact that funguson and wenger called houllier to congratulate him on signing them demonstrates no one else wanted them?

 

we did feck them up. they clearly had the skill

[Hassony]

the fact that funguson and wenger called houllier to congratulate him on signing them demonstrates no one else wanted them?

 

we did feck them up. they clearly had the skill

 

they were 16 years olds when we bought them, maybe they peaked too early

[muleskinner]

At what point do players have to take responsibility for their failings and not have it blamed on previous managers/clubs? If Le Tallec in particular was anywhere near good enough he has had ample opportunity to show it, he somehow manages not to time and again.

[Armin_Tamzarian]

With hindsight the real mistake was signing Cisse. Only a couple of years SP's senior and both pacy, the mix was all wrong. It sent the wrong signals to SP and made it much harder to incorporate him in the side. SP has better technique than Cisse and perhaps with a bit more involvement he could've made more of a contribution. I'd sooner have had him at 2.5m warming the bench than 14m Djibril. Think back to the impact he made on the Olympiakos or Luton matches. Two key contributions that helped win the EC and FA Cups.

 

Bit of an indictement of GH that when Rafa came into the club we had very similar strikers with the exception of Emile who was already on his way. I think Rafa made a reference to it at one point. If we could've got out of the Cisse committment (Ludlum fans take note) and hept Heskey there'd have been a better mix of strikers and thus more chances to involve SP as a sub, using his pace and technique once the game had opened up.

 

Round about the time of Cisse's 1st broken leg I met SP and he was a really nice genuine kid. I did hear however that Rafa and he had different views of his readiness for first team action. Apparently Rafa felt SP thought he knew it all when in Benitez opinion he had a lot to learn about being a striker. Only second hand info though.

[charlie clown]

I met SP and he was a really nice genuine kid. I did hear however that Rafa and he had different views of his readiness for first team action.

 

I think it was 3 years back at the evening k-o pre-season game at Wrexham, when the players did their round the ground parade at the end he was the only who actually came over and spoke to the fans - seemed a genuinely nice kid.

 

On the footballing side, I would have much preferred to see them loaned out to UK teams than o/seas, and played more regularly when they were based at Anfield. Wenger for one would certainly have had them in earlier and more regularly. I was really sorry to see him go and I still think he could offer something to us but he made the decision to go and you've got to get on with it once players make their mind up to go. No point dwelling on what-ifs.

[mick]

There has been louse of promising 15/16/17 year olds signed by Wenger and Ferguson over the years who never got anywhere near the first team and where shipped off elsewhere.

[Sion]

There has been louse of promising 15/16/17 year olds signed by Wenger and Ferguson over the years who never got anywhere near the first team and where shipped off elsewhere.

 

[MFletcher]

Did we not send them straight back on loan to Le Havre for two years after signing them?

[Armin_Tamzarian]

There has been louse of promising 15/16/17 year olds signed by Wenger and Ferguson over the years who never got anywhere near the first team and where shipped off elsewhere.

 

The difference is the level of hype that surrounded them. I think Liverpool were more than happy to go along with it, the season they signed we didn't do a lot in the transfer window. So the 'gems' received a lot more attention than they would joining a succesful Arsenal or United side. If I remember rightly they were paraded alongside Harry Kewell as 'edge of the seat' signings.

 

It suited the club, wanting to seem ambitious despite a reduced transfer outlay and it suited a manager keen to show himself as a shrewd operator in the transfer market, particularly as Wenger had done so well importing young French talent. It didn't suit the two players though, both in raising their expectations and increasing the spotlight on them and the pressure to perform.

 

The Liverpool Way used to be a low profile signing, stuck in the reserves for a season with no publicity and the first we saw of them was a seamless introduction to the big time. In this day and age it's unlikely to happen that way again but I think the low key way that Hobbs, Antwi, Roque, Anderson and now Nemeth, Pacheco have arrived is a sign of progress.

[Kuyt-fever]

As good an impact player you can find. I like him , ran Cannavaro ragged last year and would be a very good option here.

[Maldini]

Sorry but what a load of rubbish. They weren't good enough - end of story. There's plenty of promising 16 year olds who star in youth tournamens and are never heard of again.

 

I heard at the time there was loads of European 'giants' after them which I don't believe - if there was why the hell would they come to us instead of Barca, Real etc???? Don't say the Houllier factor - ultimately the only dross he attracted from France was the likes of Traore, Diouf, Daio Cheyrou who probably couldnt believe their f***in' luck.......

 

And when I'm at it Welsh and Patridge are in the same boat - not good enough.

 

Every major team were after them, Wenger was mad to get them and Ferguson had been sending them birthday cards and s*** for years. They were class at 16/17 and we ruined them, we tried to convert Le Tallec to a midfielder which he isn't and then when they finally arrived we stuck them in the reserves for two years.

 

They were by far the best two players in the u16 euros and then the u17 worlds that contained players like Iniesta, Torres, Mascherano, Tevez, Diego, and Ronaldo. They may not have reached the level of all of those players, but they were never really given the opportunity.

[MFletcher]

I still maintain that we stunted their development by sending them back to Le Havre on loan for two years. If they had come in at the earliest available opportunity and spent time with the first team squad, maybe a few outings here and there, then we'd have had two special players on our hands.

Edited February 13, 2008 by MFletcher

[£440,000]

He scored a stunning goal today. Blasted it from 25-30 yards. Worth looking for online. Recre one 3-2 despite being down to ten men. Beto was sent off for taking his shirt off after scoring the equaliser to make it 1-1. It was a second yellow, but still ridiculous.