Interest in Kenwyne Jones

Liverpool press ahead with move for Kenwyne Jones

Liverpool are pressing ahead with their move for Kenwyne Jones and hope to have him signed to face Tottenham on Wednesday.

Sportsmail exclusively revealed the Sunderland striker was destined for Anfield in a loan deal and talks were ongoing on Monday night.

The Trinidad and Tobago international is desperate for the deal to go through and Sunderland would look to recoup their full valuation, of around £10m, for the 25-year-old in the summer.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce maintains an interest in Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi and Paraguay international Salvador Cabanas.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said: 'We will see if we can do something more in the transfer window. If we cannot we will stick together for the next challenge. We have a good team, a good squad and not as bad as people think.'

thoughts?

From the Echo:

"LIVERPOOL’S hopes of signing Kenwyne Jones were effectively dead today after Sunderland refused any attempt to do business.

As was reported in later editions of last night’s ECHO, the Reds spent the weekend trying to thrash out a deal to bring the Trinidad & Tobago international to Anfield on loan until the end of the season and were hopeful of doing so.

With Fernando Torres facing a spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury, boss Rafa Benitez wanted to bring Jones to Anfield to give his strike force a physical presence and increase competition for places.

Yet despite the player wanting to switch Wearside for Merseyside, Sunderland would not entertain any thoughts of a loan and insisted the only way the Jones would leave the Stadium of Light during this window was in a cash deal.

The Reds, of course, are not flush with cash at present and had no intentions of meeting Sunderland’s asking price of well in excess of £10m for Jones, who has scored 25 times in 85 appearances for the Black Cats.

Benitez, who is also in the race to sign Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh, is unlikely to give up his search to bring another forward in before the window closes and has vowed to keep “working hard” to find the right man.

Jones would be a good signing for us but only if Rafa was only to change the 4-2-3-1 formation, if he doesnt and still buys the striker then its the whole Peter Crouch saga all over again a great striker just sitting on the bench and within a season or two he will want to move on...

i think Jones (who is big and can hold up the ball) would be an ideal partner for Torres

Ive always said that the 4-4-2 formation will only work if we have fast wingers out on the wing and a tall stirker in the middle - maybe this is Rafas plan who knows??

lfcJT07 wrote:Jones would be a good signing for us but only if Rafa was only to change the 4-2-3-1 formation, if he doesnt and still buys the striker then its the whole Peter Crouch saga all over again a great striker just sitting on the bench and within a season or two he will want to move on...

i think Jones (who is big and can hold up the ball) would be an ideal partner for Torres

Ive always said that the 4-4-2 formation will only work if we have fast wingers out on the wing and a tall stirker in the middle - maybe this is Rafas plan who knows??

Not really mate. If Jones came I think he'd be happy to sit on the bench and we would use him a hell of alot so he would get plenty of first team football and get plenty of chances to impress. Its not as if he needs first team football to get on for his international team like Crouch is it?

Good player. Big lad who, with the right service, would flourish and on his day he is a right handful for any defender like.

But no more than £10m imo.

When you are a professional footballer you want to play week in week out as it is your passion and just because liverpool are a so-called "big team" that doesnt give anyone the right to say "oh yeah lets buy him, cuz he will be okay with warming the bench" he costs to much and has to much abilty to just leave him on the bench e.g. like we did with Crouch and look what he did after a few seasons he left! i know Jones would get into the T&T time even if he doesnt play but im sure Jones wouldnt care about that as he wants to play football on regular basis!

How exactly would we use him "a hell of a lot" when Rafa plays a formation that only includes 1 striker? dont expect Torres injuries to keep occuring, his last two season hes just been really unlucky with injury after injury...but im sure he will come through this and play for liverpool alot more reguarly

If Rafa was to change the formation and play two strikers upfront...then by all means buy him but dont just spend what little money we have on a bench warmer!

wouldnt mind this for that start of next season....


Maxi---Gerrard---Masch---Mata

--------Jones----Torres----------

Im a fan of the 4-4-2 system myself and would like to see us revert to that with two quality strikers upfront...

If we do get a "bench warmer" he would get some games i agree but he would eventually get frustrated with the forward rotation policy and would want to play often..

If torres goes through a long tun of 20 games w/o getting injured the other striker would probably only get 5-6 of those games depending on their importance.

Rafa prefers this lone striker formation so personally i think instead of buying another striker why not go for a versatile player who could play upfront and mid.. Tevez would have been perfect!!

Imo Tevez is just like Dirk Kuyt in the sense that they are both hardworking payers yet neither are natural goalscorers...

We need to be buying more Glen Johnson type players meaning 1st team starters and i think Jones would be one in a 4-4-2 formation but the future on Dirk Kuyt in a liverpool shirt would come into question wouldnt it? as we hardly ever see Kuyt coming off the bench do we? he always starts games but i dont think we will ever win a title or a cup with Kuyt in the team...

lfcJT07 wrote:When you are a professional footballer you want to play week in week out as it is your passion and just because liverpool are a so-called "big team" that doesnt give anyone the right to say "oh yeah lets buy him, cuz he will be okay with warming the bench" he costs to much and has to much abilty to just leave him on the bench e.g. like we did with Crouch and look what he did after a few seasons he left! i know Jones would get into the T&T time even if he doesnt play but im sure Jones wouldnt care about that as he wants to play football on regular basis!

How exactly would we use him "a hell of a lot" when Rafa plays a formation that only includes 1 striker? dont expect Torres injuries to keep occuring, his last two season hes just been really unlucky with injury after injury...but im sure he will come through this and play for liverpool alot more reguarly

Of course you want to play week in week out. You dont seem to be getting the point here nor to you seem to understand the whole point in signing Jones. Jones will be signed because he's different to what we have and he can add another dimension to our game as well as adding some goals to the team. He is strong and good in the air and a real handful for defenders.

Just because we sign him dosent mean he HAS to play week in week out does it? I was merely making the point that he would sit on the bench some weeks and come off when we need something different and again he would be good cover for Torres and could play some matches with him when Rafa thinks that would give us an advantage. And Crouch was a completly different situation to a possible Jones one, like I explained before, completly different. Liverpool played with one striker in our system, and that was Fernando Torres and sorry but when your playing like Torres does you simply cannot drop him so Crouch never got a look in which is why he left, he needed first team football to get into the England squad which was one of his agenda's. Jones on the other hand knows that Torres is here and knows he wouldnt play week in week out but he would be a very useful player for us (which is why we want him).

And how exactly would we use him a hell of alot? Pretty obvious like mate. Substitutions? Rotation?! Jones could easily get his fair share of playing time at Liverpool throughout the course of a season (60games atleast) and he would get enough time to keep him happy. Plus, unless you know Rafa Benitez, you will know that Liverpool play a 4-2-3-1 system and have done for nearly 3 years now which is a system Rafa has brought players to fit into, so he's hardly going to change it now is he?? And what do we do with Aquilani or Mascherano?? Rafa has clearly said that he wants them two to develop a partnership in the middle of the park as good as Mascherano/Alonso one so why's he going to drop one then?? Let me reiterate this, Jones wont be coming as a sub or a squad player, but he will be a very useful player for our club if he signs, and he will add another dimension to our game.

Just checking some stats on the fella...

From 2007 23 goals in 73 apps... Not bad!!

When he played in T & T he was a utility player and was later designated as a striker when he was at southampton.

He has been linked with us and chelsea in the past but moves have been blocked from ex manager keane... Been given praises from many players even john terry.
Had a chance to move to spurs but signed a 4 year contract instead with sunderland...

He would give us another dimension for sure!

lfcJT07 wrote:Imo Tevez is just like Dirk Kuyt in the sense that they are both hardworking payers yet neither are natural goalscorers...

Would disagree mate, tevez is more of a goal scorer than kuyt.. Maybe not one of the best strikers in the world but would definately say his a goal poacher..

12 goal in 19 apps for citeh so far...

For united he scored 19 in 63 apps which isn't the best but his improve alot with citeh and if he hangs on with them im sure he will score many more. I guess maybe he feels more setteled.

Reason why i would have liked him at liverpool is because he is versatile. Rafa likes to play the lone striker formation so tevez could've played upfront when torres is not needed or on the left and would do a could job there aswel. The way rafa works with our formation tevez would have been ideal.

i seen on sky sports news yeterday that sunderland will cancel the loan deal for jones but then it said livepool are hoping to sign him

lfc4ever wrote:i seen on sky sports news yeterday that sunderland will cancel the loan deal for jones but then it said livepool are hoping to sign him

yeah something is still going on..

i may watch it tonight and see what happens and ill let u guys no if i do

will find out on the internet before mate

8Gerrard8 wrote:

lfcJT07 wrote:When you are a professional footballer you want to play week in week out as it is your passion and just because liverpool are a so-called "big team" that doesnt give anyone the right to say "oh yeah lets buy him, cuz he will be okay with warming the bench" he costs to much and has to much abilty to just leave him on the bench e.g. like we did with Crouch and look what he did after a few seasons he left! i know Jones would get into the T&T time even if he doesnt play but im sure Jones wouldnt care about that as he wants to play football on regular basis!

How exactly would we use him "a hell of a lot" when Rafa plays a formation that only includes 1 striker? dont expect Torres injuries to keep occuring, his last two season hes just been really unlucky with injury after injury...but im sure he will come through this and play for liverpool alot more reguarly

Of course you want to play week in week out. You dont seem to be getting the point here nor to you seem to understand the whole point in signing Jones. Jones will be signed because he's different to what we have and he can add another dimension to our game as well as adding some goals to the team. He is strong and good in the air and a real handful for defenders.

Just because we sign him dosent mean he HAS to play week in week out does it? I was merely making the point that he would sit on the bench some weeks and come off when we need something different and again he would be good cover for Torres and could play some matches with him when Rafa thinks that would give us an advantage. And Crouch was a completly different situation to a possible Jones one, like I explained before, completly different. Liverpool played with one striker in our system, and that was Fernando Torres and sorry but when your playing like Torres does you simply cannot drop him so Crouch never got a look in which is why he left, he needed first team football to get into the England squad which was one of his agenda's. Jones on the other hand knows that Torres is here and knows he wouldnt play week in week out but he would be a very useful player for us (which is why we want him).

And how exactly would we use him a hell of alot? Pretty obvious like mate. Substitutions? Rotation?! Jones could easily get his fair share of playing time at Liverpool throughout the course of a season (60games atleast) and he would get enough time to keep him happy. Plus, unless you know Rafa Benitez, you will know that Liverpool play a 4-2-3-1 system and have done for nearly 3 years now which is a system Rafa has brought players to fit into, so he's hardly going to change it now is he?? And what do we do with Aquilani or Mascherano?? Rafa has clearly said that he wants them two to develop a partnership in the middle of the park as good as Mascherano/Alonso one so why's he going to drop one then?? Let me reiterate this, Jones wont be coming as a sub or a squad player, but he will be a very useful player for our club if he signs, and he will add another dimension to our game.

I know all about Jones abilities and what he can and cant do, i hughly rate him as ive followed Jones since his days back at southamton in 2005, so i really dont need you tell me that Kenwyne Jones "is strong and good in the air and a real handful for defenders" because its pretty self explanatory right?

Ofcourse Jones would be good cover for Torres, but why not Torres and Jones together? from what ive seen this season, and most liverpool fans would agree with me on this, the 4-2-3-1 system doesnt work without the passing abilities of Xabi Alonso and i know Aquilani and Masch havent played together and they may forge a great partnership which would be great but i have my doubts!! Will Masch remain at Liverpool after the summer of 2010? Will Aquilani Injury problems persist? who knows...

but what i do know is if the centeral midfielders arnt strong or confidant enough to thread passes though to the strikers then, we are pretty much fu*ked right? abit like we are this season! however if Rafa changed the system to a 4-4-2...buy two pacey wingers inwhich Gerrard or Aquilani and easily pickout, they can take on the full backs and deliver a cross for Jones to nod down for Torres LIKE THE OLD LIVERPOOL WAY OF DALGISH AND RUSH!!

Liverpool played with one striker in our system, and that was Fernando Torres and sorry but when your playing like Torres does you simply cannot drop him so Crouch never got a look in which is why he left thats what you wrote in your last post - if Rafa keeps the 4-2-3-1 formation, how do you not know Torres will play out of his skin again next season and stay 100% fit so Jones doesnt get a look in whatsoever?

Jones on the other hand knows that Torres is here and what Crouch didnt?

And how exactly would we use him a hell of alot? Pretty obvious like mate. Substitutions? Rotation?! Jones could easily get his fair share of playing time at Liverpool throughout the course of a season (60games atleast) Yeah just like Ryan Babel does!!

At the end of the day, I want both Torres and Jones playing together as part of a partnership because all top teams have striking partnerships, Rooney&Berbatov, Drogba&Anelka, Eduardo&RVP now its time for Liverpool to get theres! it might even stop Torres injuries as hes always getting battered by the 2 center backs but if Jones is there who knows might be different!

Not a bad signing if it does materialise as Ngog is still young and inexperienced despite his impressive goals to games ratio this season. Jones should give us presence up front with his height and strength. I have seen him in mostly 4-4-2 formation for Sunderland and think he plays a lot better when he has a strike partner.

Kopstarsteve1988 wrote:Not a bad signing if it does materialise as Ngog is still young and inexperienced despite his impressive goals to games ratio this season. Jones should give us presence up front with his height and strength. I have seen him in mostly 4-4-2 formation for Sunderland and think he plays a lot better when he has a strike partner.

Id hate to see Ngog fall down the pecking order at Liverpool as he is a bright young talent, but if we keep two striking positions open then the chances of him making a few apperances are greater than just having one striking position upfront right?

I just think, going forward we would be a lot stronger if we had two strikers upfront

to hell with 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 they obviously dont work

4-2-3-1? name another manager in england dat plays with two holdin midfielders?

4-4-2? if masch and gerrard are in the middle were does aquilani play?

3-5-2

SKRTEL
CARRAGHER
AGGER

MAXI
GERRARD
MASCH
AQUILANI
RIERA

TORRES
JONES (if we get him if not then kuyt)

lfcJT07 wrote:

8Gerrard8 wrote:

lfcJT07 wrote:When you are a professional footballer you want to play week in week out as it is your passion and just because liverpool are a so-called "big team" that doesnt give anyone the right to say "oh yeah lets buy him, cuz he will be okay with warming the bench" he costs to much and has to much abilty to just leave him on the bench e.g. like we did with Crouch and look what he did after a few seasons he left! i know Jones would get into the T&T time even if he doesnt play but im sure Jones wouldnt care about that as he wants to play football on regular basis!

How exactly would we use him "a hell of a lot" when Rafa plays a formation that only includes 1 striker? dont expect Torres injuries to keep occuring, his last two season hes just been really unlucky with injury after injury...but im sure he will come through this and play for liverpool alot more reguarly

Of course you want to play week in week out. You dont seem to be getting the point here nor to you seem to understand the whole point in signing Jones. Jones will be signed because he's different to what we have and he can add another dimension to our game as well as adding some goals to the team. He is strong and good in the air and a real handful for defenders.

Just because we sign him dosent mean he HAS to play week in week out does it? I was merely making the point that he would sit on the bench some weeks and come off when we need something different and again he would be good cover for Torres and could play some matches with him when Rafa thinks that would give us an advantage. And Crouch was a completly different situation to a possible Jones one, like I explained before, completly different. Liverpool played with one striker in our system, and that was Fernando Torres and sorry but when your playing like Torres does you simply cannot drop him so Crouch never got a look in which is why he left, he needed first team football to get into the England squad which was one of his agenda's. Jones on the other hand knows that Torres is here and knows he wouldnt play week in week out but he would be a very useful player for us (which is why we want him).

And how exactly would we use him a hell of alot? Pretty obvious like mate. Substitutions? Rotation?! Jones could easily get his fair share of playing time at Liverpool throughout the course of a season (60games atleast) and he would get enough time to keep him happy. Plus, unless you know Rafa Benitez, you will know that Liverpool play a 4-2-3-1 system and have done for nearly 3 years now which is a system Rafa has brought players to fit into, so he's hardly going to change it now is he?? And what do we do with Aquilani or Mascherano?? Rafa has clearly said that he wants them two to develop a partnership in the middle of the park as good as Mascherano/Alonso one so why's he going to drop one then?? Let me reiterate this, Jones wont be coming as a sub or a squad player, but he will be a very useful player for our club if he signs, and he will add another dimension to our game.

I know all about Jones abilities and what he can and cant do, i hughly rate him as ive followed Jones since his days back at southamton in 2005, so i really dont need you tell me that Kenwyne Jones "is strong and good in the air and a real handful for defenders" because its pretty self explanatory right?

Ofcourse Jones would be good cover for Torres, but why not Torres and Jones together? from what ive seen this season, and most liverpool fans would agree with me on this, the 4-2-3-1 system doesnt work without the passing abilities of Xabi Alonso and i know Aquilani and Masch havent played together and they may forge a great partnership which would be great but i have my doubts!! Will Masch remain at Liverpool after the summer of 2010? Will Aquilani Injury problems persist? who knows...

but what i do know is if the centeral midfielders arnt strong or confidant enough to thread passes though to the strikers then, we are pretty much fu*ked right? abit like we are this season! however if Rafa changed the system to a 4-4-2...buy two pacey wingers inwhich Gerrard or Aquilani and easily pickout, they can take on the full backs and deliver a cross for Jones to nod down for Torres LIKE THE OLD LIVERPOOL WAY OF DALGISH AND RUSH!!

Liverpool played with one striker in our system, and that was Fernando Torres and sorry but when your playing like Torres does you simply cannot drop him so Crouch never got a look in which is why he left thats what you wrote in your last post - if Rafa keeps the 4-2-3-1 formation, how do you not know Torres will play out of his skin again next season and stay 100% fit so Jones doesnt get a look in whatsoever?

Jones on the other hand knows that Torres is here and what Crouch didnt?

And how exactly would we use him a hell of alot? Pretty obvious like mate. Substitutions? Rotation?! Jones could easily get his fair share of playing time at Liverpool throughout the course of a season (60games atleast) Yeah just like Ryan Babel does!!

At the end of the day, I want both Torres and Jones playing together as part of a partnership because all top teams have striking partnerships, Rooney&Berbatov, Drogba&Anelka, Eduardo&RVP now its time for Liverpool to get theres! it might even stop Torres injuries as hes always getting battered by the 2 center backs but if Jones is there who knows might be different!

I was only saying, no need to be a cheeky like

Yes it dosent work without the passing abilities of Alonso.......which is why we signed Aquilani isnt it? To replace Alonso and use his passing abilities in a system which works for Liverpool. So why change a system which is working? And if Mascherano leaves, we'll simply replace him wont we? And what if Aquilani's injury problems persist? Well would Rafa Benitez have signed him then if he was going to just not use him? You dont sign a player for that price and not use him when he's fully fit. So its clear Rafa Benitez vows to keep using the 4-2-3-1 system or else he wouldnt have signed Aquilani and would have went for a striker instead, simple as that.

Sorry but stupid point if you ask me, first of all, "THE LIVERPOOL WAY" is not playing two strikers up front. Secondly, back in that era playing 4-4-2 was pretty much what everyone did in England before the European influence came into the game. And thirdly, because we used to play with two strikers dosent mean we have to now. Also, you say if the CMs cant thread passes through, we are fucked like this season? Well please do remember that in this system we have to play with two DMs until Aquilani comes back and then problem sorted. Like I said, Rafa is not going to permanantly change the system, which works for us, or else he would have signed a striker and not Aquilani as Alonso's replacement.

And did I say Jones wouldnt get a look in whatsoever next season if Torres was fully fit?? I said that Crouch never got STARTS because of Torres's form. Crouch got plenty of game time that season and scored some goals aswell, and obviously he had an injury spell where he was out for a month and a half which obviously cut playing time for himself. Rafa wouldnt sign Jones and lob him on the bench all the time, especially if he cost alot of money. Its a long season remember, and he'd get plenty of playing time.

And well Crouch was already here and wasnt aware that we were going to change systems and how good Torres was going to be so he couldnt have anticipated that he wouldnt be starting 60games a season could he? Jones on the other hand knows the situation with Torres and the system yet he is still keen on a move to Liverpool which indicates he has been made aware that he wouldnt be shoved on the bench every week. So an invalid point to make if you ask me.

As for the Ryan Babel bit, where have you been since Babel joined the club fella? Middle Earth?? You clearly arent aware of the strained relationship between Benitez and Babel then which contributes to Babel's lack of playing time? So again, another invalid point. Benitez managed to rotate two players in each position last season and give them playing time, so nothing changed.

Oh right so just because Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea have partnerships that means we have to have one then? So I guess if United, Chelsea and Arsenal all decide to play with 3 defenders we should do the same also? First of all, RVP-Eduardo isnt even a partnership yet. And Berbatov is hopeless, hows him and Rooney's partnership going.....excelling is it? Thought so!! What about Barcelona? They dont have a partnership do they?? They play 4-3-3 with wingers. We should just stick to a system which is working rather than arse around with things.

At the end of the day, we have found a system which works for us well and there is always the option of changing things during the same if needbe. Torres cant perform every week can he? And dont forget, we went to the Bernabeau and won, San Siro and won, OT and won, Stamford Bridge and won, with this system!!

Also, do you remember when Torres first came to Liverpool how he didnt play as well with a striker beside him?? All of the experts and pundits seem to agree that Torres playing up front on his own works better for him as he can lead the line!! Funny he struggles to play well for Spain when he has a partner like David Villa isnt it?? Funny he scored like 22 goals in the second half of his first season (when he played up top on HIS OWN) as opposed to 11 in the first half (when he played with a partner).

So I think in that case, I can use FACTS to support the notion of us keeping 4-2-3-1 and Torres up top on his own. Because the system works, and playing as a striker on his own stuits his style of play better. So for the stats and facts, I think my claim that we should stick with one striker (Fernando Torres) is fully supported 100%.

But we can agree that Jones would be a good signing and add another dimension to our game

if jones comes rafa will have no choice he will play 4-4-2 or he can play 3-5-2 like LFCfernandoGold09 said but we can play our current formation 4-2-3-1 and leave jones as our cover back for torres

lfc4ever wrote:but we can play our current formation 4-2-3-1 and leave jones as our cover back for torres

Thats what will happen mate! jones will get games and will be realistically a cover for torres.

@8Gerrard8

I like that your expressing your opinon mate, but for me your argument is entirely based on "hope" that Masch (if he stays here) and Aquilani (if he stays injury free) to form a great midfield partnership together and make us title contenders, what happens if it doesnt work? what happens if we continue to lose games with this formation? LIKE WE ARE DOING THIS SEASON imo Alonso passing abilities were 2nd to none, he could pass a ball on a six pence within a second! Aquilani is used to having time on the ball (since he played in Serie A where the tempo of the game is a lot slower) so i think hes finding the premier league alot harder at the minute to find the correct passing because hes rushing them, however none of us can evaluate Aquilani 1st season here as hes been on the treatment table for most of the season. You maybe right Masch may commit himself to Liverpool for the next so many years and Aquilani may become as good as if not better a passer than Alonso, stay injury-free all season but its a little neive isnt it?


So why change a system which is working? what ellusion are you under, in thinking that this system has worked for us this season? we have been awful, absmal! like ive said before the 4-2-3-1 formation will only work if Alonso was in the team!!!

If Mascherano leaves, we'll simply replace him wont we? Masch is one of the, if not the best defensive midfielder in the world!! and thats not an understatment, i dont really want him to leave but it may happen but still i dont think you understand how important he is to our team, if Barca pay 30mill for him and we sell him who do we bring in? will we be able to spend all of that 30mill? what with our transfer probelms, the cheapest situation maybe to parnter Gerrard & Aquilani in the middle, but if we were to bring someone in they, will not be as good as masch i can tell you that right now!!

In my honest opinon Alberto Aquilani was a panic buy...i really do! we lost Alonso and only days later we signed Aquilani im sure Rafa did some background work on him but no way would he have signed him had he known he was going to be out until Christmas!! Rafa is a "if its not broken then dont fix it" sort of manager so when Alonso left the team which finished 2nd 4 points off the title it just made sense to bring in a player like for like wouldnt it? it wouldnt have been logical to bring in a striker then because we didnt fully know how vital alonso was to the teams performances

back in the 80s it was "known" as "the liverpool way" of getting the ball out to the wingers and crossing the ball in for the strikers....so dont just be arragont and dismiss it!

you say if the CMs cant thread passes through, we are fucked like this season? Well please do remember that in this system we have to play with two DMs until Aquilani comes back and then problem sorted. Lucas isnt regarded as a defensive midfielder and why are you under the impression that the problem will be sorted when Aquilani comes back? you really rate this guy dont u?

No! crouch, in his last season at liverpool, didnt get much playing time at all! he played 21 Games and scored 5 goals over the course of the season! do you think Jones would be happy with something similar with that?

yet he is still keen on a move to Liverpool Jones hasnt publically come out and said he wants a move to liverpool...dunno where u got that from!

Yeah the babel bit was supposed to be scarasm lol i know all about Rafa & Babel...

Oh right so just because Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea have partnerships that means we have to have one then? are they the 3 most sucessful teams in the premier league? do these teams finish top of the scoring charts season after season? nothing wrong with taking advice off the 3 teams that have won the premier league is it?

We should just stick to a system which is working rather than arse around with things. how many times do i have to say this? the system CLEARLY ISNT WORKING why do you think we are out of the CL, CC, FA CUP and 7th in the premier league???

we went to the Bernabeau and won, San Siro and won, OT and won, Stamford Bridge and won, with this system!! YESSS WITH XABI ALONSO LAST SEASON!!!!!!!

Torres playing upfront on his own doesnt do anything to help with his injuries...as two centre backs will just keep kicking lumps out of him...remember his last injury? he was chasing a ball down and fell over twisting his knee had Jones or another striker been on the pitch it probably wouldnt have happened because Torres wouldnt have half as much workrate to do if he had a partner!!

All of your stats and facts about torres are from times when Alonso was at Liverpool which just supports my theory more in the fact that we should change the formation now as Alonso isnt here.....

Good points folks..

The system we are playing atm worked well with the trio of alonso,gerrard and torres.. Exceptionally well actually....

Aquilani has taken alonsos place and is there to form that trio again. Aqua, gerrard,torres have hardly played together yet so we can't make any judgments about it working or not... I guess when all are fit we shall see what happens.

Have to agree with joey, alonso has to be one of the best at his passing ability.. Aquilani is good aswel but prefers the short quick passes rather than long pin point accurate passes...
Time will tell though on aqua, early days yet!

My problem with the lone striker formation is when gerrard/torres are out its not reliable is it? Sometime we have played well but if either are out for a longer period maybe reverting to 4-4-2 or any other system to adjust the rest of the side would help...
Who could we rely on to play the gerrard,torres role? benny/ngog? lol

Thats a good point Assasin, if Rafa sticks with 4-2-3-1 formation and Torres and Gerrard are out, who do we replace them with? (there are no guarantees that Jones is coming here so we cant use him yet) Ngog cant play as a single striker, Kuyt can a litte but its frustrating...but this is what will happen if we keep this formation