20 Jan 2012

REINA: 'He's a GREAT player'. If that's true, why did Liverpool sell him...?

Liverpool face a tough game against Bolton on Saturday, and one of the players likely to start the game for the Trotters is former striker David N'gog. Pepe Reina believes the Bolton game is a 'must-win' for Kenny Dalglish's team, and he's identified N'gog as a potential threat.

In an interview with the official Liverpool site, Reina was full of praise for his old team-mate:

"He is a great player.

"I remember saying to him he was not going to Bolton until after we'd played them in the first half of the season - and that's what happened.

"He has been important for them, scoring a few goals. He will be a threat.


If N'Gog is such a 'great' player, then why did Liverpool let him leave in the first place? The Frenchman has two goals and one assist from 11 starts for Bolton this season, which is the same goal return as Andy Carroll, but the major difference is Bolton didn't pay £35m for N'Gog's two goals (!).

Is Carroll really any better than N'Gog?

According to Reina, Bolton also have 'plenty of other threats':

"They have plenty of other threats. They are physically very strong and can always give you a game at home. It will be tough, but we know every game will be difficult".

With ten victories in the last ten games for against Bolton, a Liverpool win seems like a foregone conclusion. However, Reina is still expecting a difficult game.

"We won there last season right at the end and it was our first away win in a while. It's always tough. They create chances, especially from corners and free-kicks, it's always difficult.

"They are under pressure, there is a lot at stake and it's a must-win for both clubs."


To be honest, If I could go back in time, keep N'Gog and NOT spend £35m on Carroll, I would do it. There's also an argument to say that Liverpool should've kept N'Gog anyway as striker back up.



Jaimie Kanwar


53 comments:

  1. never was a ngog fan,found him to have a poor work rate but i'd definitely have kept him ahead of carroll.he's more mobile and could have developed into a decent player.

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  2. Dplomacy from Reina. Ngog was garbage. Granted Bolton are struggling but how many goals has he scored for them? Mediocre player and Kenny saw that

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  3. he has scored two goals for them,nearly as prolific as carroll

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  4. If N'Gog is garbage, what does that make Carroll? N'Gog has 772 minutes of pitch time this season and has 2 goals and 1 assist. Carroll has 1007 minutes (in the league) and has only 2 goals to show for it. Clearly, N'Gog is having a great impact per minute than Carroll is for Liverpool.

    If Kenny saw that N'Gog was a 'mediocre player', why did he spend 35m on another mediocre player?

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  5. and thats why you not Liverpool Manager mate! Shite article

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  6. ngog wasn't good enough for liverpool.
    either is carroll.
    i've said it before that kenny has worked with shearer,rush and aldridge-he should be setting his standards higher than andy carroll.

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  7. Panic buy after the Torres sale last January. This is an article about Ngog, not an comparison with carroll who i also don't rate and who i believe will never be productive at anfeld. Ngog was and is an mediocre striker.   Carroll was and s a dsaster of a signing i don't dispute that. I'm giving an honest opinion on Ngog. 

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  8. I always liked N'Gog I think his problem was that he was thrown into the team too early when there were no other replacements for the injured Torres. Frustrating at times, but he definitely has potential 
    Anyway hes gone now and I wish him all the best at Bolton......But not this weekend!!!

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  9. For the money we paid for Ngog  which was very little he's a SUPER STAR  compared Dalglish's MILLSTONE  that is Carroll.
    Ngog at least had pace could pass a ball and head a ball.

    I reckon John Henry turned around to Dalglish and said 'NO MORE MONEY!
    YOU'VE WASTED IT!
    I may not understand the games workings but I know a DONKEY when I see one.
    I gave you a lot of my money to 'INVEST' when am I going to get my return Kenny?
    Get out and don't go whining to the press or I'll tear you a new one.

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  10. i tend to agree,i reckon they're holding back funds after the waste of money in the summer on downing on top of carroll.

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  11. Ngog is a mediocre player and now is at the club suited to his level whereas Carroll is talented player but Liverpool don't play to his strengths and he isn't mobile enough to incorporate into the Liverpool system.

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  12. I'd accuse N'Gog of not being very good etc but poor work rate?!?! He worked his socks off. If Babel had his work rate then we wouldn't have wasted £35 mil on Carroll.

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  13. I agree, if he had been treated like Fergie did with Campbell or Welbeck or Kenny is doing with Shelvey with loans and sub appearances I think he would have fared better and we would hae been more patient with him. But he was our number one striker at one point, and at the beginning of last season it was like he was up front on his own. He never shied away from the ball an Torres did, not even showing himself do it. I find this hilarious though how this is yet another article geared towards Carroll baiting. Change the record.

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  14. A lot of people here were also writing off Lucas as garbage a few years ago. The Carroll signing was very much tied in with the Torres sale. As per Henry's words, we told Chelsea you pay for Torres what we pay to newcastle for Carroll plus 15m.

    I suspect Carroll is a much better player and a much bigger talent than he has shown thus far. We saw a glimpe of his potential in the league match against City at home last season. This season, he has been lacking in confidence, wherever he turns and whatever he reads he gets bashed (by our own supporters nonetheless) as a 35m piece of garbage, and added to that he has been bloody unlucky with repeatedly hitting post and crossbar and keepers making point blank saves against him. As they say, a striker needs a couple to go in off the shin and then the floodgates open up.

    What I would really like to ask everyone is "do you think Kenny (or Rafa before him) were that bad in judging a player? Do you really think Kenny would pay big money for a player he's not sure about? Or would panic buy? We are talking about a man who has won leagues and cups as a player and manager. We are talking about a man who got Blackburn promoted, bought Shearer and won the league. Grant it, all managers make mistakes - even Ferguson - but you cannot be that naive as to believe that they cannot see quality or potential in a player. Surely.

    Perhaps i am a bit naive, but i have a feeling Carroll will prove a few people wrong...

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  15. Savs,

    I know you want to believe that Carroll will come good.
    Rafa NEVER HAD THE LUXURY of being able to splash £35 million on a UNPROVEN premier league striker.
    What Rafa did was use his scouting network to obtain the best players GLOBALLY !.... that's the key word he didn't limit himself to BRITISH players.
    So Rafa would go and get Alonso 8 million ..Mascherao 18 million.. Torres 23 Million...Reina 8 million.
    See the difference ?

    Before anyone dares say that the current crop are Comoli's fault bare in mind that Commoli stated that FINAL SAY ON ALL TRANSFERS ARE KENNY'S.

    So where are we ?

    We are highly unlikely on current form to finish in the TOP 4.
    We are therefore unlikely to able to compete and attract the top talent.
    We have a manager that actually spent 10 years not managing.

    The future doesn't look too bright at the moment

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  16. Tornike Khomeriki3:52 pm, January 20, 2012

    I think Carroll is definitely a better player than N'Gog and that was demonstrated during his time at Newcastle, while N'Gog hasn't performed that well neither at Liverpool nor at Bolton, yet.

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  17. I have backed and backed andy carroll during his time at liverpool and i still do back him but he needs to show that he can use his power and shooting ability during the 90 mins. Anyone that goes the game will tell you when the players are warming up and shooting at goal, carroll lets off some thunderbolts and they are near enough always on target especially in comparrison to other liverpool players, however when the game starts, there is nothing, well up to now anyway. I do hope he comes good but the longer it goes on the more i am seeing harry kewell all over again!!!!

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  18. Sep,

    U haven't really replied to my comments. I never critiscized Rafa for his signings. In fact I was and am one of his biggest supporters and I would welcome him back in the future.

    From your comments it seems you are of the opinion that Kenny is past it due to being out of the game for 10 years. Fair enough, although i don't share your opinion.

    I also never blamed Commoli for anything. Yes, I do feel Downing was overvalued. I do believe Henderson is and will be worth every penny. Enrique is worth more than double what he paid. Suarez....well need I say more? Bellamy...need I say more? And i do believe Enrique and Suarez are not British.

    I also do think that you need British players in your team. Uefa require a certain number of British born (or trained) players in your squad. And the one thing I didn't like with Rafa was the very un-Britishness of his teams. I feel you should build a team with local talent and supplement that with top-quality foreign talent. A team full of foreign players is for me NOT the way to go. But that's my opinion. (Alonso, Garcia, Reina, Torres, Mascher, Agger, Skrtel RESOUNDING YES / Dossena, Aquilani, Josemi, Nunez, Gonzalez, El Zhar RESOUNDING NO) 

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  19. torres submitted a transfer request at the dying end of the transfer window, which forced our hand as we didn't want to keep an unhappy player. So we got the best price we could for him - £50M. 
    As a consequence, we had a problem as we had to replace him and quick. Carroll was prob one of the strikers we were keeping an eye on at the time and as he had an impressive spell in Newcastle's first team, we took the plunge because we were running out of time to replace Torres.Furthermore, it had to be a tempting offer to Newcastle prise him out of there at the final stages of the transfer window. It's that simple. That's the price it took to get him - £35M. 
    So called fans of LFC need to get behind our players. They don't set the figures other clubs' chairmen want. Carroll is only just 23. HE HAS THE ATTRIBUTES TO BE A BEAST OF A STRIKER- Strength, powerful shot, heading ability. He needs to work on his movement and first touch and learn how to link up with the other attacking players, as do they with him. He was only in Newcastle's first team for a short spell, and now he has to fill in Torres' boots at LFC. 
    Carroll will come good in the end...............

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  20. Honda is going for peanuts to Lazio. Why on earth aren't we in for him?

    Versatile attacking player, kind of like Bellamy in terms of positions.

    But no, we have to be stuck with Downing and Carroll

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  21. N'Gog... good technical ability, but just like some of out new players (Downing and Henderson) absolutely gutless... that was his main issue and I though it was the Anfield boos that made him lose his mojo, and should he move to a smaller, less demanding club, he'll be ok.
    But he's the same for Bolton.

    Of course, these cheap mutual compliments before the game is a usual practice in football. I am surprised that you are surprised, Jaimie.

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  22. Once again what an article Jamie more negative comments only a fool would say we should have kept ngog. He was useless in Liverpool and Andy Carroll will come good no matter how much you hope he doesn't and either way get used to seeing him for the next four years

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  23. At the moment Carroll can only dream about producing the kind of form that Ngog did for us. Which ultimately means Carroll is in desperate trouble treading water in a pool of lukewarm diarrhea.

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  24. Jamie are you a Liverpool fan

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  25. It just always negative from you Carroll is 23 with loads of potential were just trying to figure out the best way to use his skills and get used seeing him for the next four years

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  26. I'd love to know hat your basing that on.  Anyone remember Marcus Stewart?  Banged goals in the Championship and also his 1st season in the prem as an unknown.  From that point on however when everyone sussed his game out he disappeared into obscurity. 

    This is in effect Carrolls second full season in the top flight, the season in which all clubs use all of their powers of analysis (through vids, stats etc) to keep opposition players quiet.  Carroll has been found wanting as he has no plan B and lacks the intelligence it seems to be spontaneous and give opposition defenses something different to think about about. 

    Stevie Gerrards second season as a striker was also pretty horrific because he was found out.  Stevie found it difficult to lose his appointed man marker and got eaten up by the likes of Essien, Muamba and the like.  Carroll is no SG....and if SG struggled to come up with an answer the boy Carroll is in for a struggle.

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  27. Again, I'd take Grant Hoult and his strike partner Morrison over Carroll.  When Norwich play next check out their movement, interplay and flippin GOALS.  That's right ladies and gentlemen they put BALL in NET.

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  28. Why on earth do so called fans keep metioning the price of Carroll .The deal with chelsea was this what ever we pay for Carroll we want £15mil more for Torres .So it makes no difference which way you look at it , if we would have paid £10 mil for Carroll we would only have got £25mil for Torres.Carroll will come good again like he was at Newcastle Ngog has never been good so you can't get back what you never had.

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  29. Asking 15m more for a world, European champion and our leading marksman was underselling Torres and overating Carroll.  It was a nonsensical deal of massive proportions otherwise known as a publicity stunt to let the Liverpool fans know that Fenway were different to Hicks and Gillet..... which they achieved. Whereas Hicks and Gillet were miserly (on an individual signing basis) and dim, Fenway have proved to be Lavish and dim.  Opposite ends of the same spectrum.

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  30. what are you on about,LFC agreed the deal with chelsea for £50m so had £50m in their hand to spend as they seen fit.This is a smokescreen to take the pressure off dalglish for breaking the british transfer record and making carroll the 8th most expensive player in history.Rafa paid £1.5m for Ngog because thats the amount of money rafa was given,he paid this for a prospect .Dalglish has paid £35m for a prospect and £20m for another prospect.We also sold Ngog for £4m.

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  31. Regardless of whatever way you try to spin it, its £35m. Get over it and move on. Dwelling and desperately spinning it, just makes it worse and desperate, I'm afraid.

    We reap what we sow, so we best get on with getting the best out of a average-at-best lot in Carroll and co.

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  32. 'loads of potential'...I don't know about that. At this rate, he'd do well to eclipse Crouchie's ability. Carroll rarely looks like he can own and bully defences with his presence, which is what Shearer did. He is rather more tame, a la Crouchie. Don't get me wrong, Crouchie is alright.

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  33. Ngog is shite. Full stop.

    I would have rather sold Ngog for the massive 4.5 million we snatched from Bolton and let Newcastle keep Andy Carroll.

    All hindsight, watching Andy Carroll last season at the Emirates destroy Arsenal many thought he was gona prove to be a true quality no9. As we all know things do not work as we hope or plan but you all need get over it and whatever will be will be.
    I for one really hope we sell carroll this window coz am sick to death reading the bull shit about him on a near daily basis, to be fair since he joined LFC you cannot fault his work rate or effort in any game, every time i have seen him play you can see he is desperate to succeed(In fairness he does look not fit and sharp as he was an NUFC last season) but it is not him who asked to be paid 35 million for him. Just got to accept it hasnt worked out and very unlikely to work but in the mean time find another target for the debate! Atleast we will get some return on him when we sell him.

    like I have said before, debate how crap dirk Kuyt has been this saeson and on his salary of over £80,000 a week he should have scored atleast 1 goal this season!!!! Incidently, Carroll has a better scoring return than torres which seems quite funny!!!! I am not massive fan of carroll but he seems to be such an easy target.

    so happy with the comment that we should have kept Ngog, bloke was a laughing stock at Anfield!!! And on near £35 k a week!!!!!

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  34. Anyone who knows anything about football would tell you there is no comparison to Ngog and Carroll.As usual you try to use the stats to prove points but they do not always tell you a true reflection of games. when it suits you use league goals here to justify your point because it backed up your story, why didnt you use goals in all competitions? Carroll might have played against all top 8 teams and ngog all bottom 8 teams!!!! i really dont give a shit about the stats, all I know is I am glad we have the team we have now and not the crap Hodgson had!!!!!! If it means us taking a hit on carroll transfer so be it but atleast we are in a position to challenge again. But like many out there expectations are to high too soon!!!All KK fault, short memories considering how well we played from last Jan until may 2011!!

    Compare the mins they have played to goals etc... all you like ,doesnt prove nothing really. Ngog has been shit for Bolton as he was for us!!
    Andy Carroll was everyones cup of tea last season whilst at NUFC, Harry redknapp really wanted him, capello liked him at one stage, fact he just hasnt adapted to LFC and never will but no better alternative than Ngog do me a favour.

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  35. The Carroll of Newcastle is much better than Ngog but on the form they have produced for LFC then it has to be Ngog for me.

    But you can say everything in hindsight, if it was the other way round we would be pissed off for not paying 35m for Carroll and instead keeping Ngog... But tbh we should of just kept Torres - who gives a shit if he hands in a transfer request, so did Modric but look how well he is doing for Spurs, and they are now ahead of Chelsea and he doesnt want to leave anymore.

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  36. for a biggish lad ngog is, he half a soft pussy.
    scared to head the ball
    potential though, but lacks bottle

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  37. Can't we pretend that Carroll is good...lets pretend we got him at a bargain price....lets pretend he is world class and Barcelona and real Madrid offered 100million for him and Kk convinced him to join us with the promise he would play with the new Alonso called Adam....lets also pretend that we will win the league

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  38. Ye and Carroll is a trany with a pony tail

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  39. WWell done Pepe for speaking the truth....just wish kkk would leave and take the cramp he signed with him

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  40. Had N'gog played this year, instead of Carroll, he would have scored more goals and added more to the team's play. Scoring two for a team in the relegation zone is not so bad. Carroll has had the chance to play for a team that is usually on top in its matches. I still maintain, though, that N'gog has shown what he can do and will not get much better, we know Carroll can do better and it is up to the coaching staff to unlock that. The players brought in to provide the assists have to step up also. I think we are making too much of putting crosses in for Carroll, just create chances, crosses, through balls, whatever, he can score more than headed goals, as he showed last season. In the meantime, he needs to work on his fitness and mobility, which is not what it was at Newcastle.

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  41. This time last year everyone was saying that Carroll is the next Shearer... 

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  42. For an unknown teen frenchman to come in as cover for Torres  is pretty damn good and i think it's really strange that we gave up on him..

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  43. Pepe was comparing the donkey, Andy Carroll, to David N'gog, when he made the comment. 

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  44. No way in hell Henry will give KD funds to buy a lollipop even until after he fulfills his appointed expectation i.e Champions League next season.Thats why his contract is short; 2 years maybe three if they resign him.But I wouldnt be surprised if someone else is hired to take charge again.People trash Benitez but the atmosphere at Anfield now would really show the real Rafa.Look at what he did under the previous owners, imagine what he can do under the new ones.

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  45. Npot new players who are needed.Its the dugout that needs to be.

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  46. Get real! Kenny couldn't even see a world-class player even if the player concerned was standing right before his very eyes. For Dalglish to come out and say Downing is classy truly exposes how out of depth the king really is... and, all this while I honestly thought Hodgson was bad.

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  47. If memory serves me right, you MB LFC, were the only one who proclaimed that Carroll is the next Shearer...

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  48. Completely agree with you. Not to mention qualities he possesses outweighs the ones Carroll has (does anyone know them btw). A LOT of people bashed N'gog too and I have a feeling that was solely on the fact he wasn't worth 35 million. "Get rid of N'gog hes useless and expendable". Now we got a player with a price people think he has what it takes. Its funny because people are willing to jump the cliff to defend Carroll even though facts don't lie. There is one fact that comes to mind between these two players that people should actually think about for god sakes. Which player has more ball control and speed. I dont see what Carroll has to offer that outweighs his disadvantage. Is it because he's English. Don't understand how votes are favoring Carroll on this. 

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  49. and Carroll suits a talented team? hes just a target man with no ball control and falls over all the time and shy's away from headbutting the ball on corners. 

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  50. look mate. Have England won a world cup? Are England bursting from the seams with talent that teams like Barca and Real Madrid are hot on the heels to catch. I don't see any big name british players out there playing abroad, but look at the amount of foreigners that come into the premier league and just own the local talent. Ye I know what you mean by wanting a British feel, but we might as well convert ourselves to a Stoke the way british players play. Apart from Gerrard, Bellamy and Johnson, the other players don't have it. Benitez did look to young local talent, and it was Kelly that made the grade. But I do have faith in Henderson and Shelvey because young players can only improve, but they are not "currently" top players. 

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  51. thats a good insight. But players can be amazing during drills and training. Its the quality that they have during game time that defines a good player.

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  52. Ngog is shiite!!! The way he has been faffing about and failing even the basics of controlling a pass confirms it was wise to get rid of him

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