stmichael wrote:I wouldn't normally add a new thread on a subject that has been considered elsewhere, as I hate it when other people do just that. But I'm gonna allow myself that luxury as the footy chat is generally swamped by transfer speculation at the moment. Anyhow my main thought at the moment is this. basically that the key to success is not necessarily having the best individual players, but having them play together, as a team, for a period of SEVERAL YEARS.
Ferguson has always been able to keep a core of players in each of the teams he has built to get used to each other and particularly of the attacking sort, and sign young hungry players who when the time comes play with and eventually take over from them. Thats why we see them tearing teams apart with good movement and skill year after year because they know where to find each other on the pitch.
Yes they havent been as good in the few years before last season, mainly due to Chelsea's spending power, but last season this process that Ferguson uses came to fruition and them winning the league again. For me, you could even argue that the most important Man U players aren't even Rooney and Ronaldo. They play superb attacking team football but it all stems from the understanding between the players. It's Neville, Ferdinand, Scholes and Giggs who are their key players, and I really don't rate them as individual players at all any more (Giggs excepted, who I think has been the best player of the Premiership era bar none).
Similarly I think that far more important than having flashy new players at Liverpool is having a set of players who have played together successfully for SEVERAL (I mean at least three) years together as a unit. That's why I think getting Alonso, Gerrard, et al on contracts isn't just a nice security, it's nigh-on essential. Various people have muttered that because we've got loads of decent central midfielders, Alonso could be disposed with; I couldn't disagree more, I think he's got an understanding with Stevie and the defence that only playing with the consistenly for ages can bring. I think that players should only be ditched from the team if they're doing a BAD job; if they're doing alright, I'd in general leave them in the side, because you're gonna lose more ground telling yourself 'these new players who I've brought into the squad need time to settle' and before you know it you've got another bad autumn whistling past you.
Riise is a case in point. Sure, his form hasn't been the best of late; that said, he's got the experience at the top level and we KNOW that he can do a top job for us, relatively consistently. I don't believe that top teams dump their best players just because they lose a bit of form. Sure, provide a some competition for him - Aurelio was really maturing into a very clever player towards the end of last season, Arbeloa provides a further option and by all accounts Insua sounds pretty special - but he's a consistent reference point that it would be suicidal to lose because the manager might get irritated with his form.
On the transfer front, the only area I think we're in DESPERATE need is a goalscoring striker. Up front we're full of 'added options' at the moment. The 'never-give-up striker who holds the ball up well', the 'big target man who scares defences', the 'pacy dangerman who also scares defences', but not actually anyone who does nothing except for bang in goals. We need someone who can score big goals, little goals, fat goals, thin goals, black goals, white goals, all kinds of goals.
Creatively, I've seen some of you guys speculating that Rafa might be looking to go more 4-2-3-1 next season as much as possible and this seems to make sense. Once again, this just makes me think that we can ALMOST make do with what we've got in midfield, but really need a top quality target striker. The '2' are Alonso & Mascherano with Sissoko in reserve; the '3' are Gerrard, Garcia and Kewell, with Pennant, Leto, Aurelio in reserve. Where Lucas fits in remains to be seen. But if you play with only one up front, then quite frankly the strikers we've got at the moment are all far from ideal.
Not sure about the whole Benayoun business - can't say it gets me excited, but then I fall into the trap of 'he plays for a mediocre Premiership club, not Real Madrid, and he's not very exotic, so I can't get excited'. I'd trust Rafa to know what he wants. Malouda sounds like a knob anyway.
I'd be for throwing my eggs in the striker basket, selling Bellamy to raise some extra cash and blowing the lot on a seriously decent player to score some goals. With £8m from Bellamy, plus the money for the likes of Gonzalez & co, plus CL money, TV money and we still have to ASSUME that G&H will provide some pocket money of some sort, however meagre, to spend, then we're surely looking at a budget of at least £30m gross to spend. I think our strikers could score the goals needed to win the league (Although I wouldnt turn down the likes of Eto'o) but we need the right service to them and Garcia and Kewell wont do it due to lack of consistency on the field and injuries respectively. So therefore we need at least two wide players to do the job. But I fear that, whoever we get, if they dont produce right away will lead to us looking at new players again next summer, they will need time just as Wenger gave Pires & Henry. I think we're still 2-3 years at least to winning the league, unless we are rich and can do a Chelsea and sign the best out there, I just hope we get behind the new players and give them time to build that consistency and understanding on the pitch.
I also really think that any new signing should start on the bench and work his way gradually into the team, only if it can be comprehensively proven that the team will play better for his inclusion.
Thoughts?
