Liverpool FC Forum

[Reg]

I cant possibly comment until Owzat has analysed the numbers.

[tubby]

Rafa playing players out of position is just papering over the cracks which are basically that we do not have enough money to fill all important positions with the needed quality.

[account deleted by request]

My whole worry about this "spending question" is somewhere, sometime, someone has to say enough is enough, lets stop the revolving door and MAKE A TEAM out of what we have. The longer players play together the better their understanding and the better they will play TOGETHER. We used to buy one possibly two players a year, now we expect between 5 and 7 new players a year, with a similar number shown the door. Sometime somehow we have to reduce both numbers.

[GYBS]

Yeah the mancs have been able to do that and then just add the one or two players to the settled side , but its getting that settled side together in the first place . i think we are getting closer - we need a new striker and a an attacting creative midfielder to add then get them settled along with what he have now and then build on that . I think maybe that is what rafa wanted to do this year - added into areas that needed replacing and filling into a settled side just those signings bar reira justdidnt work out .

We have

GK- sorted

Rb - Sorted but needs back up or competition
Cbs - all sorted
Lb - Sorted with back up but needs to settle

Lm - Needs more quality
CM - sorted
Rm - need a high quality performer there

ST - Sorted but need another striker of quality .

So a couple of areas that need sorted in the summer and maybe we might become a bit more settled .

[account deleted by request]

Yeah the mancs have been able to do that and then just add the one or two players to the settled side , but its getting that settled side together in the first place . i think we are getting closer - we need a new striker and a an attacting creative midfielder to add then get them settled along with what he have now and then build on that . I think maybe that is what rafa wanted to do this year - added into areas that needed replacing and filling into a settled side just those signings bar reira justdidnt work out .

We have

GK- sorted

Rb - Sorted but needs back up or competition
Cbs - all sorted
Lb - Sorted with back up but needs to settle

Lm - Needs more quality
CM - sorted
Rm - need a high quality performer there

ST - Sorted but need another striker of quality .

So a couple of areas that need sorted in the summer and maybe we might become a bit more settled .

Don't you think that after 5 years and a total spend of £200million, we should be a little further down the line than we are? We are quite a number of players short of having a strong first team and adequate backup, especially when you consider that in 2006 we "seemed" to be only a couple of players short.

I know we have all been waiting for the missing piece of the jigsaw to arrive, but maybe its not the missing piece of the jigsaw thats the problem, maybe its the person thats trying to put it together?

[JC_81]

What worries me is that  obvious deficiancies in the squad (and first team) never seem to get adequately resolved, while we seem to overstrengthen in the places where we are already strong.

That's my gripe with Benitez in the transfer market.

We've needed a decent right midfielder/winger basically since Benitez came to the club and it's never been sorted.  We've always lacked firepower up front under Benitez too, except maybe for last season when we had a fit Torres for a full season.  Even then though we could have done with another forward.

Left wing is the other problem.  I like Riera, I think he's good enough to be a regular starter, but if he's the best Benitez can do for a left winger after 5 seasons of trying then it's a worry.

I think our areas in order of most urgent need for strengthening are:

1) striker
2) right midfield
3) left midfield
4) right back
5) left back

I think we can live without signing full backs and a left mid this summer, but a right midfielder and a striker OF FIRST TEAM QUALITY are essential if we want to progress.

[Judge]

we need swagger and arrogance in front of goal.

rather than pass it along the back forever, get the ball forward and to feet. hate the long ball from defence !!

we lack real pace (except torres) in all areas.

we have a workhorse in the form of kuyt, but i'd rather have a racehorse than a shire. Kuyt plays alot on the wing - why should a winger run around all over the place? he shouldnt - the midfield should be the workhorses, and the wingers to get easy balls in space and cross efectively etc etc.

does my head in.

we need pace, width, grit and swagger - thats a winning formula

[GYBS]

Im goign to ignore the 200 mil comment cause as tomkins has said that figure presents false pictures - and the example of the three right backs he did shows a good picture of it . Over the years pretty much chelsea came in and beat the mancs but they did it after spendin near on 300 million in two years - one for raneiri and one for maureen and they then went and one - that sort of money was spent in a short period and on a smaller amount of players . where as how much of our money has rafa been able to spend on the top quality players - torres ? masher maybe . who else .In 2006 it didnt seem to me we were a couple of players short - think we needed far better than what we had back then - . 2006 was a good season for us but chelsea stormed the league and even a below par performing man utd were above us . we got ahead of arsenal due to them having to focus on the CL . At no stage during that 2006 year where we ever within in touching distance of the title .

Maybe its the players and the price on those players rafa wants that is proving the sumbling block - he has always wanted better quality in wide areas and you only have to look at the players he has wanted to see that he knows quality - he just hasnt been able to get it due to not being able to afford the fee for them - Alves , Simao and Malouda to mention three - its not that rafa doesnt want quality its getting them that is the problem - when he has splashed out the big money ie torres and masher it has been a success . But its the lower area players we seem to fall down .

[tubby]

Im goign to ignore the 200 mil comment cause as tomkins has said that figure presents false pictures - and the example of the three right backs he did shows a good picture of it . Over the years pretty much chelsea came in and beat the mancs but they did it after spendin near on 300 million in two years - one for raneiri and one for maureen and they then went and one - that sort of money was spent in a short period and on a smaller amount of players . where as how much of our money has rafa been able to spend on the top quality players - torres ? masher maybe . who else .In 2006 it didnt seem to me we were a couple of players short - think we needed far better than what we had back then - . 2006 was a good season for us but chelsea stormed the league and even a below par performing man utd were above us . we got ahead of arsenal due to them having to focus on the CL . At no stage during that 2006 year where we ever within in touching distance of the title .

Maybe its the players and the price on those players rafa wants that is proving the sumbling block - he has always wanted better quality in wide areas and you only have to look at the players he has wanted to see that he knows quality - he just hasnt been able to get it due to not being able to afford the fee for them - Alves , Simao and Malouda to mention three - its not that rafa doesnt want quality its getting them that is the problem - when he has splashed out the big money ie torres and masher it has been a success . But its the lower area players we seem to fall down .

ie unless he is allowed to splash out Rafa's signings are not good enough.

[GYBS]

well good enough for what ? to win the title will competeing in the CL - then no i dont think we can compete on both fronts and think overall we arent good enough to win the league - thought that at the beginning of season with the signings we made .

[JC_81]

when he has splashed out the big money ie torres and masher it has been a success . But its the lower area players we seem to fall down .

That was the case until he signed both Babel and Keane for fairly big money, and neither worked out.

I think Benitez prefers to look for bargains rather than splash the cash.  It was Rafa who allegedly pulled the plug on the Alves deal because he thought 9 mil was a fair price and 12 mil wasn't.  He likes a Bosman - Aurelio and Degen for example.  He has also tried to get Chivu on a free in the past and is allegedly monitoring van Bommel.  He didn't want to go to 7 mil for Vidic.

For me, Benitez is the ultimate wheeler-dealer manager.  Moreso than Redknapp who has the reputation for it.  The trouble is, he's not very good at it imo.  He moves players on very rapidly, which is good in a way when they don't work out, but it also means the squad changes a lot season to season.

If Benitez was given the same transfer budget every year - around 40 million lets say - and was told he was only allowed to bring in a maximum of 2 players, we'd have a better squad than we do now.  We need quality over quantity.

[tubby]

Despite those signings any sucess we were to have these season hinged on Torres and Gerrard being fit. Apart from them there is still no one in the squad who can score goals on a regular basis although Yossi is doing ok so far. A bit mistake was not replacing Keane also.

[tubby]

If Benitez was given the same transfer budget every year - around 40 million lets say - and was told he was only allowed to bring in a maximum of 2 players, we'd have a better squad than we do now.  We need quality over quantity.

Hopefully in the summer he will be allowed to.

[dawson99]

Despite those signings any sucess we were to have these season hinged on Torres and Gerrard being fit. Apart from them there is still no one in the squad who can score goals on a regular basis although Yossi is doing ok so far. A bit mistake was not replacing Keane also.

Wait til we buy Villa in the summer. I'm sticking by this lol

[tubby]

Despite those signings any sucess we were to have these season hinged on Torres and Gerrard being fit. Apart from them there is still no one in the squad who can score goals on a regular basis although Yossi is doing ok so far. A bit mistake was not replacing Keane also.

Wait til we buy Villa in the summer. I'm sticking by this lol

That would be ace if we pulled that one off.