Liverpool FC Forum

[LittleHobo]

.                         reina

johnson         carra        dawson *        agger             

                          masch
             
v.d.vaart *                                       j. cole *

                  gerrard      aquilani

                           torres         

cavalieri
skrtel
g. cahill *
babel
benayoun
kuyt
zarate *

that one there is slightly more realistic than most

id like the turkish ryan giggs though who we are linked with though? he will become top quality

[Benny The Noon]

Why get Dawson when you could prob get Keajar for cheaper and is a better player from what i have seen

[mart]

And am i not allowed to add a bit of realistic outlook to it all and suggest why are we lookign to buy such and such when we are skint as a club ? Why talk about spending 50 mil plus on players when the club doesnt have that money to spend on players ?

It all depends on the new owners but a more realistic outlook would perhaps be:

Simon Kjær (Or another quality defender)
Jovanovic (or whatever that striker from the belgian league was called)
Joe Cole (if on a free transfer).

After that there is probably very little left for transfers, but maybe we can get someone else cheap/free.

[dawson99]

Why get Dawson when you could prob get Keajar for cheaper and is a better player from what i have seen

itd save me money on getting my name on my shirt

[Benny The Noon]

Why get Dawson when you could prob get Keajar for cheaper and is a better player from what i have seen

itd save me money on getting my name on my shirt

[Scottbot]

Why get Dawson when you could prob get Keajar for cheaper and is a better player from what i have seen

Mate you are talking about it being pointless to wish for this player or that player but the press reports on Kjaer a few months back were in the £15-18 million plus bracket I seem to recall.

[bigmick]

Honestly lets go get this lad, I really think he'd be a big player for us. Just go get him whoever is pulling the strings.

QUOTE FROM THE GUARDIAN-"Stephen Ireland has admitted there is a major question mark over his Manchester City future. After earning a PFA young player of the year nomination with some impressive performances last season, Ireland has struggled this year.

Injury, illness and loss of form have seen him lose his place in the first XI at Eastlands and having missed last night's defeat to Tottenham, he has appeared only 11 times under Roberto Mancini.

The 23-year-old has not given any indication of a desire to leave Eastlands. But with a major review of playing staff certain to follow the failure to secure a Champions League berth next season, Ireland knows he could be surplus to requirements.

"There is a question mark over next year for me," he told the Manchester Evening News. "I don't know what will happen. I am contracted to City and all I can do is carry on doing my job and performing well when I am called upon. If anything changes during the summer it will be down to the club, not me."

Ireland signed a long-term contract last summer. "It has been a difficult year because I care so much about my job," he said. "I care about my game and about the club but there is a lot of frustration bottled up because I have not played as much as I would have liked." "

[metalhead]

I would take Ireland, I think he is a very good attacking player that would give us some needed quality in our attacking side. If we do end up selling Aquilani, I would target him or Joe Cole (I would prefer Joe Cole)

We also need a center back, Hangelaand would be a prefered choice, a winger, this Di Maria fella looks really good, a left back, Gareth Bale would be me my choice but thats unrealistic and a Striker, Ivanovic could be good but we need another one.

[account deleted by request]

I liked Ireland, but on the few occasions I have seen him this season he has looked very poor. Not sure now Mick tbh mate.

[Scottbot]

Honestly lets go get this lad, I really think he'd be a big player for us. Just go get him whoever is pulling the strings.

QUOTE FROM THE GUARDIAN-"Stephen Ireland has admitted there is a major question mark over his Manchester City future. After earning a PFA young player of the year nomination with some impressive performances last season, Ireland has struggled this year.

Injury, illness and loss of form have seen him lose his place in the first XI at Eastlands and having missed last night's defeat to Tottenham, he has appeared only 11 times under Roberto Mancini.

The 23-year-old has not given any indication of a desire to leave Eastlands. But with a major review of playing staff certain to follow the failure to secure a Champions League berth next season, Ireland knows he could be surplus to requirements.

"There is a question mark over next year for me," he told the Manchester Evening News. "I don't know what will happen. I am contracted to City and all I can do is carry on doing my job and performing well when I am called upon. If anything changes during the summer it will be down to the club, not me."

Ireland signed a long-term contract last summer. "It has been a difficult year because I care so much about my job," he said. "I care about my game and about the club but there is a lot of frustration bottled up because I have not played as much as I would have liked." "

I agree, he is a quality player who should keep getting better. A mate of mine is a season ticket holder at Eastlands and he has been scratching his head all season as to why Ireland doesn't get a look in. Rafa was linked with him a few seasons ago (before he made his breakthrough) and I remember most of us at the time saying "who? No way!".

Rafa signed Aquilani to come in and be that link between the DM (Masch) and our AM (Gerrard) but the player isn't really suited to the role. If Rafa is staying, and he's still lookoing for a player to fit that job description then step forward Stephen Ireland.

I'd be delighted if we signed the lad. Throw in a striker, a new left-back, a new left wing, and a back-up right-back and we're sorted

[Fauxy]

Ireland is very good when used correctly. Which is why he's been so poor this season. He was never suited to the 4-3-3 that hughes played and since Mancini came in he's been invisible.

I think he would fit very well into our system but he plays were Aquilani or Gerrard plays. People have their disagreement's about Aquilani but I think he is the best player for that position. I would still take Ireland since he isnt as injury prone as Aquilani and he is a nice player to have but it really depends on the price.

[tubby]

Last season he was on fire. Done wonders for my fantasy football anyway. If he only just signed a new contract last summer then he won't come cheap but how much do you reckon? 12Mil 15Mil?

Also would City even sell to us? Hopefully they won't care about that as they intend to play fantasy football.

[bigmick]

Ireland is very good when used correctly. Which is why he's been so poor this season. He was never suited to the 4-3-3 that hughes played and since Mancini came in he's been invisible.

I think he would fit very well into our system but he plays were Aquilani or Gerrard plays. People have their disagreement's about Aquilani but I think he is the best player for that position. I would still take Ireland since he isnt as injury prone as Aquilani and he is a nice player to have but it really depends on the price.

Would you swap Aquilani for Ireland?


If it was me (and I know this offer isn't on the table) I'd bite their arm off at the elbow. For me, to make our system work with the minimum of alteration we need to continue to play the system we are, but with a better balance to the whole thing. All this talk that Benitez (who will stay as I've said all along) is about to suddenly start playing 4-4-2 and we are going to see Torres trying to adapt to playing with a partner is wide of the target I think.

For me, playing 4-5-1 is fine (or 4-4-1-1 if you prefer to call it that) provided a) there is an umbilical chord which links the rest of the team to Torres/Gerrard and b) we have both a box to box and a defensive element coming from our other non sitter (currently Lucas). As we all know with the dreaded Lucas/Masherano axis, you end up with two sitters, neither of which is comfortable taking the ball off the defence. The net result is the hoof and zero threat.

Now for me, I'd sit Masherano in front of the back four, and play BOTH Ireland and Gerrard box to box, almost a 4-1-4-1 if you like. The system wouldn't be unlike the one employed by Chelsea over the last few seasons, with Makeleli/Obi Michel doing the sitting job, and Lampard plus a.n. other doing the box to box along with Drogba up top. In fairness to him and to his credit Ancellotti changed it a bit this time around by playing Anelka in a kind of inside forward role, but over the last few seasons they've gone with that system anyhow.

See, to me this is the point. It's not fantasy football where we say "give the man 70 million quid and he'll bring home number 19" (because the reality is if you give him 70 million quid he'll spunk it on bench warmers who he'll try and convert from a right back into a left winger anyway), it's real life. In real life, you don't change football teams any more than you have to. You don't re-invent, you adapt.

We should sign Steven Ireland with the money we could still get for Aquilani. Play him alongside Gerrard, put Lucas back into the category he belongs (last resort) and Robert's your aunties live in lover.

[andy_g]

its true he's had a loss of form this season but i think we can name other previously exceptional players who have suffered the same fate. seeing as one of our normally exceptional players has hit 30 and will surely not be able to carry on hitting those dynamic heights for that much longer i think that stephen ireland might just be a player who could, while not replacing him, certainly fill the gap for a while when the time comes.

[Ben Patrick]

Agree about Ireland, he hasnt had a good season at all but last year he was one of the best goalscoring midfielders in the league.
If like suggested we had him in a 3 man midfield with Mascherano sitting and Ireland and Gerrard ahead then i think the midfield would again look like it had some sort of balance to it.
With Maxi on the right and if we could patch things up with Riera on the left.
Then to me that midfield is very very good.
We would be far better in posession and have some very tidy footballers who would be better served to open up most teams.