Liverpool FC Forum

[Effes]

if we can somehow manage to get rid of Mascherano and bring in an attacking midfielder or a second striker or whatever you want to call it to play 'the gerrard role' for around the same amount of money then i think that would be a good piece of business... would be even better if its a player with alot of creativity but could also play through the middle alongside Alonso... A fabregas, Pirlo, Xavi type of player..

I think the 2 in the middle (Alonso, Mascherano) as a pairing are a part of our attacking problems..

Nothing urgent about what im saying up here but if it doesnt cost us anything then i well and truely think that it could very well improve the look of the side when going forward

I disagree with getting rid of Masherano and we would be getting someone like Barry not Xavi.

We seldom have a problem in the center of the park. It's always width and always has been width under Rafa. One quality winger who is quick, cleaver, and can cross and who can play both sides would make a massive difference to our squad and suit our needs. An Ashavin, Silva or Tevez type would be perfect.

Someone that can play on the right, act as cover for the left and fill in for Gerrard when unavailable. A player who is creative and can cross that is of a much better quality than Benayoun.

Joaquin maybe? Not sure how he's been for Valencia this season.

[GYBS]

Do you know what i read somewhere the other day it was in another forum i think an someone asked the question ill go an find it an post back

Too many wines at Bingo Nanny   

[GYBS]

if we can somehow manage to get rid of Mascherano and bring in an attacking midfielder or a second striker or whatever you want to call it to play 'the gerrard role' for around the same amount of money then i think that would be a good piece of business... would be even better if its a player with alot of creativity but could also play through the middle alongside Alonso... A fabregas, Pirlo, Xavi type of player..

I think the 2 in the middle (Alonso, Mascherano) as a pairing are a part of our attacking problems..

Nothing urgent about what im saying up here but if it doesnt cost us anything then i well and truely think that it could very well improve the look of the side when going forward

I disagree with getting rid of Masherano and we would be getting someone like Barry not Xavi.

We seldom have a problem in the center of the park. It's always width and always has been width under Rafa. One quality winger who is quick, cleaver, and can cross and who can play both sides would make a massive difference to our squad and suit our needs. An Ashavin, Silva or Tevez type would be perfect.

Someone that can play on the right, act as cover for the left and fill in for Gerrard when unavailable. A player who is creative and can cross that is of a much better quality than Benayoun.

Joaquin maybe? Not sure how he's been for Valencia this season.

Has done better this season but still nowhere near the player he was when he first burst on the scene .

[NANNY RED]

Nah i found it it was from On The Kop. this lad asked an interesting question an id like to know your thoughts

Could we line up like Spain an no its not a joke an if the owners got the money out maybe we could . hes the lads post ive nicked.


Their formation last night was mad, with no wide midfielders at all. They lined up with Senna holding, Xavi just in front of him and Alonso in a narrow right sided position. Yet he played his normal central role, with the wonderful Iniesta in a tucked-in left-sided position. The width on the right came from the buccaneering Ramos, and on the left Capdevilla and latterly Arbeloa also showed tremendous attacking ambition.

And all this with two out and out centre-forwards in Torres and the slightly withdrawn Villa.

I think we need to score more goals and maybe up the ante attacking-wise. Is there any way we could adopt a similar formation? Shoe-horning Alonso, Mascherano and Gerrard into a central triumvirate á la Alonso, Senna and Xavi? Obviously at present we don’t really have the personnel to play two up front, but a move for David Villa in the summer could perhaps see this formation work for us? The sublime Xavi Hernandez is obviously central to Spain’s play and we don’t have a player like him, but still…

[DanAn]

if we can somehow manage to get rid of Mascherano and bring in an attacking midfielder or a second striker or whatever you want to call it to play 'the gerrard role' for around the same amount of money then i think that would be a good piece of business... would be even better if its a player with alot of creativity but could also play through the middle alongside Alonso... A fabregas, Pirlo, Xavi type of player..

I think the 2 in the middle (Alonso, Mascherano) as a pairing are a part of our attacking problems..

Nothing urgent about what im saying up here but if it doesnt cost us anything then i well and truely think that it could very well improve the look of the side when going forward

I disagree with getting rid of Masherano and we would be getting someone like Barry not Xavi.

We seldom have a problem in the center of the park. It's always width and always has been width under Rafa. One quality winger who is quick, cleaver, and can cross and who can play both sides would make a massive difference to our squad and suit our needs. An Ashavin, Silva or Tevez type would be perfect.

Someone that can play on the right, act as cover for the left and fill in for Gerrard when unavailable. A player who is creative and can cross that is of a much better quality than Benayoun.

Joaquin maybe? Not sure how he's been for Valencia this season.

Joaquin could be good and available.
Maxi Rodriquez could be good although not sure if he can play on the left.
Messi would be perfect

I think Silva (because of Valencia's need to sell) would be our best bet though.

[JoeTerp]

if we can somehow manage to get rid of Mascherano and bring in an attacking midfielder or a second striker or whatever you want to call it to play 'the gerrard role' for around the same amount of money then i think that would be a good piece of business... would be even better if its a player with alot of creativity but could also play through the middle alongside Alonso... A fabregas, Pirlo, Xavi type of player..

I think the 2 in the middle (Alonso, Mascherano) as a pairing are a part of our attacking problems..

Nothing urgent about what im saying up here but if it doesnt cost us anything then i well and truely think that it could very well improve the look of the side when going forward

I disagree with getting rid of Masherano and we would be getting someone like Barry not Xavi.

We seldom have a problem in the center of the park. It's always width and always has been width under Rafa. One quality winger who is quick, cleaver, and can cross and who can play both sides would make a massive difference to our squad and suit our needs. An Ashavin, Silva or Tevez type would be perfect.

Someone that can play on the right, act as cover for the left and fill in for Gerrard when unavailable. A player who is creative and can cross that is of a much better quality than Benayoun.

Joaquin maybe? Not sure how he's been for Valencia this season.

Has done better this season but still nowhere near the player he was when he first burst on the scene .

but he has been better, and might be more realistic than other options. Valencia probably need to sell, but don't want to get rid of Silva or Villa.

[GYBS]

If we add silva and another striker yeah we could play like spain - Silva is normally first chpcie for spain but been injured this season so xabi started - They normally have silva and iniesta the wider of the two with xavi and senna patrolling the middle - we could have gerrard and silva all over the place with masher and xabi controlling the middle . just need another striker an silva

[JC_81]

if we can somehow manage to get rid of Mascherano and bring in an attacking midfielder or a second striker or whatever you want to call it to play 'the gerrard role' for around the same amount of money then i think that would be a good piece of business... would be even better if its a player with alot of creativity but could also play through the middle alongside Alonso... A fabregas, Pirlo, Xavi type of player..

I think the 2 in the middle (Alonso, Mascherano) as a pairing are a part of our attacking problems..

Nothing urgent about what im saying up here but if it doesnt cost us anything then i well and truely think that it could very well improve the look of the side when going forward

I kind of understand what you're trying to say mate.  But in all honesty we'd be absolute fools to let Mascherano leave this club.  He's already a top quality midfielder who will only get better with age.  He's also got exactly the type of attitude that we want our players to have and can only be a good influence on the players around him.

I do agree that we do lack a bit of attacking drive and goal threat when he is paired with Alonso in central midfield, but it is not worth sacrificing him imo.

Everyone can see our weaknesses.  Benitez has had 5 seasons now to find a decent right winger/midfielder and he's failed to do so.  We are also woefully short of options up front.  If we're being picky we could do with better full backs, another option at left mid and maybe an aerially dominant centre half.  This summer I'd settle for a right winger and a striker, both of high quality.  But then this would be the third summer in a row I've been hoping Benitez would sort out these positions.

[GYBS]

if we can somehow manage to get rid of Mascherano and bring in an attacking midfielder or a second striker or whatever you want to call it to play 'the gerrard role' for around the same amount of money then i think that would be a good piece of business... would be even better if its a player with alot of creativity but could also play through the middle alongside Alonso... A fabregas, Pirlo, Xavi type of player..

I think the 2 in the middle (Alonso, Mascherano) as a pairing are a part of our attacking problems..

Nothing urgent about what im saying up here but if it doesnt cost us anything then i well and truely think that it could very well improve the look of the side when going forward

I disagree with getting rid of Masherano and we would be getting someone like Barry not Xavi.

We seldom have a problem in the center of the park. It's always width and always has been width under Rafa. One quality winger who is quick, cleaver, and can cross and who can play both sides would make a massive difference to our squad and suit our needs. An Ashavin, Silva or Tevez type would be perfect.

Someone that can play on the right, act as cover for the left and fill in for Gerrard when unavailable. A player who is creative and can cross that is of a much better quality than Benayoun.

Joaquin maybe? Not sure how he's been for Valencia this season.

Has done better this season but still nowhere near the player he was when he first burst on the scene .

but he has been better, and might be more realistic than other options. Valencia probably need to sell, but don't want to get rid of Silva or Villa.

The joaquin of 2002/3 would be perfect but the lad went downhill rapidly and now is just a standard la liga player .

[Effes]

Can I just chuck a spnner in the works here.

What if Rafa goes back in for Barry?
O'Neill has already said that if Barry wanted to go, no one would begrudge him the move.

[DanAn]

if we can somehow manage to get rid of Mascherano and bring in an attacking midfielder or a second striker or whatever you want to call it to play 'the gerrard role' for around the same amount of money then i think that would be a good piece of business... would be even better if its a player with alot of creativity but could also play through the middle alongside Alonso... A fabregas, Pirlo, Xavi type of player..

I think the 2 in the middle (Alonso, Mascherano) as a pairing are a part of our attacking problems..

Nothing urgent about what im saying up here but if it doesnt cost us anything then i well and truely think that it could very well improve the look of the side when going forward

I kind of understand what you're trying to say mate.  But in all honesty we'd be absolute fools to let Mascherano leave this club.  He's already a top quality midfielder who will only get better with age.  He's also got exactly the type of attitude that we want our players to have and can only be a good influence on the players around him.

I do agree that we do lack a bit of attacking drive and goal threat when he is paired with Alonso in central midfield, but it is not worth sacrificing him imo.

Everyone can see our weaknesses.  Benitez has had 5 seasons now to find a decent right winger/midfielder and he's failed to do so.  We are also woefully short of options up front.  If we're being picky we could do with better full backs, another option at left mid and maybe an aerially dominant centre half.  This summer I'd settle for a right winger and a striker, both of high quality.  But then this would be the third summer in a row I've been hoping Benitez would sort out these positions.

I reckon your spot on.

[JC_81]

Can I just chuck a spnner in the works here.

What if Rafa goes back in for Barry?
O'Neill has already said that if Barry wanted to go, no one would begrudge him the move.

That's not so much a spanner as it is a serious possibility imo.

He's definitely a player that Benitez likes, and he is a good player no doubt, but I seriously hope we don't go back in for him.  Alonso has turned his career around this season, because he had really stagnated for a couple of seasons imo.  I would hope that neither Gerrard nor Mascherano are going anywhere either.  Therefore there is no room for Barry at centre mid (which is by far his best position).

If he is bought as an option at either left back or left mid then Rafa needs a slap.  We'll see what happens.

[DanAn]

Can I just chuck a spnner in the works here.

What if Rafa goes back in for Barry?
O'Neill has already said that if Barry wanted to go, no one would begrudge him the move.

I don't want Barry in replacement of Xabi or Mash but if Rafa was to sell Lucas and replace him with Barry it would be money well spent IMO although I think Raffa see's Lucas as part of a succession plan.

Still I think we could get 6-8m or so for Lucas and due to Barry's contract situation I think we could get Barry for 10-12m. For a 4-6m upgrade I think that would be a bargian and Barry's versatility would save Rafa a lot of headaches when the squad is running a little thin from injuries/suspensions.

[Effes]

how important is it to have a good squad? Did Rafa's Valencia teams have the best squad in La Liga?  If we had a different manager for the last 5 years, do people think we would have a better squad now? A better one than United or Chelsea?

A good squad is very important, even MORE SO when the manager believes so strongly in rotation. I think we would definately have a better balanced squad and probably a stronger squad given how much we have spent and the players that have been available during this time.

Whether it would have been as strong as Chelsea or the mancs squads is perhaps more doubtful, but then again a team is only as strong as its weakest link, and we have certainly spent more than enough to ensure that we should have adequate cover in all positions.

what I am saying is that who cares if we think we have a good squad. I think Rafa would argue that he has a good squad for what he is trying to do. Most people don't rate Kuyt, but he must be doing something out there that is valuable to the club. I am not really sure that Rafa would want someone that most people would probably say is better to play out there.

Also with our striker situation, that is a bit tricky. We normally play with just one up front, so if we buy somebody who can also play as a lone striker, they aren't going to feature a whole lot because that person is not going to be better than Torres. It doesn't seem like you bring in or keep anybody of too much quality in these roles because players want to play.

I suppose the easiest answer to the striker problem would be to bring in someone who while not of the calibre of Torres was more versatile. Someone who could play well as a striker when called on but would be in regular contention for a place in the team in a different role. I.E. Someone like Babel ....... only better, or someone who offered something completely different like Crouch did.

Personally I would prefer a genuine top quality striker, as I still prefer 4-4-2 although admittedly Torres has made me question it at times.

I do think we should have someone though, as Torres fit or not cannot play every game.

Raul?

[NANNY RED]

So that Spain set up is a no no then ok back to the drawing board