Liverpool FC Forum

by **Bad Bob** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:20 pm

In a nutshell we need width, pace, and creativity on the ball. That means quality attacking fullbacks (who can also defend), top class wingers and a top class creative second striker. So, five players if we have the funds for an overhaul. If not, then we need to get in at least 1 quality fullback, 1 quality winger (preferably on the opposite flank) and the creative 2nd striker.

Beyond the five mentioned, we also need to add another quality striker as 3rd choice, another class centreback to understudy for Carragher (even if Skrtel proves to be quality) and another back-up keeper to replace Itandje (I like the veteran Premiership keeper idea, Mick).

On the issue of funds, I think much will depend on who is manager. If Rafa is still in charge, I suspect he will be told to make do pretty much with what he's got or to sell before he buys. If a new manager comes in, he will be given the money to splash out on transfers--all new managers get a war chest because most wouldn't take the job otherwise!

by **Sabre** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:25 pm

We don't need a lot of signings. But a few. We need few, and specific signings. I stress specific. I don't want a very good player that can be a decent left winger, and a fairly good second striker. I want a fúcking specific player for the left wing. I want to see more crosses from the wings, more and better services. Crosses with inner swerve to be headed better. Crouch and overall the strikers would be grateful. We have to rediscover the wings, especially in those games that it's difficult to break the initial 0-0.

We need another quality striker because there are a lot of games, there are injuries and Torres won't be there always.

I wouldn't buy a LB if I knew F. Aurelio would come to his normal form. I'd buy a RB though. Here again, I don't want an Arbeloa who can be a fairly good RB and a decent CB. I want a specific position player.

That's all we need, 3 signings. If I have an extra one, another man for the right. Do not touch the middle as it is, it's perfect.

by **username** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:21 pm

Insua at LB, Arbeloa at right, Carra & Agger CB (Skrtel if he progresses), Mascha Center with Alonso or Lucas, Gerrards right, New left, Torres up top with a new strike partner (youth or new buy).

Nice and simple

by **crazyhorse** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:29 pm

Nothing more to add. BigMick summed it up for me.

by **Owzat** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:35 pm

ruskiy playmaker wrote:The squad is not good enough, we desperately need a quality FB,CF, an a winger like you mentioned. We've constantly struggled to break sides down in the premier league this year, not due to rotation but because we don't have the quality and the speed in the wide positions and upfront.

Sadly six of the squad are leftovers from Houllier - Riise, Carragher, Hyypia and Finnan (a whole f00king back four ffs) plus Gerrard and Kewell. That's assuming I haven't missed any, and yet we've spent a shedload on players and are looking uncertain as to whether we'll even finish fourth.

The cup defeat to Barnsley wasn't the end of the world in its own right, it is the fact that it no longer comes as a surprise because it's now par for the course. Even if Rafa does offload some of the rubbish in the summer, assuming he's still here, you wonder if the new signings are going to be improvements on what goes out. We can't expect to sign a load of Torres', but you might expect signings to be much better than the player they replace or you might as well keep the outgoing player for continuity. An example might be letting God go and signing Voronin - was that a good deal? Fair does God hasn't stayed fit, although he did towards the end of his second spell here, but what has Voronin done and is he fit either?

by **JoeTerp** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:19 pm

I don't know what people's problems with Arbeloa are. Given the fact that we have limited funds. Penciling him in as the starting RB with Finnan as cover and to send out Darby on loan to gain experience so that he can replace Finnan as our cover after the season. This means we can put more money into buying ONE higher quality LB, and for me, this would allow you to sell BOTH Riise and Aurelio and promote Insua to 2nd choice, which also would allow us to buy a LB with a decent ammount of experience and not need to worry about buying one to serve the club for the next 8 to 9 years.

Buy David Silva

in the end, we should be selling 6-8 and buying 3-4. Smaller squad will help the likes of Insua make the breakthrough

by **nemolyk** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:54 pm

you idears is partly right
but i need to light another critical point that if rafa preserve a same or alomst plyaers in the 11，kops cannot be such angery
we will be more patient if he stop that stupied rotation

by **burjennio** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:36 pm

JoeTerp Posted on Feb. 19 2008,14:19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know what people's problems with Arbeloa are.

his distribution is poor and he can be outmuscled rather easily, defensively he's decent and seems to raise his game against the bigger sides but Steve finnan on his day is a far better player, sadly he's no spring chicken

i think most would agree theat the real problem posiitons is LM RM SS/CF and LB - there are plenty of players out there good enough to take us to the next level its finding them and paying for them that will ultimately decide if we can challenge next year. no more option B.

Move Babel up top, keep Crouch unless a great offer comes in. dispose of Voronin and Kuyt (unless he transforms in the next 3 months) as well as Kewell and Riise. sign someone like Silva or Mancini as the big summer signing because they will give us a different dimension. Personally i think Young or Bentley would be great signings because as well as being quality wide players they bring with them a great delivery from set plays that we've been missing for some time. Up front a Robbie Fowler style finisher would compliment Torres' individual skill superbly well, tho they arn't exactly a dime a dozen. God Id love a Crespo style front man who can finish, head and hold up play with Torres and Gerrard causing havoc running past him, a Huntelaar maybe (tho the last few dutch striking imports to come to the the UK aint exactly set the world on fire). Or alternatively let Torres lead the line and bring in a "between the lines" striker that Rafa loves, like FM favourite Sergio Aguero, or new Brazilian sensation Lulinha - youtube that guy! get in a reliable Full back and we're set

To hell with it, get rid of rafa and give me the job
:buttrock

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:41 pm

Wasn't these problems here and there last year though?

by **Sabre** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:12 pm

JoeTerp wrote:I don't know what people's problems with Arbeloa are. Given the fact that we have limited funds. Penciling him in as the starting RB with Finnan as cover and to send out Darby on loan to gain experience so that he can replace Finnan as our cover after the season. This means we can put more money into buying ONE higher quality LB, and for me, this would allow you to sell BOTH Riise and Aurelio and promote Insua to 2nd choice, which also would allow us to buy a LB with a decent ammount of experience and not need to worry about buying one to serve the club for the next 8 to 9 years.

Buy David Silva

in the end, we should be selling 6-8 and buying 3-4. Smaller squad will help the likes of Insua make the breakthrough

Not that Arbeloa is a problem. For his cost, his performance is good. He can be proud of what he has done here. And I'm very satisfied and proud of his adaptation, attitude and work. The problem is that this is a big club, and you could find dozens of Arbeloas.

His only problem is that he's a decent for back up, but he's not good enough to be a clear improvement over Finnan for instance. In this kind of club you have to seek that when you plan to buy someone for a position.

As for GBJH's last question, weren't this problems here already last season, that's a fair statement and criticism. I was asking for the same things last season, but this season's signings, bar Torres and seemingly Skrtel, have not been what I was expecting.

And that's a criticism that is down to Rafa, I won't deny that. We don't have time to have patience with signings now, we must sign to have inmediate results, or almost inmediate, as what it needs time, the core of the team,is already mounted. Now we need the details.

by **scoby** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:20 pm

We all seem to agree that we have a strong core to the team and with the additions of a few signings we can move to the next level

well with a few purchases, promoting some of the reserves and a clear out we can achieve the step up to the next level

my squad next year would look something like this:

Reina
Itandje/?
Martin

? Skrtel Agger ?
Arbeloa Hobbs Carra Insuna
Darby San Hose Huth Threlfall

Gerrard Mascherano
Lucas Alonso
Plessis Spearing

?
Benayoun
Pacheo

Babel ?
Anderson/El Zhar Leto/Hammill
Amoo Eccleston
Torres
?
Nemeth

So as i see it we need 5 signings and with a clearout we could hopefully spend on these positions with players like Rafinha for rb Lahm or simular for lb,Diego as an attacking mid feild, Mancini as winger/stricker and Huntelaar/Amauri as our backup front man. we could use the third set of players in the early round of the cups and reserves.

by **JoeTerp** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:42 pm

Sabre wrote:
JoeTerp wrote:I don't know what people's problems with Arbeloa are. Given the fact that we have limited funds. Penciling him in as the starting RB with Finnan as cover and to send out Darby on loan to gain experience so that he can replace Finnan as our cover after the season. This means we can put more money into buying ONE higher quality LB, and for me, this would allow you to sell BOTH Riise and Aurelio and promote Insua to 2nd choice, which also would allow us to buy a LB with a decent ammount of experience and not need to worry about buying one to serve the club for the next 8 to 9 years.

Buy David Silva

in the end, we should be selling 6-8 and buying 3-4. Smaller squad will help the likes of Insua make the breakthrough

Not that Arbeloa is a problem. For his cost, his performance is good. He can be proud of what he has done here. And I'm very satisfied and proud of his adaptation, attitude and work. The problem is that this is a big club, and you could find dozens of Arbeloas.

His only problem is that he's a decent for back up, but he's not good enough to be a clear improvement over Finnan for instance. In this kind of club you have to seek that when you plan to buy someone for a position.

As for GBJH's last question, weren't this problems here already last season, that's a fair statement and criticism. I was asking for the same things last season, but this season's signings, bar Torres and seemingly Skrtel, have not been what I was expecting.

And that's a criticism that is down to Rafa, I won't deny that. We don't have time to have patience with signings now, we must sign to have inmediate results, or almost inmediate, as what it needs time, the core of the team,is already mounted. Now we need the details.

I am aware that he isn't of the same ilk as the top of the line RBs out there, but to borrow something that I just learned in business class, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” - Michael Porter (absolute business genius). Given our limited resources, and the fact that we need to start stressing QUALITY over quantity, I think that we are fine with Arbeloa and Finnan at RB, the needs are LM, and a second striker.

this is quite clear and finding the best availble players at these positions is vital to our off-season.

Next is to decide if Gerrard can be deployed on the right or not without causing a fuss and making it WORK (which I think it can), in that case we would need to keep alonso and pennant would also be serviceable as the RM cover. This would cause the CM to consist of Mascherano and Alonso/Lucas with the possible occasional inclusion of a Spearing/Plessis/Guthrie/Gerrard

The fewer problems that we address the more attention we can pay to the problems that we do addres, we could turn LM into one of the teams STRENGTHs, same with the strikeforce. There should be a debate on which of the two strikers is actually our better forward thats the quality we need. Crouch can stay on as an interesting option, a "change of pace back" as we call it in america (i am sure that doesn't translate well though)

Where is such the low faith in Skrtel coming from. Give the lad a chance, he was a record defensive signing FFS. Carra has made a lot of mistakes this year but a Centre Half stable consisting of Carra, Agger, Skrtel and Hobbs is going to have to be good enough. If spend what we need to spend in order to improve LM and SS, there likely wont be funds available to improve the Centre Half position by an ammount that would matter, it would only be a matter of adding depth (which I am open to as well if people feel that is neccessary)

by **maguskwt** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:14 pm

I wouldn't mind if we get pablo aimar if we can get him for cheap and play him as a creative second striker...he can make plays and finish decently as well and still relatively young... i remember rafa saying a few years back when aimar was hinting for a move to the england that aimar's build is too slight for the premiership... don't really buy that... dont' know why rafa is not very keen on his former player...

by **hello_red** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:33 am

How much money do people think we have to spend in close season? Not that much! We need to do an Arsenal and build. Which we are doing.

by **RedBlood** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:33 am

we have a great squad we just need a few quality players to add that extra dimension going forward

i would build around: reina, finnan, arebola, carraghar, skertel, agger, hyypia, pennent, benyoun, gerrard, lucas, alonso, mascherano, babel, crouch, torres

i would try and buy: alves,quaresma,silva,benzema

i would sell: carson, itandje, riise, auerillo, kewell, leto, kuyt, voronin, linfield ( i feel we could get atleast 20million for these players)

i would put my faith in youngsters like: martin, insua, therfel, san jose, hobbs, antwi, darby, plesis, spearing, hammil, putteril, flynn, anderson, el zahr, bruna, nemeth, pacheo, simon ( maybe loan some out again for experience)

i believe with the new 7 substitues rule next season it would be perfect to give these youngsters more experience

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Regardless of who is manager next season, - How good is the squad of players?

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