Ok, I have bad news, good news and great news. The bad news is that the season is over and all we have to compensate for our lack of Premier League football is the Confederations Cup and England World Cup Qualifiers. However, the good news is that I won’t be saying anything as bad as that again. And the great news is that the Dugout has returned for a little pre- transfer talk.
So hear we go then and focusing on the attack of the team and once again Liverpool have been linked with Spanish hit man David Villa. Now this would be a great purchase for the reds especially considering the already existing connection between Villa and Torres. Also, Valencia’s current financial crisis is making a transfer for David Villa looking almost imminent and having already been linked with teams such as Chelsea and Liverpool. I don’t think anyone will have a say if Man City go ahead and make an alleged £70 Million bid for him. (WOW I never thought I’d say that)
Alongside the claims that we’re looking at Villa. Reports are circulating regarding the future of Carlos Tevez. Now I love seeing United in disarray and their star players wanting to leave and there’s no doubting Tevez’s ability but I would prefer to see us get a different striker because I don’t know how a Tevez and Torres partnership would work.
The main thing that no-one seems to consider when creating these rumours is that any of these transfers would require the player being placed straight into the first team and honestly were would they fit? I mean our midfield of Kuyt, Alonso, Mascherano and Riera/Benayoun is almost flawless so adding a striker would mean Gerrard would need to be moved into midfield but where could he go? No- one wants to drop either Mascherano or Alonso and I personally don’t want to see him out on the right again.
So maybe a new first string striker isn’t the way to go. But we do need a striker to back up Nando as we have found to our cost at the start of last season. So good second string strikers like Giovanni Dos Santos from Spurs, Bojan from Barcelona, out of favour Adriano from Inter or even Martins from Newcastle would fit nicely into that role in my opinion.
So what about other areas of the team? Centre back? Well there’s no denying that the loss of Hyypia will big blow but we still have Carragher, Agger and Skrtel so I think were safe in that department. Full Backs? I personally think that Arbeloa and Aurelio do the job perfectly for us but if you were going to change it, who would you get? Sergio Ramos from Madrid? Lahm from Bayern Mŭnchen? Personally I think our defence should stay just as it is, it has proved effective last season it’ll hold up this season.
What about the alleged transfer of Valencia’s David Silva to Anfield? I watched Silva in Spain’s triumphant Euro 2008 campaign and he looked like a decent winger with a fair bit of pace and the ability to place a good cross and through ball to the runner. So he wouldn’t be a bad player but again who would you drop from the first team to compensate him? Preferably he’s a left winger so that would result in Riera or Benayoun losing their place for him. I wouldn’t agree with that decision because I like both of them players. So where would he play?
Finally then, I am so glad to see Benitez waving away all rumours about Madrid buying Alonso. I hope Xabi stays because his passing can slice open any team at any time. But I guess we’ll have to see how everything pans out over the summer.
As always leave your comments and don’t hesitate to argue with me if you don’t agree and I’ll be back when the first big talking point arises within the Liverpool camp.
i believe that rafa should concentrate on david villa and silva forget anyone else we`d be sure to win the premier league
On my side i don’t thing Carlos Tevez is a worth that much, or do Liverpool really need him? i don’t thing so. As for a players like David Villa and David Silva i suggest we need a players like them, the two Valencia guys are good to buy. One supporting striker/ winger, pushing babel to second 11. and either Benayoun or Riera comes in as substitutes.
And one more thing we really need a good keeper, we can’t deny the fact that Reina is not on form. he maid us lose so many matches in the just concluded season. the defense line up need to sit up, bringing Johnson will be a good idea.
I think we should definatly sell lucas and dossena just to get a little bit of money. And we could accept the offer made buy real madrid, (the swap alonso for robben), so it would improve our wing because we have a very good team but we have not got very good left and right wing players. But this might get better as pennant comes back from loan and as i have said with accepting the swap. To be honest i don’t think losing alonso would effect us a great lot if it means gerrard goes back into a central midfield role. And to replace him playing behind torres we could get; villa, tevez, lavezzi, negredo, tuncay, ect ect. Or if we fail to get another striker we could always play kuyt or benyoun there.
Saviola up front…Glen Johnson in defence…anyone?
I would buy Ruud Van Horseface. He would bring a poacher to the team which could be used in the last bits of a game. Due to his age and fitness he would probably be happy to be a bit part player and also as cover for Torres/Gerrard up front. I dont mind that he was a Manure player as long as he scores a hat trick against them at old turd.
The number one i would sell is Lucas the nowhere man. We need to have another striker to back up ELNINO + two extra players of good quality added to the squad the quality of TEVEZ. Not one player must be sure of his place in the team.
Although I’m not trying to suggest Lucas is the next Zidane he gets a lot of unwarranted press. If Liverpool play badly people often point the finger at him (sometimes with justification) but no one ever seems to give him credit when he does well. We outplayed that lot at Old Trafford this year, Lucas played 90 minutes. When we score often players are busy celebrating – I’ve seen Lucas time and time again discussing tactics with Stevie. And when the captain comes out and backs him publicly, you have to get behind that. We do need more than a starting eleven. I fancy Lucas for quite a few goals next season…
in a dream world the two link players that would add craetivity to the first 11 and then thinking about helping out with squad rotation, just in case of injuries and what ever else, my dream two players in would be aguero and silva, young quick sharpe, good passers long and short of the football, both years ahead, both know players at the club already and would i think fit in quicker then most overseas talent, add that to the fact that they are both almost world class talent we would be buying them at just the right moment, i know we havent got the cash, or unless we are playing down the budget rafa has but how knows?
REINA
ARBELOA CARRAGHER AGGER INSUA
SILVA MASCHERANO ALONSO
GERRARD TORRES AGUERO
NOW WHAT A SIDE, AND WITH JUST TWO PLAYERS ADDED. I CAN ONLY DREAM
ScuzzMcbob “I’d sell Benayoun, Kuyt, Babel and Arbeloa to raise funds for better quality.”
Agree on the Babel front. Arbeloa, yeah there is better quality out there but would be expensive and don’t know of any availability, Johnson may be but is he really that good? Yossi? You’re ‘avin a laugh aren’t you? The number of times he’s unlocked doors this season. There aren’t many clever players like that around – becareful what you wish for. Luis Garcia was the same but Yossi makes fewer errors. Kuyt? You want to sell Kuyt? The man’s gone mad. You have to have balance in a side. You can’t just have two tricky wingers who go missing when you haven’t got the ball. Kuyt is an amazing team player and doubles up as an attacker. Scored quite a few goals this season too. Don’t under estimate what he brings to the team. He might not have a pretty style like Gerrard and Torres but he would get in any team.
Okay, we all know that Tevez does indeed belong to the Joorachbin consortium. We normally have a thorough scan through of submissions but we did miss that. The offending sentence has now been removed.
And by the way, Adriano actually plays for Flamengo now. He moved there from Inter four weeks ago.
Have you researched or read anything?
Adriano of Inter? you mean Palmeiras?
Dos Santos? cant get into the Tottenham squad.
Money into UTDs pockets? you forgot about Kia Joorachbin?
I stopped reading at that point, i kept lookin back to the top to see if this article was posted 3 months ago, its fresh, unlike the content.
How your a journo suprises me. I could bosh off a much more accurate and enthralling report via text when on the toilet.
The Tevez money goes to the consortium that owns him Oby not the Mancs, and for the record, I think he`s a cracker that would pull players out of position for Nando`s runs
“Plus a purchase of Tevez would be at least £20 Million in the Mancs pocket and lets face it, no-one wants that.”
Huh?
Tevez isn’t owned by united, any money spent purchasing him goes to the the ‘agency’ who loaned him to united.
Do you go the game at all mate? Watch it for that matter?
“Silva isn’t going to get in our team on the left” are you serious?
Think you seem a tad sentimental. To go to the next level you must make the big decisions.
I’d sell Benayoun, Kuyt, Babel and Arbeloa to raise funds for better quality. I know everyone loves Kuyt but he isn’t the best in that position for us, and this would surely be the best time to capitalise on his good form (same of Yossi)
If we sell Alonso though I would be severely gutted. That boy makes our team tick when he takes the ball off the back four. He knits things together. We were lacking when he was missing last season depsite blinkered media sources stating the omissions of Ste G and Nando as reason.
I understand and appreciate what you say about the striker situation but I feel we can’t take a chance on a 2nd string striker. Aguero is the only man for me to play off Alonso with those little clever balls in the channels to unleash him. I personally think getting Villa would hinder Torres as it does for Spain. He was supposed to be the player supporting Torres like that, but when they started to play Torres realised he had to be that player as Villa couldn’t adapt.
As long as we don’t get another Sean Dundee I’d be pleased.
R.E. Tevez.
Any fee for Tevez goes into Kia Joorabchian’s pocket. The Mancs don’t own him so the Mancs get nothing.
Firstly, the £20million for Tevez would go nowhere near Manchester as it would end up in the pocket of Kia Joorbichian (or however its spelt) as his rights are still owned by him as ManUre didnt take up the option of signing him permanently.
Secondly, I think we need to strengthen on the wings, we have good full backs and wingers but I would like to see some world class players making their way into those positions. If you look at the two best players in the world, Messi and Ronaldo, they are both wingers with the ability to hurt teams. I think David Silva would be an awesome buy, also with financial problems at Valencia this looks even more appealing, and would put him on either wing as he is better than Kuyt on the wing or Riera/Benayoun. Don’t get me wrong, I think Kuyt is a great player who runs forever but his ability as a winger is not world class, he could be the answer to the backup to El Nino. Riera and Benayoun are also great players but again, neither are world class on a consistant basis and we need someone who can provide that cutting edge week in week out, as we have grown to expect from Torres and Gerrard. Silva fits that bill in my respect and with age on his side he can still improve and become an even better player, as well as having all his Spanish mates from the national team.