Pretty much. I would put Skrtel, Agger, Johnson, Lucas, Gerrard, Suarez as definite keepers. Then I'd say Reina, Bellamy, Enrique and Henderson should be kept unless we get a sensible offer for them and have a replacement of equal quality lined up. It saddens me to put Reina in this list as he's been so good for us over the years but he's been quite poor over the last two seasons and isn't indispensable like he once was. Downing, Carroll, Adam, Jones should be got rid of ASAP as they'll just lose value every year they're here and not being played regularly by us. I think Spearing, Wilson, Flanagan and Doni should be kept for at least another season and given a chance to impress (or just be back up in Doni's case) EDIT: Seems you were only doing midfielders, oh well.
Totally disagree with this suggestion. I would take Gerrard out of the list of 'keepers'. If a reasonable offer cam in for him, I would certainly let him go. He has been a great talismanic player for us but he has at most only this and next season left in him. I would add Coates to that list. I would suggest that Henderson and Enrique to the list but would suggest that we try and sell Bellamy as soon as possible. As for your "get rid ASAP" list, I would most certainly keep Carroll and Adam. I doubt that we would get an offer anywhere near £20 million for Downing and that is the only reason that I would consider keeping him. I have to agree that Reina was not as secure last season and I would keep Jones. In my opinion, I believe that Spearing is already at the top of his abilities and I would look to move him on as soon as we have a suitable replacement. I'm not sure about Doni's position with the club and therefore to offload a reserve keeper would just be foolish.
For me Gerrard's value to the club surpasses anything that we can replace him with. Gerrard, along with a select few players like Casillas, Totti and Shearer are players who cannot be replaced with any amount of money. And I do not see the wisdom in selling Bellamy now when he only has 1 year left on his contract and the fee we'll receive for him will be minimal at best. As for Carroll and Adam, I do not envisage them ever becoming Liverpool regulars, therefore I find it pointless to keep them around, I'd much rather keep Spearing in place of Adam who's much more efficient in possession and suits the Brendan Rodgers style much more than Adam. Spearing takes two touches, one to control one to pass, Adam will take 4 or 5 before he passes and that usually means the options that would be there if he passed earlier aren't anymore. Carroll is similar, he doesn't suit playing as the lone striker in a 4-3-3 formation, as that role requires a decent amount of mobility and agility, something Carroll doesn't have. So I find it rather pointless to have them sitting around in an unflattering formation that lowers their market value even further.
Gerrard is all but finished and we know it. If nothingelse he's taking up a squad slot. Now I really hope that he has a tremendous season but it is likely to be his last. Therefore in the best interest of the team we need to be focusing on a replacement NOW. I believe that you are totally wrong about Carroll and Adam but as you have such fixed views I won't argue the point. Spearing on the other hand is makeshift. He'll only ever be a number 2 for any midfield position and there are better options out there. I totally fail to see how you can be so adamant about players not fitting a particular style when (a) that style is not yet fixed and (b) you haven't seen them play in that style!
Don't think it's that dramatic. He needs to change his playing style, and he's intelligent enough to do so. He's got a classy touch on the ball and has always looked to pass and get in position to receive the ball again. If you watch how he runs even, it's always so he can receive the ball.
Gerrard may not be "World Class" anymore but I wouldn't say that he's finished. I still feel that he is capable of reinventing himself like Ryan Giggs did. Heck Milan thought Pirlo was finished and look what happened there.
Show some respect, Gerrard has pretty much single handedly carried this club for years and because he's had a couple of injured hit season who want to take the first offer that comes along and get rid? He's taking up a squad slot because he, along with Lucas are still are best midfielders. Not only that, but he's a role model to many in the squad and players like Shelvey & Suso will learn so much from playing with him. He's 32? He has at least another 2 or 3 seasons in him, especially is he starts playing deeper / more advanced rather than being box to box. The fact you'd rather keep Adam over Gerrard worries me...
Don't tell me to show respect. I respect EVERY player who pulls on a Liverpool jersey. Gerrard's record for Liverpool is undoubted and the club have leaned upon skill and loyalty far more than they ever should have. It is true that he almost single-handedly carried the club. However, he is not now half the player that he was. Therefore I believe that he has at most 2 seasons left in him at the very top. If I am right, it is imperative that we find a replacement as a matter of urgency. Sure, the youngsters in the squad can learn from him but they are also more inclined to pass to him rather than developing their own skills in creating attacks and this limits their development. I didn't pick Adam over Gerrard as I wasn't comparing players with each other. Rather I was looking at the squad itself. As far as Adam is concerned, I believe that he endured a very bad case of 2nd season syndrome and ended up not being able to do the very things that he was bought for. If he is played, we will know by Christmas if he has recovered. If so them we have a player who can take corners and free kicks - both of which Gerrard has been poor at for the last few seasons.
I see merit in both sides of the argument here. He does have a year or two left playing - but thats nowhere near where he used to be and we should be planning a replacement now. He can't play forever. This is a big year for Stevie. He will either boss it or play a lesser and lesser role.
You say he's all but finished and this is his last but then say he has 2 season left? If he plays a deeper role, he could easily play till hes 35, in the same way Giggs/Scholes have done for United. He may be half the player he was but he's still twice the player Adam/Spearing/Henderson are at the moment. Did you not see him at the Euro's? Delivery was brilliant and he was more disciplined sitting back, something I didn't think he would be able to do. Yes we need a replacement, but I'd rather he kept him a few seasons and allowed Suso/Shelvey to develop and try to promote from within than go spend £20mil on another Aquilani in the hope they can replace Gerrard. He's been injured the last couple of years, but now he should be fully fit so I think he'll have a major role to play.
