So we are into the new season now and things are panning out OK,but just wandered what peoples thoughts are on the following During the close season everyone is craving new signings..buy him he's good etc, etc But it seems to me the teams who bought specific players for a specific position are faring best. Man City,Chelsea and this season Spurs have gone out and just bought a bunch of talented players basically not looking at how they would fit in the squad, and to keep them all happy,are constantly tinkering, and thus are inconsistent Now Arsenal really just bought one, slipped into a position they felt needed improving and they are going well Ourselves bought a few, and to be honest,has it improved the team, they have caused the tinkering with the formation to three centre backs which as most have pointed out, is not really working Our best transfer window was last January, two positions were identified, creative midfield and another striker, bought the two fella's for this and things improved greatly. The team on Saturday was basically last seasons second half team Man Utd when under Fungus basically always did the same,never brought a load of players in, normally just one Marquee signing and a couple of squad fillers I know the teams who have brought in a lot of players now have strength in depth and over the season may work out for them, but i still think a wise buy to improve the actual playing team each window is really the way to go. Next on our agenda should be a box to box midfielder to replace Gerrard, spend big on a quality one, and stop messing with all these 6,7,8 million pound buys, get just the one 25-30 million and then play him
I agree with most of that bar buying a replacement for Gerrard. Not that I disagree with the sentiment but I don't like to think we are attempting to replace a player, we should be buying someone to improve the first team. In other words, we could bring in a CM that plays alongside Gerrard rather than instead of him. This is in liking with my view on buying back-up players; buy quality first teamers and the squad will take care of itself
i said similar to this on another thread that Spurs IF they can get their players gelling in time ie before they get frustrated and move on,they will have some squad there, agree about Arsenal, one good signing and just the one player to adapt rather than 4-5 like Spurs. imagine if Arsenal had got Suarez as well, obviously looking towards the £100 mill spent then (which i doubt they had) but they would have a title winning squad then for sure. i would like to see a player brought in for Gerrads position and him moved further forward, wont get as much time out of him sadly, but what we could get could be the dif with us getting top 4(better?) or not.
I don't think we could replace Gerrard like-for-like, but we certainly need to be making preparations for life after him. It's obvious we're a bit thin in midfield, and a creative link between defence and attack is crucial. A big-name, big fee," marquee" signing has never bothered me, tbh. I've always believed in a team rather than a collection of individuals.
Not looking at replacing Gerrard just yet,but the day will come,but need a player who does what he used to do for us. Gerrard could then play a more Alonso (sitting) like role,and would take the pressure of him and maybe prolong his career a little. I know he is playing more like that now,so we need to replace the Old Gerrard
I think part of the problem is who you buy not what you pay. Coutinho was what £8 mill and Aspas 7 mill. The transfer market looks a lot easier from our side of the fence. What impressed methis summer was that we did bid big for Mikiterryfella but didn't panic when we didn't get him. If we can get a player who improves the first team then by all means spend big. As for square pegs etc I agree. I don't like the 352 system because I think it's easy for very good teams to counter. On the flip side though I like that Rodgers is now showing a willingness to try different things. It makes us a lot less predictable if nothing else.
This post deserves a friend request. But I can't be bothered. Would like to see someone permanent in place of Moses, but he covers that position so there's no panic. Mata would be a dream. Box to box? Hmmm... Benega used to be high up on my list, but not sure how he's doing at the moment.
What is required: High Priority: Defensive midfielder Box to box midfielder Medium Priority: Left back Right back (Enrique and Johnson are decent, but Johnson leaving soon is looking more likely. More intelligence needs in those positions.) Attacker - striker or inside forward.
Agree with this I think we'll see two arrivals in January again. At least one will definitely be a midfielders of some description. Not sure about the second. I'd like to see a DM/CM and a AM/WG arrive
The encouraging thing is that Rodgers did say he is looking at players who will come straight into the first team. So I'll be expecting some experienced quality players (around the 22-26 years old mark). Then again, he did say Borini was an exciting signing lol.
Yeah, but wasn't Borini his personal record signing at the time too? Maybe that's what he meant by "exciting"
true lol, that is the only worry when he talks positive like that you think, but you said Borini was an exciting signing and dont know whether you can take him seriously or not.
I think BR has come a long way since that first summer. I think if you spoke to him privately, he'd admit that he misjudged the standard at the club and his signings probably up to scratch.
We bought what we needed this summer, and while Sakho looks like a beast, the best result from getting 3 CBs is that it has motivated Skrtel and Agger to up their performances. Having strong competition has got the best out of the players so far this season, just look at Hendo when he finally got the nod in front of Allen. Would have liked to see a DM in the summer but I'm sure we shall see one in a couple of months. If there is one position Arsenal definitely did not need it was slight, technically gifted, creative play-making midfielders.
Was at a lunch few weeks ago and Ayre was guest speaker. He said BR was totally overwhelmed with the size of the club [not job!] and it has taken him all the time since he's been there to come to terms with. As regards Gerrard, it would be nice to have a fellow scouser to fill the gap when he gets put out to grass. Liverpool thrives with a scouse heart and soul and with Carra already retired, who do we look to?
Totally agree with that. Said as much yesterday on the Skrtel thread. It's been far too long since we've had competition at the back and Dagger and Skrts now know they have a fight on their hands. I think we'd now all like to see a bit more competition in the middle of the pitch
I think our youth success has been a bit of a let down over the last decade. Probably worthy of a thread of its own but for me the academy hasn't been anywhere near successful enough.
I guess that confirms we are a bigger club than Chelsea then As for the scouse heart, who is there...?
Don't get too hung up about finding a new Scouse heart. The 'heart' that needs replacing in some way is Gerrards and that may take more than 1 player to achieve so don't weigh local talent down with that responsibility. A Scouse will appear within the team and if he's good enough will take on the 'heart' mantle but it will be a natural process. So let's look globally for the player(s) who are going to replace Gerrard
