You can get away with a dodgy defence but you cannot get away with a dodgy strike force. Look above Liverpool in the league and all you see are sides better than us in the attack department. Last season we had the privilege of having Suarez and a fit Sturridge. This practically meant we could outscore the opponents even when having a mare in midfield or defence.
All the teams currently ahead of us have quality up front and did not lose any over the summer
· Chelsea – Costa, Remy, Drogba
· Arsenal – Giroud, Welbeck,Sanchez
· Man united – Rooney, Van Persie, Falcao(Debatable)
· Mancity – Aguero, Dzeko, Jovetic, Bony
· Liverpool – Sturridge, Balotelli,Lambert, Borini (The last 3 need to go)
The difference is there to see. Our marquee striker was out injured for almost the whole season, and the backups failed miserably. Last season when Suarez was suspended, we had Sturridge to cover and when Sturridge was injured Suarez was playing up front. We also had the benefit of having fewer games hence the small squad was not stretched.
What did we do?
We bulked the squad but lost two of our most potent weapons that made us tick. The biggest difference was we never got a striker who
Could press – Keeping the opponents high line in check
Could score – Finish the chances created (Read Sterling/Balotelli)
Could step up when Studge inevitably got injured
That alone was a massive failing of the committee/Rodgers. In the earlier games where we struggled, we created some chances which a better quality striker would have finished. Remember Balos last minute miss against Hull, miss against everton when the game was at 1-0. Such fine margins
Other signings
The may have cost a ton of cash but the likes of Lallana and Markovic have scored their fair share of goals. Supplement this with a 20 goal a season striker and we would be further up the table. The fact that our top scorer in the league has single digits is an indictment of the failings up front,
The performance of these other signings has been magnified by the lack of a goal threat up front. This lead to a formation change that reduced the goals we were leaking and as such we went on a winning run which was high on points but low on goals. The moment we struggled to score we were found out and lost to Arsenal and United and now Villa
What next
I’d rather have us use the bulk of our kitty to get two class strikers whatever it may cost as goals are the currency in football. Who? Throw in all the names but get them. Dybala, Vietto, Lacazzette, Depay among others.
That said, we need to pay the going rate i.e. wages. We cannot cry poverty when wasting monies on players who may never play for us i.e. Aspas, Albertos of this world. We are losing two very highly paid players in Gerrard and Johnson and I’d suggest their wages cater to those two strikers
All the teams currently ahead of us have quality up front and did not lose any over the summer
· Chelsea – Costa, Remy, Drogba
· Arsenal – Giroud, Welbeck,Sanchez
· Man united – Rooney, Van Persie, Falcao(Debatable)
· Mancity – Aguero, Dzeko, Jovetic, Bony
· Liverpool – Sturridge, Balotelli,Lambert, Borini (The last 3 need to go)
The difference is there to see. Our marquee striker was out injured for almost the whole season, and the backups failed miserably. Last season when Suarez was suspended, we had Sturridge to cover and when Sturridge was injured Suarez was playing up front. We also had the benefit of having fewer games hence the small squad was not stretched.
What did we do?
We bulked the squad but lost two of our most potent weapons that made us tick. The biggest difference was we never got a striker who
Could press – Keeping the opponents high line in check
Could score – Finish the chances created (Read Sterling/Balotelli)
Could step up when Studge inevitably got injured
That alone was a massive failing of the committee/Rodgers. In the earlier games where we struggled, we created some chances which a better quality striker would have finished. Remember Balos last minute miss against Hull, miss against everton when the game was at 1-0. Such fine margins
Other signings
The may have cost a ton of cash but the likes of Lallana and Markovic have scored their fair share of goals. Supplement this with a 20 goal a season striker and we would be further up the table. The fact that our top scorer in the league has single digits is an indictment of the failings up front,
The performance of these other signings has been magnified by the lack of a goal threat up front. This lead to a formation change that reduced the goals we were leaking and as such we went on a winning run which was high on points but low on goals. The moment we struggled to score we were found out and lost to Arsenal and United and now Villa
What next
I’d rather have us use the bulk of our kitty to get two class strikers whatever it may cost as goals are the currency in football. Who? Throw in all the names but get them. Dybala, Vietto, Lacazzette, Depay among others.
That said, we need to pay the going rate i.e. wages. We cannot cry poverty when wasting monies on players who may never play for us i.e. Aspas, Albertos of this world. We are losing two very highly paid players in Gerrard and Johnson and I’d suggest their wages cater to those two strikers
