Transfer Rumours The Sterling Discussions

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Which Club should we Sell Sterling to?

  • Manchester City??

    Votes: 27 54.0%
  • Chelsea?

    Votes: 8 16.0%
  • Arsenal

    Votes: 9 18.0%
  • Manhester United

    Votes: 8 16.0%
  • None of the above(Must go to Overseas Club.

    Votes: 12 24.0%
  • MITO is a ****!

    Votes: 4 8.0%

  • Total voters
    50
  • Poll closed .
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Swansea are very well run, Huw Jenkins has done a great job and is the De Factor Director of Football - consistent footballing philosophy.

I haven't got a problem with our star players wanting to leave and I don't blame them - problem is how we replace them, and I have zero faith in Rodgers finding said replacements. We got CL football last season and our biggest targets were Lallana and Lovren - that says it all IMO.

The first team needs 3 changes:

- RCB
- DM
- ST

Essentially, it's a spine. But the biggest change is to come from structural changes on the pitch. We need more structure and discipline, we need our defenders to hold a line, we need a midfield to control games.

Based on what I've seen from Rodgers in the past 3 years, it seems as if he doesn't appreciate the importance of a defence or midfield.

So we need one more player then...

- RCB
- DM (Milner)
- ST (Ings)

...<whistle> :bandit: <badger>
 
Where do you all see Milner playing?

I'd have thought your midfield would look a bit like this;

---------------------- DM -----------------------------
----------- BBM --------------------------------------
----------------------------- AM ----------------------

So at the moment;

------------------ Can / Lucas ---------------------
------- Milner / Allen -------------------------------
------------------------ Coutinho / Henderson --


Your problems being that;
1) Rodgers seems unwilling to play Can at DM
2) Lucas is not the footballer he was and should have been shipped out by now
3) You have 3 Box to Box midfielders (Milner, Allen and Henderson)....could one of them be converted to a DM? Henderson?
4) If Coutinho is injured or off form you are not nearly as creative a team. You need somebody else there to compete with him.


Did you really need Milner?
Have I got it wrong and he'll play wide / AM / or even DM (as he gets older) ?

IMO a top team should have 2 players for every position, the other 3 spots in the squad being utility players in defence, midfield and attack.
As an outsider it appears obvious to me that you need a young, busy, physical defensively minded player to compete with Can protecting the defence.
It also appears obvious that you need somebody to create and score goals from midfield along with Coutinho.

If we count Milner or Henderson as a utility midfielder you still need to sign an AM.
IMO you need to replace Lucas with a DM also.
 
Where do you all see Milner playing?

I'd have thought your midfield would look a bit like this;

---------------------- DM -----------------------------
----------- BBM --------------------------------------
----------------------------- AM ----------------------

So at the moment;

------------------ Can / Lucas ---------------------
------- Milner / Allen -------------------------------
------------------------ Coutinho / Henderson --


Your problems being that;
1) Rodgers seems unwilling to play Can at DM
2) Lucas is not the footballer he was and should have been shipped out by now
3) You have 3 Box to Box midfielders (Milner, Allen and Henderson)....could one of them be converted to a DM? Henderson?
4) If Coutinho is injured or off form you are not nearly as creative a team. You need somebody else there to compete with him.


Did you really need Milner?
Have I got it wrong and he'll play wide / AM / or even DM (as he gets older) ?

IMO a top team should have 2 players for every position, the other 3 spots in the squad being utility players in defence, midfield and attack.
As an outsider it appears obvious to me that you need a young, busy, physical defensively minded player to compete with Can protecting the defence.
It also appears obvious that you need somebody to create and score goals from midfield along with Coutinho.

If we count Milner or Henderson as a utility midfielder you still need to sign an AM.
IMO you need to replace Lucas with a DM also.

We should switch back to the diamond system:

GK
RB - RCB - LCB - LB
DM
Milner - - - - - - Hendo
Coutinho
FW - FW​

Let Can fight it out with Hendo and Milner
 
We should switch back to the diamond system:

GK
RB - RCB - LCB - LB
DM
Milner - - - - - - Hendo
Coutinho
FW - FW​

Let Can fight it out with Hendo and Milner

You don't see Can as a DM then?


You had some success with this system so I understand where you are coming from but to me there is not a lot of pace/width in that team.
We played a similar system quite a bit last year, usually when we wanted to stifle the opposition....depends on the quality up front though I suppose.
The front 3 of Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling made it work for you because they all had pace, a trick and the ability to play in wide areas.

At present you'll have only Sturridge who can do that lining up for you next season....whether it could work would depend on Liverpool signing the right players with the Sterling money I suppose.

Who would you sign to play up top with Sturridge Gerrez?
What would you do with Ballotelli?
If Coutinho is injured or off form who would you play in the hole?
 
You don't see Can as a DM then?


You had some success with this system so I understand where you are coming from but to me there is not a lot of pace/width in that team.
We played a similar system quite a bit last year, usually when we wanted to stifle the opposition....depends on the quality up front though I suppose.
The front 3 of Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling made it work for you because they all had pace, a trick and the ability to play in wide areas.

At present you'll have only Sturridge who can do that lining up for you next season....whether it could work would depend on Liverpool signing the right players with the Sterling money I suppose.

Who would you sign to play up top with Sturridge Gerrez?
What would you do with Ballotelli?
If Coutinho is injured or off form who would you play in the hole?

I personally don't see Can as a DM, his reactions are the best, nor does he have great acceleration. IMO, that two key critical attributes for a DM. However, I do think Brod will play him there. Brod doesn't like true DMs, he seems to like Holding midfielders that can play too; hence Gerrard being put there for a while.

No way I'd play Balotelli, we should never have signed him and I'd happily give him away to the first phone call! I wanted us to sign Aubameyang and Tevez (admittedly very unlikely) but with Ings arriving and us already having Studge, Origi, Lambert, Borini and Balotelli, we don't have much room even if we shift the latter three on.

As usual, we'll **** up the transfers, have a poor start to the seaosn before stumbling across a system that works.
 
Can can play DM but he needs to be coached in such a role which will take a little while.

Personally, he needs to be playing as a CM, and in the long run, he will displace Henderson (if it was a straight choice).

I'd rather start Can and Hendo in the middle though, which means Milner can play on the wing but judging by all accounts, he came to play CM so I'll be surprised if he doesn't.

Either way - all 3 players above NEED a DM in order to get the best out of them.
 
I would play Sturridge and Mario together - they both need a partner and our best attacking performances came when either Sturridge or Sterling were partnered with Mario.

But judging by last season, I think Rodgers will use 4-2-3-1 which really does not suit our players.
 
I hope I am wrong about Milner but he has been average until he joined City. So it is possible he has improved a lot. But I think he is one of those players who play well in a team of top players. with the likes of Yaya Toure and Aguero.

In an ordinary team, he might be ....ordinary. He would have been perfect if Suarez was with us. Works very hard and does the dirty work.
 
I hope I am wrong about Milner but he has been average until he joined City. So it is possible he has improved a lot. But I think he is one of those players who play well in a team of top players. with the likes of Yaya Toure and Aguero.

In an ordinary team, he might be ....ordinary. He would have been perfect if Suarez was with us. Works very hard and does the dirty work.

He was average at City as well.

I'm in a minority but I don't rate Milner that highly - the things that fans are expecting from Milner are the same things that Henderson already provides.

As you say, put Milner in a team full of stars and he will look good. But him in our team and he'll look average like those around him.

There is a myth that he's a good central midfielder - has rarely played there throughout his whole career bar one season at Villa. He's been poor in CM at City and England in the few times he has played there. If we brought him in as a winger, then I can kinda see the logic because he is very good at crossing.
 
20 year old who is paid £35,000 per week to keep himself in the best possible shape and condition to be able to perform at the highest footballing level he is capable off takes laughing gas whilst on holiday.

Shock.

Fixed :)

To say he wants a more to a 'bigger club' so increase his chances of winning things, he's not going the right way about it is he <laugh>
 
Laughing gas is literally the safest recreation he could possibly do

True but its not really the point is it. He shouldn't be doing it. If he wants to do that sort of things then he should be expecting the exposure to come with it as a professional and international footballer.
 
True but its not really the point is it. He shouldn't be doing it. If he wants to do that sort of things then he should be expecting the exposure to come with it as a professional and international footballer.

Why shouldn't he be doing it? It's the same as drinking which I'm sure every footballer does on their time off.

It's harmless (in moderation as are most things), he's 20 years old and the season is over.

It's the same with Jack Grealish - do people expect footballers to be professionl that way 24/7, 365 days a year?

As usual, the media want to sensationalise everything.
 
Why shouldn't he be doing it? It's the same as drinking which I'm sure every footballer does on their time off.

It's harmless (in moderation as are most things), he's 20 years old and the season is over.

It's the same with Jack Grealish - do people expect footballers to be professionl that way 24/7, 365 days a year?

As usual, the media want to sensationalise everything.

Yes!
 
Little unfair mate. <ok>

Not entirely a straight up answer either <laugh>

Players should be able to do things but the simple matter is they can't. They get paid vast sums of money to not only look after themselves but to be role models for millions of kids around the world. Safe or not, he shouldn't be seen doing it. What he does in privacy is a different matter.
 
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