In a recent newspaper interview, the new Liverpool Manager Roy Hodgson said:
“We have to find a basis of English players because of the way UEFA and Premier League rules are going. We’ve got to get more home-grown players otherwise we’re going to struggle to get our squad numbers together. Kenny Dalglish can play a very, very important role in this. The club has already brought in a couple of players like Jonjo Shelvey and Raheem Sterling. Top English talent. We have finished the World Cup with more players than any other team but looking at the squad at Melwood, it did seem very small in terms of seniors.”
Over the last few years of his time in charge, Rafa spent quite a substantial amount of money on talented young players, the majority of which were foreign. The reasoning for this foreign policy? Talented, young English players don’t come cheap.
From his recent comments Roy Hodgson looks set to strengthen the Liverpool squad by recruiting the services of some top English players. This is a decision that will be welcomed by many Liverpool fans. The question is who can we afford to sign? This, of course will depend on summer departures.
Personally I would welcome players such as Micah Richards, Stephen Ireland, Ashley Young and James Milner but the combined cost of these players would be roughly £60m (and that’s for a list of players that are either out of form or can’t get into their current sides first team, with the exception of Milner).
I believe that Liverpool will find it incredibly hard to sign the type of high quality, British player that we need to both satisfy UEFA regulations and to take the football club forward. They are just too expensive. In my opinion there are only 2 scenarios which would enable Liverpool to compete for such players. Cash in on Torres and Gerrard or find new owners, and quickly!
As I don’t want to get into the debate of whether we should or shouldn’t sell our prized assets, let us be stupidly optimistic for a moment. Allow me to wave my magic wand and put new rich, Middle Eastern owners in charge by tomorrow morning. Which British talent would you like to see Liverpool move for?
[youtube GxCaIrG-V0s&feature=player_embedded]
Follow us on twitter @live4Liverpool
Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at editor@live4liverpool.com
Arsenal are a pile of crap!!!!!
If money was no option, you would look to take the Man City, Aston Villa and Tottenham team’s English players and build on their future for ours.
Realistically we only have not too much to spend. Man City will try to offload some of their squad. M. Johnson, Ireland, SWP and Santa Cruz are probably available at a good price.
Joe Cole won’t leave London.
Shawcross will end up at Utd after they buy him for 25 mil.
I can’t see us buying an English left back. It seems Figeroa is on the move to us.
Things are going to be really really hard for us to buy the names people expect LFC to be associated with. Our best hope is to sell Riera, Insua, El Zhar and Mascherano for 35 mil – buy a few players and promote from the academy / reserves.
Gary Cahill,Leighton Baines,Gareth Bale,Alex Smithies,Wayne Henessy,Micah Richards,Lee Cattermole,James Milner,Ashley Young,Joe Cole,Peter Crouch,Carlton Cole,Stephen Ireland{not british but homegrown}
any of the above would be welcomed
As FIFA scrapped all plans for these rules prior to the World Cup surely all this is now pointless ? .
Scott Parker… Can’t understand the obsession with Warnock.. Someone even suggested spending £12m on him!! He’s 29 this year but looks as though he’s making his debut in every match. He looks nervous and slow and is no where near good enough — even for Aston Villa!!!
is stephen (ben stiller) wornock really 29? for 5 mil would be well worth a shout. cattermole would be ideal replacement for the departure of macherano. but really, wot british players are really worth there price tags. the talk of torres been given a 100m price tag sounds ridiculous. if we can get that much for a guy who only plays 50%of games in a season then il take him to his new club myself. say we do get that for him how much of that money does anyone think woy hodgeson will actually get to spend. bout a quarter of it if hes lucky. ynwa
Gosling would be a more than useful player to pick up on the cheap… other than that i think the onus has to be on developing players like Pacheco, who as far as I understand, will qualify as a ‘British’ player, due to the length of time he has been at Anfield… the two parasites have backed us into this corner, now we have to either adapt and come out fighting, or just slink off into obscurity, licking our wounds…
Players I’d like to see
Scott Parker (replace Mascherano)
Ashley Young
Zavon Hines (West Ham youngster – lots of potential)
And we need a right back and a left back
Let Riera, Mascherano (whinger) and Babel go.
We need a right back because Johnson can’t defend (as he proved at the World Cup) but he should convert to Right Midfield as he is good going forward.
Have to admit that some of these player suggestions are laughable considering the mess the club is in (The Man ‘Scum’ Utd are even worst off that we are!!!)
I just wish RH would take a look at the reserves and youth available to him as we have players like:
Kelly
Darby
Peccho
Nemeth etc
To move forward Liverpool needs to make one or two first team signings and then concentrate on youthful players who we can farm out the first season or bring them through the reserves and use them in the Carling cup\FA cup.
Liverpool even if they get new owners need to build a base for the next few seasons and keep brining through players like Carragher,Gerrard,Owen,Foweler who all came from our youth setup.
What English players would I like to see at Liverpool?
Joe Hart (future England Keeper)
S Taylor (Should get him from toon for £6m)
M Upson (A bid of £6 to £8m from West ham)
S W Phillips (If we could get a good deal)
M Carrick (If it was Possible)
Possible Team Line up:
GK: Renia
DR: M Kelly
DL: E Insua
DC: S Taylor
DC: Upson
MR: S W Phillips
ML: R Babbel
MC: S Gerrard
MC: M Carrick
SC: Torres (if he doesn’t go)
SC: K Nemeth
A lot of if’s and but’s here I know but since we don’t have the funds then we need to start producing players like the old Liverpool did.
CROUCH WAS A HIT AT LIVERPOOL, crouch left becasue he was not getting regular football. he has said that in lfc tv, fact.
crouch is a hug player to have in the english league, gerrard likes crouch and has also rated crouch in many times coming out and saying good things about crouch.
in a ideal world we would buy james milner becasue we dont have the money to buy over 4/5 great players, so we need proven versatility, and james milner is a good right back and a good all round midfielder, then crouch as up top with torres or gerro as he has done before, then id go for joe cole as something a bit different.
with the money we have this will not happen unless we sell but if we did let javier go then we could try for this?
REINA
JOHNSON CARRAGHER SKRTEL AGGER
MILNER GERRARD AQULIANI COLE
J.COLE TORRES
SORRY MISTAKE I POSTED COLE X2 ? SORRY GUYS!!! I WOULD HAVE CROUCH UP TOP WITH NANDO AND COLE ON THE LEFT
Really don’t get why everyone wants Milner. He’s average. The only English players I’d want are Joe Cole, maybe Warnock, and either Bentley or SWP.
Obviously that’s being realistic. Can’t really see us getting Ashley Cole and Rooney.
Scott Parker – to replace Mascherano
Craig Bellamy – to support Torres/ or replace him when Torres is injured
Heintze for our left back position – I know he’s not british but he would be real good for us there