Yesterday’s team sheet for Liverpool offered few shocks, with the expected returns of Reina and Kuyt, plus Jovanovic and Cole making their league debuts. Torres’ name on the bench meant Ngog started up front – but one senior player was conspicuous by his absence.
Alberto Aquilani, last season’s £20m signing, was nowhere to be seen. With Lucas, Maxi and Babel offering the midfield and attacking options, our Italian schemer failed to make the match day squad after featuring in both of our qualifying matches against Rabotnicki.
At first glance, this could be construed as either a serious oversight on the part of the management – surely he offered more than, for example, Ryan Babel last season? – or a clear indication of the perceived value of Aquilani to the team.
However, cast a wider view and this can be seen as not only a good thing for the team but also something which may become commonplace this season. Not necessarily with always Aquilani being left out, but certainly one or two senior players.
A strong 7-man bench would generally consist of a ‘keeper, a full back and a centre back, two midfielders and two attackers, of varying positions depending on the system of the team in question.
With Babel, Cole, Maxi, Aquilani, Kuyt and Jovanovic offering competition for our attacking midfield places, it seems clear that at least one of these might always have to miss out on a squad place for each match day, which while maybe being irksome for the unlucky one or two is surely a huge benefit for Liverpool Football Club.
Our bench last season on the opening day consisted of Cavalieri, Kelly, Ayala, Dossena, Spearing, Benayoun and Voronin – 3 at-the-time untested youth players, plus massive under-achievers Dossena and Voronin.
That team was not without its injuries, as Aquilani, Agger, Riera and Degen were all missing, but should the loss of four seniors mean 3 youth players are needed? The squad we have at the moment is only missing Benayoun, Riera and Degen from last season, neither of the latter two whom made any real contribution to the campaign, and already we have Wilson, Aquilani, Poulsen, Insua and Kyrgiakos who did not make the bench for the first league game. This shows we have an improved squad depth from last season, which was a real factor at times when we had ten or eleven players injured at once.
Of course, it is still possible that the likes of Mascherano, Cavalieri and others may leave, on loan or permanently, but with one or two more new faces we may have the strength in depth needed to put in a decent challenge in all four competitions this season.
Allied to that, the youngsters who were blooded last term have all got an extra few months and few games experience under their belts and several, including Spearing and especially Kelly, look set to play a big part in our first season under Roy Hodgson.
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Surely this is exactly what “team player depth” means? Don’t understand if anyone questioned where any individual player is ( and that includes Torres and Gerard ).Player depth by nature of the beast means player exclusion at all times…
Aquilani should be in that squad, he’s a briliant player very skill and can give some killer passes. Roy should play him behind torres on sunday.
I am also a little miffed about Aqua being left out. I agree as well with the fact that we have more depth this season and the fact that we didn’t have any last year is what was so detrimental. When the likes of Torres, Gerrard & other key players were hurt we had no where to turn. This year it looks quite different and with a couple of more players in we could even be strong enough to compete with the likes of Chelsea and United.
Aqua should be given his chance..
Aquilani should be sold ASAP. He will not settle into the hurly burly of Premier League football and he probably misses Rome too much. Italians might settle in London but they don’t do too well elsewhere in Premier League teams.
He was Benitez’s stupidest buy – along with Keane- because he is always injured and not physical enough for the Prem. To think we could have got Wesley Sneijder in the Alonso deal last summer if Benitez knew what he was doing. He didn’t, and we got Aquilani and Benitez got sacked.
Liverpool look set and forecast now. Sunday game was wonderful and enjoyed our style and fighting spirit. We will even have more strong squad. Takeover !!! Takeover !!! should be finalised the earliest possible. Come on Mascherano make up you mind and stay this is a different Liverpool from last season.
I still would’nt rule out us selling Aqua.
the squad depth is more or less the same as last year and still has the same glaring weaknesses as last year’s squad. namely a second top quality striker, quality reliable left back and top notch winger.
our transfers so far this window seem to be like for replacements in terms of squad depth. we hope that these replacements will increase squad quality but that remains to be seen.
e.g.
Cole swapped for Benayoun
Jova swapped for Riera
Wilson swapped for mikel san jose
Degen out on loan and Kelly looks to have secured permanent promotion to the first in his stead
Brad Jones appears to be a swap for Cavalieri; Poulsen seems to be a swap for Mascherano. Insua also looks set to leave and expect a replacement there too (Konchesky is being linked again). We will have to wait on these development before we come to a conclusion.
There has been a standard level of additions to the reserves such as with Shelvey; and Ngog looks to be maturing nicely and may add more to last year first team exploits.
The net spend of transfers for the financial year Aug 2009 to Aug 10 was a surplus of 27 million* so it would be a minor miracle if both the squad depth and quality could be improved with such financial constraints.
* source http://www.anfieldroad.com/news/201007273796/hodgson-torres-looking-forward-to-return.html/#more-3796
Since the start of the season that saw LFC come second, Keane, Voronin, Dossena, Riera, Benayoun, Arbeloa, Hyppia and Alonso have all left the club. Masch looks set to follow. In my opinion our squad is considerably weaker than that ‘almost there’ team.
Amazing that some people are still slagging Rafa. Hey, he is gone now, get on with things! Sounds like an article relating to rotating players… which all big clubs do when fighting in numerous cup competitions.
aquilani is not for sale, he will play a big part for us this season. joe cole will need matches to get up to speed. it would probably be better to play him in one of the wide positions of the three behind torres.
the position behind torres is made for aquilani because he is a more fluent player moving the ball quickly.
i’m concerned that roy is pandering to player demands and that would be a mistake. I’m sure joe would be just as happy as long as he plays most games.
for those always suggesting we should sell players, one question. where does that money go when players have been sold?
Damn roy give the lad a chance to impress that’s quality addition to the team!!! let’s say aqua and gerrard in midfield role with cole infront of them torress as foward and on wings kuyt and jova!!!
Great Article!
Aqua will get his chance now that cole is suspended PROVIDED that roy doesn’t chuck poulsen in alongside masch and moves gerrard behind torres/ngog.
As mentioned above, aqua benefits from being played higher up the pitch.
But with cole and gerrard also being tailor made for that role, you wonder how it’ll pan out.
Aquilani will start Thursday – Mark my words. Roy knows exactly what he is doing. With the overload of matches coming up this season, he knows he will need two teams, one for the League and one of Europe. Aquilani comes in to the latter plans, and while I think he will get his time in the League, it is in Europe where he will shine.
I Hope Hodgson starts playing Aquilani, I Hope he plays on thursday and i hope he plays next monday against Man City.
As i think if we play 3 in the middle, I think Mascherano, Gerrard and Aquilani is our strongest 3.
And i think them 3 will trouble Yaya, Barry and De Jong all game and keep us on the front foot, I also hope Hodgson starts to use Babel out wide right wing forward if we play 4 3 3 and jovanovic wide left with Torres if he is ready or Ngog.
As the pace, trickery,quality and class would work wonders for our club and we would be able to take the game to teams, whether at Home or Away.
Hodgson just needs to bring in another good, solid, quick reliable left back(Taiwo), Another striker (G Agbonglahor Or L Podolski) and another out and out winger ( A Turan Or Jesus Navas)
Kelly seemed good last season, Hodgosn should make first team player out of him.
Spearing didn’t show he has what it takes.
i thnk cole on left aquilani,gerrard,macherano in middle play babel or maboo on the rte wiv jovanovic up front
This is just temporary. In no time injuries will pile up and the matchday squad will choose itself. Real depth means you could have only 15 players fit and still put out a winning team. That, we don’t have. Need more money for that part.
No real loss anyhow. All Alberto Aquilani does whenever he gets to play is incorporate his fanciful “back-heel flicks”, many of which were poorly executed. Those that were successful do not actually help the flow of play whatsoever. To the uninitiated, these flicks might seem like “poetry in motion, but the truth is he is simply one-dimensional.
I think Roy will keep Aquilani but i am not convinced he can cut it physically a very skilled player though.