D Wilson – Hasn’t had too much action this season but Kenny seems keen. Keep.
Carragher – Should not be a first choice next season by anybody’s estimations but he still has a future here. Should be pushed back into the 10-20 game a season vet that Sami Hyypia was a few seasons ago next season. Keep.
Ngog – It breaks my heart to say it, as I have always liked Ngog’s attitude and he has a future as a decent striker. But if better players (see Pacheco) are to be given a chance next season, then David will need to be moved on. His sale should bring in somewhere around £3-5 million though, so it’ll add to our warchest in the summer. Possibly Let Go.
Reina – I don’t even need to explain my reasoning on this one and frankly, if there’s anybody who is of the opinion that we should sell while his stock is high, then you should walk off a roof somewhere. Keep.
Spearing – I appreciate he has played well lately but I’m still not convinced. However, he deserves a decent crack next season and that means that the next man on this list must be moved on next season. Keep (reluctantly).
Poulsen – I feel sorry for Poulsen, I really do, and I may be the only one. He has suffered in a way a number of older foreign players have suffered over the years: he was just too old to adapt when he arrived in the Premier League. A few years earlier, and who knows… If younger players are to be tried next season, he needs to be moved on. Get Rid.
Darby – All but anonymous this year and hasn’t impressed me nearly enough when I’ve seen him in the past. Get Rid.
Shelvey – Still one for the future but almost certainly one for the present too. I envisage Jonjo (what were your parents thinking?) having a good year next year and perhaps even breaking into the England squad. He will be first choice by the start of 2012-13. Keep.
Kelly – Once fit, Kelly should be given the right back spot next season. He was unlucky to get injured when he did but he showed enough promise this year to deserve the chance to make the position his own in the next season. Keep.
Skrtel – Unfairly seen as just a ‘decent’ defender. A lot of people seem to forget the defensive rock that Martin has shown himself to be in the past. Perhaps the only constant in our defence this season, he has seen his form ebb and flow from good to poor but this was mostly because he has rarely had the same back four – never mind partner – from one week to the next. Whoever partners him, he should be our first choice centre back next season. Keep.
Flanagan – He looks decent. That’s all I’ll commit to at the moment. He hasn’t set the world alight yet, though and he looks like he’ll need a lot of guidance and pats on the back. Keep.
Ayala – For me, Ayala should either be given a chance in the first team squad next season or be moved on. He’s a good young centre back that deserves a future in football, not to be kept around the fringes of our reserves for the next few years until it’s too late for him to progress. Keep (but only if there’s a future for him).
Gulacsi – Should be Reina’s understudy next season. Keep.
Robinson – Looks a better player than Flanagan but looked even more a ‘deer in the headlights’ than Flanagan did in his first game. If he can shake the nerviness and learn from the experience of the likes of Carragher, then he has a future. Keep.
Aquilani – Now that we have money to throw around, we should never be forced to sell any player for less than they’re worth. It’s simple, if somebody is willing to pay the asking price, let him go. If not, he should be given a proper role next season and we should use pre-season to toughen the Italian up. Keep (unless there’s a willing taker).
Degen – Hasn’t had a future here, pretty much since he first arrived. Get Rid.
El Zhar – Was a decent substitute a few years back but he’s too old to improve anymore now. If we can get £1 million for him now, that’d be a steal and we should snap the hands off of anybody willing to buy. Get Rid.
Insua – Another one that not everybody fancies but I think he has a future as an Argentinean international. And like Maxi, if he’s good enough to play for Argentina then surely he has a future at Liverpool? However, if we’re offered a few million for him, it may be time to cash in. Get Rid (unless we don’t get a top left back).
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Just like to point out, Brad Jones hasn’t been playing due to his kid being ridiculously ill from luekemia. I’d amend this blog if i were you, seems pretty heartless to say ‘get rid’ when he’s not been playing for pretty serious family reasons.
Funny that Joe – Brad Jones is on loan to Derby until the end of the season. Saw him on telly playing for them last week!
If you knew anything about Brad Jones and Liverpool, you’d know that the guy’s been out on loan to Derby where he’s been their first choice. The fact that his son’s suffering from leukemia has not meant that he can’t play football. It’s clear that Kenny prefers the younger and more talented Peter Gulacsi to Brad Jones so getting rid of this guy is a no brainer.
You were not decisive enough in your article. Also you intend to keep too much of our dead wood.
I don’t like this article at all
A lot of this post is wide of the mark never mind the the Jones one.
Can we have some examples please anon!!!
I would love to see the club do the following:
SELL:
Agger/Skrtel 12m
Aurelio 0
Cole 5m
Jovanovic 1.5m
Kyrgiakos 1.5m
N’gog 3.5m
Poulsen 2m
Aquilani 12m
Konchesky 2m
El Zhar 1m
Degen 0
Total in: £40.5m
BUY
LB: David Santon, 20 (Inter) £10-12m
CB: Neven Subotic, 22 (Dortmund) £17-20m
CM: Fernando Gago, 25 (Madrid) £10-12m
LW/LF: Ashley Young, 26 (Villa) £12-15m
RW/RF: Eden Hazard, 20 (Lille) £20-30m
(CF: experienced backup or promising youngster £5m)
Total out: £69-89m
net spend: £19.5-39.5m
Squad for next season: (1st/2nd choice)
GK: Reina, Gulacsi
RB: Johnson, Kelly
LB: SANTON, Insua
CB1: Agger/Skrtel, Carra
CB2: SUBOTIC, Ayala
DM/CM1: Lucas, Spearing
CM2: Gerrard, GAGO (deep lying creative mid – Pirlo is available for free)
AMC: Meireles/Shelvey
LF: Suarez/YOUNG
RF: HAZARD/Kuyt
CF: Carroll/ OTHER??
THAT would be a top quality side which could compete for the title. At a max investment of £40m, it is also not unrealistic for FSG.
Jones has also spent the past few months on loan to Derby – a loan which has not gone very well. Sell.
Insúa – we should keep him as 2nd choice to a new LB, something we desperately need. Davide Santon of Inter would be my choice – maybe in a swap deal with Aquilani if we can manage it.
Skrtel/Agger – not convinced about either, one due to form, the other due to fitness. only one should be kept, with the Dane the better player when fit. A new top class CB is needed.
Agree with this and the players brought in seem to be realistic buys, although have not heard much about this subotic guy!! who needs damien comolli!!haha
Ok, that is a good list etc. but…. Jovanovic would fetch alot more than 1.5 million because he is still a top quality player. Also, why not save your money and Keep Agger/ Skrtel and not buy Subotic as they are both really good Center Halves. Other than that though, well done 🙂
For Aquilani, its £16 million or nothing in my view.
Good choice on Santon btw, I have him in my Fifa 11 Liverpool team.. 😛
How do you figure that Robinson looks better than Flanagan, or that Flanagan looked a deer in headlights on his debut?? :-/
Then again, how do you figure that the last game was out of character for Maxi (or Kuyt) because they’ve had a few good games recently in a season full of sh1te??
You also say that Skrtel’s form ebbs and flows because he doesn’t know who’s playing next to him each week, but no such allowance is given to Agger not knowing if he was playing in any given week at all? I’d MUCH rather stick Kelly in at centreback than continue to wait for Skrtel to eradicate the regular ‘rookie’ mistakes from his game. It would also make far more sense to offer Insua a new contract than to offer another one to Aurelio.
I can’t be bothered to go through the whole article right now anyway, but Lucas was far and away the most improved player of the season… moreso than Bale, Nasri or Nani?? I know that he had a far lower starting point than most regular starters in a ‘top 4’ team, but still!
Agree on most players, but for me Kryiakgos needs to be sold, he makes too many stupid mistakes and is getting old. I’m not really sure how Robinson and Flanagan were ‘deer’s in the headlights’ on their debuts, they both did well, particualrly Robinson, who was up against Walcott. I also think Aurelio has to go, he is quite a good player, but is always injured and is getting on a bit. I’d rather see us buy a top class left back and keep Insua as an understudy. I’m also not convinced about Maxi, he has had a good few weeks, but for about a year before that he was very poor, and only seems to be good at shooting.
Good article though mate.
Agree with most of your comments mate. What’s up with Jay Walker again!! He never agrees with anyone on this site. SO superior – never offers us his great insights just criticism (usually of the writers)this is just a bit of fun mate so get a life. or you could try writing an interesting article yourself. Oh sorry, your probably can’t be bothered.
I assume that that was supposed to be a funny play on my name eh sonny jim? If so, I think you’re sadly mistaken – I rarely say anything about people on the internet, as we’re all just anonymous random names. I agree or disagree with people’s opinions, not with the person, and it is irrelevant to me who I am agreeing or disagreeing with.
Anyway just for you, a quick general roundup of my ‘great insights’ – my arguments typically center around the ideas that;
– I want Liverpool to be title contenders not just battling for 4th place
– in order to be title contenders quality wingers should be a priority
– we can’t stick with the same players that have failed the team so miserably over the last two years and expect them to suddenly start leading us to win anything
– players that have figured heavily over the last two years should be held far more accountable for our failures than players that were on the sidelines.
– older/higher paid players should be expected to lead the team. Younger/lesser paid players can easily fill ‘squad’ roles and be carried by their teammates
– we need more pace, power and technically gifted players throughout the team. A team full of limited ‘triers’ can only get you so far
– you can win a title with a few limited triers/ passengers regularly in the team. You can’t win it with as many as our team is currently carrying
– if all else is practically equal, we’d be better off sticking with the younger or more athletic player
– just because we haven’t seen some of our fringe players play in a certain fashion, that does not prove that they are incapable of doing so
– Benitez is not worthy of the continued deification that he receives from the IRWT brigade
Let yourself down with a few there
Ngog has to go
Pacheco can also go
Soto has to go. He’s very good in the air but he’s too slow and makes way too many mistakes, can’t afford to rely on this guy at the back anymore. As much as I like Aurelio, he has to go as well. He’s top class when he’s playing but there’s no point keeping a player who can only play 10-15 games a season. Amoo and Eccleston should also go, can’t see them making it at Liverpool.
Our KD if you buy some players i have request to buy these players first joe cole jovanovic poulson shevley koncheskey if if you buy these players please do not buy kyriagos agger aurelia ngog they’ll the future of the team} loan players firs ngog jones insua he’ll continu his loan also elzahar pachecho ins players in the club next season firs n’zogbia ashly young hazard aquilani jesus navas tht’s wht i would like to do our coach KD they are good players in the world
Great read, and a fairly good judgement on the players to be sold/kept.
I agree with the most.
hibernian13 who says Agger and Skrtel should be sold is clearly out of his mind… sorry. They are both quality players and true Reds which is extremely important. They do have their respective flaws, but who doesn’t.
I won’t be surprised if you (hibernian13) are one of those ‘supporters’ who whispers in the corners that Gerrard has no future in the team….
Great read, and a fairly good judgement on the players to be sold/kept.
I agree with the most.
hibernian13 who says Agger and Skrtel should be sold is clearly out of his mind… sorry. They are both quality players and true Reds which is extremely important. They do have their respective flaws, but who doesn’t.
I won’t be surprised if you (hibernian13) are one of those ‘supporters’ who whispers in the corners that Gerrard has no future in the team….
Il be the first to say it, give poulsen 1 more season, he has something, he was a very classy player in his day, i always thought he was great during world cups, even fergie tried to get him at the time.
Just like maxi, slow starter but he has something in him and i think he will turn good, he just needs confidence just like maxi did and joe cole does