With big decisions set to be made over the summer regarding the futures of Liverpool’s players, I am especially interested in seeing what happens to both David Ngog and Dani Pacheco. Even though he is still considered a young player with potential, it is fair to say that David Ngog has largely been disappointing during his time at Liverpool. Pacheco hasn’t exactly been superb on the rare occasions he has featured but at least with him you can say that he hasn’t been given enough opportunities to show his potential.
I’m always wary whenever Liverpool sell a relatively young player because you never know what level they will eventually reach in their career. Over the years we’ve seen plenty of examples of players being let go by clubs for not developing fast enough only to fulfil their potential elsewhere, hence why a team should always be extra careful when choosing to sell a youngster.
In the case of David Ngog I strongly believe he would benefit from a season-long loan to another Premier League club. He’s actually not that bad a player but seems to be affected by low confidence at times which therefore leads to inconsistent performances. When you consider that he finished this season as one of Liverpool’s top scorers with 8 goals (5 of which were from the Europa League) then you definitely can’t refer to him as a flop.
There is no doubt Ngog has some good attributes such as his speed and height, which can be incorporated into his game more if he gets more playing time. That playing time however, should be at another club on loan next season. It really is a win-win situation sending Ngog out on loan. Firstly, it frees up space in the squad for us to get a readymade understudy to support Carroll, Suarez and Kuyt up front. Secondly, if he ends up having a good campaign for his new club, we can then have him back the following season knowing that we can rely on him as a good source for goals. Thirdly, if he doesn’t have the greatest season while on loan we can definitely still sell him for a good profit (although I wouldn’t quite expect us to get the £8 million which has been put on his head).
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As they ARE still young then putting them out on loan where they cam get a proper number of games under their belts seems the logical thing to do. Don’t you agree Mr Spock? Yes Captain , perfectly logical!
I think Pacheco taken us obvious to see. I think he can be very good if played in his prefered role which is playing behind the forwards. Dont know y kenny didn’t give as much opportunity to Pacheco considering he was our best young talent ahead of both sprearing and Shelvey?
Finally someone who doesn’t slate Ngog for not scoring 20 goals a season. He has been disappointing at times but so has every Liverpool player this season and remember, hes still young. I think that in a Liverpool team that is playing well he might be of some use…he did look lively in the villa game but it was too late.
Sell the two of them now, neither of them will make the grade because Ngog has no ability or heart and Pacheco has no speed,size or strength.
“neither of them will make the grade because … Pacheco has no speed,size or strength.”
I’m not saying that he’s in the same league, but that’s what some people said about Messi when he was 20 (as Pacheco is now).
You could even apply that description to Xabi and Iniesta.
Pacheco is more suited to the style of play in La Liga so LFC should sell him now while they can still fool some club to buy him.
and Kenny…I ask you this…what if he blossoms to be a great player, which he has the skill to do! What is worth now..may be £2m. Are willing to let him go? I DON’T THINK SO! Isn’t Raheem and Suso small? of course, but they along with Dani are all kids! Ngog isn’t a flop either, he’s just not strong and good enough! period! worth more like £4m and should of been loaned out a long time ago! Place them both on loans and them play play and play! Experience is key and playing 1 or 2 short appearances a season for ‘Pool will not help this young gem we have! So the speed,size or strength crap is just that! CRAP!
There is no point in holding onto Ngog as it is clear that like Babel he has no real interest in improving his career prospects at Liverpool, he has had plenty of chances off the bench this season and has been dreadful. Pacheco does not have the speed to compensate for his lack of size and strength to survive in the Premiership so it is delusionary for people to think he can be a success in the first team at Liverpool.
The pass and move style of football that LFC is supposed to aspire to is more suited to La Liga also. Silva, Wilshere and Scholes don’t have exceptional speed to make up for their lack of size of strength either, but as with Pacheco and Suso the quality on the ball makes a massive difference. Maxi, Lucas & Meireles lack speed, size and strength, or any exceptional quality, yet many deem them to be ‘successes’ at Liverpool.
Even Robinson and Flanagan that you are convinced are good enough, don’t have much speed, size or strength either.
Jay,
good point with David Silva, another small and light weight player who some said would not be able to survive the knocks of the EPL and is more suited to La Liga. I’d say he was Man City’s best creative player last year outdoing Milner and Johnson.
Jay: Exactly where are you getting it from that Flanagan and Robinson are not fast? I saw plenty of evidence of this in their appearances this season. Pacheco is 5 foot six inches, in your support of him where would you play him in the team as you say in other posts that LFC need 2 wingers in the team next season so where does he fit in? You mention Wiltshire who is younger then Pacheco but is already a Premier League regular what does that tell you about Pacheco’s lack of a killer instinct and ambition? You mention Scholes, what is commonly mentioned as a fault of Scholes-ie his poor tackling, however this shows that he has no fear about the physical side of the Premier League and English football. Can you say the same about Pacheco? You mention Silva, he is protected at City largely from the physicality of the other teams by the physical power of Yaya Toure and Nigel De Jong, where is that protection to be seen in the current LFC midfield? Silva like Torres had the element of surprise on his side this season in relation to how opposing teams dealt with him, it is too soon to deem him a success in the Premier League.
I’m basing my opinion of Flanagan and Robinson’s pace from what I’ve seen on the pitch. They both just have decent amounts of speed – they’re not slow, but I certainly wouldn’t identify them as particularly fast either.
Anyway, diving into tackles doesn’t really prove that a player like Scholes can handle the physical side of the Premiership – I would say the ability of the little guys to impose themselves on a game with the ball better exemplifies that. Silva, Benayoun, Modric etc don’t need to throw themselves into wreckless leg breaker challenges like Scholes or Cole to prove that they are manly enough for the Premiership, whereas holding onto the ball with giants snapping at their heels (something that Cole can’t do) does prove their quality.
Apparently the Championship is a far more physical game than the Premiership and Pacheco wasn’t afraid to run with the ball there (with worse pitches than he’d experience in the Prem), so there is no evidence to prove that he can’t handle physical play.
Irt where I’d play Pacheco – that would be in a central attacking role in a 433/4231, or as one of the wide forwards in a 433, as long as there is somebody prepared to stretch the play on the opposite flank. And he’d have the element of surprise too, so if that’s a guarantee for at least one good season for talented players, then I’d go with it 🙂
Btw, talk of Pacheco’s lack of ambition is a bit silly isn’t it – the guy can’t decide to play himself can he? By all accounts he’s been begging for opportunities to play first team football for a couple of years now, but not been given the opportunity.
Pacheco has hardly been given a run out in the first team and has made just 5 substitute league appearances. Kenny will not give him much playing time next season and with no Europa League, his playing time will be further reduced. Going out on loan to Norwich City will be a fantastic experience for him and will benefit him and the club long term.
Ngog needs to be sold because he is simply not good enough. His goalscoring record has been poor and has only done well in the mickey-mouse cups. He has scored just 9 league goals in 3 seasons at Anfield. This guy will not make it big at Liverpool and needs to be offloaded. Liverpool cannot afford to rely on average players like him.
we should sell ngog and keep pacheco
both not good enough, get shut NOW
pacheco tres bon joueur pardon donne lui une chance
Either loan them or play them – there’s no point in continuing with either in the reserves/just sitting on the bench. Pacheco could easily replace the likes of Cole/Maxi/Meireles/Jovanovich in the supporting roles to the striker(s), but if we do bring in a couple of quality reinforcements to go along with Gerrard, Suarez and Kuyt in that role, then he should go out on loan to a Premiership team for the whole season, rather than wait to play a couple of games in the league cup.
N’gog should go out on loan regardless, and allow us to evaluate whether he will eventually be able to do a proper job for us in the Prem (unlikely seeing as he hasn’t improved since he arrived) or just to convince another club that he is worthy of a decent transfer fee
You seem confused as to what formation you want the club to play next season. On another page you wanted wingers but now you are advocating the formations you listed above. Apart from his debut for Norwich Pacheco did precious little else in his loan spell. Why do you think such notables as Benitez and Dalglish have not deemed Pacheco ready for first team football in the Premier League, do you believe they have made a mistake? Modric gets away with it in Tottenham’s midfield because they usually have someone aggressive and physically strong like Palacios or Sandro alongside him, you said yourself Lucas does not meet that criteria.
@Kenny – You seem confused in thinking that I want Pacheco to be a starter next season – being an option on the bench is totally different to being a starter. Saying that he can occupy one of the supporting roles (that’s what the wide forwards in a 433/4231 do as well as the central attacking midfielder isn’t it?) doesn’t mean that I want him to take the place of Suarez or one of the wingers/wide forwards that I hope to see brought in during the summer.
On another note, I don’t really base my judgement of players on whether other managers/fans rate them or not. And such notables as Benitez and Dalglish have regularly picked the likes of Maxi and Kuyt for us, so do you believe they have made a mistake there or not?? (even if you do not, the answer is yes for me in answer to both questions btw)
Anyway, me advocating playing Pacheco ahead of 2 other central/holding midfielders (4231/433) is different to Modric playing as one of two central midfielders (any 442 variant). And you obviously haven’t noticed that I’ve long been saying that I hope to see a stronger, more athletic spine to the team anyway (both at CB and DM), with Lucas being relegated to a rotation role
Pacheco could’ve been a starter for the team this season though, seeing as the highly paid, experienced players ahead of him weren’t better options either short term or long term imo.
Next season though hopefully the highly paid players will be far better than him and reduce his opportunities again, hence the suggestion that he go on loan and get his lumps elsewhere
You clearly do not have any real belief in Pacheco if all you see him is as a substitute next season. Kuyt and Maxi were picked by Benitez and Dalglish to play these flank roles because players like Pacheco prefer to play down the middle and these 2 managers deemed that the likes of Gerrard had that position covered adequately. I notice the way you have changed your view from wingers to wide forwards.
It’s not a lack of belief in Pacheco’s quality, but a belief that there will/should be better options available than him in his position. I want the team to be elite asap, and I don’t see that happening by just stating that the Premiership is crap and consequently dumping a bunch of untested reserves out there. As long as better players are brought in in the summer, there is no logical reason for me to suggest that Pacheco should be a starter for Liverpool.
And no, I haven’t changed my opinion on wingers actually – an ideal window for our attack would see us bringing in Sanchez/Mata and Nzogbia/Elia – all of whom are recognised as wingers.
Just to illustrate for you anyway since you seem to be failing to get your head around how the attacking options would work for whatever whatever reason;
ST – 1. Carroll 2. Suarez 3. Kuyt
LWF – 1. Suarez 2. Nzogbia 3. Ince
RWF – 1. Sanchez 2. Nzogbia 3. Pacheco
AMF/CM – 1. Gerrard 2. Aquilani 3. Pacheco/ Suso etc.
(btw, Gerrard was injured for much of the season, and Kuyt and Maxi prefer more central roles also. And you didn’t actually answer whether you thought it was a mistake or not to play them on the flanks, much like it was a mistake for them to not play Mavinga…)
Do you really think that Kuyt and Maxi would have been picked so much by Benitez and Dalglish if they had had anyone better to play in those positions? I see Downing is no longer part of your elite squad, that was a very quick change of mind from you. Unfortunately, like so many other fans you are only pretending to want the club to create an elite youth system that like Barcelona leads to a steady stream of players for the first team squad. I see despite your hatred of Kuyt that you still include him in your elite squad which is a strange decision by you. Your elite squad from midfield up would also be physically in trouble at venues like Stoke next season.
Was I not very clear in saying that I would not really want Downing, but I’d much prefer bringing him in than another target man like Barrios, if those were the only options?? Do you even read the complete paragraphs or just fixate on certain words exclusively??
I include Kuyt in the equad because I have given up ANY hope of realistically seeing him leave Liverpool any time soon. There is far more chance of us picking up Sanchez or Mata than there is of us selling Kuyt. Btw, I don’t hate the guy anyway – stressing the point that he is totally undeserving of his place in the team, especially as wide-man, is not the same as hating the guy.
lol @ the comment about my elite squad having trouble against Stoke. Of course it would if the team was just sent out with 5 players, but seeing as there’d be another two central midfielders plus the backline and keeper, I don’t see how you came to that conclusion!
Finally, just chucking every kid into the first team at the first team isn’t creating an elite youth system. Barcelona had world class players that the youngsters could learn from and play alongside, which is a process that I’d hope to follow also. You on the other hand just want to chuck a reserve side together and actually think that that is going to lead to trophies or those players developing into worldbeaters!? Unfortunately, you like many of our fans talk a lot about your aspirations for the club, but choose to ignore what has actually led to success elsewhere
So you admit that your campaign against Kuyt was a waste of time. Stoke pummelled LFC’S physically inadequate team at Stoke in the season just gone and your elite squad physically would be too small. To get world class players the club needs to stop wasting their money signing bitpart players like Sanchez who is only another Mark Gonzalez. You forgot to mention Solomon Kalou as regards Chelsea’s striking options. How is advocating Flanagan and Robinson as the 2 fullbacks next season constitute putting a whole team of young players as the starting eleven? United and Barcelona have both proved how important it is to make youth policies work.
yep, it was a waste of time as I have no influence on the manager and the fans continue to believe that his penalties and ‘work rate’ make him a star winger. What’s your point?
Sanchez is just another Mark Gonzalez? lol What do you base that statement on? If that’s the case, Flanagan and Robinson are just more Darby’s and Warnock’s. What United and Barcelona have proved is that it is important to have world class players in the team for the youngsters to learn from.
Btw, even if you want to count Kalou as a striker (which Chelsea didn’t) that still left them with two experienced strikers and two talented, but unproven strikers that they didn’t trust, whereas I’d have three experienced strikers with the talented youngsters behind them.
Anyway, you still don’t say how you figure my ‘squad’ would be too small, when I only named the front 5 (which included Carroll, Suarez and Gerrard)? And who would your team be out of curiosity anyway?
Mark Gonzalez was once labelled the best player in Chile and he couldn’t hack it in the Premier League. Your team has none of the young players in the starting eleven,has it? Yet you compare it to Man Utd and Barcelona. Kalou plays similarly to Anelka when he plays so do you call Anelka a striker or what and if so Kalou falls under this classification. You said yourself that Kuyt’s goals return is pitiful so he can therefore hardly be classed as a viable striker option for a team with aspirations of winning the Premier League. United won the title in the season just finished with 4 strikers in their Premier League panel and not 3. Depending on the size and physicality of the opposition next season in the Premier League I would go with something like the following starting eleven: Reina,Flanagan,Carragher,Skrtel,Kelly in defence. Gerrard or Johnson(Rightwing), Lucas and Agger(Central Midfield), Robinson or Sterling (Leftwing), Up front Suarez ahead of Carroll like at home to City. On the bench: Krzgriakos,Meireles,Kuyt,Coady,Barrios,Wisdom,Suso,Silva,Morgan,Ngoo,Shelvey,Adorjan and Gulasci would form the basis of the 7 subs.
Mark Gonzalez was labelled the best player in Chile by the man desperate to get him a work permit to play over here. And being the best player IN Chile, is totally different to a player from Chile being the best winger in Serie A.
Kelly is the only youngster that would be first choice in his position in my team anyway. The rest would be waiting for the opportunity to step up due to loss of form/injuries/their own strong performances from the bench. I can’t believe that you seriously believe thta the team that you’ve suggested would be an elite team – even if the quality of the league remains as low as it was this year, that team would struggle to make the top four still!
You talk about my team being ‘pummelled’ but have proposed a team still severely lacking in athleticism or power, with untested youngsters being forced to play out of position and with your big signing sitting on the bench! How are you expecting that team to generate more goals than mine would, with Lucas and a defender in central midfield and a couple of 17 year olds on one wing, while a central midfielder or right back plays on the opposite flank??
(Btw, Anelka plays wideforward most of the time but plays centre forward when Drogba is out or the team changes formation to a 2 striker formation, whereas Kalou always played the wideforward role which is why I did not include him as a striker…)
It is hardly an achievement being labelled by you as being the best winger in Serie A as the pace of the game is so slow in Italy that for a brief time in the first half of the season even Aquilani was supposed to be looking an accomplished performer but as we now know Juventus don’t even want him on the cheap. Once more in your response it is clear that you have no interest in a serious youth policy for LFC, the young players will not learn enough by sitting in the stand or on the bench. Anyone with any bit of vision can see that Agger is wasted as a centreback and has the ability on the ball to be the playmaker in the centre of midfield and is a viable goalscoring option from that position.
If you looked at the lineup properly you would see that Flanagan is at rightback and Kelly is at leftback. Johnson is clearly better attacking then defending, Tottenham changed their season for the good in the season before last when Redknapp moved Bale to the leftwing, this propelled Spurs into the Champions League. The only 2 players under 5 foot 11 in the variations of the starting eleven are Flanagan and Sterling. Gerrard is still the best crosser of a ball in the Premier League and is a defensive liability in the centre of midfield so it makes sense to use him as a rightwing option to get proper delivery into Carroll. Robinson likewise on the leftwing is an excellent crosser. Suarez always preferred to play wide left in a 4-3-3 when at Ajax so in that situation would you have called him a striker then?
Aquilani looked like an accomplished player for us too, but hey what do I know eh. Sticking him as one of the two in a two man central midfield didn’t work out too well for him over there long term though, just as your two man midfield of Lucas and Agger would inevitably fail in the Premiership also.
Just because it worked for Tottenham in playing Bale exclusively in midfield doesn’t mean that that would automatically be the way forward with Johnson also. Johnson is better attacking than defending, but in an attacking team he looks just fine as a fullback (unlike in teams being dominated and forced to defend for most of the game as with England and Hodgson’s Liverpool). But seeing as he’d only be a sub, wouldn’t you have the same issue as with Kuyt (and your big money signing, Barrios), in that he’d request a transfer after being forced to sit on the bench??
The first choice winger though, Gerrard, likes to drift and get involved in the play meaning that he’d likely not be sticking to the flank and so leave us depending on getting our width another fullback playing in midfield – but this time one with barely a couple of hours of Premier League experience – and a right footed left back. I’m yet to see any evidence of Robinsob’s crossing tbh, nor have I seen his ability to beat a man so I don’t see why you’d want him to be your first choice winger, much less starting fullback!
Irt Agger, he may be able to play at the base of 3 man midfield, but in a 2 man midfield – sorry, there is not enough pace there for it to be any different than what we’ve regularly seen this season, with the team being pinned back into our own half. Agger has the ability to pick out a decent pass given the time on the ball that he has at the back, but hasn’t shown the technical capability to be a playmaker as yet, while Lucas hasn’t shown the sort of drive from midfield that he was rumoured to have displayed back in Brazil. Consequently we’d have little going forwards from the center of your midfield and so be completely dependent on Gerrard creating chances for the forwards.
I don’t know the height of Robinson, but Lucas & Suarez are definitely under 5’11 and I’m pretty sure that Carragher is only 5’10. Added to Carragher’s expected continued decline in athleticism, is the fact that despite his height Skrtel is not particulary strong or good in the air. So that’s a centreback pairing that is just waiting to be ‘pummelled’ again. It’s cool to want to push the youngsters forwards, but surely it would be better for them to experience being bit part players (typically 5-8 league starts + sub appearances) in a team that is winning titles (my team), than to be major players in a team that would face a losing battle in achieving anything (your team)?
Btw, did I not say that Anelka plays wideforward in the 433 for Chelsea when Drogba plays centreforard, so surely it would make sense that I’d say Suarez plays the same role not that of a winger…
Aquilani like Maxi looked accomplished against rubbish teams like Portsmouth at home and Burnley away, he was the invisible man apart from those games. Did Johnson look dominant as a rightback in his first season at LFC under Benitez where him and Insua were largely responsible for the slide from 2nd to 7th? If you looked at my lineup properly you would see that I have Gerrard and Johnson rotating on the rightwing. Seeing as Carroll’s supposed thigh injury and his overweight status will likely be negative factors next season Barrios would be playing often at centreforward with Suarez playing in his preferred role wide on the left. No winger or flank midfielder hugs the touchline anymore in the modern game. Denis Irwin was hugely successful playing as a rightfooted leftback at United. In Robinson’s profile one of his main strengths is listed as his attacking ability. Agger has superb ability on the ball including passing and the ability to beat a man so he is a logical choice to move into centremidfield, Alonso had less pace then Agger but he was one of LFC’S best players. Agger has a ferocious shot but yet LFC do not utilize it – do you remember his goals against West Ham and Blackburn? Robinson is 6 foot tall. Lucas and Suarez are 5 foot 11. Carragher is 6 foot 1.
You haven’t said what would be your centreback pairing and who would be the holding midfielder? Were Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney bitpart players at 17? When Suarez plays wide on the left for LFC do you call him a striker? If so then Kalou would also be labelled as a striker?
Aquilani looked accomplished against teams that the rest of our team was struggling against all season. Johnson looked ok in his first season to me (he had problems but not to the extent of this season or that people would make out), and that was hardly an attacking team last season anyway, which is the environment to which I said that he’d be suited. Moreover, I’d say that the downgrade from Hyppia to Carragher as our defensive anchor was even more of a reason for our downfall than the dropoff from Arbeloa to Johnson. Add to that, the downgrade from Alonso to Lucas, and Masch throwing a hissy-fit to start the year off, and the spine of the team was a lot weaker than it had been previously.
Robinson’s profile can say what it wants, he hasn’t shown any of that attacking quality in the Premiership as yet (nor did he stand out in the reserves as an attacking full back imo). His soccernet profile says that he is 5’5’’ though, while Lucas is just under 5’9’’. You are right about Suarez and surprisingly Carragher also – every time I’ve seen him, I’ve always thought he was pretty small for a centre back. Oh well, the point still stands nevertheless.
Alonso may have had less pace than Agger, but he had played for years as a central midfielder, so the required movement and positioning were second nature to him, whereas Agger, to my best information, has never played professionally in midfield. Consequently, to expect him to suddenly make the jump not just into a 3 man central midfield, but into a midfield 2 alongside Lucas (who wouldn’t have the athleticism to cover for any mistakes that Agger may make) would be wreckless imo. And you talk about the injury proneness of Carroll, but forget about the same problems with Agger, which would leave your team dependent on Meireles (physically and defensively deficient), an attacking midfielder (Gerrard) or an untested youngster (Coady) to hold together your two man central midfield ahead of Carragher and Skrtel! Again, I don’t see how you can really believe that this would be the way forwards for LFC.
You pick out Giggs and Rooney as players that broke through as first team regulars while young teenagers but that does not disprove my point at all – I can easily point through many more players that did not start playing regular football at 17 years old, but there’s not really any point though is there. As I said, in exceptional circumstances I’d be all for the youngster making the first team spot his own, and those are typically the only types of players that get first team football at such young ages (unless they’re at mediocre teams with little to no pressure to deliver results). Robinson and Flanagan just aren’t those types of players though, and even Sterling would have to do A LOT in preseason to be in the running for a starting place. Players having everything just handed to them on a plate at the earliest opportunity (a la Arsenal) leads to complacency and a failure to push on, whereas my approach would be more like Barca’s and encourage the players to develop to the maximum.
And one more time, Suarez playing in one of the wide spots of a front 3 makes him a wide-forward in the same way that Kalou playing in one of the wide spots of a front 3 is a wide forward. Suarez also plays the central role of a front 3, at which point he becomes a striker/centre forward. Drogba and Anelka play that role for Chelsea, Kalou does not. As such, Kalou remains a wide forward. It really shouldn’t be so difficult to get across…
I forgot to say, my preferred centreback pairing for next season was the same as it would have been for this season – Agger and Kelly. Carragher + Ayala + Kyrgiakos backing them up.
I’d be looking for a new holding midfielder to bring in the athleticism that I’ve been banging on about all season – preferably Moussa Sissoko relegating Lucas to deputy duties.
I’ll look for a post from the LFC website another time to make clear that it is not pipe dreams to expect such signings, due to the clear out that should be happening at the same time, combined with expected reasonable amounts of investment into the team
Gerrard came in at 19. Wisdom and Coady are strong enough. Agger gets injured because he is not a natural rugged centreback. Agger is more comfortable and composed in possession than Gerrard who is jittery. Mark Lawrenson and Steve Nicol played games in central midfield for LFC. Ray Kennedy converted from a striker to a left flank midfielder. Dalglish if 5 foot 10 and Robinson towered over him on the touchline at Arsenal by at least 2 inches. How can the likes of Robinson show how accurate his attacking profile is if he won’t get serious game time? The majority of the goals conceded in the season after Alonso left came from opposition attacks down the sides into the gaps left by Johnson and Insua. Hyppia was not an everpresent in the 86 point season where LFC only conceded 27 goals because Arbeloa for example was able to keep his position at rightback covered better than Johnson did the following season. In Johnson’s first season the team was attack minded with the likes of Torres, Gerrard, Benayoun and Kuyt. Aquilani was the invisible man in virtually all of his few appearances in Benitez’s last season. You said Agger was too injuryprone to play in centralmidfield yet you have him alongside Kelly as your first choice centrebacks. These two are both attackminded and therefore who is going to do the nittygritty defending like Carragher does. Kelly has also said that his preferred position is as a fullback. Signing African players will not work because every 2nd January they will be going to play in the African Nations Cup. With the crap that should be got rid of – what sort of transfer money do you think will be paid by clubs for the likes of Jovanovic (120 grand a week), Cole (100 grand a week), Poulsen (80 grand a week), Konchesky (80 grand a week)? These players will dig their heels in and not leave unless they get several million each in pay offs. This will eat in to any transfer budget considerably therefore 20 million for Mouassa Sissoko along with 25 million combined for Nzogbia and Downing would not be sanctioned by FSG especially after failing to qualify for the goalmine of the Champions League. Barcelona it is estimated will earn 110 million from their Champions League campaign while United will earn 63 million.
Again, naming a standout player isn’t going to prove your point. Even Gerrard didn’t go straight into the first team from nowhere and it took him a while to start imposing his quality on games. Bringing in inexperienced reserves that aren’t even as physically or technically gifted as Gerrard was aren’t going to lead to Liverpool winning the league, or even returning to the Champions League. Arsenal have tried the experiment with superior youngsters to ours and even now they still can’t maintain a title challenge!
Robinson and the rest of the youngsters can earn gametime with their performances in a limited role from the bench. If they are just handed the starting role as you suggest, and prove that they are not actually up to the task just yet, then what??
When Alonso played we were able to dominate games despite his lack of pace, due to his ability to read the game and because of Hyppia forcing the defence to hold a high line thereby closing gaps throughout our team. The team had a few more attacking players in Johnson’s first season but that doesn’t mean that it was an attacking team. Aquilani’s assists and touches on the ball would suggest that he wasn’t invisible when he played (I thought you said that he played well only because he played against garbage teams anyway)
I didn’t say that Agger was too injury prone to play in midfield. You’ve spoken a lot about injury proneness though, yet have a spine of Carroll, Gerrard, Agger and Carragher, all of whom have had or can be expected to experience spells on the sideline. African players may go away from the ACN, but you may have forgotten that modern football is a squad game and as such replacements are allowed.
It’s better to agree to minor deals to shift highly paid players that don’t want to move on, than to pay their entire wages while they sit around contributing to a negative atmosphere at the club. Barcelona earned a massive windfall from winning the Champs League which is why FSG would be best served in trying to build a team with the chance to get back and win it again (my suggestion) rather than try to stay on the cheap as a team battling for the Europa League (which would be a massive achievement for your team)
” Over the years we’ve seen plenty of examples of players being let go by clubs for not developing fast enough only to fulfil their potential elsewhere”
Over the last 10 years how many youngsters released by LFC have gone onto bigger & better things?