AT the time of writing it is Tuesday morning and I have just woken from a deep slumber, and as I rub my eyes and stumble to the bathroom for my ablution routine, there is something different in the atmosphere, something positive, an air of hope.
Nothing huge, like the discovery that chips class as part of your 5 a day, nothing life changing, like the impending birth of my third kiddywink (fingers crossed), just something tiny that brings a smile to your face that is in all probability fleeting but nevertheless makes the world seem better; like the piece of toast that fully absorbs the butter, the moment in Phantom Menace when Darth Maul reveals the second lightsabre beam (arguably the only decent aspect of the new films?).
All this has come about following that largely impressive Everton performance at Goodison against Newcastle which resulted in the Toffees sitting in 4th place in the league with only Spurs, ourselves and Arsenal above them. Four big clubs steeped in history in their own right as well as with each other, history earned through blood, sweat and tears rather than coin note and cheque.
What you will notice about the four clubs mentioned is that there is a distinct lack of Oligarchs, it is Sheikh free and devoid of massive debt! No, what you have is four well run clubs that would stand up to the Financial Fair Play feather duster that UEFA wields, as scary as that is!
This moment in time will be fleeting as I can’t foresee, come May, a top four without a Manchester club (at least one! 😉 ) or them from the Kings Road, yet it gives hope! It is possible for a club to compete, challenge and threaten without an owner’s wallet or an overdraft the size of Magrathea (impressed if you get that reference).
As pleasing as this is in the present, there is more than a grain of hope for the future for all four clubs. Unlike your Citys and Chelseas who can go through pound after ruble after euro at the cream of global talent the focus is shifting towards long term planning, youth and the diamonds in the rough.
Spurs retained AVB in spite of interest from the French spenders and quite unbelievably cashed in an extraordinary amount of cash for a player they nurtured and brought on from his humble saintly beginnings. Profiting from essentially a homegrown talent to the extent they have has funded this revolution and seen them handpick an array of talent not fashionable enough for the biggest spenders.
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Arsenal have retained faith in a manager they truly believe in and this summer in Ozil have finally opened their dusty purse to spend some of that cash they have accumulated down the years and really look the business. The faith shown in another Welsh prodigy to the virtual castration of fans in years gone by is paying off as celebs quake in their boots as Ramsey nets more goals than his namesake says the word f@ck.
Everton have added quality and a Martinez footballing style to the remarkable team spirit Moyes instilled in them. They have acquired players in Barry and Lukaku criminally undervalued at their home clubs and are getting the best out of them, whilst bringing through young talent like Coleman and the remarkably Gerrard-esque Barkley.
Whilst not wanting to wax lyrical too much about our rivals, and with a limited word count, I think I have highlighted different positive aspects from each well run side that should really form the blueprint of our future forward steps. I truly believe we are on the right path as it stands, the club has much craved stability off the field, a manager that has instilled a real bond with the players, a playing philosophy akin to what the Kop demands and a belief in youth. We have the starting point of our journey down the red brick road and if we learn from those around us we wont need to click our heels to retreat to Boston!
From Spurs, we need to look away from the pitch and towards the Levy and Baldini combination and the success that has brought in the summer. Our recruitment has been more positive in the last couple of windows with the likes of Sturridge, Coutinho and Sakho but with a Baldini-like figure we may have got a Mkhitaryan or a Costa (or even a Starbucks…I’ll get my coat). From Arsenal we need to look at the stability brought through faith in players and management and how despite the frustrations they have seen in recent years they have maintained their position and now look capable of pushing on. From Everton we need to look at the team spirit and togetherness of their squad and the faith they are showing in their young talent. If we can incorporate these aspects into our model we can really and truly push on, and all without a Sugar Daddy/Mummy!
No club has the perfect plan or setup, for every Ozil coming in an RVP or a Nasri has left, for every solid Lamela or Paulinho investment there is a Saha or Nelson and for every strong team unity there are bad big haired eggs! It is that ability to highlight and run with the positive actions shown by others that can set us apart. Our base is becoming increasingly solid and it is the time to start building for the sky.
I hope you enjoyed, if you did or didn’t then please comment and come find me on twitter @timdibs
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very insightful article, we only need to belief that, we can be where we want to be,and not where other teams results will place us come may.
We need more than belief , u dope !
Br and fsg out,very incompetence by having no lucas backup and sold Downing without a replacement cos of 80k a week.A shame,absolute shame to say the least.
I thought you said on another article you dont want English players at LFC and now you’re moaning about selling Downing? Make your mind or do you change your views everyday like some change their underpants?
Star wars ? Starbucks ? What a load of silly waffle. Boring boring article
Thanks Paul, may the fourth (or higher) be with you
Too many exclamation marks make it look amateurish
Fair enough, I do love an ! Though!!!! The editor will dock my pay though! 😉
You’re getting PAID for this? Haaaa haaaaa!!!!!!
The wink hinted towards my sarcasm there!
In other shock news water is wet
This season the reason its so close, is not just because so many managers have changed is because there are so many managers trying to implement good playing football with technical players. Even stoke are losing their bully boy team status, Most teams in the league are trying to dictate play keep ball on the floor and play technical football. Its no surprise why Arsenal are top of the league, as they have been technically the best club in the league for over decade and play the best football. And now every team is trying to play nice football on the deck, Arsenal are better than most teams in league hands down. And that is why they are doing well this season and will do well this season, as most teams in the league now are trying to have a go at one another and play nice attractive free playing football.
If our club had better players, do in centre midfield than Allen, Henderson and Cover for Coutinho? We would have beat Swansea and we would never have lost to Southampton.
Gerrard is a great and loyal servant and has super quality, but against the Young, Mobile, Ball playing midfielders who will get stuck in Gerrard and Lucas both get unstuck. Gerrrard is 33, not 23. He should be used wisely, Not week in week out.
As i said: The likes of Alonso, Carrick, Gerrard, Iniesta, Lampard, Parker,Pirlo are coming to an end.
Its now about the Cazorla, Coutinho, Eriksen,Fabregas,Gotze, Herrera, Isco, Mata, Munian, Modric, Oscar, Ozil, Paulinho,Ramsey,Sigurdsson, Thiago, Wiltshire type players who will start to dominate the centre of park.
Henderson and Allen are no where near as good as any of the names , mentioned as if they were S Gerrard would be getting sufficient rest time that he needs.
Rodgers has now sorted out the defence for next 3-6 years, but if there is two dead wood defenders that still need to be shipped out in Summer: Coates CB and Flanagan RB
P Reina (30) Is still a world class GK, just for last three seasons he was too inconsitant due to lack of class, quality competition for his place and the weak squad we had, so he struggled. Rodgers needs to bring in A Mccarthy(23) Of Reading in January for 4-7M to compete with Mignolet for the next 5-8 years at club. So they are both kept on their toes and No complacency creeps into Mignolet
Lucas is struggling to find the form he had two seasons ago before he was injured in game at Chelsea in Carling Cup. But as he is only midfielder at club that protects back 4 well and gets stuck in the middle of park and gets foot in, he is vital. There is no one else in whole squad that does that role, so he plays week in week out even if has not played well game before.
M’Vila (24) Of Rubin Kazan needs to be brought to club in January for 12-16M to compete and Cover Lucas, M’Vila would make Lucas stay on the bench. M’Vila is powerful, Mobile, Quick , Tough tackling Defensive Midfielder.
M’Vila has strength, height, mobility, Speed and Youth over Lucas and would be a great addition to squad and he is a player who if we did get back in Champions League has Champions League Quality.
God forbid anything happens to Suarez and Sturridge at the same time, where are the goals going to be coming from?
Coutinho will score 5-7 goals a season
Sterling 1-3 Goals a season
Henderson 3-5 Goals a season
Gerrard 4-8 Goals a season
Moses(Loan) 2-5 Goals a season
Is that enough goals for club?
Along with A GK and Solid DM, Rodgers needs to bring two pacey quick widemen who bring class, creativity, excitement, entertainment, GOALS and width to side on either wing and another Forward to club in January.
RW / RWF: Check out J Montero(23) Of Monarcas Morelia in Mexico, He plays for Ecuador: He is terrorising Argentina, Portugal and International defenders for fun at the moment and would be a great signing for us. Rodgers could sign him for 4-7M and he would bring in 10-20 goals a season to side, whether assisting or scoring them
LW / LWF: B Arfa(26) Of Newcastle: We were after him in the summer, but tried to offer Newcastle a pathetic amount for him: How could Rodgers spend 10.5M on Borini, 7.7M on Aspas, 6.8M on Alberto and try to offer just 8M for B Arfa. B Arfa should be brought to club for 12-16M in January
Lastly B Rodgers should bring in A Hernandez (23) Of Palermo to compete with Aspas, Sturridge and Suarez for 5-8M
Rodgers is a good manager but over the season and a quarter he has been at club, he has wasted 40m on Alberto, Allen and Assaidi, Aspas, Borini.
Instead that 40m could and should of been spent on De Guzman, Eriksen,Capoue, Arfa and G Rossi.
S Gerrard has one more good year of football in him at best, But in J Allen and Henderson, both of them cannot come anywhere near Gerrard.
S Gerrard needs to be replaced by a A Herrera(23) Of A Bilbao for 26-31M , he is a young mobile Skilful Alonso type player, who creates and scores goals.
Herrera will not score as many goals as Gerrard scored for club, there are rarely any good centre midfielders upcoming in world football like Gerrard or Lampard at scoring goals. But what Herrera offers is real class, quality and dictates the tempo and has a range of passing that will see him be a regular in the Spain National side in the next two years.
I think FSG has simpler plan that is to sell Suarez for good fortune and use it to fund the next 3 transfer windows. Somehow I have nothing positive about FSG.