Liverpool FC Forum

[europian-kings]

Lets sell mash and get Alonso back.

we can dream I suppose.

If only 

[dundreamin]

i think mashers loyalties lie with rafa not LFC. Won,t be surprised if he ends up at inter.and why keep a player who dont want to play for us? his silence has been deafening. SELL

[bigmick]

i think mashers loyalties lie with rafa not LFC. Won,t be surprised if he ends up at inter.and why keep a player who dont want to play for us? his silence has been deafening. SELL

I'm not sure about that. He tried his very best to get a move to Barca last season when our previous manager was still well and truly in place, so I'm not sure I agree with you. It might well be that it's just money. The stories about his contract being relatively meagre seem unbelieveable to me, but if they are true then that might be it.

[dundreamin]

Doubt its money mick. Sure if he wanted to stay he could revise his contract. Where supposed to be skint but were paying cole 90k a week alibeit he,s one a free.imo he,s off

[boodiddy1]

Its money with Masch. Him and Teves have shocking agents and dont know any better. They've been hoared around the football world for years. 30m pounds no less. FFS, Toure 27m. milner 30m!

[NANNY RED]

Sell Masch and bring in Scott Parker and Wayne Bridge and we'll still have plenty cash left over !

If Roy want Scott Parker .he will have to speak to me and my associate Michael Dundalk about it, 

[ConnO'var]

If he is hell bent on going, that let him go. As good as he is, there is no point in holding on to someone who doesn't want to be here.

There's been a lot said about possible replacements with the likes of Ireland and the like bandied about.
For me though, I would look at an enforcer type player in the mould of Souness and McMahon.

Even though, he is a dirty player, I believe that we would benefit from a van Bommel or similar. The rest of the midfield is possibly a touch too light weight and an intimidating presence in the engine room would give us more steel and offer protection on the pitch.

Something to consider.

[maguskwt]

Cattermole?

precisely... pardon my language but who the feck is cattermole? 

[Owzat]

If gerrard moved back to CM, getting another midfielder shouldn't be high in the priority list. We've got gerrard, aquilani, Lucas and that kid we bought from charlton. Joe Cole can play as an attacking midfielder too. If we do sell mash, and get 25- 30 million (which I doubt we will because he hasn't signed his contract extension) then I would invest heavily in another decent striker.

I think some have become too brainwashed into thinking Rafa's way is THE way re having a DM. Maybe it's a sign of the times that people are blinkered on such things, that we're so much into this new label of "DM" that some can't get their heads around the fact that CMs can tackle, just like any other player on the pitch can.

It's not as if anyone is proposing leaving a massive hole in front of the back four, just that there won't be someone there JUST to (in theory) win the ball back. I played a rugby match when I was at school, remember it well. I was the only player in our XV who was the same size as the grand majority of their players. So I dropped back and played a "Mascherano" role in trying to cover and they just went around me most of the time. Point being ONE MAN can't do everything, better to have a handful of players in the side who can help out defensively than one who can.

The principle functions of the midfield are to link the defence and attack, and help both in their respective roles ie pass, help win the ball back, help create and score goals. It's better to have four in the middle who can do all those things to a decent standard than one specialist to create, one to win the ball back, one to pass and one to score goals. Leave the specialism of winning the ball to the CBs/DFs and scoring the goals to the CFs, have a midfield that aren't specialists in any one area. That's partly why I don't go a bundle on these pacey wingers, beat defenders but don't necessarily put in a good cross, usually don't score enough goals and tend not to be much use defensively. They'll win you a few games, but they'll also be anonymous in as many if not more

So I don't see Cattermole as a solution, rather we either make do with Lucas and Gerrard doing the foot in stuff, or go for a much better all-round midfielder which we could get from the sale of Mascherano and have some money towards a striker like you say

[LittleHobo]

for me the water carrier role while an essential role its actually a quite easy position to replace

you need a guy doing the dirty work in midfield but the diffrence between the best water carrier and the 20th best isnt that great in what they give to the team

so i say sell

[In and Out]

If gerrard moved back to CM, getting another midfielder shouldn't be high in the priority list. We've got gerrard, aquilani, Lucas and that kid we bought from charlton. Joe Cole can play as an attacking midfielder too. If we do sell mash, and get 25- 30 million (which I doubt we will because he hasn't signed his contract extension) then I would invest heavily in another decent striker.

I think some have become too brainwashed into thinking Rafa's way is THE way re having a DM. Maybe it's a sign of the times that people are blinkered on such things, that we're so much into this new label of "DM" that some can't get their heads around the fact that CMs can tackle, just like any other player on the pitch can.

It's not as if anyone is proposing leaving a massive hole in front of the back four, just that there won't be someone there JUST to (in theory) win the ball back. I played a rugby match when I was at school, remember it well. I was the only player in our XV who was the same size as the grand majority of their players. So I dropped back and played a "Mascherano" role in trying to cover and they just went around me most of the time. Point being ONE MAN can't do everything, better to have a handful of players in the side who can help out defensively than one who can.

The principle functions of the midfield are to link the defence and attack, and help both in their respective roles ie pass, help win the ball back, help create and score goals. It's better to have four in the middle who can do all those things to a decent standard than one specialist to create, one to win the ball back, one to pass and one to score goals. Leave the specialism of winning the ball to the CBs/DFs and scoring the goals to the CFs, have a midfield that aren't specialists in any one area. That's partly why I don't go a bundle on these pacey wingers, beat defenders but don't necessarily put in a good cross, usually don't score enough goals and tend not to be much use defensively. They'll win you a few games, but they'll also be anonymous in as many if not more

So I don't see Cattermole as a solution, rather we either make do with Lucas and Gerrard doing the foot in stuff, or go for a much better all-round midfielder which we could get from the sale of Mascherano and have some money towards a striker like you say

I don't agree with that let's add Joe Cole to our midfield and then carry on talking about a midfield four being able to do everything. It isn't really his game to throw himself about into tackles successfully. So if you immediately add J.Cole onto the left of your midfield (just say) your opinion of four men being able to do a bit of everything ends up pretty much void.

It's about individual players who can combine as a team to be as strong as they can. It's not about having all rounded players in the midfield like you're suggesting, that's why the balance of a team is so important to it's success.

Remember McMahon and Souness?

[bigmick]

I think IAO makes a good point about Mcmahon and Souness, but they were different to your modern day sitter. Sounness used to score some great goals and make some great goals (don't know how many but my rose tinted memory has him down as scoring quite often, loved him as a player). McMahon wasn't quite as good, but he did get forward and support the attack much more than either of our axis duo.

I've come around to the idea that we should sit Gerrard in there. I think he'd be able to sit and protect no problem, but I ALSO think he'd be able to step up and create. None of this sitting your centre forward in deeper to stand on the creative midfielders toes if it was Gerrard, he'll be coming onto the ball 35 yards out and looking to shoot. I think he could do a really good job in there, I remember him having a stormer in there against Everton a few years back, and I think he would also contribute half a dozen league goals at least while he was doing it as well.

[Big Niall]

What happened to just having 2 normal midfielders?

We don't have have a Masch type player who just takes the ball from the CB and passes it sideways.

Midfielders should be able to create.

SELL

[Big Niall]

Its money with Masch. Him and Teves have shocking agents and dont know any better. They've been hoared around the football world for years. 30m pounds no less. FFS, Toure 27m. milner 30m!

If you think Milner is good enough to play for LFC, you should be shot.

[In and Out]

You need a midfield with a bit of steel in it, if Mascha left and wasn't replaced with a no-nonsense midfield we'd look pretty lightweight in the middle. Then those away trips to Bolton, Blackburn, Stoke, Everton, Birmingham and Sunderland etc could leave us a little vulnrable to the 'bully' tactic these boys use. Arsenal would be a prime example, for all the sexy football they've played, they don't like it up em and have been bullyed many-er time off the park by said teams. You need IMO a 'hardman' in midfield and I don't think Gerrard needs the burden of that soley on his shoulders when he is able to accomplish so much more up top.