by JBG » Tue Nov 11, 2003 12:08 pm
My own thoughts on the matter are.....
1.We all agree that Heskey is simply not good enough. We should sell him while he has some value - the likes of Middlesbro or Spurs would probably offer us a few million for him.
2. While it is true that Smicer has improved this season, realistically he is still not good enough to match the likes of Ljunberg, Scholes, Cole, Duff, even Gronkjaere and Parlour etc. Just because he has improved does not mean that he's now good enough for a championship winning team. Maybe selling him would be drastic, but at least sign a better player in his place. He might do a job for us coming off the bench or as a squad player, but nothing more.
3. I was a massive, massive fan of Jerzy Dudek when he first signed. However, he is a confidence player and occasionally lets in a few soft ones, such as the goals in the UTD game. Kirkland looks like an immense keeper and maybe we should bite the bullet by selling Dudek and making Kirkland number 1.
4. Steven Gerrard still has a long way to go. Part of the reason McAllister was signed was to pass on his experience to Gerrard and Murphy, but neither have fulfilled their potential yet. Gerrard is far too ambitious with his passing, with too many crazy first time balls which are just mopped up by the opposition defence. This needs to be addressed. Gerrard would benefit from a specialist coach who would show him how to vary his passes. What about hiring Ronnie Whelan for 12 months?
5. We need to make up our minds about Diao and Cheyrou. There is absolutely no point in allowing these two players rot in the reserves. It is of no benefit to the club nor to the players themselves. We should decide to give them a decent chance but giving both a long run in the side, or just sell them. They are never going to get better if they are only given 7 or 8 starts each a season.
6. Le Tallec and Pongolle are fantastic talents but we shouldn't put too much hope in them yet. They need to be nurtured, but I recommend using them a lot as subs, with the occasional start.
7. The defence is becoming a problem. Hyppia was very good against UTD, but overall he is showing signs of decline. Henchoz hasn't been himself since 2002, and Traore and Biscan, while improving, will never win us the championship.
My proposals for change are.
1. Replace Dudek with Kirkland.
2. Sell Traore and Vignal, put Riise in as regular full back, but sign a young deputy for him.
3. Buy a good, pacy centre back who can pass the ball forward. They are in short supply, I know, but maybe Boumsong or Mexes could do a job for us. If the club had real ambition it would try to get the likes of Chivu (I'm not sure that he has actually signed a long term contract with Roma) or even Gallas of Chelsea, who doesn't seem 100% happy there.
4. Get in a good, skillful midfielder to replace Smicer. I think Malbranque fits the bill perectly.
5. Sell Heskey, sell Mellor, and buy a proven goalscorer. Again, if we had real ambition, we should have tried to sign someone like Roy Mackoy in the summer, but instead Houllier is bent on signing Bjbril Cisse, who in my opinion will only be another under performer. Man UTD took a gamble on Eric Contana, maybe we should take a gamble on Mark Viduka?
6. Sack Houllier and replace him with Martin O' Neill.
We have the foundations of a good side, but the club is not using its resources properly.
Jolly Bob Grumbine.