Liverpool FC Forum

by **JC_81** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:32 pm

Straightforward question. What is the weakest position in our team and why? Assuming that is, that we stick with 4-2-3-1 with Gerrard playing as second striker.

The forum is full of talk about who we need to bring in this summer. There is also a lot of talk of how many we should bring in - many advocating just a few signings but of higher quality than previous summers.

Which position is weakest then? Right back would seem to be a lot of peoples' pick, with Arbeloa not convincing everyone. Personally I'm happy enough with him but I'm sure there is room for improvement in that position.

Right midfield? Before Christmas I'm sure that would have been most fans' pick. Fact is though that Kuyt has grown into the RWF role and is producing goals and assists, seemingly winning over a lot of his doubters, or at least keeping them quiet for now.

Left back? Aurelio is greatly improved this season and has certainly won me over. I admit to having written him off before this season. Still though, I hear people referring to our full back positions (plural) as our main weakness.

Left midfield. Has Riera done enough to convince? I think he has, but I still hear people say he's had a poor second half to the season - not an opinion I agree with. Silva and this fellah Pranjic both play from the left mainly as far as I know, so does that suggest Rafa sees this as our main weakness if these reports that we are interested in them are true?

Centre back? Would have seemed unlikely at the start of the season, but with Skrtel and to a lesser extent Agger failing to convince fans they're the real deal and Carragher dividing opinion on whether he's 'past it' or not, should a centre half be the priority next season? Or can we get away with what we have another year?

Striker???

Seems strange that. We have Torres who I think at the moment is the best striker on the planet, so how can striker be our main weakness?? Quite simply Torres can't stay fit this season and his hamstrings are a worry. The striker position gets my vote, by a mile. In a nutshell I believe that our greatest weakness is not any player in our first XI, but who replaces Torres when he can't play. And it puts us in a really awkward position this summer I feel. We need to get a striker in, no doubt, but they're not likely to start if Torres/Gerrard are fit. Therefore who'd want to come? How much do we spend? Can we hit the jackpot and get someone verstile enough to fill in for an injured Torres and also play elsewhere when he's fit?

So, cards on the table, if you're to bring in one top quality player this summer, what position do you look for?

by **Emerald Red** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:34 pm

Full-backs. I'm not even going to elaborate why. It's our weakest by a mile. We'd be some team if we can find at least two world class full-backs to bomb up and down the flanks.

by **JC_81** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:37 pm

Emerald Red wrote:Full-backs. I'm not even going to elaborate why. It's our weakest by a mile. We'd be some team if we can find at least two world class full-backs to bomb up and down the flanks.

That's two positions!

by **bigmick** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:40 pm

If we're going to continue to be more expansive, I think we are weak at centre half. We obviously need a striker to cover for Torres/Gerrard, but if everyone is fit I think our weakest position wioth our current mode of play is the centre of our defence.

by **Reg** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:48 pm

Emerald Red wrote:Full-backs. I'm not even going to elaborate why. It's our weakest by a mile. We'd be some team if we can find at least two world class full-backs to bomb up and down the flanks.

I think you mean midfielders/wingbacks.

Our fullbacks do the defending job they're supposed to.

Our weakness is transition - its taken a full season for Stevie to move forward and for the revised midfield to cope. Babel has failed, Reira is on/off, only Masher and Alonso have played their full potential.

To be perfectly honest, that left attacking midfield role is still wide open. Kuyty has teh right midfield safely covered.

Cant wait for Kaka to arrive in the closed season.

by **Emerald Red** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:52 pm

john craig wrote:
Emerald Red wrote:Full-backs. I'm not even going to elaborate why. It's our weakest by a mile. We'd be some team if we can find at least two world class full-backs to bomb up and down the flanks.

That's two positions!

Peas in a pod.

OK, I pick the right side.

by **GYBS** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:54 pm

left side attacker - reira is a decent option but orverall dont think he is a starting player and need better quality there

by **Emerald Red** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:57 pm

Reg wrote:
Emerald Red wrote:Full-backs. I'm not even going to elaborate why. It's our weakest by a mile. We'd be some team if we can find at least two world class full-backs to bomb up and down the flanks.

I think you mean midfielders/wingbacks.

Our fullbacks do the defending job they're supposed to.

Our weakness is transition - its taken a full season for Stevie to move forward and for the revised midfield to cope. Babel has failed, Reira is on/off, only Masher and Alonso have played their full potential.

To be perfectly honest, that left attacking midfield role is still wide open. Kuyty has teh right midfield safely covered.

Cant wait for Kaka to arrive in the closed season.

No, I mean full-backs.

Look at all the top sides in Europe that have won, or are winning their leagues lately. They all have world class attacking fullbacks that get up and support the play in attack. It's often said the best form of defense is attack. When you look at Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Barca, Madrid etc etc, they all won their leagues with class attacking fullbacks. Players that can bomb up and down. Arbeloa and Aurelio just aren't up to it.

by **Emerald Red** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:01 pm

GYBS wrote:left side attacker - reira is a decent option but orverall dont think he is a starting player and need better quality there

Could be yeah. Agree with that. We could strengthen there too, and probably need to. The exciting thing about our team now is that we are currently playing some great stuff and are the hardest team to beat in the EPL. We're also scoring a sh*tload of goals. No longer are we looking for players to actually come in and repair and replace. We are looking to get players to simply fill the gaps and strengthen. I think Rafa's building process is almost complete. We are nearing the finished article now. Well, I'd like to think so anyway.

by **DrPepe** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:04 pm

bigmick wrote:If we're going to continue to be more expansive, I think we are weak at centre half. We obviously need a striker to cover for Torres/Gerrard, but if everyone is fit I think our weakest position wioth our current mode of play is the centre of our defence.

yeah i agree with that

(I'd like to hope agger and skrtl will develop into a world class CB pairing...but i'm not convinced by skrtl these days)

by **Sabre** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:18 pm

Right back.

When we don't have Arbeloa, who, by the way, is not top class, we have to drag Carraguer to the position, and if we don't do that we have to pick Skrtel, which was a disaster, or even Mascherano, who wasn't a disaster but definitely wasn't the ideal situation.

In Striker position it happens something almost as bad when we don't have Torres, but I'd say that as a whole RB is the weakest position.

In CB we need to sign up now Hyypia's gone, but it hasn't been the weakest.

In LB Aurelio has proven to be a good player, Insua is promissing, and even Dossena looked decent at the end of the season.

In LW we have Riera, and when we don't have him, Babel is not as disasterous as Skrtel was as RB option.

In RM, we've had almost the best Kuyt we can expect, and a more than accomplished Benayoun.

In CM we are as good as you can get.

My targets for this summer in this order would be

1) Striker (Because it's more crucial to break down deep teams, since we're dominating enough to afford a just good RB)

2) RB, because we don't have valid options when we don't have Arbeloa (I preffer not choping and changing Carraguer's or Skrtel's position). I'm assuming here the best CB pair is Carraguer and Agger, who I find crucial if we're going to advance our lines and take risks. We need a passing ability like his to play that way and it's not surprise to me that he's been followed by some Barcelona men in some games (according to what I read a few weeks back).

3) Centre Back, because Hyypia's gone, and Skrtel is not a top defender as we speak. If I knew for sure we'll Agger out of injuries next season, probably CB would be the fourth, and not third target.

4) RW, because I think it's possible to bring a player that will help destroying deep teams better than Kuyt.

I wouldn't touch the LB, and the CM, unless a good option is handy (i.e., sell lucas bring Barry or similar or better quality)

by **ken_job** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:34 pm

Right Back.

We dont have cover for Arbeloa. Who in my opinion doesnt perform well enogh in the big matches against top class opposition. He would of course be excellent cover for both full-back positions but we urgently need one more right back - either as good (for competition) or better than arbeloa.

by **Zidane** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:41 pm

Striker/Right back, on one hand we need a back up for Torres on the other you need a better RB than Arbeloa.

by **tubby** » Mon May 11, 2009 11:13 pm

Deffo RB. Not that Carra has ever done badly but we desperatley need some quality there. To be honest Arby isn't that much of an improvment on Finnan. We need someone like Glen Johnson/Alves.

by **Fowler_E7** » Mon May 11, 2009 11:23 pm

Right back is top priority as we only have Arbeloa who is decent but nothing more, Degen and Darby arnt good enough from what ive seen. After that id say we need a striker, as we only have Torres, and after that were struggling for quality with the likes of N'gog and Voronin. 3rd i think we need a centre back especially now that Hyppia is gone, Skretl isnt good enough and im though i rate Agger and Carragher i dont like them as partneship because neither is aerially dominant. Lastly we need a right sided player of some sort, i know a lot of people like Kuyt and he has been good recently, but he has huge limitations and i refuse to beleive that he could ever go through a whole season in his current form, especially without someone to challenge for the position.

Right back, Striker and Centre back are three prioritys that we must have new players in for next season IMO, if moneys tight we could probably get by with Kuyt and Benayoun as our right sided options for next year.

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