Liverpool FC Forum

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Wed Aug 05, 2015 11:28 am wrote:

LFC1990 » Wed Aug 05, 2015 6:24 am wrote:I would consider this to be a succesful transfer window

Bringing in Benteke, Firminio and Clyne has definitely improved the first 11 and drastically aswell

Depending on who plays the position Gerrard was in last year i think we will see us being better defensively as they will recieve better protection

Having Ings will definitely strenghten our bench and wouldnt look out of his depth if he was to start.

Ive got no problem with the actual personnel that we've brought in, they all look good players, it's just that I'm not totally convinced we have put the money to best use. Yes Firmino looks top quality and I'm made up we have got a player of his profile here without the lure of CL footy but hand on heart was another AM really an absolute top priority?
To me our Achilles heel is centre mid and it has been for years, as I have said a hundred times on these boards I am a big believer in the old adage that centre mid is where games are won and lost and I just think we might have been better off spending some of that money on a pair of top quality CM's like Kovacic and Illaremendi.
Firmino should have been on next summer's shopping list imo after we had sorted out the glaring weaknesses in the side.
As I said though putting aside which area's needed strengthening and which didn't I think we have done great business and what's more we have spent a lot more than I expected us to as well.

We're top heavy with attacking midfielders ,when a quality DM was a necessity .I mean with Milner making it more than audible he came to Liverpool to play
in midfield and was lured by the manager with  the promise  of regular appearances in that role ,does this make him a certainty to start every game in this position even when it becomes abundantly clear to all its not working !

We seriously need to bring in a DM. Illaramendi on a loan with an option would be astute business. But it sounds like we are bringing in a Winger.

SkippyRed » Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:55 am wrote:We seriously need to bring in a DM. Illaramendi on a loan with an option would be astute business. But it sounds like we are bringing in a Winger.

We probably have a ready-made DM in Can... why spend money? Play him.

Rumor has it that Lucas has had a big falling out with the managment team and may be on his way out of the club, if he leaves and with Allen out for 4 weeks we can only hope they bring in a top draw DM

C-R » Mon Aug 10, 2015 3:45 pm wrote:Rumor has it that Lucas has had a big falling out with the managment team and may be on his way out of the club, if he leaves and with Allen out for 4 weeks we can only hope they bring in a top draw DM

Now thats a proper rumour !!      

Good servant Lucas but very replaceable.

If we could wangle getting in Illaremendi on loan with option to buy next summer I'd be chuffed. Maybe Rafa could do us a favour.

maguskwt » Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:08 pm wrote:

SkippyRed » Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:55 am wrote:We seriously need to bring in a DM. Illaramendi on a loan with an option would be astute business. But it sounds like we are bringing in a Winger.

We probably have a ready-made DM in Can... why spend money? Play him.

Can is not a DM.

He has defensive flaws in his game. He is a high energy midfielder. I dont think he would provide very good protection for the back 4.

Illaramendi is a career DM. There is no need for development, he is already raring to go. His distribution is very good, and he is a very good link up man between the CB's and CM's.

He would also allow Milner and Henderson to push forward and press more because he is safe at the back.

SkippyRed » Tue Aug 11, 2015 12:45 am wrote:

maguskwt » Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:08 pm wrote:

SkippyRed » Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:55 am wrote:We seriously need to bring in a DM. Illaramendi on a loan with an option would be astute business. But it sounds like we are bringing in a Winger.

We probably have a ready-made DM in Can... why spend money? Play him.

Can is not a DM.

He has defensive flaws in his game. He is a high energy midfielder. I dont think he would provide very good protection for the back 4.

Illaramendi is a career DM. There is no need for development, he is already raring to go. His distribution is very good, and he is a very good link up man between the CB's and CM's.

He would also allow Milner and Henderson to push forward and press more because he is safe at the back.

If we get Ilaramendi we won't need Milner and Heno ,one should be benched for sure.

we won't be signing Ilarramendi, Milner has just been appointed vice captain (despite being at the club 5 minutes) and do you seriously think that at 30 that he would swap City's bench for ours?
Hendo and Milner are nailed on starters imo.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Tue Aug 11, 2015 10:35 am wrote:we won't be signing Ilarramendi, Milner has just been appointed vice captain despite being at the club 5 minutes and do you seriously think that at 30 that he would swap City's bench for ours?
Hendo and Milner are nailed on starters imo.

unfortunately you are right ,it seems politics will prevail here. We have Captain+Vice which talent wise shouldn't be automatic starters...however they are.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Tue Aug 11, 2015 2:35 pm wrote:we won't be signing Ilarramendi, Milner has just been appointed vice captain (despite being at the club 5 minutes) and do you seriously think that at 30 that he would swap City's bench for ours?
Hendo and Milner are nailed on starters imo.

A DM (Illaramendi for example) or even a CM (Kovacicor a Modric type) wouldn't necessarily have to replace Milner/Henderson in the starting lineup.

To begin with, I think Henderson is a much better CM than Milner & Can. Atm, he's also the best defensive/holding midfielder we have at the club.

Our main issue is that we have no central midfielders capable of controlling the game and dictating things from deeper. With any permutation we can afford given the current personnel, we'll struggle to control games against stronger opposition and we'll need to rely on being defensively solid to pick up points (something our midfielders seem capable of doing; at least on paper).

If we somehow manage to bring in Illaramendi, I think our best option would be to play him alongside Henderson and Milner in a midfield 3. Illara will be responsible for bringing the ball out and holding position while Henderson and Milner can get a bit more freedom to roam around off the ball playing the short passes in slightly more advanced positions. Defensively, we'll arguably become more solid and going forward we'll add that extra bit of fluidity to our build up play.

If we bring in a Kovacic, he'll still play in midfield alongside Henderson and Milner. However, Henderson will remain in his deeper holding position (I thought he did relatively well in the first game) with Kovacic again being the one responsible for getting on the ball and connecting with our attacking players.

In both cases, we'll free Coutinho to play in a more advanced position while giving Milner less responsibility of creating when on the ball. Ideally, I wouldnt want Milner to play as a CM in most games but we all know that isnt likely to happen.

If we sell Lucas and we're left with Henderson, Allen, Milner, Can as our only central midfielders, an injury or two will leave in big trouble given the amount of games we are expected to play. Signing a replacement will become a must. Might as well go all out for a starter.

SkippyRed » Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:45 am wrote:

maguskwt » Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:08 pm wrote:

SkippyRed » Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:55 am wrote:We seriously need to bring in a DM. Illaramendi on a loan with an option would be astute business. But it sounds like we are bringing in a Winger.

We probably have a ready-made DM in Can... why spend money? Play him.

Can is not a DM.

He has defensive flaws in his game. He is a high energy midfielder. I dont think he would provide very good protection for the back 4.

Illaramendi is a career DM. There is no need for development, he is already raring to go. His distribution is very good, and he is a very good link up man between the CB's and CM's.

He would also allow Milner and Henderson to push forward and press more because he is safe at the back.

Can is the best midfielder at the club by a distance

your comment about him offering no protection to our defence is ludicrous

I was shocked Can didn't start. 21 years old and already one of our better players. I don't think many people realize how good he is. I'm not sure where you see his defensive frailties, because I think he was our most consistent defensive player last year, and he was played out of position. Not to mention he looks an absolute monster when he powers forward with the ball at his feet- similar to Yaya (I'm not saying he's as good, it just reminds me of a younger Yaya)

If we can hold on to him, Coutinho and Firmino (and Firmino turns out to be the player we know/are hoping he could be) in 3-4 years we'd have the best midfield in the league- I don't care who's playing for the other clubs, and I think Can could easily be the best of the 3.

I've got high hopes for this kid.

Tbf Illaremendi would be a excellent signing for us. He is a proper DM that would allow Hendo and Milner to get up and down alot more.

             Mignolet

Clyne   Skrtel   Sakho    Gomez

            Illaremendi

      Milner          Henderson

    Coutinho           Firmino

             Benteke

Actually, if we play 3 in midfield I don't think there's a need of someone new, the numbers will do the job themselves. If we play a midfield of:

                   Lucas/Can

             Milner        Henderosn


we already have everything we need. Lucas/Can can provide the needed protection to the back 4 (with Can offering more going forward while Lucas would protect the back line more effectively), while the undropable pair of Milner and Henderson would have more freedom going forward and pressing high up the pitch.

The thing is, we shouldn't have to sacrifice an attacking player to reinforce our weak midfield. We need a pair of midfielders that can do all those things themselves (back 4 protection, dictating the game and being a threat going forward). So if we're spending money on a midfielder, I want one that can do a good job in a midfield of TWO, but since Henderson and Milner are, like I said, undropable, we might as well just save our money.