Don't panic...but - Investment required
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 2:11 pm
The morning after the day before and I think I've come to terms with what I watched on Sky yesterday. I posted a couple of topics about the future of our great club only a few weeks ago regarding this matter. I emphase it again!
Chelsea have set the new high standards in the EPL and there's no doubt about that. If we are going to try and compete with those new standards, we need the finances in place to buy top quality players who will play the Liverpool way and make the difference between what we are now, which is a top four team (not based on current may I add) and a title contending team. I think we have a core of good players with Reina,Carra,Gerrard,alonso etc, but we all saw how poor Traore and Garcia were yesterday. Traore should have been replaced at half time along with Garcia. Bring on Warnock and Cisse and get some quality service through the midfielders and onto the forwards.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing as I'm sure that you will all agree, but Garcia is not built for the high tempo, physical games like we saw against Man Utd and most recently Chelsea.
Back to my main point: Investment. Like it or not we need a large input of cash to compete with the bset in England and Europe. I would love to see the youth players coming through the ranks and playing exciting and skillful football. However, we could be waiting years for the likes of Jack Hobbs and co to be playing at the top level. I think what Chelsea have is bad for the game in general, but what can LFC and Co do about it? Accept playing second fiddle to Jose and Romans lot year in year out? We are Liverpool Football Club and we have a great history and wonderful traditions. However, the simple cold and hard fact remains...we are not good enough. Now, if Rafa is content with our situation, which I know he isn't, well so be it! The board need to look at the long term big picture and realise that this current situation will slowly get worse.
Last season we finished 37 pts behind them in fifth place, and if based on our current league form, I see it being 40+ pts and outside the top four.
Man Utd have a 67000 seater stadium which is being increased to 75000, and at present they make £1m more that we do, for every home game. That is roughly about 30 - 40 home games per season and you can do the maths. That's every season! We need a new stadium which has all gone very quiet and we need some major investment for Rafa to build a team that doesn't lose 1-4 at home. I know it's not all down to money I here you say, but it makes a massive difference, when you have a squad of talented players to call up on at any time.
You may argue the fact the Charlton and Man City are right up there near the top and they haven't had much investment. I agree and what testiment it is to those smaller teams battling it out near the top. Where will they be at the end of the season though. Probably at very best top 6 and that is a great achievement, but we all know which teams are going to be in the top three don't we?
We need to move forward, not just as a team but as a club, and with that brings new challenges and a new way of thinking. Without those changes and I mean the right changes, being sound investors, with a long term business plan and outlook, we will all have accept that competing for the EPL at the very least is going to be very difficult. Man Utd and Arsenal must be thinking the same, but I don't care about them, but yesterday was a wake up call, for everyone connected to LFC in some way.
I hope we all act accordingly and realise that without the finances in place, the manager and the top class players that we currently have at LFC, may not be around to make a difference.
Your thoughts!
Chelsea have set the new high standards in the EPL and there's no doubt about that. If we are going to try and compete with those new standards, we need the finances in place to buy top quality players who will play the Liverpool way and make the difference between what we are now, which is a top four team (not based on current may I add) and a title contending team. I think we have a core of good players with Reina,Carra,Gerrard,alonso etc, but we all saw how poor Traore and Garcia were yesterday. Traore should have been replaced at half time along with Garcia. Bring on Warnock and Cisse and get some quality service through the midfielders and onto the forwards.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing as I'm sure that you will all agree, but Garcia is not built for the high tempo, physical games like we saw against Man Utd and most recently Chelsea.
Back to my main point: Investment. Like it or not we need a large input of cash to compete with the bset in England and Europe. I would love to see the youth players coming through the ranks and playing exciting and skillful football. However, we could be waiting years for the likes of Jack Hobbs and co to be playing at the top level. I think what Chelsea have is bad for the game in general, but what can LFC and Co do about it? Accept playing second fiddle to Jose and Romans lot year in year out? We are Liverpool Football Club and we have a great history and wonderful traditions. However, the simple cold and hard fact remains...we are not good enough. Now, if Rafa is content with our situation, which I know he isn't, well so be it! The board need to look at the long term big picture and realise that this current situation will slowly get worse.
Last season we finished 37 pts behind them in fifth place, and if based on our current league form, I see it being 40+ pts and outside the top four.
Man Utd have a 67000 seater stadium which is being increased to 75000, and at present they make £1m more that we do, for every home game. That is roughly about 30 - 40 home games per season and you can do the maths. That's every season! We need a new stadium which has all gone very quiet and we need some major investment for Rafa to build a team that doesn't lose 1-4 at home. I know it's not all down to money I here you say, but it makes a massive difference, when you have a squad of talented players to call up on at any time.
You may argue the fact the Charlton and Man City are right up there near the top and they haven't had much investment. I agree and what testiment it is to those smaller teams battling it out near the top. Where will they be at the end of the season though. Probably at very best top 6 and that is a great achievement, but we all know which teams are going to be in the top three don't we?
We need to move forward, not just as a team but as a club, and with that brings new challenges and a new way of thinking. Without those changes and I mean the right changes, being sound investors, with a long term business plan and outlook, we will all have accept that competing for the EPL at the very least is going to be very difficult. Man Utd and Arsenal must be thinking the same, but I don't care about them, but yesterday was a wake up call, for everyone connected to LFC in some way.
I hope we all act accordingly and realise that without the finances in place, the manager and the top class players that we currently have at LFC, may not be around to make a difference.
Your thoughts!