17 Feb 2017 19:04:29
Let me get this started. Opinions on what we need to improve our squad squad for next season?
In my humble opinion we have more than enough midfielders and our defence remains our biggest stumbling block. Attack we need some more pace.
Mine would be, another forward with loads of pace and Mane style instinct, one adept CB partner for Matip and two adept fullbacks who are able to provide proper width and contribute to our attack.
We do not need to overhaul the squad, we just need to add first team quality players and 4 new additions will be more than enough to take the competitiveness in our squad to the next level.
17 Feb 2017 19:09:09
You're already writing off TAA? He's going to be a great player for us.
17 Feb 2017 19:14:31
I wouldn't mind a new cm tbh, if that means replacing Can then so be it, Lucas will most likely be leaving and we're yet to see whether Stewart will step up. A solid engine midfielder similar to Kante/ Gueye would be perfect for Klopp's system, Franck Kessie maybe? Otherwise you're spot on.
17 Feb 2017 19:20:27
I think a reliable centre back to partner Matip is priority. Lovren can be excellent at times but he's a bit too inconsistent which let's him down unfortunately. Howedes maybe?
I agree that a pacey attacker (especially if couts leaves) is needed as without Mane we look a shadow of our usual selves. Julian Brandt here?
I think only one full back is needed and it is this lad on loan at Nice who can cover both full backs, Pereira. For the first season he can play right back and Milner can continue at left back (as that for me is his best position) and then the following season or the end of next season Trent AA should be ready to start in the first team.
I think a lot depends on formation really as if we play a 433 then that should be adequate but if we play a 4231 then another forward is needed so if sturridge as well as couts leaves goes then a striker is needed so perhaps this is Mariano.
I haven't really thought about this before so it's all off the top of my head so don't hammer my suggestions too much!
17 Feb 2017 19:27:02
No EpicPotato, I have not written off TAA. I am merely making a point that we need an upgrade on the likes of Clyne as well as move him on. TAA seems to be a youngster Klopp is willing to work with. The lad is only 18, still has plenty to learn and definitely will not be learning much from Clyne.
17 Feb 2017 19:28:23
We either start to trust Ojo or Ejaria a bit more or we get a LW. We're desperately short of a 20+ goal a season striker too. I still think Lovren and Matip could be our CB pairing. Karius is still good enough to be our no.1 GK. We have a lot of quality youth coming through. Stewart is good enough if we need a CDM. Ojo could be our LW. LB and striker are my main areas I feel we need to strengthen. Milner has done a fantastic job covering but when we break quickly it has to go down the right because Milner is too slow to partner Couts out there. There is Grujic too who is a deep play maker I believe who I almost forgot about. Hopefully he can have another good preseason.
17 Feb 2017 19:35:50
Why do you believe a player like Kante will be perfect for Klopp's system when he has hardly used a defensive midfielder since becoming Liverpool manager and has not shown any signs in the transfer market that he has been after a DM. Not saying Kante is a natural defensive midfielder but that is his current position at Chelsea.
Arsenal have conceded 2 goals less than us in the EPL this season with two holding midfielders. City conceded one less than us. Our midfield destroyed Spurs and they could not do the same to us. Have we been humiliated as badly as Arsenal this season who play with two holding mids when Klopp has had no intention of deploying a dedicated defensive midfielder?
In fact, were any of our defeats this season down to not having a dedicated defensive midfielder on the pitch?
17 Feb 2017 19:46:11
I 100% agree with the OP.
Mariano (St), Brandt (Lw), Pereira (Rb), Nacho (Cb) and Tymon (Lb) will do me!
No complete overhaul, just address key issues; pace up top, decent full backs, and a solid centre back.
I don't particularly want us to go and blow everyone out the water with a massive signing as I believe it would affect the harmony and togetherness we have got in the squad.
17 Feb 2017 19:58:35
Agree MK, however, if Mariano rejected a loan move to us in January then I doubt he will want to come permanently. We also do not know whether Madrid are actually willing to sell him. Also do not believe we need two forwards as that will just set back someone like Woodburn.
One new forward will be enough. Klopp has also pretty much shown that he does not need a striker to see plenty of goals. We are joint top scorers in the League this season without a regular striker as well us leading scorers in the League since Klopp arrived.
17 Feb 2017 20:18:46
Henderson has been our midfield anchorman this season and doubt that is going to change next season either, even if klopp decides to revert back to a midfield 2.
17 Feb 2017 20:26:25
An experienced keeper to push and work alongside Karius.
A centre back who is comfortable on the ball to play alongside Matip
A right back to replace Clyne and again push and work alongside TAA.
A young left back ( perhaps Juanma) to again be pushed and work alongside Milner.
An experienced physically strong CDM player ro work apongside Stewart and move Hendo forward.
A left sided forward player with pace and power to add balance.
I believe Firmino is our number 9 and will stay as our number 9. If Sturridge does move on then he may need to be replaced.
Overall we need to add a bit of experience, calm headed football players who can allow our flair players to do what they do best.
17 Feb 2017 20:53:06
I'm not saying Hendo should be replaced by any means but i don't think Can is good enough as things stand if we want to aim for winning the league, we then have: Wijnaldum, Hendo, Lallana, Stewart and Grujic (who most likely won't be ready next year either considering his lack of game time) .
One injury and suddenly our midfield looks very thin again, we should also have some form of European football next year and that is not enough strength in depth for a 3 man central midfield imo. Someone like Kessie would do much of the running required from our midfield and give us a variety of options, allowing the front 3 to play with more freedom (just like Chelsea)
17 Feb 2017 21:22:14
Kante is not a defensive midfielder. He covers so much ground and yes he would be perfect for our style. He wins the ball back so much all over the pitch allowing attacks to start higher up the pitch. Klopp's style!
17 Feb 2017 21:35:24
From what I have seen of Kante, he is very much like Wijnaldum. A box to box ball winner who can run with the ball when required.
If you look at his partners (Drinkwater and now Matic) they are always less mobile players with the better passing range. A similar set up to what we have with Gini and Hendo.
I honestly cannot believe how under rated Gini is on here. Were it not for Mane, I think he would've got serious recognition for his Spurs performance. I really rate him. He just buzzes around doing the ugly stuff very well and occasionally produces a cracking goal or a world class through ball. Excellent foil for Hendo.
17 Feb 2017 21:42:29
True Max, but I think Mariano is more of the luxury signing anyway. He would simply be to add to the strike force. I think Firmino will still start all the big games as the main striker because Klopp values his pressing so highly.
It could be any pacey striker really, just to replace Sturridge who is looking like leaving. Maybe todays Solanke rumours have legs? Who knows. Either way I I mainly hope we get a proper left winger and a proper left back. Drop Couts into the middle and get Milner back on the bench as a utility player! Our left side is by far our main weakness. Tymon and Brandt would give us great balance. Be nice to add Pereira for right back but to be honest, why not let Arnold play? Start him in there young. He is already good enough in my opinion.
17 Feb 2017 22:11:59
Loads of midfielders doesn't make a good balanced midfield. There is no genuine cover for Henderson or a holding mid. I would offload Can and buy one player in that position. We need one brilliant passing midfielder and that is not Stewart accrding to me.
A left back is a must and I would sacrifice Moreno for it.
I am not sure how could we bring in a new CB without offloading Lovren or Klavan ( I am convinced we aren't bringing anyone )
A left winger and a striker to replace Sturridge.
17 Feb 2017 22:01:22
All of this comes down to the amount wehave to spend.
I agree with most about positions needed bit we are not going to get them all in the summer.
It's got to be real quality added if we can't get the main target in a certain position then we leave it and try for a main target in another position.
For me a top CB, matip is injured fairly often and lovren needs leading.
Then a pacey winger to go with mane. When teams park the bus which we will see more often now atleast we have extra movement to break them.
Lastly a quality LB then the rest can wait until another window.
17 Feb 2017 22:09:22
Priority 1: A half decent goalkeeper who knows how to catch a ball.
17 Feb 2017 22:26:13
I would think a top class GK is kinda of a must if we can offload mignolet - Jordan Pickford anyone? Ben Gibson at boro looks like he could be a top class cb but I also think Gomez showed he might be able to cut it at the very highest level so would be just as happy to leave the cbs as is and maybe look at the very highest of calibre lb (who is there tho? Hardly lots of them about) .
We can't keep buying players for the academy or older talents like Gomez, Markovic, Grujic and Origi and not giving them time. Same could be said about Ward and Karius too to be fair although I think a mistake by a gk always leads to a goal so it's a difficult place to blood a youngster.
I would be happy to replace Mignolet, Moreno and Sturridge (only cos he just doesn't fit and would be the most saleable asset we have outside of first 11). Think wiji is getting better as season goes on so no need to replace and Mane should get competition from ojo, Wilson and Woodburn next year.
17 Feb 2017 22:26:03
Exactly WelshRed! We need a physical midfielder to help the energy of our midfield because to expect Wijnaldum, Hendo and Lallana to run a short marathon twice a week all season is ludicrous.
No one is underrating Wijnaldum, I think he's a serious asset to the team but we need some strength in depth which i don't believe Can, Grujic and Stewart are at this moment in time.
17 Feb 2017 23:21:24
Dont need another nunber 10 unless one leaves so no for brandt.
Lovren, matip, klavan and gomez are sound for cbs.
Cm and lb for me.
Id go for a better quality back up for hendo and gini and there are two starter.
I like the look of tysom.
Maybe more paxe somewhere in the frint. Mariano looks a good player, if we wanr him though we might have to acceot a buy back clause. But if they would give us 2 years or something before activating then might not be that bad.
17 Feb 2017 23:37:08
Lots of outs for me. with only a few ins. Mignolet, Bogdan, Moreno, Lovren, Sakho, Lucas, Emre, Brannagan, Markovic, Sturridge. i would bring in a CB, LB, CM and winger. something like Brandt, Dahoud, Tymon and i have no idea about a CB but ed002 seems to rate Süle pretty highly so maybe someone like him. then there's a decision to be made on Ward being seen as good enough to compete with Karius or if we need to let him go to develop and bring in an experienced keeper. Begovic or Schmeichel or someone like that.
18 Feb 2017 03:08:37
Karius will likely be number 1 next season, and I think it a priority to bring in a solid 2nd choice who can do a job when called upon, so I would let Mignolet go.
Klavan is an okay player, but we need an improvement there IMO and I would let Klavan go and bring in a CB to partner Matip with Lovren and Gomez as back-ups.
Moreno has really shown no improvements and I think it foolhardy to wait for him to reach a level he may never reach, so I would let him go and bring in a first choice LB. TAA will be the competition for Clyne and I see no reason to replace Clyne.
In midfield, we need to have better quality, and more competent squad players who can really push the starters. Emre Can, Lucas and Stewart I would let go, thus leaving Henderson, Wijnaldum, Lallana, Grujic and Ejaria. I think we need to bring in a defensive midfielder who can slot in when needed and push Henderson forward if required.
Sturridge will leave in the summer IMO, and Ings is coming back from multiple serious injuries. A striker is needed and again pace maybe something we can look in a potential new striker.
We have seen what pace can do to compliment our pressing style up top with Mane, so this is where the focus should be IMO. Brandt is a wide player, but not particularly quick, but he is a good dribbler and a clever player; I would bring him in as the wide player in addition to Coutinho, Mane, Woodburn and Ojo.
One thing I want to say is that there are one too many idealistic posts here calling for the likes of Mariano, Tymon as well as calling for the likes of Ojo and Ejaria to step and fill int he gaps left by senior players. It might be that they can fill those gaps, but recent history has shown as that waiting on young players to come good is a patient process for which we cannot afford. Give the young players the time to develop through cameos and in cups and with training with the first team, but if we bring in a GK, LB, CB, CM, LW and a ST, it needs to be players ready to step in and perform straight away or we will be here in 2 years time, saying the same thing again, as we have been for a very long time.
18 Feb 2017 07:54:33
I think we are in a position now where we have a good competitive squad with a great crop of young players busting to get into the team, problem now is, do we manage to keep coutinho firmino? There isn't many that I would change in our line up, think it's time to start buying one or 2 players with all we have available and get the best possible for the position that's willing and fits the mound. Starting with a left back! I have a feeling the club feel Gomes is good enough to become a long term feature at cb with matip 2 fast cb's with pretty much a perfect combo of skill sets. Big question I guess if studge goes do we sign a striker for our system and go 4-2-3-1 again but with new striker with cou-firm-mane and possible hendo wij behind where does that already leave lallana.
18 Feb 2017 10:17:40
I largely agree with the real AG
As per last summer I expect Klopp to keep the core of the squad together, sell mostly players we aren't using and then buy a few to improve depth. The squad has largely shown it can compete when everyones fit, and it's only when a few key players are injured we have been off the pace (most notably Mane, Hendo and Matip) and in two other notable positions that we've really struggled when everyone is fit (CB and GK) .
By core of the current squad I mean the following
Coutinho, Firmino, Mane
Gini, Hendo, Llalana
Milner, [Lovren], Matip, Clyne
[Mignolet]
In order of priority I would therefore focus on
1) Bring in a senior GK to compete with and eventually handover to Karius - Migs has had long enough to prove he's the long term solution and not convinced. Suggestion Handanovic
2) Bring in a top CB to compete with Lovren - with recent injury history I'd be tempted to keep both Lovren and Klavan but perhaps Klavan would have to go. Suggestion would be to bring in someone like Tah
3) We really need quality cover for Hendo, it's a crucial role in the team and we don't have anyone who can defend at the level required while still being able to dictate play from the back. Suggestion would be someone like Carvalho or Dahoud, and the space could be created through Lucas's departure (and perhaps Stewart sent on loan)
4) I think we definitely need a goal-scoring wide player to compete with and/ or cover Coutinho and Mane if they get injured. Suggestion seems to be Brandt and space could be created through the sale of Sturridge who is not proving a great fit for Klopp
5) Moreno hasn't worked, I think we should move for Pereira to cover LB and compete with Milner
Do we need another striker? I would argue not with Firmino, Origi, and Ings still to return. I can see the argument if a top player became available though, but would have to be someone at the highest level to justify.
That would leave our first team squad fairly unchanged which is good for consistency
Coutinho, Firmino, Mane
Gini, Hendo, Llalana
Milner, Tah, Matip, Clyne
Handanovic
And subs team as
Forwards : Brandt, Origi, Ings, Ojo, Wilson
Midfield : Dahoud, Can, Grujic, Woodburn, Ejaria
Defenders : Pereira, Lovren, Gomez, TAA, Juanma, [Klavan]
GK's : Karius
That gives a good balance of a strong first team + some real challengers for a starting spot (Ings, Brandt, Dahoud, Lovren, Pereira, Karius) and developing talent (Origi, Ojo, Woodburn, Can, Grujic, Gomez, TAA etc. )
18 Feb 2017 12:04:23
Ultimately our transfer plans depend on how klopp see's the team developing, what formation he wants to play and what players at the club he likes. Something which i am starting to lose faith in him with given players like klavan, lovren, karius and mignolet have let us down so badly.
If i was Klopp, i'd be looking at it like this:
Goalkeeper - Mignolet has to go otherwise i will never expect liverpool to win anything. We need a mature, first team goalkeeper to play most of the games while karius develops and plays in cup games and the such like, a similar arrangement Barcelona had with bravo and ter stegen. I think handanovic in terms of ability would be a great choice but ideally an english speaking player would be best, as i'm sick of seeing a lack of communication at the back, so i'd probably go for Begovic.
Left Back - Again this is dependent on how klopp see's milner and juanma. Moreno, again, has to go, the guy isn't good enough. If klopp see's milner as the long term choice, we should buy a young left back, like chilwell, who is good enough, or give juanma a chance. I don't know whether signings will happen in this area but the current set up with moreno as backup has to change.
Centr back - Need i say more? Lovren, klavan, sakho, all should be sold. Like mignolet and moreno, they constantly look like rabbits in headlights while playing, except for sakho who i do believe had the right mentality for this club, but then pissed it away with his behaviour. 2 quality centre backs WHO FIT IN are needed. there's no point buying one if they have a lack of a winners personality and can't communicate with their peers. Ihave no answers for this one at all, i would personally have signed fonte. Klopp will have to pull one out of the hat for this one in the summer, i think the personality of the players is key here.
Midfield - Honestly, i like stewart. He should get more games. What we have to decide is whether their are two many workers in our midfield, which i think there are. None of them are players i would want to sell but if klopp wants to buy a more creative player in the modric mould, then maybe one should leave. Personally i would just move coutinho back here to play alongside henderson and lallana, allow stewart to cover for henderson. Wijnaldum, grujic, can and stewart can play of as and when they're needed. Also i have faith in brannagan to be good enough.
Left Wing - Assuming we move coutinho back into midfield, we need another winger. I know nothing about julian brandt but in all honesty, please, no more young ones unless they are fully developed, we might as well be using ojo and wilson here anyway. However seeing as though klopps system relies heavily on wingers and we currently have one first team winger in mane, i genuinly think we need top quality here. A player who isn't a complete melt and won't bottle it when the chips are down, who has confidence in their ability and has won stuff. Aubameyang? We can dream but i think we need someone of mane's quality on the other side of the pitch.
Striker- the biggest conundrum we face. All the strikers we have have thinks going both for and against them. A fit sturridge is the ideal liverpool centre forward for me, but will he be the same player again? Nobody knows, can we afford to wait? Firmino is not a player i rate as highly as everyone else, for me he just isn't clinical, creative or skillful enough despite having a good touch and good movement, he does not apply his ability well enough. Origi has been tragic at times this season but we've seen what he can do, he has serious potential. And danny ings is a player who should fit in perfectly but honestly, we don't even know if he will play again, but we can't just ditch him? Honestly i feel like something has to drastically change but this one is more up to klopp than us. He has more faith and time for firmino than i do. But something has to change in our striker mix for us to be successful.
18 Feb 2017 10:58:02
Pickford is NOT a top class GK. That is just fantasy. N BTW, all the top GK's are all taken so where are we going to get one, exactly? And NO, Joe Hart is not top class.
18 Feb 2017 11:11:49
See many going on about Kessie, who I have never seen kick a ball, is only 20 and will most likely need time to adjust coming from the much less physical Serie A and deal with the pace of the EPL so anyone who believes he will just come in and hit the ground running need to have a reality check.
Again, who is to say that this is the kind of player Klopp is interested in? We have Lucas and Stewart who are both defensive minded midfielders but have featured very little in midfield this season. We are better off developing Stewart instead of blowing half of the transfer budget on some player who will get as much playing time as Stewart has this season.
I reckon many are going to be disappointed when the summer window has come and gone and the defensive midfielder majority of fans crave will not arrive. It is quite clear so far since Klopp arrived at Liverpool that he has very little interest in integrating a specialist defensive midfielder into his setup.
18 Feb 2017 11:46:12
For me a solid busy CM/ DM. our defence gets no protection and therefore are too exposed. this then adds pressure to the GK.
we also need a recognised striker Firminio is not a striker! sturridge is too lazy and very hot and cold.
we just need tweaking.
18 Feb 2017 11:56:15
We just need a hardworking centre forward who can finish like Aumbamenyang or Lewandowski. Simple. I really think Danny Ings fit the mould but I would buy a back up in Shane Long or even Insignia.
18 Feb 2017 12:28:43
Woolback, actually, Klopp's system does not rely heavily on wingers. Our wide forwards cut in anyway.
Klopp's system requires his fullbacks to provide the width. Something Clyne has proven not to be very good at. Milner on the other hand has done pretty well getting forward but problem is that he is on his wrong foot.
Begovic will be a pretty decent signing but this ship has sailed. We could have gone for him when he was still at Stoke. There us absolutely no chance Chelsea will be selling Begovic to Liverpool unless we offer double to triple what other clubs are willing to pay so signing him now will make absolutely no sense.
Regarding strikers, I will make the point again. We are not struggling to score goals without a proper striker. Firmino's movement alone, always finding himself in the right place, starting attacks from deep, his game intelligence and his incredible work rate are the reasons why Firmino will always be the first name on the team sheet.
18 Feb 2017 13:37:56
Look at it this way. Do you want any of gini, hendo, lallana, mane, coutinho or firmino dropped or sold?
No for me. So we can't be spending 30 mil on a back up gor them. Have to use the youth.
Defence. Lovren and matip where sound at the start of the season and for the majority until injuries and afcon.
Need a lb and another cm for cover as can, lucas and grujic are not adaquate enough.
18 Feb 2017 13:42:43
Anyone rate Butland as a keeper?
18 Feb 2017 13:56:01
Ron, how much are you willing to pay for Butland and remember one thing, the most important thing about our GK situation. Many of the teams below us will laugh at Mignolet's wages and the teams ahead of us will not be even have a sniff.
I doubt there are many clubs interested in Mignolet so if there is not going to be much interest in Mignolet then he will be at Liverpool next season. If Liverpool want to get rid of Mignolet then he will hold all the cards and the club which signs him will take us to the cleaners.
I honestly believe there will be no GK's arriving in the summer unless Mignolet takes it upon himself to find a new club. Good luck to Liverpool.
18 Feb 2017 14:54:02
We need a left back to replace Moreno.
We need another fast wide player to compliment Mane and not jeaporadose us when he can't play and we have European football next year and more games. (Think how many wingers Arsenal and Chelsea have! )
We need a holding midfielder to play with Henderson to replace Lucas and Can.
That'll do me for now. Too many changes is just a backward step.
18 Feb 2017 15:09:35
Need a holding midfielder to play with Henderson. Ha ha, getting more and more ridiculous when it is not a secret how Klopp wants his team to play :-O.
18 Feb 2017 15:58:38
Max, I think GK is the one position that we can dramatically improve on and it will impact on results immediately.
I'd be willing to pay £20-30m for the right keeper, not sure if that's Butland or not.
It is my belief we have the worst GK situation in the top 6.
Ed002 has implied that Migs will not be happy playing second fiddle so may look for another club. I'm aware we'd take a financial hit but then they shouldn't have been so stupid as to give Migs a 5yr contract.
18 Feb 2017 16:21:48
Makes no difference Ron irrespective of who made the decision to give Mignolet a fancy new contract. Liverpool are not in the best situation trying to get rid of Mignolet. If Mignolet does not go then a new GK will not arrive. It is as simple as that whether you want to believe it or not so there is virtually no point in arguing whether we need a new GK if Mignolet does not go.
18 Feb 2017 16:45:33
Ron, that keeper is Karius.
Klopps choice. Got to accept it mate.
18 Feb 2017 17:25:03
He's not ready Puzzled.
18 Feb 2017 17:34:45
Well Ron, the only way Karius will become ready is to give him a chance. Karius is not going to do any wore than Mignolet.
Suck it up.
18 Feb 2017 18:56:13
Ron, and you know he's not ready how? After ten games? If that was the standard then Migs should have been dumped 3 years ago or DeGea would be at Getafe right now as he was that bad after ten games. Come on, man. You're better than that. BTW, with all the 30m GK's taken and us not having a chance at any of them, who should we get? I suggest you get with the programme. Karius will be no 1 next season as was this season before he broke his hand. That's Klopp's choice and that's that.
18 Feb 2017 19:57:05
We are not buying a first choice keeper nor a £30 mill CB. People need to take those from their bucket list. Klopp prefers Karius as number 1. Let it go that way while he also is in love with Lovren.
I however expect a LB and then attacking players.
18 Feb 2017 21:19:16
The OP - "opinions on what we need"
My opinion is we need a half decent GK who can catch a ball.
Karius can't/ won't catch, he prefers to flap at a ball.
Until he changes he will never be a decent premier league GK.
It's not the most outrageous suggestion so I don't understand the outrage and scitty comments about "being better than that".
Anyone who has watched us defend crosses can see the fear and bewilderment in our GK's eyes - Migs or Karius.
Klopp gave Migs a 5yr contract and said he's the most intelligent keeper he's worked with. I don't trust Klopp's judgement with keepers.
18 Feb 2017 22:34:33
Ron,
Are you doubting Klopp Mr. Believer 😎. Oh My!
19 Feb 2017 08:49:27
Being a believer is about believing in the team, that's clear from everything Klopp says.
Based on evidence his judgement of goalkeepers is flawed
Last season:
- 5yr contract for Migs
- Migs is the most intelligent keeper I've worked with
- we have lots of quality goalkeepers
This season:
- picking Karius when he wasn't ready then dropping him after the media criticised him.
- chopping and changing between Migs and Karius for the rest of the season.
Anyway that's the end of this thread for me, I feel very strongly about this topic but I don't like monopolising a thread as I know it irritates the eds too. So I'm bowing out of this one.
{Ed001's Note - I will get started on it now.}