28 Jul 2015 10:24:52
I think we have a strong enough squad to compete for top 4 and if we had a more experienced Manager,(better) who knows what they could achieve. We all know that Shanks, Paisley, Fagan, Moran Dalglish and Evans all played their respective roles. Each one led a team out at Wembley. This proved that Continuity was the main reason for our success. When Bob took over from Bill he didn't buy 30 players in 3 seasons,27 players in 9 seasons. You will look at the list and see Kenny is the only player he bought that was the finished article and even he had it to prove in England.4 got into the 1st team from the off. 13 of them 27 became regular ist team players. My point is, the boot room coached the players into the system and gave them time. Rogers takes all the credit and none of the blame. Coaches are scapegoats players are scapegoats. Hail Caesar.
28 Jul 2015 11:44:08
We neglected two of the most important areas of struggle this window. The names above would have first bought in a top class keeper and Top class DM without a doubt.
All we did in this window, Adding up attackers to buckle up the goals.
Coaching, Managers, System, tactics, formations and everything related to footie comes second. The first thing are the right players.
I am worried with the long season coming up, One injury to Lucas and we go back to ground zero.
28 Jul 2015 11:59:35
EG - whilst I agree that those positions were areas we could improve in, I disagree that DM was a priority over a striker. We kept more clean sheets than league goals scored by our strikers last season, that alone suggests we needed a striker.
Also don't underestimate the role of coaching, managers and systems. City won the league without a conventional DM and arsenal have been reaching top4 for several years without a top keeper and DM.
We do have a good team and yes it could do with improvements but it's not all doom and gloom mate. Our team is certainly capable of getting top 4 this year
28 Jul 2015 12:06:28
European,
It's so strange that more people aren't really really concerned with our DM and GK issues. Some people on here seem to wear rose tinted glasses when it comes to LFC, Lucas is getting older and will undoubtedly be injured at some point and we are in real trouble then (cue the "let's use Rossiter" chants). And then we have a GK who every wanted shot of until he had a reasonable spell during the mid part of last season but in the end he still can't manage a defense, still can't come for a corner and his distribution must be one of the worst in the premiership BUT, he's a great shot stopper.
I'm worried for the amount of goals that will be scored against us, in my opinion we are not better in defense and defending midfielders than we were last season which doesn't bode well.
28 Jul 2015 12:22:02
Reyman
Exaclty Like Arsenal, Liverpool would be fighting for the 4th place trophy every year. Wenger did try a lot of players in that DM role earier without any success. The moment he put Coquelin with Carzola they looked like the team to beat.
Lets be honest mate, We have sepnd close to 300 mill in past three years and haven't looked at One top class DM. Ignorance?
28 Jul 2015 12:18:28
Rayman
Keeping clean sheet had hardly anything to do with our performance, We scored some wonder goals duering the period and were actually battered by teams. We were outplayed in majority of the games and got lucky with the cleen sheets.
Did Migs had a special GK coach at sunderland?, How about the GK at swansea when BR was the manager?
There is a problem with Migs and its been 3 years.
{Ed002's Note - I will let you know Harry that we are just about done with you again - post after post bleating about players and the club is not going to continue.
Any more and you are gone for the rest of the summer.}
28 Jul 2015 12:41:14
my two pence,
our no1 priority for this coming season 100% should have been a striker. with sturridge out all of last year that costed us dearly and a lack of goals was glaringly obvious.
is our defence & GK good enough? possibly not, but it's nowhere near as bad as people make out. mignolet's distribution is poor at best but his shot stopping (you know that thing that gk's need to be good at) is up there.
we had 13 or 14 clean sheets last year which up there with the best. i'm not saying our defence is honky dory but the striker situation was absolutely a must.
harry - how can you call it ignorance that we haven't signed a top DM in 3 years when:
a) we had lucas who has only over last 18 months begun to get injuries
but more.
b) you seem to think that DM is the solutions to all of our problems and troll every post banging on about it!
pot kettle black???
28 Jul 2015 12:41:43
I am sorry Eds. I would stick to the rumour page mate, only about players.
Thanks
28 Jul 2015 13:04:31
In a slight defence, you weren't allowed 3 subs until the mid 90s I think, and having a first team squad is much more important nowadays. I would rather be in the situation we are now, than the season that our best attacking substitutes were suso or the year after moses and Aspas.
That, or lallana, ings, ibe etc?
28 Jul 2015 13:29:22
I'm inclined to agree with 87red here.
There were quite a few instances where we desperately needed Sturridge on the pitch. I have to admit, I genuinely thought the likes of Lambert, Borini and Balotelli would contribute more than they did over the course of the season, but we were so lacking of a true goalscorer for the vast majority of games. This, I believe, has been rectified. Our new signings will have a far greater impact and - hopefully - Sturridge can get a decent run out this term.
We've added a better pedigree this summer, I feel. Milner and Clyne will instantly improve the squad. Firmino is an exciting prospect (I'm sure we're all dying to see him on the pitch).
However, I don't think this is a case of us just scoring a lot of goals whilst conceding slightly less. I think we'll see more maturity in the team and probably more cohesion on the pitch. Don't forget, the likes of Ibe, Markovic and Coutinho are a year older and wiser and Lallana will hopefully get to show us more of what we all know he's capable of.
In terms of the DM position; well, I still think Can is more than capable of taking that position (even if it is just on those times we are not able to select Lucas). I'm sure plenty will disagree, but he's shown how incredibly adaptable he is. It's incredibly important that he gets a lot of game-time this season.
The defence is not the greatest, but - again - I agree with 87red on this; it's far from as bad as is being made out. We could definitely do with Sakho staying fit (and being happy to play for the club, of course).
28 Jul 2015 15:35:08
Agree with 87red and parma-violet.
28 Jul 2015 15:41:12
Well maybe it's because I'm old, but I remember the days when a good midfielder could be defensive and attacking. I believe Milner neatly fits into this category.
I also remember the mantra: the best form of defence is attack. It certainly served us well when we had Suarez and Sturridge on fire.
It's too simplistic to think that in order to improve your defence you must sign defenders and defensive midfielders. When I watched us last season, the main problem was attacking options and movement. It led to our players dwelling on the ball and getting pressurised. This led to loss of possession and our defence being exposed. Too many times last season we were all bunched up in the centre of the field with only Sterling as our outlet.
We need to get back to fast paced pass and move, we need to get on the front foot and bully teams again. There needs to be an instinctive understanding of where players are and who they're passing too,
I'm very optimistic, Lovren will have a much better season, Firmino will be the 'jack in the box' creative spark we needed last season, Benteke and Sturridge are a constant threat and Milner and Hendo are the midfield dynamos pressing the ball and driving us forward. The defence will improve as a result.
Sometimes the old adages are true, you attack as a team and you defend as a team. It's not about individuals.
28 Jul 2015 16:01:44
I think the sheer physical presence of Benteke will open up some options for the supporting players also. I suspect we'll see more goals coming from midfield because of it.
I'm really hoping that we do see some of the players signed over the past couple of seasons take a step up. It would be great to see some tighter play from Moreno, who - despite making several mistakes - looks to be a real talent and a good attacking threat. I believe that Sakho, as long as he stays fit and is given a good run, will prove to be the CB he's always promised to be.
There are various other players in the first team that we know we can expect more from - Lallana is a prime example for me. He was actually very productive last season, but he just couldn't catch a break in terms of those niggling injuries and his season was a bit stop/start.
Finally, I would really love to see Coutinho take a little bit more of a progression. He's clearly capable of so much. I hope that he relishes playing alongside Firmino and that they develop a good understanding. I can see them causing havoc if they do.
All in all, I can see us giving a lot of teams serious problems. We certainly won't be as two dimensional as we were last season.
28 Jul 2015 16:22:26
I`m with EG on this. Chelsea had holes that cost them the PL and what did they do? the filled the holes in their first 11 no questions asked. What do we do? We buy a bunch of players who seem to be similar to what we already have in the squad without addressing the GK and DM. We did not need Milner due to Hendo and Can. Did not need ings because Origi was already coming. We did not need Gomez(even tho he`s good) because we have Wisdom. We did not need Marko because we already had Ibe. See the pattern here? With all this money, we could have addressed our issues saved some money and been done with it. Instead, we have done the same thing as last season (except addressing the striker aspect)and our defence is still shaky and DM situation is still a shambles should Lucas get injured.
28 Jul 2015 16:45:17
Well said eds. I'm fed up with reading European glory's doom and gloom posts and talking as if he's an expert and pretty much dismissing everyone else opinion.
28 Jul 2015 17:56:59
We could have bought a GK to push Mignolet & a CDM.But bring in any top quality Centre Back or Def Mid, they are still going to struggle.The main problem is Tactics,when we lose the ball,we are not compact.If we like to press higher up the pitch then our defenders also should move higher up the pitch and press just like Barca or we could sit back in a compact shape and beat the opposition by counter attack.Last season we did neither because of which our def midfielder had to cover lots of ground and our defenders were exposed,on top of this our defence lacked communication.So first start would be to get the tactics right but preseason suggests otherwise.
28 Jul 2015 19:55:00
Spot on, indianscouser! Everything has to work hand in hand but first and foremost, it has to start with a coach who knows what he`s doing and how he wants his team to defend in different scenarios. BR has no idea about coaching a defence nor of what defensive system he wants to play It just seems to make it up as he goes along as you posted indian, and that is my worry. Hopefully, the new coaches can help.