The Liverpool FC Thread XII

they would be realistic if we had the money.
i don't feel like any of them (except maybe the madrid players) would look at us as too much of a step down.
the rest would just need good money and wages to get them here (although chelsea might refuse to sell cech)

those are the kind of players we should at least be bidding for, even if we don't get them.
we showed good intent to go for sanchez; we should at least try for more players like that

We'll go spend another 30-70mil in the summer (not net). We could probably afford 2 from that type of list?

This summer will be another one of those "it depends where we finish this season".

I feel like we'll still need to spend more than that regardless.
Providing we sell the players we don't need/want, we really do need to spend in the summer but actually get it right this time.

No youngsters with potential, no punts on the next big thing
Just buy quality, even if it's a higher price.
We've wasted so much money on trying to do that, and we would've been much better off buying big in the first place.

Balotelli and Lovren cost 36m.
Neither get in to our team.
36m could get you a top striker or a world class defender, that's all I'm saying...

Well Lovren and Balotelli were bought not as youngsters or a punt or the next big thing. They were both seen as players who are in the start of their peak and who have already experience in the premier league.

Basically we just need to buy better.

Why are we being linked with Arbeloa? He won't fix our defence ffs. Can't we keep Manquillo?

I feel like we'll still need to spend more than that regardless.
Providing we sell the players we don't need/want, we really do need to spend in the summer but actually get it right this time.

No youngsters with potential, no punts on the next big thing
Just buy quality, even if it's a higher price.
We've wasted so much money on trying to do that, and we would've been much better off buying big in the first place.

Balotelli and Lovren cost 36m.
Neither get in to our team.
36m could get you a top striker or a world class defender, that's all I'm saying...

That isn't how the football world works though. Almost any transfer has the capacity to fail, regardless of whether you are buying established players or youngsters so spending all your budget on 1 or 2 decent 3rd/4th tier senior players isn't smart at all.

So when Sturridge comes back, do we stick to 3-4-3 or change to a 4-2-3-1 or do we go back to the 4-4-2 diamond that people love?

do you mean a 4-4-2 diamond with sturridge-sterling or with sturridge-balotelli
because i feel like we would work best with sturridge as a spearhead and 2 players out wide (i.e: sterling and markovic for instance)

i like 3-4-3 for us
it accommodates our fullbacks very well, still giving us a solid midfield with henderson and lucas, and also has the creativity up top.

i think overall it would all depend on who we buy (if anybody) this month.

Assuming we don't buy anyone?

So you would go with:



Personally I wonder if we should go to:



Although it is hard to leave Can out.

Assuming we don't buy anyone?

So you would go with:



Personally I wonder if we should go to:



Although it is hard to leave Can out.

Definitely prefer the second option there. Can/Lucas can alternate, I'd have no issue with that.

the first one you mentioned would be my exact XI and formation.
markovic was an excellent RWB against sunderland - even though they were poor, he showed his ability to defend at a "decent" level and his willingness to make a run forward.
plus with 3 centre backs, his lack of defensive experiences would be compensated for.
being able to bring on lallana and gerrard for goals with manquillo as defensive backup would be nice.

4-2-3-1 would be quite an easy, typical formation for us.
not one i would be against though
i feel like having a good set-up for 3-4-3 and 4-2-3-1 would allow us to alter our style depending on the opponent or how things are going during the match.

like i said, this is assuming we don't buy anybody that would go in to the first team.
if we bought a first team striker this month, maybe a diamond would be the way to go

Yea you can see how it's more likely to rip apart certain teams but equally it could be ripped apart?

The 3-4-3 would probably be more likely to break down Villa than the 4-2-3-1. You can see how Lucas and Henderson could get shut down and then stop the ball going into our front 4.

yeah, it's definitely a risky formation against some of the better teams, but we all know rodgers is a risky manager when you look at how he seems to ignore defence and focus only on attacking.

villa's big problem is scoring goals - they've scored a ridiculously low number this season but also conceded few too.
3-4-3 would definitely work better to break down their defence - using wing backs to add to our attack would definitely stretch their defenders and make things easier.

i'm working on the saturday so i won't be able to see the game at all, which will suck.

will we have sturridge back on saturday or will he return for the cup game(s) instead?
come to think of it; 3 cup games in a week - 2 of those aginst chelsea?!
damn...