17 Aug 2022 16:46:42
Brenneton Diaz of Blackburn would be a good signing at 15 million
17 Aug 2022 20:15:42
Other clubs getting busy, we need to get our finger out or we will be stuck with the same team as last year
17 Aug 2022 21:46:46
we do whack i must admit i thought we would spend a lot more really,i think were miles short,squad now is not good enough for top10 not a chance in hell,i think we will get a cb,and cm,id like a big name striker in patrick schick from leverkaisen would be a quality signing ib my opinion he's got the lot deadly around box and is good in air,same with icardi who i rate aswell
18 Aug 2022 00:41:55
Based on squad alone, who finishes in the Top 10? Not having a go, just interested to understand why some feel we are way off?
Obviously "the big 6" but who else? West Ham for sure and Wolves, Leicester, Newcastle maybe? Beyond that I don't see many teams with a squad as good as ours - I think (and I'm sure most are sick of hearing me say it) we aren't that far off being a very good squad, for me we are missing a "passer" in midfield but beyond that I don't think the rest of the squads we would be eying are dramatically better than ours, certainly not to the extent where I would right off a Top 10 finish already.
18 Aug 2022 07:21:50
BK, I think some people are using last seasons position as the yardstick.
We underperformed last season but mainly due to having to adapt to not having that one player we knew we could rely on to pull the strings.
Players like Mings, Konsa, Watkins, Luiz and Mcginn have all shown they can cut it at this level in Claret and Blue but just need to re-find that level and hit it consistently.
18 Aug 2022 07:50:55
100% agree RK, we finished 14th last season but it was fine margins, we rectify a few marginal results and we propell ourselves to 8th or 9th last season IMO. I'll be very disappointed if we don't see a player or two come in the door before the window shuts but we still possess a forward like of.Ings, Watkins, Buendia, Coutinho, Bailey etc.We have Argentina's number 1 between the sticks, international fullbacks in Digne and Cash, CBs that include Carlos (albeit he's injured now), Mings, Chambers and Konsa and a decent Midfield which now contains somebody who has an opportunity to start for France at the World Cup. There is a talented squad there that is missing a few keys pieces but for me isn't a million miles away from the the teams above us. If we can get a No.8 (which I'm still hopeful we will) and a CB in to replace Carlos I think we are in a great place. My biggest worry this season isn't the squad, it's the manager, he needs time but I am starting to worry he may die on certain hills like Coutinho over Buendia for example or the insistence on playing both Ramsey and McGinn. Time will tell I guess, I'm still hopeful and positive for the end of the window and season ahead.
18 Aug 2022 09:54:52
13 teams finished ahead of us last year, we brought in 2 players that make our first team and we have lost 1 of them for probably the whole season, is kamara the difference between 14th and 8th? I don’t think so not on his own anyways, our defence last year was very disappointing and it’s the same defence now for this year, even Martinez last season wasn’t a patch on his first season with us so we need every player to be better than last year, will that happen? Probably not so we need to upgrade at least 2 positions 3 if we are honest with ourselves to have a realistic chance of top 10 or better
18 Aug 2022 10:05:06
its not being negative,its just that a lot of players need replacing,and our manager is not a good manager,but time will tell stevie talks a good game and that's it,the top6 will stay same,wolves,ncastle,brighton,leicester,
man u,will make up top10
18 Aug 2022 10:06:23
If they underperformed last season then yes, I would expect them to be better and finish higher.
Last season was disjointed for multiple reasons, this season should in theory be more settled.
5 subs means the squad matters and we have improved the depth of the squad. We actually signed 3 starters with Coutinho even though I wish Buendia was ahead of him.
If Gerrard makes the right decisions and the team play anywhere near their best most games then we have enough to be top half and push towards that 7th place.
18 Aug 2022 12:45:51
I think we need a little perspective here so on the positive side the squad is in my opinion stranger than this time last year and I genuinely believe we are 2 to 3 real quality signings away from being in a position to challenge for the top six. Having said that given our start I don’t see a significant difference to us in terms of performance this season than last and therefore using last year’s position as a yardstick isn’t an unreasonable thing to do. We have addressed the issue of creativity in the signings of Buendia and Coutinho but not the problem of being profligate in front of goal, until that gets addressed we are a mid table premiership side at best. The other issue is with the manager whilst he needs to be given time to mould the squad into how he wants to play and that will take time, I would expect that after 9 months he would know his best XI and develop tactics to suit the personnel he has at his disposal but I don’t see evidence of either at the moment.
18 Aug 2022 13:37:09
Rk, we had couthinho last season so he’s not exactly a new addition to our starting 11 and your right he shouldn’t be a starter. So as I said we have 1 new player in our starting 11, we have a sub keeper and left back who will only get a game if our 1st choice get injured, Olsen makes us weaker if he’s in goal and the left back is untested yet, Carlos was a big signing and he’s a huge loss, personally I think Ramsey will push on this year and improve and I think maginn getting the armband will make him better and play more like he does for Scotland, couthinho is the 1 who bothers me the most in midfield I don’t think he’s better than Buendia, his passing is woeful 75% of the time, very little end product from him, I think konsa or mings need a European CB beside them, it’s hard to say about Ollie and Danny up front, we know they can score goals but do we take a chance on them? I think it’s highly unlikely that we sign a striker I’m hoping archer is going to shine when he gets his chances
18 Aug 2022 14:23:31
Whack re your hope that Mcginn plays more like he does for Scotland is linked to the formation Gerrard decides to play. If he goes 4-3-3 then assuming Kamara is the central holding midfielder then Ramsey has to play left and Mcginn right and that isn’t his best position and won’t get the best out of him in my opinion.
If however we go 4-2-3-1 which Gerrard seemed to favour at times last season then McGinn could play the centre of the 3 behind the striker which is his best position by far. The problem with that formation is twofold one we don’t have another quality holding midfielder to sit alongside Kamara and we don’t have a striker prolific enough to take advantage of the chances created.
That’s why I think Gerrard needs to decide how he wants to play and get players in to suit the system and if that means difficult decisions need to be made re selling some of the established stars to fund the changes he wants to make then so be it, he is the manager and he needs to be backed
18 Aug 2022 15:03:19
Coutinho joined on loan in January having not played football for months. He couldn't have had any effect on half the season and came to us as someone else's player with effectively no preseason. Given the circumstances I'd say he's effectively a new signing for the season but hasn't had the effect we'd want or expect when fully fit.
Lord, I fully agree that if Gerrard makes no effort to work the tactics around the skillset of the players then maybe bottom half is our level but that's a Gerrard problem rather than a squad problem. The players we would need to play the Liverpool or City way already play for top clubs and cost a huge amount of money and we're not in a position to get them.
We have a squad capable of doing what West Ham did but not a system that allows them to do it right now.
18 Aug 2022 15:53:37
disagree rk westham player for player apart from emi,and cash would be all hammers players,difference is westham have a better scout set up ours haven't been great,we don't seem to pluck gems from southamerica,scandanavia,africa etc,take brighton they have a good set scouting setup,and continue to do well because they have a good manager who knows what he is doing
18 Aug 2022 17:24:00
Re couthinho: not only has he now had a full pre season but he’s with us since January and picked up right where he left off in may, he will still be the same come Christmas he’s not going to make us better, best thing can happen now is he misses a few weeks with the injury he got on Saturday and emi gets his chance to prove himself.
Jonny I agree West Ham probably better than us in at least 8 or 9 positions
18 Aug 2022 17:32:10
I disagree. West Ham had a gameplan that suited them and they played consistently well but if you compare individuals at the quality they can play at the shared team would be more even.
Digne is a better full back than Cresswell.
Watkins, Ings and Antonio are fairly even and comes down to preference more than quality as they all bring something different.
CBs I would say ours are better if you have the same level of protection West Ham give theirs.
I like Benrahma but Buendias energy and tackling give him the edge in my opinion.
Give Kamara enough games to show it and he'll be on par with Rice.
For me Soucek and Bowen are the only ones that 100% walk into our team matching up positions. Rice if you take out Mcginn or Ramsey to add the second DM.
18 Aug 2022 18:01:33
I agree rk player for players I think overall we have the edge but where I think they score above us is they have a system they are comfortable with and the manager is tactically astute both in terms of on the pitch but also when it comes to transfer targets which is pretty impressive with him having to deal with the Golds and Sullivan et al.