By John Humphray
I like most fans have become frustrated with the number of ‘Stars’ linked with us this transfer window.
Among the many listed are players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andrea Pirlo, Sami Khedira and most recently Robert Firminho to name but a few.
Everyone who comes to the EOTK website has an opinion on who/ what we need and I’ve seen a number of people posting there desired transfers and what they think will represent a good window for us.
‘Clyne, Firminho, Bacca’ one read ‘Clyne, Illarehmendi, Lacazette’ read another.
All good suggestions but in my opinion we need as many as 8 in and 11 out to be considered anything like title contenders again this season- and unlike most I personally can’t see any reason why we can’t get them in.
The Big boys are all going to spend big again-that’s a given, our main contenders for a Champions League spot Man United have already signalled their intent with the capture of Memphis Depay whereas on the blue side of Manchester, City are rumoured to be ready to spend upwards of £100M.
To make matters worse the top 4 are already a huge step ahead of us- -our lowly 6th place finish and the 25 point gap between us and Chelsea prove as much.
It’s never easy playing catch up but I do genuinely believe we can bridge the gap. In many ways I actually see our ‘failings’ in the last transfer window as a major blessing and something that could really benefit us this time around. Let me elaborate on that.
A good football ‘Club’ is completely different to a good Football ‘team’. A good club is made up of 4 types of player.
You have the young, up and coming academy players- knocking on the door of the first team- ‘The development players’ with potential.
Then come the squad/ fringe players. Deemed good enough to do a job if necessary when injuries and suspensions inevitably strike.
Then we have the Back Up/ Substitutes- the number 2’s if you will- capable of starting and making an impact in games when things aren’t going your way or the direct replacement for an injured/ suspended starter.
And then you have your First 11- this is something you might debate but for me every manager should have an idea in his head about who his best 11 is and the formation in which they play- The ‘ideal scenario’.
Having spent big last year and in previous windows improving ‘the squad’ we are actually in pretty good shape this time around as a result.
All we need this year is what we have failed to achieve in the windows before – players of first 11 quality.
Our influx of squad players last year has given us the luxury of a having a huge number of players on our books. We are all more than aware however that many of these players are not of the required standard to play for Liverpool Football club and there for should be shipped out ASAP.
Everyone has their favourites but in my opinion these players Include: Aspas (3m), Alberto (3m), Coates (4m), Lambert (2m), Borini (8m), Balotelli (10m), and Joe Allen (10m).
We are also set to lose Glen Johnson, Steven Gerrard and Brad Jones and more than likely- Raheem sterling too (40m).
These players represent the 11 I’d personally ship out this window and their combined transfer fees should conservatively total around £80M.
We have been busy already this summer having signed Milner, Ings, Gomez and Bogdan for a total of roughly £10M after compensation is paid to Burnley.
Now for the fun part:
Adding Bacca to that list would cost us 22M, Firminho would cost us a reported 18M, Kovacic another 18M and Clyne 15M so £73M in total.
This scenario represents a net spend of just £3M and just look at the difference it would make to both our first 11 and the squad.
Last season’s best first 11 (If fit and playing 4-2-3-1)
Mignolet (GK),
Can (RB), Skrtel (CB), Sakho (CB), Moreno (LB),
Henderson (DM), Lucas (DM)
Sterling (RAM) Lallana (CAM) Coutinho (LAM)
Sturridge (CF)
Subs: Allen, IBE, Marcovic, Balotelli, Johnson, Lovren, Jones
Squad: Lambert, Borini, Enrique, Manquillo, Toure, Flanagan, Rossiter
And now what this season’s first 11 could be (If fit and playing 4-2-3-1):
Mignolet (GK)
Clyne (RB) Sktrel (CB) Sakho (CB) Moreno (LB)
Can (DM) Henderson (DM)
Milner (RAM) Firminho (CAM) Coutinho(LAM)
Bacca (CF)
Subs: Sturridge, Kovacic, Lallana, IBE, Lovren, Ings, Bogdan
Squad: Toure, Enrique, Marcovic, Flanagan, Gomez, Wisdom, Origi, Lucas, Illoris
The difference is truly phenomenal! What’s more players like Wisdom, Marcovic, Ibe and Origi won’t be expected to act as first teamers- they aren’t there yet and in this scenario they can take all the time they need to develop into the players we all hope they can become and without all the pressure we as fans naturally place upon them to deliver week in week out.
Players like Lallana, Sturridge, Ings, Lovren and Lucas become options as opposed to the only option for when things go wrong.
And the first team is actually one that is capable of challenging any team in Europe- never mind in England.
The best part? We can achieve all this for a net spend of just 3 Million English pounds!
Thoughts, comments and opinions welcomed. John Humphray.