FanNation

what do u guys think will happen to liverpool after all the things that are going on off the field?

Front office? I think Rafa will stay, Perry will leave. I hope that Hicks and Gillette just sell, they clearly have no idea what they're doing and they are lucky that their antics didn't tank this season for the team (less classy players and it would have).

Perry's lost the confidence of everyone I think, so moving him along is a good idea.

Hicks is selling for sure, but it sounds like Gillette wants to stay, selling a portion of his stock, but still owning shares of the team. The fan's confidence and backing of the upper staff wont return until Hicks and Gillete leave and DIC show they know how to run the team, so everything should be fine in a season or so. Im confident Liverpool will build more over the summer (hopefully bringing in another star like Torres), probably selling some to make way (ie Ryan Babel, Peter Crouch) but overall Liverpool will get better

i dont pay much attention to the business side of Liverpool, only arsenal, but with the amount of debt Liverpool FC is in it makes sense that they would sell. On the pitch however, it would be a bad decision to sell babel, as he has so much raw talent. However, i think they should clear out a lot of the shop (Crouch, Pennant, and Riise or FInnan, and Kewell). If they can pick up another big time forward, I would say sell Kuyt because he hasn't proven that he is worth the money and he is always relegated to the right side. Liverpool needs to add another top forward and a top outside midfielder.

I hope the Hicks dic* should sell, but the team should really just stick in here. I say we bring in at outside mid Ricardo Quaresma and the new striker could be someone that has a lot of upside to them. Not necessairly someone that is a star now. Get rid of Crouch, Finnan, and one of me favs Kewell. He just has to go. Babel is too young and has too much potential to be sold, so that shouldn't and won't happen. Besides all that, I think Liverpool are in good shape and should be their normal old selves next year.

I might as well post my shopping list for my beloved Reds. We won't do any of it, but oh well.

We have a number of players with good market value that won't fit in the side right now, and if we intend to keep playing the 4-5-1 then we need to do some reshuffling.

Crouch, Pennant, KEWELL, Voronin, and Benayoun should all be moved out. They don't fit well in the current system and all are not the quality of players we'll need to overtake the league next season.

The core of the team that I want to see come back next season will be Carragher and Agger, Riise, Mascherano, Alonso, Gerrard, Babel, and Kuyt, with Aurelio, Skrtel, Arbeloa, and Lucas providing some depth.

That leaves some obvious gaping holes, especially on the wings. 4-5-1 wings are a bit different from traditional 4-4-2 wings, and there are a few players out there who I think would fit perfectly.

First and foremost, David Silva from Valencia. He is going to cost a huge amount of money, but he is most assuredly worth it. I really think that he is going to be his generation's Zidane, and he would be absolutely perfect either on the wings or as the deep attacker as required.

Second, as already mentioned is Ricardo Quaresma. Young guy who already has experience in a 4-5-1 setup. He gets compared to Ronaldo but I think a better comparison is probably Luis Figo back in his prime. He should be a bit cheaper than Silva and would likewise be a perfect fit.

Third, Joaqin. He too would cost a bundle, but probably less than Silva. He'll be a good target if Silva's price is too high.

Finally, last of the big prices, Riccardo Montolivo from Fio. He's had a great season, and would likewise fit in extremely well either in the middle or on the wings. I think he's the next Totti or Del Piero, and with the big Italian clubs all eyeing Ronaldinho and Nasri I think he might slip under the radar a bit.

Continued...

We'll also need to add a defender. The perfect solution would be Micah Richards, but he's probably not going to be available. If we don't want Arbeloa starting at right back (and we drop Finnan...probably about time) we should add some serious quality back there to compliment Riise (a necessity in a 4-5-1). Hello, Dani Alves. If not you, Richards or Cristiano Zaccardo, assuming AC Milan isn't able to afford him (lets hope).

All of these are, of course, very expensive, and we'll probably only be able to sign 2 of the players I've mentioned in a best case scenario. With that in mind, I have a few guys who I would love for us to pursue that should be a bit cheaper.

First, Renato Augusto from Flemenco (Brazil). He's tipped as "the next everything" and like Silva is the perfect fit anywhere in a 4-5-1. He's very young, and might have permit issues, but if we can land him he should be a class act.

Second, Stefano Mauri from Lazio. He's more of a traditional winger, but I really think he's one of the most underrated players in Europe and he should add some depth at a knockdown price.

Finally, Gonzalo Castro. He can play left or right back and should be able to replace Finnan right away. He'll be my first choice if Alves is out of reach.

If we can add at least a pair of these attacking players and couple them with Gerrard and Babel up front, we should have a class attacking side which is much better rounded than what we put out this season. We'll have a solid depth guy there in Kuyt, and the holding mids will continue to be the best in Europe (Mascherano, if he isn't already, will be regarded as the best holding midfielder in the world by the end of next season...mark my words).

The biggest issues will be acquiring the expensive talent up front (largely from the sale of the players I've mentioned, hopefully), and more importantly, finding that solid defender to fill out our depth in the back. Skrtel looks decent, Agger is very solid (when healthy), and Jamie is world class in the middle, but when we're having to farm Jamie out to the right and start an...aging...Sami in the middle we've got some issues.

I personally think DIC should just buy them out.

Cowace, your keeping up with the idea of all these foreigners in the EPL. Other than Richards, no other English players?

I think David Bentley and Stewart Dowining and Aaron Lennon are great wing players.

Gareth Barry can fit in well at full back or on the wing.

But if you can land any of Silva, Nasri, Castro, Dani Alves, Joaquin. etc., get em.

I just think for an English team you need to get some English players, or the EPL will be totally foreign. I think we need a good mix, but not almost exclusivley foreign.

They're going to drown in a pool of Liver...

Duh.

I'm certainly not against nabbing English players when appropriate, but I think a major part of the problem is the price premium that has developed when buying within the Premiership. In general, it is more economical to go outside of the domestic league, especially in this case when there aren't a lot of players who fit the bill.

I'd love Downing, but I think he's a bit overrated and he would cost a bundle (same with Barry). I really don't think much of Lennon, and he'd command a fee way more than what he's worth.

very true. the thing is i dont want to see all foreign sides in the premier league like arsenal have. All the big european sides, man utd, liverpool, chelsea, milan, juve, barca, real, and bayern have some domestic players. But inter, with the exception of materazzi and balotelli sometimes, and arsenal, with the exception of walcott sometimes, are almost all foreign and the team and leagues indentity is take away.

This is why michel platini wants to put a limit on how man foreign players should be allowed on a side. I think it's a good idea to keep some english players, like gerrard and carragher, in your starting eleven or the team should not be part of the ENGLISH premier league. It's going to foreign. The best idea is to develop your own players and play them so u won't worry about buying within the premier league, but looking to what's cheapest and most economical can lead to the downfall of a national team (England), and change a league. I think they should have at least 3 or 4 english players start on every premier league side or they shouldn't be playing in england.

The Champions League requirements really take care of the domestic player requirements, although admittedly they aren't as strict as they could be. I think there will always be a premium on domestic players, in particular homegrown players. I just wish we had more academy classes like Carragher/Owen/Gerrard...heh.

There is a growing problem relying on academy products, and that is pretty simply that with so MANY academies out there that the talent amongst a nation like England is getting heavily diluted. It isn't a valid expectation to think that one of the major clubs can present even a part of a competitive side based on their academy products.

The other hand, I think, is to simply do away with all domestic obligations (w/ in the EU, at least) and just admit that it is now obsolete. I really don't think that will have the negative effect on national teams that you might think...I think it will have the opposite, in fact. It will help ensure players are in the right situation for their development, unlike players like Walcott or Cole who are really just sitting on sides they shouldn't be in order to up their domestic numbers.

yeah, i've realized that there are no english players in foreign leagues. might tell u something.

other than becks,lol.

owen went and came back. the only really successful english player to play outside of england was john charles of juventus. maybe more should go, like lampard or joe cole.

Any EU player should be allowed to play in any EU country, irregardless of the number of foreigners per side. That has always bothered me, as I am an arsenal fan and i routinely see no englishmen in the squad, and i don't care really. Any rule on foreigners is bad, but if one has to be made for some reason, it should put a quota on players from non-EU countries.

jeevs, could you call KIng Kev successful? he did have a huge hand in Hamburg's bundesliga title

hahaha and even Chelski would be hard pressed to afford two of the big names Cowace suggested. Well it probably wouldn't, but thats at least 50million pounds on two players. Quaresma, who is supposed to be cheaper than Silva, is said to cost anywhere from 26 to 35 million pounds.

I like what you said about renato augusto though. he really is the next big thing. in the right environment he could thrive. Idk how he would do at liverpool, but thats just me. And alves is out of Liverpool's league if they want another big signing. Sevilla is saying no less than 40 million pounds

My math adds up to 66 million on two players, best case scenario. too much money, even with a buyout.

Cowace: did you forget Torres in your core team?? you'd play Kuyt instead? Now i think thats just foolish.

For English players, I think they should try to nab Agbonlahor or Ashley Young from Aston Villa. No doubt that these kids want to win trophies and moving to a Big 4 is a no-brainer. Agbonlahor could either as second striker or right winger. Young is still young enough to learn how to play winger in a 4-5-1 (not sure what Aston Villa plays...)

Only if DIC is willing to invest heavily will they be able to afford 1-2 players mentioned by Cowace.

Jeevs - How bout McManaman at Madrid? He won 2 CLs and 2 Ligas. Id say thats decent.

Haha, yes, obviously I forgot Torres. I see Kuyt as his reserve and as an occasional spell player in the midfield...he does work hard, after all.

And you're absolutely right, it would probably be around 60-70 million Euro to buy both Quaresma and Silva. Silva and Alves both have minimum fee clauses in their contracts (as do all players in Spain), so they're a bit more affordable than they would be out of Italy or England.

The thing to bear in mind is not all of that 70 mil will come from Liverpool's bank accounts. Selling off the players I mentioned above should easily generate at least half of that number, so it isnt' as though we're going on an Abramovich spending spree.

What about the reports of Alves having already agreed on contract terms with Barcelona?
Silva would be a great addition to Liverpool but they still need better fullbacks... like Alves lol. How about Wes Brown? He should be good enough shouldnt he?

sorry, i forgot about Kev and Stevie M. Couldn't think back that far.

I suspect Alves will probably end up at Barca, but I would like for us to make an attempt at him at least.

I definitely wouldn't mind Brown, but the biggest issue there is ManU probably won't sell him to us the same way they didn't sell Heinze to us (****).

Really, I think that Alves will be the only player even remotely available that would be a major upgrade over Finnan/Arbeloa at that spot. If we can't land a starting player there, then I'd like for us to look at some younger guys (di Silvestre, Rafinha, or Bale) on either side.

Ideally, we'd just get a guy like Zaccardo who can play center or right. Sort of like an Italian version of Wes Brown...

Alves would be great for Liverpool, but as cowace says, there are no true upgrades over Arbeloa.

I like Skrtel as an up and coming young player for liverpool. A future big-time player for somebody, reminds me a lot of Vidic

"we'll probably only be able to sign 2 of the players I've mentioned in a best case scenario"

Which two would you absolutely make sure to get, cowace?

There's never anything for sure in the silly season, so I think what I posted above represents a priority of effort more than anything.

I predict Rafinha as one of the signings. He will be a great addition and a great prospect. He's basically a younger Daniel Alves and a tad bit less offensive maybe.

Isn't Brown a free agent after this season? We won't have to sell him

oh he just signed a contract