It’s been another long and disappointing season for the Reds, something we’re becoming all too familiar with. Despite a pending improvement on the seventh place finishes we’ve become accustomed to lately, last season’s incredible performances and coming agonisingly close to the title, have made this season’s lack-lustre performances and somewhat pathetic end even more difficult to accept. It is now almost certain that Liverpool will miss out on Champions League football next year and the possibility of missing out on European football altogether is ever increasing with Spurs creeping up behind us. So, the question must be asked; where do we go from here?
You can sack the manager, bring in Klopp, hire a director of football and a defensive coach and lay down a new pitch, but with the squad as it is, top four is simply out of reach. The team doesn’t need an overhaul, it just needs reinforcement.
With Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and probably Rickie Lambert leaving in the summer, the squad’s average age will substantially drop, while these players’ departure isn’t necessarily a bad thing as each of them have proven to be detrimental to the team recently, there is still a lack of experience in this young squad.
This summer, one or two experienced players must be brought in. I’m not talking ages 30-40, but more like 25-29, someone old enough to have decent experience but young enough to positively affect the team with sufficient movement, pressing and general footballing ability (unlike Lambert, Gerrard and Johnson in that specific order). Liverpool have been strongly linked with Manchester City’s James Milner, who would be ideal for this role. With Gerrard leaving, we are left short on versatile central midfielders, with Emre Can being our only other multi-position player in the midfield. Milner would be brought in on a free as his contract ends at the end of this season, his work rate and versatility would benefit the team greatly and the only negative aspect of his signing would be his high wage demands.
With regards to positions, there are areas of the pitch that need immediate attention. We’ll start at the back;
- Goalkeeper – Simon Mignolet has proved his worth in 2015 but, despite being a very good professional and having a fantastic attitude, Brad Jones simply isn’t to the standard required to provide Mignolet with the competition he needs to improve further. Genoa’s Mattia Perin would be ideal but expensive, so my suggestion would be Australian 23-year-old Mat Ryan, a talented shot-stopper with high potential.
- Right Back – Anyone. Literally anyone that isn’t Glen Johnson. With Johnson heading out, Manquillo out of favour and Flanagan seemingly made of glass, a new right back is a must, preferably one that can play both RB and RWB, should a change in formation be required. The ideal candidate here would be Nathaniel Clyne from Southampton, though some richer big clubs have shown interest in the Englishman and our latest shopping spree at Southampton possibly creating wariness about going there again makes this signing seem quite unlikely.
- Centre-Back – A disastrous signing last summer has left us with only one centre-back good enough to start in a top four side. Sakho needs a partner, while Lovren and Skrtel can be useful options from the bench, neither are good enough to start and certainly not together. We need a solid CB who can read the game and know when and when not to dart out of the back line, something Skrtel and Lovren do too often in a two. It would also help if the player could, you know, defend. Fabain Schar is available this summer and would be cheap too, perfect for a side in our current situation. More expensive, but possibly stronger options are Aymeric Laporte and Kyriakos Papadopoulos. Let’s just make sure we don’t buy from the Premier League again.
- Defensive Midfield – While effective when in the side, Lucas isn’t the ideal starter in this position. It was more the presence of a DM than the presence of Lucas in particular that made us defensively sound for a short time. A DM is a must for a team that pushes forward as much as Liverpool, to give the defence that little extra help when the rest of the midfield is pressing. Someone like Illarramendi would be a breath of fresh air in this team and would improve our defence tenfold. Any of Illarramendi, Schneiderlin or, for more experience, Radja Nainggolan would be a dream come true. Though the first may be unlikely given our current status in European football.
- Attacking Midfield – This is a position that will only need strengthening if Raheem Sterling ends up leaving, which does seem likely at this point. Ibe, Marković, Coutinho and Lallana are all sufficient, though goals need to be added to this group of players. Recent links with Memphis Depay are exciting to say the least. He would be the ideal replacement for Sterling, should he leave, however if Sterling decides to pledge his future to Anfield, other areas are far more important than signing a player like Depay. It seems more of a crowd-pleaser than a thought-out addition to the team. Other options are Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka, who have both been strongly linked with Liverpool in the past.
- Strikers – We’re going to need a few of these. In my last article (http://fanscorners.com/the-daniel-sturridge-complication/) , I said that Sturridge needs a partner as his injuries leave him too unreliable to be our only real goal-scorer. Luciano Vietto, Alexandre Lacazette and Mauro Icardi would all be perfect for the job. One of these would provide Sturridge with some support up top and Rodgers with some options if Sturridge is side-lined again. Fabio Borini, Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli all seem to be heading out, which means the bench could do with some reinforcement in the strike department too; Danny Ings is cheap, reliable and talented, he would be perfect. He isn’t going to score 20 goals per season, but we don’t need him to. We’ll have Sturridge and Vietto/Icardi/Lacazette, who combined should score 35-40 goals, for that. Ings can do a job if needed and fits our system perfectly.
So, there you have it. One more thing is needed. Whoever is in charge next year; Rodgers, Klopp, De Boer, whoever it is, they need to decide on a formation before making their signings. We don’t want a repeat of this season with three or four players out of position every week. A goalkeeper, right back, centre back, defensive midfielder and two strikers of sufficient quality and Liverpool will be
back in the top four this time next year. We may even be looking at a title challenge again with the right additions, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, one step at a time. I’ll leave you with my ideal but realistic squad for a normal Premier League game next season (4-3-1-2 diamond formation):
GK: Simon Mignolet
RB: Nathaniel Clyne
CB: Fabian Schar
CB: Mamadou Sakho
LB: Alberto Moreno
CDM: Radja Nainggolan
CM: Emre Can
CM: Phillipe Coutinho
CAM: Raheem Sterling
RS: Daniel Sturridge
LS: Luciano Vietto
Bench: Mat Ryan, Martin Škrtel, Jon Flanagan, Jordan Henderson, Joe Allen, Jordon Ibe, Danny Ings
Stuart Walding
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