re: OFFICIAL Liverpool FC 2014-2015 Season Long Thread

Wage question. We'll be getting rid of both Stevie and Glen Johnson's inflated weekly wage. Do you think LFC goes out and spends money on high quality players who justify those kind of wages, or will it be more like last summer, where we spread out our signing with several 15-20 mil signings?

I think we have enough squad players. We need players that can come into the starting 11. Problem is the price and probably no CL to attract the top top quality player. Until I see differently, I think FSG will continue with the youth policy.

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just think we're dreaming if we think we're getting the Reus' of the world who can come in and walk right in to the first eleven..

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We were close for Sanchez last year and may have locked it up save for a wage issue.

Sad to say but at multiple positions it would take a step or even two below a Reus to be an improvement and instant starter. I think we can find that caliber of player and convince one or two to join us.

What's held us back the last few years has really been wages. Costa two years ago and Sanchez last year. We need to pony up for a big boy at some point.

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maybe that is just me missing it in the number of negatives to close the year despite a top 4 finish.

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That is probably it. Suarez has a pretty high work rate. Not as high as Dirk Kuyt was (not many players can match him), but pretty damn good. It made our pressing game work so well as it has to start from the top.

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supporters start to settle for anything less than challenging for silverware then the club can continue towards this rut we are in.

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I'm not settling for anything less. I'm being realistic. Its amazing that we lured a player of Sakho's caliber to this team. It will be just as amazing to get Varane. That has zero to do with my opinion of the club and everything to do with those players' opinions of the club.

yeah, I think Varane is a pipe dream with the clubs that would be after him...

I'm just thinking IF Madrid want Sterling bad enough, maybe... and maybe Sakho can convince him to partner him... these things never come off though..

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If I remember correctly he was out of favor for a while at PSG and the fans were riding him pretty hard

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That's the summer they signed Silva as first choice LCB and Sakho wanted to play first team football... They wanted him to stay, but I think he saw the writing on the wall, that they were taking the "Galactico" policy at PSG..

They may have signed Marquinhos that year too, to be groomed behind Alex as the RCB... Since then, they have added Luiz too... Sakho probably made the right decision.

He was their captain at one point and homegrown...

So I have a question for you and the frequents in this thread, bud...

Am I the only one that thinks we SHOULD NOT go back to a 4 man back line? I feel like we need better midfielders, or at least to decide who our constant starters are, before we start to dream big about more strikers. (I know, this contradicts my previous post on the matter.)

My thinking revolves around the fact that Lucas, Allen, Lallana, and even Hendo have had terrible lapses in quality play, although they have also had flashes of brilliance. For the rest of this season, I'd roll with a 3-4-1-2 formation. Give Balo and Studge a chance as a striking pair.

You guys are gonna get sick of me saying this.

Solidify the midfield, get some solid passers that the opposing mids/backs MUST respect, and give the strikers we have a chance for success. A top three of Coutinho, Studge, and Balo could wreak havoc if they had a CONSISTENT midfield behind them.

Can, Skrtel, and Sakho have been the only constants this year, and even though it is a breath of fresh air, we have seemingly traded one extreme for another. Sterling has been incredibly underwhelming, and Can is just a wrecking ball anywhere other than CB. Keep Ibe as a mid, keep Hendo. (I think Hendo plays to the level that the guys around him are playing to.)

Decide if Lucas or Allen are gonna be the one we rely on, stick your foot in the ground as a "managing group", and don't leave any questions of whether or not you plan on moving forward. I understand we are a young side, but we are a successful veteran or two away from being as good as Chelsea.

All just my opinion, but I hate seeing a team that looks like it is unsure of its next step as far as futures are concerned.

I'm down with that line of thinking. I am pretty sure I mentioned it before in this thread, although I'm not sure where... the 3-5-2 is a formation I also have interest in seeing from our guys. If you can dominate the midfield, you win a lot of games even with average strikers.

Again though, even having numbers in the midfield won't work if all of those guys are streaky and inconsistent with their play.

Yo Byrd, are you relocating to your next duty station or going home? I drove from NOLA to Camp Pendleton a few times back in the day and you can have that brother. Just checking to see how your settling in, you guys on this thread are my lifeblood, I have very few people that know what Anfield is so I like to make sure my guys are good to go on here.