Hi all,
For 40 million pounds and slightly more, Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez's targets seems to be top strikers like Barca's Samuel Eto'o and Valencia's David Villa.
But will they actually bite the bait, to join a team like Liverpool? If not, who else should Liverpool go for? Or should he not buy too much? Consider the various factors...
Tell us, in not more than 200 words, (please click link right for auto word counter).
Post your views here by clicking on "comments" below my sign-off here or e-mail us by clicking the link right, and writing under the heading "Midweek Topic".
At your service,
Ernest Luis
The Postman
The New Paper
(PS. E-mailers and especially bloggers, e-mail us your full name, age, occupation, contact numbers and favourite teams, to be in the running)
P.S. To prevent the Bellamys of blogging from popping up with the impatient swings, and personal digs at others, we would like to remind our dedicated readers that with the help of you intelligent, courteous and humorous bloggers here, it's best to ignore all attention seekers.
Yes, you can do that by NOT replying to such attention-seeking posts. We still have the same stand on vulgarities and those with asterisks in them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
45 comments:
Eto'o may be unsettled in Barcelona for now. But after a while I think he will adapt and get used with Frank Rijkarrd.
For Villa, I think wouldn't be lured away from Valencia. He's at home, for him to leave Liverpool must show how good they are.
Like formner Liverpool star, John Barnes said. Players wouldn't join Liverpool because the Reds couldn't win the English Premeir League.
Former target Simao of Benfica has been cancelled as he just signed a new contract.
Tevez, Klose and Bent has also been linked with Liverpool. I think the one who fits the bill best would probably be Miroslav Klose. Previous world-cup top scorer with five goals.
Some other targets i think Liverpool should get is Porto's centre back Pepe, Bayern's left back Philipp Lahm and Inter's left back Grosso. Liverpool should also get a right-winger who are world-class performers. Daniel Alves or Joaquin will be the best wingers to fit the bill.
For the defence, Hyppia who is 33 will probably retire soon so Porto's Pepe could be a great choice. As the right backs are performing impressively with the likes of Finnan and Arbeloa. Benitez should take a look at his left backs. Riise, another long serving defender and newcomer Aurelio couldn't match up the standards of the right backs. Philipp Lahm and Fabio Grosso will be top choices to fill the gap.
Judging from Rafa shopping patterns for the past seasons,he could be part of the auntie gang during the Great Singapore Sales who grab and snatch everything.He simply loves to buy even though some of the buys do not suit him at all.Kromkamp,Josemi and Nunez best represent "Wear once and throw aside items".While he did have some great purchases in Alonso,Kuyt and Crouch.Its all about trial an error for Rafa.
However now with the financial backing of the new owners,he is able to upgrade himself and shop like taitai in the Guccis and Pradas specialty outlets.World class,renowned names like Villa and Eto are now linked to Liverpool but it will take some tremendous effort to prise them away from Valencia and Barcelona respectively.I will say signing Villa will be more realistic given Rafa relationship with the Spanish club.Eto?Almost close to impossible.Liverpool already have some decent strikers in Bellamy,Kuyt and Crouch but the team still need one who is able to knock in them on a regular basis like what Eto and Villa are doing.Another alternative will be Huntelaar whom I wish Man U will sign.Brilliant prospect no doubt.
The Reds really don't have to add too much ammo in their midfield as its already quite packed which saw even the magnificent Gerrard having to play out of position.So Rafa should look into adding some fresh faces in the defending department to replace some old guard and add some competition.I agree with Harley that the rightbacks are doing excellent so thats not a problem but on the left its another question.Riise can defend but he loves attack more while Aurelio can makes excellent deliveries with his left foot but he can't defend.Perhaps the likes of Leighton Baines and Gareth Bales can provide some options.Lastly Rafa needs more cover in center defence for Carra and Agger with only ageing Hyypia providing able cover is not enough.Curtis Davies and Kevin Hofland will certainly be of some help.
I didn't mention about goalkeepers because Reina is good enough and anyway,whichever custodian joins,he can't escape the term "calamity" forever.
Cheers
Liverpool are just a few players away from being a title contender. While they maybe the masters of the continental game, they still have some way to go to match the likes of United and Chelsea for the EPL trophy. Hence, Rafa’s spending should be in tune to wresting the EPL crown back to Merseyside.
Attracting big name players shouldn’t be a problem for a club of Liverpool’s pedigree and newly acquired financial muscle. However, Rafa must ensure he brings in players suited to the EPL rather than in Europe. Morientes, the UCL’s joint top-scorer this season, is a good example.
While the likes of Villa and Eto’o have been mentioned, what Liverpool need is a striker more suited to the helter-skelter of the English game. Hence, they should sign the likes of Darren Bent, Yakubu or Defoe. A world-class centre-back (Woodgate) and explosive wide players (Bentley, Arteta) are the only missing pieces left for the Reds to become a more formidable team.
With the spine of the team already established, Rafa must ensure he spends the kitty wisely, rather than splurge on reputation. If he is able to do that, expect Liverpool to be title contenders next season.
Liverpool should buy some quality wingers and strikers.Eto'o and villa may fit the bit but i don't think their clubs would let their star players go,Villa mayb, but not eto'o.You can see when eto'o is injured,Barca are struggling and they can't score goals, so i don't think they will let him go.
For wingers liverpool can try and bid for joaquin, as joaquin as blistering pace, that will suite liverpools play as they tend to play down the wings, if they can get joaquin to join liverpool, they might just as well prise villa from them.
I want Kaka! Okok, never mind, I'm only dreaming and we've got no need for him. I'll be more realistic. :(
Strangely, someone else asked me this question not too long ago (also 40m pounds too), and then, I said I'd pick Villa and Gamst Pedersen. Villa does sound more like a dream, because if one plays Football Manager 07, they'll know how impossible it is to sign him. But realistically, I think even if we bought him, it'd be a risk, because players from the Spanish League don’t prove themselves all the time in the EPL huh? Same goes for Daniel Alves.
In the end, I don't really crave for really big signings anyway. Often, the ones with the largest price tags fail to justify them in the end. And in any case, I don't think we really need to buy players in the 20m-30m+ pounds bracket, but rather just those slightly over 10m or so. The likes of Morten Gamst Pedersen or David Bentley would be seen as positive enough signings to me. They're already doing well in the Premiership, and they're also the type of quality wingers we're lacking.
Wait, I thought you can't buy the league? I think 40 million pounds will make Liverpool no more than what it already was, a title contender.
Of course I'd like to see the media complain about Liverpool spending 40 million pounds on transfer funds. Somehow, I know it'll never happen.
Q-S, please do not involve me in any of your postings just because we've played football before. I do not like the idea of being dragged into any mess you put yourself into and having to back you up when it did not involve me.
Your comments are strictly your personal views and I for one think you should learn to stand on your own two feet and be more responsible with what you say, for a 25-year old that you are...
Ernest's disclaimer was meant in general. Don't be too sensitive and too quick to defend yourself. People here only care about your comments and not about who you are. Your comments reflect your character.
The poem (or pantun as we call it) you typed is downright RUDE and as a Malay, I am extremely ashamed to read it. So what if Ernest didn't publish your views??? He didn't publish mine but am I bitter??? No, cos I know there are others out there who express themselves better and with a lot of sense.
You need to cool down and not get too carried away with your comments. I hope I've made myself clear about using my name to back you up cos you're not getting any at the rate you're going. Apologies to all for this unneccessary ranting...
Honestly.. with the way liverpool have been buying players. I think the best way is to actually allow Rafa to concentrate on the type of play, tactics and direction that he need to mount a serious league challenge. Any players bought, no matter how good or bad they are is a gamble. you never know what are you going to get... finding the right players that play to your cause is a trouble by it self.. just ask any HR manager and they will know that it is difficult to find the right people.
The reason in my opinion that clubs like Man U and chelsea that are successful is because they manage to build a squad which are willing to die as a team (no matter what pay bracket they are in).. Yes, brilliant players does play a part but as we have seen with clubs like West ham... if you may have good players but if you do not know how to make use of them.. what is the point?
I rather Rafa concentrate on nurturing the current players that they have and use this season as an transitions to beef up the league form (for next year) while concentrating on the champion league...
In an age where transfer fees have become massively inflated, news that Benitez has got a war chest of 40 million pounds will only further inflate the prices of his targets. 40million may seem alot but it should get at most 3 very good players.
Benitez has spent rather alot in recent seasons going for quantity instead of quality. This 40 million should see him go for quality this time.
If you look at the Liverpool team, the only real weaknesses i can find would be on their flanks. However young they are, Gonzalez/Pennant are definitely not title winning players. Pennant may have a good game occasionally but he's too inconsistent. Hence, the money could be spent on 2 wingers.
Right - Joaquin
He's not having the best of seasons at Valencia. This could be the primetime to prise him over. The fact that there's plenty of Spanish players should be an added attraction
Left - Nani
As a Man U fan, i sure hope this one does not go through. I admit i have not watched him play before. But if all reports are to be believed, this player could be the C.Ronaldo equivalent. One stumbling block could be that Utd has a good r/s with Sporting and could have a deal tied up soon.
The strikers at Liverpool seem all right. You might argue that none of them seems like a 20 goal striker. But if you analyse the Man U team that won their first title in 93, none of their strikers were 20-goal/season strikers. Players like Hughes, McClair, Cantona however important do not chip in 20 goals. The importance lie therefore in the goals from the rest of the squad. The question is other than Gerrard, who else scores regularly and he's not a striker?
Liverpool should prioritise. But fees remain a stumbling block because in Europe, to get a promising striker, one would have to shed the big bucks.
To get a World Class striker, one would probably have to break the bank.
Cheers
kel
I still feel the 40 million pounds should be used for Ronaldinho. Liverpool likes to play 4-5-1. Putting Ronaldinho in the centre ahead of Mascherano, Sissoko or Alonso as a link between the strikers will be simply fantastic. Any Liverpuldians agree or disagree with me?
Rafa Benitez'as shopping spree comes from Great Spain Sale.Players like Pepe Reina, Mark Gonzales, Luis Garcia and Xabi Alonso came from such Sale.
With 40 or 41 million pounds, Benitez most likely shop at Great Spain Sale again.Likely targets are David Villa, Ruben Barajan, Fernado Torres and Joaqin.
From: Chester Low
Liverpool being a huge club rich with history can attract any players from all over the world. Both Samuel Eto'o and David Villa are world class players, but can these players perform week in week out in the physically demanding premier league?
Liverpool should buy english based players if they really want to win the premier league next season cause they have the never say die bulldog attitude. PLayers like Andrew johnson and aaron lennon fits the bill.
With all that sum of transfer fund avaible, Benitez can easily attract world class players but he has to make sure not to unbalance the team cause big names sometimes comes with big egos. Just look at real madrid. They are going nowhere at the moment.
Whatever it is, we have to trust Benitez to wisely spend the transfer kitty. He won us the Champions League didn't he? And with players like Baros and Josemi in the team!
Name : Muhammad Amsyar B A RAzak
Age : 19
Occupation : Student
Contact No. 97867172
Fav Team : Liverpool
On a neutral's perspective, I think they need two wingers, a centreback and a striker. The central midfield is already strong enough with Alonso, Sissoko, Mascherano and Gerrard. Get rid of Fowler, Hyppia, Zenden, Dudek and Pennant.
Wingers: Vicente, Quaresma and Malouda look like good buys especially the latter who has pace and packs a mean shot.
Centrebacks: Nesta's in his last year of contract but like most Italian players, they don't like to move to England. So how about going German or even gamble on injury-prone Woodgate???
Strikers: Voronin is in. So that leaves one more slot for a fox in the box. I think this is where the bulk of the money will go to. Take your pick from Villa to Trezeguet or even Tevez on the cheap when West Ham confirms their relegation. If Benitez can get the best out of Mascherano, I don't see why he can't do the same to Tevez.
I know I'm gonna get dissed for saying this, but as a rival fan, I hope they blow away the 40 million pounds with "astute" buys in the mould of Kvarme, Meijer, Diao, Morientes, Cheyrou etc if you get what I mean... :)
Dear Q-S, I'd suggest you drink the glass of shut up juice first.
Your so-called analytical pieces are inane natterings of little substance - it's clearly no wonder why you haven't won anything since your last measly win. Has it ever occured to you that you haven't won because your pieces are simply not good enough?
But what I can't stand most is your making personal attacks on the person who sets up the blog for the football community to discuss something they are passionate about. Shame on you. It's selfish and I will feel sorry for the others if this blog is ever shut down when Ernest and the good people at The New Paper feel that it is not worth it to be subjected to such ridicule every week.
If you are 25 and still behaving like this, then I really pity the people who are going to be your course mates at Temasek. Grow up, please.
Manchester United's shopping spree.
From Spain:
Joaquin, Vincente, David Villa, Ruben Barajan, Fernado Torres,
From Portugal:
Nani and Deco.
From England:
John Terry and Frank Lampard (Both players follow Jose Mourinho where ever he goes.)
Manager: Jose Mourinho who is going to be sacked by Abramavoich.
Promotion: Alex Ferguson becomes Senior Manager while current Assistant Manager remains the same.
From: Chester Low
I will love to see the likes of Eto'o, Villa, Kaka, Ronaldinho all signing for Liverpool. Possibility of that happening? 0.000001%. No doubt these players are world class but even then it will be a gamble when coming to changing clubs with a different style of play. There is no guarantee that Villa and Eto'o will succeed in LFC, (although high chance they would); where Morientes' a classic example.
I feel that the current crop of LFC strikers are good enough to be groom into world class strikers when given the right service.
The real lack in LFC is in the flank dept. Crouch, Kuyt, Bellamy, Fowler total goal-tallies is not pale in comparison to Saha, Rooney, Solskjaer or Drogba, Shev, Kalou? The difference? Ronaldo, Giggs, Scholes, Park Robben, Lampard, Ballack.
Our goals from Midfield is pathetic especially from our wide men. 1 goals from Pennant, and 2-3 more from Gonzalez and Riise is not good enough. Gerrard seems to be the only goal-scoring midfielder and that is when he plays in the centre role. Alonso with only 1-2 goals? and forget about Sissoko.
Ronaldo alone score more then the whole of Liverpool's midfield!
We need more goals from our flank. The new Portguese next big thing: Nani sounds like he fit the bill for the flank and i hope we can get him.
With him, just give me once of the above world-class forward, prefer Kaka (highly unlikely) will be good enough.
I would like to see either E'to or Villa in the red jersey but i see no need in buying any new strikers. The current strikers are doing fine and what the need is quality services from the mid-field and wingers.
Furthermore, spending big on just a single player will leave Rafa a small amount to work on other departments. I see the flanks which have the most improving to do.
Pennant and Gonzalez are okay but they are not performing consistenly week in week out. Players like Nani, Lennon(he is english and can play on both flanks), Joaquin,and Alves will be welcomed.
In addition, Rafa should also get another defender to replace the aging Hyypia.
Liverpool is an English club and I hope not seeing too many foreign imports in the summer.
Before all the transfer speculations going on here,how Liverpool ends the season will be going to play a vital role.
Lets say Liverpool wins the Champions League for the 6th time this May then surely all the big names being linked to the club will have a higher chance of becoming a reality.If not then the probablity of seeing Villa,Eto or other big names is as good as seeing Owen back in Anfield,quite impossible.
Hm..Owen back in Anfield sounds not a bad idea too isn't it.
Cheers
Will the deleted act their age and not their shoe size?
Cheers,
The Postman
q-s, i disagree in buying Ronaldinho.
Number 1, he's Barca's star, wouldn't be that easy to let him go. Number 2, Liverpool have Gerrard already, who is about the same standard as Ronaldinho. 3, 40 million pounds is not enough to let Barcelona give their playmaker up.
I feel Rafa is targeting the Serie A now after last season's Great La Liga sale. To find talents, you need to look and find almost around the world. David Trezeguet has been a large bullseye for Rafa this season. Many talks and links have been reported. I think it's only a matter of time Trezeguet will be at the Merseyside.
Rafa's patience is known after the lng pursuit of ex-Feyernood's forward Dirk Kuyt. If Trezeguet is not coming this season, but he'll definitely come. Like I said earlier, it's only a matter of time.
40 million pounds. The amount Rafa will be able to spend.
If you all realise, Rafa's signings haven't cost too much if you compare to top clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United.
Most expensive players Rafa bought would probably be Xabi Alonso for 10.7million and Kuyt for 10million.
I feel Rafa is learning from the Professor Arsene Wenger now. Rafa is staring to invest in young players.
The player I want to see most at Anfield would be Simao of Benifca and Portugal. He is a very experienced and tricky player although his height is a disadvantage towards him. Apart from that, he is great. Too bad he just signed a new deal with Benfica.
I'm sorry Haley, for that challenge months ago. It's not a good idea after all because almost all my friends here except me are bullies. I'm the nicest of my crew.
I will revert to several months ago that Liverpool needs to buy Gianluigi Buffon from Juventus.
David Villa won't be needed that much as Crouch, Kuyt and Bellamy are providing the goals. Same goes for Eto'o.
I STILL FEEL Ronaldinho should be bought as a sole purchase. Ronaldinho better than Gerrard? cfcfan, kelvin kwek, eric kng, he's all yours.
I'm sorry. Young Haley mentioned Gerrard as the same standard as Ronaldinho. cfcfan, kelvin kwek, eric kng, he's all yours. Now where did I keep my sledgehammer? Just kidding ;)
Hm...I guess we can't really compare Ronaldinho and Gerrard in this case.Both are great exceptional players but they are very different in their style of play so I won't go any further.
Anyway who won't want this guy named Ronaldinho in their team.Not only he can win games by himself,scoring goals or laying passes to his mates you name it and he also wowed the crowds with his wonderful skills.However his name didn't pop up during the discussion is simple as he is a Barcelona player now.You want to buy out his contract?Forget it.Barcelona has the cash and not forgetting he rejected Man U for the Catalan giant so I don't see him moving across border to England just yet,perhaps at a later stage of his career but definately not now eh.
Ronaldinho is a great player but i do not see Rafa splashing all his money on one single player.
Ronaldinho may also be a surplus at liverpool with gerrard, mascherano, sissoko and alonso already proving to be a quality mid-field.
Think about it. 4-5-1. Ronaldinho plays in the centre of the midfield. 2 holding players in Gerrard and Sissoko. Wide players like Pennant on the right and Garcia on the left. Ronaldinho dribbles all the way and pass to Crouch. Goal.
If I were Benitez, I would ask for 40 million, 50 million hell, even 60 million pounds for Ronaldinho. You people can disagree. I WAS a Liverpool fan anyway. I see Ronaldinho is like Steve McManaman days.
Chelsea Vs Valencia. I predict 3-1 to Chelsea.
AS Roma Vs Manchester United. I predict 2-0 to AS Roma.
In terms of sheer importance to their respective teams, maybe Ronaldinho and Gerrard do share a common role. But if we were to compare them solely on technical ability and talent, I'm afraid Gerrard doesn't even come close to Ronaldinho.
It's fantasy stuff if indeed Benitez wants to have Ronaldinho on Merseyside but it won't happen, simply because of the way Rafa sets out his team and the amount of wages the Brazilian commands.
Benitez prefers building star teams rather than a team of stars. Hence, I don't see Ronaldinho being Benitez's number one priority as a signing.
While signing big name players is always exciting, Rafa needs to ensure Liverpool's wage structure does not hit the roof and the players he wants fits the playing philosophy of the team.
q-s match report
Chelsea Vs Valencia
Poor draw by Chelsea. 1-1.
Petr Cech did some nice saves.
Ashley Cole was average again.
John Terry is ok.
Ricardo Carvalho is outstanding.
Lassana Diarra's place should go to Geremi.
John Obi Mikel is another average player.
Salomon Kalou was being silly a bit.
Frank Lampard was atrocious. Missed free kicks, missed shots, missed corners.
Michael Ballack gets a 1 out of 10 performance rating from me.
Andriy Shevchenko tried and tried but failed.
Didier Drogba scored the winner. CONGRATULATIONS TO DIDIER DROGBA FOR GETTING 30 GOALS THIS SEASON.
The key word for this report is Chelsea was _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (go play Wheel Of Fortune)
This report is sponsored by www.geocities.com/syahrein81/index.html
Thank you.
Let's not have any battle words with anyone ok? It's just a blog for us to share our opinions and not a place where you try to counter another's words.
I'm sorry again haley, in 2003, I was the world famous dirty_innocent_boy of Yahoo Chat. I was being bombarded with comments that are worse than those in wrestling. Lower down the arrogance, Haley or you'll get beaten up like I did. *tears in my eyes*
I'm thinking of forming a faction between me, cfcfan, kelvin kwek and eric kng. Together we will call ourselves 'The Federal Express' because we are the best football studs in The Postman series.
I'm a Letter Of The Week winner, before that I had few entries published too before The Postman series evolved.
cfcfan is a VERY good ally to me in this forum.
kelvin kwek and eric kng are Letter Of The Month winners and like me, popular with girls in real life too, I'm sure.
What you say about this cfcfan, kelvin and eric? About us being the 4 horsemen of this God-blessed blog?
I don't think either Ronaldinho or Eto'o will join Liverpool. 40 million is not enough to get Rona. Even if its enough to get Eto'o, Liverpool will not have enough cash to invest in other player for other positions. Would they leave a title contender team and join a team chasing 3rd in EPL?
Liverpool can look at Darren Bent. With his pace, he provides a different option upfront.
Morten Gamst Pedersen has a good left foot and he can be trusted with delivering the crosses for Crouch.
Joaquin looks unsettled at Valencia and he's worth trying for.
Leigton Baines could be prised away from Wigan.
Woodgate- without his injuries, will be a great buy.
Other than players in these positions, Liverpool have players capable of matching the world's best.
While domestic glory are significant to clubs and fans, what most of these star players like Villa and Eto'o are looking for is to lift the ECL cup. For them, that's the highest acclaim in club football. Though Liverpool has not been doing well in England, they are a continental force to be reckoned in Europe. Players would not shy away to join Liverpool. However, if Chelsea or Man U pop the question too, then it is another matter.
Benitez doesn't go for the big names. What he wants are the team players who are technically-inclined than those who plays the fanciful game.
Actually, with the huge kitty, Benitez should just get the players he has in mind and spend the rest on polishing the young players? Haha place more emphasis on the English lads who are afterall, more suited to EPL than the foreign talents. This will give liverpool more breadth while facing domestic teams.
i agree with vette in going for team players who are technically-inclined and english players.
The premier league have got too much foreign imports.
EPL should change its name to International Premier League soon. hahaha.
:P
If I were the manager of Liverpool and given 40 million pounds, who shall I buy, hmm...
If I can't get Ronaldinho, then I'll get Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus.
There's nothing wrong with Liverpool defence, midfield or attack. Hell, Hyypia can play till he's 40. He's MUCH BETTER than Jonathan Woodgate at his age.
Back to goalkeeper agenda. Get Buffon and they will stop conceding silly goals the usual Reina did.
Will Buffon leave his disgraced club for Liverpool? What will YOU do if you are Buffon?
Good Friday everyone! Though I'm a non-practising Muslim, I feel deeply sorry for people who has suffered before. Like me and trust me in the name of God, I did.
Ernest Luis, my wish is ONE letter to get published again and ONE letter of the month. Destiny fulfilled.
'Ask and ye shall receive'?
:D
I don't think that Benitez should sign too many players...
At most he should sign just 2 players. Maybe 1 defender and 1 winger.
I would like to see a defender like Jonathan Woodgate come in. Hyypia is no longer the defender he used to be, so signing Woodgate would give him cover.
I also feel that Benitez should get a replacement for Pennant. He has not been really effective on the whole. A speedy winger like Joaquin would fit the bill.
Post a Comment