alias75

Not sure if its been posted here but im sure i read that we have 7 players in the latest England U19 squad... Wisdom, Flannagan, Robinson, Shelvey, Coady, Ngoo and Ince

Ok i think it was a bit of both, by the time that team had evolved we had Mascherano and Alonso in central midfield so of course it made sense to use Gerrard further forward but i also remember some comments from Rafa i think after a game against Everton where he was critical of Gerrard in terms of losing shape (think it was the game where Lucas came on and won the penalty) the thing us fans love him for that Roy of the Rovers style can work against a team too depending on where you played him, if he plays in a 2 man central midfield he does have to be more disciplined and yes he is capable of doing that but hes also capable of not keeping his shape which causes problems. Its a nice problem to have and im sure Kenny and Steve Clarke know what they're doing, as i said the team can only get better for having Gerrard in it.

He's obviously a great player but it has been clear in the past that he hasn't trusted some of his team mates and when that happens everyone loses. Lucas was a prime example playing in the position he does for us he should see a lot of the ball but if people are afraid to pass it to him that creates more problems than it solves. Gerrard clearly didn't trust him in the first few years he was at the club and it didn't help. Also playing in a 2 in the middle of midfield you can't afford him to go running here there and everywhere trying to do it all on his own because that creates too much space which good teams will exploit, thats definitely a part of his game Rafa didn't like which is probably why he played him off Torres where he had that freedom to drift. If he played as 1 of the front 4 then he would have that freedom but if he played the Spearing position he would have to be more disciplined because a big reason why we've done so well since Kenny took over has been the work rate of the 2 in the middle and their discipline which allows the players in front of them the freedom to do what they've been doing. Im sure he will be able to adapt and of course any team is better for having Gerrard in it, but the "secret" of our success under Kenny has been a team all pulling in the right direction all playing their role, within that framework there is lots of freedom too and im sure Gerrard will thrive playing in a more offensive setup where we're trying to take the game to the opposition.

Yeah i agree Kenny has to get it through to Gerrard that he doesn't have to do it all on his own, thats probably been his biggest "fault" he needs to understand he's 1 player in a team, a very important part of that team but unless he trusts his team mates and just plays his role in that team the whole thing can fall apart. When he first came into the team he was obviously nervous and he kept it nice and simple picking his moment to try the killer pass or join the attack he has to get back to that way of playing.

So far the key to our success has been TEAM so its important whoever we sign in the summer is of the same attitude, ideally you get someone like Suarez who not only is technically brilliant but he has that will to win and work rate very similar to someone like Tevez. Young does strike me as someone with a pretty good attitude and someone that will work hard and buy into that team ethic. While we all like to get carried away by the latest you tube super star i think we shouldn't be disappointed if we sign players that are less glamorous but are right for what we're trying to do here. Its only takes 1 or 2 that don't buy into that philosophy to ruin it. The ideal solution is you sign someone like Suarez or Tevez or Silva who has that fantastic ability but also buys into the team philosophy. Hopefully we can find a couple more like that.

It is going to be interesting to see how Stevie is used next season, the secret to our success under Kenny has been everyone playing their role and the team is everything. I do think Stevie might have to redefine himself as a player next season but hes more than capable of doing that and of course we're going to be a better team with Stevie in it. Looking at the way we're currently playing i think he could play in a few different positions. 1. As a traditional central midfielder alongside Lucas where Spearing has been playing - if he played here he'd probably have to reign in his attacking instincts a bit but we've seen Spearing get forward a fair bit and when the team is playing on the front foot and pressing high up the pitch those opportunities to get forward will happen. If he played here he would have to be more disciplined but we've seen him do that (more for England than Liverpool) so he is capable of doing that. 2. In one of the "wide" midfield positions, where Maxi, Meireles, Kuyt have been playing. Here he has license to roam and lots of freedom to move about, think he'd do great here obviously he's a great attacking player with ability to pick a pass or score a goal, his link up with Suarez, Kuyt, Meireles, Maxi etc could be great. It does beg the question of whether we do need another central midfielder, with Spearing getting better with every game he plays and Gerrard likely to play there too, i do wonder if signing another central midfielder would block the progress of Shelvey and Spearing, maybe this is where if we signed someone like McCarthy he wouldn't expect to play every week and he could slowly be groomed to replace Gerrard.

Think i posted it on this site somewhere but id been told a long time ago that Young was a done deal for next season so its interesting to hear what whats being reported today. For me it depends where Young will be played, i think he plays best centrally, his best games for England have come in a free role where he has looked very good, so if we are going to play with a very fluid front 4 with fullbacks providing the real width i think he could suit that, but if we're looking for an out and out winger i think there are better options, even someone like Downing i think is a better winger than Young. As we saw with GJ on the weekend if you have fullbacks that can push on you can play people like Maxi and Meireles and Kuyt who are very fluid in their movement but not "proper" wide players and its very effective, if we can sign someone to do the same as GJ on the left the need for an out and out winger isn't really there which is where someone like Young could fit it. So we have a back 4 with fullbacks pushing on 2 sitting midfielders and 4 attacking players who are very fluid in their movement. I do wonder where someone like Carroll fits in to this type of formation because Suarez is key to it working, but i guess its another option and another way of playing if we need to with Carroll as the focal point and then 3 attacking players playing off him with lots of good movement and the fullbacks providing the width.

If you fancy a small interest punt on the game, how about backing the keepers to get booked, currently trading at 12.5 on betfair. There's always the chance they bring someone down for a pen but more likely if Utd are winning or drawing van der sar will be wasting time and similarly if Chelsea are winning towards the end Cech will try and waste time. Ive seen worse bets.

Hes played a lot on the right wing for Villa but he is left footed and could easily play on the left wing, it all depends whether the manager wants his wide players coming inside onto their strongest foot or being able to whip balls in and trying to get outside the full back. Ashley Young seems to be most peoples preferred option but hes not played as a winger all year and whenever hes looked good for England its been centrally.

for what we need though i think Downing is probably the best option followed by lennon, Young seems to want to play in the middle, his good games for England all came playing centrally, he hasn't played as a winger at Villa for a while now, they have Downing and Agbonlahor playing wide, he still gets assists etc.. cos hes taking most of their free kicks but hes not played as a winger for most of this season. We need someone that will hold his width and can cross a decent ball for Carroll to attack, Downing does this well, hes not flash but he is good technically can play right or left and is a proper winger. Lennon is more inconsistent but would give us that blistering pace we don't have at the moment especially on the counter, when hes on form he's almost unplayable but hes not as consistent as Downing who doesn't rely on pace as much (although he's not slow), still think Lennon has lots of improvement in him though and if Kenny and Clarke got hold of him who knows what he could become.

£5 million and little Joey Cole should do it!!

Would be really happy with both Enrique and McCarthey. Enrique is a very solid player, good in possession and can get forward well and deliver a good ball. McCarthy fits the bill of exactly the type of player we should be going after, young and very talented, i guess the only problem signing someone like him would be it would probably spell the end for Spearing and it might block the progress of Shelvey. But he is the nearest thing to Gerrard ive seen, he looks to have a really good all round game, can get around the pitch well and is a threat in attack. Can also cover the wide midfield positions, like Gerrard im sure you could play him almost anywhere and he'd do a job for you. Hopefully our interest in the past will give us an advantage, but i agree he will be at a bigger club next season.

Ok fair enough, if we can get around £15 million for him i think that'd be a good deal, its a bit rich of Juventus to agree a fee for him before they take him on loan and then say its too much after hes played almost every game for them and made the Italian team. But with that sort of money i think we can find someone better and more suited to the league. Milan have an ageing squad so maybe they'll be interested in someone whose pretty young and a current Italian international. Whatever happens im confident with these owners we won't get messed around by Juventus and if we do end up keeping him Kenny will get the best out of him.

How much will he end up costing us?? a big part of his fee was based on appearances which he isn't going to fulfil if hes sold in the summer. I think an Italian team will want him, if its not Juventus maybe Milan. We've also been linked with a couple of players from Serie A so maybe even some sort of player swap?? I think we can find better for that sort of money and someone thats better suited to the PL. But if they try to get him on the cheap we'll just keep him im sure Kenny will get the best out of him anyway and he is a quality player.

Pound for pound has to be one of the greatest signings ever!! still get a lump in my throat when i watch him say goodbye to Anfield.

Not sure, there were a couple of moments in the 2nd half i didn't see him get exposed in the 1st half when Arshavin wasn't playing. There were a couple of times when Valencia had a lot of space but both times if you look Arshavin is in the vicinity but not goal side so it could be he just wasn't getting enough cover from him. Anyway thats nothing that a decent defensive coach like Steve Clarke couldn't drill into him. I do think he'd be the bigger risk, but if we are going to play with wide midfielders tucked in we're going to need fullbacks that can get forward well and Clichy does that, if he played for us he'd get much better protection in front of him.

He may have been told to do that and Arshavin simply wasn't doing his job in tracking back and helping him out, very often in that type of situation they fullback will tuck in a little and the right sided midfielder will help him out but Arshavin is terrible at tracking back and covering. Think with a good coach Clichy would be fine, Arsenal clearly don't do a lot of work defensively but hes very good getting forward and hes quick, would be an improvement on what we have currently, but of the 2 id prefer Enrique, just think hes the better defender and the more solid option.

thats why your not a scout!

He's such a great player you can see how much his movement and technical ability has helped players like Kuyt and Maxi and Meireles. Needed that goal today but he does more than enough to contribute even when he isn't scoring, i think once he gets a few goals and he's less anxious about that he's going to be a hell of a player for us. The best thing about him is his will to win and if we can get another 2 or 3 with the same mentality anything's possible next season. Can't wait to see him link up with Gerrard too next season.

getting some good width from both fullbacks at the moment something thats really important when you have players like Meireles and Maxi in the "wide" midfield positions.

Players like Enrique, Jones, even Ashley Young aren't necessarily top drawer players but they would improve us and add balance to the team, im quietly optimistic that we'll sign maybe 1 very highly rated young player and then 2 or 3 like Enrique who will plug holes in our team and definitely improve us. I think its right to be cautious experience has taught us that the big transfers don't happen easily, and the very highly rated young players will be wanted by all the top teams, very often with very young players it comes down to a team taking a chance and paying over the odds, i think we'll do that at least once in the next window.

Would be a huge message of intent from the owners if we got him, fits the criteria young, massive potential. I guess he's a similar profile to Wickham and will cost a similar amount, given his experience at international level despite being just 17 you'd have to say he's further forward in his development.

Haven't seen much of him either but i remember his debut clearly cos he was up against Drogba and did really well, think he got MOM. From what ive seen hes more of a Carragher / Terry type of defender, no nonsense likes defending, probably quite similar to Kelly.

I know that, but he is available.

Jones is going to become a great player, think he made his debut against Chelsea and was outstanding, he's also played some games as a defensive midfielder. Fits the criteria of the type of player we're going to go for, young and very talented, him and Kelly could be CB's here for the next 7-8 years. what about Victor Obinna?? weren't we linked with him earlier in the season??