Liverpool FC: Looking Forwards to the New Season
Posted by Akzoony in Liverpool | 9 August 2006
Rafael Benitez has always said that he is looking to the long term with Liverpool. He has made comments about the lack of balance and depth that he inherited (albeit in a very Rafa way! I believe the way he put it was ‘It took 3 years to get Valencia playing like I wanted and they already had two good players for each position’). To this end he has brought in a number of players and allowed more to leave in the last 2 years, providing the team with the kind of balance a title challenging side needs.
As always some signings haven’t worked out and some have clearly been stop-gap measures. These have been allowed to leave the side without any undue emotion; taking us further towards a top quality ‘spine’ upon which a successful squad can be based.
The team sheet I have put below shows a Liverpool side now heading towards the 2006/2007 campaign comprising of a predominantly stable and well rounded squad. This is something that we have been missing since the infamous deconstruction in the early 90’s. For the first time in a long time we know that half a dozen players will not be gone in a year’s time and need replacing, removing the ability for the team to move forwards in any meaningful way.
It shows how far we have come in two years. Rafa arrived and had to spend his first year in charge instilling his ideas and ethos into a team that he had very little control of in terms of personnel. His second year involved shipping out some of the deadwood and bringing in what he could with a limited budget; increasing the quality of the first team and gaining more options. Finally this year he has been able to complete the structure of a side that he can really start to call his own.
We are now approaching a stage where we will be able to bring in just one or two top quality signings a year to add a bit of extra quality to a side that already possesses quality in abundance.
Very much like Shankly before him Benitez believes in having options to deal with any situation, and top quality replacements who already know what is expected of them when they are called upon. Looking at the team sheet below, I don’t think he’s too far off!
-----------------------------Reina-------------------------------
----------------------------Carson------------------------------
Kromkamp-----Paletta-------Agger---------Warnock
Finnan-----------Hyypia------Carragher--------Riise--
Anderson------Sissoko------Zenden----------Aurelio
Pennant---------Gerrard------Alonso---------Gonzales
---------------------------Kewell--------------------------------
--------------------------Garcia--------------------------------
----------------Fowler ------------------------------------------
----------------Crouch---------Bellamy----------------------
The Future
Danny Guthrie M
David Mannix M
Jack Hobbs D
Godwin Antwi D
Lee Peltier M
Craig Lindfield A
David Martin GK
Adam Hammill M
James Smith D
Stephen Darby D
Ryan Flynn M
David Roberts GK
Robbie Threlfall D
Danny O'Donnell D
Besian Idrizaj M
Miki Roque D
Comments
It only looks good on paper. Too many names are rather mediocre players. Both in the present and in the future section.
Well, well, well...
kris, why does the bottle have to be always be half empty?
I think we'll be right there making chelsea gasping for breath at the end of season...
