Champions League: Semi-finals 20. - 28.4. 2010

[destinydude]

Not a hope in hell mate I seriously think you need to stop playing Championship Manager

Instead of explaining why not, you've just resorted to have an attempt at sarcasm. Great!!!

Can someone tell me honestly if we at least wouldnt be there fighting for the title with the same squad till the end?

How good a squad did Chelsea have with all the injuries? Dint they manage their resources well?

They've had Kalou/Sturridge on the bench at times when Drogba was injured and they grinded out results with Essien,Carvalho,Cech missing out during crucial times.

Stop buying what Rory Smith or Paul Tomkins has to say.

[The Reverend]

Not a hope in hell mate I seriously think you need to stop playing Championship Manager

We are light years from winning the title. You can't buy the 3-4 quality players we need plus back-up for 25-30 million quid.

[destinydude]

We are light years from winning the title. You can't buy the 3-4 quality players we need plus back-up for 25-30 million quid.

In which positions do we exactly need the so called 'quality players'

Pls tell me.

As far as I see,

1. RB/CB are pretty much well covered.

2. LB is an issue with young Insua sometimes getting mugged easily.

3. Aquilani and Gerrard, you dont get much better than that. Yes Aquilani has been out for a while but that wont be the case next season(everyone's hoping that). SO CM is sorted.

4. Masch and Lucas for DM. Not much to complain about with Lucas as a back up to Masch and Lucas may be sometimes for the CM role. Sorted

5. Torres. As good as they get. Sorted BUT we need to buy another decent back up for Torres. 15m?I reckon would suffice for a back up. TBH somewhere b/w 10-15 would and we have N'gog too.

6. The main problem for us has been this area. We have Kuyt,Maxi,Riera,Benayoun,Babel for the wings. You can sell Babel&Riera [14m?] and then there are decent wingers available in the market. Krasic for one is out of contract and we still have money left over from a hypothetical 25m transfer budget along with a hypothetical 12-14m from the sales of Riera and Babel.

So where exactly are we lacking quality players except at LB and Wings? and a back up striker?

And we still have bit part players in Pacheco/Kelly/Ayala/Nemeth who can come in and play once in a while when we are seriously short of options and it's a problem that every club will have not just us.

[The Reverend]

In which positions do we exactly need the so called 'quality players'

Pls tell me.

As far as I see,

1. RB/CB are pretty much well covered.

2. LB is an issue with young Insua sometimes getting mugged easily.

3. Aquilani and Gerrard, you dont get much better than that. Yes Aquilani has been out for a while but that wont be the case next season(everyone's hoping that). SO CM is sorted.

4. Masch and Lucas for DM. Not much to complain about with Lucas as a back up to Masch and Lucas may be sometimes for the CM role. Sorted

5. Torres. As good as they get. Sorted BUT we need to buy another decent back up for Torres. 15m?I reckon would suffice for a back up. TBH somewhere b/w 10-15 would and we have N'gog too.

6. The main problem for us has been this area. We have Kuyt,Maxi,Riera,Benayoun,Babel for the wings. You can sell Babel&Riera [14m?] and then there are decent wingers available in the market. Krasic for one is out of contract and we still have money left over from a hypothetical 25m transfer budget along with a hypothetical 12-14m from the sales of Riera and Babel.

So where exactly are we lacking quality players except at LB and Wings? and a back up striker?

And we still have bit part players in Pacheco/Kelly/Ayala/Nemeth who can come in and play once in a while when we are seriously short of options and it's a problem that every club will have not just us.

I think you've more or less answered your own question there. We need a new left-back, better players on both flanks and a new centre forward.

Granted, we would probably be looking to bring a centre forward in who is comfortable playing either side of the front man, but that still makes three additions to the first team. As we would also be likely to get rid of some of the dead wood around the club we would also need better quality squad players to allow us to rotate the squad more effectively. 25-30 million is not going to bring in the type of players who will allow us to compete for the title next season.

[Lecter]

Instead of explaining why not, you've just resorted to have an attempt at sarcasm. Great!!!

Can someone tell me honestly if we at least wouldnt be there fighting for the title with the same squad till the end?

How good a squad did Chelsea have with all the injuries? Dint they manage their resources well?

They've had Kalou/Sturridge on the bench at times when Drogba was injured and they grinded out results with Essien,Carvalho,Cech missing out during crucial times.

Stop buying what Rory Smith or Paul Tomkins has to say.

I personally dont think our CURRENT squad is capable of challenging

Last seasons squad we'd have maybe had an outside chance but not this seasons

IMO we have gone backwards, we've lost Alonso who was crucial to us and we havent replaced that. Aquilani to me doesnt look up to it, and to be honest I dont think Johnson is that great either and the signing of Johnson has tactically moved us in the wrong direction

Skrtel has been terrible this season and Carragher is ageing

Personally I reckon to WIN the league we would need at least 1 leftback, a centrehalf, possibly a rightback (because I aint that convinced of Johnson), a creative central midfield player, 2 wide men and a back up forward


Chelsea also had Anelka playing when Drogba was injured!!!

Finally who the **** is Rory Smith?? Tomkins I know of but frankly his articles are so long winded I rarely get passed the title

[destinydude]

I think you've more or less answered your own question there. We need a new left-back, better players on both flanks and a new centre forward.

Granted, we would probably be looking to bring a centre forward in who is comfortable playing either side of the front man, but that still makes three additions to the first team. As we would also be likely to get rid of some of the dead wood around the club we would also need better quality squad players to allow us to rotate the squad more effectively. 25-30 million is not going to bring in the type of players who will allow us to compete for the title next season.

Let me reiterate again.

15m for a new striker + (Jovanovic on a Free?)
7m for a new LB.
15m for a new Winger. (and we'll still have Maxi,Kuyt,Benayoun)

Having said that, you can recoup 13-14m by selling Riera/Babel and our net would be ~25m and we can still sell Nemeth and San Jose so you can buy one more squad player for around 7m.

With this, we'll be having 2 players for every single position [+(N'gog) +(Pacheco), Kelly,Ayala to play some roles when needed]and isnt that sufficient to fight for the title and UCL?

I couldnt care less about the Carling Cup and we can prioritise FA Cup based on how far we go in the UCL.

You keep saying 25m wont be sufficient.

The same squad -Alonso/+Aquilani and -Arbeloa/+Johnson was almost there a yr before and you are spending 25m on that same squad, so why not?

Pls go on and explain rather than just saying, we will still need more money, and how much money do we exactly need to win/fight for the title? 100m?

[Exiled_red]

I think that with the squad we had last season that finished second I think we could have won the league this season if we could have added £30m worth of talent to it. But the game has changed since that (The increased threat of City, Spurs and Villa). I don't think adding £30m worth of talent to last years squad would win us the league next year (if that were) possible.

Also I think that the squad we have this year isn't as good as the one we had last year.

[Lecter]

Let me reiterate again.

15m for a new striker + (Jovanovic on a Free?)
7m for a new LB.
15m for a new Winger. (and we'll still have Maxi,Kuyt,Benayoun)

Having said that, you can recoup 13-14m by selling Riera/Babel and our net would be ~25m and we can still sell Nemeth and San Jose so you can buy one more squad player for around 7m.

With this, we'll be having 2 players for every single position [+(N'gog) +(Pacheco), Kelly,Ayala to play some roles when needed]and isnt that sufficient to fight for the title and UCL?

I couldnt care less about the Carling Cup and we can prioritise FA Cup based on how far we go in the UCL.

You keep saying 25m wont be sufficient.

The same squad -Alonso/+Aquilani and -Arbeloa/+Johnson was almost there a yr before and you are spending 25m on that same squad, so why not?

Pls go on and explain rather than just saying, we will still need more money, and how much money do we exactly need to win/fight for the title? 100m?

Even if we signed a new leftback, winger and a striker we'd still be short

It would mean relying on Lucas & Aquilani as one of our central midfielders, or moving Gerrard back on a more permanent basis (which I'm none too convinced about)

Equally we'd be relying on Skrtel regaining his form, Carragher not degenerating and the Greek for one of the centrehaklf positions

I think we need a lot more than this to WIN the title (which is what you claimed Jose could do with £25 million)

[Lecter]

I think that with the squad we had last season that finished second I think we could have won the league this season if we could have added £30m worth of talent to it. But the game has changed since that (The increased threat of City, Spurs and Villa). I don't think adding £30m worth of talent to last years squad would win us the league next year (if that were) possible.

Also I think that the squad we have this year isn't as good as the one we had last year.

[destinydude]

I personally dont think our CURRENT squad is capable of challenging

Last seasons squad we'd have maybe had an outside chance but not this seasons

IMO we have gone backwards, we've lost Alonso who was crucial to us and we havent replaced that. Aquilani to me doesnt look up to it, and to be honest I dont think Johnson is that great either and the signing of Johnson has tactically moved us in the wrong direction

Skrtel has been terrible this season and Carragher is ageing

Personally I reckon to WIN the league we would need at least 1 leftback, a centrehalf, possibly a rightback (because I aint that convinced of Johnson), a creative central midfield player, 2 wide men and a back up forward


Chelsea also had Anelka playing when Drogba was injured!!!

Finally who the **** is Rory Smith?? Tomkins I know of but frankly his articles are so long winded I rarely get passed the title

1. Skrtel had been injured for most part of the season, and we know when he's fit and playing, he can be good. We've seen that in the past.
Carragher is past it(acc to you and me partly I agree) but he still wudnt be the preferred choice next season. Agger- Skrtel would most prolly be barring any serious injuries.

2. There's nothing wrong with Johnson, you arent convinced but the manager is and so am I and I'm thinking so are many others, he doesnt defend that well but he provides an extra outlet when on the attack. I'm more than happy with him and he's still 25.

3. Another extra LB everyone agrees with it.

4. We have a creative CM in Aquilani who Benitez thinks is the right man and has been frsutrated(openly) with his physical condition. You could still sell him and get in another creative CM from the money you get or you can stick with Aquilani. Remember we've never lost a League game when Aquilani played.

5. We need to quality wide men and already have 5 wide men[Kuyt,Maxi,Babel,Riera,Yossi]. Sell 2 of them and add some $ and buy two new ones. Will cost you around 25m. But you are selling two so not much of an issue there.

6. A back up striker is something we all agree on and I think everyone's willing to spend 15m on him.

The only thing that's been lacking with the squad this season is belief and positive energy something we had in abundance last season, we dont need a fortune to get back there.

A new season with some spending with new formation/tatcics can change everything. We've lost last season's engine(Xabi) and he just wasnt someone who controlled play, he must have had a lot of positive energy in the dressing room as well, instead of changing the tactics/formation of last yr's we're still stuck with the same 4-2-3-1.

I see lot of worth and footballing ability in this squad and belief is something that can be bought in with change be it managerial or tactical.

And this is one more reason why I'd like Rafa to stay(cos there arent many good managers around) ONLY if he decides to make the right buys and change the formation to suit the players we have in our squad at present, else he can sod off to Juve. I wouldnt shed a tear if he wishes to leave, I'll have a lot of respect for what he did tho'.

[Lecter]

Pls go on and explain rather than just saying, we will still need more money, and how much money do we exactly need to win/fight for the title? 100m?

There are so many variables that you have to factor in though

How much will City spend, Spurs spend, United spend, Chelsea spend

How many injuries you will have etc.....

IF we were to spend £100 million NETT on players I would be disappointed if we did not win the league BUT I wouldnt GUARANTEE that it would happen

To me there is just so many variables that you cannot foresee

[The Reverend]

1.


5. We need to quality wide men and already have 5 wide men[Kuyt,Maxi,Babel,Riera,Yossi]. Sell 2 of them and add some $ and buy two new ones. Will cost you around 25m. But you are selling two so not much of an issue there.

6. A back up striker is something we all agree on and I think everyone's willing to spend 15m on him.

The only thing that's been lacking with the squad this season is belief and positive energy something we had in abundance last season, we dont need a fortune to get back there.

Selling Babel, Riera and Maxi wouldn't raise more than around 12-14 million which is barely enough to bring in 1 decent winger. It would also leave us very short of cover.

Its possible you could hit the jackpot and find a 20 goal a season forward for 15 million but unlikely. Look at the Prem's consistently best attacking players - Torres, Rooney, Tevez, Adebayor, Drogba - who all cost well over 20 million each. This is the sort of quality we need if we're going to able to challenge for the league again.

Belief and positive energy may be harder to get back than you think. Without the right investment in the squad we may see morale sink even lower.

[destinydude]

Even if we signed a new leftback, winger and a striker we'd still be short

It would mean relying on Lucas & Aquilani as one of our central midfielders, or moving Gerrard back on a more permanent basis (which I'm none too convinced about)

Equally we'd be relying on Skrtel regaining his form, Carragher not degenerating and the Greek for one of the centrehaklf positions

I think we need a lot more than this to WIN the title (which is what you claimed Jose could do with £25 million)

1.First up you need belief and mental strength around the squad something he brings wherever he goes.

2. If you cant trust the players you've seen for 3-4 years then god help us. Even the Mancs have O'shea and Wes Brown who hav ebeen deteriorating yr by yr. That's not a prollem with back ups, with the right attitude and energy they can do their roles very well. It's mentally where we've crumbled this season combined with some baffling tactics.

3. If you cant trust Aquilani with the CM role, shunt Gerrard in there and go with two upfront. And it's getting boring now. You dotn trust Gerrard, you dont have enough faith in Aquilani or Johnson and to you Carragher and Skrtel arent good enough? You've seriously got to be kidding me.

4. To win the tilte you have to be in the race first and with the additons I've been calling for we can definitely fight for it and if we win teh crucial games (Head to Head ones with Chelsea,ManU and Arsenal) we can as well win the title.

Chelsea've won 5/5 this season in the games against Big Four and that's the reason why they are top. Do they have a team /squad that's so good as to not even lose a single game in these matches? NO. Sometimes right tactics and belief can get you there.

5. We need a change mentally and tactically and 25m wil be sufficient.

[B] I still havent got a number, a number which you think will be good enough for us to win the title

[Lecter]

1. Skrtel had been injured for most part of the season, and we know when he's fit and playing, he can be good. We've seen that in the past.
Carragher is past it(acc to you and me partly I agree) but he still wudnt be the preferred choice next season. Agger- Skrtel would most prolly be barring any serious injuries.

2. There's nothing wrong with Johnson, you arent convinced but the manager is and so am I and I'm thinking so are many others, he doesnt defend that well but he provides an extra outlet when on the attack. I'm more than happy with him and he's still 25.

3. Another extra LB everyone agrees with it.

4. We have a creative CM in Aquilani who Benitez thinks is the right man and has been frsutrated(openly) with his physical condition. You could still sell him and get in another creative CM from the money you get or you can stick with Aquilani. Remember we've never lost a League game when Aquilani played.

5. We need to quality wide men and already have 5 wide men[Kuyt,Maxi,Babel,Riera,Yossi]. Sell 2 of them and add some $ and buy two new ones. Will cost you around 25m. But you are selling two so not much of an issue there.

6. A back up striker is something we all agree on and I think everyone's willing to spend 15m on him.

The only thing that's been lacking with the squad this season is belief and positive energy something we had in abundance last season, we dont need a fortune to get back there.

A new season with some spending with new formation/tatcics can change everything. We've lost last season's engine(Xabi) and he just wasnt someone who controlled play, he must have had a lot of positive energy in the dressing room as well, instead of changing the tactics/formation of last yr's we're still stuck with the same 4-2-3-1.

I see lot of worth and footballing ability in this squad and belief is something that can be bought in with change be it managerial or tactical.

And this is one more reason why I'd like Rafa to stay(cos there arent many good managers around) ONLY if he decides to make the right buys and change the formation to suit the players we have in our squad at present, else he can sod off to Juve. I wouldnt shed a tear if he wishes to leave, I'll have a lot of respect for what he did tho'.

Skrtel has made 14 appearances this season, Agger has made 21 so far. Frankly Agger has been head and shoulders above Skrtel in terms of performance. Its nothing to do with him being injured its been his performances when hes played have been shocking

Johnson I think leaves us very very exposed and puts more pressure on the centrehalf positions (see Atletico's goal for an example of that)

Has Aquilani actually played against any of the big clubs?? That to me is the proof that hes worthy of a place, because from what I've seen on him so far barring a couple of performances hes struggled badly

As for Rafa staying, I frankly dont mind who is manager because thats not what we are discussing. We are discussing whether morinho could win the league given £25 million NETT to spend. I dont think he has a hope in hell of doing that and thats not a reflection on Mourinho I dont think ANY manager could win us the league with that little money to spend

[destinydude]

There are so many variables that you have to factor in though

How much will City spend, Spurs spend, United spend, Chelsea spend

How many injuries you will have etc.....

IF we were to spend £100 million NETT on players I would be disappointed if we did not win the league BUT I wouldnt GUARANTEE that it would happen

To me there is just so many variables that you cannot foresee

When I say win, I mean be there till the end and nick it rather than maintaining a ten pt gap all the while and then win it with 3/4 games to go.

No one can 'guarantee' a title win because no one knows what can happen, but a realistic amount which you think we need to be there to fight with others.

Spurs,Villa,City can till spend an absolute fortune, but there still arent players like Gerrard,Torres,Masch Reina,Aquilani who they can get in the current market.