Which of these players would make our current squad

[Robbie-9-Fowler]

We've definitely got a better squad but that's not the point. We're probably further away from the big 3 than before Rafa took over but that's not his fault. Yes, we've spent a lot of money but the likes of Utd and Chelsea will always spend more and earn more and therefore spend even more again..........in all likelihood, they will continue to get further away from us unless we get massive investment.

we were closer last season than the season before.. and we were closer that season than the season before that !

add that together with the fact i believe we will come closer this year than last, what your saying is wrong IMO and we are slowly closing the gap

[Roboklopp]

Well, Rafa did keep Didi, Harry & the Dude around, but had to cope with their aging & demise.

Would've kept Hedgehog too meself at that stage, but wasnt their some politics at the time (allegedly)?

[RedSince1964]

we were closer last season than the season before.. and we were closer that season than the season before that !

add that together with the fact i believe we will come closer this year than last, what your saying is wrong IMO and we are slowly closing the gap

Good post

[frank the tank]

i reckon pongolle would have been perfect for one of the wide positions in the current formation....

people remember the impact he had versus olympiakos but he also played unreal against arsenal that season at anfield (the game of the mellor goal)..... i really wish we kept him to be honest and i would much prefer him to pennent.. granted he might not have been overly happy on the bench but i do feel we should have tried to keep him a big longer to see if he developed a bit more.... i reckon he could be in the france reckoning pretty soon....

as for the original question, then i would have kept pongolle, didi and perhaps dudek as back up too....

however, i do feel that there have been a few handy players that rafa has bought and sold on again too... bellamy would be a great sub to have for instance (as long as he's not in jail or court on matchday!!!) also, lets be honest, sissoko had a lot going for him at one stage. I wouldn't have him in the first team but if rafa wanted to rest mascher or alonso/barry, then momo could do a job. I think rafa must really really rate Lucas for him to ship out momo.

[Kenneth]

First team, none. Squad, the following would all be possible (assuming we're talking about how they were then, not how they are now):

Goalkeepers
Dudek

Defenders
Stephane Henchoz

Midfielders
Dietmar Hamann, Vladimir Smicer, Harry Kewell

Forwards
Cisse, Emile Heskey

Still a great post but, and wouldn't really argue with the rest of it at all.

[Redlife]

Hamann.


Some of the others were good players and contributed loads to the side over the years, but I think Didi is the only player on that list who would definitely make it in the current side... and even then he'd have to fight Mascherano (more ).

[lucas]

Traore

Seriously, Hamann in his prime was phenomenal. Absolute legend

Flo would make a good squad player but I reckon his strike rate would be similar to the Crow.

[El Jefecito]

As of today. NONE

[Ben_Itez]

FFS there's some negative people on here. We only finished 11 pts off the top last season which isn't really that bad considering.

We'll definitely be in the mix this year IMO.

[Skillz]

Goalkeepers
Dudek, Chris Kirkland, Patrice Luzi

Defenders
Carl Medjani, Stephane Henchoz, Jon Otsemobor, Djimi Traore, John Arne Riise

Midfielders
Dietmar Hamann, Danny Murphy, Bruno Cheyrou, Igor Biscan, Vladimir Smicer, John Welsh, Salif Diao, Richie Partridge

Forwards
Cisse, El Hadji Diouf, Anthony Le Tallec, Milan Baros, Florent Sinama Pongolle, Harry Kewell, Emile Heskey- (I've replace Cisse with Owen because both were really out of Rafa's control.)

Together with Sami, Carra, Finnan & Stevie G this was the squad Rafa inherited 4 years ago.

Out of every one of those players, the only change I would make is Flo for Voronin.

A common complaint in the media and on many forums is that Rafa has spent money since he has been here, but we are no nearer the title.

The fact is we are unrecognisable from the team Rafa took over. He has literally had to start from scratch and create a potential title winning side out of nothing. In the 14 years before he arrived we managed an average of 2 points a game once. In his 4 years we have done it twice and there is a good chance it could have been 3 times if we weren't concentrating solely on the European Cup Final in 2007.

If you look year on year since he arrived our squad always improves and will continue to do so.

We have a goalkeeper and defence that is on a par with any side in Europe. We have possibly the best holding midfielder and striker in Europe. We have a captain who can only be described as a phenomenon who has formed a partnership with Torres (which some incredibly feel should be broken up by moving him wide or back into central midfield) that has the potential to be one of the best ever. We have squad players who are proven internationals and after the reserves exploits from last season, arguably the best collection of youngsters in the country.

Add to that we still have a fair amount of money to spend thanks to Rafa's dealings in the transfer market and he has already mentioned we are going to make further big name signings so again our squad will be better.

These aren't rose tinted glasses or actions of some pro Rafa brigade, these are facts, Rafa has and continues to make Liverpool a better team.

I fully expect us to challenge for the title; and I think for a manager who likes his options, two extra substitutes will make a massive difference this season.

Fantastic post. I will add one thing that gets my goat when people say Rafa has turned the squad over too much. Look at the average age of the squad he inherited, add 4 years and tell me how good that squad would be now?

Then look at the average age and quality of our squad now!


no more needs to be said.

[Assassin]

I would take Igor Biscan and play him when Gerrard was not playing. Igor always played well when Gerrard was not in the team due to resting or injury