So, What do you really think of our Squad?

[Fernandinho]

He wouldn't want to probably.

[saveferris]

Whilst there are some players that arent up to standard, there is also a massive lack of self confidence and belief resulting in mistakes being made. The other thing I reckon is that there has been no drive from the middle/full backs forward.

Yesterday goals could be attributed to 2 mistakes, we know that Johnson and Skrtel have played better in the past but inconsistencies in their game mean that they are making mistakes and now being targetted.

We do need either a consistently fit Aurelio and either Insua or someone else as backup as we have been exposed on a number of occasions this season. Aquilani would have been good to have now as when he played he was an attacking looking midfielder and could have bought some real drive from the middle.

We have missed Alonso and Mascherano who were leaders on the pitch.

A player on the left, or giving Babel a proper chance (some may say he has had that)along with an attacking backup and Johnson on the right mid should bring some results.

[Arn]

I think this is to some degree a question of definition. I think part of what I would call leadership is the sort of players who do the sort of thing you are talking about.

Xabi and Hyypia are the two people I think we miss most. they kept calm and kept playing the same way in bad situations. Xabi also had an excellent tactical grasp of the game - knowing when to push and when to hold the midfield. I think players like that in the squad help people to do the right thing.

In some ways if that type of player has played in most games it seems to generate confidence more generally in the squad, helping players to believe that whoever they pass to will do a good job.

I think we need a Gary Mac or Xabi type player short term much more than we need the pace and width people talk about given our squad.

Our leaders, like Gerrard and Carragher, are all too hot headed, gung ho and prone to feel that the best thing would be if they tried to do everything in their department of the pitch. Also Carraghers more agricultural tendencies tend to be contagious.

At least someone read my posts

I would do everything I could to get Sami back this transfer window.

[Arn]

We also need to drop players that simply can't play free flowing pass and move football. Get players in that can do that.

To much stop and start in our attacks. More or less no quick counter attacks and that means that we will be up against an organized defence almost all the time and we don't have enough creative players to break organized defences down.

Drop players like Kuyt, Jovanovic, Skrtel and Poulsen. They slow down our play to much. Play players that is used to play pass and move football. That means players from the reserves and the Academy.

Not a single player should play that can't play free flowing pass and move football, not a single one. Sell everyone that can't do that.

[billy_mac]

We've a bunch of fairys playing at the moment. We can't win a tackle or go into a tackle properly. That had a lot to do with Gerrards sending off against united in his frustration of seeing teammates bottling it. Until we get that sorted we're in serious trouble, because its a battle when your down at the bottom and we're not equiped for a battle.

Don't start me on the passing.

The fact a professional footballer can't tackle or pass should result in a sacking and that's what most of our sqaud needs is sacking not selling.

[Daniel 7]

We've a bunch of fairys playing at the moment. We can't win a tackle or go into a tackle properly. That had a lot to do with Gerrards sending off against united in his frustration of seeing teammates bottling it. Until we get that sorted we're in serious trouble, because its a battle when your down at the bottom and we're not equiped for a battle.

Don't start me on the passing.

The fact a professional footballer can't tackle or pass should result in a sacking and that's what most of our sqaud needs is sacking not selling.

I was just saying the same thing this morning. Its shocking how weak we are in the tackle.

[PTP]

Love doing these – do one every few weeks – it’s like a release

Highlighted some areas where we need to improve/sell players/sign new ones


GK
Reina – top class keeper, must stay at all costs, wouldn’t swap for anyone
Jones – just a ressy keeper, could be improved on when we get in a position to do so
Gulasci – young keeper as extra cover

RB
Johnson – good attacking right back, looks a bit of a mess but not as bad as people make out – if other areas were improved, which allowed johnson to roam forward from right back, he’d be sound
Kelly – very promising – solid in defence but shows a willingness to get forward – great cover

CB
Agger – good centre half, helps bring the ball out of defence and the start of our attacks – needs a big dominating centre half next too him – need to get him proper fit tho
Carra – experienced pro, coming to the end of a great career but still has plenty to offer – should be 3rd choice centre half when we buy the big centre mentioned above
Skterl – got worse, don’t know whats happened to him –came here as a raw talent and i really felt we could mould him into a bit of a vidic, hasn’t happened – i’d be looking at moving him on and replacing with someone better to partner agger in first team as mentioned above
Kyriakos – came in to do a job, no complaints with tho at the end of his career and if we get the big centre half in thats needed he would be surplus to requirements
Wilson/ayala – too young lads coming through should be battling for the 4th centre back role next season, learning off carra and looking to get about 10-15 games

LB
Aurelio – too injury prone, and imo we need better than him anyway – if we could get him fit, he’d be an ideal 2nd choice left back
Konchesky – woeful, move on

CM
Lucas – ok, meh, imo not good enough to be our main man in the middle – he still has a role at the club, but for me he should be the 3rd choice centre mid acting as cover/squad rotation
Meireles – similar to lucas, tho i have just slighty ahead of lucas on technique, so meireles and another with lucas as the 3rd choice would do meGerrard – superstar would usually play him more advanced – but still an option in centre mid say if merieles and the new guy were out
Shelvey – bright prospect – needs time, no issues with him – he should be given a chance in carling cup games or coming on when we are winning easily
Poulsen – get rid and replace with a proper centre mid that can go straight into the first XI – lucas/meireles to fight out partnering the new guy

LM
Babel – meh
Jovanovic – urgh
Buy a top left mid – maybe keep one of the above as cover, or look to cole for cover there

Am
Gerrard – superstar
Cole – decent enough, needs to get some fitness/form – for me cole should be cover across the three front positions, with AM his main one

RM
Maxi – decent enough tidy footballer signed on a free – We need a better right winger tho and then maxi as cover with joe cole – we’d be sorted
Kuyt – looks lost, looks shot, technique getting worse – id move him on for a replacement
St
Torres – superstar – looks pissed off but not surprised, for me he needs some pressure taken off him and a new striker to come in that can either cover or partner torres as needed
Ngog – decent enough young prospect but the gulf between him and torres to big and we need someone desperately to fill that void
Pacheco – looks a good young prospect, no complaints


Have i missed anyone

[PTP]

to some up

desperate for (in no particular order)

A new big strong organised dominating centre back
a good left back
a centre mid dynamo
a left winger with pace
a creative right mid, bit of pace would be nice too
a striker capable of covering/partnering torres as needed

[Fernandinho]

Suso!

[Neil Young]

Alonso and Mascherano were instrumental in the successful run in 08/09! Neither were replaced successfully, although Aquilani proved a decent replacement the end of last season. We don't have that type of player anymore, a machine of the midfield that the opposition would struggle to cope with - just look at the number of tackles made on him/free kicks/red cards etc. As good as Lucas is it's a gradual improvement and I'm not entirely sure he's in the Xabi mould. As for Mascherano, we miss the constant 'hounding' of the opposition! A bit like Kuyt he had great stamina and would always press to win possession back. Poulsen is clearly not up to scratch in this area, mainly due to his age, and unless we sort this problem, along with a Xabi replacement we won't be aiming for a top 4 position for quite some time.

[Fernandinho]

[Fredo]

You've hounded cats before.

[SimonNo7]

The ****e squad argument is getting really tedious. Are you all Sky sports converts?

I'm not a Sky convert (I don't even have Sky Sports) and please don't come out with that line just because some fans don't think that a number of our players are not good enough for our team.

What I put against each of our players is what I genuinely think about those players and have done for some time, not since Roy came in but over the period of Rafa's last season, Roy's short tenure and up to present day with Kenny in charge.

Please copy my list and put your comments against each player, I would genuinely be interested to see what you think although I would suggest you take off your RSG first (just kidding) .

[SimonNo7]

Reina - Class keeper need to keep hold of him
Jones - Backup keeper, not seen much of him, hope we don't need to call on him

Johnson - OK, I'd be tempted to give him a try on the wing
Kelly - promising youngster, has a bright future, but I'm unsure he's ready to play regularly
Agger - Class but injury prone
Skrtel - Worries me, I'm not comfortable when he plays would be ok as back up
Carragher - Time is catching up with him, but is still first choice possibly because of a lack of decent competition
Kyriakos - Good as a 4th choice, but doesn't inspire confidence
Wilson - Seems promising, but I've not seen enough of him
Ayala - Seems promising, but I've not seen enough of him probably 3rd in young CB pecking order
Aurelio - Good player but injury prone
Konchesky - Not good enough
Insua - I thought alot of the critisism he took was harsh, not ready to be first choice but could improve

Lucas - Much improved this season, looking a good player
Meireles - Still undecided, he showed some promise early on (in CM) but has regressed since
Poulsen - Not good enough, puts in the occasional half where he looks ok, but mostly the game passes him by.
Spearing - I don't think he's going to make it
Gerrard - Class but moody, gets too easily frustrated and tried to do too much himself
Cole - I've not seen enough of him to judge yet
Kuyt - Not at his best maybe suffering a World Cup hangover?
Maxi - One of our better players this season
Babel - Pacy but a headless chicken and lacks game intelligence, I think he should perhaps be in the team at the moment though
Jovanovic - Again I've not really seen much of him, he seems to be a left sided Kuyt, and is playing about as well as Kuyt this season, but where we know Kuyt can do better we don't know about him

Torres - Class showed signs of his old self more recently, but has been badly let down by the service and is becoming frustrated.
Ngog - Promising youngster who is improving but shouldn't IMO be 2nd choice, again I think he will do better when the service improves


Of the players listed we need to keep Reina, Lucas, Gerrard, Torres and Agger (if he can stay fit) they are the regulars and Kelly, Wilson and Ngog as players who show promise and will improve. I can't honestly say I'd be too bothered if any of the others left. There are a few that would be useful squad players, but if decent offers came in I think I'd let them go.

Having said that there are a number of 'passive' players in there that could do a job if we had more active players with drive/determination/skill to do something, this IMO needs to be added in the wide areas.

A team of

Reina
Johnson Carragher Agger Aurelio
Lucas Meireles
---??--- Gerrard ---??---
Torres

with the wide ---??--- players being creative and chipping in with goals that team should make the top 4

I forgot the players in bold but would generally agree with what you've put, in fact I would generally agree with most of what you put

[SimonNo7]

I tend to think the main problem with our squad is not individual quality but a lack of players who get the best out of one another and a complete absence of intelligent leaders.

It looks like an exaggerated form of what it has been since the summer before last - a squad in transition but without the means to complete the job.

That is a very good point We very rarely look like a team, a group of players that are together.

I think we would all agree that Manure's team, on paper, is not very good but look at them. Top of the league, no defeats. Now while the other teams around them have conspired to help them, the reason they are there is because Fergie gets a group of individuals to play as a team. It's very much like the last Leeds team that won the title, pretty crap on paper but a hell of a team.