Liverpool FC face £4.4million bill for Alberto Aquilani

[Alex]

I'd agree in part but I just dont see how he fits into the squad

We already have two attacking midfield players Gerrard & Meirekes

Add in Aquilani that makes 3 how the hell we gonna keep them happy?

Theres no way you can play all 3 and even if you played Aquilani & Meireles who is going to win you possession - because those two wont

The lads a talented player but I'm not convinced hes a fit in our league or with us at this moment

If he hadnt gone last summer things might have been different but he did and I think if he comes back it will be to our / his detriment

3 Players for the competing for 2 slots is not really a problem. We need strength in depth, and competition never hurt anyone.

[Kenneth]

3 Players for the competing for 2 slots is not really a problem. We need strength in depth, and competition never hurt anyone.

It wouldn't be, but there aren't two slots, probably just one.

[Alex]

It wouldn't be, but there aren't two slots, probably just one.

I see what your saying, but none of us really know what system kenny will want to play next year. Its been a bit mix and match over the last 6 months.

[Exiled_red]

Well we'll see. If your right we should get offers from other clubs at that price.

What we get and what is a fair price isn't always the same thing [backtracks] but if people are talking about Jordan Henderson or James McCarthy with a year or two top flight experience being worth ~£20m, then surely Aquilani has to be worth in the region of £13-14m. The English market has gone crazy.

[Kenneth]

It has indeed.

[Lecter]

It wouldn't be, but there aren't two slots, probably just one.

If we play 4-4-2 there is one slot

If we play 4-3-3 there are two

But really would you fancy a midfield 3 that included 2 of Aquilani or Meireles?

It would be VERY lightweight and you'd have to have a monster of a holding player doing to defensive side

[Darkon]

how much did Juve pay for the season long loan?

[Lee]

how much did Juve pay for the season long loan?

I don't think they paid us anything mate.

We gave them Aquilani for a seaon and then returned with £5m for Poulsen. Juve must ****ing love us.

[Darkon]

I don't think they paid us anything mate.

We gave them Aquilani for a seaon and then returned with £5m for Poulsen. Juve must ****ing love us.

then it's the worst business ever :/

[Fernandinho]

Its ****ing ridiculous. Utter stupidity. Its so clear why we have struggled so much in recent years.

[Exiled_red]

If we play 4-4-2 there is one slot

If we play 4-3-3 there are two

But really would you fancy a midfield 3 that included 2 of Aquilani or Meireles?

It would be VERY lightweight and you'd have to have a monster of a holding player doing to defensive side

This is what worries me, our best performances have come with two hard working midfielder pressing, neither of whom are out and out defensive midfielders but will sit and not get caught out. I'd be interested to see what system we are looking to play next year, as neither Gerrard, Meireles nor Aquilani (who probably won't be here anyway) suit those roles. I'm also unsure how a Henderson or a McCarthy would fit in. I haven't seen a great deal of either but from what I have seen they like Adam seem somewhere in between the Lucas/Spearing type players and the Meireles/Gerrard type players. I guess adding one of these 3 would essentially keep us quite solid but give us a bit more going forward if we were to play a 4-3-3 with a midfield 3 consisting of one from each of these groups:
- Lucas/Spearing
- Adam/McCarthy/Henderson
- Gerrard/Meireles/(Aquilani)

[Parr_Zee]

Does anybody else think that with Aquilani's game being all about quick passing and moving, that he would fit right in to the Dalglish philosophy? I happen to think that he could work really well under Dalglush and wouldn't be totally against him coming back and figuring quite a lot for us.

If we play 3 in midfield, Lucas and Spearing could be fighting for the holding role, Merieles and Aquilani fighting for the advanced role, and Gerrard doing the box-to-box role.

[Lee]

Does anybody else think that with Aquilani's game being all about quick passing and moving, that he would fit right in to the Dalglish philosophy? I happen to think that he could work really well under Dalglush and wouldn't be totally against him coming back and figuring quite a lot for us.

If we play 3 in midfield, Lucas and Spearing could be fighting for the holding role, Merieles and Aquilani fighting for the advanced role, and Gerrard doing the box-to-box role.

Definitely.

I'd like to see what he can do without a run of injuries - think he'd fit in well in a midfield three of him, Lucas and Gerrard.

[dww]

Does anybody else think that with Aquilani's game being all about quick passing and moving, that he would fit right in to the Dalglish philosophy? I happen to think that he could work really well under Dalglush and wouldn't be totally against him coming back and figuring quite a lot for us.

If we play 3 in midfield, Lucas and Spearing could be fighting for the holding role, Merieles and Aquilani fighting for the advanced role, and Gerrard doing the box-to-box role.

Two points:

1/ I remain sceptical that the box-to-box role exists in any meaningful way in top teams. To me it implies the desperate tactical ineptitude and helter skelter brilliance of the likes of Jimmy Bullard. Fine for a relegation scrap but less impressive if you intend to win things.

2/ I tend to agree with Lecter that any midfield we could field with Meireles and Aquilani would look to lack strength on the ball and tackling proficiency. Neither of them strike me as great pressers of the ball either - although that could be wrong. Also neither have shown themselves capable of directing the flow of a PL game - something I think we really lake.

I think one of the lessons of recent PL seasons has been that you need, at least the option of, a physically strong central unit to get through the weight of games. So far no team has succeeded in implementing a purely pressing based strategy (such as the Barcelona model). To me it would be a big risk going into a season looking to make a midfield from Lucas, Aquilani and Meireles for a lot of PL games - even if I can theoretically see how it might work.

[Fierce]

As well as the utter insanity of letting him go out on loan for nothing, and essentially swapping him for Poulsen, we replaced him with Meireles who is pretty much the same type of player. Bit harder, less skillful.

Cheers you scratchy faced old wally