Our Team for Next season and the Squad in general

[DannyMan2006]

Anyone thinking the diamond - it's a massive gamble.

Last season it was exactly as Rodgers said, good luck to any manager who wanted to push up on us and leave Suarez and Sturridge in space against their backline. This season it was a case of teams not being worried about the prospect of a combination of two from Rickie, Mario & Fabio. So they pressed us high and Stevie couldn't cope.

So if we are thinking of playing the diamond, then we need a specialist DM who can cope and a couple of strikers who will cause havoc. Sturridge & two others to cover for injury.

In short, Sturridge, Origi, Ings and the best DM & Striker we can find.

After that, I'd be looking at a solid RB, and if possible some free agents from the likes of Ayew, Konoplyanka, Milner etc.

[ChrisDR1968]

Maybe the fault last season was that once we'd blasted an opponent over the first 25-30 minutes and found ourselves 2 or 3-0 up we didn't have a plan b to condense the play in midfield and snuff the rest of the game out.

We continued to play the diamond (4-1-2-1-2) throughout the game and shipped goals at the other end as a result.

Perhaps go 4-5-1 once we have a commanding position in games was the way to go...

[Exiled_red]

At the moment we need to worry about actually getting the lead rather than what we do when we've in front.

I agree with DannyMan you'd need a real DM who could dominate the midfield before we could even consider playing a diamond, I think a 4-3-3 or some variant of it is the way to go

[DannyMan2006]

Maybe the fault last season was that once we'd blasted an opponent over the first 25-30 minutes and found ourselves 2 or 3-0 up we didn't have a plan b to condense the play in midfield and snuff the rest of the game out.

We continued to play the diamond (4-1-2-1-2) throughout the game and shipped goals at the other end as a result.

Perhaps go 4-5-1 once we have a commanding position in games was the way to go...

I think in modern football 433 or 4231 is the way to go. But you're front 3 need to score goals and your midfield three need to dominate. The full backs need to be solid as well as good going forward.

I think we need to concentrate on getting the 433 right. We have the players for that system for the most part. Just need to add a top DM and a striker who can switch with Sturridge. We have an abundance of wide players for it and midfielders who are good in the wide midfield roles. We just need the spine to be sorted and a RB to compete.

GKP: Migs, Ward, ??? - Replace Jones
RB: Manquillo, ??? - Replace Johnson
CB: Skrtel, ??? - Replace Toure
CB: Sakho, Lovren
LB: Moreno, Flanagan
RCM: Henderson, Allen
CM: Lucas, ??? - Replace Gerrard
LCM: Coutinho, Can
RW: Sterling, Ibe
ST: Sturridge, Origi - Replace Mario
LW: Lallana, Markovic

Weakest areas in that stand out as being RB, DM & Striker. A reserve keeper is also essential in case of injury to Migs, Ward isn't ready to be back up keeper. If Toure leaves then we'd need another CB, unless we deemed Wisdom or Illori are ready to step up.

Montoya, Kondogbia & Lacazette are the type of players we should be looking at. A lot of talk about Depay. He scores goals and so he'd be a great buy. If we lost Sterling he'd be a key signing.

[Exiled_red]

I think in modern football 433 or 4231 is the way to go. But you're front 3 need to score goals and your midfield three need to dominate. The full backs need to be solid as well as good going forward.

I think we need to concentrate on getting the 433 right. We have the players for that system for the most part. Just need to add a top DM and a striker who can switch with Sturridge. We have an abundance of wide players for it and midfielders who are good in the wide midfield roles. We just need the spine to be sorted and a RB to compete.

GKP: Migs, Ward, ??? - Replace Jones
RB: Manquillo, ??? - Replace Johnson
CB: Skrtel, ??? - Replace Toure
CB: Sakho, Lovren
LB: Moreno, Flanagan
RCM: Henderson, Allen
CM: Lucas, ??? - Replace Gerrard
LCM: Coutinho, Can
RW: Sterling, Ibe
ST: Sturridge, Origi - Replace Mario
LW: Lallana, Markovic

Weakest areas in that stand out as being RB, DM & Striker. A reserve keeper is also essential in case of injury to Migs, Ward isn't ready to be back up keeper. If Toure leaves then we'd need another CB, unless we deemed Wisdom or Illori are ready to step up.

Montoya, Kondogbia & Lacazette are the type of players we should be looking at. A lot of talk about Depay. He scores goals and so he'd be a great buy. If we lost Sterling he'd be a key signing.

I don't think that is a bad squad. You are right about us needing a striker and a DM, I would like a better backup keeper than Jones but we'll see. Hopefully Ilori or Wisdom could fill in as a 4th choice centre back, possibly even RB if needed, although I think Flanagan could be more an option at RB than LB, we could even keep Enrique as a back up LB (I think he still has a year on his contract). But if we spend 90% of our transfer budget on a good striker and a DM I wouldn't be too unhappy to go into next season with that squad.

[ChrisDR1968]

GKP: Migs, Ward, ??? - Replace Jones
RB: Manquillo, ??? - Replace Johnson
CB: Skrtel, ??? - Replace Toure
CB: Sakho, Lovren
LB: Moreno, Flanagan
RCM: Henderson, Allen
CM: Lucas, ??? - Replace Gerrard
LCM: Coutinho, Can
RW: Sterling, Ibe
ST: Sturridge, Origi - Replace Mario
LW: Lallana, Markovic

That's 5 first teamers.

I doubt the budget FSG will give Rodgers in the summer will cover all those signings (2 maybe 3 at most).

[danperkins]

Out of that squad you've got 3 important players in sturridge, lucas and lallana who are crocks and you've got alot of young players. Gerrard, Johnson and toure our experienced players will be leaving. We need 2 or 3 experienced quality players... It's awesome vital.

[Exiled_red]

That's 5 first teamers.

I doubt the budget FSG will give Rodgers in the summer will cover all those signings (2 maybe 3 at most).

We only really need to spend big on a striker and a DM. A back up keeper shouldn't cost too much and IMO we could cover CB and full back with what we have.

[DannyMan2006]

That's 5 first teamers.

I doubt the budget FSG will give Rodgers in the summer will cover all those signings (2 maybe 3 at most).

I'd spend a shed load of cash on a DM & Striker, I'd make sure I had a cheap reserve keeper with experience, I'd then get the best RB I could get with the money left over.

But it depends what options are out there. Maybe we could get a few free transfers in and cover many positions that way.

[RichC]

I'd spend a shed load of cash on a DM & Striker, I'd make sure I had a cheap reserve keeper with experience, I'd then get the best RB I could get with the money left over.

But it depends what options are out there. Maybe we could get a few free transfers in and cover many positions that way.

Certainly would look at blowing our budget on those two positions first and foremost

[Phoenix07]

The thing that frightens me is that the likes of Manquillo, Moreno, Can, Lallana, Markovic and Lovren on paper, looked good for a 4-2-3-1 system, and that's what we initially tried, yet we couldn't get it to work with the squad at our disposal.

I'm fearful that we'll have a main formation in mind, buy players to suit it, and it won't work again, meaning another half a season wasted.

[Exiled_red]

The thing that frightens me is that the likes of Manquillo, Moreno, Can, Lallana, Markovic and Lovren on paper, looked good for a 4-2-3-1 system, and that's what we initially tried, yet we couldn't get it to work with the squad at our disposal.

I'm fearful that we'll have a main formation in mind, buy players to suit it, and it won't work again, meaning another half a season wasted.

I think that the 4-2-3-1 system could have worked, the problem was that a few games into it we lost Sturridge and we were playing Gerrard in one of the holding roles, and Mignolet was having a dodgy patch.

[DannyMan2006]

I don't think Henderson works as a DM, be that in a 4231 or a 433. His best attribute is his energy which allows him to burst forward and also get back. Restrict his movement and he looks dog average.

Allen has most the attributes for a DM but not the size or physicality meaning he can't play there either to a high level. Lucas is our only decent DM and he's injury prone. Can looks best when he's charging forward and isn't one suited to sitting either.

I'd go 433. If you want to break teams down you can put Coutinho in the midfield three, if you want to tough it out, put Hendo & Can in there, all have Lucas or a new DM sitting. Allen we can play in the Europa, his physicality is less of an issue and his ability to keep possession is better suited. He's also shown he can do a job in a midfield three when the front three are properly functioning.

[Nicey]

Hendo at CM is twice the player he is anywhere else on the pitch pref on the righthand side

[dww]

I don't think Henderson works as a DM, be that in a 4231 or a 433. His best attribute is his energy which allows him to burst forward and also get back. Restrict his movement and he looks dog average.

Allen has most the attributes for a DM but not the size or physicality meaning he can't play there either to a high level. Lucas is our only decent DM and he's injury prone. Can looks best when he's charging forward and isn't one suited to sitting either.

I'd go 433. If you want to break teams down you can put Coutinho in the midfield three, if you want to tough it out, put Hendo & Can in there, all have Lucas or a new DM sitting. Allen we can play in the Europa, his physicality is less of an issue and his ability to keep possession is better suited. He's also shown he can do a job in a midfield three when the front three are properly functioning.

I don't completely agree with the second part of your statement but I do think that his energy is such an asset you have to exploit it. On the other hand it can be a downside if you try to play him in DM as you need that position to be the reference for others and charging about makes tends to disrupt the structure of the midfield.

Allen has never really worked in the deep lying role. I'm not quite sure why. I suspect he's just not quite tactically good enough or strong enough in the tackle to make it work. Even at Swansea he was clearly less suited to the role than Britton (who in some ways is a good example of how it can be done to a good standard without physicality or size).