Y'know, 4-5-1 is looking like it could sustain itself, so we should probably use this when thinking of how to fit potential new players in.

Do you think Silva could act the role Babel is doing but for the other wing? Like this:

------------------------------ Reina

----- Arbeloa ---- Carragher ---- Agger ----- Aurelio

------------------ Mascherano --- Alonso

---------------------------- Gerrard

------ Silva ---------------------------------------- Babel

----------------------------- Torres


The pair could obviously switch sides at will too.

But if he couldn't operate like that, or if we couldn't sign him, which left-footed winger would you sign?

Well you haven't got him on the left, so it looks as though it wouldn't be essential as they would be switching, and Babel is doing well on the left at the moment.

So on that basis, i think Quaresma would be perfect. He is exactly the type of player for that role, and he may not be left footed, but he can use the outside of his right foot better than most people can use their left.

There's also Bentley - he can use his left foot.

But if it has to be a left footed player, then other than David Silva it's pretty tricky. But i'll list a few potential ones:-

Petrov - i can't see him leaving Man City, but you never know. Fantastic left winger, and proven in this league. I think he has without doubt the best left winger in the premiership this season.

Malouda - again, it would be hard get him from his current club, but, at the Bridge for some reason he is way down in the pecking order and isn't seeing a lot of action. He's currently 4th choice on the wings, despite being one of the best in the entire league. Surely he won't be happy unless he is first choice? Could want out, especially if Drogba leaves.

NAAAAKKKKAAAMMMMUUURRRAAA!!!!! - the guy is phenomenal. With him, i think it's safe to say we wouldn't have to worry about a lack of good balls into the box. It would be tricky to persuade him to leave Celtic though.

Ben Arfa - the talk of Europe at the moment. Has a lot of potential, but i'm not sure how much of an impact he would have on our team at the moment. Maybe needs a season or two more football.

Erm, what about Aquilani and Mancini? Are they both left footed?

EDIT: I'd just like to say, that formation is working well at the moment, but i don't want an entire season with it. I'd prefer for us to sign another world class striker and play with two up front, but we could switch between the two like Chelsea. I guess the 4-5-1 could work well in the big games for us, but in a lot of games i'd want us to play with two up front.

The thinking of buying a left-footed winger lies partly in if we do want to go 4-4-2, which we probably would at some point. Then you could have the formation i mentioned above along with:

------------------------------ Reina

----- Arbeloa ---- Carragher ---- Agger ----- Aurelio

------------------ Mascherano --- Alonso

----- Gerrard ------------------------------------ Silva

------------------------------------- Babel

----------------------- Torres


Personally i like 4-5-1 though, i think it compliments our side and players we have very well indeed.

Torres doesn't need a partner, he's quite capable of having the ball's aimed in his direction and coping on his own - he's big, strong and quick, so that's to be expected. But he gets plenty of support regardless, through Gerrard but more importantly the likes of Babel and, if we had someone perhaps quicker on the other wing, the right-winger. The pair play much farther forward, further than Gerrard even, than they would in a 4-4-2 and really get into the penalty box... They stretch the play much better and add great width, even if they (mainly Babel) do come narrow eventually. I love this way of our wingers operating.

I think it also gets the most from Gerrard, who i think only does his best in a 5-man midfield... My feeling is that in a 4-4-2 he's best on the wing. He doesn't quite have the ability to control the tempo of the game, but Alonso does that for him - with 3 players in the middle we address all the possible needs in a defensive midfielder, a playmaker and an attacking midfielder. It works very well... Although i'd like to see Alonso getting forward more.

Amongst all that, i think it invites our full-backs to get forward more also. We have more protection with 5 in midfield and they can be allowed to roam more - which aids our attack immeasurably. It was brilliant to see the likes of Riise and Arbeloa getting beyond the wingers in the West Ham match.

And finally, it's the system Rafa's the most accustomed with, so surely can execute it better than anything else.

Personally if we're to challenge for the Premier League title i think it'll have to be using this system, and i fully support that. Given the right personnel, meaning a more suitable man for Babel's opposite and perhaps more attacking full-backs, we can be fearsome.

And with 12 goals in 4 matches i wouldn't call it defensive either... In fact it practically forms a 4-3-3 at times.

http://kop-tv.com/go/rumour-mill-Liverpoolfc/alonso-to-be-replaced-with-19million-milan-star/

http://goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=642288

Orly?

bump

Problem Solved

Sticky says:

Are they good enough for Liverpool? Would they be good signings for Liverpool?

They would certainly fit the system, and are all able to use their left feet - certainly better than Babel, who hasn't even got a left foot!

I was watching Arshavin in the UEFA cup the other day, and he was absolutely stunning. He scored an amazing solo goal and had a part in a few other goals. He was phenomenal. Maybe i'm just getting excited and going over the top, but could he be a good signing for Liverpool? He has a left foot, can play up front and as a left winger, which makes him ideal for the role on the left in our 4-2-3-1 formation. He could chip in with goals from midfield as well, and he has pace. With Torres, Babel and Arshavin all charging down the pitch at pace we could be devastating on the counter attack. Arshavin isn't particularly well known, but didn't he score against England in the world cup qualifiers not so long ago? He's probably Russia's best player, but he plays for Zenit St Petersburg, so i doubt he would be hard to sign or cost a great deal. It would be like the Benayoun signing. Around 6m probably. Not a great deal of risk really. He would be a good squad player even if he wasn't good enough for the first team, as he can play as a striker and winger.

As for Ashley Young and Kranjar, i was thinking, no one talks about them, but are they good enough for us? Both have impressed me. Kranjar i really rate, he would be the best left winger we've had for some time if we signed him. Ashley Young has incredible pace, he can score goals and cross - would be devastating with Torres on the counter attack. Both are young and improving as well.

Opinions people?

Floody says:

Arshavin looks an outstanding young prospect. He's got bags of pace, good ball control and full of trickery with an eye for goal. He would grace any team in Europe.


Fakeplastictrees says:

Arshavin and Krancjar yes. Ashley Young no.

Ram K1 says:


kranjcar isnt, arshavin and young are

Hands down. Oh and Arshavin is a very special player in the making I reckon.

He's 27 in May. Hardly "in the making".

Hyypia is a top centre half in the making

Ever hear of late bloomers? How old was Zidane before he really took the world by storm (25)? Zola (2?

Arshavin is still "in the making" because he has yet to make the move or be in a position nationally to show what he can really do at the top level.

Deco, Ronaldinho, Lampard were all late bloomers too.

I'd take Group 2.

Group 3 has the best players but Group 2 is better for Liverpool as Benzema can play on the wing where as Villa can't.

You could say Drogba and Adebayor (to a lesser extent) were late bloomers as well, and what about half the Portsmouth team. Distin, Primus, James etc.

I'm not saying they are, but some might say that.

As for Arshavin, i can't really comment on that. I haven't watched a great deal of him, so i can't say whether or not he's improved significantly over the last few season's. He has impressed me when i've seen him play though, and i'll be sure to watch him tomorrow in the second leg against Bayer Leverkusen.

I've heard commentators saying he has so much potential though, which leads me to think in the past he hasn't achieved what he's capable of, but is starting to now. So maybe he is a late bloomer. But of course, as i hadn't seen him play in his last few season's i don't know.

Part of the problem is he plays in a weaker league. Some players benefit from being with other good players like Lampard since Abramovich took over and some like to be the big fish in a small pond like Riquelme, Larrsson and many others. A lot of players need to play with other quality players in order to realise their potential. Arshavin probably isn't doing this in St Petersburg.

Let's hope that's the case.

Premiership teams seem to be turning to that area increasingly more, with the likes of Eduardo, Skrtel,that centre back Cheslea signed (Ivanovic or soemthing)etc.

Vidic too. It's becoming a bit of a bargain bin for cheap yet talented players if you know where to look.

Oh yeah, Vidic has been the most successful of the players from that sort of area.

Smertin not so successful...

He was good for Russia a few years back and looked good for Charlton at first but I guess he dropped off.

We got Bikey from Lokomotiv Moscow as well. #

I think Smertin has been relatively successful, he's a decent enough solid Midfielder. I'd have him here certainly.

Anychance you could send him back? The guy is mince. Agree with you on Smertin. I'd also have him at Celtic