Last Year’s Record: 18 wins, 9 draws, 11 losses, 7th place on 63 points.
Transfers In: Jonjo Shelvey (£1.7mil Charlton), Milan Jovanovic (Free, Standard Liege), Joe Cole (Free, Chelsea), Danny Wilson (£2mil Rangers), Fabio Aurelio (Free, released by LFC than re-signed), Christian Poulsen (£4.5mil Juventus).
Transfers Out: Phillip Degen (Loan, Stuttgart), Yossi Benayoun (£5mil Chelsea), Albert Riera (Undisclosed but not a lot, Olympiakos), Mikel San Jose (£2.6mil Atletic Bilbao), and the standard release of a few youngsters.
Season Outlook: For the record I would like to state I volunteered to not write this preview, but Mags thought I should do it. That being said, prepare for some truly astonishing homerism. So let’s just take this position by position.
Keeper: Pepe Reina is the best goalkeeper in the EPL. If you think otherwise, you are a moron. It is as simple as that. Given is a headcase and not what he was years earlier. Cech and VDS are on the steep downslope of their careers. The only other one I think could even come close is Schwarzer. Pepe should be starting for Spain, but because of the favoritism shown to La Liga players, he isn’t. Fine by me considering the luck this team has with players getting hurt playing for Spain. Allegedly the team is trying to bring in Brad Jones. Some think this is stupid, some people are stupid. We need to meet the new ludicrous homegrown talent rule and what better place than backup keeper? Moving on
Central Defense: I’ll say it. Jamie Carragher should not be starting anymore, and he certainly shouldn’t be one of the first names on the team sheet. He has lost what pace he had and gets beat far too often. His commission of handballs and shirt pulls is alarming. With a race that is likely to be airtight all season long, a penalty here and there could be the difference. So who should start? Daniel Agger and Kyrgiakos. Agger has injury concerns, but he is the best passer of the ball at the position in the team (and one of the best in the league), he is probably a lock no matter what. Kyrgiakos is the only true aerial presence this team has, and with their troubles from set pieces last year this should be a factor. But it won’t be. Carragher and Agger will be Roy’s first choice pair. Skrtel is a solid defender but had a rough year. On the plus side it was clear he was the leader of Slovakia, not Captain Fraud Marek Hamsik, so maybe he has some confidence left over from South Africa. Wilson is one for the future obviously but will still get time. Some people think we overpaid for him, but again, some people are stupid. This is the kind of signing SAF used to make before he blew his kitty on publicity stunts. Ayala has already shown to be composed at the back and skilled on the ball to a degree. Add in Martin Kelly (who is not a fullback no matter what anyone says, and considering he is six foot three wasting him on the flanks is baffling to me) and this is all of a sudden one of the deepest central defenses in the league. Problem is, Carragher is going to be starting, and I think he will hurt the team. I love the guy to bits, but he needs to know when his time is up and to take a more mentoring role.
Right Back: Glen Johnson was hit and miss last year. Starting out gangbusters, had some injury issues, lost some form, then got a bit of it back. Think he is due for a good season, and honestly I think a lot of his mishaps would have gone unnoticed if the Carragher of old were playing in the back last year. Obviously he is a no-brainer starter though. Carragher, Stephen Darby, and Kelly will be his backups. Degen is gone, thank the lord. When the argument can be made that your worst signing ever was a free player, like it can be with Degen, that’s not a good thing. One of the worst players to ever play in England without a doubt in my mind.
Left Back: Whoa boy, this one could be a problem. Roy did not want to sell Insua, and part of me thinks he had something to do with Insua’s wage demands that kept him from moving to Fiorentina. Insua has promise, no doubt, but he is not a starting fullback at this level yet. He needs to work on his pace and lay off the Double Stacks, but he is a talented crosser of the ball and chipped in some key assists. I’m glad he is still here, but I don’t want him starting right now. Fabio Aurelio coming back is a shrewd move to boot. IF he can stay healthy, which he has yet to do in his tenure here, he will be a boost to the team. Average at best defender, but his set piece and crossing abilities are above Insua’s. Insua could still leave, and if he does, there’s going to be a CB playing this position if Fabio goes down. Still a trouble spot and another signing would be nice.
Unwilling to meet Insua's demands.
CDMs: It is looking more likely that Mascherano will be here for the immediate future. If Barcelona and Inter couldn’t get acceptable bids in before the start of the season, tough titties. Considering Roy came out today saying that Poulsen is not Mascherano’s replacement (thank God), I think we may hang on to him until January. Poulsen sat out Juve’s EL qualifiers so that he would not be cup-tied for us, and I think he will get the starts over Masche there, as to not have any cup-tie issues if he does move in January (I still don’t get how the between Euro competition cup-ties work, but who knows Rafa could lead another Champions League power straight into the Europa League). I’m not a massive fan of the Poulsen signing, but for the price and for the role he is allegedly going to play I can deal with it. One ill advised red card though and I’m throwing Unfrozen Caveman CDM under the bus. I still hope Lucas will see time in this role, and if Masche leaves I think he will be first choice. If Masche stays for the time being, I’m not really sure how much he will play, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind to sit out, especially after saying his beef has nothing to do with the club.
Central Mid: I think Gerrard is going to play a more central role a bit further back this year. It should be him with Lucas or Masche slightly behind. He needs to stay healthy, and to emulate his form from the England game this week. If he can pull back his traditional heroics, it could be another big season for him. Which this team needs. Keep in mind that they put together a second place finish in a season where Torres was still hurt a while, Gerrard needs to take this team over. Aquilani, for as bright as he looked toward the end of last campaign, may not be getting a load of starts this year. But if Gerrard’s hamstrings start acting up again, I’m more than confident of him being able to step in. Lucas can play this higher up position, but I still don’t think he is quite there to do so. I am looking forward to seeing Jonjo “Joey Jonjo Shabadoo Junior” Shelvey here though. He has impressed thusfar and seems to be in the Gerrard mold (attitude and all, no indication of where he stands on the Phil Collins vs. Peter Gabriel debate though).
Still say Phil's puppet looks like Maggie Gyllenhall.
Left Wing: The left flank has been the trouble flank for this team ever since Harry Kewell died in that grease fire after the 05/06 season. Jovanovic, the Serbian Snake (still in love with that nickname), could well be first choice here. He’s a quick player who can score goals. He doesn’t have the attitude problems that Yossi and Riera had, and he doesn’t spend all day telling crazy stories on Twitter like Ryan Babel does. The argument could be made for Joe Cole to start here, but I think we’ll see him centrally. Maxi can play on the left as well, but he is more comfortable on the right. I think Babel will be the odd man out.
Right Wing: Dirk Kuyt is as hard to get rid of as mold in a basement, but damn does that mold have one hell of a work rate. He went missing a bit in the WC Final but until then was Holland’s most consistent player. Selfless, dedicated, and monstrously ugly, he’s the kind of guy you love having on your team. I have swung back and forth on him for years but now I am firmly in his corner. Why? Because Roy has no devotion to him and if he DOES have a bad run of games, I think he will see the bench, which Rafa was so hesitant to do I would suggest Dirk has compromising photos. But if he plays like he did until the final, this won’t be an issue. If it is? Maxi slots right in. One of Rafa’s better signings I believe, once he adapted to the league, he had some great performances. He links well with Torres, and can provide moments of brilliance. He doesn’t track back like Kuyt though, so he is going to be more suited for different matchups. If we’re playing a team with a strong left side, he won’t see the pitch. Again Cole and Babel can play on this side (and Gerrard but that isn’t happening) but it is firmly Kuyt’s job with Maxi deputizing.
Attacking Mid / The Hole / Number 10: Joe Cole. Words cannot express how excited I am about this addition. Not because I think it signals the dark days are over, he was still a free signing, but because he allows for Gerrard to play further back and it makes the spine that much more explosive (just like Agger’s spine!). Cole wanted to play more centrally at Chelsea. Gerrard convinced him to join. Thus I must assume that Gerrard is willing to make space for him. He is better here than on the wing, and will be able to link with Torres more fluidly. When he said he plans to “set Torres goal crazy,” well, it moved a little. Hopefully he stays healthy, but if he doesn’t, Aquilani can slot in ahead of Gerrard. In less important games (ie: Carling Cup) I expect to see Dani Pacheco in this spot. Pacheco was the star of this summer’s EuroU19 tourney, winning the Golden Boot and terrifying us with suggestions he could be moving on. But he’s committed and now has a real squad number, so I expect to see him this year. Shelvey could also play here in these games, but I would expect him to be behind Pacheco on the pitch.
Striker: Torres. Oh man this is worrying. Will he get his form back? Can he stay healthy? Can Ngog play away from home? Are we dumb enough to spend £20mil on Carlton Cole? Yes, probably not, hopefully, no; would be my answers. This team is still going to rely heavily on Torres, there is no doubt about that. Ngog has looked good so far in the EL games, but the competition wasn’t exactly top drawer. At this point I would rather we sell Mascherano and bring in another striker than wait him out until January. We may well see a takeover by the winter transfer window, but for now we will have to make due. It would be nice to have new cash in January and spend it on Neymar, but we may have to settle for someone like Remy in the meantime. But make no mistake, if Torres goes down, this team is in trouble. Jovanovic and Kuyt can fill in, but they aren’t true strikers in the EPL. And then came Babel, who always wants to play as a striker, but just doesn’t seem to be able to pull it off.
He has a muffed cross shaved into the other side.
So either Torres needs to stay healthy for two thirds of the first half of the season, or we’re going to be in trouble. I think he can do it though. The key is not rushing him back. He cannot face Arsenal. The second game is at City, and that should be the one where he sees some playing time.
So this is what we’re looking at.
Reina
Johnson – Carragher – Agger – Aurelio
Masche/Lucas – Gerrard
Kuyt – Cole – Snake? Snake… SNAAAKEE!!!!
Torres (Ngog for a few weeks)
I honestly believe in my heart of hearts that this team can win the league. For a few reasons.
1) They quit on Rafa. I genuinely believe this. Even if it wasn’t the whole team, enough did that the lockerroom was not a happy place to be.
2) No CL to focus on. I don’t think Roy will use but a few big players in the Europa League. Chelsea will be focusing on the Champions League, Spurs have early qualifiers, Mancini has no idea how to rotate, et cetera et cetera. This team has fewer on the field distractions than anyone else.
3) No pressure to do so. Last season was supposed to be the year, it obviously wasn’t. This year the pressure is on Chelsea in Europe and they may be willing to neglect the league in some instances. Fergie has pressure to deliver on his “our side is strong enough” claim. This is Arsenal’s last year with this crop. City have the pressure of being financial giants, but are loading with nutjobs. Spurs have the pressure of keeping it alive before Harry moves to another club and pillages the roster leaving it in tatters. The only pressure on LFC is for a top four finish.
4) I haven’t been picking them recently because of stupid reverse psychology.
5) I don’t want to give anyone else the satisfaction.
6) I’m a moron and glutton for punishment.
Put yes. My prediciton is: Liverpool Football Club will finally win the English Premier League.
And in closing:
Well said. I agree that I like their chances, more than most, for this season.
Kyrgiakos and Agger should chip in together and buy Jamie a super fast ninja bike to ride around. or just give him a bad tackle at practice and try to break him. He is too slow and cost them too many time last year.
Pepe is great, but let’s be honest, Iker deserves to start ahead of him for Spain. Otherwise, he’d start almost anywhere else on the planet.
Skrtel ahead of Lorenzo Lamas, regardless of what sort of season either had. I love Agger, just hope he lose the injury bug.
Kelly has a future, can probably play anywhere across the backline. Who cares how tall he is? Surely, size is nice in the middle, but it’s down to how does he plays the given position. If he can play either fullback position with authority, fantastic.
Insua is slow as balls and is incapable of stopping wingers from making the turn on him and either whipping in a cross or dribbling right past him…. even when he starts with the superior positioning, he finds a way to concede it.
“IF” Fabio goes down!? Try “WHEN”. Quality defender, whom I like a lot, but he’s a serial sicknote.
As for Maxi’s “great performances”, I’m at a loss to name any match where he was ‘great’ for the duration. I’d even fail to name one where there were more than two flashes. Unless you’re praising his ability to be anonymous throughout 90 minutes (it cuts both ways… he never excels nor is he to blame for anything horrible)
I’m just as excited for Joe Cole. He really can be absolutely sick on the ball. Defending against a healthy trio of Joe, Stevie G and El Nino would be like proving the Riemann hypothesis.
I can’t even fathom what it would be like to have another high-quality (or even above-average) striker.
Iker is horrible on set pieces, he gets confused.
Kelly can backup Johnson but he isn’t playing on the left. In cup games I’d much prefer him in the middle and Darby on the right, but if he can play it and has no other chance to get playing time fine, but he is naturally a CB.
I kept typing if/when but didn’t want to jinx him.
And I see we have another Lucas situation with your take on Maxi.
Oh and the performances I was thinking of with Maxi were against West Ham and against Blackburn (where he got stomped in the chest by Chimbonda without the ref noticing).
*laugh* Bringing up your love of Lucas is not an effective way to be taken seriously. How you can you argue the that Lucas Leiva is a player worthy of wearing the Liverpool shirt, let alone on a regular basis? He’s average, fractionally above so on his best days. He belongs at Blackburn or Sunderland. Spending 7m on fodder like him is part of the reason we are where we are….
Blackburn and West Ham? Oh, truly the type of fire in which steel is forged. Bottom line, Maxi is filler.
I want to see Kelly play more often. Doesn’t matter where we think he’s a ‘natural’, learning to play multiple positions isn’t splitting the atom. #1 – CB. #2 – RB. I’ve watched him on the left, he’s functional. (then again, so was Glen, so there goes my argument) Obviously, neither of us want a situation where he HAS to, but if gets him games (remember, Carra played all across the back — tho mostly RB — until Rafa installed him as de facto CB).
Considering we lost to Pompey last year, I don’t think mocking wins over anyone is an effective way to be taken seriously. Also note that I didn’t say Maxi should be starting, rather that if Kuyt misses a game due to form or injury Maxi can competently fill in. He may be filler, but he’s the kind of player we did not have going into last season.
Spending 12 million on Babel was a lot worse than 6 on Lucas, but considering both purchases were made right after G/H came in and promised untold riches it’s unfair to blame any financial problems on those signings. He’s average where he played last year, but if he moves back to a more defensive role he can absolutely be worthy of a spot. And again we’re not exactly flush with cash or overflowing with options, so I’d like to hear a better option than him that could be gotten for less than £10m especially considering how unlikely actually getting all transfer funds would be. With the gaps at left back and striker, spending money should be there first and foremost, replacing Mascherano should be a firm third on that list of where to spend the money.
All I’m saying about Kelly is that if Roy has the chance to play him at either CB or RB, he needs to play him in the center. He can learn all he wants in reserve games, but with the crippling lack of aerial presence in the center of defense on this team letting that go to waste if the chance arises is a straight up Rafa move.
Silly Georger…. predictions are for kids.