Liverpool FC Director of Football Damien Commoli has claimed that the current squad is "complete", to the extent that there are no areas under review for improvement. Do you agree with this assessment?
Comolli said: "We are very pleased with what we've done during this window and the previous one as well. For me, it's like a big window from January until 31 August and in total we brought in nine players; we changed the team and changed the squad, so this is the perfect time to reflect. To be honest I would really struggle to say we need something there or something there because I think we have such a complete squad at the moment".
In terms of having players covering every position then he's probably right; however, I personally still feel Liverpool needs an established, experienced centre-back, and a dedicated, creative right-winger.
Jaimie Kanwar
Comolli said: "We are very pleased with what we've done during this window and the previous one as well. For me, it's like a big window from January until 31 August and in total we brought in nine players; we changed the team and changed the squad, so this is the perfect time to reflect. To be honest I would really struggle to say we need something there or something there because I think we have such a complete squad at the moment".
In terms of having players covering every position then he's probably right; however, I personally still feel Liverpool needs an established, experienced centre-back, and a dedicated, creative right-winger.
Jaimie Kanwar
Despite the fact that we just had the most active transfer window in our history, I feel we are a bit short of quality in midfield - losing Meireles and introducing so-far-underperforming Henderson in the central zone is not what I would call a 'complete' squad in terms of quality.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. We're lacking some creative edge in midfield - hopefully Gerrard can fill the gap when he returns, but even when he does, we're still missing something, especially if he gets injured again.
ReplyDeleteWe finished 6th in the Premier League last season. Comoli has signed half a dozen decent players and shipped out a lot of dross. He has two "decent" players for each position in the team. Our second 11 is a lot stronger than it was 12 months ago. What's more it includes a lot more young players that have a potential for growth rather than faded Internationals seeing out the twighlight of their careers. We can only build the squad up by improving it every season. Comoli said the squad was complete. He did not say it is the best in the Premier League. Clearly it isn't. We are not Man City or Chelsea. We can't spend £350 million in one hit signing superstars from around the World. We need to be sensible and patient. We need players to grow and the team to develop and we need to strengthen in January and again next Summer, losing those from the "complete" squad that fall by the way and signing superior replacements. Liverpool fans need to stop bitching and suport the team. We cannot expect to overtake teams like Man City and Chelsea who have spent over £500 million to build their squads in one transfer window nor Man Utd who have the biggest income in World sport.
ReplyDeleteI am sick of reading articles like this one every other day. There are too many Liverpool fans who expect miracles for a net expenditure of £50 milllion. Stop whining and bitching and suppport Kenny, Comoli, Fenway and most of all the team. We won't get to the top overnight and we certainly won't get there at all if every Liverpool fan adopts the mentality of the author.
Rob - get off your high horse. This article is not bitching in the slightest; it's merely asking fans for their opinion about the current state of the team. I haven't criticised purchases or anything like that, so your vitriol is misdirected. Don't we have the right to discuss team issues? Show me where in the article I 'bitched' about anything.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is not with people questioning things, it's with people like you who want everyone to live in a fantasy bubble and never question anything.
I dont think the squad is complete, i dont for one second believe Commili thinks that either. Its subscribing to an old Liverpool adage of instilling confidence in players currently at the club.
ReplyDeleteHodgson & Benitez were always moaning about how their squad wasnt strong enough, i need this, i need that, the players i inherited arent good enough, we dont have enough money, etc etc, which ultimately debases confidence in the players currently being used. Its a refreshing change for the management to be saying we are happy with players currently at our disposal, isnt it?
Good points, CM. I didn't think of it that way. It is indeed refreshing to see the the pattern of moaning management of the past has not been continued under KD.
ReplyDeleteI guess it depends on the aims and ambitions of the club really – if the ambition is to be an elite squad right now, then no we’re not complete. If the ambition is merely to be capable of competing for a top 4 place, then yes, the squad is probably fit for purpose as it is.
ReplyDeleteFor it to be an elite squad we’d have to be capable of comfortably sticking Downing & Carroll on the bench (a la Valencia/Adam Johnson and Berbatov/Tevez at Man U/City) and the likes of Kuyt, Sktrel, Maxi, Spearing & even Carragher would barely be required for first team duties.
(The names are just for illustrative purposes and don’t really matter, but) adding players the calibre of Hulk, Hazard, Moussa Sissoko and Luisao would leave us with a squad that would merely need minor touching each season – Carroll, Downing, Henderson, Lucas then all becoming top notch squad players rather than guaranteed starters. But hey, that's with me assuming that we aspire to be a club competing with Barcelona and their ilk asap rather than continuing to battle for also ran status with the likes of Tottenham & Arsenal...
Rob - you were probably one of those guys b*tching about us fans being in fantasy land for envisaging even a net expenditure of £30m over the summer right, yet now that it's been spent £50m net is worth little to nothing! lmao
ReplyDeleteVery few of us 'fantasists' have been asking for Man City style expenditure, or unattainable players. Very few of us 'fantasists' would've expected such amounts to be spent and the 'realists' to still be talking about merely targetting a top 4 place either though.
Eitherways, I'm sick of reading articles about how great our team is (and have only failed due to bad lack or some deep conspiracies) when the facts suggest otherwise, or conversely how it's impossible been for our team to challenge in the recent past/will be impossible for our team to challenge in the near future.
We are far from a complete squad. At the beginning of the season we thought we had an abundance of quality midfielders but now after letting go of Aquilani and Meireles we are even short in this department. The problem is, we let go our two most creative midfielders. The funny bit is Commoli's comment on letting Aquilani because his position was the same of Gerrard and he wanted regular team football.
ReplyDeleteWell I have to disagree with that based on two reasons:
1 – Aquilani is an excellent player, by far our most talented midfielder, he impressed and made a difference every single time he played in a Liverpool shirt.
2 – Since when we don’t need two quality players for one position, especially that Gerrard seems to be spending more time on the treatment table than on theR field, and it doesn’t look like that situation is going to change much based on the last couple of years.
It is such a shame that Liverpool did let him go for that reason, because he is the sort of player that makes a good team, a great one, with his vision and creativity, by making it look so easy. Just could imagine what him and Suarez could have done to opposing teams with their intelligence and ability to be one step play ahead of everybody else on the pitch.
As for Meireles some were calling him Judas for leaving, and i feel that is way unfair and harsh, considering he only submitted his transfer request because we have been trying to get rid of him since the beginning of summer, and he was way down the pecking order in terms of a first team place, seeing Henderson a player with half his quality, at least at the moment, getting the nodge over him. Plus more importantly, if he is Judas, then what does it make of Suarez, Carroll, Downing, Enrique, Adam, Henderson, and Coates. shouldn’t they be Judases as well for leaving their teams??????
We can’t just call players that leave Judases, and the players that arrive fantastic piece of business.
So with the loss of two extremely talented footballers, our squad is far from being complete.
Fadi u are spot on mate. I agree with you 100%. All the points you mentioned is exactly the way i have been thinking and many more out there. If i was Merieles i would have wanted to get out too im sure he felt insulted that Henderson was starting ahead of him. Starting Henderson was the biggest slap in the face he could have recieved. The simple fact that he was our best midfielder last year and lost his place to Henderson who has really not shown much to deserve a starting spot.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree with the right midfield issue. For me Dirk is better used as a supporting striker, he doesn't have enough pace to get behind the fullbacks, and his dribbling and crossing isn't good enough either. Henderson doesn't look totally comfortable out wide either, and seems to go missing, wandering in field to the detriment of our shape. I'd like to see another pacey wide man come in, in the Downing mold. Maybe Eden Hazard, or someone similar.
ReplyDeleteI also agree on centre back being an issue. Carra is coming to the end and already has made mistakes against Bolton and Stoke this year that cost goals. For me Agger is class, but his fitness is a big issue. That leaves the untried Coates and Skrtel, who for me is too prone to making mistakes like diving in when it's unnecessary. I'd love to see Gary Cahill come, he's got years left in him and is nearing his peak, plus he's English and his contract will only have 6 months remaining come the next window.
Selling Meireles and Sending Aqua on loan and giving first team berths to CHarlie Adam and Jordan Henderson seems to be a mistake but we would only know that later...
ReplyDelete