Now we all know Liverpool underperformed a great deal last season, especially at home. However this season I can’t see any way in which they can continue to hit the post and draw games. By simply turning those Anfield draws into wins we could easily see the team move back into the top four.
Last season saw a great deal of change, and although there are critics, I believe the players we have will only improve. This especially means the likes of Jordan Henderson & Andy Carroll (If we can keep hold of him, but that’s a different issue all together!). I would suggest that LFC should improve them by signing four players in three key areas;
- Striker x1
- Winger x2
- Defensive Mid x1
Additionally I would possibly look at left back however I feel with Robinson coming along and players such as Johnson capable of filling in it’s not necessary.
Strikers
Two established strikers is not enough, throw Pacheco into the mix and one more may be all we need.
Clint Dempsey
2011-2012 / 46 apps / 23 goals
I would pay – £6-£10 million (Age would dictate no more than £10 million in my opinion)
I remember watching Dempsey play for New England back in 2006, heading to the pub and saying this guy should be in the premier league. Low and behold Fulham came knocking within a few months of this claim. An established premier league forward / attacking midfielder averaged a goal every two games last season. He could be just the cost effect option to help Liverpool hit the ground running!
Wingers
With Kuyt having left, I’m pretty sure Maxi can’t be far away from doing the same we are ludicrously short on the wing. Although I would say this has been our bogey position for many years now!
Ibrahim Afellay
2011-2012 / 5 apps
I would pay – £6-£15 million (I would go in low but not stop there)
The 26 year old is a fantastic footballing talent who was very unfortunate to spend the majority of last season out injured. However despite the lack of match practice he went straight into the Dutch team and was arguably one of the very few shining stars in a lacklustre squad. The lad has a great touch, can go around a player and cross and is more than capable of cutting in and having a pop at goal. With Liverpool’s lack of wingers, I would argue he would get straight into the team and I imagine Barcelona would let him go at a reasonable price too.
Theo Walcott
2011-2012 / 43 apps / 11 goals / 13 assists
I would pay – £14-£18 million
Having been around so long its easy to forget that Walcott is only 23 years old and it will surprise many that I’ve included him in my list. With the ongoing issues at Arsenal on the whole and speculation growing about Walcott’s future I would say he could potentially make a great signing to help us back into the top four. I personally prefer him through the middle up top as I think he has a great finish, but he can add anywhere on the top line. I also believe Rodgers could be the perfect manager to take him to the next level assisting both Liverpool and England along the way.
Defensive Midfield
The turning point for me last season was the injury to Lucas, a player developing easily into one of the top talents at Liverpool. Although I love homegrown talent I would say Spearing simply isn’t good enough to fill in. Although he has many critics over his delivery you simply cannot argue with his statistics last season, with only RVP beating him to top scorer for the Gunners.
Xabi Alonso
2011 – 2012 / 52 apps / 2 goals / 10 assists
I would pay – £10-£12 Million (could probably get away with less but he would be worth it)
I’ve suggested this to a few mates over a beer, Liverpool fans loved the idea, non-Liverpool fans said I was crazy…but am I?! Its common knowledge that Alonso was essentially forced out of a club he appears to love still today in a feeble attempt to get in Gareth Barry. Since leaving England he has continued to shine on the international stage and in Europe for Madrid, however Spanish teams rarely use talents past their prime and usually sell when they still have a few seasons left in them. With Alonso’s age we may be able to pick up a bargain that would only help players like Jordan Henderson continue to improve, not to mention the fact that he is already a Liverpool legend.
My final thought
Those would be my four targets, there were many more secondary additional choices I had thought up including Lewandowski, Owen, Tello, A. Johnson, Hoilett, Moses, Sinclair, De Jong and so on, but I only want to settle for these four for now.
Most importantly as a fan you will also know best, so who would you sign? Why don’t you get on your soapbox and let me know…
Image rights:
By 2O (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
By Jimmy Baikovicius [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
By Ronnie Macdonald (Theo Walcott & Luca Antonini) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
By Elemaki (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Soapbox Sox 
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