i can’t agree more with this….
The potential arrival of England full back Glen Johnson is a
great move by Rafa Benitez.
As we all sat and reviewed last season and argued about where
and how we didn’t win the league after losing just two games, I
think 99% of us would have agreed our two weakest positions in the
starting 11 are right back and left midfield/attack.
The goalkeeper, centre backs, holding midfielders and front two
pick themselves in our strongest 11. I personally value Kuyt’s
place on the right hand side and am more than happy to have Aurelio
and Insua fight it out at left back.
I’m not suggesting Arbeloa is a weak player, but he is one of
the weakest in our best 11. Clearly if we are to win the league
these two positions are what need addressing this summer. The
capture of Johnson addresses one and I hope to see the attacking
left midfield berth next on Rafa’s list.
Much speculation has revolved around a new forward and how we
must sign a top class player to play alongside Torres. I completely
disagree with this train of thought. We have the best front two
combination in World football in Torres and Gerrard. They link up
perfectly, compliment each other and provide goals in abundance,
why would we break that up? I said the same last summer when we
signed Robbie Keane and that completely upset the balance of the
team, why would we do that again?
I no longer see Gerrard as a midfielder, and with Alonso and
Mascherano why would we need him in there?
Maybe we do need a forward as back-up to Torres, and that
forward may indeed play a large percentage of games, but by no
means should a forward be signed to be first choice alongside
Torres. We currently have Kuyt as back-up, Ngog is maturing, Nemeth
could break through if he has a good pre-season and another signing
of good quality would add depth but is not crucial.
What is crucial is that we add a player to improve the wide left
spot. For me, Babel can leave as of the current squad he is the
only player who we can get good money for and I wouldn’t be overly
upset to see go. That would leave only Riera and Benayoun as left
side options. Both are good enough to be in our squad but neither
are good enough to be first choice in a title winning side.
Hopefully we can add somebody of real quality who can compliment
the other attacking trio of Torres, Gerrard and Kuyt. Somebody who
can offer something different, a creative spark.
Obvious candidates are Valencia’s David’s Silva and Villa. I’m
not sure Villa would come to play on the left but Silva, who can
easily interchange with Gerrard and Kuyt might be just the perfect
foil. He would offer something different and be somewhat of a Luis
Garcia type player with added quality and creativity.
At the end of the season I earmarked Johnson and Silva as my two
most wanted players, both would hugely improve both our squad
overall and our starting 11. Both won’t come cheap but it’s nice to
finally see us competing and not losing out on targets to clubs
with extra financial muscle.
If we offload Arbeloa, Dossena, Babel and Voronin we would have
around £25m. Add the supposed summer budget of £25m and you have
£50m. Easy enough to fund Silva and Johnson and add two more squad
players to improve us.
If Arbeloa does leave obviously that leaves us still with little
cover at right back. If Micah Richards is available for around £5m
he’d be worth a gamble and can provide that cover and also be the
fourth choice centre back we need after Sami’s departure.
I’d also take a punt on Tuncay from Middlesbrough.
So, my summer wishlist looks a bit like this;
In:
Johnson, Silva, Richards, Tuncay, back-up forward
Out:
Arbeloa, Dossena, Babel, Voronin (and Pennant)
Something similar to that wouldn’t cost the earth and be within
budget but still improve our starting 11 and squad immensely.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by Matt Ladson (16-6-2009)
