RedNik

Yup definitely, I'm just unsure as to whether signings alone will be enough to propel us to being challengers this season. I think we've got to change our tactical approach to away games. I should add that we were I think 7th or 8th from bottom in goals scored away from home. Even Wigan and Man City had more than us.

Having a look at last years league table, a few things struck me... nothing new, but just something to maybe talk about. 1. 46 of our 68 pts were at home, compared to Man U's 47 from 89. Our away form was absolutely woeful, totalling clearly, 22 points, with just 6 wins and 9 losses. Whats more is we scored only 18 goals (averaging just about 1 per game) and conceded 20. 2. This Liverpool side prides itself on its solid defense, yet we finished only 5th in defense away from home, after Everton. 3. We were tied for fourth in total goals scored, along with Tottenham. Total of 57 goals, at an average of just about 1.5 per game. We had teams such as Everton and Reading beaten by a total of 5 goals. The signings we've made this year have been to address our needs in attack. This is both at home and away, as we have lacked goals on both fronts. Have we though done enough to meet our needs away from home? By this are we going to a) be able to dominate games (in terms of attacking posessions) more, create and take more chances and lastly defend more like we do at home? I can't really pin-point the reason why we conceded 3 times as many goals away as we did at anfield. Either way we need to ensure that we impose ourselves more when we travel away, especially at lower and mid table sides. I think by signing players like Torres and Babel, we've firmly added the threat of the counter attack, which we have lacked throughout Rafa's time here. I'd expect more direct, quick football (similar to what we playe against Barca at Anfield), only this time in Torres we have the attacker who can finish off the chances he gets - another problem we suffered from last season. Benayoun and Voronin are signings who'll probably allow us to better keep posession in the final third, to build our attacks and really dominate games against lesser sides. By all means Torres and Babel should help in this regard too. Do you think we've done enough in the transfer market to ensure we pick up atleast another 10-15 points away from home?

IMO, Momo is at his destructive best when he's allowed to play further up the pitch, closer to the opposition third. He's a player full of energy and loves to run about 0 ie. he isnt very disciplined positionally. Thats why a midefield combo of Stevie and Momo wouldn't/doesn't work, and thats why he isnt deployed as a holding midfielder. Also is distribution isnt good enough to play that role. The 'he' you are referring to is xabi?

Dropped the ball late on at the Riverside, and with that, 2points for us, and his confidence.

Jesus did you really make that comparison?. Beckham didnt need to beat a player because he could drop off and do something with the ball, distribute it long or short, or whip a cross in. Riise is hugely limited in this aspect and doesn't seem to have the ability to cross from deep nor beat his man and cross from behind the lines. His passing is also only short range, and despite the goals and his motor, he is never going to be a great midfield option over the course of a season. In games against atacking teams (particularly with attacking right flanks), I can see it, but its definitely a defensive option.

How did we agree terms with Heinze, if we hadn't yet had a bid accepted? Isn't this illegal?

My problem with him at left back is poor positional sense and judgement. Too often we see him lunging in to make a tackle - and for me thats too risky. If he can improve on this, we don't need a replacement. Remember what he brings to the table, great physical attributes ; stamina, strength and he's quick enough. Additionally he's a decent outlet on the counter and bags goals, although usually when playing in midfield. Some of his limitations will always stick, being his one footedness and his poor technical ability when doing anything but striking the hell out of the ball. Still if he improves his positional play and awareness, he'll (we'll) be fine.

Is the question then here, should we sign a player who probably will make us better, irrespective of the fee and his wage demands?

Surely we should begin assuming Kewell will stay fit? .. or hmm maybe not... While I do agree with your point, we also needed to buy strenght in depth and have options/possibilities. Many people point to the fact that we weren"t able to compete in the premiership because we lacked this strength in depth wheras in Europe, on a given night, we could perform beyond expectations. Agreed though that if Babel isn't going to walk into that left mid spot, we haven't improved the first 11 that much through purchases.

At the same time, I thought they wasted time on the ball, didn't show the necessary urgency, and got caught out on several occasions. We on the other hand were quick, direct (and fiarly accurate) and posed the far bigger threat that night.

The fact that our left back is at times a liability.

So he's 8th amongst players scoring more than 5 goals. Thing is this is only the Premiership, and his best performances were in Europe.

Pele was 70's but not the others. Matthäus was c**k maybe, but there is still validity to the original argument.

Whats the minimum goals number?

Pele, Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthäus, Djorkaeff .. Cruyff - though he didnt technically end his career there.

Should we buy over and beyond our needs?

Right, which im applauding by calling it 'big'.

This is big though - an area we've been seriously lagging behind manu in.

Only amongst us, the fans, and that being said - not all the fans.

I'm almost certain that a bitter West Ham fan could put a similar spin on this issue as we do on the MO one. Thats all I'm trying to get at. For me its a bit of a double standard thats all.

I just hope he is happy with his role at the club. He will get his fair share of games through rotation, but probably wont be considered first choice and hence may not start in the big games (later/crucial stages of cup games). Its probably a bit unfair oo because (and I don't have stats to back me up on this), I often feel like Rafa disregarded his excellent form last season, choosing what he believed to be a more suitable lineup. While for the most part this is fine, and Rafa will get it right, Crouch may not be happy with this and feel like there isn't much he can do to gain a bigger role here.

Think he's signing as the first choice left back, or the back up center back (both probably?)

For me, the speed of negotiations, our ability to meet demanded fees and the fact that purchases have come before sales show the muscle of our new owners. It was reported we started off at 7.5 mill for Babel and then lifted our bid a further 4 million pounds. Last year, I doubt we'd've been able to do that - we didn't with Alves. We also haven't missed out on a single target of ours (or it seems to be so) due to financial reasons.

Goals from midfield might still be a problem this year, and I'm not sure if we've addressed this need. Losing Luis wont help. Hopefully Kewell will be fit this year and weigh in with his fair share. We'll also be counting on a little more in terms of goals from Gerrard. Babbel, should he play in midfield, is really our only acqusition this year to meet this need - so if anywhere, I'm worried on this front.

At the end of the day, they can be better than us in the attacking third and it may not matter. What we needed to do is improve ourselves, especially with attacking flair, and I think we've done that. Man U has made a lot of big buys this year, some of it imo silly money (hargreaves) and some for the future. I still don't see them improving much on last years point tally because frankly speaking, they, and ronaldo in particular were brilliant. History also suggests that they aren't going to collect too many more points. What we need to ensure is that we can pick up that extra 15-20 pts this year, and its almost irrespective of man u in that sense.