I think Torres will sign for Liverpool next season

[Huyton_Red]

Next years transfer budget ?

 

Even more reason to stop messing about with a right winger, we have fowler, bellamy, crouch, pongolle and mellor as well as garcia and kewell who can play off a striker.

 

Spend all the money on the right winger you want and buy a new striker next summer

Edited July 25, 2006 by Huyton_Red

[RedNik]

What happens if Crouch gets injured?

 

Can we viably field a starting strike force of Fowler and Bellamy consistently? Who will hold the ball up, bring the midfield into play. Win possession for us and let us play the way we did last year?

[CaptainXabi]

Next years transfer budget ?

 

Even more reason to stop messing about with a right winger, we have fowler, bellamy, crouch, pongolle and mellor as well as garcia and kewell who can play off a striker.

 

Spend all the money on the right winger you want and buy a new striker next summer

I agree that this does seem to lean towards a Torres signing next summer. But in regards to not signing a striker, you have to weigh the opportunity cost of not going into this season guns blazing...

[Huyton_Red]

What happens if Crouch gets injured?

 

Can we viably field a starting strike force of Fowler and Bellamy consistently? Who will hold the ball up, bring the midfield into play. Win possession for us and let us play the way we did last year?

 

If crouch suffered a long term injury then that would limit the way we would be able to play, granted. We would have to adapt and play a different game with more balls on the ground. What if he does not though, he doesnt seem a lad who is injury prone, what about getting a loan deal for a big lard ar'se as back up to crouch then, maybe from italy etc and we always have the option of buying in January as well

 

If gerrard suffered a serious injury, or carragher, or renia etc we would struggle a bit as well.

 

We are not chelsea, we cant have everything, have your second choice winger AND second choice striker now, or have your first choice winger now and your first choice striker next season ?

[Huyton_Red]

Is it a given that Torres is our first choice striker then?

 

no

 

Just me making that huge assumption

[RedNik]

I can definitely agree with further trying to push through a loan deal for Trezeguet, as a stop gap - if indeed torres is the player Rafa wants.

 

Personally, I rate Torres, so i'd love that.

 

My point though is that we definitely need that stop gap or some option, or we wont be able to mount a title challenge this season.

[Kahnee]

no

 

Just me making that huge assumption

 

Heat must be getting to you

[RedNik]

If everyone stayed fit and had unlimited levels of endurance, all we'd need is 11 players.

[Knox_Harrington]

That is not true, if crouch got a long term injury it may be true, but not if everyone stays fit

How many trophies do you want to win, Huyton? We hope to play over sixty games, show strongly in all competitions. To do that we need two players who can hold it up because it's ridiculous to think Crouch can play at the required level four times every fortnight. There's no one else in our squad who offers that at the moment.

 

This second player can be a stop gap but there has to be one.

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Plenty of things happen in a year, just look at Simao and Alves.

[Guest Anders Honoré]

How many trophies do you want to win, Huyton? We hope to play over sixty games, show strongly in all competitions. To do that we need two players who can hold it up because it's ridiculous to think Crouch can play at the required level four times every fortnight. There's no one else in our squad who offers that at the moment.

 

This second player can be a stop gap but there has to be one.

 

only if you buy the assumption that we absolutely need someone to hold up the ball like he does.

[IgPig]

only if you buy the assumption that we absolutely need someone to hold up the ball like he does.

 

 

Its an assumption based on improved results.

[Knox_Harrington]

Do you think we need a big lad up front in every game we play ? Do you not think some games maybe better suited to fowler and bellamy, garcia/kewell and fowler or bellamy etc

 

We dont have to robotically play with a big man up front every game, just the same as we dont have to play with a lad with pace up front in every game.

 

Rafa always talks about different options.

See the reply to Banders. It doesn't have to be a big lad. But we do need something up there. Is Saha a big lad? Because he'd do a job for us. It doesn't need to be a worldbeater. Everyone listed bar Fowler is a second striker. And Fowler is a better player with someone to play off. We need ninety points to really challenge. Thirty wins. And that's only in the league, never mind Europe.

[Leo No.8]

We've got 3 strikers at the moment. Two are very injury prone, whilst the other Rafa feels the need to take off after an hour during most games.

 

Anyone who doesn't think we need another striker is stark raving bonkers, no matter how many we've got who can play 'in the hole'.

 

Its quite conceivable we could be left with no specialist strikers if we suffered a couple of injuries. Bellamy or Fowler get crocked long term, the othe two pick up knocks and we're f*cked.

[Knox_Harrington]

Knox I know the lad you are looking for, one who has all the atributes you mentioned

 

Torres

Gone into this repeatedly on here - think it's a real gamble he'd produce in this league.

 

Regardless we need someone this year HR.

[Bailo]

We've got 3 strikers at the moment. Two are very injury prone, whilst the other Rafa feels the need to take off after an hour during most games.

 

Anyone who doesn't think we need another striker is stark raving bonkers, no matter how many we've got who can play 'in the hole'.

 

Its quite conceivable we could be left with no specialist strikers if we suffered a couple of injuries. Bellamy or Fowler get crocked long term, the othe two pick up knocks and we're f*cked.

We'd be back to 2004/5 where we had Baros on his own for 70% of the season

[IgPig]

Surely our improved defence is as much a factor in this. It's not like we have been a goalscoring machine last season.

 

 

 

Perhaps - momo also had a big part to play - but put Baros/Cisse up front for all of last season and we wouldn't have done as well as we did, and our inproved defence would have been much more exposed.

 

As someone else has said, its not necessarily crouch mark 2 but someone capable with their back to goal.

[Guest Anders Honoré]

Perhaps - momo also had a big part to play - but put Baros/Cisse up front for all of last season and we wouldn't have done as well as we did, and our inproved defence would have been much more exposed.

 

As someone else has said, its not necessarily crouch mark 2 but someone capable with their back to goal.

 

I'd say we've improved quite a bit in the ballplaying department already by substituting two headless chickens with two players who have awareness and technique in Bellamy and Fowler.

[IgPig]

I'd say we've improved quite a bit in the ballplaying department already by substituting two headless chickens with two players who have awareness and technique in Bellamy and Fowler.

 

Undoubtedly. Both are more intelligent players than Baros and Cisse.

 

But I'll be surprised if we don't sign a different type of striker as well

[galés rojo]

Maybe it is just me, but I have a feeling that Rafa sees Bellamy as just as much a front striker as a forward.

 

I agree, Bellamy can play as a lone striker pariculary away from home where we may have to counter attack.

The reason we were reluctant to play Cisse as a lone forward had nothing to do with his height and more to do with making the ball stick(first touch) and his work rate. I'd be perfectly comfortable with any one of Fowler/Crouch/Bellamy playing up on their own under varied circumstances.

Edited July 25, 2006 by galés rojo

[Rimbeux]

We need another this season, we may well need another next season as well

[growler]

Current strikers we have are crouch, bellamy, fowler, pongo

Support strikers we have are kewell, garcia, Gerrard (if he has to)

Last resorts are: Lindfield, Mellor, Gonazales, Carragher(! :-))

 

IN reality we can go another season without a hotshot top name striker who will play 60 games for us. We certainly have the goals in other parts of the team. How many did Drogba score for chelsea when they won their last two titles?

[galés rojo]

Current strikers we have are crouch, bellamy, fowler, pongo

Support strikers we have are kewell, garcia, Gerrard (if he has to)

Last resorts are: Lindfield, Mellor, Gonazales, Carragher(! :-))

 

IN reality we can go another season without a hotshot top name striker who will play 60 games for us. We certainly have the goals in other parts of the team. How many did Drogba score for chelsea when they won their last two titles?

 

04-05 Chelsea played 26 scored 10

 

05-06 Chelsea played 29 scored 12

[eth]

Current strikers we have are crouch, bellamy, fowler, pongo

Support strikers we have are kewell, garcia, Gerrard (if he has to)

Last resorts are: Lindfield, Mellor, Gonazales, Carragher(! :-))

 

IN reality we can go another season without a hotshot top name striker who will play 60 games for us. We certainly have the goals in other parts of the team. How many did Drogba score for chelsea when they won their last two titles?

It becomes significantly more dodgy when you take into account that Crouch is almost always taken off around 70 mins, Fowler was lasting even less last season, and Bellamy's fitness problems, along with our tactics often requiring a striker able to bring attacking midfielders into play.