Next season

[Walrus]

Seeing as this season is pretty much dead and buried and needs to be forgotten about as quickly as possible, I think it's time to start worrying about next season.

 

We need a massive overhaul of the playing squad. Massive. Not 2 or 3 top players, but 5-7 who should all be genuine "world class". But there are other threads elsewhere on the forum for that discussion so I won't get into that in more detail.

 

On the manager front, I notice some people are starting to question King Kenny already and while I have full trust in the man, I think we also need to keep our eyes open and be prepared to act if a really outstanding candidate becomes available.

 

Personally I hope we don't make the 5th spot ours this season and thus miss out on next year's Europa League, as that's more of a disturbance / annoyance than a competition, which provides prestige and significant financial rewards. I know many people won't agree with that, but that's my honest opinion both from a selfish point of view (fewer games on Saturdays etc.) and also from the perspective of how I see us having the best chance to actually do well in the Premier League.

 

If you add in the uncertainty about the stadium development and our apparent missing out on a top CEO candidate, I think it's fair to say that not everything is smelling of roses yet, even if a weight has clearly been lifted since G&H, the face rubbing c*** and Cecil have all left.

 

It's probably self-evident in many ways, but we have our work cut out just to make it into the top 4 next year, let alone fighting for the title. Here's hoping anyway.

[Stupid Sexy Flanders]

All the negative factors will be gone, it'll just down to playing football. Can't wait.

[CarraLegend]

A proper fresh start. Gonna be awesome.

[Red Kent]

I think we'll just go further behind the top 5 to be honest.

[Walrus]

It'll definitely be a hell of a lot more positive season than the current one, I agree.

 

But I can't help but be a little worried about all these changes coming in at the same time. It's unusual for everything to click into place in a very short period of time.

[Jarg Armani]

As far as I know we fund our new player purchases with the sales of season videos. This season has been really rubbish and I'm seriously concerned that nobody will buy it and we'll have to settle for mediocre players again.

[Frosty Jack]

I think we'll just go further behind the top 5 to be honest.

 

that's the spirit

[Chewie]

I think this summer is time for comolli to really earn his salt... This is the time when we need to pluck another hyypia type signing out of the bag. Being linked to premiership players who are homegrown at over inflated prices means we don't need a director of football and this whole moneyball stuff is a pile of nonsense. If we spend big it'll be on 2, 3 at the most players. We really need to sign very very shrewdly.

 

As for kenny, think he should stand on his points per game ratio during his tenure. Then factor in what new signings could enhance this by and weigh up the risk of bringing in a replacement. If this is done it'll have to be an absolute storming candidate to replace the king and if said replacement delivers it'll have been the right decision.

 

Big big summer. What we really need are players who can win games...much easier to organise decent defenders to be effective as a unit than to rely on average creative players to deliver. Utter priority is three truly dominant players, one to boss the middle of the park and two to add class to our attacking play.

 

Chewie

[John am Rhein]

we'll lead the table from start to finish

 

by May 2012 journalists will be debating how to introduce a new 'parity' system that will hold Liverpool back and stop us damaging England's world cup/european champtionship prospects

[schmuckdonald]

This is the biggest Summer in a long while. Mess it up and we could fall so far behind it'll take us years to get back. Can see Redknapp going to England soon and Mancini getting the sacked, meaning Spurs and City have problems coming up and we need to get our squad in a position where we can capitalize.

 

Need to break into top 4 again next season. Got to be the minimum requirement. And Comolli has to earn his money by buying well in the next few months.

[Earl Hafler]

I think we'll just go further behind the top 5 to be honest.

 

 

Mr Mogadon is back, i see

 

 

Top 4.

Edited April 3, 2011 by Earl Hafler

[épieur]

With a good summer we should be able to put in a strong challenge for the top 4.

 

Spurs won't be too difficult to overtake, but we have to acknowledge that even if we have a very good season, there are 4 teams in there with very good players. One is going to miss out despite being able to say with some right 'we are more than good enough to finish top 4'.

 

Let's not bother talking title challenges just yet.

[John am Rhein]

without any changes whatsoever we definitely WILL put in a strong challenge for the top 4 - we are already performing beyond that level and it's only the points lost during the Hodgson era that's keeping us back

 

So the only sensible question is how far beyond that level we can realistically look to go. With some good signings this summer and a pre-season under Dalglish/Clarke there's every reason to be optimistic.

[New York Red]

We'll finish second or third next season.

 

We'll win it all the year after that.

[Rocheteau]

I think its going to be a season difficult to predict, many variables at play, a strike partnership to bed in properly, a couple of talented big name players who have seriously underperformed to show their true pedigree and one or two players breaking into the first team who need to consolidate their positions. The key to all this is the manager and at the moment I cant see much further than Dalglish over the next couple of years for a rebuilding job. Who else understands this club or its fans?, who else can demonstrate to the Americans what it means to the fans to strive for success? I'm not blown away by the post Hodgson era, there have been relapses and you can see the fragility is still there, but Dalglish has the nous, the ability and the drive to get us moving in the right direction. If he is given a new two year contract i'll be really optimistic about our long term future, Talk of a top 3 place is fanciful, lovely to dream, but unless FSG throw ridiculous sums at the whole set up, a step too far.

 

Qualification for Europe would be important and achievable especially if we don't have the distraction next season but getting the fundamentals right on and off field is just as critical, The Americans seem to understand that even if they are too hesitant in the decision making process for my liking, but it is a start and an encouraging turnaround compared to the complete chaos of the last few years

Edited April 3, 2011 by ChaoticPrimate

[Sion]

Sky showed a snapshot of the table at the turn of the year to show Blackpool's position. We weren't even in top half.

 

Not sure we could have a worse season next year.

 

Need some serious investment though.

[Jim D]

Champions League Qualification is the target, like people have already said huge summer coming up

[stressederic]

I'm quite looking forwards to next season actually.

 

In regards to how we get on in the league, I think it's hard to say. It's pretty obvious that we'll need to do a fair bit of work on the squad, with players leaving and replacements coming in. I reckon we'll spend a decent wedge of cash to kick start things.

 

I'm not sure if Kenny will still be in charge, but imagine he probably will be. I've always been in favour of getting to the end of the season to then sit down and see what is what.

 

More than anything else though I'm looking forwards to just having a football season. Not a debt season. Or an evil owners season. Or a Purslow season. Just a football season.

 

Where we can talk about the matches and the players and not the powers behind them. Where we might actually get to spend the money we raise and a bit more rather than just spending a fraction of it and the rest vanishing.

 

United are probably going to get 19 this season anyway. It was going to happen sooner or later and, whilst I'd love them to f*** it up, I'm pretty resigned to the whole thing now.

 

The quality in the league this season has been dire. United are going to need to replace players and strengthen some positions in the close season but it's not clear how much cash they'll have. f*** knows what state City will be in next season. Arsenal will have a collection of fast moving legs but no backbones. Chelsea will likely have a new manager and half a dozen new players. No idea how they'll stitch all that together. Spurs aren't making the European Cup (via the league anyway) this season so it'll be interesting how their players deal with that. They've been rotten after their European games this season so we'll see how they deal with missing out on the whole competition.

 

So we could do alright if we spend well and wisely.

 

At the very least I'm hoping next season might be a laugh. Which would be a start.

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

We need to spend wisely - not 5 or 6 players in the 7-12m range but 2 - one CB one MF in the 20m range. THEN we add to the squad.

 

We're a good way from having a top squad but not a good team. If - big if - we can get those 2 (maybe 3) players & get lucky with injuries, it could be a good season.

 

Keeping Pepe is crucial too.

 

Pepe, Kelly, Johnson (so far under Kenny), Agger - although I think we should sell, Gerrard, Raul, LucASS, Del, Suarez, Carroll

 

There's 10 players who'd get into most if not all of the top 5 teams.

 

Pacheco's 40 goals next season will win him youn player of the year...

[Candystore]

I hope we don't get into Europe (unless we somehow get into the top 4)

 

That way, we don't need a massive squad, can focus on buying quality rather than quantity because we'll play fewer games. Could also sell a few squad players

 

Added bonus of more Sat games.

[Gomez]

I think we'll just go further behind the top 5 to be honest.

 

If Henry and FSG are a serious as they say they are, I want a title challenge.

 

There is no reason not to expect one with good money invested into the squad. I don't believe the squad we started the season with needed a big overhaul and I don't like the way we as a club seem to be talking our way into it, it sounds like a pre-made excuse for another couple of years of mediocrity.

 

Most of he squad are good enough to be a squad players at the least, PFK, Jones, Cole and Poulson need f**king off as soon as possible as I really am not sure they can add anything, though in the case of Cole, I we can't sell him, I think I'd rather have him in the squad just on the off chance he gets fit rather than paying 80% of his wages for him to play for fulham or where-ever.

 

We need to replace Torres (I count Carroll as an addition rather than a replacement, the replacement that never was for Crouch/ Keane etc), Masch and Carragher (and probably Agger )

 

And we NEED to keep Reina. Another window losing our start player could prove fatal to our reputation to attract the players we need, if losing Torres hasn't already. FSG need to take a leaf out of man u's book, and thrown money at the problem until it goes away.

[Conrad]

I don't think this question can be answered anything other than very speculatively right now.

 

August - a different matter.

 

It's all about what happens with the turnover of staff and players. And It would be nice if Gerrard and Agger hung up their boots now, took a month or two off and had a full pre-season to hopefully put their injuries behind them

Edited April 4, 2011 by Heighway 61 Revisited

[Walrus]

I don't think this qusetio can be answered anythingother than very speculatively right now.

 

August - a different matter.

 

It's all about what happens with the turnover of staff and players.

I'm sure NYR can produce you a scouting report on him. Sign Qusetio!

[Conrad]

I'm sure NYR can produce you a scouting report on him. Sign Qusetio!

 

I'm looking to him to provide the answers

[épieur]

If Henry and FSG are a serious as they say they are, I want a title challenge.

Even Benitez only managed one legitimate title challenge.

 

 

I think it's a bit much to ask given where we are now and what is needed to win the title in just one summer, regardless of how serious they are.

 

And besides, how do you equate "we're serious about bringing this club back where it belongs as quickly as possible" to "we'll challenge for the title next year"?

 

There is as much reason to believe that they may be serious and not dallying about yet still working with a more realistic timeframe of several years to get us back in contention.

 

Forget the dreams of having silly money thrown our way and start contemplating how our investment is going to look from owners who are serious about wanting put us back on the map by working within our means.

 

This can be done even if it means being another year or two off a title challenge than what city/chelsea money might give us.