We also played a lot more defensive in the last 2 seasons. I agree with you that Mourinho damaged the confidence of a lot of players but now we are playing a high attacking line the CB's are coughing up chances against even poor sides, they just haven't had the firepower to punish us like the better teams do, and right now we are using Phil Jones which shouldn't be a thing in 2019. I just feel Koulibaly could be the type of buy that makes the difference.
That's not what I'm saying personally, I think he can shore up the defense to help us get top 4 but we obviously have more problems than that, in Liverpool's case van Dijk and the keeper they bought were the final 2 pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.
Exactly, we're far from blowing our load on 2 players like they did to complete their side.
So don't buy then?
Thing is we need like 5 players. We simply can't afford to spunk 500 million.
It’s true though, 1 player can make all the difference. Plenty of history to show that.
One world class can likely transform any club if the fit is right. Ive seen it more than a few times over the years.
Out of those players only Cantona has proven to make an unreal difference and even then it was the perfect storm. We had quality everywhere and he was the final piece.
Well sadly in that one instance it does seem to be the case. That one player has solidified a weak defence and in return has made that defence impressive, so much so that Loren being injured is seen as a huge blow (imagine that a year ago). I’m afraid we are where they were a year ago and a colossal CB is our priority.
We are not where they were a year ago. We are an attacker short, we're not sure about our midfield, and our fullbacks are far from convincing.
And we had, and still have a vastly better keeper and a better squad, where does it end? In Short a year ago they were good going forward and abysmal in defence. We are good going forward and not as bad in defence as they were. A VVD level addition would make a massive difference for us.
Does it matter which comes first? We need a quality centre back either way ,whether it comes before or after other positions it will still have to be done.
If we only have 250 million surely spending 100 million on one center back isn't all that intelligent, surely?
250? I would be thinking we could have closer to 300. If we sold some of the deadwood to generate some funds. The money is there we hardly spent last summer so there shouldn't be problem with 100 for CB and more to buy RB, RW, DM.
If we spent 75m on Van Dijk and 100m on a right wing, our team would be pretty much complete. We have 2 obvious problem positions, and the rest we have potential solutions or unfulfilled potential but can make do with what we have. Right wing we have nothing, and we lack the main CB. I'd be delighted if we made 2 signings this summer and that's it - if they were the 2 right players.
I would spend whatever is available to fix our defence.
Have to agree about Jones, Smalling and Rojo We do need two top CB's, and Koulibaly only the first step to fix our defense. Miliato might be a good move, but not sure if he is ready to start in the Premier. Skriniar could step right in and start right away. We should spend whatever it takes to bring in two top CB's and then look to sort out our FB's. There's no point in lining the owners pockets.
What makes Manolas better suited long term? He's a small amount younger and no better than what we have.
I would be surprised if both De Jong and De Ligt aren't ending up at Barcelona.
De Ligt isn't better than Koulibaly yet.
What makes him available when hes just signed a contract?
What do contracts really mean? They're used as protection to get the highest amount possible. Look at Ronaldo with us, Coutinho at Lpool etc.
I think that goes for almost every player other than the likes of Messi. If you pay what the club wants they're available but the price puts everyone off. I think he's "available" in the same way everyone but 1% of players are. If you pay too much for him you can get him. I don't know if there are any CBs who arent available under those circumstances
Well, exactly. You've just answered your own question
Napoli obviously don't want to lose him, I don't think it'll happen this January unless they can get a suitable replacement.Is Van Dijk very, very old too?
Who is?
I agree with this.
Van Dijk is very, very old too.
Kalidodou Koulibabaly. We're talking about RedCafe's age standard here. You have to multiply every football player's age by two. Didn't you see Zlatan when He came here? He was ancient.
We could depending on the manager etc.
Hopefully yes.
We agree to disagree. I do not think Liverpool have so much more quality except at the back.
