I thought about just transporting the majority of Real Madrid into Anfield and realised that it would be more of a challenge to make alterations that were at least possible. The end product was going to be a team that would secure the fourth spot for Liverpool this season and one we could add to and build on in the summer...a foundation if you will. Money is not taken into account here, that is the area where I have left myself some artistic license. So...working from the back, here we go...
Goalkeepers
Kirkland....I am a Kirk-ite....I've said it before and I won't change my mind. I think Houllier is coming round to this now also; the new contract, the run in the team, kind of gives it away! It's not that there's anything specifically wrong with Dudek, the man is class.
Here we have two keepers, both at Premiership standard who can make game-changing saves on a weekly basis, so what is to choose between them? Well, point one; I guess I am going to have to be completely non-PC and say I do like to see as many talented Englishmen in a team as possible; but this is not my sole reasoning behind supporting Kirkland.
I also think that there is little to choose between them when it comes to ability, therefore I go with the younger man. Dudek I feel is as good as he will ever be, Kirkland has some room to grow and with that reasoning, you have to play him. You have to let him make the mistakes a young man needs to make when he is learning his trade. If he reaches 28 years old with years of Premiership experience behind him he is going to be simply outstanding...but the groundwork needs to be laid now and he needs to get in the side and stay in the side.
Would I sell Dudek? Yes, if the price was right, he deserves first team football and in my fantasy LFC team, he would have to go....even if it was just so I could see Kirkland wearing the Number 1 on his back from next season.
Defence
Starting on the right and I am content with what we have there. Obviously I have to hold back from saying 'we make a 15 million pound bid for Salgado' which would be the stuff of dreams....but to be honest, Finnan, Otsemobor, Carragher....all can do a job. When he is fit again, Finnan is going to prove to be almost as valuable a signing as Kewell, I am sure of that. I know some are sceptical, but I really think he is the ideal blend of attack and defence we have been lacking in a right full back...and Otsemobor looks like he is perfect back up for him, one for the future.
On the left....Riise all the way. He is a confidence player and seems to be lacking it at the moment, but I still believe that his ability to run for fun and his tracking back make him the best option we have. There is no one else out there we could feasibly buy to improve this area. The only issue is back-up for him.
Once again, Carragher's best quality is his ability to adapt to any area across the back and we know he can step up to the mark defensively; it's his attacking ability that is not as productive. Carra did a valiant job for us for so many years, but if we want to progress, we need players who are able to monopolise the flank in our half and the opponents...so to that end, Carragher would be an all-round defensive reserve for me...not in my first eleven.
Central defence is a place where I feel we have gone full circle in the past 4 years. Going back a little while, we were used to having the meanest defence in the land. For us to become a defensive force again, there needs to be a trust throughout the spine of the team and at the moment, I feel this is missing.
Think back to when James lost the plot one night and we suddenly, overnight it seemed, became a leaky defensive unit; it can happen that quickly...and it's about trust. If your centre backs know your keeper is oozing confidence, then they are going to be concentrating on their job rather than worrying about if you're going to come 15 yards to claim a cross you've got no right to be going for. But it works the other way too...a keepers game can be put off completely if he doesn't completley trust the two men in front of him and this has been the situation for LFC for a little while now.
Although making Steven Gerrard Captain was a good move, it was bold also. It highlighted a problem that the press had been alluding to that Hyypia was no longer the force of steel he had once been, his game needed to improve and so he sacrificed the captaincy. Hyypia's form seemed to seep through the defensive ranks and now it looks like Henchoz is on his way out after injury and apparent loss of form.
Has Hencoz been unfairly left carrying the can? Personally, I think that the only reason Henchoz and Hyypia worked so well in the first place was down to the ruthless German who babysits them....once other teams learnt how to take Hamman out of the game, they were always going to crack H&H's code and leave us wanting in the middle of defence. We needed a pacy centre back long ago, someone who wasn't necessarily a fancy ball-player...I am talking about an old-fashioned defensive bully with pace. Someone who can read the game, cut out a pass, keep up with the best forwards the league has to offer and time a tackle.
Now there is no magic wand for a player like this...there's a few I would like to see wearing the shirt. Most would point to a player such as Mexes for this spot, but could he handle the pace of the Prem? Personally, I would like to see someone like Michael Svennson from Southampton come in...someone not as flash, not as much hype but someone who has the abilities listed above along with experience of the game in this country.
Would I get rid of Henchoz? No, I wouldn't. I would get rid of Biscan and I would ship out Traore...we had an offer in the region of 2 million for Djimi from Blackburn two seasons ago...dammit what an opportunity missed that was...as Cher said, 'If I could turn back time'.