So, just to recap; my Goalkeeping choice remains Big Chris...Kirkland is the only choice. Right back is Finnan, Left back is Riise. Centre backs are Hyypia and Michael Svennson from Southampton (read part one...I have my reasons!). Defensive cover provided by Otsemobor, Carragher and Henchoz. Now on to the rest...
Midfield
Ok, it might be easier to start with the left hand side....it's not rocket science, one word...Kewell. Sorted. OK, on to the right hand side! Diouf has come on leaps and bounds as a right winger, his level of improvement has been slow, but he is getting there; but, in my opinion, he is not good enough for Liverpool, simple as that. His tracking back has been the most improved area of his game, but you have to look at this from the point of view that he cost us 10 million pounds and ask yourself: is he a right winger who looks like he carries that price tag? Would we recoup that price for him in his current form? Or... is he a failed centre forward, for whom we paid such a massive amount of money that our manager is playing him simply to nullify the pain of parting with such a vast amount of cash? The latter, I would suggest, is closest to the mark. Diouf has heart and he plays hard for the team, this can't be denied; But as I said, he doesn't have the talent to play as a forward in the Premiership and he certainly isn't a winger or a midfielder in disguise. It's not his fault, he is being put out there to do a job and he does his very best, which does make it feel a little like I am shooting a lame family pet when I say...Diouf would go in the transfer window if I were Liverpool Manager. I would hope to maybe make about 3 or 4 million back from his sale....and he wouldn't be the only one from the middle of the park who would be on the transfer list.
I would Keep Salif Diao, simply for his ability to play in several positions; As with Carragher I love utility players and though Diao has fallen short of expectations so far, I think he is one of these players whos ability will come out if he gives 110%....perhaps he just needs a little more guidance and assurance.
So, who would go? I would sell Smicer. I don't think is is too much of a bold statement, I know plenty who would do the same. Once again, I think he could still fetch a good price as one of the teams recently promoted would bite our hand off for Vladi I'm sure. Like many others, I think he has given everything he has, but it is not enough. He's been too similar to players of the past such as Leonhardsen who flattered to deceive. The arguement was always that Smicer was not tough enough for the English game and though he has improved on his ability to harrass opposing midfielders, more often than not, he fouls them rather than relieving them of the ball. I firmly believe that Smicer is all wrong for Liverpool and has had the time to become what we'd all hoped he could be, but has failed. I thought the signing of Kewell was the end of it, he would depart with a little dignity but it seems he is here for the duration and probably won't go until Houllier does. However, for now, I am Liverpool Manager and Smicer fancies a move to Fulham I think!
With Smicer gone and simply to fullfil my LFC dreams, Gerrard would take over the number 11 shirt to complete his transition into the new Souness...but how else would I carve up the midfield? If you had suspicions I was ready for a padded room and a straight jacket, stick around.
The midfield is a problem area for Liverpool. Not the personnel, on the whole, they are more than adequate. The style we play, even when we are supposedly playing 'attacking' football is defensive. Hamman is the babysitter for the defence, but we have to face facts; no matter how good Hamman is at breaking up play, he is not Claude Makalele. To employ a defensive minder, you have to have someone who plays box to box throughout the ninety minutes and I am not knocking Hamman or Gerrard for that matter; who to has been called to perform the task of breaking up attacks and then simply laying off the ball, no fuss, no grand skills. What I am saying is, that it is a waste of their talents. Just as Hamman and Gerrard are not made for the defensive role, the afforementioned Makalele is no match for their attacking prowess. There is none in the business as good as Claude at breaking up an attack and this is his area. He is a simple passer and has the engine to difuse an opposition attack on the edge of his own box, playing behind the midfield, then push up into the middle of the park when his team have possession to create a four man midfield. Liverpool don't play this way...they currently do not have the defensive speed to allow Hamman to drift too far away from the half way line. he scores, of course...he is a player who will always get forward now and then and score a goal, but to leave a player like him adrift near the backline, doing a 'simple' job is not good enough. With the speed of Svennson at the back, my defence can look after itself....they are old enough and ugly enough not to need babysitting anymore.
So, with this in mind, Gerrard and Hamman in the middle would be an interesting concept now. What more could Hamman deliver having been relieved of the responsibility of playing minder? I would guarantee that the passes through to Owen's feet would start coming thick and fast...his vision for his native country is something that we miss at LFC due to the nature of his role...this would no longer be the case....Hamman could start playing as part of a four man midfield...so who is the fourth man?
The right side offered a big problem for me. Do I opt simply for pace? No, this has been tried and tested with the two players I have ushered out of the door already. If you look at Harry Kewell, it is his skill with the ball and his turn of pace that allows him to trick a defender, so I looked for the same elsewhere...couple this with youth, yet experience and I came up with an Englishman....and Englishman called Owen Hargreaves. Hargreaves has the ability to move all over the midfield, as do the other three; the interest in Hargreaves has died down somewhat of late, which would make it just the right time to splash out and get him in a red shirt....a red shirt with a number 8 on the back...but more on that later. I would make one other signing for the midfield/defence and that would be Alan Thompson. A tough tackling left footer who, if needed, could step in for Kewell if he was injured, or was required to play upfront. Thompson could also deputise at left back for Riise and with my team definately making it into the champions league next season, there would be plenty of opportunities for him. So that's my midfield...
Forwards
The number 8 reference is a bit of a giveaway, but I would sell Heskey. He is a decent lad and a decent footballer who should be playing at a team where they appreciate decent players. He should not be a first choice centre forward for Liverpool and wouldn't be if I were manager. We have heard how he is a confidence player, how he requires more belief in himself, so someone isn't doing their job, simple as that. If, after all this time, he still isn't going to improve, then either Houllier has to admit that Heskey isn't up to scratch, or he has to admit he is not the man to motivate him....because it can only be one scenario or the other. Heskey goes....Baros stays as do Sinama and Mellor. I would fill the number 9 shirt with Louis Saha; Strong, quick and powerful, but above all, proven in the Premiership....this makes him twice the player of Cisse in my book and half of the gamble. Michael Owen would obviously be installed alongside Saha, when he's fit!
Once this team of mine qualified for the Champion's League, the first signature I would hunt down would be from our oustanding number 10...to take us on to League glory in 2004.