Liverpool need a world class striker
As good as Kuyt, Crouch and Bellamy are, Liverpool need a finisher, someone who will get us 20+ league goals every season. Perhaps they need something more, someone truly world class.
This has been our problem for quite some time now. We've always had good strikers but if you think of our main challengers, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd, their frontmen (Henry, Drogba and Rooney respectively) are truly world class talents, and our current three just aren't in that same bracket.
We create chance after chance and but for the lack of finishing, I really do think we would be much higher up the table. This isn't a knee jerk reaction to our goalless draw against Everton yesterday and I think Benitez knows this is a long standing weakness of ours.
Rumours are that the proposed takeover of Liverpool by George Gillett and Tom Hicks will land Benitez a transfer kitty of between £100m-£150m. I hope the manager is already planning who to spend the money on . . .
posted by SKG at 2/04/2007 12:46:00 pm
EFT match of the season for 2008/2009: Barcelona construct a masterclass footballing performance to defeat the reigning Champions League holders and current English champions, Manchester United, by a scoreline of 2-0 in the 2009 Champions League final in Rome
EFT player of the season for 2008/2009: Chelsea central midfielder, Frank Lampard
EFT player of the month for May 2009: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for April 2009: Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for March 2009: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for February 2009: Phil Jagielka (Everton)
EFT player of the month for January 2009: Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd)
EFT player of the month for December 2008: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for November 2008: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for October 2008: Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for September 2008: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for August 2008: Amr Zaki (Wigan Athletic)
EFT match of Euro 2008: Turkey's amazing comeback from two goals down to beat Czech Republic 3-2 as captain Nihat Kahveci's two goals in the last three minutes sensationally put his country through to the quarter finals at the expense of their beaten opponents
EFT player of Euro 2008: Spain (anchor) central midfielder, Marcos Senna
EFT match of the season for 2007/2008: Liverpool win titanic Champions League quarter-final second leg 4-2 against Arsenal that also saw two of the best football moments of the season - Fernando Torres' top corner strike and Theo Walcott's thrilling run across the whole of Anfield.
EFT player of the season for 2007/2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for May 2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for April 2008: Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
EFT player of the month for March 2008: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for February 2008: David James (Portsmouth)
EFT player of the month for January 2008: Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for December 2007: Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers)
EFT player of the month for November 2007: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for October 2007: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for September 2007: Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for August 2007: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for May 2007: Carlos Tevez (West Ham Utd)
EFT player of the month for April 2007: Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd)
EFT player of the month for March 2007: Carlos Tevez (West Ham Utd)
EFT player of the month for February 2007: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester Utd)
EFT player of the month for January 2007: Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for December 2006: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester Utd)
EFT player of the month for November 2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for October 2006: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers)
EFT player of the month for September 2006: Andrew Johnson (Everton)
EFT player of the month for August 2006: Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)
EFT match of World Cup 2006: Italy win a thrilling 'end-to-end' World Cup semi-final 2-0 against Germany courtesy of two late extra time goals from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro del Piero 
EFT player of World Cup 2006: Italy captain and centre-back, Fabio Cannavaro
EFT match of the season for 2005-2006: Liverpool win the FA Cup final 3-1 on penalties against West Ham after a Steven Gerrard-led fighback saw the Anfield side recover from 2-0 and 3-2 down to level the match in normal time
EFT player of the month for May 2006: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for April 2006: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for March 2006: Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur)
EFT player of the month for February 2006: Aiyegbeni Yakubu (Middlesbrough)
EFT player of the month for January 2006: Jason Roberts (Wigan Athletic)
EFT player of the month for December 2005: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for November 2005: Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for October 2005: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for September 2005: Danny Murphy (Charlton Athletic)
EFT player of the month for August 2005: Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd)
EFT match of the season for 2004-2005: Liverpool win Champions League final 3-2 on penalties against AC Milan after sensationally recovering from 3-0 down to level the match in normal time
32 Comments:
I doubt any world class striker can beat a team who have 10 men behind the ball 95% of the time as a small club that everton are did yesterday.
2/04/2007 1:25 pm
toress or villa
2/04/2007 1:33 pm
Anonymous:
SKG stated that this wasn't about the Everton match yesterday! It's about all season and the seasons to come.
I do agree that we need another striker who like you say will put these crosses and chances that we have been producing all season into the back of the net. Had Henry, Drogba or Rooney been in our squad there is no way we would be 3rd.
Robbie could be the one for a short time gap but we need someone with years on their side and Robbie sadly doesn't have this any more like he once did.
Don't get me wrong, and I'm not picking on Peter Crouch but he isn't a world class striker. His hold up play and the confusion that he can cause in the box is good. To many of his chances are hit directly at the keeper and I won't mention his attempts at goal when it comes to heading. World class strikers should bury these chances, he misses too many. Rush, Folwer or Owen wouldn't miss the chances he does.
Bellamy I feel is a decent striker who can get us goals, sadly his pace is our downfall as he is often ruled offside when he shouldn't be. (Yesterdays case was correct, although the movement was good).
Kuyt is the best out of the lot, very hard working for the team and if he was along side some one of Henry's class then we wouldn't have a problem at all at scoring.
2/04/2007 1:52 pm
Thats 100% right!! Liverpool desperately need a quality stiker who can finish with good goals and sell useless strikers like Bellamy or crouch if not, then play them only against team which are about to be relegated!!
Look at Henry when he scored against ManU, he was standing alone amidst 4 defenders NOT ONE BUT FOUR yet he scored the goal, thats the type of player liverpool need, no doubt he can even score against even a team with 10 defenders behind the ball.
Liverpool need professionals, not amateur!
2/04/2007 1:57 pm
Bang on SKG. Chelsea away, Blackburn home/away, Boro away, Pompey a home and Everton yesterday. There's some 12 points dropped due to our poor quality upfront. Really thought we had something nice going for us when Rafa opted for the Bellamy/Kuijt combo in December. Even people I know who support ManU are glad our forward department is so poor as they believe we would really be up there if we had a Drogba/Henry/Rooney-like striker.
2/04/2007 2:38 pm
I would seriously agree with that man...
and i would agree that kuyt is certainly the best out of the lot. Bellamy would deserve some credit for his ability to run at defenders and with some of his movements though at times his position awareness is not very good.
That leaves us with crouch, the extremely tall striker who doesn't know how to head the ball but yet...very good in volleys and bicycle kicks. His touch is extremely good for his size, perhaps what heskey last time is lagging, but his ability to finish is extremely atrocious. If one had watched the derby last weekend, he would have felt that crouch should have won the game at the end with the chance.
While strikers like Villa and Torres are first up the list, perhaps Liverpool should also start looking into the wings. The inconsistency of pennant and gonzales cannot be tolerated.
If liverpool would want to win the premier league, they should at least get a winger, a striker and a full back. Now i am just so afraid that the newly sign deportivo full back is another JOSEMI!
2/04/2007 2:42 pm
i dont class rooney as world class or drogba, drogba is having a lucky season and rooney is way overated when was the last time he scored in the champions league and what has he achieved in his career
2/04/2007 3:02 pm
SKG remarked his article was not a knee jerk reaction to yesterday's match but a summary overall of our matches thus far. No doubt Liverpool have been creative aplenty but it is the finishing that is debatable. Who knows what is around the corner in football? Crouch, Kuyt and Bellamy could well combine now or next season to be formidable. Who would have thought Stephane Henchoz and Sami Hyypia would form a formidable central defensive partnership? No doubt Kuyt works very highly, Bellamy is not adverse to running hard and at defenders, the only question for me is Crouch. He has shown for his height and slim stature that he can control with his feet, lays off well and can add a nice touch for goals.
What we have seen also are chances where he should do much better but does not. When it is Kuyt and Bellamy, more times than not the chances go in. When you make a comparison of our strikers to Drogba, Henry and Rooney, our strikers do pail but that does not mean they fail either. Most fantasy teams contain ether Rooney, Henry or Drogba, two or all three of them yet Kuyt and Crouch have been getting ogals themselves too. Sadly I agree with one comment that Fowler is not the Fowler of old and we will have to release him. Sinama-Pongolle is on loan and may well remain in Spain, though I think he should come back and equally vie for a place at Anfield, for he could equal Bellamy for pace, something which particularly Crouch and Kuyt are not high in.
Another point is the men around the R/D/H players above. Fabregas, Rosicky, Van Persie, Robben, Lampard, Essien, Saha, Ronaldo, Giggs. It is not necessarily the strikers but also those who aid them. Someone mentioned the inconsistency of Gonzalez and Pennant, which is a good point. They both have good to great potential but they lack something else to their play. Gonzalez should have more acute ball control, Pennant needs more confidence, both could do with more aggresion.
Personally, if Sinama-Pongolle could return and we release Fowler (or he could hold a non-playing role at the club), we could refrain from purchasing a striker. I looked at the team and considered we need another centre-back with pace and strength, meaning the release of Hyypia, a right back, another central midfielder (potentially releasing Zenden), and a right winger. Benitez seems to have gone in that direction with his recent signings but it is still early days.
RedsMan.
2/04/2007 3:03 pm
we need adriano, simao and alves!
2/04/2007 3:10 pm
Redsman, how many more seasons as a distant 3rd or 4th before you realise your if's and but's are just that?
2/04/2007 3:29 pm
pls dont state the obvious.
of cos we need a world class 20-30 goal striker.
So lets see. Anybody got 50 million to spare?
while we are at it, lets get buffon, joaquin, adriano, and co.
ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!
and we are not a club capable of buying 20+million players.
Go play more CM
2/04/2007 5:09 pm
andrew, i love playing CM, and guess what, once gillett and hicks take over anfield, we'll be able to buy those 20+ million players.
liverpool will truly be the best a man can get!
2/04/2007 6:08 pm
Michael Owen !!!!!
We need him to return !!
2/04/2007 6:14 pm
Martin, everything is ifs' and buts' because no one really knows what we need to achieve trophies. The suggestion is we need a striker, world class, 20+. Is it? We get one and he doesn't score 20+, then we label RB at fault.
We get someone who requires, good coaching, training, a push here and there that culminates into a better player. You have seen how Shevchenko has not been scoring as freely as his reputation would suggest. Not a guaranteed thing. We have scored against others why we have risen.
The answer may not lie in another player but instead in another direction for the team. We got Kuyt who was that 20+ player in Holland and he has been working his socks off for us so far in his first season.
RedsMan.
2/04/2007 6:47 pm
No, the answer is NOT in Michael Owen returning!
RedsMan.
2/04/2007 6:48 pm
we need players who can beat players take them on and make things happen not just booting the ball in the oppsitions goal area everton were made up keep the ball on the deck dont blame crouch he needs the ball to his feet not head everone can see he is not a great header of aball we need abox striker give robbie a few games play the ball to robbie in the box and he will score how can anyone say robbies finshed he has never been given a real run
2/04/2007 6:50 pm
I strongly agree that liverpool needs a world class striker. Since Michael Owens left, there has not been a replacement. We could always count on Michael for his sure & great finishes. Michael was an Assassin, feared by many coaches, defenders & goalkeepers. I have no problem if they should buy back Michael at any price. However, I would like to see Liverpool making offers for strikers like; Samuel Eto, Thierry Henry, Ibramovic, Ronaldino, etc
2/04/2007 6:50 pm
Liverpool's need is not in a world class striker, its in the ability to string together a collectio of passes. Look at the way United, Chelsea and Arsenal move the ball around and compare that to our own. Liverpool simply don't have the passing ability other teams have. Having a player such as Henry on the team wouldn't help as he'd rarely ever be given the ball.
2/04/2007 7:01 pm
Bring Cisse back!
GHA
2/04/2007 7:06 pm
Anon (7.01PM), I believe along the same lines. It is not necessarily through the abilities of one player we can achieve success, otherwise we will again be labelled the one-man team. We know and have seen Crouch, Bellamy and Kuyt can score, we want them to do so every match so we have to improve them. Perfect scenario. As I said before, it is also not necessarily through the striker we will achieve, the midfield and defenders also chip in, at dead-ball pieces, shots, runs at the opposition.
RedsMan.
2/04/2007 10:20 pm
Liverpool have a decent squad that only needs a little bit of tinkering to be competing for the title. A cash injection that should come via any take over will go a long way in addressing the problem of not being able to compete for the signatures of the best available talent.
2/05/2007 1:07 am
ive said this many times:
The only thing we are lacking is a winger who can run at defences and split them up. Giggs, Pires, c.ronaldo, lennon, that kind of player.
And to get that kind of player u need 20million.
We can spend that money next summer, because every other dept is strong now.The overall strength of the team is getting better, so we just need 1 really good player, while retaining the rest.
and im assuming no additional cash from takeover, but just the usual money we get every year.
2/05/2007 7:23 am
We should sign either Klaas-Jan Huntelaar or Darren Bent.
2/05/2007 7:24 am
We also need another attacking-mid that can play anywhere behind the striker, in the same way Ronaldo, Giggs and Rooney can.
We need a right-back that offers plenty down the flank - maybe this new boy will, I don't know.
And we need to play the ball on the ground.
2/05/2007 7:28 am
Henry and Drogba are the 20+ strikers, but Rooney isn't.. Liverpool need David Villla.. Roney is overated.....
2/05/2007 11:59 am
I think Kuyt is a world class player!,once he starts scoring regulary.Keep Kuyt get rid of Crouch.Torres for me!.
2/05/2007 12:04 pm
I agree that we need a 20+ goals a year striker although there's not many of them about. Klass Jan Huntelaar? Add a right sided wing back / defender and a right sided winger and we have a class team.
Either Huntelaar or Torres, Dani Alves and Shaun Wright Phillips in the summer would be awesome!
2/05/2007 12:39 pm
We used to have a world class 20+ goal a season striker called Micheal Owen, maybe if we hadn't jogged him on and he had played regular football he wouldn't be going through the nightmare he is now and we'd have our man. Or maybe the insiders new something we didn't, as he started playing so regularly so young maybe he was burnt out. If it was my money i would go for David Villa although i wouldn't go so far as to say he is world class just yet.
2/05/2007 6:00 pm
I concur with the points regarding needing a winger, I had my eye on Clint Dempsey before Pennant came and now he is with Fulham. another right back and centre-back and a central midfielder, so perhaps Mascherano can bring us something more in that area pending the Premier League's decision. Looking at our wing play we have Gonzalez, perhaps Luis Garcia and Pennant and only Garcia is established at the moment. Pennant has to turn out performances on a weekly basis to make the flanks his own, so to Gonzalez, so time will undoubtedly tell.
Kuyt look good for me, a good buy that can become better, remembering this is his first season. Crouch has to improve but he has been an inspiration at the least, has provided another avenue for us to explore and has been good for us. Bellamy we know has prowess and it is up to RB to exploit that trait of his to its full extent. Pace, scoring ability, tenacious, he is what he needed for a while upfront. All three of them are.
Unfortunately, we need a fourth and release Robbie, and that burns me to think like that much less type it. Darren Bent is a good option, David Villa, Torres but you all can imagine the Spaniards come with reputations and therefore a huge financial demand, and in my opinion the Spaniards usually demand big when releasing their star players, usually excessively. I dont know what RB has in plan with his recent acquisitions (Mascherano included), but I sense he is always thinking a step ahead of anyone else. It may not come off but planning is not RB's only quality.
RedsMan.
2/06/2007 9:39 am
I'm not sure you want "The Rabbit." Huntelaar has only done it for one full Eredivisie season. He's struggled this season. Torres is exciting, but he's never been a 20+ man (strangely he's been most strongly linked with ManU and Arsenal). Villa, I fear, could struggle in the Premiership. It's just sad that there aren't that many top goalscorers around (not to mention wingers) these days. I'm talking about those who strike fear in you when thinking about the match on Friday - only Drogba, Henry, and Ronaldo in the Premiership for me.
2/07/2007 6:05 am
i agree with this article because today's defeat at newcastle highlights liverpool's underlying weakness - a severe lack of goals. liverpool need 2 top class stirkers and they should get rid of crouch.
2/10/2007 5:59 pm
I'm still in dissent of that. Kuyt, Crouch and Bellamy can score, it is just a matter of fine-tuning their finishing. How often do they need to miss to finally grasp the acute touch of finishing more often than not? As I said before, either FSP returns, perhaps unlikely if he prefers La Liga or we then seek another striker after offloading him. We are due funds after the takeover so in that respect we can then seek someone who can get us those missed chances.
How we couldn't humble Newcastle is beyond me, with the amount of chances we created. The consolation is we are creating them in abundance.
RedsMan.
2/13/2007 8:24 am
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