The ideal January signing

[MLB]

I'd say that the chances of us signing another central midfielder are close to zero.

[fowler9]

I can't believe people are so hyped up on Wanyama, I don't like to judge players on who they play for as obviously you can get the odd gem but Wanyama plays for Celtic who are miles better than any of the opposition they face domestically however the players they have who have played in England are ones who have only ever played at Championship level like Hooper, Ledley, Matthews, Wilson, Commons,Mulgrew etc or ones who have played in the Premier League and were nowhere near good enough for average/poor teams like Samaras and Stokes

 

I've heard he had a couple of decent games in the Champions League as well but we've seen that with god knows how many players over the years and to me it seems absurd to claim he is better than Lucas who is in my opinion the best at what he does in the league when he is only regularly coming up against what are probably League One standard players most weeks

[Bjornebye]

Wanyama looks good but how you can say he's a better holding player baffles me' date=' Lucas has been up against the best in the league and bossed games with Yaya and other top players, Wanyama has been up against the might of St Mirren etc....

Can't access him in the Scottish league really, he could be good though.[/quote']

 

Barcelona, spartak Moscow and benfica all had issues with him too.... I watch Celtic a lot and trust me, he is a beast. Lucas rarely bosses big games.

[Jairzinho]

I'm not so sure. Don't get me wrong, I think Lucas is boss but wanyama is better as a holding midfielder. I'd like to see a proper ball winner come in and allow Lucas to push up more like at gremio. It's mad how much we miss mascherano.

 

Problem is, assuming Gerrard would be the other midfielder, Sahin/Allen/Shelvey/Suso/Henderson would never get a game.

 

I can't see Rodgers buying a big African. I reckon he rates Lucas and Allen too much for that to happen.

[Jairzinho]

I'd say that the chances of us signing another central midfielder are close to zero.

 

Hope you're right.

 

Gerrard/Lucas/Henderson/Allen/Sahin/Shelvey/Suso is surely enough?

[Jairzinho]

Barcelona, spartak Moscow and benfica all had issues with him too.... I watch Celtic a lot and trust me, he is a beast. Lucas rarely bosses big games.

 

This is absolute bollocks.

[MLB]

Hope you're right.

 

Gerrard/Lucas/Henderson/Allen/Sahin/Shelvey/Suso is surely enough?

 

 

Even if we send Sahin back to Madrid (and I think we probably will) we still have enough central midfielders.

[Bjornebye]

This is absolute bollocks.

 

It's not. I didn't say Lucas isn't a better all round player but we are crying out for a beast of a ball winner. We don't bully teams enough and are far too often overpowered. Wanyama or someone in his mould adds presence. I'd happily see sahin gone in the summer or jan for someone like him.

[Jairzinho]

Even if we send Sahin back to Madrid (and I think we probably will) we still have enough central midfielders.

 

Agreed. Wouldn't be too arsed if we did send him back.

[Jairzinho]

It's not. I didn't say Lucas isn't a better all round player but we are crying out for a beast of a ball winner. We don't bully teams enough and are far too often overpowered. Wanyama or someone in his mould adds presence. I'd happily see sahin gone in the summer or jan for someone like him.

 

He dominated Yaya Toure in the last game he played against City. Not sure there is a player less likely to be dominated. He also bossed it against Chelsea last season.

 

I don't think we're overpowered all that much, we just leave massive holes in the middle of midfield sometimes. Even if its Wanyama there, he'd still get isolated. If we played him and Lucas we wouldn't have enough creativity, in my opinion.

 

I think what you're suggesting would be more likely if we stuck with 4-2-3-1, long term he seems to want 4-3-3.

[A_S]

Just throwing it out there, with a number of people questioning Pepe of late and whether he would get his head turned if things don't change at Liverpool.

 

Dortmund's reserve keeper is a young Australian lad, Mitchell Langerak. He is originally from Melbourne, in his early 20's and a very athletic keeper, though as a young keeper in Melbourne a few years back, he didn't dominate his box, something a lot of young keepers take a while to do.

 

I just wonder if he'd be worth keeping an eye on, as if Pepe were to leave, the lure of first team football is stronger for keepers who are always on the bench, not to mention Dortmund's scouts seem to be getting it right more often than not. He'd know Brad Jones through the Australian setup too.

 

Anyone seen any of his relatively few games of late?

[Kevin D]

Hmm.

 

If Rodgers can lie point-blank that in a room full of journalists about something we all saw him do, I can't help wondering what else he's lied about.

 

Brendan Rodgers: What is he hiding this time?

[stringvest]

If he ever says "I'll never manage Chelsea" that it. I'm finished with him.

[Bjornebye]

He dominated Yaya Toure in the last game he played against City. Not sure there is a player less likely to be dominated. He also bossed it against Chelsea last season.

 

I don't think we're overpowered all that much, we just leave massive holes in the middle of midfield sometimes. Even if its Wanyama there, he'd still get isolated. If we played him and Lucas we wouldn't have enough creativity, in my opinion.

 

I think what you're suggesting would be more likely if we stuck with 4-2-3-1, long term he seems to want 4-3-3.

 

Hardly consistent mate. I think Lucas can be our creative midfielder. Fuck I miss 442 or 451 with 2 wing men. Steve could play the role behind Suarez, or even Lucas could and Steve can assume an alonso role.... With wanyama or other cleaning up.

[ronnie38]

Barcelona, spartak Moscow and benfica all had issues with him too.... I watch Celtic a lot and trust me, he is a beast. Lucas rarely bosses big games.

 

Jesus wept

[Bjornebye]

Jesus wept

 

On Christmas Eve n all. Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans.

[MLB]

I reckon Wanyama will go to the mancs.

[KevieG]

Would love us to get wanyama but their are obviously other areas that need fixing first so i'd be surprised to see it happening. But i agree with those saying we could do with a physical presence in the middle. Diame was all over us in the west ham game, and diaby did a similar job earlier in the season.

 

Wanyama reminds me of essien when he first came on the scene. No telling how he'll do when he makes the step up but he looks quality.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Listing players like Suso as an argument not to get a player like Wanyama is just plain weird!

[moof]

If we're gonna sign another midfielder then I hope it's Moussa Sissoko. For me, he's the player most similar to a Yaya Toure or a Patrick Vieira. Whereas someone like Fernando Reges excels at the defensive side of the game, Sissoko is more of a box to box type and is capable of getting goals. Think he'd make a huge difference in the middle of the park for us.

[Jairzinho]

Listing players like Suso as an argument not to get a player like Wanyama is just plain weird!

 

Not really. We've got loads of midfielders, and no need for a big African.

 

Hope we don't sign Wanyama.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

 

Not really. We've got loads of midfielders' date=' and no need for a big African.[/quote']

 

Well, I disagree with the second sentence, but accept that's just opinion. However, using Suso to back it up is as relevant as as saying we don't need a left back because we have Reina.

 

I do think we need a strong, athletic player in midfield, I've thought it for ages. Mainly because we get badly overpowered in midfield all the time.

[FrenchEyeGlass]

I feel like we've needed an athletic/powerful midfielder (don't see why he needs to be african though) since we lost Sissoko.

 

But Man Utd's utter neglect for their midfield (along with other clubs) has shown that its not a necessity - i.e. we don't need one. It would just be a route we could go down.

 

Athleticism and power are just qualifiers. Being able to augment that with intelligence, technical ability and mentality is what makes them a winner. Yaya Toure isn't a great player merely because hes a brickhouse.

[TheHowieLama]

"Oi - I didn't say fuck off you big African!'

[Jairzinho]

Well, I disagree with the second sentence, but accept that's just opinion. However, using Suso to back it up is as relevant as as saying we don't need a left back because we have Reina.

 

I do think we need a strong, athletic player in midfield, I've thought it for ages. Mainly because we get badly overpowered in midfield all the time.

 

I haven't actually done that though have I? Not really.

 

I've agreed with someone saying we shouldn't by a central midfielder. We have seven, of which Suso is one, and I want Lucas to be our holding midfielder. My mentioning of Suso was in relation to a suggestion that Lucas and Wanyama would play in the same team. Which isn't what you'd want. You want Lucas replaced.

 

We get overrun more than overpowered. You could have three Papa Bouba Diops in there and we'd face the same problems. Maybe the tactics are wrong, maybe some players aren't doing their jobs properly. Buying a big African won't solve the problem, and thankfully Rodgers won't do it.