I reckon Benteke would do well for them and is probably the perfect level for Liverpool. He could go on to become a top level striker, but he's not there yet so they wont be paying a premium. In the meantime though he'll score plenty of goals in the league if given the right service.
Our Rivals Squad's next year - Liverpool 2015/2016
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Would Benteke suit Liverpool' way of playing though? Balotelli and Lambert might be poor comparison, but neither have much pace and huge severely struggled.
I'm not surprised!
It's a big ask but individually there is no reason that all those player's shouldn't be attainable. Ings/Milner/Clyne are all either out of contract or in the last 12 months of their deals, Liverpool can either offer them the step up they'll be looking for or the first team guarantees they'll want. Monaco are looking to get rid and I can't see a team that would really want him offering higher wages for Moutinho. Martinez is the simple task of activating his £25m release clause and a nice wage boost. Navas will be leaving if De Gea signs as it's already been confirmed Casillas is staying, again I can't see many teams outbidding Liverpool. Anderson would be the biggest coup, but if Sterling leaves Liverpool should have plenty of capital to push through a €30-35m transfer.
It'd be about £110m spend, with around £65m coming in if Sterling goes. Just about within the budget you should be looking at. Still, I'm expecting a much, much worse Summer.
I can see the following being far more likely:
Ings - £5m
Milner - £5m
Benteke - £27.5m
Begovic - £5m
Nzonzi - £25m
Barragan - £10m
With Sterling being sold for £45m.
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Only a miracle will stop Liverpool's slide, Suarez made Sturridge and Sterling (as well as the likes of Henderson) look a lot better than they were last season, this season they've been average and next season they'll be even further behind with Gerrard gone and quite possibly Sterling as well. At least Spurs have Harry Kane going for them I can't see anything positive for Liverpool and to be honest the likes of Benteke, Ings etc doesn't make me feel any different about where they'll finish next season (5th at best a long way behind the top 4)
Begovic will cost a lot more than £5m and Sterling wont go for anywhere near £45m. The only club interested in Sterling would be city and they will have some bargaining power considering the total breakdown between sterling and liverpool. They surely have to accept whatever city bid for him.
I think the toughest thing for Liverpool is they are chasing players in similar positions as the top four teams. Arguably they need at least one CB, RB, CM, LW and ST. It is certainly pretty similar to what United are chasing.
As a few other posters have mentioned, they have a decent group of players. Players like Coutinho, Sturridge (if you can get him fit), Ibe (looks a decent talent), Henderson, Sakho (I don't think he is a bad defender, just has very bad distribution). But they need to get this transfer window right. The transfer policy at Liverpool has been awful at times. As a club they do not have the same pulling power as United did when they were not in the Champions League. So signing players will be hard as they are less likely to join Liverpool. I think they will go down the same route of signing 'Premier League proven' players i.e. Danny Ings.
I would be surprised if they managed to finish in the top 4 next season, the only way that seems possible at the moment is a meltdown from one of the teams currently in the top 4. I think they should keep their faith in Brendan Rodgers. When things are going well he has them playing exciting football, and seems to have a good sense of introducing the younger players to the first team scene.
As a few other posters have mentioned, they have a decent group of players. Players like Coutinho, Sturridge (if you can get him fit), Ibe (looks a decent talent), Henderson, Sakho (I don't think he is a bad defender, just has very bad distribution). But they need to get this transfer window right. The transfer policy at Liverpool has been awful at times. As a club they do not have the same pulling power as United did when they were not in the Champions League. So signing players will be hard as they are less likely to join Liverpool. I think they will go down the same route of signing 'Premier League proven' players i.e. Danny Ings.
I would be surprised if they managed to finish in the top 4 next season, the only way that seems possible at the moment is a meltdown from one of the teams currently in the top 4. I think they should keep their faith in Brendan Rodgers. When things are going well he has them playing exciting football, and seems to have a good sense of introducing the younger players to the first team scene.
Begovic is in the last year of the contract so I doubt he'd be more than £7-8m maximum.
Sterling will set off a bidding war between at least 3 of United, City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayern. He won't go for less than £40m.
Chelsea and Bayern will go no where near him. United have Depay, DiMaria and Mata all better than sterling and are likely to land Bale as well.
arsenal will pretend to be in the bidding war as always but only city will come up with a serious bid of around £30m which will get accepted. No other way out for liverpool in this.
A lot of our problems this season have stemmed from the lack of attacking quality. Teams have been able to press us high up the pitch safe in the knowledge that we lacked the pace & goalscoring capabilities from the previous season. With Gerrard, Johnson, & a few others on their way, it'll free up a lot of money on wages. Whether or not FSG utilize that money by going in for a proven striker is anyone's guess. But then again we'll be competing with other clubs who'll offer more in the way of the potential of winning silverware.
I certainly think Rodgers deserves another season at least. Where a lot of things went our way in 2013/14, the opposite has happened this time around. The loss of Suarez & the lengthy injury to Sturridge obviously impacted us in a really bad way. The media focus surrounding Gerrard's departure & Sterling's future certainly didn't help us in the closing few matches of the season. I'd like to think that with a fully fit Sturridge available for most of next season, & with a capable striking partner up front with him, then there's no reason why we can't improve our points tally by at least 10-15 points.
I certainly think Rodgers deserves another season at least. Where a lot of things went our way in 2013/14, the opposite has happened this time around. The loss of Suarez & the lengthy injury to Sturridge obviously impacted us in a really bad way. The media focus surrounding Gerrard's departure & Sterling's future certainly didn't help us in the closing few matches of the season. I'd like to think that with a fully fit Sturridge available for most of next season, & with a capable striking partner up front with him, then there's no reason why we can't improve our points tally by at least 10-15 points.
Sky Sports reporting that Balotelli will be staying at Anfield next season. Going from good to better! 
Bale will stay at Madrid. Sterling will not leave for £30m, unless it's next season with just a year left on his contract. If he leaves this Summer it's for £40m+.
Even as a United fan I can see that.
The trouble is, they've got the likes of big nose Thompson saying on Sky he's good not great and he's only had one good season - obviously trying to bring him down a peg or two, but actually devaluing him. No way they'll get £45m for him. They'll try and use him as leverage for a decent striker somewhere. They can't get one to sign for them straight forward so they'll hope to get one in that way.
Sky Sports reporting that Balotelli will be staying at Anfield next season. Going from good to better!
Even if united dont get Bale, they still have way too much talent in that position. United wont spend 40m on a player who wont even make the bench.
City will make the only credible bid and liverpool are in desperate need to sell. No way he fetches more than £30-35m. Especially after the poor season he has just had.
We'll see. In a world where Benteke is being touted at £30m I can't see one of the brightest young talents in Europe going for the same price. At £30m they'd be better off keeping him for 2 seasons.
Bit harsh saying he's had a poor season. For the first few months he was carrying Liverpool almost single handedly. Naturally young players go through poor patches though.
Yes, thats what I meant he has been poor lately. If he could have maintained his 2014 form then it is likely he would go for a bit more.
And it makes no sense for liverpool to keep him now, unless they patch up and he extends his contract. As it is he is not going to play much so better cash in an find an alternative.
Surely Balotelli has to do better than this season?
I mean, I know he's Balotelli, but surely?
I mean, I know he's Balotelli, but surely?
Why isn't he going to play much? If he's at Liverpool next season he'll start every game he's fit.
That's my feeling. Liverpool fans are putting up the natural defense mechanism we all do when losing a good player ("he's rubbish anyway!") but he was the one that dragged them out of that awful spell in September/October and set them on that long unbeaten run.
Its only natural that liverpool wont be investing any more time or coaching on his development. They would focus on developing Ibe or markovic and giving more game time to lallana instead of sterling.
In my view he was just as effective as Coutinho this season, but because he was in poor form when the voting was cast he'd naturally be seen in a more negative light.
Don't be ridiculous, he's one of their best players and will play regardless of his contract situation. If De Gea stays at United next year intending to leave on a free he'll also start every game for us.
Clubs do not cut off their note just to spite their face.
You are clearly overestimating sterling's development. The diff between De Gea and Valdes is much bigger than it is between say sterling and Ibe.
That is precisely why they will cut their losses and sell him to the highest bidder.
Good business for the price? yes. Will it make your squad a title winning squad or even a top 4? No.
If those are Liverpools main targets they need to step back and take a hard look at themselves, they have the money to pay big wages and if they don't want to get left behind in the modern cash riddled world of football they better start embracing the change and stop trying to fight it, just look how well that has worked for Arsenal until the past 2 years?
Sterling was voted the best young player in Europe last year. He's by some distance the best young player in England and will only get better. Remember this quote from Pellegrini: "Can you get [Raheem] Sterling? “Maybe if you go to Liverpool with £100m you can.” Doesn't sound like a manager who would offer £30m (the same they paid for Bony) and then walk away.
Ibe has good potential but is firstly at least 18 months behind Sterling development wise and secondly is more likely to play with Sterling and Coutinho behind a striker. Sterling is miles ahead of Lallana, Ibe and Markovic at this moment in time, no matter how much revisionism is going on with Liverpool fans due to him embarrassing their club.
Liverpool will sell him if the price is right (£40m+), if not they'll reap the benefits of a great young player for another season or two. Having a great player and playing them instead of selling them is not cutting off your nose to spite your face. Having a great player and benching them out of spite is.
My previous post was what would make Liverpool top 4 challengers (J.Martinez, Moutinho, Ings, Keylor Navas, Clyne, Milner). The post you quoted was what I believe to be more likely for them, but wouldn't have them challenging.
I'm a United fan by the way so I want them to squander all their money again!
What do you mean embrace it, they physically haven't got the money.
If you have to use a pellegrini quote to support your argument then it only shows how flawed your argument is.
He is not a £40m player, he is far from it. Hardly even a £30m player and that too because he is homegrown and english. Liverpool will sell for a decent price and concentrate on finding a replacement.
Not sure exactly how you're defining a £30M or £40M player. But if Shaw cost £30M and Benteke is supposedly going for near £30M, I fail to see how Sterling wouldn't be more than that.
Oh, don't get me wrong I wasn't calling you out on the post, I just thought it was a realistic summer transfer for them so was commenting on their ambitions based on that (realistic) list.
Also meant 'your' squad as a general reference.
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There was some competition for Shaw and soton didnt necessarily want to sell. Liverpool have to sell and there are no serious bidders apart from City.
Benteke is a proven goal scorer although £30m is still steep for him with his injury record.
Using the quote of the manager who is most likely to buy Sterling to support an argument about the high costs involving in purchasing him indicates a flawed argument? You'll have to explain that one to me.
Bony is a £30m player. Benteke is a £30m player. Jovetic is a £26m player. Lallana is a £25m player. These are all mid 20's player's who've reached their peak; a peak that is a level that Sterling has already shown he's comfortably capable of reaching and in time surpassing.
Mangala is a defender who is somewhat comparable, he was young and touted to be potentially one of the worlds best centre backs, he cost £40m. Usually forward player's come at a premium so I'd say £45m is about right.
If I recall there was no competition for Shaw, because Chelsea couldn't afford his wages so weren't interested in bidding. Besides Sterling is far more developed than Shaw was when we bought him, and attacking players generally cost more too.
I agree with your point; it's going to be incredibly difficult for them to challenge unless they have a spectacular window (Moutinho, Martinez, Felipe Anderson, Clyne, Ings, Milner, Keylor Navas) which I don't think they're capable of. Either that or if one of the current top 4 capitulates like we did 13/14 season.
However I don't see how United, Arsenal & City aren't all going to improve and they are miles away from Chelsea.
Sterling has everything United lacks at the moment: pace and the ability to actually go past a defender. I'm not saying he'd be an automatic starter but to say he wouldn't make the bench is just being ridiculous for the sake of it. Also, he didn't have a poor season. He was very good in the beginning and got into a slump towards the end but that's only normal with young players. The transfer rumours and a long, exhausting season probably had to do something with that as well.
Like hell we would
He'll play as much games as possible if he's still at Liverpool next year. Like finneh already said, you're only fooling yourself as a club by benching your best player, even if he probably leaves at the end of the season.Again, not true. Why do we have to sell him? Suarez allegedly wanted out as well before the start of the 2013/2014 season, but we kept him and look how he delivered for us. Sterling still has two years on his contract, if the right offer doesn't come our way (and do not kid yourself, right offer means £40m or more) then so be it, we'll just keep him, improve his contract and be happy about it. And even if he still doesn't extend his contract, we'll still have him for two more years.
You're spouting some absolute bollocks in here.
Didn't Suarez stay because you offered him a £200k a week contract?
He signed a new contract at the end of December 2013 so I don't think that was the case. Arsenal triggered his £40m release clause but we refused to sell him and I don't think he wanted to go to Arsenal anyway, but he did ask to leave Liverpool at the end of the 2012/2013 season.
Anyway, Suarez is long gone but I just wanted to prove that we don't need to sell Sterling at all.
1. Just how big of a miss will Steven Gerrard be?
I think it will be a positive on some players. It will give them more freedom and it will also allow Liverpool to play with more energy in the midfield.
The negative is that they don't have a leader in the squad now. They need a big personality when the going gets tough.
2. Can they keep hold of players like Sterling and Coutinho? Should
Sterling stay?
Both will stay. Don't see why would want Coutinho to leave. For champions league football? For what team?
I'm sure Sterling will stay, they'll get another season out of him and then sell him next season for a lot of money.
3. Can any of their new loanees or returning players add to the squad?
No idea how good Illori is, can't be worse than Lovren though?
4. Which dross needs to be shipped out?
Jose Enrique
Lambert
Balotelli - apparently staying, really though?
Borini
Lovren - honestly the guy was awful at Lyon, no idea where the hype came from.
5. Which 3 positions are needed to be improved upon?
Centre back
Striker
Right back
I reckon they'll finish 6th next season again.
I think it will be a positive on some players. It will give them more freedom and it will also allow Liverpool to play with more energy in the midfield.
The negative is that they don't have a leader in the squad now. They need a big personality when the going gets tough.
2. Can they keep hold of players like Sterling and Coutinho? Should
Sterling stay?
Both will stay. Don't see why would want Coutinho to leave. For champions league football? For what team?
I'm sure Sterling will stay, they'll get another season out of him and then sell him next season for a lot of money.
3. Can any of their new loanees or returning players add to the squad?
No idea how good Illori is, can't be worse than Lovren though?
4. Which dross needs to be shipped out?
Jose Enrique
Lambert
Balotelli - apparently staying, really though?
Borini
Lovren - honestly the guy was awful at Lyon, no idea where the hype came from.
5. Which 3 positions are needed to be improved upon?
Centre back
Striker
Right back
I reckon they'll finish 6th next season again.
This is the key difference. Suarez wanted his dream move to Barca all along, arsenal were just a smokescreen. Sterling actually wants to leave and fits perfectly into city squad.
Think you're a bit hopeful buddy..
Really think Liverpool are fecked this time. I really got it wrong with my prediction last season - thought they'd be continuing on playing great football. No idea who they're going to get in to improve things (both managerially and playing staff).
Can see them finishing between the 6-8th position again.
Can see them finishing between the 6-8th position again.
I'm a United fan. That's what I think they need to seriously compete for the top 4, not what I think they can achieve (although individually those players should be attainable).
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