Rebuilding Liverpool FC

And so we come to the end of the Spanish waiter’s reign as Liverpool Manager. It’s been an enthralling ride, with the highs of a dramatic champion’s league final in Istanbul, and the lows of continued blind optimism that the next year would indeed be ‘their year’.
So what next for the Anfield faithful? How do they go about bringing success in the new decade at this crucial transition point?

Don’t get sentimental

The desire is certainly there for Liverpool to ‘do a Newcastle’, by bringing in a club legend to take the reigns in order to appease the fickle majority of fans. When Newcastle sacked Sir Bobby (rip), the appointment of Keegan, however, proved to be the catalyst for their demise.
Their are plenty of ex-Liverpool players being mentioned, with Dalglish being the most likely, but at this point in their history, Liverpool need a proven, top coach at international level.
With the world cup taking place this summer, there are always a few national coaches who get the boot, and Liverpool could attempt to snag a top coach on a temporary basis, akin to what Guus Hiddink at Chelsea (Guus himself is rumoured to be in the frame for the Liverpool job). Looking closer to home, Martin O’Neil is another name being heavily linked to Anfield, and he certainly has experience of operating under a tight budget.

Don’t be afraid to rock the boat

The new manager will arrive with equal feelings of anticipation and expectation from the kop, but will also be expected to have a ‘transition’ period, at least for the first year (Similar to Manchester City), where glory will not so much be a requirement, as a hope.
With that in mind, the new manager will hopefully shuffle the anfield pack, changing their style of play and personnel to better accommodate his new system.

Get rid of the dead weight

One thing that has kept Chelsea and Manchester United as constant challengers for glory is their immense squad depth, with equal amounts of experienced heads and promising youth players to come in when injury strikes, or just to give other players a rest.
Liverpool have relied all too often on the fitness of their star players, without adequate replacements when they falter.
Players like N’gog, El Zhar, Riera, and Babel should all be shown the exit door to raise some much needed funds for transfers.

Wave sayonara to the fantastic twosome

What should a club do when their hopes of success lie on the fitness and form of two players?
Sell them.
However much of an uproar it may cause, the new manager should not think twice should a heavy offer come in for either Stevie G or Fernando Torres, and I’ll tell you why.
Fernando Torres, on his day, is one of the best strikers in the world, but ‘his day’ has been sparse these past few seasons, with an exorbitant amount of his career spent in the treatment room since his arrival in England.
If you read my blog, then you will know of the distinct lack of understanding I have for Steven Gerrard, but in summation, I think he is average at best.
With Mourinho’s declaration that he wants to sign the diving, inept twat, for a fee reported to be around £35m, the new manager should not be hesitant to snatch offers for both players, which would surely give at least £100m to rebuild.

Shop smart

With the bulk of the deadweight gone, and the Torres/Gerrard partnership no more, the manager would hopefully have at least £90m (taking off some that the owners would use for loan repayments and thereof) to rebuild a Liverpool team that could get into Europe.
The first shop window I’d be sticking my eyes at would be that of Los Blancos, or Real Madrid to the common football fan.
As is the case with most ‘galatico’ era’s, there is almost always a summer clearout at Madrid, as the new coach brings in his hand picked armada of top talent from around the world.
Whilst the idea of sniffing around other clubs castaways would not seem appealing, I remind you that two of their last ex-players faced off in last seasons champions league final.
With players like Mahamdou Diarra, Lassana Diarra, Rafael Van Der Vaart, Guti and Raul all being reportedly being packaged and ready for dispatch, there is certainly a bargain to be had, with these players all being able to deliver experience and talent to the new Liverpool side.
Staying in La Liga, a player highly likely to be shown the door this summer is the new Brazilian no.9, Luis Fabiano. Powerful, fast and consistent, he could definitely bring some much needed firepower to the Liverpool frontlines, for a reported fee of just £14m.
Returning back to the premiership, there are plenty of decent players which were relegated this season, and any of Jamie O’Hara, Kevin Prince Boateng, Nadir Belhadj, Steven Fletcher or Aruna Dindane would represent a cheap option to get some proven premier league goalscorers and assist merchants into the Anfield ranks. (Edit: Fletcher has now signed for Wolves)
Looking at freebies, both Michael Ballack and Joe Cole may be leaving Stamford Bridge this season, and one last lucrative deal in England might convince them to stick around. If Guus were to become Liverpool coach, the lure of linking up with their former manager could be enough to get the talented and experienced pair to Anfield.
There are plenty of other players which could brought in, although a little costlier, who have shone in the Premier league this season. Any of Brede Hangeland, Steven Pienaar, Charles N’zogbia, Hugo Rodallega, Gary Cahill or Kevin Doyle could, despite their slightly inflated fee, give the red bird’s ranks a boost.