[quote author=Rosco link=topic=40355.msg1108142#msg1108142 date=1274683700]
[quote author=the count link=topic=40355.msg1108013#msg1108013 date=1274629836]
[quote author=Rosco link=topic=40355.msg1108008#msg1108008 date=1274627287]
[quote author=peterhague link=topic=40355.msg1107994#msg1107994 date=1274624253]
[quote author=Rosco link=topic=40355.msg1107968#msg1107968 date=1274615481]
Mark we have absolutely no hope of competing without a major rebuild. Throw whatever Torres goal stats you want at me, I know how good he is but we have not won a thing with him and we won't do anything with him next year either.
He played 22 league games last year (scoring 18), he's going to the World Cup not fully fit and he'll most likely come back carrying some sort of injury.
[/quote]
would you sell him then? i completely agree with your reasoning, and i've been saying similar for a while, but it's such a bold leap from that cold logic to actually wanting to cash in... i just can't make it.
every factor to me says sell - his 'optimal' age, probable world cup inflation, probable world cup fitness hangover, no money, desperately thin squad, no realistic hope of winning the big titles - but the risks to our standing as a club of selling torres, and then probably gerrard & mascherano as well, are pretty frightening imo. money might not mean much in those circumstances.
i think the only one who could handle the rebuilding job under those implosive pressures would be mourinho. as it is, i think our best hope is to try to hang on to our foundations like gerrard and torres until we're sold and put on less precarious ground.
[/quote]
I would if the right offer came in for him.
I'd go a lot further than just sell Torres though, we're spending more than we can really afford on wages and we've got no glory to show for it. It's time to cut our cloth to measure, regroup and begin again for me. And we need some real financial flexibility in order to do that.
[/quote]
There is a lot of logic in what you say Ross but on the other hand if we have a realistic chance of being sold in the next six months, to owners that have some money to spend on squad/team rebuliding, then it might be better to hold on to them both.
Players like Torres and Gerrard are very special and are extremly hard to come by. It would be shame if new owners wasted time and money next season on buying proper replacements for G&T just because we off loaded the real thing this year.
However if investment is as unlikely as I fear it is in the short term,then we might just have to go down the road of costcutting and frugality that you suggest, while bracing ourselves for consistent mid term mediocrity for the short/medium term.
What Peterhague said earlier about knowing it is probably being the right thing to do but being afraid of the consequences pretty much captures how I feel on the matter.
[/quote]
I don't see us getting owners who are going to put serious money into the team without adding to the club's debt. So I think we might as well just get cracking on the rebuilding rather than continue in the manner that we have recently. We provided Benitez with enough to win the league, he messed it up in 08/09 and now we're completely overcooked with lots of big money players who aren't contributing as much as they can / used to / should be.
[/quote]
I hear what you are saying Ross, and that might be what is required next season.
We still have a chance to salvage matters, but it is going to take some clever work in the transfer market, some money and a lot of luck, ie Torres giving us almost a full season.
If we are to do it, we need to add another top striker to the squad rather than see Torres go. That will see us with three decent options up front.
I don't want to see it, but one ,or both of Gerrard, and Mascher are going to go, and that seems to depend on who the manager is.
If we get £30m for either, with a modest transfer kitty, it should give us £50 at least to sort out a striker £25m, left back £10m, and a midfielder £15.The balance and any money through sales etc then goes on a left sided player.
This is also dependent on Alberto stepping up to the mark, which I think he will.
Hey ho
regards