if this is a redundant thread please delete, or point me to a place where this discussion can be had. My take: We're a legitimate keeper, and central defender /midfielder away from competing at least for the EPL crown. With assumed growth/development trajectories of our current squad continuing. Am I smoking crack?
You're not smoking crack, but you're making one huge assumption - our competitors will stand still and not strengthen their teams. I think we were two players away from having a legitimate shot at the league this year, but I suspect that Chelsea, City, Tottenham, United and maybe Liverpool will re-group and buy during the summer.
Well I assume that funding/credit/market issues will hinder the title challenge of all the aforementioned except Chelsea. Am I wrong for thinking that? Plus I am also assuming, there's that word again, that Citeh won't find their feet as they bring in new troops again, what with the adjustment period, and such.
Chelsea will spend freely, and look like they are getting ready to bring in a lot of top quality young players (Aguero, Pato, etc.). Manutd will spend, despite their debt. They have already spent a fair amount on two backups (10m on Smalling, and however much on Hernandez). City might have a little bit of an adjustment period, but if they are in the CL, they will be able to bring in players like Buffon, Maicon, Villa, etc. and will have an incredibly strong squad that will probably push for top 3 next season. Liverpool - well, no one really knows how that will turn out. They might get a billionaire in early, and turn into Chelsea act III, we could see Hicks invest heavily in order to keep the squad competitive and keep the selling price high, or they could be forced to live within their means and continue their downward spiral.
They will all spend this year (except Pool if they cannot find a big buyer). This off-season is even more important because City or Scum will be able to attract a new level of players with CL status and ManU and Chelsea will spend not a little. Unlike others, I think that a CB, GK, ST, and CDM are what we need to stay in the race next year against a trio (at least) of re-loaded opponents. Actually making the leap to the title will also require continued development of current players, a reduction in injuries, and the new faces. At least barring a sudden SAF retirement and/or criminal charges in Russia.
A legitimate GK will be our top priority. How many critical games did we give up because of shoddy keeping? Far too many by my count. Then it is a question of strengthening our backline with 2 legitimate players. Our MF is pretty darn good, so that leaves us with another striker to buy...in Chamakh maybe? Other teams will strengthen too. We have to stay healthy and if we do, we have enough depth to take on just about anyone. Next season will be brutal with the WC this summer and I am worried that bodies will fall within weeks of the regular season starting.
Chelski is unlikely to strenghten considerably this summer. Abramovich is sick of losing money and Joe Cole, Deco and Ballack will probably be gone this summer. I can't see ManU sigining many players either, their debt is already crippling. So with a few additions, a maturing squad and a little luck we'll be competing for the title next year.
With Joe Cole, Deco, and Ballack gone and a new coach with new ideas, Cheslea will spend this summer. They already are linked to many players. I see Man U buying as well. They probably shouldn't, but it''s not like this debt just appeared overnight, and it hasn't stopped them from spending in the past.
They are also starting to look for successors to Drogba and Lampard who will both be 32 this summer. Now that Ancelotti has proven himself capable, Abramovich will most definitely be loosening the purse strings this summer.
We're linked to players every summer, it doesn't mean we're buying them. Have Chelsea made a big purchase since Shevchenko? I'm sure they'll spend some money, but i think their days of blockbuster deals are over.
Well I read in their boards that they will be giving kids like Hutchinson, Stoch, Kakuta chances next year. But I think one or two high profile buys is all they need, even if they kept the same squad as they have next year, they'd still be ahead of us, sadly . Manu, I feel will still spend despite their debt.
Don't mean to cry about it, but this season was really for the taking. We had a string of about 5 must win games at the end, and did a horrible job of finishing due to injuries. With ManU and Chelski dropping tons of points, this was really the perfect storm. All the top 4 clubs are going to be stronger next year and the likes of Scum and Citeh are going to be bulking up too. Not going to be easy... I hope Wenger realizes that it is truly time to open up the wallet to buy some proven experience.
Man Yoo's spending will probably be on players like Chicharito and Smalling, I don't see any big names going to OT this summer. I think City, 'Pool and Spurs (should they get the final UCL place) will be the most active teams in the market.
Has Chelski made a high profile signing since Shevchenko? Not really. ManU has a few players on their way up, but they have even more on the decline. How long can they expect Scholes, Giggs, and Van Der Sar to keep contributing? Even Rio Ferdinand will be 32 next season and is showing his age. I'm sure they'll sign some players, but will their signings be as good as those guys? On the other hand we've got a bunch of players who are 21 and 22 and are still a few years away from their peak. I'm not that worried about our future competitiveness.
why would any seriously talented players WANT to sign for either of them? just not good enough (for liverpool, anymore).
Citeh need CL in order to attract those A list players. They were, allegedly, turned down by a number of high profile guys. Even Robinho imvho wouldn't rate as an A list signing and he was their most high profile.
I honestly believe that if we had had someone between the sticks who did the basics- organized the defense, dealt well with crosses, and cleared balls in the general direction of the center circle- we'd be talking about our amazing title-winning season this year. Unfortunately, even if we correct this situation, we'll need to correct others as some players leave (Gallas, Tweety, Sagna[?], Cesc[?]), so it's not as simple as assuring quality goalkeeping at this point. This summer's dealings will be interesting.
Even the 25 man squad rule should leave us in good shape. Basically that means 3 keepers and 2 players for every outfield postion, along with all the under 21s you want. We can get by with 2 senior keepers because of Sneezy's age, but i think we'll have to cut down our squad to solid contributors. We should be fine with the homegrown requirement, but the rule is going to keep other clubs from stockpiling players.
We are not that far, IMO Need a class old head keeper,need a CM, need experienced CBs, need a scary attacker... Hazard or Balotelli, IMO but more than anything, we need to change our mentality in regards to defending... Song needs to stay as a defensive minded mid instead of bombing forward, Denilson needs to be stronger in tackle, and Diaby needs to improve and be consistent... Cesc also needs to put in more of a shift... And we need our CBs to be defenders (looks at Vermaelen) the have made great strides this season, contrary to some thinking... So I hope they progress but we need to make some signings Also, City cannot make many signings due to the new premiership rules, until they sell a bunch of players... Liverpool are in the same boat... Chelsea have to sell a couple of players but not as many... And United are like us
There are certainly some gaps and Wenger and his staff need to be smart in order to fill them all the best way possible. GK is a delicate one, because from what I understand, all of the most well known keepers that are not at top clubs are going to cost us around 15m and the thing is, we can't afford to buy these types of "well-known" players around europe at all the positions we need. We basically need Wenger to pull at least three Vermaelens out of a hat in one summer. If he can do that, I think we have as good a chance as any to win the prem.