I heard rumours that the new Gaffer wants to sign Wiltord! I don't rate him veyr highly, and think that there is far better players we can spend 5 mil on. What are your views?
I agree. He didn't play well at all against Croatia and as soon as he was replaced by Pires, the match turned. I think he's highly overrated. Let Spurs have him.
Not that I am a fan but he wouldn't cost 5 million. His contract expired at the end of the season and so he is available on a free.
I signed him on CM because he was unsettled at Arsenal and was available on the cheap. While he provided scoring and versatility, he eventually started bitching about his role and didn't get along well with his teammates. Not worth it, I say. [/smirk]
He wouldn't necessarily be a bad signing, especially on a free. He could play as a right midfielder and score goals from that position. There aren't many players capable of that, and it is something we need. However, Wiltord prefers to play up front and he would have no chance to do that at Liverpool. If he would complain about that it would be a problem. Wiltord would be okay, but I would hope that we can do better.
i too think he is very overrated and thinks he better than he actually is. he would nip a couple of goals for us but in the end he would flop like el hadji. bTW what is happening with him? can we release him please?
Well, it's not a link to get the pulses racing, but it's also not as bad as some of you are making out. Wiltord is anything but overrated. He's actually rather under-appreciated, largely thanks to the bit-part nature of his stay at Arsenal (following, let us not forget a THIRTEEN MILLION pound move). Wiltord scored some pretty important goals for the Arsenal and whilst he has neither the quicksilver mind of Bergkamp or the devastating vivacity of Henry, he is hardly a slouch. The Double's interjection here is interesting, given that Spurs are one of the three clubs (Barca and ourselves being the others) that are interested in his signature. And as others have pointed out, he's on a free. That, to me, makes him worth a punt if it turns out Benitez really is serious about him and thinks he knows what he can do to get the best out of him as and when required.
With Baros scoring goals in Euro with Czech, and Cisse a sure thing, how many first choice strikers do Liverpool need? Weren't there issues with Anelka at Arsenal over playing time?
Well, let's go back to the '00-'01 season. We essentially had 3.5 first choice strikers - Owen, Heskey, Fowler and sometimes Litmanen. Playing time wasn't an issue because there were so many matches to go around, with the FA Cup, Worthington Cup, fight for the Champions League place and UEFA Cup, there were 2 must-win matches every week. And having four starters at two spots ended up being necessary, and each player came up big when needed. So basically, as long as we stay alive in multiple competitions, 3, 4 first choice strikers are necessary. Problem arises if we are knocked out early. but let's not think about that just yet.
There can be no doubt that a stable of four established, regular strikers is necessary. In actual fact, of course, we have four already, given that FSP has seen more playing time than many (himself included) probably expected. But that's not really a recipe for a long hard season as crucial as this next one is going to be. We do ourselves and FSP a disservice by including him in the basic four senior strikers. So another striker (or, at the very least, attacking player) is a requirement of sorts. And given both that and the current financial situation, plus the likely impact on prices Euro 2004 will have, the simple truth is that we cannot afford to be too stand-offish when it comes to established international strikers like Wiltord who are available for free. Having said all that, this is all total speculation and one of the most obvious doubts about this ever coming to pass is surely that it is unlikely he would swap being a bit-part player at Arsenal for being a similar player at Liverpoool.
The only way Wiltord has got into the Arsenal or France team lately is playing on the right side of the midfield. I think Liverpool would be more interested in signing him to play there. He is capable of scoring goals from the midfield, and besides Kewell we don't have anyone else that does that.
Wiltord on a free is worth the punt in my opinion. With CL and PL football next year as well as Cup competitions, we'll need plenty of squad depth should we encounter a few injuries like we did at the start of last season. And it's hard to judge hiis performances at Arsenal because he hardly got a decent go at the Highbury club.
I agree with Suss, pick him up and play him wide on the right, I don't think he would be bad to get. I've always respected him as a player, he's a good player and could be a right winger that could also put it in the back of the net.
as a free transfer, wiltord would not be a bad investment. he would give us some much needed width and attacking intention ,providing some goals. he can also be brought in as an emergency striker. his versatility could prove useful. lets not forget, he and ljunberg were the ones scoring the goals during their double run a few years ag.
I agree, he provides something else. But can't Kewell come in even as en emergency forward or Smicer, in addition to Cisse, Owen, Baros, Diouf and Pongolle. I'd just love to have someone come in who can really help the front line and provide more options if the front pairing isn't working. There is an argument, that since he's on a free, there's no cost. But I'm not sure what his salary demands would be. I'd rather we bring in another attacking midfielder or have some coverage at the back. Someone who can make a real difference, and not just another squad player