Transition Period?

With the excitement of the fixtures coming out and everybody getting their hopes up of another promising season, I was just wandering of the flip side. Not trying to bring doom and gloom on our club or trying to doubt our chances of winning the league because I'd expect Liverpool to win the league if we had pinky and perky up front rather than in the boardroom, but could this be a transition period for the club?

With all the rumours, and yes currently that's all they are, floating around the club and our players could we find ourselves losing so many of the squad of last year that took us so close? For any player I can imagine it to be a massive honour to play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona in the same way it'd be an honour to play for Liverpool or United here in England. And for Spaniards or South Americans it's probably the biggest honour in football, so the likes of Reina, Arbeloa, Alonso and Mascherano may all wish to join one of the Spanish giants they've been linked with. In Spain and South America, I imagine Barce and Real are perceived as the biggest clubs in the world, so these lads would jump at the chance I think.

I doubt we'd sell all four but even losing two could set us back another year or two. It looks set that Arbeloa has gone, with Johnson as his replacement. Now that may work in our favour only time will tell. Now I doubt, should we lose one of the other three, that Benitez will replace them with a ready made replacement. It just isn't his way. Look at the current squad, how many of them were signed when they were over the age of 26? Benitez likes to make a squad and I think that's what he'll do over the next few years - the transition period.

That along with a few other sales and players being released, will mean the squad is starting to look a little short again. So the next few years could be about us building up another squad, rather than this one dominating football the way it looked like we would last year.

If Arbeloa does indeed leave, his best mate at Anfield from what I can tell is Xabi who may decide to join him at Madrid. We've issued statements saying we don't want to sell, but if 25million+ came in for either Xabi or Masch, I'd be surprised to see the club turn it down. Now Xabi has nothing to prove loyalty wise, he could have left last year or just sulked this year but he didn't and for Masch, his agent has already expressed a desire to play at the Nou Camp. And Reina? Again, if a silly bid comes in, we'll be hard pushed to refuse.

So although this squad came so close last year, it may take another two to three years to build up another one to go even further.

This is all of course speculation as we don't know, for certain, where our players will be come the end of the transfer window but we could be on our way to enter another transition period for this club.

I woud be very very surprised if we sold any major players this year.
We have the impetus of last year, this must be followed up this year.
I think Rafa has been backed by the yanks of late, with a new contract, but the world is a more tight place these days unless you are Madrid or Manure.
I think the transition has finished, we are at End game state, This is the year, last years results show that we were VERY close to winning the league,
As for 25 mill quotes for Alonso and Masca are concerned, that not feasable, Rafa admitted that even 50 mill wouldnt get Masca, Real admitted today that Lpool are holding onto Alonso. Arbeloa was a decent player but his defending was perhaps suspect.
I think we will hold onto our players, they all know that lpool is now the place to be, and i believe this year we could win 2 major trophies including the league.

Pepe is one player I know won't go, just can't see it happening. And I would expect only one of Masch and Xabi to go, if we get rid of either. I'd like to think Rafa would be able to convince them to stay for at least one more season, last season we came so close and next season could be our best in the prem yet. Xabi especially he has been here since the start with Rafa and I think he would love to win the league title before heading back to Spain.

With Masch it seems to be his agent trying to make himself some dosh, Masch has already stated he wants to stay here, yet his agent is coming out with conflicting statements. Arbeloa though does look like a done deal can't dispute that.

What I think Rafa will do is if the players want to go, he will ease them out, convince them to stay for at least 1 more year, giving him time to eye a replacement or blooding a youngster. Don't think he would allow so many key players to leave though in one transfer window.

Funny though isn't it that after we put up our best fight for the title since the prem began the press come up with these rumours about players being unsettles etc.

"Arbeloa was a decent player but his defending was perhaps suspect."

Sounds a bit like a £17m, £80k a week little full-back heading north on the M6 as we speak...

Something tells me he's not 17 million times better than Semmy, never mind Pennant. And he would have cost £12m last summer.

We are still rubbish at buiness. Alonso and Masch won't go for silly money this year... they will go for peanuts next year!

Like Owen, like Carston, like McManaman, etc etc WE LIKE TO SELL CHEAP AND BUY HIGH!

Dunlop almost all of your posts have an air of negativity about them. For the first time in years we have a squad that is able to challenge for the title and from what i have seen from the amount of comebacks last season, one which has a great mentatality. The players you have mentioned about leaving have been nothing but loyal to Liverpool up untill now and is seems the squad believes it can win major honours now such as the league, why would they want to leave ?

I think its pretty obvious that we are not in a transitional period, we have now a squad at our disposal which is at the right age to really be at the top of its game, one which is full of experience.

The fact that we have some of the best players in the world means that they will be linked to other clubs. They are every single year. What makes you think that this summer a mass exodous is about to enuse?

I strongly believe that all our major players will be staying put

So although this squad came so close last year, it may take another two to three years to build up another one to go even further.

This is an issue that is, unfortunately, entirely out of our control.

If one or more of our key players chose to leave, then I agree with you: there are no tailor-made alternatives to a player like Alonso. Were he to leave the current squad I think we'd have trouble replacing him this summer without changing formation, because I feel he occupies a vital role behind our attacking players, providing creativity and tremendous passing distribution.

That being said, the money generated from such a transfer would enable us to sign another excellent player, or players. But as you say they may not fit in immediately and we may find ourselves taking a further year or more to regain the whole "team" feeling, and understanding between the new group.

On the positive side (I can't help myself ), what we see here is a definite progression in the quality of players we have. They are sought after because they are amongst the nest in the world, and they are difficult to replace because they talents are for the most part unique. The fact that we are left scratching our heads trying to think of replacements is a testament to that. I feel it is also part of management at the highest level, the kind of pressure that Benitez must be used to, and even revels in.

Any of the top sides would have problems replacing 2-3 of their first-choice players, I don't think this is an issue that only surrounds our club. We're challenging at the highest level with the problems of every "big" club in Europe.

I prefer to see this as signs of progress rather than a risk of regression, and also have a gut feeling that the mentality of our current squad would be able to surmount these setbacks. That last point of purely a personal feeling, but each of us faces the future with a different vision of how things will turn out.

Personally i think we're over the hill of transition and have entered a stage where finalising the squad is necessary to really challenge for major honours. W have our spine and there is quality around it, its just fine tuning certain areas before we are top again.

Rafa is way too smart to allow Xabi, Masch or Reina to go.

I think the transition stage was around 2005/06. When we were buying players to build towards the squad we have now. The process of buying players cheap and then selling them after 2 years and replacing them. (Like Josemi, Kromkamp et al)

I think now we are past the transition stage and are now adding the final touches to the squad.

I agree with Eem we are past the transation stage and this year we have proved to be seious title contenders and we have proved that we an beat the best ! All we need now is that player whenever steven or nando is out to chage 0-0 into 1-0 , 1-1- into 2-1, 2-2 into 3-2 , and chage 2nd place in the league into 1st place .We've notched up or hight points total in a long time and its stil not enogh to win I agree ,but we just need that bit extra creativity an we'll be champoins I assure you .

 As best as I can remember the term (transition period) was a term first used by the late great Bill Shankly.I agree with the sentiments of other posters we have done our time with transition periods over the last 20 seasons.The time has come to continue the good work of last season and bring number 19 home to its rightful home, ANFIELD.No more transitions just do the job.

if we take it for granted then that we are not in a transitional period and that we are in a "finishing touches" stage... would it be fair to say that we have to win the league this year or next? ferguson has won titles with transitional, finishing and finished squads... surely if we are dont win it in these next two seasons, it will be far far harder to win it at all in the third season?

i dont care about the fa cup or league cup at all, they can competely be put on a backburner for me- we still need to be pushing for europe, but it really is now or never with the league... when any top club can win any cup at any stage.

I do think we are in the latter stages of a transition period ,just a couple of players short of a guaranteed title no. 19 and beyond ,our first 11 last season was absolute class apart from a couple of poor results ,we unfortunately had a couple of players who ,for one reason or another ,just could not fit in ,namely Keane and Dossena,and i believe our youngsters will have the ability to slip into the first squad if needed .

Every year should be a transitional one.
Its just that weve spent nearly two decades getting back to level.

We used to evolve one successful team into another. Something the Mankers decided was a good idea and copied.

2010 we can be back to level and from then on we can put behind us the missing 20 years.

Every year. Transitional. Thats how we will stay where we should be.

dls, do seriously think that rafa is going to spen five years bulding a  championship winning sqaud and getting closer and closer each consecutive year and then just sell 2-3 of his main players,it goes without saying that parry without doubt for whatever reason curtailed rafa's spending in previous seasons and in fact probably cost us the title last season, we have imo the strongest spine in the pl, why would rafa risk all he has built just to appease the n*b heads up stairs, they have put the club inthe mess its in now not rafa, liverpool are not a selling club, li agree with some posters above that this is our time now, this just the start, so get that neg head of yours off and start thinking about stevie lifting the english premier league crown in may 2010, beacase its mate its gonna happen

ynwa   iin rafa we TRUST!!

dls, do seriously think that rafa is going to spen five years bulding a  championship winning sqaud and getting closer and closer each consecutive year and then just sell 2-3 of his main players,it goes without saying that parry without doubt for whatever reason curtailed rafa's spending in previous seasons and in fact probably cost us the title last season, we have imo the strongest spine in the pl, why would rafa risk all he has built just to appease the n*b heads up stairs, they have put the club inthe mess its in now not rafa, liverpool are not a selling club, li agree with some posters above that this is our time now, this just the start, so get that neg head of yours off and start thinking about stevie lifting the english premier league crown in may 2010, beacase its mate its gonna happen

ynwa   iin rafa we TRUST!!

to doubt our chances of winning the league because I'd expect Liverpool to win the league if we had pinky and porky up front

That sorts your post out.

Just bumping this up.

Is this year one for transition of Liverpool? It's something I suggested may happen back in June and could possibly be a case to be put forward now.

Although it's relatively the same squad, we've lost 3 huge players from the side that took us so close and their replacements have played 14 or 15 games between them. Xabi was our player of the year, Arby was somebody could rely on and Sami's presence around the squad has to be a miss.

So I honestly believe this is a transitional period for the club, I think we are rebuilding the squad again.

So I honestly believe this is a transitional period for the club, I think we are rebuilding the squad again.

I'd be inclined to agree with you if we had played our Strongest starting XI consistently so far this season, how ever as we have not and we have been subjected to poor form / injuries etc its a little too early IMO to make that Judgment.

If Rafa gets his strongest Starting XI on the pitch and our form and results do not improve over a number of games then I may be inclined to agree with you that it is a transitional year, but until if/or that happens i'm putting our poor results down to bad luck and form at the moment.

I feel guilty that I havent mentioned Arbeloa he was very reliable and our best goal celebrator.I dont think it is a rebuild job because we havent got the finance to rebuild.If I could change anything I would stop buying kids that never are going to make it and maybe replace these with older more mature players like Gary Mcallister how we could do with him now.

This is something I suggested about 12 months ago. It may be even more evident now.

Within two years of coming a whisker away from winning the title, the very heart of that side could be ripped away. We're certainly in a transitional period now. And unfortunately, I can't even begin to think when it'll be over due to the two pricks at the top.