3rd/4th Striker

So with us being pretty much nailed on for CL, we will be competing on 4 fronts next season. With that comes the need for a bigger (better) squad, more competition etc etc. I think we can all agree our squad needs improving, we have very little in terms of impact players on the bench, which obviously doesn't matter when all our key players are staying fit, but we can't realistically expect it to last.

In an ideal world Suarez will report back for duty next season (a premier league medal, the richer). Along with Studge, those are of course our preferred 2 strikers. But who would be our 3rd and 4th Strikers? Would any of our current boys cut it? If not, who would you want and how much should we spend?

My view is that it's between Borini and Aspas for 4th striker. IMO it would have to be Borini, not many goals in him but I see something there and believe he has enough quality to make an impact. He is versatile enough to play as a winger (very important for our style of play) and works his arse off. Aspas hasn't had much of a chance, to be fair, but I just don't believe he is up to the standard of LFC.

So, ideally that would leave a space for someone to compete with SAS for a place in our starting 11. Now it's clear the type of forward Rodgers goes for; he would need to be pacey to keep up with our quick counter-attacks, he would need to be versatile to adapt to BR's ever changing formations and he would need to be comfortable with the ball at his feet.

I've heard good things about Luis Muriel but can honestly say I've not yet been able to watch him play. Also I realise he could command quite a hefty fee. Griezzman is a player that excites me, his stats in the Spanish league are very impressive but again there might be some doubts about the fee. Would the £20 mil mark be too much for a striker when we have SAS? I just don't know...

You make the comment of Borini over Aspas without actually seeing much of Aspas, not exactly fair considering Borini has had mass amounts of opportunities and squandered every single one. Aspas has been unfortunate in the sense that we haven't really needed a 3rd striker as such this season. At least wait for the lad to have a run of games before calling him shi**er than Borini.

You make the comment of Borini over Aspas without actually seeing much of Aspas, not exactly fair considering Borini has had mass amounts of opportunities and squandered every single one. Aspas has been unfortunate in the sense that we haven't really needed a 3rd striker as such this season. At least wait for the lad to have a run of games before calling him shi**er than Borini.

I've explained my reasons, it has to be one or the other and if you ask me who I believe will come good, it's Borini. I didn't say anyone was sh*te mate, I chose my words carefully, so should you.

Lukaku, young, hungry, has proven he can play in a system not too dissimilar to our own, scores goals, already settled in England and has shown he quickly adapts to a move through various loans, will probably be surplus at Chavski and we'd possibly rub the Bitters up the wrong way.

No downsides really.

I think it can only  be the kids, 'cause who in their right mind will come here to sit on the bench?
Borini and Aspas are getting itchy feet because they want to play.
I know we will have a lot more games next season, but I cant see a top class striker waitng for that chance.

Judging from Aspas's comments last week it looks like he's off, I think we probably should look to buy another striker, doesnt have to be anything special, cause if either Suarez or Sturridge get injured I think we would look to play with just 1 striker before bringing in another.

Lukaku, young, hungry, has proven he can play in a system not too dissimilar to our own, scores goals, already settled in England and has shown he quickly adapts to a move through various loans, will probably be surplus at Chavski and we'd possibly rub the Bitters up the wrong way.

No downsides really.

Just what was said about Carroll..and i say the same as I said about him...big, strong and immobile.
Sorry to disagree mate, but he's the wrong type of player for BR's style, wouldn't touch him if they offered him for free.

I'd love to see us bring in Pedro or Sanchez from Barca. Both are hugely underused,never consistently used to get a proper run in the team but both have fantastic pace, can score goals and have CL experience. I think with the right price they'd be willing to sell only stumbling block I see is if the transfer embargo sticks they might not be willing to sell.

Aspas and Borini

Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. 


Choosing my words carefully of course.

Rodrigo

I'd love to see us bring in Pedro or Sanchez from Barca. Both are hugely underused,never consistently used to get a proper run in the team but both have fantastic pace, can score goals and have CL experience. I think with the right price they'd be willing to sell only stumbling block I see is if the transfer embargo sticks they might not be willing to sell.

Perdro and Sunchez are 2nd and 3rd top scorers at Barca. They are not underused at all.

Assuming 4-3-3 would be our consistent formation, the current front-3 would be unanimously SaSaS. I believe we'll retain Borini & sell Aspas. We had hoped Moses would be Assaidi's replacement but that went horribly wrong.

So I guess we're in need for 2 wide forwards, one established and one young. I bet the 'young one' would be Jordan Ibe and the 'established' one would be either of Konoplyanka or Shaqiri or Markovic

                   Sturridge/Borini
Suarez/Ibe                            Konoplyanka/Sterling

The shout for Muriel above is good! Really rate him. He's quick, can finish and would fit in with our system I think.

The shout for Muriel above is good! Really rate him. He's quick, can finish and would fit in with our system I think.

Is he BR-type? I mean versatile? Haven't seen more than a couple of Udinese games, doesn't he always play CF?

He "could" play on the flanks and cut in because he's good with the ball at his feet and very quick.

He can drop deep, run out wide or go through the middle. Having BR teaching him won't harm either.

Muriel strikes me as a player who, when he leaves for a bigger club, needs a manager to help him and not expect from him instantly. He has all the tools, just needs some refinement to his game.

Tough to get an already established striker to essentially come and sit on the bench. Its more likely Brendan will go for some young talent that's already playing as a third striker somewhere.
The opportunity to come and learn from Suarez, Sturridge and Brendan is a big incentive for a young lad to cone here.

I think, as Alex mentions above, that Rodrigo from benfica would be an ideal choice.
He's 23, he is fast, he is not very expensive, he is going to fit perfectly in our play and he won't have the early ambition to replace Sturridge or Suarez on the starting XI.

However, I believe that we are going to need 5 clear strikers for next season.
So far we have 3 (Suarez, Sturridge and Aspas). Adding for example Rodrigo, we are going to need another one with pretty much the same characteristics.

So I think Jelle Vossen, the captain of Genk would be a very good choice. He's 25, he is able to substitute one of our main stikers in case of injury or unavailability and in general he has a good situation awareness on his playing position.

So if we manage to form a striker quintet like this then I think we will be complete up front.

Then it's time to build up our defence 

However, I believe that we are going to need 5 clear strikers for next season.

Now that's something you won't see everyday.

Now that's something you won't see everyday.

Arsenal has 8
Barcelona has 8
Real Madrid has 5
Atletico Madrid has 5
Juventus has 7

Yes I agree with you. That's something you won't see everyday....

Given the way we play I wouldn't be surprised if we got away with the '3rd striker' in our squad not even being an out and out striker.

The kind of player we will really benefit from is like a hybrid of Sterling and Coutinho. Someone who plays across the line behind the striker - one of Sturridge or Suarez will probably always be operating up front and the other rested or playing behind. The gaffer is teaching the two youngsters I mentioned to be versatile in this system and play this role that the player I said we can benefit from plays. I think Xherdan Shaqiri could be perfect.

Borini will be a good addition to the squad, coming off the bench.. hes being groomed to take his best shot next season, that's for sure, but I think some might fear we need a better quality poacher-type right now, someone like Demba Ba, a real 'clutch player'.... however, with SAS on field and the attacking talent behind them I'm sure Borini will find his room to shine, we can accommodate that kind of striker and I think he will be able to step it up.

Strikers: Suarez, Sturridge, Borini
Attacking 'midfielders': Coutinho, Sterling, Suso, New eg. Shaqiri
Midfielders: Gerrard, Henderson, Lucas, Allen

This is why I believe this 'New' position is the most important to spend on right now. We have quality in the other areas to come in, and we are not a club that will waste money so to speak, we will give these loanees the chance. They are coming into a system that can accommodate them and that they are ready to grow in.

Arsenal has 8
Barcelona has 8
Real Madrid has 5
Atletico Madrid has 5
Juventus has 7

Yes I agree with you. That's something you won't see everyday....

Arsenal have 8...really? If that is including people like Podolski, Walcott and park, do we count Sterling and Ibe?

Given the way we play I wouldn't be surprised if we got away with the '3rd striker' in our squad not even being an out and out striker.

The kind of player we will really benefit from is like a hybrid of Sterling and Coutinho. Someone who plays across the line behind the striker - one of Sturridge or Suarez will probably always be operating up front and the other rested or playing behind. The gaffer is teaching the two youngsters I mentioned to be versatile in this system and play this role that the player I said we can benefit from plays. I think Xherdan Shaqiri could be perfect.

Borini will be a good addition to the squad, coming off the bench.. hes being groomed to take his best shot next season, that's for sure, but I think some might fear we need a better quality poacher-type right now, someone like Demba Ba, a real 'clutch player'.... however, with SAS on field and the attacking talent behind them I'm sure Borini will find his room to shine, we can accommodate that kind of striker and I think he will be able to step it up.

Strikers: Suarez, Sturridge, Borini
Attacking 'midfielders': Coutinho, Sterling, Suso, New eg. Shaqiri
Midfielders: Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho, Allen

This is why I believe this 'New' position is the most important to spend on right now. We have quality in the other areas to come in, and we are not a club that will waste money so to speak, we will give these loanees the chance. They are coming into a system that can accommodate them and that they are ready to grow in.

Yeah that's a good point mate. If Suarez or Sturridge were to get injured, I'm sure we could play with 1 striker, in fact we've done it already this season. Someone like Shaqiri could slot in and play on the flank and we still have other players like Sterling, Cou and Suso that could play in our front 3.

Just what was said about Carroll..and i say the same as I said about him...big, strong and immobile.

2 completely different players.

Sorry to disagree mate, but he's the wrong type of player for BR's style

He's not doing too shabby in a similar style under Martinez.

Arsenal have 8...really? If that is including people like Podolski, Walcott and park, do we count Sterling and Ibe?

According to Arsenal's roster the forwards are:
Podolski
Giroud
Walcott
Chamberlain
Sanogo
Bendtner
Gnabry
iwobi

On our roster the attackers are Suarez, Sturridge, Aspas and Luis Alberto

Sterling is considered a Midfielder

According to Arsenal's roster the forwards are:
Podolski
Giroud
Walcott
Chamberlain
Sanogo
Bendtner
Gnabry
iwobi

On our roster the attackers are Suarez, Sturridge, Aspas and Luis Alberto

Sterling is considered a Midfielder

I thought we were talking about strikers, not just forwards. Surely Coutinho and Sterling are forwards. Sterling a mid-fielder? In  the words of  Jim Royle… my a..e.  http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/raheem-sterling/profil/spieler_134425.html

According to Arsenal's roster the forwards are:
Podolski
Giroud
Walcott
Chamberlain Really?
Sanogo
Bendtner
Gnabry What?
iwobi Who?

On our roster the attackers are Suarez, Sturridge, Aspas and Luis Alberto

Sterling is considered a Midfielder

Regardless of the roster, if Ox and Walcott are forwards then so are Sterling and Ibe. I've not even heard of that last guy.

I thought we were talking about strikers, not just forwards. Surely Coutinho and Sterling are forwards. Sterling a mid-fielder? In  the words of  Jim Royle… my a..e.  http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/raheem-sterling/profil/spieler_134425.html

OK depending on the source Sterling is either a Striker (e.g. transfermarkt) or a midfielder-winger (e.g. soccerway).

The same applies to all teams.

So OK maybe we need only one addition to the current attacking force instead of two, always depending on the tactics and on the injuries and availability. However, I prefer to have 5 strikers in the team (that rises up the competition between them for the starting lineup) than to looking for a winter transfer if there is some injury or some other incident

Sterling is considered a Midfielder

Only in Fantasy Football is Sterling considered a midfielder.
If you are going down that road then take Walcott and Chamberlain and make them midfielders too.

Only in Fantasy Football is Sterling considered a midfielder.
If you are going down that road then take Walcott and Chamberlain and make them midfielders too.

To be fair Chamberlain has played centre midfield at times but you do make a point.

To be fair Chamberlain has played centre midfield at times but you do make a point.

It emphasises my point.
He has Chamberlain down as a striker, to show we should have 8.
Bizarre really.

I'd say we need 3 attacking players in the summer.
Striker and two attacking midfielders.
I'd much rather we sorted out the defence though.

We already have a perfectly good back up in armin hodzic at 19 he's leading scorer in the league at his loan club with 18 goals in 25 appearances n is probs goin t Brazil in the summer.

I know Suarez has done this when called upon but I feel we should probably recruit a Support Striker. Typically, a player who operates in the forward line and also drops deeper or wider to link the play. Probably thats the reason BR's first target was Mkhitaryan.

Possible targets but damn expensive - Müller, Lavezzi. Any viable targets? Giovinco, may be?

I think we need two strikers, and 2 midfielders.

How much would Shaqeri, El Sharrawy, Rodrigo and Murial cost?

Might take a look at Jackson Martinez. He looked an exciting player when I've seen Porto play.

Alexis Sanchez, Lukaku....

We already have a perfectly good back up in armin hodzic at 19 he's leading scorer in the league at his loan club with 18 goals in 25 appearances n is probs goin t Brazil in the summer.

Eh? I've been following him and I rate the chap (he has great potential), but he's only scored 8, which puts him 5th highest scorer in the league. I wouldn't bet on Brazil either, with Ibišević and Džeko being the only strikers who are normally called up and the BH national team very rarely uses any players from the BH prem Not to put him down though, he is Željezničar's top scorer and they are 2nd in the league, behind only on goal difference.


(Also, long time lurker, first time poster )

I would not have a place for Borini.  To put it blunt he's not good enough.  3 goals in 25 from 45 shots. Sturridge has had a comparable amount of shots and scored 20. Aspas was brilliant pre season, if he wants to stay I'd have him but otherwise we need 2 new strikers.

I wish someone on the forum would remind me how many goals Borini has this season.

I wish someone on the forum would remind me how many goals Borini has this season.

Think it might be 3

Think it might be 3

And another 3 in cup games. He scores in the big ones

And another 3 in cup games. He scores in the big ones

Idea - we keep Suarez and Sturridge for the Premier League matches against the cannon fodder, and league cup games.

That way Borini can stay fresh for the key matches in the PL and next years champions league final.

remy would be a good buy. he can play as a WF or CF. his proven in the league and wont cost alot, i believe its around 8/9m

We already have a perfectly good back up in armin hodzic at 19 he's leading scorer in the league at his loan club with 18 goals in 25 appearances n is probs goin t Brazil in the summer.

He is doing well in the Bosnian Premier League, but I don't know how good their league is.. is it around the same as our league 1?

Idea - we keep Suarez and Sturridge for the Premier League matches against the cannon fodder, and league cup games.

That way Borini can stay fresh for the key matches in the PL and next years champions league final.

Lovin' it. 

With the Champions League beckoning we need to strengthen with Champions League quality players (in my opinion). They said "we can't attract those type of players without 'it'"... "they won't come here without 'it' so no point trying", we were told well... now we have it - no excuse not to set our sights that bit higher.

Marco Reus would be my first choice to add that quality, strength and depth. Quick, versatile, ready made for our system and on the rise. 

Gameiro is doing well at Sevilla, was linked to a loan move to us last January. Paco Alcacer got a hat trick tonight for Valencia, had a good reputation a couple of years ago, not sure how good he is now.

Gameiro is doing well at Sevilla, was linked to a loan move to us last January. Paco Alcacer got a hat trick tonight for Valencia, had a good reputation a couple of years ago, not sure how good he is now.

I always thought we should've moved for Gameiro along with Sakho. Costed Sevilla less than 10 mil. He is really underrated. And definitely could have contributed a lot more than that lazy baggard from the plastics

Suspect Aspas will be off, and Borini + 1 other will come in.

Apparently our scouts watched Paco Alcacer score a hat-trick against Basel in the Europa League. Aspas + cash deal mooted.

I wouldn't mind offering Borini back to Roma plus cash and try bringing Mattia Destro.

There, we have our 3rd & 4th strikers

All the news going around about Chelsea trying to bring in Diego Costa why cant we barge in and hijack the bid or something. Is that possible. 

All the news going around about Chelsea trying to bring in Diego Costa why cant we barge in and hijack the bid or something. Is that possible.

That's the thing, I jut can't see us spending £25+ mil on a forward, especially if we are to hold on to Suarez. I know you need to have quality throughout the squad but FSG don't work like that. Great player, of course.

That's the thing, I jut can't see us spending £25+ mil on a forward, especially if we are to hold on to Suarez. I know you need to have quality throughout the squad but FSG don't work like that. Great player, of course.

That's funny because we reportedly had a £24m bid accepted last summer but Diego Costa decided he wanted to spend one more season in La Liga.

That's funny because we reportedly had a £24m bid accepted last summer but Diego Costa decided he wanted to spend one more season in La Liga.

Key word there is 'reportedly'. I'm all for it, I hope we do get him but I think FSG and Rodgers realise that spending £25 mil on an attack that boasts the most goals in the league might not be the 1st thing on the to-do list.

Key word there is 'reportedly'. I'm all for it, I hope we do get him but I think FSG and Rodgers realise that spending £25 mil on an attack that boasts the most goals in the league might not be the 1st thing on the to-do list.

F**k that, exactly what we need to do. That would give us the most elite attack, and depth to keep that elite attack in all competitions. We can still fix the defense if we sign Costa. But I suspect the fee will be much higher now.

If we are really serious about progressing nest season Costa, or someone like him, is the type of player we should be looking at.

With Borini back as a 4th choice there is no real need for Aspas and our forward line would be the best in the league and among the best in Europe.

Why would Costa want to leave Atletico though?

Why would Costa want to leave Atletico though?

For a better club...