The way I see this situation is simple:
We have been handed the shittiest of situations in that we have lost a player with footballing ability only rivalled by Ronaldo and Messi (Yes I believe Suarez is a better player than Bale). In that respect, unless we signed Ronaldo or Messi, we were never going to be able to replace Suarez like-for-like.
Suarez is a wonderful footballer, aided by his ability to play anywhere across the front line effectively, something which only a handful of player can do, so again, replacing that trait was also going to be very difficult. Suarez is the type of player, that no matter where he is on the pitch, when he was on the ball, we expected things to happen, we slid to the edge of our seats in anticipation. We were absolutely mesmerized by what he could do with the ball at his feet (and rightly so).
When it comes to replacing such a talent, there are obviously going to be doubts (no way can we replace him like-for-like, etc) and some of the names being banded about: Higuain, Cavani, Falcao, Bony etc, strike me more as players suited more to Sturridge's position, at the tip if attack, as opposed to the deeper lying/wider forward that Suarez was utilised as. In that respect, again, my point of a like-for-like replacement wouldn't be covered by any of these players IMHO. However, I am not in any way saying we should not sign them for that reason alone.
If we were to replace Suarez, the pool of players who could be brought in is small. Unless we signed a Reus, or a Tevez, there are just far too many qualities and sides to Suarez's game that it would be difficult and probably unrealistic to assume we could bring in a direct replacement.
I mentioned in another thread that Markovic is still young, has fantastic raw talent and looks to be developing into a great player. Would it be unrealistic to suggest he could be moulded into a player capable of playing anywhere across the front 3? I personally believe he could. But still, we need another striker, but the Markovic option would allow us to widen our options.
It's no secret we exceeded all expectation in the league last season and Suarez played a huge part in that. Now this season, with an increased number of games, and without Suarez, expectation has to be rational. I'm not saying we're not going to be anywhere near challenging for the league this season, as I believe we will, but I am merely stating that this season will be a different situation to last.
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