New signings = New First XI

352? I don't think we'll be using that formation anytime soon.

I reckon we'll go with a 4231

                  Mignolet

Johnson   KOLO    Agger    Enrique

              Gerrard  Lucas

  Suarez      Coutinho     Moses

                Sturridge

I would like to see Henderson start but I think he'll be dropped straight away. Not sure where he can play. What I mean is he can play left, right or down the middle. Hasn't made a position his own yet. We need Suarez back right away for his goals and overall class.

We could play Henderson on the right, and move Suarez to the left but I don't think the Rodgers will do that. I think he likes pace in the team. Moses has that pace from wide areas.

I know Sakho is the new big money signing but he isn't a first choice player for me yet. We haven't conceded a goal, and Kolo Toure has been brilliant. Toure would be first choice, and if either he or Agger makes a mistake, then I'd put Sakho in.

I don't believe the rubbish that two left footers can't play together. That's just rubbish. There's been two right footed centre backs partnerships for decades with not a word of worry. Two left footed centre backs is exactly the same just with the other foot.

I still worry about squad depth. Our central midfield options are Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson and Allen. After the first three, we're forced to play Allen. We really lack 1 or 2 numbers in there.

Everyone was moaning that Arsenal needed a midfielder, well, we've got significantly less numbers in central midfield than they do. Have a worry that it'll hurt us. I mentioned it in the general transfer thread, but I really think we should have got Gareth Barry on loan.

Just hope Gerrard and Lucas stay fit. Henderson can do a job for either of them two though. Henderson isn't strictly a defensive midfielder, but I think he can do a job.

In the wide areas, again, we're rather thin. I think we should have kept Downing tbh. Not class, far from it, but the last few games he played well and would be another option to choose from.

Need for Moses to hit the ground running. Sterling and Ibe to contribute when asked upon and for all our wingers to work their socks off. Big part of our system is our wingers working up and down all day long.

For once, it's nice to know we have a lot of pace on attack. Maybe not the class or world class cutting edge but we need but they can do danger if used correctly. Even Suarez too. I think he'll play wide and drift everywhere causing danger. He has the class we need.

We have plenty of quality in our striking options. Sturridge who is the on form striker in the PL, and Suarez too. If either of them get injuried I would be worried. Aspas looks decent but needs to get a goal to settle him.

Overall we have a good squad. We can make the top 4 but we can't have too many injuries. 

Henderson will probably get dropped but not for lack of quality. I think he will be Stevie's replacement and has gotten more time than expected due to versatility. He may stay in the eleven though as I think BR worries about our defensive ability with Countinho playing the 10

Likely didn't bring in Moses to sit on the bench, and Sakho will be playing unless he's hurt, otherwise we wasted a lot of money on him. Kolo will more than likely be cover, unless Brendan tries to get Agger, Toure and Sakho in the back somehow.

Think Hendo sits, but like many said, not because of his recent form, more because he's competing with Stevie and Lucas now.

Likely didn't bring in Moses to sit on the bench, and Sakho will be playing unless he's hurt, otherwise we wasted a lot of money on him. Kolo will more than likely be cover, unless Brendan tries to get Agger, Toure and Sakho in the back somehow.

Think Hendo sits, but like many said, not because of his recent form, more because he's competing with Stevie and Lucas now.

Really get the feeling that Kolo is gonna be a mentor to Sakho. Similar players, ball playing backs, quick on their feet, strong, tall, and tactically intelligent.

But think our strongest lineup would be:

Mignolet
Johnson Sakho Agger Enrique
Lucas Gerrard
Moses Coutinho Suarez
Sturridge

I think in the 'easier' home games, BR won't mind sacrificing the defensive qualities of Henderson and will opt for Coutinho in the 10, with Suarez and Moses/Aspas on the sides. Against the more difficult opposition who will push on more, I think we'll see Coutinho and Suarez join Sturridge in the 3 with Hendo in the 10.

Why should Henderson be dropped for Suarez or Moses who haven't kicked a ball for us this season.  Henderson is getting better every game and that will only continue if we play him. Personally,  I would use Moses sparingly as he's not even our player. I don't like the idea of making him a genius on the left to hand him back to Chelsea while our own players rot on the bench.  No thanks! ... Suarez is probably to good to be on the bench but until Rodgers knows who can make way for him, then he could be on there. Once a player gets tired or injured I can personally see Suarez on the right or left of Sturridge.  I don't think it will be very sudden. . He will be eased into the side.  Aspas or Moses will be Suarez cover. .. but don't expect Suarez to start the first game his ban finishes. He's not match fit and it would be unfair on the players who are performing.

I've advocated Agger for the role also, Allen is not strong enough defensively to ever play the role in my humble opinion. Toure is another good shout Debs and I'd be all for it.

I put Aggers name forward a couple of seasons ago when Masch went Luke so I'd be happy with him also.  With both of them and now with the extra cover at CB it's an option to use either.  Maybe we didn't need to spend on an actual dm after all.

While i concur with both of your opinions Luke and debs i still think it is a position we should not have to put ourselves in.

There was no reason why we couldn't have brought in a specialist defensive midfielder this window, the only reason i can logically come up with is constraints, of the financial variety that is.

While i agree that Agger could do the job, he is still an unknown quantity in that position. A team that is top of the League has just come out of a transfer window without a back up defensive midfielder, a position that needed addressing.

I think neither Allen nor Henderson would be ideal for that 'Busquets' role. I think Allen would be the better option out of the two but I believe their defensive game is much more based on pressing, anticipating and closing down space (which is highlighted by Allen's stats at Swansea), whereas for a first defensive midfielder I'd expect more positional awareness such as the game intelligence Lucas possesses. I think either Touré or Agger look like they could do a job there if necessary. Not sure about Ilori as I have never seen him play.

Diego, i admire your defence of Joe Allen, i really do but if you think Allen is a better option than Henderson then i'm afraid we are going to have to disagree on this one. Allen has been terrible since he arrived here, his stats at a mediocre Swansea side bear no relevance to his time at Anfield. Allen may be good at chasing down the ball but there's one area you missed out. The most important area, the tackle area. You have to be able to bully people in the tackle area or at least win 50-50 balls and even balls you don't have the right to win, like Lucas does and Hamann and Mascherano did.

Allen will never be that type of player, i wish he could be but he won't. The trouble with Swansea City players is that once they move on from Swansea they become exposed once at other Clubs. You only have to look at Sigurdsson, Allen and Pratley to name a few to see that.

I don't see why we can't play with 2 left-sided CBs, shouldn't be much different from teams playing with 2 right-sided CBs (Ferdinand and Vidic, Puyol and Pique), i don'e see that being a problem at all.

I do it myself some times but I think it's very difficult to have a starting XI. For me, you have a spine in your team and the rest comes depending on how well they are performing, tactics, our opposition etc etc. In terms of our spine, for me it is:

Mignolet,

Agger

Gerrard

Suarez Sturridge


Some may be amazed at leaving the likes of Coutinho or Lucas from the spine but their positions interchange so much depending on external circumstances.

Not many going for Skrtel at CB. After his near faultless display against the mancs, I'd find it very difficult to drop him. Toure injured and the new lads wait for their chance, due to someones lack of form or injury. Thats how it should be.
  I know he's not one of Brendans favourites, but I'd be so pissed off if I was dropped after a performance like that.
 I can only imagine Bendans got one massive head ache at the mo !

Can't believe contributors are putting a player (Sakho) who hasn't even kicked a ball in anger for us yet in front of MS, must be that f***in "youtube" effect?
MS was MOTM by a country mile for me last Sunday, very short memories, FM

Yeah lost confidence in the way he challenges etc the last couple of games. And it looks like hendo is getting better and better at that sort of hard graft...

Holy F**k mate, have you been smoking dog sh*t?, Lucas has been immense this season, he's finally getting back to what we all know he is capable of, except you of course, either that or you need to stop wanking and arrange a appointment at specsavers,
Stevie wonder phoned me yesterday and mentioned how brilliant Lucas has been so far,

lost confidence, F**k me, i think you've lost your marbles !

YNWA

Moses has to work really hard to get a starting spot. Hendo's first choice right now as far as I'm concerned, been terrific so far.

Really difficult to guess the centre backs, kind of depends on Toure's injury.

Suarez for Aspas.

Rest picks itself really.

I think theres a decent chance that we might use 3-5-2 in some games, especially now with Johnson out (high ankle sprain CAN take up to 3-4 months) so think he may use Moses and Enrique as the wide players with a back 3 of Toure/Skrtel, Agger + Sakho. It would also allow Coutinho, Sturridge and Suarez to all play more centrally.

352? I don't think we'll be using that formation anytime soon.

I reckon we'll go with a 4231

                  Mignolet

Johnson   KOLO    Agger    Enrique

              Gerrard  Lucas

  Suarez      Coutinho     Moses

                Sturridge

I would like to see Henderson start but I think he'll be dropped straight away. Not sure where he can play. What I mean is he can play left, right or down the middle. Hasn't made a position his own yet. We need Suarez back right away for his goals and overall class.

We could play Henderson on the right, and move Suarez to the left but I don't think the Rodgers will do that. I think he likes pace in the team. Moses has that pace from wide areas.

I know Sakho is the new big money signing but he isn't a first choice player for me yet. We haven't conceded a goal, and Kolo Toure has been brilliant. Toure would be first choice, and if either he or Agger makes a mistake, then I'd put Sakho in.

I don't believe the rubbish that two left footers can't play together. That's just rubbish. There's been two right footed centre backs partnerships for decades with not a word of worry. Two left footed centre backs is exactly the same just with the other foot.

I still worry about squad depth. Our central midfield options are Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson and Allen. After the first three, we're forced to play Allen. We really lack 1 or 2 numbers in there.

Everyone was moaning that Arsenal needed a midfielder, well, we've got significantly less numbers in central midfield than they do. Have a worry that it'll hurt us. I mentioned it in the general transfer thread, but I really think we should have got Gareth Barry on loan.

Just hope Gerrard and Lucas stay fit. Henderson can do a job for either of them two though. Henderson isn't strictly a defensive midfielder, but I think he can do a job.

In the wide areas, again, we're rather thin. I think we should have kept Downing tbh. Not class, far from it, but the last few games he played well and would be another option to choose from.

Need for Moses to hit the ground running. Sterling and Ibe to contribute when asked upon and for all our wingers to work their socks off. Big part of our system is our wingers working up and down all day long.

For once, it's nice to know we have a lot of pace on attack. Maybe not the class or world class cutting edge but we need but they can do danger if used correctly. Even Suarez too. I think he'll play wide and drift everywhere causing danger. He has the class we need.

We have plenty of quality in our striking options. Sturridge who is the on form striker in the PL, and Suarez too. If either of them get injuried I would be worried. Aspas looks decent but needs to get a goal to settle him.

Overall we have a good squad. We can make the top 4 but we can't have too many injuries. 

Good post Tom,
 cant say i agree tho with your opinion of Downing, he had plenty of chances to show his true worth but came up short too many times, inconsistent is his middle name, i'm glad Brendan moved him on, he would have been restricting the development of the likes of Sterling/Ibe had he remained and would still have been inconsistent,
i agree that we should have brought in cover for Lucas but in saying that there are one or two options that would do a admirable job if asked, ie: Henderson, Ilori, Toure, i do like the look of the team you chose well balanced, strong, quick and very dangerous,

it will be very interesting to see what develops over the coming months, particularly with Agger, for me he has not been at his best and with the introduction of Sakho/Ilori maybe Brendan is thinking we need more reliability at the back, ive said before that bringing in Toure is a master stroke(free) from Brendan and could form a new partnership with Sakho, maybe not the most popular decision admittedly but if it helps strenghten the back four and makes us more solid all round who are we to argue,

i'm liking what i see now at the club, before we looked weak and vulnerable, but now with the new lads coming in and with Suarez yet to make his bow we suddenly look a threat to anyone,
we have had a perfect start to the season, a start that breeds confidence, a confidence that brings that winning mentality, a vital ingredient for any team seeking success,
i think we ARE the dark horses this season, no one is expecting us to challenge the so called top four or five, most will be looking at Spuds having spent all or most of the money from Monkey boy,
the Arse are kidding themselves if the think that signing Ozil wiil be their saving grace, Scum will finish below us trust me, signing Fallieni just underlines for me that Gollum is turning the mancs into Everton,

that leaves Citeh & Chavs who lets face it should be favourites anyway, i dont think i'm getting carried away here, i honestly feel that we will have a major say in how the league ends up,
we will have a slump somewhere along the road, we always do, but this time it's different, we have the players and the quality now to recover and with the start we have made it is very encouraging and very exciting,

i cant wait for our next victims, Swans away, scum battered them 1st day but they will be a different animal when we come calling, right now i'd take a draw, but something tells me we will continue our winning streak, f***in bring it on,

YNWA

We have a really nice balance to team plus cover in all positions, INCLUDING DM, becuase all our CB's are extremely versatile, with the possibel exeption of Skyrtel. I could certainly imagine Agger or Toure filling in at DM and by the sounds of it Ilori would be perfect in that position.
Whoeevr it was who was questioning whether or not Suarez should be played must be loco, he is one of the best players in the world, scares defences sh1tless, of course he has to be played, assuming he plays to the same level as last season. the player I want to see gradually phased out over this season and next is Stevie G and i think Henderson can fill this position to an adequate degree.

Sakho surley is going to be a starter I reckon we will loan Skrtel out to a club with an option to buy unless St Petersberg come in and buy him outright. he could go to Napoli with an agreed fee for jan already in place if we waiver the loan fee with the deal to have that they must conclude the perminant transfer in Jan.

dont think we would pay £15 mil for someone who played 26 times last season and left his boyhood club to get more game time. Skrtel is a great CB IMO but think them two deals have sealed his fait.

might play 3 CB at Home and then revert back to a back 4 at away games that way we can rotate and get Kolo games

the player I want to see gradually phased out over this season and next is Stevie G and i think Henderson can fill this position to an adequate degree.

Do you happen to be an avid user of a crack pipe by any chance?.

I have never heard such bollocks, phase him out?, phase F***ing Gerrard out!. You are obviously a Manc.

Gerrard just so happens to be the most intelligent and best all round player we have at this Club. He has another 3 Seasons left in him yet, i'd say probably a few more again.

I have read some sh*te on here over the last 4 years or so but that tops the F***ing lot.

This thing about suarez playing "out wide" is a bit of a red herring, simply because the movement of the front 3 means they are constantly interchanging.
During any match, suarez (and sturridge) will be wide left, wide right and central. It doesn't matter how sky or whoever has them lining up on the teamsheet graphic, that movement is integral to how BR wants us to play, and it will continue to happen that way.
The media trying to stir up another shitstorm is all it is: the next headline will be "Suarez unhappy at new wide role" and then they'll just escalate it from there.

[quote author=heimdall link=topic=45279.msg1517401#msg1517401 date=137829387
  the player I want to see gradually phased out over this season and next is Stevie G and i think Henderson can fill this position to an adequate degree.
[/quote]
I have read this over and over again and I still cannot believe someone would post this on here.

Absolutely shocking people saying Gerrard needs to leave the team, not only is he a key member of the side and doing a great job in his deeper role, it's Steven Gerrard for F**k sake. To say that about the captain of our club after everything he's done is F***ing terrible support. Besides the fact that IMO he's still the best midfielder in England and I genuinely wouldn't swap him for any player.

the player I want to see gradually phased out over this season and next is Stevie G and i think Henderson can fill this position to an adequate degree.

Do you happen to be an avid user of a crack pipe by any chance?.

I have never heard such bollocks, phase him out?, phase F***ing Gerrard out!. You are obviously a Manc.

Gerrard just so happens to be the most intelligent and best all round player we have at this Club. He has another 3 Seasons left in him yet, i'd say probably a few more again.

I have read some sh*te on here over the last 4 years or so but that tops the F***ing lot.

I've read some odd posts on here, but phasing Gerrard out is surely right up there with the strangest.

I'm pretty sure Gerrard himself will know when he's no longer able to play as many games, and will probably become more involved in the coaching side of things.