Ever since Steve Finnan left LFC, right back has become one of our weaker areas. Arbeloa has been a very good (not great) right back for us, and Degen is injured more often than not. Although Carragher can do a job when asked, much like Arbeloa he lacks a certain attacking nous.
By now you've probably all heard that Portsmouth have accepted LFC's reputed £17m bid for Glen Johnson (plus he wants to join us). It's a lot of money for a right back, but Johnson could prove to be the kind of attacking right back we need to help break stubborn teams down.
Whether the versatile Arbeloa leaves LFC remains to be seen, but the signing of Johnson should strengthen one of the few weak areas left in our squad.
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18 comments:
There's no way Arbeloa is going to hang around and be a squad player if/when Johnson signs. Real Madrid are in the hunt for him and that will be far more attractive to him. 17m is a shitload of cash but the sale of Arbeloa, Dossena and the money owed for Crouchie will cover it.
Benitez should still be able to afford another big signing. Hope something gets announced in the coming weeks.
Johnson is a much better attacker than Finnan but he is also a much weaker defender cos he crumbles under pressure. He is vastly overpriced and overrated but thats typical for English players.
There has been a persistent rumour for a while now that Arbeloa wants to move back to Spain. If or when we sign Johnson that will put and end to his short but good Liverpool career. I have always liked Arbeloa but I can understand him wanting to move on as he seems to have nailed down a place in Spain's squad now Real would be a good move for him. Also it means that Darby will not be pushed even further down th epecking order as I still have hopes for him.
@Marcus - yeah that sounds about right. Have no idea who the other big signing will be though (was hoping Silva until their recent statement saying no)
@Jonski - Darby must be crapping himself at the prospect of trying to displace Johnson. I still think a season long loan move would be best for his development.
Seems like a lot of cash for a position we weren't desperate in. Granted Arbeloa is not top class, but he wasn't bad either. Although he will never make the 1st team at Real Madrid ahead of Sergio Ramos so don't see why he would want to move there.
We perhaps should have bought David Silva first - who we need much more - and then seen how much we had left for Johnson.
Saviola or Owen would be a good sub striker for a small fee. We need someone a lot better than Kuyt or Ngog up front if Torres is injured or needs a rest.
After carra's spat with arbeloa on the pitch, Arbeloa, I believe was dropped for our game against tottenham. I'm reaching here but I recall Rafa telling rafa in his biography to start some fisticuffs with players not pulling their weight. I watched the Game where Carra flipped and I thought it was unjustified. Was he possibly carrying out orders to unsettle our right back...who knows...by the looks of what ive just written here...NOT ME!
@ Anonymous 16 June 2009 20:31
"I'm reaching here but I recall Rafa telling rafa in his biography to start some fisticuffs with players not pulling their weight."
I know Rafa can seem a bit crazy at times, but do you really think he said this to himself?
18 million is a big fee alright. Arbeloa has been a good player (in fact very good considering he only cost £2.6 million) but Rafa's instinct that we need more attacking penetration from right back is correct. Rafa's system of two holding midfield players gives the full backs a fair bit of freedom to get forward and its crucial that they do this effectively or we lose width in attack. Getting forward with conviction is definitely more Johnson's natural game than Arbeloa's. Like Jonski I hope Darby will be used as Johnson's back up if Arbeloa is sold as I rate Darby highly.
One things for sure . . carra wont want to have a go at this right back . . coz johnson will probably eat him lol
out of our few weak spots... id much rather have the right or left wing sorted out... especially right wing... i just dont see what some people see in kuyt... i mean his not a bad player... and seems like a top bloke... but as a footballer his nowhere near the quality we need... u just laugh sometimes when watching a game and seeing how torres makes kuyt look like a complete amateur...
@suley - there's still plenty of time for Rafa to sort out a winger for us ;-)
I'm not excited abt Johnson coming to Anfield, good attacking player but like what the guy said above, fares not as well defensively, plus he's grossly overpriced & I would have liked to see Silva 1st before anyone else....
Transfer prices are insane this days....I just hope Masch & Alonso stays put *fingers crossed*
hey off topic... but i found this an interesting read just in case anyone wants to see... its rafa's transfers in full including prices...
shows how far we've come under him... amazing really
ooops sorry heres the link
http://forums.liverpoolfc.tv/showthread.php?t=111579
Well aparently Chelsea have agreed terms with Johnson as well, and he might end up there. I remember Rafa saying that we must be a lot quicker in the transfer market, and that he thought we had missed previous targets due to Parry being too slow and dumb to act.
Well Rafa, so far you have done no better than Rick Parry. I seriously can not believe that we have not signed anyone yet. Either there is no money available or Rafa is away enjoying his holidays.
I am not so sure if it a good thing to sign Johnson at such a high price, but at least it would show that the club is trying to be proactive.For fuck sake why not at least sign Owen for FREE, and pay him peanuts. What is the harm in at least giving it a try.
We are so close to winning the league, all we need is a couple more decent signings in postions that we are weak in.
@Val - yeah they'll stay ;-)
@suley - cheers, that's pretty cool
@Scott D - was a little surprised when i heard they agreed terms with Chelsea but Portsmouth have said the final decision is up to the player. Apparently he has said he wants to join LFC, now we'll get to see how serious he is.... either way it should work out for the best...
we need depth full stop,a winger and striker and wing back.
I don't get it, we have arbeloa, and he proved last season that he is world class. why do we now buy another right-back for 20 milion... you could spend that money in so much better ways....
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