How many departures do you expect in the summer? Obviously Gerrard. Lucas is leaving too, right? Glen Johnson is out of contract? Getting rid of at least Borini too, right? Will Balotelli be gone?
I actually don't think Lucas will leave; he's been sensational this season and with other areas of experience dropping out I think Brendan will want to retain the maturity that Lucas brings.
Balotelli and Borini will both leave, I have no doubts about that. Especially with Origi and another attacker coming in.
Johnson is a strange one, his contract is up in the summer and until now nobody expected him to sign a new one. We'd pretty much ignored the entire situation. Then yesterday Brendan says how we want to get him to sign a new one and talk is that he might sign a three year deal.
I don't hate Johnson, I think he's a great squad player to have, in fact. Again with other senior players leaving I think it's wise to keep him around the place, especially if the idea is to get him into a back three and have him carry the ball out.
Not that contracts mean fuck all.
They do and they don't.
They allow you to negotiate a much higher fee, should a bigger club come calling. And in some cases they allow clubs to dig their heels in, ala Suarez when Arsenal came sniffing. But I see your general point in that, should a player sign a five year deal, it does not mean they'll be at the club for five years.
On that basis you're correct.
Ander must not be rated that highly if all he gets is sub appearances in the FA Cup. It's just odd as when he comes on he's usually good.
Some players just don't fit the profile of their manager and perhaps Herrera falls under this category.
If Louieh's arse goes playing four at the back then he's bound to get the jitters with Herrera in the centre of the park, given how lightweight he is and how frequently he's given the ball away in the past.
Also worth noting that coaches and managers see
a lot more of players than we do.
