I know the decade technically isn’t over for another year. Don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, and for our purposes here, the decade is from 2000-2009.
And since we had such fun with the ‘compare the squads’ vote a few weeks back, I thought another poll or nine would be entertaining. Plus, it’s easy content! Win-win!
Over the next five or six weeks, I thought we’d decide the Liverpool team of the decade. On Mondays and Thursdays, I’ll post a new position, and we’ll choose the best player to feature for the club this decade. Depending on the formation, we’ll pick one or two players per position, from a selection of four to ten choices. With me so far?
As hinted at above, we’ll need to settle on a formation first. What’s the use in picking players if we don’t decide how they’ll be deployed? To mix my sports metaphors, if we’re playing fantasy football, we might as well go the whole nine yards.
4-4-2’s the easiest, but it means Gerrard’s a central midfielder, to be paired with one of Alonso, Hamann, Mascherano, Murphy, etc. 4-2-3-1 only needs one striker, and it’d probably be Torres. I added 3-5-2 to fill out the poll – really, this should be a choice between 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1, and I don’t want to make an executive decision – but it opens up a plethora of questions. Liverpool’s flanks have been dubious throughout the decade; having wingbacks might open up possibilities for better players. And Benitez has used 3-4-3 a couple of times (at Portsmouth last year and at Sunderland this).
So, which would you want to see? And on Monday, we’ll start picking the players, beginning with goalkeeper.
9 comments :
Went automatically 4-4-2, then sat down and tried to figure out who'd be on it and realized 4-2-3-1 is the only feasible way to do it. So I'd change that vote, if I could.
Good god we ran a lot of gash out there this decade.
Duly noted, drew. If it's close enough to swing the vote, I'll switch your vote.
Incidentally, I came to the opposite conclusion looking through the players over the decade. As much as I love some of the central midfielders (Alonso, Hamann, Murphy, McAllister, Masch), I think the strikers are better. Torres, Owen, Crouch, Anelka (one season but still), Bellamy, and the tail end of Fowler Part I. That's gonna be a tough vote if I'm picking two strikers.
I may just throw a curveball and list Gerrard as available for the right wing if 4-4-2 wins.
Anywhere we can find a list of LFC players throughout the decade listed by year on the web? I am trying to think of players and I know I am forgetting some. I just need a list with all my options hahaha
Squads 2000 through 2009
2000/1
2001/2
2002/3
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
2008/9
Oh wow, thanks Mike!
Beat me to it, Mike. Thanks
Wikipedia's probably trustworthy in this case, but the lists I'll use for these debates (and the stats that'll go with each player) came from lfchistory.net. Looking them up is how I remembered to include Patrik Berger in the LW slot and Jari Litmanen as a striker (nearly a massive oversight, although he has no chance to make it in the 4-2-3-1).
Incidentally, I also use that site for a lot of info for the infographics I create, and should probably credit them more. An incredible resource.
BTW, sorry to play coy, but I figured it'd be more fun to introduce the lists position-by-position rather than all at once in the introduction.
Poor Jari. :(
Being forgotten for selection was pretty much his entire Liverpool career.
Post a Comment