It’s been kind of hard to think of something to write for today’s post. Come to think of it, it’s been really hard to write anything, full stop. That’s because of the can of worms Adam opened up over the Gerrard Lampard debate are crawling (metaphorically) over my key board.
Which got me thinking. Clearly the one player from their rivals that Chelsea would love to have (and would pay more for and give higher wages than Lampard to) is Steven George Gerrard. They tried to buy him in both 2004 and 2005 – even getting him to announce, and then renege on, he would be leaving Liverpool.
So who is the one player Liverpool would want from our rivals? And which one of our players do our rivals covet? Here’s my list – comments, conversation and debate are all welcome.
For the purposes of brevity, I’m counting our rivals as Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton and Manchester Utd. I’m putting them in alphabetical order just so people don’t the wrong idea I’m prioritizing one over the other.
Who we want – The Gunners have an embarrassment of riches in midfield, with Fabregas, Rosicky and the underrated Hleb alongside Gilberto (o-o-oh) Silva and Flamini. The problem is; so do we. I may take Fabregas, but would his potential get him into the best central midfield in the world (see video for the requisite chant)?
No, what we need right now is a central defender and they have one of the outstanding defenders in the Premiership, Kolo Toure. I’d take the big Ivorian over the young Spaniard.
Who they want – For a team nicknamed the Gunners, Arsenal are woefully short on fire-power up front. They wouldn’t mess about; they’d do just about anything to have Torres playing at Ashburton Grove.
Who we want – like I said, we need defenders but Terry and Carra are too similar to play together and while Carvalho is a good player, he would give me conniptions if he had to partner Sami at the back. Even though he’s unproven in the Premier League, I’d probably take Alex off their hands. The only other guys I was thinking about were Drogba or Essien. Drogba is an obvious no because the fans hate him and I’m not convinced Essien is that much of an upgrade over Mascherano or Alonso. Plus, he’d be wasted at centre back…
Who they want – Gerrard and Torres as a reliable partner for Drogba. But probably still Gerrard. Definitely Gerrard to play alongside Essien and Mikel.
Who we want – I actually had to check the Everton squad for this one. Arteta is a great player and he’d fit into the squad nicely – not sure he’d get a game though. Cahill is just a nasty piece of work and while Joleon Lescott is looking good this season, I think he’s a season away from being seriously considered so I’d take Yobo. He’s an absolute brute at the back and, from what I’ve seen, more skillful than I first realized.
Who they want – let’s face it, who wouldn’t they want. Our squad is miles ahead of theirs from a physical and technical perspective. Let’s say they’d want our best player and have done with it. They’d take Gerrard. Mind you, they need a creative left winger…
Who we want – Defender, defender, defender. No way I could stomach having Rio Ferdinand at the club but Nemanja Vidic has impressed me recently. I don’t think there’s anyone else…
Who they want – Fergie has long and openly coveted both Torres and Gerrard but after spanking a large wedge of cash on Owen "Headless Chicken" Hargreaves and Michael "Can only pass sideways" Carrick, I think he’d rather have Torres.
I’m interested to hear what you guys think – who would you like to have from our rivals and if you support a rival club, who would you take from our squad?