Transfer Talk: Liverpool

In my previous posts, I discussed Arsenal and Spurs and so now we will turn our attention to the Anfield outfit that has been on a downward spiral this season. Below are my top five transfer/ownership/managerial suggestions for Liverpool heading into the summer transfer window. Please add yours in the comments section!

5. Find Another Forward: Assuming Fernando Torres is healthy and sticks with the Reds next season, Liverpool still need at least one other capable forward if they are to challenge for fourth in 2010/2011. Currently, David Ngog and Ryan Babel, while decent (one even scored yesterday), just don’t cut it in terms of goals. So who can help the Reds out? Enter David Villa. Yes, yes, I know he’s been linked with about 4,000 clubs over the last few years but it looks more and more likely that he will ply his trade in the Premier League next season. Plus, we already know he and Torres play well with each other for Spain so, for me, this is a no-brainer, regardless of who the manager is next season (more on that in a minute).

4. Sign Gary Cahill: This rumor has really heated up in the last few days, especially since Cahill could figure for England this summer with half of the England back four either hurt, cheating on their wives, or quitting the team. Liverpool seriously need the services of a quality back four and Cahill would easily welcome a chance to Never Walk Alone…

3. Find New Owners: Hicks and Gillett have completely screwed up almost everything they have done since buying Liverpool. Seriously, I am American and I’m smart enough to know that these two guys have no clue what they are doing in English football. Somebody who loves the game and loves Liverpool needs to passionately take charge of this wonderful club. I’m trying to find anyone who disagrees with this so please let me know if you do and I’ll laugh at you when all the Liverpool supporters trash you in the comments section.

2. Find Yet Another Forward: Let’s think about it; you had Peter Crouch, Craig Bellamy, and even Robbie Keane and you let them all slip away. Any one of those gentlemen would be on the field before Ngog right now and, instead, two out of the three are on teams that are higher in the table than Liverpool and the other has scored 13 goals in 15 games (in the SPL, to be fair). For this suggestion, I will simply say that ANY experienced striker will do: Emile Heskey perhaps? Possibly Luca Toni (I know, dreamland). Or, dare I say it, Michael Owen (sorry, I had to). The point is, it doesn’t really matter who this player is; what matters is that they provide depth and leadership even if they only play a few minutes each week.

1. Fire Rafa Benitez: His time has passed. It’s as simple as that. The beginning of the end, in my opinion, was the loss of Xabi Alonso. It wasn’t so much the loss of him but what Rafa did with the money he got from the sale. Maxi Rodriguez and Alberto Aquilani just aren’t filling the void. But that’s water under the bridge at this point and Liverpool need a fresh start with a fresh manager who has fresh ideas. It looks like the Champions League is out of reach this season and the Reds will certainly benefit from a new manager who can get them back where their fans think they belong. Mourinho? Hodgson? You tell me!