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Our best squad since the last league win?

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Modo

Modo ★

A contentious scando
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IMO the 2008-09 team.

Keepers:
Pepe
Cavalieri

Fullbacks:
Aurelio
Dossena
Arbeloa
Insua
Degen
Kelly

Center halves:
Hyypiä
Agger
Skrtel
Carra

Midfielders:
Alonso
Gerrard
Lucas
Mascherano

Wingers/Attackers:
Riera
Benayoun
Pennant
Babel

Strikers:
Kuyt
Torres
Ngog
Keane for half a season

That team plus one quality winger and a top non-injury prone fullback would have been enough to win the league.

If Torres and Gerrard managed to stay fit for the entire season we would have won it anyway.
 
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In the sense that it was one of the times when we came closest to winning the league then it suggests it must have been a good squad.

However, on paper that squad hardly looks good does it?

Degen and Kelly didn't play a league match between them, Pennant left around Christmas I think, and you missed out Dossena (wishful thinking, I understand that) and Babel.

Take out a couple of key players and it suddenly looks a little weak.

The obvious problem is though that it is hard to come back with another squad that is much better, because they all have shit elements. You could make decent cases for the 2014 squad, 2001 squad and 1996 squad too but those were similarly weak in some areas too.
 
Richey said:
In the sense that it was one of the times when we came closest to winning the league then it suggests it must have been a good squad.

However, on paper that squad hardly looks good does it?

Degen and Kelly didn't play a league match between them, Pennant left around Christmas I think, and you missed out Dossena (wishful thinking, I understand that) and Babel.

Take out a couple of key players and it suddenly looks a little weak.

The obvious problem is though that it is hard to come back with another squad that is much better, because they all have shit elements. You could make decent cases for the 2014 squad, 2001 squad and 1996 squad too but those were similarly weak in some areas too.
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Added babel and dossena.
 
Mors said:
It's a disgrace that team didn't win the league
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We had that spine for two seasons. Imagine if Rafa and Xabi didn't have a falling out and we kept the same spine for two more seasons and added to it.
 
Reliable goalkeeper, great CBs, a wonderful midfield and a genuine top quality DM, Gerrard, and an actual proper striker who could score goals

Yes, not far off a brilliant side, just lacked pace and quality out wide, given that Riera, Babel, Benayoun and co were all fucking shit, and more options at fullback

How many of our current team would get in that XI?

Mane, Coutinho, maybe Clyne. That's it.
 
Benayoun wasn't shit. Not amazing or anything, but he was a good squad player.
 
Scored a few important goals. Particularly the winner away at Fulham.
 
Aurelio was quality as long as he was fit, which was around 2 games every season.
 
It really is criminal that we failed so miserably to buy well for the wide areas in that era. We'd have won a couple of titles otherwise.
 
I actually think the squad in the treble year was vastly superior

GK
Westerveld
Arphexad
Friedel

Fullbacks

Ziege
Babbel
Heggem
Vignal
Wright
Traore
Song

Center backs

Hyppia
Henchoz
Carragher
Kippe
Staunton

Centre Midfielders

Gerrard
McAllister
Redknapp
Hamann
Biscan

Wingers/Attacking Mids

Murphy
Berger
Smicer
Barmby
Diomede
Partridge
Navarro

Strikers
Owen
Fowler
Heskey
Litmanen
Camara


That side should have gone onto to dominate in the league the following year but fell apart in November
 
Dreambeliever said:
I actually think the squad in the treble year was vastly superior

GK
Westerveld
Arphexad
Friedel

Fullbacks

Ziege
Babbel
Heggem
Vignal
Wright
Traore
Song

Center backs

Hyppia
Henchoz
Carragher
Kippe
Staunton

Centre Midfielders

Gerrard
McAllister
Redknapp
Hamann
Biscan

Wingers/Attacking Mids

Murphy
Berger
Smicer
Barmby
Diomede
Partridge
Navarro

Strikers
Owen
Fowler
Heskey
Litmanen
Camara


That side should have gone onto to dominate in the league the following year but fell apart in November
Click to expand...
Probably because they weren't vastly superior.
 
Modo said:
IMO the 2008-09 team.

Keepers:
Pepe
Cavalieri

Fullbacks:
Aurelio
Dossena
Arbeloa
Insua
Degen
Kelly

Center halves:
Hyypiä
Agger
Skrtel
Carra

Midfielders:
Alonso
Gerrard
Lucas
Mascherano

Wingers/Attackers:
Riera
Benayoun
Pennant
Babel

Strikers:
Kuyt
Torres
Ngog
Keane for half a season

That team plus one quality winger and a top non-injury prone fullback would have been enough to win the league.

If Torres and Gerrard managed to stay fit for the entire season we would have won it anyway.
Click to expand...

I still feel that we would have won the league that year if we hadnt fucked off Keane in January.
He could have contributed with the few goals needed to get us over the line.

Selling him and not replacing him was an awful move.
 
Over the long haul Houllier's didn't last, so it's quality wasn't perfect, as shown by how quickly it fell apart (and it wasn't through sales, which we could argue happened to Rafa's team).

The 01-02 team played in a completely different era of competition, compared to what it was like 7-8 years later too. By then there was a huge influx of money and Chelsea were another force to add to the equation and City were already starting to throw money around.

It certainly wasn't "vastly superior", they both finished 2nd and fell apart pretty quickly. Rafa's side was as capable of winning trophies. The year Houllier's side came 2nd, they didn't win anything either - so both sides showed they only really had the depth to concentrate on either the league or the cups.
 
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