Who should have bought who? Part 3

Wigan: Arne Friedrich

taken from:

msn.foxsports.com

Wigan's back three of Ivan Ramis, Gary Caldwell and Maynor Figueroa star performer is Figueroa and that says a lot about the other two. Figueroa's performances are okay(okay is not good) but the other two players are clumsy and often commit unnecessary fouls and are unable to regain possession when it seemed easy to dispossess the opposing players. Despite Caldwell's captaincy, he is often unable to provide the leadership necessary and Wigan's back-line often looked in shambles when he played. Arne Friedrich would have been a good acquisition for the team. An ex-international and at 33 years old, he has the required experience for Wigan's high back-line and would have been able to help them organize them offside trap which often fails. Despite his seemingly old age, pace does not seem to be a problem for him even as he continues playing in the MLS. His tackling will be his main asset though and he might be the star player that keeps Wigan up this season if he is bought in January.


Southampton: Stuart Holden

taken from:

live4liverpool.com

If I had been writing this last week, a move for free agent Craig Gordon would surely have been my top choice for the player they should have moved for. Their goalkeeper, Kelvin Davies has put in truly atrocious performances, showing ability that will surely keep Southampton in the relegation zone for most of the season. They have since secured the services of former Fiorentina goalie Artur Boruc, a good and season saving choice in my opinion. That might not be enough though. Southampton looks to be lacking the edge in midfield battles in all their matches and neither Schneiderlin nor Davis seems to be able to effectively control the game. Stuart Holden would have been the buy to ensure that Southampton needs to boss the midfield. Before he got injured, he put in superb after superb performance in the center of the park for Bolton and his injury a main reason why they got relegated. His passing is good and he puts in a great tackle too. His contact is expiring soon too and he might not come too expensive. Many might argue that his injury makes him a risky buy in the last transfer window but Southampton should have secured his services as there might be many more potential buyers in the January window when he comes back and continues his good performances for Bolton in the near future.


Norwich City: Lewis Holtby

taken from:

spox.com

Scoring 2 goals in 5 games is definitely not good for Norwich's hopes of finishing above the top 3, especially since they lack a solid defense. Grant Holt's inability to find the net this season is the main reason as Norwich relied heavily on him throughout last season. The big target man needs someone to shoulder the responsibility and also supply the ammunition for him. The rising German starlet would have been able to fulfill both those duties. While Norwich's current players do the regular and simple, Holtby would have been able to provide the unexpected and execute the outrageous. He is also a hardworking player and can be expected to help out in the defensive duties for Norwich. Holtby has expressed his openness to a move to the Premier League, even though Norwich might be considered  step-down from Schalke 04. Norwich would have to dig deep into their transfer funds and sell a few players to be able to afford this new one, but it would have been worth it considering how important he would have been to Norwich's ability to stay up.



Liverpool: Fernando Llorente

taken from: www1.skysports.com

Liverpool has showed throughout this and last season their inability to find the net, and contrary to Brendan Rodgers's beliefs, is not due to a lack of trying as Liverpool has been shooting more than any other team in the league. Altetico's disgruntled hitman, Llorente will definitely be able to convert the chances into goals. A scorer of 24 goals in 48 games last season, his selection into the Spain squads has definitely been merited. His purchase would have allowed Suarez to move to the left flank, giving Suarez the opportunity to cut in and shoot or even allow them to convert to a 4-4-2, combining the power and finishing ability of Llorente and Suarez's pace and trickery. Liverpool should have moved for the striker as soon as rumours of him refusing to sign a new contract surfaced and the January window might come a bit too late to save Liverpool's wretched season.



Queens Park Rangers: Dmitri Kombarov

taken from: en.rsport.ru

Park Ji-Sung definitely was a great player in his prime but at 31, he is not capable of doing the role of a left winger well. His main asset has been that of his energy and stamina but with his duty of a winger at QPR, those abilities are not really utilised. He often receives the ball in front of the defense instead of behind them and over their heads and is expected to use trickery and pace to get past them, not exactly his strong suits. In that aspect, Kombarov would have been a great addition. I first noticed him playing for Russia, where he terrorized the opposition playing as a left wing-back, showing off his exceptional pace. For his club, he normally plays in a more advanced role and that would probably be where QPR would have deployed him if they had bought him. Moreover, he would have made a good break from Hughes's policy of purchasing established players who are past their prime and aid in driving the general age of the squad down.


Reading: Diego Alves

taken from:

zimbio.com

Brian McDermott's purchase of Stuart Taylor from Manchester City suggested that he understood that the team badly needed to bolster their goalkeeping standards as neither Adam Federici nor Alex McCarthy have the quality to cut it in the Premier League, especially Federici who has already made two high profile errors. Taylor though, has not played regularly for many seasons and will also be an unreliable replacement. A better replacement would have been Diego Alves from Valencia, who might be available due to the the back-up Guaita finally showing his talent. Diego Alves is a reliable option and is capable of proving the occasional exceptional save, which will be useful for any team. What is more important for Reading though is his ability to organize the defense and consistently make routine stops, which would have helped Reading to stave off relegation. Financially paramount is also that Diego Alves is only 27 and will have a sell-on value if he continues his performances as goalkeepers have a longer career life span.

Of course, it is easy to say all these after the season has started. Managers have it much worse, having to evaluate their options before such competitive matches. Well, here are my views and comments are greatly welcome.