1.) 02 Jun 2015
02 Jun 2015 16:17:09
the way i see it is that Sterling is gone, so

Lucas-Allen
Henderson-Emre
Milner-Brannagan
Coutinho-Markovic
Lallana-Ibe-Ojo
Sturridge-Ings-Origi

a new manager who aqtually knows how to rotate a squad would have no problems giving Ibe and Markovic the gametime they need to develop.

2.) 02 Jun 2015
02 Jun 2015 16:21:32
I am not against the arrival of Milner , he must have some qualities even if they are hard to spot .

But the set up you propose has , as usual , no genuine Defensive Midfielder , it is nearly five years since we fielded a DM and in that time we have won nothing except the League Cup in a drawn game against a second tier club.

Yes,I do appreciate Lucas, a converted attacking midfielder who tries his best each game.

In case anyone was wondering when we last selected a DM , it was in the first match of the 2010/11 season, his name was Mascherano.

Without a DM we will continue to concede 50 goals a season, win nothing, and our central defenders will continue to resemble scared rabbitts.

3.) 02 Jun 2015
02 Jun 2015 16:38:44
Ed001 the names you mention will all get their fair share of game time, I have no doubt about that and I rate all 3! Each game will bring about differing line ups, due to injuries, suspensions, who we are playing etc. We need a good squad and everyone will be needed throughout the 50+ games we could potentially end up playing.

I was just thinking of a formation that could fit a 3 man central midfield and still have Coutinho in his best position. Give the magician the movement of Walcott & Sturridge, for arguments sake, in front of him and he would be on 20+ assists next season. As well as the insurance of 3 very combative CM's behind him.

Milner, Can & Henderson combined would be more than a match for many midfields in the league, and could be crucial to any success next season.

4.) 02 Jun 2015
02 Jun 2015 16:39:59
To be fair, it's hard to suit that many players. Too much rotation, as we've seen this season, can be problematic.

5.) 02 Jun 2015
02 Jun 2015 17:15:12
I'd also add to what Chris is saying on the game time - if they play well enough they should get enough game time, if they play like this season then they most likely wouldn't but at least we'd have people playing better than them on the pitch this season.

I'd look at Wenger's problem when Wilshere got fit, and Walcott to a lesser degree. Wilshere looked very sharp in his cameo appearances and yet he could not get back into the team because their other midfielders were doing so well. I wouldn't think Wilshere would consider himself backup due to this. Nice problem for Wenger rather than the sorts of issues we normally deal with.