I think Kenny is right to aim for the league title, whilst we aren't one of the front runners in bookie windows and such, if things come together then there's no doubt in my mind we can get close. Despite the other teams adding some real quality players, i feel we've done the same, and i think we've added in a way that we now have loads of variety to choose from. One thing i will say, and it may not be wise, but if Suarez has a good season, then we're up there when the fat lady sings. The boy is that good.
On the tactics/first 11. I think an actual starting 11 will be as close to unimportant as you can get. I think Carroll will be used sparingly and you'll see Suarez playing as a false number 9 a lot of the time, whether that's the right thing to do with your 35 million pound striker i don't know, only time does i suppose. Carroll's showing against Los Che was promising though, he looked as hungry to chase down and unsettle the centre halfs as he ever has in a red shirt. I think Kenny has signed Henderson as a Barton type player, knowing how much big Andy profited from Barton's crosses. I would say both players are that halfway house between right winger and centre midfielder, namely an inside right type player, someone who's adept at tucking into those small squares and shaping crosses from a narrower position. Henderson layed on quite a few of those for Sunderland if memory serves, the one against Wigan in Gyan's debut match comes to mind. On the other side, i think Downing can do both roles, though it will come down to when/if we sign a left back. If we do manage to sign Enrique as i think we will, then i think you'll see the full backs pushed on ahead of the wide players a lot, maybe even used as decoys so that the wide players can get that type of cross in from deep.
My first choice 11 would be this: Reina; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique, Adam, Lucas, Gerrard, Downing, Suarez, Carroll.
But i think we'll see a situation whereby Henderson gets a good 25+ games even though he may not be an automatic starter, Shelvey, Aqua (If he stays), Kelly, Downing, Maxi, Meireles are all on the same boat i reckon. Rotation and options are gonna be the name of the game.
On the matter of playing home games against the 'park the bus teams', i don't think it'll be as big a problem as it has been in the past. When we were going through Gerrard and Torres for those few years, our game was all based on space in behind and large doses of counter attacking football, now with big Andy and wee Luis, there's... yep you guessed it, more variety. As Roy pointed out, big Andy's hold up play is improving greatly and he'll be a huge weapon to have if teams turn up with a thick neck and a stubborn chin. Despite it sounding simple, the Downing-Carroll link will give us loads more scope in those kind of games. Suarez is really great at picking up second balls as well, and er... so is Adam and Stevie G.
I think the idea for away games should be the same as any other, to play a varied game with lots of options from the bench. The Fulham result/performance last year was great, but it's unrealistic to expect the same kind of outlook/outcome in every away game, so i'm a tad reluctant to prescribing to one way of playing. I know i keep saying it, but i really believe our strength is our ability to adapt, whether that be formations, style, tempo, pressing, shape. I think we saw enough of Kenny last year to understand that he's one of the most adaptable managers in the league. We saw 3-5-1-1 and variants of it, we saw 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 as well as 4-2-3-1 on occasions. The way we played against Fulham was brilliant, but i guarantee there will be games where we'll need Carroll up there battling for points like goldust. So yeah, a touch deeper and maybe more compact, but the idea should remain the same.
Against the big teams? We've done ok in recent years at that haven't we really? Plus, let other teams worry about big teams, cause we're one of 'em.
What shape will Kenny go for? I hope that isn't really an important question, *formation shormation*. Something like that anyway.