29 Jan 2013

Transfer Fail: €5m star admits he 'never came close' to signing for LFC. Loss...?

A couple of weeks ago, Norwegian centre-back Veggard Forren rejected a trial with Liverpool, and elected to join newly-promoted Southampton, a team the 24-year old recently described as a 'big club'. With the Reds defenders embarrassingly exposed yet in the weekend FA Cup defeat to Oldham, it's clear that Liverpool need some new blood in central defence, and Forren may have been a decent option, but in an interview today, he reiterated that he never really considered a move to Anfield.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his probable debut tomorrow against Manchester United, Forren - who cost the Saints €5m - confirmed:

“I never came close to joining Liverpool.

“Southampton felt right for me. There was a lot of interest from the Premier League but after coming here and speaking with the chairman I really felt wanted.

“Ole [Gunnar Solksjaer] was very supportive of the move and I spoke with him a lot before coming here. He really wanted me to take this opportunity.”


There seems to be a common denominator emerging when it comes to failed LFC transfers: collapse as a result of failing to make players feel wanted. In September 2012, Clint Dempsey revealed that Spurs really pushed to sign him, which is why he ultimately ended up a White Hart Lane.

The same thing seems to have happened here: LFC offered a trial (which in and of itself means that the club isn't sure about a player), but Southampton came in and made the player feel wanted, and ended up signing him.

I've never been convinced about the Daniel Agger-Martin Skrtel partnership, and I've argued this point many times in the past. Like Glen Johnson, Skrtel is a defensive accident waiting to happen - he makes far too many mistakes, most of which are usually down to a loss of concentration, and despite his tough demeanour, he is often pushed off the ball too easily.

After the Oldham debacle, most fans seem to have directed their ire at Sebastian Coates, but what about Skrtel, who contributed nothing in the way of leadership and defensive organisation. As the senior defender on the day, it was Skrtel's job to organise the back-four, and lead by example, but he failed miserably, which is probably why Jamie Carragher is back in the first-team picture.

Judging my Carra's start against Norwich, and his omission from the Oldham game, it seems like the tables have turned. Ordinarily, it would've been Skrtel starting against Norwich, and Carra in for Oldham, but Rodgers may just losing faith in the Slovakian, and I fully expect Carra to start against Arsenal tomorrow.

If that's how it turns out, then great. I have no problem with Carra being in the team, and his alleged decline in form is (arguably) exaggerated. Yes, he may not be as quick as he used to be, but his organisational ability and fighting spirit are second to none, and those qualities are severely lacking in the club's defence right now.

Jaimie Kanwar

NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


100 comments:

  1. when city and co where supposedly offering big money for agger and skirts i was all for selling the pair .....skirtle really bottles it against big forwards carroll wore him like a cheap suit when newcastle played liverpool a few seasons ago...agger is a cardboard tank....he could get injured passing wind let alone a ball.....as for coates well its time he put his on and f*cked off......carra has been a great servant and has proved me wrong this season with some superb displays so hes in the team on merit....as for forren hes not what we needed in defence ...we really just need an old style defender who can win headers and impose himself on the pitch....if lescott was younger id go for him

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  2. yeah skrtel has had a few howlers recently but carras loss in concentration is just as bad if u look over the last few seasons, bolton at home last season is 1 I can remember off the top of my head, but in recent years hes been a liability as much as skrtel

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  3. He went to the club who will go to championship next season. He knows he belongs there. He will never make it to the Liverpool. Does any international player go for a trial at the age of 24? Glad we didn't actually 'bid' for him.  

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  4. Mr Ayre has a lot to answer for, leaving us without a striker for so long and presiding over the DAlgliesh Comoli disasters, how has he kept his job!

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  5. yeah totally disagree on agger, yeah hes injury prone but theres a big need for players with technical tackling ability and not just a bruiser, hes also got composure on the ball aswel which is very rare in defenders

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  6. International players don't demean themselves and go for trials at the age of 24, no, which is probably why he rejected LFC and went to Southampton.

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  7. we shouldve sold Skrtel last summer when there were "reports" of intrest in him around europe. he is one of most nervous and talentless players when it comes to being able to keep the ball down and pass it to the player next to you ive ever seen.   decent tackler though.

    when i watch the a game. i allways get this menacing feeling when he gets the ball, and am allways expecting him to do something stupid with it.

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  8. Don't agree with the Agger diss.. He is a quality player and needs a strong, header winning, pure defender next to him. If Carra was younger; perfect. Skrtel is definitely off his game at the minute and should be given time out before it costs us again. Can't see Coates staying long anyway.

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  9. i really fear for us in defense...we give poor teams a lot of chances so if arsenal have there shooting boots on it could be painful......im 90 to 100 percent certain if we start with borini and allen we will lose.......

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  10.  ive just gone right off skirtle this year...i blame rogers ( surprise ) for that as hes never recovered from that city howler ( NOT REALLY A GOOD IDEA FOR A DEFENDER WITH NO SKILL TO PASS ABOUT AT THE BACK WHEN YOUR 1 NIL UP ROGERS )

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  11.  i like defenders who can defend ...i dont want to see them out muscled...out fought out jumped ...losing 50/50 tackles...i dont want to see them rolling round on the floor like a big tart if they get pushed....the primary purpose of a defender is to stop the opposition scoring if you lose sight of that your f*cked

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  12. StumblingJackSplash10:28 pm, January 29, 2013

    Is this something the manager needs to take care of quickly, or is it something that can be done by one of the ex-legends in an ambassadorial role?
    I can't remember who it was but Bob Paisley once turned up at Lime Street Station in his cardigan to pick up a potential new signing.

    At the moment the system looks as if it is leaving the defence too vulnerable. Oldham is simply one of a series of weak defensive displays.
    We've gone from the third best defence (I think it was) last season to looking far too easy to pick off.
    So far we look no more secure after more than half the season than we did when shipping 3 against WBA on day 1.

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  13. StumblingJackSplash10:30 pm, January 29, 2013

    The entire board is equally weak and lacking in high level experience or football knowledge.
    It's something that FSG seem in no hurry to correct for some strange reason.

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  14. StumblingJackSplash10:32 pm, January 29, 2013

    Agreed. It had a distinct flavour of 'amateur hour' offering a trial to someone of that age.
    We've either scouted and seen enough, or we scout further or we leave it until we feel sure about him one way or the other.

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  15. when agger is fit fine...but to get the best out of agger we need a bigger more robust teamin general ...picture this scenario where defending a corner with allen sterling suarez courtino all on the pitch that coupled with say wisdom and johnson ...trust me we will concede alot of goals at set pieces

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  16. Of course Forren now claims that he never considered joining any other club than the one he has signed for. He needs to get the supporters on his side. Any professional does it, just ask Robbie Keane.

    How Skrtel declined from player of the season to a disaster waiting to happen. Given his form during his entire stay with us it's probably fair to say that last seasons performances where the statistical outlier. What a pitty, as we could do with a good centre back.

    Agree with you Jaimie, Carra should start with Agger tomorrow. Carra, imho, is also a disaster waiting to happen, but, at least currently, the lesser disaster compared to Skrtel. No, I don't have much confidence in Carra anymore. Our entire squad seems to be one huge construction site. Our goalie isn't too reliable anymore, but the back up is shaky at best. We don't have any reasonable back-up at left-back, are in need of two centre backs and a strong defensive midfielder. Thinking any further would depress me.

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  17. I agree, at Oldham, Skrtel failed miserably. He needed to be a major presence in defence and a leader of the line. I still rate him but he is very off his game at present and hasn't really reached any heights this season. I think BR noticed this a couple of games ago and has had no alternative than to look to Carra for tomorrow's match. That's why he couldn't afford to bring Carra on against Oldham when he probably knew that's what was needed. Could he guarantee JC would recover in time for Wednesday? I also agree that with Carra's lack of pace there could be some hairy moments having to deal with Walcott! But the authority he brings will offer more than an off form Skrtel. I also expect Agger, Johnson and possibly Enrique? back, so we should be more solid than in the cup match. I don't agree with Johnson being an accident at all, as his positives far outweigh his negatives and he is extremely important to us, praying he has a good one tmrw. Hopefully we see Gerrard, Henderson and Lucas in midfield; with Suarez, Sturridge and Downing up front. That seems to be the most in form and reliable 11 we have, (Reina back in goal of course). If we are on our game a win is definitely there for us as Arsenal can absolutely be beaten; by themselves at times. The problem is, so can we..... Going to be interesting I think. Btw, Forren and Dempsey? I'm quite glad they went where they went. If Dempsey HAD signed can we be sure Sturridge would have been pursued this window, if at all? Also, don't think Forren was right. Would actually prefer Williams over him. Think he would be ok next to Agger...but definitely not the absolute answer.

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  18. I honestly think Carra aint as bad as people are making out. It is true he is getting slower (not that he was ever that fast), but he is no way completely past it. He has loads of experience, and knows how to run that defensive line.

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  19. Forren is the type of player you'd expect at Southampton, not Liverpool. That's why he's perfect where he's at now. And good luck to him

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  20. Absolutely. And I do picture that....A lot! That's why I say we 100% need that header winning rock. God, give me a young Hyypia right now......That's the position that needs seriously addressing in the summer when apparently bigger funds will be available. We need to spend enough to make sure that defender coming in is quality of the highest standard.!

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  21. LFC 1892-2009 then we died10:51 pm, January 29, 2013

    The whole team is too inconsistent and we have no tactically astute manager anymore since Rafas departure.In Rafas 6 years at LFC i cant remember him ever losing a game when leading.Since he went the 3 stoodges whove managed since Rafa have brought us to our knees,they havent got the slightest idea when it comes to seeing out a game.How the King could waste £120m then hold his hand out for a £7m payoff just shows to me society in general has gone mad and its every man for himself to get what he can.the King said he can sleep at night,well he must be some sort of narsassitic psychotic empty shell with no conscious.I always remember when Gullit failed at Newcastle,he went to the board told them to aopolgise to the fans and when asked about his payoff,he replied i dont deserve a penny iv failed and he walked away and left it at that.Now thats what you call a man,unlike the King filling his pockets with millions saying hes nothing to be ashamed of,what you mean is your not a man you cant admit you failed.What a chance he had given all that money on a plate when rafa had to fight for every penny and Rafa created the wealth with his phenomenal success in europe.LFC died when Rafa went,LFC will be forever dead.YNWA Rafa.

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  22. he new if he came to our club he will only play carling cup an fa cup thats alk

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  23. That's the most depressed I think you've been! And I definitely agree with you. I think perhaps the Oldham match has affected fans a little more than was first thought, and now in hindsight we are registering exactly how poor we were. Like him or not, Rodgers admission that we made their striker look like Drogba says it all really. We are very frail at the back, although I still have utmost faith in keeping Johnson and Agger. Left back and centre half are MUST haves in summer. With potential funds available for decent bids, then we should make them special. Top quality. No messing about. With an improved defence, the odds should begin to turn more in our favour as we could (again potentially) have a lot of goals in us. On top of defensive additions, I would love a 'quality, experienced' midfielder. Someone to control our game and take some pressure of Stevie; sometimes trying to do too much, in turn messing up his own game. Hopefully Coutinho will really perform for us across the front with the SAS. Not sure why, but I can't shake the feeling that Coutinho is going to be an absolute superstar for us. If his head is in the right place and consistency befalls him, then, well, just wow! Our front line could end up being envied.....

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  24. And I thought I was upset..........!

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  25. Of course..........And at Southampton he's fighting for PL titles and CL winners medals...Problem is, that's Imagination Land and only exists in the dream world.....

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  26. I've said it before- we need more of a football man in charge of the transfers. Ayre done some nice stuff on the commercial side, but from the outside looking in, he appears out of his depth when it comes to football matters.

    It is a shame we didn't get a DoF, because with each passing failure it seems more and more like it would have been a good idea.

    This isn't to say that I think Forren was the ultimate player we needed, but I think the pattern of failure in the transfer market (specifically during Ayre's time as chief exec., though the problem is long standing) is plain to see.

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  27. Ah, Sami. My favourite LFC player of the last 15 years. What a legend. His partnership with Stephane Henchoz was awesome; even better than his partnership with Carra IMO. He's sorely missed.

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  28. Agree, Vermhat. I must concede that I wasn't in favour of a DoF when Rodgers took over, but now, it seems it could've actually been a good idea.

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  29. leadership is not taught its a gift. carra is born with it and skrtel does not have it. so dont expect it from him.

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  30. I had few concerns against Skartel - he is not the type of CB of BR style, I have doubts on his commitment, he might not be that proud to wear the RED Shirt (Almost every last few x-fer window, we had threats from him leaving LFC) & he actually might not be that good either; had a great couple of seasons, but never was among the top CBs in BPL.  May be, we should bargain for Williams from Swansea; he might not be outstanding in class, but he has worked under BR & this season is probably a good contender for starting in BPL team XI.  He is home grown & at 28, has at least 3/4 best years of his as CB is left.  He he 'll be lower in salary than Skartel & I think Skartel's sell proceeds 'll cover Williams purchase value.  

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  31. Yeah, I was ambivalent about a DoF when we were looking for a boss, especially since Van Gaal was the front runner, and as much as I respect him, he is a maverick and problems seemed inevitable. Getting someone less intrusive could have worked (Txiki Begiristain?).

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  32. Meaning LFC wasn't seriously considering him. No loss. 

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  33. Skrtl is not a mistake waiting to happen - he is a mistake that has already happened.... Again and again and again.

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  34. No sorry Bud, Skertal had a poor game for his standard 's but hey still looked avaerage as Robinson,Cotaes,Jones and Allen too a lesser extent!!!! YNWA  just not good enough"!!!

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  35. The only reason the skrtle - agger partnership was solid previously was because of Lucas. who is still not up to his best. Lucas was brilliant as a DM who could stop attacks that came through the middle. Lucas fitness is something that we have missed all along. He made that defensive partnership look good.

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  36. Imo if you want the best out of Carra,stick the capt's arm band on him,(SG can handle it)if you don't have someone stoking the fire,it will go out,i know it's risky but given the responsibility he will thrive.Heres hopin'.

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  37. I think we make too many conclusions based on rumours and a limited perspective. Of course these players are going to say good things about the club that signs them, how could it be any other way? I don't think that instantly means Liverpool were somehow lax or disrespectful. If we really wanted Forren then we would have made more effort, right? So obviously we were not that keen on him, so there is no problem or "fail". If a player doesn't feel wanted by us then surely that's because we don't want them. So sure, offering someone a trial seems like there is interest, maybe a rumour in a paper sounds like we're hot on their trail, but that doesn't mean we desperately want this player and, if we don't sign them, it's some kind of incompetent screw up. Why is it the club's fault if we as fans get over-excited by paper talk and then disappointed when nothing happens? Isn't that our fault for getting over-excited?
    Liverpool have established a different way of doing things. Rodgers himself said that the summer was a bit messed up and organisation was poor, but that things were much better now. So whatever happened with Dempsey we can probably put it behind us. It's clear now that the club knows how to identify targets and they have a clear process for working out the price and getting the transfer done. It worked with Borini & Allen in the summer then with Sturridge and hopefully Coutinho in January. Plus there have been others that we've signed with a minimum of fuss. Unless you have some kind of insider knowledge of what's happening at the club and at the negotiation table I think any speculation that pins "failure" on the club's transfer policy is pure nonsense. 

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  38. Couple of things here....

    - The manager should have final say in all signings and live and die by the outcome

    - The Oldham centre forward, possibly another Arnie Schwarzeneggar love child, smashed Coates with an elbow to the back of the head as he scored first. Andy Carroll had multiple goals ruled out in Prem League for much more innocuous offences.

    - seems that most modern top flight pros don't know how to handle such rough and tumble physicality. They are all probably wrapped in cotton wool since they were noted as having serious potential from teenage years.

    - Forren is a nobody in relative terms, he possibly would have been a bit part player with us, and if we didn't have him scouted then we were right to offer a trial. He was also well within his rights to tell us where to go. Best of luck to him at The New Dell.

    - We do need a leader at the back, Skrtel has never struck me as being as fearsome as some fans think. He often makes some strange decisions, kid crunching a bloke at the half way etc. But, if we get more quality higher up the pitch, opposition will get at our defence less often, so we should be fine.

    - Skrtel should have marked the T-800 and did what centre halves have always done, use underhand tactics to drag the lad into a battle and put him off his game. That's how you deal with it, no Mr. Guy shots at ten paces, guerrilla tactics with the "Ringsend uppercut" thrown in the odd time

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  39. Carra is still a top defender and we can easily play 3-5-2 in big games to get him into the team, he is a leader unlike Agger or Skertl. It makes sense to play him as he has been great in every game he has played this season, BR needs to show more ambition in big games from the start, not the last 30mins, If he does we can beat anyone!!!.

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  40. He will be in the Championship next seaon, end of!!!

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  41. How many mistakes has he made this season???, that be zero i reckon!!!

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  42. When did he lose concentration this season!!!

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  43. Negativity is pretty contagious and the web is full of negativity concerning our club. This and that player is allegedly sh1t, the owners are and the manager is, too. I really try to see the positives, but being confronted with all the negativity time and again can get to me, too. Maybe I should sing our club anthem after getting up in the morning and before hitting the hey in the evening to reinstall my hope every day.

    Agree about the left-back and centre half required, but even I haven't been too convinced with our recruitment, to say the least. This is not about Rodgers only. Out of our last 40 signings (dating back to the 08/09 season) could anyone name five players who really hit the ground running, five who undoubtedly made us stronger, who excited us? Glenn Johnson definitely made us stronger when going forward, on his day. Suarez, of course, but his knack for producing negative headlines is a bitter pill to swallow. Apart from them it's not so clear cut. Meireles really looked good when Kenny took over, but was let go. Bellamy is a player I personally like very much, but spent half his time in the physio's room and plays elsewhere now anyway, and the jury is still out on Sturridge. That's what £250m got us.

    Add to our indifference in the transfer market that two of the stronger, talented defensive midfielders (or, as you've said a quality, experienced midfielder) went elsewhere this month, and we didn't even seem to be interested in them. Lucas has improved a lot since he first came here, but he is not the world-beater we make him. He's good, consistent, but not really a class act and a heavyweight he ain't either.

    Let's hope Coutinho is further in his development than Sterling and can give us some hope that he's a player of real class in the making right from the off. I could do with a bit of cheering up and hope that your feeling concerning this youngster is right.

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  44. And we still don't have a decent back-up or even an upgrade on him.

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  45. cant argue with that number

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  46. Guess you didn't read the OriginalChan's low-down on Rafa's tactics yesterday, which wasn't a rant, but a very balanced and thought-out piece of observation. If Rafa was as tactically astute as you make him out to be, we would have won the league a few years ago when we were in pole position at Christmas.

    Your assessment of Kenny Dalglish is interesting, though, and I won't deny that you have a point questioning his (and society's) integrity, even though I find your words a bit harsh.

    While I don't think that LFC died when Rafa went, I think that the club contracted some serious health issues during his time with the club (which, off course, is not all down to him). Thanks for all the great memories, Rafa. For these you surely will never walk alone in my book, but for the future, please walk with clubs who can afford your extravagant fantasy football squad ideas including the transfer revolving door. Maybe you and Abramovich should look for a new club to pump hundreds of millions into.

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  47. While, in general, I agree with the idea of having a director of football, it wouldn't guarantee a better success rate when it comes to transfers. There are countless examples of clubs who have a DoF, have resources and so on, but still don't get it right.

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  48. Since the 08/09 season:
    N'Gog, Rieira, Dossena, Degen, Cavallieri, Keane,, Kyrgiakos, Aquilani, Carroll, Konchesky, Jones, Poulson, Aurelio (re-signed in 2010), Cole, Wilson, Jovanovic, Coates, Downing, Doni, Adam, possibly the following, too, still too early to say: Assaidi, Borini, Henderson

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  49. Im talking about failing to get players we wanted, not who the press say we wanted???. Dempsey wasn't wanted enough to offer the right money, so we haven't failed to get the players at all.

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  50. Ah, sorry then. Misunderstood your question.

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  51. players don,t feel motivated to go to anfield the owners are no were to be seen image going into a room with rodgers and ayre would it full you with awe,be better of with stan and ollie,i,am with jaimie on this offering him a trial was disrepectful,and imo the main reason he did not entertain us

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  52. sorry chiras but the trial was already set up ,then southampton came in aalong with other clubs and signed him we f"cked up on this one,wether he would have been a good signing,is a different debate ,but the fact is we will never know

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  53. im fed up of this story no one would choose saouthampton over liverpool but as the player said he wasnt even close to gettin a contract from liverpool he was offered a trial at liverpool, southampton offered contract !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  54. Mine would have to be stevie then the great fin, hope he comes back to anfield in some capacity in the future

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  55. God thats depressing, a who,s who of footballing bums

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  56. Why did we need to offer a trial anyway? scouts not doing there job properly or was he just offered to us?

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  57. Would you have forked out 5 mil for him?

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  58. He's why I didn't include the 07/08 season. Joking aside, I simply picked the last five seasons. Now that I have looked at who came in during 07/08, that was probably the last season we've brought in quite a few players who improved us: Mascherano (permanently, had been on loan before), Skrtel, Benayoun, Torres amongst depressing signings like Itandje, aforementioned Voronin, Babel, Insua, Leto, Plessis.

    Remembering Skrtel's first match against Harvant & Waterlooville was also depressing.

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  59. It is, indeed. Today is probably the day when it's my turn to bring everybody down, and that even without agitating against the current owners, manager, and so on.

    Truth seems to be that in reality the state of our club is quite depressing for quite a long time now. We've had some ups during Houllier's reign, and some during Rafa's time with us, but apart from that we are punching way bellow our weight for more than 20 years. How depressing is that. Someone pass me a magic wand to change all that's wrong with our club.

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  60. He possibly looked good in his own league, but maybe our coaching team wanted to see how well he'd fair with players of a higher standard before wasting 5m on the next dud.

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  61. When will you have moderated my initial reply to this comment, Jaimie? Was it to depressing to be published?

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  62. Stan and Ollie would be better than almost everyone in the football business to be honest. Would you like to be in one room with and chat to a j@ck@ass like David Beckham? Yet he is an ambassador for the English National team. Good Lord!

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  63. I think that with a good defensive mid; powerful, good engine, agressive, and strong in the tackle, we can dominate the midfield better, and help tighten the defence... Skrtel and Agger are good enough for me... I know that Skrtel is prone to costly mistakes, and he needs to work on his concentration and reading of the game... Same goes for Agger... He can still up his game...

    Any of you guys can suggest a good defensive mid?

    I liked the look of Diamé when he played against us, but i havent seen him play often...

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  64. i,am not sure i do not know a lot about him,but lfc would have if the trail had worked out,and southampton did ,other prem clubs were willing to do to without a trial

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  65. Agreed. Also i wouldn't rule out our scouts not doing their job properly.

    We had a lot of misses in the transfers we've made during the last few years.

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  66. He was our best perfomer last season. He's just having an off season. It happened to our best players in recent years - Stevie G most notably.

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  67. Those misses were scouted by different sets of scouts, too. We might have been appointing the wrong scouts for years if not decades.

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  68. USE THE ENTER KEY.

    It's impossibly incovinient to read what you wrote this way.

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  69. i dont have any problem reading it,its not a english language ,education site,

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  70. For a player, more often than not, the definition of "feeling more wanted" is "he was offered more money to go there".

    In the case of Forren, he had a choice between a trial at one club or a contract at another.  The decision is relatively easy.

    In the case of Dempsey, I'm guessing that we offered him a performance-based contract and Spurs offered him more guaranteed money.  Again he felt "more wanted".

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  71. mr ayre says we fought of tough competition to sign coutinho,funny i thought it was southampton,him and rodgers and there own self importentness ,god when they redevelop anfield they better make sure they plan for these 2 so that there heads can get into the stadium

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  72. jaimie you all right the defining moment of our season fast approaches and no threads all day

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  73. Got to take a break every now and again, and today's the day. Well, until tonight's game.

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  74. lol just imo if we lose tonight and everton win as well top 4 is out of our reach cannot seeall3 teams who will be at least 7 points ahead of us spurs included slipping up,we could seriously mis out on european football all together,given how the domestic cups are panning out

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  75. Imagine if he said "there was no competition", then people would be complaining about us being disrespectful to Southampton.

    This in a thread in which players spoke about how they didn't "feel wanted" badly enough by LFC.

    Regardless of what you think of Ayre, taking exception with his quote is getting a bit nit-picky.

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  76. He had one good season. before that he was always an accident waiting to happen. makes too may mistakes and can't use the ball

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  77. Why don't you come down off the fence and say what you think?

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  78. I'm not very confident for tonight Jamie. Hope I am proved wrong.

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  79. I'm a Wigan season ticket holder and saw plenty of Diame. I couldn't believe it when Liverpool turned down the chance of taking him on a free.

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  80. Well, i was hugely impressed when liverpool played west ham... Only when he left the pitch due to injury, did liverpool manage to turn the match other way round :)

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  81. I like to think that now the Coutinho deal is done we really don't need to overly concern ourselves with the attacking side of our team now: maybe one more in the summer, but not more potential, no one under 21! ( I know people will mention Ince but I can't help believing that it might never actually happen. Kind of hoping I'm wrong, but if he doesn't come then so be it.) So basically, my point is, we can now concentrate on the defensive weaknesses of the team and make sure we have a bit more leadership on the pitch at all times. And this does not mean having to rely on Gerrard for every match. We seriously need to be breeding or acquiring, true replacements for when Stevie can't do it anymore, as I agree with BR that he is massive for us this season purely because of his leadership and experience. I would love to see someone in to link the midfield to the attack with Alonso type guile. But I think defence must now take priority and would be concerned to the max if it wasn't....

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  82. its not nit picky,its the way  he stated it as though all fans should be pleased and hes done a fantastic job the sooner everyone at anfield stops patting them selves on the back ,for doing the job they get paid for the better

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  83. We actually had a strong backbone... My favourite midfield combination stevie-xabi-masch... That's the strongest we have reached for quite a long time... The biggest mistake was to break this backbone... And this was a gigantic step backwards...
    I hope that BR can build a similar foundation... BR seems clueless tactically at times, but he's courageous... Sometimes too courageous, like start a game with 4 forwards :P
    My biggest hope is that BR will learn from his mistakes this season, and build a solid team for next season... A team that plays with burning passion...

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  84. Sorry dude, get a little carried away in the moment sometimes. Point taken and acknowledged. I will endeavour to make my comments more convenient for you to read. Cheers...

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  85. :-)     
    lol
    USED THE ENTER KEY 3 times then!.........

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  86. I'm not a huge fan of Ayre.  I think he's too focused on the commercial side of things (Being: Liverpool... ugh).  

    With that being said, I don't see anything necessarily wrong with this statement.  There's nothing proclamatory; he's not predicting this is going to make us get top 4 automatically or win the league next year.  He's simply saying he's pleased that the player is here as PC is a player we wanted to get and Inter were reluctant to sell.

    Full quote from LiverpoolFC.com:"We're always delighted when we get the players we go after.""It has been a successful transfer window for us, coming off the back of acquiring Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea and now Philippe from Inter Milan."I think that bodes well for us for the rest of the season and the future."He's obviously a very young player but has already proved himself in the Brazilian U19s, U20s and a first cap. He has been a really important player for them and now for us."The most important thing is that he gets settled with training, the backroom staff get him involved and then get him on the pitch as soon as possible."We certainly fought off strong competition from others. In the early parts of discussions, I know Inter Milan were reluctant."But we did some good work, the whole team that work around this got involved and I'm pleased to say we secured him."

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  87. Fair enough. But as the most experienced player in defence and a player the others needed to look to, he failed to step up. If you don't believe he needs to then ok; but for me, if he wants to stay in the team, then that's exactly what he HAS to do, LEAD. I need to see  us succeed and that won't happen if we need to have players genetically gifted with leadership skills. I agree those that naturally do have it, like JC, like SG, are a Godsend; but EVERY professional footballer at this level needs to step up to the responsibility they have if we are to win anything. Sorry mate, but I DO expect it.

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  88. JC wouldn't take it, he doesn't need it to perform at his best, he knows it belongs to Stevie and I'm sure he doesn't concern himself with it. He's vice captain anyway so it's not a biggie.

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  89. Regarding Ince I really don't know how exactly his one year contract extension clause works. So far I thought that Blackpool simply can prolong his contract by a year, but maybe the player has to agree to this as well. Should that be the case, it would obviously be pure madness to spend any money on him now. We might sign him later, but not now, because, as you've said, our attacking personnel isn't our main concern anymore.

    Some people may slaughter me for this, but I hope that Allen evolves into a player that has the same impact that Alonso had for us. He wasn't a (typical) defensive midfielder either.

    Having said that, I again agree with you, that we must strengthen our defence. We've missed out on some of the hottest properties when it comes to defensive midfielders known to me (and I am not an expert), but something has to be done about that position. We can't rely on Lucas for every game.
    Given that Carra must be very close to the end of his career and Skrtel not maintaining the standard he has set last season, we are two senior centre backs short very soon. I also look forward to Kelly and Wisdom used in that position in the future.

    A player like Gerrard probably can't be replaced, but if our current central midfielders, and I include Coutinho to them, evolve good and fast enough, the loss of Gerrard can be compensated by the class those at the club already might cultivate. How much longer will Gerrard play? Another season or two? The other midfielders will have had one or two years together by then, will know how to work and play together. If things go right, we might have something very nice by then in the middle of the park.

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  90. Skrtel is 28 now. How many years does he need from now to work on his concentration? My point is that I don't think that he'll be able to improve his level of concentration significantly anymore.

    M'Vila and Sissoko were two defensive midfielders, they were on the market this January, we probably didn't go for them and now they've moved elsewhere.

    Diamé is probably a good shout. Hasn't he joined Arsenal yet?

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  91. diame would be a good option.. 3.5m and he has great touch

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  92. Yeah, you are right... Skrtel is not likely to improve at this age...

    I think BR was silly not to go for a new defensive mid...

    The Lucas of old (before the double injury) is yet to make his come back... I thought he was pretty poor against manure... He still lacks sharpness...

    Hasn't heard anything about Diamé recently...

    We need a big aggressive midfielder to kick some ass in the middle of the park xD.

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  93. my  ex-missus has a great touch and she's cheap(er!)

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