20 Jul 2014

Exciting Deal? After new enquiry, LFC favourites to sign €30m 'golden boy'. Better than Lallana?

Despite the arrival of Lazar Markovic, Liverpool continue to be linked with attacking midfielders, and the latest name to enter the fray is Real Madrid 'golden boy' Francisco Román Alarcón Suárez (aka Isco).

According to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo today:

"The imminent arrival of James Rodriguez at Real Madrid means Isco could be leaving the club, with Milan and Liverpool favorites to sign the midfielder"

Another Spanish daily, AS, further claims:

"Liverpool, Sevilla and Milan have asked Madrid about the status of Isco"

The Reds have been linked with 'unique' Isco several times in the past, and in 2012, Brendan Rodgers sent senior scout Barry Hunter to watch the attacker during his Champions League debut against Zenit St. Petersburg, a game in which he scored two impressive goals.

Last season, Carlo Ancelotti often played Isco in central midfield, but the signing of Toni Kroos is a clear signal that the Italian wants an upgrade in that area. In a recent interview, Ancelotti also hinted that the 22-year old will have to adapt his position permanently if he wants to play regularly. He told reporters:

"We haven't been able to play him [Isco] in his usual position. I had a similar case [with] Seedorf, who was an attacking central midfielder. With sacrifice, he played in a different position. Isco can do what Seedorf did."

Despite being played out of position, Isco - who cost Madrid €30m last summer - still made 53 appearances for Madrid last season, and grabbed 11 goals/8 assists along the way, which is not too shabby.

There is huge competition for places at the Bernabeau, but is it any different at Liverpool? If Isco comes to Anfield, he'll have to compete against Lallana, Sterling, Coutinho, and Markovic, not to mention Remy and Sturridge, who are also (occasional) options on either side of a front three.

When it comes to direct competition, Isco would be up against Lallana and Coutinho for the number 10 role in the side, and of the three, you'd have to fear for Coutinho's chances of regular game-time, especially if Isco arrives for a massive fee.

There's one thing Isco (possibly) wouldn't have to worry about at Liverpool, though, and that's being played out of position in central midfield. Rodgers doesn't even play dedicated central midfielders in their favoured positions, so it's doubtful he'll go the Ancelotti conversion route.

Do Liverpool need Isco? Is he a better option than Lallana and Coutinho in the number 10 role?



Author:


82 comments:

  1. Get him on loan rogers..he is quality

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  2. There's talk of Inter Milan signing Roberto Firmino for a measly £5.5M, We could do a Mourinho, buy him and loan him out. Think Isco is a loan option apparently, if it's with a option to buy, it'll cost more than £5.5m. So Firmino would be good in my eyes instead.

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  3. Does one not play three central midfielders in a midfield three or in a diamond etc? Not sure what you mean with playing dedicated central midfielders in their favoured positions?

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  4. If Rodgers does want at least two players for every position then it shouldn't be too much of an issue. We have a lot of pace in the side and a bit more guile would help. I would think how well Coutinho did in a deeper cm role at times would mean that Allen would play even less with the signing of Isco. My head is flushed with permutations. I love it. Not sure how likely it is but it would be nice.

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  5. Tony Barratt saying Lovren should be soon.

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  6. 70 games in a season is just too many for the average human body to withstand. That was LFC's advantage last season: time to rest. He's enough like Coutinho that they would be able to spell each other off.

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  7. The source he is reporting on is actually a Croatian newspaper but yeah, he probably knows the deal is happening otherwise he would not have tweeted.

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  8. The arrival of Isco might even put Henderson's place at risk. Isco probably will only move if he is given assurances on playing time.

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  9. Yeah he agrees with it rather than reporting they are saying it. indicates (to me at least) that he has heard something separately.

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  10. Phil Thompson said the Sanchez to Liverpool deal was done.


    Pardon me if I reserve judgment

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  11. Tony Barrett was the first to release the news that markovic was joining. Even the Borini sale.


    Very respected journalist.

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  12. We need what Henderson does and he does it better than Allen. I have always been an Allen fan but as the team progresses and we saw Coutinho doing such a good job (at times) it only weakens his position. If he has to work harder to get a place that only helps us I think.

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  13. A sensible enough comment but Barratt over Thompson all day long mate.

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  14. Yes, but with the arrival of Can both Allen and Hendo might take the back seat and will have to fight tooth and nail for a place in the 2 ahead of Gerrard.

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  15. Are you seriously going to stick with this "playing out of position" shtick? I don't think I'm alone in being a bit sceptical about it. Not because it wouldn't be an arguably justifiable criticism if it were true, but because it just doesn't seem to correspond with the facts.

    Firstly we've rarely seen Rogers playing players "out of position", as opposed to varying their roles. He doesn't routinely use defenders as midfielders or attackers in crude ways (Jamie Carragher in midfield for example, or Robert Huth as striker, which Mourinho used to deploy much to everyone's disgust), for example. Of course, he has played players in unfamiliar positions now and then: he played Downing as a full-back, I recall, and Enrique as a winger -- and in both cases rejuvenated the players.

    When he has done this, played a player out of *position*, his success rate is very high.

    Of course he uses players in different *roles* all the time: and when he has used a player in a different role to that to which they're supposed to be accustomed, we've also seen considerable success: Flanagan at left back, Gerrard at regista, Sterling at No. 10, and so on, have all been successful.

    So anyway, I don't see what your case is, really.

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  16. Isco is a very good football player but I don't think he would be brought in to play far up the pitch. If he were brought in to dictate the pace of the game a la Modric then I'd say go for it. Although I would add that for that position I would have preferred Ander Herrera. I'm happy with the recent business of Remy and Borini and will be happier if Lovren comes in but we have missed a few good opportunities this summer and are about to miss another one with Ben Davies. To be honest, if we were to pay big money for a Real Madrid player this summer, I'd prefer it to go on Asier Illarramendi. I wouldn't read too much into the signing of Kroos by the way. Real have to buy a couple of flavors of the week each summer but that doesn't necessarily mean they're better than what is already there

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  17. True. Perhaps he will take some time but he is very well regarded and from what I have seen he does over a lot.

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  18. At last we have competition for places :-)

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  19. I know mate. I was going to add to my post that the team is looking (imo) stronger as a whole but the Suarez question still niggles.

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  20. No doubting his quality

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  21. If we get the Remy deal done then I believe we will be much better off than last season. We would then have substituted Suarez with four attacking players.

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  22. Sahin whined about having to play a bit further forward. That didn't work but like yo say in all other occasions I think it has improved the player.

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  23. True. I think Lallana and Lambert should be able to hit the ground running, coming from a similar style team. I think Remy will need a bit of time to get used to our style and Markovic both us and the league.

    In time I think we may perhaps be better but to begin with I think it will be similar to the start of last season only against harder teams.

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  24. Yes, I am going to stick with it as it's my opinion, and I'm not really bothered if you or anyone else doesn't agree. That's the nature of opinion. Okay with you? Good :-)

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  25. Have to concur with my colleagues: Barrett is generally very reliable with these kinds of things.

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  26. A disgusting an unfair attackon Greg. You're going off the rails like some sort of crazy train.

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  27. Good point re: Rodgers success rate with playing players in other positions. Borini, Aspas and Sahin were slightly square pegs but he does have a decent record of 'converting' players.

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  28. Damien Comolli...

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  29. The one and only. He lives on through our greatly inflated coffers.

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  30. Jokes aside, is there a Lovren article incoming with his arrival being unofficial confirmed today, or are you going to wait for something more concrete?

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  31. Heh, of course. You've made a lot of very good calls since I've been reading this site; Suarez, Alberto and Aspas, the transfer dealings more generally -- and I'll probably have to give you Joe Allen in the end, too. Just not sure where this one's coming from.

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  32. Well my Robotic friend, JK proved he was full of baloney when he said Suarez would leave last summer. Luis of course didn't leave and now all his opinions are invalid forever.

    In fact he only left this summer because of a global FIFA conspiracy.

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  33. Isco is better than Lallana, but since we've bought him we might be overstocked in the AM position. I would have preferred Isco to Lallana, partly because of his age and partly because he pulls of a beard better.
    Illaramendi would have been the young RM player I'd like to have seen us go for.

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  34. Fine opinions all round.

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  35. He did maintain that Suarez was an unreformed moral monstrosity long after it had become unfashionable to say so though, and that Suarez would be clearing off at the first opportunity despite his improved deal. As opinion hipsters go, he's been pretty fly.

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  36. I sense Rodgers will be going for a 4-2-3-1 system this season. If that is the case, we should idealistically have 3 players available for the "1" and 6 players fighting for the 3 positions behind that striker. If we do sign Isco or any other attacking player, here is how I see things:
    - Sturridge, Remy, Lambert for the striker's position: bearing in mind Sturridge's injury problems and the fact Lambert is 32, this seems sensible to me.
    - Sterling, Lallana, Markovic, Coutinho, Ibe, Isco/other the signing, in competition for the 3 attacking places behind the main striker.
    With four trophies to go for, this would be perfect.

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  37. if we sign Isco it will all but end Steven Gerrards days at LFC with the real BR revolution to take place. He will get in the team when hes clearly needed and substitutes as hes getting old. but with Isco we will have a Champions League winner, he will help us get all the way to the end and whilst at Malaga he was meant to be the new Messi. Madrid made sure they signed him and it turns out he helped them win the Champions League and Copa Del Rey. hes a class player and will develop well and i can imagine that Henderson will be coached to take Stevie full time role with Stevie coming on at half time. my team with the purchase of Lovren, Remy and Isco will be

    ------------------------Mingolet

    Flanagan--------Skrtel--------Lovren-------Enrique

    -----------------------Henderson

    ------------Isco---------------------Lallana

    ------------------Sterling/Markovic

    --------------Sturridge------------Remy

    Subs on: Sterling/Markovic, Gerrard/Can, Lambert

    that is the BR's favourite diamond formation, which we used so fluently last season, Especially with Sterling in the hole. Markovic can have a similar impact.

    with 4-3-3 it will be

    -----------------------Mingolet
    Flanagan--------Skrtel--------Lovren-------Enrique

    ------------------Gerrard---------Isco
    --------Sterling-----------Lallana---------Remy
    --------------------------Sturridge

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  38. Nope, just global conspiracy.

    I don't even reckon he bit Chiellini. Chiellini just suffered the physical result of a bite.

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  39. Barca told him to bite Chiellini... they've been waiting for a whole year... "How do we get Liverpool to sell"... Have him bite someone during the World Cup should do the trick! Mwahahahahaha Mwahahahahahaha

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  40. Illaramendi's beard is complete shite though.

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  41. Nah I like it. It's like a baby Alonso beard. Not often you can look at a beard and feel nostalgic.

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  42. Ever noticed Catalan is only 2 letters different from 'eat a man'?

    Coincidence?

    Yeah...sure. Just keep drinking the Kool-aid, sheeple.

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  43. And why was that a response to me?

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  44. kHz y land venal h9:39 pm, July 20, 2014

    Get him on loan and buy shaqiri from bayern munich

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  45. I am fearful we are signing too many players all at once. Spurs did it it and it ended in tears and I recall Souness doing it at Liverpool at the start of his fateful reign as manager. The young players like Ibe and Suso will never get any minutes on the pitch if we continue to buy more players. With Sturridge, Lambert and Remy as the strikers and a plethora of quality experienced attacking and defensive midfielders do we really need more players? I think Lovren should be the last signing and then reassess the squad in January.

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  46. Would love to see him on loan with option to buy

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  47. Spurs had AVB. End of story.

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  48. Send him to the gulag

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  49. Phil "done deal" Thompson is not Tony Barrett. Lovren has also publicly he said that he wants to come to LFC.

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  50. I think Isco is much better than Lallana, but I don't think we should buy him, because potential wise Coutinho is equal or even better; it could be over kill. May be on loan for a year so that either we can buy him later, in case Lallana proves to be like other recent British buys. For this year, I think we are missing some steel - we have enough fast, silky, creative, multidimensional players for attacking half; what we need is a strong box to box power dynamo who can run with the ball & chase to defend for 90 mins as well as play intelligent long balls.

    Best player I see for us is Pogba - 6'2", fast, skillful, lanky but strong, technically brilliant, can shoot, head & play through balls, most importantly young with unlimited stamina & leadership quality. At 21 he is already among the top in the world at his role & a perfect foil for replacing SG for at least next 10 years.

    I think, BR had a budget of 60mn, without Suarez money. So he should have close to another 100mn along with other sales proceeds. I would have love to see Loveren (20), Pogba (40) & Moreno (20) with that money & keep some amount for January.



    So the squad stands (excluding fringe players & potentials)
    GK - Migo, Pepe
    WBs - Johnson, Flanaghan, Enrique, Moreno
    CBs - Skartel, Agger, Sakho, Lovern
    DM/CM - SG, Henderson, Can, Allen, Pogba
    AM/Wingers - Coutinho, Sterling, Lallana, Markovic
    Forwards - Sturridge, Remy, Lambert


    Reus would have made this almost perfect, but he might be just out of our reach. Also, I think, we shouldn't block all the spaces from purchase - there should be so inspiration left for the likes of Suso, Ibe, Yasil, Illori, Sinclair. Also, I would have loved LFC to invest for some brilliant potential from outside UK & loan them back to mother club for a year or two. The likes of Bakkalli, Thivuan, Benzia, Ginter, Meyer is always a safe investment - probably costing 5-7mn, would have cost 3 times had they been English (Zaha, Wickham says hello).

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  51. I want to see Coutinho bulked up a bit when he takes the field in August. It looks like Isco is already there. I wonder what BR is thinking? We have a real need at LB. I don't think Enrique lasts even half the season. I would rather have Moreno or Daley Blind as a good LB...and one more CB.

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  52. Purpleheadedwarrior11:15 pm, July 20, 2014

    You don't half get a bit pissy sometimes if someone doesn't agree with you. You advocate debate but half the time you don't debate you get annoyed at whoever has a different opinion.

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  53. I live in Toronto where some NBA, NHL & MLB players are also paid astronomically; but trust me, nowhere, in any sports a particular group of players are paid/priced so much compared to the competence level like the English footballers. I think, apart from pride of flag, every player take WC, EURO, Copa as a stepping stone for own career; in England, it's not required. There is no pride, passion or desperation in English players for Union Jack & despite absolute shambolic performance for 3 lions, Rooney, SG, Lampard, Terry, Johnson, Fardinand, both Cole, Wilshire is being paid crazy money.


    Imagine, with Rooney's salary you could have paid any 2 of Muller, Kroos, Rues & still probably could have paid Nauer as well. & with Shaw's fee, you can buy almost an entire La Liga or Liegue 1 starting line up. Obviously there is lack of talent, English players are not even close to what they are hyped, but surely they are individually better than the Costa Ricans, the Algerians, the Greeks & many other teams. But, I feel the biggest problem is English players have taken a filthy earning for granted. Had there not been any cap of foreign players, I doubt how many English players would have started for a PL side.


    Coming to Remy - he is 27 (probably born same day of Suarez) & at his pick. For next 3-4 years he 'll be a top player coming from bench for last 25-35 minutes. I think, with his speed & trickery, he 'll be absolute nightmare for tiring defenders, particularly for LFC with so many creative players to feed the through ball.

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  54. This is why the club wasted their money on Lallana this guys on another level to Lallana and can handle playing at a big club and worst of all wont be much difference in the transfer fee.

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  55. OK...didn't watch this video but i watched a bunch of others. Get this kid...He has it all.

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  56. I'm expecting Rodgers to buy a player who can fill the role Suarez did, if not with quite the same level of ability. We do need someone who can score goals but I think it's the final third creativity that is most important. Sanchez is the kind of player I expected and once he was confirmed for Arsenal I fully expected the club to continue looking for a player just like him. After all, why would we go for Sanchez if he didn't have the right skill set? Just like Suarez he's a false 9 striker who often comes deep and is just as likely to get an assist than a goal.


    Is Isco that player? Even if he tended to play as a genuine 10 at Real Madrid he may be capable of sitting further forward as a scoring threat. Rodgers asking a player to do something new wouldn't be a surprise. The question would be more about how well Isco can adapt to that. He certainly scored goals, more than Di Maria.


    Like everyone says, we've got enough 10s in the squad, we don't need another one. If Isco is a target it's because he'd play in behind Sturridge.

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  57. I watched about half of one video before it became obvious that this guy is exactly who we need to replace Suarez. When you see him in those advanced positions, especially on the left side of the box, it's like Luis is just wearing a different shirt. Maybe he doesn't have quite the nose for goal but with some encouragement I don't think scoring would be a problem.

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  58. His close control, patience, vision, and ball skills are very, very good. Patient but confident. Just wow.

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  59. I don't believe we wasted a dime on Lallana. From the first time I saw that kid play I was impressed. He's a good pick-up. We need to never forget how many tourneys we're in this season. We need a depth of talent and Lallana is very talented.

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  60. You can love a club, follow them and all the rest. doesn't mean you can't have ambition. barca are a bigger club, he wants to play for the best and compete for trophies consistently.


    He behaved like an idiot i concede that, but can't fault him for being ambitious. plus all the family stuff.

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  61. The thing with Remy is that it helps us a lot. He can play on the left of a front three with Sturridge and Sterling or he can play as a second attacker just behind Sturridge. I do not think that Isco suits us that much and I do not know much about his work rate. Sanchez was the player tailor made for our system. If we were to get a Real player, I would rather it be Di Maria than Isco. But, technically he would be a replacement for Suarez as his last name is Suarez. OK, I'll stop now.

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  62. still dreaming of that marquee signing. Reus as unlikely as it is would be a dream come true!

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  63. Agree, I have seen Lallana since his League One days and he has this skill and turn which no other British player seems to have. Plus, he has a very high work rate and does not complain in unnatural situations.

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  64. Don't get this idea about how we don't need Isco and he won't fit in. Having Isco, Lallana and Coutinho in AM is some amazing depth. BR tailor made our attack, I'm sure he knows best which positions need more investment

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  65. Firmino yes,,,with or without Isco, this would be a good gamble,

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  66. Isco says 'it's all lies' so until we get some indication otherwise I think we should just consign this one to wishful thinking....

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  67. Shaqiri may be lining up against us when we play Roma...

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  68. A respected journalist?,

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  69. To be fair he's been unlucky with injuries last season! Benteke is much better than AC but I agree that Benteke needs to prove he's not a flash in the pan!

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  70. Rodgers has not been to keen on two holding midfielders. The Gerrard/Lucas partnership did not last all that long.

    He prefers two midfielders pressing and chasing the ball and frustrating the opposition compared to two midfielders who are there to sit back and absorb the pressure.

    I am quie happy for Rodgers to persist with the mouth watering attacking football of last season. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

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  71. They want a leader in the back line, somebody who`s vocal, none of our cb`s from last season took control of the back four, not even the keeper mignolet, since carra left we don`t seem to have any communication within this area of the field whatsoever.

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  72. why wouldnt he join us?we have champions league,have brought in some good players,we play one of the most attractive brands of football around and we are one of a handful of clubs worldwide with unparalled history and prestige,the only thing is whether the club will meet his wage demands.who do you follow by the way,cause it sure isnt liverpool?

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  73. I don't think is a bigger club than LFC! Whatever they have we have and some. They have been getting the most press in the past 5 years that's about it. We have 5 and they have 4!

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  74. You are talking about the same Sakho aren't you? Sakho is perhaps at his best aerially, he is also pretty quick, not the quickest, not as quick as Ilori, but still pretty quick. As far as Can goes, he is versatile and is known for his runs to the box and his dribbling, but is known as being a holding midfielder with an excellent range of passing, so much so that he has continuously been compared to Bastian Schweinsteiger. Last season, the only central defender who was a mainstay was Skrtel, the others had injuries, it happens, but it messes with the chemistry.

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  75. We conceded 50, yes 50 goals, MANY of them from crosses.

    We will have to disagree on Sahko, for me, he's an accident waiting to happen.

    If it wasn't for SAS getting us out of jail on numerous occassions, our keeper and defence, would have been criticised an awful lot more.

    Can looks elegant, but I honestly cannot see him as a ball winning, holding player.



    Hopefully, Lovren, is the first of several high quality defensive players that we sign.

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  76. Where to begin? So you want to but players from teams who are arguably better than us and who were certainly winning more than us whilst also admitting we are not the same kind of draw as those teams. So contradicting yourself aside those players who are leaving those clubs are we the only team interested? Of the teams interested who have been playing CL for the last few seasons? Who have been winning trophies the last few seasons. Who has the big stadium big city draw? Right now we are not in the top tier. In fact despite coming second last season losing our best player would likely see us a few rungs below in the eyes of potential targets. History is history, tomorrow is a mystery what are we offering today that other teams are not?

    You say all we needed was a better back four (could be argued back five but ok). So assuming we hadn't lost Suarez (get to that in a sec) then we would still be playing at least the CL group stages. We would still want to do a bit better in the cups. We have a lot of games and one or four more players at the back would not help that. We needed to sign players anyway and Suarez going meant we needed even more.

    Suarez. We had no real choice keepinh him. He wanted gone last year and he was even happy going to bloody Arsenal. Barca came calling and that was that. There was no keeping him this time so you just have to get over that.

    Remy is not a replacement for Suarez. He is unlikely to play lots of games with Sturridge and more likely to interchange with him due to injuries and rotation. They will play together at time but not a lot I would wager. So his assists don't matter as much Although 14 goals and 3 assists in 24 games is not bad. So who (up to now) HAS replaced Suarez. Well it is more likely when playing two up top we would have different types of players, so Lambert would be the one to partner Sturridge or Remy. Lambert had 10 assists last season on top of his 13 goals.You know who else will be chipping in with assists? Lallana who had 6 on top of his 9 goals from midfield.This is with aless prolific striker than Sturridge.Chances created are high enough to eclipse those assists for Soto.

    That brings me on to the point about Henderson (which apparently you thought I couldn't read). My point was that he came from a team much worse than Soto and he was one of our standout performers. Throughout the years we have bought players from mid table teams and they have done well for us. Like I say if they are high performing in the league we are in in an arguably mush worse team then why can they not replicate that form or even better it for us? It is totally ignorant to look at what team a player comes from and suggest he is midtable quality because that is where that team finished. So get a grip of yourself mate and have a bit of perspective.

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  77. so glad we got gazumped on the Salah deal. That is prob why they didn't go for Markovic. They already have Salah. Similar enough.

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  78. tihseralooprevil1:05 am, July 22, 2014

    no way isco will ever join liverpool

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  79. O K we were better BUT HATE this bloody lone striker crap - REMEMBER how arrogant and mouthy Mourinhio was last season - GIVE HIM TOTAL STICK ON SATURDAY - SHIT LOSER

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