28 Jul 2014

Suicide Deal? Liverpool in surprise move to sign 'special' £10m star with horrific injury history

After signing Croatian defender Dejan Lovren, Liverpool are reportedly planning to bring in another central defender, with £10m-rated Arsenal star Thomas Vermaelen in the frame for a move to Anfield.

According to the The Independent today:

"Thomas Vermaelen could be offered the chance to join Liverpool.

"Rodgers will move for Vermaelen in the hope that he can fend off Man Utd and Barcelona".


Can Liverpool's squad support yet another central defender?

Even if Daniel Agger leaves (which seems likely), there will still be too many senior centre-halves in the squad (just like last year):

* Skrtel
* Sakho
* Lovren
* Toure
* Vermaelen

Add in Coates, and Ilori, and the competition is clearly unhealthy, irrespective of the increased number of games on offer next season.

28-year old Vermaelen in Arsenal's captain, and I doubt he'll want to move to Anfield to sit on the bench all season, so if this link is genuine, there are several eventualities:

* Rodgers sees 'special' Vermaelen as his first-choice partner for Lovren, which means Skrtel and Sakho will become squad players.

* Rodgers is planning to sell at least two of the club's centre-halves: Agger, plus...Skrtel?

* Vermaelen is seen as a replacement for Kolo Toure, who is linked with a move to the Turkish league.

* Rodgers has little confidence in Sakho, who cost the club £18m last summer.

Lovren, Skrtel, Sakho, and Toure should (in theory) be enough, but Rodgers clearly isn't satisfied with the options he has available. Realistically, if the manager has confidence in Sakho, why sign Vermaelen?

Even if Rodgers wants to sign another central defender, Vermaelen is not the answer; with TWELVE injuries in seven years, he's almost as injury prone as Agger, and where's the logic in literally replacing one sick-note with another?

 photo ScreenShot2014-07-28at151111_zps108e64da.png

116 games missed through injury in the last seven seasons (!)

This particular transfer link can't be credible as Rodgers is surely incapable of being this short-sighted...

You never know, though - previous LFC managers have signed injury prone players, and if Liverpool sign Vermaelen, it will (IMO) be yet another act of gross transfer negligence.

Author:


206 comments:

  1. It would be utter madness. His days of being a top class centre back are behind him, and we are clearly overloaded. The only injury prone player I wouldn't mind us signing is Micah Richards. When fit, he offers quite a lot of everything you'd want from a full back, as well as cover at centre back in case 6 of the 7 get injured :-)

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  2. Stupid deal he is injured more then Agger. What wrong with Coates
    thought after the game today we need two main players that's up front and box to box mid field .
    then I would sell Allen Borini assadi robinson Kelly Agger Suso and Reina .
    Buy left and right wing backs.
    Upfront and midfield need Great players not cheap deals.

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  3. Could be that we did inquired about Vermaelen before we signed Lovren and now his agent is using our interest as bait. Just a thought.


    It is safe to say that no more CB's will be joining LFC before the window shuts. We now need a full back or 2.

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  4. I was getting worried about Liverpool for a moment ......the window is closing and we still havnt payed over the odds for an injury racked player in a position we are more than covered for but this deal will set the ship right

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  5. Not sure this transfer is likely but I think Sakho might move on.

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  6. we cant shift borini and co because they are on superstar contracts that only a fool would match assadi is on 45g a week at Liverpool it beggars belief

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  7. nobody will pay the fee or match his wages so i would forget about that

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  8. Forget about what?

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  9. must've forgot.

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  10. sako moving on be realistic do you think we will get 17m and im guessing hes on around 80 to 100 grand a week

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  11. WHAT THE HELL WITH THE BORINI STAYS NO REMY??? remy for 8.5m was an amazing deal. it puts us in a real problem.



    Borini, Allen and Agger has to go. That's a potential 40-45m deal.


    We are suppose to have 55m left from the Suarez deal.



    If the club don't get at least two first team signings this summer it will bea joke.


    We should go for Vidal and Gaitan, sell borini allen agger and still have 25m for a striker and a lb to spend.

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  12. Nothing that gets decided surprises me. Talk about death wish!!

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  13. all these players like reina are on wages that become there ability thats why we cant shift them and have to loan them out all the above will be on well over 50g a week

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  14. You wanted us to pay £11m for a dead-man-walking?

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  15. we need to first team signings after Lovern and an LB and a ST. nothing more to say.

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  16. but we cant shift the deadwood because of there outrageous wages so we cant bring players in

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  17. If he goes I will metaphorically dine on it for.... well months,possibly even a year and if not, no one will remember that i said something else daft.

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  18. im gonna get behind sako because we dont have a choice as long as he wins the ball in the air and wins his tackles ill be happy but im not expecting much more

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  19. agger wants to leave. allem i have no idea what he thinks. Borini just destroyed a great deal. Imagine remy in almost half the price of borini. . . . . .

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  20. right not the truth is this: We sold Suarez and got Lambert. . . . . .

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  21. i just want borini out even if we have to lose money hes crap

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  22. I do not think he got it.

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  23. Lambert will do a job as a sub and will be happy doing it ...he wont rock the boat

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  24. his crap and we have one injury prone striker. The transfer business of this club, sorry to say, is on the offensive to supporters and ridicules side.

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  25. Lambert is a good player but i am afraid he will collapse mentally by pressure and won't preform well this season.

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  26. it always has and always will be its the Liverpool way.i would sooner play a kid out of the reserves up front rather than borini

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  27. for 30m i expect nothing less its not like they have come cheap...for some reason at liverpool its acceptable to spend 10 to 15m on a player and its okay if we dont play him because hes crap so we loan him out

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  28. actually at this moment i would just settle for a 30m bid for Lukako.

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  29. It will be suicidal for Liverpool if they sign this walking dead man

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  30. T Vermalen(28) is a very good defender. If B Rodgers ships out the likes of S Coates(23) , D Agger(29) and K Toure(33) this summer. I think T Vermalen(28) would be a descent signing.


    And we could have two solid mobile quick tough tackling centre back partnerships:


    D Lovren(24) and M Sakho(23) Premiership / Fa Cup
    M Skrtel(29) and T Vermalen(28) Champions League / Carling Cup

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  31. So Chambers has joined Arsenal and Ben Smith is saying Jay Rodriguez and Morgan Schneiderlin are on the verge of moving to Spurs.


    Being a Southampton fan has to suck right now?

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  32. Just a quick question, why do you put players' ages next to their names all the time?

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  33. They still have a lot of talented youngsters at their club, I really hope they can send their money smart and manage to stay in the PL, I feel for every soton fan

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  34. ...not much different to Jay Rodriguez but he still wants him as well unfortunately

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  35. I'm afraid Rodgers might just be signing his p45. It's astonishing that he cannot identify the key areas that need addressing , amazing that the remy deal died when he is perfectly fit. Amazing that we have not bought a left back, amazing that we have not bought a top striker buying lambert and origi is not the answer to lhs departure.

    We seem incapable of signing world class talent. And sorry to say it but lvg will sign Vidal and do Maria and they will rise above us again. We will continue to miss the boat and unfortunately do a spurs

    If I'm right it's a real shame

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  36. Can we just buy Yamelenko, he looks like he could play up front if needed (cover Sturridge). Don't want Jay Rodrguez, we'll end up spending all Suarez money at Southampton. Why didn't we just give Suarez in exchange for 5 players?

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  37. And how many titles LFC has won with Agger & Pepe? Ok, a couple of cups, but not title...

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  38. Point taken and appreciated, Nacy.

    I don't believe honesty is a bad thing, but there is a time and a place for it. Moving to a new club and then essentially announcing you'd rather not be there is, in my opinion, not the time or place. What good does it do him (or the club) to say anything other than the generic, "I'm looking forward to this new challenge/chapter in my career/opportunity to help [insert new club name here]"?

    As far as the no. 5 is concerned: I was not aware of his clothing label. Makes sense now - thanks.

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  39. Of all the Southampton players last season, I liked Jay Rodriguez most. Felt Lallanam, Shaw and Lambert were a bit overrated while Lovren and Schneiderlin were good.


    Should have got Jay. R. instead of Lallana though. Guess he got injured at a wrong time.

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  40. I have been thinking for awhile that the striker we are NOT getting is because BR likes the idea of Sterling as a striker. So maybe doesn't feel the pressure of finding another striker. Also if the Sunderland deal for Borini caves in, then we'll have Borini too. Ibe and Markovic and hold down the wings while Sterling moves forward. I think it makes sense. I think we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg regarding Sterling's talents.

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  41. Big shame if Agger goes. Personally, if anyone had to go, I'd sell Skirtel before Agger.

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  42. Stillif I'm going down the list of available strikers I don't see the next guy on the list below Remy as Jay Rodriguez. You can't tell me there aren't better strikers out there. I like JR, but I believe he is just Borini without the Italian accent and we already have that guy.

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  43. jay rod is twice the player borini is ....the snag is though hes injured,not a fan of signing injured players you have no way of knowing is they will recover to the same level

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  44. Let's hope you're wrong then :-)

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  45. if we have to rely on borini we are goosed

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  46. Could be worse: could be Aspas.

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  47. COLUMBIA - COLUMBIA - COLUMBIA - COLUMBIA -Best strikers in the world anmd the best of them might be available -Remy joke in comparison

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  48. We could raid Shaktar for a striker, their players are going AWOL with the problems Ukraine. If we sell Borini we could find someone with the same amount of money from the transfer in Ukraine.


    Even Seydou Doumbia would be a better option than Borini, he'll be similar to Bony (for less money). We are obviously not going to pay hand over fist for Marco Rues, so we'll have to find someone in Eastern Europe and take a gamble.



    Southampton must see us a as herpes (we just won't go away).

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  49. I hear they are adopting a new badge for next season: a skeleton being picked clean by ravens.
    I actually like Soton. I hope they do well next season, but this must be a hell of a time for their fans.

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  50. id forgot about him ..we could play assadi up front or at least have him collecting litter on the car park to help justify his 45g a week

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  51. 50mill for 3 players one at 32 isnt bad buisness or 75m for 4 one of which is injured

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  52. We need 4 top quality Centre backs. Kolo should make way.

    3 top centre halves just wont cut it. One injury and we start to look very thin

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  53. Southampton's kit sponsor must be photo shopping all their promo pictures... Only Artur Buric and Jose Fonte are still with the club.


    Never felt so bad for another team in my life tbh.

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  54. im not a big fan of either to be honest, skrtel is the better at defending but lacks awareness hence the nice last ditch tackles and ball watching, and agger seems frail and slow, not great in the air, not a good ball winner, great on the ball, thats it.
    id like skrtel as a sub and bit part player until proven otherwise.
    maybe a centre pair of lovren and vermaelen if we can get him, good agressive player good on the ball and gets the odd goal.
    johnson has to go, or sub at best

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  55. spot on, the so called golden generation ruined by incompetent managers. glen hoddle being the last decent one for me, despite being a weirdo !!

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  56. ...that or be a ball boy. He *is* rather quick.

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  57. The way things are looking I'd take Yamelenko, he's seems like he's got alot of potential. He's mainly a winger, but so was Henry. Think that's a good shout.

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  58. If 2 of our CB get injured, Emre Can will cover (JK will love that)

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  59. Remy Failed the medical mate

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  60. at least skrtal appears to try and defend id be happy with him and lovren in the middle...sako looks to slow and awkward for me and isnt the monster he was made out to be

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  61. I would say he WAS better, but now we don't know because of his knee. I think he WAS twice the striker Borini was until Borini got the confidence to score goals...big goals...last season. I think Borini will surprise a lot of people. He has ability and now he has confidence too. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like Rodriguez in our line-up but I think we still have an entire month to find players. We are miles ahead of where we were last year at this time.

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  62. I heard the same kind of stuff last summer and during the january transfer window. You know, marquee signings and all that. Yet we almost won the league.

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  63. Sterling as the #2 striker does not sound bad to me. We have good wingers and good MFs. I like it more all the time.

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  64. Definitely think Agger is on his way out and convinced Rodgers has had enough of his constant speaking out. I always preferred Agger to Skrtel but if I had to choose between them now you would just have to pick Skrtel and sell Agger. Skrtel was our best defender last season without question. Agger is just so slow to move, turn and is constantly injured so has to go. Trouble is you know Skrtel has got mistakes in him. Personally I'd like to see is give Lovren and Sakho the chance.

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  65. The Saints fans deserve better, no question.

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  66. Does Borini have the ability though? I just don't see if myself. He's just not good enough for Liverpool and if I'm honest I don't think he's a good buy for Sunderland either especially for 14M. He seems like an honest player and I wish him well but personally think he needs to leave England as I don't think he will ever be a big hit here.

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  67. You are forgetting Coates and Ilori. Personally would like to see Toure and Agger sold, Ilori sent on loan preferably in England and I'd keep Coates, he's looked decent in pre season. That's our 4 CBs sorted.

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  68. What a gracious fellow

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  69. damn shit the most stable CB in liverpool at the moment...

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  70. fully agree my friend... sakho is not sharp enough and as posted many times here i think frankly he cant handle the EPL pressure... Daniel agger is head and shoulder comparing to flopy sakho

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  71. T Llori will be loaned again this season. B Rodgers should ship out S Coates(23), K Toure(33) and D Agger(29) and bring in T Vermalen(29) for £10-£14M


    Vermalen(29) has all the attributes Agger(29) but has more mobility, pace and speed and is descent in the air also.

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  72. I'm not going to read the article nor posts. I am just going to bet my life we will not sign Vermaelen.

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  73. Eh, we had Suarez...

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  74. Typical JK and his conspiracies.

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  75. Hope you don't die.

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  76. Competition for places will NEVER be unhealthy

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  77. think sakho has the potential to be great, looks good at international level and had some decent games last season. agree he looks awkward sometimes, think its down to confidence, think he was thrown straight into the deep end a bit, in what was the highest pressure of games leading to the end, which you could argue half the team lost there nerve, in games like chelsea and palace. still hurts to think about it !! most of all we need consistent defenders and you dont have it with skrtel agger and last but not least the woeful johnson. skrtel obviously the best out the 3 by some way ;)

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  78. think hes worth a punt but cant see him joining to sit on the bench. how many games has agger missed through injury in the past?
    is coates that bad, we need some bigger units in the team. how we miss a hypia, who must of won 99% of balls in the air at the back against the likes of drogba etc.

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  79. I just can't see this being any more than paper talk. Even if we were gonna sign a new centre back surely it would be a right sided one for a change. Also can't see us replacing one past his best, overpaid, injury prone defender with another. I expect to see agger and toure leave. Probably Coates too. Ilori may or may not be sent out on loan

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  80. What makes you think Sakho might leave?

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  81. i WILL NEVER DIE!

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  82. Rodgers didn't restrict Agger to 23 appearances last season. Aggers fitness and attitude did that.

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  83. Does anyone know the reason as to why Loic Remy's move to Liverpool got called off ?

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  84. Sounds like paper nonsense to me. A bit like the Reus story where one paper ran a story merely speculating he could be a suitable option, another paper said that Liverpool were "reported to be interested", another paper said Liverpool were "going to make a bid" ... it's all nonsense. Maybe the club made an enquiry when the Lovren negotiations were going on, perhaps as a backup or to put some pressure on Southampton and show that Lovren wasn't the only option. That's a total guess. Vermaelen is a good player, if he was fit he'd do quite well for Liverpool but very little else about the deal makes much sense.

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  85. Coates is OK, he might just not be suited to English football. Let's see how he continues in the pre-season, he's been OK. He's still very highly rated in his home country and they play a tough brand of football in Uruguay. I'm indifferent either way but if he stayed for another season and kept fit he might surprise a few people.

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  86. I hope so too, we all like Greg. He's a good sort. Plus dying in general is a bit unpleasant and I'd rather there was less of it. What I'd guess is that Lucifer won't take him up on the bet in the first place.

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  87. I won't even joke about it. It's not cool what's happening there. I hope they come back with a bunch of good signings and have another brilliant season. How a football club can be that good on the pitch and then essentially allow the team to disintegrate is almost beyond belief.

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  88. He's virtually a zombie. He'd be better off in "The Walking Dead" taking a bullet in the head from Rick or Carl.

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  89. The legend of Greg shall stand the test of time...


    No thanks to Vermaelen

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  90. Because we are signing Victor Moses instead...


    (tbh I won't be surprised if this happened).

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  91. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:20 am, July 29, 2014

    Don't believe everything you read on the net Jaime. If there's any link, it's only smokescreen for our real target of his International teammate, Jan Vertonghen. Jan is versatile can play at center and also a left back (a fine one too). BR loves his players like that.

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  92. Saw on espn that Suso is trying to renew his contract....wants to stay.

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  93. Gil's,

    I know I. Am probably dreaming but I want LFC to go for the gusto and not just settle for medium talent. We are in the CL and need 2-3 real class proven players. Our LB situation needs to be addressed as does the need for someone to replace Stevie this year or next. Hence Vidal. I would rather we TRY for Vidal and get turned down rather than not try at all........

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  94. I think this is nothing but paper talk. They get bored every now and then and make stuff up that they 'heard'. Agger will go to Barcelona, Toure to Besiktas. He has every confidence in Sakho....his looked erratic occasionally last season but the pace of game here took some acclimatising to....other times he looked like the Rolls Royce I expect him to be this season. If you read Rodgers comments about Lovren being right footed despite preferring to play on the left, I think that was a signal that he will switch him to the right and partner Sakho. Sounds good to me.....Coates to be sold and Skrtel and Ilori (who has a great future if he bulks up) will be rotated in for cup/ post CL games if required.

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  95. word! and what about cuadrado? we were linked to him a lot before the wc. but nothing now

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  96. I think BR needs to sort our LB problem first and buy a striker.. we are currently overloading with defenders.. i hope BR makes a bid for welbeck. He's fast and a smart finisher.

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  97. Yokohama Liverpool Fan7:44 am, July 29, 2014

    It sounds like a deliberate attempt to rile up
    Arsenal and Man U. I would much rather keep Agger or give Coates a chance than
    get Vermaelen. Anyway we should be focused now on selling/loaning out our
    fringe players and signing a marquee or a difference maker in our starting
    team. A powerful goal scoring CMF and maybe another striker should be enough.

    squad=31

    Keepers

    Mignolet, Jones, Reina (3)

    CB

    Lovren, Skrtel, Sakho, Agger, Toure, Coates,
    Ilori (7)

    RB

    Johnson, Flanno, Manquillo, Kelly (4)

    LB

    Enrique, Robinson (new signing) (3)

    Holding Midfielders

    Gerrard, Henderson, Can, Allen, Lucas (5)

    Attacking midfielders

    Sterling, Countinho, Lallana, Markovic, Ibe,
    Suso (6)

    Forwards:

    Sturridge, Lambert, Borini (3)

    Possible calls up from the academy may include
    Texeira who should be loaned out for more experience.

    A squad of 31 needs trimming as we can only
    field 11 players at a time, have 7 players on the bench and bring on 3 in a
    game. To have a balanced team we need 2 players in each position: 23 players
    including 3 keepers. Anymore and we will get cases where players are discontent
    like Aspas who we have loaned out and Agger. The squad can also be backed up by
    the reserves if needed.

    So with that in mind the following 8 should be
    shipped off:

    Defenders: Toure (released), Agger (sell), Kelly
    (sell), Robinson (sell or loan out), Illori, Suso (loan out)

    Holding MF: Lucas and Allen (sell)

    GK: Reina and Mignolet can battle it out and
    keep each other on their toes.

    CB: We will not be able to keep 4 starting CBs
    happy so I'm afraid it is time to say bye to our vice-captain.

    I believe Enrique can do a job so our LB
    position and be backed up by Flano or Johnson so it is not as urgent as people
    are making out. At RB, we are stuck with Johnson who will run down his
    contract. With Flano hopefully stepping up and Manquillo soon to arrive we are
    not too short here either. Hopefully Manquillo will be our solution and we can
    sign him on after his 2 year loan.

    As was evident at the tail end of last season
    and preseason it is evident Allen and Lucas will be passengers this season and
    won't have any significant impact on the first team. It is time we ship them
    off (at least 1) and bring in a powerful presence who can defend and contribute
    to goals. A player like Vidal will be a perfect fit. Gerrard at 34 can't play
    every game; as fit as Henderson is we can't play him in every game across 4
    competitions and Can is still a young prospect who may not hit the ground
    running. Suso could play in CM but we could really do with a marquee player
    here.

    Up front we really could have done with Remy as
    a backup for Sturridge and at 8.5m we will not be able to sign a striker of his
    quality or output for that price. It remains to be seen whether we go in for
    Jay Rodriguez (cruciate ligament), Bony (20m+) or a top/marquee player
    like Gameiro, Jackson Martinez or Falcao. Again if we are entrusting Sturridge
    to do the job and play him as a one-top flanked by Sterling, Markovic, Lallana
    and Ibe. It might not be a bad idea to buy another winger/fwd who can
    contribute goals with Lallana out for a month and maybe Ibe not ready yet. With
    Griezmann on his way to Atletico maybe Shaqiri of Lacazette could be a good
    bet. With Man United after Hummels, Vermaelen, Benatia, De Vrij, Blind,
    Carvalho, Vidal and Di Maria we cannot be idle and with our CL advantage we
    should be able to lure or at least attempt to lure players of that
    caliber.



    Latest news is PSG may offload Lavezzi after they capture Di Maria and that
    we have tabled a cut price 18m offer for him.

    Trimmed
    squad: 23

    Keepers

    Mignolet, Reina, Jones (3)

    CB

    Lovren, Skrtel, Sakho, Coates (4)

    RB

    Johnson, Manquillo (2)

    LB

    Enrique, Flanaghan (2)

    Holding Midfielders: play two

    Gerrard, Henderson, Can, (new signing) (4)

    Attacking midfielders: play three

    Sterling, Countinho, Lallana, Markovic, Ibe (5)

    Forwards: play three

    Sturridge, Lambert, Borini (3)

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  98. He has a worse injury record than me, and that is saying something, trust me!
    We don't need any more CB, even if we sell Agger, or someone else.
    Not worth the money either, he is good when fit, but hardly ever fit.

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  99. i agree that coates has looked okay but can you really judge him on two friendlies....two problems is one he is treacle slow and two is that for 6 ;7 he cant win a header

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  100. its unhealthy for the clubs accounts and sustainability to have fringe players on 100g a week contracts plus they will spit there dummies out and cause unrest

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  101. heard reus just rejected a new contract at dortmund. i know its highly unlikely that we will sign or even bid for someone like him. but if not now, when...?

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  102. I actually think that IS a coincidence. The full backs are part of a defensive unit as well and I'm not too sure about Flanno and Johnson's grasp of the French language....

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  103. But Lovren is a really really really good defender right?

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  104. Crazy talk. Let Man Utd take him.
    Also, regarding Sakho: he had some of the best stats out of all the defenders at the World Cup, last season he didn't get a proper run of games to build a real understanding with Skrtel and while sometimes he looked a little shaky on the ball, maybe it was just first-season nerves. I don't know, but Brendan will know this and I'm sure he'll give Sakho a proper chance. Sakho and Lovren together looks good to me.

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  105. I don't know really. He does not seem to have settled in yet and as he has done quite well for France he might be in demand.

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  106. Best joke I heard all day.

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  107. Coates has been a surprise in pre-season. I hope BR give him his chance...he has been thru a lot and he seems like a good guy too

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  108. Remy failed four times due to a heart murmur. He is too much of a risk to sign.

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  109. NonEventHorizon1:59 pm, July 29, 2014

    I agree with you that most teams would be lucky to have Agger, but it's plain to see that he's not been the defender we'd all love him to be for the last couple of seasons. I think his injury spells have kind of kept him at a plateau in terms of his performances, maybe if he'd stayed fit he would have got better and better.

    I don't think we need to sell Sakho at this time, he seemed to have good and bad moments in every game he played last season and hopefully that was down to "settling in".

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  110. Fair enough. I can't make my mind up about Sakho. He gives me the dear just about all the time he's on the pitch tho

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  111. Ha I'm in Glasgow. Global fan base eh?

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  112. I can't see Sakho going. He had a stop/start season with us and picked up a knock. I think he'll come good, it's just a case of getting used to the system. Also kept Mangala on the bench for France. Obviously, those who've seen far more of him rate him.

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  113. Allen will be an important option for us this season. He ended the season strongly last season, knows the system and style. There were games Coutinho went missing, where he was a good option. Maybe by the end of the season that role will be fulfilled and even challenged by Suso, but for now, Allen is important to maintain some form of stability. Feel for Borini, he seems well liked and with experience he'll be less of a headless chicken, but at £14m it's a shame that deal didn't go straight through. Agger isn't fancied, too expensive to be sat on the bench, you'd have thought his agent would've created some options for him by now. Vidal and Turan would be a dream for their physical presence further up the pitch, but I can't see it.

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  114. ...or he's working on his master article praising all aspects of LFC - particularly the loan deals and Rodgers' insistence on playing players out of their natural positions - and has lost track of the time.

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  115. Richards would be far better or just give Agger his starting place and he be happy to stay,,Johnson,,Lovren,,Agger,,Enrique,,, or sakho with Agger great defender and would walk into most top teams in Europe.

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  116. were getting rid of one sicknote [agger] why buy another

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  117. From your mouth to God's ear dude

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  118. There was a Soton fan on here not too long ago laying into us for thinking Lallana and Lovren would want to leave Southampton and the board to be willing to sell them. I told them then and I'll stick by that, Liebherr is selling off all assets and then the club so she gets the maximum cash out of it. It will all depend on who the next owner will be then. I can tell you one thing though, Pelle and Djuricic are not going to keep them up. I feel bad for them tough. They were really on to something good. That Cortese guy in tandem with Pocchetinno. Some decent players brought in at a reasonable price, some good youngsters brought through and a solid fanbase. Too bad momma needs another new pair of shoes or they could have gone places imo.

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  119. So far Man U have signed no one other than Herrera and Shaw. I would have loved to have seen Herrera here but I would have cried at 27 million for Shaw. We needed a new CB, he got us one. We needed creativity to replace Suarez, he got us Lallana and Markovic. We needed a plan B, he got us Lambert. We needed strength AND height in midfield, he got us Can. I think Rodgers is very well aware of what we need. You and I just do not agree whether the players he's bought will get the job done but there is only one way of finding that out.

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  120. welcome, Origi - and good luck (next season)

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  121. I will be following his progress this coming season...

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  122. Hope he turns out to be a beast for us. Don't know anything about him except for what I saw during the World Cup.

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  123. Are Lille in the CL?

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  124. I believe so, yes. Finished 3rd last season(?). Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

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  125. Do not know much about him either but the official LFC website saying that the club has been tracking him since his days playing for the Belgian U15 national team.

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  126. Yeah they finished 3rd.

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  127. If we are paired with them, will Origi play against us? Will there be another Courtois controversy?

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  128. Not sure how that works. I would assume he can't play against us unless we allow it...?

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  129. That means that we were tracking him since the Rafa days and the scouting system has completely changed since that time. I do not believe this.

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  130. ^also a great representation of how I reacted when the video didn't post properly.

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  131. I am pretty sure the club keeps records of players being scouted many years back.


    4 years ago, we could have started scouting Origi after Rafa left. Scouts do most of the work anyway..

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  132. Sport Barca is saying that now that Lovren has signed, Barca is prepping to bid 12M for Agger. Nice bit of business if it can be had.

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  133. Barca have been after Agger for quite some time now.

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  134. JUST OUT OF INTEREST ARE LIVERPOOL ACTUALLY ABLE TO SELL PLAYERS OR DO WE JUST LOAN THEM OUT

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  135. Loaning out a player like Aspas to a club in Spain where he mowage package st probably will do well could only be a good thing. We loaned out Borini and could make a profit on him if he does decide to join Sunderland.


    Where one needs to question the issue is who offered Reina a massive wage package which is the reason why we cannot move him on.

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  136. Ben Smith @BenSmithBBC ·



    #LFC shrewd to agree fee for Origi before World Cup. Looked a talent. Lille would only do deal if he was loaned back


    So, seems it was not LFC's decision to send Origi on loan?

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  137. Apparently, there was also interest from AC Milan and the Spuds [excellent band name, by the way]. If LFC had refused to loan him back to Lille (as I assume was the case with the two teams listed above), I don't think the deal would have gone through. I guess the club felt it was better to sign and loan than to not sign at all.

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  138. Well, I am sure he will play regular first team football next season so it is not the end of the world.

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  139. Curious to see if we loan him out again after the forthcoming season to a PL or Championship club to get him acclimated to English football.

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  140. We have only signed Lambert for two years. Reckon Origi will have the 2015/16 season to settle at Anfield and then the following season become a regular. We shall see.

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  141. Dortmund and Arsenal were also after him.

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  142. its the same old same old a player has a good year gives a whisper that hes unhappy so we offer them a 5 year 100g contract im sick of the club overpaying players its criminal and its not changing under fsg and rogers assadi on 45g a week i just cant get my head around that

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  143. How do you know Assaidi is earning £45k a week?


    Earning more than Sterling?

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  144. Paying a player that young that much will end his career there and then :-)

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  145. Also there are still some scours around from then no?

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  146. i cant confirm but ive read it on various sites thats whats holding the stoke deal up apparently

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  147. sterling has had a pay rise but at least hes a first team player so there is some saving grace

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  148. I've got a feeling there was talk in the papers about a new 100k deal at the end of the season but as far as I know that hasn't gone through yet. If I remember correctly I think he's on around 35/40k a week... Still not bad eh!!

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  149. Surprised the poor lad can feed himself on such low wages.

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  150. Part of the problem, as I saw it, last season was the fact that Agger could not topple either Sakho or Skrtel, which says a lot about what he brings to the team. Ironically, both Sakho and Skrtel are enforcers, they a reactionary, which can make them liabilities when up against skilled or mobile forwards. That's where a game reading centreback ought to come in, someone like Carra or Sami, who weren't the nippiest, but who could anticipate, read the game and nullify. Injury notwithstanding, I have never really been convinced by Agger, who despite a pronounced ability to bring the ball out of defence with composure, seemed to lack that organisational quality that could make for a solid defensive foundation. Positionally, and physically, Agger doesn't seem to have been impressive, two traits that Lovren would seem to have. It's understandable how frustrating not getting game time last season was, but that's the trouble, with just the league, we could get by with pretty much just out first team, relying heavily on the SAS to score our goals. With more competitions, Agger would likely have gotten more playing time, so why keep grumbling about limited playing time? Put up or shut up.

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  151. Why sell Aspas now while he's worth nothing, when we can just loan him back to La Liga where he's proven to be decent, thus raise his value?

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  152. Can't see it at all. 4 left sided centre backs!? Pure media speculation.

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  153. I have also read that the price for Assaidi is the issue.

    Google shows that he is on £1.092 million per season which would be about £23k a week. I doubt he was earning major wages at Heerenveen his previous club.

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  154. Shaw is on 200k a week.

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  155. yeah, but I couldn't fit them in to a hip-sounding band name - and that's all that really matters here. ;-)

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  156. That is their problem if it is so.

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  157. Does anyone know what's happened to the author? Maybe someone should call his Mum's house and ask her to shout up to his room and check on him. :-)

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  158. Jk is lost with out suarez he was last seen posting on a barcelona forum

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  159. We still badly need some decent full backs (Bertrand a bullet dodged) and a top notch striker ( Sturridge is notoriously injury prone).

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  160. I am beginning to think Lambert was a tactical blunder. He is obviously the slowest guy on the pitch. Our FBs are too narrow. Coutinho seems tentative. Allen is indecisive with his decision making. Sturridge is champing at the bit. Henderson needs to get his brain out in front of his feet. Sooo...a preseason match then. I'd like to see Sturridge, Sterling, Markovic and Coutinho in the second half please. The defense looks pretty good though. Coates is looking pretty good.

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  161. I want to see Suso, Ibe and Can.

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  162. What a relief. Having a look at the Saints forum, they are not too pleased with this signing and are calling him back up for their other young full back. Having a look at the match, we definitely need two new full backs.

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  163. At this moment in time I'd choose Robinson ahead of Enrique. Jose gives the ball away so easily it's hardly believable.

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  164. For a preseason match it was played at a pretty high tempo but I really would not read into these matches too much but fook me Johnson needs to go and Enrique looks like he forgot how to play football. Our problem = both left and right back.

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  165. Yeah, GJ needs to go. Poor play from the moment he entered the match. Coutinho starts out so quick with the ball, but just runs out of ideas...same as last year. I really like this Emre Can kid...just lit a spark as soon as he entered. And I said it last week and I'll say it again. Sterling is our striker pairing for Sturridge. Barton said it in the pre-game that BR has decided not to go for another striker in this window. I believe it is because he found his striker in Sterling. What composure with that two touch goal.

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  166. Pretty sure we will sign another forward.

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  167. I thought Robinson did okay out there, but I would love to see a new fast left back.

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  168. Agree. Also Lambert and Allen gave the ball away too much though Allen did improve. Also Coates started well but then his lack of turning speed and speed generally came out. Good game thogh and good Character. Good games from Sterling, Sturridge, Henderson, Coutinho and Can. oh i forgot Mig

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  169. Most of the players were sloppy, especially in the first half. Again, preseason. Our starting lineup will look completely different when the season starts.

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  170. Did you see Sakho make that little behind the butt dribble move to get free? As soon as he entered the match the left side was shut down. He had a goal with his noggin, but Hart got in the way.

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  171. Just glad we did not lose and I saw enough to give me some optimism for the coming season especially with players still to come in and hopefully a new striker and at least one full back.

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  172. Yes he was good too. Was it him or Toure though with the header?

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  173. Lovren and Sakho will be our first choice CB pair this coming season.

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  174. I'll have to wait for the youtube highlights but I was sure it was Sakho.

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  175. I know I heard Barton say that BR stated he wouldn't be signing anymore strikers this Summer.

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  176. We desperately need quality full backs with pace and awareness otherwise we will be exposed many times down the flanks this coming season. Johnson treats the game at walking pace nowadays. He should rather just decide to take an extended leave until his contract ends. Infuriates me how he is one of our highest paid players but does not give a sh!te.

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  177. Has Pepe Reina become 3rd choice?


    If Glen Johnson won't leave...... make him work in the club shop. He can't even attack/go forward like he used too (I would feel more confident with Emanuel Eboue in our team- that's how bad he's got).


    Think Lambert needs a goal to get that monkey off his back, or he'll start really slow come mid August and over think everything.


    Hope Sturridge can learn to role defenders like Suarez or we'll definitely need another striker before the season starts (not end of the window). Raheem can role people pretty well, think stick him in the Number 10 and stick Sturridge on the shoulder of the opposition back 4.


    Think we'll need someone in the striking position to come in, if Sturridge gets too comfortable he may not perform like he did when he was fighting to be top dog.


    Alexandre Lacazztte look a good shout, he presses well and has a turn of pace, also has good strength for his size. He should be bought with Borini money.

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  178. Please tell me your lying... Sturridge isn't going to be able to stay fit. Plus with the amount of games???


    Hope BR is just keeping his cards close to his chest. Unless he see Skrtel as 4th choice centre forward, he's got to bring another body in up top.

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  179. Fully agree that we need two quality fullbacks on either side. But im worried that Rodgers deos not see this as a priority. Even recently he was quoted on the lfc site that he is looking to get a new forward in. Nothing about fullbacks.

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  180. That's why he's said we're not done buying yet. Bertrand is definitely a bullet dodged. Thank you again Southampton!

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  181. He's in Manchester getting his family Xmas gifts from the Utd mega store.

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  182. Lambert has the technique but he is far too slow to do anything. He has the heart and soul which I love but tactically he doesn't fit in.


    When is Allen going to take his chance? Never. Lucas with a few great touches showed Allen up in this game, while Henderson again showed why he is our best midfielder.


    Last season Rodgers had his team firing before the start of the PL, he had his first team start and play the majority of game time during the last 3-4 friendlies. Lallana/Markovic out of action and Lambert and Allen in the team...Not very inspiring for me.

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  183. thats pretty much how i feel pete, the saving grace of the tour is that tino and sterling look like they are gonna give it a real go this year

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  184. jose looks like he doesnt want to defend and just attack thats where hopefully lovren will shout him back a job that gerrad should but wont do

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  185. lambert is suited for cold wet mid week away games against lower opposition the games that our team usually dont fancy

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  186. I thought after Sterling came on and they went looking for an equaliser things perked up on the attacking side. With the fixtures we've got at the start of the season I'd be happier if we'd already got a settled preferred first 11 playing pre season

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  187. Lucas played the holding role?


    With two midfielders ahead of him 'protecting' he has the time to do all he likes.


    Lucas in an advanced position is not so good so not sure why you are comparing the two?

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  188. He's comparing the two because he has every right to do so. Why don't you try discussing things in a proactive manner instead of endlessly asking pointless, accusatory questions?

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  189. Oh oh teachers back:-)

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  190. Well I don't think that is the last time we'll see Lambert and slow used in the same sentence

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  191. Allen played in a different position. He played alongside Henderson who were both ahead of Gerrard who was holding.


    Do not see how that is a pointless question.

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  192. I thought it was a no brainer when we signed him but I am getting worried by what i have seen so far.


    He is now looking an expensive option for one game a season against Stoke.

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  193. Funny picture and caption this morning showing BR signing a Liverpool shirt at Yankee Stadium. The fan next is holding a Reus shirt and the article is captioned "Rodgers close to signing Reus." Ha

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  194. I did not compare the two as individuals. In summary, which is quite clear, I said Lucas had a greater impact than Allen. Allen never takes his chance.


    Lucas at DM and Gerrard at DM is two different team dynamics. There's no hero worshipping 'protecting' when Lucas is on the pitch. Regardless, it's not relevant. If anything, it benefits an argument in favour of Lucas who had a primarily defensive role but still got involved in the goal we scored, unlike Allen.

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  195. It's not funny, it's pathetic (IMO). Typical of how some sites cynically mislead fans with blatantly fake headlines.

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  196. "great touches showed Allen up in this game"



    Are you suggesting Lucas is going to do the same in an advanced role or is it just to take your usual stab at poor old Allen...

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