14 Aug 2014

Mega Transfer? BR has 'enquired' about 3 exciting world stars worth £110m. LFC told there's 'no chance' of deals

Since the dubious collapse of the Loic Remy deal, Liverpool have been linked with several of Europe's best strikers, and with the new season only three days away, the speculation is now reaching fever pitch. By all accounts, the Reds are desperately scrambling to sign a top-class striker, and the BBC claims that Brendan Rodgers' transfer wish-list contains three enticing names.

According to BBC journalist Ben Smith, Liverpool have made official transfer enquiries for Edinson Cavani, Radamel Falcao, and Karim Benzema (combined cost: £110m)



Lots of news sources have reported Liverpool's alleged interest, but the BBC is one of the more credible sources out there, which adds weight to the rumours that LFC have actually made a concerted effort to sign one of three players.

As Smith notes, though, it's the same old story with Liverpool: the club has 'No chance' of signing one of Europe's elite players, and this is unlikely to change any time soon. It's a dispiriting state of affairs, but there are quite a few possibly reasons why the club is incapable of attracting 'marquee' players:

* Liverpool is simply not an enticing city in which to live for prospective overseas players. Why live up north when the bright-lights of London are calling?

* Rodgers is comparatively unknown, and doesn't have the profile or the pull to attract the world's biggest stars.

* Ian Ayre is incapable of persuading elite players to come to Anfield. The likes of Sanchez, Cavani, and Benzema are unlikely to be impressed by an unknown accountant.

* Liverpool lack the personal touch during transfer negotiations, i.e. Rodgers is not involved in meeting prospective signings and selling the club.

* Top players don't feel 'wanted' enough (sending Ayre to seal a deal is not (IMO) an effective way to show world stars that they're really wanted by the club)

* Liverpool's glorious history no longer has sufficient pull.

* Big stars are wary of Liverpool's recent 4-year slide into mediocrity (2009-13), and may feel that the club's league success last season is a one-off, or a fluke.

* LFC's wage structure doesn't facilitate the signing of expensive world stars, which leads to the club constantly trying to lowball prospective signings, which ultimately leads to failure.

* Top players want to see if Liverpool can sustain Champions League qualification before committing to the club.

* Liverpool have no world class players in the squad, and prospective marquee signings are wary of this. Birds of a feather flock together, and top players like to play alongside other top players.

Etc. The list goes on. The question is, when will things change? If Liverpool make the Champions League for the next 3 years running, will the world's elite suddenly want to play for the club?

I doubt it.

It all arguably comes down to the profile of the manager, and money. Rodgers is a superb manager, and he may go on to become a Ferguson-esque legend in his own right, but unless he wins some major trophies, he is never going to attain a Van Gaal/Mourinho-style aura, something that is absolutely vital when it comes to attracting the world's best players.

Unfortunately, the club is handicapped by Rodgers' comparatively low profile, and the problem is compounded by Liverpool's approach to transfers, which basically involves Rodgers selecting targets (with input from the infernal transfer committee), and then instructing Ian Ayre to go out and sign the players.

Under Rodgers, Liverpool are (IMO) destined for the same fate as Arsenal under Arsene Wenger: perennial top four challengers, but no real chance of ever winning the league. And that's just fine with me. I may be in the minority here, but watching exciting, attacking football, and enjoying memorable games is far more satisfying than playing sterile football (like Chelsea), and winning the title.

This probably explains why I loved the Roy Evans era so much. Liverpool didn't win much, but the Reds played the most exciting football in the country, and it was an absolute joy to watch.

History may be about to repeat itself.

Author:


51 comments:

  1. Its quite sad that we cant sign these so called WORLD class players, but on the other hand we are still in the Champions league and as you said Jamie we play good looking football which I enjoy to watch. GOOD LUCK LFC this season I hope we do well..............

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  2. Jaimie, I have to agree with you on some points. Nowadays, most of the football stars in the world will go to the place with the highest payday and unfortunately we cannot offer that. But, that is fine with me. I am the kind of fan that wants to see us make our own stars and not just buy readymade stars. I would love to see an Ibe or a Rossiter succeed rather than buying a Cavani or a Vidal. Liverpool has prided itself on that. Apart from Kenny who was a star at Celtic and Barnes who was good at Watford, we have made most of the stars ourselves. The Gerrards, the Carragher's and the Fowler's have all been made by us. I do not want to be like Real Madrid who just buy the best and never makw the best. That is one of the reasons why I am a Liverpool fan. We are not like the other clubs. But, I believe that we can still win trophies because we are LFC. What we have to do is not sell our best players regardless of the price when a madrid or City come calling. But, trophies are not the be all and end all for me. The performances are what I want and as you have said, I do not want any Mourinho style bland football. I am happy with where we are at.

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  3. Agreed, as much as I would love that premier league title, football is to be enjoyed. I could/would not be anywhere near as excited as I am for the forthcoming season if I had to watch a Chelsea snooze-fest week in week out, even if there was another title at the end of it. Having said that I do feel highly optimistic with Rodgers at the wheel, and although I don't think this year will be our year, I DO think that elusive premier league title will come our way in the next few. Socrates (the footballing one) - "Beauty comes first. Victory is secondary".

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  4. I agree with some of the points you have made.


    |The most important when it comes to signing World Class Players is that as a club we have won nothing any significance for a long time and have been out of Europe for many years.


    It will most likely take a few years of consistency finishing in the top 4, getting past the group stages of the CL and winning a few trophies on the way before we can attract what you would call World class Stars.


    Saying that I do not think that this is the end of the world, far from it. I still believe it is possible to win the Premiership and the CL without having to sign players for 30+ mil


    Man Utd are a great example of this. If you look at their signings over the last 15 years none of them have been what you would call Marque
    signings for mega money from foreign leagues.


    In fact many of their more successful players were signed from other Premier League clubs.

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  5. I agree with most of what you are saying other than we can't win the title. I believe with one more striker, there is no reason why we can't be right in the mix this year.

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  6. We lost the title on the last day of the season, with how many marquee signings?..........yet sides with marquee signings were miles behind us in the table, stick your marquee signings up your arris...........only kidding JK.

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  7. We have not won a significant trophy in 9 years, IMO that is the reason.
    We can still attract the best of British, but that is the booby prize.

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  8. Not worth the risk anyway. Benzema is a confidence player who if loved is effective. Cavani has question marks too. Falcao, although I'd love him seems injury prone and too old.

    Another thing we'll miss in Suarez was that he was never injured - the guy would play with a broken leg. No one else with his qualities.

    I myself would be happy with Bony; happier with a Jackson Martinez.

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  9. Man Utd have done pretty well over the last 20 years wouldn't you say.

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  10. Yes, with only the league to think about and no European distractions. Plus, LFC had Suarez...

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  11. I would say a definite well deserved YES,
    but with Fergs gone, it has moved the goalposts, to compound that, Howard Webb has retired from being a Ref, and the City Gillions will always keep them ahead of UTD.
    Not that I want it that way, but money is the deciding factor in Football nowdays, The money teams shop in Harrods, the rest go to Aldi or Lidl.

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  12. 3 days to go, and we've replaced the best striker we have EVER had, with no-one .. CUCKOO

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  13. That is probably because you can not directly replace Saurez, it is mission impossible.

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  14. If Borini does join Sunderland this weel as many predict then we will soon have our biggest question answered - who replaces Suarez

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  15. This attitude that we cant win the Prem is utter rubbish - of course we can win it - were much stronger than last year -we were irresistable for 14 of the last 15 games - Suarez or no Suarez - WE GOT B R - WE GOT THE BEST

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  16. Nothing has changed at all.

    Jamie has proved it a number of times that we as a club have out spent Utd during a long period of time.

    I would put money on Chelsea have also outspent Utd.

    The fact is as much as people may hate to admit it, Fergie was a great manager and part of that was he made many shred signings.

    The last player Utd signed under Fergie who you could class as a World Class player from a foreign league was probably Van Nistelrooy,

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  17. No. FSG are a lot more ambitious than what Arsenal have been. Arsenal's extreme financial caution and their lack of personnel steel since the recent past of Vieira, Adams and Keown, has held them back. This is the most defeatist article you have ever written JK.

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  18. They may all be valid points, but let's get real - if we decided to pay the ridiculous wages that a PSG, Monaco, Chelsea, Manchester City, et al pays we would attract anyone we want. End of discussion.

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  19. Dude, get it in your head. You can't replace Suarez. The only clubs who would have no trouble replacing Suarez are Real and Barca. Period.

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  20. Give me Jordan Ibe running riot over any mercenary.

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  21. Which mercenary do you fancy?

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  22. Bill: Ted, while I agree that, in time. our band will be most triumphant. The truth is, Wild Stallyns will never be a super band until we have Eddie Van Halen on guitar.

    Ted: Yes Bill, but I do not believe that we will get Eddie Van Halen until we have a triumphant video.
    Bill: Ted, it's pointless to have a triumphant video before we even have decent instruments.
    Ted: Well, how can we have decent instruments when we don't even really know how to play?
    Bill: That is why we NEED Eddie Van Halen.
    Ted: And that is why we need a triumphant video.
    Bill, Ted: EXCELLENT!

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  23. Yes if you look at my reply again, you will see my first point was Fergie has gone, The Ranger now falls asleep at games,
    but LVG will be someone to be reckoned with.

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  24. I also don't buy the 'distraction' myth. When players have a match against Swansea in the EPL, they aren't standing on the field, writing in a diary: "3 days until we get raped by Real. Still s***ting bricks. God help me". It's not distraction which is the issue, it's fitness.

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  25. LAST POINT - Who is this young striker born same place as Raheem Sterling and plays for Newcastle -they say he is similar to Raheem - pace physique -might be worth a punt

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  26. Yes but you also pointed to City's money and that money is the deciding factor.


    Money has always been the deciding factor, that is nothing new.


    Teams have also outspent Utd, again nothing new.

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  27. Sorry mate, but he was not the best striker we've ever had. Had he stayed for two or three more seasons and kept the form going and helped us won numerous league title and the CL then yes. But he left. I would put Rush, Falglish, Barnes, Hunt above Suarez. Fowler and Owen as well.

    Let's not panic, there's time to get another striker without the need to get a big name. Although I would still like to see Reus wearing our shirt, but it's not going to happen. Having said that, I didn't really believe Suarez would come to us, but he did.

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  28. I don't mean distraction in the literal sense; I mean in terms of playing more games; player fatigue; more chance of picking up injuries etc. LFC may do well in the league with nothing else upon which to focus, but juggling the CL as well will be much more difficult, especially for a side with minimal CL experience, both on the pitch and in the dugout.

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  29. If I wanted to watch football just purely for enjoyment, I wouldn't follow a team. What's the point? I enjoy the thrill which comes with the tribalism; I enjoy winning. For me, there's no point in picking a team when you just say, 'meh, don't really care about winning anyway...'

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  30. The most important thing when attempting to sign world class players is how much money you offer them. Man City had no glorious recent past of winning trophies but once the word was out that they were willing to pay top dollar, top players were falling over themselves to go there. 100 - 200k a week will do that.

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  31. The 'No Chance' is surely to do with if they player is for sale not that if they will come to Liverpool?

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  32. The best thing we could do is go back and sign Remy, a very good option tossed away for still no valid reason.

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  33. Then explain how Man Utd have won 13 Prem Titles when other clubs including us have out spent them and given more in wages?


    Yes money is a very important part it but how you spend that money is even more important.

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  34. Intresting you say LFC had Suarez and not WE had Suarez. Showing your true colors there Jaimie? :)

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  35. You will never get a reason and nor should we.


    I would be very disappointed if Liverpool gave an in depth reason, why, It is a private matter between the player and the club.


    Fact is no other club has since put a bid for Remy, that should tell you something.

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  36. Nonsense. It is reality, and there is nothing defeatist about formulating a view based on historical reality. 24 years of history show that the probability of LFC winning the league is slim, and in that time, there's two defining factors:

    * Failure to sign elite, world class players.
    * Managers without the profile to sign the best.

    Benitez is the exception; he had the profile, but he took a similar approach as Rodgers, i.e. signing several excellent players with the potential to become world class (Alonso, Mascherano, Torres etc), and bringing in lots of youngsters.

    Benitez didn't win the league, either, but again, like Rodgers, he came very close.

    You can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

    In my view, to win the league. Liverpool need one or both of the following:

    * A charismatic manager with a world-class reputation, who commands respect of the elite, or:

    * One or two truly world class players who can come in and make a major impact.

    Every Prem-winning team of the last 20 years has had one or both of the above. That's the reality.

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  37. Remy has not had any medical incident since becoming a footballer, he has been insured by numerous clubs, he has not been sent to hospital by QPR has he?........no valid reason for not signing him.

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  38. Overall transfer spend is not the issue. As you suggest, spending smartly is important. Man United have won so many titles because they've had an absolutely amazing, once-in-a-generation manager (like Shankly and Paisley). Ferguson is the main difference.

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  39. I feel Benzema, Falcao and Cavani have never been on our agenda. These type of marqee players are what some fans crave. Theres no doubting we need another striker. I have a feeling we wont get one and will just have to utilise what we have got. One player I dont want but is quality on his day (Balloteli). We dont need any more poor publicity
    .

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  40. No, If you look through my articles, you'll see I never refer to the club as 'we'. Not once in 8 years.

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  41. an unknown accountant???? I doubt too many people know who Barcelona's chief exec is but I doubt it stops too many players signing for them!! The only things players are interested in are
    1 Where is the club
    2 Are they any good
    3 How much are they paying
    To blame IA is a little pathetic really, This unknown accountant has just got us a LB who according to ANY press source in Europe this summer was going to cost £20M he appears to have cost £12M, not too shabby if you ask me

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  42. Your point?


    Liverpool have stated he failed his medical, it happens.


    Rumour has it they got a second Independent opinion, who knows if its true or not.


    Have you seen any report from Remy himself saying that Liverpool have lied or mistreated him, or that he was unhappy with their findings?


    So you Liverpool saying he failed his medical, we have Remy saying nothing.


    Sorry if you believe that the Club should divulge private medical matters with the rest of the world but that is not how things work.

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  43. Suarez case was a one off. I can list you 100 cases of transfer clauses being activated despite club's unwillingness to sell the player. Eg:- Demba Ba (Newcastle) and Loic Remy being the latest case.
    Release clauses are important and has been activated repeatedly every window. Falcao, Cavani, Deigo Costa, etc. etc. I don't think Atletico Madrid were willing to sell Costa after winning La Liga at only 40mn euros considering the current market price.
    Players agreement is obviously necessary and fundamental to any deal, I didn't feel like mentioning it. I only wanted to reiterate that Reus can move clubs even if Klopp disagrees, due to the transfer clause. Liverpool just got Lucky with Suarez deal as Arsenal didn't sue Liverpool and showed some class.

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  44. Yes, but I remember Liverpool rejecting 18mn bid from Man City for Skrtel. Even if Liverpool were planning to move on Skrtel then they were more relying on Agger and his injuries meant that we had to have more CBs. I also remember Kelly, Coates and Toure all were injured along with Agger at that time. Not to mention, forever unfit Johnson and Enrique.

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  45. "All the opposition to Bony is unfounded and is not based on any credible reasoning"- doesn't that statement rather close down all possible debate? Personally I'm happy for us to sign Bony but he does have imitations- watch the Youtube presentation of all his goals from last season and you'll see that 90% of his goals are scored from exactly the same position (standing around the penalty spot). He doesn't seem the most mobile of strikers although he is clearly clinical in that position. My sense is that he would be an effective impact player (which is what we need whilst Sturridge is fit) but he doesn't add anything like as much to the team as Sturridge does. So, although I'm happy to take him I think some degree of criticism should be allowed…..

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  46. No it does NOT 'close down debate', and with all due respect, please don't make such silly assertions.

    Mine is just one opinion amongst many, and debate can obviously continue. Why does debate just shut down because I disagree with something? People will give their own opinions, and debate will just go on.

    It's just utterly nonsensical to suggest that me disagreeing with something shuts down debate.

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  47. lots of experts on here assuming ye know better than brendan.if markos fit then hes in the squad,cant understand the constant second guessing of brendan on this forum.on the one hand jamie argues that rodgers is a superb manager and then suggests he may be rushing markovic back too soon,you cant have it both ways and tbh i dont expect him to start,maybe come on a some point and coming on at home is far more sensible than coming on at spurs and man city.anyways,roll on sunday and hopefully 3pts in the bag.

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  48. Let's not gloom and doom quite yet. I remember us screaming at BR to bolster the team in January and when that failed I was sure we were going to fall short of fourth place bar a miracle…you know how that worked out.
    So while I do believe Remy would have been the final peice to a very sucessfull summer window, I'm not going to write off BR because I've made that mistake before. For all we know, Ayre might pull off a shocker and sign Falcao on loan for the season!

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  49. I'm more than happy to be proved wrong but I agree LFC is moving in the right direction!

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  50. Enrique's pass completion in the final third is atrocious. Flanno is all heart but limited offensively. Johnson gets exposed regularly defensively and is wasteful in attack even after good approach play.
    We need better in that position especially the way BR sets us out to play, which is heavily reliant on the full backs . We need a Kolarov or an Alba. Not Johnson playing out of position, or Enrique running up cul de sacs

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  51. And we never get stuck in front of the opposition net without a plan? I've watched his videos and he's not a target man...he's just not. I saw 40+ goals and not one of those efforts started with him with his back to the goal.

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