20 Nov 2014

'LFC are eligible': Agent insists €10m sensation who's 'like Reus' could sign for Liverpool

The Agent of Anderlecht midfielder Dennis Praet has claimed that Liverpool is a possible destination for the coveted youngster during the upcoming January transfer window.

Liverpool are reportedly monitoring Praet, and when asked this week about the 20-year old's future, his agent Jacques Lichtenstein, hinted at a move away:

"Dennis will not go just anywhere. Clubs like Valencia, Liverpool, Arsenal or Atletico Madrid are eligible.

"He is not so far from the level of [the Premier League] where they can give him a year adjustment period.”


Liverpool were linked with Praet during the 2011 summer transfer window, and in October 2012, LFC scouts watched him during Anderlecht's 2-0 victory against Waasland-Beveren, a game in which ex-Red Milan Jovanovic missed an open goal after an excellent cross from Praet.

Some info about Praet:

* Under contract at Anderlecht until June 2017.
* 2012: Named one of the world's top 50 prospects by 'World Soccer' magazine.
* Attacking midfielder, who can also play central-mid, and right/left-wing.
* This season: 1 goal/6 assists in 17 apps.
* Overall: 25 goals/13 assists in 111 apps for Anderlecht.
* 42 apps for various Belgium youth teams.
* 5 major trophies so far (including 3 consecutive league titles)
* Anderlecht recently slapped a €10m price tag on Praet.

Anderlect general manager Herman Van Holsbeeck is confident that Praet will go on to become a top player, and in a recent interview, he enthused:

"Dennis has proven that he has what it takes to become a fantastic player, in the future, he will go on to become one of the pillars of our team"

Former Anderlecht coach Aad De Mos is also a fan of the youngster, and in early November, he compared him to another of Liverpool's big transfer targets:

"Praet is an exceptional talent with enormous potential; he's the number 10 that every club is looking for. Against Arsenal, he played like [Marco] Reus. He can be his successor."

On the subject of Praet's potential transfer fee, De Mos added:

"If you know that PSV Memphis Depay will not let go for less than 20 million euros, 10 million for Praet is too little. An amount between €10 and €20m would be more logical"

Praet's Agent suggests that the young attacker will need a year to adjustment to the Premier League, and for €10m, that's perfectly reasonable, as I don't see any problem with Liverpool buying potential for that kind of fee.

The problem comes when the Reds spend £20m+ on possible future stars, which is way too much for players who may or may not come good at some undetermined point in the future. The obvious example is Lazar Markovic. At £20m, his value has (arguably) already reached a ceiling, and realistically, there's little chance of LFC selling him for *more* than £20m in a couple of years.

Conversely, for a fee of €10m - which is Anderlecht's asking price for Praet - the risk is comparatively minimal, and there's still room for the fee to rise. As such, unless Markovic becomes a world-beater, Liverpool will probably end up making a loss on the transfer, whereas if he'd initially signed for around €10m, the risk of financial loss would've been much lower.

Ultimately, my point is this: Liverpool should not be spending huge amounts of money on comparatively untested, inexperienced young players. Ideally, given LFC's decades-long failure to consistently buy quality young players, the policy should be to find the best available prospect and pay mid-range prices (in a bid to minimise financial risk).

And those type of players are out there. For example, Thibaut Courtois cost Chelsea €9m, and look at him now. Similarly, Philippe Coutinho cost Liverpool a piffling £8m, which is an amazing bargain. Divock Origi also falls into the mid-range category, and like other players bought for similar fees, pressure to perform is often commensurate with the price-tag.

Is Praet worth a bid? On a related note - if you're interested in betting on anything related to Liverpool FC, the Premier League, or the Champions League, then check out this helpful guide targeted toward new sports bettors.



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80 comments:

  1. I am not to confident either but hopefully things improve starting this weekend.

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  2. I hope Lazar comes good - its VITAL to LFC now

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  3. i honestly dont see any available manager coming in and getting us back in to the top 4 right away. its going to be another lengthy rebuilding project and i for one am not looking forward to it.

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  4. With the greatest respect, if you spent more time actually thinking about things instead of moaning about 'negative' articles, you'd be able to figure it out for yourself.

    In the last 30 years, how many young players (18-20 years old) have LFC bought for huge fees then sold for a profit? My view is based on Liverpool's long-term transfer history, and based on that, the probability is that the club will make a loss.

    It's always the same thing here - I advance views that people don't like about players etc, and in many case, they come true. It has nothing to do with having special insight into LFC/football because I don't - it all comes down to simply seeing the reality of things, and accepting it.

    I see the reality far earlier than most, and that's probably because I don't spend most of my time living in denial.

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  5. We do not need talented but inexperienced players.We have enoug of them.Thanks to Mr BR we bought Illori,Luis Alberto,Markovic,Borini etc.
    We need 2-3 first class proven players and of course a new manager with the quality and desire to succed like Klopp or Simeone.

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  6. Why not Play Markovic centrally? He is very quick and can run at the oppositions defence. Sterling is another player being utterly wasted on the wing.


    Instead of signing Lallana we should have got a really top striker. The money from Lallana and Balotelli = £41m. These clearly were two players that were either not needed or did not fit in.

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  7. Point 1: To figure stuff out does not equate to coming to the same conclusion. Even if you believe that to be the case.
    Point 2: To say a player at 20 has reached a ceiling is plainly wrong. You just can't know. No matter how you try and justify your reasoning, it's just guess work.
    Point 3: To disagree with you is not to be in denial. It is having a different view. Accept that fact.

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  8. I agree. Though the world "likely" or "probably" would have made this more clear. Markovic is set to be another disappointment, but there still is a chance he could come good, however small.

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  9. Get a grip - it's my *opinion* that you are in denial; it has nothing to do with anything else. I can have that view if I want, and if you can't handle it, tough luck.

    And I said that Markovic has reached a *financial* ceiling, not an ability ceiling, so please stop twisting my words. I'm arguing that his value won't increase, and there's plenty of evidence (i,e, with similar players, and in LFC's transfer history), to back that up.

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  10. He may come good, but will his value increase from £20m? Liverpool should've spent much less on him (or a similar player), and there would've been room for his value to increase.

    Markovic will have to become an amazingly influential player for Liverpool for the club to eventually make a profit.

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  11. You never know mate. I just think the general rule about people failing at places they go back to is a myth.

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  12. Let's move everyone into the middle to keep Mario company. He's a delicate flower and needs his friends around him to feel safe.

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  13. Using Mourinho as an example is strange though. He has been a success wherever he has been. Why would Chelsea not tak him back? If you had to ask me to chose between JM or RB then it would have to be JM.

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  14. I know, as you've stated you, "see the reality far earlier than most" but your guessing here. I on the other hand accept that I can't predict the future, but that's just me. Each to their own.

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  15. I really hope that Markovic will come good.He is quick,good dribbler but he looks scary and is not ready for BPL games yet.My problem is for now LFC looks a team playing without a plan.I have the feeling that in every game our players pray waiting for the final whistle.I do not like what i see.

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  16. If it was up to me I would have tried a front two of Sterling and Markovic many games ago. The pace of those two would make defender pull out the white flag.


    I am going to start weeping if I see Balotelli or Lambert up on their own over the weekend.

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  17. So it's back to 1 up front again- so close Do we need another midfielder?

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  18. I think Lambert up front alone wouldn't be as bad, because he moves more (when we're in possession) than Mario does and has a good understanding with Lallana.

    My preference would be to give Balo and Borini another go together.

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  19. He is quick, but as you say, he's looked curiously unable to shift gears. Maybe his pre-season injury is lingering?

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  20. It's mighty restrained of you to say the 98% of people who think your wrong are in denial. Mighty retained.

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  21. If you post any further pointless sniping comments like this, you will receive a three-day ban.

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  22. We don't pay the wages to get the top players, so we end up taking a punt, it's just we pay to much.

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  23. Why is everyone writing off Rodgers? Our supporters are a joke, need to look at the way Dortmund fans are still behind Klopp! They've had a far worse start than us!

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  24. Lampard or Spencer?

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  25. somebody's been playing fifa and football manager

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  26. With all due respect, you perform several logical fallacies. You can not judge Markovic based on what has happened in history. Markovic might fail, but it has nothing to do with what happened to Aspas, Alberto, Moses last year or Morientes and Veronin previous years. And nothing to do with living in denial, this is about giving someone a fair chance before they are being judged.

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  27. Your point i based on last 30 years Jaimie? Absolutely irrelevant. How many staff of LFC are around now that were there thirty years ago? Ex players as ambassadors.

    My criticism will end with just a quote without cometary.

    "I see the reality far earlier than most"

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  28. Gündoğan's only just back after being injured for nearly 2 years. Reus has suffered several injuries. Hummels too. If you think Liverpool's injury problem's this year have been serious, I suggest you look at Dortmund's. It'll grey your hair immediately before it falls out and you drop dead of shock soon thereafter.

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  29. Alex Ferguson Thunderbirded Big Sam into having a managerial media fight with Rafa Benitez.He saw Rafa and Allardyce never got on because Benitez raged about Bolton's 18th century style.
    Then SAF whispered in Sam Allardyce's ear and made him do his dirty work.The way British managers were happy to play the drums on Fergusons buttock5 and the trumpet on his... Big Sam's agent probably negotiated repayment in s3xual favours instead of cash.
    Ferguson turned up the heat and ran out of the kitchen.

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  30. Considering there is plenty of work done by others discussing how football inflation can be far different to actual inflation it seems rather naive to say a twenty year old has reached a financial ceiling. Considering the player has ten more years ahead of him and the potential for other moves it is far from the realms of belief that he could be sold in the future for 20 million plus. In fact as it seems todays 20 million players are the ten to fifteen of not too long ago and the increasing money in to football from television revenue I would say it is near likely he will be sold for more than £20m in the future. Whether that be by us is another story all together.

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  31. Players like Matic and Paletta are two examples of how this logic is flawed.

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  32. For the club to make a profit and for the players value not to increase are two separate things. A player bought at twenty and well thought of throughout Europe not increasing his value by anything from a £1 upwards?

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  33. apparently arsenal have agreed a deal in principle for Cech. good for them.

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  34. What about all the times you got it wrong Jaimie? For instance you strongly advocated for Liverpool to sign Balotelli, Sakho and Lovren and what have they contributed till now? And that's only a few examples that came out of my mind right now.

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  35. Why should Chelsea not take him back? Because according to you, bringing back the past is not the way forward. You spoke about it pretty generally, so Mourinho is a perfect example to use to counter that argument.

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  36. Don't get me wrong Jaimie, I agree! Its just that no matter how slim it is, there still is a chance that he could become that influential player and warrant 20M. Will that happen, probably not, but its far from certain, and that's something we have to keep in mind.

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  37. So your advice is to find really good players who don't cost much.

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  38. I'm sure if such a really top striker was available and wanted to come here then we would have signed him. Didn't we chase Sanchez and Cavani?

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  39. If you need special insight don't worry i have ESPn.

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  40. If BR making all the right tactical decisions Liverpool would not at this position as human being can lies but result don't and not many coaches around world have the luxury to spend over 100 million pound on players but he must deliver if he does.

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  41. He hasn't deliver with 212 million and the difference is????

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  42. Suarez gone so have the goals genius. Not hard to figure out.

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  43. LFC need proven world class players right now. Players who can make the difference at any time. At least a good striker and good keeper. We need to score otherwise we are dead.

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  44. Rafa or Klopp..........Rodgers out.

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  45. But it is like Mourinho never left Chelsea and all their fans were on board with the decision to take him back. They never wanted him to go. Exception to the rule.


    Bringing back Rafa will divide our fans on a massive scale as many fans do not even want to hear his name and others see him as untouchable.

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  46. That unfortunately is not Rodgers preference.

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  47. Lacazette was available and we did show interest. He is one of the best strikers in Ligue 1 at the moment.

    Southampton signed Pelle who is not a big name but has settled very well. West Ham signed Diafra Sakho. We should never have signed Balotelli. Square peg round hole.



    Rodgers and the transfer committee failed to sign two very important components which was a striker capable of leading our attack and a CB who could command our defence. They had £120m available to them. Signed too many players instead of looking for the right ones.


    Moreno, Manquillo, Can, Markovic and Origi for me have many years ahead of them so plenty of time to make it.


    Lovren, Lallana and Balotelli. £61m surely could have been better spent.

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  48. Another young potential is not what we need right now. It's damage control time. The club should wake up and put it's priorities right. Spend the money on world class players now. not on potential.
    We have become the laughing stock of the EPL. You are not going win games week in week out with kids. Not signing Remy has come to haunt us now.

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  49. Stunned that so many want Benitez back. I for one would hate to see it happen......uggggghhhh!!!!

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  50. I'm sorry Logan, but that's total BS. Didn't you see Jaimie's poll about Rafa? EIGHTY ONE PERCENT voted in favour of Rafa being given another chance; and additionally, Rafa *was the most popular choice in the preferred manager poll*... so I utterly fail to see how Rafa is so polarizing like you paint him to be.


    Come on dude, don't act like half the Kop will chant the Rafa song, and the other half will chant 'we don't want you here'. Rafa is loved by the vast majority of LFC fans. You don't get your face printed on the manager legends banner if you're not loved.

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  51. And besides, Kenny was also heavily favoured by LFC fans to return, but he ultimately failed because he just wasn't good enough anymore. So that backs up my argument that you still need to be good enough, as well as popular. If Kenny still had it, he'd be like Jose Mourinho.

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  52. I have Kevin De Bryune as Gerrard replacement for fifa..shoot from anywhere and he scores. Youtube Youri Tielemans and you can have an idea of what a good player this 17 yo boy can become. As for Gerrerd replacement, google " Youri Tielemans to Liverpool" and read the news articles.

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  53. Thank you. So much this. People yelling for Klopp is ridiculous, especially when it is followed up by "Klopp would never come to LFC, he's too good". People get suckered in by his uber fashionable looks.

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  54. I don't want Rodgers to go but I do appreciate Benitez for the reasons in your post.

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  55. Soton does this all the time

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  56. What BS?

    Remember his?

    Benítez offered no evidence of a last hurrah as he trudged around Anfield with his players, although the walk was also revealing. Only the names of the Liverpool manager, Fernando Torres and their undoubted player of the season, José Reina, were chanted by the Kop while, in the Centenary Stand, stewards had to separate supporters when a banner proclaiming "Rafa Out – Not good enough and that's a fact" was unveiled outside a corporate box. Liverpool is a club divided, and at so many levels.

    There will be a divide and it is your prerogative if you think otherwise.

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  57. So the whole Kop *five years ago*chanted his name, while a minority showed an unsupportive banner, yet that's an indication of a big divide? You really do sensationalise things sometimes.
    I can't really have any regrets if I showed a lot more evidence than you have. Two collections of statistics from a population sample > a subjectively written article five years ago- any day of the week.

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  58. Each to their own.

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  59. Genius, we scored over 100 goals of which Suarez scored 31. Sturridge is also out this season and de guys are not in form with too may new players coming in in too quick a time frame.Saying it was all Suarez is s slap in de face to the rest of our team.Your view is very is very immature.

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  60. `Schindler's list... Well played.

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  61. Steven Gerrard wanted Curbishley... What a lot of nonsense. The Independent haven't even said how they happen to know that he was Gerrard and Murphy's choice and to be honest I find it hysterical that anybody is reporting that as fact

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  62. It's called discussion, otherwise we may not as well discuss any transfer rumours since most of them aren't going to come to fruition either.

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  63. I think you are misunderstanding what Jamie is saying.


    I believe what Jamie is saying is regardless of how well Markovic develops, the chances of him being worth more the the 20mil we paid for him is slim.


    Suer he could be worth more in the future, but the chances are will won't be.

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  64. Would liked him 2 years ago but now i see it as a risk coz he is not doing well at QPR

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  65. In fairness to Kejetil the original article has been edited from what was 1st there. The word arguably has been added in relation to Markovic reaching a financial ceiling. The initial discussion was based on the certainty portrayed by Jaimie. Which he has now, rightly, been qualified.

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  66. Danny, Ive been saying this for a long time, Liverpool is loosing its famous supporters to what i would call "fans". thers a big difference between "supporters" and "fans"...most of our fans are sounding like newcastle fans "fickle"...at one stage pardue was in fear of his life now he's a great lad.

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  67. I've a great idea lets get cow head allerdice in, he must be good because west ham "fans" wanted him sacked but their "supporters" wanted to give him a chance...they are now forth......maybe our "fans" will join with our "supporters" and get behind our manager and his staff and players and show their support like they did last year when we nearly won the league....When you walk, through the storm, hold your head up high and dont be afraid of the dark, at the end of the storm theres a golden sky.....YNWA..(Liverpool "fans" should listen to the lyrics a bit more, the "supporters" wont need to)....

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  68. I assume your a fan going by your post,I suppose being a season ticket holder for 31 years counts me in that group too,my expectations for lfc are somewhat greater than west hams,,win two and we are in top 4 places or thereabouts ,same with west ham ,Southampton ,lose two and you slip down,i this is purely an opinion that with the current group of players I think no progress has been made since last season,we haven't got a bottomless pit of cash to keep paying inflated fees for players who don't have the quality to enhance team performance,and as for nearly winning league ,we'll I nearly won lottery last sat but when I checked I didn't,how long would you suggest this current situation continue ? How much more money do you think br will want in jan,we only have ONE player injured,

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  69. Okay, cheers for that mate.. posts makes a lot more sense now :)

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  70. Hilarious!
    Jamie Redknapp's got a better chance of getting the job.
    FSG don't rate Benitez as they have stated many times on LFCTV, Klopp wouldn't be interested and Redknapp is too old, even more of a money pit than Rodgers and Benitez, achieved no more in his whole footballing career than Dalglish did in 2011/12 and has stated himself that he isn't interested in moving home from the South Coast.

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  71. Sorry, this made me chuckle. Football wasn't around in the 18th century, but I agree with the point you make. :)

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  72. Of course fsg won't big up a previous manager ,would put unwanted pressure on br,could you tell me what exactly Benitez got wrong? It seems his tenure is being judged on the fact that after finishing second he bought aquillani,I bet you fsg would take rafas record in transfer market every day compared to Rogers ,we bought aquillani on the drip as cash was being denied ,he had a problem with hicks and gillette over broken promises,remember snoop doogy doog,

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  73. Jaimie, you should end all of your articles with that video.

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  74. Haha. Done. I love the end line: 'No wonder he's in the f***ing reserves'. Comedy gold.

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  75. Preston North End won the first English title back in 1889!

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  76. sorry you didnt win the lottery but I dont understand what that has to do with it?.....but my point is when we were doing very well last year Rogers was a great lad now three months in to the season people are looking to replace him, where's the support (and you'll never walk alone) in that? I, like you, have geater expectations than west ham fans, my comparison to them is they way they hated allerdice and now he's a great lad, other way round for us, a couple of losses and draws and they go back down and they will want him sacked again, Liverpool supporters were always better than that. your point about "win two and we are in top 4 places or thereabouts" is true, so why do people want to sack him already?... It's a shame, bring back the days when King Kenny was loved and supported by the "fans" even when he got things wrong (and lets be honest he did get somethings wrong).

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  77. I do get your point to a degree.but the only thing that matters is that lfc are successfull. The lotto comment was like lfc nearly won league . I nearly won the jackpot.we both failed in end and won nothing.hindsight is a great thing i know but would you have sacked rafa when we did?.any manager would have had problems with previous owners .i dont care who is the manager.who we buy and how much we pay them .as long as it works i will support it.if it appears that it is not working i will question manager signings etc.i would have been ok with offering suarez 300 k p week and seen the ban out.what we bought in his place has been way more expensive.anyway thanks for the banter .lets hope im wrong and ballo does a job .cheers

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  78. AndWithSuchSimplicity5:34 pm, November 21, 2014

    Pity he forgot to mention that "You don't have to win today. A draw is fine." as his tactical masterclass before the Chelsea game...... :(
    Pity this tactical genius also tried to go toe to toe with Madrid instead of being a bit more pragmatic and concentrating on picking up points in the other group games instead......

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  79. The players we have now BR has spent his 200m are sub standard mid table mediocre players . Any top coach would need to ship them out in a fire sale probably. Aspas ,Allen, Borini , Alberto, Mario, Markovic, Lallana, Lovren, Lambert, Assaidi, and a few more to create space for some quality. What a waste of money on players to improve us to play in the Champions League, Really !!
    Rafa's team with Torres and Gerrard, Alonso, Mascharano, Sissoko, battered teams like ManU , Real Madrid , Inter Milan and many more how forgetful some supporters have become. Whether we go back to him remains in the hands of FSG. Moved backwards under Hodgson and BR , at least Kenny's team got to two cup finals.

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