26 Mar 2015

Done Deal: Liverpool agree to sign 'extraordinary' €30m attacker who's 'like Kaka'

The next transfer window may still be months away, but Liverpool are already working hard to secure new players, and reports on Wednesday suggest that the first transfer of the summer is already in the bag.

According to ITV Sport:

"Mateo Kovacic will join Liverpool for £22m (€30m) in May. Inter are desperate to sell and the Reds have agreed to meet their asking price".

Liverpool were last linked with 'extraordinary' Kovacic in December, when the Daily Express claimed:

* Inter Milan 'told Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool' that Kovacic is available
* Inter were willing to sell to to finance moves for Fabio Borini and Lucas Leiva.

Some info about Kovacic:

* Versatile: Can play as a deep-lying mid, attacking mid, wide left.
* Current contract expires in June 2017.
* This season: 8 goals/2 assists in 34 games.
* 19 apps for the Croatian national team.
* His idol is Robert Prosinecki, to whom he is often compared.

Kovacic is certainly higly regarded. Last season, Croatia legend Zvonimir Boban raved:

"He has talents that could make him even better than me, and he is an incredibly serious professional for someone his age. He is a complete talent that can still grow — he has incredible potential."

Italy legend Giovanni Trappattoni's assessment of outlined Kovacic's main qualities:

"If left free to invent up front, Kovacic can be very dangerous. He isn't a director like [Andrea] Pirlo, he's more like Kaka and Seedorf. He tends to dribble, has a lot of technique and great acceleration. He's a class player"

Inter legend Javier Zanetti is also a fan of Kovacic, and in an interview last season, he compared him to one of the world's greatest players:

"With the exception of Ronaldo, [Kovacic] is the most promising. He has enormous skills; now he just has to confirm that potential, to grow up"

If this story is true, then it just shows that Liverpool are not learning from previous transfer mistakes. Given the tens of millions wasted by Rodgers and the transfer committee over the last three years, it's an absolute joke to spend €30m on another grossly overhyped young player who's done absolutely nothing in the game.

In my view, £10m-£12m is the most Liverpool should be paying for 20-year old players; for €30m, the club should be signing an attacking midfielder who's scoring/creating 30+ goals a season, not a player who scores a league goal every 370 minutes, and will probably need a whole season just to settle-in.

For that kind of money, there are lots of cheaper, more experienced, and more prolific options out there, including Firmino, Yarmolenko, Konoplyanka, Salvio, Son etc. If, however, Liverpool insist on spending £20m+ on a 20-year old then at least go for Memphis Depay, who has 28 goals/assists in 32 games this season, and reportedly wants a move to Liverpool.

Liverpool's policy of buying young players 'for the future' is increasingly tiresome, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. Indeed, Rodgers himself disagrees with this approach, and he admitted this in January, when he told The Telegraph:

“They [FSG] want to look at young players who can develop over the next seven to 10 years, but I think it is healthy not to agree. I've disagreed before, and there are times when you need that experience.”

As proven in the past, Rodgers irrefutably has final say on transfers, but it looks like he's operating under a mandate from FSG to prioritise the acquisition of young, developing players. If that's the case, then the manager is hamstrung in the transfer market, and fans can expect even more transfer mistakes in the future.

Starting with Kovacic?

Author:


150 comments:

  1. Mateo Kovacic would give our midfield the X factor.We'd have a technically gifted dribbler from deep.
    Defensive sides that pack the midfield can make passing through them a very difficult task sometimes.Having a dribbler who can break lines by running with the ball, would give central midfield a good balance with Hendo's passing.
    Kovacic is nothing like Kaka.I would say he's a younger better version of Moussa Dembele.The big problem I have with this deal is 22m.That's pricey.

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  2. I'm curious as to what constitutes 'a transfer mistake'? Is it a mistake to pay too much for a young up and coming talent who does not set the world alight in his first season? Who determines the price of these mistakes, Rodgers? Who agrees to fork over such exorbitant amounts? Rodgers? Whose job is it to look at the long term prospects of the club? Rodgers? I'm not saying he hasn't made mistakes in the transfer market, of course he has. But so have other managers, and why? Because we are paying for people, and not robots. While I think no person is ever worth some of the ridiculous amounts being paid for booting a ball around a section of grass, the reality, at least for the moment is irrefutable. While some of his signings have shown signs of bedding down, some require more time, and the worst thing we can do is implement a 'one season to prove yourself or piss off' policy. Every signing has risks, whether it's a bargain signings that fans moan about because they think he's a nobody, or the marquee that collapses leading to accusations of 'flop' being made. There have been some inexplicable choices, particularly in the striker department, but it is easy for us to say that without knowing why on earth Balotelli and not one of the several other names we were allegedly linked with, or why Lovren has gone from hero to zero, or why Markovic hasn't set Anfield alight. One thing's for sure, we will strengthen in the summer, rebuilding is far from finished, and one hopes that Rodgers, Ayre et al, get more right then they do wrong, which is all we can realistically expect.

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  3. Mateo Kovacic strengh's is his pass accuracy for this season is 91%

    with a very good eye for the long ball.
    His weakness is his lack of finishing in front of the goals and not wanting to take shots from outside the box.

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  4. Kovacic was Philippe Coutinho's replacement.Inter realised he wasn't quite good enough in the attacking position PC plays.The first half of last season he found himself on the bench more often than not.
    They started playing him again around the midway point of last season.Walter Mazzarri moved him into central midfield.It was the right decision.He performs much better in that position.
    I haven't really followed his progress under Mancini this season.Not sure where they play him now.Going purely off stats 8 goals and 2 assists in 34 matches isn't bad.
    He may have good passing stats but his best quality is dribbling.

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  5. But we were going to sign Loic Remy who is 28? We signed Lambert who is 33? Even Lallana is 26 so to suggest that the manager is hamstrung IMO is not the case.

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  6. A lot of the reason we need to look at players like Kovacic is because we can't yet shop at the top end of the market, and when we try either a London club or big European team appear more appealing so we fall short.


    Also the price gets inflated because we play in the Premiership and the European clubs know we have more money so will make us pay.


    Personally I like that we are looking at young quality players, however this can only work as a policy if we can keep our experienced players. It is pointless bringing in the likes of Kovacic if we then lose the likes of Henderson.


    Finally, we need to stay in the Champions League and not just step our toe in every 4-5 seasons to be seriously considered by the higher rated player, until that happens we will need to look at young.

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  7. Sterling for 5 million from QPR probably seemed ridiculous at the time. Not so now.

    Lovren was supposedly ready made but has disappointed thus far.

    Ballotelli - vastly experienced, scored goals etc but disappointed.

    Markovic disappointed so far fits in to the Kovacic category but at least he can still come good and if not there is re-sale potential.

    Look at Chelsea with de bruyne and schurrle. Big sums paid for early 20 yr old. Big sums recouped

    Hazard - big fee paid and a bargain

    We said no to C Ronaldo when we could have bought him as deemed price too high.

    This subject isn't black and white. Each player should be analysed on own merits.

    Final note, with Euro exchange rate being where it is 30m euros isn't the ridiculous figure it was a year ago and with quantitative easing in Europe for some time likely be a fee less than £20m.

    In fact due to the exchange rate a great time to be buying players from Europe.

    conversely, bad time for European teams to be buying from us. Good news re sterling but bad news re Ballotelli and borini

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  8. We have enough young players. We need experienced players for next season with the likes of Gerrard, Johnson and possibly Toure leaving.


    The money made available by FSG needs to be spent better. End of the story.

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  9. Fact is we need to couple signing young future stars with experienced players. We have an academy which is producing, so argument should be made to FSG that we should go for established european/intl players.

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  10. What argument should be made when Lambert who is 33 and Lallana 26 arrived last summer and we were going to sign Remy who is 28.


    Maybe the correct players should be signed instead of square pegs for round holes.

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  11. Agree, getting the balance is the key. Our academy is producing some good young prospects at the moment, so effort needed to sign experience.

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  12. The challenge though is getting quality experienced players in. If I'm looking at next season's squad, as it sits then Skertle, Leiva, Henderson and Sturridge become our more experienced players, bearing in mind both Sakho and Lallana have captaincy experience and will be stronger in their 2nd year.


    If we can get a player like Walcott or Milner in for free then great because they will give us that experience, but I fear we seem to think old is experienced and that is not always the case.

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  13. Lambert was a punt for me....nothing more, has not worked out but we will still get a relatively decent fee for him. Am not decided about Lallana yet, has the skills but yet to be consistent.


    There is enough class players around europe, not buying this being out of the champions league stuff although would obviously help.

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  14. Well Markovic, Moreno and even Can were not that experienced, especially not in England and needed some time to settle but if we bring any more players in that of the same as the above then we are going to be in another season of 'transition'.

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  15. Point I am making is that no argument should be taken to FSG to change any strategy as they have allowed 'older' players to arrive every season.

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  16. Because we bought those players last year and have young players coming through the ranks our needs are different this year.


    There is perhaps less need to buy young players but we still need to allow the players we have coming through the space to break into the first team.

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  17. Kovacic will cover the holding midfield role and probably replace Lucas who seems to want to move. We should also try and sign Firmino and Depay to give us another option behind Sturridge

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  18. I'd be happy to see us take alves from barca think he'll enjoy having a crack at the premier league also Adriano of Shaktar. Just think we need a bit of experience in the team. Do not want to see too many signings like last season, think we need to let the youngsters we have bed in and establish themselves.

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  19. Don't totally disagree, but we have seen how those players have now settled in, they start to form our experienced players. From the 3 experienced players you mentioned, only Gerrard has been playing a lot this season, and even that has altered so in a way we have already replaced them.


    This is where we have some big decisions. Bring in players like Ings and some of the loanees back who are young but have experience of English football, or bring in experienced Overseas players who may also not settle in straight away (Ozil comes to mind and he was a World Cup winner).


    If I was given the choice I would go for younger players and keep my 25 year olds at the club.

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  20. The perfect replacement for Lucas would be Sami Khedira and he is leaving Madrid at the end of the season.


    CL football unfortunately will be the stumbling block but the least we can do is try to sign him. This is the type of player that is going to take us to the next level. Kovacic is 20 and to expect him to become a midfield general in England from the Serie A is asking for trouble.

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  21. Khedira is injury prone

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  22. I'm curious, and I know it has nothing to do with this article, why is Rooney facing no repercussions for his kicking of Mignolet? Please don't give the crap answer cause the FA favors ManU. Was there a card and I just didn't realize it? In all honesty it was worse than Skrtel, I get skrtel should have done more to avoid it but I have done the same thing in the past by accident. He certainly didn't stamp like Gerrard, but he didn't try to hard to avoid it either.

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  23. Well, Kovacic is a boss transfer. Not my first choice (cue howls of delirious laughter when I admit my first choice is Pogba) but as BEAST says, he'll give our midfield the X-factor. Bit pricey, yes, but he's got the right quality. Mostly. On reflection, I have reservations. I don't know what they are.

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  24. Maybe we can swap Borini for him

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  25. Think he is good enough to succeed in a healthy environment, just hope he didn't spend too much time in Destroy The Talent FC..

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  26. Actually, I think we might have to give *them* money to take Borini off our hands. Borini plus £40 million for Kovacic might do it.

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  27. A Johnson 'sweetener' maybe : )

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  28. Oh Christ. Johnson + Borini + £70 million for Kovacic.

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  29. Hahahahahahaha might be worth it just to get rid of em

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  30. Add Aspas and Lambert and the club will be forced into liquidation

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  31. Sterling for 500k not 5m so now it seems better

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  32. Does Kovacic hair style fit into our new formation? That part of his game is essential

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  33. Sterling for 500k not 5m so seems even better eh

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  34. If not he'll have to do a Skrtel and i don't mean stamp on anyone who happens to be passing.

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  35. Great points bud.

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  36. M Kovacic(20) is an AM, we have Coutinho(22) and Lallana(26) who are both better attacking midfielders than him at club. So this transfer should not happen


    The three centre midfielders that B Rodgers should bring to club this summer are as folllows:


    1: DM: M Schneiderlin(25) Of Southampton for £16-21M Upgrade on L Leiva(28)


    2: CM: M Veratti(22) Of PSG ( Marquee Signing) for £20-£30M Upgrade on J Alen(24) and J Henderson(24)


    3: DM: G Imbulla(22) Of Marseille for £10-£12M someone to compete and cover M Schneiderlin(25)




    Whilst these Midfielders should be sold or shipped out in summer:


    J Allen(24) CM Simply not good enough


    L Leiva(28) DM good player, but lack of energy, mobility, pace and speed against the best and quick sides in world football , he struggles against and should be given chance to finish his career in Italy.


    L Alberto(22) AM simply not good enough and waste of £6.7M

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  37. Johnson : verb : to Johnson off

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  38. Soto sold Shaw for more than you expect them to sell Schneidelin for. The one player they absolutely refused to sell in the summer. Your pricings are not realistic enough.

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  39. Depending on how much he has left on his contract? And his obvious willingness to go, though that didn't help us with Lovren..

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  40. Too true. Will have a year left so Soto will have to do a deal.to the highest bidder.

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  41. Probably Arsenal.

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  42. The biggest question is: Who will replace BR come end of the season?

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  43. And what happens if that is no one?

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  44. He's gonna get another year I reckon

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  45. Won't be asked by no one relevant, me thinks..

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  46. Lallana(26) is better player than Shaw(18) but was cheaper , Schneiderlin(25) is a DM. Southampton can ask for £25m plus, but doubt they will get more than £22M for him at best

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  47. Arsenal were reportedly willing to pay twenty five million in January. He will only have a year left but twenty will be the minimum.

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  48. The only positive I see in him is he's better than Lallana, at least he's not that fragile.

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  49. no more southcoast geeezers12:04 pm, March 26, 2015

    Yesss plz him an cazeres and veito. Plus any 2 out of firmino , yamalenko,dapay or lacazett get rid of lambrini cheap rubish italiann wine,MARIO YELLOW BELLY ,JOE ALLEN ,alberto ,aspas

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  50. no more southcoast geeezers12:09 pm, March 26, 2015

    His made 2 much thow imagn if bennitez had tht sort of money an didnt have to trade his best players to get money we wud one pl under rafa. he has waisted alot of  money on crap

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  51. Khedira is a bit injury prone, but we should definitely be looking over at Real since they'll be selling a CM, and they have plenty of good ones.


    Kovacic is great though. Like you said, he's the type of player that can take us to the next level and control the game in a way we haven't seen for years. 20M might be a bit high, but Inter will be motivated to sell for anything over 15M.

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  52. no more southcoast geeezers12:13 pm, March 26, 2015

    Yerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr well said

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  53. I haven't seen enough of Kovavic to have an opinion on him but that does seem a bit pricey.
    I think that's probably the fairest analysis of Rodgers role in our transfers I've heard from you Jaimie and I agree, our squad has depth now, it's time to concentrate our transfer funds on more experienced, finished article players that will take us up a level. I think FSG will know that though and they've shown in the past that they're prepared to authorise moves for these types of players.

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  54. Spot on mate

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  55. I agred with your point Logan and was that you conceding that this season has been somewhat of a transitional season?

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  56. If Rodgers makes top 4 then he might get another year.


    The financial outlay this season would have required some guarantee of how the season will finish and anyone who believes a finish outdside the top 4 is going to be acceptable for FSG please put your signature on this dotted line ..................................................

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  57. Good post mate

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  58. I have not conceded that this season is a transitional season hence the use of apostrophes.

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  59. I think I can articulate my reservation now. It's a weird one: that his style is probably most similar to Gerrard's. How can that be bad? He's a better dribbler, but his game is based on similar principles of power, guts, good passing and shooting. I just feel we need somebody of a slightly different style in our midfield, unless he's here to compete with the central mids and not Coutinho and Lallana.

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  60. Apparently he's going to bayern

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  61. They have allowed older players, but I think there's a moneyball 'cost per game' element to that.

    Lambert = £4m transfer + £2.5m/season over 2 seasons @ 50 games per season = (very broadly) £100k/game

    Remy = £8m transfer + £3m/season over 4 seasons @ 50 games/season = £100k/game

    Appreciate it's not exactly the same, but it is effectively a per use utilisation cost, as you'd factor into the capex of any infrastructure outlay. It's a ludicrous amount per 90 minutes for us commonfolk - especially considering they'd never play 50 games anyway - but a quite reasonable (even cheap) cost for senior PL players. Neither of the above players would reasonably expect to have any significant resale value so they're pretty much write offs.

    But would we really ever have signed Bony? His transfer fee, reported salary, and bonus put him somewhere close to £250k/game. Falcao - are we really in for him at £265k/game? (Not that I want him, mind.) Ronaldo, if he left, I would imagine would still be £40m, probably £300k/wk salary, over 4 years £100m outlay at something like £0.5m per game. Citeh and manyoo would fight tooth and nail, I don't think FSG would pay that to any player.

    My point is, FSG will allow older players, but I doubt we'll ever see a 29/30yr old at the peak of their game, at premium transfer fees coming in.

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  62. I like Khedira very much, but like others have said he does spend his fair time on the treatment table and is rumoured to be Bayern bound. But he's not going to be a starter at Bayern. Shweiney and Xabi (on form) are bound to be ahead of him, whereas he'd pretty much be a guaranteed starter at LFC, depends upon how much collecting medals from the bench appeals to him.

    But if we can't get him then Illaremendi must be getting frustrated too. Even when Modric (and James) was injured he was still behind Khedira in the reserves (Kroos and Isco starting). Even with Khedira leaving he's not jumping into a starting berth. Reckon it'd be worth a cheeky bid.

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  63. His agent has denied the reports... Never believed it. Don't think his all that to be honest.

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  64. Looks like you're right no one has signed it!

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  65. "A deep lying mid, attacking mid, and wide left."


    Why do we keep looking for players who do multiple things well, as opposed to one who is one of the best at one position?


    When you get a player who does multiple things well, you get a good player. When you get a player who specializes in one position, you tend to get a better overall player.

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  66. I tried... my signature keeps showing up on other webpages for some reason.

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  67. Doubt he'll gel as quickly as Henderson.

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  68. I agree with you but today's football makes pretty much all players all rounders as managers are changing their style quite often and clubs change managers even more often..

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  69. There's probably nothing in the rumours, you're right.

    Haven't actually seen what his agent has said, but what else could his agent say? "Yeah, Liverpool have been tapping us for ages..." Or, "Yeah, my client has no intention of seeing out his contract with Inter, we're offsky as soon as the flight is booked..."

    I don't think there's much else he could say apart from he's happy here, has no intention of leaving, club is close to his heart, grateful for the faith shown, no contact with anyone...the usual blah, blah...

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  70. Was just about to post the same. Bar the GK, the out-and-striker and stone-cold centreback, pretty much every other player will play in multiple formations and systems and need to be versatile.

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  71. Sorry that you can't accept that someone might have a different opinion than you.
    Cabellero is clearly just back up, and is no where near the same level as Cech.
    Valdes again, clearly back up.
    God knows why Vorm made that move, it seems to have ended his career.
    I just don't think Cech is going to want to join a team to be back up again. He is already that at Chelsea and would probably get more money there, so why leave for the same role and, possibly less money.
    I don't disagree with having an experienced backup, I just don't think Cech will be it, and not for the reported £10 million.
    But, if Cech did come in, and played regularly it would potentially stunt the development of a younger keeper who could offer the club a lot more years.
    And if he would only come in as backup, why spend £10 million and upwards of 60-70k a week for him to be on the bench. It's a waste of money in my opinion.

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  72. It's fair to say that Inter didn't consider Philippe Coutinho to be 'good enough', either...
    Still a good chance BR can bring the best out of him.
    Big difference in cost, though, between PC and MK. That's the problem.

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  73. Only a fool would fail to see the good job BR is doing.

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  74. Pretty much spot on, nice to see somebody else has also actually though about it logically.

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  75. 500k raising to 5m based on appearances (which i believe he has now reached the top threshold).

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  76. Rafa may not have had the transfer budget but he certainly had the wage budget. Trasnfers were limit because of the huge wage bill at the club.

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  77. Lets see if this happens!!!

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  78. I understand what you're saying.


    In my opinion, if the player has enough natural ability, he'll be able to adjust if needed.


    That's not to say a natural striker is going to player center back, but I would expect him to be able to play on a wing or as an attacking mid.


    And a talented-enough center back should conceivably be able to play defensive mid as well as another example.


    Hence, I'd prefer to go out and get a player with more natural ability in one position then someone who's best skill is being versatile.

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  79. I think I'd rather spend a bit more and get Pjanic. More established, better engine and proven

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  80. Tough game ahead of us vs Arsenal at the Emirates. Nothing but a win will do so hopefully we have do not choke.


    Have a feeling Rodgers will revert to a back four. Will surprise me if he doesn't as we have been found out recently. If we stick with the back three and square pegs in round holes at right and LWB then I fear we are going to be slaughtered by Arsenal.

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  81. Beast what do you make of Pjanic? I see we are being strongly linked with him again and I know you watch a lot of European football

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  82. Not at 29/30 but mid twenties no problem i.e. Lallana.


    We need players who are starters and signing another Markovic or Moreno will not going to take us to the next level. It is that simple.

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  83. He wasn't exactly shortchanged either, he spent a significant amount of money did old Rafa

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  84. Quantity over quality. That is how Rafa rolled and we are now seeing that with Rodgers too.

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  85. Very nice post mate

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  86. I understand what you're saying. Believe it or not that is my initial thought when I read what you replied...

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  87. Liked a defensive midfielder did Rafa, we usually had plenty of them but only one decent striker

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  88. And here I am thinking EPL when I say European football..

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  89. Nevergonnacrackthecode4:48 pm, March 26, 2015

    In
    Vietto , Salvio , Kovacic ?
    Out
    Sterling , Balotelli ,Henderson




    team


    ......................................Vietto
    ..........Salvio............................................Sturridhe
    .......................................Coutinho
    .................................Kovacic..........Can




    I would also keep eyes on developmnets of Anderson and Laczette

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  90. I reckon we would get far more out of Sterling say for instance as a second striker instead of continuously shifting him around. That is the reason why I believe some of our players have 3 good games and then ten bad games follow. To much tinkering with different roles for them.

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  91. Nevergonnacrackthecode4:51 pm, March 26, 2015

    Lacazette,Dyabla ,Vietto
    ,Depay,Anderson, Salvio
    Pjanic,Kovacic ,




    we have plenty of options my favorite team would be for next year


    ..........................................Lacazetee
    Depay..............................................................Sturridge
    .............................................Coutinho
    .......................................Pjanic..................Can

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  92. Why do you want to get rid of Henderson and Sterling? Homegrown players and established first teamers.

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  93. Nevergonnacrackthecode4:55 pm, March 26, 2015

    Too big for their boots.


    Sterling signed a contract on January 2013
    the contract was 40k a week


    it took him till Spurs in December 2013 to perform again .
    So almost a year of non performance , heck even Moses was picked ahead of him . All that money down the drain .


    He has 5 good months . And wants a 11o k raise.
    he did not perform for half his contract and wants a raise? , it is absurd.


    Same with Hendo no performance for three years where it was 60k down drain every week
    Has one good year and wants a raise?


    it is crazy.

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  94. And there's no reason for us to really be in contact with Kovacic as of a few days ago anyway... I mean, the reports just suggest we have agreed to meet Inter's price. Nothing about any contract negotiations, or even that Kovacic really wants to move.

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  95. Nevergonnacrackthecode4:57 pm, March 26, 2015

    Beside Ibe is better then Sterling. and Harry wilson will be better then him . no big loss .
    As for Henderson , Emre Can needs to move in midfield soon . and we cannot ahve two box to box midfielders we need a deep play maker as well like a Alonso which would probably be Pjanic

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  96. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:00 pm, March 26, 2015

    The problem has been not enough tinkering last 4 weeks to be honest . Rodgers new system has been found out.


    i would go 442 flat.
    .........................Balotelli..............Sturridge
    Coutinho...........Henderson.........Lucas....Sterling

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  97. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:03 pm, March 26, 2015

    Nevergonnacrackthecode
    is back after his year long sabbatical . Figured i needed to cheer people up after the utd loss.
    And i have a new catchphrase , " The best pundit in the land is code man"

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  98. We are an Island all to ourselves buddy.

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  99. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:06 pm, March 26, 2015

    Nice to meet you all again. Jaimie you ahve not aged a day since i last saw you : ) . Logan look how big you have grown .
    Orme you being naughty still ?
    Where art thou Rohan Anderson? , hope he is good.


    The best pundit in the land is code man.

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  100. We do not need to make wholesale changes. and selling Sterling and Henderson would be daft.

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  101. How can you say Ibe is better? Based on what?

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  102. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:13 pm, March 26, 2015

    Sterling we will marginally miss . Obviously he is no Torres,Suarez,Alonso .


    Henderson though (barring his purple patch although vs man u it looked like normal system resume)?
    why him all he can do is run? . why not sign Mo Farah instead he is a free agent and has an awesome celebration.

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  103. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:15 pm, March 26, 2015

    I have watched both in the reserves.
    Ibe has more pace and is better at dribbling


    did you see that performance vs Everton and Spurs?


    plus look at how both have played in the wing back role ,ibe has been way better

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  104. The biggest flaw is that you want to replace Sterling and Henderson with players who most probably do not understand one word of English. What you want to do is a recipe for disaster.


    Sterling and Henderson are two of our most valuable players and getting rid of them most will agree is not an option.

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  105. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:19 pm, March 26, 2015

    Coutinho can barely speak English still
    Suarez English is not that good


    heck even our two biggest legend
    Gerrard and Carragher could not speak English ; )


    football is the universal language and good players know how to use it.

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  106. I don't think Ibe has played better than Sterling's best in the wingaback role. Perhaps better than his latest performances but there is arguably more to do with other factors. As for anything else I can't say two senior games is enough. As for reserves, why was it not Ibe, making the step up instead of Sterling? Why did he go on loan instead of going straight to first 11. I think this idea is based on hope more than anything else.

    Glad your back though. A couple of your posts have made me chuckle.

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  107. I think I am at least two..

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  108. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:29 pm, March 26, 2015

    Maybe you are right about hope etc.
    But is Sterling going to be that hard to replace?
    How much better is he going to get? , he for me reminds me of Shaun Wright Phillips and Aaron Lennon , very one dimensional no end product .






    I understand players like Torres,Suarez,Alonso , tehy were genuinely world class.
    Suarez and Alonso our play resolved through them , for me Coutinho is the guy now , all play goes through him.
    Sterling is just an add on to Coutinho, we saw vs spurs , Markovic and Ibe done a very good job , but when Coutinhos out we suffer look at Bestikas.

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  109. Don't you just love that guy? Yeah, me neither..

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  110. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:29 pm, March 26, 2015

    What has Kovacic done to you ?

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  111. You are going by Kovacic now?

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  112. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:32 pm, March 26, 2015

    Mate it is Wrestlemania in three days ,
    me and Undertaker vs you and stone cold
    okay ? : )

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  113. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:38 pm, March 26, 2015

    That lady does not look 49 , the NR experiment.

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  114. I don't know. I just know one thing, Rodgers needs to buy 2/3 players, plus sell all the players who do nothing. We have the bulk of our team from the last window. Needs top end quality now.

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  115. IMO, Kovacic will be perfect for Liverpool with Henderon/Can in midfield and a dedicated DM at the back. He has skill, passing ability and 10 goals/assists is not too shabby considering Hendo/Sterling do not have too many. If we get him with a recognized DM, I will be happy. He is the ultimate upgrade on Allen.

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  116. I'm with you Mike.Miralem Pjanic is a creative type from deep that will instigate clever passing and triangle moves.A tempo dictating, midfield orchestrator.I would take him over Kovacic for sure.
    I wanted Pjanic to be a Liverpool target last summer.It's somewhere on another forum i was commenting on at that time.I tracked his performances for Roma.They play the best football in Italy and everything good goes through him.
    Pjanic would be the best creative central mid we could realistically get.I noticed the Liverpool Echo poured cold water over any potential deal shortly after strong rumours surfaced a couple of months back.
    Hopefully they're wrong and we get the deal done.He would cost a lot but i have no doubts he'd be worth every penny.

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  117. Jock look at my reply to Mike Aitcheson.

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  118. please don't

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  119. I would give half of my salary for that...

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  120. Nevergonnacrackthecode6:46 pm, March 26, 2015

    i can tell you missed me, in fact this is best day of your year because i am back now.
    No need to thank me

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  121. How can anyone say what Sterling is capable of? He hasn't even finished growing yet. He's a kid, just turned 20.

    Remember Stevie's debut? Looked good, useful player. Then at about 20 he shot up 6 inches in height. We were told he may never make it because of his growing pains, the back problems he had and the hamsting issues he'd have. Instead it added a magestic stride to his game and he became captain fantastic.

    I'd bet none of us had heard of Xabi or Suarez when they were 19, or maybe in passing but had no concept they were world stars. Torres was known, but much like Sterling he was the wonderkid that everyone was wondering whether would be the real deal.

    Sterling could be anything. Already difficult to knock off the ball, over the next year he may add 20lbs and become a bull like Rooney, maybe have a growth spurt and add an extra foot to his stride and be completely uncatachable on a sprint. And that's just physical development. He already has a decent touch, plays some cute balls, maybe he continues to develop ball skills or adds 25% to his finishing.

    But, maybe he turns into a Lennon or SWP, all promise and no end product, as you say... Either way it'd be worth keeping a 20yr old with 100+ senior games around to find out.

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  122. I'd like to say you have matured hugely in the last year and are much more knowledgeable about football too. I'd like to say that but if i did I'd be lying......

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  123. no more southcoast geeezers7:37 pm, March 26, 2015

    Yer cos we ad alonso ,mascarano stevie g and players that was pikn up wages for traininng but yet haf to sell to buy. He one the cl with a side that wernt top top class jus had a sprinkl of class wth good coach if he had the money availble to him like brendon probley wud of one the leaugue with rafa

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  124. Please write in complete sentences and drop the txt spk. Further comments like this will be deleted.

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  125. That's where we disagree big time. He has far more strings to his bow than those two. He is pretty much as good as Walcott when fit and has potential ro go further. That is just hope for me anyway but if we were to replace quality for quality it would cost us thirty million in today's market. He is far from world class but money doesn't go as far these days.

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  126. Especially if your fifty plus.

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  127. I watched Didi Hamman on TV say, that Remy's agents fee was more than the cost of Remy, I presume he is in the know, so if thats true, I agree with FSG telling them to F**k off.

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  128. Might I suggest you go to youtube, and search "ADRIANO MISSES" it might change your mind, it changed mine.

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  129. Steady on with the selling though. We can't get rid of all the players who do nothing or we won't be able to put a team out!

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  130. Not sure I believe you... :)

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  131. I agree with you. I've posted on other threads that we should get Cech and Turan amongst other established players. They don't just add maturity and leadership, they add maturity, experience, the knowhow of winning tournaments, keeping cool heads in run-ins, game management/intelligence. They've been there, seen it, done it. It definitely cost us in Europe having virtually nil experience. Once Gerrard goes we've got relatively few with any experience of anything; could really do with 2 or 3 seasoned pros to help the younger players develop, a Gary Mac for each of defence/midfield/strikers.

    On Lallana, he would have been seen as less of a risk. At 26 he still has a resale value at 28/29. If he didn't work out there's a reasonable expectation that £10-15m of his transfer fee could be recouped, possibly more if he could get even 10 goals a season.

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  132. I think you need 8 more months to call it a year-long sabbatical.

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  133. Absolutely. Agents are the scourge of the game. Rodgers doesn't have an agent, I always liked that about him

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  134. That's been nothing like a year ya pie

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  135. A big yes for Pjanic.

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  136. We'll cheer up when you tell us who your favourite Southampton midfielder is.

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  137. Tougher to pronounce.

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  138. The crazy bit is that I sort of agree with your points.

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  139. no more southcoast geeezers9:50 am, March 27, 2015

    Plz dont coment on my coments if its not about what i have written about jaimie. Also mate u should practice what you preach son !! Look carfully at what you have mesaged me joker ... Have a bad day .

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  140. no more southcoast geeezers9:53 am, March 27, 2015

    Drop the tx spk. Or u coments wil be deleted jaimie k u have a bad day now.....

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  141. That is a problem.

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  142. Cruciate ligament damage for Kovacic. Should put paid to that rumour, hopefully we will turn more towards Pjanic, he is trying to get away after a difficult season, and for us is the closest we can get to a Xabi type player realistically

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  143. Txt speak is a pain in the arse, there are plenty of other places to use it but it is explicitly outlawed in the rules for this site. Whether JK uses it elsewhere or not is irrelevant. you have to do a simultaneous translation in your head so it gets on people's nerves.


    Hilarious that you tell the owner of a site what he should and shouldn't comment on after breaking the site rules. Get a grip

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  144. What?! That's horrible. I watched a YouTube video of him recently and felt like retracting my earlier reservations about him, because he oozed class. Didn't show his mistakes, of course. Sad for the guy.

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  145. no more southcoast geeezers9:58 am, March 28, 2015

    So why you doing it then mike txt is spelt text chek yourself dont you every every!! Message me unles its football related suker..... U have a bad day now.

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