9 Apr 2015

Transfer Boost: Liverpool can sign 'genius' midfield playmaker for €30m. Exciting deal?

In Februsary, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers spent several days in Italy on 'club business' in an alleged bid to lay the 'groundwork' for signing Roma star Miralem Pjanic. Rodgers reportedly held a meeting with Roma, but Pjanic later claimed that he'd personally had no contact with LFC. The Bosnian is now LFC's top transfer target (allegedly), and new reports claim that Roma will sell for a surprisingly reasonable price.

In a recent interview, Roma President James Pallotta confirmed that Pjanic is for sale, when he told reporters:

"We're businessmen. If someone comes in with a stupid number for a player, you have to listen to it. You can't just say no, no matter what"

According to Tuesday's edition of Italian newspaper Corriere Dello Sport:

* Roma have slapped a €30m price tag on Pjanic.

* Liverpool, Bayern Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain are fighting to sign the midfielder.

Previous reports claimed that Pjanic's price-tag is €50m - which is definitely a 'stupid' offer - so if this news is true, then €30m is a good price for one of Europe's most in-demand midfielders.

Pjanic reportedly wants £160k-a-week to sign for Liverpool, and if the Reds give him that, the mercenaries at Anfield will inevitably come out of the woodwork at some point and demand parity (*cough* Sterling).

Some info about Pjanic, described by Roma coach Rudi Guede as a 'genius' earlier this season:

* Central midfielder.
* Can also play right wing.
* 136 apps for Roma.
* 17 goals/29 assists.
* Goal/assist every 2.8 games.

* This season: 4 goals/6 assists in 38 apps.
* Passing accuracy: 91%
* Key passes: 70 (2 per game)
* Current contract expires in 2018.

Is Pjanic worth €30m and £160K a week?

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126 comments:

  1. Good player, not worth the cost quoted.

    What I'd like to see in the summer (alternative)... Warning: this may or may not be very realistic with no CL...

    IN: Vietto (Ings), Depay (Konoplyanka), Aurier (Montoya), Nainggolan (Kovacic), Casemiro (Illarramendi/Camacho), Patricio (Neto).

    OUT: Lambert, Borini, Johnson, Gerrard, Jones, Enrique, Aspas, Alberto, Coates etc (I may have missed some...)

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  2. Casemiro is a good shout. Don't know how he's done at Porto, but always thought he deserved more game time than he got at Real.

    Schär seems like a bargain in the making, though I've only seen him play a handful of times.

    Pretty good list. Vietto, if the talk of the release clause is true, seems a great idea and Depay would be a good signing and would fit the FSG mould.

    I too would rather have Nainggolan than Pjanic, because even though Pjanic is more talented, I think Nainggolan would better suit us. The spectacular way Roma have dropped off though makes it really difficult to allocate blame and work out who is lacking in any particular regard.

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  3. Jaimie, you and Logan are actually the same. No wonder you don't get along.

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  4. Wait, Bayern Monaco? Do you mean Bayern and Monaco, or maybe Bayern Munich?

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  5. I voted No.

    Not that I don't rate him or his transfer isn't worth that amount, but I am not sure that FSG 'll continue with BR. In that case, it's better that the new Manager has all the money for his team.

    Nothing against BR, probably he has done a decent job from the position he started & may be in few years time 'll become a "Big Club" Manager, but I think he failed in his mission for which FSG appointed a young Manager & supported with lots of money.

    Any owner investing big (FSG did invest big to off-load the loan) 'll expect 5 things from his Manager; I see BR failure in 4 aspects, while he is success in 1.

    1. Play attractive football, so that the team is loved by fans, gate money is maximum - BR did that perfectly

    2. Keep revenue stream flowing (in other words qualify for CL & be in last stage of every tournament) - partially pass/fail, but after this season - big fail

    3. Great use of the transfer budget so that the Club moves forward & gradually the transfer budget reduces - fail, big time

    4. Bring a culture & bring the academy in effect, so that the owners can spend all the money for 1/2 marque players, who not only are top crowd puller, but also as a salable commercial commodity - fail, big time.


    He is buying lot of fringe players for bench (may be he 'll bring academy boys in future, if he can survive, but so far big fail).


    Regarding "Big player" - BR actually had to sale one & the only other one is retiring. His constant chase for over priced English players give me another clue - BR has hardly any pulling power outside UK; top established or potential players in mainland Europe or Latin America 'll not come to play under a "nobody Brit" - FSG should have understood that by this time - we have chased many, many with hardly any success.

    5. Win trophies - you know..............



    This is no personal dig on BR - as said, he has done a good job; but he isn't serving the purpose he was hired for & given money to burn.

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  6. Excellent read ,BUT,
    What would have happened had Suarez stayed at Liverpool ?

    and would another manager ,say Rafael Benítez been able to keep him from going ?

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  7. I dont really watch enough Serie A to have a preference but they are both quite highly rated from most sources and have both been heavily linked. It's just alot of money to be throwing at players that could (potentially) be Aquilanis.
    Forgive my ignorance, but what is Vietto's supposed release clause?

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  8. Nevergonnacrackthecode9:02 am, April 09, 2015

    Lacazette, Depay, Pjanic ,Kondogbia and Jaanmat
    then we could be as good as Arsenal


    ......................................Lacazette
    ...............Depay......................................Sturridge/Sterling
    .........................................Coutinho
    .............................Pjanic..............Can
    ................Moreno...........Sakho.....Skrtel......Jaanmat
    .............................................Mignolet


    bench: Sturridge/Sterling,Ibe,Kondogbia,Henderson ,Flanagan ,Lovren, Jones

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  9. Would that be Tom Jones?

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  10. Off Topic - Update on Mario Balotellis illness (posted a picture with 38,7°:

    "@phil.coutinho
    magic boy! Grande! Nothing stop me to watch my team winning❤️. ( at
    least this time you know the real reason why I am out) . MISS THE PICTH
    SO MUCH 😡... #unluckyseason #YNWA #illbeback"


    'at least this time you know the real reason why I am out'

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  11. I thought 38.7 was normal ?????????????

    So much for everybody slating poor BR ,before they have the facts

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  12. Ings is a done deal plus you have Origi

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  13. Voted no. Not because I think he's not a good player but because I think we have quite decent midfield options as it is. I have been pleasantly surprised by the likes of Allen, Henderson and Coutinho since Gerrard was taken out of the equation. The way I see it we have a playmaker in Coutinho and it's obvious Can needs to move into midfield as well. Obviously it all depends on what system we want to play next season. If we are to stick with the current one a midfield with Coutinho, Can and one of Henderson or Allen would do me fine. Pjanic is a fine player but he would only fit in Coutinho's position because he's not versatile enough imo and I'm not sure whether either of them would be happy sitting on the bench for the majority of the season. Our priorities lie up front with Lacazette and Vietto my preferred options together with Origi arriving. They would set us back anything between 40 and 50 million at least. Some of that can come from selling Balotelli and Lambert but I doubt we'd get more than 15 million combined for them. Then any cash remaining should be spent on a CB first, a DM second and a GK third. Laporte or Gimenez for CB, Naingolan for DM and Cech in goal. Unless we find someone to pay over the top for Raheem, then we could aim a bit higher here and there.

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  14. Hendos will never be on the bench.

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  15. Might as well be Ruth

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  16. You can heat a thermometer a number of ways........Also if we know the real reason this time what about the other times?

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  17. Agree to all the points. BR time is up.

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  18. It's normal if you're me, watching a Liverpool game

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  19. Some mistakes here...Pjanic is not Serb, he's from Bosnia. Second, Roma's coach is called Rudi Garcia (not Rudi Guede - that's the name of the convicted murder of Meredith Kercher).


    Anyway, I watch a lot of Italian football (in fact I'm Italian) and I don't think Pjanic would be a good buy for LFC...nice player but too similar to what we already have. I think our priorities must be a big midfield powerhouse and a proven goalscorer.

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  20. Nevergonnacrackthecode10:58 am, April 09, 2015

    Wow that is really offensive to Bosnian s like Pjanic especially after what happen 20 years, when they were getting killed by Serbia in their fight for independence. Saying eh si serbian will hurt especially since he is a Muslim Bosnian as well
    That is a good spot.

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  21. Look how you've grown. Even correcting people's geography and history now. Bless.

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  22. Good points; maybe worth noting that Pjanic plays deeper than Coutinho. He's more in a mobile version of the Alonso, deep-lying playmaker role than the number 10. Sort of what BR wants/wanted Allen to be.



    Our midfield was whacked against the s c u m and Arsenal, most recently, so I think we can do with an upgrade there.

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  23. Casemiro has been very good at Porto. Reminding everyone why Real Madrid signed him in the first place.

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  24. They both love bayern everyone.

    *slinks out the back*

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  25. On answer to the second question. No.

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  26. that's exactly what I was thinking.


    It seems to me that BR dumped Balo quite often, saying that he's injured, ill or whatever.


    It must be very hard to coach Balotelli, but at the end of the day he just wants to play just like any other player

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  27. Is Bosnia and Serb not the same ,both in Africa?

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  28. Jaimie, bro, it's seriously not that hard to read up on players' nationalities!

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  29. Alas, whatever the outcome of the FA Cup, due to no CL next year, BR will be looking for a new job.

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  30. What Sterling, he will be gone by the time not Serb comes here.

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  31. Not questioning you call outs.. just questioning why do fans have to dream of whole squad changes every summer? You cannot keep buying a whole new team every year and then expect to win something.

    The real question should be whether we keep BR or move on, and then figure out if we get a new manager what his 3 year plan is.

    And if by some miracle BR is still around - the question most fans should be asking is why after 3 years do we *STILL* need a whole new squad of players :-)

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  32. The great mystery of Rome, never to be known..

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  33. Nevergonnacrackthecode11:50 am, April 09, 2015

    He can play the role Ramires plays for chelsea
    and Milner for city


    play in the big games whern we need workers

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  34. I don't think we do need a whole new squad. There are still some positions that need players. Striker for sure. DM etc

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  35. I know you can't know this, but that was not a war for independence. It was a civil war driven by Serbs', Croats' and Muslims' dictators. Serbs were the bad guys just because their dictator had most money and power. Poor people in Bosnia and Herzegovina never wanted that war and were actually living in harmony literally days before the war broke out. After 'peacemakers' came it is all well and now they just have different scambegs as their representatives, but EU and USA say it is a democracy because they achieved their goal- breaking up Yugoslavia that was getting too powerful and independent.

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  36. 36 is normal body temperature I think.

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  37. Next season attackers and creative midfielders - Sturidge, Origi, Sterling, Ibe, Coutinho, Lallana. Markovic. That is if we move on Mario, Lambert and Borini. We clearly need one of each so selling players should be a priority which won't be easy at all..

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  38. Did you read the Hendo runs back to captain Liverpool after child birth story?

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  39. Let's call it 36.5

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  40. up til 37.5 its normal

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  41. go to lfc live, nice story..

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  42. Yeah just looked now. Well in to the lad. It's that kind of thing which makes.me.like him as captain. He is destined to work hard. What we need from him though is a refusal to lose. That Keane or Known, Souness mentality.

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  43. Yeah that sounds about right. 38+ is definitely ill.

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  44. Couldn't google out that Keane or Known reference?

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  45. I f we want a proper replacement, Pogba is the way to go.

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  46. Agreed, but we need at least 3 quality players so spending 55 mil on one wouldn't work for us..

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  47. But it is a real value for money, besides he will make Mancs po0ping their pants every time we face them. Not to mention it sends a real message to our rivals.

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  48. But it is a real value for money, besides he will make Mancs po0ping their pantzs every time we face them. Not to mention it sends a real message to our rivals.

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  49. Yes but we need a striker too, if he comes maybe not an am as there will be enough creation and a rb. But than again maybe Flanno with Manquillo will be enough and Daniel will stay fit and Mario will deliver... Yes, let's do that!

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  50. Nevergonnacrackthecode12:53 pm, April 09, 2015

    the question is why would Pogba join Liverpool ?
    For him it has to be a downgrade
    Juventus 4 years straight champions
    cl every year
    playing with Vidal,Pirlo,Tevez,
    to a team where the best players like Sterling are leaving

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  51. Nevergonnacrackthecode12:55 pm, April 09, 2015

    It is like saying Aston Villa should try to sign Coutinho


    why would Coutinho downgrade?


    same way pogba will not downgrade


    last 5 years show we can mainly sign mid table players
    so instead of Pogba expect Delph

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  52. Agreed, but we also have the example of Di Maria joining United for reasons clearly not related to being 'champion'.

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  53. That being said, I think Milner's shirt number for next season is also determined.

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  54. Keown it was supposed to say.

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  55. Nevergonnacrackthecode1:03 pm, April 09, 2015

    Di Maria was forced out
    Real Madrid signed James Rodriguez


    Plus Man uniteds status in the global game is way larger then us , only Real Madrid and Barca can claim they are bigger. Most players have been bought up in Mna united glory years.


    Liverpool on the other hand players will have to be told by their parents that we were once a giant of the game


    And this is reflected by the wages they can pay


    Liverpool cannot pay 200k to any player

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  56. Well, today you are making sense, could be a problem with food last night.

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  57. Nevergonnacrackthecode1:05 pm, April 09, 2015

    Like i told you this is our team for next season:


    ...................................Austin/berahino
    Ibe/Redmond...................Lallana/Milner.................Ings/Origi
    ...............................Delph..........Hughes/Allen
    Moreno...............Reid..............Skrtel.......Bryam
    ........................................Mignolet

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  58. I think it's in Jamaica.

    Solved. *drops mic*

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  59. Like i told you if you think we are going to sign Austin, Berahino, Redmond, Hughes, Delph, Reid and Bryam you should immediately do an electroencephalography.

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  60. Coates is still with us????????????????

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  61. On loan at Sunderland, nit getting a game.

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  62. I thought he changed career.

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  63. Yes, quite right.

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  64. At 38.7 you are still normal ,just slightly warm !

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  65. Spot the odd one out?

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  66. Bryam? The sole victim of an uncharacteristic spelling mistake by Nevergonnaproofread?

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  67. Then we awake from that pleasant dream and look at realistic targets

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  68. do you think we can sign Hamsik instead?;)

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  69. I'm no expert but I think it's classed as high from 38 up.

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  70. No no I like this dream

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  71. He is bettrr than Kolo Toure

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  72. Paul Pogba arrives for medical ahead of his proposed transfer to Liverpool for an 'undisclosed' fee

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  73. In being a lord.

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  74. At what exactly?

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  75. Sweet Fowler! Is that him pulling up to Melwood in a newspaper taxi?

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  76. Yeah; LFC should give him what he expects. £80K/wk contract while Balo gets £90/wk for bench-warming seems hard to swallow.

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  77. ...don't wake me till we've won this season's Champions League! :D

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  78. He should have taken a helicopter so as not to tire his legs out before the game.

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  79. Hasn't he been injured?

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  80. what an achievement

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  81. All eyes on Coates!

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  82. Balo's using JK's tagline.

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  83. yeah, I heard rumors that JK is Balo's agent

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  84. I can't remember exactly, but it's really quite low for a striker.... 14.5M I think?

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  85. at 38.7 you should definitively feel ill.

    However when hendo played against Norwich last year he was chalky-white, but put in a man of the match performance

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  86. 35.5 to 37 is normal! 38.7 is a raging fever!

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  87. ...copied from this is anfield............................The Liverpool boss revealed Henderson told him there was no chance he was missing the fixture once the baby had arrived.

    Rodgers explained: “His wife had a second child during the night so
    he had to go away, hadn’t slept so much, travelled all the way back
    again and put in the performance he did tonight. It was a real captain’s
    performance.

    “He said to me, ‘Boss, as soon as the baby’s out, I’ll be coming back’.”

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  88. No worries mate!

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  89. Probably stuck the therm up his dog's bum. Normal temp for curs.

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  90. The games Mario Balotelli has missed for Liverpool and the reasons why...

    Crystal Palace (A) Lost 3-1, November 23, 2014 Reason: Hamstring and groin injuries

    Ludogorets (A) Drew 2-2, November 26, 2014 Reason: Hamstring and groin injuries

    Stoke (H) Won 1-0, November 29, 2014 Reason: Hamstring and groin injuries

    Leicester (A) Won 1-3, December 2, 2014 Reason: Hamstring and groin injuries

    Sunderland (H) Drew 0-0, December 6, 2014 Reason: Hamstring and groin injuries

    Basle (H) Drew 1-1, December 9, 2014 Reason: Hamstring and groin injuries

    Bournemouth (A) Won 3-1, December 17, 2014 Reason: Groin injury

    Arsenal (H) Drew 2-2, December 21, 2014 Reason: One-match ban

    Leicester (H) Drew 2-2, January 1, 2015 Reason: Not selected

    Aston Villa (A) Won 2-0, January 17, 2015 Reason: Illness

    Chelsea (H) Drew 1-1, Januray 20, 2015 Reason: Illness

    Bolton (H) Drew 0-0, January 24, 2015 Reason: Not selected

    West Ham (H) Won 2-0, January 31, 2015 Reason: Not selected

    Bolton (A) Won 2-1, February 4, 2015 Reason: Not selected

    Everton (A) Drew 0-0, February 7, 2015 Reason: Not selected

    Swansea (A) Won 1-0, March 16, 2015 Reason: Illness

    Arsenal (A) Lost 4-1, April 4, 2015 Reason: Knee injury

    Blackburn (A) Won 1-0, April 8, 2015 Reason: Illness

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  91. Casemiro has been good for Porto, and he has many Real fans wishing they'd sent Illara on loan instead of him. Now that Silva is there, both might end up leaving, and either would be good for LFC I think.


    I should probably also note that Pedro, Firmino, Song, among others would also be good transfers, but I couldn't fit them in...

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  92. Guess my comment was blocked and if it was wrong I apologize.

    But to rephrase, Hendo and wife had a baby girl last night and he drove back to get back into the game vs Blackburn and had the assist for goal. So thumbs up for his sacrifice!

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  93. Ouch. Did the Germans do it?

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  94. hahahahahaha nice one

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  95. Lots of games huh. .
    2 games lost
    8 games won and

    8 draws

    out of 18 games.

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  96. I don't think it would be a whole squad change though.


    Nainggolan and Henderson would split time since I think Can should stay in the defense. Casemiro would backup and eventually take over from Lucas. Aurier would finally give us our Johnson replacement. Vietto would be our #2 striker. Depay would give us someone to A) keep Raheem's ego in check and B) potentially give us the answer on the other side of the pitch. Lastly, Patricio replaces Jones and competes with Miggy.

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  97. I think Hendo's contract talks are more normal than Raheem's. The papers say we are refusing to give him what he wants, but I think it's just normal negotiations. "Seller" always starts high, and "Buyer" always starts low, and they meet in the middle. With all the "?'s" at the club right now, it might just be taking a side seat.


    Also, strikers usually are paid more than middies, so that part is understandable.

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  98. Why don't we go just get Kroos

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  99. Not too fussed on Song myself.

    Firmino would be great, but probably out of our league now, I reckon.

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  100. I always use profound voice, you cheeky bastard.

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  101. About £10m-ish. Bargain for his output this season. Villareal very nice on the counter too, which would suit us.

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  102. Probably not - top Latin players' biggest dream is to play El Clasico. But, Rafa would have surely brought someone better than Lambert or Ballotelli. Even, had Ballo been the Ballo we knew at City, he won't have come.

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  103. I am also optimistic mate........ but I am no more 16 now, have seen enough over the years ........... (Look at the winners of some recent FA Cup winners, you 'll understand what it means winning FA Cup now days.........)

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  104. What about Pedro ide definetly want to sign him great player to replace sterling because I don't think sterling will be at Liverpool at the end of the season

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  105. Your the doc doc.

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  106. Has he? Didn't know.

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  107. Our name fits perfectly if you ask me..

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  108. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat Scott....

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  109. Wondered if anyone would pick up on it.

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  110. It was so long ago though... Scary. Still love the trilogy!

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  111. Same here. I actually Watched all three over about a week. Think it was an international week. Still stood up. Yes I am.sad and a bit geeky.

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