13 Sept 2011

Someone may be lying at Liverpool FC. The question is, who do we believe…?

After an excellent debut season, Raul Meireles – who was recently voted Fan’s player of the Year - inexplicably left for Chelsea on transfer deadline day. The reasons behind the move have never been 100% clear but now Meireles himself and Damien Comolli have made public statements about the transfer. The problem is, they contradict each other. One of them is obviously being economical with the truth, but who...?

I’m a fan of Meireles and I’ve written a couple of articles recently expressing dismay that Liverpool were contemplating selling him. Now that the Portuguese has gone, I believe it was a mistake, and if he was indeed forced out of the club then, in my view, it amounts to a negligent act that could conceivably have a detrimental impact on the team.

Yesterday, Meireles stated:

"All I have to say is that I had one promise at Liverpool which wasn't fulfilled. It's not the only thing to blame. But that's why the Liverpool fans are unsure why I left. Liverpool asked me to hand in a transfer request, so that's normal."


Damien Comolli contradicted him with the following:

"I think Raul said it himself with what I've seen recently in the press. Basically, he came to see me and said 'I want to leave, I want to play for another club. Our intention was not to sell him but we were put in a corner a little bit when he put in a transfer request and said he wanted to go and that he didn't want to play for Liverpool anymore”.

Clearly, someone is lying here.

Comolli says Meireles asked to leave, and ‘didn’t want to play for Liverpool anymore’. Meireles claims the club asked him to hand in a transfer request.

I personally find it hard to believe that Meireles would actually demand a transfer and actually say that he doesn’t want to play for the club anymore. Then again, if a promise to him wasn’t fulfilled (probably relating to a pay rise), then it’s possible he could’ve put in a transfer request out of frustration.

I also don’t believe that Liverpool had no intention to sell Meireles. After buying Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing, the club was saturated with midfielders so it was inevitable something was going to give, and when the club’s stated transfer policy is to focus on buying young players, it seems likely that older players are going to be the first to make way (hence the departures of Kyrgiakos, Cole and Aquilani)

Whatever the reason, the club has arguably cut its nose off to spite its face with this situation. The whole process has not been managed well, and the end result is that the Liverpool has handed one of its main rivals a proven, experienced international; a player coming into the prime of his career who offers something different to the current stable of midfielders.

What’s done is done. Let’s just hope Meireles doesn’t come back to haunt Liverpool in the league games against Chelsea this season.

Jaimie Kanwar


52 comments:

  1. Could it be possible that Raul is lying?

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  2. Pity you can't spell Comolli or Meireles .

    Stop with your negativity.

    Fuck off.

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  3. I'm not the fan of  Meirelles. So he can go. The club did promise him something that didn't fulfill--wage increment. So it's normal for him to be unhappy and want to leave

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  4. I think it is fair to say that either Commolli or Meirelles is not quite telling the entire truth. Because of my allegiance to LFC I am tending to believe Commolli. My reasons are that the promise that Meireles refers to apparently relates to money. He says that LFC made him a promise that wasnt kept. I would think that no Professional Footballer would sign any contract that contained a promise surely there would be only enforcable clauses. So if he wanted a pay rise and the club said no and with the knowledge that Chelsea where in the background he has asked been told no then said I want to go then, the club have no other option other than to ask for a written request to leave. So if I am right them there is truth in both statements but no lies.

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  5. i don't blame raul for leaving when Kenny rates useless spearing above him and also above Aquilani

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  6. 'I personally find it hard to believe that Meireles would actually demand a transfer'...why would u find it hard to believe Jaimie?!!. the majority of footballers are mercenaries..if u ask me, Meireles was tapped up.  

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  7. The bottomline is, Dalglish did not want him. If Meireles figured in Dalglish's plans, they would have reached some compromise.

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  8. Of no use and make no sense

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  9. Agreed. Plus, it was probably kind of insulting for Meireles to see Henderson preferred over him from the very start.

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  10. You're right - there's always that possibility.

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  11. "Because of my allegiance to LFC I am tending to believe Commolli."
    So you realise you're being subjective, but still don't stop doing it?

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  12. "Because of my allegiance to LFC I am tending to believe Commolli."So you realise you're being subjective, but still don't stop doing it?

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  13. Raul to Damien: "Nuff said.. I still think I am entitled to the salary increase which Roy promised me if I do well in my 1st season.."

    Damien to Raul: "..now son, I really have no clue as to what Roy promised you but if it is not in black and white, there is nothing I can do."

    Raul: "This is just unfair and I feel I deserve more. I may be obliged to look at alternatives now"

    Damien: "We are not going to sell you as we still see you as a valued squad member. You will have to hand in a transfer request yourself if the salary thing is bugging you so much."

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  14. I cant blame Meireles for leaving either, when you have crap players British players like Adams - (so many misplaced passes) Henderson - (still don't know what his quality is?), Downing (has already faded, after one good game) and Carroll (slow, technically useless, lazy - I can go on)  all picked automatically even when they are not performing, it must be frustrating.  Dalglish will play them anyhow because they are his expensive signings, otherwise the owners would want to know why buy expensive players and put them on the bench?

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  15. Have you thought about getting a proper job instead of writing this garbage everyday?

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  16. I also don’t believe that Liverpool had no intention to sell MeirelesEh ! very poor indeed.

    Also, Jamie, why do you insist on writing negative press about LFC, I'm sick of it, please move on to another club because it's quite obvious you're not a LFC fan.

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  17. I'm not sure what Comolli does, could someone enlighten me. Comolli trying to be the politician hasn't said.. 'if you are not happy with the situation hand in an official request. So obviously he did. I can't believe who at LFC thinks Adam, Henderson, Downing, Spearing or Shelvey are better ( right now ) than Meireles.
    We saw in pre season that none of the aforementioned were fit to lace Aquilanis boots yet he was shown the door, apparently Comollis comments on that saga, were 'Alberto can only play in one position and thats for Steven Gerard. I've never heard so much bullshit, Gerard hasn't kicked a ball all year. We seen again at the weekend that our 'new' midfield is devoid of ideas, Adam telegraphs every single pass, Henderson ( don't know what he contributes ) Downing I'm sorry is not world class. Comolli and Dalglish will have to answer to Fenway at the end of the season.

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  18. Get over it.  If you can't hack the way I view things then don't read this site.  Problem solved!

    This is not being negative at all - it's being analytical and asking questions.  I guess I should just live in a bubble and only write stuff that would make me popular, i.e. a neverending stream of 'LFC is the greatest club on the planet' type articles.

    If you want to bury your head in the sand and have a homogenised viewpoint, all in the name of being a proper fan then go ahead.

    I'll just keep doing things my way (if that's okay with you, of course?)

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  19. I don't know whether Meireles is a mercenary or not, neither do you, although its what you suggest. If you had presumed you had achieved a required standard in your job triggering a wage increase only to be told that that would not be happening, and if you didn't like it 'tough' hand in a resignation letter, thats probably what you would do isn't it? Particularly as you warm the bench behind poor quality such as Shelvey, Spearing, Adam, Henderson and Downing. Insult to injury. He was right to go.

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  20. why would he bother lying? could be possible that we are seeing Comollis true colours, his comments about Aquilani are also nonsense. What happened with him and Spurs? Maybe he was crap. Could that be possible Dale?

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  21. Raul was probably promised 1st team football (by Woy), European action and a pay rise. Once Kenny brought in who he did, Raul new he had to go. I dont think having no European footy helped us either. Once we new we couldnt qualify for the Champions league, we took our foot of the gas as no one at the club wanted Europa football. Foriegn players see European competitions differently, (see Van Der Vaart at spurs). Long term, i'd rather Spearing and Shelvey get the opportunities Raul would of had in hope they evolve into superior players.......and anyways, we made a nice profit off him too. Break a leg Raul.....hopefully in the game before you play us, lol.

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  22. Ian - why is it not possible for supporters to criticise where it's warranted? i'm sick of so called people geting so touchy about other supporters who want to make a valid point, which might not be always be deemed as positive, but needs to be questioned, being a supporter means caring for your club and wanting the best for it, and if people running the club are making or made a questinable decision supporters have every right to ask questions, it does not mean they should go and support someone else.

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  23. Gigsy - I totally agree with you mate, the players bought in are overated and over priced, imagine the calibure of word class players we could have bought with the money we wasted on Downing, Henderson, Adam and Carroll ! better still kept the only quility midfielders we had in Aquilani and Meireles.

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  24. Its called PR. The club/Kenny clearly didnt fancy him & thought itd be better to cash in. 

    But they had to manage his exit so not to agitate cynical fans/bloggers. 

    Based on the quotes above, room is left for neither side to be lying. 

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  25. WherewereyouinIstanbul?12:07 pm, September 13, 2011

    Jaimie you just don't see the entire picture do you??? He was'nt and isn't needed for the manner in which we intend to play.

    He did well in a spell of 4/5 games last year (all televised) and the media hyped him up beyond his actual talent - namely running around a lot and getting between the lines of the opposition, making mischief.

    The one thing he doesnt have in his locker is a tackle, if I had a quid for every challenge he's shirked or jumped out of I'd be sending this from my yacht....

    Our sole priority right now is greater success in the Premier League - Raul's priority is taking home a larger pay packet at the end of the week

    Bottom line is he wanted out and therefore he goes...

    If you are a Liverpool fan - then support the side lad

    If you are a Meirelles fan - then support Chelsea lad - Your choice

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  26. Amen............. you see it for what i9t is instead of making up a non story! 

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  27. Your not being negative?  Your whole vibe is negative towards LFC.  

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  28. In a previous comment Meirles said his move was not down to money when it clearly was. The promis he tralks of was made by the previous owners and not by the new owners. The new transfer policy has been about attracting young players and reducing the players wage bill. So in my mind there was no way he was going to get a wage increase. He wasent even a garented starting player

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  29. So you think Kenny had no input in this?  You think Cammoli was the only person to have a say in this?  I don't think so!  if Kenny wanted him he would have stayed but seeing as he's gone....................  Let's wait and see what KD has to say but I tend to believe the football club first.

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  30. Again, if you don't like this site, don't visit. If you post again, please focus on discussing LFC issues, not pointless stuff like whether this site is negative or not.

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  31. Jamie I disagree with most of what you say about my club but your aticles are always thought provoking and do cause debate which is good.
    I am disappointed sometimes that you dont treat all posts the same i.e. this time last year if anyone had dared to write on this site that hodgson was a crap manager or describe him in other derisory terms you would defend him and insist we all gave him time. There are now so many posts that describe players as crap, come on how can anyone call Adams, Henderson Carroll etc they havent been given a chance. Adams in particular has been good although he didnt play well against Stoke, but 1 bad game does not make him crap or does it !!! 

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  32. The player must have been promised by Roy when he was drunk after a binge with Fergie and Big Sam. This days everything is written into the players contract and agents are paid off handsomely too. Even if Roy made the promise the player only played well in five games out of all the games over a season. Do you double your wage on that basis? Moreover Liverpool did not have great season thanks to Roy and also did not qualify for Europe. There was no reason to reward the player. Let me sum up like the great detective Monk. "Here is what happened. Meireless walked into Commolli's Office to request for pay increase as promised by Roy. Commolli told him no way as it was not written into his contract and moreover Roy is no longer with the club. Meireless has already been tapped up by Roman and the Cheatski horde. He told Commolli that he would want to leave Liverpool as he is aware that there are some interested parties. Commolli told him that nobody is bigger than the club and the club will not be held to ransom. At that point Liverpool had not considered selling Meireles as Aquaman was already on the verge of agreeing a loan arrangement with AC Millan. Meireles left the room slamming the door behind him to aggitate Commolli, who was not going to get upset. Miereless meanwhile does his medical in Roman's house enroute his trip for the Internationals. All required paper works were completed and only a green light from Liverpool was required. Meireles was hoping that Liverpool will call him to ask him to leave once Cheatski had contacted Liverpool with a better offer.If that had happened Liverpool would have had to compensate the player. Since Liverpool did not want to lose the player no contact was made. The player became desparate and on the persuasion of Cheatski and his agent called Commolli to inform him that he wanted to leave the club on broken promises. Meanwhile Commolli had discussed the players' situation with Kenny and the owners. Collectively they had agreed to let the player go if he makes a transfer request, since the latest Cheatski offer was good. Commolli was only too glad to tell the player to fax in a transfer request if he wanted out so badly. Miereles realized that there was no way back and decided to fax in his pre-prepared transfer letter from the hotel he was staying, half hour before the deadline. Liverpool accepted the transfer request as the was no point keeping an unhappy player." Good business though and now the money could be used to bring in Eden Hazard in January.

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  33. Meireles was injured at the start of the season, Kenny even said that himself. This seems to have been mentioned a number of times in comments but conveniently forgotten!

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  34. Fair points Redredman. I know many people disagree with me about stuff but that's perfectly fine. Re Hodgson: I never had a problem with people arguing he wasn't good enough - I had a problem with people attacking him in a personal manner, which was not fair (IMO). Re Adam, Henderson et al - I haven't posted anything saying any of them are crap - you're referring to stuff you've read elsewhere, right?

    I agree with you about criticism of the new players - 1 bad game doesn't make them crap at all. If that was the criterion, every player at the club could be labelled as crap (!).

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  35. You`r spot on wherewereyouinIstanbul! spot on

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  36. WherewereyouinIstanbul?12:42 pm, September 13, 2011

    Excuse me but "Where warranted"

    Please tell me how many games (or minutes...) does a player get before it's warranted to criticise???

    Adam, downing and henderson hadn't kicked a ball and many were on theIr backs...!

    Ian is suggesting this is not the Liverpool way - he's right it isn't

    We are building a TEAM, it's not about individuals!!!

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  37. Who cares?! He's gone now...let's look forward to the future at LFC with the squad we have.

    I wish him all the best as I did with Torres.

    YNWA

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  38. when did KK say he did not what him? When did KK slate him or say anything about transfers in the media? right, so how does anyone know what KK is thinking? Well you dont, KK does not need to publicise any dealings involved with liverpool as they are done behind closed doors like everything else he does. If hypothetically mireles was supposed to get a pay rise and due to him not getting it, he took a hissy fit and tried to suggest he may leave for another club if he did not get it. In this situation the club is bigger than any player and if the player makes demands and wants to leave, goodbye, liverpool football club does not stop for any one person. We have seen , alonso, torres, mascherano, mireles all leave for other clubs and liverpool still go on. From this last little fact i am now understanding why we are buying british, as there is a less likely fact of them popping off in the near future.

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  39. I couldn't care less what meireles says - he's no longer at the club I support!

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  40. S.786 - I am in total agreement with you. Dalglish has returned to Liverpool to learn a bitter lesson. If he doesn't make some quality additions to the squad in January, he will be gone by May.

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  41. The timing of the transfer, the final hours of the final day of the window, would suggest that it was Meireles who wanted out and that he handed in a trasfer request to force the issue. If the club did then why wait until the final few hours to let him go. That makes no sense.

    Even though we bought Downing, Henderson and Adam, there was a place for Meirele. Its a shame he didn't wanted to hang around and fight for his place.

    There have been rumours about a verbal agreement about Meireles wages under teh last regime and it not being honoured. If money was the reason for him leaving then we're better off without him, regardless of how good a player he is. We wnat players who want to be at the club, like Bellamy who took a pay cut to join us.  

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  42. Raul is lying 100 % why liverpool need to say him go in deadline ? but he need to go . for what ? for money and because he was in call with chelsea without liverpool permission .

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  43. what a misleading article title.

    meireles is no longer at Liverpool. His statements were made as a Chelsea player. You are implying that LFC internal management is unethical/rotten.

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  44. Freeda -  Kenny did not want Meireles. The position of Comolli is to give Kenny the final say over who he signs. That, from what I have seen so far, has been honoured. The American owners are winners. Having invested all that money into new aquisitions, they expect a positive outcome. Top four spot is the yardstick set by Henry. The foreign players together with Gerrard (if he is fit), Carragher (depending on if his age doesn't catch up with him), Spearing (if he is trusted enough), Johnson (if he can stay fit), Downing to some extent, and one or two other plaayers from the youth set-up that will get him there; not the expensive flops he has signed.  

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  45. A strange and tacky business to which I doubt we will ever get answers

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  46. Miereles doesn't actually deny he wanted to leave. The club just made sure he handed in 'Transfer Request' so that they don't have to pay off the remaining part of his contract.

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  47. I think most people on this forum have said the right thing. 1) That Mereles was a fans favourate and not necessarily Damiens (or Kennys) 2) That he had a great first season and was then put behind Henderson (which I thought was a mistake) 3) that he felt disrespected by this and also by the fact that he was not on a high a wage packet as other kop stars.

    So I beleive that both Mereles and Damien are correct. Mereles was unhappy and went to see the management. They wanted younger players anyway, wanted to cut down the wage bill and wanted to raise money.

    Those of us who watched sky, remeber that Mereles name was always in the "to be sold column by Liverpool along with a few others who have gone, and always in the Target column by Chelsea, at no time did Liverpool say he's not for sale and hes a key part of our plans but they said that about Kuyt!

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  48. billy bob bobertson6:57 pm, September 13, 2011

    What they are saying isn't really a contradiction.  Raul wanted something, the club wouldn't give it so he wanted to leave and they forced him to hand in a Transfer Request (this is normal these days).

    The thing that Raul wanted but couldn't get was a pay raise.  According to reports, when he was signed the previous owners (Hicks and Gillette) promised him a pay raise if he performed well.  By the time that pay raise should have come around, there were new owners who wouldn't honor that promise (it was only a promise, not in the contract).

    You can't blame Raul for wanting to leave and whoever made the decision to sign Henderson for 20 million and sell Raul for 12 was just an idiot.

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  49. He's gone so forget him! We have a young excitng team with potential so lets support them! As much as i liked Raul i always had my reservations about him. When the team were playing well he looked great. Full of craft and invention, but when our backs were against the wall he would often hide and the game would pass him by. Kenny wants a fast, vibrant, sharp and athletic midfield that is based around constant movement and i feel rauls game isnt compatible with the style we are now trying to play. Were improving thats all we can ask!
    Keep the faith

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  50. Mereiles wanted a 100% increase on his salary, is a 28 year old who may not even figure worth £3 million a year for next 3 years? I don't think so

    So save the £9 million and get £12 million cash for him = £21 million saving

    If this 100% raise was promised I guess he should have had it in the contract, not trust somebody's word, esp if it was previous owners. When was he signed?

    Everybody seems to forget that we are not being run by oil sheikhs

    We can't afford the upkeep of salaries for the top, top players. Suarez may soon, summer 2013, move on to a mega deal somewhere else

    We will make a huge profit on him........ Unless financial fair play rules really come in, which is entirely doubtful - If UEFA even think of trying to ban top teams there will be a breakaway european super league

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  51. You're quite a bright lad aren't you? Henderson for £20 million?

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