17 Dec 2012

'Yes, I'm leaving' - LFC 10/11 favourites to sign £29m striker in Jan. Best solution...?

Long-term Liverpool target Fernando Llorente unambiguously confirmed last week that he plans to leave La Liga next summer. That's great news for the host of clubs tracking the striker, but it's surely unlikely that Bilbao will allow Llorente to leave for nothing, especially given his current value in the transfer market. As such, from a financial viewpoint, a January transfer is probably a foregone conclusion, and Liverpool are clear favourites to sign the Spaniard.

Llorente - nickname 'El Rey León' (The Lion King) by Bilbao's fans - is definitely leaving the club, as he confirmed last week:

"Yes, I'm leaving on June 30. I want to try other things. Let it be clearly stated - it is not an economic issue. Athletic's offer was irresistible"

As of this morning, bookmakers in the UK and Spain, have Liverpool down as 10/11 favourites to sign Llorente in January, ahead of Arsenal (4-1), Juventus (6-1), and Chelsea (12-1).

The signing of Llorente would be a massive display of positive intent by FSG, and although his current deal contains a €36m (£29m) buy-out clause, his contract expires in 2013, which means that interested clubs are in a strong bargaining position, and that could conceivably lead to a much lower transfer fee.

The Reds are long-term admirers of the Spanish star, and Llorente himself confirmed earlier in the year that representatives from Anfield 'came to Bilbao' to negotiate a possible transfer.

Additionally, in June, Llorente revealed he'd sought advice from ex Reds Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres about moving to England. He told Reporters:

"I might end up playing in England. Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres have told me about the great respect that the fans have for the players there"

Former Liverpool striker Neil Mellor believes Llorente would be a great signing for the Reds. He told LFC TV last week:

"I would love to see [Fernando] Llorente at Liverpool. I would play Luis Suarez behind him; he doesn’t get into the box enough anyway, so I’d play Llorente in there and have Suarez floating around the edge of the box making runs".

Llorente's wage demands would probably be quite high, but if Liverpool can offload Downing and Cole in January then that will free up the cash to cover it.

In April 2012, Liverpool Chairman Tom Werner suggested that transfer funds would not be a problem for the right player:

"I would say we certainly have the resources to compete with anybody in football"

It's time for Werner and FSG to prove that the above statement is true.



Jaimie Kanwar


65 comments:

  1. of all the transfer rumours out there i hope this is the one that comes true ... llorente would be a statement of intent that we are still a big team and we're still able to compete with the big guns for world class players

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  2. ill be surpised if we pay 30 mill for a 27 -28 year old.....one other point is the way mellor wants him to be used with suarez is more 4 4 2 or 3 5 2 ....certainly not the 4 3 3 system we use now in this system suarez if the wide player of the 3 is meant to track back and cover. YNWA

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  3. Weiner better put his money where his mouth is. I doubt our scouts would have even scouted him. because he is not in the FSG transfer bracket in terms of money.
    Sad state of affairs actually.

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  4. I doubt Llorente would cost more than £15-£18m. HIs contract expires in the summer when he can leave for free, so unless Bilbao sell him in January, they'll get nothing.

    I don't see how it makes any financial sense to let one of Europe's top strikers leave for nothing in the prime of his career, so logically, a January transfer seems inevitable.

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  5. Not a snowballs chance in hell we will be spending 15-20 million on anybody!

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  6. ...but we're spending our January budget on Sturridge & Ince. :/

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  7. Still imagine Llorente and Suarez. He appears to giving us the green light but we may want to improve our wretched league position first.

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  8. Yes please. Wages-wise, he may prove to be a bit difficult for FSG.

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  9. what budget were shopping at £land

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  10. Like ye ole saying. "when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys".
    FSG better pay up. But then again we are paying gold for "monkeys" in the squad.

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  11. Guess Bilbao will accept offers of 8-10m rather than receiving nothing a few months later.

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  12. Haha. Haven't heard that saying for years. It's a classic :-)

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  13. Keeping my fingers crossed for this one as well.
    I feel far more confident buying a prolific goalscorer from Spain than some of the lesser leagues.

    He has all the attributes to be successful in the EPL and would make an excellent no9 for us.
    And at 27, Llorente is now in his prime, so we should be able to get a good 4 seasons from him.

    Lets hope FSG agree and Bilbao come to their senses.

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  14. so as it stands now where getting sturridge ,ince and llorente in january....Dream on the closest we will be getting to the lion king is if its on tv at christmass ......more likely we will be swapping downing plus cash for a villa reject in bent .........listen i dont want to rain on anyones parade but some of you guys are hitting the xmass booze early if you think fsg will outlay for him without us getting cole , downing and carroll and co shut first

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  15. where shopping at poundland but spending a tenner...try and say joe allen and 15 million without laughing i cant....

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  16. Its no brainer to bid for Llorente, he is world class striker and will guarantee 20+ goals a season.

    Also Arda Turan wants to leave Athletico Madrid, Liverpool should bid for him too, he is top class creative midfielder and could add much needed creativity in our midfield which is non existent rightnow. He is a Liverpool fan too and was even photographed recently in a Liverpool shirt.

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  17. Agree totally bob ...he says hes not financially driven but he will want 100-150 grand a week minimum..that coupled with a fee means its a complete non starter...i for one don't think fsg trust rogers after his outlay on two mediocre players in allen and borini, not the players fault he paid around 15 million to much for the pair.

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  18. I hope we Get the lion king lion heart but i fear the closest we will get to lion king if its on tv at chritmass

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  19. Is this really a Liverpool site???

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  20. To be begin with I was not too keen on him because of his size likeness to Andy Carroll but after watching him playing some matches on TV I can see he has everything Carroll does not.

    And it would gives us another option also. Play him up front in a front 3. Sterling (for now) on the left, Llorente in the middle and Suarez on the right.

    PS Gerrard needs to be dropped to the bench.

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  21. Lacks in match fitness at the moment. Tough for him to hit the ground running.

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  22. Agreed. Building with youth for a future that never comes is a fallacy. Look at Arsenal in recent years. Suarez, Lucas, Johnson, Dagger, and Skrtel are in their prime NOW. If we just buy 18-22 year olds, while staying midtable, they'll want to spend their best years elsewhere.

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  23. DM-[Lucas, Hendo], CM-[Allen, Sahin], AM-[Shelvey, Suso]. We don't need Gerrard any more and thats a harsh fact. At best keep him fresh as 60 min/big game player, preferably push him up front to link with Sterling and Suarez. His mobility will count against him but it will anyway no matter where we stick him on the bench.

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  24. no matter where we stick him on the PITCH I meant...

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  25. Look for players available at knockdown prices IS a part of our strategy though. FSG were initially interested in Dempsey for that reason till they reigned it in the last minute. Thats partly why Walcott and Sturridge are being looked at so closely. 26 year old Ba would be too I imagine, except that he has a dodgy knee apparently and getting physically robust injury players on board is a part of FSGs strategy and one that actually translates well from the Baseball Moneyball strategy we're always hearing about.

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  26. It wont happen.....Rodgers is terrified of players he cant bully. ...he will happily castigate and embarrass fringe players...but look at the baloney he is coming out with about Gerrrard in the papers today...and how hes making every excuse possible into trying to drop sterling and allen without upsetting them.....cast your eye back to the documentary where rogers blasted sterling do you think he would talk to him like that now ...not a chance...hes a fickle bully with double standards.

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  27. there is no chance he will be coming to Liverpool for various reasons. Apart from anything he is doesnt fit into Rodgers' ideas.

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  28. it will be finally Ince and Sturridge..further buys dependent on Downing sale..
    have to wait till summer to get a decent striker..(Hopefully)we'll have 18 mil

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  29. yeah,i can defo see llorente wanting to sign for a mid table side with a mid table manager trying to scrape into europa league football instead of signing for a top side able to compete at the highest level and pay him bucket loads,hahahaheheheheheeeeeeeeeeee,so funny.

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  30. For the fee and wage we would pay for Sturridge we can get him in January. And we would have a real striker who can pass and good with his head as well. But of course we can have another Borini in Sturridge.

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  31. What ideas are they? tiki-taka?

    Llorente fitted in easily last season at Bilbao. Bilbao had a lovely mix of something somewhat similar to tiki-taka, Dortmund-like speed/fluidity in the final third and directness last season. At least one of those three things, 'tiki-taka-ness', Rodgers seems to definitely want in his sides. One of the others, speed/fluidity, is something that this team needs a injection of (I'm not talking about individual player's pace/agility but overall team movement) and Llorente may not seem individually quick, he instead picks up very good positions and works hard on-n-off the ball. Rodgers was the one that brought in Danny Graham at Swansea and he was a big part of Swansea's side last season with Rodgers. He is a big and direct player to a certain extent. 'Why not keep Carroll then' some may say, Llorente is miles ahead of Carroll in terms of technique and bringing others into play as a target man. Watched bits of Carroll at West Ham, he isn't doing a great job over there so far (tbf, he has had injuries) in a more direct side or at least no better than Carlton Cole's performances. I wouldn't rule out Llorente just yet, imo.

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  32. my thoughts exactly .....our next 3 games against relatively poor opposition wll be a good barometer of where we are anything less than 6 points will show Rodgers up for what he is...ALL MOUTH NO SUBSTANCE

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  33. i can but i bet every other football clubs fans cannot,we are turning to a laughing stock,even had villa fans taking the piss on sunday i mean comeon villa fans ffs

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  34. his idea is to play suarez in the central striking role not in a wide position which would involve defensive duties. Thats why Rodgers will sign players who can operate wide but can also cover for suarez down the middle if necessary. Llorente can only operate centrally and wouldnt be happy to be a back up for suarez.

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  35. heres another old saying for you jaimie,which i think sums lfc up at the moment its like letting the lunatics run the asylum ;-)

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  36. Who knows, he could change things somewhat, as Suarez isn't a stranger to a wide role but yes, I do see the worry about moving Suarez from a role that he has done so well in for most of the time this season. A new interchanging wide player may make more sense at the moment, especially if he is only allowed to bring in one player in Jan but I don't think its a wild suggestion, the Llorente one, in terms of fitting into team playing style.

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  37. Suarez- Huntelaar, who was the wide man? Suarez will score even more if Llorente comes, and with more consistency- he just needs someone to take the pressure off of him. If we bring another wide man goals will still be his obligation, and we see that is not working(always).

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  38. we all seen wat happened when suarez dropped wide right on saturday tryed a backheel 30 yards from his box gave away frist goal we need a player like llorente and suarez just behind fuck this 4 3 3 aint working

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  39. Agree on 433, but with suarez-llorente-sterling/downing, at is a different 433...

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  40. Please, please...stop insulting the fans with such "news."

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  41. And why is it insulting news. It is a comment. not news. more ever it is a pov by the author

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  42. How do you know BR dictates price? Maybe he just said get me these. Someone else could be responsible for the negotiating price. Seems more realistic after the dalglish\comolli transfer dealings.

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  43. What we need is 9, and 7 is ok if we get unlucky or ref destroys us.

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  44. Please he was on the touchline and near the halfway line. There were 6 players between the ball and the goal when he lost it.

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  45. im assuming he has some input as he put the kibosh on siggies demand from Swansea.....unless he is an imbecile he would want to know ...if i was a manager who needed to strengthen 3 positions but had only 20 mill ..i would want to know that one player wouldn't take my budget...but then again this is the guy who said we where not loaning out carroll ....I dont believe anything FSG or Rodgers says they are full of it ..the way they handle anything press or commercially related is farcical ...think demsey ...think the backtracking on sterling ...top 4 finish ...they are deluded

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  46. I want FERNANDO LLORENTE as a late crimbo present that would be perfect.Very strong, technically capable and scores goals.The chances of that happening isn't very likely if you ask me.
    I fully expect overpriced average British talent to be signed yet again.STRURRIDGE i hope he comes with a receipt so we can send him back.
    The bookies don't usually get a lot wrong for obvious reasons, hopefully they have inside information. LLORENTE or STURRIDGE tough choice(!)

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  47. Whoever we bring in, the instant impact of scoring goals and good performances straight away isn't a given.
    If we did manage to pull this signing off we'd have to thank God for a top quality player get him fit, and be patient.

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  48. Llorente will want CL football. I bet he will go to Juventus.

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  49. Llorente = good. Sturrridge, not sure what to expect. Nobody seems to be talking about Tom Ince. How Dalglish let him go for almost nothing. I think apart from granting one interview too many imho, Rodgers hasn't done too much wrong.

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  50. you are joking ,languishing mid table is okay...getting played off the park at home by swansea and villa is okay .....heres a reality check we are at present a midtable team and with this joker in charge it wont change soon...whys he playing downing at left back why isnt assadi suso or wisdom or yesil getting a chance...why wont he drop Gerrard or allen ...the guys clueless and there's every chance we will get beat in our next 3 games...

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  51. When i said Rodgers hadn't done much wrong, I wasn't saying I was satisfied with where we were on the log. I certainly think he tries a little too hard to justify signing Joe Allen for that amount of money though. On the other hand, i think you'd have to take a good look at the guys you've mentioned, Assaidi (who i like btw), yesil, wisdom, and suso (another favourite of mine). Except for Wisdom, the other guys are pretty lightweight and struggle to handle the physicality of the premier league, and i guess that's why he's benched them more to give them time to adapt. I am not unaware of the fact that we are struggling to beat teams that are supposedly lesser than us atm, but honestly, that has been the case for at least two seasons now. you really can't blame Rodgers for that. He inherited a club on the downward spiral really. However, there is plenty of room for improvement, and i do believe Liverpool will improve.

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  52. Was at anfield on sat, to see villa,s fans avin a right old party at our expense gutted me, when i think of what a fortress anfield used to be i could nearly weep, would llove this transfer to happen but more likely it will be some leftover turkey from xmas

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  53. Is tyhere anybody left who hasn't prejudged everything already this season? So many comments just seem to interminably repoeat the same point of view, whether it's Rodgers is crap, Rafa would sort everything out, Suarez is king, FSG are ruining us etc.

    Seriously, just making the same point over and over.

    surely the unfolding events and changing elements of the season must be making people think hey, perhaps there's another point of view I'm too entrenched to bother considering? And I include myself in this comment.

    It doesn't do to get all reactionary and switch from one point of view to another with each week's result. But surely there must be SOME room for considering another viewpoint. And there's not much evidence of that happening here lately.

    just saying....

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  54. This is just nonsense and lies..

    Besides the Sterling incident tell me when he castigated or embarrased any player !! It's generally accepted he's the opposite and over praises players!!

    And giving the young lad a telling off for giving a bit of lip is hardly bullying !! Cloughie clattered Roy Keane in the dressing room shortly after he arrived at Forrest .. Fergie kicked a cup in golden balls face.. Your trying to make out the Sterling incident to be something akin to this and it's not.

    Also he has had a go at senior players.. questioned Enriques fitness and dedication to the cause.. same with Downing etc.. So don't try make out he's something he's clearly not.

    Brendan Rodgers is not a bully and he's not stupid either..

    I' ve been wanting to talk about Stevie G's decline for ages.. alot of fans don't want to go there.

    And you don't walk into a club and just cast aside it's captain and most iconic player. This is STEVIE G ffs.. Fan's hold him in the same light as GOD and KING KENNY. I'm sure he's well aware that he's is struggling. Fact is he's not in a position to bite that bullit yet. He's not well enough established as manager of the club to go down that road and knows full well that a continued poor run of performances coupled with dropping the heroic and iconic captain of the club would most likely cause a massive fan revolt and cost him his job.

    Some fans are sharpening the knives already.. plenty on this and other sites like you who think gettin rid of our 4th manager in 4 years after a few months is the way to go.. quite sad really.

    If you don't like Brendan Rodger's fine .. talk about his football, tactics and decions etc.. but don't propagate lies that he's a bully and try to sully our manager as something he's not .. It's not true and It's not the Liverpool way.

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  55. The only odds out there are with SkyBet who make a killing every transfer deadline as wild rumours are accompanied by helicopter sightings as the odds drop and the money piles on for an "easy few quid"

    Most ridiculous market ever.

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  56. In actual fact the 3 front players are all strikers. The left and right players are not wide men in the 433 system. The wingers are actually midfielders from the back and the overlapping fullbacks. Look carefully at the system employed by Buck. It is just our players are not adapting to it and get caught on the break always.
    So Llorent or whoever still has to be in and around the box making space to get into scoring positions. When you have the fullbacks flanking from the wings. They should have 3 players available in the box with MF support from behind. But sadly tic tac is just not clicking. clic clac!

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  57. It goes to prove a week is a long time in football.

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  58. You may think he doesn't hold double standards fine ...you may think hes tactically astute fine ...i respect that ...me i don't so im not going to lie..the way he treated Carroll ( who i don't particular rate ) was a disgrace ....the way he seems to treat players like Henderson compared to Allen stinks of double standards....As for the way he treats Gerrard...well that just confirms he isn't capable of managing a big club with star players he is in awe of....back to the time he even discussed senior players with Gerrard and carragher asking if they are good enough...WTF...TALK ABOUT CREATING A DIVIDE...THE GUYS OUT OF HIS DEPTH WAKE UP....i hope im wrong i truly do ...but i cant make any sense of any of his tactics....ie drop wisdom play downing left back.....continually play Gerrard and Allen...Don't pick assaidi or suso.....have a bench packed with defenders....pitter patter at the back with the ball when your 3 nil down ...pay 36 million for borini and Allen ( about 25 million to much )

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  59. His wages will be similar to Joe Cole's, who will be gone by the end of the summer and his transfer fee will be similar to that of what we're looking to get for Carroll.

    FSG trusting Rodgers has nothing to do with it. LFC were interested in Llorente before Rodgers' appointment.

    Also, Rodgers does not dictate the price. Ian Ayre is the guy in charge of negotiations (and should have been sacked ages ago).

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  60. Dream on Tony.......

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  61. Most of the points mike are rodgers isnt dropping players out of form ...but is dropping players who have earned Mom or played well ,.....nobody is asking for Benitez ...But when a systrem or players are not working you just cant sit back and keep getting beat a good manager changes things otherwise why have one

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  62. I've adressed your comments on calling Rodgers a bully..

    I personally haven't seen a scrap of evidende to support your outlandish statement.. nor is there any.

    I've adressed your comment on why he can't/won't drop Stevie G and if you can't understand that situation then theres no more I can say on the matter except to say you think it's unusual that a new manager had a word with his club Captain about the goings on at the club upon his arrival.. your the one who should wake up pal..

    What divide are you talking about..?? The one between those who actually want to bust their balls to play for Liverpool and those who don't.. personally I'm quiet happy to make such distinctions..

    I'm not saying he's the second coming.. and agree he's made/making mistakes.. Downing at left back for example !!.. but I don't see the point in calling for his head after a few months and I certainly don't see the point in saying things about the man that simply aren't true.. i.e. he's a bully .. I wasn having that.

    We can't keep sacking managers.. we have to give someone time and above all support.. Isn't it about time we done our job !!

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  63. the word bully an be used in many contexts ie intellectual bully..psychological bully ..im not talking about taking someones bus fare off them....a bully picks his targets ...and within the squad thats what he does ...he implicates downing has no heart in the national press ,,,but when Allen whos played a handful of good games out of 20 is crap deedums he needs a rest...if you cant see that your blind ...that's what a bully is ..And if hes not up to scratch get rid ...but the next few games will prove me right or wrong against the mighty fulham and qpr

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