23 Mar 2013

Play me or I leave: Unhappy €8m star in Anfield quit threat. Let him go...?

In January, Liverpool defender Sebastian Coates admitted that he was going through a 'complicated moment' at Anfield, and made a public plea to Reds boss Brendan Rodgers to play him more often. Two months later, and Coates is still struggling for pitch time, and his frustration with life at Liverpool seems to be growing.

In an interview with Uruguayan newspaper El Observador this week, Coates revealed that Rodgers rejected his request to go on loan in January, and he then delivered a veiled threat to leave the club in the summer. He said:

"I want to play, and most of all to be involved in the Uruguayan team like every other player. With that in mind I need to play, whether in Liverpool or somewhere else. I have a contract until 2016, but don't know what will happen in the future. I will wait until the end of the season and then speak to the club."

Coates first revealed his unhappiness with life at Liverpool in January, when he told Reporters:

“I’m going through a complicated moment here at Liverpool. I want to play for the Uruguayan national team and I must play for my team to achieve that. I do know the other defenders are playing really well and I must wait my chance. But, again, I want to play now.”

The Uruguayan has been regularly linked with a move away this year.

* In November, the Daily Mail reported:

"Liverpool are in the market for a centre back with concerns over the future of Sebastian Coates. The Uruguay defender is attracting interest from Italian clubs. Juventus are among them as they look to replace 34-year-old Lucio".

* In January, a report in Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, claimed:

"Santos are targeting Coates, who is also coveted by São Paulo. Coates' father recently dined with members of the Santos hierarchy, who expressed an interest in bringing the player back to South America".

* Another recent report in The Daily Express, stated:

"Coates has made just 20 appearances in 18-months at Anfield and wants to leave in search of regular first team football. Harry Redknapp has been rebuffed in a loan bid".

Coates - who signed for LFC in a £7m (€9m) deal in 2011 - has made only 8 starts this season, and Rodgers has ignored him despite ongoing problems in the club's defence.

Liverpool have been linked with quite a few central defenders over the last year, which suggests that club is not entirely convinced that Coates is a long-term solution, and the poor performance he put in against Oldham in January appears to have hammered a massive nail into his Anfield coffin.

Reds legend Mark Lawrenson believes that Coates is on his way out of Anfield. He told the Liverpool Daily Post recently:

"I’m not sure Rodgers fancies Sebastian Coates, and if that’s the case then perhaps it would be better to get the centre-back off the wage bill and bring somebody else in".

Last week, Jamie Carragher revealed that Liverpool plan to buy 'several players in my position over the summer', so it's reasonable to predict that Coates will be one of the first names on the transfer list this summer.

Should the club let him leave, or is he good enough to make it in the future?



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24 comments:

  1. If there would be any chance of bringing in a defender like Simon Kjaer, we should go for it by all means, and that would mean any possible deal involving Coates, or just letting him leave.

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  2. Totally agree with you about Kjaer. He and Agger have a good partnership for Denmark so it would make sense.

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  3. how many more players will come out and speak about what should be happening behind closed doors, imo rodgers has lost the dressing room it started when he started slating players to the press, only surhin and cole have left who have played for lfc under him and neither have been complemenary ,infact surhi stated he thanked god to have left rodgers,onthe coates matter obviously he his not going to get game time under rodgers so why did he not let him go on loan in jan if he had played well at another premiership club it would have bumped up his price,imo rodgers ego did not let him because he cannot stand the fact he may be wrong about him and did not want to end up with egg on his face

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  4. Sebastian Coates having high potential to shining at LFC but B.Rodgers never trust him so much.Why not some times give him times to show up real talent from him?He can be a versatile player who can operate anywhere you needed.I think he will be effective in position CDM or HOLDING BALL player. LFC never know the true,still never give him oppurtunity.B.Rodgers should never blame him if some times he making a mistake,that is normal.Everybody make a mistake but LFC must still continue playing him.Joe Allen and others also make a mistake but why Rodgers cannot accept him as LFC player?? Same case with Oussama Assaidi too.NOT FAIR TREATMENT !!!!!

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  5. Seem like BR need to need to have a squad rotation a bit to satisfy the players and also testing the potential of the group instead of playing his own "players".

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  6. Theycallmemrburt1:01 pm, March 23, 2013

    I still think we should clear out all our center backs and start again. How long are we going to remain vulnerable to high balls in the box, forever, that's how long!

    How long are we going to be vulnerable to powerful and or pacey players like Benteke, Lambert , Drobga or Lukaku? probably the same amount of time....

    Our CB's have a good reputation across Europe that exceeds their average, stale performances this term. Our horse has been dead for a while, we should stop flogging it.

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  7. It seems strange he is judged so swiftly while other , worse players, get given more time.
    he does lack pace, and is a little error prone, but surely he deserves more opportunities.
    Buck has a strange way of dealing with players. Coates was one of kennys better buys.

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  8. The good times are back1:13 pm, March 23, 2013

    We need to sell Johnson too. The guy cannot defend to save his life..

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  9. Agree m8 Pepe has come out today and said he doesn't have a problem with rogers Hendo did the other day and several others have said they dont have a problem with him...what this usually means is they do or why say it...it must kill the moral of the squad when rogers seems to molly coddle his favorites....I want the guy out i cant stand him and that wont change if we start winning his treatment of hendo has been outrageous preferring to play injured players instead not only jepordises there career but ruined what slim chance we had of getting into europe

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  10. Theycallmemrburt1:27 pm, March 23, 2013

    Johnson reminds me of Tyson in his prime. Mickey Rooney would shout out numbers during training and Tyson would perform the required designated combinaton of punches. This system was also carried into Tysons best fights. He was essentially operated by remote control. When he lost his mentor he no longer it seemed had a brain in the ring.



    Johnson without Carra this season has been pretty similar. defensively he needs to be operated by remote.

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  11. id try him in midfield we have nothing to lose as our season was over when we went out of the last cup comp

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  12. Kjaer would be a good choice as the understanding is already there. Coates isn't playing well enough to justify starting, but he feels he can't wait with the WC coming up to force his way in. If he can't wait, then let him go. If he waits and improves enough to force his way into the starting lineup, then fine, keep him.
    Can't see how any manger can change that situation. Playing him is unjustified at the moment on what we've seen so far of him, but he doesn't have the time to be patient.
    It's up to Coates, not Rodgers

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  13. Kjaer has been poor and very error prone for Wolfsburg. Hardly an improvement over Coates.

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  14. He was treated shabbily and he would have been nurtured into his role by now. He looks solid but after so long in the dugouts...the opportunity he gets he seems out of form mainly due to his time in the wilderness. He should play, at least he should have gone on loan. Wisdom was also looking good and now where is he?

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  15. Imo the only thing this guy needs is good run of games. Yeah he's not lightning fast, but strong, good tackler and great in the air! We should definetly keep him!

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  16. Wisdom is a solid player. His main role is CB. I only wish he had played instead of Skrtle against the saints. He put in a superb performance for the U21. We have a potential CB in our own backyard.

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  17. It is normal for managers to be partial to previous manager's buyings. Downing, Skrtle. Enrique , even Hedo could be out this summer. That includes Coates.
    I hope we get better players to replace them.

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  18. I do wonder sometimes if the readers of this website ever watch football. Sebastian Coates is bloody aweful and not suited to the prem. At times he has looked like a cross between Bambi on ice and a rabbit caught in the headlights. Let him go and start buying quality again. As for the Brendan out brigade we would never had got anywhere if you were around when Shanks took over. No patience!!

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  19. Replacements can't be any worse!

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  20. Maybe we send Rodgers out on loan? you know give him a club like..errm..Reading for instance.

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  21. I think that the issues lay as much with the coaching staff as the players. We were fairly tight at the back last year, and the defenders haven't changed.

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  22. I think there is a good defender in Coates, but maybe the Premiership just isn't the place for him. Maybe Italy, with the more tactical play and, crucially, deeper defences, will be more suited to him, or maybe the lack of a language barrier would allow him to marshal and be marshalled more effectively in La Liga.

    Some of his slide tackles are superb, but he always seems to have an error in him. I don't even think he is that slow, considering his size. I think he's faster than Sami was. The Prem's speed, in addition to the other factors listed, could just be too much for a young defender. I'd guess it is the hardest major league to blood a centre-half in.

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  23. I'd like a straight swap with Sporting Lisbon for Eric Dier. Solid Carra type defender with the silky Portuguese touch. We could do worse than him.

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  24. i think he will start next season (rodgers )but if the results do not go his way he will be out,i agree with what you say about rodgers and cannot warm to him at all

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