10 Jun 2013

Kolo Toure: 'Stop-gap' flop or top deal? - LFC fans give their emphatic verdict...

Kolo Toure will officially become a Liverpool player on July 1st, but at the age of the 32, is the Former Arsenal defender a spent force at the highest level, or does he still have a lot to offer?

Last week, I conducted a survey on the site to gauge fan reaction to Toure's signing. The results were emphatic:

* Question asked: Is Kolo Toure a good signing for Liverpool?

* 10300 visitors (approx) voted.

* 79% of participants voted YES.

That's a pretty emphatic result, but it's hardly surprising given the very clear positives of Toure's signing:

* Vast experience at the highest level (domestically)
* Huge international experience (103 caps)
* Captained Arsenal and Man City, so he's clearly a leader.
* 2x Premier League winner, so knows what it takes to win the the league.
* Adds quality depth to the squad.
* Creates credible competition in central defence.

In a recent column for the Liverpool Echo, Reds legend John Aldridge described Toure as a 'stop-gap' measure, but he also hailed him as a 'winner', and insisted the signing is 'not a gamble'. He added:

“He [Toure] knows the Premier League inside out. Everyone can see that we needed more experience, and our young players will learn a lot from him. He reads the game really well and knows what it’s all about.

“He’s 32 but he’s still got a couple of years at the highest level left in him. He’s a winner, and will be a voice in the dressing room. He know what it takes to win and will have an impact on the players around him"


Reds legends Jan Molby and Phil Thompson broadly agree with Aldo. The Great Dane told the Liverpool Echo:

"I can see the appeal of Toure. He wouldn’t be starting every week but there would still be plenty of games for him to take part in. When Man City signed him, most clubs would have taken him. He’s older now but he still has plenty to offer"

Thommo tweeted:

"Happy with the signing of Kolo Toure. He's of good character, experience and ability. He may only be a back up, but I'm sure he will want to play as much as possible, which is what we want"

'Appallingly bad' is the only way to describe Liverpool's free signings over the last few years (Cole/Jovanovic/Voronin/Degen anyone?).

Hopefully, Toure will break this particular streak of mediocrity and turn out to be a good signing.



NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


38 comments:

  1. I think he'll be a great signing. Play him in there with Agger and I think they could be a solid partnership. Would still like to see the Greek lad sign though.

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  2. I just wish we had signed IVANOVIC on free. That would have been great! I think you mean JOVANOVIC, Jamie, who was "appaling bad" as you said.

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  3. as a Manchester city fan I can promise you this,he will be a fans favourite he is a great signing

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  4. He should be a good addition, but I still think we need someone else. Still hoping for Papadopolous.

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  5. This is going to be good Toure great deal yer ?
    If pepe goes we are in for Mark Schwarzer

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  6. Not "appalling bad" surely appallingly bad? Or even just appalling would really do.

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  7. maxi rodriguez was appalingly awesome :P

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  8. Deletw


    Sent from Samsung Galaxy Note

    -------- Original message --------

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  9. Mr. Point Of View10:18 am, June 10, 2013

    news said we been rejected 3.5m bid for Tiago Ilori...and now Valencia is stepping in ! Only toure alone cant solve the issue we had..

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  10. Mr. Point Of View10:20 am, June 10, 2013

    ivanovic???? come on that guy wont come near as long as cannibal still here !!!

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  11. i think he will play more games than you seem to think jaimie,and we will sign a young potential defender or maybe give some of the potential players we have at the club a go ,god knows we have signed enough over the years

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  12. He's had his day,City know this, or he'd be staying.The wages he'll earn should be spent more wisely. Just another cheap option for us i'm afraid.

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  13. If Kolo is so great, why did Liverpool sign him on a free with no competition from any other clubs? He's a stop gap. No more, no less.

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  14. Because we got to him first? Because other managers weren't aware of this once in a lifetime opportunity. Because his agent made us aware? Who cares? Touré is a top defender and it's a brilliant signing.

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  15. Yes because City's transfer policy and recent dealings all made perfect sense. I mean, 17 million for Santa Cruz, 20 odd million for Joleon Lescott, 26 million for James Milner - it all makes perfect sense doesn't it?

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  16. Neither can a kid who has played all of 12 games for Sporting. I'm eagerly awaiting the Valencia press conference but something tells me we won't be so lucky.

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  17. liverpool4life56511:31 am, June 10, 2013

    How do u know there wasn't any competition are you his agent?

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  18. No need to thank me for my proof reading or grammar suggestions.

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  19. Half a billion!!! Lodry Lord!!!

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  20. Much better player than Carra

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  21. Craig Bellamy was free and he too was from city. So I feel optimistic.

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  22. People seem to think that Toure is a long term replacement for Carra. The answer is he is not. We need some defensive stability and experience since Carra has retired and Toure will provide us with that. If Toure performs well then I don't see a reason why he cannot play week and week out...just like Hyppia.


    BR will sign defensive cover don't you worry.

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  23. I'm sure he will become a good signing for us. After all, we don't pay any transfer fee for him. With his experience at the highest level, it's going to help us stabilize the defense. We should keep a lookout for the other players that are going out and coming in.

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  24. I think this is a good move for us. While Toure may not excite many fans and hasn`t played much in the last few seasons, he is still a top defender who will provide great cover for us and also be able to play in games where we really need that experience.


    I still think Toure could become a first choice defender too for an number of years for us. He is a winner and has clear leadership about him, again this can only be good for us.

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  25. I tend to agree with you here. I think we will sign a young potential defender as well. Giving a good mix. If the young guy turns out that he can hack it right now, then it`s no real loss moving a free transfer to the bench. If the young guy isn`t ready yet then Toure can do the job.

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  26. Good deal for sure as he has been there and done it, we need exactly that kind of player!!!

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  27. It might be due to the amount of stupid mistakes that the defense made last year which resulting in us drawing and losing games. The attack did there bit in most games but we shipped some goals in two easy. I imagine most fans feel the same on this. Therefore next logical step is to try and improve said area as clearly the players you have aren`t doing it. Now maybe the mistakes we just one off`s for a season, and wont happen next year, but if they do I`m sure you would be the first to moan about FSG being tight and not improving the defense when it was clear that was our weakest area.


    Like you though I do think DM is the one that needs sorting above any other position right now. Lucas is ok, but he isn`t Lucas of a few seasons ago. Allen did the job ok, but ok isn`t good enough for me. We need great. Sort DM and personally I think some of the defensive issues will be sorted too.

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  28. if we play all out attack the defence is bound to suffer

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  29. I completely agree, therefore you sign players who are used to that system. Other teams have pulled that style off. Unless your happy to lose every game 3-2?

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  30. nd also giving cheap free kicks away to cover the defence

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  31. if everyone is bombing forward including the full backs the centerbacks are bound to be exposed and make mistakes

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  32. Which I agree with. However when it comes to say a corner and are defenders arent even marking correctly then that has nothing to do with our style of play. Oddly it was Agger who made the most mistakes from corners last season. We lost several goals from him not marking his man right.

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  33. imo rodgers concentraits on scoring goals and stopping them is an after thought

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  34. You may well be right on this.

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  35. Liverpool should go for simon kjar from Roma. This guy is quality. I watched him closely at the Euro's and he was very very good. Solid defender. And he has the history of playing with Agger at the International level so they will gel nicely in a partnership. Above all else he is only 23 so he still has to peak. At the Euros this guy came up against some of the best teams in the tournament and Denmark played admirably because there defence was good.

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