With only two weeks of the summer transfer window remaining, Liverpool still need to bring in another central defender, and reports today suggest that the club has reignited its interested in Sporting Lisbon starlet Tiago Ilori.
In May, Sporting rejected a €5m bid for Ilori, and a month later, Portuguese newspaper Ojogo claimed that the Reds increased their bid to €7m, with €800,000 in performance-related bonuses.
Ilori refuses to sign a new deal at Lisbon, and according to reports in Portugal and England today:
* Liverpool were 'represented' at Sporting's 5-1 home win over Arouca last night.
* Further transfer talks have taken place between the two clubs.
6'3 Ilori - who has a €30m buyout clause in his contract - played in the title-winning Sporting B team last year, and the same team also competed in the NextGen tournament against Liverpool, beating the Reds 3-0.
Despite his height, €7m-rated Ilori is one of the fasted players in the Portuguese League, and in tests conducted at the the club's Alcochete Academy, he recently broke the club's sprint records previously held by Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Liverpool have a good relationship with Sporting - The club already poached Joao Teixeira, and the scouting team has also tracked Ilori's team-mate, Bruma.
Kolo Toure and Daniel Agger are excellent defenders in their own right, but Toure is 32, and Agger is injury prone, so it would be good to bring someone in to give them a break every now and again.
One thing seems clear: signing another young centre-back would (arguably) be a strong indication that Rodgers doesn't see Martin Kelly and Andre Wisdom as viable central defensive options. It would also be another nail in the coffin of Sebastian Coates' Liverpool career.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
In May, Sporting rejected a €5m bid for Ilori, and a month later, Portuguese newspaper Ojogo claimed that the Reds increased their bid to €7m, with €800,000 in performance-related bonuses.
Ilori refuses to sign a new deal at Lisbon, and according to reports in Portugal and England today:
* Liverpool were 'represented' at Sporting's 5-1 home win over Arouca last night.
* Further transfer talks have taken place between the two clubs.
6'3 Ilori - who has a €30m buyout clause in his contract - played in the title-winning Sporting B team last year, and the same team also competed in the NextGen tournament against Liverpool, beating the Reds 3-0.
Despite his height, €7m-rated Ilori is one of the fasted players in the Portuguese League, and in tests conducted at the the club's Alcochete Academy, he recently broke the club's sprint records previously held by Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Liverpool have a good relationship with Sporting - The club already poached Joao Teixeira, and the scouting team has also tracked Ilori's team-mate, Bruma.
Kolo Toure and Daniel Agger are excellent defenders in their own right, but Toure is 32, and Agger is injury prone, so it would be good to bring someone in to give them a break every now and again.
One thing seems clear: signing another young centre-back would (arguably) be a strong indication that Rodgers doesn't see Martin Kelly and Andre Wisdom as viable central defensive options. It would also be another nail in the coffin of Sebastian Coates' Liverpool career.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Would love this to happen, swap deal coates-Ilori would be nice :)
ReplyDeleteGood player Jk and would definitely boost the defensive capabilities.. On other news spurs have done it again. Willian is off to spurs for 30 million goes back to what Jk said about Ayre not being able to close deals. Seriously frustrating.
ReplyDeletewillian is goooone. spurs have an accepted bid of 35 million euros
ReplyDeleteWould be great to get him in. Tall and fast is a rare combination in a CB. And seems to have a calm head on his shoulders.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm not holding my breath as it seems Ian Ayre cant get a transfer over the line where
1. The money is available.
2. The player signals his eagerness to play for LFC.
3. A price has been struck with the selling club who are eager to sell.
Seriously this Willian deal had to be the easiest close of the summer, something's not right.
Yep. It's really fucking frustrating. I currently put Spurs higher up on my hate list than Utd at the moment. The only thing I take comfort in is that they've been trying to get him since January. We've been trying since last week. But hey, they stole Siggy from under our noses, and he's a flop. Dempsey was a flop too. Let's hope Willian is the same.
ReplyDeleteIllori would be a decent signing but I think it'd have been better if got a more experienced CB than Illori. Sakho or Alderweireld or Papadopolous could be the experienced ones.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a decent signing..one for future.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. Ayre is a serious handicap to LFC's transfer ambitions.
ReplyDeleteWho knows. The guy could have had one eye on spurs ever since they pursued him in January. Yes, I know he only arrived to Anzhi in January, but the fact they showed interest way back then may have had swaying power
ReplyDeleteGot my doubts Liverpool ever made a serious bid for him.
ReplyDeleteI think you jinxed us Jaimie. You also jinxed us that time when you said Huntelaar was spotted In Liverpool
ReplyDeletedecent player, but not that good...
ReplyDeleteI actually haven't seen Willian on tv before. Only seen youtube vids, and every vid was shit IMO. The Damiao ones have much better highlights. In saying that, never seen him play before either. But if I had to choose one, I'd choose Damiao.
ReplyDeleteArhhhh, just knowing this window for getting top players in. What are we on now? Number D target. Lets just get damiao in
ReplyDeleteWell I don't think the Sakho or Papa deals are gonna happen, so might as well. Looks decent enough. Probably makes more sense than those other deals as he would probably accept playing second fiddle to our other centre backs. The others we've been linked to won't, especially not in a World Cup year.
ReplyDeleteWell that could be the case. But i still think there have been too many transfer fail stories this summer for them all to be smoke and mirrors. The manager is going on about big first team signings in the belief (IMO) that Ayre will be delivering his targets, a belief that has been seriously misplaced i think.
ReplyDeleteAnother blessing in disguise
ReplyDeleteif we got dempsey ayre said sturridge would not have arrived , what a dissapointment that would have been.
if siggurdson arrived , would coutinho have been bought?
30m is way too much .
sturridge ,aspas and coutinho cost 27m altogether.
Why sweat over Willian? Apparently, we're looking at Will Hughes!
ReplyDeleteseems like willian is gone... who´s next? unbelievable
ReplyDeleteSpurs are more attractive then us , because they have every season competed for 4th , its been 4 years since we did.
ReplyDeleteBut we do not need theese big signings if rodgers makes more bargains like sturridge,aspas,coutinho and toure, 27m ltogether.
I just cant really get my head around why? Is it incompetance, laziness, does he not know how to handle big players, when maybe a bit of selling is needed to be done.
ReplyDeleteWhatever it is surely FSG have began to cop on to this and action will be taken before the January window. No point in messing around at this stage in august.
Jamie there is no real evidence any serious attempt was made to get him but before condemning Ayre i would really like to know as to what constraints he works under.
ReplyDeleteAfter all clubs will only spend so much on wages and fees it may well be Henry and co.
You are right but what frustrates me is we have been speaking to Anzhi for an entire week probably quibbling about a few million, spurs come in put the big money down and deals done in two days it's annoying and I really do believe that we need a replacement for Ian Ayre someone who actually has a passion for the game and has a history of closing deals in the private sector or in business in general the only good thing Ayre has done was sort of the Standard Chartered deal. Player and agents he is seriously lacking.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I try to refrain from bagging Ayre too much because to be honest, I'm not fully aware of his abilities, as they aren't put to show in front of millions on television every week like the players and manager are. We can't be exactly sure why we aren't finalising these deals. It's also probably the fact I've met Ian Ayre before and he's a really nice man. In saying that, anyone can be nice.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that one of our scouts went over to discuss the deal with Anzhi. Whether this is true or not, I agree that we need a 'football person', who can actually negotiate, to step into this role.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably the problem then he's too nice Daniel Levy is it of Spurs is right little fatherless child, horrible tough to work with even tougher to deal with and he gets results both in selling and signing players, spurs out bidding us for a player this never use to happen granted we are strapped for cash but they only just broke the transfer record last week just over 17 million we haven't spent big and this could of been the chance to make a statement.
ReplyDeleteDamiao is a v.good player. In my opinion tho Willian would be the better fit for the team, and i do think he was our number 1 target.
ReplyDeleteMy point is, if we cant get a transfer this uncomplicated over the line, where all the pieces are seemingly in place, then there is clearly something not right.
If we could land Damiao it would definately soften the blow, but given our recent record of trying to convince any kind of high profile players to join us, then no i dont think we will succeed.
I would not shed any tears over Willian. Spurs hijacked our bids for Dempsey and Siggurdson. They didn't turn out too well. The reported fee of 30M is a massive outlay and too risky IMO but I totally agree in that I believe LFC were trying to get a reduced price. If you dawdle like that, what do you expect? Someone who means business is going to come in and get things done.
ReplyDeleteDeals like Sturridge, Coutinho, Toure and maybe even Aspas prove Rodgers has a working model to base his transfers off. Willian for 30M is putting all our eggs in the one basket, we can sign 3 good players for that money.
Not sure what to say Ayre though, he is limited in what he can do because the club is run via skype/phone calls across the Atlantic.
No if they sent a scout I'm not impressed with that at all that just shows the lack of will and desire to get the deal done but like you said we don't know of its true or not. We so need a tough dynamic chief exec we wouldn't be looking like the poor relations in the premier league I mean come on Norwich and Southampton have spent more cash... Lol and I bet we buy someone in January for an inflated price.
ReplyDeleteCompeting for 4th means nothing if you're not going to do anything with it - I swear I could do a better job than LFC's negotiators
ReplyDeleteHe's on 85k a week. For a 30m priced attacker thats pretty reasonable. He wants out of Russia, so he's not looking for a massive payday. And the capital is there as we seen with the bid for Costa, which was confirmed. Dont think its a money thing.
ReplyDeleteI would agree something is wrong somewhere i get the feeling the purse strings have been really tightened somewhat since the Carroll Downing disaster.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in who decides the size of bids to be made.
I think Sturridge is a better striker than Damiao.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think Willian would've been a much better fit for the team.
The only positive is that the youtube compilations didn't impress me as much in hindsight as when I watched the game live.
Fingers crossed he's at about that stage in his career where he's ready to start partying and balloon in weight, as Brazilian stars are wont to do! lol
The constraints are financial. I'm beginning to wonder if we are really 'in' for any of these deals. The seller will try to get the best price, the buyer will try to pay the minimum, but at the end of the day, you, the buyer, can't dictate how much a club sells their player for.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually beginning to wonder if we are trying to emulate Arsenal too much (buy cheap, buy young). Wenger is quite clearly targeting players he has no hope of buying, whilst claiming he's doing the best he can in a difficult market. As for us, after players are being snapped up by other teams, we hear rumours of us not actually bidding, or not meeting buy-out clauses.
I'm just wondering if all of this huff and puff is just a show. Why should we expect FSG to pay upwards of £20M for a player. I'd love Willian to sign up, but he barely gets into the national side. If FSG are gonna spend that kind of money, I'd imagine they want more evidence that the player is a sure bet. Until we make that 'marquee' signing, I won't be convinced that FSG have the appetite for one.
willian whould have been a right addition. . . has that confidence we need. . . if we don't get this kind of playmaker we can forget about the 4th hopes [unless br pulls a sensation coaching season].
ReplyDeleteI think it has more to do with the fact Spurs are in London. They've made the Cl once in a long time...
ReplyDeleteI'm not excited by any more kids or signings for the future. We've got enough of those already - it's all about first team players that can kick us back up the league asap!
ReplyDeleteprobably gonna lose out on this one two. . .
ReplyDeleteHave you done any articles about Ayre in the past? If so could you direct me to them? Or maybe write one highlighting your viewpoints. The anti-Ayre movement on this site has gathered pace recently. I know he is MD/CEO but his more specific roles are quit unknown. IMO it would be hard running things through skype/phone calls across the Atlantic.
ReplyDeleteapparently moving in on a 6m deal for will hughes, think ile go on a very long holyday for about 5 years, starting to lose it
ReplyDeleteI am shocked by this outcome, typical us. This seemed like a done deal and then we just relaxed and let it slip through our fingers.
ReplyDeleteOur biggest signing this year will be Gerrard signing a new contract and keeping Suarez. hahaha we are a joke, top 4 is gone and we will be in the same boat again next summer. I guess we have to accept we are a top 8 club
It's time to switch targets and open negotiations over Lamela (and Muriel!?) asap.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of players around of the quality that LFC are after - we'll just have to take a punt on those that are slightly less proven than hoped for. We need to snap some of em up quicktime and capitalise on the quality of Coutinho, Suarez & Sturridge while they're still at Anfield.
I guess you will be able to spin this positively? Another top player gone, less than 2 weeks left till the close of the window. Jason is looking spot on in his predictions
ReplyDeleteI reckon it's just the fact that Spurs were willing to pay more than us. After all, they did put in a bid higher than what we offered. If Ayre had just put in the 30 million bid first, I reckon we would have got him.
ReplyDeletelets see how it could work out
ReplyDeleteaspas up front , sturridge on right , coutinho middle and henderson on the left
in my opinion thats our best TEAM with th best balance
with suarez , sterling on the bench and borini and ibe waiting on the wings.
Unless we're willing to stump up the cash, we won't be buying either of the 2 you mentioned (very good players might I add). Suarez will also definitely be gone in the next window, if not in this one.
ReplyDeleteerik lamela would be a much better swoop
ReplyDelete15 goals and 5 assists , in one of the most defnsive leauge in the world.
Positive is that we are going after big names, negative. We can't close deals down, we need a new person to deal with it not ayre. And how Jason spot on? he said we DON'T have money to spend when we do....
ReplyDeleteWe don't need to buy players as we have a title winning squad already.... oh we came 7th....hhhmmmmm I guess the 6 teams infront of got worse this summer....right?
ReplyDeleteAVB and willian are close. They were sending text messeges to each other...l
ReplyDeleteThe club don't want to spend money. Imo.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry have we spent it?
ReplyDeleteI'm after Messi, just so everyone knows, I will be placing a bid.....oh he decided not to come to me, but i do have the 200m to buy him, honest.
Something is up
No because we kept getting turned down for other teams. But two weeks left to go :)
ReplyDeletecan someone explain why this cissokho signing hasn't been confirmed? There's a leaked picture of him in liverpool training gear signing a contract for god's sake.
ReplyDeleteAgain, the club have not come out and said they have actually bid money. Money isn't there to be spent, just a lot of rumours
ReplyDeleteCissohko training, rumours of a double announcement.... But not to sure!
ReplyDeleteBR said we made a movè for Mkhitaryan,BR then confirmed costa signed a new contract,
ReplyDeleteWe are the new Arsenal!
ReplyDeleteYeah but we made a confirmed bid of 24mil for Costa didnt we? So the money seems to be there, and that was before we shipped out downing i think.
ReplyDeleteI hope they are starting to trust BR. I know there have been mistakes,
Joe Allen was an expensive comfort blanket, which every manager at a new club does.
Borini was unlucky in someways, but overall probably a mistake.
Assaidi was a panic buy after we failed to land a winger from holland I think?
But all these mistakes were in his first summer at the club. Each bit of business we've done since then looks like good money spent.
Surely he has earned the trust of FSG, as he's never once complained about lack of funding, nd done very well in this window and the last with the money spent.
Lots of things can be said, but there is nothing to back it up
ReplyDeleteSo if a manager of a club says they made a move for a player is lying?:)
ReplyDeleteJust surprised we make moves for players but then we don't get them, there must be something wrong. I personally think there isn't any money to spend
ReplyDeleteThe double announcement being that we signed Cissohko on loan and that Spurs have signed Willian as we miss out on our target again. At least we tried...right?
ReplyDeleteWell we've signed 5 players so far this summer, so definately not emulating wenger...
ReplyDeleteImagine if he were in London to catch a sneaky train/helicopter/plane to Liverpool. Biggest troll of all time.
ReplyDeleteNo, Mkhitaryan went to BVB because their better, costa stay at AM because CL, willian will go to Spurs because AVB and him are close. But if you want to be negative go ahead just don't do it towards me thanks :)
ReplyDeleteIf you think so.
ReplyDeleteYou're most probably right. This softly softly approach, instead of having the courage to go for it straight off the bat. He could be worried he'll be seen as another Comolli if he makes a mistake, and thats no way to approach a competitive transfer market
ReplyDeleteThe really frustrating thing about this whole sorry saga, is that if we were to make a standout signing, ie Willian, (who by the way I believe would fit in perfectly to our system as well as HM would have), then we really aren't that far off.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe we have allowed enough time to finalise any of these deals being spoken about; unless they are for players no one else is bidding for.
I also believe that without adding to our first team with one, maybe two quality signings, ready to step straight in, we may not have the strength in depth to maintain what could potentially be a strong start for us.
This coming from armchair fans makes me wonder how the people in power cannot see something so simple.
An outlay of £40m on two top signings, could potentially get us right in the mix and show we are seriously contending with those above and around us who have strengthened significantly more than us.
As you rightly said, something feels wrong......
You're taking the piss right?
ReplyDeleteIs it negativity or just frustration?
ReplyDeleteTo appear so close yet potentially so far is a little distressing.
All those around us are strengthening with intent....
At least we still have deadline day to come. Stuff always happens on deadline day!
ReplyDeleteBoth. and I agree but it isn't about money it's about how far we've fallen behind, I'm sure we will bring someone in, just have to go onto our next target :)
ReplyDeleteYour optimism is to be admired and if you have any spare I am seriously in need :)
ReplyDeleteWe just appear to be at a tipping point and have a perfect opportunity to push on significantly if we finalise a couple of these 'first team' names.
I fear if we fail to add nothing more than extra potential for the future, we will just become accepted as that; a club for the future and not the now.....Tomorrow never really comes.......
Spurs are going to get Willian AND Lamela in a double swoop. I want to die. I'm sick of Tottenham Shitspur!!!
ReplyDeleteThat'll be for that young 12 year old who is making waves as potentially being the next big thing in roughly 5-6 years........;)
ReplyDeleteThat is annoying me too, the Lamela bid. Getting envious.
ReplyDeleteDead set, I hate these c**** more than Man Utd at the moment. And their fans too. They think they're miles ahead of Liverpool in stature because they've had a couple of decent seasons. With the deals they seem to be pulling off, you'd think they're a chelsea or Real Madrid though. It's like they've been getting a magical levy leverage from Daniel Levy.
ReplyDeleteApparently they are quite friendly.
ReplyDeleteEven the name pisses me off. "Tottenham". It reminds me of the voice of a little charming, overly nice english boy who loves cupcakes, tea and buying pandora bracelets for girls.
ReplyDeleteWell they are selling their best player for 85mil, all this cash they're forking over has Gareth Bales face printed on it. Still they are going to be a top top side next season. But there's still the old spurs gene to rely on around march :)
ReplyDeleteI'm talking about signing the kind of quality that would put us in the running for the top 4. Also, showing commitment. Can you believe that we had been linked to Mkhitaryan for some time, yet we did not even get a chance to talk to the player - Rodger's own words.
ReplyDeleteYeah I know, I was being silly, I just thought Daniel Levy's last name was a good word to play on. They will won't they. Funny how a non CL club without offering astronomical wages can attract these players, eh? Why can't we do the same?
ReplyDeleteSeems to be permanently embedded into them or at least I hope, the 'bottling' gene they have.
ReplyDeleteI would put Aspas, Mignolet and yes even Toure as that kind of quality to be honest mate, maybe you see them different. And Alberto could be anything. Not to sure about Aly though.
ReplyDeleteWe didnt get to talk to Mhyk cos he wanted CL football, thats pretty much it. I dont see much wrong with the signings we have made, or the targets we have identified. All quality players that could add to a club IMO.
Its our failure to sign so many of these that worries me..
Not familiar with him except for the rumor mill. Fast is required at all slots. Is he strong and tough minded? Anyone know? What happened to Sakho?
ReplyDeleteI agree the signings are all decent. But putting it all into context, if you look at who Man City have signed, then who Spurs have signed/will sign, the general pedigree of Man Utd and Chelsea, we stand little chance of making the top 4 with these particular signings.
ReplyDeleteAs for Cissokho, not convinced either, but time will tell. Rodger's statement that we can attract top players without European football has come back to bite him on the butt - many times over.
Furthermore, I believe our failure to sign some of our targets is lack of finances/unwillingness to commit financially to deals (blighted of course by the past). Whilst some players do only want to play for a Champion's League side, money talks, explaining why any top player would want to end up at Monaco. We repeatedly offer less than the asking price for players. This is actually the correct approach, however, if another buyer enters the scene, unless we're not really bothered about acquiring that particular player, we need to show some commitment. If the player sees that we really want him, we may just make that top signing.
Willian going to Spurs may put Eriksen back on the table for Liverpool; a better value deal, in my honest opinion.
ReplyDeleteApparently, Eriksen only wants to play for a team in the Champion's League.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I call them the hotsperms. hehe
ReplyDeleteYou cannot compare us to the spending power of City. Nobody ca, and we have to accept that until we are winnning things the Agueros, Negredos and Navas are always going to city. As for spurs? Well this is a one off season for them. I hope they have spent wisely for their sake. There will be no more 100mil Bale summers for them. If it doesnt come together for them this year i think they may disappear for a couple of years.
ReplyDeleteWe dont neef to spend 100s of millions to be competitive. We just need to try hardet and be shrewder in the market.
Geez, he was dying for Liverpool transfer few weeks back. He just wants to get out of Eredivise.
ReplyDeleteWell they wont get a summer like this again for a long time. This is their one oppertunity to put a team together for a run at consequtive CL qualification. If they dont do it next year, it could see them disappear for a couple of years.... well we can hope...
ReplyDeleteTiago Llori would be a good signing for the future Liverpool should loan him out for the season at sporting imo. Papodopolous from schalke is a player Liverpool should sign he could slot straght in to the first team the man is a pure winner. Looks like Spurs have beaten us for the signing of Willian a bit of a blow. It could be a blessing in disguise who knows we still definetly need a quality signing for the left midfield Arda Turan fits this role he woul be a great signing plus it would really piss Arsenal off as he is reported to be one of their targets.
ReplyDeleteNo, but we did fail to qualify for ANY european competion last year, couple that with a nice early exit from both cup competitions, and then all the pieces are in place to challenge for the top of the league, the fair play league like. Then its europa all the way baby....
ReplyDelete#BRsMasterplanInAction
:) :) :)
Well as usual, we hesitated....
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this is the fate we face.
ReplyDeleteMy god, I can't believe Spurs is set to spend more then any club in EPL this season. They are in talks with Willian and Lamela, thats 60mn right there. Not to forget Paulinho, Capaue, Soldado, Chadli.....surely Bale has to go now, if not then Spurs have as good as team as any in EPL. Arsene Wenger is really pissing me. How can he watch Spurs spending and building so much while he just sits and watch???
ReplyDeleteLiverpool will finish 6th this season and it is what we deserve given the set of players and management is in place. We are better than Everton, Swansea and Fulham.
I don't know how Man Utd does it but they can win with any squad really. I wouldn't swap our squad with them but they will win anyway.
Following clubs have best squad in EPL, in chronological order.
1) Man City
2) Chelsea
3) Spurs
4) Man Utd
5) Liverpool/Arsenal
My prediction for the season is:-
1) Man City
2) Man Utd
3) Chelsea
4) Spurs
5) Arsenal
6) Liverpool
For the Liverpool fans having CL aspirations, let me tell you why can't we make it. Just look at the attack of the following team and compare it to ours:-
1) Man city:- Aguero, Dzeko, Negredo, Jovetic, Navas, Silva, Nasri
2) Chelsea:- Schurrle, De Bruyne, Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Lampard, Torres, Ba, Lukaku, Moses
3) Spurs:- Bale, Adebayor, Defoe, Dembele, Chadli, Lennon, Soldado, Sigurdsson, Holtby
(Possible Signing:- Lamela and Willian)
4) Man United:- Young, Valencia, Rooney, Van Persie, Giggs, Kagawa, Zaha, Henriquez, Welback, Nani, Hernandes
5) Arsenal:- Podolski, WIlshere, Giroud, Ox, Walcott, Cazorla, Sanago
And Liverpool
Suarez (doubt), Sturridge (fragile), Coutinho, Aspas, Gerrard, Sterling, Ibe, Alberto, Borini
I think we can only come close to Arsenal. WE DONT HAVE GOOD ENOUGH SQUAD TO CHALLENGE FOR TOP 4.
Looking at the squad of our rivals, I dont think we stand a chance. We have good but inconsistent squad and we rely on academy players for depth. Its a slow process and I have no real optimism this season really. I think we will finish 6th that too if we play to our potential.
I think your order is spot on. When people say they think we can get a top 4 spot, they must be looking at our squad in isolation. The comparison is what's important. With Rodgers banging on about team spirit this week, I'm wondering if that is what he's hoping will bridge the gap.
ReplyDeleteVery importantly, you mentioned Suarez as a doubt. Without a player of that quality (not necessarily Suarez), we are much the same as a team like Swansea.
You can definately remove Bale from that Spurs attack though. They are not spending 110m unless they have some serious cash comin in, either that or Levy lifted Mansours cheque book
ReplyDelete'well we can hope'
ReplyDeleteditto
Probably wouldn't be a bad signing as an investment for the future, either to sell on or play in the first team.
ReplyDeleteAs an overall strategy for signing youth, looking for standouts from the U20 world cup is a good way to go - especially those countries that have a strong system bringing players up through the ranks U15, U17, U20. These players have benefited from strong development early on, and are more mature as players quicker. Even if they're picked up by spanish, italian, or dutch sides, they can prove to be excellent investments.
Look at the 2007 U20 World Cup, Cavani, Suarez, Aguero, Di Maria, Mata, Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Willian - and a bunch more. While Aguero was signed for about 20M, Cavani and Suarez were bought on the cheap.
Moyes and Wenger's only signings have been standouts from the U20 - we'll see how they fare in a few years.
The only thing we got going for us (in a way) is that we aren't in Europe but even then, I'm not hopeful of top 4. Would be satisfied with 6th place, as things stand.
ReplyDeleteThe fact we aren't in Europe is part of the problem when it comes to attracting players. I'd rather be in Europe, have that extra match per week and attract a better class of player. I've got a sneaky suspicion that this time next year, the realisation will be that missing out on Europe this year has done us no favours.
ReplyDeleteWe finished 8th last time when we werent in Europe.
ReplyDeleteAye, it is no guarantee that we will fare better without European distraction. Just a theoretical upside.
ReplyDeleteYes, its very unlike Levy but I seriously doubt Madrid will sign Bale for anything more than 65mn. Even 65mn is too too too too too much for Bale. IMO he is worth 35-40mn max.
ReplyDeleteBut I have a feeling that Levy will spend good this season, he had enough of no CL. One would understand that especially when you miss out by one point and before that season they actually did finish 4th. I have a feeling that Levy will do everything possible to achieve CL this season and more. Liverpool is a prime example of life without CL, longer you are out of CL....gap widens even more. CL has too much money to miss out on.
I'd rather be in Europe too but just looking at the theoretical upside to not being in Europe. A glimmer of hope I'm clinging onto.
ReplyDeleteYes, theories is all we can rely on right now.
ReplyDeleteYeah true, but try not to think of it.
ReplyDeleteIts blind optimism or crying in the corner :)
Ah we're not that bad in fairness. Better than we have been the last three seasons. Unfortunately the year arsenal seem like they might finally go into meltdown is the year spurs kick into overdrive :(
Well AVB has the squad now anyway thats for sure, so no excuses. I know bale is not worth 85mil in a Real Madrid team, but if you look at the amount of games he single handedly won for them last year (thats one of the very few times i would use the words single handedly, but realisticaly there were games like that) he is probably worth 85m to that spurs team.
ReplyDeleteSo much so that i think they need 2 if not 3 players to replace him.
Understand i dont rate him anywhere near the 80m mark, but there were times he carried that team even more so than spurs did for us.
Villas Boas challenge is now making sure they can all gel as a team. I would be scared of them, but not yet totally convinced by them.
Same as spurs at the start of every year really :)
If was in charge of Real Madrid, I wouldn't budge for anything more than 40mn coz he is not worth that much to Madrid. He might, as you said, worth 85mn to spurs but thats not Madrid's problem. Madrid can buy Suarez plus few other players for the same amount.
ReplyDeletei didn't know we were looking for a sprinter ,Usain Bolt is a much better choice considering he won 3 golds again at the IAAF ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah completely agree, though the way he's spending money, the deal is done.
ReplyDeleteWith Real aswell there is always their commercial value taken into consideration, something i'm sure they have researched extensively.
Suarez wouldnt offer the same
that just sounds like Wenger ;)
ReplyDeleteAll depends on the price
ReplyDeleteAgain Willian not going to Liverpool is not Ayre's fault unless you have some inside information that states otherwise.
ReplyDeleteLiverpool had a price and they were not prepared to go over that price. Spur out bid us.. end of story.
Even if we did match their bid, I suspect he still would of gone to Spurs as they are in Europe and we are not.
Quibbling for a few mil.. you know this how?
ReplyDeleteIsn't just agreeing to what ever the selling club wants got us to spend stupid money on Carrol, Henderson and Dowing?
Yep.. trying to get a good deal and not paying over odds like we did on Carrol, Downing and Henderson is a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact now that we when we go for a player we have a value in mind and stick to it instead of getting bent over and made to look like fools.
At moment Ayre can do no right.
If we buy somebody for above their price he will get slated, if we stick to our guns and refuse to pay over the odds he gets slated.. jesus make up your minds
Why Jamie.
ReplyDeleteIf you agree that Willian is worth 35mil then fair enough otherwise isn't sticking to our guns over his price good?
It's the policy of the club and the manager he has said as much in numerous press conferences, in terms of getting value for money. Of course no one would agree we got value for money for the king's signings but that was plan to see. Furthermore we overpaid on both Borini and Allen so your argument is null and void because I'm sure as many lfc would agree, I would prefer Willian to those two any day because he could of fired us into the top four.
ReplyDeleteThe funniest comments are from the people who say"Fair shout for sticking to our valuation" That attitude doesn't sign top players. If Liverpool value Suarez at £55 million, Willian is worth £30 million. I don't think the club wants to spend. Every so called "Interest" in players, ends up stinking of half hearted attempts to buy. The person to blame is obvious.
ReplyDeleteHa, that's even better. No wonder they play in white.
ReplyDeleteIn your opinion he is worth 30mil. The only team who seemed to be willing to pay the reported 30mil was spurs.
ReplyDeleteI believe the club are willing spend the money so long as they think the player is worth it.
Unless spurs went higher then what?
ReplyDeleteHard to sign a players when his representatives wouldn't even let us talk to him.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Willian felt he would get more playing time in Liverpool, but suddenly spurs come in and tells him, "we're going to sell bale, you will get regular playing time plus Europa league. We have a better chance to get top 4 this year with our new signings" etc etc. So we don't really know what's happening behind closed doors, or maybe he just likes London? Nobody knows but regardless it's very gutting for us.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling Liverpool wants willian not because of the high price tag but because BR feels that he is suitable to our style of play. Bringing him in would enable coutinho to play central. I think Liverpool has some money to spend but they don't want to spend recklessly after Carroll. I think now its better to identify players like coutinho that don't cost as much but suit our style of play. We should play as a team not have a bunch of superstars like Suarez that cause problems in the dressing room. After we get into CL then we can spend big. Look at Dortmund that's what they did before with relatively small budget but team work.
ReplyDeleteBR had no scouts when he got Borini and Allen so I feel we should cut him some slack. Plus Allen is showing signs of improvement and Borini just got back from serious injury and lacks confidence. We should start judging him from sturridge and coutinho window and the players he got from then has been quite sensible and good players I think. Of course we could still add one more quality signing in attack would be great.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what you're trying to ask me? They're now saying the allure of London and 'european football' convinced him. Seriously? Europa League? Maybe some players just don't care what kind of quality teams they challenge themselves against, as long as they play abroad
ReplyDeleteThe purse strings have been tight for years its as simple as that. LFC cannot compete because they have literally been so wasteful they are now going to suffer. Spurs have done FA over the years and its only the last couple years things have turned around for them so I say good luck to them. LFC need to accept that they will need to try have the same model as them from now on as LFC are not bankrolled by super rich like Man city or Chelsea. Either way LFC will be at most 5th place this year. So again no champs footie.
ReplyDeleteIdeally speaking, I'd much prefer our club to maintain its reluctance to start panic buying to feed this so called "marquee" buying nonsense. The fact that we've offloaded a few big earners recently would suggest that the club is still suffering from the last owners decisions. The whole world knows we're miles behind the rest in terms of buying power but even if we did have the money, I'd still prefer the slow approach.......success twists and turns and its usually those with acumen and shrewd planning that ultimately come out on top. Let those who want instant success join other clubs......ynwa
ReplyDeleteHe is at airport going to spurs
ReplyDeleteI agree too. We'll only have a shot in the top 4 if we get that quality attacking midfielder and Toure is good enough to hold down that start CB spot, injury free and we are defensively as good as we were in the second half of last season. None of that is certain. It's the quality attacking mid that is proving hard to get and would make a big difference. Maybe we have to shelve those plans until January and if that's the case then we don't have a top 4 squad. Even if we did sign someone it's still only a squad capable of challenging, nothing more than that. Living up to our potential is still some way off as the game against Stoke showed. That bit of quality turns a nervous 1-0 into a confident 3-0 but we're just not there yet.
ReplyDeletecoates is now injured and out for awhile.. .so we definitely need to get someone in!
ReplyDelete