29 Jan 2014

Transfer Farce? LFC in talks to sign €18m star with 3 Player of the Year wins.

Seriously, you couldn't make it up. After apparently refusing to 'overpay' for Basel attacker Mohamed Salah, who cost Chelsea a staggeringly unaffordable £11m (or £13.5m depending on sources), it appears that Liverpool are now willing to splash out €18m on a comparatively unknown Ukrainian league winger.

According to The Telegraph today:

"Liverpool hope to sign Yevhen Konoplyanka before the transfer window closes.

"[LFC] have already begun negotiations with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk for a deal that could be worth as much as £16 million [€18m]"


€18m for a player who has never played outside the Ukraine is a better deal than £11m-£13m on Salah, who has Champions League experience?

I'm not sure that makes much sense. Also, if Liverpool pay that amount for Konoplyanka, how is that not overpaying? Is this guy really worth more than Eriksen, Sturridge, Podolski, Giroud, and countless others?

Granted, Konoplyanka has been named Ukrainian Footballer of the Year three times (2010, 2012, and 2013), but the Ukrainian league is not one of the strongest.

Konoplyanka's recent creative stats are pretty decent, but the Premier League is completely different ballgame:

* 2010-11: 6 goals/4 assists in 31 apps.
* 2011-12: 9 goals/8 assists in 32 apps.
* 2012-13: 5 goals/4 assists in 32 apps.
* 2013-14: 8 goals/6 assists in 19 apps.
* Total: 28 goals/22 assists in 114 apps.
* Goal/Assist every 2.2 games

Additionally, his appearance record is a concern. Over the last seven seasons, Konoplyanka has averaged only 22 games per year, and in the last three years - ages 21-24 - that's risen to 31 per season.

I really don't get LFC's transfer policy. This has all the hallmarks of a panic-buy, and splashing €18m on a player who's never played outside the Ukraine seems like a giant risk to me.

On the other hand, it's also possible that Liverpool have scouted Konoplyanka for ages, and that he's been on the club's radar as a possible plan B throughout the whole Salah affair. If that's the case, then great, though I doubt it is.

Who knows, though. If Liverpool pull off this deal, maybe Konoplyanka will turn out to be another Brendan Rodgers January masterstroke, like Coutinho and Sturridge...?

EDIT: Seeing as certain people seemingly can't comprehend simple English, I will restate my argument:

* I am questioning the sudden willingness on LFC's part to overpay for a player when the club has spent the last three months haggling over Salah, and, ironically (as Ian Ayre confirmed) refusing to 'overpay'.

* It is not about Salah, or Konoplyanka's ability per se, it's about the contradiction, which suggests (IMO) that this could be a panic buy.

* Unless LFC's transfer committee is stupid, it should know that launching a new bid for a player with TWO DAYS of the transfer window remaining will inevitably lead to an inflated transfer fee and/or other clubs possibly entering the race.

* The same thing (arguably) happened over the summer. Sakho signed for LFC on transfer deadline day, and cost €19m, which is clearly overprice.



Author:


138 comments:

  1. Cissokho and Moses have Champions League experience too... It doesn't mean much. Big clubs like Liverpool scout dozens & dozens of players throughout a season and I'm quite sure they've been following this Ukranian guy for a while. Hope he comes, looks like a decent winger with good end product

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  2. Would prefer Andriy Yarmolenko but I will take any player who can improve the team.

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  3. I do remember when we were linked with Yarmolenko a lot and England were playing the Ukraine. I remember thinking I would keep an eye on their right winger but it was their left winger Konoplyanka who stood out for me. I had a look at his highlights for those games again today and he outstrips Walker for pace so many times. That is real pace. Personally I have seen him well before I had ever heard of Salah. I have no real idea who the better player is.

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  4. Spurs are in for him according to reports........... Are we seriously going to lose yet another target?

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  5. Who is reporting this? It's not a twitter rumor is it?

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  6. Wasnt Henrikh Mkhitaryan from the Ukrainian League? Yet ended up at Dortmund, bit of a worry wort, and yes, i can see where you are coming from, as to worry, since we are reknown for it. As everyone has said though, UCL or not, it doesnt mean anything for a player

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  7. It's the Tribuna newspaper..."Off the Post" running it, I did mention it before but you may have missed it.

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  8. He looks good on youtube like most of them. ;-)

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  9. what you did here Jamie is you failed. Critical realism just went out of window, you needed just to put negative spin on this. anyone who follows football know the Quality of Ukrainian League, for instance comparing to swiss league ( where basel plays ).

    Willian, Fernandinho, Mkhitaryan all played in ukraine within last 3 years.

    this transfer story exites me a lot more than the Salah one. for he is the better of the two Ukrainian wingers who will make it in bigger stage (Konoplyanka and Yarmolenko)

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  10. Yeah looked but don't trust that site. Found a link to the actual website but don't read that crazy writing. I'll have to wait and see what happens.

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  11. We have been linked with Konoplyanka for quite some time now. Pretty sure our scouts have done there homework on this player.

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  12. http://ua.tribuna.com/football/1010224047.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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  13. Spurs have their own scouting company, LFC

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  14. dont let ayre anywhere near this deal i think he is a agent for chelsea do liverpool know

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  15. ua.tribuna.com/football/1010224047.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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  16. JK,
    What's the ;attest on the Turan rumour?

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  17. He's not an unknown quantity, and Liverpool have wanted him for ages, I'd rather him to salah because he's a stronger version than him and he's also played in the Europa league many times, comparing the Swiss league to the Ukrainian league is misguided also, it is a far better league in terms of quality.
    I would rather Yarmolenko though as he is bigger physically again so would've had less problems adjusting and he's still quick and agile! Still I don't believe it to be a farce.

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  18. Forget about Turan.

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  19. Konoplyanka has muscle. Something the likes of Salah and Eriksen lack. Salah is all about pace; In PL he'll be steamrolled. As for the CL experience, Moses and Cissokho are prime examples to say it ain't worth crap. Are the likes of Soldado, Lamela, Fellaini, Willian, Jovetic worth more than Sturridge? Let's face it, we got lucky with Sturridge's fees (Thank you Rafa).

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  20. Ah yes, LFC's infallible scouting team, in whom you always have 100% faith...unless it's a player you don't rate.

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  21. Oh god, spurs are jumping in now as well.

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  22. Yeah, Russian a bit beyond me too....apart from one sentence I was taught which apparently translates as "You should be ashamed of yourself"...not entirely sure why the lass taught me that?! Still if Levy gets Kono then I'll be ringing him up and using it!

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  23. i think we will pip spurs to this one. i try to stay positive and think Konoplyanka has watched last nights game if we have been negotiating a move for him. and might have also checked that we demolished spurs 5-0.

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  24. Does he have any international caps?

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  25. I have 100% faith in everything about LFC nowadays especially when we are becoming a force to be reckoned with again.

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  26. Me too! But recent reports say Spurs are set to gazump us. Déjà vu?

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  27. Why does BR need to appease the fans? Presumably this is the same Rogers you said needs to be replaced asap possible and the same one who selected and prepared that rubbish team last night.

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  28. Yeah i suppose u were salahs biggest fan Jamie as you follow basle and the Swiss league with great passion. Im sure you knew of the handfull of games he has in the cl like most of us and youtube clips. What makes the Swiss league more appealing then the Ukrainian?? One more team to make up the numbers!! Im also sure you know more on player values then fsg\liverpool board. Wait until the lad has signed before writing him off. In regards to his appearance record, what because he wasn't playing a full season before the age of 21 makes him not good enough!!!! Suppose we shouldn't spend over 13m on al player unless you have heard of him. Hope he is another that proves you wrong. I suppose u will block this again as free speech doesn't seem to apply unless you are agreeing with your views on life. You must delete more comments then you post, of you do im sure that says more about the credibility of the article then a hate campaign against you although im sure its all about you.. Well done to fsg if this happens.

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  29. So now it's okay to overpay for a player because he's a 'decent winger'?

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  30. I don't understand how is this possible though. Just when Liverpool shows interest, certain clubs jump in...!!

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  31. Konoplyanka is better known than Salah. I would be very happy if we got him.


    But hey; whingers gonna whinge, I suppose...

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  32. Alberto is Coutinhos backup.


    Moses isn't good enough.

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  33. Such a shame this site is picked up by newsnow... you always give such a negative spin on all things Liverpool despite the progress we've made under Rogers. Give the guy and club a break and show some support. Have some faith. The scouting department did OK on Coutinho this time last year didn't they.

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  34. Maybe because other clubs have interest in the player too?

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  35. Lol Spurs cant do that t ous any more.


    We can just show him the 0-5 video and the league table, :)

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  36. You completely miss the point. It's not about Salah, it's about the transfer fee. LFC are adamant they won't overpay on players, and won't stump up the cash for Salah, but they're seemingly willing to plonk down a massive, overpriced fee for a player who is, IMO, not worth more than £12m.

    It's a contradiction, and it's probably a panic buy, just like Sakho during the summer.

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  37. Going to SPURS- GASUMPED AGAIN -Still if we tell the world our intentions what the hell do we expect - pray we get TOM INCE

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  38. Eriksen and Podolski were in the last year of their contract if I remember correctly. No one knew Coutinho/Sturridge would be this good, that was a lottery. Giroud came from a relatively smaller club with very limited financial power and they had to just sell if big club shows interest.


    I think the price is just above the average level for Konoplyanka. Its a deadline day kind of deal, we will have to pay premium.


    If we don't pay over the odds fans are not happy. Eg- Salah and if we pay over the odds, again they are not happy.

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  39. WHY ONLY AFTER LIVERPOOL START BIDDING??

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  40. You are 100% behind LFC/Rodgers when it suits your argument. When it doesn't, you change your tune.

    Alternatively, you preach blind faith about Rodgers because you're too inflexible to to acknowledge the issues, and are desperate to tell people 'I told you so' at some point in the future (i.e. your stance on Joe Allen).

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  41. Have you ever heard of an agent?

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  42. I disagree with your last sentence. I hope LFC do sign someone, but the confluence of events suggests that this is a last-ditch panic buy. The Salah deal tanked, and now, ironically, LFC are willing to pay over the odds, which they probably wouldn't have had to do if they hadn't wasted 2.5 pursuing Salah.

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  43. Of course I am 100% behind Rodgers and FSG. I have always been. Why would i want to change?


    Do not see your point really.

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  44. Konoplyanka has always been one of, and usually the best, performers for the Ukraine national team when he's on the pitch. Great against Germany (though was a changed team from normal), great against England.

    After/when we were being linked with Yarmalenko I was looking forward to seeing him in the England vs Ukraine game and Konoplyanka was twice the player that night.

    That being said though, I'd like to see Oliver Torres bought in to find his feet this season and then regular game time next season. One for the future but I'm sure it would take quite a big bid to get him, so I'll just have to keep dreaming. And then also a decent holding midfielder, although no real idea who.

    Oh, and just send Moses back. 30 seconds of decent play so far this season is just criminal!

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  45. Would be a great signing , he gave England a torrid time in that international and has been on Man U , Arsenal and Spurs radar since 2012 SAF was a big admirer of his play.....only problem could be negotiations regarding his salary as Dnipro are known to be extremely generous to its players from its billionaire owner , I hope we buy him .

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  46. What agent? It doesn't take much to know who Liverpool is going to bid for. No agent told me that Liverpool are bidding for Salah or Konoplyanka, yet I know due to media. Regardless of agent, why would certain club start bidding for players they don't need?/ If they need, why didn't they bid first and sealed the deal? Why wait for Liverpool? Or why go berserk once Liverpool show interest?

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  47. Inflexible blind faith is counter-productive, IMO. People should be willing to judge each situation on a case by case basis, not just gloss over things/ignore things/refuse to be critical simply because of blind faith, which is what you do.

    Even when there is an extremely valid reason to be critical of something, you will revert to blind faith in Rodgers instead of engaging in proper debate. That is just being a critically subservient lapdog. Enjoy.

    Ultimately, in your situation, you've been so prominent with your blind faith views that you probably feel you can't back down, and are just hoping day by day that you can say those hallowed words 'I told you so' (as you did when Joe Allen had ONE good game on his return to injury)

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  48. I am not even going to bother explaining the process.

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  49. they are trying to bump up the price - make our offer and walk away if they don't like it, get the lad from preston.

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  50. Anyway, do you think he is better than Salah? I do think so, has consistent goal scoring record.

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  51. Yarmolenko seems to score more, which I think we need, but the prospect of this guy's pace on one flank and Sterling's on the other, is tantalising.

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  52. Much sooner lose out than overpay.

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  53. Yes, it will be odd to expect an answer from a forever question mark.

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  54. I would hope that they know there is only one thing worse than losing a transfer taget and that is buying another one that is not up to standard

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  55. hahaha!! love it!

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  56. What 'process'? You make it sound like are the fountain of all knowledge and have some kind of inside track on the exact working of the Agent/club/player relationship.

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  57. I don't know. I haven't seen enough of either player to make that determination. How can Salah be good enough for Chelsea, though, and not good enough for LFC? That doesn't compute. Rodgers confirmed that the club tracked Salah for a long time, so he clearly wanted him.

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  58. They won't win today.

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  59. So saying someone is a "critically subservient lapdog" doesn't count as personal abuse or belittlement?! C'mon now play nice.

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  60. Please can you argue in one place I am having trouble keeping up

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  61. We are the only club to EVER make contact with Konoplyanka's agent and his agent will NEVER inform another club which has shown interest when an offer has made by LFC to sign the player which pays his salary.

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  62. it is not that complicated. Google is a good start.

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  63. It's not as if it was your money... We only know if we've overpayed once the player has actually played for us and shown if he's up to it or not. Some said we were overpaying for Sturridge, look now.

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  64. How do you know that LFC is the 'only club to ever make contact with his Agent'?

    How do you know that his Agent will 'never inform another club about this interest'?! Is there some kind of 'being John Malkovich' malarkey going on here?

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  65. I sincerely hope this isn't yet another case of us missing out on a quality first choice target and wasting money on another bench player in his stead.


    Fwiw, I know Salah has much better stats, but this guy does honestly look a better player to me (from the highly lauded YouTube clips! lol). He also stood out to me much more than Yarmalenko, when we were being heavily linked to that guy ahead of the England games.


    I've no concern about the league a player plays in anyway. Goalscoring records aren't always transferable from one league to another, but pace and talent are...

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  66. Chelsea football club is a joke. 25 registered players, 4-5 unregistered players eg:- Josh Mceachran, et al. and other 22 players on Loan. They buy as much as possible regardless of the player being good enough or not.


    I agree about Salah though, agent stated that Liverpool were negotiating for 2.5 months. I mean what the hell?? Did Ayre expect player to submit transfer request and force the transfer? If yes, then that's unethical and if no, then its dumb.


    I think Liverpool shortlisted Shaqiri, Salah and this guy. They started with the cheapest one and if we miss out on Kono, I wouldn't be surprised to see 20mn bid for Shaqiri.

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  67. You say over the odds but we don't know what price the committee and scouting team are putting on these players. Perhaps age is a factor. Perhaps they know this player is much better but more expensive so decided to look at Salah first.

    The argument that the club put forward is that they will not pay above what the deem the player is worth. If the club deems this players worth to be more then they are willing to pay more.

    Hard to say for certain.

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  68. Did you miss the sarcasm of my post?

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  69. SARCASM ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY

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  70. No. Calling someone a lapdog is not abuse. Neither is calling someone a hypocrite; or ignorant; or deluded, or other words with similar meanings. The same applies to 'critically subservient'. These are all extremely tame labels. I've been called all of these (or variations thereof), and I don't take offence.

    Personal insults are designed to offend; the above labels are usually someone's honest, non-offensive interpretation of a person's opinion.

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  71. Any England fan should be familiar with him already. Reportedly he was (is) one of our summer targets but the failure to land Salah in the january window has accelerated the need to bring him in sooner. Just what I heard.

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  72. Do you think this player is worth €18m? What about him makes him worth that much?

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  73. All those things are abusive and can easily be used to offend. It is hypocritical to say otherwise.

    See what I did there?

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  74. Jaimie, Ive watched Konoplyanka quite a bit in the WC qualifiers with Ukraine and imo he's a fantastic player with a lot to offer right now but also for the future. Great passer of the ball, great shot and from what ive heard we have been scouting him for a while now. He's a hidden gem of the Coutinho type, and he's more proven than Salah. 14 m £ sounds about right. Buy now before spurs or chelski get him.

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  75. Spurs I believe are now interested...

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  76. His buyout clause.

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  77. Given the torrent of actual abuse, insults and belittlement people are subject to on the net, if they get offended by being called ignorant, or a lapdog, then they should toughen up. How can you survive the harsh reality of life if a word like 'deluded' offends you?

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  78. Why is everyone all of the sudden sensitive to words these days, especially on the net. How can you even tell the tone of someones voice?

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  79. You still do not seem to understand.

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  80. Fair point. I am sure you have been called much worse, but all those things seem much more personal than calling someone an arsehole or something as they are attacking their personality rather than just giving an insult everyone has heard before. Still, your site your rules.

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  81. I wouldn't call Sakho a panic buy - the opportunity arose to secure the long term future of our defence and we took it.


    It was pretty clear that Rodgers was't a massive fan of Skrtel, and Agger was continually being linked with moves elsewhere, so the signing of Sakho was a no-brainer imo

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  82. Sakho a panic buy. OMG!

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  83. The manager is responsible for preparing the team to win games, which is what Rodgers has been doing.


    It is up to the Board/Transfer Committee to get the players in for him to work with, and 'appease the fans' with 'marquee signings'.

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  84. When you say you are 100% behind FSG, you lost all the credibility for your opinion because your opinion will be depended on what FSG do and hence its influenced/biased. Anyone can predict your opinion here. Opinion only counts when its independent and you take every situation on case by case basis. Here, you are just a yes man.

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  85. I'm absolutely convinced by your argument. Cough.

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  86. You are deluded.

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  87. I had the same experience - he much better than Yarmolenko (who had better stats, but just looked pretty clumsy to me), and I've never actually watched Salah play, but am just assured that he is a quality player too.

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  88. Cough, Cough, choke, choke...

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  89. Yarmolenko really doesn't look any good from what I've seen of him. He's got a really good goalscoring record, but I don't trust them if the player looks like crap on the pitch...

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  90. I agree with Jamie's confusion. NOT BECAUSE YOxxxx IS A BAD PLAYER. Actually, he looks potentially a better fit than Salah. It's just weird because if we were haggling over a mil or two and not willing to go over ~8m for our first choice who is 3 years younger....then why are we about to pay about 40% more for our 2nd choice who on paper doesn't have much better credentials? That doesn't make sense. Unless Ayre was full of it, and the issue is not about overpaying.


    Anyway, bottom line is a signing is either good enough or they aren't. Carroll and Aquilani were poor shit signings. Coutinho and Lucas have been good signings. If this Yoxxxx dude can bring something to the table, then good, but as Jamie seems to be suggesting, it doesn't mean that our transfer committee hasn't been comically inept.

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  91. I don't know. Never seen him wearing one.

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  92. you are ignorant lapdog and critically subservient, and also biggest hyppocrite concerning rules of behaviour mate. i wonder if ill be banned. propably not taking in concideration what you think is acceptable

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  93. Don't start posting one-liners like this just because the word 'deluded' is not outlawed. If you use that word, there needs to be context, reasoning, and explanation for labelling someone's view as 'deluded'.

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  94. Even Turan would be having a laugh. His statement of liking Liverpool was made such a long time back and since then Turan rumor never missed a single transfer window.

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  95. I just wanted to prove a point.

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  96. You already stated you didn't know much about the player, and couldn't compare him with any certainty to Salah.
    Then you say that Salah was surely worth £13m or so, but £15m for Kop Man is overpaying, he's only worth £12m.
    So, which is it? Do you know them both and believe they are worth about the same, or are you just guessing about this guy's true value?

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  97. Rodgers doesn't play with destroyers or defensive midfielders. It's never been his style. All his midfielders have to be comfortable passing the ball and potentially acting as creative outlets.

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  98. For less than that you've already deleted comments, told people to go post elsewhere, told people to attack the argument and not the person, threatened people to ban them from the site, etc, etc. But when you say those kind of stuff, all of sudden it's OK.

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  99. I think the transfer committee had the following discussion:-


    Ayre:- I will not let the fans know that we couldn't upped the bid and so lost the opportunity to sign Salah. I will instead, lie to them. Will let them know that Salah chose Chelsea over Liverpool.


    BR:- I have to face constant media questioning and not you. I will speak the truth that we failed to sign him and my job is in jeopardy if more key players gets injured. Its really frustrating that you guys are unable to get the deal done. I will leak this frustration to media.


    Ayre:- Bloody hell, fans will hate me even more after that. Let me sign the next target asap, let me throw few extra million, I need this job.

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  100. to be quite honest. this particular blog was far below your usual ones, and youve only sparked it further with the, i would even say a bit disrespectfull attitude you have taken toward your readers. we do not agree with you because, you are wrong here. no need to start being hostile. you are more than often right with your writings.

    but today this whole article, was nothing short of laughable mate.

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  101. Apology accepted :-)
    To be fair I agree with your comments regarding there generally being a higher standard here. It's one of the big reasons I enjoy the site but it was also why I was surprised to see you saying that.

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  102. tbf , making a last minute big leaves less option for rival bids to arise, although it does leave greater opportunity for price hikes (if the selling club feels the buyer has no other option).


    Sakho wasn't overpriced at ~£15m though. For an experienced, but very young, centre-back that is expected to lead the team for years to come, I would say that price was a bargain!

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  103. Jaimie, think you were being a bit harsh towards Tuomas Pukki. He only repeated what you had said to me and then you go and ban him.


    Is that fair?

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  104. Bargain? I don't think 15mn can ever be a bargain for a central defender unless he is really really world class. Hopefully, Sakho becomes world class in few years and then we can call it a bargain.

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  105. Sakho is a beast and will be leading our defence for many years to come. We have finally found our answer to Hyypia.

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  106. Hopefully. :-)

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  107. £15m is less than Man U were having to pay for the likes of Phil Jones!


    You can obviously get players for far less, but for the reputation that Sakho arrived with and the potential that he has, I have absolutely no issue with his fee at all.

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  108. They didn't play the same side either - we were missing an entire starting defensive 5! :-o

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  109. He was in the last year of his contract so 15mn is a bit on the higher side for me.

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  110. Jaimie, it seems like you have this idea that the transfer market is an exact science. Who is to say we weren't trying for Salah because we saw him as better value than this Ukrainian? You also seem to make certain judgements about the background to these dealings. Why are you so sure what you are hearing/reporting is the whole truth?
    For me, the transfer market is a murky business with a multitude of unknowns. Who is to say if had gone straight for the throat with Salah that Chelsea wouldn't have just come in and trumped us anyway? Who is to say Salah hadn't made up his mind from the start that if Chelsea or Man City came in for him then his mind was made up?
    Ultimately, I accept that the market is fierce and the reality is that there is no certain way to win in negotiations like this. Plus the bottom line is very often just that.
    Transfer market also very symptomatic of our throw away modern society, I tjink it brings out the worst in all corncerned anyway.

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  111. Great point. There is no way to say what our real opinion of the two players was/is. It strikes me thatwe may well have deemed Salah better value and tried for him first.
    Jaimie, you just say above that you haven't seen enough of either player to be sure about either. I think this also raises the point that there is no certainty that it will work out with a particular player anyway. Take Soldado or Sturridge 18 months ago. Could anyone really say one way or the other who would work out best? I think there is an incredible amount of luck involved - unless you're buying say Messi :)

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  112. WHU holds Chelski 0-0! Nice.

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  113. The more I patiently read JK's articles, the more I feel he accurately articulates my view on those topics. So well done - since unfortunately many view critique as an attack on their allegiance to LFC.

    I lead a very large team at work, with a mix of high/medium/poor performers. My job is to critique/praise all the team members to improve their relative performance - even the high performing ones, and not to be complacent and accept the status quo, By doing so, the aim is to produce a high performing team where the successes of the team are shared whilst the weaknesses of the team are jointly owned.

    In summary, analytical (evidence based) critique and pointing out contradictions is being helpful to the LFC cause, even if many do not share that viewpoint.

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  114. Precisely, Mike.
    It is all opinion and, let's face it, who has a crystal ball anyway? Do we really need to reel off a list of over-priced flops or under-priced bargains to prove a point.
    Jaimie, your spirit for us to achieve the best out come in the market is admirable, it's just it is all opinion - except for maybe a group of elite players in the 50 to 100 million bracket but even then nothing is a certainty with modern day babies like Tevez circulating.

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  115. M'Villa is a good call. Someone please explain why there seems to be no interest from LFC. He is even meant to be best pals with Sakho.

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  116. Hoping we can get the deal done!

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  117. 1. Please don't insult your readers by questioning their ability to read... it makes you unprofessional and unreliable, and remember without us you are nothing...
    2. Maybe the reason we are paying more for Konoplyanka than we were willing for Salah is because we value him higher? Its not rocket science. You mention that Konoplyanka has never played outside of Ukraine, but at every level, whether it be International or in UEFA competitions or Ukraine league, he has excelled. In addition, Ukraine plays more competitive/tougher matches than Egypt, and the Ukraine league as a whole is just better than the Swiss league. His attributes are more of a direct match than Salah's to the EPL, thus we are more willing to take that risk of signing him.
    3. Your whole argument is centered around the fact that you (and many other people) believe he is overpriced. I myself think that that is true, though not by the amount you imply. 13-14 M is more realistic to me. However, there is no evidence of inflation, as while it is near the end of the window, there are no other clubs involved (at the moment) and Liverpool have substantial financial power over Dnipro.
    4. Basically, Yarmolenko>Salah...It would make sense that he cost a little more. the difference between 15-16 and 11-12 is 4 M...not overwhelming difference.

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  118. Responding to 3+4 above:

    Pricing of an asset (in this can a player) is a negotiation between two parties and what is willing to be paid. Ultimately, what drives good value is performance after a period of time.

    So should LFC buy Yarmolenko, let's assess his impact to LFC at the end of the season, and come back to close this discussion.

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  119. Konoplyanka not Yarmolenko.

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  120. Thanks - amended ;-)

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  121. You too me. Konop not Yarmo.

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  122. Hasn't he got loads of off field problems/

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  123. I hope we sign this guy and he comes in and does fantastic. because I'll never let anyone live it down. especially jaimie.

    anybody ever think maybe lfc pushed for salah because they are so similar but was cheaper? and probably more of a risk.

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  124. I love you enthusiasm, even though I often don't share it. You have a tremendous knack to find a positive where all I see is negatives. Bravo!

    But Sakho needs to control his obvious power and transform into a graceful CH.

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  125. You are right but the issue with analytical critique is that you have to have all the evidence to hand. We (Jamie included) don't. We have snapshots and pieces of a jigsaw. Thats why there is so much debate about Jaimie's opinion. He may be right but it is only one way of looking at the evidence at hand the rest is assumption. Which is fine but if it is wrong LFC (if they were reading such things) would know that. My hope is they (LFC) show more transparency in future but I can't see it happening.

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  126. Fair points.

    That's why most contributions on here are opinions based on true/false assumptions.

    For me, it's an enjoyable way to get a lot of stuff off my chest, and a great way to unwind at the end of the long day. I don't take anything people say (for/against) too seriously as all opinions are valid - even if I don't agree with them.

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  127. Perhaps the reason LFC never rose their bid for Salah is they thought this guy was better and worth the extra bit if we were going to sign Salah for 11-12 mil possibly raising to 16 (according to the Independent). Perhaps that is the reason we never ended up really getting in for Salah because one we were going over a certain bracket it made more financial sense to go for the older less raw (perhaps) player. This is just as reasonable viewpoint as I have read today. With as much backing it up.

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  128. Playing 442 v Villa was the problem

    Gooner pal of mine highlighted it after 5 minutes, I dismissed him but he was right. We should have been 4 down at half time

    Gerrard was outnumbered and hence, horribly exposed

    We are in control of our own destiny. Although the tight games can be decided on an officials decision based on live play, as in our game away to Man City....... Technology needed, along with reverting to old offside rule to make things easier and more consistent

    Chelsea draw, Arsenal draw. We should be aiming for at least 3rd

    Man United will have a strong finish

    I was very disappointed by Gerrards charity with Sturridge. Should have been taken by Gerrard, 5-0, 37 minutes to go and 2 players on a hat trick. We could have totally mauled them........ I'm just a little bit greedy

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  129. I thought he mis-hit that pass slightly

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  130. He had 10 minutes in a side in complete control, winding down the clock....... Not much he could do. Really wish we could give some decent minutes on the field

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  131. Mirralis was the best player in Blue. I know we hate him for his foul on Suarez but there aren't too many players who play with the heart and desire mixed with talent this guy does. Watching the game I couldn't help but think I would love to see him in a red shirt.

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  132. 10 mins playing time. Hard to make an impact. BR needs to give him at least 30mins.

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  133. He was linked with Liverpool before signing for Everton, but as usual, LFC let him slip away. He'd be great for Liverpool.

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  134. He's quality do you know how much Everton paid for him?

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