Will he, won't he? The tedious Mohamed Salah transfer saga continues today with news that Liverpool are allegedly poised to make an official offer for the coveted Egyptian attacker, who is also wanted by Newcastle United.
According to The Telegraph today:
"Liverpool will make a formal bid for Mohamed Salah this week.
"The valuation of £12m [€14m] has been prohibitive [but] negotiations will step up in the next few days"
The Salah story so far:
* Oct 28: The Daily Mail claimed: "Liverpool are rivalling Tottenham for FC Basel winger Mohamed Salah".
* Nov 29: Salah indirectly dismissed the possibility of a move to Anfield. When asked about his future, he told Sky Sports: "I want to play for one of the best teams in the world. My favourites are Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea."
* Dec 7: Salah's agent spotted at Anfield for the West Ham game.
* Dec 13: The Daily Mail reports: "Liverpool are poised to make a £12million [€14m] bid for Mohamed Salah. [The Reds] have been trailing the Egyptian for over six months"
* Dec 25: The Mirror reports: "Liverpool are close to agreeing a [deal] for Mohamed Salah, who has indicated he wants a move to Anfield".
* 01 Jan: Skybet suspended betting on the possibility of Salah signing for the Reds before February 1st 2014.
* 3rd Jan: Egyptian star Mido claimed that the deal is already done:
In early December, the Swiss football federation named Salah as the 'best player in the league' for 2013. During the ceremony, the official presenting the award called Salah a 'superhero' for Basel’s supporters.
An impressive accolade, but I still don't get all the hype about Salah. Where does it come from? He scored against Chelsea in the Champions league, and all of a sudden he's a world-beater? With the greatest respect, the Egyptian and Swiss leagues are hardly ideal training grounds for Premier League superstars.
Does Salah have the physical strength to make an impact in England? Coutinho - a similar player to the Egyptian in terms of stature and style - started off well for Liverpool, but he is increasingly being outmuscled in the Premier League, and his specific, measurable impact on games is tailing off as a result.
Sometimes, I just don't understand Rodgers' approach to transfers. Last summer, he wouldn't spend £11m on Christian Eriksen, who is:
* Far more experienced than Salah.
* Played an integral role in several Champions League campaigns for Ajax.
* Played in a far more competitive league.
* Featured for Denmark in the European Championship.
* Won several league titles.
...yet he spent £14m on Aspas and Alberto, and is seemingly willing to pay £12m for Salah. Baffling.
This signing has all the hallmarks of being another Rodgers mistake, though I hope I'm wrong. After all, LFC's manager has a 100% record in January transfer windows, so the omens are good ;-)
Author: Jaimie K
According to The Telegraph today:
"Liverpool will make a formal bid for Mohamed Salah this week.
"The valuation of £12m [€14m] has been prohibitive [but] negotiations will step up in the next few days"
The Salah story so far:
* Oct 28: The Daily Mail claimed: "Liverpool are rivalling Tottenham for FC Basel winger Mohamed Salah".
* Nov 29: Salah indirectly dismissed the possibility of a move to Anfield. When asked about his future, he told Sky Sports: "I want to play for one of the best teams in the world. My favourites are Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea."
* Dec 7: Salah's agent spotted at Anfield for the West Ham game.
* Dec 13: The Daily Mail reports: "Liverpool are poised to make a £12million [€14m] bid for Mohamed Salah. [The Reds] have been trailing the Egyptian for over six months"
* Dec 25: The Mirror reports: "Liverpool are close to agreeing a [deal] for Mohamed Salah, who has indicated he wants a move to Anfield".
* 01 Jan: Skybet suspended betting on the possibility of Salah signing for the Reds before February 1st 2014.
* 3rd Jan: Egyptian star Mido claimed that the deal is already done:
In early December, the Swiss football federation named Salah as the 'best player in the league' for 2013. During the ceremony, the official presenting the award called Salah a 'superhero' for Basel’s supporters.
An impressive accolade, but I still don't get all the hype about Salah. Where does it come from? He scored against Chelsea in the Champions league, and all of a sudden he's a world-beater? With the greatest respect, the Egyptian and Swiss leagues are hardly ideal training grounds for Premier League superstars.
Does Salah have the physical strength to make an impact in England? Coutinho - a similar player to the Egyptian in terms of stature and style - started off well for Liverpool, but he is increasingly being outmuscled in the Premier League, and his specific, measurable impact on games is tailing off as a result.
Sometimes, I just don't understand Rodgers' approach to transfers. Last summer, he wouldn't spend £11m on Christian Eriksen, who is:
* Far more experienced than Salah.
* Played an integral role in several Champions League campaigns for Ajax.
* Played in a far more competitive league.
* Featured for Denmark in the European Championship.
* Won several league titles.
...yet he spent £14m on Aspas and Alberto, and is seemingly willing to pay £12m for Salah. Baffling.
This signing has all the hallmarks of being another Rodgers mistake, though I hope I'm wrong. After all, LFC's manager has a 100% record in January transfer windows, so the omens are good ;-)
Author: Jaimie K
He is a seriously good player that should complement Sturridge / Sterling really nicely and a definite upgrade on Moses. But we have got to get this deal done asap - then go sign a DM (M'Vila would be nice but I'd take any decent DM right now) and pray Enrique is on the return; because Cissokho is ... well Cissokho.
ReplyDeletePS. Should also consider Streller - Salah's team mate - hes pretty agile too.
Why we didn't sign Erikkson and Alderweireld is beyond my understanding. Better and cheaper alternatives.
ReplyDeleteWe need to get this one done and move on to the next before the window closes. We desperately need another central midfielder, surely BR can see this. We're still in 4th but need reinforcements because we're looking a bit thin on the ground within the squad. Salah looks a good player and hopefully him coming in will free up Coutinho to play in his best position in the centre.
ReplyDeleteIMO rodgers does not deserve to be manger any more
ReplyDeletehe has made so any massive transfer mistakes
borini,aspas,assaidi, alberto,,coutinho mignolet, ,allen ,cissoko,sahin, moses ,iloris
that is a total of 70m down the drain
look at roberto martinez he knows how to spend money properly
liverpool need a top top manger
ReplyDeleterafael benitez should be bought back he is a top manager
and knows liverpool inside out
plus he is a natural born winner
rodgers is not a winner and did not even win the coca cola championship
these are the players that need to be shown the door immediately
ReplyDeletekelly, cissoko,gerrard , moses ,and aspas
none of these players have had a positive effect on liverpool and have been one of the main reasons why we are not in first place
Still 4th, thanks to Suarez' homy Lugano. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteWe should spend the big bucks on Mata, Vidal, someone of that ilk. Caman FSG, don't be cheap!
Get rid of Gerrard? Really.....
ReplyDeleteI think rodgers should go, why? He brings players in, barely giving them chances some of them never play first team football then he offloads them or even sell them permanently. I mean whats the point here? Just how on earth he rates moses more than assaidi? That is astonishing. Ilori loaned out! Wow! Didnt played a single second, just what the hell you call this? And soo many other cases which im lazy to talk about, again. Did you see what he said after the villa game? He said last season we lost 6pts vs stoke and villa, now we took 4 off them, which isnt bad! Seriously? What can you say after this statement? Crazy shocking. If he doesnt get that fourth which I believe he wont with this mentality, he should go for me. Just an average manager with millions of mistakes especially in the t.w. and in approaching games as well, had enough.
ReplyDeleteme suspects a bitter blue nose.
ReplyDeletePeeps your a clown, end of story
ReplyDeleteNo very much a red who doesn't agree with ya.
ReplyDeleteYou don't get buying players for the future... don't fit in the team yet but will after they have gone on loan
ReplyDeleteBit miffed about the West Brom result, you loon????
ReplyDeleteI'm 100 percent with you on the Eriksen thing!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI really wanted Eriksen to come to us, don't know what Rodgers was thinking! This is a 21 year old with bags of potential, invention and trickery. Agger is countryman and would have made him settle even better than he has for Spurs. Also he formed most of Suarez assists at Ajax.
You sir, are a complete and utter ball bag. Talk about supporting your club and the players and the manager get behind them. Yes he's made some mistakes but I don't think you can include coutinho mig iloris and Alberto allen or assaidi as the jury's still out on a lot of them as there young. However it would been better improve the first 11 first, but we don't know the circumstances
ReplyDeleteMata cabaye and salah are a must, why rodgers doesnt even try for mata, chelsea now added matic which terminates matas career there forever, even lampards not playing, so go for mata hard, and cabaye or mvila and salah, if we dont get these ones im afraid we wont be able to fight for big things
ReplyDeleteHe's done exactly what Rodgers has done. Got in a couple of loyal players from his previous club, loaned in a few benchwarmers from the big boys, and made a couple of low-key transfers while looking to bring through some talented youth players. Exactly. The. Same. Thing.
ReplyDeleteI think eriksen didnt want to join us, he chose spurs instead, he said that in the interview at spurs!
ReplyDeleteMark my words...Salah will sign for another English club in Jan or in the summer...Liv just won't give them the money..!
ReplyDeleteMost managers bring players in and rarely use them. It's known as cover.....
ReplyDeleteColin Irwin, Steve Ogrizovic, Frank McGarvey, David Hodgson, Wayne Harrison (RIP). I could go on but just can't be arsed (and can't think of any more...!!!). These are all players bought in by GREAT managers but hardly used.
And nobody questioned them.
Cabaye is a really good player, he would be perfect for us. Gotta feeling he would cost a lot of money though. £20m??
ReplyDeleteWatch newcastle stealing salah just like, spurs did with eriksen, dortmund with mkihitaryan etc
ReplyDeleteSorry pal, misunderstood your post...
ReplyDeleteDon't rise to the bait, mate. We'll get this kind of sh!te for the next 8 days now.....
ReplyDeleteRight. And how much did those players cost? Plus, you're ignoring the context:
ReplyDelete* LFC out of CL for 4 years in a row.
* Club operating at a financial loss (as per latest accounts.
* Priority 1: get back into CL, not spend big bucks on players 'for the future'.
And your reason for that? ? Well we are still a lot of points further on than last year and the target for this year was a 4 points over 2 games well we are slightly under that but its only a one game loss... You forget that we lost to Stoke and Villa in these fixtures last year... If you really want instance success please go and support Manchester City
ReplyDeleteIf Sterling is loaned out Rodgers deserves a right slap across the face.
ReplyDeleteAspas should be sold and Alberto should be loaned out and Moses should be sent back to where he came from before Sterling goes anywhere.
Pardew already confirmed cabaye will leave, rodgers where are you? Sleeping, or you dont really rate cabaye like you rate moses?
ReplyDeletethere's nothing tedious about this situation at all it's yourselves the bullshitting media who create stories and wind fans up, if he is meant to sign for Liverpool he will no matter what Newcastle do or for that matter what bul**it you the press create.
ReplyDeleteWhy am I not surprised to see this, rafa has gone is in the past, rafa did well and he won the champions league massive achievement, but it wasn't all roses like his loyalists make out you gone on about signings how many terrible signing did that man make yet you choose to ignore it. Winning mentality what has he won recently, Europa league with Chelsea I could do that with there squad. When rafa was manager we were painfully boring to watch
ReplyDeleteJust seen the result - thanks West Brom :-)
ReplyDeleteI chose players that were of similar amounts to ones that we bought but played every week. I ignored the bargain buys like Kevin Sheedy, Richard Money, John McGregor, Ken De Mange, Bob Bolder, Brian Moone, John Durnin, Nick Tanner who were brought in for peanuts.
ReplyDeleteI think you are ignoring context too. Chelsea can offload a player then change their mind and re-sign for £15-20M. We have to wait 'til they're at the arse end of their careers.
I don't think we are spending big bucks for the future, I think we are paying the kind of transfer fees that Newcastle and Spurs regularly pay to bolster their squads.
You can't have it both ways - you can't moan about the depth of the squad then bleat when we pay the market value prices for squad players.
If he tried to fill the squad with Bosmans and frees then everyone would say he and FSG lack ambition.
This afternoon Newcastle said that NO players will leave in this window.....
ReplyDeleteIm not moaning about depth of squad. I'm moaning about buying the wrong players to fill the squad. There's no issue with buying players in the 7-10m range, but if you're going to do that, get it right; don't:
ReplyDelete* Send Suso on loan and then spend £7m on Alberto, who then spends all his time on the bench.
* Spend £7m on a central defender when you already have 4 senior centre-halves on the books.
* Spent 11m on a striker who thrives centrally if you have no intention of playing him in his natural position, and intend to play him out of position out wide.
* Spend £8m on Aspas when it's obvious he's never going to get a chance to play centrall.
Instead, buy players for positions that need to be filled:
* Dedicated right winger/midfielder. Apart from Sterling, who is there? No one experienced.
* Left-winger/midfielder: Coutinho, and who else? Moses? A pointless free transfer. Spend the £14m from Alberto/Aspas on a top class left-winger instead.
* Alternatively, buy Wanyama, Eriksen and Lovren instead of Aspas, Alberto and Ilori. All three were available and heavily linked with LFC for ages. All three would've improved the squad, and they'd all play regularly because they're good enough to.
There are so many permutations. Rodgers just wasted money on the wrong players.
Now, LFC are linked Salah - a wide player - the type of player BR should've signed in the summer.
Not going to lie I'm a little bit disappointedly ball bag net got deleted 🙈🎣
ReplyDeleteEriksen currently looks very much like a squad player for Spurs...doesn't get the starts and really isn't as dynamic as all the hype led us to believe.
ReplyDeleteHe's started every game since Sherwood took over, and Spurs are unbeaten in the last six games (all of which Eriksen started), and he's chipped in with 3 goals/2 assists in 6 games. Prior to that, AVB used him as a squad player; constantly subbing him off, occasionally starting him etc. Just shows what a run of games - and faith from the manager - can do.
ReplyDeletebrendan has loaned out over 25m pounds of his signings plus pepe and has joe allen and aspas on the bench but we have a chance of top 4 so we need to give him the chance to get it or mess up but if he can't see were weak in midfield he needs sacking
ReplyDeleteAlot of what you have said is pretty clear and i agree with it, but one of the points i saw differently was.
ReplyDelete*11m striker i think you mean Borini? this is the main point i see differently as he played most of the season at Roma coming from wide forward positions and that is where he looked the most dangerous for them coming from the wide 3 forward positions.
So it was logical that he could do it here at LFC and the history was BR and FB made it even more likely to work (logically anyways).
But at the end of the day im a Borini fan and hope he still has a future at LFC.
Jamie you keep on pointing out that the Aspas and Alberto signings were 'baffling', and ask why Rogers didn't try to sign Eriksen for a combined £3m less in transfer fees.
ReplyDeleteWhat you fail to take into account is wages. I don't know what Aspas, Alberto, and Eriksen are on, but given:
a) Erkisen's international standing,
b)the competition for his signature,
c)Aspas and Alberto were signed as squad players and Eriksen was signed as a first team player,
d) Eriksen was running his contract down at Ajax (he only had a year left when he signed for Spurs),
Eriksen will almost certainly be on be on a higher wage than Aspas and Alberto combined. Meaning he will cost Spurs more in the long run than Aspas and Alberto will cost Liverpool. Unless of course Aspas and/or Alberto turn out to be a great success and handed better paid contracts as a reward - in which case the transfer fees we paid for them will look cheap.
Either way, please stop basing comparisons between players on the transfer fees paid. If a player sees out a five year contract with a club, usually the transfer fee will not even amount to a quarter of the expenditure the club outlays on the player by the time his salary is taken into account.
Rant over
If you consider that it was reported that spurs are paying Sigurdsson 70k a week i think you could assume that Eriksen is on more than that.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure this is all Rodgers decision dont Liverpool have a transfer committee its time they bought in a decent D.M too Erikson was a huge mistake though.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason i could think of was the money was to be spent on a marquee Costa etc so the funds sort of werent there.
Well that would just confirm my feeling the AVB wasn't a very good manager regardless of his record in Portugal
ReplyDeleteCabaye is already gone...back to France.
ReplyDeleteI'd a agree. A conservative wage estimate for Eriksen would be 85k a week. Meaning he will earn 22m over the course of 5 years at Spurs - bringing his total real transfer cost to £33m (making the transfer fee a third of the real cost of Eriksen's purchase).
ReplyDeleteLets say Eriksen is on 120k a week - which I think would be be at the other end of a wage estimate. He would cost Spurs 31m in wages or a real transfer cost of £43m over five years.
By comparison I can't see Alberto being on more than 20K a week, and Aspas 50k - and I think my Aspas estimate is on the high end.
I genuinely don't know whether to laugh or cry at this post.
ReplyDeleteHow exactly were they stolen? Liverpool made no offer for Mkhitaryan or Eriksen. Its very probable we asked about Eriksen and were told he wasnt interested. but lets blame Rodgers anyway
ReplyDeletePMSL
ReplyDeleteFernando, Mata and Salah
ReplyDeleteSorry to say this stevie Gerrard looks Gone. lazy Im shocked to say this we played better with out him Henderson was great .
ReplyDeleteGerrard Got in the way a lot on the weekend.
I would Have Pepe instead of Mingolet all day.
Put stevie on your list
I think this deal will be a good one. I've been dubious of other deals and potential targets but I look at Salah and think that we'll benefit from getting him. It will let us move Coutinho into the middle and hopefully Henderson could play deeper against weaker sides until we get a proper defensive mid (which Rodgers seems to vehemently oppose).
ReplyDeleteGerrard needs to be shown the door????
ReplyDeleteAmazing how short some peoples' memories can be. He's been our best player over the course of the last 14 years bar only the last two since Suarez's arrival and rise to prominence.
Gerrard is still one of our best players this season, just look at the assists he's provided - joint highest with Henderson.
Whoscorded.com has him rated as our sceond best player this season http://www.whoscored.com/Teams/26/Show/-Liverpool
Even if you take stats with a pinch of salt he is still right up there. Of course you could just use your eyes to see what he still contributes.
Pepes you have no idea
what money would that be,, Lukaku Loan , Barry Loan and Delofeu Loan
ReplyDeleteand on.
ReplyDeletehe also spent ridiculous fees on complete washouts aswell.. probably helped bring LFC to it knees financially.. but we moe on and try something different.. I support LFC, so I support those trying to make LFC better..
ReplyDeleteyep! the above statement is shocking
ReplyDeleteThe issue with Torres and how he left was that his timing was out. He won a WC with Spain in the summer with Hodgson as manager of the team. Many expected him to hand in his transfer request then and there and had he had done it then the backlash wouldn't have been as bad. After all the fans were sick of Hodgson and his style of play. Kenny then comes in and the whole place is bouncing again. Yes it didn't work out but there was a buzz at LFC, the football was more pleasant and the future was looking brighter...... that's when he decided to leave.... and to a rival as well!! I voted NO, I don't want to see Torres in an LFC shirt again. Not because of the way he left but because he's absolute rubbish. Who would you make way for to accommodate him? Sturridge, Suarez?? no way! I can't believe that so many want to see him back.
ReplyDeleteyour dead right.. one great 12 months after looking out of our depth and now everyone thinks were back,, reality check, before FSG we were broke,, no we owed 100's of millions and were looking at administration. If you have a magic wand feel free to use it, otherwise realise it takes time to build, recent improvemnts deosn't change a thing, they still have to rebuild the club and balance the books.. do you want Liverpool to fail, cause with this buy it at any cost is going to cripple the club, and I for one want this club around for many years to come. Unlike the youngun's today I'm a 1 team man and want thos club to stay around forever.. YNWA
ReplyDeletei agree, people are to quick to call players flops,, he was injured for his initial season so couldn't play, hardly a flop.. nowadays if a player misses 4 games he is a flop.. time to get a grip people....
ReplyDeletewhere do you people get this stuff,, you need to spend less time reading tripe on the intertwat and wait until the club anounces anything, all else is speculation created to get you reading their garbage. Time to grow up.
ReplyDeleteYeah lets just cherry pick out particular deals that have worked out at other clubs, and compare them to some of ours that haven't. That'll give a good opportunity for a moan.
ReplyDeleteHow exactly is 7M on Alberto a bad deal? Hes only 20, and has looked technically very good when hes played, yet hes already a waste of money to you? We sold Shelvey for not much less.
Aspas plays in a different position to Eriksen so comparision is completely irrelevant. 7M for a back up striker who was well rated in la liga can only be called a bad deal in hindsight.
Well hindsight is 20/20 isnt it?
Some "fans" are a joke. Rodgers.has already come out and singled Sterling out for praise, has created a role in the team, and is playing him every game, and yet here you are being an internet warrior based on some nonsense rumour.
ReplyDeleteHey any of you clapped eyes on Firmino at 1899 Hoffenheim? Now for me that's what we need, absolute class in the messi/ronaldo mould. Dunno what he'd cost but we should rob the bank to get him! Salah is a very good player though, don't doubt it!
ReplyDeleteFunny situation all right.
ReplyDeleteWe asked same types of questions about Sturridge and Coutinho. I don't think Coutinho's exactly been out-muscled. If he'd have put a lot more chances away, he would look far better than he is now.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Rodgers only taking orders from above,very,very limited.
ReplyDeletewow I've seen some nonsense here but this takes the cake.
ReplyDeleteso you kick out Cissokho and Moses but the club will still have to pay their wages until end of season. Contract is a contract. Bit of baby with the bathwater in this comment.
ReplyDeleteBecause Chelsea have stated they will not sell Mata to EPL team end of story.
ReplyDeleteGive Rodgers time he's not the finished article yet but IMO he will be one of the great managers. Some people forget that in terms of age and experience he's quite new in the biz. FSG have punted on him for the future and it seems to be good punt. Nothing wrong with their slow strong sustainable build up of a club that has been undermined by flash in the pan owners and managers over the last couple of decades. Have patience guys.
ReplyDeleteat last a voice of reason
ReplyDeleteDude, the Sterling loan rumour was killed off at least a week ago.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It was Stevie G that won LFC the Champions League, not Benitez.
ReplyDeleteIf Sterling didn't start performing he could of been loaned.
ReplyDeleteRodgers loaned Suso and bought Alberto. I certainly would not put it past Rodgers to purchase Salah but then weaken the squad by loaning out Sterling.
I don't 20 million is that outlandish when you consider Carroll. Allen also cost 15 million; who would you rather seen in a LFC shirt.
ReplyDeleteI know it's a rumour I'm not an idiot. I'm just saying that Sterling deserves to stay in the team.
ReplyDeleteRodgers hasn't exactly hit the nail on the head with most signings and I wouldn't put it past him to make such a silly decision.
You can get up and sit back on your chair now.
I wonder if you knew all these *points* at the beginning of the season??? Moses at the time seemed like a shrewd signing. Aspas was much touted as well, especially after having a good preseason. Alberto we were optimistic over because of his potential, same with Llori. We all knew Suso needed to play more football to develop, so his loan came as no surprise.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's easy to point out the mistakes Rodgers has made over time, but at the beginning of the season you could winningly argue they were not mistakes.
IMO you can only get lucky in the transfer market and hope you find a gem unless you are Man City and Chelsea, and go out and buy names that you know are class.
I know! Far out...I'm just saying.
ReplyDeleteWhat? when were in the second division.
ReplyDeleteCorrect. Buy no-one.
ReplyDeleteI have watched Borini at Sunderland, and he is still ordinary.
ReplyDeletePerfect timing when Torres left. Chelsea had been hounding LFC to sell him and the club really resisted. You will remember that LFC told Chelsea probably to end the hunt for Torres ok you can have him for 50m thinking that would end it. To everyone's surprise including mine Chelsea said ok. Hahahaha what a laugh the arrogance of the Chelsea owner is immense. I agree totally with JK's article 100% every word written.
ReplyDeleteFSG are not short of funds. If they spend real money on real talent , where the team is weak, they the will reap their reward with Champions League football, and the improved revenue receipts that engenders.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with bringing back Benitez but he is a TOP manager. Rodgers deserves his chance though and he is capable of becoming a TOP manager.
ReplyDeleteAnyone berating Benitez doesn't have a clue. This guy has contacts everywhere and knows how to entice top buy transfers. Look at how he has transformed Napoli.
Torres didn't leave it late he wasn't the one negotiating. It was LFC and Chelsea that left it late. The only reason this transfer happened at all was the ridiculous price.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I think finding depth for Sterlings position can wait. We desperately need a CM. A defensive one to be exact. Liverpool have shown in the first 45 min vs Villa that they can't support Suarez and Sturridge with 2 CM. Henderson and Gerrard will always get outrun and cut out. They need 3 midfielders to support the SAS, and keep possession of the ball, the balance has to be right. They showed that when Lucas came on at HT. I think Rodgers disrespected Villa thinking he can get away with it. The real sad thing is either Coutinho and Sterling have to be sacrificed for the SAS. Sterling puts in more effort and has pace as a weapon, Coutinho has the dribbles and can spot a pass when on form. Maybe interchanging them in the starting 11 can serve as rotation. They need a DM to cover for Lucas though pronto. It takes one injury and we are stretched in midfield. Gerrard can't play like for like with Lucas. We need another Lucas in the team.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure many would. I would, but I'm not a professional footballer. On the other hand, I would rather be integral in a lesser number of successes than peripheral in a greater number,
ReplyDeleteThat is not the 'problem'.
ReplyDeleteThe 'problem' is the stuff I specifically wrote out above. That is why I did it. To be specific.
Thanks for trying to help me see the error of my ways though, matey. You are a kind soul.
I think you've misunderstood the point I was trying to make and interpreted it as some sort of slight on Chelsea.
ReplyDeleteIt may well give him the comfort he needs, and had he stayed at Liverpool, he likely would have won nothing and declined here (though not to the extent he has at Chelsea, I believe). In that sense, maybe it was a good move for him.
I'm just saying that if I was a player of Torres' quality, a player who has broken the transfer record of two of the biggest clubs in world football, a player who was instrumental in the Euro 2008 win, I wouldn't be able to convince myself that being a bit part player in successes that were largely down to others were crowning glories in my career.
I agree.
ReplyDeleteSurely it's because they are different kinds of players. Eriksen may have represented good value and perhaps he's a player we could have used but isn't Salah someone to play further up the field and wider? It's not just a case of saying player X is better than player Y, has more experience or represents better value. If one player is not what we're looking for in a tactical sense then we simply wouldn't buy them. Isn't that obvious?
ReplyDeleteRodgers didn't seem to genuinely fancy Eriksen and I'd guess that's because he doesn't think he's much of an upgrade on Coutinho. If we're going to buy a #10 then he'd better be world class, otherwise Coutinho is the player for that spot. We could have spent the money on Eriksen and sure, he would have played, but would he really have done anything more than Coutinho? Would he have fit better in our system? Would we be a substantially better team with him? Would we bench Coutinho, Gerrard or Henderson to make way for him? I certainly don't think so. He's good but he's not head and shoulders better than anyone else in our starting 11. At best he would represent a sideways step for us as a club, so spending that kind of money on a gamble doesn't make sense and that's almost certainly what Rodgers thought, given that we didn't really go after him.
Aspas and Alberto, once again, in case this has to repeated ad-nauseam for eternity, were NOT bought as first team players. Alberto came from the Spanish B-league for goodness sake, and Aspas is unquestionably a backup all-purpose player. Buying them has little to nothing to do with any other purchases we would have made. Is Eriksen a future prospect who shouldn't expect much game time? Is he a backup striker who can play the same role as Suarez and Sturridge? Then how is it remotely related what we spent on those players? Buying them made no impact on our other purchases and they are filling the roles they were bought to fill.
How is Aspas not a cheap, hungry striker? And of course he expects to play second to Suarez and Sturridge, he's not daft. You might find the price vs performance a problem, I do too, but what else about Aspas isn't exactly what you're talking about? It's great to have hindsight to see that he's not yet fitting in but you can't predict how a striker will go. I'd guess that Aspas was bought precisely for the role you're suggesting. The difference is that he's more experienced that what you're suggesting. Why is that a bad thing? What imagined problem do you see in all of this?
ReplyDeletepretty good response Mr. Arnold...I appreciate
ReplyDeleteAnd you believe that? He was begging for Liverpool to bid, he mentioned this club numerous times in numerous interviews and even promoted himself via Agger. Liverpool were interested but not that serious due to his asking price. Spurs bought him very late in the transfer market for peanuts, I think that was another massive scoup for Spurs.
ReplyDeleteAnd if both Sturridge and Suarez had to get injured, who is going to sit in for them?
ReplyDeleteAspas was signed as backup. Not even Borini was going to keep SAS out of the starting eleven.
14 million this window could buy us a decent midfielder. WHO???
I don't hate the bloke and he did what was right by him however, I can't deny it's made my happy watching him flop at Chelsea
ReplyDeleteSo what is going to be said if and when Ilori and Alberto become massive stars for us?
ReplyDeleteThen all of those saying they are a waste of money will go crawl back into the holes they came from...
I understand the Salah signing for bringing more pace to the team. he could play in a front three and rotate with Sterling or rest Sturridge or Suarez for cup games. Aspas has had little impact when played and we dont no the level of Alberto yet. Coutinho is currently played out of position on the left and drifts inside. he doesnt exactly shore up the left wing defensively. Salah would allow Coutinho to play in the middle but that is where we are vulnerable. The transfer policy does appear frustrating and shorted sighted if we continue to buy 10m unproven player which fail or do not start when one top player would make a big difference. It seemed we were ready to spend on a big plauer in sumer but didnt happen. What i find worrying is over realiance on Gerrard and playing aging player out of position in crucial games. We have to win and keep the ball before we can apply a fluid attack. we havenot do this in a coherent way since Spurs games. The weaker teams dont test us and the stronger team expose how weak we are defensively. We have to get back to basics. A solid defence quick passing and pressing teams when out of posession. FSG and BR need to add to the gaping whole in the middle with a ball winner and and solid ceative player to move from defense to attack and dominate posession again. We lose the ball easily and then in 3 seconds opposition is on our 18 yard box!!!I make the two new midfielders plus either Coutinho, Allen or Hendo or Stevie depending on tactic.. .just my opinion
ReplyDeletePlease note the sarcasm already
ReplyDeleteWe have left it too late now, we have been too slow unlike last January!!
ReplyDeleteJ K is there any chance we can get Rodwell on loan form Man City he is young and proven in the premier league and hardly gets any games consistently .
ReplyDeleteSpot on about Erikson JK..Really surprising why aren't we signed him..he's a hell of a player for that price..Missing out on Erikson could be costly than anything at the present..So many of us were screaming to sign him but for some ridiculous reason BR doesn't want him..
ReplyDeleteAspas started games at the beginning when Suarez was out. That's exactly his role. He played a cup game and scored. Give him to the end of the season before we write him off. Like you say he clearly has some quality as displayed in La Liga, so maybe it's a tough adjustment for him. You can't really predict that. I thought he looked really good at times in those first two games of the year and no one was bad-mouthing him when he first signed, he looked a good option at the time.
ReplyDeleteAlberto ... do you say this because of his price? He was at Barca B last season, it's not that impressive. Of course he's going to take time. You can't just say he's 21 and therefore should be already making his way up. I'd be surprised at anyone who saw that purchase in the summer and thought he'd be a regular. I sure didn't. He might have cost a decent fee but he's going to take plenty of time to work out his role in the team and adjust to the tactics that Rodgers exacts from his players. I can't understand why that surprises anyone.
I honestly think what Rodgers is doing in some instances is what is best for the player. Suso needs the 90 minutes a week and he's getting it, he'll come back a much better player. Alberto needs to be drafted into a senior squad, not a B team, so he's getting that exposure and he HAS gotten a couple of chances. Shelvey made the decision himself, Rodgers didn't force him out. Borini was massively down on confidence and would have suffered mentally if he spent another season on the sidelines behind Suarez and Sturridge. Aspas is clearly challenging more than Borini would have. So on an individual player level there is actually plenty of sense to be found.
The thing is, I don't think it's all related to what everyone is talking about: the need for some quality in midfield. We didn't buy Eriksen because he wasn't what we needed. How would he have improved us? Is he really that much better than Gerrard, Coutinho or Henderson? Really? I think if we were going to buy a player like that he needed to be top class, so we chased Costa, Mhkitaryan and Willian. The money was there but the players were not. So spending on Aspas and Alberto had not much at all to do with it, those guys are not the midfielders we were looking for, they were bought for other reasons. If there was a class midfielder out there for the price we would have snapped him up. If you're still sure there is such a player then who is he? Does he fit our tactics? Is he clearly better than everyone in our current mid-field? Because you can't just buy an extra player and have 12 guys on the pitch, someone has to lose out.
Rodgers has to be one of the worst transfer managers of any top club (although we are hardly a top club anymore) and his continued ineptitude in the transfer market is going to send us right back to mid table mediocrity. 90m on 15 players that is a collection of average crap. Sturridge, Coutinho and Mignolet are it..
ReplyDeleteJamie, I posted a very good article explaining how a transfer works.
ReplyDeleteMight give those who pick out random names the whole time a better picture and then maybe they will realise that is is not just about paying transfer fee and that there are many other complicated issues involved when trying to make a deal with the players, their agents and clubs.
It was written by By Graham MacAree and the articale was posted on SB Nation.
It went for moderation so hopefully you will make it go live...
ReplyDeleteyou think he has transformed Napoli?? LMAO!! He took a team that finished 2nd and has them in 3rd! LOL.. its another stellar Inter-Milan job... benitez was crap at LFC and we won in spite of his constant stupidity and poor man management..
ReplyDeleteFSG will never spend Mata money on a single player... they are trying to build on the cheap and Rodgers has shown he is incompetent in the transfer market. This will be the main reason we miss the CL again this. I have us finishing 6th if no quality signings are made in Jan (Saleh is not a top class signing btw)
ReplyDeleteActually Sturridge's strike rate is far superior to Torres.
ReplyDeleteI don't like how you try to profile anybody who has a different opinion to yourself. I don't hate Torres, i am quite neutral on him to be honest, don't really pay much attention to him however just because somebody hates the guy doesn't make them ignorant, pigheaded, outdated and it defiantly doesn't not mean they should be grouped with people who racially abuse people on twitter it is just their opinion on this player. To group people in this way is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI hope we can get Salah for lesser than 14m, or not at all. Prefer us going for a DM and a proper cover for LB.
ReplyDeletetake suarez out and the team will be a bunch of scraps
ReplyDeleteWe need an upgrade to Lucas
ReplyDeleteHe does have a point though, it is frustrating and i don't understand our transfer policy. you cant say FSG has not spent, makes you think, has it been wisely?. good job Rodgers has Suarez to keep him in a job.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you're panicking about it though!
ReplyDeletewhy are man utd bidding for mata and we aren't?
ReplyDeleteWell with the way you put it I certainly have a greater understanding of the situation.
ReplyDeleteI'm just frustrated that both Aspas and Alberto have made no impact. Our squad is pretty thin and Rodgers has moaned about it this season, yet his signings have not addressed any issues.
I understand the concept of bringing in people who are better players, the reality is Stevie, Lucas and Hendo are good players already. But we play with 3 centre mids most games and during the entire season we have only had 3 centre mids fit each week. The squad was pushed to it's limits with only Hendo and Lucas fit in midfield (and now Lucas is injured) and the likes of Aspas, Alberto, Moses came in and did not have any positive effect.
For me, Rodgers did too much in the summer window. I agree with your reasoning for loaning out Borini, but he should of kept Shelvey because he would of gotten games and he is far more versatile than Alberto. But what happens to Aspas and Alberto at the end of the season? I don't think either them will stay at the club. They will be sold and loaned respectively.
Particularly Aspas leaving after 12 months highlights (due to several reasons) Rodgers failure in the transfer market. At this stage it only looks like 3 or so of his signings are a success. If we do not strengthen now then we may potentially miss the CL, our best player leaves, and it's back to square one.
it's a head f@*k for me, don't understand our transfer policy, the dragging of the feet, the average players bought in for twice as much as they're worth, that have zero chance of making it. Look at these, Assaidi, Allen, Aspas, Alberto, Borini, Sissokho, Toure, coutinho, illori, Sakho, Moses, Sturridge, that's around £90 million plus loan fees, how many of these are of any use to us? three? How many will we make a profit on? Two? No wonder FSG are reluctant to fund more transfer targets, we are already trading at a loss again, after they wiped off our debt. These guys will want some return on their investment and they're not getting it. Just look at the players we let slip in the summer, Erikksen for example, £11 million! For £90 mill Rodgers has short changed FSG and i bet it has'nt gone unnoticed, good job Rodgers has Suarez, (until June) he the only thing keeping him in his job.
ReplyDeleteI'm chilled mate :) It's just cos I got the Jason Carr experience, say one thing and two randoms jumped on me.
ReplyDeleteYou clearly have know clue about FSG's transfer policy so go do your homework first before writing about something which you do not understand.
ReplyDeleteDeep down do you really think that Borini is the type of player that Liverpool can rely on to get us into CL or even compete in the CL? This has been our problem for a long time now wasting money on average players.
ReplyDeleteSome people use the word LOVE very easy, i thought he was fantastic and after the euros when we bought him i was over the moon, he did a great job for us and yes he could have left in a better way but good luck to him i hope he has a great life.
ReplyDeleteYou see the problem is us as fans people think that these guys owe us, no the truth is it is a job to them a means for a better life for their family and until the rest of you come to terns with this, this will happen again and again, i have read blogs where fans heavily criticise players when they dont perform for our club ( i have been guilty in the past) but i dont see anyone trying to organise a rally for them the truth is we only want the best players and when they want something else we start throwing around words like hate.
I was disappointed as well when he left and even angry but watching those idiots burning a LFC shirt made me feel ashamed for the first time in 40 years to be LFC fan.
I personally would not sign him again unless it was a free transfer.
i think you should be the manager.....IMO u have played too much Manager Games....wakeup u idiot... Rodgers doing a GREAT, GREAT JOB, for a long time i can say these times are most exciting FFS BS C FB FUFBAH
ReplyDeleteha...they should make a movie/documentary called the 'jason carr experience'. Sydney olympic eh? I bet you're greek...
ReplyDeleteStarring Jason and Jaimie!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes that is safe to assume. But you already knew that didn't you? Stalker ;)
I see what you mean. Still better to be peripheral in many than being integral to none though.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but Torres wasn't some chump. He proved he had the ability to be integral to success. He was in Spain's Euro 2008 triumph and they're one of the great international sides.
ReplyDeleteI don't think players moving to LFC should say it either. It is a petty way to win support.
ReplyDeleteI replied to what you wrote not what I thought you meant to write
ReplyDeleteThe general dislike towards Torres is down to the way he moved. The continued assurances he was happy and going nowhere. Then the planned last gasp transfer request to force our hand so late in the transfer window. Showed total contempt to the club and fans who adored him. Then the digs about finally being at a big club just confounded his previous behaviour.
ReplyDelete47.
ReplyDeleteIs this a record for "likes"?????
Take a bow, son. Take a bow.
Everyone help him get to 50!!!
ReplyDeleteJaimie, I've just realised that you possibly look like a hypocrite. You always want to criticise fans for blindly backing Suarez, who have the logic 'it's okay as long as he scores goals'. But now you've turned a blind eye to Torres' constant moping around on the field and his poor attitude, because he scored some goals...
ReplyDeleteafter he left i was gutted and upset because he had lied to us about stayin then givin a transfer request in the 11 hour...i guess i hated him so much cause i loved him so much and dont tell me about hero worship this is about LFC being a family not just a club its like 1 of your brother turning against you in the last minute....days later when he was just about to play against my beloved LFC i was shaking & prayed he wouldnt score against us while i read an article which read"can you hear the drums fernando" he traded loyalty and a family for plastic flags..now i call u Flopnando Traitoress & i have proof
ReplyDeleteHypocrite? Nonsense.
ReplyDeleteRe: 'Constant moping around on the field and poor attitude'
That is subjective, not a fact. Please provide several factual examples of that.
With Suarez, his cheating/biting/desperate attempts to get out of LFC are fact, and blindly ignoring diving etc just because he scores goals is wrong.
I don't blindly support Torres. I've merely argued that he doesn't deserve the level of hatred some fans display for him.
I think what gets Suarez over the line with LFC fans is his 100% commitment on the field and his honesty. Fans may have appreciated that he was being honest about his desire to leave. Torres was conveying he wanted to stay until the laaaaaast very minute. His moping around may not be stone wall fact, but it was very obvious.
ReplyDelete