4 Jan 2014

'The door is open' - Boss admits 'dangerous' €32m LFC target could leave. Sign ASAP...?

On last summer's transfer deadline day, Liverpool reportedly tried to broker a surprise deal to bring Chelsea star Juan Mata to Anfield. The deal fell through, but after being marginalised by Jose Mourinho for the first half of the season, the Spanish maestro could be on the move in January, and the Chelsea boss has admitted that he's willing to let Mata leave. Could this be an opportunity for Liverpool?

On the 2nd September, Mirror journalist Martin Lipton posted the following update about Mata:

"Chelsea say that Liverpool have [today] expressed an interest in Juan Mata, but no bid received so far.

"There could be some movement to come, though. Not sure, however, CFC would let him go on loan (as they did with Moses)"


FSG were reportedly willing to pay up to £30m, but alas, the club couldn't complete the deal. Well, things could be different during the current transfer window. When asked about Mata's future earlier this week, Mourinho admitted for the first time that he'd be willing to discuss the possibility of a January exit for the player. He told reporters:

"I want to keep him [Mata]. I don't want him to go, but my door is open. The club's door is open too, so when a player wants to speak to us we are there waiting for them"

Mata - recently described by Rafa Benitez as a 'very clever' and 'dangerous' player - is not a happy man at the moment. He reacted angrily to being subbed off in Chelsea's 3-0 win over Southampton on New Year's Day. He flung his arms up in the direction of Mourinho, and refused to shake his manager's hand after when he left the field.

Obviously, Mata - who cost Chelsea €32m - would be an absolute dream transfer, and the very definition of a 'marquee signing', but would Mourinho allow yet another Chelsea player to join Liverpool, especially one of the Premier League's best attackers?

In my view, Liverpool should pull out all the stops and push hard to sign Mata. You never know until you try, and with the World Cup fast approaching, the Spaniard will not want to be stuck on the bench for the next five months.

A few months ago, Anfield Legend Bruce Grobbelaar insisted that Liverpool would sign a 'big name' player during the January transfer window, and Mata would certainly fit the bill.

Author:


98 comments:

  1. Would certainly be a dream transfer, and make a real impact, however Mata is what around 25-26 now, and the way FSG's transfers have been going in their tenure they prefer players who will have a resale value, would Mata be worth the same in 2-3 years time?

    With that kind of price tag, and his wage demands I just can't see it myself, and there is also the Mourinho problem, I can't see him selling another potential threat, I'm sure he knows Mata would be the perfect fit to our style of play.

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  2. I see Moanrinho to be the only person standing between us and Mata because we've seen that FSG are willing to pay if the right player is available. It'd be one a coup for LFC even if its 30 million plus because players like Mata are what take you forward.

    On second note I am confident that if we sign Mata we can mount a title challenge because he's the player that would flourish with Suarez and having Suarez, Sturridge, Mata, Coutinho and Sterling will be a very difficult attacking combination to deal with for any defense in the PL.

    Oh god please bring Mata to us!!!

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  3. the only sad thing is they wont sell him to LFC in anyway especially, LFC is fighting with Chelski for the title / league position and can strengthen LFC team to compete with a big confident boost.

    Any Chelski fan or bosses will prefer selling him abroad and i wont be surprise if that happen.

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  4. Alas, we can only dream...

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  5. I'm of the opinion that Chelsea will sell if we off him and them the right deal. Not being funny but if Mourinho rated him THAT highly he would be playing regular football and there would be absolutely no talk of letting him go. We sold Torres to them and look how that turned out, (although they are obviously different players).

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  6. Close your eyes imagine this we buy Mata Costa OWWWWWW
    Dreaming I know

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  7. Surprised so many commenters see us as title challengers, we're a long way from that. Fourth place would be an amazing achievement while 6th would be about par.

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  8. Adebayo has played for some of the better teams than us. Therefore he is a good player. Coaches job is to manage him just like they need to manage the owners. AVB lacked player management

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  9. Correct, a Liverpool fan who doesn't want to see our club destabilised by unrealistic expectations.

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  10. I know I am dreaming Mata and Costa Wow pinch me.
    Dreaming is Free

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  11. Adebayo is a clever player who can easily fit in our system better than some of those we currently have. I can easily accept him in our setup as i know we will get goals.

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  12. jk have Oldham still got that massive unit up front who gave us a load of problems last season

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  13. One of the Mourinho's problem with Mata is that he doesn't track back enough. I think BR wants his players to track back as well? Though Mata would more than compensate for it offensively but just saying.

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  14. There's no chance Chelsea will sell mata to us as we are now seen as a threat, you do not sell to your rivals.

    We've got other priorities to go after right now, we need
    - Salah signed ASAP before we lose another target due to Ayres ineptitude at closing a deal before someone else swoops
    - Left back
    - CM

    - here's a way out there option .... Buy CM replacement for Gerrard (Will Hughes is more likely than Raktic due to finances) then play Gerrard RB ( he's not the player he was and cannot dominate midfield anymore) and Johnson LB ( but odds are Johnson will be sold in the summer too, wages are too high and too many mistakes / goals coming from the right and not enough going forward .. Oh and he's on £100,000+ a week

    That should get us through to the summer and a CL spot and then build again

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  15. Would love him at Liverpool but can't see it happening.Heh Jamie, several weeks ago you posted an article with a comparison table, I mentioned to you about repeating it a the midway point of the season. Are you still going to do this?

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  16. World Class?? or world of shits...

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  17. I hadn't read Cara's comments until just now but I had said near the exact same thing to a friend the other day. Spurs and Ade may be doing well now but it won't last if it depends on him. It is clear for anyone with sense to see. He has talent but doesn't turn up far too often. Look at how he has played for Spurs and the times he has. It's obvious.

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  18. This is not entiely right. He has talent but Cara is right he does it now and then if he feels like or if it suits. He is probably loving the fact that he can blame AVB but he started to slip before AVB then started showing up a bit when he arrived then dropped again. He is just lazy.

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  19. Now, open your eyes. Moses and Aspas OWWWWWWW

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  20. I regret the anyone with sense comment but for me it is as clear as day.

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  21. It has to be Mata. This would fit with Grobbo's much quoted and accommodatingly vague prediction . Why wouldn't we trust him?

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  22. At the beginning of the season I would have agreed with you, but considering our abilty and results, a top 4 place would be the expectation now.
    I doubt we can win the title, but if the other teams succumb then maybe, just maybe, there's a 5% of that happening.

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  23. Dont think you can find any more ideal player for us than mata, this is massive chance for us before top clubs start to bid now, rodgers must hurry and take him, dont think he would cost more than 20m and hes worth it, if not then take him on loan and buy in summer but we must get him asap

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  24. Near enough mine, I think Toure instead of Agger though. More leadership qualities for Ilori.

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  25. Suarez isn't putting more effort in than he has his whole time he has just refined his shooting and free kicks. My guess is your not a red are you?

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  26. If we get him it'll be interesting to see how much ticket prices will go up to pay for his wages! Is it a price worth paying?

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  27. It's not that controversial it's been said before and it is a belief of many more than just him. Perhaps (and this is a weird one) it's just his opinion. Not based on grievances or media saviness just what he has seen and heard for himself. Crazy I know.

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  28. I strongly believe in team balance and everyone doing their bit, but Mata not tracking back as an excuse to axe him is ridiculous.


    If anyone would of got rid of Mata it would of been Benitez, but instead Mata was hands down the best player at Cheslea during that time. Rafa likes his team to be very rigid and controlled but he managed to have Hazard, Oscar and Mata all in the same team.


    30M price is a lot and it would definitely mean no more cash would be provided to add to the positions we really need like CM, but at this point we should be throwing some bids in.

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  29. People saying dont think mourinho will let mata join the rivals, I disagree because if he rated mata that high he would of played him more, wouldnt he? If he doesnt play him too much that means he doesnt see him being too dangerous and effective for the club so its the same when he joins the other club in mourinhos eyes, the problem is the fee, they would ask too much like 30m and we know we cant do that.

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  30. The problem is that he will not have a lack of suitors and it doesn't make sense to strengthen your competitors. Mata will not be coming to us or any prem team for that mata.

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  31. You are an idiot and a low life,and most like likely not a fan of Liverpool at all,I sense a misguided gooner here:)

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  32. You can never hope for the title until you have a top class bench! Just look at our bench is a woe, and the two games away at city and chelsea proved we are far away from winning the title, hopefully fsg watched those games!!Y

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  33. with a little harder push LFC can land mata. Yes, Morinoh is in good terms with Rogers, and LFC and Chelsea are selling friends, and Mata will welcome LFc style where he is guaranteed playing time. I can't wait..............

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  34. We're 4th by the skin of our teeth after a record breaking run of form by Suarez. I don't rule out 4th but it would be an over-achievement. We are much more likely to finish 7th than 1st.


    My current prediction (which hasn't changed much for 3 months) is City, Chavski, Arsenal, Scum, Bitters, MightyReds, Spurs.


    If we can get 5th that would be great, but as I say 4th would be an incredible return from Rogers and given the current position of the squad up there with Bentiez' runner-up season.

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  35. Disagree with those who say Mourinho won't sell Mata to us as he won't sell to rivals, I don't think we are realistic rivals to them at the moment.


    The top tier is currently City, Chavski and Arsenal, the scum might rejoin the top tier if they can spend big and get a decent manager in.


    We're in the second tier with the Bitters, Spurs and MoyesUnited. The good news is we're moving in the right direction with a manager who has developed his tactics this season such that results are now as important as how we play.


    As long as we don't get massively outspent by our rivals on an ongoing basis we should be looking to break into the top tier within 2 years.

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  36. Since 3 referee decisions went Mourinho's way in the match against LFC the least he could do is give us MATA!

    Now all we need is FSG drunk to splurge the dough!
    To tell u the truth Koppites, I would have assumed some signings to have already taken place by now but surprised nothing happened yet. I know I am too eager and curious....:)

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  37. Chelsea need Liverpool to be strong -- and Spurs and Arsenal, arguably, too -- in order to prevent Man City running off with the silverware every season for the foreseeable future. I'm sure that's how Mourinho would see it.

    Mata, in that central attacking role, would improve us by maybe what, six to nine points over a season over Henderson / Coutinho. Chelsea, who wouldn't lose a single point from offloading Mata, can gamble on outperforming us on that basis.

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  38. I agree BR has done well but would argue he might have done better had he (they) used the transfer funds better. He has had the luxury of Suarez and to some extent Gerrard. If he cannot get top 4 this year then next year will be really tough. He needs to get back to signing players like like Sturridge and Coutinho rather than Aspas, Borini etc

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  39. Perhaps a loan for this season then, he wouldn't be able to play against Chelsea but against City. But even then I am not convinced by that argument. It would also put more pressure on Chelsea as they cannot know for sure it is two horse race.It would also suggest that they do not fear Arsenal and they very much should. In short Nar.

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  40. I think top 4 should be a bare minimum for BR this season. If Everton finishes above us in the 4th spot with a new manager (Martinez), that would be a shame and I don't think FSG would be too happy about it. Neither the fans.

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  41. Agreed. Suarez will surely leave in the summer if we don't get top 4.

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  42. Bold or Arrogant Chirag. The whole FACT thing is one of my least favorite things on the internet.

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  43. Hold on refan, the supporters, management the club and the players are disgusting?? I suppose luis suarez making racist comments, biting, diving, and the fans and players and management supporting and condoning his behaviour is not disgusting then. Take off those red tinted glasses and look beyond the boundaries of Merseyside and loyalty based on just liverpool ideals and try to look at carras comments as a supposed proffesional. Us spurs fans hate arsenal but even ex arsenal players who are now pundits don' slag off fellow spurs pros even if they hate them. The only disgusting thing my friend is your generic analysis of everything spurs. Mourinho even said pundits are Liverpool biased.

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  44. It's controversial in the sense that as lifetime liverpool player, who just spent 3 years playing along side Suarez, and not Aguero, and he's picking favorites from another team. Don't get me wrong, it could be just his opinion - but some of his pundititry, like all pundits is a little forced. And in this case - would appear a strategic choice to raise eyebrows, and also "prove" he's capable of taking of his "liverpool tinted" glasses. It's not a dig, it's what these guys are expected to do as pundits.

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  45. That is a fair point I suppose. I agree we are not the top tier at mo and that one signing may not be enough for us to gain pace. But another reason why not may be Sturridge. He has been better than the strikers they let go. If Mata comes and then is doing a better job than whoever stays they look even more silly and as I have said Mata will have lots of admirers and however well he plays abroad won't be in the British sights as much.

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  46. No, he's gone.

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  47. Please do not question the fan status of site visitors. Just because you disagree with someone's view doesn't make them less of a 'fan'. Any further posts like this will be deleted.

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  48. Spot on. Totally agree with that approach.

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  49. Could you remind me what that was again. Thanks!

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  50. Lucas Moura and salah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

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  51. forget mata!!!!!!!!! we should go all out for mohammed salah and Lucas moura from PSG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Moura isn't happy..... leonardo has left trust me lucas moura will be big player and they are both young!!!!!!!!!!!

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  52. forget mata!!!!!!!!! we should go all out for mohammed salah and Lucas moura from PSG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Moura isn't happy..... leonardo has left trust me lucas moura will be big player and they are both young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  53. That would be so such a positive signing for us , with him on the team we would definitely get 4th spot! We should try our best to sign him say honestly. Then he will see what a real club feels like!

    Come on!

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  54. Mourinho. Haha.

    I'm going to sleep now.

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  55. Oh ya i forgot, Tottenham is a club that inspires to be like Chelsea. America all over your face.

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  56. Are we talking about gods or dogs!?
    I'm confused.

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  57. Spurs fan who agrees entirely with Carragher.Adebayor is in his last season of the manchester City subsidy & is playing for his next big contract.Adebayor is a disgrace because even when AVB played him last season he didn`t want to know,& when he played in the African cup of nations?

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  58. I agree with Beatrice, but I also agree that if Everton got top 4 ahead of us, serious questions would have to be asked.

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  59. you know nothing about football jaimie. why bring suarez into it? carra said adebayor is lazy and only uses his ability when it suits him. now how can u put suarez in the same category? yes he bites kicks and shouts but that shows that he gives a 5hit

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  60. Suarez always gives 100%

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  61. Torres was loved up until he was forcing a move. He had not been delivering the goods for some time by that point.

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  62. Or like Adebayor he wanted a move and decided to up his game.

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  63. He 'll be 26, come 28 April. I think, for his positions (AM, 2nd forward, RM), 23-29 is probably the best age, for that players are at physical prime with experience. Younger players lack experience, older ones might struggle from steam in EPL. For next 4-5 years, Mata 'll be at his best.


    From investment point, Mata doesn't look that good because, if we give him a 5 year contract, after 4 years, his value isn't likely to be near what we have to pay now (though there are players like Zidane, Pirolo, Zlatan, Figo who drew high transfer fee after being into 30s). But, in Mata we can get an attacking player of the highest quality. Ambitious clubs shouldn't always look transfer as an investment, in that case we should never look players beyond 20.


    I believe if JM allows him to join LFC, he could be the marque player you need to win close big ties. However, JM is a mean person (the way he poached Willian from Spurs was disgusting) with an arrogant owner having lots of mafia money to waste, he is not under pressure to sell. It's a pity that we chose Downing over Mata when he was willing to come.

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  64. for the bigger matches someone like Mata would be a dream. I have said before if we have title aspirations then players like mata and pogba are must buys. It sends signals to the rest of the team to up the ante - just as arsenal have with ozil.



    This thing about age is over done too. Fergie paid 24 million for RVP when he was 29 - and won the league. He will recoup much of the outlay just in shirt sales!


    Where Mata differs from Coutinho is he has a very accurate shot. Whereas Coutinho is profligerate.

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  65. You're a very stupat boy..but a funny one never the less

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  66. I wish this was a Mata of fact:)

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  67. Johnson - Skrtel - Agger - Sakho
    Lucas
    Gerrard - Coutinho
    Mata
    Suarez - Sturridge




    We'd have the best attack in the league and it would make us deeper in midfield by default because we can sub in Hendo, Allen, Sterling, and Moses off the bench.


    A deal for Mata would do wonders for the club... similar to what Sturridge did for us last year... which is exactly why Mourinho would not sell him to us.

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  68. Wages too. Younger players tend to be on less so the total outlay is less. There is no way that United have made that money back even with the title. Plus he is getting that dough whilst injured which doesn't help Moyes much.

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  69. Carra is talking complete garbage, what are is statements based on? The real issue is AVB's poor man management and remarkable arrogance. As JK has pointed out it Adebayor has been prolific for Spurs so why drop him in the middle of your team's goal drought?
    If Adebayor was really lazy & a bad influence why did his team welcome him back with open arms? Why has Sherwood's reports about him being growing? Even Daniel Levy has been asking for Adebayor's inclusion since September. That's an awful lot of positive endorsement for such a lazy player!

    AVB foolishly change Spurs attacking 442 style to a defensive 451and ultimately paid the price.
    Surprisingly some Spurs fans or so called fans seem to be berating their own player, I suspect Adebayor is being treated the same way that some of our own fans treated Sturridge when he first came.

    JK glad you pointed out Carras hypocrisy, I don't remember talking about Gerrard's character when he punch someone for not bowing to his celebrity status! IMO Carra's comments are spiteful & without basis! It stands to reason that Sherwood has the man management skills to get Ade ticking, so why shouldn't that translate to Ade producing the goods!

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  70. An article about comments made about Adebayor and you still manage to be critical of Suarez. Amazing amounts of hatred for the leading goal scorer of your club.

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  71. Do you honestly think selling Torres was a mistake?
    Not many people express that opinion.
    I don't vehemently disagree with you, I'm just interested.
    I certainly think it was a poor move for him, but for us, I think it was the right one. It was only because the money we got for him was spent so badly that we didn't capitalise more on his sale.
    I sometimes think of how mighty we'd be if we had the Torres of old and the Suarez of now playing together up front.

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  72. would love to have him

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  73. I'd like to see Ilori, but against these lower hoofball sides, I sometimes worry about putting some of the doughier youngsters in. Ilori doesn't look like he could survive a game where they just lump it in the box non-stop.
    I like that team though. Probably play Toure as I think he'd talk to Ilori more (if he plays). Alberto and Aspas have to play. Good game for Gerrard to get up to speed. I'd like to see one of Ibe or Teixeira involved instead of Sterling.

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  74. This is how you pun, people. Take note.

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  75. A 1hit is too many but a 5hit is totally out of line.

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  76. http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2013/11/lfc-first-11-league-games-comparison-1993to2013.html

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  77. voiceofreason
    • 2 months ago


    Good post Jamie thanks. Interesting to see. Obviously 11 games doesn't tell us too much as we have only played United and Arsenal out of the bigger sides. A similar comparison after 19 games when we have played everyone would be good to see if you can bare that in mind?

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  78. Jaimie K I'll be back... voiceofreason

    • 2 months ago

    Yeah, sure. I"ll do that once we hit 19 games.

    Sent from Samsung Mobile

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

    3



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    Share ›

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  79. That partnership with Suarez definitely contributes to my opinion in a big way. I've just always held a feeling he could sustain that form he had in his last days for liverpool. Whether or not it was poor move for him depends on how you analyse what he was trying to achieve. But, he wanted to go to a club that could win silverware, and this ambition came true when he won the champions league. Chelsea are now definitely a chance to win the premier league, and, and he has had some part to say in that.

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  80. How we've played in the first half of this season shows we should at least be fighting for 4th, there's a difference between unrealistic expectations and having some belief and pride in your club.

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  81. Read on here just the other day that he will go to Bayern. Wit them just signing Lewandowski I'd say that looks even more likely now. Imagine Lewandowski with Gotze, Ribery and Mata behind him and Javi Martinez and Thiago behind them...dear God....

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  82. Good points. Especially the Downing over Mata point. I remember some fans were ecstatic at the fact that we secured Downings services (at a premium rate) arguing that between him and Ashley Young he was the better player at Aston Villa blah blah... Even Gary Gillespie said that he preferred Downing over Mata at the time, which is joke, but he did also say that he thought Charlie Adam had the potential to be a better player than Alonso! I believe if we signed Mata then we would be much further along in our development. I hope we push to try and get him now but I'm not holding my breath.

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  83. If not Mata then for a similar amount of money I'm sure we can get a quality attacking player. We've been trying. We tried Mhkitaryan, Costa and Willian in the summer so we'll go for a similar calibre again. Mata is the precisely the kind of player we want but I'd be concerned this is nothing more than wishful thinking for us. Maybe he likes it in England or maybe if he moves he'd prefer to go somewhere else. It will actually be up to him. If he's not excited to join Liverpool and fight for the cause then Rodgers won't want him.

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  84. I agree with you totally JK. Unfortunately Chelsea have said they will not allow him to join an English team. With suitors such as Bayern Napoli and PSG they don't really have to look at a bid from us. IMO opinion the only way we could get him would be to make a very high bid. Say 40m. JK is right we need to test Chelseas resolve bid high really try to get him. He's the proven product no guesswork or gambling on this guy.

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  85. never mind 4th. we will finish second this year.

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  86. You are so right. The harder push will be cash. If Chelsea see the opportunity to get some of the Torres money back they may go for it. If LFC bid 40m we could probably get him but I don't see that happening.

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  87. PSG Napoli and Bayern are already talking 30m. Your valuation is very low.

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  88. Trust Grobbo mate. That's a laugh.

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  89. Agree that Gerrards future is in the back four.

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  90. and BR maybe sacked if we don't.

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  91. You have to take in to account that Chelski is a cult of personality. The owner and the manager are 2 of the biggest emoters to ever be in the EPL. What logic says and what football sense says doesn't apply to Chelsea. The chance of getting Mata will rely on the prevalent emotions these 2 have at the time of a bid. My feeling is that the owner still rankles about the money he paid for Torres. If we make a high offer this childish man will probably somewhere in his mind believe he's getting some kind of revenge on LFC. IMO Mata is a much better proposition than Torres was at the time he was sold to Chelski. A clever person would play the emotions of these 2 to get what we want being Mata at LFC. I don't see much chance of that happening for many reasons but goddamn it's surely worth a try.

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  92. Beatrice webb? Your hubby Howard Webb is on loan to chelsea?

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  93. Vermat I apologize, After reviewing ur comment i am going to bring it down to a 3hit

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  94. Hypocrisy? see you are just as stupid as Jaimie ( if its not him posting with a different name) the story is about adebayor being lazy whether you find it true or not how can you bring gerrard into it? gerrard punched someone so is lazy? and if u had any clue about Daniel Levy You would know that if he wanted adebayor playing in sept it would not have been an issue, he picks the transfer targets for god sake!

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  95. I wouldn't swap a leading role at Liverpool for a walk-on at Chelsea. I can't help but feel that he must know that he has little claim to their European Cup or Spain's World Cup win.

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