6 Apr 2014

I Quit: Unhappy £9m LFC star demands 'transfer to another club'. BR to blame...?

In, perhaps, the most predictable development of the season, Liverpool summer signing Iago Aspas has revealed his unhappiness at Anfield, and made it clear that he wants to quit the club this summer.

Aspas - along with Alberto, Ilori, Borini, Assaidi, Sahin, and Moses - is part of a £35m collective outlay (by Brendan Rodgers) on signings who've made zero impact for Liverpool.

As such, it comes as no surprise that the Spaniard wants out. He told FTBPro:

"I'm not 20 years old anymore, I can't go on loan and explode. tThe best would be to transfer to another club.

"This is the hardest part. I used to play almost all the matches and I arrived here playing much less. This is the tough side of football."


As I argued at the time of Aspas's £9m signing - and continue to argue to this day - signing an older, experienced striker as back-up for Suarez and Sturridge is a mistake. As Aspas notes above, he clearly expected to play regularly, and when that doesn't happen, frustration sets in.

Liverpool should've signed a young, hungry, inexperienced striker in the 18-21 range; someone happy to play a reduced role, whilst learning from SAS throughout the season. That way, the club would (probably) have a developing asset on its hands right now, rather than an unhappy player who wants out.

Basically, it's Fabio Borini all over again.

* Like Borini, Aspas is ostensibly a striker, who is most effective playing high up the field in a more central role.

* Prior to joining Liverpool, Borini proved that if you play him as a striker, he will score goals (6 goals in 9 games for Swansea during his loan spell)

* At LFC, Rodgers constantly played Borini out of position, which predictably led to ineffective performances.

* When Borini didn't perform whilst playing out of position, he became a bit-part player for the club.

* Borini then left the club on loan for relegation-threatened Sunderland.

Exactly the same thing has happened with Aspas.

One thing's for sure - Aspas' comments will not endear him to Rodgers, so his exit now seems inevitable. Will Liverpool recoup the £9m spent on the Spaniard, though? I doubt it. I suspect the Reds will be lucky to get £6m, which will represent yet another financial loss on transfers.

I could be wrong, though. Perhaps the club will make money on the deal, but I can't see it.

Author:


52 comments:

  1. Here we stand. 5 games to go and we're top of the league. Once again you constantly focus on the negative. Give it rest and just effing enjoy the ride supporting the 'best football club in the land'. :(

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  2. i agree with what your saying jaimie but bcos we couldnt spend vast amounts of money we had to take a chance with aspas and borini hopefully we get decent money back to get real talent in cos were going to need it suarez will be gone this summer regardless of how we finish

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  3. Silly if true.

    Liverpool will be in 4 competitions next year.

    If aspas is good enough he will get game time.

    But by all means go to a club like celta Vigo and try escape relegation.

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  4. Yes, but this is fresh news and I think he's right to get it to us. It does relieve some pressure though. If he wants to go then BR can say go and we can all move on. So BR made a mistake...it happens.

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  5. why admit defeat and moan. get your head down and get on with it and maybe you will get a game but on the evidence of your previous performances I would get rid of you.

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  6. I hope BR looks closer to home for a 3rd/4th striker. Wooden is right we have 4 tourneys next season, knock wood, and we need reliable players to get SAS rest so they don't have to play all the time. Obviously BR didn't think Aspas was reliable enough. He's at training every day. He ought to know. BR is probably kicking himself because he probably signed Aspas off of his scouts recommendations and wanted to support the scouting organization. Maybe he got burned. Maybe that's why he's taking (not so) secret travels to watch players for himself.


    I think it would be great if he looked closer to home. Jordan Rhodes and Danny Ings come to mind. Ings is younger but Rhodes has been a prolific scorer for a number of years now and would be great for LC, FA and PL matches when SAS needed a rest.

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  7. It's not that fresh. Read it a couple of days ago. He is right to talk about it like.

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  8. I'm pretty sure Suarez is not going anywhere. If we are in the CL and he's making 300K a week, why would he want to go to an unknown team when he has a team he knows he can win with?

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  9. I look at it if he preformed better in training than either Suarez or Sturridge then he would be in the team that's happened else where in the squad. He did get a run of games early on but didn't show much regardless of position.

    Why was he signed I think Rodgers thought Suarez was going to be sold over the summer and wanted another experience striker at the club so not to be left short again. At then end of the day sitting 7th in the premier league and no Europe not every player wants to come so your left with players that in some ways you need to take a punt on some work out some don't.

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  10. I feel like saying the answer to relief for SAS is sterling.

    However he is morphing into some midfield player.

    Again today he did things we wouldn't have expected last year or even earlier this year. His defence is good and his turns and close skills and passing are improving all the time.

    I'm not English but Roy Hodgson needs to take him to the World Cup and if he continues his growth god help the rest of us.

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  11. I don't want him burned out. I think he is a near cert to go but I think he and we could do with him not going to the WC as half way through the next season he may be quite fatigued.

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  12. exactly that

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  13. It just so happens that two of the best strikers in the world have hardly been injured this season, fortunately for us. If they had been then we would have been moaning that we never signed Aspas because he's been scoring loads in Spain. Same with the other lads. Just because they can't get in the team, it doesn't mean they are bad signings, it just means we have better players ahead of them.
    We have realty only had one completion this year. Next year, if we finish in the top 4, we will need everyone.

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  14. I believe you cannot underestiminate the value of good players (yes i rate Aspas as one) in the squad no matter if they play games or not. It means added competition, it means that training is of a higher qulity and it means that if any of the prefered choises get an injury you have decent end experienced back up. You do not know before the season starts who will suffer injuries. If both Sturridge and Suarez had suffered injuries at the same time i'd prefer Aspas as the back-up instead of a Yaya Sanogo or a David Ngog. Luckily we didn't need him in games - as we had both of or one of Sturridge and Suarez available for every game. But if we qualify for the champions league or dare i say it, win the league, he will have played his part, in the training and as added competition, and by that i feel the fee is justified and the transfer maybe not spot on, but alright. Yes he may leave in the summer for less than we paid for him - and i wish him all the best and thank him for his contribution to this great great season.

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  15. Great comment! Well said :)

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  16. And news just ceases to be news because a couple of days pass? It's a current issue; I don't have to post about it 5 minutes after it happens. If I wanted to, I could saturate the site with about 20 different 'stories' every day like GiveMeSport, Here is the City, Squawka etc, but I prefer to focus on 3-4 issues a day, which means some things won't get posted for a couple of days.

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  17. Jesus, give it a rest, and don't tell me what to post. If you just want wall to wall eulogising then go to some other site. Like so many others, you have a ridiculously narrow view of what constitutes a 'fan'. Just because people don't adhere to your expectation doesn't mean they're not fans.

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  18. For me, let's talk about this at the end of the season.

    I too have a view that BR didn't do well in the summer transfer win and lessons need to be learnt. However, BR has done fantastically well with his existing players so credit to him.

    We all just need to maintain unity for the PL run-in, players, fans and everyone associated with LFC - then wash our laundry after we've lifted the PL :-)

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  19. Agree with most of your comments.

    However I would point out that if Aspas was playing regularly (ie SAS not playing) we would not be in the situation we are.

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  20. Touchy? I wasn't having a go.I said it needed saying. It was just a throw away comment.

    What do you think about his timing?

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  21. Iago Aspas knows the writing is on the wall. He is not getting into the team with such a small group of players, he know next season due the CL income Liverpool will buy players which he will have to compete against. Hence he is not 20 anymore and wants first team football. He is just letting clubs know he is available if they want him. I think all Liverpool fans would have loved for him to be a success, he has decent movement but look very very light weight for the PL and as he does not know how to make the most of his small stature when the going gets tough like someone like Sterling is the reason why he has thus far failed to impress. That said one would have though he would hit the gym and put some muscle on that bone, but then again he said he is not 20 anymore and perhaps does not want to put in that extra bit of work.

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  22. I don't think timing is an issue. If Suarez said the same right now, people would be making excuses about his timing, but because it's Aspas, some fans (not you) are getting on his case.

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  23. Alberto and Ilori have made zero impact because they were bought for the future. Borini still has a future with us. Let's be real here about how much money was truly 'wasted'. And Aspas is hardly 'old', he's 26 and still yet to peak by the normal age standards. He's had his chances to impress and did not come close to taking them, and he's behind two incredible strikers. Also, BR has not played Aspas out of position...he bought Aspas BECAUSE he's comfortable playing anywhere across the front three...most of his games for Celta Vigo last year were played not in the center, but on the wing, and considering the players we have I'm sure BR bought him thinking he'd contend for a first choice winger position, and be a backup striker if needed.


    As for Borini...he scored 6 goals in 9 games for Swansea in the championship, not the PL. He is young and talented, came in and struggled, and obviously wasn't going to play ahead of Suarez, and later in the season Sturridge, as a central striker. Also, he is another player who is not purely a striker, though it is his favorite position, he has played from the wings before and Rodgers' favorite players are the versatile ones, so he expects versatility. He struggled, so BR did what a lot of managers do...he sent him out on loan to a team lower down in the PL to get more game time and get used to the league. If you wrote this website about Chelsea would you be criticizing them for spending on Lukaku, and criticizing his lack of impact on their team?

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  24. You might be right but Suarez took a shellacking from quite a few people in the summer. I for one would be quite critical if he was talking about leaving when we were on a League charge. But he is a more important player and so I would care more.



    I'm not all that fussed about his timing tbh but noticed others have been. Just wondered what you thought. It didn't come as that big a surprise and I would have been expecting him to go anyway at the end of the year.



    Interesting note on Borini is that Poyet seems reluctant to play him as a striker too.

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  25. Don't mate. The lads for the future argument is one Jamie has no time for and it's best to agree to disagree and let time show who is right.

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  26. Haha you're probably right, but Ilori was obviously for the future since we bought him when we already had 4 experienced CB's and we sent him out on loan after giving him a few months to learn the club, and BR has said Alberto was for the future from day 1. So while I'm sure you're right, I consider the for the future thing to be facts, not arguments.

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  27. Preaching to the choir buddy.

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  28. We need to acknowledge that the team have been playing fantastically well and lucky not be afflicted with major injuries to our key players in 2014. We have a thin squad - our first 11 are that good we are top of the league. However, our best 16, if we had to use five bench players regularly, would not have got us to this position.


    If we simply acknowledge that, learn from any mistakes made in transfer dealings, we can then move forward in the summer.

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  29. Glad to hear it - let's meet back here when Alberto and Ilori are mainstays.

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  30. Drogon might be massive by that stage but it sounds like a plan.

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  31. Dany might be boning "Young Griff by" then too...t-minus 1 hour till season 4. T-minus a lot of years till book 6...

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  32. Are you guys staying up counting down..

    I've got to be in the office for 8am :-(

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  33. Unlucky buddy. I do shifts and off tomoz by chance. Will have to wait as I don't have Sky. Hoping a kind soul will put a stream up for me for tomorrow.

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  34. Yeah RR is doing my head in a bit with his other projects. I know it is a bit churlish but just want him to bang out 6. You read mercy on his site?

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  35. Aspas clearly hasn't cut the mustard! As I have said before Brendan is learning the ropes and mistakes will be made along the way but people forget he is still learning the trade as a manager and I believe he has far exceeded all expectations this season. In theory his looked perfect for the job required but sometimes the prem proves a bridge to far! Veron was a prime very expensive example as was Shevchenko and Crespo I would rather it be a £9mil mistake than a £20mil plus but if he was bagging them in like Sturridge people would be talking about how much of a bargain he was at £9mil. He took a punt and it didn't pay off but Sturridge and Coutinho have and Allen and has started to show his worth as will Sakho. Aspas has now put a nail in his own coffin shooting his mouth off, he has done nothing so he wouldn't be missed regardless.

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  36. Sterling can't be relief for SAS because he will play much of next season on his own.

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  37. You're a Scot correct? What do you think of Jordan Rhodes as a 3rd striker...with Borini as a #4?

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  38. Absolutely agree with you re Rhodes. I argued for him many times over the last two summers. He's scored goals at every level so far, and I'm sure he'd do the business in the Prem, too.

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  39. I think Aspas was signed for one of the following reasons, listed in order

    1. As cover for Suarez
    2. As cover for Suarez's replacement
    3. As a deterrent for Suarez's replacement's club to push too high a price, as we wouldn't appear desperate - esp near end of window
    4. As a viable first team option

    Aspas was merely an insurance option for us, which is horrible for the lad given that he was called up to Spain squad a year ago

    How could we have played him anyway, given first choice pair's form?

    We should surely have given him more than 2 minutes on a few occasions though :(

    At least he's earned a few quid for himself, Celta Vigo could buy him back for €7 million and we'd all be happy

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  40. So what?

    Rodgers made some transfer mistakes, also he realizes this and doesn't play the guy just for the sake of it.

    BR has made a few mistakes in the transfer market, even, even if they were corrected, it cannot be said we couldn't still be exactly where we are now, same goals etc.

    The far far far far far-greater improvements made in ALL OTHER ASPECTS with regards to Mentality/Training/Match Day experience the players, do believe in, and results show this, allows the great (in waiting) man be allowed to make such a mistake.


    It's not on purpose that Aspas and others have made no impact, the staff saw something that didn't materialize... There is no great mystery and there certainly shouldn't be some kind of watered down witch hunt because of said mistakes, nothing is perfect.

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  41. The only possible negative I have heard is that he doesn't track back to help in MF much...if that can be considered a negative at all for a striker. It is something BR and SAS would fix in training. Something like 133 goals in 240 appearances since 2008. I think he knows English football well and I agree he would be a handful in the PL as well.

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  42. Borini is 23. he will be 24 next season.I am just pondering when will be this future everybody is putting their hopes on.We are talking about a striker who puts 1 goal in final cup games(misses 3 other) and starts saying he is made for UCL. GOODLUCK!

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  43. biggestfandownunder2:47 am, April 07, 2014

    I'm not sure I agree with the notion of signing a youngster as a back up to Suarez and Sturridge. Youngsters need regular game time to develop, and this is more so the case with specialist positions like striker. (And especially because they'll be sitting bench behind two of the best strikers around.) To be honest, I don't care if we find another 25 year old to do the job next year. They're just as hungry to impress, but (should) have the maturity and wherewithal to take what small chances come their way.

    And by the way, Borinin was 21 when he signed for Liverpool.

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  44. CaughtOffside is one of my most hated. Some of the stories it reports are such nonsense it makes me angry

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  45. I didn't say he is THE future of liverpool, I said he has A future with us, and 23 is still pretty young, if he can prove himself in training over the summer of course. He could prove a perfectly capable 3rd choice striker, and even if he doesn't it's not like we payed a Carrollesque transfer fee, we should be able to recoup plenty of that 10mil if we decide to sell. My only point was that he can't yet be written off as an utter waste.

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  46. yeah atleast he will be slightly better than Aspas.

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  47. Why is Aspas being unhappy a problem? We had a quality striker on the bench for the season. He played a handful of games at the start of the year when Suarez was out, the guy who he is competing with for a spot. We won most of those games and Aspas did OK. He wasn't played out of position, he was just asked to work harder than he's used to. He's filled his role and done most of what was asked of him.

    Those quotes are the same as we heard from Agger some time ago, also Skrtel. In fact quite a few Liverpool players have said the same thing from time to time. It's a good thing. It's probably not good for Aspas and I feel for him, but it seems to me as if you are prioritising his career over what is best for the club. In terms of what is good for Liverpool there is no issue here. The whole point of a player like that in our squad, pushing for a place and training hard, is that he is there as a backup. When the main man produces the best season of his career then, surprise surprise, the backup isn't needed.

    There is no "mistake" and there is no one to "blame". This is not a problem. I would guess that Aspas will stay next season and play some more games because we'll have a much heavier load.

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  48. Aspas has gone up in price has wasnt he purchased for 7.7 million pounds not 9 million.

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  49. Its a bit like the financial world Jamie; take your losses and run.

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  50. I would believe that if and when Aspas leaves, he will be a more accomplished player than when he came, with the benefit of tutoring from BR.

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