With the recent signings of Emre Can and Adam Lallana, Reds boss Brendan Rodgers has hammered another couple of nails into the coffin of Lucas Leiva's Anfield career, and after making only 29 appearances last season, it seems likely that the Brazilian could be on his way out of Liverpool this summer.
Reports this month suggest that both Napoli and Inter Milan are interested in signing Lucas, and today, the Daily Mail claims:
"Inter Milan are showing interest in Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva".
£8m-rated Lucas was linked with Inter in May, and when asked about the possibility of a transfer, he hailed Serie A as a 'great league', but denied having contact with the club. He told reporters:
"I have received no offers. Liverpool have never contacted me regarding this possibility, so I can't say there is a chance of me going to Inter because I am under contract at Liverpool".
It seems to me that Lucas - recently described by Rodgers as 'incredible' - is set for the same fate as Joe Allen: perennial bench duty as a back-up for Gerrard, but with Emre Can in the squad, he's probably not even first-choice back-up. The overall central midfield pecking order is possibly along the following lines:
* Gerrard
* Henderson
* Can
* Allen
* Lucas
Lucas is a superb squad player to have, but at this stage, is he a better option than new signing Emre Can? Possibly not. Additionally, in the prime of his career, will he want to spend most of his time on the bench next season?
The key question, as always, is this: if Lucas leaves, will it make any difference to Liverpool's forward progress? I submit that the answer is a resounding NO. Indeed, recent stats seem to add weight to this contention.
Last season, Lucas was out injured for two months between January and March. Below is a comparison between the 8 games immediately prior to his injury (in which Lucas played) and the 8 games LFC played whilst he was out injured:
8 GAMES WITHOUT LUCAS
* P8 W6 D1 L1 F23 A9 GD:14 CS:3
* 75% win rate. 88% unbeaten.
* 2.8 goals scored per game.
* 1.1 goals conceded per game.
LUCAS'S 8 GAMES PRIOR TO INJURY
* P8 W5 D1 L2 F18 A10 GD:8 CS:3
* 62% win rate. 75% unbeaten.
* 2.2 goals scored per game.
* 1.2 goals conceded per game.
With Lucas out of the team, the stats show that Liverpool scored more; conceded less; achieved better goal difference; won more games, and lost fewer. Of course, it's a team game, but it's clear that if Lucas leaves, Liverpool will not miss him.
Like Agger and Johnson, Lucas is a relic of the Benitez era. He's a brilliant professional, and a credit to LFC, but time waits for no man, and it's hard to see where he fits into the team. As such, if the Reds can get £8m for him this summer, it will represent good business (and a slight profit on his original £7m transfer fee).
Author: Jaimie K
Reports this month suggest that both Napoli and Inter Milan are interested in signing Lucas, and today, the Daily Mail claims:
"Inter Milan are showing interest in Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva".
£8m-rated Lucas was linked with Inter in May, and when asked about the possibility of a transfer, he hailed Serie A as a 'great league', but denied having contact with the club. He told reporters:
"I have received no offers. Liverpool have never contacted me regarding this possibility, so I can't say there is a chance of me going to Inter because I am under contract at Liverpool".
It seems to me that Lucas - recently described by Rodgers as 'incredible' - is set for the same fate as Joe Allen: perennial bench duty as a back-up for Gerrard, but with Emre Can in the squad, he's probably not even first-choice back-up. The overall central midfield pecking order is possibly along the following lines:
* Gerrard
* Henderson
* Can
* Allen
* Lucas
Lucas is a superb squad player to have, but at this stage, is he a better option than new signing Emre Can? Possibly not. Additionally, in the prime of his career, will he want to spend most of his time on the bench next season?
The key question, as always, is this: if Lucas leaves, will it make any difference to Liverpool's forward progress? I submit that the answer is a resounding NO. Indeed, recent stats seem to add weight to this contention.
Last season, Lucas was out injured for two months between January and March. Below is a comparison between the 8 games immediately prior to his injury (in which Lucas played) and the 8 games LFC played whilst he was out injured:
8 GAMES WITHOUT LUCAS
* P8 W6 D1 L1 F23 A9 GD:14 CS:3
* 75% win rate. 88% unbeaten.
* 2.8 goals scored per game.
* 1.1 goals conceded per game.
LUCAS'S 8 GAMES PRIOR TO INJURY
* P8 W5 D1 L2 F18 A10 GD:8 CS:3
* 62% win rate. 75% unbeaten.
* 2.2 goals scored per game.
* 1.2 goals conceded per game.
With Lucas out of the team, the stats show that Liverpool scored more; conceded less; achieved better goal difference; won more games, and lost fewer. Of course, it's a team game, but it's clear that if Lucas leaves, Liverpool will not miss him.
Like Agger and Johnson, Lucas is a relic of the Benitez era. He's a brilliant professional, and a credit to LFC, but time waits for no man, and it's hard to see where he fits into the team. As such, if the Reds can get £8m for him this summer, it will represent good business (and a slight profit on his original £7m transfer fee).
surveys
Author: Jaimie K
One of my favorite players in recent years, but he has no place in this team anymore. Wish him all the best wherever he goes. I suspect it may be Napoli.
ReplyDeleteIt's the cost thing though. That was the point I was trying to make about Lovren, admittedly a bad example. Think Courtois for Chelsea. One season at Genk before getting bought for £6m at the age of 19. Who wouldn't want him at Liverpool now?
ReplyDeleteLack of mobility has always been the problem for Lucas and those nasty, unlucky injuries haven't helped. In a team that is attack minded as Liverpool his lack of pace is now even more dreadfully exposed. A move to Italy would probably suit him. But if he did decide to stay at Liverpool and fight for his place then I've no doubt the squad will continue to benefit from his excellent attitude and work ethic.
ReplyDeleteWell thats me doing a u turn then. We should not buy this player.
ReplyDeleteHonestly do not think we will get a huge improvement in goals from Henderson but his other attributes (engine, hounding the opposition etc) are far more important.
ReplyDeleteI reckon we will see a much better return of goals/assists from Coutinho and Sterling is only going to get better too!
I think it's perhaps more to do with the cosmopolitan nature of the Capital and it's better transport links that will have appealed to Sanchez and his family, rather than for any particular footballing or financial reason. He wants to live in London. That ship has sailed and we need to be looking at other targets.
ReplyDeleteLet's say Spurs who have also show huge interest sing Origi for £10m and he takes the EPL by storm. His price will be more than double the following season...
ReplyDeleteI don't know Hendo gets in good positions sometimes I just think his head goes a bit. I think if he gets a couple early doors in the season he could get a few, Not saying double figures but he can and perhaps should do more than he has been.
ReplyDeleteHe isn't going to be getting regular football at Liverpool now. He wasn't even really getting much before.
ReplyDeleteProbably time for him to move on.
Can should be seen as adequately backing up Gerrard. He played 29 games in the Budesliga, that means he's unquestionably good enough to come off the bench in the Premier League and should even challenge established players. Lucas is unfortunately suffering from a lack of dynamic elements in his game. He's good at what he does but it's just not expansive enough for Liverpool. Gerrard is clearly a better passer from the back and when Lucas was tried in a more advanced role he did OK, nothing special. We simply have better players in the team, players more suited to how Rodgers wants to run a game. Allen will be the utility man on the bench, ready to step into whatever role is needed, while all the other midfielders have clear positions where they excel. Lucas is reasonably good at one thing, the traditional holding midfield role, and that's just not good enough any more. I will always have great respect for Lucas and wish him luck wherever he ends up. If we can pocket a bit of cash for him then all the better. If he ends up at a big team like Inter then even better.
ReplyDeleteLucas LFC career was killed by his injury not Emre Can
ReplyDeleteI can't find any confirmation of this, anywhere.
ReplyDeleteShaw no but Ander Herrera is by far the best midfielder in Spain right now
ReplyDeleteI know I had to do a bit of digging. The problem is your using google uk. I'll try and find the link and post it. It was a granada local paper. Echo style.
ReplyDeleteL Leiva(27) has been a loyal servant to club and improved over the years, but the club never replaced the class or quality of Mascherano and we still have not.
ReplyDeleteB Rodgers should ship out L Leiva(27) to Napoli for 9-12M
and ship out J Allen(24) for 7-10M
And B Rodgers needs to spend 33M on 1 world class centre midfielder or on these three centre midfielders:
1 world class Centre midfielder: T Alacantra(23) Of B Munich for 25-33M
Or
1: CM: M Sissoko(24) Of Newcastle for 8-12M
2: CM: E Banega(25) Of Valencia for 5-8M
3: CM: J De Guzman(26) Of Villareal for 5-8M
As S Gerrard(34) is way past his best and should be used on the bench, every top team in the premiership has benched or got rid of their golden oldies. S Gerrard(34) should be used wisely from the bench ans should not be an automatic starter anymore.
I must admit I had not thought of that. Perhaps we should insist on Messi.
ReplyDeleteThe value you've presented for players that have not yet contributed to our first team is worrying, especially as BR has complained at a lack of squad depth.
ReplyDeleteHowever Jamie you complain about us not buying the likes of Bony, Wanyama, Lovren last Summer (very justified, it's a waste if we now buy Lovren for double the price) but then you're also not happy when we take the gamble to start with. It's clear that we need more primary signings, before players move to a bigger club an increase their value. I guess the difference is that Ilori and Origi have no proof of ability yet, while Bony had a great record in Holland. Markovic could be another example, his value has doubled in a year at Benfica.
Rogers said when we got Ilori in that he would train for 6 months before going on loan and it was successful, he's still very young for a centre back. Chelsea have started the habit of mopping up many young players and selling them for profit.
This isn't the one I read but it is one that mentions it enough. There are loads but all in Spanish. Use google translate if necessary.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong, but if Lucas was injured starting in January, wasn't our toughest stretch of the season from Mid-November through December?
ReplyDeleteSo the 8 games you reference would have included our toughest games (i.e. Chelsea & Man City away), while the 8 games after he got injured were considerably less difficult.
As of right now, it's treating Chelsea away the same as Swansea home.
Think your right about Sanchez Ash, it's really disappointing because he's absolute quality and the only player we have been linked to/bought that's got me excited. Still think we need a marquee signing.
ReplyDeleteoff topic:
ReplyDeleteHow d sound glen play at DM (like lahm did)?
How d sound Agger play at DM>? (i mentioned b4 and blasted hehehee)
Eventually put Stevie to RB? (for a yrs or 2 to come)
Will it works?
On topic:
I vote sell. We need changes and i willing to risk it bcome good or bad!
Johnson as a holding midfielder?
ReplyDeleteRun to the hills, run for your lives...
ahoragranada.com/noticia/ilori-disponible-tras-mes-y-medio-fuera-del-equipo/
ReplyDeleteadd the ws at the beginning.
ahoragranada (dot)
ReplyDeletecom/noticia/ilori-disponible-tras-mes-y-medio-fuera-del-equipo/
Really, so by in Spain you mean Spanish? Or playing in Spain? Either way I do not agree one bit.
ReplyDeleteIf fans cant see the flaw in BR's transfer policy then I'm so sorry. Why continue wasting much needed cash on players termed "for future" when there's no guarantee they will make the grade. I'm not against buying young talents but don't buy them when we need to spend the cash for top players who can step in right away and when we already have young striker coming thru like Borini unless he will be sold for that amount. I would've put that money spent on Origi towards getting Luis Muriel or Paco Alcacer - a striker who can come in right away and deliver. People forget Sturridge's injury history. I can almost assure you if Origi had not gone to World Cup, BR would not be signing him. I feel Origi will be money wasted; only time will tell. On transfers, BR's decisions are suspect, very. We are continuously been linked to Bertrand, Bertrand of all LBs in the whole footballing world. BR also wanted Ashley Williams, Caulker, Richards, etc. I'm sorry but these wont win BPL titles or take us far in UCL or win other cups. BR completely wasted cash on Ilori, Aspas and Alberto when Lovren was available for 8.5M last season because he had issues with Lyon. This is our best chance to buy wisely and buy good players to keep in UCL but I'm afraid we will mess it up again.History might repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteMinolas, Fazio, Inigo, Mussachio and other very good defenders are out there but he's lasered in on Lovren for 20M or more. Yes some of the names I mentioned will cost more than 20M, but they are boss. BR's learning process will cost us millions. We lost 15M on Allen, 10.5 on Borini also.
Some fans think because we are in UCL, it will just magically continue every season as if the others teams are not building. Wait and see.
Douglas Costa is rumored heading to Roma for 12M, yes 12M!
You're nuts mate. In a nice, mad scientist kind of way!
ReplyDeletehahahaha compared to lucas i dun think glen is far far away
ReplyDeleteWe have a new manager. If you consider him a 10 year option(which I do, at least), than you can't say chances if him getting it right with this kind of a transfer are slim to nothing. Because he haven't had as many tries to judge from. Borini and Assaidi still can be sold for the same ammount they were bought for , so no harm there, and if Origi scors 16 goals in France this year(likely to happen), I would love to see him at Anfield. Or sell him to Spurs for 25 mill
ReplyDeleteThose stats are pretty much comparable though JK... I'd also be interest to see who we faced in each set of eight before drawing conclusions on Lucas? Also a very narrow set of data to draw conclusions from...
ReplyDeleteYes!
ReplyDeleteA couple of points:
ReplyDelete1) We're clearly not just buying unproven youth. Lovren and Lallana both have league experience, and Markovic and Moreno both have a similar amount of experience as Luis Muriel and Alcacer.
2) Being linked to someone in the press doesn't necessitate actual interest.
I have no issues buying young players to loan, if they have potentially high ceiling like Ilori and Origi.. No one in their right mind expected Ilori to come in and get in the two deep last summer... Alberto was a miss, but hey.. it happens. If nothing else, look what CFC did with Lukaku and De Bruyne... they will have made a pretty penny off the resale..
ReplyDeleteHere here!
ReplyDeletealso with CFC with Courtois... they won't resell him, but after a couple of seasons on loan... they can now recall him as one of the world's top keepers. Obviously, this policy is bunk if it prevents bringing in players to help the first team, but so far, that hasnr been the case
ReplyDeleteWhilst I agree I think we have problems with Gerrads mobility now. Full back is well too much for him these days mate. CB perhaps in a mad world but FB no chance ever. Agger DM might work but not Johnson.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/journalist-tony-evans-claims-liverpool-boss-brendan-rodgers-didnt-want-daniel-sturridge-video/
ReplyDeleteClearly he does not hold sole responsibility for transfer strategy
Agree to disagree then mate.
ReplyDelete1) We cant afford to waste precious cash on players to be loaned out when we need that cash to buy quality. Fans turn a blind eye to the fact that Lallana had ONE good season in PL, ONE! But this doesnt mean he wont be a success. But 25M for that is pushing it if he fails to deliver for that tag. Markovic is still a raw talent with lots of promise but for 20M is putting cash again on prospects than proven.
ReplyDelete2) We were linked in the press with Lallana, Mignolet, Sakho, Allen, Borini and they happened; likewise Markovic. So I agree not all the time its true or it will happen, but sometimes it happens as Lallana is proof.
I don't know...but do they have a Uruguayan community? A Brazilian community? A Danish community? Italian community? Slovakian community? A French community? A Serbian community? A Croatian community?
ReplyDeleteWe'd probably get to the hills before Lucas did;-)
ReplyDeleteWe dont have a fuuuuuuuuuuuuu cking DM in the team.
ReplyDeleteWhen he stops playing, yes.
ReplyDeleteI agree Stuart. And we had the reserves for the youngsters to play in back in the day. Not any more, it's the 1st team then the youngsters. Not high enough standard for theses buys.
ReplyDeleteinjuries cost him
ReplyDeleteCan, Lambert, Lovren, Lallana and Markovic cost 80 mill. Lukas, Suarez, Borini, Suso and one of our CB's cost 115 mill. So we have a good team plus 35 mill and what owners are willing to spend, I'm guessing 50 mill. Minus 10 for Origi it leavs us with 75 mill to buy a full back, and somebody else in attack to make a difference(we'll probably have something left). If we hit those two signings- that is a much, much stronger team than last year, ready to fight for all the trophies. I am happy with what we briught, and confidant that I will be even more happy with those two new signings.
ReplyDeleteI don't know...I think John Malkovic may be past his prime. Perhaps we should pass on that one.
ReplyDeleteBut then again...
ReplyDeleteSanchez is signing for Arsenal. On to the next target.
ReplyDeleteLucas has been a fantastic professional & has carried himself in an exemplary fashion. I'm afraid part of LFC kicking on is transferring him. Credit to BR because Lucas should have been moved on 4-5 years ago. It's not just the lack of mobility & pace, it's also the lack of physical presence & the clear inhibition in driving forward.
ReplyDeleteI've argued this point time & time again, as shown by my previous posts, that we lack a physical & athletic presence in the middle. Someone in the mould of Moussa Cissoko/Axel Witsel/Nigel de Jong/Sami Kheidra/Matuidi/Diame and so on!
I also agree that Allen deserves to be above Lucas in the peckig order as he offers a bit more going forward.
Sorry pecking order!
ReplyDeleteAlso ?Jackson Martinez-proven goal scorer as I'm concerned about our striking shortage! JK I will say well done for not gloating about Saurez leaving LFC-it really was on the cards especially when his father in law started spouting off about Barca!
i dont think the fact that owen was a striker in his playing days does not mean he is more likely to be right. the eye to spot good talent is all that is required whether you are a CB or LW. and another myth is that if the word comes from someone who was very good during his playing days, then it will be good. in my observation the better the player, the further away from the truth his word is.
ReplyDeleteB Rodgers needs to ship out L Leiva(27) to Napoli for 10-12M and J Allen(24) for 8-10M. That would bring in 20-22M, plus the sales of Suso(20), F Borini(22) to Sunderland for 10-12M and O Assaidi(25) to Stoke for 5-6M, P Reina for 4-5M That would be 45M worth of sales with out L Suarez(27) to 75-80M Sale
ReplyDeleteB Rodgers should bring in real class quality players:
Our Defensive reinforcements should be:
1: GK: K Navas(27) Of Levante for 6-8M
2: CB: D Lovren(24) Of Southampton for 16-21M
3: CB: J Lascelles(20) Of N Forest for 6-8M
4: RB: S Aurier(21) Of Toulouse for 6-9M
5: LB: B Davies(20) Of Swansea for 7-10M
6: DM: In Essien, Makele, Mascherano or Momo Sissoko Mould: Y M'Vila(23) Of Rubin Kazan or B Matuidi(27) Of PSG for 10-16M
The attacking players B Rodgers should bring to club this summer are as follows:
1: L Markovic(20) Of Benfica for 20M RW / RWF
2: I Munian(21) Of A Bilbao for 20-27M LW / LWF
3: P Aubameyang(25) Of B Dortmund for 12-18M FD
4: M Sissoko(24) Of Newcastle for 7-10M CM
5: E Banega(25) Of Valencia for 5-8M CM
all world class players are available at the right price! are you saying LFC are a small club that cannot attract players? Hummels is at B/ Dortmund are they bigger than us ?
ReplyDeleteid ship out Gerrard Allen and Lucas....the time has come for the club to take a leap forward
ReplyDeletecorrect me if im wrong but why would we loan out a player who is at present Belgiums first pick striker.....what if sturridge gers injured what about having a strong bench or perish the idea having a striker to push for a sturidge and co for a place or even play with him.....im sick of having crap in the squad this kid is good to go
ReplyDeleteAgree on Lucas. But Gerrard is still capable of influencing and dictating games - he needs to be eased out of the starting eleven. Allen is a useful, versatile squad player and should be given another season.
ReplyDeleteGerrard is holding up the growth of the team its crazy to let younger players rot or leave just to placate him
ReplyDeleteNot at all. Gerrard is instrumental. The stats prove that. He is still the heart and soul of this team. Can you give me one youngster that could bring more to the team than Gerrard, or in what way he is holding up the growth of the team?
ReplyDeleteDude, Essien or the retired Makélélé? Who the hell is makele? Also your prices for Aubameyang and Matuidi are way of the mark.
ReplyDeleteGerrard's position is CDM and that will not change until he retires, maybe he will be incidentally play as a CB but RB is beyond madness.
ReplyDeleteAgree that the squad is already starting to look a bit stronger now, and hopefully the signings of Can and Markovic will be shrewder business than any of us could have imagined (Coutinho style). But I really think we need another forward - there will be a big Suarez-shaped hole in our attack and there's 31 goals and a bucket load of assists that we need to find from somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI'm really feel we need to make a big name signing this summer. Preferably a striker. I feel it would give the team a massive lift in the wake of losing Saurez. Sanchez would have been ideal but that looks dead, someone like Benzima would be good.
ReplyDeleteAspas couldn't deliver a pizza,
ReplyDelete100% agree.
ReplyDeleteLet's go get Messi and Ronaldo then. Dortmund are in CL every year, we need to show we are back to being there as well before players that want to play in CL every season will want to join. Let's not run before we have leant to walk again.
ReplyDeleteOrigi has said today that nothing is certain about Liverpool. He confirmed that there have been offers but that it will take another two weeks for a deal with any club to be finalized.
ReplyDeleteIf it falls through, we should go for Mitrovic at Anderlecht. Especially if we sign Markovic. These guys have quite the understanding on the pitch.
I was watching David Luiz's post-shellacking interview and I was crying right along side him...with laughter. That punk has been a nickel and dime fouler since day one, a punk of the lowest order. That he would be named captain of Brazil about says it all to me. It warmed the cockles of my heart to watch that Chelski b@st@ard weeping like a little girl...mmmmph...sniff...snort...mmmmph. Couldn't happen to a 'nicer' guy.
ReplyDeleteKnew at shut up you negative idiot. The most pessimistic person on earth.
ReplyDeleteHe's not even close to being the best midfielder in la liga
ReplyDeleteJust read a rumor that YaYa Toure is bound and determined NOT to stay at City...what are we waiting for?
ReplyDeleteMalkovic? Malkovic!
ReplyDeleteOutstanding work!
ReplyDeleteEmre Can
ReplyDeleteThis isn't really going out on loan this is buying a player now for £6.5m and leaving him in the team that developed him to carry on with what they are doing it allows for the sale of Borini for 12m without impacting on the first team as the other money brought in Lambert as cover at the club for the 12 months its a no brainer when you take into account the 10m that bought Borini has turned into £2m Lambert and Origi the problem most have with Borini is twofold lack of pace and goal returns in the Prem Lambert is proven goal scorer happy not to play every game and Origi has pace to burn what's not to like about that He isn't being baught to slot into the first team now and replace Suarez he is being bought for the future and his potential to replace Lambert and challenge the first team regulars next season for a place in the 1st team if you look at the alternative players like Danny Inngs he would cost 3 times the fee and would be equally unproven at this level i think its a great bit of business all basis covered and a profit
ReplyDeleteI disagree. A centre back may be able to spot striking talent, but IMO strikers with a good eye would more likely be able to spot other things that CBs for example would look over. And I find that last sentence ridiculous...
ReplyDeleteHe does not believe that is his best position so he is obviously not a specialist.
ReplyDeleteBeing that Di Canio didn't play him at all, his first game really was the Tyne-Weir derby where he scored the winner. And frankly, Sunderland, no disrespect to them, but they haven't got the quality delivery we have. I like him, he is only young, he will come good, like I said, he consistently scored in big games and the more he played, the more confident he got. I believe he still has a role to play at Liverpool with all the games we are going to be playing next season.
ReplyDeleteLol, I rate any player who is good. I don't discriminate with players, if I believe they are good, then they are good, I rate them, simples.
ReplyDeleteYes but Di Canio was sacked early in the season. He still had 3/4 of season to play as a forward. And he played regularly too. He is jack of all trades master of none. Nevertheless if u think he will come good, then maybe i have missed something which you saw. Whatever we will see this season how good he is as i dont believe Sunderland will be paying more than 10m
ReplyDeleteArsenal have only in the last couple of seasons started to spend money. But Arsenal, despite winning the FA Cup, haven't won anything for years, Wenger is coming to the end of his time in charge, he will have 2, maybe 3 seasons in charge, he practically said if they didn't win the FA Cup, he was out. Frankly, Arsenal aren't the side I'm worried about next season. Man Utd under van Gaal is the side I am worried about, simply because van Gaal is in charge of them. For the past few seasons, Arsenal have made the top 4 by the skin of their teeth and this is with their signings, I may be proved wrong, but I feel Arsenal are a team on the slide, while we are a team on the up. You say we've lost our only truly world class player and haven't even replaced him yet. By that, I assume you mean Luis Suarez.who technically is still a Liverpool player, ok, we haven't even replaced him yet, but the transfer window only opened 9 days ago. There is still plenty of time to replace him. And by replace him, we won't be replacing him with one player, we will be replacing him with 2-3 players. If James Rodriguez is one of them great, if not, with our attack last season, we don't need him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying. I don't get why JK is refusing to acknowledge that comparison is the way to do things. My example is something that I deal with myself. I am a biologist, I perform experiments and when I write papers about the experiment, I do my results, then the next stage is the discussion where I compare my results to the literature. This step is essential, for without it, you wouldn't know if the results you got were out of the ordinary. This is the case with all sciences, and as you say, with businesses and with sport as well. I like the example you gave with baseball and the batting averages, .300 is actually a pretty damn good batting average, yet like you say, it's only a 30% success rate, if you didn't know about baseball, you would look at that and think it was terrible. None of us are experts in football, especially the workings of the transfer market, including JK, so we need comparisons. Even experts need comparisons. Despite what JK says, comparisons are used in the real world.
ReplyDeleteLFC are considered a big club, whether people agree with that or not. Had we gone for Lovren, we wouldn't have got him for the same price, there would have been a bidding war and he would have cost in excess of 15M. As far as what you are saying in regards to Markovic, he had a very good season in the Portuguese Liga where on at least one occasion, he won the player of the month. Just last week, JK had an article about Luke Shaw, a player who has been hyped up for his attacking skills, but yet scored no goals and had 2 assists, is 18 and unproven and who cost 27M. Markovic scored 5 goals for Benfica last season. This was his first season for a top club and he became a key player for them in their Liga winning season and was also named in the Europa league squad of the season. So, how does this make him unproven?
ReplyDeleteJust because we have that amount, does not mean we need to spend that amount, there is no point in spending just for the sake of spending.
ReplyDeleteHe was the player of the month in January/February, he made the Europa league squad of the season, helped Benfica win the Liga and also helped them reach the final of the Europa and all in his first season at Benfica. Why would the alarm bells be ringing, all the experts say he has all the makings to be one of the best players in Europe.
ReplyDeleteAnother player you haven't mentioned, which to me has had a tremendous effect on the locker room is Kolo Toure. He brings experience, leadership and a winning mentality and having him in the squad I believe helped greatly in making us title contenders.
ReplyDeleteI don't get this idea that you put up. People complain about Rodgers not paying enough to get Willian, Mkhitaryan, Konoplyanka, just to name a few and then say he is overpaying for players? It's either one or the other. How do you know he is overpaying for Lallana or Markovic? They may take the league by storm as part of LFC, you have no idea. What are you basing your opinions on? That Lallana is English, was signed from Southampton, who in turn signed him from Bournemouth and because of this, he is not worth 25M? When you say Liverpool have a tendency to overpay by a great margin year after year on every transfer, what proof do you have of this? Are you basing this on Downing, Carroll and Henderson (who I might add can now be considered to be a player worth 17M that we paid for him), because if you are, then this is unfair to say that this is BR's fault. Let's look at last season. Aspas, we got him for 7.5M, and ok, he didn't turn out, but 7.5M was about right for him. Alberto, we got for 6.8M, again, right for him. MIgnolet, we paid 10M for, again, about right for him, Sakho we paid 15M for, we may have paid a bit more for him, he may have been more like a 10M player, but he is 23 and is already a proven player. Ilori we paid 7M for which is about right. Cissokho was a loan, Moses was a loan and Toure was for free. None of those bar maybe Sakho were overpaid for. The transfer window before that, we bought Sturridge for 12M and Coutinho for 8.6M. Again, not overpaid for. The transfer window before that, which was BR's first window in charge of LFC, he bought Borini for 10.4M and after his season for Roma, that was a fair price for him, Allen cost 15M, which because Rodgers had already managed him, he knew what he was worth, Assaidi was 2.4M, which is about right, Yesil was 1M, which is about right and Sahin was a loan. So again, none of the players we overpaid for. Just because some of the signings haven't worked out, does not mean that they were overpaid for.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he can be our Lazarus.
ReplyDeleteHe did however make the Europa league team of the season last season, so that is promising.
ReplyDeleteYep, because when we've had cash, we've bought Mascherano, Torres, Suarez, who have all been excellent and of course Carroll who was not so excellent.
ReplyDeleteWe wont make top 4 unless we get at least one suarez replacement like carlos tevez type
ReplyDeleteWhy does LFC buy players so expensively, yet sell players so cheaply ?
ReplyDelete8m for Lucas ? Seriously ?
The Essien, Makelele and Mascherano's at their peak type player. And my prices for Matuidi(27) and Aubameyang(25) is not off the mark at all
ReplyDeleteYeah you really badly rate players if you think England is world footballs greatest under achievers simple.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally sure that Matuidi and Aubameyang are more expensive than that. Just look at what they, PSG and Dortmund, payed for them. Matuidi is at least around 30M or even higher.
ReplyDeleteWhat DM in our day and age is worth 30M? Only DM who cost over 30M is J Martinez(26), he is class quality but worth 20-25 tops. B Rodgers could bring in J Martinez(26) Of B Munich for 22-25M he would be class quality addition to club also. But Matuidi(27) has more energy pace and drive in his game than J Martinez(26)
ReplyDeleteIn a vote of 43 L F C fans - 41 wanted GLAN JOHNSON OUT - Cant defend to save his life
ReplyDeleteIt's a gamble, but if you don't speculate in this way it's difficult to accumulate. I hate to look at Chelsea as a good business model, but if you look at what they have done from a purely business sense there is something to be said form signings like this... They signed Lukaku for 10 million, he played a few games, they loaned him out and now he is probably worth 25 mill, even if he never plays for them again it's good business. Courtois they signed for in the region of 6 million and loaned him out for 3 seasons, it looks like he is going to come back and play now but if they decided to sell he would be worth 25-30 mill! And there are others, even Kevin De Buyne bought for 8 mill, sold for 18 mill (though perhaps it was not the intention in his case). They are actually adhering to financial fair play now and are still able to splash out on Fabregas, Costa etc and it is because of this type of forward planning that enables it.
ReplyDeleteFrom a football/ sporting perspective it sucks to accumulate players like this, but if your clever it isn't half effective at generating funds.
what a claustrophobic article !!! markovic is able to assist as well scoring . spend some time on youtube and have a close look before writing nonsenses !!!with his age and talent he is bargain for reds .hope you eat your words , he will be legend for reds in two years time.
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