11 Nov 2014

Aldo: I'd 'love to see' LFC sign 'brilliant' €40m goal-machine. Better than Sturridge?

Last summer, Liverpool missed out on several 'marquee' signings, with Brazilian striker Diego Costa being (arguably) the biggest miss for the Reds. With 10 goals in 9 Premier League games, the prolific €40m striker is having Suarez-like impact at Chelsea, and Reds legend John Aldridge has urged his old club to start signing players of similar quality.

After turning down a move to Anfield, Costa told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo:

"I had options to leave, and I was very close to doing so. Liverpool is a great team, but after so much fighting and overcoming so many difficulties to win my place at Atletico, how could I go?"

Costa - recently hailed by John Terry as a 'brilliant' striker - is just being charitable here. At the time of LFC's interest, the Reds had just finished 7th in the league, so a move to Anfield (understandably) held no attraction whatsoever.

In his column for Sunday World this week, Aldo admitted he'd 'love to see Costa in a red shirt', and urged Rodgers to start spending his transfer funds more wisely. He noted:

"Costa will get his fair share of red cards, but that will be outweighed by the number of matches he wins for Chelsea with his attitude, his aggression, and goals. We need more players of his calibre at Anfield"

Obviously, Aldo is spot-on, here: Liverpool need more players like Costa, but Rodgers keeps wasting tens of millions on the wrong players, which is endlessly frustrating.

Alas, the Costa ship has sailed. By the time he leaves Chelsea, the best years of the Brazilian's career will be over, so there's practically no chance he'll ever turn out for Liverpool.

For me, the failure to sign Costa is principally down to Rodgers' (unfortunate) inability to attract top players to Anfield. There's no escaping the reality: BR just doesn't have the profile, aura, or the experience to entice the world's best players, and going forward, that will remain a significant problem.

This week, Rodgers conceded that it's hard for him to bring in top players, which directly contradicts Ian Ayre's recent assertion that Liverpool 'can still attract top players...but that's another article.

If Liverpool had signed Costa, then he would've been formidable competition for Daniel Sturridge, but who is the better striker? Given the choice, who would you rather have in the LFC team?

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58 comments:

  1. It's not only Rodgers' personal pulling power, which is very weak (and by god it is), it's also that the club was in a poor position.
    When we tried to sign Costa we'd finished 7/8th and were nowhere close to CL places/challenging for the league title.
    Even this summer, it's only one season in the CL and people knew Suarez was going, so we might have been written off as a fluke (like Tottenham that one time).
    So far we've done nothing to dispel that. We need to get out of our group in the CL and we need to qualify for the CL. Strong showings in both the League and FA Cups (to show e can compete in every competition we're in) would also help.
    If we do all that this season it'll show last season wasn't a fluke and we'll be in a better position to pull in talent as a club, and as a by product it'll enhance Rodgers' personal standing among players.
    On top of all that we have to overcome the lure of London.
    As for Costa v Sturridge, if Sturridge didn't have fitness/injury issues I would say him, otherwise Costa but ideally both.

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  2. Watching him play against Liverpool I have to admit, he is a good striker, I'd say slightly better than Sturridge. But I hated his guts when he started arguing with Skrtel. And I am not a big fan of players who score against Liverpool, like Andy Carrol who scored against Liverpool on a 3-1 loss to Newcastle and we bought him at a ridiculous price. No, I don't want to see Costa at Anfield, rather, Cavani, Higuain or Muller if available, But as I posted earlier Luiz Adriano can also be a great choice for Liverpool

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  3. Costa somehow plays through a muscle injury, a bit like Suarez, whereas dear old Studge clearly is built differently. I voted for Costa, but I honestly believe Sturridge, when fit, is as good as any striker in the world. The sooner he's back the sooner we'll get back in top 4.

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  4. Rodgers this Rodgers that zzzzzzz getting boring now how about supporting the bloke when he's on the ropes he is our leader every opportunity do you sharpen your blade and last year was fantastic this year we've not got it right but we are a lacking the two forwards that we had last year.

    I would like to see him start borini and balotelli up front as balotelli on own isn't doing it not entirely Brendan's fault but he could play with another striker up top as that's how he prefers it

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  5. Question who was ferguson at the start of his Manchester United career, pretty much a nobody he got time and built a legacy how about you stop being so fickle and back the man at the top

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  6. "Aura"? Please. I agree with Jaimie largely that Rodgers is not an attraction as a manager the likes of which Rafa was but this is just one of a handful of problems we have. We also don't have the big star names the likes of which other teams have. We lost our best player and our other most famous players is near the end of his career and a shadow of his former self. Then there is wages, quite possibly the biggest reason. We are not attracting players with the promise of big money. This is both a good and bad thing.We also have only been in the CL once (this year) in half a decade. Now think about that. Most players begin playing professionally around 18. We are looking at players below or not too much older than 25. For most of their professional career we have not been playing CL. Who looks the best bet for coming seasons? Arsenal (always in the league) United (Challenging for the league every year apart from that one). The year we get it we lose our best player and league top scorer. Then there is the locale. It is less appealing than London but that is probably the least of considerations for the stars we want to attract.

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  7. The problem with Liverpool supporters is your expectations are way too high you still live in the seventies when you were a big team now your just a small little club somewhere off the M6 at best your a second tier team looking to finish 5th or 6th above Spurs West ham and Everton lower your expectations and your enjoy watching Brenden win FA every season.

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  8. Oh Bob you little scamp. Who do you support? Got the balls to tell us?

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  9. I would rather have a fit and healthy Sturridge but unfortunately it is the total opposite.


    Costa is a fine player BUT the player we should have got was Alexis Sanchez who would have been the closest to a like for like replacement for Suarez.


    Gutted he went to Arsenal. Lucky buggers.

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  10. Sturridge too injury prone...Costa for me,although both together would have been nice !!!....What a letdown this season is...last transfer window was Br`s big chance....3or 4 top name signings were required to keep us in CL and challenge for EPL title again.But no....signed 9 players below `that top level` required, because he wanted to challenge on `all fronts` for silverware.....and now look where we are....going around in circles !!!!

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  11. I wonder what makes you write on this blog. Regardless, I just wanted to remind you that we ended second on the PL last season. So, go and write on your favorite team's blogs and don't waste time writing here. Your comments are childish.

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  12. It all comes down to money.


    Money can overcome a manager, a stadium, a city, etc. After all, look at all the players that went to Anzhi.


    We were never going to offer Costa what he could have made (and is making now) at Chelsea.


    That has nothing to do with Rodgers, Ayre, or the aura of Anfield. This is all down to the type of financial structure that the owners want in place with regard to wages.


    I am an ardent supporter of what FSG have done here, and I even understand what they are trying to do with the wage structure. It's just frustrating as a fan that we are missing out on players because of wages.

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  13. I completely agree, but he wanted a move to London and as soon as Arsenal wanted him we were out of the running 😟. Instead, I still think we should have made Reus an offer he couldn't refuse, as we might have got him if we'd really gone for it - not like we didn't have the money...

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  14. Nevergonnacrackthecode6:05 pm, November 11, 2014

    Agree with Jay
    Mark hugehs signed tevez,robinho, adebayor,barry ,de jong etc
    dont tell me it had something to do with his aura

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  15. Nevergonnacrackthecode6:05 pm, November 11, 2014

    Doumbia is the closest to sanchez
    lots of skill power and pace

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  16. Nevergonnacrackthecode6:07 pm, November 11, 2014

    Lets form an ivory coast forward line


    .........................................bony
    sterling........................................................doumbia
    ......................henderson...........coutinho
    .......................................gerrard

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  17. Not heard of him - who does he play for?

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  18. Rodgers is still a very young manager though. If we had won the EPL last season which we had come so close to then I am pretty sure we would have been able to sign anyone we wanted irrespective of who was managing us. Players want to come to a successful clubs and let's face it we have been poor on the trophy front. Players going to Chelsea for instance are guaranteed success whereas at LFC you just do not know what the future holds and this is down to bad management for many years from top to bottom.



    I would have held on to Roy Evans back then for a little bit longer but problem is Moores already had his mind set on selling the club so brought in a 'Big name manager' Houllier who failed and then signed a manager who was to interested in politics and then the club was sold to the cowboys and ice cold water into boiling oil and the club was brought down to it's knees. The best thing happened to this club when Rafa, Hicks and Gillete were removed of there duties.


    The club has come a long way since then but whether we have the manager to take us back to the top is yet to be seen. If things have not improved buy January then I reckon he will be packing his things and heading for the exit.

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  19. Reus is going to Bayern Munich which has probably been on the cards for a while now and is probably why he has not moved to anther club.



    Reus to LFC is and never was going to happen. We had more chance in getting Sanchez.

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  20. I hope LIVERPOOL comes back to power. PL needs the big guns to step up more especially in CL. Chelsea fan. REPECT#Gerrard

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  21. I think Rodgers has had enough time and I don't think he will do better than he did last year. It is time for Liverpool to replace him with a manager who has proved to be successful. The first and foremost for my preference, Kenny Dalglish who was actually the one to bring Suarez to Anfield. Others, Manchini, Joachim Low, Guus Hiddink, Look at Man U. They got Van Gaal for a good reason. He is building up a team to challenge for the title next season. We have waited too long to see results. A world class manager is the key to success and I don't think Rogers fits that profile especially, with the transfer woes this season.

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  22. I would happily go with Guus Hiiddink for the LFC job.


    Mancini? No thank you! I would chance my arm with Ancelotti though who at the moment is one of the best you will find. i was very surprised when Abramovich got rid of him after winning the EPL. ancelotti is managing the best club in the world right now so it is a pipe dream to see him at Anfield anytime soon.


    Van Gaal for me talks way too much and will not be at UTD long term. Their dominance of the English game is well and truly over.

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  23. Born without genatalia so a ski supporter

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  24. Costa was being diplomatic when he refused LFC, he knew what he wanted. I agree we need quality over quantity!

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  25. Actually a bit surprised there was never a tampering charge leveled at Chelsea by Athletico. Seemed like Costa was linked with Chelsea for almost an entire year.


    Part of me wonders if he refused LFC because he had Chelsea in his back pocket.

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  26. I am sorry but i have to disagree with you. Van Gaal is a great coach and he will definitely do a good job at MU. How far will he go, remains to be seen, but I'm afraid they might end up above us on the table even this season. As per Mancini, I don't know what your opinion is, but he is the one who build the Man City we see today.

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  27. Who was Fergie.. please tell you are joking.


    Fergie was a very successful maanger before he went to Utd.


    He won the following with Aberdeen


    4 Scottish Leagues
    4 Scottish Cups
    UEFA Cup
    UEFA Super Cup.


    Before Fergie Aberdeen had only ever won the League once back in 55.


    What he did with Aberdeen was a hell of an achievement.

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  28. Bony is about to sign a new Swansea contract

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  29. When our manager says "Established stars don't want to come to Merseyside" then that tells you it all, you cannot expect a guy who believes that to sell the club to any player, the reason established stars seemingly don't want to come is due to the fact the manager has an ego issue and doesn't want to be put in any shadow, the more Rodgers says lately the more he is getting on my nerves, he should realise that real fans know this club better then him, and know there are huge stars who would sign for our great club if we had a manager with any form of success on his CV (a playoff promotion is not success) and didn't have a god complex, he needs to realise what he has said there is disgraceful as he has belittled us, or maybe it was just another diversion tactic as he knows he has signed mostly fodder and been ripped of in doing so, after all he said in the summer Liverpool could attract top stars!
    Little fish in an enormous pond Rodgers, that's what you are!

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  30. Hiddink would be fantastic

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  31. Mancini may have put the majority of the squad together but they would never have played the football they do at times under him, still he would probably sort our defence out

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  32. my dog has a better IQ & is well mannered than you

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  33. So it's principally down to Rodgers that Costa went to Chelsea, really? Nothing to with the fact that Mourinho and Costa share the same agent Jorge Mendes. Mourinho has signed over half a dozen players from this guy over this 2 spells as Chelsea manager. There is also the London factor to consider. Rodgers is far from getting everything right at the moment but this is turning into a free for all. He'll be getting the blame for bad weather before to long.

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  34. its okay saying we tried to get him but did ...did rodgers badger him or his agent did we put the money down on the table ,if im honest i never get the feeling Liverpool go all out for these players, its almost like we have a shortlist and just kind of drift into the easiest of deals .....

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  35. i actually think this was the make or break year for Rodgers as a manager he had a big budget to really put his stamp down but hes blew it

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  36. Yes forgot to mention trophies too. I wouldn't say Houllier failed mate. Got us in the champions league and won a few trophies thats hardly a failure. Hicks and Gillette going was very good for the club but I don't think Rafa going was. He had his problems and made his mistakes but I stand by my contention that if he had not been sacked before FSG we would have been playing CL for the last few seasons and won things along the way.

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  37. Rogers is a lexicon of lies one minute players cant handle the big club pressure and the next we are not a big club ....lukaku went to Everton ? Regardless of what Rodgers says liverpool are one of the biggest clubs in Europe, and if the will was there would be more than able to get star players.But Rodgers has shown with Gerrard that he cant handle big name players without fawning all over them and do elite players really want a manager who drools after every sentance.

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  38. That's what I think, if not Chelsea something else was planned. I find it hard to believe he was going to stay at Athletico. All kudos to Costa, I thought the Prem would be too much for him, but he's how you would want your striker to play.

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  39. When will Suso get a chance (sigh).

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  40. Aldridge is late to the party. Tone of people on this site, including the host and me, have begged LFC to stop recruiting exclusively teenagers and add a few big boys. Costa was a huge miss this past summer. Prior time periods were probably not realistic opportunities given where we were in the table. Perhaps he was like Sanchez in that he wanted London. The problem is we had the money and should have dumped it on him. If we then lost, well then tough shit. If we landed him, he would have been much better value than Balotelli and Markovic for the money. You can substitute Lallana for Marko if you would like. While I know adding depth was needed for CL, we could have used Suso, IBE and Rossiter as squad adds and not have spent what we did on Balo, Marko and lallana.

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  41. 100% spot on.............................sadly.

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  42. If we signed Costa, Suarez would have left. Costa is fantastic, but he's no Suarez.

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  43. Jaimie, I think now that it's little to do with the manager. It's the money. As someone on here pointed out, City signed a bunch of fantastic players under Mark Hughes. Liverpool are a big enough club to attract big players, but it doesn't help when the wages you offer usually pale in comparison to what your competitors will offer.


    Having a manager with aura is only important in negotiations when you're trying to bargain with the best players, when meanwhile Utd are also interested, where Woodward and LVG will come in and say, 'money is no object!'


    Would Di Maria and Falcao really have gone to Utd if they were offered Liverpool wages? I doubt it. United had lost the battle to sign Di Maria until PSG realised that they couldn't fit him in under FFP.


    If you combine Liverpool's global aura + big wages, regardless of how famous the manager is, it's a very attractive destination.

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  44. He's a Suarez-like player and part of that comes in the attitude. I find it interesting that you claim we need players like him, also quoting from Aldo that he'll get his fair share of red cards. Are you OK with Liverpool having players that will commit such serious offences that they should expect to red cards in their career, not just once but multiple times? Isn't that contrary to your stance on cheating and fair play?

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  45. Perhaps it's these "real fans" who are living in a fantasy land where Liverpool are still an attractive prospect for players. You realise it's been nearly 10 years since Istanbul, right? No league title since 1990. Suarez came here from Ajax. Torres from Atletico. Alonso was good but certainly wasn't the player who left for Madrid. Gerrard, Owen, Fowler ... all home grown. When was the last time we signed an actual "established star"? Andy Carroll is still our record, signed by the last manager we had who had success on his CV but then failed miserably.

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  46. Of course I realise when Istanbul was and also the last league title.. I'm the type of fan who remembers these things.. I am also well aware LFC is a globally recognised brand with a huge fan base due to them been one of the biggest clubs in Europe, and the world, players want to play for a club like that, even more so when they have a successful manager at the helm as then they know there is a chance of winning something.
    As for the players listed, Suarez was quality anybody who watched the game knew that and if we hadn't have got him when we did then we might never have got him, Torres was well on his way to becoming a world star that's why his move to us was so exciting, Alonso was a full Spanish international who had been linked with arsenal prior to us and had a very good reputation, these players may not have been superstars but they were all on a complete different level to what Rodgers is bringing in, and they were imo fairly well priced deals, we never got ripped of or over paid by millions, oh and were brought in by managers who had a bit of class about them in their own ways

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  47. Rodgers is just, well he is just ridiculous lately with the stuff he says

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  48. You must be out of your mind if you think Higuain is better than Costa.

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  49. Rodgers has admitted as much in a recent interview/confession that Liverpool were in for the likes of Sanchez, Falcao amongst others but they chose to go elsewhere for various reasons in this transfer window. So we get Balotelli, Lovren etc, and the 'quantity over quality' approach because there was no other option. Something Brendon earlier berated Spurs of doing from Bale's sale and inability to challenge for the title.

    Do see the likes of Lallana, Can, Moreno, Manquillo and hopefully Markovic coming good, given time. But inability to bring in one or two marquee player(s) in amongst the promising additions was vital for continuing strength in position and progress from previous seasons.
    They help take the pressure off the inexperienced players and overall morale and confidence.


    Rodgers and the recruitment team have dropped the ball here and so Liverpool have regressed from a consolidated progressive team in the league back to 'a team in transition'.
    One step forward and two steps Back.

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  50. Dalglish? Manchini? Oh come on man!!

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  51. We got Torres and Alonso due to our Spanish manager

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  52. Maybe so, but he was a successful manager, and his reputation brought them, they knew he was a good manager, and they were joining a big club

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  53. I said it at the end of last season, Chelsea are a striker away from the title and they got their striker. With Matic they have one of the best DM in the world. Fabregas ties it all together. They have the best goalkeeper in the world and a defence that may not be glamourous but it's consistent. Add to that some pretty decent attacking midfielders and the only way they can lose the title is an injury crisis that trumps all injury crisis.

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  54. thexcuriousxwanderer2:36 pm, November 12, 2014

    If you sign on a young manager who is going to build the club along with himself, you have to accept that he will not have as much pulling power as the big name coaches. You can't blame BR for a decision Liverpool made.

    The least we can do is to give credit to the scouting team that they got this one spot on, but Costa just couldn't/didn't want to join us.

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  55. You're probably not even born when Dalglish was making headlines. Have a little respect for the man who gave so much for LFC. Manchini can do more than Rodgers at this time.

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  56. Why, when you used it nowhere else, did you even bother placing punctuation at the end of your statement?

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