8 Jan 2015

'I found out...': Skrtel reveals concerning info about 'shock' £6m transfer. Amateur hour?

On Monday, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard revealed that a lot of careful 'thinking and analysing' went into deciding the perfect time to announce his departure from Anfield. Gerrard announced his decision last Friday, but according to Martin Skrtel, the club didn't announce the news internally prior to releasing it's official statement to the press.

Gerrard has agreed an 18-month deal with LA Galaxy worth £6m in wages, and when asked about the thought-process behind the timing of the announcement, Gerrard told reporters:

"I wanted Brendan to be the first to know. I thought about the team and when would be the best time to announce it.

"After I told him we decided to sit tight until after the Leicester game on New Year’s Day. I didn’t want to wait too long".


When asked this week about Gerrard's departure, Skrtel admitted that he's 'shocked' by the news, and revealed the following concerning tidbit of information:

I found out when I read the newspapers. It will be difficult without him. He’s the leader on the pitch. He’s a great player and a nice guy as well"

Maybe it's just me, but I find this a little concerning:

* Why would LFC allow players to discover such momentous news about the future of the club from the 'newspapers'?

* When it comes to the club's captain leaving, Rodgers surely should've held a team-meeting to announce the news to rest of the squad before releasing the news to the media?

* Gerrard confirms that Rodgers was the 'first to know', so it's not like he didn't have time to arrange a team-meeting.

If Rodgers decided not to arrange a team-meeting to announce the news to the players, then I personally find it slightly disrespectful to Gerrard. In my view, after 16 years as a mainstay of the team, that's the least he deserves, and players should not have rely on newspapers to learn essential information about the club (!)

This oversight comes as no surprise to me, though. In November, Rodgers left Gerrard on the bench on the day of his 16th anniversary as a first-team player, and after the game, he admitted:

"I wasn't aware it was 16 years until I walked into the dressing room and saw the programme. I spoke to him [Gerrard] the day before the game and he didn't mention it"

Gerrard 'didn't mention' the anniversary to Rodgers because he probably (privately) expected his manager to be aware of such details. Similarly, in this instance, it's possible that Gerrard refrained from requesting a meeting to inform the squad as he probably expected Rodgers to set it up.

If Rodgers can make such a glaring oversight about the most highly publicised player at the club, then anything is possible, including failing/forgetting to arrange a meeting to inform the squad about the departure of one of the LFC's greatest ever players.

Of course, there are other possibilities:

* Gerrard specifically asked Rodgers not to tell the players before announcing it to the press. It's possible, but what's the point? I'm sure Gerrard respects his team-mates enough to impart important info to them ahead of the tabloids.

* Rodgers decided not to inform the players to avoid leaks to the press. Again, it's possible, but even if someone did blab, it's hardly front-page news. Rumours about Gerrard's departure have been swirling for months.

* Rodgers did schedule a team-meeting/impromptu gathering at training, but Skrtel missed the meeting, or took a toilet break during the training ground announcement (!)

In the grand scheme of things, this doesn't appear to be a big deal, but it just seems strange to me that a player with Skrtel's seniority has to discover 'shock' news like this via the media.

Author:


127 comments:

  1. That's why B.R should not be LFC Manager, He thinks he knows best and has no respect for anybody only his own self indulgence and gratification. Get Rid.

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  2. "Rodgers did schedule a team-meeting/impromptu gathering at training, but Skrtel missed the meeting, or took a toilet break during the training ground announcement (!)"
    Hahaha and then the players and the staff all decided not to inform Skrtel just to see "his funny face when he'll read the newspaper" :)

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  3. "After I told him we decided to sit tight until after the Leicester game on New Year’s Day. I didn't want to wait too long"



    What part of that suggests that Rodgers and Gerrard didn't decide together how to break the news? Quite obviously they decided on a strategy and the news leaked to the press before the rest of the team were told.

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  4. Emre Can is the new Steven Gerrard!

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  5. Mr. Point Of View7:35 am, January 08, 2015

    The 1 shouldn't went to public is SKTEL comment! This may bring up lot of guessing

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  6. Yes I was thinking no story here.

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  7. Just another day with your favourite make a mess of everything manager Brendan Rodgers.

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  8. Y'all,come next season gerrard won't be around to captain the team and according to BR the successor will be Henderson but personally i don't think hes got the captain aura let alone footballing skill,talent,creativity just not the material to be a liverpool captain,what do you think?

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  9. "After I told him we decided to sit tight until after the Leicester game on New Year’s Day. I didn’t want to wait too long".

    so why did BR start Gerrard? we won 4-1 a few days before the leicester game, however BR decided do destroy the momentum. Dropping Manquillo for Gerrard makes even less sense now. we should have just kept hendo and Lucas in CM. Never change a winning team BR!

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  10. Daily Mail reckons Barca wanna sell Suarez...FFS GET ON THE PHONE BRENDAN

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  11. I saw that, and a friend of mine turned skeptically to me with a raised eyebrow and asked "do you really want him back after everything he did?"
    Ummmmm yeah. Duh... I wouldnt care if he was £100m, he is the best player I have ever seen, on song he is as good as Leo and Chris.
    Could bring in extra revenue streams aswell, imagine a house of horrors attraction just outside the ground, with Suarez in a 'silence of the lambs-esque' restraint, Skrtel and his now cut and bloodied skull and deathly look in his eyes, Flano dressed as a Gremlin, Sakho just being a freaking scary man. Could work?

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  12. A manager who thinks he know best. Tsk. Whatever next?

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  13. Zubizareta brought Rakitic, whom we couldn't get, and Suarez whom we couldn't keep- both well under their market value. And he gets sacked for poor transfer policy.

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  14. Now you got him standing on the phone scratching his head.

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  15. See McAteer Fowler and Hamann are in Perth the boys in Adelaide reckoned its was a great night.

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  16. Shaqiri could sign for Stoke TODAY - I would not be suprised - not sure about him anyway - Pep does not fancy him at all. B R desperately needs to avoid defeat to Sunderland otherwise John Henry may not even give him the money he might get from selling Lambert Borini - Mario etc. Shame about Susu - we will probably spend more for worse = I suspect we might get Vidic on loan

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  17. Second in the league. Best performance since 1991. He knows best.

    At any rate he knows better than you.

    Because what would be the result of the management telling the team about Steven's news in a group meeting before it appeared in the papers?

    Think about it for a minute or two before you reply.

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  18. And then we can have a strip club called 'Caribbean Vibes' run by pimps, i.e. Sturridge and Mario?

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  19. At least 50, at a guess.

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  20. I read that article too. I scoured it for one, any one reliable quote or source; there were none. It's a fabric of 50% conjecture, 50% bullshit.

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  21. Skrtel should just use this thing called "The Internet"
    Tweety

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  22. It's been 13 minutes and I still can't guess what do you think by that?

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  23. Giovinco please

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  24. Verrati is a good shout

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  25. Exactly. I struggle to believe people can't grasp this kind of thing. Any opportunity to put the boot in to our manager, right -- that's the LMA manager of the year, who saw us go from seventh to title contenders in a single season, playing the best football seen at the club for 25 years.

    The club sell his best player, fail to capture his targets, the team have a poor run of form, and suddenly Liverpool supporters are screeching for his head, even though the team have somehow, under that manager's inventive leadership, been avoiding defeat for nearly two months, despite having no recognised senior striker. All this makes no sense to me at all.

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  26. You're a genius

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  27. Regardless of what status Gerrard has with liverpool, Its no one elses business to talk about his future besides him.
    So BR doesnt have a responsibility to hold a meeting or tell any of the players unless gerrard asks him too

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  28. Had it been offered in the summer, I would've signed it(new contract).
    That is my only problem with this...

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  29. He tells then 1 pm, and announces it publicly 2pm?

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  30. To be honest I'll be very surprised if we sign anyone in this window. We're obviously borderline breaching FFP so short of raising funds by player sales I don't think we have the funds to be making any signings this month

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  31. Well, I'm no Alfred Einstein ;-)

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  32. The Echo are reporting rumours that Balotelli is off to Olympiakos. That's interesting and troubling news, if also very predictable -- in fact Duncan Castles wrote a piece predicting that on Bleacher Report back in November. He suspected Liverpool of entering into a third-party agreement of some kind with the slimy Mino Raiola. I've got a bad feeling we might not be hearing the last of that.

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  33. I'm no Albert Hitchcock either ;)

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  34. Their opinion is more important to me than yours.

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  35. Milner might be a good player to fill the gap of Gerarrd leaving
    Milner and Delph on a free with Shaqiri will be a good modification of midfield


    ...........Sterling........................Coutinho..............................Shaqiri
    ............................................Milner.............Can


    back ups Markovic,Lallana,Henderson,Delph

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  36. Suarez is apparently going to join one of Chelsea,Man utd,Arsenal or City


    just when you think things cannot get worse

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  37. You never *had* faith if all it took was half a season of struggle to lose it.

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  38. You Aussies are a funny bunch.
    And not in a good way.

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  39. do you believe everything you read?

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  40. His bloody line ups change every half hour, so I would say yes he/she does.

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  41. his entire opinion changes every half hour ;-)

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  42. I'll call you Auguste Dupin from now on ;-)

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  43. Milan is apparently eyeing Luiz Adriano, who's looking world-class right now.


    We can't afford world-class players.



    Committee-class players, yes, such as Mark Uth from Heerenveen, and Marco Djuricin from Sturm Graz. Both attackers are young and prolific. They'll still be expensive.

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  44. I'm sure LFC would too haha

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  45. Why? Because we're funnier than your people?


    ...Just kidding XD

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  46. Brendan rodgers couldn't manage a chip shop ffs, what cloud do you live on. His signings in the transfer market have been absolutely terrible from he took over as manager. Sack him and let him take his love child joe allan with him. YNWA

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  47. Are you joe allan in disguise mate you're heads so far up brendan rodgers arse. Felderkirk im with you the clubs being run by a bunch of ass lickers.

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  48. Guess he's out of reach too then.

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  49. Never thought I'd think this but I would take Suarez back in an instant, provided he signs a muzzle clause. Too much skill to pass up.

    You might be needing to change your profile pic soonish though - who do you reckon will leave first? Enrique or Messi?

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  50. Logic and reason just ruin everything.

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  51. All we can afford is maybe a dolphin in goal and a couple of defensive seals

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  52. YES BOB SAY does the fact that your name which is a palindrome ease the difficulties with dyslexia.

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  53. Defensive seals! That's gold. I say stick a dorsal fin on Migs and watch him bottle it.

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  54. Hahahahahahaha love it

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  55. Verrati(22) is a top class Midfielder, who will only get better in future. B Rodgers should bring him to the club this transfer window.

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  56. ...and so does his name.

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  57. Massive bereavement2:23 pm, January 08, 2015

    I can't imagine what went through your head to think this was actually a note worthy story.

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  58. Exactly. Not sure why everyone thinks it's BR's "fault" (if there is someone to blame) that the club didn't tell anyone. Maybe Gerrard didn't want anyone to know? I mean, he's good friends with like half the squad. If you kept something a secret from all your best friends, do you want your parents telling everyone before you're ready?

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  59. AndWithSuchSimplicity2:29 pm, January 08, 2015

    1) Why did Skrtel read it in a newspaper anyway???!! It was all over Talksport straight after the Leicester game, and was even mentioned by the ever-so-sombre Mr Lineker on MOTD that evening.
    2) Skrtel can read ?????!!!!!

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  60. AndWithSuchSimplicity2:32 pm, January 08, 2015

    That's the bigger story here. He changed the whole team to accomodate Gerrard and so we went from being quick, direct, exciting and effective to being slow and utterly predictable.

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  61. AndWithSuchSimplicity2:34 pm, January 08, 2015

    And they uncovered a video of THAT goal against Nigeria .......

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  62. AndWithSuchSimplicity2:38 pm, January 08, 2015

    The problem I am having is that Gerrard is now trying to drive a wedge between the supporters and the club/manager. Leave it for your autobiography, Steven. Our best performances this season were : Swansea (where you didn't play), and Spurs (where you stank, but we got a lucky pen which settled us down).

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  63. I read somewhere that Suarez has no parents.

    ...that he was hatched from a football and reared by Jesus and unicorns

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  64. Shaqiris off to Inter another one leads us on to get a better deal elsewhere sick missing out on good value signings and over paying for average Joes.

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  65. Is that a dig at Joe Allen?

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  66. No a collective go at a few.

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  67. Probably get Lucas as well just to rub our nose in it

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  68. I just cannot see this club going any where soon its depressing.

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  69. Vlaar out for 6 weeks so we will probably sign him- Shaqiri to Inter and we will probably lose Lucas to them also

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  70. Or Charlie or Paul.


    Speaking specifically with Charlie Adam and Paul Konchesky in mind.


    But of course, they'd be used to bring down the average.

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  71. Slow day on the news front.


    Suarez isn't here anymore to provide our daily dose of alleged cheating, biting, or racial epithets.

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  72. You're waaaaaaaay off!


    I heard it was in Romania.

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  73. Yeah. Rolf Harris is hilarious. XD

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  74. Ha Ha - Shamsy, keep doing you mate. It's just banter and to be honest, some of your posts are sensible, but then you'll go and blow it all by saying something crazy like.......
    I set 'em up.....

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  75. "Site visits" is the phrase you are looking for. That and advertising revenue.

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  76. Page visits and money.
    Lets see if these 4 words make it past the "filter"
    Ha ha

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  77. Come on now lads, I've experienced some blinding Charlie.

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  78. Is that a reference to Day Man?

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  79. Fighter of the... Night Man?

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  80. Makes sense. And I guess it was Vlad Tepes, not Jesus, who teamed up with the unicorns. Explains the biting.

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  81. the very same, my good man.

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  82. Liverpool FC
    have parted company with first-team doctor Zaf Iqbal !

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  83. So apparently we're considering a bid for Miralem Pjanic.

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  84. Wasn't expecting that.

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  85. Must be because of Remy deal
    but i thought he had medical in America
    or maybe Sturridge injury issues

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  86. liverpoolecho news website exclusive. I cannot put links as it always gets blocked for some reason.

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  87. Maybe combo of both, or he just left for something else.

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  88. So we pay 20mil for Markovic, Shaqiri goes to Inter for 12mil?!? WTH is Ian Ayre doing!?!

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  89. I can't put in link or some website name here, it gets blocked. Please do a search for the news article.

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  90. Not familiar with him- any good? I read Sturridge back to Anfield next 24 hrs now all we have to do is stop him from jogging and flicking a ball

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  91. And you have the construction zone as a background setting.


    Natural fit if you ask me

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  92. Average Linu?


    :)

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  93. BR says no players leaving this month which probably means none coming in

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  94. Does that mean Suso stays or not. In the end it would not make much of a difference as the guy will not get a chance.

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  95. Suso has signed a pre-contract with AC Milan and will leave at the end of the season.


    Looks like FSG have had enough.

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  96. Has a ring to it.

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  97. Wtf!? I'm getting so annoyed with whoever is targeting players at lfc. Shaqiri to inter on loan initially. I mean, are we not even capable of getting him in loan and proposing the full transfer in the summer!? What a bargain transfer . Yet another quality player that we've missed out on that should be attainable. Christian Eriksen £8M missed vertonghen missed Toby alderwiereld on loan missed Shaqiri missed valdes missed. These are glaringly obvious deals that offer value for money- I.e quality Vs cost. We are intent on overpaying for players everytime!
    Sell Agger for £3M and buy Lovren for £20M. Lovren offers no more than Agger and it cost us £17M. So what's the point?! We need to revamp the midfield. Moussa sissoko and schneiderlin. Sissoko is a box to box midfielder. He can defemd and attack and has the stamina to do both. He's also strong and good with the ball at his feet. Schneiderlin is the perfect DM we need. Both about 25 yrs old so they are entering their prime.. Obvious transfers. It's so obvious but we won't utiluse our funds in the correct areas. We waste millions upon millions upon millions on the wrong players.
    Then, when there is a clear upgrade to our attacking lineup in Shaqiri, we are nowhere to be seen. A loan signing! Arrrrrggggghhhhh I just know we are going to buy delph Redmond and Behrahino for about £45M. Fed up . Sack the transfer commitee as soon as possible.

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  98. At this point, why would we even bother letting Suso train with us unless there's a possibility that he could play.


    Just send tell him to go home for 6 months.

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  99. There has been many many many years of miss management at LFC especially when it comes to transfers year after year going back to the 90's. This club just seems to know how to piss money down the drain.


    What needs to happen ASAP is to employ someone who can take this club by the scruff of the neck. Someone with a footballing brain and that would exclude any past managers, players etc. There can be no sentiment!


    Something needs to happen to point us in the right direction. We are falling further and further behind.

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  100. Fuck Bodgers off. He's sofar uphis own arse it's untrue

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  101. Ian Ayre is the BEST!

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  102. My 2 bits. A GK, Delph and possibly Milner. I happen to like Delph and have had an eye on him for 3 windows now. He has a great upside still. Very pacey as well. A great option.

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  103. Mate, we are not going to attract the best while Rodgers is in charge either. That is why I say we need somebody who can walk into Anfield, point out the mice from the men and put the foot down.


    I am sick of this 'transition' BS now. Enough. We need a proper plan and someone who can execute the plan without having to sell a 180 page dossier which is as good toilet paper right now.

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  104. Yes I agree. It's getting ridiculous now. Every window. I don't trust the club to spot a good deal at all. Look at the players with 6months left on their contracts. Ok we can't approach premier league players like Milner,vlaar, Reid, but Andre ayew, konoplyanka, khedira, nigel de Jong, dani alves, abate...... All good players and definitely needed. No transfer fee. Let's get on it! They are better than johnson, lovren, Allen, Lucas. Konoplyanka and ayew are better, more experienced than Markovic. He needs time. Also lallana and Sturridge are injury prone so we need quality and these two on a free are .
    We are obviously potless so sign freebies! As for this window, it seems Shaqiri has been missed so I don't think we can hope for anything if we can't even try and loan him!

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  105. Lfc need to part company with the transfer commitee . All of them. Useless . Can't spot good deals that are glaringly obvious! Eriksen vertonghen alderwiereld Shaqiri valdes to name but a few. They sell Agger for £3M and buy Lovren for £20M. Good one! He offers no more than Agger. Completely pointless and a sate of funds. Could put that £20M to part of the team we need improving like the modfield. Schneiderlin and Moussa sissoko! I mean, how hard is it to work out?! We need a better more dynamic and aggressive midfield who can defend and attack and protect the back 3 better.

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  106. It seems the more a player is in demand we go cold ,shaquiri is a steal at the price.whoever decided that markovic was worth 20 million when it appeared nobody else wanted him compared to quality ready made starter really should resign,getting sick of mysterious committee,either the players bought are Brendan's choice and for what has been wasted he should be sacked today or Brendan should just say look these players were bought for me by x y or z or a combination of them and we will back manager and ask questions further up ladder,cabaye at psg ,cissoko at Newcastle,shaquiri etc all available at a price ,how come Stoke can get further down line with shaquiri than us ,Jesus is that our competition now,his agent said talks were positive with Stoke ,we bid during summer ,what's happened now? Maybe fsg won't sanction any buys till some of the true quality signings like borini have been offloaded,or maybe the plug has been pulled on Brendan already,

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  107. It maybe my age but didn't we come second in 2008

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  108. It maybe my age but didn't we come second in 2008
    I supported the red in second division. We need a tactician. Our manager can talk the talk but unfortunately can not walk the walk.

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  109. Imagine signing all of these players now on free transfer? What a team that would make.

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  110. This should concern me but it doesnt ,Rodgers has misread this but im glad because im sick of soppy sentiment over footballers .....get over it ..they kick a ball for 100 grand a week ...there not heros there sporstmen and well paid sports men ...a doctor who treats kids for nothing in a war zone is a hero

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  111. Im sorry but this is getting bad now I firmly believe we are going to regress under this moron the owners dont even trust him why are we even sitting mid table??? All that money down the drain yet we need players more than ever lfc is a shambles

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  112. Sacked for breaking the rules with young players, he knew, and guided it, which is why Barca have a transfer ban.

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  113. So is jimmy saville

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  114. Haha welcome back Studge! Hope we've invested in a bubble wrap factory. I fear a mere text from Roy could lead to a wrist sprain.

    Yeah I think Pjanic is really good. Midfield general nearly on the level of Gundogan. Pulls the strings in Roma with Nainggolan, De Rossi and Strootman supporting. Dare I say he looks like a worthy replacement for Gerrard.

    After typing that, I realise we can't possibly be considering a bid, and are more likely 'designing a bib' as he is renowned for his dribbling.

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  115. Where were you last season?

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  116. Also who does everyone think we'll replace him with...Klopp, Ancelotti, Rafa...no, it'd be Allerdyce, Koeman or Monk. Jeez a bad few months and the dummies come flying out.

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  117. His wages are probably too high.

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  118. Just read he's turned us down as well

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  119. We probably offered him 900k a week plus a doughnut if he scores.

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  120. I saw that about Shaq, I'm not too fussed about missing out, as we dont particularly need someone in that position, and like with Sanchez and Valdes, I wont rush in and point fingers, because we just dont know what goes on behind closed doors. We can only judge based on what does happen, not on what could have happened. As we can see with Luis at Barca, not all transfers, despite looking like fantastic peices of business, actually turn out the way you expect or hope. Sometimes lauded players will flop (think of Ibra at Barca, or Shevchenko at Chelski) or cast-offs will become club greats like sturridge is hopefully on his way to doing.

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  121. If the best we can come up with this window is Milner and Delphi, we will make a strong move from 8th place, unfortunately to 13th. We need a goalie , apparently Valdes is good enough, so what about Cech? Why not consider Jovetic from Man city since we ain't getting Bony. We need at least one proven striker with fast nimble feet and relentless work rate, but we need two then nuke Lambert and Balo and Borini. We need a beast of a defensive mid so our defense has real cover along with our incoming goalie (I hope we get one). It's depressing reading all the names other guys are lining up but all Rosgers is doing is smoking the whacky weed when he says LFC is big enough to attract world class players but recent windows strongly suggests otherwise........I am getting so depressed I make need to check myself into a mental hospital or the best 24 hour bar in California.........search is underway......

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