7 May 2015

Great News for LFC: 'Outstanding' £180k-a-week legend confirms he'll 'return' to Liverpool 'one day'

The end is nigh: Reds legend Steven Gerrard has only THREE games left in a Liverpool shirt, and when the final whistle blows at Anfield on May 24th, LFC fans across the globe will be united in sadness at the loss of one of the greatest players in LFC's history. There's a silver lining, though - 'outstanding' Gerrard will inevitably return to Liverpool at some stage, and he has confirmed that once again this week.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo today, Gerrard admitted that his final game against against Crystal Palace will be a 'hugely emotional' affair, but added:

"My relationship with Liverpool doesn't end though. I'll return to the club in some capacity one day"

The question is: what capacity?

Gerrard - who currently earns £180k-a-week - has admitted in the past that he wants to manage Liverpool. In 2013, he told Sky Sports:

"It [managing Liverpool] would be the icing on the cake. I definitely see myself as a manager rather than a coach [and] I am planning on doing my badges and qualifications over the next 12 months".

Gerrard as manager, and Jamie Carragher as his assistant? It's destined to happen, and I'm sure most Reds fans would love to see those two legends running the club.

That said, I'd hate to see Gerrard take over and then damage his enduring legacy by failing dismally as a manager, and history shows that top players rarely become successful, trophy-winning managers.

There are, of course, exceptions (usually abroad - Guardiola, Simeone etc), but the likes of Keane, Shearer, Gullit, Bruce, Robson, Hughes and many others have failed to excel in England.

As for Gerrard's imminent departure - I still vividly remember watching his Liverpool debut back in 1998, and it feels strange to witness the start and end of such a long career at Anfield.

Like so may other fans, I've lived vicariously through Gerrard, and it's been an absolute joy and a privilege to watch him play over the last 17 years.

Is Gerrard irreplaceable? In my view, no.

There will probably never be another LFC player quite like Gerrard (ditto Dalglish, Souness, Barnes etc), but history suggests that, in time, another inspirational talisman will emerge at Anfield.

Like Suarez, Gerrard the player can't be replaced, but his impact on the team can be replaced. When that will happen, though, is anyone's guess.

Sami Hyypia left the club in 2009, and he still hasn't been properly replaced. Ditto Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, and even Steve McManaman back in 1999.

Is the current regime at Liverpool capable of attracting a player who's good enough to fill the Gerrard void?

No chance.

Author: Jaimie K


292 comments:

  1. There is very little Gerrard can do to ruin his legacy
    simply the greatest ever

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  2. With Sturridge injured for 5 months ( next season will be hard for him)
    Sterling leaving
    And top targets going elsewhere , Liverpool as a club are heading into a crisis worse since 2010.


    Can we build around Divock Origi and Jordon Ibe?

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  3. Does any one know if he even got his badges?

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  4. If Gerrard is serious about returning to manage Liverpool,then he should do it after he has worked as a assistant to proven quality managers.He needs tutoring from experienced managers to be capable to make it a success as a manager on his return to Liverpool.Without that experience he could end up being another B.R,and we don't want that.B.R is a example of a manager with no experience,that makes to many mistakes that will cost a fortune and heartache.

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  5. He's gonna get them you twat, can't you read, divvy!!!

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  6. You omitted Kenny Dalglish from your successful exceptions.

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  7. Got one on his BMW.

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  8. Let him earn his stripes taking Everton to relegation before taking over at Anfield.. Anything he does from there on in, no worries. Seriously though, I hope he can have a good stint in the States and win that illusive league title, even if it's not the one he deserves.....Talking of legends taking over their clubs hottest, here's hoping Giggs gets his chance to screw up soon.

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  9. Your last sentence is open to sooo much innuendo that I wouldn't know where to start!

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  10. Forgot his Range Rover with his Gerrard 8 badges all over the trim...classy.

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  11. No to all.... Not the crisis you envision, and no to building around Ibe and Origi, they are kids.... Lets hold off on the character assassinations for these guys when they don't set the world alight at 20 years old..... We can build around Coutinho though... Just give him some back up, and somebody worthy of his creativity, and we're good.

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  12. I sense a super injunction coming on.

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  13. Is that the injunction that stops you finding out what you already know?

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  14. I'm not sure you realize just how bad 2010 was. We're finishing freaking 5th place, not dropping to mid-table. And financially, we're 100x better off than we were. The we might not be quite there, but LFC are still most certainly a team with an upward trajectory.


    Ibe is better than Sterling honestly, so we're not losing much. Add someone like Son, who was my #2 choice behind Depay to add some goals from the AM and good trickery and pace.


    Origi is still one for the future, so I wouldn't expect him to contribute much more than 10 goals next season, assuming he gets playing time.


    However, there are still plenty of very underrated strikers on the market. Luiz Adriano would be <15M, and Vietto has a low release clause. If we get one of them, plus a big buy, our attack will be set.


    Grab Montoya as a transition RB until a standout target emerges or Flanno comes back, Neto on free to replace Jones, and that's set until we can afford a bit more resources into GK.


    The only other place we need to spend is DM/CM, and there are plenty of good options this year.


    Adriano 15M, Son 15M/Konoplyanka FREE, Neto FREE, Montoya 8M, Nainggolan 25M, Lacazette 35M. Sell Sterling 35M, rest of squad will make at least 30M. We only pay 20M.

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  15. Excellent article Jaimie

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  16. The problem here is context...


    Brendan Rodgers had a great season last year and the whole world was watching as we stumbled at the last to let go of a title that was never really ours for the taking considering the squads around us...


    worse had we had the backing BR probably would have liked to have bought just one extra player possibly attacking in the Jan 2014 window; instead he had to come out and spin how he would work withwhat he's got etc, etc, - reality was they fsg, probably told him to shove it and prove himself first.....


    We, as fans, have patience and tempered knee-jerk reactions by the more calm and learned among us, esp in this forum, but the rest of the viewing public don't......so they think he just fu***** it up and now after the season we've just had he is being hung out to dry...because the difference between the two years is sooooo apparent......


    The best/most potential players in the world also watched and now don't want to be heckled, blamed and/or vilified by us fans if the team don't play as if they were barcelona....so they think twice about coming.....we can't blame that......


    But think...what does that say about players like the ones who WILL come.....?
    ...Brave or what...?
    And the other thing, granted Fergie won the scottish thing..., but he was really going nowhere in his year three was he?
    ...If we keep BR I feel we will have some very brave players with real guts for what they are about to embark upon...


    on the other hand if we end up with Klopp I wonder if we have to start allll over again.....again...!

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  17. An we are chasing for Benteke's signature? My goodness..

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  18. First things first, the transfer committee is a glorified scouting team plus Ian Ayre. But giving it that epic name we lose sight of its basic function. Now again, Carlos Bacca, for instance, is but a year older than Adam Lallana. A player that we spent nearly £25M on. Carlos Bacca wouldn't have gone for more than £15M in summer. The myth that we wouldn't pay significant wages for the right player regardless of age is bunk considering our chasing of 29 year old Falcao who we lost put to Man U for. Reports are that we offered more wages to Sanchez than Arsenal so wages is a red herring. Of course we don't want any more Joe Coles but remember Borini is on £70k per week. But Bacca aside, that's just a name that popped into my head, if over a year period Rodgers (knowing full well that Suarez was due to leave) didn't switch on the telly to see any emerging strikers across the globe or stopped when he came across Origi, then again his role as the overseer for the transfer committee is in question. Surely he has Sky and paid extra for BT Sport? I mean he had an office full of footage on Origi apparently. Did he not send his scouts out to view anyone else? Or does he just let the scouts do whatever they want and hope they come back with something? Because again, given his publicly professed role as an overseer of the 'Transfer Committee', he is then being negligent by not exercising his considerable power in directing his staff to collate information on up and coming strikers. The marquee strikers do not go to us, partly because we are not the great Liverpool of times past and partly, in my opinion, because they aren't exactly overawed by working for a somewhat rookie, winless manager. We find it difficult to shop in the market and to be honest its been difficult for quite a few years now. Neither Torres or Suarez were world class players when we bought them. We identified them as up and coming talented young strikers and snuck them in before Chelsea or City or Man U or Barca or Real got a chance to dabble. Same with Alonso, Kuyt, Agger, Skrtel, Reina. We ask no different of Brendan now. Except he's had more money in a shorter period of time to repeat the technique. And the likes of Lovren, Markovic and Allen suggest that he's failed to do this. To expect us to magically compete for 4 or 5 players against those teams mentioned above plus PSG is folly especially as Brendan gave up the ghost on Champions League football after the Man U match, talking about plans for next season when if we had beaten Hull and West Brom we'd have been in the driving seat for Champions league places right now. The man lives in Tomorrowland where everything good is because of him and everything bad is due to some transfer policy that means he retrospectively could never achieve even one of the very same goals he himself set at the beginning of the season (qualification for CL group, silverware and top 4).

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  19. Answer is that marquee players want to go to marquee clubs in marquee competitions with marquee teammates and a marquee manager. Otherwise they're likely to either be damaged goods or only here for the money and not to put a shift in. Or both.

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  20. Exactly. They said very clearly that they weren't oil rich sheiks when they bought the club. The sheiks didn't want us. We all understood and agreed. Many of us looked at the likes of Dortmund and Arsenal and felt that that model was a traditional and smart way of working in the days of Financial Fair Play. Now we buy a load of crappy players and the whole policy is wrong?? I don't agree. The application of that policy has been horrible though and the ultimate responsibility for that is Brendan Rodgers.

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  21. He's been a bad manager because despite spending £73M on attacking talent this summer he couldn't identify a 5 goal a season striker let alone a 15-20 one. Plus, despite clear evidence of defensive frailties and spending roughly £37M on defenders, for half a season at least thedefence was worse. He fluked on a solution which roughly sums up as "drop your £20M new signing and put a £10M midfielder in as a defender but make sure there's 5 in defence instead of 4." That's no Rinus Michels there I'll be honest.

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  22. To be fair Rafa frequently achieves the bottom line. He won't win you the title but he'll get you over Champions league finish line. He's available, a winner and players want to play for him. Other than possibly Klopp (and we don't know if his talents will translate beyond the Ruhr Valley), Rafa is the obvious choice to make us a team of substance and note once again.

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  23. Maybe so, but the upshot of it was that we were frequently in Champions league positions, advancing to semis and CL finals and winning trophies. Rodgers would demand knighting if he bought a player like Peter Crouch or Dirk Kuyt. He'd probably want communal blowies from the Kop if he bought a Torres or an Alonso or an Agger or a Skrtel or a Sissoko or a Mascherano or even an Arbeloa.

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  24. So we agree that the model or strategy they are following is the best for LFC given the restrictions of FFP. Where we disagree is that BR is ultimately responsible. To me it seems pretty obvious that BR is not in control of transfers. I know he says he has the last say, but that's what managers are suppose to say, at any company. I think everyone agrees that Transfers are the root cause of LFC's problems and BR is not to blame for that. If you judge him objectively by what happens on the pitch he is pretty good. All the so called bad tactical decisions were because of injury or not having the right players. Example would be Playing players out of position. People criticize that but playing Can at cb and Ibe, Sterling, marko, etc... At every Is what has us close to top 4 right now despite all the deficiencies. So my opinion is that BR is doing a decent job despite the TC.

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  25. I recon that Ibe is going to be a good player as long as the Manager, media and pundits don't build him up, Just let him progress in his own time, Sterling is a good example of that.

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  26. So will Liverpool will become the next Newcastle?

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  27. Im sure what you're saying is true ,but to admit it is ,is difficult !

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  28. Did you watch Neto play last night ?
    No thank you !
    There must be better GK out available .

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  29. As a manager, what Gerrard has going for him is that he's authoritative, but not crazy and brash. Keane commands authority but at the end of the day he's also too volatile and confrontational. Fergie was confrontational too but I think he had a lot more control over it. Keane probably didn't have the tactical nous either. Maybe Gerrard does have it.

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  30. All the TOP managers have fire in the belly, thats what drives them !

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  31. Depay was ALWAYS going to United - LFC were only there to agree a price = everybody in football knew that except our Management

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  32. There have been two transfer windows, under Rogers, where LFC have signed no-one. Surely he could have left Balotelli where he was.

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  33. for me, fire in the belly means time to take a massive shit. Maybe that's why they shit on other managers

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  34. Really LFC signing Depay was a very narrow pipe dream. We as fans including Jaimie at times got a bit carried away as reports came out that LFC asked for permission to speak to Depay. Or that he liked a Facebook message, but the writing was always on the wall. Manure currently have a much bigger draw around the world and they proved it this season by drawing world class players without being in the CL. Not to mention that Depay will play in the CL, work with the world renowned, Tic Tac with hair, LVG again and play with fellow Dutch players. What would LFC have to offer? The Europa league. In regards to BR last season was "outstanding" and contrary to popular beliefs it wasn't just Suarez who helped them push last season BR deserves credit for the following: Building the team around Suarez, bringing Studge and the magician to the team, dropping Gerrard deeper, consistently playing the money grabber and turning around Skrtel and Hendos performances. But in saying this I'm starting to concur that bringing a world renowned manager i.e Klopp will surely help us in the market.

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  35. Every blog I read about Depay coming to us I said I'm telling you now we ain't getting him. I didn't want to be right but it was obvious he would choose man u over us . What amuses me is no player in the world had ever joined a club for the money. Every time they ask a player why did you choose that team the first thing they say is it was nothing to do with the money ? Well of course there going to say that. Their not goner turn around and say well to be honest mate I'm not bothered about the fans really mate I onlybcame here for the money are they. They're get hammered for saying that. If it's nothing to do with the money whatsoever then surely players would be only getting offered ie £500 a week or £20,000 s week whatever my point is why do the top players get £150,000- £200,000 a week . Surely you wouldn't need to offer that kind of silly wages if it's not about the money ? . Of course it's about the money. It's not about champs league so much because if it was his on earth did Man U and man city bring in top stars when they were not in champs league ??? Because they offered top wages I would of thought . Unfortunately whenever Man U, Man City , Arsenal and Chelsea arr serious about the same player we are and we both make a bid basically we ain't getting that player . I'm sure if we had a top manager it would make a big difference with better contacts than Rodgers has and more influence and better convincing ability to tempt a player to us but if FSGs wage structure is tight they'll be top players we will never get when another top club comes in and offers more . That's how it is . Most of the players that have had great seasons in all the leagues as in scored loads etc will be picked up by the top clubs that will throw money at players. Unfortunately for us were goner have to look at clubs like burnley / Southampton , some mid table foreign clubs with relatively unknown young players that might of had a decent first season or a back up player that doesn't get into a top clubs first team. That's the truth. Basically were going to be at a massive disadvantage before

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  36. Let's ask Depay why he chose Man U instead of Liverpool . So why did you Depay ? It's nothing to do with the wages mate . No player in the world has ever moved to a new club for the bigger wage packet . Well I've never ever heard a player say it. Well mate to be honest I only came here because of the dilly wages they offfered me. Of course there not going to say that. Theyd get hammered by the fans for saying it. The truth is if it's nothing to do with wages then why do the top players get offered stupid wages . Do clubs just want to give them that amount from the goodness of there hearts ? Of course not. So of course it's about the wages. It's not about champs league because if it was how come Liverpool had champs league when we were buying in players last summer yet we still lost out on targets? How come when Man U and man city didn't have champs league they still were able to bring in top talent ?.

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  37. Benoit Assou-Ekotto said so in 2010. "I play for the money. Football is not my passion." was the headline

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  38. FSG originally wanted Rodgers as manager to work with LVG as Director of Football. Neither man was interested those assigned roles.

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  39. No way. Ian Ayre is great at what he does as a money man. Under his stewardship we've become one of the top 6 valued clubs again, thanks to his astute commercial nous.

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  40. Having a top better known manager with better contacts and more convincing ability to lure top players in would make a big difference but even then if our wage structure is tighter than another clubs that goes in for the same player then we ain't getting him . If we went in for say Di Maria last summer at the same time as Man U when we had champs league and Man U didn't I bet Di Maria still would of gone to Man U which says it all really . That was just an example , not saying get di Maria . We're be going for Burnley, Southampton , foreign mid table team players that have youngsters that have had 1 decent season or top team back up players. How are we to compete when man u buy Depay ( Dutch champions first team player that happens to be leagues top scorer too .we get Origi who had scored 8 goals in the French league . Arsenal bring in Sanchez last season . A barca first tesm player with 20 goals plus that previous season . We may go for Montoya that doesn't get into barcas starting 11 . We might get Milner who's a back up these days for man city but you can bet your bottom dollar that player they replace him with will be better . Baring all this in mind how can we realistically challenge for a top 4 now

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  41. That why they WIN !!

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  42. I would of though his point is if you don't offer those kind of top wages you won't get those too players. That's just s complete wild guess that's what his point was mind lol

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  43. You've just said it all really. We have the 5 th highest wage bill. Where are we in the league ????? 5 th I believe . They came out with the richest football club list recently and we were the 5 th richest English club. Where are we in the league again ???? Oh yeah I almost forgot 5 th I believe so it says a lot to be fair

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  44. We're better off getting consistent performers and pedigreed players from middling Bundesliga clubs, where the wages are lower.
    Ditto Ligue 1.


    Some examples might be:


    Alexander Meier
    Martin Harnik
    Joselu
    Wissam Ben Yedder (might be too weak for the EPL though)

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  45. Yeah I met Ian Ayre a few months back - asked him about signings like Reus - he said "no f-ing chance" - says it all when your MD tells you to your face where we are as a club. Get him and BR out and lets actually get some winners into the club. This is getting sooooo depressing right now....

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  46. So is it fair to say not often do you here that from a surf since that was 5 years ago and it did make the headlines because he said it. I'm sure he got homered from a lot of fans for saying it as well lol

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  47. So is it fair to say it's not often you here a player say that since this was 5 years ago and it did make the headlines . I'm sure he got hammered by the fans for saying it too lol

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  48. We lose out on Depay and my mate who has seen the French lad on a few occassions reckons Ryan Kent is better than him NOW =Cant allow B R to buy more rubbish

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  49. What about the Australian Goalkeerer >> he was a genius according to some a few months back ??

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  50. Kevin Keegan won 2 European Footballer of the Year Awards - Was that a fluke then ?? Do me a favour

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  51. like you said we have transfer money to spend, CL to offer yet all big players choose others, this kinda humiliation have never happen to LFC managers b4, Rodgers has just creat new history for us.

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  52. United currently have one more point than they had last year.

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  53. Yes that's why I say move him back to be the commercial director, he is a money man not a respected football man.

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  54. i think this kinda sums up liverpools transfers failings...
    Markovic 20 m
    Lallana 25 m


    United Buy Depay for 22.5m


    nuf said really!!!

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  55. The same Carragher who things James McCarthy can replace Gerrard and that Ilkay Gundogan would be a bad signing because he "can't get a game for Dortmund" (ignoring injuries)? And the same Gerrard who thinks Joe Cole can do everything Messi can do? Yeah... no.

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  56. He's not. I agree with a lot of what you say but this is factually incorrect. Ian Ayre chairs the transfer committee. Rodgers simply has something akin to a veto.

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  57. I think Ian Ayre is just a negotiator and not the head of TC. BR will always have a final say.

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  58. Rodgers' explanation for pulling the Remy deal was that "as a club" they'd made a decision. Clearly someone higher up.

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  59. To be fair, none of us have seen Suarez play for PSV.

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  60. You keep bringing facts into these things. Staaap.

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  61. Slumdog Mignolet9:51 am, May 08, 2015

    One bad game does not define a GK.. case and point Migs last year...

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  62. Slumdog Mignolet9:54 am, May 08, 2015

    Like the way you think.


    Love the look of Vietto personally, but he too is young and needs guidance.


    Truth is we know 3/4 of the players we will end up with. I am willing to bet money on this:
    Neto - Free, cheap
    Milner - Free, English, "Experienced"
    Ings or Austin if not both :/
    Montoya - Maybe, I hope so, depends on Dani Alves staying another year though.


    I am not happy with that list though. Seems like we are settling for 5th with those players. No game changers in them.


    Adriano, Lacazette, Pedro, Firmino and Son are all game changers IMO..

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  63. Interesting that BR has come out and said we were never after Depay as we have plenty of cover for the wide positions.


    But hey let's blame BR anyway

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  64. Rafa was sacked for going from 2nd to 7th in the space of one season. He totally lost the plot and alienated some of our best players. For everyone of the players you listed there's a Voronin, Degan, Dossena, Insua, Aqualani, Ngog, Leto, Kromkamp, Babbel, Riera, Morientes and let's not forget his appalling treatment of Robbie Keane, losing a fortune in the space of six months along the way. I didn't hate Rafa, but when he was eventually sacked he'd had his time, bringing him back would be a step backwards. Going back to my original point, if we had £100m to spend would I trust BR to spend it? No. Would I trust Rafa to spend it? No.

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  65. I would love to see him manage Liverpool , he will definitely do a better job than BR......YNWA

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  66. the top 4 teams are the rich clubs of the league, its not rocket science

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  67. I also remember his debut. I also remember thinking 'this boy's got something' the more appearances he made. As you say Jaimie, it's been an absolute privilege to watch him play and at the peak of his powers, he was peerless. I honestly think I may shed a tear after his final match. Thanks for the memories Stevie YNWA

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  68. Yup spot on mate. I had a pretty similar transfer list in mind too

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  69. Yea, there's fire in the belly and then there's Roy Keane. There's a difference between commanding Respect and people being terrified of you.
    Could you imagine being a 17 year old kid breaking into one of Roy's first teams? Couldn't imagine him playing without fear when Keane's on the touchline smouldering

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  70. not enough said, why not say luke shaw 28m moreno 12m? or fellaini 28m sturridge 12m? even falcao cost over 20m altogether just for a loan and lallana has scored the same amount of goals as him!

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  71. That's not bad, actually. Would like to add another top central midfielder to that. Might be a budget-buster, but hey, what price on another Alonso?

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  72. Great comment, Jock.

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  73. Did you watch the game ,and see the 2nd goal that Sevllla scored?

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  74. i forgot to mention di maria 60m who scored less goals than lallana 25m
    nuff said really

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  75. Slumdog Mignolet11:10 am, May 08, 2015

    I saw that, that was honestly embarrassing.


    But go back to De Gea first season and see some of the goals he let in... Even Migs has some awful gaffes...

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  76. And somebody to replace Skrtel and Toure, apparently, unless we're sticking with Ilori and Coates.

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  77. We are between a rock and a hard place. If players don't want to come to Liverpool is it all the manager's fault? I think the media is responsible for creating the hype about players coming to Liverpool, even when there is no chance of Liverpool signing them. I don't believe anything until a player is signed. There has been a lot of talk about Klopp, but he has never signed a marquee player in his career, and that's what we need, marquee signings.

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  78. on what evidence would he definetely do a better job than BR? Can you let me know for an example what tactics gerrard uses for all the teams hes managed that proves the team will perform above expectations compaired to the four rich clubs?

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  79. The problem is it's 2015 not 1984. FSG won't pay the level of wage Reuss would command, otherwise we would have had him a year ago. Reuss and players of his calibre aren't likely to actually be interested in playing for a non-Top 4 club. History means nothing. If it didn't happen in the last ten years, it ain't worth shit. So, we won European Cups? So have Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. So have Ajax. So have Porto. So have Celtic.
    Most of the squad and all our targets, weren't born last time we won the title.
    I'm not a fan of Ian Ayre, but at least he has his head in the present day.

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  80. Mat Ryan , Currrent Aussie No1 .

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  81. Totally agree JK. Arsenal are often cited as the team we look to emulate but people forget two things: 1. Wenger was already a well known manager when he came to the club 2. Wenger came to the Premier League and introduced a whole new style of playing and the bottom half opposition he faced was filled with British bruisers whereas now every team bar one or two is filled with international players. Even Arsenal have had to adjust their buying policy over the past couple of years and had to splash the cash on players like Ozil and Alexis. We cannot do what Arsenal did 15 years ago because it is no longer 15 years ago! I also agree that Rodgers does not have the pulling power to bring in top players or even top talents. Players will sign for us when we're the best offer on the table and for Lallana, Lovren et al we were last summer because we mostly competed with Spurs and could offer Champions League football. This year we cannot throw that into the mix so we need to have something else to offer. A manager with a winning reputation is the only thing that we can adjust easily.

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  82. Even if Rodgers did go. Can you see him go in right after Van Gaal en tell Depay - listen, you'll have the chance to play with Raheem Sterling, Mario Balotelli and Jordan Henderson. In the Europa League. If I'm lucky enough to scrape some points from the couple of games. And of course I'll add more players over the summer. You can see who I've signed before. My record speaks for itself?

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  83. have faith, if a couple of strikers were brought in that at least showed some level of pace and mobility it could change alot, watch the replay of the totenham match on the 3rd game of the season and it looks the same as the liverpool the second half of last season with the same system being used even with balotelli instead of suarez, that would be the first and last time we saw balotelli actually showing mobility however (probs wanted to impress on his debut) and sturridge got injured straight after so that system had to be scrapped anyway, if BR got the sack tho we might never have the chance to see that system again

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  84. Was that not all he could tell us ?That as easy to believe if you never know him...he will never admit the shame.He also told us Sanchez chose Arsenal because of London bla bla etc, remember he promises marquee signings every now and then

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  85. Rodgers and the whole abysmal and comical transfer committee need to be shipped out this summer.
    It would be different in the transfer committee was full of great Liverpool legends: Aldridge, Barnes, Dalglish, Lawrenson Molby, Nicol and Rush.
    But they are not the are formed by FSG's Money men who do not have a clue about football an are just ou to make a profit one way or other.
    If the transfer committee was made up of the great Liverpool legends above: Players like : Allen, Alberto, Aspas, Borini, Coates, Cissokho, Markovic and Moses would never ever have been brought to club

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  86. Well said. We over-achieved last season. This season we're sitting about where we should be, given we have the 5th most expensive squad and the 5th highest wage bill. I don't think you can sack a manager for not over-achieving every year.
    For me, our best chance of success is continuity. Learn from the mistakes made and make the necessary adjustments until a winning formula is found.
    If we sack our manager every time he doesn't over-achieve we will never have a manager last more than 3 years and will end up in eternal transition like Spurs

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  87. As if Liverpool is some backwater...We held all the cards in that deal i.e Suarez and still managed to destroy the deal. Eish LFC....

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  88. Thanks bud

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  89. And Souness from failures, So?

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  90. I saw his return of ONE goal in 39 matches against Chelsea, pretty pathetic. Sunday would be the right time to put thing right, Captain.

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  91. I saw his return of ONE goal in 39 matches against Chelsea, pretty p ath etic. Sunday would be the right time to put thing right, classy Captain.

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  92. Off topic : just check out our specialist strikers have scored (8) Prem league goals combine. Everton's back four Phil jagielka, s.coleman,L.baines and John stones have scored more. UNACCEPTABLE!

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  93. As I said let's blame BR anyway.

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  94. what shame is there to hide exactly even if a player in this world wants to play for another team other than liverpool? its like saying alex ferguson should be ashamed of himself that ronaldinho chose to sign for barcelona, ronaldinho liked barca more so its all sir alex fault that he picked barca :s and very ashamed of himself hazard picked chelsea, what a poor manager

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  95. Penultimate line/sentence is the telling one : (

    It's been a fair few years since we've seen Stevie in his prime, but from roughly 2003 until roughly 2009, he was, without a shadow of doubt, THE best midfielder in the world and most definitely in the top handful of players at any position.

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  96. Absolutely agree, we cannot blame BR for Cameron winning the election or for the Allies winning the WW2.

    BR has a fantastic job where he is not accountable for anything.. whether it be:

    1. the players signed by LFC
    2. the players NOT signed by LFC
    3. LFC winning or losing
    4. the style of play and tactics adopted
    5. mouthing off hyperbole

    I just wish BR can look at the integrity of the three party leaders who just lost the election (ie missed their performance target) and immediately resigned..

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  97. Any other Bits depressed? Come on, misery loves company.

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  98. I'll join you in the misery today.

    Without getting too political, there are a lot of similarities between how Milliband has led Labour and how BR has led LFC.

    Only difference is Milliband had the integrity to immediately resign after missing his target.

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  99. Seems to be a lot of outrage over our 'failure' to sign a player that (I admit) I knew bugger all about until we were linked with him. I was upset by the Sanchez saga (as he's an established, genuine Worldie), not so with Depay. And with the Dutch links he was always likely to sign for Utd, if anyone......wasn't he? Liverpool FC is still a famous name across Europe. I've long suspected that our links to some of these players amount to nothing more than a nefarious attempt by money men to drum up interest in a player or drive the price up. Or maybe it's just to piss us off. That said, Depay is probably the kind of young talent we *should* be looking at.

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  100. Hod that's old news. Coleman is great but Baines takes pens. Skews the stats a touch. Especially when combined those defenders have played far more minutes.
    Not that it is acceptable that our forwards have been so poor. Bad recruitment.

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  101. Well said Stu. The problem with BR

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  102. So now Rodgers comes out and says Liverpool were never interested in Depay! WTF!!!!

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  103. If your point is they suffer from their public persona then I agree.

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  104. He is ultimately accountable and needs to show progress, I am not saying he should not be criticised just saying he cannot be blamed for every thing that has and hasn't happened especially where some of that is not even true


    The leaders you mention had a good few years of ups and downs before they were finally judged, I do not think he has completely failed and replacing him would not be without its own cost and might not guarantee an improvement

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  105. Which shows what the problem has been this season, and not much else really, im sure its alot easier to replace balotelli with a striker that actually makes runs into the box than to have to build a midfield again like when alonso left and mascherano wanted to leave and finishing 7th, the gamble on balotelli didnt pay off so move on, it happens in football, look at forlan, shevchenko etc

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  106. PSV Technical Director, Marcel Brands is quoted as saying:

    "Liverpool contacted us and talked with the player. They were also one
    of the clubs interested but at the end Memphis had the final decision
    and he chose Manchester United."

    Could it be BR is fibbing to let the LFC fans down gently..?

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  107. BR pointed out that we have Ibe, Origi, Sterling (still) and Lallana so our priorities lie elsewhere.


    That does seem fair to me and whilst I wish we could sign every exciting player we are linked with I do think we have other priorities just now (GK DM and striker)

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  108. It's funny; the most skilful player of that lot is probably the one who gets the most flak: Lallana. Sometimes I think we're just blaming him for not being somebody else.

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  109. Thanks Stuart for an honest response.

    In my humble opinion 3 years is sufficient to review BR's performance and the bits he IS accountable for. For me he is performing below average, and as such if we can attract an upgrade we should push the button.

    Otherwise hold.

    Regarding personal integrity, I do not believe BR has it within him to resign, since he still claims to be the best manager out there.

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  110. I dunno but even an enquiry does not necessarily mean we were seriously chasing him in this transfer window and I can see why PSV might want to play up the level of interest from other clubs,


    But, hopefully, as Ash says below we are looking at all exciting prospects that might be available in the near future.

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  111. He is a good player but definitely not a 25 mil player and one that we already had cover for. If we had signed him for say 10 mil and got another quality signing, not many would be complaining.

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  112. Yep, understand PSV may also be playing silly games.

    My only worry is that we again and again seem to be drawn into the circus of signing every player under the sun only for LFC to say we were not interested after the event.

    Two points going forward:

    1. Why can't LFC do their business in PRIVATE?

    2. LFC need to fewer players but with a higher quality

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  113. I would never defend a lot of what he says or the self important image he projects and I would agree the argument for change is now more finely balanced

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  114. The fact that Rodgers claims Liverpool weren't interested in Depay is the problem. That shows a fatal lack of ambition, and a willingness to accept mediocrity. Liverpool's wing options are not good enough and not consistent enough to get the job done.

    Sterling, Ibe, Markovic, Lallana etc - not prolific enough to sustain a league/CL challenge, or even a challenge for the top four.

    Rodgers is interested in Markovic, Alberto, Aspas et al, but not Depay?

    That, combined with the fact that Rodgers is happy with his current options is another reason why FSG should (IMO) consider managerial change.

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  115. True but who do you blame for overpaying?

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  116. Absolutely. Why would Brands lie after the fact; what does he have to gain?

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  117. Yep that's my point - they do not help themselves by mouthing off rubbish.. and have a media perception of not being in control of their own destiny.

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  118. The transfer structure in general. I blame everyone from scouting to BR. Anybody could have scouted Lallana so what makes our scouts be paid so much. And, then BR for okaying the deal not realizing we had Suso, Alberto, Teixeira as players. He did not evaluate the strength and weaknesses of the squad.

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  119. I knew we'd get on.

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  120. My guess is BR is saving face, cos clearly there was a meeting earlier in Manchester, and Depay was suggesting there's been no contact with Man U previously.

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  121. Van Gaal said that they were forced to sign Depay because PSG would have signed him instead that shows that we were not even second in the pecking order. Even if Utd were not interested, he would not have signed for us.

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  122. We cannot be sure Depay would necessarily be an upgrade on the players I have mentioned and they could/should still be improving. Plus with limited funds (i know i know) he might have other priorities.


    I do agree though that FSG are probably doing what we are speculating about and weighing up the pros and cons of continuing with BR. That's their job if they have the ambition they claim and we expect of them.

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  123. They do this all the time. It depends what you mean by "Liverpool" and "talked to the player". He has to gain an impression of authority -- making it appear that PSV didn't simply jump at the first pile of money that was thrust at them, but took some sort of decision.

    It may also be the case that Liverpool contacted Depay in order to manoeuvre Utd. into bidding earlier and higher than they might have otherwise done, to clear their way for another target. All sorts of things. You can't really follow the transfer business in the newspapers. It's all just made up nonsense and people covering themselves and their intentions.

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  124. I would have preferred for BR to come out and say something like:

    "Depay is a outstanding player and would be a great addition to any team. It's a competitive market out there and he preferred Man U. We just need to work harder to attract the right talent to take LFC forward".

    Honesty and setting expectations for LFC fans without giving up the fight.

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  125. Agreed, but signing balo for 20M? (and aware of his behavior ) is worthy a sack for me. He scored 16goals for Milan before joining us... Those of which were either free kicks nor pen

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  126. I'm cheerful and I'm not Brit but can we still hang out?

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  127. What if we sign another winger in the summer? I would like to know the excuse then.

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  128. JK now getting off fence and voting for change - you may make it in politics yet ;-)

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  129. I agree that is totally unacceptable, Everton could have done with a much better goal scoring return from their defenders to say nothing of better defending ;-)

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  130. Balotelli has actually not 'misbehaved' when he was at Milan or at Liverpool; even Stewart Downing and Brendan Rodgers were in more trouble.

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  131. Also Lallana is NOT a winger - awful pigeon-holing by BR

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  132. That's my point exactly.

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  133. I am just surprised he wasn't claiming he was cover for Mig.

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  134. Best comment of the day - shame I have no award to offer..

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  135. LVG : "I was forced to handle the situation because otherwise he was going to PSG."


    Now that's what you want form your manager. Proactive.

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  136. Agree in part but not sure any of the players you mention are or would be better options though. Time might tell.

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  137. I think FSG aren't too unhappy with a guy that doesn't throw too loud a tantrum for big money and wages for big players.

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  138. Still chuckling at "false 1"

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  139. Shame Lallana has been so unlucky with injuries. I really feel like he has a lot to offer. Hopefully next season we will see what a fine player he really is.

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  140. Should, consider? - a natural politician I'd say;-)

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  141. Agreed. Injured in the preseason to boot. He was always playing catch-up and was then drafted into an under-performing, under-pressure side that was still deciding which formation to use. Hope we'll see the best of him next season.

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  142. He was overly expensive, for sure. Just to add to what Stuart said, looking back to early last season when Coutinho was injured, the team was crying out for another number 10 or any kind of playmaker, so I'd say we didn't quite have his position fully covered.

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  143. To be honest I though Balotelli and Lambert might have been inspired signings.
    Clearly they were not, unfortunately

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  144. Proactive? What sorcery is that?

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  145. Who knows what the truth is, he could have been talking about before last summers transfer window when it was rummoured that depay already chose to play under van gaal when they worked together at the world cup, if that was true then yes liverpool would have to make contact to know what depays plans were and would obviously drop theyre interest and look at other players instead

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  146. ''Worst team in years''...??? No , sorry guy. Not so...On paper, they've got one of the best sides in Europe. It's us with relatively unknowns that's overachieving. I would love to steal that CL spot from them as many seem to think it's in the bag. Depay himself included.

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  147. Club image is the term I believe you're looking for, Fergie build a dynasty so even with no CL, it's still appealing as it's taken for granted they'll be back. Kinda like Bayern in Germany. LFC however have proven inconsistent over recent years so the attraction for big players isn't there. As it should be perhaps.One can only blame management of the club over the years.Young players have no clue about LFC's glory years. All they know is United, hence the appeal.

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  148. To look at the positives as bad as LFC have played for most of the season they still have a slim chance of catching united. The issue is FSG's transfer policy. They want to target young players who have star potential. Now Rodgers has made some mistakes don't get me wrong. Borini, Allen, Aspas, Alberto, but he's also made some very good transfers as well Coutinho, Sturridge, Mignolet. Lovern has not been up to par and may never be Sakho unfortunately is injury plagued and that could definitely be a issue in the coming years as he is not that old. Illori seems like a wasted buy.

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  149. We could sure use Dirk's passion and enthusiasm in our team right now.

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  150. That sums it up. But also, let's not forget that he had a long season before this one, plus a very exhausting WC, and he never played the summer. So that is why I don't think he is injury prone..

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  151. GET RODGERS OUT! If the Yanks leave this guy at the helm they will be culpable for the inevitable next season and not Rodgers. Suarez by proxy made this guy look interesting last season, he made the whole squad glitter. Now Rodgers has lost his golden goose he's got egg all over his gormless gob - but he's too self-deluded to be embarrassed by this seasons offerings: "tactile genius" my posterior - if he was made of chocolate he would be just a bigger fat clown.

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  152. I agree that we need to change manager as much as it hurts me to say, last season we seemed to be moving forward nearly winning the league but the fundamental failure of this season was spending the money received from the sale of 'Suarez' on players with potential rather than proven ability. This mistake lays at the feet of Rodgers trying to spread the funds to sparsely, granted the squad needed more depth but look at it like this Lallana £25m, Can £10m, Lambert £4m, Markovic £20m, Lovren £20m, Origi £10m, Moreno £12m, Balotelli £16m, Alberto £6.8m, Aspas £7m, Mignolet £10m, Llori £7m, Sakho £18m, Borini £10m, Allen £15m, Sturridge £12m, Coutinho £8.5m add it all up and its £215m and being honest most of them have failed to hit the mark with the exception of Coutinho, Sturridge a Can. Klopp in the hot seat is what we need first and firstly this was Dortmunds team that beat Real Madrid 4-1 a few years ago this is why Klopp is a match made in heaven for LFC

    1. Weidenfeller (Free)
    2. Piszczek (Free)
    3. Schmelzer (Free)
    4. Bender £1.5m
    5. Subotic £4.5m
    6. Hummels £4.2m
    7. Gotze (Free)
    8. Gundogan £5.5m
    9. Lewandowski £4.75m
    10. Reus £17.1m
    11. Blaszczykowski £3.5m

    Granted this season Klopp hasn't had the best of seasons but he has turned it around and reached a cup final in germany and from being near the bottom of the league he has managed to guide them back pushing for a Europa League spot. He has managed to win the Bundesliga twice, 3 German Supercups, 1 DFB Cup and finish a runner-up in the champions league and this is the team he practically did it all managing to play great football with a team that cost less than Lallana and Lovren combined. I really believe Klopp is the man to take us to the next level and make us a force to be reckoned with.

    YNWA

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  153. True, that. His circumstances were rough (besides the wage!). If he has a good pre-season and decent rest before that then that 'injury prone' label can hopefully be thrown away for good.

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  154. Not today. Very worried about the country. Especially the most vulnerable in it.

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  155. Taking into account, many of the new signings never really lived up to expectation and we lost key players through transfer and injury, BRs still has kept us up there so please take this 'Rodgers out' BS elsewhere guy.

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  156. As for stepping down, none had done it before the race was over.

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  157. Ah. Thought we were still talking football.

    We share that concern. I'm far away but certainly this is not the outcome I was hoping for.

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  158. That is not my point. Currently, Lallana is a squad player at Liverpool and paying 25 mil for a squad player is unacceptable. Suso and all are certainly close in quality to Lallana and had the potential to become better so they could have taken up his role as a squad player in the squad and the 25 mil could have been spent wisely. Balo was a gamble because we did not have funds or time but if the 16 mil used to sign him and the 25 mil used to sign Lallana were used, we might have got a genuine world class player.

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  159. Are you suggesting the media made up the story that depay flew to manchester so he could meet with liverpool? maybe john lennon airport was closed that day and depay simply forgot to stop by to at least say hi to van gaal while he was in manchester, im just saying its funny what ppl believe, for all we know brenden hasnt spoken to depay since last years pre-season

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  160. Ibget where your coming from but none of those players are better than Lallana.

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  161. He is a squad player down to injury more than anything else. He for his game enough times in our good run to suggest he is in the more trusted thirteen or fourteen players.

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  162. Brilliant didn't mention Lallana I think.

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  163. See above cover for Mig

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  164. Definitely? Based on what?

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  165. Euros you talking?

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  166. Cheers though bud.

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  167. I would be very surprised if there's ANY mangers in world football who have final say on transfers, it's a myth fans use to trash their manager when things aren't going well

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  168. I admire your loyalty, but for all my hyperbole it is obvious Rodgers is not the solution, he's the problem.

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  169. It's true. We were almost certainly after him. Just another example of why we cannot trust everything that Rodgers says as true. We have to use our mouse and read the situations rather than his words. Being saying that all season.

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  170. Eventually we'll need to replace them yes, but for 1 more season, or even half a season till Jan, I think we could get by.

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  171. We could save by going for someone like Milner again until next summer when we have a renewed kitty. We have good foundation set right now. This summer should be about filling holes, and next summer/jan can be about final tweaks.

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  172. if a player isnt interested in joining the club to begin with why would BR be interested in him? or If he lied just to show he is ambitious and said he is interested in signing a player who doesnt want to play for the club then wouldnt that be worse?

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  173. That Kent kid had another two assists last night..

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  174. He identified Sanchez, Remy as backup. Club can't or in the case of Remy, won't close the deal. Who's fault is that?

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  175. It's not the manager imo. We had the players and the motivation last season. This season we lack inspiration and passion in our players yet he's kept us up there. I still say, get the right players in and Rodgers will be competitive.We'de be silly to change after all he's learnt thus far.


    If I owned LFC, I'll pull an Abramovich and play fantasy football by getting in who I want. Our squad is full, offload a few, bring in a few big names. Simple. No need to overthink it.

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  176. Ian Ayre came to Melwood? Was it to have a chat with Rodgers?

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  177. Two strikers. Maybe even three...

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  178. Don't use the YNWA slogan when you're putting BR out to dry.He's still our manager and deserves our support as long as he is.

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  179. I think John Cavier thinks he's the best !

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  180. I reckon it was of a case of , if he was available we'll have him but we not going out of our way for him.

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  181. Square pe...........*shoots self*

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  182. Jaimie ,
    The real question must be
    Did Liverpool fly Depay to Manchester to hold talks because ,
    If yes then we did show interest or
    No then the story was a whole lot of bulls##t .?

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  183. Is there any chance that being in the top four requires more than talented wingers? there are 11 players in the team yet its the wingers alone that get you top 4? have you seen balotelli this season? Its clear the strikers have been the issue not the wingers

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  184. I wouldn't mind us getting by with them for the foreseeable future. I'm just responding to the rumours about Skrtel's contract situation and Toure's (annual) will-he-won't-he dance.

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  185. You can have Obama if you like ;)

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  186. If we want saving we should sign Navas ;) Keylor, of course.

    Milner's a decent person to have in the squad. Never a good thing when he plays against us. We indeed have a good foundation. My eternal optimism hopes that we can both fill gaps and add the cherries this summer!

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  187. When it comes to transfers, then all managers engage in misdirection. When it comes to other club-related stuff, Rodgers can be taken at his word.

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  188. No, the reason why Arsenal are able to spend more on players is because they have finished paying for the Emirates.


    Throw in that they have qualified for the CL for 18 years straights that means there revenue stream far outweighs ours.


    You can not compare Us with Arsenal.


    If you are going to do a fair comparison, then do it with Spurs.

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  189. It's the footboll that's crap imo, I don't see any 'Liverpool way' about the way we've played most of the season, inviting too much pressure I say. Whose fault is that?

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  190. Pounds more like it

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  191. No am suggesting BR is either fibbing or deluded..

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