30 May 2015

Anfield-bound? Liverpool 'Executives' fly out to sign 'incredible' €30m playmaker. Done deal soon?

Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic is reportedly one of Liverpool's priority transfer targets this summer, and new reports today suggest that Liverpool are currently taking action in a bid to seal the deal.

According ESPN 'sources' on Friday:

* Liverpool have made a £10m [€14m] bid for 'incredible' Kovacic, and the Reds are willing to offer Lucas Leiva in part-exchange.

* Three Liverpool 'executives' met with Kovacic and Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio on Friday to discuss a transfer.

* Inter allegedly made it clear that they will not sell Kovacic for anything less than €30m.

Talk about Déjà vu. If thee reports of a derisory €14m bid are true, then it's amateur hour once again at Liverpool.

These pointless lowball tactics are a total waste of time, and will probably lead to the Reds losing out on yet another transfer.

Granted, after last summer's shambolic spending, caution with transfer fees is a prudent way to proceed, but if Liverpool are not willing to spend €20m+ on Kovacic, why waste time on lowball tactics?

Kovacic timeline:

* Mar 2015: ITV Sport claimed: "Mateo Kovacic will join Liverpool for £22m (€30m) in May. Inter are desperate to sell and the Reds have agreed to meet their asking price".

* Mar 2015: Soon after, a separate report claimed that Kovacic is 'desperate' to join Liverpool over Manchester United and Arsenal.

* Apr 2015: The The Mirror claimed that Liverpool are considering a swap deal involving Lucas Leiva.

* May 2015: Calciomercato claimed that Inter are willing to sell Kovacic for €20m in a bid to fun moves for Yaya Toure, and Pablo Dybala.



The obvious question here is this: why is Kovacic allegedly 'desperate' to join Liverpool ahead of Man United and Arsenal?

* Kovacic has no special affinity for and/or connection with LFC.

* The Reds cannot compete when it comes to salary demands.

* Man Utd and Arsenal are in the Champions League next season; Liverpool are not.

* Both clubs have more renowned managers.

* Liverpool have no internationally renowned players.

* Arsenal and MU have the likes of Sanchez, Ozil, Rooney, Di Maria, Falcao etc.

It doesn't compute. Additionally, why are Inter 'desperate' to sell a player who is hyped as one of the most highly-rated young players in Europe? If he's so good, why sell? Additionally, after flogging Coutinho to Liverpool for negligently cheap fee, surely the Serie A giants won't make the same mistake again?

Liverpool's alleged pursuit of 21-year old Kovacic underlines one ongoing reality: the club is still persisting with the failing 'buy 'em young' policy, and if - as reported - Kovacic is Steven Gerrard's replacement, then it just shows that Rodgers (and FSG) have learned nothing over the last three seasons.

For the right price, Kovacic is an interesting option, but there's arguably no chance of him coming to Anfield at the age of 21 and having a transformative impact in his first season. As such, why bother with yet another young player who will allegedly come good at some undetermined point in the future?

That said, I'll concede that £10m plus Lucas Leiva will represent good business, though it doesn't change the fact that the Croatian is nowhere near the level required (in terms of experienced/impact) to replace Gerrard.

Author: Jaimie K


364 comments:

  1. Until the fate of Brendan is known , no chance of transfer dealings now for sure. another Bull shite story from the circus

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  2. So if we swop Lucas for him to take Gerrard's place who is (was) an attacking midfielder and Lucas is a D/M we will have to buy another D/M.

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  3. I guess this transfer does make some sense because at the very least he does not come from Southampton unless he has a holiday cottage there ? The truth is we all want to see a massive improvementnext Season and if B R can deliver that then good luck to him BUT NO more excuses about playing players out of position and formations that have failed over and over again

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  4. We already have joe yay

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  5. Lucas Leiva had a good season and helped win important games .
    Surely with all the turmoil at Liverpool at the moment we need to keep Lucus with his experience for another season before he goes ?

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  6. Kovacic is a great player and one who can set the world alight with his play. If we can get him for 10 mil, that would represent amazing business considering we spent 15 mil on Allen and 25 mil on Lallana. We need players with technical ability and he has got it. He can pick out a pass and has an eye for goal.

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  7. Another low-ball offer?

    Won't be long before it's renamed the 'derisory committee'

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  8. Maybe if clyne comes in you could give can ago in dm or put our fantistic joe Alan in

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  9. What is so special about Kovacis to command a € 30 M? he is exactly worth €10 M. He is exactly at the same level of Henderson, heck Henderson is really better.

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  10. First weekend after the season ends is usually depressing. Not this year, though, glad to see the back of it for a couple of months.

    That said, not sure how much quality we're going to garner during the transfer season, either.

    Oh well, as long as we sign players to suit our system (whatever that may be), we might improve this year.

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  11. I honestly do not see LFC signing any players until after the season review is complete and a decision has been made on who takes the club forward. The bid for Clyne if true was an indication of how poor we are when it comes to transfer dealings. Clearly Southampton are not going to let Clyne go for £10m and LFC have made themselves look desperate. Why on earth we would want to sign another Southampton player is beyond me as we will not pay less than £20m for Clyne and quite honestly is not worth that much and as we have seen with Lovren, Lallana and Lambert = £50m we are just going to waste more money under Rodgers/transfer committee.

    With regards to appointing a new manager, lets use Klopp as an example. He is not done with the season yet as he has one match left to manage at Dortmund which is today, the DFB-Pokal Final. We would not be able to speak to Klopp directly as he is still under contract with Dortmund and asked for his contract to be terminated when the season is done. We would however be able to speak to his agent but it will also be unprofessional from LFC to negotiate a job offer for Klopp if he is not directly involved in discussions with his new employer. I really hope that FSG get stuck into Klopp once he has said his final goodbye to Dortmund. Klopp is most definitely a viable option and would be the best signing we make for the new season! Klopp for the Kop!

    Currently our squad has 20 Barclays Premier League squad players excluding home grown talent so that is another reason why I do not see us signing any new players until we move on those who are not in the plans going forward or maybe a new manager will make better use of those who are not deemed good enough under the current regime.



    Johnson and Gerrard are off to pastures new. Enrique, Borini, Lambert, Coates, Jones, Manquillo, Ilori, Balotelli, Alberto and Aspas will likely be up for sale or wanting to find a new home for themselves. It will not be easy moving on most of these players and we most likely will struggle to recoup even half of what was spent on these players.


    This coming summer is a defying one for LFC. More stuff ups in the transfer market will see this club having to settle for midtable mediocrity.

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  12. Good call. Lucas is now our longest tenured player, so I agree with you, an effort should be made to keep him.


    Anyone know how much wages he's on? I hope we don't try to sell him just to reduce the wage bill again.

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  13. That is why I think we offered Toure an extension. With Gerrard leaving it leaves a gaping hole when it comes to leadership on the pitch so we will need all the experience we can get. Henderson IMO is not ready as yet to captain the side. Gerrard is not the player he used to be but how many times in the past did he take the match by the scruff of the neck and drag us out of the hole? We need a captain who can stamp his authority so hopefully we sign a suitable replacement for Gerrard this coming summer.

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  14. This is more like it.................QUALITY.

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  15. Even £15m is cheap.

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  16. ????????????????.....................lol.

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  17. Javier Pastore pens a new deal with PSG and we move quick to secure a very good second choice target.The creative combination of Coutinho and Pastore would've been very attacking and entertaining to watch, but Mateo Kovacic would give Liverpool's midfield a better balance.
    Inter Milan made a big mistake selling Philippe Coutinho for £8m.Inter are desperate to sell.They want to spend Kovacic money on other targets.It's looking like another bargain is on the cards, but things change quickly in the transfer market.

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  18. 22mn is a joke.

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  19. Our number one priority has to be a top midfield anchorman as at the moment Lucas looks likely to leave and then we will pile all the pressure on Can who has been swung from pillar to post playing RB, CB, CM etc. That is why a player like Khedira would be a massive signing as Can would be able to learn his trade from the best.


    Striker is also high priority but we will need to move on Lambert, Balotelli, Borini and Aspas first. Just shows how inept we have been in the transfer market. Everyone knew Gerrard's legs had gone 3 seasons back but we have failed to already have someone lined up to step in now that he is gone.

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  20. Why are Liverpool trying to lowball every team? What is going on?

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  21. The problems with Kovacic are as follows:


    1. Plays in the Serie A which is the most boring and slow paced League in the world. Come to the EPL and he most likely will struggle.


    2. Another player with potential. We already have too many.


    3. Price tag. He is not going to move at the price that is being reported. Another big money risk.

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  22. The problems with Kovacic are as follows:

    1. Plays in the Serie A which is one of the least exciting and slow paced Leagues in the world. Come to the EPL and he most likely will struggle.

    2. Another player with potential. We already have too many.

    3. Price tag. He is not going to move at the price that is being reported. Another big money risk.

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  23. Then again so did Coutinho... So we never know for sure.

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  24. Does anyone remember if KD got sacked after the review or before? Has FSG said anything regarding BR?

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  25. So is the risk worth for 22mn?

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  26. There's not too many players like Khedira around nowadays.That type of defensive anchorman is becoming a dy8ng breed.Managers now want every position played with a certain amount of attack mindedness.DM is becoming a position that requires top level passing variation over defensive fundamentals:)
    The modern day DM is something that's unrecognizable and useless in terms of giving the team balance.I would love Liverpool to get our version of Matic.Maybe someone like William Carvalho, but i think Brendan looks at things differently.

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  27. There is no clarity like it was during KD. So I guess BR is staying.

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  28. Apparently we've upped our offer to 13m wow that should make Inter real willing to do business

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  29. Yeh F**k Allan He is no a D/F/M in all fairnesshe is not really a Bad/M-F just to light

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  30. See Above !!

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  31. If this is true, which i doubt. why are we getting rid of all our defensive midfielders? Every game last year we got bossed in midfield? So next season we will play with no strikers and no defensive mids. cant wait

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  32. Well That's what I was thinking ???

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  33. Lets hope you're right

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  34. We needed one anyway

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  35. I don't know. Signing a young player is always a gamble. Sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesn't.

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  36. The thing is KD got us a cup and a final and finished 8th, yet he gets the boot. BR's results are similar.

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  37. Klopp wants Liverpool's transfer committee to be scrapped before agreeing to join.

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  38. Young player for 22mn is a very bad decision IMO.

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  39. Why is this guy desperate to get with of the best tackler in our team. We have no holding midfielder and are not even linked with one. But he seems intent on removing the only "bite" we have in our midfield options.
    I'd seriously get rid of allen first he is nothing special any two bit midfielder could do what he does.

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  40. So not too dissimilar to ourselves then.

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  41. every decision from now until the start of the season will be drawn out and messy. the modern 'liverpool way'. i am not bothering to look at the rumour pages or football gossip. whatever happens, happens. we will have no say on any matters.i call newcastle utd 'jonglers', after the comedy club....but that could well be aimed at us nowadays.....fu*king depressing.

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  42. if clyne was to come in, under rodgers, he will be our new striker or keeper. depends on his genius tactical thoughts for that day.

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  43. klopp will not join us, carlo will not join us. why would they? they don't need a 'challenge'.

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  44. German media outlet Bild are today reporting that Bayern Munich decided against signing Raheem Sterling after meeting with agent Ward.

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  45. But reports are saying that Klopp wants Liverpool job.

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  46. any club worth their salt would not go near any deals, involving that publicity hungry sc*mbag of an agent.

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  47. 'reports' from who?? 'sources' say=need to sell papers. rumours, tittle tattle, blah, blah, blah. don't take any notice, it is all bol*locks.

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  48. Why for example would Moratta leave Real Madrid for a team that wasn't in the Champions League if we weren't going to offer above the odds in terms of wages?
    At the time he left Madrid he wasn't anywhere near as sought after as he would be now and I don't see the big clubs chasing him at the moment.
    We have always bought unknowns and turned them into stars - Dalglish and Barnes are still our biggest signings in terms of their profile prior to signing .

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  49. This is pretty embarrassing., why bother to offer 12M when inter wants 30? By the way what is the need of signing another markovic?
    Clearly this So called committee are full of ametures.. Fsg also deserve some criticisms. The committee and B Rodgers refused to pay Basel 12m (which is about right ) for salah, someone with CL experience yet they paid 25M for lallana (7goals all season with soton ) ...B Rodgers and CO also rejected 11M Eriksen and decided paying 20M for markovic is better option .i don't know how much this fenway group cared for this club.. THERE'S NO HOW YOU WILL SPEND 20M FOR A NOVICE (markovic ) AND GET AWAY WITH IT

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  50. the guy is a turn off

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  51. i am all for getting value but i am also realistic. amateurs throughout the club now.

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  52. i think lucas it better suited going forward. he was turned into a dm rather than naturally being one

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  53. One a related note, good bargains in Monaco,
    I'd like to see either Kurzawa, Kondogbia or Moutonho
    and Falcao for £20 M here.

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  54. Haha, your bang on there

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  55. David Godoy Cano1:37 pm, May 30, 2015

    It,s easy to say that EPL is inferior if you refeer to todays results..
    But as a leauge i would say that they are best in Marketing, TV/Media ect. that togheter with history and the language: Makes the EPL popular and available for a huge crowd... Would say thats some huge reasons why EPL has so much more international fans than the other leagues.... And btw, La Liga aint that far behind, though its much more based on team popularity than Leage popularity..

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  56. But skilful young and can adapt a big improvement on Allen.

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  57. Still looking them up?

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  58. Haha brilliant. True but brilliant nonetheless.

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  59. So we'd loose our most experienced midfielder and replace him with more potential?

    I'm all for youth but the buy them young and cheap is nothing new other clubs are doing it and we've always done, the new owners trying make everyone believe they're doing something revolutionary, but the reality is they're just trying to do things on the cheap and invariably end up costing more money.

    The difference between what Fsg are found and what the others do is that the others supplement their youth with quality and experience, which is what we need to be doing.

    I was trying to think of a cdm who had the quality, and experience to help take us forward. I was thinking Song could be a good option as he had the strength and mobility to help dominate but not sure he has the strength of will to take us forward when things are difficult as his form has dipped towards the end of west hams season.

    The player who I think who give us what we need is Alonso!! Rumoured to be leaving Bayern, he posses the organisation skills and the technical ability to take us forward. His mobility has never been the greatest but he knows where to be at the right time, and would have young legs around him.

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  60. We offered 14M + maybe Lucas when they want 22M.... And Kovacic is not another Markovic. He's a creative CM/AM and was one of the biggest talents a few years ago (still just 20) but has tailed off at Inter. Still very experienced for a u21 and has tons of talent. Basically this is the Coutinho of the midfield. NOT Markovic.

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  61. He's worth that because he has one of the highest upsides of young CMs right now, he's much more mature than most his age, and most importantly, because Inter say so. ;)


    Kovacic represents a large part of Inter's perceived investment in youth. If they were to sell him, they need to make sure they recoup a decent amount so they can re-invest. That's actually the whole reason he's reportedly for sale in the first place... sacrificing youth for money to spend.


    One thing people have to remember during the transfer window is that the flat out "values" of players are irrelevant. It's really how much a player is worth to the club. That's why I'm still irked by the Suarez sale. Realistically, sure he was "worth" around 65M. But for us, he was our entire next 4 years, he was the only thing keeping this club together. He was our star player, the guy that was going to win us the league. That alone is worth more than 65M to me.

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  62. IF Kurwaza is for sale, that would be awesome. Moutinho would also be solid, but he's fallen off the map recently. Not sure if that's because of performance or just because Monaco aren't gaining "super club" status like PSG did with money. Kondogbia would be good too, but there are other options. There will be a lot of competition for him, so that particular buy would be difficult.

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  63. Because it fits their profile? I highly doubt Klopp will join any mega club in the next 10 years. It's just not him. Carlo on the other hand has been here done that. He had his time at Real, Chelsea, etc. Maybe he IS looking for something new. Everything else would be same old same old. A bit tiring, don't you think? Other coaches like Jorge Jesus or Unai Emery or Philip Cocu could be looking to move up in the managerial world.


    But back to Klopp, LFC are perhaps the most like Dortmund than any other club in England. We're laced with history, but our current status isn't exactly pleasing (like Dortmund when he took over). We have some of the best fanbases in the world, and we're craving someone to "save" us. Heck, we even both sing YNWA. We might not be the most attractive job in the world, for Klopp we have a sense of familiarity that could be quite appealing. Not to mention, we're a blank slate. We have all the right colors, but a picture is yet to be drawn.

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  64. reepzong lepcha2:46 pm, May 30, 2015

    Aabsolutely

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  65. No Manager worth his salt such as Ancelotti, Klopp or Rafa will work with a transfer committe here is FSG's problem and they dont want to change it so they will keep searching for a manager that will work with the transfer committee so it wont be Klopp, Ancelotti or Rafa,
    Maybe Do Boer or Rudi Garcia..yeah with those two we will really hit the big time...NOT

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  66. And now Raheem self destruction starts ..I have no sympathy for him

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  67. Agreed Jamie - For £20 mil, we could get much better.

    Buying English is a waste of time and money. Transfer will be completed late in the season when options are slim and transfer fees are high.

    Best Buys come from South America or anywhere in the world but England.

    Still cant believe we are in for Clyne through; It seems BRodge is determined to ruin our club. We need his rot to be long gone else wallow in mediocrity.

    Klopp seems the only salvation as he's reportedly asked for the entire transfer committee to be disbanded - Rightly so as the transfer committee couldn't be trusted to deliver a pizza!

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  68. BRodge has proven how out of his depth he is at various levels - I cant understand how FSG seem to persist with his ineptitude.
    He will be the rot of this club if he's allowed to continue.

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  69. solitaryreaper3:00 pm, May 30, 2015

    Jamie and others...any updates on Bodgers future?
    I am getting sick of these potential signings (rumors).
    When the burning issue should be to find a replacement for the current manager.
    Ancelotti
    Klopp
    Emery
    are available .
    Please someone wake FSG up from their deep slumber !!

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  70. Jaimie I would just like to point out (yet again) that Liverpool is Kovacic's favourite club... ever...

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  71. solitaryreaper3:04 pm, May 30, 2015

    Club is doomed if this cl@wn stays for another season.
    God save LFC

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  72. Let's hope he's wrong kovacic on his day is a proper player.

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  73. He probably got angry when things didn't go his way and called Beckenbauer a knob

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  74. so where do your opinions come from?

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  75. Of Course theres something we can do!

    Stop buying club merchandise!

    Speak with your Money!

    If fans stop supporting blatant ignorance - And this hurts the club balance sheet - Then the club is mandated to change their Ignorant Transfer policy and change their wage structure to attract the type of player that makes the fans dream and cheer at the games!

    If they make no money from shirt sales - they have to change to stay alive.

    So too with any corrupt organisation - cutting off people supporting them forces them to change or die out!

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  76. When is this review we all keep talking about?

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  77. Ian Rush P660 G3463:21 pm, May 30, 2015

    No mention that he's in the last year of his contract, usually get players for half price which would be £10m. Also, the reason he should join Liverpool is because our sponsorship deals alone make over £60m per year, what are Southampton on? We can buy better players and I believe will sign a few good ones this summer, possibly starting with Clyne.

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  78. They would join for 5 million or more that rodgers earns. That alone is a draw. Managers will work anywhere for the right price and for a substantial amount of power at the said club. Who knew Marcelo lippi would work in China. Or that Rijkaard would work in Arabia?

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  79. Ian Rush P660 G3463:23 pm, May 30, 2015

    Sometimes teams below us develop a good player or two.

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  80. Well it's not as if the committee had been a raving success. If we get in a better manager we are very likely to scap it. That's even if rodgers stays. I think he'll demand to be his own man if his job is at risk unlike the rest of the committee. I know I would. If I take full blame I must have full power of the team.

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  81. So was Markovic. Don't get me wrong the kid can play but under the right coaching

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  82. BIG BIG NEWS - The great RON Atkinson has dubbed MARIO Balo WORST SIGNING EVER since the World began - Well he should Know he signed the other nine

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  83. Great post, agreed with the whole thing.

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  84. Skillful and young means nothing when you come from the Serie A to the EPL. Ask the endless players from the Serie A who have failed in the EPL.

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  85. Probably first week of June.

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  86. voice of reason4:15 pm, May 30, 2015

    i'm going to do what i hate watch some youtube videos of him get my hopes up only for them to crash due to Ayre's ineptitude at sealing quality players

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  87. Markovic was just building his name. Markovic is the Kovacic/Coutinho of 2-ish years ago. They made their "big move" to Inter, but stalled out. Markovic made his big move to us. I guess the main difference is the stage in their career. They're the same age, but Kovacic is further along the line.

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  88. Stan Dinaround4:24 pm, May 30, 2015

    No excuse for ignorance mate. I'll be sure to chastise myself severely.

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  89. voice of reason4:24 pm, May 30, 2015

    no nothing its all hear say... the BR faithful are saying he's going to stay due to his involvement in the transfers (see anfield hq and any james pearce article) however he is supposed to be on holidays out of the country (cant remember the source) so idk how he is involved in transfers as the anfield hq use as there base theory for why they believe he is staying... also espn and sky other credible websites say he's going to stay as the meeting will not have job rammifications in it as BR had a discussion with um the guy he's suposed to have the meeting with... however that was a week before the stoke game so they are quoting old news (if i confused u here let me know)... um lets see... marca (an uncredible source) has said that ancellotti has been sounded by the reds but that was before he got the sack from real madrid.... there is talk he and klopp may forego the sabaticcal if LFC go for them but the ancelotti one is heresay and the Klopp one is from the bild (uncredible source) so far thats all i know..... also for the record i'm not a troll or anything so i would not set u up and lead u astray this is all i know so far and all other websited running with these reports are either quoting marca or bild as i previously noted as uncredible sources... imo see jamies article on rafa its the most believable article as to who may most likely be our next LFC manager

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  90. voice of reason4:28 pm, May 30, 2015

    kondogbia would be amazing but doubt we're interested in him

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  91. voice of reason4:30 pm, May 30, 2015

    lucas should never be forced out of LFC a very solid CDM miles ahead of a certain welsh xavi

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  92. voice of reason4:31 pm, May 30, 2015

    agreed with the coaching aspect its unfair to judge markovic as BR has underused him and imo does not rate him

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  93. voice of reason4:31 pm, May 30, 2015

    your kidding googling now

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  94. Stan Dinaround4:36 pm, May 30, 2015

    Cut and paste.

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  95. Oh yawn another pop at Liverpool by this idiot..10 million for a player with1 year on his contract is perfectly reasonable.

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  96. Clyne is a very good player and certainly worth the money. Do it and do it quick before we lose out again.

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  97. How dare Rogers try and sign a proven goalscorer that defenders just cannot handle! The guys is a very good forward and will score goals, he tore our back line a new one!!!

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  98. Would prefer we spend the money Mauro Icardi instead

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  99. If we are already making transfer plans, that should be a sign that Rodgers is staying.


    I'd find it hard to believe we'd be signing players before brining in a replacement manager.

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  100. Starting out at 900k per week was probably the wrong move
    :)

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  101. Good transfer if it were to happen and why has he got to be a direct replacement for Gerrard ? No one can replace Gerrard he's a unique talent this kid would be great alongside coutinho. I'd like to see lucks replaced with rossiter or use can as the dm.

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  102. Some of you guys really confuse me.

    You complain that we spend over the odds for players and then complain when we try to buy players cheap.. there is no pleasing some people.

    Then I see people complaining about FSG regarding our signings.

    So if FSG back who our manager they are wrong, if they were to buy players over the managers head or refuse to sanction buys you would also complain, again you can't have it both ways.

    I have no idea what people actually want any more or are you just finding anything you can to complain about.

    Most of us want BR out, most of us want either Klopp or Ancelotti to take over.



    That is fine, but please stop with all the other stuff.


    Out of all of our previous owners dating back to and including Moores they are by far the best.


    Are they perfect, no but they are a massive improvement over what we had had in the last 25 odd years.


    As for signing players from Top European Clubs or Clubs above us, in the last 25 years we as a club have only literally only brought about 5 out of 180 players we have signed from clubs who you could say are Top European Clubs.


    As much as it hurts we are not or have been for a very long time a Top European Club in regards to trophies won and CL football.


    We know what we as a club have won in the last 20 years, now compare that to Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City. Now look at what other top clubs around Europe have won such as Milan, Inter, Juve, Bayern, RM, Barc, PSG etc and compare that to us.


    Yes we have History, more then most other clubs around the world, yes we have amazing supporters (personally I believe the best) and maybe 15 years that mattered.


    Now Top level European football is all business. It is all about CL football and Money.


    That why you see players happily go to teams like Chelsea and maybe play a handful of game a season instead of somewhere else and be a first team player.


    Money and CL football.

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  103. Good player but never a Gerrard replacement and why include Lucas in the deal when he is the only decent defensive midfielder we've got. Instead of Lucas, Allen is the one who needs to be replaced.

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  104. So he take a leaf out of John Terry's book and repeat the feat in England by hitting on players' WAG?

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  105. Of course, we're only interested in buying quality!

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  106. I propose with Xavi leaving europe we drop the 'welsh' prefix and start to acknowledge the king as simply 'Xavi'.

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  107. What is more depressing that seeing Arsenal winning the Cup against an opposition we totally got outplayed by?

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  108. What an absolute rocket from Sanchez!!!

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  109. Best strike of season - FA Cup and ECL in first season ..... now we know why chose the Arce

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  110. Trouble is he could have done that with us had we signed him

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  111. Anybody still want Benteke? Immobile on both ends...a traffic cone.

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  112. Benteke looks far from a 30 million pound player in this game!!

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  113. Now that's my thoughts... problem is we had better resources for signing him last year but we totally blew it and he ended up at our rivals...

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  114. Mmmm like to think so . They were so lucky to get him

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  115. voice of reason6:53 pm, May 30, 2015

    i never took on BR with that welsh xavi accolade allen has done nothing to prove he's even better than conor coady imo

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  116. He looked exactly LFC material...
    over hyped against lesser opposition.. goes missing against the big guns..
    seems like a match made in heaven

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  117. voice of reason6:54 pm, May 30, 2015

    we have some good buys just not a good manager to use them properly... people berate Lovren, moreno, markovic, emre can but all of these players were great for there previous club what has been the difference here???? one acronynm BR

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  118. If Benteke is worth 30 mill What is Alexis worth ..... ?

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  119. Do we really need another lazy striker ?

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  120. Never sold him in the first place. This performance should cool any remaining excitement about buying him.

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  121. Who never sold him?

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  122. Me thinks 'sold on '

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  123. That is the same with all players in mid to lower level clubs in the Premier League. They do not perform when it counts and when there are expectations. For those clubs, if you underperform once or twice, it is fine but it does not cut it for the top teams.

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  124. Ahh! Ya, me either. He's big and strong and he's a handful most of the time but not much football in him..

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  125. How do you figure that. We matched there bid and offered more in wages then Arsenal, what more do you what us to do, kidnap his family?


    Fact is he had a choice, and he chose a club who have qualified for the CL 18 years straight, managed by one the best managers in the world and to live in London.

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  126. Dempsey. 16 for Fulham. Couldn't hold a position with Spurs.

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  127. Did you expect anything less? I fully expected Villa to get a tonking today. While we made Benteke and Delph look world class, Arsenal are making them look exactly what they are - average players.

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  128. Handfull for a POOR defence !

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  129. It happens with everyone. Only if you prove it for a few seasons consistently that you are the real deal, these players always fail. There has not been a single experienced player we have signed from a Prem club below us that has performed. Once in a while, young players like Hendo break the trend but not often.

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  130. I am not his biggest fan but to be fair to him Villa have not once tried to take game to Arsenal.

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  131. Not one.. are you sure of that because I could name a few

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  132. Because they are not that great a team and when they meet a good team, their weaknesses are exposed? Only if you have a match winner can you win when others around you are not great.

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  133. I wouldn't call him lazy. He just has a limited tool set.

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  134. He's a big strong lad in fairness and he has caused some big teams a few problems but imagine how poor he would be for us with no crosses going in the box..

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  135. Not one was a bit of hyperbole but very few players who are supposedly proven in the Prem perform at the big leagues for big money.

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  136. Sorry mate but the underdog can win games and have done on a regular basis.


    You only have to look at this season how many times the lesser team have won, especially in cup games.


    Fact is if you still back and allow a team like arsenal you will always lose. If you go at the them at least you have a chance.

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  137. We couldn't afford to lose him... simple as that... we must have insisted that we do businesses with Banrca only if Sanchez comes here. Any smart person would think of the replacement beforehand than to end up like shittt in 6th place!

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  138. Again mate I will have to disagree.

    Let me put it this way, look how many players Man Utd have signed over the last 10 - 15 years.

    Many of them have been from clubs below them simply because they have been Champions so many times.

    We used to be brilliant at it.

    You can buy from clubs below you and those players can have a massive impact, its just very difficult but it can be done.

    Shankly, Paisley, Dalglish, Ferguson and Wenger were and are managers who were able to do this with great effect.

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  139. well, seems like we do!

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  140. Yes, that happens when players play above their levels or fans give them something extra. When you are not playing well, you need quality to win. When you are an underdog, there is no pressure on you so playing without that psychological barrier to perform can make you play better than you actually are. We do not need players who have performed well for underdogs but those that are the real deal

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  141. don't agree, players have equally under performed, that is beyond dispute, it is not like if BR coaches CR7 he will score only 1 goal across season!

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  142. I simply do not what to say to that, have to admit I am a little stunned.


    You do realise that from day 1 Sanchez always said he wanted to go to Arsenal.


    That is what frustrated me about BR going for him, Sanchez was clear as crystal that he wanted to go to Arsenal.


    BR wasted so much time trying to sign a player who from day 1 made abundantly clear he did not want to join us.

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  143. Well guys .. IF we had 've made Wembley does anybody realistically think we would have done much better ?

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  144. At the moment I would settle for that considering our players seem unable to even able to raise to the occasion.

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  145. I would not count Shankly, Paisley or Dalglish because things were different then. Normally, the norm was British players usually from the the academy or from others and football was different then. As for Ferguson and Wenger, the first thing to consider is they were both amazing managers that did great things with average players. I mean, how many players have left United to have failed. Ferguson got the best out of a lot of average players. He would be an exception to the rule. You can see that after he left that a lot of those players faded away that were amazing during Ferguson's time. Wenger, has never been a huge exploiter of the British market and when he did tap into it, it was mostly for young players on the cheap instead of big money signings. It is only now he has done that.

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  146. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Stevie !

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  147. Isn't it Benteke's job to take it to them?

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  148. I have heard people give credit to BR for "identifying" Sanchez as a target. I mean, the lengths people go to defend him is crazy sometimes. There was always going to be a probability that Sancez would not join and the fact that Remy was second on the list was crazy. It was amateurish and we have paid for it dearly.

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  149. Still would rather have watched LFC v Gunners than this.

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  150. 4-1 vs 4-0?? Not much difference..

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  151. Lovren was never great for anybody. For Lyon, he was voted as one of their worst players ever and I quote from a Lyon fan when Saints signed him - " Who in their right mind would sign Lovren for 10m Euros". If he was so great for Southampton, they would have finished higher than seventh.

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  152. Again, I am not his biggest fan but as we should know better then most teams, 1 striker can not take on a entire defence by themselves.

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  153. Well if STOKE put 6 past us last match ??????

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  154. Totally agree

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  155. When they did it doesn't matter, most of our best players were all signed from clubs lower down then us, some a lot lower.


    As for Fergie, I agree, it can be done but it all depends on the manager, in our case with BR it will never happen

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  156. Yeah, it takes a great manager to get the best out of average players and get a cohesive team and BR has not got that.

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  157. Yes but I was only watching how Benteke was playing. Really had no other stake in the game. I was just a little envious that Arsenal could sub MFs out and bring on Ox, wilshere and Giroux.

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  158. Well I suppose going straight thro to group stage of Europa is a positive .......... or IS IT ?

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  159. It is. We need every positive we van get.

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  160. voice of reason7:37 pm, May 30, 2015

    he performed in the world cup too imo its because we dont have a DF coach why defensive players like lovren and moreno are suffering

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  161. Hope 'Van ' was a typo and you haven't got Van girl on the brain ? Just hope we do better than last time and BR ( if still captain of the ship ) doesn't complain again about all the extra fixtures ...

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  162. voice of reason7:40 pm, May 30, 2015

    players have underperformed but at the end of the day thats always going to be down to the manager end of.... ask carlo ancelotti his opinion about this matter... the buck always stops with the manager... (i would take ancelotti in a heart beat real madrid were too quick with there reaction)

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  163. I don't think Real under performed this season... the expectations was always going too high after winning la decima, in fact Real was brilliant this season.

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  164. Trust me he won't need your sympathy,

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  165. voice of reason8:30 pm, May 30, 2015

    i used real madrid as an example the buck stopped with the manager the results were not up to scratch there players were under performing just like at LFC and real madrid blamed who ancelotti and did what your right fuly supposed to do in these scenarios let him go (again real madrid was to harsh though)

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  166. Let's hope someone comes in and nicks Benteke from under our noses

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  167. Real dismisses Ancelloti for finishing second place
    Liverpool uses the second place finishing as a reason not to dismiss Rodgers

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  168. RM are the worst example to use.

    They have had 7 managers in 10 years.

    Ancelotti

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  169. I don't know why this all reminded me of Nicklas Bendtner

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  170. Good night gentlemen, let me introduce you to the most ridiculous and embarrassing headline in years:


    Liverpool earn Europa League group stage berth thanks to Arsenal's FA cup victory.!

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  171. But let's hope we do better than last time and not give BR another excuse having too many games to play again !

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  172. voice of reason9:02 pm, May 30, 2015

    and my question is do u think BR can offer that?? cause to me he has clearly lost the plot

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  173. Have to say don't know what Benteke would bring to the wake more than Balo.

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  174. Kovacic seems to be more of a number 10 anyway and Gaitan looks a better player if this is the type of player BR is after.

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  175. Nobody's daft enough

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  176. Actually hoped we would have to play qualifiers, play the kids and get knocked out. The only priority next year is the league.

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  177. 'reports from close sources' are ploys to test the water from better positioned clubs who may want to replace or are actively looking to replace....such as city? seriously, if that job came up, if he is a sane man, would he choose us over them???? come on!!!!???

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  178. by the way, who has come out and said city "don't want him"?

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  179. to a point i agree, however, arabia and china are a markedly different animal to our league.

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  180. Yh bit I mean if they can get them so can we? It's not as if we can't afford it.

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  181. the power element could be a sticking point. if i was a manager i would want full control...regardless of my wage.

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  182. Yes I agree. But I was just correcting Antoine. We did not offer 10M, but rather 12M plus Lucas. I don't like that deal, but it is technically worth what their asking.

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  183. Of course . But circumstances differ. When u have it all to prove like rodgers has. U will be inclined to delegate. There are very few cases when inexperienced managers get absolute control at big clubs. Example being pep at barca. He got control to get rid of stars like deco and Ronaldinho at blood in new stars like iniesta messi and Pedro. In most cases manager get more control the more they succeed. I believe had we won the league last year rodgers would have demanded more control and would have gotten it.

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  184. Well now... John Terry's not going to be around forever!

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  185. Benteke not woth one penny more than £15 k

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  186. Benteke is strong but thats it - a joke next to Torres of old etc

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  187. mostly Italians fail in ENGLAND.

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  188. Very dissimilar IMO, they have all the money a team could ever wish for and an apparently proven 'marquee' manager and it took them and him, a whole season to work out where thumb should play, and moreover if it wasn't for their keeper we would of consigned them to another season out of Europe, Falcao didn't exactly work out too well either and come to think of it Di Maria has gone backwards and their defence was largely terrible, lets really hope that if BR gets the boot as many wish and we sign a new super-manager he performs a lot better.

    Sure I was being a touch facetious though ;-)

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  189. Klopp is not known to be completely 'sane', that's why people have rather exceptional views about where he will end up next.

    Who's said that Klopp is not City's first choice? Not the media. I largely stopped listening to media reports a while ago.

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  190. I know what you mean but is it really low ball when you take Lucas' value into account, I really hope we keep Lucas and just offer a sensible amount for Kovacic. Maybe though that answers Jamie's question of why are we front runners - perhaps in Lucas we have something Inter want.

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