23 Jul 2015

Next to sign? Liverpool chase exciting £15m Brazil star with amazing stats for a defender

After last season's appalling performance in the transfer market, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is trying to make amends this summer with a series of high-profile signings, and although Brendan Rodgers has already signed Nathaniel Clyne, it appears that the manager is planning to sign another full-back before the transfer window closes.

According to reports this week:

* Liverpool are 'keen' to sign Barcelona defender Adriano Correia.

* Roma are also interested in the Brazilian, wants to leave the Nou Camp.

Liverpool were last linked with Adriano in February, when The Mirror claimed:

"Liverpool are monitoring Adriano’s situation at Barcelona. He could decide to move on this summer [and] the Reds keeping tabs on developments".

Adriano has also confirmed that he's open to a transfer this summer. In a recent interview with El Grafico, he noted:

"I’d like to have more playing time to be able to assist more...and when the season is coming to its end, I will then speak to my agent about future possibilities"

Some info about Adriano:

* Can play at right/left-back, or in midfield.

* Contract contains a £15m release clause.

* Current contract expires in 2017.

* 16 goals/22 assists in 170 apps for Barca.

* Goal/assist every 4 games.

* 18 appearances for the Brazil national team.

* 6 injuries in 5 years. 23 games missed for Barca.

* Last summer, Barca discovered that Adriano had a heart rhythm issue, and at the time, the club posted the following statement: "[Adriano] was diagnosed with a heart murmur on July 16. He has been doing specific fitness training, and has gradually been able to do some of the training with his teammates"


Liverpool pulled out of the Loic Remy deal due to an alleged heart defect, so it seems unlikely that the club will suddenly change the transfer policy and sign a player with a similar issue.

That said, it's easy to see why Rodgers is (allegedly) interested. Adriano is incredibly versatile, and due to his ambidexterity, the Brazilian can play left or right, either defensively or offensively.

Additionally, with a goal/assist every 4 games, Adriano's creative stats for Barcelona are superb (for a player who predominantly operates as a defender), and in that respect, he's a significant upgrade on Johnson, Manquillo, Flanagan, and Alberto Moreno.

Even with Moreno, Liverpool are still light on quality on the full-back areas. Clyne is a good signing, but left-back is still not strong enough, and perhaps Rodgers' plan is to play Adriano on the left?

------------------- Mignolet

Clyne ------- Skrtel ------ Sakho ---- Adriano

--------------------- Can

------------- Milner ----- Hendo

--------- Coutinho -------- Firmino

------------------- Benteke

Adriano is also a superb option as a wing-back in a 343. Worth a bid?

Author: Jaimie K


134 comments:

  1. Methinks this is a rumor as we are most likely done with transfers this summer (supposedly). Besides i think BR is thinking of Gomez as a left back.

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  2. Hasn't Adriano Correia already agreed a deal with Roma?

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  3. Hes a good left back with great experience and i would love to see him a sign. But if not i would not mind developing Gomez who i believe has massive potential. That team you chose, with gomez left back instead and firmino slightly ahead of coutinho, would be my favoured starting 11 next season

    ............................coutinho
    . .............firmino
    ..............................................benteke

    With sturridge he can play right 'forward', not wing, firmino left forward benteke centre forward. Coutinho, milner and Henderson will complete the midfield 3, and as we saw when we almost won the title coutinho revels from deep with work rate, ball winning and vision.

    Benteke is a magnificent signing and is exactly what we need. We have many corners. He will us to convert those chances. Not jus that, hes fast, if you remember when he outpaced smalling, threw him out the way with power and set up wiemann for a brilliant goal. Benteke linkup play with other players, understanding of the game and his record is amazing. For me he is worth 32.5m. Hes scored 2 goals against chelsea(both left footed), twice against arsenal, twice against man United, 5 times against everton, 4 times against spurs, 6 times against Liverpool. Hes clearly unstoppable if he can score against the best teams in the PL time and time again. For us he will only be better. Play it to him anyhow, hell control and finish. What a signing, and once lambert goes hell done the number 9, a number he truly deserves. The tekkers is gonna be immense, firmino bentekkers and coutinho

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  4. JK, on his stats you rightly record that he has scored 16 in 170. Last season he scored 2 and made 1 assist in 23 games playing as a full back- ie about involvement in a goal every 1 in 8 games. That is a long way off the goals/assists per game you are suggesting and sounds pretty average to me. The player is listed as both a defender and a midfielder on various sites. Is it possible he was more productive in the goal department when played in midfield?

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  5. hasn't he agreed a deal with Roma? And we are using the Mirror as a source??

    He is a good player though and is always full of energy when i have seen him play for Barca

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  6. With coutinho and firmino still getting up to speed, we should bring them on at 70mins against stoke and start them at home against Bournemouth fresh. Against stoke my team would be

    ..........................mingolet
    Clyne.......skrtel.............sakho.... gomez
    ............milner...........hendo
    ......................lallana
    ........ings.............. ........ibe
    ....................benteke

    Subs on firmino for ings at 70mins, coutinho for lallana at 70mins, can for milner at 80mins

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  7. Having watched Adriano since he signed from Sevilla (what is it with Barca poaching Sevilla's fullbacks?) and he is a massively talented player who has scored some amazing long range goals. Solid defender and he could have provided real competition for Alves if it wasnt for the fact he can't go 5 games without a serious injury.
    You're correct on the wingback/winger role though, he is so full of energy that he owns the Wingback position. Great crossing, great dribbling and amazing long shots.
    All this praise and I still wouldnt sign him, simply due to his injury history.

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  8. ...quite right about loic remy.....it is a risk when you consider Sir David Frost's eldest son passed away couple days ago at the age of 31 from a heart attack...fit as a fiddle, lean, muscular and not an issue ever...btu with heart arrhythmias increased heart beat going faster and faster is a big danger to life.....
    ..its quite common and apparently Italian football has decreased the incidence number by 90% since they started doing proper tests for guys going pro.....
    ...we shouldn't be signing anyone with anything like that....not just as a moral thing to keep from 'enabling' the player in his quest toi damage his own health or put himself under risk but also business wise its not a great idea to take risks like that; anything could happen, hence why pulling out of remy deal made perfect sense to me........

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  9. Absolutely agree DinMan. Outstanding, terrific work!
    It wouldnt be a good business choice, both his leg injuries and his condition make him an almost unemployable player, despite his clear ability.
    I was glad about Remy, didnt rate him as highly as many 'fish that got away type scenario' and despite a couple of nice goals for chelski, he hasnt overly impressed, likewise with Salah.
    If the doctors said no, I believe them. It's their job to know these things, but fans (most I assume have very little medical knowledge, and even less medical knowledge of the player in question) feel the need to criticise the decision just because some chelsea doctor said otherwise.
    Sometimes I just dont understand people.

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  10. Gomez is probably a good shout vs stoke, i wouldnt play him if we had one of the big sides first up but itd be good to see him line up there. Good call on cou and mino too, sound thinking.

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  11. They walloped us last time we played them. I would play the most experienced team possible, tbh.

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  12. We always seem to do well/badly (delete as appropriate) with players whose name ends with ans "a" , So we should steer clear/sign him now.

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  13. They whalloped a team that had clearly had enough of the season, I wouldn't (and don't) draw any conclusions from that game, it isn't even a reflection of our quality last season.
    As much as I don't want to get too excited about Gomez, he looked more comfortable in the couple of games I've seen him play than Moreno did all last season. I know it is inferior opposition, but even when they played in the same game he looked better... Not 100% sure that Moreno is in our strongest team, but I did just notice you said experienced, so I'll pay that.

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  14. Welcome Benteke. For you to succeed will be all down to Brendan on how he utilises you and the way he sets up the team around you.


    Let's hope you succeed.

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  15. I don't know, why don't you tell us, Luis Enrique?

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  16. Can't see us adding more players after Benteke. Our squad is far to big now and we can only register 25 players. As it is, we already have +- 35 players for the 1st team squad.


    For the rest of the window it will surely be the aim to move on those who are not in the plans going forward.

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  17. This is how I see Brendan lining up his team vs Stoke should all the players be available


    Migs
    Clyne Skrtel Sakho Moreno
    Milner Allen Henderson
    Firmino Beneteke Coutinho

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  18. Can't help having him up there man, I freaking worshipped the guy as a kid. Still love watching clips, he played with serious style. First football shirt I got was brought back from Barcelona by my grandparents and had his name on the back.
    And I wish I could tell you, I suppose it's because they always seem to have awesome fullbacks...

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  19. "I don't know what you're talking about".

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  20. That's worse than the team that got pummelled 6-1.

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  21. I think that is the first shout I've seen for Allen to be in the XI, but good on you for keeping the faith...

    I'd probably put Can there or make the midfield Milner-Hendo-Coutinho and have Ibe on the wing, personally.

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  22. http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/9920107/christian-benteke-could-be-liverpools-last-summer-signing

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  23. We have had successful failures with players/coaches/linesmen whose first surname starts in the middle and goes out from there, usually with an ! or ñ.
    I think we should sign or sell that players cousin, I hear the nigerian president of jamaica, which is a continent in Conneticut, said that he/she is/was outstanding/terrific/a technician, but Branden Dogers will probably play him as ticket-taker at the gate.

    Wow, that hurt my head.

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  24. I said that is my take on who Brendan will pick.


    My team would look different.

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  25. Begovic, you mean the guy who just let in 4 goals in one half against New York....
    :-P

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  26. That's a good point Loges. From what I can gather, the first team squad looks like so:
    1) Clyne
    2) Enrique
    3) Toure
    4) Lovren
    5) Milner
    6) Lambert
    7) Coutinho
    8) Firmino
    9) Gomez
    10) Henderson
    11) Sturridge
    12) Sakho
    13) Moreno
    14) Lallana
    15) Lucas
    16) Mignolet
    17) Can
    18) Allen
    19) Ilori
    20) Origi
    21) Ings
    22) Borini
    23) Ibe
    24) Bogdan
    25) Skrtel
    26) Flanagan
    27) Balotelli
    28) Wisdom
    29) Markovic
    30) Benteke


    Now from what I remember, your 25 player squad doesnt need to include any under 21s?
    Take out Ibe, Origi, Can (maybe, he turns 22 in Jan) and Gomez and you are down to 26, less Lambert and Borini and we still have room for Reus LOL

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  27. As much as I like Bego as a keeper, nothing made me happier than that scoreline, except finding out that it was a medium strength chelski against a second string NY!
    So happy.

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  28. I disagree mate, it is down to Brendan to place the team right, to the team to supply the right passes/crosses and Benteke to actually convert. The blame or praise does not lie solely on BR.

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  29. So what would your team look like? I'd like to get an insight into your... er interesting mind.

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  30. If Begovic concedes that many with a full strength Chelsea starting eleven then there will be cause for concern :-)

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  31. You say: it is down to Brendan to place the team right, to the team to supply the right passes/crosses and Benteke to actually convert

    I say: For you to succeed will be all down to Brendan on how he utilises you and the way he sets up the team around you.



    What is the difference and what are you disagreeing with?

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  32. If Benteke had to be played up top


    Migs
    Clyne (Lovren/Ilori) Sakho (Flanno/Moreno)
    Lucas Can
    Hendo Firmino Coutinho
    Benteke

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  33. Ghost of Suarez9:55 am, July 23, 2015

    Well after 36 games last season we were on course to we had conceded 12 less goals than at the same point last season. The failure for to get the players right once they had nothing to play for those last two games was Rodgers failure (and in small part Gerrard's as captain), but in all the deserved criticism it got lost that we had largely improved greatly defensively and Migs ended up with the second highest number of clean sheets in the league, a remarkable turn around considering the first 3 months of the season. Even including the aberration of the last two games we conceded less than last year, and that has to be looked at in the context of us scoring half as many goals, if you carry that much less goal threat your defence inevitably comes under more pressure as team were more willing to attack you.

    So the cold hard facts show that Rodgers did go some way to improving the defence it's just that every goal we conceded cost us much more than it would have in 2013/14.

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  34. Agree, no mucking about, back to basics and get the job done. 442:
    Gomez
    Gomez Gomez Gomez Gomez
    Gomez Gomez Gomez Gomez
    Gomez Gomez

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  35. We conceded 48 goals, that is all that matters. Even West Ham managed to concede less. Migs kept 14 clean sheets yet conceded 43. Fraser Forster kept 13 clean sheets but only conceded 30.



    Spot the difference? You can paint the picture whichever way you want. Our defence has been a mess.

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  36. Exactly, back/sack him

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  37. What a lovely veiled welcoming that was ;-)

    Welcome Mr B,
    It's probably all going to go horribly wrong and you'll likely be crying before bedtime; boy you've made the wrong decision coming here. Brendan will ruin your career.
    Hope all goes well though,
    Logan.

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  38. Yeah let's hope he does well, seems to me he has a good chance with the player providing the bullets we have. Clyne provided more crosses per game than any other FB last season, I think that means we can play with more variation without having to bring a Lambert on and slow everything down. Here's hoping....

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  39. Thats the starting 11 I think he will go with unless he plays can or Lucas instead of Allen which I don't think he will do ,what's interesting is the coversation s he has in regards lallana ,Marko, balo and lovren with fsg,that's the Suarez fee and then some from last year and none are in the team a scandalous wasre of money

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  40. What I have noticed with Brendan if he signs a player on a day that has y in it they usually fail

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  41. Not so easy when Rodgers has give mega bucks deals to the likes of borini

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  42. Probably would have been a good addition, but reports now suggest agent already agreed 4 year deal with Roma...just waiting for fee to be agreed. Seems Rodgers wants Gomez to contest the LB position with Moreno this season.

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  43. As it stands we have clyn ,José,flanno,Gomez ,and moreno and wisdom amongst others to cover full back but between the sticks we have mingo ( kicks the ball like a girl ) and bog off who I have never heard of .........do the math

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  44. If mingo gets injured we will enter the season with the back up goalie for a low level club,how is this not getting mentioned

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  45. Thanks mate now I must get on with my painting

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  46. I'm still struggling to wrap my head around this particular concept. So the day Benteke misses clear cut chances it will be Rodgers' fault?

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  47. Haha! Here we go again Stu! ;-) Adam Lallana or should I call him dm Llln he's up sh*t creak with out a padle the poor lad only has one vowel in his name and little known to the world his middle made is 'Alan' something that is true in my mind! So his name from know on is Dm Ln Llln now it just sounds like a no.184 of my chinese menu probably contains pork with a hint of ginger or something?

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  48. A little of topic but who does everyone think we will move on now we have everyone in.

    For me it's going to be:

    Jose Enrique £3m
    Lambert £3m
    Borini £6-7m
    Wisdom £3m (or possibly loan, I would like to see him stay)
    Balotelli loan (possibly)

    We may not part with Wisdom due to Flanno still being out, and I think the boy still has potential and maybe another prem loan would be the one.

    If we sell the first 3 for that money, that will mean with a guaranteed outlay of £75m, it will be £57m in (sterlings fee taken as £44m as other £5m also add ons) and leaving a net spend of £18m to improve the squad as much as it looks like we have....good business?

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  49. You're confused, Rodgers doesn't decide on the wages.

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  50. back/sack? Sounds like something a very hairy gentleman would have waxed at the local beauticians before he dons that mankini

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  51. Im saying that brendan can use the perfect tactics, set up the team with the best xi possible but a couple of players, especially attackers, might not gel and that leads to the team balance will be out. Similarly, he might just take a while to get his form up. Those situations arent BRs fault

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  52. Apologies, specs were a bit smudgy

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  53. If Benteke scored more than 10 for Villa last season then he should be able to do the same for LFC but in order to do that if he is going to be played as a lone striker which he most likely will and is not being fed in order to score goals then whose fault will that be?


    Let's just get one thing clear, we are not dealing with a player who is going to create much of his own chances let alone for his team mates. If he does not get sufficient supply of the ball then chances are he will not live up to expectation.

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  54. Let me wipe my eyes.

    You: it is down to Brendan to place the team right vs Me: the way he sets up the team around you (Benteke).


    What is the difference?

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  55. Haha! Here we go again Stu! ;-) Adam Lallana or should I call him dm Llln he's up sh*t creak with out a padle the poor lad only has one vowel in his name and little known to the world his' middle not made up but isn't true name is 'Alan' I like the name Alan it has a air of mystery about it.....Imagine that hey? 'Who's that wicked cool dude over there at the hotdog stand with ketchup on his delightful string vest? That's Alan! WOW! His name makes him even cooler" Imagine how hip and the street cred one would recieve? That's what they would say in my land of Unicorns and sexy robots! Sure beats the name Dave, that my blasted fathers fault and the ancient traditions of calling ones eldest son after him, we need to change it by law! Mother and Father should have asked me when I was born "What would you like to be called little baby" the chancs are my name would have probably been something like..."Whaaaa! Whaaa! " Still better than Dave though! So his name from know on is Dm Ln Llln now it just sounds like a no.184 of my chinese menu probably contains pork with a hint of ginger or something? Haha! I like this game of vowel exclusion I feel like I should be on countdown or something looking at that blonde ladies bottom chewing my pencil trying to look all intelligent like.. Whilst only finding the rude words from the letters and every sum adds upto 69. Haha!

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  56. Haha! Here we go again Stu! ;-) Adam Lallana or should I call him dm Llln he's up sh*t creak with out a padle the poor lad only has one vowel in his name and little known to the world his' middle not made up but isn't true name is 'Alan' I like the name Alan it has a air of mystery about it.....Imagine that hey? 'Who's that wicked cool dude over there at the hotdog stand with ketchup on his delightful string vest? That's Alan! WOW! His name makes him even cooler" Imagine how hip and the street cred one would recieve? That's what they would say in my land of Unicorns and sexy robots! Sure beats the name Dave, that my blasted fathers fault and the ancient traditions of calling ones eldest son after him, we need to change it by law! Mother and Father should have asked me when I was born "What would you like to be called little baby" the chancs are my name would have probably been something like..."Whaaaa! Whaaa! " Still better than Dave though! So his name from know on is Dm Ln Llln now it just sounds like a no.184 of my local take away menu probably contains pork with a hint of ginger or something? Haha! I like this game of vowel exclusion I feel like I should be on countdown or something looking at that blonde ladies bottom chewing my pencil trying to look all intelligent like.. Whilst only finding the rude words from the letters and every sum adds upto 69. Haha!

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  57. Logan isn't trying to re invent the wheel benj its just a simple analysis
    Of how Rodgers plays ,which for the most part is a philosophy of posession football,if you watch the Liverpool v villa games where benteke had success Villa played a high tempo in you face style keeping gerrard and the Liverpool back 4 under pressure benteke thrives on defenders making a mistake then bust!ing in he doiesnt thrive on the ball being passed 6o times in midfield its a mindset as muchas tactic's

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  58. "If Benteke scored more than 10 for VIlla then he should be able to do the same for LFC" - That is false and football isn't that simple. Using your logic, Voronin, Morientes, Robbie Keane, Carroll, Downing, Adam and many others should have been huge successes at Liverpool and the only reason they were not is because their managers failed to utilise them properly. Nothing to do with the pressure of playing for a much bigger club, higher expectations, etc.

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  59. Not going to happen I think the left back spot is left to Moreno and Gomez. I wonder what's the status on Enrique? No one has asked BR about him.

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  60. You left out "but in order to do that if he is going to be played as a lone striker which he most likely will and is not being fed in order to score goals then whose fault will that be?"


    So what I was saying is not false. You copied one part to suite your argument.

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  61. I copied what you said, I didn't make it up. Bottom line is Benteke succeeding or not at Liverpool isn't only down to Rodgers. And I'm sure deep down you know that.

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  62. So when he signed Allen and borini his input was to sign them at all cost no matter the wages they ask ......that's a hell of a job he's got

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  63. Carefully case jk doesn't like that term even if its for comedy effect

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  64. Welcome Benteke,
    Glad to have you here, but I'm afraid you're destined to fail and our esteemed manager will ensure that any resistance to such will only be futile. Although along the way, you may be stuffed into a round hole or two so that could be a good/bad thing depending on how you view it.
    Anyway, looking forward to seeing you help us with our meteoric rise to relegation and whatnot.
    All the best,
    Logan.
    ;-)

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  65. Very good comments I totally agree with this. I never subscribed to 'Benteke would not fit our style of play' nonsense. The boys a beast and will notch for us consistently. LFC have a team that on it day can beat any team. Its will just take time for the players to gel. I agree that Lallanas like to start but I think that Couthino will start and come off as a pose to coming on later. Firmino to start on the bench.

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  66. Twas an error in my spell checking function for which Micros$ft are entirely responsible :)

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  67. Whoa relax mate im just having a conversation, not arguing. Im saying its down to a combination of brendan, the squad and Benteke, not just Rodgers. Im not having a go but i cant say it any clearer

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  68. I think you missed a possibility for Gomez to start.

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  69. Do not try to muddy the waters.


    Go read again, I said if Benteke can score more than 10 for Villa then he can do the same for LFC but in order to do that he needs to be fed. I followed that up by saying If he is not going to be fed then who's fault will it be?

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  70. Still conceded less goals despite having having scored half as much. Your argument was that he had not improved the defence. read your own post....you have just conceded he did improve it.

    So your saying number of clean sheets less important than goals conceded? If we kept 37 clean sheets and conceded 35 in the last game would that be better or worse that 20 clean sheets and conceding 20 goals? Of course we would end up with more points in the former rather than the latter.

    Football, like life in general is a bit more nuanced than the black and white you seem to see everything in.

    With the added goal threat taking the heat off the defence I will wager we don't conceded more than 40 goals this season no problem, might be more like 35.

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  71. You said nothing different to what I did yet you want to disagree.

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  72. Where did your Alan post go! - You were about to Kop a rendition of 'living next door to Alan' :)

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  73. Correia won't be linking with Liverpool.

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  74. 13/14 we conceded 50 but scored 101.


    Last season scored 52, conceded 48.


    That is black and white. If Rodgers cannot get his defence sorted out then he better hope that Benteke is the answer to a 20 + goal scorer this coming season.

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  75. Benteke can be fed and still fail, whose fault will it be in that case? Carroll was fed, Voronin was fed.

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  76. All roads lead to Brendan.

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  77. It will be Brendan's fault for not feeding Benteke himself!

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  78. Well if he fails then it will be £32.5m down the drain. We have paid to much for him to start off with. Rodgers wanted a striker, Benteke was the call.


    Carroll clearly did not fit and was injured most of the time. Voronin, let's not even go there. He just was not good enough. Benteke is far better than both these players combined.


    Benteke can work as long as you play to his strengths. It is that simple.

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  79. Who signs the players? Not Brendan...

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  80. Fair point and I think your overall point is a fair one too but there is a happy medium where *everything* isn't always Brendan's fault and the players take some responsibility for their own shortcomings as well, IMO :)

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  81. Especially when they are played completely out of position and then get ripped apart by the fans for costing £20m ect.

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  82. You might just have lost him after "everything isn't always Brendan's fault"...
    I actually think Benteke will be good for us, maybe not 32 million good but good nonetheless. However, saying it can only be BR's fault if he isn't is not understanding many aspects of football IMO.

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  83. When a manager signs a player which is not intended for his style of football, pays £32.5m in the process and cannot get him to work in that particular system then how can that be the fault of the player?


    Brendan is not going to get Benteke going when the players behind him are passing the ball to death. If Brendan reverts to a quick/direct/counter attacking style where Benteke is the outlet then he will thrive.


    Tactics and style of play is down to Brendan. If Rodgers goes with his preferred style of patient, slow build up, pass till you are blue in the face approach then Benteke might just waste his time on the pitch.

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  84. Agree the price is a hefty one and will bring a lot of pressure to perform but I'm loudly confident he'll be a success and if he isn't, then I reckon it will be easier to find the reason why, after the event.
    Logan clearly knows his onions though to be fair, I think he just likes to cover all the reasons Brendan might have got it wrong, in advance :-)

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  85. Conceding 11 goals less over 36 games is also black and white improvement, that ratio also improved sharply from January onwards the last two games notwithstanding.

    If the rate we were conceding goals was constant throughout the season then I would be as concerned as you seem to be but the fact that 75% of the goals conceded in those 36 games were let in in the first 19 shows a dramatic improvement in the defence in the proceeding 17 matches. The players lost their focus in the last two games and embarrassed us, and that was Rodgers fault, but it was an issue of him not getting their heads right when having nothing to play for rather than on going structural problems with the defence as the previous 17 games demonsrrate clearly.

    The loss of SAS cost us our goal threat last season and that put defence under more pressure, how many goals you think the 2013/14 defence would have conceded without opposing teams being sh*t scared of Suarez? A lot more than 50...that shows that he HAS addressed the problem and there is going to be no such shock to the system for us to deal with at the start of this season.

    Want a wager on how many we concede?

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  86. You refuse to grasp the idea that Benteke can still fail even if Brendan sets the team up to his strengths. We can't have a sensible discussion that way.

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  87. Sorry to disappoint you, but BR already confirmed that Benteke will take the goalkeeper role

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  88. No gomez on the bench? what the hell

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  89. Well if we know the player could still fail then Rodgers should be thinking the same and awful lot of money to pay for yet another over priced player.

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  90. Not sure he's where we need to spend whatever money is left. Buying a second choice full back, even though at Barca, has huge risks. As with Lucas Digne, both good going forwards but their defensive ability is questionable. I think we're better off keeping Moreno and using him and Gomez, even Wisdom this season.

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  91. See, I have not argued that Rodgers has got it wrong with Benteke. What he intends to do with the player is my main concern when he never even made proper use of his strikers last season.


    Sturridge is likely to be out for quite a while still too and it is not clear whether he can stay fit for two games running either.


    Lots of if and buts I know but what will happen when Benteke is not available. Is Rodgers going to turn to Borini, Lambert or Balotelli and in the process figure out ways to get the best out of them when he could not last season should they still be at the club?


    Last season we needed to sign a striker capable of delivering. All the eggs are in Benteke's basket now. I wish him all the best.

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  92. Just to reiterate Loge's if you take your sentence above:
    "If Brendan reverts to a quick/direct/counter attacking style where Benteke is the outlet then he will thrive"

    It is an indisputable fact that in this scenario Benteke could also be fail spectacularly (he won't) but if he did then that would be his fault and not Brendan's and that's all anyone is trying to say :)

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  93. There are too many variables. Benteke cost Villa £10m and they played to his strengths and he delivered.


    LFC go and pay £32.5m for Benteke, not being worth that much, having found themselves in similar situations before. Rodgers is the one who wanted Benteke and got him. Now it is down to Rodgers to prove that the £32.5m of LFC's money has been invested wisely. There is not much to say about all the strikers Rodgers has signed. Aspas, Lambert, Borini and Balo have not worked out.


    There seems to be a trend in it all...

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  94. well unless your BR himself i guess Bentekkers has to play up top

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  95. Also, let's wrap our heads around the fact that Christian Benteke is our big-money replacement for Luis Suarez.

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  96. Why did you do it mate?! 😀

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  97. I understand your concerns mate and am sure everyone else shares them to a point, but don't forget that as well as Bentekeo, we now have Milnero, Firmino, Ingo, Origio, Clyneo, Bogdano, and
    ...JOE THE REAL DEAL........
    gOmezzzzzzzzz.
    (FSG are bringing Michael Buffer to Anfield when Joe plays)
    So really we're talking about a completely different structure within the group now and I for one, am extremely confident Brendan will take care of the new dynamics; which is probably quite important.
    Seriously though, someone should really tell him about all these new players.

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  98. I do not have to wager anything. It is up to Rodgers to fix the issues and right now at this point I do not see how our defence is going to improve. We shall see how it pans out.

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  99. Blimey, I can barely even see the goal posts now, it does look like some people are on the pitch though, maybe they think it's all over.... :-)

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  100. Most strikers rely on good service. Very few can do it all by themselves.

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  101. Yep. I'd have Coutinho sitting deeper between Hendo and J.F Milner with Firmino and Ibe on the flanks with Big Ben up top. That set up also gives us the option of playing Sturridge cutting in off the right wing' forming a partnership with the Bentekesaurus like he did with Suarez.

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  102. If Begovic ever plays a game with a full strength Chelsea starting 11.

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  103. Hat trick from Ings in a random friendly in Malaysia....

    http://www.empireofthekop.com/2015/07/23/liverpool-play-random-friendly-v-felda-united-win-7-0-ings-markovic-and-co-go-goal-crazy/

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  104. But 'even Digne' sounds better than 'even Wisdom'...

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  105. I disagree with the "no midfield general" line. In my opinion, Milner and Henderson would both suffice in that role.


    In terms of Mignolet, I don't think that Begovic is much better or worse than him. In my opinion, we should have signed Valdes last winter.


    In terms of the defense, I think that the real question is will we play someone as a dedicated holding midfielder. While I think your lineup is accurate, I do worry that we're going to play Milner and Henderson as holding mids, which would have an effect on us going forward.


    I think our defensive performance will improve now that we aren't relying on Stevie as the primary holding mid.

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  106. Curious to see if origi and benteke get to start in a 442 443 pres season together that's something that has real potential

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  107. I don't think that would be a problem. We had 19 registered players last season. Of those, we've let go Stevie, Johnson, and Jones. We're also likely to sell Enrique, Borini, and Lambert off that list. That leaves us with 13 players from last season. Add in Bogdan, Benteke, Firmino, Ings, Clyne, and Milner, that brings us back up to 19. Flanno, Teixeira, Ilori, and Wisdom will all be registered as well because they aged up... Origi, Gomez, Ibe, Markovic, Can, etc don't need to be registered because they are U21. That gives us 23 registered players.

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  108. AAll we need is a team of Gomezghers?

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  109. I completely agree. Origi/Ings could benefit from Benteke's presence in drawing defenders away from them.


    That's my one hope for Benteke's success this year; that as long as he stays healthy that he can create matchup issues for the opposing defenders.


    Still, I'm skeptical of the Benteke buy. Though, I was all for the Balotelli buy last summer... so what do I know?

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  110. Ghost of Suarez4:48 pm, July 23, 2015

    Nobody is a replacement for Luis Suarez, players like that don't grow on trees....if they did City and PSG would have one each.

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  111. Ghost of Suarez4:55 pm, July 23, 2015

    I agree Bogdan looks underwhelming on paper but ManUre had Lindegard as their number 2 and got away with it. Bogdan is a lot better than Brad freaking Jones anyway so we are no worse off.

    Chelsea are probably paying Begovic £100k per week to sit on the bench and as soon as he accepted that, knowing full well he will only ever usurp Courtois if he has a hand amputated, then we should be glad we didn't try to buy him. I don't get this notion that he is better than Migs anyhow....who has more clean sheets in the last two years.....Migs by far. Yes his long kicking sucks but so does Petr Cech's and the goalie's only kick the ball long when they have to now anyway.

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  112. Well, to be honest, I feel we ought to at least go through the pretence of fielding all eleven Gomezghers, out of respect for the other teams.
    Perhaps as the season progresses we can start making some concessions though and gradually whittle that down to a solitary Joe.

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  113. 2013/14 = 10 clean sheets.
    2014/15 = 14 clean sheets.
    Defence = 140% improvement.

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  114. Lose the quotation marks, he'll get it..

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  115. Noooo, let's hope he doesn't so we can sack Brenda'

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  116. Err surely a 40% improvement?

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  117. Wow thanks for that image;-)

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  118. Ghost of Suarez9:43 pm, July 23, 2015

    Just to add did a bit of research on Bogdan. He broke into Bolton's first team in their last season in the Prem 2010/11 keeping Jaaskalainen (excuse spelling) out and was voted their player of the year. He was mainstay of the team until getting injured last season (121 appearances) he was Hungary's number one from 2012 and played their entire 2014 qualifying campaign (and was voted Hungary's player of the year too).He lost the jersey only as a result of the injury and hadn't claimed back having only played 10 first team matches last season. That makes me feel a whole lot better about the situation, certainly more reliable than having Brad Jones as back up bless him

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  119. We're agreeing or am I missing something?

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  120. Ghost of Suarez9:50 pm, July 23, 2015

    It's also the space his presence will leave in between the lines for Firmino and Coutinho. Firmino in particular very accurate from outside the area and has 32 goals from last two season from the 10 position.

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  121. Prediction.... No more signings. Simple as that

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  122. You got the right idea on the line up

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  123. Apparently Carra said that he feels Gomez is Gerrards natural replacement from watching his games over preseason...

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  124. Forster played a lot less games. Twisted stats.

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  125. That's different, personally I dont think Lucas or Lovren are anywhere near my first XI. I'd rather see Hendo/Milner in the midfield as BR seems to want, and Skrtel way before Lovren or Ilori. The question for me is the RW position. I'm thinking Ibe based on current form.

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  126. I was just being pedantic for fun. You wrote 140% instead of 40% :)

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  127. You sure? - I don't imagine I could of made that kind of a simple error in such basic mathematics. What kind of screen are using to view the site, perhaps it was the screen's refresh rate or some other problem that just made it look that way...
    ...Dam it, I thought I'd changed it quick enough that no one would notice!! What a wally. Still the 140% sounded impressive for a while ;-)

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  128. The stats I gave prove the defence has improved, it's not a matter of some abstract opinion. Less goals conceded, more clean sheets whilst under more pressure as scoring less. Your position on the matter requires no factual basis other than the fact you just believe it, and your incapable of letting the facts modify your view. You are truly a member of the flat earth society my friend.

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  129. "Let's just get one thing clear, we are not dealing with a player who is going to create much of his own chances let alone for his team mates."

    Hmmm....opta stats show Benteke created more chances (132) for his Villa teammates than any other player in their squad during his three seasons there.....but I know you don't like to rely on silly things like facts and stats when you are venting Logie....gets in the way of a good diatribe doesn't it?

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  130. Defense only Improved by two goals from the 50 we gave up in 2013-14. That math is a 4% improvement. That's the real math not the number of clean sheets..........given what we spent we couldn't put the ball in the ocean yet gave up only two less goals. That my friends is the real measure of two crap transfer windows last year. Totally scandalous . Let's hope this one works out better. Mugs does kick like a girl and for a big man he is a sissy on corners and free kicks....

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