Summer of 2014

Lallana is not worth £25m, but if Rodgers can make him worth that much for us, then it's OK. But I can't help thinking that we're shopping at the worst possible marketplace.

Also makes me facepalm even still that we didn't go for Eriksen for half that money

iftikhar wrote:1. Is Lovren really an upgrade over Agger or Skrtel! That too while keeping Toure.

2. Is Lallana really worth GBP 25m! I know you can't always get a player at his perceived price. Let's say if he is really worth 20, I don't mind that extra 5. But is it!

Where would he play! I thought he will take the furthest MF slot but it seems he will actually play in a wide position.

3. Is Vorm really an upgrade over Jones. The rumors have started to appear in more reliable sources. I really can't see him putting more pressure (or better cover) on Mig than Jones have (or can).

4. Lambert as a 4th choice seems OK. But persisting rumors about Borini is concerning.

5. I wonder how wage can be a stumbling point for Can. BL wages are lower than PL and Leverkusen isn't known (or able to) pay high wages, specially to a young player.

6. Is Moreno really worth GBP 20!

Lallana would do the Allen role or the tip of the diamond formations.

Moreno is worth that much imo. His defensive side is shit but his pace to get back in position is great. Basically he's got a little more sense in him than Coentrao at a lesser age. Its GBP 16.25 and they want 18-19 GBP.

Lambert gives a plan B at a less price and with more experience. Borini had a run at being third choice, 20 games 2 goals is not someone id bank on when his goals from the loan were majority penalties which he wont be taking at Liverpool.

Vorm is an upgrade, And a fee below 5m would be a good buy.

Lovren sucks.

Christ on a bike, some of you lot are pathetic.
I still remember the LAST summer, when we didn't buy A SINGLE ENGLISH player. How did that turn out ? Yep, a very poor sum me recruitment wise. People talk as buying Foreign player is less of a risk.

Remember the group-jerk off over Spurs' signing last season ??

Soldado, Lamela, Capoue, Paulinho, Chadli, Chiriches, Eriksen

LITERALLY, the same people who are shitting on us now in this page, were going mad on how we'll fall behind these lot because OF THIS AMAZING SET OF FOOTBALL MANAGER signings.

I still fully remember the days that Lamela was apparently a better player than Bale .

People are complaining for 4M + 30k/week for a 4th choice striker. I can't wrap my head around it. We play a formation with 2 strikers, so for a full squad, we'll ideally have 4 strikers. Not all 4 can be world class. It's impossible. The back ups should be happy with bench role and not ruin the team harmony. Lambert fits all those bills. More important of all, both Lambert and Lallana have been playing a playing style very similar to ours at Southampton, so it'll be very easier for them to adapt.

I know some of you read the names Chelsea and City sign with Russian and Arab money, or the names Man U get linked to sign (Which they never will ) , but if you like football for the fancy names, then maybe we're into the wrong sports.

We are a system team...our success last season was due to our systematic play. We already play breathtaking attacking football, we already have a settled unit, we'll be stupid to make too many changes to our starting XI outta nowhere. This is how we beat Spurs 9-0, Everton 4-0, Mancs 4-0, Arsenal 5-1, etc.

o, and whoever thinks Kolo Toure has been a flop signing needs to walk away from the game. To remember Kolo's season solely by the pass to Anichibe and that own goal in that wobbly ground, is AS BAD as only remembering Gerrard's season by the slip. Let's conveniently forget that Kolo was part of the defense that raped Everton and Arsenal in space of 10 days, and KOLO TOURE provided 2 assists in those games.

Anyways. This is how I divide this section. The Mourinho lovers, and the non-Mourinho lovers. It's amazing how TML perceive football sooooooooo differently than NML. It's very fair that we can never agree on a single footballing matter when you think the Fernando Torres of managers (Mourinho) is the greatest tactician in the league . whereas Rodgers (2nd best away record in the league) is tactically "AVERAGE" on the road and no better than AVB.

We can argue until year 3000 and we'll reach no conclusion because we come from two different school of thoughts about what football really is.


O. And Eriksen is the Danish Charlie Adam (ultimate MOTD player) and that's why every single proper club ignored him, and that's why he'll be playing for a nothing club like Spurs for years to come.

I miss Charlie Adam   

I miss Aquilani

Why the hell are people complaining about Rickie ffs? gtfo

We'll sell Assiadi for 4m and it'll cover it. We'll sell Aspas and it'll cover it. What the *bleep* have those two done at all?

Rickie provides a beautiful option off the bench in games where maybe our plan is not working. He'll also get to play the shit games in the cups against those shitty physical non leaguers. Also people don't realize but he's actually a pretty good player.

He's literally one of us ffs. If Liverpool signed me for 4m and you guys complained I'll hunt you down personally

Liverpool would sign me for 5m Mc

http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/31/rickie-lambert-speaks-for-first-time-since-successful-liverpool-medical-4746139/

iftikhar wrote:He is 32.

Red Alert wrote:

RedOranje wrote:You know, I've gotten used to the hyperbole and knee-jerk, but outright lying is a new one for you.

Outright lying how?

Apart from the Arsenal game at Anfield, I can't think of a single game where Kolo Toure played a decent game if you exclude the first two opening games. He was supposed to bring "leadership" to the defence, and he failed at that too.

Kolo was signed as a 4th choice CB to add experience and some organization to the defense.

He did so ably in:
Stoke (H)
Villa (A)
Sunderland (A)
Palace (H)
West Brom (H)
Everton (H)
Arsenal (H)

As a player signed to be 4th choice he played 2 or 3 times as many games as was originally planned. In the majority of the matches he played, he was either solid or impressive... you've willfully ignored and misrepresented his performances over the course of the season in order to back up your point... in my book intentionally doing so is tantamount to lying.

iftikhar wrote:

Natalie Portman wrote:^ Nelson Mandela was in his 90s before his passing mate. Plenty of gas left in the tank yet.

Really!!! That's all you got!!!

How else do you justify such a pointless signing?[/quote]
Gary Mac.
Sheringham.
Fowler (2nd stint)
etc

iftikhar wrote:1. Is Lovren really an upgrade over Agger or Skrtel! That too while keeping Toure.

2. Is Lallana really worth GBP 25m! I know you can't always get a player at his perceived price. Let's say if he is really worth 20, I don't mind that extra 5. But is it!

Where would he play! I thought he will take the furthest MF slot but it seems he will actually play in a wide position.

3. Is Vorm really an upgrade over Jones. The rumors have started to appear in more reliable sources. I really can't see him putting more pressure (or better cover) on Mig than Jones have (or can).

4. Lambert as a 4th choice seems OK. But persisting rumors about Borini is concerning.

5. I wonder how wage can be a stumbling point for Can. BL wages are lower than PL and Leverkusen isn't known (or able to) pay high wages, specially to a young player.

6. Is Moreno really worth GBP 20!

1. I don't personally think so, but Rodgers apparently does. Lovren, at his best, is at least as good as either of those two though and would come in on somewhat lower wages and a much younger age than either. He is, however, inconsistent which is why he wouldn't be my personal first choice CB signing.


2. No, he's probably not worth that much... however that's what Southampton want for him and Rodgers has labeled him as his primary target, for better or worse. IF Rodgers can do with him what he's done so far with Henderson, Sturridge, Sterling, Flanagan, and to an extent, Gerrard and Coutinho then it may prove to be a reasonable and accurate fee... that's of course assuming that Sotton accept the offer and we don't move on to other targets.

He'd most likely play in the same role Coutinho did in the 3-man midfield, or at the point of the diamond. Coutinho has performed well on occasion but has also been inconsistent. Further, Lallana clearly offers a greater goal threat while offering a similar creative element (perhaps less long through balls and more short passes that split defenses) and one thing we can be certain of is Rodgers' desire for more goal threats from midfield. Lallana's versatility is one of the main reasons Rodgers is so keen on him, and means that he could offer an option in a number of positions and roles even beyond what I've discussed.


3. Is Vorm better than Jones? Absolutely. Is he £5m and £35k/week better as a back-up? Nah, I don't think so. But again it really comes down to what the club and Rodgers feel, not us fans. I see Vorm as an aging, inconsistent, and injury-prone keeper but I don't make the decisions. Given how the club has performed under Rodgers I'm willing to give Brendan and the committee the benefit of the doubt this summer.


4. Rumours about Borini existed well before even the first inkling of the Lambert signing came to be. Part and parcel of the modern game, unfortunately. As I said previously, Borini's future will in all likelihood come down to his personal choice about looking for regular starts or fighting for his place at Liverpool. From what I've heard and seen of the lad, I expect he'll want to meet this challenge head-on and stay, but only time will tell.


5. Leverkusen have a working relationship with Bayern over Can, so it's likely that's the underlying cause of the personal term issues. I'd hazard a guess that Can isn't entirely convinced about leaving Leverkusen (where he's a regular starter) and a potential return to Bayern for a squad role at Liverpool, and is hoping to get a higher wage packet as enticement for such a move.


6. Moreno COULD be worth £20m. LBs are rare and at a premium, just look at Shaw (£30m+). He's shown glimpses of a £20m rated LB already, and with the potential to develop into one worth significantly more. On the other hand, he had a largely indifferent season and based purely on those performances he probably is not worth £20m. It's all about betting on his potential and development, which is something we'll need to get used to with the current LFC transfer strategy.

BusterLfc wrote:Why aren't we in for Jay Rodriguez instead of Lambert.. I know he's injured, but still....    

I still want Kono though, but it probably isn't happening

Jay Rodriguez is an entirely different player to Lambert so would not offer the same things Rickie does. He also demands significantly higher wages and a much, much greater fee.

The club have cooled interest in Konoplyanka as his current club A) blocked the winter move using shady tactics (karma for how we handled the Suarez deal, perhaps) and B) worked very hard to start a bidding war and drive up the price this summer. Also, Rodgers and the committee feel that the current targets better suit our system and the league.

BusterLfc wrote:And why do we need a new striker anyway?
Borini should be enough and I don't mind Aspas being 4th choice.

Rodgers (and most supporters) don't agree with you on Aspas. With 4 competitions we'll probably need at least 4 strikers. Chances are very good that Lambert's wages will be the same as or lower than Aspas's and that Aspas will recoup as much as or more money with his sale than what we spent on Lambert... that just sounds like good business to me.

Add to that that Lambert is one of 4 (or so) players to get into double digits for both goals and assists in the 13/14 PL season. While he won't get enough games with us to put up similar numbers it shows an output far above anything we've seen even hinted at from Aspas's (or even Borini's) time in the PL.

@RO

great post   

Only think I don't agree with is regarding Lovren. He is comforbaly better than both Agger and Skrtel and has shown as much this season IMO.

Two footed commanding in the air and vocal & organizing .

I am not sure who are the better alternatives but as press reporting Caulkner is the other option I would be delighted with Lovren

Natalie Portman wrote:.

That has to be one of your worst posts EVER.

>Didn't sign an English player last season. Failure? Where the hell is the logic in that? I can easily drop myself to your lower and say we didn't sign an English player and finished 2nd. And when we signed a British core (under Dalglish) we finished 7th. Moot point. Honestly. Expected better.

>Complains about "oil clubs" overpaying for players. We're about to spend potentially 50m on Moreno, Lallana and Lambert FFS.

>Eriksen is apparently the Danish Adam when he's as good/if not better (with a higher ceiling) than Lallana...

We were offering 20m+ for a marquee signing players (likes of Diego Costa etc) WHEN WE WEREN'T IN THE CL and now going extreme measures to get a player that at the moment, falls in the same bracket as Michu / Adam / Carroll when we're playing in Europe. Can't spin my head around it.

BeautifulGame wrote:@RO

great post   

Only think I don't agree with is regarding Lovren. He is comforbaly better than both Agger and Skrtel and has shown as much this season IMO.

Two footed commanding in the air and vocal & organizing .

I am not sure who are the better alternatives but as press reporting Caulkner is the other option I would be delighted with Lovren

At their peaks the players are pretty even though I think I'd give the edge to Agger and Skrtel given their greater period performing at that level and in the CL. Prior to joining Southampton Lovren was known mainly for his inconsistency and inability to perform up to his peak regularly, and on season of (nearly) doing so isn't enough to convince me he won't revert back.

Lovren would come in as a starter, commanding a starter's price and a starter's wage. I don't think he's ahead of Skrtel or Agger in ability or performance, just age and as such don't see much benefit or point in spending what it would take to bring him in.


By contrast, Caulker would come in clearly as a back-up/rotation signing and would require a significantly lower fee (likely around half as much as Lovren) and notably lower wages. Caulker clearly isn't current as good as Lovren and probably doesn't have as high a potential overall either, however he's more consistent and his game will be easier to polish and develop. I honestly see him as something of a younger, English Skrtel in that he's a defense-first defender who can and will put himself into physical battles and focus on stopping opponents. He's not as good (as Skrtel) obviously, but he's more consistent; and he has the potential to reach a similar or higher level than Skrtel as well. Given his age, style of play, nationality, and cost I think Caulker would better complement our squad and would be a safer long-term investment. He's more likely to continue a steady development than Lovren (who's inconsistency could easily see him stagnate or regress) and if it doesn't work out I think we'd have a better chance of recouping or even turning a profit on Caulker than Lovren as well.


If we're going to target a starting CB I'd like to see us go balls-to-the-wall and target a player clearly better than what we have... Otherwise I'd look for a player who can act as a squad/rotation player immediately with an eye on talking a starting role long-term.

RedOranje wrote:

iftikhar wrote:He is 32.

Red Alert wrote:

RedOranje wrote:You know, I've gotten used to the hyperbole and knee-jerk, but outright lying is a new one for you.

Outright lying how?

Apart from the Arsenal game at Anfield, I can't think of a single game where Kolo Toure played a decent game if you exclude the first two opening games. He was supposed to bring "leadership" to the defence, and he failed at that too.

Kolo was signed as a 4th choice CB to add experience and some organization to the defense.

He did so ably in:
Stoke (H)
Villa (A)
Sunderland (A)
Palace (H)
West Brom (H)
Everton (H)
Arsenal (H)

As a player signed to be 4th choice he played 2 or 3 times as many games as was originally planned. In the majority of the matches he played, he was either solid or impressive... you've willfully ignored and misrepresented his performances over the course of the season in order to back up your point... in my book intentionally doing so is tantamount to lying.

iftikhar wrote:

Natalie Portman wrote:^ Nelson Mandela was in his 90s before his passing mate. Plenty of gas left in the tank yet.

Really!!! That's all you got!!!

How else do you justify such a pointless signing?

Gary Mac.
Sheringham.
Fowler (2nd stint)
etc

[/quote]

I've given Kolo credit where it's due.

Again, his first two games were solid, as was the one against Arsenal. He was okay against Everton too, apologies for missing one. Disagree with the rest. And no this isn't to get my point across, this is what I was saying when the season was going on and LONG BEFORE that mistake at West Brom. He failed to start any sort of partnership at all with Skrtel, and our whole defence was a joke. He was apart of that. If anything, I was one of the few saying HE WASN'T the reason we'd lose the league because of that mistake.

Also, I didn't say all players over 30+ are pointless signings, I said Lambert was. And Fowler's second stint wasn't even for footballing reasons, it was to boost morale around the club as a whole. With that said, he did somewhat well ON A FREE but obviously struggled with fitness.

Cesc available for 30m............. let me guess, too much wages should stay far far away from this signing, yes? Or is he not good enough? :S

Turkish reports saying Emre Can deal is done for 12m. Looks to have a bright future. Wonder if he'll get a game given no real young player (22 and under) apart from Coutinho has been given consistent playing time. Surely has too, though? With Gerrard 34 now...

BBC also reporting we want Moreno, Lovren and Can in by the next fortnight.

Barca are letting go of Cesc becoz he doesn't suit their system I.e he can't press when not in possession and is slow.Both qualities in needed in our system.

So are u saying we should abandon our system just because Fabregas is available?

Pedro and Sanchez are the players who we should be tragetting from Barca and will suit our play perfectly.

Cesc can press, what are you on about? Barca are letting him go because he can't play with Xavi and are signing Rakitic.

THe thing we lack right now is an attacking midfielder in our midfield 3 that can actually support the midfield at the same time for balance. Imagine a middle three of Cesc, Henderson and Gerrard with Cesc having the freedom to roam and support the likes of SASAS.

So how exactly are we abandoning our system?

Cesc is very static and slow and can't press .Great at Am and playing through balls but not suited for high tempo pressing .That's why they are letting him go. Not because he can't play alongside Xavi but becoz have couldn't replace Xavi in midfield for them.

Red Alert wrote:Cesc available for 30m............. let me guess, too much wages should stay far far away from this signing, yes? Or is he not good enough? :S

Turkish reports saying Emre Can deal is done for 12m. Looks to have a bright future. Wonder if he'll get a game given no real young player (22 and under) apart from Coutinho has been given consistent playing time. Surely has too, though? With Gerrard 34 now...

BBC also reporting we want Moreno, Lovren and Can in by the next fortnight.

Cesc's issue at Barca is that he doesn't play the CM role well anymore... he's too used to playing further forward and hasn't shown the same drive off the ball to press and harass. IF Rodgers can re-instill that drive it's a no-brainer (bar the £100k+ wages he'll demand). However the issue is viability. Given the number of players we're targeting, attention he's likely to attract (can you say "bidding war" with Chelsea and City both interested?), fact that he's previously stated he wouldn't only come back to the PL for Arsenal (who have first-call due to a clause in his Barca deal), and the fact that Barca just a week or so ago said that he wasn't actually for sale it's hard to say whether the reported fee will actually be enough and whether the club feel it would be worth the time and effort to make a go at a player who is already drawing looks from the billionaires' play-toys.

All of that said, we have already been linked with him by several reports so it certainly does not appear the the club are oblivious to or ignoring the situation.


Who is Sterling.
Who is Flanagan.
Who is Wisdom (2012/13).
Who is Henderson (2012/13).

If Rodger's can instill the drive to work hard and press fine.And cesc will be w great signing

But Cesc couldn't adopt his style to survive at his boyhood club not sure what chance we have of modifying his style .

RedOranje wrote:

Red Alert wrote:Cesc available for 30m............. let me guess, too much wages should stay far far away from this signing, yes? Or is he not good enough? :S

Turkish reports saying Emre Can deal is done for 12m. Looks to have a bright future. Wonder if he'll get a game given no real young player (22 and under) apart from Coutinho has been given consistent playing time. Surely has too, though? With Gerrard 34 now...

BBC also reporting we want Moreno, Lovren and Can in by the next fortnight.

Cesc's issue at Barca is that he doesn't play the CM role well anymore... he's too used to playing further forward and hasn't shown the same drive off the ball to press and harass.  IF Rodgers can re-instill that drive it's a no-brainer (bar the £100k+ wages he'll demand).  However the issue is viability.  Given the number of players we're targeting, attention he's likely to attract (can you say "bidding war" with Chelsea and City both interested?), fact that he's previously stated he wouldn't only come back to the PL for Arsenal (who have first-call due to a clause in his Barca deal), and the fact that Barca just a week or so ago said that he wasn't actually for sale it's hard to say whether the reported fee will actually be enough and whether the club feel it would be worth the time and effort to make a go at a player who is already drawing looks from the billionaires' play-toys.  

All of that said, we have already been linked with him by several reports so it certainly does not appear the the club are oblivious to or ignoring the situation.


Who is Sterling.
Who is Flanagan.
Who is Wisdom (2012/13).
Who is Henderson (2012/13).

BBC are reporting he has a 30m value on his head.

They're very close to signing Rakitic, so it makes sense. The BBC only report when they get news, they don't speculate so it's a credible source.

All those players came from the academy / were at Liverpool before Rodgers was here. I'm talking about young players we've bought for the future. We've spent around 40m on Alberto, Ilori, Borini, Allen who haven't really set the light apart / gotten better at Liverpool..

BeautifulGame wrote:Cesc is very static and slow and can't press .Great at Am and playing through balls but not suited for high tempo pressing .That's why they are letting him go. Not because he can't play alongside Xavi but becoz have couldn't replace Xavi in midfield for them.

He's not static and slow.

We need an AM. He's direct, we play direct. It'd work. We don't play like Barcelona.

You said young players who played consistently, don't go moving the goal posts now. And I think you're well aware that the players mentioned nearly all have extenuating circumstances or were signed with an eye on more than 1 season (in the case of Ilori in particular here). Allen, when fit, HAS seen notable and fairly consistent game-time and with a run of game time HAS shown his ability.

The Rakitic news is so far paper talk... why cherry pick which reports you take as truth? And just because Cesc is "available" at £30m you can't assume they will automatically accept any bid of that amount if multiple clubs show interest. If they CAN get more from his sale, they will. With City and Chelsea interested (as well as the likes of PSG and Monaco always in the wings ready to throw around silly money regardless of necessity) there's absolutely no reason to expect that Cesc will move for the reported low fee unless Arsenal activate their first-choice option.

I was talking about players we'd had sign but whatever.

We'll see what happens in the short future then, no? Arsenal would be stupid to get him considering thye just signed Ozil for 40m.

You'd think so, but then one would also think it's stupid for Spurs to want Konoplyanka/Lallana with a squad full of CAMs and wide attacking players at their disposal... or that it would be stupid for a club facing hefty fines for overspending to drop £40m on a CB when they already have 3 very good ones on their books... or for a club to hoard expensive strikers like MREs during the 1960s... and so on and such forth.

Football, it seems, is a stupid man's (and woman's) game these days.

He's not static and slow.

We need an AM. He's direct, we play direct. It'd work. We don't play like Barcelona.

That's my opinion based on watching him play and struggle for Barca last two seasons. Also we may not attack like Barca but we defend similar to them when not in possession.

And Cesc's pressing was non existent most of the time when he played in midfield for them.

I would be delighted if w sign sign Cesc as ou

r misfiled option.But unless he amends his style of play we will struggle to fit him into out system.

As I earlier said both Sanchez and pedro are much better singings for us if we look at Barca squad players

Fabregas is great, but not what we need. And is, like, damn expensive, too.

Turkish media reporting that a deal for midfielder Emre Can has been agreed betweeen Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen for £12m.

pls tap German market more.