Re: Summer Silly Season: Official Thread

[Fahim89]

The Higuain report is nothing but rubbish.

hope so. . very much unnecessary!

but hope Cahill's reports aren't just rumors. .but can't find anything solid yet!

[poolsupporter]

I hope we keep Insua. The arguments for the depth in CM definitely apply to the LB position as well.

[donttreadonred]

I'm exceedingly pleased with the Enrique deal.

While a CB or a backup striker could improve the squad through depth, I am comfortable going into the season with the squad we have now. LB was a position of dire need for us, and Enrique will hopefully fill the void that has plagued our left side for a while now.

As for Insua, any move would be surprising at this point. I haven't seen him linked with anyone for a while now.

[RedOranje]

I think Gary Cahill would actually improve the first team, honestly. And if N'gog goes to Bolton I'd like to see a replacement. But the signing of both a ST and CB are dependent on the sale of players first. No reason to buy more until we get El Zhar, Poulsen, Kyrgi, Insua (we have Enrique, Aurelio, and Robinson now), Cole, and Degen off the books.

[iftikhar]

I think Gary Cahill would actually improve the first team, honestly. And if N'gog goes to Bolton I'd like to see a replacement. But the signing of both a ST and CB are dependent on the sale of players first. No reason to buy more until we get El Zhar, Poulsen, Kyrgi, Insua (we have Enrique, Aurelio, and Robinson now), Cole, and Degen off the books.

Yes, right now our first objective must be to shed at least some of the dead-woods.

Also, if Cahill rumors are true that might require selling one of the present CB (Kyrgiakos or Agger).

[Fahim89]

I hope we keep Insua. The arguments for the depth in CM definitely apply to the LB position as well.

I guess having three players for a sole position is good enough . .plus Insua has failed to impress not only in the first team but also for the reserves . . n I really think highly of Robinson, the guy is pretty solid! !So having Aurelio & Robinson as backup is i guess more then good enough!

Now regarding the issue removing deadwoods, as i have mentioned once i really have a feeling Ngog is going to be used as makeshift in the Cahill deal. Other then that its sad but true no one else have been linked with an exit

[BeautifulGame]

Anyone think a separate thread where various articles about Liverpool can be posted and discussed like they have in Arsenal section would be a good idea? They named it Arsenal lobby.

So that these can be read in single thread rather than posting it individually? Just a thought though :study:

[BeautifulGame]

For now i will post these articles in this thread.

Tom Werner says Liverpool will keep investing but backs finance rules

Tom Werner, the Liverpool chairman, has said Fenway Sports Group will continue to invest in restoring "the lustre" of the club but that Uefa's financial fair play rules must be enforced to enhance the competitiveness of the Premier League.

Liverpool are close to taking their summer spending to £54m with the £6m purchase of José Enrique from Newcastle United and, having paid £57.8m for Andy Carroll and Luis Suárez in January, FSG has sanctioned the biggest spending spree in the club's history. Not surprisingly John W Henry, the club's principal owner, has admitted it would be a major disappointment should Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League this season. Werner has refused to set defined targets but said FSG's investment in the club is far from over.

"I don't want to promise so much," the Liverpool chairman said. "I know John has said we're going to be top four and Kenny [Dalglish] says well why can't we win. But we just want to move forward – we want to be better this year than last year and just keep going on the right track."

Werner added: "I think the most important thing, and it may seem obvious, is put on a quality product for your fans. These are people who spend their hard earned pounds to come to see the club, and we've got supporters all around the world, who expect a quality product, and so it's been our goal to try to improve our position on the pitch and to try and create an environment for players to say they want to play in Liverpool, and to bring some of the lustre that all the fans know back to the club."

Liverpool's chairman has echoed Henry's view on financial fair play, however. The club's principal owner recently backed Arsène Wenger's suspicion of Manchester City's £400m naming-rights deal with Etihad Airways, tweeting: "A club's best player has to be worth at least 10% of your naming rights. Mr Wenger says boldly what everyone thinks."

Werner said: "I hope there's some teeth in it because I think it's healthy for the sport. It will make the sport more competitive. Part of our assumption when we came in last year was that financial fair play was coming into existence and that we'd hope it would have some teeth. It will make the performance on the pitch more competitive."

In an interview with LFC TV, entitled "Tom Werner: Up Close and Personal", which airs on Friday at 7.30pm, the club chairman also backed Dalglish to continue his dramatic overhaul of the team's performances this season.

Werner added: "I can't think of somebody who embodies the relentlessness and the drive and the attitude of excellence better than Kenny. Obviously we knew of him before we met him. I think he is a natural leader; I've had the privilege to watch him as he trains the men at Melwood. And I just think he's so charismatic and I think he's been able to instil a sense of purpose into the club; and when he says something, I think people listen."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/aug/12/tom-werner-liverpool

[BeautifulGame]

An interesting Article from Wall Street Journal: How NESV are installing the same vision as at RED Sox in Liverpool.

The Red Sox Invade Liverpool

Team's New Owners Take a Statistical Approach to Its Roster; Manny Ramirez of Soccer

By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN and JONATHAN CLEGG

After years of rumors about pimply geeks with laptops plotting a takeover of English soccer, the game's statistical rebels have received a full-throated welcome into the hallowed grounds of the Premier League.

As a new season begins Saturday, all eyes will be on Anfield, where—10 months after Boston Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner purchased Liverpool—the legendary club will flaunt the trappings of a $170 million spending spree that amounts to a pricey bet their data-driven approach can find value that others have missed.

Since the new owners' arrival, Liverpool has spent roughly $30 million each for Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson; another $13 million on Scottish midfielder Charlie Adam; nearly $40 million for Uruguayan forward Luís Suárez; and a record $57 million for striker Andy Carroll, now the most expensive English player ever.

That isn't exactly what went on in Boston, where general manager Theo Epstein collected Kevin Millar and David Ortiz for relative peanuts in 2003 and watched them help the Red Sox win the World Series the next year. But a careful study of the attributes of Liverpool's new recruits reveals a fairly similar formula behind the club's approach.

Broadly, Liverpool's spending spree crystallizes all the risks and mysteries associated with adapting analytics to a game where the jury is still out on their value. After all, there are so many scouts, would-be agents and lay observers on the lookout for talent that the idea of fielding a team with undiscovered value would appear absurd.

Every Premier League club has a team of number crunchers, but it's unclear how much influence they have or which of the numbers they produce are actually useful. Even Henry, who owes much of his fortune to his mathematical approach to the financial markets, sees a limit to the use of data in a free-flowing game like soccer, as opposed to baseball, where events can be isolated and statistically adjusted.

"Determining what goes into a goal is much more complicated than determining what goes into a home run," Henry wrote in an email this week.

There is widespread agreement that no one has come up with the algorithm that reveals a player's value to a team. "I'm not aware of anyone who has cracked the code," said Nelson Rodriguez, executive vice-president of competition for Major League Soccer, who consults regularly with European clubs.

There may be too much information. Data-tracking companies collect some 300 measurements per game on about 2,500 player movements. Still, Rodriguez said clubs continue to search for a winning formula, taking their cues from the data-obsessed franchises in U.S. pro sports.

In truth, Liverpool may be a bit late to the numbers party. Warren Barton, the former England international and a commentator for Fox Soccer Channel, said coaches would review statistics with players each Monday when he played for Newcastle United and Derby County in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The numbers can also be deceiving, Barton said. A player may cover a lot of distance, suggesting superior fitness, but not display much speed or intensity. A midfielder may have an 80% pass completion rate, but the passes may be short or hit sideways to sure-footed teammates.

To cut through the confusion, Liverpool seems to have gone at the problem with a rather simplistic—if expensive—approach that speaks to the owners' experience with the data-centric Epstein-led Red Sox.

"There is no question that Damien Comolli is cut from the same cloth as Theo Epstein," Werner said of the bespectacled director of football who joined Liverpool last November following the club's takeover.

The great discovery made by Red Sox senior adviser and stats guru Bill James a generation ago was that baseball teams could score more runs if they could get more runners on base, in whatever fashion, and thereby create more scoring chances.

Liverpool finished fifth in the Premier League last season partly because of its record of scoring just 59 goals in 38 games. That was far off the pace of Manchester United, which scored 78 goals. In four of the past five seasons, the top four teams in the standings were the four highest-scoring teams, the lone exception being 2009-10, when Manchester City finished fifth but scored more than Tottenham, which finished fourth.

To solve the shortfall, Liverpool has gone on a mission to create more scoring opportunities—to get more runners on base—even if that has meant betting the house on a group of players who, other than Suárez, have little international or Champions League experience.

For instance, Downing, Adam and Henderson were all among the top-eight chance-creators in the Premier League last season, according to statistics provider Opta Sports. The average Premier League midfielder creates roughly 1.21 chances per game, but Adam created 2.06 chances per game last season on average, while Downing and Henderson made 2.24 and 2.22 chances per game respectively.

Those three also produced some 750 crosses—centering passes that create scoring opportunities—last season, with an accuracy rate of more than 24%, slightly ahead of the league average. Five of Adam's eight assists last season came from crosses, while no Premier League player has made more successful crosses the last three seasons than Downing. Since the start of the 2004-05 season, only four players have created more chances than Downing in Premier League games—Frank Lampard, Cesc Fabregas, Steven Gerrard and Ryan Giggs.

"He's much more than a winger—the stats show it." Comolli declared on Liverpool's web site after Downing's arrival.

Conventional wisdom suggests those numbers should improve if the trio is crossing to a classier collection of forwards and midfielders than on their previous clubs. The hope is that a good portion of the crosses will connect with the 6-foot-3 Carroll, whose specialty is heading the ball into the net.

Still, there are those who question whether bombarding an opponents' area with aerial crosses is an effective tactic. The rate of completed crosses that produce a goal rarely exceeds one in four. The probability of scoring from a cross is just 5%.

But Liverpool also has Suárez, the Manny Ramirez of the side, who has two of the planet's most creative feet. Suárez arrived last season after scoring 102 goals in nearly four seasons at Ajax. He is prone to toddler-like temper tantrums and was suspended last year for biting an opponent, but he has a massive upside if Liverpool can cool his head.

No matter what the numbers say, it's a safe bet that the days of bargain-hunting are over. If nothing else, Liverpool's spending spree certainly shows that. "Everyone you buy nowadays costs a fortune," said Roy Evans, the former Liverpool manager. "That's the going rate—you just have to live with it."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904006104576502484064400802.html

[Art Morte]

Thanks for sharing, BuddyBeautiful (i gotta come up with a nickname for you x) )

[Fahim89]

@Beautifulgame: read both of the articles before & where very interesting reads. . .

[RedOranje]

From The Liverpool Echo:

Liverpool FC have been left baffled by reports claiming they are set to lose out to Arsenal in the race for Birmingham City’s Scott Dann.

The Reds haven’t made an approach for the defender and he is not a transfer target.

Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2011/08/12/liverpool-fc-not-in-for-birmingham-city-defender-scott-dann-100252-29223511/#ixzz1UnsfNU95




As legitimate a source as anything that isn't on the official page. Interesting that we've no interest in him given how adamant the other newspapers were about it.

[Fahim89]

Ahh well if its true than its rather a good thing i guess then our link to Cahill might be more forceful now

[Fahim89]

ChrisLawley77 Christopher Lawley
by JimBoardman
Kenny Dalglish has just said in his pre game press conference that the only player leaving in Daniel Ayala who is going to Norwich #LFC

Hope & pray that is not the final statement! ! With Ngog & Co. still remaining

[Fahim89]

The Spain full-back completed his transfer from Newcastle United on Friday to become the Reds' fifth major signing of a busy summer.

It is confirmed now! !

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/one-of-happiest-days-of-my-life

[BeautifulGame]

ChrisLawley77 Christopher Lawley
by JimBoardman
Kenny Dalglish has just said in his pre game press conference that the only player leaving in Daniel Ayala who is going to Norwich #LFC

Hope & pray that is not the final statement! ! With Ngog & Co. still remaining

I think Kenny is referring to the fact that Ayala is the only player we have officially bid accepted and hence being confirmed by Kenny.Dont think Kenny will speculate on who is moving without any official confirmation even if Ngog is on the verge of moving.

[Red Alert]

And are there likely to be any departures?

Yes, it is possible. As I've said before, some players would like to have more minutes and game time. We've had a few approaches for players, so it's something we will look at.

(Comoli)

[Fahim89]

And are there likely to be any departures?

Yes, it is possible. As I've said before, some players would like to have more minutes and game time. We've had a few approaches for players, so it's something we will look at.

(Comoli)

ahh he gives hope that we will get rid of Poulsen, Ngog & Co.

[Fahim89]

Director of football Damien Comolli says Jose Enrique will be Liverpool's final signing of the transfer window.

"You can never say never, but it is likely," he said when asked whether there would be any more arrivals.

Comolli in Mirror. . hmmmm i sort of feel a CB is very much a priority . .

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-s-Damien-Comolli-Jose-Enrique-will-be-our-last-signing-of-the-summer-article784623.html

[edulfc]

Why we dont see cb as a priority is beyond me. skrtel is average, krygsxzgtsvg is meh, carragher is old and fast running out of steam, agger the only cb with a promise is too injury prone, the rest are inexperienced. we need a quality cb asap!!!!!!!

[McAgger]

Aquilani seems likely to stay....He's been given an official squad number for the year. He'll wear number 15.

[Ganso]

galliani really wants aquilani.I want montolivo though....

[RedOranje]

@dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
I can confirm that Liverpool have offered £12m, plus David Ngog, for Bolton's Gary Cahill. Never interested in Dann. #lfc #bwfc



Yes, it's a twitter source.... but usually ESPN is reliable.

[stevieg8]

The Cahill reports are all over twitter, some reliable sources, some not (obviously) - it's not just ESPN.

Also, daily mail says we had 10m rejected for Shawcross.

And finally:

RedSox Boston Red Sox
The @RedSox wish @LFC the best of luck in their season debut tomorrow! #lfc

[BeautifulGame]

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
I can confirm that Liverpool have offered £12m, plus David Ngog, for Bolton's Gary Cahill. Never interested in Dann. #lfc #bwfc

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
Arsenal were apparently outbid by Liverpool for Gary Cahill. Lesson learned taking too long on prime target. Why scout him in friendly? #lfc
1 hour ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
Also, one of Liverpool's fringe players is likely to spend the season on loan at Bolton Wanderers. Joe Cole would fit with Lee out. #lfc
1 hour ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@Ma7shoo 95% - but I think it's all done.
56 minutes ago

@benperkins8 I think it will, yes. Bolton need striker,
55 minutes ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@
@snowdogg7 From a source who told me about the Enrique deal being done last week.
26 minutes ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@
@TrishanLFC Depend if Liverpool would still pay % of wage for loan of a high earner possibly too.
25 minutes ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@
@Fubble365 I think it is pretty much agreed. Will be interesting to see the Bolton line-up this weekend.
23 minutes ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@
@aaron_mc1 If Cahill does not play tomorrow it will be telling.
21 minutes ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@
@Aaron19daly I know he did, but my source insists it's on.
14 minutes ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@
@JJRamplin I'd expect early next week.
13 minutes ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@
@ElmoRed2011 I think the price is acceptable to Bolton but they are yet to formally accept.
11 minutes ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@
@andrew_m_swift Cole speculation as the loan player has not been decided. Bolton would expect Liverpool to pay some wage I'd think though.
6 minutes ago

Dale Johnson
dalejohnsonESPN Dale Johnson
@
@Dplfc If I'm not right it will be open season on me!
5 minutes ago

[BeautifulGame]

To dampen the spirits

TonyEvansTimes Tony Evans
I've heard nothing about Cahill and Ngog.

TonyEvansTimes Tony Evans
Can't say it won't happen. But everything's about balance of price, ability and age. Cahill does not fit that equation
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply

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