Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 11/12-Jan 2012 onwards

Glico Man

J. Marston wrote: »

Comolli sounds like a spoofer to me.

Yet he's also the man that sold Spurs to Berbatov and Modric... go figure

noodler

J. Marston wrote: »

April 2011:



The ''top'' players you brought in were Henderson, Downing, Adam and Enrique (Who is probably the best left-back in the league, in fairness.)

I can't understand your logic here.

Adam was outstanding for Blackpool
Downing was Villa's player of the season
Enrique is, by your own admission, the best left back in the league.
Only Henderson was the surprise.

J. Marston wrote: »

Comolli sounds like a spoofer to me.

I don't know what else you expect anyone connected with the club to say:

- in February (months before the window opens)
- after just winning a trophy
- when no one knows if we will still gewt fourth.

J. Marston

Would you consider them ''top players'' though?

Will I Amnt

Grayditch wrote: »

After living out a long retirement on the south coast of France obviously.
It was a joke,don't try and make it into something it's not.

ush

Of course Comolli is a spoofer. He has to sell LFC to talent who have plenty of options. Anybody selling anything in a competitive market waffles. PR, marketing, management, politics. Everything is spin.

noodler

J. Marston wrote: »

Would you consider them ''top players'' though?

I think I was very happy when I heard we were signing Downing, a player who consistently proved he could do it in the EPL over the years with pace and goals.

I also though Adam would be perfect for Liverpool given our lack of deadball expertise and lack of creativity in the middle when Gerrard doesn't play.

I definitely thought they would be top signings.

I mean who considered, Demba Ba, Phil Jones or Ashley Young top players?

daithijjj

Anyone got a link for the reserves game?

Edit...think its called off by looks of things.

5starpool

noodler wrote: »

I think I was very happy when I heard we were signing Downing, a player who consistently proved he could do it in the EPL over the years with pace and goals.

I also though Adam would be perfect for Liverpool given our lack of deadball expertise and lack of creativity in the middle when Gerrard doesn't play.

I definitely thought they would be top signings.

I mean who considered, Demba Ba, Phil Jones or Ashley Young top players?

I was personally annoyed when we signed Downing, and Adam to a lesser extent due to less money spent. Henderson I didn't know enough to be definitive about what I thought but knew he was young so was prepared to offer some leeway.

I'd be annoyed if we have a similar summer which would see us sign players who've had a decent season at lower clubs, not necessarily players that would in any way improve us really, especially given the money spent.

Morzadec

In fairness I would largely agree with J.Martson here. We didn't buy from the top drawer, probably largely because we couldn't attract those top top players.

Even Enrique who has turned out to be very very good was probably not on the radar of CL teams and would have been considered a notch below the best at the time

Grayditch

cambo2008 wrote: »

After living out a long retirement on the south coast of France obviously.
It was a joke,don't try and make it into something it's not.

Oh yeah, the .gif treatment. Moving into serious business, there.

J. Marston

noodler wrote: »

I think I was very happy when I heard we were signing Downing, a player who consistently proved he could do it in the EPL over the years with pace and goals.

I also though Adam would be perfect for Liverpool given our lack of deadball expertise and lack of creativity in the middle when Gerrard doesn't play.

I definitely thought they would be top signings.

I mean who considered, Demba Ba, Phil Jones or Ashley Young top players?

I dunno. If I was a 'Pool fan and Comolli was talking about top players last April and we started this season with the playmaker of a team that got relegated, the best player of a mid-table team plus Henderson, who has a bit of promise, could be a good squad player eventually and Enrique, who's really good. I'd be a little disappointed, even taking in the fact that there was no European football to offer. Comolli should probably wait until the season is over before talking about transfers.
Talking about transfers after a big win only gets the fans giddy and possibly backs you into a corner if the ''top players'' don't come.

I didn't consider Young a top player. He's a good back-up winger but £16 million plus huge wages is too much for a back-up winger in my eyes. He had a decent start but slowed down, then got injured and has been underwhelming since then.

Jones has a lot of hype, some justified but it goes a little over the top and jokey at times. I'm not the most confident when he's in central defence but he's only 19/20 and an exciting prospect.

Ba? Nobody knew he'd be that good and Ashley managed to get him for free (I think?).

The Chessplayer

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

Do people think Kenny should keep his job if we dont get 4th?

Yes, of course.
We don't have the players to finish 4th.
Bad enough having to read Opr's rant about how Agger's injury will cost us in our "push for 4th"... Lucas and Agger are not enough to finish in the top 4.

murpho999 wrote: »

Absolutely: He's at the start of a rebuilding project and that needs time.

Winning a trophy, no matter how (people forget we beat Chelsea & Man City to get there) is a great achievement and there is still a chance of FA cup as well.

I would consider Carling Cup win, which also guarantees us European football next season, FA Cup Semi Final and challenging for 4th would be successful progress when you consider where we've come from and hopefully we'll keep progressing to higher levels in the future.

Correct.
What have we come from? The unspoken capitulation to United when we finished 2nd. We're only halfway along the lonely road back from finishing 7th, a dark dark day in LFC history.

Yes, it has been a bumpy road...a few months with Hodgson at the helm, some poorly judged transfers from Comolli...Adam in, Meireles out etc, but we will push for 4th next season. No guarantees though, as Arsenal will be stronger and Spurs have had good momentum.

Will I Amnt

Grayditch wrote: »

Oh yeah, the .gif treatment. Moving into serious business, there.

Not always easy to tell,even with a gif.

daithijjj

Bringing out 2 Comolli quotes for comparison is pretty nonsensical but would seem relevant for an 'argument' to an outsider who might think they have a finger on the pulse.

Comolli doesnthave a final say on who comes in. Dalglish does. Comolli can say that top players are interested in the club but the manager decides what comes to fruition on that front. When you have a team where half of it is only at the club a year and some of the top players have not played much together there will be teething problems. People shouldnt look at transfer windows in isolation, theres a bigger picture over a few windows or say 2 years. Going from window to window patching up positions isnt how you plan for a future. You plan for a future by outlining a strategy that takes time. We dont know what that strategy is but its bloody obvious in hindsight that the last window was heavily 'Dalglish', not Comolli imho.

Would be interesting to know who Comolli is talking about, in any case, you have to take these 'public' quotes with lots of salt. People like Comolli play chess, not checkers.

Glico Man

J. Marston wrote: »

Ba? Nobody knew he'd be that good and Ashley managed to get him for free (I think?).

If you followed German football you'd certainly know of his quality. He was excellent for Hoffenheim playing alongside Obasi. When West Ham went down, it was a case of many not taking a chance on him due to the fact his knees might implode at any time. So far, he's been more than brilliant for Newcastle, but he wasn't free. They paid a relative fortune in agent fees.

His ability was never in dispute, the high probability of a serious, long-term, career threatening injury was more than likely the case in no one else signing him up.

missingtime

The Chessplayer wrote: »

What have we come from? The unspoken capitulation to United when we finished 2nd. We're only halfway along the lonely road back from finishing 7th, a dark dark day in LFC history.

Fuhrer

Whats actually wrong with Ba's Knees?

daithijjj

aaronh007 wrote: »

If you followed German football you'd certainly know of his quality. He was excellent for Hoffenheim playing alongside Obasi. When West Ham went down, it was a case of many not taking a chance on him due to the fact his knees might implode at any time. So far, he's been more than brilliant for Newcastle, but he wasn't free. They paid a relative fortune in agent fees.

His ability was never in dispute, the high probability of a serious, long-term, career threatening injury was more than likely the case in no one else signing him up.

This is correct of course, Newcastle are taking punts in many respects. It depends how the club is run, Ba failed a medical at Stoke, the club probably didnt want to 'insure' the player, Newcastle took the punt and so far its been great for them. They also took a punt on Marveaux the same way, 5 year contract on 50k, failed a medical at Liverpool and now burdened with him on long term injury, hasnt even played 2 full games.

Kess73

5starpool wrote: »

You've spouted some crap in the past but this takes the biscuit. If that's the case we only have about 3 players who are.

Could be wrong, but I took his post to mean that Lucas and Agger would not be enough to get us fourth due to the lack of quality in the team/squad in general.

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/420700_352897578083094_159437667429087_1051735_1878953316_n.jpg

Will I Amnt

Fuhrer wrote: »

Whats actually wrong with Ba's Knees?

Believe it or not he used to be white.
He underwent an operation called a negroplasty many moons ago.Part of this process involves replacing the kneecaps with a pair of testicles.

There was a similar case documented some time back where the outcome was very unpleasant..........risky business.

Glico Man

Fuhrer wrote: »

Whats actually wrong with Ba's Knees?

It's more one knee rather than both but he's had problems with the other as well... but the story goes like this:

When he played for Mouscron, he injured his fibula and tibia and was out for 8 months. Doesn't sound all that bad, but the surgeon who operated on him did a botch job. When a screw was inserted into the tibia, it wrenched on muscles in and around his knee when they were putting a plate on the leg to help heal the broken leg, giving him weaker muscles in that knee. He did have subsequent surgery to remove the screw after he complained of serious pains and have another placed but the damage was done.

If his knee has a load of torsional pressure above a certain limit then that could be curtains for him.

missingtime

aaronh007 wrote: »

It's more one knee rather than both but he's had problems with the other as well... but the story goes like this:

When he played for Mouscron, he injured his fibula and tibia and was out for 8 months. Doesn't sound all that bad, but the surgeon who operated on him did a botch job. When a screw was inserted into the tibia, it wrenched on muscles in and around his knee when they were putting a plate on the leg to help heal the broken leg, giving him weaker muscles in that knee. He did have subsequent surgery to remove the screw after he complained of serious pains and have another placed but the damage was done.

If his knee has a load of torsional pressure above a certain limit then that could be curtains for him.

*Rubs both knees*

5starpool

Kess73 wrote: »

Could be wrong, but I took his post to mean that Lucas and Agger would not be enough to get us fourth due to the lack of quality in the team/squad in general.

Yes you are right, I took it up wrong, apologies.

ush

ush wrote: »

Everton march 13th

A fcuking Tuesday.

Well fcuk it it anway :mad:

daithijjj

Suarez is in Romania with Uruguay but took a few mins for photos with Romanian reds.

daithijjj

Glenjo has pulled out of England squad. *hurray*

Leiva

I must admit when I read what Camolli said I thought it was a crock of shiit and I knew i had heard similar before .

But yea it's a strategy over a couple of seasons that produces a strong squad and not just a couple of transfer windows . But in saying that the strategy/transfers IMO over the past couple if windows have been a bit weird.

The " young English player" strategy should be put on ice til there is already a well established squad over the medium term .

The "Premier league proven" strategy should be dropped with immediate effect . It's cost us circa £40million over four players to find one diamond (Enrique) .
There is much better quality outside England for far less money and less risk on success-failure-ratio.

My hope is that Camolli got it right at Spurs by attracting players with not much European action to offer .
My fear is that Kenny has made the bad signings to date and will continue to do so if more monies are on offer .
I know it's a three way agreemen for purchases , but I reckon with Kennys status at the club he got a better leg in and stronger vote on the final say on who to sign .

Benzino

I recall it been mentioned on here before, and saw it confirmed in the paper this morning that Rafa is getting some honour in Trinity. Anybody know when this is happening?

ush

The whole blame Comolli or Kenny for overpriced mediocre British signings is a bit misguided. Without CL and title challenges you sign what you can. You'd really need to know how much the owners are willing to spend. How much is the stadium build gonna impact on signings?

I am pie

mixednuts wrote: »

My hope is that Camolli got it right at Spurs by attracting players with not much European action to offer .
My fear is that Kenny has made the bad signings to date and will continue to do so if more monies are on offer .
I know it's a three way agreemen for purchases , but I reckon with Kennys status at the club he got a better leg in and stronger vote on the final say on who to sign .

Comolli's Spurs signings:

Gareth Bale, - Great Signing
Alan Hutton, Poor Signing
Kevin-Prince Boateng, Poor signing on the basis that he left without much of an impact
Giovani dos Santos, Poor signing
Adel Taarabt Poor signing - talent but neither for Spurs of QPR has he 'made it' at premiership level
Younes Kaboul .Good Signing - steady
Luka Modrić, Great Signing
Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Good Signing
Heurelho Gomes, Average - replaced by a 40 yr old
David Bentley Poor
Vedran Ćorluka Average - squad player
Roman Pavlyuchenko, Poor - expensive with limited impact
Dimitar Berbatov Great signing - very effective at Spurs and chips cashed in on Man U move

Overall I'd say it's pretty hit and miss. I honestly think the 'science' behind these signings is hit and miss also. I'm not convinced on Comolli's role...i'd be interested on who Kenny would sign if he had a free hand? Not that i think his choices are infallable i'm just not yet convinced by Comolli.

I am pie

I am pie wrote: »

Comolli's Spurs signings:

Gareth Bale, - Great Signing
Alan Hutton, Poor Signing
Kevin-Prince Boateng, Poor signing on the basis that he left without much of an impact
Giovani dos Santos, Poor signing
Adel Taarabt Poor signing - talent but neither for Spurs of QPR has he 'made it' at premiership level
Younes Kaboul .Good Signing - steady
Luka Modrić, Great Signing
Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Good Signing
Heurelho Gomes, Average - replaced by a 40 yr old
David Bentley Poor
Vedran Ćorluka Average - squad player
Roman Pavlyuchenko, Poor - expensive with limited impact
Dimitar Berbatov Great signing - very effective at Spurs and chips cashed in on Man U move

Overall I'd say it's pretty hit and miss. I honestly think the 'science' behind these signings is hit and miss also. I'm not convinced on Comolli's role...i'd be interested on who Kenny would sign if he had a free hand? Not that i think his choices are infallable i'm just not yet convinced by Comolli.

They will probably make massive profits on Modric and Bale in the future so I'd imagine financially it's more hit than miss.

Leiva

ush wrote: »

The whole blame Comolli or Kenny for overpriced mediocre British signings is a bit misguided. Without CL and title challenges you sign what you can. You'd really need to know how much the owners are willing to spend. How much is the stadium build gonna impact on signings?

Who do you blame then ? ... The Anfield Cat ?

Look I find it hard to add the owners in on the blame game just purely because in fairness it was their first year in anything football related but they didn't let that stop them opening the purse strings , so Kudos for the trust shown in Camolli and Kenny.

I said it during the big spend in the Jan and summer that I reckoned it was once off investment that we were seeing , and for fans to to expect this every window.
I hope to hell I was wrong as we still have massive holes in our starting 11 that need serious investment to fill .
Then again a warning bell goes off to know if there is more funds are we still gonna follow the same flawed strategy ?

ush

mixednuts wrote: »

Who do you blame then ? ... The Anfield ?

You blame the lack of CL campaign and title challenge. Does there need to be a scapegoat?

Kess73

I am pie wrote: »

Comolli's Spurs signings:

Gareth Bale, - Great Signing
Alan Hutton, Poor Signing
Kevin-Prince Boateng, Poor signing on the basis that he left without much of an impact
Giovani dos Santos, Poor signing
Adel Taarabt Poor signing - talent but neither for Spurs of QPR has he 'made it' at premiership level
Younes Kaboul .Good Signing - steady
Luka Modrić, Great Signing
Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Good Signing
Heurelho Gomes, Average - replaced by a 40 yr old
David Bentley Poor
Vedran Ćorluka Average - squad player
Roman Pavlyuchenko, Poor - expensive with limited impact
Dimitar Berbatov Great signing - very effective at Spurs and chips cashed in on Man U move

Overall I'd say it's pretty hit and miss. I honestly think the 'science' behind these signings is hit and miss also. I'm not convinced on Comolli's role...i'd be interested on who Kenny would sign if he had a free hand? Not that i think his choices are infallable i'm just not yet convinced by Comolli.

He had more signings than that for Spurs, I can remember
Aaron Lennon
Bent
Malbranque



A good post I found online by a guy called Ramesh Kumaran sums up Comoli's record at Spurs pretty well imho.

Why are some people so confident Comolli will succeed?

Put simply: Gareth Bale’s incredible performance against Maicon; the realisation that Comolli’s signings now dominate Tottenham’s team; the fact he unearthed Toure, Eboue and Clichy during his 7 years at Arsenal; and he has the studious and erudite demeanour of The Gallic Professors Wenger and Houllier.

There are others who think he hits as many as he misses. Anyone can get lucky if they take enough potshots, right?

So what’s the truth?

Let’s look at his signings in more detail:

When Comolli arrived at Tottenham, they were a mid table side. (They had finished 9th, 14th, 10th , 9th and 12th in the seasons immediately prior to his arrival.) Comolli oversaw 29 signings that were intended for the 1st team squad.

This is subjective of course, but here’s my classification of those signings:
Unsuccessful:

Adel Taarabt, Cesar Sanchez, Chris Gunter, Dorian Dervitte, Gilberto, Hossam Ghaly, Jonathan Woodgate, Mido and Ricardo Rocha.

(I’ve added Jonathan Woodgate to this list because let’s face it, the guy had an injury record that made Aquilani look like Superman. Maybe his signing was merely to placate the physio who had become lonely after Darren Anderton left.)


Successful players for Tottenham – Suited to their then mid-table status:
Alan Hutton, Ben Alnwick, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Danny Murphy, David Bentley, Didier Zokora, Giovani dos Santos, John Bostock, Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque, Verdun Corluka


Successful players who could have a role in a top-six side:
Aaron Lennon, Darren Bent, Heurelho Gomes, Kevin Prince Boateng, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Younes Kaboul


The crème de la crème:
Gareth Bale, Dimitar Berbatov, Luca Modric


So what’s Comolli’s hit rate?

Expressed as a percentage of total signings:

* Unsuccessful signings: 31%
* Successful players for Tottenham – Suited to their mid-table status: 38%
* Successful players who could have a role in a top-six side: 21%
* The crème de la crème: 10%

Since Comolli joined Spurs, their league position has improved. They finished 5th, 5th, 11th, 8th and 4th in the league.

He convinced players to join a mid table team, and collectively they became what is now arguably an established top 6 side.

Roughly one third of the signings didn’t work out, one third were ‘acceptable’ (for their place as a mid-table side), and the other third were good enough for a top six side (and included 3 genuinely outstanding signings).

The most positive thing to take away from this simple analysis is this: A third of Comolli’s signings improved Tottenham’s playing roster.

If Comolli can utilise the same powers of investigation and persuasion to bring in talent of a higher level (commensurate with Liverpool’s aspirations) then he may prove to be NESV’s most valuable signing of all; Liverpool will reap the benefits of his appointment in the short, medium and long term.

Leiva

ush wrote: »

You blame the lack of CL campaign and title challenge. Does there need to be a scapegoat?

Scapegoat ?

I'm not looking for a scapegoat just accountability .

There has been an outlay of £100million on players which now have a minimum of 7 months playing together .

Do you think we have done well or can do well with the same players over the short term ?

I am pie

Kess73 wrote: »

A good post I found online by a guy called Ramesh Kumaran sums up Comoli's record at Spurs pretty well imho.

I reckon some of his ratings are little aspirational...bit on the comolli-tinted glasses side of things?

Successful players for Tottenham – Suited to their mid-table status:
1. Alan Hutton - Disagree - more of relegation battler IMO

2. Ben Alnwick - Not a first team player - unproven

3.Benoit Assou-Ekotto & Danny Murphy yep, handy mid table 1st team players

4. David Bentley - Waste of talent, maybe it isn't his job to weed thiese out, but was not or has not been a good mid table player

5. Didier Zokora - Borderline

6. Giovani dos Santos- - Not successful, ineffective

7. John Bostock Didn't figure? ..or if he did i missed it!

8. Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque, Verdun Corluka - Yep, all good mid table players.


Successful players who could have a role in a top-six side:
Aaron Lennon, Darren Bent, Heurelho Gomes, Kevin Prince Boateng, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Younes Kaboul

From the above Gomes, Prince B, Pav are debatable in reference to the Premiership[. Only Lennon, Bent and Kaboul (of late)are solid inclusions.

Ok, hats off re: Bal, Berbatov and Modric, i just think there is a little bit more 'miss' or somewhere in between hit and miss than Ramesh indicates in his post.

Not going anywhere near net spend ; )

Blatter

I am pie wrote: »

I reckon some of his ratings are little aspirational...bit on the comolli-tinted glasses side of things?

Successful players for Tottenham – Suited to their mid-table status:
1. Alan Hutton - Disagree - more of relegation battler IMO

2. Ben Alnwick - Not a first team player - unproven

3.Benoit Assou-Ekotto & Danny Murphy yep, handy mid table 1st team players

4. David Bentley - Waste of talent, maybe it isn't his job to weed thiese out, but was not or has not been a good mid table player

5. Didier Zokora - Borderline

6. Giovani dos Santos- - Not successful, ineffective

7. John Bostock Didn't figure? ..or if he did i missed it!

8. Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque, Verdun Corluka - Yep, all good mid table players.


Successful players who could have a role in a top-six side:
Aaron Lennon, Darren Bent, Heurelho Gomes, Kevin Prince Boateng, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Younes Kaboul

From the above Gomes, Prince B, Pav are debatable in reference to the Premiership[. Only Lennon, Bent and Kaboul (of late)are solid inclusions.

Ok, hats re: Bale and Modric, i just think there is a little bit more 'miss' or somewhere in between hit and miss than Ramesh indicates in his post.

Not going anywhere near net spend ; )

Sorry to nitpick such a small part of your post but I'd definitely say Assou Ekotto is much more than a mid table player. He's been the best left back in the league this season alongside Enrique imo.

I am pie

Blatter wrote: »

Sorry to nitpick such a small part of your post but I'd definitely say Assou Ekotto is much more than a mid table player. He's been the best left back in the league this season alongside Enrique imo.

Yep, fair point. I just commented on that Ramesh fella's ratings based on his own categorisations...but yes, A-E deserves more credit there.

opr

This article has the full list of players he signed and a decent breakdown of his time at Spurs.

http://www.cartilagefreecaptain.com/2012/1/12/2701185/totenham-hotspur-damien-comolli-sporting-director-daniel-levy-transfers

Opr

daithijjj

I think its pointless to look at hit and misses in isolation as a %. You have to look at an overall trend at alot clubs to judge a % against. Comolli did fairly well there imho and lots of great managers have plenty of so so or poor signings. Spurs won the CC in 08 on the back of alot of these players he brought in.

Im a sceptic on Comolli but you cant argue with the fact alot of the players he brought in have Spurs where they are now. Even a player like Corluka was a mainstay in the team that got the club into the CL.

In any case, he doesnt have the power at LFC that he had at Spurs, he wont be signing players the manager doesnt want, like Jol referred to. Kenny wont let himself get into a situation like AVB where the club is signing players and not the manager.

opr

daithijjj wrote: »

In any case, he doesnt have the power at LFC that he had at Spurs, he wont be signing players the manager doesnt want, like Jol referred to. Kenny wont let himself get into a situation like AVB where the club is signing players and not the manager.

Just on this partciular point.

From Kenny Dalglish 'my liverpool home'.

p317. Damien had Luis Suarez on the go before I returned, but he still wanted to know if I was onside with the deal.

"You won't get any resistance from me on Suarez, Damien!"


Suarez's impact was testament to the unbelievable amount of work Damien does on Liverpool's behalf. He oversees scouting, handles the negotiations, has regular conversations with Tom and John about finances. It is a huge role. Some people might have thought I would be a wee bit old school, not liking the idea of working with a director of football, but I've never had a problemm with it. It's straightforward - if I don't want a player to be here, he won't be. I get on with Damien. I don't know what he was like before, but he's been as good as gold with me.

He also says (p318)

The day before the January transfer window closed, Damien said: "What about Andy Carroll?"

"Can you get him?"

Somehow, Damien did manage to get Carroll out of Newcastle United. He did brilliantly to pull off such a deal with time running out.

So basically Kenny will green light that he is fine if a certain player signs. It's then down to Commolli to hammer out the deal. In fairness I find it hard to know who to blame because I don't think many people had a problem with the actual players signed but more so the prices.

Opr

daithijjj

opr wrote: »

This article has the full list of players he signed and a decent breakdown of his time at Spurs.

http://www.cartilagefreecaptain.com/2012/1/12/2701185/totenham-hotspur-damien-comolli-sporting-director-daniel-levy-transfers

Opr

Some interesting comments at the bottom. The guy saying Comolli gets undeserved grief off Spurs fans came across well. Made a great point about Redknapp (not signing star quality but 'here and now' players to compliment Comolli's star signings, buying Keane back for 16 mil, Palacios for 16 mil etc). Basically, Spurs would be nowhere without Bale and Modric.

And he says Levy is a poor negotiator in deals in comparison to Comolli!!!, cant really argue with his points on that either.

Kess73

opr wrote: »

Just on this partciular point.



So basically Kenny will green light that he is fine if a certain player signs. It's then down to Commolli to hammer out the deal. In fairness I find it hard to know who to blame because I don't think many people had a problem with the actual players signed but more so the prices.

Opr

Kenny has final say on all players. So as such Kenny should get the criticism if he buys poorly and the praise if he buys well.

opr

Kess73 wrote: »

Kenny has final say on all players. So as such Kenny should get the criticism if he buys poorly and the praise if he buys well.

So Comolli asks Kenny would you be ok with signing Carroll ? He says yeah sure. Comoll is in charge of negotiating so he is then responsible for the deal and the fact we ended up paying the ridiculous price.

Buying poorly or badly is surely completely subjective in nature based on the price paid for the player ?

Opr

Leiva

Fixture Changes


Liverpool's Barclays Premier League game away to QPR will now take place on Wednesday, March 21.

Kick-off for the match, which has been moved due to our FA Cup date with Stoke, will be 8pm.

In addition, our league game at home to Chelsea on Saturday, May 5 has been moved to Sunday, May 6 at 2pm to avoid a clash with the FA Cup final. This is subject to any further TV selections. In the event that we reach the final, this game will be rearranged.

Both have a big say, so both can get equal praise and criticism for successful or poor purchases tbh.

monkey9

Benzino wrote: »

I recall it been mentioned on here before, and saw it confirmed in the paper this morning that Rafa is getting some honour in Trinity. Anybody know when this is happening?

Benitez to get Trinity reward

FORMER Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will join a diverse list that includes the likes of Al Pacino, Bono and Naomi Campbell when he is awarded the Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage from the University Philosophical Society of Trinity College at a ceremony in Dublin next Monday.

The 51-year-old Spaniard will receive the award for his “outstanding patronage to sport” and will also make an address to the “Phil Society” entitled “Belief, Determination and Success”.

After a playing career cut short by injury, Benitez joined Real Madrid’s coaching staff at the age of 26, eventually working his way to assistant first-team coach under present Spain boss Vicente Del Bosque. After spells with various Spanish clubs, he took up the manager’s job at Valencia, leading them to two league titles.

He is best remembered for Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League victory over AC Milan in Istanbul.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0228/1224312481309.html

MaceFace

Kess73 wrote: »

Kenny has final say on all players. So as such Kenny should get the criticism if he buys poorly and the praise if he buys well.

That's too black and white. For some reason people love to paint the picture in England as the manager runs the club and signs off on all parts of business when it comes to players.

Ferguson might be the only one who has this control, but most other managers only have some say. They may say which positions and types of players they want and probably identify names, but for the most part, the finances are nothing to do with them. They don't have the final say (although they will have input) into how much to pay and what the salaries should be.

It drives me crazy when I see Sky put up lists of how much manager A or B spent, making it out that the manager has been given a pot of money to spend how they wish.

Kess73

opr wrote: »

So Comolli asks Kenny would you be ok with signing Carroll ? He says yeah sure. Comoll is in charge of negotiating so he is then responsible for the deal and the fact we ended up paying the ridiculous price.

Buying poorly or badly is surely completely subjective in nature based on the price paid for the player ?

Opr

I would say that it would be based on how a player performs on the pitch. If a player is bought and ends up being a flop, then how big a flop he was can be somewhat defined by how much the club paid for a player who was a dud under that particular manager.