Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 12/13

opr

Supposedly QPR offered him nearly twice as much in wages but he still decided on Cardiff.

Opr

Exiled2NY

mike65 wrote: »

stop quoting without a sauce!!

via RAWK, interesting to see Charlie Adam is Liverpools worst midfield passer!



and yet just tops the chances created per minute. Just shows that stats are evil, capricious critters.

Look at the Pass left and Pass right stats, anyone else interpret that as, 'oh feck, its stew, pass to the other side!!

gafferino

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Thanks Craig for a brilliant season, shame we didn't have you for longer.

Kuyt / Bellers / Maxi / Aurelio gone from last year's squad

Borrini / Allen / Cole in

Uninspired so far.

Leiva

wobblyknees wrote: »

It wasn't "lacking" last season. That was the strategy obviously, to drop off and let the opposition have the ball high up the pitch with a view to hitting teams on the counter. The strategy now under a different coach/manager is to press and win the ball high up the pitch. All of this is very deliberate and worked through in training.

it was a personal opinion.

murpho999

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Thanks Craig for a brilliant season, shame we didn't have you for longer.

Kuyt / Bellers / Maxi / Aurelio gone from last year's squad

Borrini / Allen / Cole in

Uninspired so far.

A bit like your posts over the last few weeks Lloyd!

gafferino

Jose Enrique is targeting goals now that he has been handed an advanced role in the side by Brendan Rodgers – and the Spaniard believes his overall game has already transformed under the new manager's guidance.

Enrique was encouraged to bomb forward from the full-back position and apply pressure further up the field during the Reds' 3-0 victory over FC Gomel at Anfield on Thursday night.

And the defender insists he is committed to embracing Rodgers' tiki-taka philosophy and striking the perfect balance between working hard defensively while pushing on in attack.

"Everyone is trying and the manager is really good for us, he tries to play tiki-taka like he says," he told the Liverpool Echo. "And this is the type of football everyone wants to play.

"In Spain, many teams play like this. The manager wants us to play football on the floor but we have to defend very hard. This is very important. I thought we pressed very high last night and we did very well.

"I play higher up the field with him whereas before I played more alongside the centre-backs. Now I'm like a forward and play really high - I hope now I can score some goals.

"The manager is really important in this. He has changed my game and he has made 100% certain I can do this for the team.

"No-one said you could win with tiki-taka but Barcelona have won everything. This is the future in football and in Spain many teams play like this. It all depends on the quality of the players but we are trying and after only one month we are doing well.

"We still have to play better and improve because we have not had many games together and only came together two weeks ago.

"I think we played well but to have to improve a lot."

Luis Suarez was back in the fold for the Reds last night after his Olympic dream was cut short at the group stage and fresh from signing a new long-term contract at Anfield, the No.7 was in fine form as he ran the Gomel defence ragged for 90 minutes.

"Everyone knows Luis," said Enrique. "He is a top class player and everyone is happy that he has signed a new contract. He is a really important player."

noodler

I miss Braig Cellamy.

wobblyknees

Leiva wrote: »

it was a personal opinion.

Yes, I know, thats why I replied. It wasn't a personal criticism. I was simply replying with a more realistic view of the situation.

wobblyknees

gafferino wrote: »

Jose Enrique is targeting goals now that he has been handed an advanced role in the side by Brendan Rodgers – and the Spaniard believes his overall game has already transformed under the new manager's guidance.

Enrique was encouraged to bomb forward from the full-back position and apply pressure further up the field during the Reds' 3-0 victory over FC Gomel at Anfield on Thursday night.

And the defender insists he is committed to embracing Rodgers' tiki-taka philosophy and striking the perfect balance between working hard defensively while pushing on in attack.

"Everyone is trying and the manager is really good for us, he tries to play tiki-taka like he says," he told the Liverpool Echo. "And this is the type of football everyone wants to play.

"In Spain, many teams play like this. The manager wants us to play football on the floor but we have to defend very hard. This is very important. I thought we pressed very high last night and we did very well.

"I play higher up the field with him whereas before I played more alongside the centre-backs. Now I'm like a forward and play really high - I hope now I can score some goals.

"The manager is really important in this. He has changed my game and he has made 100% certain I can do this for the team.

"No-one said you could win with tiki-taka but Barcelona have won everything. This is the future in football and in Spain many teams play like this. It all depends on the quality of the players but we are trying and after only one month we are doing well.

"We still have to play better and improve because we have not had many games together and only came together two weeks ago.

"I think we played well but to have to improve a lot."

Luis Suarez was back in the fold for the Reds last night after his Olympic dream was cut short at the group stage and fresh from signing a new long-term contract at Anfield, the No.7 was in fine form as he ran the Gomel defence ragged for 90 minutes.

"Everyone knows Luis," said Enrique. "He is a top class player and everyone is happy that he has signed a new contract. He is a really important player."

The reality is that in the 1-4-3-3 system that the team plays, with a strategy of pressing and winning the ball high up the pitch, it is usually the responsibility of the full back to press high up the pitch. It will be interesting to see how Enrique executes this in the more competitive games.

Knex*

So if the last few seasons the fullbacks were more encouraged to stay close to the center backs, where the hell will Johnson end up? How far more forward can he get?

Also, if Enrique is only targeting the goals now it explains why half his shots ended up in Row Z.

tok9

Disappointing to see Bellamy go as he played some fantastic stuff last season but no one should get too carried away.

His last few months with us were fairly average performances by his standards, with his injuries and since he's not the youngest anymore it's not a massive loss.

tok9

gafferino wrote: »

Jose Enrique is targeting goals now that he has been handed an advanced role in the side by Brendan Rodgers – and the Spaniard believes his overall game has already transformed under the new manager's guidance.

Lucas is absolutely pivotal to this working.

klose

Mancini is after coming out and saying he isint happy with citys transfer policy this summer, I would guess he means he isint getting the money like before so perhaps city aren't willing to meet our asking price for agger.......hopefully.

Also Jesus wept for reberto.

Melion

So we've lost Kuyt and replaced him with Borini. Lost Maxi who will be replaced by Sterling as a squad player, Bellamy will be replaced by Joe Allen.

All 3 are an improvement, anyone who thinks otherwise is obviously just on a windup.

NEDDURC

tok9 wrote: »

Lucas is absolutely pivotal to this working.

This is true, when in possession the two centre back almost become full backs as they seperate across the pitch. Pushing the full backs on which allows players like Suarez and Downing to get into the box as attackers. This would appear to leave gaps at the back but if you have a good defensive mid player to almost play as a sweeper and break things up if anyone gives the ball away.

I know we've only had a few games so far but the clean sheets have been good. Amazing after so long out that Lucas is back and has almost 90 mins under his belt last night. I presume he'll be rested for this weekends friendly now.

gaelicred

Mancini has gotten everything he wanted from the City owners now he is throwing his toys out of the pram boo hoo

smileyj1987

whippedcream wrote: »

Mancini is after coming out and saying he isint happy with citys transfer policy this summer, I would guess he means he isint getting the money like before so perhaps city aren't willing to meet our asking price for agger.......hopefully.

Also Jesus wept for reberto.

Pass me the worlds smallest violin and i'll play the worlds saddest song for him :D . A certain other manager was also complaining about no value in the market but there was no complaints when nobody could offer the wages or the transfer fees they where offering .

SlickRic

gaelicred wrote: »

Mancini has gotten everything he wanted from the City owners now he is throwing his toys out of the pram boo hoo

to be fair, in this game, you need to be moving forward all the time.

he's right to be a little annoyed at the lack of activity.

if he wants Agger, VP, or whoever, and Marwood has told him that they are targets that are gettable, then Mancini is right to be annoyed at him for being unable to deliver.

opr

They've invested hundreds of millions, a new stadium, redeveloped a entire area of Manchester and have a massive ongoing wage bill with the club still making massive losses.

Just because the the club is trying to play some hard ball to get some semblance of value in the market this year he should be annoyed they're not just splashing the cash like in the previous years? He has no reason to be annoyed, none. Certainly he shouldn't be making it public.

Opr

danniemcq

amiable wrote: »

So did I http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=80162448&postcount=6043

yeah but nobody really pays any attention to your posts unless there are bouncing tits in them

Kerrigooney

opr wrote: »

They've invested hundreds of millions, a new stadium, redeveloped a entire area of Manchester and have a massive ongoing wage bill with the club still making massive losses.

Just because the the club is trying to play some hard ball to get some semblance of value in the market this year he should be annoyed they're not just splashing the cash like in the previous years? He has no reason to be annoyed, none. Certainly he shouldn't be making it public.

Opr

He`s being spoiled at City. If he`s this upset about not getting who he wants this summer, he might as well retire after he`s sacked,which he will be eventually,because he`ll never have that kind of (silly) money to spend again.

Sappy404

tok9 wrote: »

Lucas is absolutely pivotal to this working.

I'd say he's pivotal to everything about how we'll be playing. Almost literally.

Knex*

He does have a point though. To win the title again they need to progress. You can't let your squad get stale.

He also knows that if they don't win the title next year he could well find himself jobless. It would be insane, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.

Chucky the tree

Hopefully they'll stump up £30m for Agger and he'll be gone.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Melion wrote: »

So we've lost Kuyt and replaced him with Borini. Lost Maxi who will be replaced by Sterling as a squad player, Bellamy will be replaced by Joe Allen.

All 3 are an improvement, anyone who thinks otherwise is obviously just on a windup.

The problem is, as highlighed by last season, is that we don;t have the cover if we get a long term injury to a key problem. Which, with our track record, is bound to happen.

Knex*

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Hopefully they'll stump up £30m for Agger and he'll be gone.

Although I agree 30m is insane money and too good to turn down, I do however have fairly little confidence in our ability to replace Agger sufficiently enough, also while utilizing the remaining money elsewhere to make the sale seem worth while.

Chucky the tree

Knex. wrote: »

Although I agree 30m is insane money and too good to turn down, I do however have fairly little confidence in our ability to replace Agger sufficiently enough, also while utilizing the remaining money elsewhere to make the sale seem worth while.

Why? So far the two purchases Rodgers has made(presume Allen is done) have been upgrades on our first 11 and are both good enough to be starters. While he has overpaid for Allen I find it hard to argue overpaying for a player who's a clear upgrade on your next best choice and most likely will only get better. I honestly believe our defence won't be the reason we lose out on 4th, it will be our attack so that's another reason I'd be happy to see Agger go if it meant getting in two extra attackers.

Hoki

We just cant sell Agger, the guy is too good, if if he does only play 20 games this season they will be well worth it, im of the opinion though that the worst of his troublesome injuries are behind him (his back) Like every player he will possibly succumb to a few strains throughout the season but if i was a betting man which i am, id stake a few quid on him still being with us come September, that reaction he got last night will hopefully speak volumes to the owners.

Chucky the tree

Hoki wrote: »

We just cant sell Agger, the guy is too good, if if he does only play 20 games this season they will be well worth it, im of the opinion though that the worst of his troublesome injuries are behind him (his back) Like every player he will possibly succumb to a few strains throughout the season but if i was a betting man which i am, id stake a few quid on him still being with us come September, that reaction he got last night will hopefully speak volumes to the owners.

I really the hope owners aren't dumb enough to take into account the fans re-actions.

Hoki

Chucky the tree wrote: »

I really the hope owners are dumb enough to take into account the fans re-actions.

Presume you mean aren't dumb enough seeing as you want him sold?

Knex*

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Why? So far the two purchases Rodgers has made(presume Allen is done) have been upgrades on our first 11 and are both good enough to be starters. While he has overpaid for Allen I find it hard to argue overpaying for a player who's a clear upgrade on your next best choice and most likely will only get better. I honestly believe our defence won't be the reason we lose out on 4th, it will be our attack so that's another reason I'd be happy to see Agger go if it meant getting in two extra attackers.

I'm quite happy with the purchase of Allen, in fact, in the Summer transfer thread I said the following:

Allen has undoubted talent, and I'm glad Liverpool are signing him. The price, although excessive, is something I've come around to being comfortable with. No, he is not on the same level as Wilshire, nor do I really ever think he will be, but he is definitely one of the better young players around Europe.

Also, the familiarity he has with Rodgers, and the system he employs, can only be a good thing for Liverpool. It will help Rodgers implement his philosophy a lot easier when he can deploy Allen in the center of it from the off. Also, having Rodgers as manager means it can only help Allen settle into the side more quickly.

To summarize, although I am certain a better individual player for 15m can be found, in Europe or elsewhere, I do believe Allen for 15m in this current situation may be the better fit. The quicker Rodgers can settle his side, system and ideas the better imo.

Granted we need two wingers, or one and a CAM. But if we sell Agger he will need to be replaced. If you could guarantee me right now that we could get Mbiwa, and that he wouldn't chose Milan, I would be all for it. Cost less than 10m plus still 20m to add to transfer kitty allowing us to spend approx 15m each on the two players we need.

But that's not our reality I fear. We are not a CL team and there is a severe shortage of premium CB, or even the level below, available in todays market. Certainly a lot less for under 15m.

Take into account also the fact that our defence is the one area we are all happy with. It's solid, it does not need tweaking or changing. It is CL quality I feel. Take Agger out and it's not.
Also, the way Agger plays, and the style Rodgers wants to play in, could honestly mean the difference of 10 points by the end of the season if we keep him or not.

I fear we will spend upwards of 10m on a CB of hugely inferior quality to Agger and although we will be able to sign those two attackers (whom I think we should have enough to sign one and loan another regardless), we will regret the decision down the line.

Chucky the tree

Hoki wrote: »

Presume you mean aren't dumb enough seeing as you want him sold?

Yep that's the one.


[QUOTE=Knex.;80167672

Granted we need two wingers, or one and a CAM. But if we sell Agger he will need to be replaced. If you could guarantee me right now that we could get Mbiwa, and that he wouldn't chose Milan, I would be all for it. Cost less than 10m plus still 20m to add to transfer kitty allowing us to spend approx 15m each on the two players we need.

But that's not our reality I fear. We are not a CL team and there is a severe shortage of premium CB, or even the level below, available in todays market. Certainly a lot less for under 15m.

Take into account also the fact that our defence is the one area we are all happy with. It's solid, it does not need tweaking or changing. It is CL quality I feel. Take Agger out and it's not.
Also, the way Agger plays, and the style Rodgers wants to play in, could honestly mean the difference of 10 points by the end of the season if we keep him or not.

I fear we will spend upwards of 10m on a CB of hugely inferior quality to Agger and although we will be able to sign those two attackers (whom I think we should have enough to sign one and loan another regardless), we will regret the decision down the line.[/QUOTE]


I'd be happy with Coates stepping up and getting a defender in to warm the bench. However I'd even be happy buying a first choice defender a level below Agger. If we had Agger fit we all of last season I don't think it would have had a big difference on our challenge for 4th, I do think that if we had Joe Allen or Clint Dempsey it would have made a big difference.

Even with Agger out for a good bit of last season we still conceded less goals than Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle and chelsea. Didn't stop us finishing 8th and below all of those teams. It's easy to see why when you see all those teams scored more goals than us. Arsenal 37 more, Spurs 19 more, Newcastle 9 more and Chelsea 18 more. Our goalkeeper and back four is better than Arsenal but you won't see many people claim we'll finish ahead of them. Goals win games as they say.

D'Agger

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Why? So far the two purchases Rodgers has made(presume Allen is done) have been upgrades on our first 11 and are both good enough to be starters. While he has overpaid for Allen I find it hard to argue overpaying for a player who's a clear upgrade on your next best choice and most likely will only get better. I honestly believe our defence won't be the reason we lose out on 4th, it will be our attack so that's another reason I'd be happy to see Agger go if it meant getting in two extra attackers.

Until every club sees we have 30m burning a hole in our pockets and the price goes up by extortionate levels

Melion

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

The problem is, as highlighed by last season, is that we don;t have the cover if we get a long term injury to a key problem. Which, with our track record, is bound to happen.

Flanagan, Robinson, Suso, Shelvey have all improved as players. Improved so much that none of them will look out of place in the first team. IMO our squad (with Allen) is stronger than it was last year. That's with 3 weeks left to bring in more players. And I'd forgotten having Lucas back and hopefully Gerrard with something resembling fitness.

Captain Morgan Freeman

PaulieC wrote: »

Until every club sees we have 30m burning a hole in our pockets and the price goes up by extortionate levels

Newcastle had 35 million burning a hole in their pocket after the Carrol deal and were still able to get some great deals.

SlickRic

if we don't need to sell players in order to buy, which has been said to us, then we shouldn't sell Agger. full stop.

if that's a lie, then I can see merit in selling him for £30m, although I wouldn't really agree with it.

i wouldn't be confident in us finding better than Agger though for a while at least.

plus, the lad wants to stay.

Knex*

I suppose actually a good way of putting my thoughts circa the Agger transfer would be; my decision on Agger changes every 10 minutes almost.

One min I'm aghast at the thought of selling a player of his talent and loyalty, the next I'm seeing the 30m and his injury record and saying its madness not to accept it.

I think what it may boil down to for me is, if Agger stays I'm gonna be happy regardless.

If he leaves, I'm only happy if he is sufficiently replaced and the money is used wisely to improve our attacking options.

The chances of the latter scenario happening I'm not so sure, so rather than venture into the unknown I find myself now rather comfortable with keeping the mainstay in our defence, rejecting Man City's advances, and progressing from there whatever way we can.

D'Agger

Captain Morgan Freeman wrote: »

Newcastle had 35 million burning a hole in their pocket after the Carrol deal and were still able to get some great deals.

We're not Newcastle though are we - we're the team with a shocking track record in the last few seasons for paying over the odds for players.

Kess73

SlickRic wrote: »

if we don't need to sell players in order to buy, which has been said to us, then we shouldn't sell Agger. full stop.

if that's a lie, then I can see merit in selling him for £30m, although I wouldn't really agree with it.

i wouldn't be confident in us finding better than Agger though for a while at least.

plus, the lad wants to stay.

Selling Agger is a complete no no for me. But the only way I would be able to swallow the pill of him being sold for the £30m figure you used, would be if the club turned around and announced the club had just gotten Yanga-Mbiwa for £8m and Belhanda for £22m.

My faith in something like that happening has begun to wane just a tad though

Knex*

PaulieC wrote: »

We're not Newcastle though are we - we're the team with a shocking track record in the last few seasons for paying over the odds for players.

Its almost as if other teams see us coming, snigger and say 'Quick, add another 5 million to his value while they're not looking".

Knex*

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Yep that's the one.

I'd be happy with Coates stepping up and getting a defender in to warm the bench. However I'd even be happy buying a first choice defender a level below Agger. If we had Agger fit we all of last season I don't think it would have had a big difference on our challenge for 4th, I do think that if we had Joe Allen or Clint Dempsey it would have made a big difference.

Even with Agger out for a good bit of last season we still conceded less goals than Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle and chelsea. Didn't stop us finishing 8th and below all of those teams. It's easy to see why when you see all those teams scored more goals than us. Arsenal 37 more, Spurs 19 more, Newcastle 9 more and Chelsea 18 more. Our goalkeeper and back four is better than Arsenal but you won't see many people claim we'll finish ahead of them. Goals win games as they say.

But Arsenal have a Vermaelen, Spurs now have a Vertonghen. If we were talking about the sale of Skrtel I could maybe agree with the downgrading, or possibly even Coates stepping up for a part. But I do think we need a player of Agger's quality, a ball playing CB who makes everything purr.

He is far more than a defender and can also be the key to opening up teams, causing midfielders to commit and create space. In Rodgers' team he could be crucial for us.

Like I said in my post, and Kess said just now, guarantee me Mbiwa for as little as 8m, meaning we can really see the affects of Agger's fee being spent on improving the squad, then sure, I can go with that.

I know its impractical, as it simply can't be guaranteed until the window is closed, nor can the decision to sell or keep Agger be validated till then. But it's just my feeling on the whole thing right now.

DrumSteve

Knex. wrote: »

Its almost as if other teams see us coming, snigger and say 'Quick, add another 5 million to his value while they're not looking".

It's a pity we can't sign Daniel Levy.

gaelicred

We are trying to do the right thing by not overpaying for players and giving obscene wages to mediocre players it will take some time in Brendan we trust

ush

There are simply too many spaces to be filled further up the pitch. An Agger shaped hole at the back, at this stage of the transfer window, can't be filled. Selling players like Bellamy, Kuyt and Maxi had a footballing and business logic. Selling Agger only has a business logic. If they do it, FSG are admitting we don't really need CL level players for the foreseeable future.

gaelicred

Eziz Allamov ‏@Ezizallamov
Liverpool are lining up a bid for Diego Godín of Atletico Madrid, who had been scouted throughout last season 9million is the price being mentioned

Captain Morgan Freeman

PaulieC wrote: »

We're not Newcastle though are we - we're the team with a shocking track record in the last few seasons for paying over the odds for players.

So we should just accept it and keep paying over the odds for players? No were not Newcastle were ****ing Liverpool a bigger club and i would also like to think a more attractive club for players to come to.

Newcastle were once the laughing stock of the league when in came to transfers - Luque(£9.5 million), Boumsong(£8 million), Viana (€12 million), Xisco (£7million). That's excluding players like Owen, Rozehal, and Duff who certainly didn't offer value for money, and there's probably a good few others im forgetting. There's absolutely no reason why we can't get value in the market.

retalivity

Former Liverpool player & France midfielder Alou Diarra has signed for West Ham

ush

gaelicred wrote: »

Eziz Allamov ‏@Ezizallamov
Liverpool are lining up a bid for Diego Godín of Atletico Madrid, who had been scouted throughout last season 9million is the price being mentioned

If true, thats you know who out the door.

Knex*

ush wrote: »

If true, thats you know who out the door.

Shelvey?

gaelicred

I know