Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/2014

djPSB

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Norwich top 8 finish at 15/2 looks tasty to me.

I don't think West Ham will be far off the EL places.

If Carroll can stay fit.

Dickerty

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Well Assaidi had as much impact on things as I expected. A player who amounted to nothing at Liverpool or "nothing player".

How about you focus on something you may have gotten wrong? That's much harder.

Calling foul on every signing, and then pointing out that you were occasionaly right, is shooting fish in a barrel...

Leiva

sit Suarez down and pay him the money/wage he desires.
shift out more dead wood if needs be to gather the funds required.

I really dont care just do it.
cause we really don't have a chance of ever persuading a player of his calibre to join us in the next few years, so we need to do all we can to keep him, build a whole team around him and hopefully push on.

Let's not kid ourselves these owners have spent nothing this window. Going to the market and trying to seriously buy a player like Suarez is fantasy land shït if you think FSG would ever do/fund it.

We need to keep what we have at all costs. and for all our sakes I hope FSG are thinking the same.

Grayditch

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

A player who amounted to nothing at Liverpool or "nothing player".

Nice...

Leiva

I wonder if £50mil of the Bale money be waved our way from Spurs if he goes to Madrid.

djPSB

Leiva wrote: »

I wonder if £50mil of the Bale money be waved our way from Spurs if he goes to Madrid.

doubt it.

Think Spurs should do their utmost to keep Bale and try get CL.

If they got CL and then had £80m to spend, they would be very dangerous.

£80m isn't a whole pile good to them at the minute when they cannot attract premium players like the CL clubs.

Leiva

djPSB wrote: »

doubt it.

Think Spurs should do their utmost to keep Bale and try get CL.

If they got CL and then had £80m to spend, they would be very dangerous.

£80m isn't a whole pile good to them at the minute when they cannot attract premium players like the CL clubs.

Paulinho, Soldado ?

BMJD

Another morning, another set off stories about our Luis. Caughtoffside's "exclusive" is that Arsenal will pay £51m for him Zzzz
I'm done with the rumours and the circus surrounding him, I'm convinced that he will be with us until at least January. IMO the best thing he can do is really knuckle down, put in an incredible season without too much controversy and he can then choose where he goes.

Lovely Bloke

has soldado signed?

Sappy404

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

has soldado signed?

http://www.marca.com/2013/07/28/en/football/spanish_football/1375037440.html

Yesterday Tottenham Hotspur was once again showing signs of life. The London club is convinced that Soldado is the attacking player needed by manager Andrés Villas Boas, and will therefore be going all out to get his signature. At the London end, there is a desire to modify two of the conditions set by Valencia. Not a flat €30 million, but the deal should feature a variable sum, and also Tottenham does not want the fee to be paid in just two instalments. But yesterday after the friendly match against AC Milan, which Valencia lost 1-2, club officials reiterated that their conditions were not going to change: €30 million, payable in two instalments of €15 million each.

djPSB

Leiva wrote: »

Paulinho, Soldado ?

That list would be alot bigger if they were in the CL.

gafferino

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

has soldado signed?

No put apparently deal is close. Id say it will be done this week. Great buy for them and if they hold on to Bale they will be excellent next year.

gafferino

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was in buoyant humour after watching Philippe Coutinho inspire the Reds once again in pre-season, pledging that he would pay to see the Brazilian play.

The 21-year-old scored the first goal of the club's pre-season programme, at Preston North End, before notching the opener against an Indonesia XI and the Thailand national team yesterday.

Coutinho's strike on Sunday was one of supreme individual skill and brought glowing praise from the manager for the No.10 and the attacking comrades stationed around him.

Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo: "Coutinho had me up off my seat. He's a player you would pay money to watch. He's just a delight on the ball.

"There was real quality in the final third. I thought that part of our game, on a difficult pitch and in that heat, was very good.

"Some of our football was fluent and the movement was clever. We have some outstanding talents who can make the difference.

"The idea was that Aspas would give us another dimension up there and he's done that.

"He's a very effective player. Sometimes he's not always easy on the eye but when you actually monitor how efficient he is - he creates goals and scores goals.

"It was a lovely touch into space by him for his goal and he finished really well. Then he showed good vision to set up Stevie, who finished magnificently.

"Our defensive mentality was also very good. We've been working on organisation with and without the ball and I thought we saw that in the game.

"Simon Mignolet didn't have a lot to do but his presence was excellent and he made one great save to his left. He's a 'keeper who is hungry and has slotted in very well."

The Reds' summer tour of Indonesia, Australia and Thailand proved an unqualified success on and off the pitch - with the squad and staff offered sensational receptions at every stage.

Equally encouraging for Rodgers was the work-rate and effort of his players, who are moving ever closer to the opening fixture of the season at home to Stoke City on August 17.

"It's been an amazing couple of weeks," the Northern Irishman added.

"We came out here with a number of objectives on and off the field and I think we have achieved them all and more.

"We got a lot of work done over here and we're in good shape at this point in pre-season. We still have a few weeks yet to really step it up but I'm pleased with where we're at.

"The biggest thing has been the application of the players. They have been absolutely brilliant in everything that they have done.

"We scored three fantastic goals but equal to that was our work-rate. You could see that the focus and mentality of the team is very good.

"It's very much a collective effort. Everyone out there was fighting, pressing and working to get the ball back quickly and then we earned the right to play.

"Now we'll fly back, have a recovery period after all this travelling and then we'll get going again."

billy2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jykBkMmGMUI

Coutinho vs Thai

LuckyLloyd

The Rooster wrote: »

Yeah, a player bought out of the blue for a relatively cheap price must be a nothing player?? You must have been sickened when you saw us paying only £500,000 for Jordan Ibe? Another nothing player I suppose...

Assiadi is actually a decent player. He undoubtedly has talent, and I would imagine he will be successful at his next club, but sometimes things don't work out for players at certain clubs for whatever reason (eg Coutinho at Inter).

That's a silly comparison - signing promising 16 year olds is a completely different sphere of player acquisition to signing mediocre 24 year olds from the Dutch League.

billy2012

How do I post a youtube video without just posting the link??

~Rebel~

billy2012 wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jykBkMmGMUI

Fixed;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jykBkMmGMUI

LuckyLloyd

Dickerty wrote: »

How about you focus on something you may have gotten wrong? That's much harder.

Calling foul on every signing, and then pointing out that you were occasionaly right, is shooting fish in a barrel...

I don't call foul on EVERY signing. Mostly just the bad ones.

Mignolet
Aspas
Alberto
Toure
Coutinho
Sturridge
Assaidi
Allen
Borini

This is what we have thus far through three active windows. It's not good enough when taken as a whole, nowhere near.

cson

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I don't call foul on EVERY signing. Mostly just the bad ones.

Mignolet
Aspas
Alberto
Toure
Coutinho
Sturridge
Assaidi
Allen
Borini

This is what we have thus far through three active windows. It's not good enough when taken as a whole, nowhere near.

I'd disagree with you on some of them; Mignolet should see you set at GK for the forseeable future if he keeps his form up, Aspas/Alberto could potentially be another Michu you don't know, Touré's not good enough alright, especially if he's going to start for you, Coutinho looks like a very good player, Sturridge is about as good as you'll get for a wing position for where Liverpool are at the minute, Assaidi was a very very strange signing, Allen is just plainly overpriced and overrated imo, Borini has been ****ed with injuries.

I get where you're coming from in terms of wanting the club to sign a Mkhitaryan etc but compared to the Hodgson/Dalglish era signings the club is moving in a much more positive direction.

Also to the poster who said if Spurs sign Soldado and keep Bale they'll be dangerous; I'd very much so agree. In fact I'd be backing them for the title @ 28/1+ because if they get a good start they'll be much much shorter very quickly. Definite back to lay opportunity there.

Mr Alan

Reina has issued a letter to the fans.

People should be very angry about its content. However, they won't be

LuckyLloyd

cson wrote: »

I'd disagree with you on some of them; Mignolet should see you set at GK for the forseeable future if he keeps his form up, Aspas/Alberto could potentially be another Michu you don't know, Touré's not good enough alright, especially if he's going to start for you, Coutinho looks like a very good player, Sturridge is about as good as you'll get for a wing position for where Liverpool are at the minute, Assaidi was a very very strange signing, Allen is just plainly overpriced and overrated imo, Borini has been ****ed with injuries.

I get where you're coming from in terms of wanting the club to sign a Mkhitaryan etc but compared to the Hodgson/Dalglish era signings the club is moving in a much more positive direction.

Also to the poster who said if Spurs sign Soldado and keep Bale they'll be dangerous; I'd very much so agree. In fact I'd be backing them for the title @ 28/1+ because if they get a good start they'll be much much shorter very quickly. Definite back to lay opportunity there.

I'm talking about the overall though, irrespective of specific deals. Under Dalglish:

Bellamy
Adam
Downing
Henderson
Suarez
Carroll

Obviously wasn't good enough either. And Hodgson's window was a joke:

Paulson
Cole
Konchesky
Jones
Jovanovic

===================

The only difference is that under Dalglish the club was trying. It executed really poorly of course, but it was trying to acquire players who would immediately improve the starting 11.

LuckyLloyd

Mr Alan wrote: »

Reina has issued a letter to the fans.

People should be very angry about its content. However, they won't be

Link?

Leiva

Mr Alan wrote: »

Reina has issued a letter to the fans.

People should be very angry about its content. However, they won't be

Link please
Edit got it :mad:

whatawaster

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=307486.0

Link to letter here

murpho999

Mr Alan wrote: »

Reina has issued a letter to the fans.

People should be very angry about its content. However, they won't be

Angry about what, that the club are replacing a keeper who has been in decline with a younger one?

Grayditch

Mr Alan wrote: »

Reina has issued a letter to the fans.

People should be very angry about its content. However, they won't be

http://www.thisisanfield.com/2013/07/pepe-reina-pens-heartfelt-goodbye-letter-to-lfc-fans/

T-K-O

Never mind the link, just be angry

mike65

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Link?

http://pepereina25.com/en/2013/07/29/carta-de-despedida-para-los-aficionados-del-liverpool-gracias-por-todo-os-vere-pronto/

In Spanish though.

Leiva

Read it.:mad:

Anyone who believes anything out of these fücking owners mouths again, or the puppet they have in the managers seat need their head examined.

Everything we have been told about Reinas situation has been absolute böllox and yes I'm going to believe Reinas side cause the other shower have a rep.

And who knows maybe Reinas form has been effected by the citrus that is/was going on around him - when your inside it's easier to see the true form of people.

Arrgghhh just sell up and piss off!

Lovely Bloke

It's fairly damning alright.

T-K-O

Sad to see Pepe leave the club but lets not kid ourselves. If Barca made him an offer he was gone.

5starpool

It's pretty bad form that they would accept the loan without telling him first. Obviously it was his shoice to go ultimately, but looks like he wasn't given a huge amount of choice. I'm sure some will say that he shouldn't have said he wanted to join Barca if he could, but even if for no other reason than what he has given to the club over 8 years, it should have been handled better by the club.

whatawaster

Leiva wrote: »

Read it.:mad:

Anyone who believes anything out of these fücking owners mouths again, or the puppet they have in the managers seat need their head examined.

Everything we have been told about Reinas situation has been absolute böllox and yes I'm going to believe Reinas side cause the other shower have a rep.

And who knows maybe Reinas form has been effected by the citrus that is/was going on around him - when your inside it's easier to see the true form of people.

Arrgghhh just sell up and piss off!

Seriously, you're a child.

Reina tells the club he wants to leave if Barcelona come in with an offer. Fine.

But as a separate issue, Reina has not been good enough for a long time for us so we replace him.

Sounds like he wants it both ways. If he gets an offer that suits HIM, he wants to club to facilitate him. But if the club want to replace him and move him out on their terms then there is a problem.

What have the club done wrong? Accepted an offer from Napoli for Reina?

cson

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

The only difference is that under Dalglish the club was trying. It executed really poorly of course, but it was trying to acquire players who would immediately improve the starting 11.

Fair enough but I think you're probably going to have to reconcile with the fact that the current owners are pursuing the moneyball approach to players, an Arsene Wenger circa 1998-2004 rabbit out of hat approach. That's a very slow burner and you need a big percentage of those signings to work out to make progress and you need to keep them there. That'll be the interesting thing for me and will really tell you FSGs mindset. If Coutinho for instance has a belter of a season next year and you don't make CL, if a rich CL club come in for him, what'll happen - that's the proof of the pudding.

LuckyLloyd

None of this will change my feelings for the club or the people in any way and now I have to look forward to a new challenge with Rafa Benitez, who I consider to be the best manager I have worked with, and I am fortunate to be going from one great club to another. Napoli remind me in many ways of the Liverpool I found in 2005, in all the affection they have shown me on my arrival, in having an ambitious project, even in coinciding and working with Benitez again…This memory which in part unites me with you, makes me happy and feel very motivated to begin this new project.

Damn right.

So if you take that at face value Reina was happy to stay and fight for his place but the club wanted to scrimp on the wage bill. Loan deals either way to save money, sad times.

I do think Mignolet will be an upgrade but would be happy to see Reina rejuvinate himself in Naples and maybe win a title there this year.

sweetie

any chance of someone putting the letter up please?

Riesen_Meal

T-K-O wrote: »

Sad to see Pepe leave the club but lets not kid ourselves. If Barca made him an offer he was gone.

I agree with this, of course he would have go to Barca had he had the opportunity....

whatawaster

5starpool wrote: »

It's pretty bad form that they would accept the loan without telling him first. Obviously it was his shoice to go ultimately, but looks like he wasn't given a huge amount of choice. I'm sure some will say that he shouldn't have said he wanted to join Barca if he could, but even if for no other reason than what he has given to the club over 8 years, it should have been handled better by the club.

Wouldn't that generally be how these things work?

Accept a loan offer and then it's up to the player to agree to go or not?

Super-Rush

I love it when people tell me how I should feel.

Mr Alan

murpho999 wrote: »

Angry about what, that the club are replacing a keeper who has been in decline with a younger one?

That the club agreed to loan the player out behind his back?
Our greatest goalie of the PL era, treated like that.

And people here at the weekend were trying to justify us "loaning" him out as he deserved that respect from the club for his loyal service etc etc?

Well, he was willing to stay, fight for his place, but we've let him go, behind his back, to lower the wage bill.

To reiterate: we have weakened our squad, to lower the wage bill.

gafferino

T-K-O wrote: »

Sad to see Pepe leave the club but lets not kid ourselves. If Barca made him an offer he was gone.

Yeah thats true. He would have gone to Barca as he says.

They should have told him. He deserved that....any player does regardless of how long they have been there or how good they were.
This is something you hear about time and time again in football though in every club - remember how they let Ronnie Whelan go?

ben.schlomo

It could have been handled better and he deserved better but at the end of the day hes on a big wage, was likely gonna be back up keeper and his form had dipped woefully in the last two seasons. Its every clubs right to negotiate deals for their players and then tell them about it.

rob316

sweetie wrote: »

any chance of someone putting the letter up please?

https://twitter.com/LFCphoto/status/361765442739638272/photo/1

Chucky the tree

5starpool wrote: »

It's pretty bad form that they would accept the loan without telling him first. Obviously it was his shoice to go ultimately, but looks like he wasn't given a huge amount of choice. I'm sure some will say that he shouldn't have said he wanted to join Barca if he could, but even if for no other reason than what he has given to the club over 8 years, it should have been handled better by the club.

He can't complain after the Barca situation. Don't try and whore yourself out to another club and then expect you current club to turn around and treat you with respect.

gafferino

sweetie wrote: »

any chance of someone putting the letter up please?

It is a strange feeling for me to think that next season I will not be a Liverpool player. For the past eight years, that is all I have known. The club, the staff, the city, the people and the supporters have played a massive part in my life. Liverpool is special in a way that only those who are lucky enough to experience the club close up can understand. It has given me memories that will live with me forever and friendships that will last just as long.

But more than anything else, it has given me an understanding of what it is like to play for the most wonderful English club. I may not have won as many trophies and medals as I would have liked since joining in 2005 but the experiences I have been a part of are as important as any silverware. I now understand how supporters can lift a team and inspire them to do special things. I appreciate that there is something unique about Anfield and the atmosphere it creates. I believe that anything is possible no matter what the situation is because at Liverpool there is no such thing as a lost cause. And I have been humbled by the fight for justice for the 96 which showed me that the Liverpool people will always fight for what they believe in.

I know that I have been blessed to be part of a Club like that and I hope that in return I have always given my best and represented Liverpool in the right way. There have been good times and bad times but no matter what the situation has been I hope that my passion has been clear. I have been asked what my favourite Liverpool moment was and if I had to pick one it wouldn’t be a save or winning a trophy. It would be my celebration against Manchester United when David Ngog scored a late goal. That is probably the quickest I have ever run in my life! It shows what playing for Liverpool meant to me and also that there was nothing better than winning a big game at Anfield. I used to look at the Kop when we scored those kind of goals in big games and I would be jealous of the supporters going crazy. If the closest I will get to that is running the length of the pitch and jumping on my team mates backs then that will do for me.

Obviously, I won’t be able to do that next season but I hope that the supporters and my team mates will be able to enjoy many more moments like that. They deserve the best of times and it would give me so much pleasure to see Liverpool back where they belong, challenging for trophies and getting back into the top four. That was where the club was when I first arrived and although I am leaving a different club, one with new owners, a new manager, new players and new challenges, I honestly believe that Liverpool can reach those levels again.

I am disappointed that I will not be part of that and although it was not my decision to leave I will accept it just like I have always accepted any decision that Liverpool have taken for me. They signed me, picked me, gave me some of the best experiences of my life and looked after me. If they feel that the best thing for me and for them is for me to go on loan to Napoli for a season then so be it. Napoli is a new challenge for me and I know that the fans are just as passionate about their team as the Liverpool fans, so I am really looking forward to playing for them this season and I will give my all.

But if I have one regret, it is the way that I am leaving. It is only natural that I would be disappointed that the Liverpool management agreed to loan me to Napoli without telling me first, I thought that I deserved better than that even though I understand that difficult decisions have to be taken in football. A lot has been made about me informing the club that if an offer came in from Barcelona that I would have liked them to consider it. But I had also spoken to the club about the possibility of extending my contract if the offer was not made. I told the manager that I wanted to play for Liverpool and that Barcelona would only become an option for me if the opportunity arrived, like the rumours said it would, as it would be a chance for me to go back home. When it didn’t come I was happy to fight for my place so I was surprised that Liverpool decided it was in the club´s interests to send me to Napoli instead.

None of this will change my feelings for the club or the people in any way and now I have to look forward to a new challenge with Rafa Benitez, who I consider to be the best manager I have worked with, and I am fortunate to be going from one great club to another. Napoli remind me in many ways of the Liverpool I found in 2005, in all the affection they have shown me on my arrival, in having an ambitious project, even in coinciding and working with Benitez again…This memory which in part unites me with you, makes me happy and feel very motivated to begin this new project.

This is my chance to say thank you to everyone for everything that you have given to me and to my family. My children consider Liverpool to be their home and hopefully their love for the city and also for the club will only grow while we are away. I would have liked to have been able to say goodbye in a different way but because of the way the move came about this was not possible.

Maybe in the near future I can do it properly so that I can show my appreciation to you but all I would ask now is that you keep on inspiring the manager and the players just like you always have done and help Liverpool to become the club that you deserve once again. I would like nothing better than to come back at the end of my year away and for Liverpool to be back where they belong.

Thank you for everything. Good luck. I will see you soon.

Pepe Reina.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I'm talking about the overall though, irrespective of specific deals. Under Dalglish:

Bellamy
Adam
Downing
Henderson
Suarez
Carroll

Obviously wasn't good enough either. And Hodgson's window was a joke:

Paulson
Cole
Konchesky
Jones
Jovanovic

===================

The only difference is that under Dalglish the club was trying. It executed really poorly of course, but it was trying to acquire players who would immediately improve the starting 11.

Dalglish signings were ok on paper, they just paid waaaay too much for most of them. Hidgson's were a joke, but again, Cole was ok on paper. Wasn't Jovanovic arranged by Rafa?

We're playing better that that era anyway - nowhere near well enough - but at least we're not struggling to beat Northmpton at home.

barone

whats the issue here with the letter ? he praises the manager,the owners ,and believes the club is heading in a great direction..

his only gripe is that he wasnt offerd a transfer by barca,which he told the club he would have left for..and instead would have signed a extension if no offer came?

where is this bull**** the club is supposed to have come out with? its there from the horses mouth that he wanted to go to barca,club knew it and bought a replacement,who may be a better keeper also...

if barca want me im gone,if not ill stay longer,even though im not up to it anymore?????

whats the fckin problem?? well played lfc imo

Grayditch

Leiva wrote: »

Reinas form has been effected by the citrus that is/was going on around him

It was a bit orange alright, but the lemon yellow was decent.

Leiva

whatawaster wrote: »

Seriously, you're a child.

Reina tells the club he wants to leave if Barcelona come in with an offer. Fine.

But as a separate issue, Reina has not been good enough for a long time for us so we replace him.

Sounds like he wants it both ways. If he gets an offer that suits HIM, he wants to club to facilitate him. But if the club want to replace him and move him out on their terms then there is a problem.

What have the club done wrong? Accepted an offer from Napoli for Reina?

Cop on with the name calling and look at the bigger picture.

They treated the best keeper that LFC have had in this manner so they can lower the wage bill and weaken the squad (if window closes with no quality backup)

Dampened down the the rumours with shīt about 'competition for places' then ship Reina out so they can pat themselves on back and say that they have now completed the operation to get the high earners off the books - cause thats all this adds up to.

Disgraceful!

T-K-O

gafferino wrote: »

Yeah thats true. He would have gone to Barca as he says.

They should have told him. He deserved that....any player does regardless of how long they have been there or how good they were.
This is something you hear about time and time again in football though in every club - remember how they let Ronnie Whelan go?

Great example and Whelan was rightly facked over. Football is a cruel business and Pepe deserved more but lets not act like this is the first or the last time a player is moved on.

I'd prefer it didn't happen but it did