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

gafferino

Super-Rush wrote: »

Did we though?

Its easy to say that.

Looks to me like a load of muscle flexing and mickey swinging ala Arsenal and Suarez.

This is doing the rounds on Twatter btw.

https://twitter.com/SportScript/status/362846902951215105/photo/1

Yes we did try to get him. Why do you think we didnt?

Super-Rush

murpho999 wrote: »

FFS, just because they haven't spent it yet, doesn't mean they won't.

You have to have patience and wait for the right deal.

People here want us to just spend money and not look at the player.

Remember this is the second summer in a row that they haven't spent.

Super-Rush

gafferino wrote: »

Yes we did try to get him. Why do you think we didnt?

I think the owners are spoofers thats why i think we didn't.

SlickRic

murpho999 wrote: »

People here want us to just spend money and not look at the player.

that's just not true.

they've had the last how many months to look at players. they didn't just start a couple of months ago.

they have all year round to scout, and summer should be the time to pull the trigger. that is why I'm getting impatient. it's not like they start working in June/July on targets. they've had all the time in the world to look at players.

Anyone

Some people really need to accept that Rafa is gone and not coming back.

Dickerty

SlickRic wrote: »

Chadli is a Belgian international.

Paulinho is a Brazilian international.

Soldado has been one of the top tier strikers in Spain for at least 3 seasons.

they would all walk into our first team I'm afraid.

Chadli would not, I'm sorry. The fact that he's a Belgian doesn't mean he's as good as Hazard. If he's that good, why did he go for such a small fee?

Lucas is a Brazilian international as well, former captain. A good season from could see him in that Brazil team ahead of the supposedly superior Paulinho...

As for Soldado, yes he would make our team, but as I said we don't need him as bad as they do. Sturridge belongs in the middle, we need a player who can play left side of that, with Luis right.

Or should we have bought him, then pushed Luis out the door?

Dickerty

Super-Rush wrote: »

Remember this is the second summer in a row that they haven't spent.

YET!!!

And they DID spend last summer - £25M outlay on Allen, Borini and Assiadi - and another £20M in Jan on Danny and Phil. And £35M the year before.
The managers didn't always choose the best players, but they DID spend money.

billy2012

Dickerty wrote: »

I don't see how they are way ahead. They sold Modric last year, and look like they will sell Bale now, both players that carried the team. The calibre of players they have is no better than ours. We scored more than them last season, and conceded less. But they turned draws into wins, something we failed to do particularly in the first half. Since then, we added Sturridge and Coutinho.

Right now today, I think we are a match for them. If we keep Suarez and they lose Bale (which is the way it's looking), it all depends on how they spend. Soldado and a top class wide player would tip it in their favour. But there is not as much in it as people think...

You say Modric carried the team yet they finished with more points this season without him.

Yes, they might sell Bale, but will have 85M to replace him with.

Position for position, Spurs are better than us in most. Their current midfield is prob potentially best / 2nd best in the league.

The main thing they lacked last season was a 20goal striker, they have one now!!

Throw in London, AVB and they are unfortunately are a fair bit ahead of us.

Dickerty

mike65 wrote: »

Herbie Kane! He does seems to have made a very quick impact since he joined from Bristol City. He is the next (after the next!) Steven Gerrard! Jordan Rossiter better watch out.

Sorry, was thinking of Harry Wilson!

Francie Barrett

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

We absolutely could use Soldado!!

---

Coutinho

---

Sturridge---Soldado

---

Suarez


Now, that would be top notch. We're not good enough that we can be turning our nose up at a top quality player. There are always injuries, and having another ~25 goal a season man would be huge for us.

Can't say I disagree with that.

PRAF

Super-Rush wrote: »

Remember this is the second summer in a row that they haven't spent.

According to www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/liverpool-fc/transfers-alle/verein_31.html FSG have spent quite a bit in the last 2.5 years:

£
13/14 23.5m (so far)
12/13 59.5m
11/12 57.5m

I'd expect another 15-20m to be spent this summer.

All figures gross by the way. The net spend over that period was something like £90m.

Also, lets remember that the club has lost about £90m in that period.

Dickerty

billy2012 wrote: »

You say Modric carried the team yet they finished with more points this season without him.

Yes, they might sell Bale, but will have 85M to replace him with.

Because Bale made up the difference, they didn't get too many goals from Gylfi or Dempsey...

billy2012 wrote: »

Position for position, Spurs are better than us in most.

Not a chance! Johnson, Agger, Gerrard, Coutinho, Sturridge and Suarez would all make a best-of team

billy2012 wrote: »

Their current midfield is prob potentially best / 2nd best in the league.

Ok, now I KNOW you are kidding. If you are thinking Sandro, Dembele, Lennon and Bale are the midfield - I'd say that Arsenal, City and Chelsea are all better, even without their new signings. Bale is outstanding, but the others are much higher quality across the 4 positions.

Cazorla/Arteta/Ox/Podolski
Toure/Silva/Milner/Nasri
Oscar/Ramires/Hazard/Lampard
.....not even CLOSE!

SlickRic

Dickerty wrote: »

Chadli would not, I'm sorry. The fact that he's a Belgian doesn't mean he's as good as Hazard. If he's that good, why did he go for such a small fee?

did i say he was as good as Hazard? but when we have Downing, i think he gets in the team. he's more proven than Alberto, whose potential i do like, but he'd have been ahead of him in the pecking order IMO.

Lucas is a Brazilian international as well, former captain. A good season from could see him in that Brazil team ahead of the supposedly superior Paulinho...

you could've bought Paulinho to partner Lucas, and put Stevie further up the field. or you just have a strong squad. Spurs have Sandro, Paulinho, Parker, Dembele, Huddlestone. Tom Carroll as their up-and-comer. options.

As for Soldado, yes he would make our team, but as I said we don't need him as bad as they do. Sturridge belongs in the middle, we need a player who can play left side of that, with Luis right.

Or should we have bought him, then pushed Luis out the door?

you think buying Soldado would push Suarez out the door? not in a million years.

my Paulinho theory isn't full proof, because obviously we have a decent chunk of midfielders. i don't mean to advocate him in particular as a purchase we should make, although I think he'd make our team.

it's more the intent Spurs have shown with their purchases. they've not just bought potential. if i see us buying a proven player or 2, then I'll be fine, and willing to be patient. but that has to happen first.

NukaCola

Dickerty wrote: »

.....not even CLOSE!

Are you just being over dramatic here, or are you being serious?

murpho999

SlickRic wrote: »

that's just not true.

they've had the last how many months to look at players. they didn't just start a couple of months ago.

they have all year round to scout, and summer should be the time to pull the trigger. that is why I'm getting impatient. it's not like they start working in June/July on targets. they've had all the time in the world to look at players.

Yes and from what I can see they had targets and those were done early.

So the signings we made and the failed bid on Mkhitaryan.

There was talk of Papa early in window as well.

Also, I think the Suarez situation will have a major influence on their budgets and strategy too.

Francie Barrett

PRAF wrote: »

According to www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/liverpool-fc/transfers-alle/verein_31.html FSG have spent quite a bit in the last 2.5 years:

£
13/14 23.5m (so far)
12/13 59.5m
11/12 57.5m

I'd expect another 15-20m to be spent this summer.

All figures gross by the way. The net spend over that period was something like £90m.

Also, lets remember that the club has lost about £90m in that period.

The transfer fees quoted there look wrong in many cases.

billy2012

Dickerty wrote: »

Because Bale made up the difference, they didn't get too many goals from Gylfi or Dempsey...



Not a chance! Johnson, Agger, Gerrard, Coutinho, Sturridge and Suarez would all make a best-of team



Ok, now I KNOW you are kidding. If you are thinking Sandro, Dembele, Lennon and Bale are the midfield - I'd say that Arsenal, City and Chelsea are all better, even without their new signings. Bale is outstanding, but the others are much higher quality across the 4 positions.

Cazorla/Arteta/Ox/Podolski
Toure/Silva/Milner/Nasri
Oscar/Ramires/Hazard/Lampard
.....not even CLOSE!

I don't know where to start.

I'll agree that Suarez would make their current team.

Not even close?? That is just silly.

SlickRic

murpho999 wrote: »

Also, I think the Suarez situation will have a major influence on their budgets and strategy too.

we've been told there is money, so IMO, that's crap.

we can't have it both ways.

Suarez staying means we're not going to buy a £40m player. but i don't think that was ever going to happen.

LuckyLloyd

This is ambition:

Copper_pipe wrote: »

Tottenham Hotspur ‏@SpursOfficial 5m
We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Valencia for the transfer of Roberto Soldado subject to medical. #THFC

That's what it is. Not the pissing about we're involved with. Great signing for them.

gafferino

Hopefully this means any talk of Sterling or Ibe on loan is wide of the mark. I think they could be good, exciting impact players this year.

Brendan Rodgers has explained why he is only interested in players with 'the right quality' as he works to strengthen his Liverpool squad during the remainder of the summer transfer window.

The Northern Irishman has completed four signings so far, adding Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Simon Mignolet and Kolo Toure to the ranks in a flurry of activity before pre-season kicked off.

Rodgers is keen to add more new faces in time for the 2013-14 campaign, but pledged that quality takes precedence over quantity in player recruitment at Anfield.

"They have to be of the right quality, that's the bottom line," the boss told LFC TV during the Reds' summer tour of Indonesia, Australia and Thailand.

"We've got money to spend on getting that quality in, but if it's not available I won't waste it for the sake of bringing a player in.

"We're really working hard to bring in the type of profile that can really help us push on. We just need to see if that's available and affordable."

The quartet who have already switched to Merseyside have enjoyed positive openings to their Liverpool career, with Aspas hitting three goals in pre-season and Mignolet yet to concede.

Rodgers continued: "All of the new boys have settled in really well.

"Simon Mignolet has been first-class. He has shown that he is one of the top young goalkeepers in European football. I think he will prove over the next coming years at Liverpool that he is a top goalkeeper.

"Kolo Toure speaks for himself - his experience and his fitness has been first-class since he came in. And he's a really good man. That was the idea of bringing him in, because of his winning mentality and his personality.

"Iago has settled in well and got a few goals in pre-season, which is great for his confidence. He's a livewire in and around the box, and he's a good man.

"Luis Alberto is obviously still young but has shown the qualities, technically, and has got a strong mentality. I think we can see early on that he can end up being a very good player for Liverpool."

Teenagers Jordon Ibe and Raheem Sterling were two impressive performers throughout the journey to the other side of the world, following breakthroughs in 2012-13.

The pair have given the manager food for thought ahead of the Reds' Barclays Premier League opener against Stoke City on August 17 - and the 40-year-old's starting XI is not set in stone.

"The players have the opportunity every single day to show that desire to be in the team," he said.

"We finished strongly at the end of last season and it's important to build on that. The first two to three weeks is really about getting your fitness and your football fitness levels up.

"After that, you then get the chance to stake your place in the starting XI. So there's always room there for people to force their way into the team.

"Some of the young players have been brilliant on the trip, the likes of young Raheem Sterling. He has reminded me of what he was last summer, but he has got a little bit more personality now he has had a year's experience. At 18, he has looked really good.

"Young Jordon Ibe, for 17 years of age, the talk before we came over was that he might need to get experience at a lower level just to get used to playing in front of crowds.

"Well, he's not going to play in front of many more than 83,000 and 95,000. So we come back knowing he can play in front of crowds.

"The senior players have been outstanding, in how they have taken a responsible role and led the group.

"Steven Gerrard has been immaculate as he always is - a truly top-class player but a proper gentleman who leads the group really well. It's a team that's improving and progressing, but still always with room to improve."

klose

Spurs are miles ahead of us now with soldado signing for them

gafferino

Super-Rush wrote: »

I think the owners are spoofers thats why i think we didn't.

I cant find the quotes but Rodgers confirmed we were in for him and he was our No.1 target.
The owners may or may not be spoofers but we were in for him I am sure of it.
I dont, however, think we have been in for any other 'marquee' signings yet bar Papadopolismountain if you could call him such.

Dickerty

billy2012 wrote: »

I don't know where to start.

I'll agree that Suarez would make their current team.

Not even close?? That is just silly.

If you actually believe that Walker is better than Johnson, and Dembele better than Gerrard, and Defoe better than Sturridge, and Gylfi better than Coutinho, and Kaboul better than Agger - then you are in the wrong thread. The Spurs thread is gathering dust in a corner somewhere...

Turtyturd

But a player of Soldado's quality would only sign for a team in the CL.

Dickerty

NukaCola wrote: »

Are you just being over dramatic here, or are you being serious?

Absolutely serious. That Spurs midfield is a way off either of the 3 I mentioned. And more importantly, if you remove Bale, the impact is far greater than removing a single player from any of the others (Let's assume Silva, Hazard and Cazorla...)

SlickRic

Spurs just burst even further out in front of us.

interesting that they didn't wait for a Bale sale to make that move.

klose

Turtyturd wrote: »

But a player of Soldado's quality would only sign for a team in the CL.

With it being a wc year id say he has his eye a on a place, hes missed out on all their tournament squads so far i think bar the confeds cup. Negredo is at city and llorente and juve, villa will get way more games at atleti, theyve moved onto bigger clubs bar villa. Valencia missed out on cl and probably wanted a fresh start so went to spurs. Still think we would have gotten him had we went for him, i assume the club is confident of keepeing suarez if so, better be.

klose

SlickRic wrote: »

Spurs just burst even further out in front of us.

interesting that they didn't wait for a Bale sale to make that move.

Theyve spent what, 50ish mill net in this window? Id say theyve done it with bales sale in mind, theyd be idiots to turn down the money for him tbh

gafferino

Turtyturd wrote: »

But a player of Soldado's quality would only sign for a team in the CL.

Valencia not in CL this year. I am surprised there wasnt more competition from CL clubs for him.

Fizman

Yeah I'd echo others in saying that the following equation worries me:

Spurs - Bale + Soldado + c.60m

= bad times.

billy2012

Dickerty wrote: »

If you actually believe that Walker is better than Johnson, and Dembele better than Gerrard, and Defoe better than Sturridge, and Gylfi better than Coutinho, and Kaboul better than Agger - then you are in the wrong thread. The Spurs thread is gathering dust in a corner somewhere...

I love the way you use lower level Spurs players to suit your argument.

Why not Vertonghen over Kaboul? Yes I would have Vertonghen over Agger.

Dembele over Gerrard?? Really?

Gylfi over Bale? Why not Bale over Gylfi?

Defoe over Soldado ? Why not use Soldado?

Walker over Johnson? Possibly.

gafferino

klose wrote: »

Theyve spent what, 50ish mill net in this window? Id say theyve done it with bales sale in mind, theyd be idiots to turn down the money for him tbh

I am astonished at the money Bale is going for to be honest. He is class but not worth 80m or more. It would be frightening to see him and Ronaldo in the same team.

I hope they did make those acquisitions with Bale sale in mind.....otherwise they will have a sh*t load to go and buy more. FML.

Boom_Bap

I think people are really understating what a dramatic loss Bale will be to Spurs.
Firstly and most importantly, the opposing team will not have to line up to combat him. Secondly, the opppsing team will not require 2 players to mark 1 man.
This is going to totally change the dynamic and approach of teams playing Spurs to be more balanced, as Spurs will be a much more balanced team.

Obviously, the same can be said about us if we loose Suarez. I think at the back of last season when suspended, teams where playing differently against us, but were not prepared for Sturrige and Coutinho requiring extra attention.

murpho999

SlickRic wrote: »

we've been told there is money, so IMO, that's crap.

we can't have it both ways.

Suarez staying means we're not going to buy a £40m player. but i don't think that was ever going to happen.

I know but I think keeping or losing Suarez would have an influence on shape of the team and required players.

I'm just looking for possible reasons, I don't think we can make our final call on it till September 2nd.

If nothing has been spent then we know what type of owners we have.

5starpool

As things stand now, it would be quite the upset if we were to finish about Spurs this season. Not beyond the realms of possibility of course, but I would rate it as a 5/1 shot generally, although that may get bigger/smaller depending on other transfer dealings.

Spurs have a much stronger team/squad than us. There are of course variables such as injuries and form, but the CL places look further away than ever at this point. I'm not hopeful that we will get in a couple of players to strengthen us (except if we lose Suarez), but I am hoping we will.

And no, I'm not offering odds, just expressing an opinion.

gafferino

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I think people are really understating what a dramatic loss Bale will be to Spurs.
Firstly and most importantly, the opposing team will not have to line up to combat him. Secondly, the opppsing team will not require 2 players to mark 1 man.
This is going to totally change the dynamic and approach of teams playing Spurs to be more balanced, as Spurs will be a much more balanced team.

Obviously, the same can be said about us if we loose Suarez. I think at the back of last season when suspended, teams where playing differently against us, but were not prepared for Sturrige and Coutinho requiring extra attention.

He would be a massive loss for them of course....but it all depends how you replace the player....look at Arsenal and RVP?
IF (not a certainty) the are selling him for 80 odd million they have already made some good signing. If they are keeping him......I will be expecting at least 5 new posts in the spurs thread.

NukaCola

Dickerty wrote: »

Absolutely serious. That Spurs midfield is a way off either of the 3 I mentioned. And more importantly, if you remove Bale, the impact is far greater than removing a single player from any of the others (Let's assume Silva, Hazard and Cazorla...)

I dont agree.....they are easily on par with Arsenal. Easily.
But midfield aside, they are way ahead of us in terms of depth, and have a better first 11.

If/When they lose Bale they have a better track record in the market and i would be confident they would replace him and add to their first 11.

When we loose Suarez we will struggle more than Spurs, no doubt.

Ardent

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

:rolleyes:

7th, with more points than we've achieved in any of the four seasons since then.

You told us during 2007 - 2010 that getting rid of him would solve our problems, that he was holding us back. That it was nothing to do with G & H. That Hodgson was a better manager. Promised us that we would do better without him. You lied.

I never said any of those things. I simply maintained that Benitez deserved to be sacked, based upon results and performances.

LuckyLloyd

Ardent wrote: »

I never said any of those things. I simply maintained that Benitez deserved to be sacked, based upon results and performances.

And you were wrong, and time has proven it.

Turtyturd

klose wrote: »

With it being a wc year id say he has his eye a on a place, hes missed out on all their tournament squads so far i think bar the confeds cup. Negredo is at city and llorente and juve, villa will get way more games at atleti, theyve moved onto bigger clubs bar villa. Valencia missed out on cl and probably wanted a fresh start so went to spurs. Still think we would have gotten him had we went for him, i assume the club is confident of keepeing suarez if so, better be.

I just think that line is trotted out too often to justify us not attempting to sign a certain level of player. There are players who are off limits...but there are players a level below that who we could sign with or without CL football who would improve our team. Currently we seem to be shopping a few levels lower in the hopes of unearthing gems.

barone

its become obvious that what some posters believe is that it all boils down to how good the manager is, which is a load of bollix ..

having ol red nose or mourinho in charge of our current squad with our budget would not get us a title challenge,not even close,yet some expect rodgers to mount one or its not good enough for lfc ..

dreamers ye are lads, its magicians ye want,not managers.. and billions to spend.. dont forget how much it cost city to win title,and chelsea ..

utd had the perfect storm of quality young players emerging at the same time,coupled with new tv money,increased revenue when they first won premiership..

unless we get a billionaire sugar daddy willing to splash out big time or we have a burst of quality players comming through that arrive around the same time we are stuck where we are... there isnt a thing any manager can do about it.

Dickerty

billy2012 wrote: »

I love the way you use lower level Spurs players to suit your argument.

Why not Vertonghen over Kaboul? Yes I would have Vertonghen over Agger.

Dembele over Gerrard?? Really?

Gylfi over Bale? Why not Bale over Gylfi?

Defoe over Soldado ? Why not use Soldado?

Walker over Johnson? Possibly.

You realise I was saying a best-of XI, so there is space for both Vertonghen and Agger. Bale would be 1 of the 5 Spurs players I would include, along with Lloris, Assou-Ekotto, Vertonghen and Dembele

Soldado isn't in yet, just as I am including Bale despite his likely departure.

---

Lloris

---

Johnson-Vertonghen-Agger-AssouEkotto

---

Dembele---Gerrard---Coutinho----
----Suarez

---

Sturridge

---

Bale

---

That's my OPINION. I may be a little biased, but that is cause i am a Liverpool SUPPORTER.

SlickRic

nobody expects a title challenge.

bloody hell.

Boom_Bap

gafferino wrote: »

He would be a massive loss for them of course....but it all depends how you replace the player....look at Arsenal and RVP?
IF (not a certainty) the are selling him for 80 odd million they have already made some good signing. If they are keeping him......I will be expecting at least 5 new posts in the spurs thread.

I agree that they have made some great signings and strengthened thier starting 11, but in the loss of Bale, and the players they have brought in, the way they line up will be different. It will be more rigid. With Bale, it's alot more dynamic as Bale takes up the attention of the opposing players around him, leaving space for more Spurs players.
If you look back to them last year, Bale would have the ball, it would be quickly transitioned to Lennon on the other side, who has more than acres of space around him as the opposition is palyer heavy on the opposite flank.
Opposing teams, with the players signed, wouldnt need to really double up on any of them, hence a proper formation that is balanced. Leaving less space for the likes of Lennon, of Paulihinho (sp).
Opposition can worry less, and play thier own game.

Hannibal

Spurs have a few very good players but overall I think we're better than them, I don't see a lot of depth in them whereas we've improved this area. I think there is at least another 10 ten points in our team, a lot of times last season when we should've won and didn't see it out and only winning 2 from our first 8 left us chasing all season and struggling for options up front in the early part which should be rectified now with Sturridge, Coutinho, Borini and Aspas. Whereas Spurs had a good few last minute rescue jobs after looking defeated. I think it's more positive looking this year for us than it's been since 2009.
Spurs spent a good £50m last summer and recouped most if not all of it and with the sale of Bale they could do that again this season but they wouldn't have the commercial revenue that we generate from sponsors and merchandise

mike65

I think this thread needs a bucket of water throwing over it. Maybe if everyone just backed away and got on with stuff - vacuum the house if you are at home, do some work if you are at work, just take a break.

Come back when some actual news that pertains directly to the club breaks be it a player or a match.

NukaCola

SlickRic wrote: »

nobody expects a title challenge.

bloody hell.

Welcome to moneyball

Boom_Bap

mike65 wrote: »

I think this thread needs a bucket of water throwing over it. Maybe if everyone just backed away and got on with stuff - vacuum the house if you are at home, do some work if you are at work, just take a break.

Come back when some actual news that pertains directly to the club breaks be it a player or a match.

I'm quite comfortably working while on here......thanks to the dual monitor situation I've got going on.

PRAF

I have to admit that I've been impressed by Spurs in recent years. I used to regard them as a nice footballing side, some talented players, but no real threat to Liverpool at all. However, I think Levy has done an excellent job there and they are probably a little ahead of us at the moment.

Kess73

Dickerty wrote: »

I don't see how they are way ahead. They sold Modric last year, and look like they will sell Bale now, both players that carried the team. The calibre of players they have is no better than ours. We scored more than them last season, and conceded less. But they turned draws into wins, something we failed to do particularly in the first half. Since then, we added Sturridge and Coutinho.

Right now today, I think we are a match for them. If we keep Suarez and they lose Bale (which is the way it's looking), it all depends on how they spend. Soldado and a top class wide player would tip it in their favour. But there is not as much in it as people think...

There is.


Said this yesterday, but they have a much stronger squad than we currently have, and as things stand now they have a stronger first team.

I think we match them in terms of starting goalkeeper.

They have a better, imo, back four as a unit.

They have a much better trio in the centre of midfield than any trio we could put out. They can put out a midfield trio that contain pace, guile, steel, ball retention, and creativity. We have no trio that would have all those qualities between them.Even their current back up CM options look a lot better than what we have.


The one area where we are stronger in my eyes is the attacking trio with our trio of Coutinho, Suarez, and Sturridge not being matched by any trio they can currently put out.