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

Kess73

Dickerty wrote: »

But really, could we attract those players? Is it not clear now that we are having to pursue players that have some baggage (Costa, Luis), or are looking for a fresh start (Danny, Phil), or playing at a lower level (Allen, Aspas), or young players who are more easily impressed (Borini, Alberto)?

Did not say I thought we could, hence me saying he would be a dream signing in the very first sentence of my post.

Cartman78

Like it or not, Liverpool are simply not able to dine at the top table when it comes to transfers.

We're going to have to take chances on players who are unheralded/under the radar (Coutinho), unfancied (Sturridge) or talented headbangers (Costa).

Fizman

I believe Costa has also been on the end of at least one nasty spitting incident.

Kess73

murpho999 wrote: »

Yes I agree.
Some people said last night that we are too much because he has a dodgy temperament but won't accept the same logic applying to Suarez's value.

There is also the small matter of Suarez having close to (or maybe actual) world class footballing talent to keep his value high.


Costa does not show any obvious signs of possessing a similar level of talent so easier to undertsand why a £20m+ price tag might be seen as too high by some.

Kess73

Fizman wrote: »

I believe Costa has also been on the end of at least one nasty spitting incident.

He has indeed. In games where accusations of racial abuse were made against him.

And there was also an incident where Costa went to the ref with spit on his face to blame another player and the tv cameras showed that he had spat onto his on hand and then put the spit on his own fave. Similar to how he spat on his own hand against Real Madrid and then flung the spit at Ramos.


Would hate to see such a blatant cheat join Liverpool.

mayordenis

Kess73 wrote: »

And there was also an incident where Costa went to the ref with spit on his face to blame another player and the tv cameras showed that he had spat onto his on hand and then put the spit on his own fave. Similar to how he spat on his own hand against Real Madrid and then flung the spit at Ramos.

This is kinda brilliant. There, I said it.

murpho999

Kess73 wrote: »

He has indeed. In games where accusations of racial abuse were made against him.

And there was also an incident where Costa went to the ref with spit on his face to blame another player and the tv cameras showed that he had spat onto his on hand and then put the spit on his own fave. Similar to how he spat on his own hand against Real Madrid and then flung the spit at Ramos.


Would hate to see such a blatant cheat join Liverpool.

Mmm, this is very worrying and something the club could do without in my opinion.

Sponsors won't be keen either.

billymitchell

Has Costa ever been banned or pulled up on his cheating?

ush

The really scummy types adjust to their surroundings. That applies to all walks of life. Just because you're a psychopath/sociopath doesn't mean that you're stupid. Suarez hasn't done that in terms of his bad behaviour. The negro comments, the diving and then thinking the problem is England rather than him. Costa maybe smarter than that and able to tailor his sneaky side to the premiership.

Cartman78

Maybe it's all a cunning ploy by Rodgers and co. to keep Suarez at the club....

Sign someone who is a bigger lunatic than he is, use Costa as a controversy buffer to take all the flak from the media, referees opposing fans etc. and let Suarez quietly and calmly go about his business scoring goals and propelling us towards the glory of 4th place

Dickerty

Kess73 wrote: »

Did not say I thought we could, hence me saying he would be a dream signing in the very first sentence of my post.

Well sometimes, dreams come true!

Fizman

Kess73 wrote: »

He has indeed. In games where accusations of racial abuse were made against him.

And there was also an incident where Costa went to the ref with spit on his face to blame another player and the tv cameras showed that he had spat onto his on hand and then put the spit on his own fave. Similar to how he spat on his own hand against Real Madrid and then flung the spit at Ramos.


Would hate to see such a blatant cheat join Liverpool.

Does the Betis game where he got spat directly in the face by an opponent come in somewhere in your post?

Kess73

billymitchell wrote: »

Has Costa ever been banned or pulled up on his cheating?

Nothing major. Then again how often have you seen the likes Drogba, Ronaldo, Busquets, Rooney, Gerrard etc banned for diving, feigning injury etc?

kop77

mayordenis wrote: »

This is kinda brilliant. There, I said it.

Kess73

Fizman wrote: »

Does the Betis game where he got spat directly in the face by an opponent come in somewhere in your post?

Yes as it was one of the games where he was accused of racially abusing another player a number of times during a game despite players complaining to the ref.


He also spent chunks of that game falling to the floor pretending that he had been struck.


He put in a similar performance against Sevilla. Lots of pretending to be struck and falling down clutching his face. Yet again there were accusations of making racist comments to wind up players and two Sevilla players were sent off for reacting to him, one of whom said that he was sick of the constant racial abuse he was getting from Costa during the game.

ush

murpho999 wrote: »

Mmm, this is very worrying and something the club could do without in my opinion.

Sponsors won't be keen either.

I'm not so sure. Pantomime baddies are pure box office. As long as there's some goal-scoring talent to balance out the bad stuff.

ush

Kess73 wrote: »

Yes as it was one of the games where he was accused of racially abusing another player a number of times during a game despite players complaining to the ref.


He also spent chunks of that game falling to the floor pretending that he had been struck.


He put in a similar performance against Sevilla. Lots of pretending to be struck and falling down clutching his face. Yet again there were accusations of making racist comments to wind up players and two Sevilla players were sent off for reacting to him, one of whom said that he was sick of the constant racial abuse he was getting from Costa during the game.

Suarez's behaviour would get a similiar response in Spain.

Fizman

Kess73 wrote: »

Yes as it was one of the games where he was accused of racially abusing another player a number of times during a game despite players complaining to the ref.


He also spent chunks of that game falling to the floor pretending that he had been struck.


He put in a similar performance against Sevilla. Lots of pretending to be struck and falling down clutching his face. Yet again there were accusations of making racist comments to wind up players and two Sevilla players were sent off for reacting to him, one of whom said that he was sick of the constant racial abuse he was getting from Costa during the game.

So in essence:

- He works opponents up to the point they no longer want to be on the pitch
- He wins lots of free kicks that others would not

What are we waiting for?

Turtyturd

Turtyturd wrote: »

Bellamy a role model?....he was just as annoying the second time around.

The whole footballer as a role model is ridiculous anyway

murpho999

ush wrote: »

I'm not so sure. Pantomime baddies are pure box office. As long as there's some goal-scoring talent to balance out the bad stuff.

Totally disagree with this.

Clubs have to have values and standards and adding a player with questionable temperament after what they have been through with Suarez is bad for the club.

If he does the stuff at the business end of the pitch I'm not too bothered about his antics. I'm willing to overlook Suarez's stuff because he is class for us. No point being a hypocrite.

murpho999

rarnes1 wrote: »

The whole footballer as a role model is ridiculous anyway

Yes, and a role model for what?

Kess73

ush wrote: »

Suarez's behaviour would get a similiar response in Spain.

Only if he started doing stuff like this on a very regular basis.

murpho999

murpho999 wrote: »

Yes, and a role model for what?

Perhaps if you are on the road to being a professional footballer you can hold up certain player as a role model. For the normal Joe Soap footballers should be long way down the list of people to hold as a role model type figure

ush

rarnes1 wrote: »

If he does the stuff at the business end of the pitch I'm not too bothered about his antics. I'm willing to overlook Suarez's stuff because he is class for us. No point being a hypocrite.

Thats the thing. You can't judge Costa with a different yardstick than Suarez.

Spain and England are very different and he'd have to tone it down.

Have we officially bid for him anyway or what's the story? Hard to know what is official these days

ush

Kess73 wrote: »

Only if he started doing stuff like this on a very regular basis.

He does. :P

Turtyturd

rarnes1 wrote: »

Perhaps if you are on the road to being a professional footballer you can hold up certain player as a role model. For the normal Joe Soap footballers should be long way down the list of people to hold as a role model type figure

Nearly every kid goes through a phase of wanting to be a proffessional footballer though so they will be role models for kids.

If anyone older says it it's as wierd as walking around in a full kit.

ush

murpho999 wrote: »

Totally disagree with this.

Clubs have to have values and standards and adding a player with questionable temperament after what they have been through with Suarez is bad for the club.

It should be that way. But it isn't. If anything its about perception and spin.

ush

ush wrote: »

Thats the thing. You can't judge Costa with a different yardstick than Suarez.

Certainly. If Costa and Suarez helped us to top 4 this season I doubt many would be complaining.

Kess73

ush wrote: »

He does. :P

Really? You have seen Suarez do that on a regular basis in a Liverpool shirt?

murpho999

ush wrote: »

It should be that way. But it isn't. If anything its about perception and spin.

No it's not.

This is not politics with words that are open to interpretation.

It's football with actions on the pitch and that are undeniable.

How can you spin Suarez's bite, Joey Barton's attack on Aguero etc?

ush

Kess73 wrote: »

Really? You have seen Suarez do that on a regular basis in a Liverpool shirt?

No. I've never seen Suarez regularly throw himself to the ground.

Grayditch

Ah, he does, yeah.

murpho999

murpho999 wrote: »

No it's not.

This is not politics with words that are open to interpretation.

It's football with actions on the pitch and that are undeniable.

How can you spin Suarez's bite, Joey Barton's attack on Aguero etc?

I don't think Costa has bit or attacked anyone Barton style yet.

The club is suffering a lot more from being out of the top 4 than anything Suarez does

Suarez cut out the diving 2nd half of the season tbf

OwaynOTT

rarnes1 wrote: »

Suarez cut out the diving 2nd half of the season tbf

Yeah his hunger for the game really shone through in that time.

Dickerty

ush wrote: »

No. I've never seen Suarez regularly throw himself to the ground.

Stevie has been fond of it at times in his career.

It's a bad habit, but not a deal breaker...

ush

murpho999 wrote: »

No it's not.

This is not politics with words that are open to interpretation.

It's football with actions on the pitch and that are undeniable.

How can you spin Suarez's bite, Joey Barton's attack on Aguero etc?

This isn't gallantry. You look at the league table, viewing figures or commercial revenue streams. You manage situations professionally should they arise.

We can't defend Suarez's behaviour and then say that Costa doesn't deserve to wear the shirt. There may be footballing reasons for not buying Costa. Costs too much or not enough goals. But in terms of conduct, there ain't light years between him and Suarez.

How much do our footballing morals mean, if you choose when and for whom to apply them?

Ferris_Bueller

Don't think I have ever seen Costa play, so can't comment too much on his ability, but I am kind of excited at the prospect of him coming in after seeing how he behaves on the pitch. Not condoning spitting, diving etc. but this guy is going to be such a handful to deal with, look at that video against Real Madrid, Pepe and Ramos really had their hands full trying to cope with him, you could see he was getting under their skin. If defenders have this to deal with and then the likes of Suarez, Coutinho and Sturridge playing around him I really see us being one of the hardest teams to defend against in the league. Fair enough, it could go tits up and backfire on us - but personally I see his attitude on the pitch as a positive rather than a negative.

£21m is a lot of money, but we aren't going to be able to sign players too much better than this, it is a risk worth taking from what I've read IMO, I have to say I'm excited.

murpho999

rarnes1 wrote: »

I don't think Costa has bit or attacked anyone Barton style yet.

The club is suffering a lot more from being out of the top 4 than anything Suarez does

Blowing snot into his gloved hand and throwing it into an opponent's face is pretty low-life to me and it would generate huge negative publicity and bile if it happened in England.

I just don't think we need that kind of publicity, top 4 or not.

murpho999

murpho999 wrote: »

Blowing snot into his gloved hand and throwing it into an opponent's face is pretty low-life to me and it would generate huge negative publicity and bile if it happened in England.

I just don't think we need that kind of publicity, top 4 or not.

Rodgers and Co obviously think he's worth the risk

murpho999

rarnes1 wrote: »

Rodgers and Co obviously think he's worth the risk

Yes, I hope they are right!

Kess73

Dickerty wrote: »

Stevie has been fond of it at times in his career.

It's a bad habit, but not a deal breaker...

No it is not a deal breaker as long as the player has the kind of ability to overshadow his other flaws in terms of his worth to the team.


If you have the ability then you get a Suarez, Gerrard, Rooney, Drogba, Ronaldo, or Busquets level player.


But the exact same flaws without the high level of ability gets you a Barton, or Savage level player. Decent but who would be anonymous to most supporters if not for their "colourful" on pitch quirks.


Diego Costa without the hype of his vile on pitch personality but with the same goal return would be laughed at by most on here if suggested as a £20m+ purchase for an attacking role .


It is not as though Liverpool has had a shortage of players over the years that had on pitch flaws (Gerrard, Souness, Suarez, Torres just to name a few), or those who had run ins with the law away from the pitch or served prison time (Carragher, Molby, Gerrard) but all those players had one thing in common in that they were huge parts of the teams they played in.

Costa, for me, brings more baggage than he brings footballing quality, and especially for a fee of £20m+.

Knock 8m to 10m off that price and it might be a punt worth taking, but for £20m+ we should, imo, be testing the waters for the likes of Turan from the same club as Costa.

Dickerty

rarnes1 wrote: »

Rodgers and Co obviously think he's worth the risk

That's it, in a nut-shell. They hope that he'll grow up, and that they can manage him, and he'll enjoy his football. I am sure they will be telling him not to ger involved, maybe at Atletico let him play it up for their benefit...

Kess73

Dickerty wrote: »

That's it, in a nut-shell. They hope that he'll grow up, and that they can manage him, and he'll enjoy his football. I am sure they will be telling him not to ger involved, maybe at Atletico let him play it up for their benefit...

or maybe through having players like Falcao, Turin, Godin, Mendes, Gabi etc they had enough quality and strong personalities to carry Costa when he was having one of his temper tantrum days.

Fizman

Simeone is firey enough himself / and was as a player. Hopefully having calmer surroundings could make him less of a nut.

billy2012

Kess73 wrote: »

No it is not a deal breaker as long as the player has the kind of ability to overshadow his other flaws in terms of his worth to the team.


If you have the ability then you get a Suarez, Gerrard, Rooney, Drogba, Ronaldo, or Busquets level player.


But the exact same flaws without the high level of ability gets you a Barton, or Savage level player. Decent but who would be anonymous to most supporters if not for their "colourful" on pitch quirks.


Diego Costa without the hype of his vile on pitch personality but with the same goal return would be laughed at by most on here if suggested as a £20m+ purchase for an attacking role .


It is not as though Liverpool has had a shortage of players over the years that had on pitch flaws (Gerrard, Souness, Suarez, Torres just to name a few), or those who had run ins with the law away from the pitch or served prison time (Carragher, Molby, Gerrard) but all those players had one thing in common in that they were huge parts of the teams they played in.

Costa, for me, brings more baggage than he brings footballing quality, and especially for a fee of £20m+.

Knock 8m to 10m off that price and it might be a punt worth taking, but for £20m+ we should, imo, be testing the waters for the likes of Turan from the same club as Costa.

His goal return was impressive last season when you take everything into consideration.

He also had a good few assists.

Kess73

Fizman wrote: »

Simeone is firey enough himself / and was as a player. Hopefully having calmer surroundings could make him less of a nut.

That is a possibility alright, but the flipside could be that the media glare in the EPL coupled with a weaker team around him could make him even more prone to being involved in incidents through frustration or otherwise.

messinkiapina

Kess73 wrote: »

No it is not a deal breaker as long as the player has the kind of ability to overshadow his other flaws in terms of his worth to the team.


If you have the ability then you get a Suarez, Gerrard, Rooney, Drogba, Ronaldo, or Busquets level player.


But the exact same flaws without the high level of ability gets you a Barton, or Savage level player. Decent but who would be anonymous to most supporters if not for their "colourful" on pitch quirks.


Diego Costa without the hype of his vile on pitch personality but with the same goal return would be laughed at by most on here if suggested as a £20m+ purchase for an attacking role .


It is not as though Liverpool has had a shortage of players over the years that had on pitch flaws (Gerrard, Souness, Suarez, Torres just to name a few), or those who had run ins with the law away from the pitch or served prison time (Carragher, Molby, Gerrard) but all those players had one thing in common in that they were huge parts of the teams they played in.

Costa, for me, brings more baggage than he brings footballing quality, and especially for a fee of £20m+.

Knock 8m to 10m off that price and it might be a punt worth taking, but for £20m+ we should, imo, be testing the waters for the likes of Turan from the same club as Costa.

Couldn't agree more. He just doesn't justify that kind of fee imo. Is he really worth 3 times what we paid for Aspas, ability wise?