Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14 Mod warning post#7005

Demosthenese

Paulegend wrote: »

verm seems to have lost his place in the squad let alone the team at arsenal. there must be a reason for it. arsenal fans are even confused by it. it must be injuries that have lost him his place. i wouldnt be too happy with signing him

loan with an option???:D

Would be a very strange deal for us. Vermalen is the untatooed version of Agger. Too soft. He lost his place cos the other 2 were a better fit despite how it looks on paper.

Lets hope we are casting the net wider.

Would be nice to get Sahko back fully fit for the run in, seems we've not seen the best of him and would be nice to see some consistency.

8-10

ben.schlomo wrote: »

For yourself and not Liverpool i hope. Have you watched him in the last two years. Watched a lot of Ajax-Salzburg last week and my god the lad was a disaster, wouldnt get a game for Man Utd bad.

In fairness that's the worst we've played all season so nobody looked good from that game. You're right about Bojan he's been very out of sorts but I wouldn't go on that game as the benchmark. Best player this year by a mile is Davy Klaassen, has really come out of Eriksens shadow since he left. Him, Veltman, van Rhijn and Fischer are the 4 I'd pick out of the squad as being good enough to move to a big EPL team, and I'd still say all need more time to develop.

Bojan has been decent in patches but it's the Dutch league. Kid has serious skill but I'd feel he needs to be comfortable in the right set up for him to do well and I can't see Liverpool being it. The way to know is if he went to the likes of Swansea first, but then if he does well his price goes up. Safer to look elsewhere I'd say

Nuri Sahin

There was an argument that was made for Coutinho due to Inter's failures to bringing youth through to the first team and Rafa's praise of him when coach.

Bojan is a mentally weak and very, very average player who has failed at numerous big clubs.

Also, Liverpool signing Vermaelen..

ThunbergsAreGo

Demosthenese wrote: »

Would be a very strange deal for us. Vermalen is the untatooed version of Agger. Too soft. He lost his place cos the other 2 were a better fit despite how it looks on paper.

Lets hope we are casting the net wider.

Would be nice to get Sahko back fully fit for the run in, seems we've not seen the best of him and would be nice to see some consistency.

Wouldnt want Vermalan anywhere near the team, poor defender who appears better due to a good goalscoring record

Paulegend

does anyone here watch the german league? any idea how papadapolus is getting on? if he is actually playing anymore? i know he had a few injuries (dont know how severe) but wondering is he someone we might be back in for. also i was reading on here the other day we might be back in for dede from brazil (dont know how genuine the link is as i read it here).

id be hoping we are looking closely for a few defensive options. verm wouldnt be a great choice. i dont think he is any better than agger anyway. if skrtel and/or agger are to leave id prefer a couple coming in that we would be excited about. when we where signing sakho it felt like all those times we where linked with dani alves, david villa, david silva or aguero. it didnt feel like we would ever sign someone with that amount of potential. i mean the kid could actually be one of the best in europe when he reaches his potential. thats what i want us to do. sign someone that excites us that much. maybe papa and another defender?

i think toure coates kelly cisokho enrique glen and skrtel or/and agger could all be going this summer. id say that it will be a lot of defensive movement in the summer

DrumSteve

TBF to Bojan, he was cracking in Football Manager.

Paulegend

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

There was an argument that was made for Coutinho due to Inter's failures to bringing youth through to the first team and Rafa's praise of him when coach.

Bojan is a mentally weak and very, very average player who has failed at numerous big clubs.
]

yea the only saving argument for bojan is that the clubs he failed at where both in italy. i have no idea how he is getting on in ajax so im open to correction but could it just be another sturridge situation?

Bojan is a striker but for barca/roma/milan he was always played coming in from the right wing as an inside forward. its because he is good with the ball at his feet and can take on defenders. but anytime i seen him play (very very very rare occasion when i use to keep up with the italian games) he always looked frustrated out wide.

i just wonder is it another case like sturridge where he just needs to be played in his position and allowed to prove himself as a goal scorer.

or maybe he is just another ryan babel. bags of potential but not mentally strong enough to "want" to reach it

Paulegend

DrumSteve wrote: »

TBF to Bojan, he was cracking in Football Manager.

he was also amazing at the under 18's championship a few years back (think it was u18's or u19's) where he was joint top scorer

everyone thought he was going to be the next big thing for spain

Francie Barrett

Lads, anyone comparing Bojan to Coutinho is just bonkers. Bojan is 23 and has had lots of chances at lots of clubs. Coutinho on the other hand had only just turned 20 when we signed him, and had never really been given a chance at Inter. Also, it's not exactly a good sign that Bojan is struggling in a poor league in Holland, despite the fact that he's playing for the best team. If he was in double figures for goals/assists, then maybe I would say look at him then.

punk_one82

Paulegend wrote: »

does anyone here watch the german league? any idea how papadapolus is getting on? if he is actually playing anymore? i know he had a few injuries (dont know how severe) but wondering is he someone we might be back in for. also i was reading on here the other day we might be back in for dede from brazil (dont know how genuine the link is as i read it here).

id be hoping we are looking closely for a few defensive options. verm wouldnt be a great choice. i dont think he is any better than agger anyway. if skrtel and/or agger are to leave id prefer a couple coming in that we would be excited about. when we where signing sakho it felt like all those times we where linked with dani alves, david villa, david silva or aguero. it didnt feel like we would ever sign someone with that amount of potential. i mean the kid could actually be one of the best in europe when he reaches his potential. thats what i want us to do. sign someone that excites us that much. maybe papa and another defender?

i think toure coates kelly cisokho enrique glen and skrtel or/and agger could all be going this summer. id say that it will be a lot of defensive movement in the summer

I highly doubt all those players will be moved on this summer.

8-10

Paulegend wrote: »

he was also amazing at the under 18's championship a few years back (think it was u18's or u19's) where he was joint top scorer

everyone thought he was going to be the next big thing for spain

Wasn't it his debut for Barca when he tried to flick the ball over the keeper from behind him with practically his first touch? It was one of those moments when you thought you were witnessing something really really special. It was within a month of him turning 17 and the hype was around him after he surpassed all the Barca underage scoring records. Then he comes off the bench to do that on his debut and you think wow, this guy has skills and confidence.

Found it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx8_5OTc9l4

AdamD

Hope Liverpool sign Vermaelen to see Ade's reaction....

(not that its going to happen)

Charlie19

huey1975 wrote: »

Jonny Lyons would blow the head of you. Shouting at speed does not make for a good radio presenter

Can't stand his sign off, he really loves his name.

Agent Coulson

Paulegend wrote: »

does anyone here watch the german league? any idea how papadapolus is getting on?

Papadopoulos has about 10 minutes of football under his belt in 2014 since he came back from his last injury coming off the bench in a couple of matches with 3/4 mintues to go.

Knex*

I'd rather put Ibe on the bench than splash money on Bojan to put him there - cos that's as close to the first team as he would get.

Would be surprised if this wasn't garbage journalism anyway. Consider we have Assaidi and Borini coming back in, plus Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling, Coutinho and Aspas, all for 3 positions. (I know Coutinho has been playing CAM recently, but if Allen is in the middle even for next few games he'll be pushed back to the front 3 slots)

Obviously, Assaidi, Aspas and Borini futures are up in air. Personally, I'd keep Borini around and ship on the other two. Borini is hungry, gives his all, is young, and is very good backup. Just a question of whether he is happy to play that role, really.

Most likely we will sign someone of the ilk of Kono too, so the Bojan signing makes no sense. He's not in anyway needed. We have squad depth there, and he's not good enough to improve the first 11.

Sign Kono, sell Aspas and Assaidi, and then look at the midfield and defence.

D'Agger

Knex. wrote: »

I'd rather put Ibe on the bench than splash money on Bojan to put him there - cos that's as close to the first team as he would get.

Would be surprised if this wasn't garbage journalism anyway. Consider we have Assaidi and Borini coming back in, plus Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling, Coutinho and Aspas, all for 3 positions. (I know Coutinho has been playing CAM recently, but if Allen is in the middle even for next few games he'll be pushed back to the front 3 slots)

Obviously, Assaidi, Aspas and Borini futures are up in air. Personally, I'd keep Borini around and ship on the other two. Borini is hungry, gives his all, is young, and is very good backup. Just a question of whether he is happy to play that role, really.

Most likely we will sign someone of the ilk of Kono too, so the Bojan signing makes no sense. He's not in anyway needed. We have squad depth there, and he's not good enough to improve the first 11.

Sign Kono, sell Aspas and Assaidi, and then look at the midfield and defence.

I think we'll keep Borini & potentially Assaidi - depending on how he does pre season, I think Aspas is gone, and if he isn't then it's a poor move on our part.

punk_one82

Knex. wrote: »

I'd rather put Ibe on the bench than splash money on Bojan to put him there - cos that's as close to the first team as he would get.

Would be surprised if this wasn't garbage journalism anyway. Consider we have Assaidi and Borini coming back in, plus Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling, Coutinho and Aspas, all for 3 positions. (I know Coutinho has been playing CAM recently, but if Allen is in the middle even for next few games he'll be pushed back to the front 3 slots)

Obviously, Assaidi, Aspas and Borini futures are up in air. Personally, I'd keep Borini around and ship on the other two. Borini is hungry, gives his all, is young, and is very good backup. Just a question of whether he is happy to play that role, really.

Most likely we will sign someone of the ilk of Kono too, so the Bojan signing makes no sense. He's not in anyway needed. We have squad depth there, and he's not good enough to improve the first 11.

Sign Kono, sell Aspas and Assaidi, and then look at the midfield and defence.

I agree with the majority of this post, but the part about selling Aspas and Assaidi. We're going to be competing in even more competitions next season and our squad is very thin. I doubt Assaidi and Aspas are on big wages. At the very most I'd sell one of those 2, but not both. The more backups we have the better. Could play the first rounds of the cups with the likes of Ibe, Sterling, Borini, Aspas, Assaidi in the squad and give Suarez/Sturridge some games off that they don't need to be a part of.

Knex*

I'd sell both and bring in one better player. Ibe and even Tex should have more of a role to play in League Cup and so on next year.

If we can add Kono, bring back Borini, add another midfielder meaning Coutinho is vying for LW again, then with Ibe and Tex I don't think we need much more.

In that scenario, as harsh as this will sound, Aspas and Assaidi will be dead weight.

We'll definitely have enough numbers for midfield and attack then, IMO.

4 starters this summer and I'd be delighted - LB, RCB, DM (M'Vila type), Winger (Kono).

Personally, I think we'll prob only get 2, but those four is what I would want.

punk_one82

Knex. wrote: »

I'd sell both and bring in one better player. Ibe and even Tex should have more of a role to play in League Cup and so on next year.

If we can add Kono, bring back Borini, add another midfielder meaning Coutinho is vying for LW again, then with Ibe and Tex I don't think we need much more.

In that scenario, as harsh as this will sound, Aspas and Assaidi will be dead weight.

Sounds good apart from Coutinho playing out wide. He is absolutely wasted out there. To get the very best out of him he needs to be played centrally.

Francie Barrett

Knex. wrote: »

I'd rather put Ibe on the bench than splash money on Bojan to put him there - cos that's as close to the first team as he would get.

Would be surprised if this wasn't garbage journalism anyway. Consider we have Assaidi and Borini coming back in, plus Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling, Coutinho and Aspas, all for 3 positions. (I know Coutinho has been playing CAM recently, but if Allen is in the middle even for next few games he'll be pushed back to the front 3 slots)

Obviously, Assaidi, Aspas and Borini futures are up in air. Personally, I'd keep Borini around and ship on the other two. Borini is hungry, gives his all, is young, and is very good backup. Just a question of whether he is happy to play that role, really.

Most likely we will sign someone of the ilk of Kono too, so the Bojan signing makes no sense. He's not in anyway needed. We have squad depth there, and he's not good enough to improve the first 11.

Sign Kono, sell Aspas and Assaidi, and then look at the midfield and defence.

Agree with Knex.

If Konoplyanka is coming in, that gives us 5 excellent attacking options in Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling, Coutinho and Konoplyanka. That's 5 great options for 4 positions, but given injury and the need to rest players, I think all 5 can be accommodated. After that, all we really need are squad players who can take up the slack for injuries and cup games. Moses will not be here next year, so we can rule him out straight away. Aspas also looks like he is on the way out, so you'd expect him to be gone as well. Suso will hopefully return after his impressive loan spell, so that should be one of the bench warming positions filled. Ibe will be that year older, and I am fairly sure he will be given more game time next year. After that, we have Assaidi and Borini - I get the feeling we can only really accommodate one of these lads. On what I have seen, I think it's Borini who deserves to be brought back into the fold. He's playing for an awful Sunderland team, but despite that, he has showed some decent glimpses and at least you are always guaranteed 100%.

Francie Barrett

Knex. wrote: »

4 starters this summer and I'd be delighted - LB, RCB, DM (M'Vila type), Winger (Kono).

Agree with you on everything but the centre back. We already have 6 players capable of playing this position and I really think we need to figure out how to make those options work rather than just bring a new player in.

LuckyLloyd

Paulegend wrote: »

yea the only saving argument for bojan is that the clubs he failed at where both in italy. i have no idea how he is getting on in ajax so im open to correction but could it just be another sturridge situation?
Bojan is a striker but for barca/roma/milan he was always played coming in from the right wing as an inside forward. its because he is good with the ball at his feet and can take on defenders. but anytime i seen him play (very very very rare occasion when i use to keep up with the italian games) he always looked frustrated out wide.

i just wonder is it another case like sturridge where he just needs to be played in his position and allowed to prove himself as a goal scorer.

or maybe he is just another ryan babel. bags of potential but not mentally strong enough to "want" to reach it

He's getting on averagely, like the average player who has had a consistently average senior career that he is.

Vinz Mesrine

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

He's getting on averagely, like the average player who has had a consistently average senior career that he is.

Exactly the same as Sturridge before we signed him then

LuckyLloyd

Vinz Mesrine wrote: »

Exactly the same as Sturridge before we signed him then

If we secure CL football we should be aiming higher than the 'underappreciated fixer upper' market. For every Sturridge who seemingly just needed the right situation to get going there are 50 guys with thrilling youth careers who were ultimately mundane as senior prospects at the top level.

Nuri Sahin

Vinz Mesrine wrote: »

Exactly the same as Sturridge before we signed him then

Those who wanted/were open to Sturridge could at least point at his time in Bolton, age and his physical attributes in justifying signing him. There is nothing as far as I'm concerned that makes it appealing to sign La Masia product, Bojan.

Vinz Mesrine

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

If we secure CL football we should be aiming higher than the 'underappreciated fixer upper' market. For every Sturridge who seemingly just needed the right situation to get going there are 50 guys with thrilling youth careers who were ultimately mundane as senior prospects at the top level.

Absolutely, if we do get CL Football next season, I don't want any "potential" signed. I want legitimate top class players who come in and make an immediate improvement.

Agueroooo

Bojan for €5 million makes perfect sense.

more sense than Aspas.

more sense than Assaidi.

Rodgers has the system, style and temperament to reignite his career.

guy is quality.

edit: its a signing that wouldn't hurt if went tits up but would be excellent if did work out. - risk/reward.

but definitely not a player to be slotted into first team if we do get CL etc.

Vinz Mesrine

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Those who wanted/were open to Sturridge could at least point at his time in Bolton and his physical attributes in justifying signing him. There is nothing as far as I'm concerned that makes it appealing to sign La Masia product, Bojan.

I don't want Bojan signed either

LuckyLloyd

Agueroooo wrote: »

Bojan for €5 million makes perfect sense.

more sense than Aspas.

more sense than Assaidi.

Rodgers has the system, style and temperament to reignite his career.

guy is quality.

Yeah, he'd be a better purchase than Aspas, Assaidi or Borini I suppose at £5m. But his youth career is meaningless at this point. I'm sure his one goal in six is great when it eventually arrives though?

Cartman78

Listening to last week's The Game podcast just now (no Tony Cas so it's more tolerable and intelligent than usual)....one of the journos mentioned that Mascherano would be the perfect player for us right now.

I'm guessing he's tied up contract wise at Barca so probably never likely to happen. Was sickened by him when he left and the way he did it but would be a interesting addition to our current set up

Nuri Sahin

Vinz Mesrine wrote: »

I don't want Bojan signed either

I know, I know. Just putting the point out there. No matter some people's thoughts on either , I'd have Assaidi and Borini way ahead in the pecking order to cry baby Bojan. As I said before, mentally weak.

Agueroooo

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Yeah, he'd be a better purchase than Aspas, Assaidi or Borini I suppose at £5m. But his youth career is meaningless at this point. I'm sure his one goal in six is great when it eventually arrives though?

I hear ya but I wouldn't be comparing him to Sturridge who I always rated, but more Coutinho.

That signing could have gone either way and thankfully it didnt and we are getting well rewarded.

Bojan could be the same.

I wouldnt be pinning our aspirations in the transfer market on this one signing. We definitely need much better.

but the risk/reward makes perfect sense.

Knex*

Somehow had forgotten about Suso coming back too. Anyone think he'll spend another season on loan?

5live

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

If we secure CL football we should be aiming higher than the 'underappreciated fixer upper' market. For every Sturridge who seemingly just needed the right situation to get going there are 50 guys with thrilling youth careers who were ultimately mundane as senior prospects at the top level.

I don't think we will, Lloyd.

We will still be targeting the same type of player, young, under or poorly used players, classic 'moneyball' signings for the most part.

The only real difference will be us targeting a better type of the same player, or to put it another way, a higher success % signing due to the attraction of CL games. I cant see us signing more than two 'established' CL quality players this summer if we qualify.

When/if we are qualifying for a few seasons then we will be targeting more established players.

Us going for 4-5 CL quality signings would be risky from an FSG point of view, considering the financial downside of not qualifying the following season, imo.

Nuri Sahin

Cartman78 wrote: »

Listening to last week's The Game podcast just now (no Tony Cas so it's more tolerable and intelligent than usual)....one of the journos mentioned that Mascherano would be the perfect player for us right now.

I'm guessing he's tied up contract wise at Barca so probably never likely to happen. Was sickened by him when he left and the way he did it but would be a interesting addition to our current set up

Can't see us signing him as he'll be soon to be 30 years old and is on very decent wages I imagine.

It's painful seeing him being shoehorned into something he's not with them lot, even if Busquets is the best DM in the world and rightly first choice.

brevity

It's all well and good finding diamonds in the rough, but sooner or later we need to get out of the ditch and start buying proper players.

D'Agger

Knex. wrote: »

Somehow had forgotten about Suso coming back too. Anyone think he'll spend another season on loan?

Perhaps, he needs to grow and he won't get the game time to do that to a full extent at LFC next season - especially if we strengthen the squad.

I think it would be no harm but if we're in Europe next year and want to add a cup like we clearly did this year then we may need him as part of the squad with Ibe or Tex going on loan for the full season.

If you look at the youth players we have coming through who all seem capable of making the step up then it means in two seasons time we could have a very cheaply assembled, talented squad:

Sterling
Suso
Ibe
Tex
Ilori
Wisdom

Add to that McLaughlin, Robinson etc. who the jury is still out on but I see no reason why the above players wouldn't be part of our squad in two seasons - barring them wanting to leave for regular footbal a lá Thom Ince

googled eyes

Suarez to wear the worlds first pair of KNITTED BOOTS v Utd -Mirror.

tok9

Knex. wrote: »

Somehow had forgotten about Suso coming back too. Anyone think he'll spend another season on loan?

I really hope not. Time for him to push on and we'll have plenty of games next season too. Let's just hope they are Champions League matches.

5starpool

googled eyes wrote: »

Suarez to wear the worlds first pair of KNITTED BOOTS v Utd -Mirror.

Broken foot bones ahoy.

googled eyes

5starpool wrote: »

Broken foot bones ahoy.

Yeah I cant' see them being great in the long term unless there is a protective inner shell of some kind

D'Agger

5starpool wrote: »

Broken foot bones ahoy.

It's be like wearing cinder blocks when it rains

klose

googled eyes wrote: »

Suarez to wear the worlds first pair of KNITTED BOOTS v Utd -Mirror.

Jaysus! I imagine hell be changing boots about 5 minutes into the game so

smileyj1987

googled eyes wrote: »

Suarez to wear the worlds first pair of KNITTED BOOTS v Utd -Mirror.

Ah he should ring up his grandmother and ask her to make him a pair .

billy2012

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/156175-suarez-s-physical-prowess-explained

DrumSteve

klose wrote: »

Jaysus! I imagine hell be changing boots about 5 minutes into the game so

I reckon they will probably be covered in a polymer, my carbon fibre.

Structurally they would be very weak without the protective coat on it (and probably inside too).

Could he not have picked a season when we didn't need him to have no distractions for 90 minutes for the remaining games of our season?

Cartman78

googled eyes wrote: »

Suarez to wear the worlds first pair of KNITTED BOOTS v Utd -Mirror.

Evra will try to needle him early doors, but I can see a pattern developing then where our front four will really start to knit together (with Suarez weaving past Evans and Rio) and we should have everything sewn up by half time

Dickerty

DrumSteve wrote: »

I reckon they will probably be covered in a polymer, my carbon fibre.

Structurally they would be very weak without the protective coat on it (and probably inside too).

Soft thin leather is not exactly strong itself. I would say that an interwoven fibre like this could actually be more protective than leather - maybe not against the elements, but I am sure Adidas would figure that out...

LuckyLloyd

5live wrote: »

I don't think we will, Lloyd.

We will still be targeting the same type of player, young, under or poorly used players, classic 'moneyball' signings for the most part.

The only real difference will be us targeting a better type of the same player, or to put it another way, a higher success % signing due to the attraction of CL games. I cant see us signing more than two 'established' CL quality players this summer if we qualify.

When/if we are qualifying for a few seasons then we will be targeting more established players.

Us going for 4-5 CL quality signings would be risky from an FSG point of view, considering the financial downside of not qualifying the following season, imo.

If we finish off strong this season then we will, in some ways, be back to the summer of 2009 a half decade later. Having enjoyed a massively promising season but with structural deficiencies in a squad screaming out for a big investment in order to push on to the next level. The current transfer policy is acceptable without the additional CL revenue, it is not acceptable when that barrier to attracting top shelf players is removed.

DrumSteve

Dickerty wrote: »

Soft thin leather is not exactly strong itself. I would say that an interwoven fibre like this could actually be more protective than leather - maybe not against the elements, but I am sure Adidas would figure that out...

I guess; can't see them putting a pair of boots on the market unless they were structurally sound.