Liverpool Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2014 - Mod Note in OP 28/8

Soft Falling Rain

Soft Falling Rain wrote: »

I believe he's a Rodgers signing, otherwise having a player with the reputation of someone like Balotelli forced upon you is potential for a manager downing tools.

He wants him because he thinks it's a gamble worth taking, simple as.

Rodgers just 2 weeks ago

"I can categorically tell you Balotelli will not be at Liverpool,''

Big turnaround.


As someone posted last night, it's low risk financially. Even if he flopped at Liverpool, you'd still get a good few million for him. A success and you'll make nice money on him. At £16m, he could be considered cheap in comparison to aother strikers on the move this summer. Definately a moneyball signing imo.

Even if he wasn't a Rodgers target doesn't mean it won't work.

kfallon

So where are we at with the deal for Balotelli, is he in Liverpool for talks/medical?

Barely There

The Balotelli deal, if it goes through, has me very excited.

Should ensure that Liverpool remain great fun to watch.

Of course there are risks and we may regret the day we signed him, but for some reason I think this is a match between player and club that is going to work out well for both.

We've really got a frightening amount of pace up front and with Gerrard and Hendo's distribution, teams will be very wary of trying to play a high line against us.

Here's hoping he signs by 12pm and is available to come on with 20minutes to go on Monday and smash in the winner!

Why always me?
Because you're a maverick genius Mario, who just hasn't found the right environment for your talent.

LuckyLloyd

kfallon wrote: »

So where are we at with the deal for Balotelli, is he in Liverpool for talks/medical?

Nope. Nothing has been agreed from what I can see, yet everyone is talking about it as if it was a done deal. The club has lots of form in having a deal break down from here...

Speak Now

Barely There wrote: »

The Balotelli deal, if it goes through, has me very excited.

Should ensure that Liverpool remain great fun to watch.

Of course there are risks and we may regret the day we signed him, but for some reason I think this is a match between player and club that is going to work out well for both.

We've really got a frightening amount of pace up front and with Gerrard and Hendo's distribution, teams will be very wary of trying to play a high line against us.

Here's hoping he signs by 12pm and is available to come on with 20minutes to go on Sunday and smash in the winner!

Why always me?
Because you're a maverick genius Mario, who just hasn't found the right environment for your talent.

Monday Monday Monday!!!

ArmaniJeanss

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

This deal will break down. Wait for it.

€10 on Stars that the deal goes through this window.

NabyLadistheman

Brendan Rodgers wrote:

Balotelli is a big talent, I saw that in this time at Inter Milan as a young player and obviously going to Manchester City when we had a real close eye on him there. He's got all the qualities. He's 6ft 3ins, he's quick, his touch is terrific and he can score goals. He went back to Italy to play and he's still so young. If his focus is right, his concentration is right and he leads the lifestyle of a top player then he can play for any team in the world.

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/329021.html#y20AJdtX3ldKzgUS.

Other comments were obviously not to fuel speculation. Definite Rodgers transfer IMO

garra

0028673 wrote: »

Would you consider Arsenal to be a Top Club?

Why bother?

Oranage2

Sorry auto correct, meant to say the top club in reference to man city his former club and current holders of the Prem trophy.

I was getting at Liverpool are showing ambition and a good place where players can go to make a name for himself. I was critical recently of some of the pool purchases but this is the exact calibre of player should be going for.

Harry Palmr

Core Squad Age Range (ie no players who now look likely to be sold or loaned)

18-24
Manquillo 20
Moreno 20
Flanagan 21
Sakho 24
Can 20
Coutinho 22
Allen 24
Hendo 24
Sterling 19
Marković 20
Sturridge 24

25-30
Mignolet 26
Lovren 25
Enrique 28
Johnson 29
Škrtel 29
Agger 29
Lucas 27
Lallana 26

30+
Jones 30
Touré 33
Gerrard 34
Lambert 32

DrumSteve

Suarezistheman wrote: »

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/329021.html#y20AJdtX3ldKzgUS.

Other comments were obviously not to fuel speculation. Definite Rodgers transfer IMO

I'm guessing the second part of that quote are fueling the good behaviour clause.

On a side note, this transfer has really shown up this ITK bollocks for what it is.

Talisman

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Core Squad Age Range (ie no players who now look likely to be sold or loaned)

Is there something about Simon Mignolet you're hinting at but not telling us?

LuckyLloyd

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

€10 on Stars that the deal goes through this window.

Bet

mylefttesticle

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Nope. Nothing has been agreed from what I can see, yet everyone is talking about it as if it was a done deal. The club has lots of form in having a deal break down from here...

God forbid we get a bit excited about a player like him:pac: Were used to disappointment one more wont make a difference :pac:

googled eyes

Oranage2 wrote: »

Can't believe balo will be back in the Prem, I think Liverpool will be the perfect place for him, not a top club but they have enough ambition for any young talented and hungry player to go and make a name for himself.

Subtle as a rock

googled eyes

Lads its ok, Llyod is just trying the reverse jinx because he needs Balotelli at the club.

mayordenis

Lloyd you are gone off the deep end.

It isn't done and dusted yet, on that you are right, but your pessimistic opinions that you masquerade as fact is a kind of arrogant belligerence.

I remember quite a while ago you made one of these claims and said that unfortunately you were always right, on that occasion you were, on more or less every subsequent argument since you've just been the descenting fringe.

Give peace a chance.

Pyjamarama

No Lloyd is always right. Remember that time he said Rodgers was a joke and his appointment would be a disaster?!?

Now I know you've held your hand up and admitted you were wrong but when has the club shown form for ****ing up transfers at this stage? Did we agree a fee for William or mickeyt? We might have but I don't remember it. We defo didn't for kono. So that leaves remy and we pulled out of that which I doubt counts as ****ing it up...

LuckyLloyd

mayordenis wrote: »

Lloyd you are gone off the deep end.

It isn't done and dusted yet, on that you are right, but your pessimistic opinions that you masquerade as fact is a kind of arrogant belligerence.

I remember quite a while ago you made one of these claims and said that unfortunately you were always right, on that occasion you were, on more or less every subsequent argument since you've just been the descenting fringe.

Give peace a chance.

At least I hold opinions. The lads on here who were decrying Balotelli from a height last week as a terrible signing we wouldn't need (because the club would never be in for him) and acting giddy with excitement yesterday (now that we appear to be in for him) are soft. I'd hate to be so weak minded and passive as to blithely accept whatever it is the club are doing at the present time and always argue the positives of same. Sheep!

No apologies here anyway. Let's hope I'm wrong and we reel in the most exciting acquisition we've made since Suarez was signed three and a half years ago.

LuckyLloyd

Pyjamarama wrote: »

No Lloyd is always right. Remember that time he said Rodgers was a joke and his appointment would be a disaster?!?

Now I know you've held your hand up and admitted you were wrong but when has the club shown form for ****ing up transfers at this stage? Did we agree a fee for William or mickeyt? We might have but I don't remember it. We defo didn't for kono. So that leaves remy and we pulled out of that which I doubt counts as ****ing it up...

Have we agreed a fee for Balotelli? Where was that officially announced?

Micky Ryan
The lad Erickson
Willian
Kono
Remy

We'll never know exactly why those deals didn't pan out, but they didn't. You can choose to argue each break down as competitive reality / financial reality / prudence. I'm sure the same reasons will be utilised when the club is defended for letting Balotelli slip through their fingers.

Oranage2

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

At least I hold opinions. The lads on here who were decrying Balotelli from a height last week as a terrible signing we wouldn't need (because the club would never be in for him) and acting giddy with excitement yesterday (now that we appear to be in for him) are soft. I'd hate to be so weak minded and passive as to blithely accept whatever it is the club are doing at the present time and always argue the positives of same. Sheep!

No apologies here anyway. Let's hope I'm wrong and we reel in the most exciting acquisition we've made since Suarez was signed three and a half years ago.

Sturidge?

rob316

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Have we agreed a fee for Balotelli? Where was that officially announced?

Micky Ryan
The lad Erickson
Willian
Kono
Remy

We'll never know exactly why those deals didn't pan out, but they didn't. You can choose to argue each break down as competitive reality / financial reality / prudence. I'm sure the same reasons will be utilised when the club is defended for letting Balotelli slip through their fingers.

Yes we have agreed a fee, we don't announce when we agree a fee only when its done but its on Milan's official website that he has left the club, you wouldn't let a player leave unless you agreed a fee.

Remy fell through due to a medical and all the other names you have mentioned we never got anywhere near agreeing a fee.

So tot off with your agenda against this club and any other positive poster on this forum.

MD1990

Lloyd has a point about ppl acting giddy etc. I had been saying we should go for Balotell for a while on here with alot on here not wanting him near the club at all. Surely this deal will go through otherwise serious questions will have to asked about your transfer dealings when it comes to signing top class players.

LuckyLloyd

Oranage2 wrote: »

Sturidge?

Sturridge has been brilliant but he wasn't a massively exciting signing. There was debate on here at the time about whether the fee represented value, certainly not giddy excitement.

Oranage2

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Sturridge has been brilliant but he wasn't a massively excAing signing. There was debate on here at the time about whether the fee represented value, certainly not giddy excitement.

I honestly can't remember but I didn't think there was that much hype around Suarez?

NukaCola

Heaven forbid some people are getting excited that we are close to getting Balotelli. Some miserable ****ers on this thread.

I also haven't seen posts of people saying they didn't want him near the club and now are giddy with excitement. I'd say the vast majority realise his potential but are wary of his antics.

jem

Dont think financially can lose with this deal. even if he flops will get that amount back, if he does well ...

rob316

Oranage2 wrote: »

I honestly can't remember but I didn't think there was that much hype around Suarez?

The hype was more around Carroll and to be fair it was a mad 24 hours then, Suarez actually went very under the radar if I can remember.

Oranage2

Oranage2 wrote: »

I honestly can't remember but I didn't think there was that much hype around Suarez?

The Suarez signing went somewhat under the radar as it coincided with the whole Torres/Carroll madness.

Kess73

From Harry "I don't talk about players at other clubs" Redknapp

@brodinho
Harry Redknapp on talksport "Taarabt said if you think I was a bad trainer Mario is worse! So good luck Brendan Rodgers"
#LFC

LuckyLloyd

Oranage2 wrote: »

I honestly can't remember but I didn't think there was that much hype around Suarez?

There was, I don't have the time to go back and fish out posts now, but there was lots of positivity on here. The difference was it didn't come out of the blue and it wasn't last minute.

NabyLadistheman

Well there was certainly the opposite of 'giddy-excitement' last season by certain posters when we were not interested in signing Soldado. We had no ambition and the club was headed for mid-table mediocrity for the foreseeable future.

Damned if you do and if you don't

NukaCola

MD1990 wrote: »

Lloyd has a point about ppl acting giddy etc. I had been saying we should go for Balotell for a while on here with alot on here not wanting him near the club at all. Surely this deal will go through otherwise serious questions will have to asked about your transfer dealings when it comes to signing top class players.

You weren't the only one.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=91230740&postcount=5810

Kess73

Mod Post: And folks, whilst nobody has strayed too far as of yet, lets make sure the Mario debate stays on the right side of attack the post and not the poster.

whatawaster

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

At least I hold opinions. The lads on here who were decrying Balotelli from a height last week as a terrible signing we wouldn't need (because the club would never be in for him) and acting giddy with excitement yesterday (now that we appear to be in for him) are soft. I'd hate to be so weak minded and passive as to blithely accept whatever it is the club are doing at the present time and always argue the positives of same. Sheep!

No apologies here anyway. Let's hope I'm wrong and we reel in the most exciting acquisition we've made since Suarez was signed three and a half years ago.

This is a player who will not be our best striker. Let's not get carried away.

Sterling and Sturridge are the first 2 names on our attacking teamsheet and will remain so imo. Balotelli has a lot to prove.

NukaCola

Kess73 wrote: »

From Harry "I don't talk about players at other clubs" Redknapp

How are you feeling about the Balotelli transfer talk Kess, you weren't happy about being linked a few weeks ago i think?

whatawaster

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Sturridge has been brilliant but he wasn't a massively exciting signing. There was debate on here at the time about whether the fee represented value, certainly not giddy excitement.

The point of transfers isn't to excite us, surely. Doubt Hyypia excited anyone.

It's all about performance on the pitch, and in that regard, I'd argue that on his performances so far, Sturridge is one of the best signings we've made in the last 20 years. Obviously behind Suarez, but easily in the company of Torres, Alonso, Hyypia etc.

LuckyLloyd

Suarezistheman wrote: »

Well there was certainly the opposite of 'giddy-excitement' last season by certain posters when we were not interested in signing Soldado. We had no ambition and the club was headed for mid-table mediocrity for the foreseeable future.

Damned if you do and if you don't

Certain signings will not work out. But you have to dust yourself off and keep going after players who can in theory push you forward.

LuckyLloyd

whatawaster wrote: »

The point of transfers isn't to excite us, surely. Doubt Hyypia excited anyone.

It's all about performance on the pitch, and in that regard, I'd argue that on his performances so far, Sturridge is one of the best signings we've made in the last 20 years. Obviously behind Suarez, but easily in the company of Torres, Alonso, Hyypia etc.

Cough, strawman, cough.

My point was about the reaction / expectation people have had on previous signings. Before Suarez I'd say the most excited we got by an acquisition was probably Torres or Mascherano. Kuyt didn't make anyone giddy when he was signed, though he proved a very valuable player over a decent stretch of time.

Dickerty

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Core Squad Age Range (ie no players who now look likely to be sold or loaned)

And not forgetting the youffs! (I am surprised at you, but I know it's not the point you were trying to make)

Rossiter
Brad Smith
Lloyd Jones
McLaughlin
Phillips
Chirivella
Trickett-Smith
Jordan Williams
Sinclair
Kent
Wilson
Ojo
And the Paddys, Cleary and O'Hanlon!

Yes, a lot of them won't make it, but there is a LOT of talent there, and a lot of focus on youth team training and development. Like Sterling, any one of these coming through is a HUGE boost.

LuckyLloyd

NukaCola wrote: »

I also haven't seen posts of people saying they didn't want him near the club and now are giddy with excitement. I'd say the vast majority realise his potential but are wary of his antics.

Ah come on?!!

Talisman

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Sturridge has been brilliant but he wasn't a massively exciting signing. There was debate on here at the time about whether the fee represented value, certainly not giddy excitement.

The club could have taken him as part of the Torres transfer deal but insisted on a cash only deal. The reports at the time suggested Damian Commolli had doubts about his temperament.

Kess73

Must admit that I am really torn on the whole Mario thing. He would have been on no list of mine, and I would see him as a big gamble.


The guy has some wonderful physical qualities, and he is not lacking in terms of skill either, but mentally you can never know which Mario you are going to get from game to game. He seems to go between fully focussed and mentally checked out with very little inbetween.


I know Pirlo has spoken quite a bit about him of late, and has said that he has seen massive changes in Mario over the past two years in terms of maturity, and I know a lot of his really mad stuff happened between the ages of 18 and 22. But he is a player that I don't know whether to be optimistic about or worried about.


It is very easy to see a best case scenario and it is just as easy to see a worst case one. But like his form on the pitch, it is very hard to see a nice medium between those two scenarios.


I think he will be loved very easily early doors if he arrives, and that he will start like a house on fire. But after that are we going to see another Collymore on the pitch?


On paper so much works

Fast, strong, tall, skillful. He is very marketable, and would probably retain a high percentage of his value even if he were to flop.



He has the height of Andy Carroll but comes with far more pace and strength. He has the sort of skills that Sturridge has, and can play in any of the attacking roles. He will attempt trhe unthinkable on the pitch and will succeed at time, so he brings a little of the unpredictable that Suarez did.

He really should be a monster of a player. A guy whose beast mode should terrify teams.


But it all comes back to one thing when we are talking about Mario. His mentality.


At £16m is he worth a gamble? I think he might well be. Hell when you look at some of the prices that very average front men went for this summer then he looks cheap.



If he does arrive one thing is certain. Rodgers and Peters had better be bringing their A game to the Mario party.

Pyjamarama

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Have we agreed a fee for Balotelli? Where was that officially announced?

Micky Ryan
The lad Erickson
Willian
Kono
Remy

We'll never know exactly why those deals didn't pan out, but they didn't. You can choose to argue each break down as competitive reality / financial reality / prudence. I'm sure the same reasons will be utilised when the club is defended for letting Balotelli slip through their fingers.

I think we all know a fee has been agreed. If it hadn't both clubs would surely have come out and said so by now.

I think we do know why those deals didn't pan out tho. Micky and Willian went to bigger clubs in the champions league. Kono the owner has already confirmed that he wouldn't sign off on it after we'd matched the release clause. And the Remy deal we pulled out of for whatever reason, prob the medical. Did we ever even bid for Erickson?!?

NukaCola

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Ah come on?!!

Show me the quotes. I honestly cant think of someone specifically who said they didnt want him and are now giddy with excitement.

MD1990

Gianluca Di Marzio ‏@DiMarzio 19s And @FinallyMario is leaving for #Liverpool...


hopefully it is completed soon so we can stop woorying about another Remy situation.

LuckyLloyd

NukaCola wrote: »

Show me the quotes. I honestly cant think of someone specifically who said they didnt want him and are now giddy with excitement.

Sigh, I'll have to do a trawl through. If I don't get around to it you can claim the point by default.

Agent Coulson

Get this wrapped up, Then move for Song before he is stuck at Barca for the next season and a half.

8-10

Oranage2 wrote: »

I honestly can't remember but I didn't think there was that much hype around Suarez?

There was from me! He was a genuinely exciting signing and on the road to being World Class. Sturridge I was completely wrong on, wasn't overly impressed at the time.

garra

MD1990 wrote: »

Lloyd has a point about ppl acting giddy etc. I had been saying we should go for Balotell for a while on here with alot on here not wanting him near the club at all. Surely this deal will go through otherwise serious questions will have to asked about your transfer dealings when it comes to signing top class players.

In fairness LL was one of the few people making a case for signing Balo.

In defence of those people who were anti-Balo last week/month - of which I am one - we must ask what we should do as supporters of the club when they make a decision we don't instantly like.

Do we steadfastly stick to our opinion and make a case for proving ourselves correct on a message board for the next few years?

Or do we roll in behind the club's management team and accept that the boy has talent, will undoubtedly excite and exasperate us, and enjoy the ride?