Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours 2018 (MOD NOTE: POST #2805)

~Rebel~

MentalMario wrote: »

Yep. Agree with this.
Ngog leading the line for a few games killed us when Torres was injured.

Not having a better option to fill in for Torres was definitely was an issue - but any time N'Gog played, we actually did extraordinarily well.

We won 100% of league games he started that season.

Even taking his league appearances from the bench into account (so out of 14 league appearances total), we got 2.35 points per game that he appeared in.

So, perhaps a better option would have played more in games we struggled when N'Gog wasn't considered a good enough option to come on, but just judging his time actually spent on the pitch, we did remarkably well. Maybe he should have played more!

Agent Coulson

N'Gog's record for us was quiet good to be fair he played 4269 minutes which is just over 47 games and he scored 19 goals and had 6 assists.


Just seeing there he is still only 28 and now playing for Ross County in Scotland.

HandsomeBob

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Not having a better option to fill in for Torres was definitely was an issue - but any time N'Gog played, we actually did extraordinarily well.

We won 100% of league games he started that season.

Even taking his league appearances from the bench into account (so out of 14 league appearances total), we got 2.35 points per game that he appeared in.

So, perhaps a better option would have played more in games we struggled when N'Gog wasn't considered a good enough option to come on, but just judging his time actually spent on the pitch, we did remarkably well. Maybe he should have played more!

Stats are fine but I remember when N'Gog was second in command and it cost us. Rafa's time as a whole was marred by funds not being available and N'Gog is one of those examples. In a perfect world N'Gog would have been 3rd choice and given time to develop, but he was never going to get that at the time, leaving all parties frustrated by asking for too much too soon.

Really annoys me thinking of that period something fierce

~Rebel~

HandsomeBob wrote: »

Stats are fine but I remember when N'Gog was second in command and it cost us. Rafa's time as a whole was marred by funds not being available and N'Gog is one of those examples. In a perfect world N'Gog would have been 3rd choice and given time to develop, but he was never going to get that at the time, leaving all parties frustrated by asking for too much too soon.

Really annoys me thinking of that period something fierce

Sure, totally, him being the second choice cost us - more in games that he didn't play, than those he did.

But just wanted to address the post stating that when leading the line we were dropping points, because it isn't true. Whether because of, or in spite of N'gog, our record in games he played was fantastic.

The problem was that in certain games we struggled and needed a top class centre forward on the bench to change things, he wasn't even picked.

Agent Coulson

Harry Wilson starting for Hull against Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Former player Kevin Stewart playing for Hull as well.

Agent Coulson

Agent Coulson wrote: »

N'Gog's record for us was quiet good to be fair he played 4269 minutes which is just over 47 games and he scored 19 goals and had 6 assists.


Just seeing there he is still only 28 and now playing for Ross County in Scotland.

Had a soft spot for him. It's a pity he didn't go up another level for us, but he did a pretty decent job when needed.

~Rebel~

Agent Coulson wrote: »

N'Gog's record for us was quiet good to be fair he played 4269 minutes which is just over 47 games and he scored 19 goals and had 6 assists.


Just seeing there he is still only 28 and now playing for Ross County in Scotland.

Seems he did his cruciate and was out of contract after his 9 month rehab, so Owen Coyle (worked together at Bolton) took him in at Ross County. Hopefully he hasn't lost his pace, as that was really his key asset. Never really had the aggression in his game to make up for a lack of pace.

Grayditch

Goals so good the keeper comes out to celebrate

Utopia Parkway

Fromvert wrote: »

I really think if Klopp signs another CB Matip will be the one to miss out and if he doesn't buy one Matip will become third choice over the next few months and be contending with Gomez for the third CB spot next year.

I don't think we'll be signing another centre-half. Have 4 now and that doesn't include Gomez who will probably play more there next season now that Clyne is back.

Keeper, centre mid to replace Can and another attacker (maybe two) are probably the priorities.

5starpool

Grayditch wrote: »

Goals so good the keeper comes out to celebrate

I was at that game, it was epic! Brilliant atmosphere all game pretty much too.

One_Of_Shanks

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

I don't think we'll be signing another centre-half. Have 4 now and that doesn't include Gomez who will probably play more there next season now that Clyne is back.

Keeper, centre mid to replace Can and another attacker (maybe two) are probably the priorities.

Yeah, agreed. Matip gets criticised a lot but he was mostly playing next to Moreno and Lovren with Mignolet behind him.

I mean if that's not enough to give you the shakes then what is!

His earlier performances at the club were his best. So I'd be really confident that Matip will come good again, he's just one of those like Henchoz who needs a commanding CB next to him, and we've got that now.
VVD and Matip are the future imo.
Gomez will hopefully mature into a top CB in time too.

So yeah I think we'll be ok there, you're right. Lovren as back-up too.

CM is crying out for upgrading. I'm not a fan of Emre Can at all, a brilliant spell early season subsided and he reverted to just passing side-ways and doing bugger all. Keita is a fantastic upgrade when he leaves.
But still need another CM after Keita too.

And one more attacker. Sure Klopp is the master of finding the attacker.

Its who he adds to CM after Keita that will be crucial.

And big call on the keeper. Karius might still have a chance imo, wouldnt rule it out entirely.

Fromvert

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

I don't think we'll be signing another centre-half. Have 4 now and that doesn't include Gomez who will probably play more there next season now that Clyne is back.

Keeper, centre mid to replace Can and another attacker (maybe two) are probably the priorities.

I'd agree, I wouldn't buy a defender. Keeper, CM and another attacking player is what is like to see prioritised.

Agent Coulson

Fun Bobby has been named as one of 15 players named early for the Brazilian World Cup squad today.

mosstin

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

I don't think we'll be signing another centre-half. Have 4 now and that doesn't include Gomez who will probably play more there next season now that Clyne is back.

Keeper, centre mid to replace Can and another attacker (maybe two) are probably the priorities.

I think it's remarkable how a decent run masks the flaws. We have one CB that's fit for purpose in the CL and PL.
Lovren, Klavan and Matip (to a much lesser extent) aren't strong or dependable enough for where we want to be. Matip is the one I'd keep but if we do get rid of the other two, I'd be expecting us to upgrade significantly.

Harry Palmr

Word has it a certain Leipzig forward is not going to renew his contract and has a £55m release.

One_Of_Shanks

mosstin wrote: »

I think it's remarkable how a decent run masks the flaws. We have one CB that's fit for purpose in the CL and PL.
Lovren, Klavan and Matip (to a much lesser extent) aren't strong or dependable enough for where we want to be. Matip is the one I'd keep but if we do get rid of the other two, I'd be expecting us to upgrade significantly.

Can you recall your initial thoughts on Matip after he joined?

I know I was really impressed with him.

Got to give it time, him and VVD might work out to be a great partnership.

And are Gomez and Lovren not decent back-ups?

Rumple Stillson

One_Of_Shanks wrote: »

Can you recall your initial thoughts on Matip after he joined?

I know I was really impressed with him.

Got to give it time, him and VVD might work out to be a great partnership.

And are Gomez and Lovren not decent back-ups?

I think I've seen enough of Matip at this stage to know he's not the answer. Not sure if Gomez will be good enough either but he has the physical and technical attributes to be good enough, the question is does he have the intelligence.

One_Of_Shanks

Rumple Stillson wrote: »

I think I've seen enough of Matip at this stage to know he's not the answer. Not sure if Gomez will be good enough either but he has the physical and technical attributes to be good enough, the question is does he have the intelligence.

Time will tell. Carra looked a bit rash in his early days too and look how he turned outl

As for Matip, I have a lot more faith in him than yee guys seem to have. I think he'll end up being brilliant with VVD beside him.
Sure we'll see....

mada999

davyboy1975 wrote: »

This is great

class! great voice too

mada999

5starpool wrote: »

My abiding memory of Robbie Keane in a Liverpool shirt is that back heel he attempted when a normal shot was on against Atletico away. I know he scored that game anyhow, but that was to put us 2 up. I was apoplectic then I remember.

ditto.. i'll always remember Robbie Keane doing that.. could have strangled him

robwen

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Word has it a certain Leipzig forward is not going to renew his contract and has a £55m release.

Timo Werner?

Utopia Parkway

davyboy1975 wrote: »

This is great

Mo must be breaking records for the amount of songs he's inspiring.

Blanco100

robwen wrote: »

Timo Werner?

100% Bayern bound as they all are. Probably replace Lewandowski in time

Knex*

Baby Keith vs Napoli

Stats 89 touches 54/62 passes 5 interceptions 4/4 dribbles 3/4 tackles 3/4 long balls 2/5 shots on target 1 key pass

Per Opta, Naby Keïta made 21 recoveries v Napoli - highest by a Bundesliga player in a European game since 2010

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

brevity

https://twitter.com/asxlfc/status/964310858364055557

MD1990

#1 priority in the summer is getting Firmino a new contract.

Deserves 150-200k a week & to be our top earner. Salah & Mane need new contracts as well at a similar level.

Knex*

MD1990 wrote: »

#1 priority in the summer is getting Firmino a new contract.

Deserves 150-200k a week & to be our top earner. Salah & Mane need new contracts as well at a similar level.

Thought he was on 150k a week now after contract clause was triggered after hitting a certain amount of goals or something?

One_Of_Shanks

Knex. wrote: »

Thought he was on 150k a week now

Think he gets that per week just from goal assist bonuses anyway

The guy is phenomenal.

It used to be Coutinho that had all the journos and pundits waxing lyrical and now it's Salah but it's Bobby who makes us tick more than anyone.

For such a creative player he's probably our best defender, he's all over anyone trying to play out from the back and just the ideal Klopp player really.

Liam McPoyle

Knex. wrote: »

Thought he was on 150k a week now after contract clause was triggered after hitting a certain amount of goals or something?

Was chatting a friend during the week who is a fan and he said that it's a bonus clause rather than a contract clause. He has hit the required number of goals and assists to qualify so he will get something like £20 - £25k for each one he gets between now and end of the season.

Cracking player, looking forward to seeing him in the world cup where I can enjoy watching him play and not feel dirty afterwards.

:pac:

MD1990

Have a feeling Egypt will surprise in the World Cup with Salah as they have an easy enough group.

If he performs very well he could be a contender for the Ballon D'or top 3 at least.

Agent Coulson

Fun Bobby's basic wage right now is £68k a game.


If he gets a goal now in a game he gets another £85k per goal.

If he gets a assist now in a game he gets another £31K per assist.





He earned £25,000 for each of his first five goals, then £45,000-per-goal up to 10, £65,000 up to 15, and then £85,000 for every goal after that. (excluding penalties)



His assists earn him £31k.


He also has a £83m release clause that can't be activated by Arsenal. That one still makes me laugh every time.

http://www.sportbible.com/football/news-roberto-firminos-incredible-bonuses-have-been-revealed-20170511

Royal Legend

Knex. wrote: »

Baby Keith vs Napoli

Stats 89 touches 54/62 passes 5 interceptions 4/4 dribbles 3/4 tackles 3/4 long balls 2/5 shots on target 1 key pass

Per Opta, Naby Keïta made 21 recoveries v Napoli - highest by a Bundesliga player in a European game since 2010

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

This one made me smile, can't wait

Harry Palmr

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Fun Bobby's basic wage right now is £68k a game.

If he gets a goal now in a game he gets another £85k per goal.

If he gets a assist now in a game he gets another £31K per assist.
He earned £25,000 for each of his first five goals, then £45,000-per-goal up to 10, £65,000 up to 15, and then £85,000 for every goal after that. (excluding penalties)

His assists earn him £31k.

He also has a £83m release clause that can't be activated by Arsenal. That one still makes me laugh every time.

http://www.sportbible.com/football/news-roberto-firminos-incredible-bonuses-have-been-revealed-20170511

Goals (all comps)
125,000 + 225,000 + 335,000 + 425,000 = 1,110,000 + Assists (all comps) 341,000 = 1,451,000. Or about another 40% on top of his basic so far. Should easily hit the 50% mark.

Firmino gets £68k week and after 15 goals he gets £675k if you tot up the info per the leaked details & 85k for each goal over 15 £31k for every assist.

After 2/3s of the season he's after getting maybe £1.5m ish in bonuses. Spread over a season that's 30k/week extra.... if he ends the season on say 30 goals and another lash of assists he'll get another 1.5m for ease of numbers so in total 60k/week onto his basic.

£130K/week for 2017/2018 season.... I think he has 2 years ish left on contract come start of next season? Lovren is on almost that iirc......100k I think.

Club needs to throw a 200k/week + bonuses/incentives contract at him IMO & I imagine similar needed for salkah.

Virgil is on £180k/week iirc.

One_Of_Shanks

So in summary, yer unlikely to bump into him in Lidl

davyboy1975

Wanyama being linked in a few places today. Cant see that really, still another ex southampton player sure why not

Knex*

One_Of_Shanks wrote: »

So in summary, yer unlikely to bump into him in Lidl

Don't think anyone could bump into him with those teeth. Be like walking head first into a lighthouse.

Agent Coulson

Wanyama sitting in front of our defence and Keita bombing forward that would be nice.


Levy would want a fortune for him thought.

One_Of_Shanks

Knex. wrote: »

Don't think anyone could bump into him with those teeth. Be like walking head first into a lighthouse.

Ha, I blame Rodgers. He started all this! Feckin sexy middle aged trend-setter.

theoneeyedman

Augeo wrote: »

Firmino gets £68k week and after 15 goals he gets £675k if you tot up the info per the leaked details & 85k for each goal over 15 £31k for every assist.

After 2/3s of the season he's after getting maybe £1.5m ish in bonuses. Spread over a season that's 30k/week extra.... if he ends the season on say 30 goals and another lash of assists he'll get another 1.5m for ease of numbers so in total 60k/week onto his basic.

Worth every penny... What's great about him is that never could he be accused of playing for himself, the ultimate team player.

theoneeyedman

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Worth every penny... What's great about him is that never could he be accused of playing for himself, the ultimate team player.

Worth 200k + week IMO.
I'm sure Fowler was on 80k/week at some stage 15+ years ago.

BorneTobyWilde

83m release clause is a worry for Firmino. A good world cup and we could be starting next season without him. Could be a 150m pound player snapped up by Real for 83m.

robwen

Blanco100 wrote: »

100% Bayern bound as they all are. Probably replace Lewandowski in time

Werner told Sport 1 on the mounting interest being shown in him from leading sides across Europe: "If you take Germany, it would be a lie to say that you would not like to play for Bayern.

"It would be a lie to say in England you'd not like to play for Manchester United or Manchester City.

"Spain - Barca or Real. There are great clubs in every league. Italy or France would not be my leagues, but the other three.

"There are so many clubs you'd like to play for. I don't want to tie myself down. I'll see what happens."



Seems we're not on his radar anyway

BorneTobyWilde

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

83m release clause is a worry for Firmino. A good world cup and we could be starting next season without him. Could be a 150m pound player snapped up by Real for 83m.

Yep, that's a major error on the clubs behalf

Agent Coulson

At the time we signed him and what we sold Suarez for £83m would have seemed like a very high buyout clause.


Fast forward a couple of years and £83m would be a bargain for a player like Fun Bobby.

RoboKlopp

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Yep, that's a major error on the clubs behalf

We might see how resolutely they stick to the no release clause speel in future contracts when they have Bobby in 2nd last year of contract shortly.
Unless he signs a new one before the WC.

Raisins

I thought one of the problems with Can agreeing to a new contact wad that the club don't hand out buy out clauses. Is that a new rule? How does Bobby have one at 83m?

BorneTobyWilde

Raisins wrote: »

I thought one of the problems with Can agreeing to a new contact wad that the club don't hand out buy out clauses. Is that a new rule? How does Bobby have one at 83m?

Timing I guess. Things change in football, having buyout clauses today is very dangerous considering market.
Firmino had a contract before market went crazy.

NukaCola

83M at the time would have been close to a world record fee, and while Firmino was a good player then, it was probably seen as a crazy buy out clause. Now, while its still a huge fee, looks more realistic if a club really wanted him.

beya2009

I really think Klopp is building a super team that hopefully with the addition of Keita in the summer can really make a charge for big trophies next season. Also early days but I think virgil van dijk will make a massive difference. We're a bad match up for anyone in champions league as we love cup competitions.