Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours 2018

Sappy404

Ian Doyle is saying in The Echo that the Alisson stuff is untrue. The local journos won't be the first ones to report every move, but it's worth remembering that the last thing anyone 'reliable' said about Alisson was in February when both Joyce and Pearce said we'd ended our interest.

Ste-

brevity wrote: »

I hope he does too as it would be cruel for him to lose two high profile finals in the space of a couple of months.

Or make him push on to be even better.

Harry Palmr

Sappy404 wrote: »

Ian Doyle is saying in The Echo that the Alisson stuff is untrue. The local journos won't be the first ones to report every move, but it's worth remembering that the last thing anyone 'reliable' said about Alisson was in February when both Joyce and Pearce said we'd ended our interest.

Which untruth? That Liverpool are no longer interested or that they still are?

Joyce says Alpine Messi is nearing completion and Harry Wilson will go the other way ( ) on loan for the season.

Agent Coulson

Sappy404 wrote: »

Ian Doyle is saying in The Echo that the Alisson stuff is untrue. The local journos won't be the first ones to report every move, but it's worth remembering that the last thing anyone 'reliable' said about Alisson was inFebruary when both Joyce and Pearce said we'd ended our interest.

This is from Pearce 3 weeks ago.

Brazil international Alisson was the Reds' No 1 keeping target for this summer. But hopes of securing a deal with the Serie A outfit have been dented.

Not only do Roma want in excess of £70million but Real Madrid is believed to be Alisson's preferred destination. The situation will become clearer after the World Cup finals.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/latest-liverpool-goalkeeper-hunt-two-14817739

elbyrneo

Courtois massively impressed me this world cup. A giant of a keeper, made some fantastic saves and gets down low very quickly for a big man.

Thought he was distinctively average this season for Chelsea but then you could say that for most of the squad.

Highly unlikely i know, but heard was rumours of unhappiness, no champions league football at Chelsea etc. Would prefer him over Alisson from what I've seen.

Agent Coulson

elbyrneo wrote: »

Courtois massively impressed me this world cup. A giant of a keeper, made some fantastic saves and gets down low very quickly for a big man.

Thought he was distinctively average this season for Chelsea but then you could say that for most of the squad.

Highly unlikely i know, but heard was rumours of unhappiness, no champions league football at Chelsea etc. Would prefer him over Alisson from what I've seen.

He wants to move back to Madrid either team as his family live there not in London with him by all accounts I have read..

Mr.H

.red. wrote:

That's a bit harsh, he's just gotten to a world cup final, the pinnacle of any footballers career and gave some back to the media who have ridiculed him before as he's just knocked out their darlings. On his day he can be one of the world's best, but he always has that brain fart moment in him that can ruin the previous 5/6 great games. Hopefully he'll still be smiling come Sunday evening

To be honest he isnt wrong. He has gotten to a champions league and world cup final in one season. The guy has been great his last six months and deserves praise. I kinda love his heel persona anyway lol

Harry Palmr

I'd take a punt on Guillermo Ochoa if World Cup form and availability is the criteria. He plays for Standard Liege for goodness sake.

Mr.H

noodler wrote:

Heading very OT now but Ireland has loads of sports, cricket, tennis, badminton, big athletics scene etc.

But Gaa (both forms) and rugby are absolutely huge.

This is the big issue for ireland.

Look at countries like croatia and uruguay. Similar populations to us more a less but when you filter the other sports we have much less a pool to pick from. Where does countries only really have soccer. Sure they probably have other sports but not to the size of the gaa and rugby for example.

Wales only really have rugby to contend with soccer so again a much bigger percentage of population to choose from.

While percentage of the population is an issue for us you cant ignore the lack of funding in our domestic game. John delaney earns ten times (was the figure. Not sure what it is now but this is just an example) what the league champions earn for being champions. While his job is obviously not just the domestic stuff, this is a huge issue for our game. Even if he cut his wages in half and gave bigger prizes to the league, we would be funding the game better. Also rte should be showing most premier league games live. Let them have it for free so it gets a bigger profile. Clubs will start getting sponsorship from the coverage. Maybe tv figures will encourage others to bid for the rights.

Its sad that our game is just ignored.

Mr.H

Harry Palmr wrote:

I'd take a punt on Guillermo Ochoa if World Cup form and availability is the criteria. He plays for Standard Liege for goodness sake.

Maybe he can get a transfer via standard chartered............


















I dont know if anyone will get that. Dam it mr h you idiot. They loved you and now this.....

BorneTobyWilde

Mr.H wrote: »

Henderson starts whenever he is fit. That wont change. Lallana is a great squad player and would easily get into most premier league first teams

England lost it in midfield last night. Henderson is a great lad, but he won't lead you to Premier League titles, or World Cup victory.
He's a great asset, a squad player, but I'd like an upgrade, and he would probably like first team football.

Cyrus

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

England lost it in midfield last night. Henderson is a great lad, but he won't lead you to Premier League titles, or World Cup victory.
He's a great asset, a squad player, but I'd like an upgrade, and he would probably like first team football.

to be fair, with englands formation it wouldnt matter who he was he was never going to dominate central midfield alone against Rakitic and Modric

he is a good player and more than good enough to start for liverpool

TitianGerm

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

England lost it in midfield last night. Henderson is a great lad, but he won't lead you to Premier League titles, or World Cup victory.
He's a great asset, a squad player, but I'd like an upgrade, and he would probably like first team football.

Henderson fault? Nothing to do with Alli doing his best impression of the Invisible Man or Jesse Lingard offering very little second half?

Harry Palmr

England lost cos they are a GK and 10 willing runners, not a creative player in sight.

SlickRic

Harry Palmr wrote: »

I'd take a punt on Guillermo Ochoa if World Cup form and availability is the criteria. He plays for Standard Liege for goodness sake.

Nope.

He fools us all every 4 years.

elbyrneo

elbyrneo wrote: »

Courtois massively impressed me this world cup. A giant of a keeper, made some fantastic saves and gets down low very quickly for a big man.

Thought he was distinctively average this season for Chelsea but then you could say that for most of the squad.

Highly unlikely i know, but heard was rumours of unhappiness, no champions league football at Chelsea etc. Would prefer him over Alisson from what I've seen.

Agent Coulson wrote: »

He wants to move back to Madrid either team as his family live there not in London with him by all accounts I have read..

Yeah good point.

Hopefully Real make a move soon whether De Gea, Allison, Courtois and it might start a merry go round. If Courtois open to Atletico then Oblak up for grabs too....maybe we just have to wait and see what happens, as we are not the natural first choice for these players......

Sofa Spud

Can't take Courtois seriously - he reminds me of the policeman from Allo' Allo', just waiting for him to say 'Good Moaning' in a ridiculous French accent...

yourdeadwright

Ayone else notice how Pickford was absolved from any criticism this world cup .
His kicking was a farce .

Ste-

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Ayone else notice how Pickford was absolved from any criticism this world cup .
His kicking was a farce .

Saw him knock plenty out for throws alright. I think it was the saves he made gave him prasie and rightfully so but yeah his kicking is terrible.

Chardee MacDennis

Mr.H wrote: »

John delaney earns ten times (was the figure. Not sure what it is now but this is just an example) what the league champions earn for being champions.

4.6 times actually and lets be honest here, while I have little time for John Delaney, what he gets paid would not be anywhere enough to help grass roots football get to where it needs to be. There is not enough money in football in the country to support the game, again coming back to the competition from GAA and Rugby.

Chardee MacDennis

Ste- wrote: »

Saw him knock plenty out for throws alright.

3 times...

Gbear

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

England lost it in midfield last night. Henderson is a great lad, but he won't lead you to Premier League titles, or World Cup victory.
He's a great asset, a squad player, but I'd like an upgrade, and he would probably like first team football.

He won't be alone in midfield, like he was for England.

To be fair, Lingard put in a shift, but he's not really a CM.

Last season, the team that blitzed Roma, City et al. had Jordan Henderson in midfield.

There were issues around breaking teams down and goals from midfield, but that doesn't mean you have to take all your current midfielders out the back and have them shot.
We've signed a more dedicated 6 and a more dedicated 8 with an eye for passes between the lines and much greater ability to dribble and shoot from distance, and we're still on the lookout for a 10.

Henderson will keep getting games because of his engine, his leadership and his capacity to fill in between all the other roles. He'll work in any combination and assuming he's fit, will normally be in there.

Maybe we'd see the odd bit of Fekir/Keita/Fabinho, and that might well be the slickest combination, but what you gain in quality on the ball, you'll lose in legs, and we'll be mighty grateful that we'll have Jordan waiting to come in and up the intensity off the ball.

Harry Palmr

Lose in legs? Keita has four of them at least.

brevity

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Ayone else notice how Pickford was absolved from any criticism this world cup .
His kicking was a farce .

I'll admit I had a wry smile when Mandzukic scored the winner after Pickford roaring at him when Mandzukic was down injured.

Gbear

Chardee MacDennis wrote: »

4.6 times actually and lets be honest here, while I have little time for John Delaney, what he gets paid would not be anywhere enough to help grass roots football get to where it needs to be. There is not enough money in football in the country to support the game, again coming back to the competition from GAA and Rugby.

Leinster, Muster and maybe Ulster are pretty serious organisations, but the club game is tiny in Ireland, from an economic standpoint. Even the provinces are probably somewhere in the League 1 bracket in terms of turnover. The football league TV deal is more than an order of magnitude more than the Pro 14.

I don't believe for a second that the Croatian FA are rolling in cash, except possibly in the sense that they are literally rolling around in loads of embezzled cash, using it as a mattress, while they snort coke off hookers arses.

After Euro 2016 Iceland garnered a lot of attention, and one thing was how their coaches are treated and how many they have.
https://www.dw.com/en/euro-2016-the-numbers-behind-icelands-surprise-success/a-19361967

As of then they had 800 coaches with UEFA licenses, of whom 185 had UEFA A licenses.

The number in Ireland from the same period was 1000 and 300.

So we have fewer than twice as many qualified coaches but we have 15 times the population.

Iceland is presumably more in keeping with countries like the Netherlands, Croatia and Belgium, although I can't find a comprehensive list of numbers of coaches by country.

It really probably isn't that much more complicated. Get good quality coaches from a young age in large numbers -> produce better footballers.

Our weather, the popularity of other sports and so on, are factors, but Ireland are well below the quality of where they should be and are not producing pretty much any top quality footballers. Very few are even competent with the ball at their feet. They mostly fit into the role of the team plodder.

Our "flair" players are mostly kick and chase merchants. Our star striker is a workhorse who can't score goals.

Ireland aren't alone in this - there seems to be a common culture we share with the Brits, that those in Scandinavia and the southern continent generally have progressed from. England are only any better because they have a weight of numbers, but they still have precious little quality in their side.

Agent Coulson

Shaqiri is going to cost most than his buyout clause after Lazio entered the race to sign him according to Maddock who seems to have come to the fore with club news over the last few months.

Chardee MacDennis

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Shaqiri is going to cost most than his buyout clause after Lazio entered the race to sign him according to Maddock who seems to have come to the fore with club news over the last few months.

how does that work?

mosstin

Conte finally sacked. Will expect transfer market to hot up a little more now and with the WC ending.

robwen

BY IAN DOYLE
13:29, 12 JUL 2018UPDATED13:55, 12 JUL 2018

Jurgen Klopp is ready to give Danny Ward an opportunity to prove he can become Liverpool's first-choice goalkeeper.

Klopp has been hugely impressed with Ward since the squad reconvened for pre-season training at the start of the month.

And with Loris Karius continuing to struggle in the wake of his Champions League final nightmare, Ward is now poised to be given an extended chance during pre-season.

Reds boss Klopp has been impressed with the attitude of the 25-year-old Wales international, who is understood to have raised his levels at Melwood in recent weeks.

Now Ward could have forced his way into the box seat between the sticks as the countdown continues to the start of the Premier League season.

Karius has been under intense scrutiny since his two errors during the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in May, with it later emerging he had suffered concussion during the game.

The German appeared nervous during Liverpool's opening pre-season friendly at Chester City last weekend, and was responsible for a poor error in conceding a goal in the 3-2 win at Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday.

By comparison, Ward was a steady influence during his 45-minute appearances in both games, and is now poised to be given increased game time over the coming weeks.

Liverpool continue their preparations at Bury on Saturday before a trip to Blackburn Rovers the following Thursday.

The Reds then fly out for their tour of the United States where they will face Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Manchester United.

With Simon Mignolet unavailable due to World Cup commitments with Belgium, Ward and Karius are the only two senior goalkeepers expected to travel.

Ward made just one appearance for Liverpool last season having spent the previous campaign on loan at Huddersfield Town, who he helped guide to promotion to the Premier League.

Klopp is still considering his goalkeeping options with Mignolet touted for a departure before the transfer window closes next month.

noodler

brevity wrote: »

I'll admit I had a wry smile when Mandzukic scored the winner after Pickford roaring at him when Mandzukic was down injured.

Yeah. Forgot about that.

Fair scummy.

Mr.H

Agent Coulson wrote:

Shaqiri is going to cost most than his buyout clause after Lazio entered the race to sign him according to Maddock who seems to have come to the fore with club news over the last few months.

A buyout clause is a set fee. Once it is met it is activated. The only condition for it was relegation so there is no negotiation. It wont and cant cost more.

54and56

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Shaqiri is going to cost most than his buyout clause after Lazio entered the race to sign him according to Maddock who seems to have come to the fore with club news over the last few months.

If there was competition for him and he does in fact have a buyout clause of £13m why would the clubs pay more than £13m? They can get him out of the contract for £13m and then compete for his services by upping his wages etc. I don't see how Stoke could demand more than the release clause unless it's not actually a release clause!!

retalivity

Lovren wrote:

We went through a lot of ****: war, all these things, and even now the situation is not the best. But it is unbelievable how many talents we have in sport. At basketball, at handball, at water polo, at tennis especially. We have good mothers and fathers, making good love

Potential Underachiever

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Well I hope Lovren wins the World Cup and gives a MOTM performance and then goes on social media and shoves the medal in the face of everyone who has abused him on those platforms.

Do you still want him sold?

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Lovren isn't good enough

Henderson isn't good enough.


Two more positions that need to be replaced with better players

Harry Palmr

Lazio seems to be in danger of becoming the new Fenerbahce.

yourdeadwright

brevity wrote: »

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Ayone else notice how Pickford was absolved from any criticism this world cup .
His kicking was a farce .

I'll admit I had a wry smile when Mandzukic scored the winner after Pickford roaring at him when Mandzukic was down injured.

Ye another thing ITV ever mentioned , That was scum

corwill

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

If there was competition for him and he does in fact have a buyout clause of £13m why would the clubs pay more than £13m? They can get him out of the contract for £13m and then compete for his services by upping his wages etc. I don't see how Stoke could demand more than the release clause unless it's not actually a release clause!!

Entirely dependant on drafting, I wouldn't expect such high value contracts to be off the peg, and a release clause certainly wouldn't be boilerplate. It could be phrased such that the highest bid in excess of a particular amount would have to be accepted, but not necessarily all bids above that amount. I could see the club looking for that sort of condition.

Mr.H

corwill wrote: »

Entirely dependant on drafting, I wouldn't expect such high value contracts to be off the peg, and a release clause certainly wouldn't be boilerplate. It could be phrased such that the highest bid in excess of a particular amount would have to be accepted, but not necessarily all bids above that amount. I could see the club looking for that sort of condition.

the only way i see a club getting more than the release clause if it is a deal paid in installments. Then it could very well go over the amount. But if it was paid up front there would be no stopping it

Agent Coulson

If 5 clubs all offered the release clause in this case we all think it is £13m.


One club could might offer Stoke an extra £1m to be the first club to open discussions with the player to get there offer on the table to him first.

davyboy1975

Think its we are offering the release clause and Wilson going on loan as part of the deal so probably technically taking it over the release clause

corwill

Mr.H wrote: »

the only way i see a club getting more than the release clause if it is a deal paid in installments. Then it could very well go over the amount. But if it was paid up front there would be no stopping it

It's all speculation unless we have sight of the actual clause. Ten different sets of lawyers will draft you ten different clauses, and that's before they take their clients' instructions and start to negotiate with their counterparts. But I certainly wouldn't assume a straightforward trigger in every instance.

~Rebel~

Agent Coulson wrote: »

If 5 clubs all offered the release clause in this case we all think it is £13m.


One club could might offer Stoke an extra £1m to be the first club to open discussions with the player to get there offer on the table to him first.

Once the release clause is met, the club are no longer involved. They have no say in who opens discussions first. All clubs that have met the release clause then deal with the player and his representation directly. if anyone is getting extra money, it'll be the agent, but that's a whole seperate thing from the clubs release clause, and more in the line of signing-on bonuses.

A release clause is the max a club ever receives. Would love to be pointed towards any "highest bid once release clause has been met" cases, but I've never heard of such a thing, and it would defeat the purpose of what the player is negotiating for. They want an escape to be able to go to a bigger club if the opportunity arises, without their own club standing in their way. If a good club offers the release clause, but a mediocre club offers a little more, that screws the player out of what they were going for when negotiating, so makes no sense for them to ever include in their contract. Release clauses are always included from the players point of view, so are always going to reflect their interests.

corwill

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Once the release clause is met, the club are no longer involved. They have no say in who opens discussions first. All clubs that have met the release clause then deal with the player and his representation directly. if anyone is getting extra money, it'll be the agent, but that's a whole seperate thing from the clubs release clause, and more in the line of signing-on bonuses.

A release clause is the max a club ever receives. Would love to be pointed towards any "highest bid once release clause has been met" cases, but I've never heard of such a thing, and it would defeat the purpose of what the player is negotiating for. They want an escape to be able to go to a bigger club if the opportunity arises, without their own club standing in their way. If a good club offers the release clause, but a mediocre club offers a little more, that screws the player out of what they were going for when negotiating, so makes no sense for them to ever include in their contract. Release clauses are always included from the players point of view, so are always going to reflect their interests.

If it was that standardised and automated, Suarez would have been togging out at Ashburton Grove in August 2013. Everything you say makes sense if one assumes a competently represented player making full use of their bargaining power, but that's an assumption.

rob316

I don't wear jerseys as I'm a grown up but I'd almost buy the 3rd kit. Lovely looking the red and grey combo is.

rob316

The release clause is exactly that, the amount needed to release the player from his contract. Player is free to talk to anyone willing to meet it. It doesn't matter what is offered to Stoke extra, it's up to the player.

cj maxx

rob316 wrote: »

The release clause is exactly that, the amount needed to release the player from his contract. Player is free to talk to anyone willing to meet it. It doesn't matter what is offered to Stoke extra, it's up to the player.

That would be my thinking on it . If the player was bought out of his contract , he is free to register with another club ?

Agent Coulson

Ward to be give his chance according to the Echo.

ricero

Reeks of penny pinching if true.

All 3 of our goalkeepers are not good enough imo. Cash needs to splashed on a top class number 1.

Agent Coulson

Did you ever think it might be just to put him in the shop window to get a bigger transfer fee instead of penny pinching?

machiavellianme

Ward as number 1? I can get behind that. Even if he makes the odd mistake, at least he looks like he's bothered about doing a job in goal and not just there to look pretty and play with his hair.

But only until a serious upgrade is found!