The Liverpool Thread

[*Jones*]

I hate feeling like we're over-paying, which is exactly what we're doing - based slightly on the fact they're English.

I don't mind Downing so much, as we need a winger - but anything more than £12M is a joke IMO. & If we sell Meireles to sign Adam - I'll be ****** off, he was pretty good under Dalglish last season, and is much better than Charlie ******* Adam.

 

[Steve*]

I agree, Id rather keep Raul and miss out on Charlie. Also think we overpayed on Henderson....

Heres what Tony Barratt had to say:

Meireles could be sold he plays in a same position ad Gerrard and appart from 5 goals he scored in 1-2 months he hasnt done too much.#LFC doesnt see him as a goalscorer even tho he scored 5 goals hes not a goalscoring midfielder he didnt do that regularly during the season

 

[Mike.]

I hate feeling like we're over-paying, which is exactly what we're doing - based slightly on the fact they're English.

I don't mind Downing so much, as we need a winger - but anything more than £12M is a joke IMO. & If we sell Meireles to sign Adam - I'll be ****** off, he was pretty good under Dalglish last season, and is much better than Charlie ******* Adam.

why? considering Villa dont have to sell, why on earth would they accept 12m? Tbh Raul and Charlie will rotate, and the former isnt actually that good

---------- Post added at 01:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 AM ----------

adam has a better goal record, assist record, and key pass record than meireles, better shots per game record, and better aerial duel record, he was better in attack and slight better in defence... and thats while playing for blackpool

 

[GodCubed]

why? considering Villa dont have to sell, why on earth would they accept 12m?

Exactly. He cost 12 mil when he was playing for a Championship team, with no England career in sight, with a broken foot that would keep him out for 6 months.

If I were McLeish, I'd say to Liverpool to match our valuation of £20 mil or go away. Likewise, I'd tell Downing that he has two years to run on his contract, and that he was staying unless Liverpool match aforementioned price. Shame it isn't up to me...

 

[Mike.]

Exactly. He cost 12 mil when he was playing for a Championship team, with no England career in sight, with a broken foot that would keep him out for 6 months.

If I were McLeish, I'd say to Liverpool to match our valuation of £20 mil or go away. Likewise, I'd tell Downing that he has two years to run on his contract, and that he was staying unless Liverpool match aforementioned price. Shame it isn't up to me...

12m is even more ridiculous when you look at his record this season, as you know all too well (for others see my earlier post about what he could bring)

 

[Craig01]

I appreciate this may have been much earlier on in the thread, but does anyone understand the reasoning behind signing Henderson for what was it, close to 20m?

I don't understand why so many people dislike Charlie Adam coming to Liverpool, he's a class act and proved his worth throughout the season with Blackpool, I was disappointed we missed out of him in the January transfer window and have been surprised he hasn't been linked with too many other clubs. Anything around the 10m mark is a good price for him IMO.

Downing would be a really good signing, I was hoping we'd manage to get Ashley Young but he was destined for Man Utd. Mata, as I said earlier, I just can't see it coming off - why wouldn't he want to go to Arsenal instead?

It would be nice to see a few exciting players coming in that can work well with Gerrard and Suarez. I'm really looking forward to next season. Can't say I'm not worried about all of this money we're spending though, where is it all coming from?

 

[Steve*]

It would be nice to see a few exciting players coming in that can work well with Gerrard and Suarez. I'm really looking forward to next season. Can't say I'm not worried about all of this money we're spending though, where is it all coming from?

Well we had our debts wrote off except for a small service debt. So the money we have been spending on intrest payments is now free. Also worth noting is that since Ian Ayre joined the club our comercial revenues are up 88%. We are getting good sponsorships now and this should free up about 40-50 M each year for transfers once wages dont go up too much. Also worth noting that our net spend is about 20M so far since FSG took over as the torres and Babel sale almost balanced the books in january. Esentially were not getting loans to pursew our targets. Also in modern football most transfer fees are spread out over a few years and also performance related. Its not as if we spent 16M upfront on henderson.

Also im glad to see that we didnt get Ashley Young, Downing is a more influential player now and is better all round.

Peoples problem with Adam coming is down to the fact that Raul could have to leave for us to buy Charlie.

 

[Mike.]

I appreciate this may have been much earlier on in the thread, but does anyone understand the reasoning behind signing Henderson for what was it, close to 20m?

I don't understand why so many people dislike Charlie Adam coming to Liverpool, he's a class act and proved his worth throughout the season with Blackpool, I was disappointed we missed out of him in the January transfer window and have been surprised he hasn't been linked with too many other clubs. Anything around the 10m mark is a good price for him IMO.

Downing would be a really good signing, I was hoping we'd manage to get Ashley Young but he was destined for Man Utd. Mata, as I said earlier, I just can't see it coming off - why wouldn't he want to go to Arsenal instead?

It would be nice to see a few exciting players coming in that can work well with Gerrard and Suarez. I'm really looking forward to next season. Can't say I'm not worried about all of this money we're spending though, where is it all coming from?

Jordan Henderson- What Will His Game Give Liverpool? - WhoScored.com

 

[Ride The Walrus]

The hype around Meireles is phenomenal undeserved, he's actually been pretty poor for most of the season. Played out of position, admittedly.

 

[GodCubed]

Also im glad to see that we didnt get Ashley Young, Downing is a more influential player now and is better all round.

Explain? I'm interested.

 

[Steve*]

Explain? I'm interested.

Well if you look over this thread about a month ago i have discussed this already but basically:
Downing is a "proper" winger. In my opinion Young would be happier in the hole behind the strikers than on the wing. Even Capello came out and said something similar about the chap.
Young has an odd spark of brilliance but has been off form for the best part of 2 seasons. People could question his desire or ambition or perhaps he peaked too young?
Whereas Downing has done well this season even if the team around him seem to struggle.
From watching Downing he never stops trying and seems to be more of a team player.

Both players on there day are great but the fact is that Downing outperforms Young most games. He also has a sweeter delivery on crosses.

 

[GodCubed]

Well if you look over this thread about a month ago i have discussed this already but basically:
Downing is a "proper" winger. In my opinion Young would be happier in the hole behind the strikers than on the wing. Even Capello came out and said something similar about the chap.
Young has an odd spark of brilliance but has been off form for the best part of 2 seasons. People could question his desire or ambition or perhaps he peaked too young?
Whereas Downing has done well this season even if the team around him seem to struggle.
From watching Downing he never stops trying and seems to be more of a team player.

Both players on there day are great but the fact is that Downing outperforms Young most games. He also has a sweeter delivery on crosses.

Can't disagree re. proper wingers, though Downing's remodelled his game and become a much more complete player than he used to be. Howevaaarrr...

Young never stops trying; his work rate is excellent. (As is Downing's, of course) I'd argue they're relatively similar in terms of teamwork. To say that Downing outperforms Young most games is a bit bonkers though, considering Young's been consistently excellent for about four seasons in the Prem and Downing has had 2 seasons with us. Of those two seasons, half of one he was injured, the other half of the same season he was truly *****, and it has only been this season he's been any good. I'd also argue about Downing's crossing being better than Young, I'd argue they were about on a par (i.e. worse than Albrighton )

Reckon that out of the two, Downing would suit you better. That said, he's much more of a **** than Young. Oh, and god forbid you ever try and make him tackle anyone.

 

[Ben]

I cannot believe there are Liverpool fans actually doubting Kenny Dalglish. Fair enough, had we finished mid-table, Suarez flopped and Torres excelled for Chelsea. But everything he has done so far has been spot on, Liverpool is buzzing atm, but there is the odd supporter who cannot stop moaning. Whether it be about Charlie Adam, not signing Aguero or ******* Mata, overpaying on players, not signing enough players yet. Make a judgment in January, how anyone can doubt him yet is actually beyond me, and I am fairly critical about LFC.

 

[Steve*]

Excuse me Ben, i dont think any of us want to be ******* Mata But yeah, i think Kenny has shown his quality already and we should just sit back and enjoy the summer as Kenny will do the best he can. Suprised about being linked with so many midfielders but Kennys the boss and surely knows what he is doing.

 

[CalumE5]

Can't disagree re. proper wingers, though Downing's remodelled his game and become a much more complete player than he used to be. Howevaaarrr...

Young never stops trying; his work rate is excellent. (As is Downing's, of course) I'd argue they're relatively similar in terms of teamwork. To say that Downing outperforms Young most games is a bit bonkers though, considering Young's been consistently excellent for about four seasons in the Prem and Downing has had 2 seasons with us. Of those two seasons, half of one he was injured, the other half of the same season he was truly *****, and it has only been this season he's been any good. I'd also argue about Downing's crossing being better than Young, I'd argue they were about on a par (i.e. worse than Albrighton )

Reckon that out of the two, Downing would suit you better. That said, he's much more of a **** than Young. Oh, and god forbid you ever try and make him tackle anyone.

This. Liverpool need a proper winger and have done for some time. I saw over on a different forum some people saying that when we had Riera, a proper winger who wasn't even that good, it made a huge difference to our side purely because of the extra width. Young wouldn't have given us that width, Downing will. Downing is undoubtedly better than Riera, so the benefits he would bring would be countless!

That's why I think that if we can get Downing for the same price as United got Young, we would have the better deal. To pay £16/17m for a player in the last year of his contract and didn't have his best season was great business from Villa. Personally, I'd welcome Downing with open arms.

 

[*Jones*]

Damien Comolli stated upon completing the Henderson deal: “If a player is English or British or has played in the Premier League we’ll look at that over someone who is abroad.” That is quite frankly a myopic approach that could seriously land the club in hot water in years to come. In five years time Liverpool could either be one of the top two sides in the country or the most expensively assembled collection of wasted talent to have ever graced the top flight. The margins are very thin and they are gambling with the club’s financial future both on and off the pitch.
A player’s nationality should not be the be all and end all behind a deal, especially at the extravagant prices that Liverpool are being quoted for players that are relatively unproven, particularly at the highest level. Quality on the pitch and not a passport should be the overriding factor behind any move and the salient point that you simply get more bang for your buck abroad than at home is one that’s worth remembering.
These are exciting times for Liverpool, let’s make no bones about that. Dalglish has reinvigorated the club both on and off the pitch, but whether the transfer policy that he’s currently overseeing represents both value for money and offers the club the best route forward in the immediete future remains to be seen.

From an article i've just read - some of the points he raises are very true.

 

[Fraz100]

From an article i've just read - some of the points he raises are very true.

"Yes and no. It's not because a player is English and young that we are going to go for him. We go for a player because he ticks all the boxes. It's what we need at this time in this window. If a player is English or British or has played in the Premier League we'll look at that over someone who is abroad but it could be any nationality as long as they tick the boxes and is what we need for this window and going forward."

Thats what Comoli said a while ago.
What he is saying that if there are two players and one of them is british and the other not and they have the same quality we will go for the british player.

 

[Mike.]

From an article i've just read - some of the points he raises are very true.

thats only half the quote. You never answered my question as to who you think you can be targeting

---------- Post added at 07:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:17 PM ----------

I cannot believe there are Liverpool fans actually doubting Kenny Dalglish. Fair enough, had we finished mid-table, Suarez flopped and Torres excelled for Chelsea. But everything he has done so far has been spot on, Liverpool is buzzing atm, but there is the odd supporter who cannot stop moaning. Whether it be about Charlie Adam, not signing Aguero or ******* Mata, overpaying on players, not signing enough players yet. Make a judgment in January, how anyone can doubt him yet is actually beyond me, and I am fairly critical about LFC.

we're not even in july yet. Considering how well you ended the season (Only United had better form) any criticism is at best, ridiculously short-sighted

 

[Dobcheev]

From an article i've just read - some of the points he raises are very true.

I think our mutual friend Comolli has come to the conclusion that concentrating on Brits has become a poisoned chalice; domestic rivals don't want to sell to us or prices quoted are proving prohibitive (Henderson being a case in point regarding his reported fee), hence the lack of movement thus far in the transfer window. The Adam situation is being drawn out due to Blackpool's reluctance to sell, to us at any rate, and AV are asking more than LFC are prepared to pay, for now anyway, & is also complicated by the fact that they are reluctant sellers in the first place so the haggling continues.

The fact is that players moving between Premiership clubs are ****** affairs with inflated fees being demanded & bad feeling between the seller & the buyer generated. Buying British is all very fine in principle but difficult to implement in practice at the highest level. I expect that, come July 1st, LFC - through Comolli - will follow the path of least resistance & start to recruit from abroad.

 

[*Jones*]

thats only half the quote. You never answered my question as to who you think you can be targeting

---------- Post added at 07:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:17 PM ----------




we're not even in july yet. Considering how well you ended the season (Only United had better form) any criticism is at best, ridiculously short-sighted

Yes I did? I said we should be targeting players of Suarez' quality. Not players with 'potential' for inflated fees.