Football 2014/15

[mrtourette]

It's not unusual.

[eFestivals]

You are Tom Jones and I claim my five pounds.

[kaosmark2]

Shaw, £27m + addons.

Fucking hell that's a lot for a left back!

[Essex_George]

Shaw, £27m + addons.

Fucking hell that's a lot for a left back!

A very young and pretty unproven left back.

[thetime]

Shaw, £27m + addons.

Fucking hell that's a lot for a left back!

It's about time united bid the actual asking price, rather than bidding couple of million below valuation. Likes of Southampton don't need to sell nowadays, so takes big offers to get there players.

Plenty more signings to come...

[pink_triangle]

Its a lot of money, however at least as a left back you aren't judged heavily on statistics (unlike forwards being judged on goals), so there is often more time to adapt before the questions start being asked.

I heard Liverpool have been linked with Belgium forward from yesterday, cant remember his name but he looked lively.

[lost]

I heard Liverpool have been linked with Belgium forward from yesterday, cant remember his name but he looked lively.

Origi for £6m in the express? Makes Lukaku look a bit expensive.

Edited June 28, 2014 by lost

[pink_triangle]

Origi for £6m in the express? Makes Lukaku look a bit expensive.

With lukaku a premium comes with the track record for scoring goals, origi doesn't have that.

[hot_ice]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27647888

Seems a waste of money in my view, In the sense, i think Liverpool could of spent the money in other positions,

No doubting lallana quality though

[pink_triangle]

There's every doubting his quality in big games, as he hasn't played in many. Some flourish after a step up, just as many (if not more) find themselves out of their depth. Lallana is an odd player as he is treated like a 21 year old when the reality is he is already in his peak years.

[eFestivals]

There's every doubting his quality in big games, as he hasn't played in many. Some flourish after a step up, just as many (if not more) find themselves out of their depth. Lallana is an odd player as he is treated like a 21 year old when the reality is he is already in his peak years.

I suspect he's a bit like Lambert, able to keep stepping up a level when given the opportunity - but we've yet to see if he's got another level in him. Perhaps he hasn't.

There's a bit of risk in there at that price, but I'd say that risk is offset by his potential.

[pink_triangle]

I suspect he's a bit like Lambert, able to keep stepping up a level when given the opportunity - but we've yet to see if he's got another level in him. Perhaps he hasn't.

There's a bit of risk in there at that price, but I'd say that risk is offset by his potential.

I gut instinct is he will be a solid squad player like Danny Murphy. I think the biggest risk is it could push coutinio back and I feel he has more potential, although you get the feeling he will always be an afterthought at Liverpool.

[eFestivals]

Seems a waste of money in my view, In the sense, i think Liverpool could of spent the money in other positions,

I'm not sure about that.

The defence is dodgy, but it's also got a lot of dodgy covering players of around the same quality as the first choice four too.

Whereas many of the players further forward have only got sub-standard cover compared to the first choices, and with the extra games Liverpool will play this season they need more covering players for those at around the same level.

(that's not me saying that I expect Lallana to only be cover, btw. Perhaps one of the existings will become cover for him).

It probably all becomes a bit academic if Suarez goes tho, cos I'm not sure they'll be able to buy enough oooomph in any shape or form to be able to keep their top 4 place.

[mrtourette]

It's an alarming amount of money.

[pink_triangle]

I'm not sure about that.

The defence is dodgy, but it's also got a lot of dodgy covering players of around the same quality as the first choice four too.

Whereas many of the players further forward have only got sub-standard cover compared to the first choices, and with the extra games Liverpool will play this season they need more covering players for those at around the same level.

(that's not me saying that I expect Lallana to only be cover, btw. Perhaps one of the existings will become cover for him).

It probably all becomes a bit academic if Suarez goes tho, cos I'm not sure they'll be able to buy enough oooomph in any shape or form to be able to keep their top 4 place.

I think in terms of defending the midfielders are as much a problem as the defenders as last season they offered little support.

[eFestivals]

I think in terms of defending the midfielders are as much a problem as the defenders as last season they offered little support.

yeah, perhaps.

I was merely saying why I thought Rodgers might see the midfield as an area that needs strengthening. I think it's not much different to why Lambert was bought: there's a big drop in quality between the first-choicers and the covering players (which is less the case for the defence).

I don't disagree that there's plenty of other issues in the squad that need addressing too - but I do see how getting decent cover where there wasn't before is one of the issues, and one of the bigger issues. They're unlikely to be as lucky with injuries for two seasons on the trot, particularly with extra games to play.

For all the while they have Suarez they can probably ride out those other issues, on a "we'll score more than you" basis. Trying to patch the problems in one window if they lose him isn't going to be possible, I don't think, even with the massive wedge they'd have to spend.

[the_hedge]

I personally think LFC have paid 10m too much for him. Only time will tell but I think it may be a bad signing. Hope I'm wrong.

[kaosmark2]

Depends how much money Liverpool still have to spend.

[eFestivals]

Depends how much money Liverpool still have to spend.

i think I saw claims of around £100M around the end of the season.

They've spent £30M so far (unless anything has passed me by?). They've got a few to sell (Reina, Borrini, etc), so there might be more than £100M.

They're gonna need at least the £100M to make sure they stay in the top 4, I reckon.

[hot_ice]

i think I saw claims of around £100M around the end of the season.

They've spent £30M so far (unless anything has passed me by?). They've got a few to sell (Reina, Borrini, etc), so there might be more than £100M.

They're gonna need at least the £100M to make sure they stay in the top 4, I reckon.

I guess a lot depends on suarez, if they sell him that should be at least £60m (could be higher) but then begs the question, who do they get to replace him? i can sense another situation like carroll

[eFestivals]

I guess a lot depends on suarez, if they sell him that should be at least £60m (could be higher) but then begs the question, who do they get to replace him? i can sense another situation like carroll

yeah, if they sell Suarez they'll be a bit fucked. They'll need to spend every penny on top of all other business, and will probably still end up with a hugely worse team.

But if they are going to sell him they'll perhaps get it done sooner rather than later. Given how they managed to hold on to him last summer and him, signing a new contract since, I can't see them selling on the last day of the window.

Edited July 1, 2014 by eFestivals

[pink_triangle]

yeah, if they sell Suarez they'll be a bit fucked. They'll need to spend every penny on top of all other business, and will probably still end up with a hugely worse team.

But if they are going to sell him they'll perhaps get it done sooner rather than later. Given how they managed to hold on to him last summer and him, signing a new contract since, I can't see them selling on the last day of the window.

If they sell Suarez they will probably need a bit of fortune in the transfer market. Suarez is probably one of the top 5 attacking players in the world. If you look at the top 20 best attacking players in the world, then take out those not available, then take out those who wouldn't want to play for Liverpool, theres probably not a huge amount of players left. They probably wont find anyone on the "sure thing" level of Suarez, but should take confidence that Suarez wasn't a "sure thing" when he joined.

[kaosmark2]

If they sell Suarez they will probably need a bit of fortune in the transfer market. Suarez is probably one of the top 5 attacking players in the world. If you look at the top 20 best attacking players in the world, then take out those not available, then take out those who wouldn't want to play for Liverpool, theres probably not a huge amount of players left. They probably wont find anyone on the "sure thing" level of Suarez, but should take confidence that Suarez wasn't a "sure thing" when he joined.

Noone is a sure thing. Shevchenko, Crespo, Essien, Raul, Forlan, Morientes. There's a huge list of great players, who've spent a large part of their career being one of the best in the world at their position, completely flopping after a move.

[pink_triangle]

Noone is a sure thing. Shevchenko, Crespo, Essien, Raul, Forlan, Morientes. There's a huge list of great players, who've spent a large part of their career being one of the best in the world at their position, completely flopping after a move.

True, but a player like ronaldo would be about as close to a "sure thing" as you can get. Trouble is they could never get him.

[thetime]

So Suarez is signing for Barcelona. A player banned from football, signing for a club banned from transfer activity.