Liverpool FC Forum

[redmikey]

great post ciggy.

i agree 100% but would love us to have more cash to be able to compete for big names if rafa wants them.

you get far more from a player from the academy and we need to produce some more as it has dried up under houiller, roy evans had a good eye for young talent, what is he up to now?

chelski are proudest of there thugs and it will take years to shake that out of the fans which won't happen because roman will get bored and go and buy a F1 team, and they will be up the creak then

[48-1119859832]

Chelsea will sign Ballack for the same reason they signed SWP....no else can have him.

Yep, that pretty much sums up Chelsea's game plan. Altho I have no sympathy for players like SWP who continuously sit on the subs bench week in week out 'n' comes on as the occasional half time substitue. It's just a key indicator that a lot of footballers care more about money than about playing football.

I hope that Chelsea keep signing player after player after player of a high class, because it means they will crumble like Madrid.

As for Ballack, Chelsea can have him, I'd stick with Gerrard.

[redmikey]

ballack will make no impression at chelski. but if he is coming to the epl i'm glad it is there. arrogant boxhead can stew in the squad on 121k a week.

SWP he took the golden hand that was offered instead of staying at a club where he was loved and playing every week. he will rot away until his contract is up because chelski don't need to sell. ah well greedy boy you got what you deserved, i think the main reason gerrard didn't go is the whole attitude coming from chelski, that includes the fans the manager players and roman moneybags.

[gato_busta]

Great read. Chelsea is a team that leads itself to be hated. The article says that Barcelona is also a rich team but they BECAME a rich team by marketing the team and players and playing possibly the best football in the world. Chelsea on the other hand just have a millionaire that brings out his checkbook when Mr. special one wants to buy something. It's like the little kid that cries in the the store until his father buys him the toy he wants, disgusting.

Another thing is the ammount they pay for players. Barcelona got Ronaldinho for 25 million Euro (17 million pounds is it?). That was only a couple of years ago. Chelsea Bought SWP (a player they did not need) for 21 million pounds. Now, is SWP really valued higher that Ronaldinho? 

[Homebooby]

Great post Ciggy... 

I think it is funny that Maureen will never really be given the acholade that any other manager would get for winning the premiership the first 2 years he has been at a club.

This must really eat him up!

in response to the above comment and the general theme of the thread, I think it really depends on the strategy that they decide to employ now and over the coming 10 - 20 years. I don't necessarily think that it was the wrong tactic, although I can believe that achievements must feel a lot more hollow for them. I also have my doubts that Ambramovich will be around that long, but the key to it all is sustainability.

Forgetting whether you agree with it or not, 3 years ago Utd had the stranglehold on the premiership and were more or less in the same position as chelsea of being able to outbid any premiership team for a player. Chelseas strategy just upped the stakes to a point where the rest of the world can't keep up without resorting to similar tactics, or playing very heavily on their history (if they have one to be proud of). The play in the style that they do precisely because they have just bought the biggest names and put them on a park together. It isn't unlike what previous managers at Chelsea were trying to do, Maureen is just a little more shrewd and cynical. I don't blame him either as I wouldn't fancy being on the wrong side of Abramovich.

Terry and Lampard are evidence enough of the value of homegrown talent and they have the ability now if they are smart to invest v. heavily in academy facilities. My guess is that that is already in action and you'll see that filtering through in 5 - 10 years.

In find it funny that the old days are looked on as golden for their fans now when all I seem to remember is an expensive unperforming team with a large thug element to its' fan base.

We have to look at Liverpool as a business as that is the world in which it operates and provided that investment doesn't swing the balance of influence away from the 'soul'of LFC, I don't see it being a problem. We need to be smart about it and ensure that we are in a position to compete financially where necessary.

For instance, taking info from another thread where LFC debts were being discussed, it was mentioned that ManU earn almost twice what we earn on a weekly basis from tkt sales. In order to compete, we need to be able to gross similar amounts of money. A new stadium needs to be financed in order to achieve that. I don't see why we have to sell off a large part of LFC in order to achieve that. I know people want good returns and fast on their investments, but surely it must be possible to agree a deal whereby some of the returns from the extra tkt sales from the new stadium can go towards paying off the debt?

That way you don't sacrifice your club and you develop resources to allow further growth. Imagine what we could do on double the tkt money.

[Homebooby]

Chelsea will sign Ballack for the same reason they signed SWP....no else can have him.

Yep, that pretty much sums up Chelsea's game plan. Altho I have no sympathy for players like SWP who continuously sit on the subs bench week in week out 'n' comes on as the occasional half time substitue. It's just a key indicator that a lot of footballers care more about money than about playing football.

I hope that Chelsea keep signing player after player after player of a high class, because it means they will crumble like Madrid.

As for Ballack, Chelsea can have him, I'd stick with Gerrard.

I dunno. A footballers life is short and the rewards are massive at the moment. You're a young guy and offered the keys to the kingdom. Would you really be strong enough not to want to be a part of it (bear in mind that not everyone can play for their own team), earn your fortune, secure your future and still potentially have the legs to go onto other clubs in a couple of years time.

It's a cynical world, but I think a lot of people would do the same. I would have to have a loooong think myself.