Liverpool FC Forum

[Dundalk]

I see what you mean

[aCe']

PRENTIS EXPLAINS WHY ALONSO WONT BE A GREAT LOSS.

i thought the guy made sense, regardless of whether hes a 'bitter toffee' or not... isnt that what we've been saying for a while now ?! about the wide positions, not enough through the middle...etc etc...

So did I mate, but you have to doubt anything a bluenose tells you  Funny he didn't mention us signing Screech.

you know... fck this whole Alonso thing... cant even be bothered checking this thread anymore... will just be waiting for the BBC sports page to report his move to Madrid...
for what its worth, i think we'll see a player exchange deal ... If Alonso leaves, we'd still NEED to sign a central midfielder to replace him, a backup forward, and a backup CB.... thats atleast 3 players to sign with about 2weeks till the start of the season...

if we can get around 20mill and Sneijder it would be excellent business... use that money to bring in a backup forward and a CB...

ideally we would have been looking to sign a Silva or some other sort of world class attacking but at this point im not so sure that would be the ideal situation.. i mean, Kuyt wont be losing his spot, Riera to me is good enough, Gerrard and Torres upfront ... Maybe it wouldnt be such a bad idea if we just bring in a replacement for Xabi and focus on wrapping up deals for backup players in needed positions... if we lose Torres to injury, even if we have a Silva in the side, it would be a massive blow to our title chances given the backup we have for that position atm...

[stmichael]

What is the point of reading any accounts of why Xabi has left? It makes me laugh when people who have never managed in their lives sit there and actually patronise our manager who's won 2 La Liga's, 1 Copa Del Ray, 1 European Cup and 1 FA Cup in the last 5 years.

Listen, the guy wanted to leave and that's the end of it. Ok the timing was pretty shitty but for Gods sake we're Liverpool Football Club. We've lost far better players in the past and moved on.

Anybody who now slags the guy of is not a true fan. The whole issue has been a conmplete farce.

[Dundalk]

Listen, the guy wanted to leave and that's the end of it. Ok the timing was pretty shitty but for Gods sake we're Liverpool Football Club. We've lost far better players in the past and moved on.

Anybody who now slags the guy of is not a true fan. The whole issue has been a conmplete farce.

Couldnt agree more

Well said

[Emerald Red]

Aquilani is Rafa's main target replacement. If we get him I'll be over the moon. He's f*cking quality.

[ribenaboy]

nnooooooo xabi!!
we need to sign someone equally good!

[100-1247207744]

What is the point of reading any accounts of why Xabi has left? It makes me laugh when people who have never managed in their lives sit there and actually patronise our manager who's won 2 La Liga's, 1 Copa Del Ray, 1 European Cup and 1 FA Cup in the last 5 years.

Listen, the guy wanted to leave and that's the end of it. Ok the timing was pretty shitty but for Gods sake we're Liverpool Football Club. We've lost far better players in the past and moved on.

Anybody who now slags the guy of is not a true fan. The whole issue has been a conmplete farce.

He is better than we thought, he has managed to win two spanish titles and one spanish cup whilst managing in England for the past 5 years, all hail rafa

[LFC2007]

He's copy and pasted an eejit, Rafa never even won the Copa Del Rey

[Sabre]

The guys at As seem to be on the know about how Liverpool - Real Madrid negotiations are going. Apparently the two clubs have extended themselves the deadline to negotiate until monday. In that day they'll decide a move or cancel it definitely.

According to AS Liverpool demanded through Purslow 35M € + 5M € for objectives, and Real Madrid are offering 25M €. Real Madrid are willing to include Van der Vaart OR Huntelaar OR Negredo in the operation, but Liverpool are reluctant to accept a player in the negotiations, apparently we want cash.

As do not see the deal as done, and to get things worse they say, Mou's team and City are about to put a bigger offer on the table.

Apparently aswell, what we want to complete the squad are a winger, a striker, and a midfielder if Alonso goes. They add that the striker we are seeking is not a striker to form a partnership with Torres, but a striker to replace him when he's not available (a criteria I agree BTW).

So we won't have a resolution to the saga until Monday I guess. But it's good to know Mr Purslow keeps increasing his fame as a tough negotiator in Madrid. They are even making profiles about his career, I didn't know Mr Purslow studied in Harvard and Cambridge, and I didn't know he was a season ticket holder (I think it's good to know what's the game about and not only business) and a red.

I'm dissapointed with Alonso (without any need to slag him off), but at least I'm happy Purslow is defending our interests with dignity.

[100-1247207744]

To be honest I am amazed that some people actually think the players or the manager have any loyalty with the club (apart from gerrard and carragher). people need to stop thinking about how they feel as fans and realise that for the players this is simply a job and no different from moving to pepsi from coca cola. it is laughable when fans buy into all the rubbish spouted about loving the fans and loving the city, they tell you what you want to hear and then will happily move on when the money is more.

In this case however alonso has every right to go after the shabby treatment he received last summer, benitez is to man management what ronaldo is to hetrosexualtity.

Good luck to the guy, and arbeloa. Now just make sure we get what he is worth

[Toffeehater]

Aquilani is Rafa's main target replacement. If we get him I'll be over the moon. He's f*cking quality.

Yeap we need someone to keep aurelio company in the treatment room

[bigmick]

As the new season looms ever larger on the horizon, I wonder. We kick off in about three weeks or so, and so far the Summer has been a strange one. We have bought Glen Johnson for 19 million quid which most people consider to be at best top dollar, at worst extortionate. We have sold Arbeloa for 3.5 mill, and most people consider that we have been ripped off. We are on the verge of selling Alonso seemingly against our will and presumeably at a cut price having been outmanoevred by circumstance, and will be left in a desperate hurry trying to sign some kind of replacement. Meanwhile, depsite it being glaringly obvious that we need at the very least another centre half, and in all probability another striker/winger as well it seems that we are approaching the starting blocks still not having signed either. 

How things have changed since "fecking Parry " was around.

[JoeTerp]

According to AS Liverpool demanded through Purslow 35M € + 5M € for objectives, and Real Madrid are offering 25M €. Real Madrid are willing to include Van der Vaart OR Huntelaar OR Negredo in the operation, but Liverpool are reluctant to accept a player in the negotiations, apparently we want cash.

Apparently aswell, what we want to complete the squad are a winger, a striker, and a midfielder if Alonso goes. They add that the striker we are seeking is not a striker to form a partnership with Torres, but a striker to replace him when he's not available (a criteria I agree BTW).

don't KJH and Negredo fit the bill as someone who can fill in for Torres?  Theoretically it makes sense to try and include some players in the deal because it cuts down on the time to go and negotiate with another club, PLUS Madrid are going to be forced to undervalue their payers in sales because their squad is so bloated

I wonder if its a case of Madrid attaching too much value to their players or if Rafa just doesn't rate them at fitting in with our style?

Don't know why Metzelder hasn't been mentioned at all as a potential makeweight in the deal. He would offer size and experience to shore up all 4 CB slots. Or Torres because he can replace Arbeloa as someone that could cover both fullback positions.




I am going to interpret the situation as Rafa has some very specific replacements that we wants to bring in, and a good idea of what they will all cost, and its likely to be 30 mill + whatever we have left.  But there is always a premium that you have to pay when you have specific wants, meaning that we aren't going to beat the market with the prices we pay for our players (i.e. Johnson) but they will fit the system to such an ideal that it will be worth either paying over the odds or passing up a "bargain" circle to fit into our square hole

[bigmick]

According to AS Liverpool demanded through Purslow 35M € + 5M € for objectives, and Real Madrid are offering 25M €. Real Madrid are willing to include Van der Vaart OR Huntelaar OR Negredo in the operation, but Liverpool are reluctant to accept a player in the negotiations, apparently we want cash.

Apparently aswell, what we want to complete the squad are a winger, a striker, and a midfielder if Alonso goes. They add that the striker we are seeking is not a striker to form a partnership with Torres, but a striker to replace him when he's not available (a criteria I agree BTW).

don't KJH and Negredo fit the bill as someone who can fill in for Torres?  Theoretically it makes sense to try and include some players in the deal because it cuts down on the time to go and negotiate with another club, PLUS Madrid are going to be forced to undervalue their payers in sales because their squad is so bloated

I wonder if its a case of Madrid attaching too much value to their players or if Rafa just doesn't rate them at fitting in with our style?

Don't know why Metzelder hasn't been mentioned at all as a potential makeweight in the deal. He would offer size and experience to shore up all 4 CB slots. Or Torres because he can replace Arbeloa as someone that could cover both fullback positions.

There's no doubt in my mind that if you are looking for "a deal", you've got much the best chance of getting a good one if you consider taking some players in exchange. I can't really offer an opinion on either Negredo or Hunterlaar though as I've barely seen the Dutchman play, and have never seen the other bloke. Sneijder I think is a good player and perhaps the type to be our more attacking replacement for Alonso. It would as you say Joe also cut down on the "fecking about" factor, in that it'd be done and then we could get on with preparing for the new season. 

The last thing we need now is to get 28 mill for Alonso (I don't think we will but anyway), then go to Roma or whoever it is this Aquilini bloke plays for, only to find out they ain't selling for less than 32 as we're desperate.

[JoeTerp]

According to AS Liverpool demanded through Purslow 35M € + 5M € for objectives, and Real Madrid are offering 25M €. Real Madrid are willing to include Van der Vaart OR Huntelaar OR Negredo in the operation, but Liverpool are reluctant to accept a player in the negotiations, apparently we want cash.

Apparently aswell, what we want to complete the squad are a winger, a striker, and a midfielder if Alonso goes. They add that the striker we are seeking is not a striker to form a partnership with Torres, but a striker to replace him when he's not available (a criteria I agree BTW).

don't KJH and Negredo fit the bill as someone who can fill in for Torres?  Theoretically it makes sense to try and include some players in the deal because it cuts down on the time to go and negotiate with another club, PLUS Madrid are going to be forced to undervalue their payers in sales because their squad is so bloated

I wonder if its a case of Madrid attaching too much value to their players or if Rafa just doesn't rate them at fitting in with our style?

Don't know why Metzelder hasn't been mentioned at all as a potential makeweight in the deal. He would offer size and experience to shore up all 4 CB slots. Or Torres because he can replace Arbeloa as someone that could cover both fullback positions.

There's no doubt in my mind that if you are looking for "a deal", you've got much the best chance of getting a good one if you consider taking some players in exchange. I can't really offer an opinion on either Negredo or Hunterlaar though as I've barely seen the Dutchman play, and have never seen the other bloke. Sneijder I think is a good player and perhaps the type to be our more attacking replacement for Alonso. It would as you say Joe also cut down on the "fecking about" factor, in that it'd be done and then we could get on with preparing for the new season. 

The last thing we need now is to get 28 mill for Alonso (I don't think we will but anyway), then go to Roma or whoever it is this Aquilini bloke plays for, only to find out they ain't selling for less than 32 as we're desperate.

I think the longer this plays out, especially if we pass the deadline and then Xabi still demands to be transferred and claims he will refuse to play or something (I don't think it would come to that), the more and more likely that player swaps would have to be involved. It would be less and less time that money would be useful to us because we would then have to start another process of buying a player, and under the circumstances that we are desperate to buy, and the other selling team will be even less willing to sell because its even less time for them to find a replacement too.

I have seen a lot of "well we beat them 5-0 so how could they possibly have anybody that we would want?"  Well I say that is a kneejerk reaction that doesn't asses the players as individuals. Also, we don't need great players that will replace Kuyt in order to improve the team. Certainly we will need a very good CM, but elsewhere all that is required for improvement is better than Degen, better/more experienced than young Martin Kelly, better than El Zhar, better than N'Gog, better than Voronin.  We are not exactly setting the highest of standards here, and Madrid have plenty of castoffs that are of a higher calibre than our fringe



P.S. in fairness, I thought the Glen Johnson deal was 17 or 18 M not 19     Think I even read 16.5 once     Some even try and claim that its less because they owed us still for selling them Crouchie and we waived the rest of the payments, but that is the type of accounting that put us in a global recession.