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BR'a response to that Arsenal bid

Liverpool treated Arsenal transfer bid for Luis Suárez as joke, says Brendan Rodgers

Laughing out lod: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said Arsenal offer for striker Luis Suárez was viewed as derogatory

By Ben Rumsby and John Percy10:30PM GMT 01 Nov 2013

Liverpool manager laughed out loud at infamous £40m-plus-£1 offer for striker from Emirates club.

Brendan Rodgers has said he burst out laughing when Arsenal submitted their £40 million-plus-£1 bid for striker Luis Suárez.

The Liverpool manager admitted his initial reaction had been to treat as a joke what became a deadly serious tug-of-war between two of the game’s most respected clubs. It was one Arsenal were destined to lose, having seemingly been badly misinformed about the precise nature of what they believed was a release clause in Suárez’s contract.

Recalling the moment he and his staff first saw the offer, Rodgers said: “To be honest, we laughed. We were away at the time on the pre-season tour when I saw the bid in writing. I think Arsenal were ill-advised on that, to say the least.

“Arsenal as a football club always had great integrity historically and so, when that bid came through, I can only say it was one of the worst pieces of information they ever received, from whoever. It was never going to succeed but, of course, you do have to chance your arm.”

Arsenal’s bid had the opposite effect to that they intended, prompting Liverpool owner John Henry to post on Twitter: “What do you think they are smoking at Emirates?”

Rodgers, who takes Liverpool to that very stadium on Saturday for the first time since, said: “At the time, we certainly saw the bid as derogatory. But whether it was £40 million and one pound or £40 million and one pence, our fight was always to keep him here because he is a top player.”

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said of the nature of the bid: “It was not the most subtle thing we have done but it was not meant to be provocative at all.”

Wenger, who would not be drawn on whether he would make a fresh bid for Suárez in January, added: “The details will maybe come out one day. Maybe not in my book but somebody else’s book.”

It will no doubt feature in that of Suárez, who actively tried to engineer a move by publicly accusing Liverpool of breaking a promise to let him leave.

Rodgers responded by making the Uruguay star train alone.

“I’m sure the senior players, indeed all the players, are looking to the manager in a situation like that to see what happens,” he said.

“It cannot fester and be allowed to become a cancer within the group.

“The status and the power of Liverpool is greater than anyone. But you have to give Luis huge credit as well. Probably, many players would not have reacted as he has done.

“He eventually accepted the situation, got back to his work, rejoined his team-mates and has been outstanding in his work ethic and desire since then.”

Why Arsenal should go back with a £60MILLION bid for Liverpool ace Luis Suarez in January

03 November 2013 11:00 AM By Andy Dunn

'In eight weeks’ time, it might just be worth slapping down £60million (because he is worth that) and hope Suarez kicks up a fuss'

Luis Suarez: Wenger should go back with a £60m bid
On Friday, Arsene Wenger admitted the summer offer for Luis Suarez was “not the most subtle thing” his club had ever done.

Quite. But in eight weeks’ time, it might just be worth trying something even less subtle – slap down £60million (because he is worth that) and hope Suarez kicks up a fuss.

The chances of Arsenal’s interest in Suarez being revived? Slim. The chances of Liverpool selling to them at any price? Slim and none. But it is worth a try. And if unsuccessful, take that sort of budget and search elsewhere.

Because with its current personnel, this Arsenal squad will not win the Premier League – five points clear or not.

The win over Liverpool was thrilling. This was embroidered with a beautiful thread of football. This, in the end, was reasonably emphatic.

The collective heartbeat of this team – Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud – is still pounding. But come January, not even Wenger could realistically expect their levels not to drop.

As unlikely as it seems there were the slightest hints of both physical and mental fatigue during this win. Giroud was muscularly magnificent, but his finishing was careless. Ozil was his usual dreamy self – a man who plays the game at his own pace – but was selective in what counter-attacks he supported.

Santi Cazorla, with fewer miles on this season’s clock, was an energy level above. Liverpool’s profligacy lifted Arsenal. The misses from Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge – allied to a couple of poor Martin Atkinson decisions that favoured Arsenal – energised tired-looking individuals.

Giroud was playing in his 19th game of the season, Ozil his 17th. Between them, they have around 50 hours of football on their timesheets.

Of course it will not be easy to recruit in the January transfer window. It never is. But that is what Wenger is paid the big bucks for. Talking of which, it will take big bucks to re-open even the remotest possibility of taking Suarez away from Merseyside.

And Liverpool would, as John W Henry might say, have to be smoking something to sell him mid-season.

This was not a poor Liverpool performance – far from it. A terrible individual contribution from Aly Cissokho undermined their first half while Suarez and Sturridge were freakishly wasteful in the second.

But Suarez cannot have helped but be impressed by the sumptuous service provided by Cazorla, Ozil and Ramsay.

And Wenger will not forget that Suarez wanted to come to the Emirates only a few months back. Has anything really changed?

Suarez did not have his best game, one rounded off with a rollocking from Sturridge. But Arsenal would be title favourites – either this season or next – with him in the ranks.

A new bid would not be subtle – but subtlety alone does not bring silverware.

I just want BTN  to answer the question as his previous attempt was a bit of an E minus.

You've got £50m BTN. You claim that by selling Suarez as soon as possible and buying a couple of quality players would shape Liverpool's future and would be a far better solution than trying to keep Suarez long term. The question is the same as before but I would like an answer with a lot more substance that might actually work. So who are you going to buy with your £50m and how will those players be an improvement.

The question was the same last week and I answered it last week. If you don't like my answer then I'm sorry but I'm not going to change it because you think it's. "E minus" .

I don't "claim" anything - I give my opinion on the situation regarding the player and my opinion is what "I think" is best. You know my opinion on Suarez - you don't like it but that's not my problem - I'm sure in entitled to that opinion. There isn't anything that will happen that will change my beliefs about the player. Quite happy to see him go - prob in the summer.

No point discussing Luis Suarez with you........

Interesting that a price tag of £60m is now being quoted and that is after Luis has only played a handful of league games. I've said it before that if he has a good season and World Cup we could be demanding a figure far greater than £60m. His on field behaviour has improved immensely and obviously that has to continue. The biting, moaning and diving seem for now to be well and truly under control. And as for verbal confrontation he seems to be generally buttoning his lip. He can go on to become one of the world greats and he needs to be remembered in the future for the right reasons.

Rumours that he can't play Saturday as FIFA rules state that players must be released five days before world cup qualifier games.

Suarez given permission to face Fulham before jetting off for Uruguay

Liverpool FC striker Luis Suarez will be available to face Fulham on Saturday after the Uruguay FA waived the right to demand he misses the Premier League clash.

Uruguay take on Jordan in the first leg of their World Cup play-off next Wednesday and under FIFA rules they could have insisted Suarez was released for duty five days prior to the game in the Middle East.

However, the ECHO understands that the prolific frontman told boss Oscar Tabarez he wanted to play for the Reds before linking up with the squad in Turkey on Saturday and his request has been granted.

Reaching a compromise agreement was helped by the fact that Liverpool enjoy good relations with the Uruguayan association.

The Reds will send Suarez by private plane to Istanbul on Saturday evening following the showdown with the Cottagers.

The second leg of the World Cup play-off is in Montevideo on Wednesday, November 20 – leaving the 26-year-old with little time to recover prior to the Merseyside derby three days later.

With a 7,000-mile journey back to Merseyside, Suarez is unlikely to rejoin Brendan Rodgers ’ squad until the day before the trip to Goodison.





http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-striker-luis-suarez-6277554

oh well that's good of Uruguay to give Suarez permission to play for the club that PAYS HIS WAGES!

the fecking cheeky b@rstewards.

Geez the little wizard must be racking up the frequent flyer points.
Its probably lucky he did start the season on the side as he is going to be  well and truly knackered by Christmas

redno7 » Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:02 am wrote:oh well that's good of Uruguay to give Suarez permission to play for the club that PAYS HIS WAGES!

the fecking cheeky b@rstewards.

C'mon Red, be fair, it's more than England would do if we wanted Gerrard to play just prior to an international.

The lad just keeps dragging his game up a level ,even when it seemingly has no more rungs to climb ..... All is forgiven and so glad he's here   

he`s on fire atm, even though he missed the first 6 games of the season he`s already at the top of the scoring charts alongside sturridge and aguero!

If he stays clear of trouble and doesn't get suspended he will finish top scorer by a country mile.

Easily the 3rd best player in the world at the moment, closing the distance on Messi and Ronaldo now.

Hopefully he puts the 1st leg WC playoff to bed in Jordan so he doesn't have to travel back to Uruguay for the 2nd leg.

With a couple of decent purchases in January I think we have the potential for something very special. The brilliance of Suarez together with the imagination of Coutinho and the goal scoring ability of Danny is something we haven't had for a very long time. The defence is reasonably good. Midfield has it's question marks but when Henderson and Gerrard play the way they did against Fulham we are not a country mile away. I'm not getting carried away. We have twice as many points as this time last season. The progress is visible for all to see.We are thrashing the lesser teams which is something we have struggled with in the past. The attitude and team spirit looks excellent. WE HAVE BELIEF !! Even the gutter press are saying good things about us.  Next game against Everton is going to be interesting. We really have got to keep the momentum going until the end of December. Last summer seems like a distant memory