Liverpool FC Forum

please say how it will strengthen our team before suggesting players to get

Have we really improved our starting 11 in the summer? We've bought Aspas, Sakho, Alberto, Toure, Mignolet and Cissokho. I would say Toure and probably Sakho & Mignolet gave a bit of depth, but we haven't really strengthened much.

We let a player like Eriksen go to Tottenham for around 10-11m when he is clearly a type of midfielder we should be looking for. I'm worried this Jan transfer window, don't see much hope and I'm starting to doubt Rodger's ability to spot talent (even with Coutinho & Sturridge signings, most of his signings have been average, 10m for Borini, 15m for Allen, 17m for Sakho)

I see we are being linked with Cabaye (Arsenal are also though). I think he could be a great addition.

SouthCoastShankly » Wed Nov 06, 2013 12:19 pm wrote:I see we are being linked with Cabaye (Arsenal are also though). I think he could be a great addition.

Not sure if I want us to deal with Ashley again. Why would they make business with us anyway...

We were linked with El Sharawy as well. I remember that he didn't want to leave Milan but he's not getting any game time there now and apparently Milan want to sell him as well. Not likely but who knows.

As for Cabaye, I think he might solve our midfield problems. Can't see us signing him though.

although hendo has improved immeasurably and he is probably one of the most important players in our team (mainly due to the fact he`s one of the few who can actually run) it`s certainly sobering to consider that we forked out £33m on just him and joe allen.
speaking of allen we seem to have mastered the art of spending a lot of money without it ending up on the pitch, a lot of our outlay ends up sitting on the bench.
last summer was similar, we brought in sahko, aspas, ilorri, cissokho, mingolet and luis alberto but apart from the keeper how many of those are a cast iron starters?
after what happened with carroll we seem to be against signing expensive high profile players but when you do bring in a high profile player even if they arent a roaring success they are usually good enough to at least get in your side.
we`ve got tons of fringe players now (sterling, alberto, kelly, wisdom, ibe, suso, flanno, robinson, ilorri, aspas, cissokho, coady etc) who have all had first team experience and pretty soon the likes of mclaughlin, texiera etc will be joining them padding that list out even more.
please brendan or whoever calls the shots in that tranfer cabal of ours no more squad players.
first XI players or dont bother, keep the money in your pocket.

Alan Dzagoev and Cabaye would be nice. And Loic Remy as well.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:09 pm wrote:although hendo has improved immeasurably and he is probably one of the most important players in our team (mainly due to the fact he`s one of the few who can actually run) it`s certainly sobering to consider that we forked out £33m on just him and joe allen.
speaking of allen we seem to have mastered the art of spending a lot of money without it ending up on the pitch, a lot of our outlay ends up sitting on the bench.
last summer was similar, we brought in sahko, aspas, ilorri, cissokho, mingolet and luis alberto but apart from the keeper how many of those are a cast iron starters?
after what happened with carroll we seem to be against signing expensive high profile players but when you do bring in a high profile player even if they arent a roaring success they are usually good enough to at least get in your side.
we`ve got tons of fringe players now (sterling, alberto, kelly, wisdom, ibe, suso, flanno, robinson, ilorri, aspas, cissokho, coady etc) who have all had first team experience and pretty soon the likes of mclaughlin, texiera etc will be joining them padding that list out even more.
please brendan or whoever calls the shots in that tranfer cabal of ours no more squad players.
first XI players or dont bother, keep the money in your pocket.

Well said.

We obviously needed to add more depth to the squad but I'm still scratching my head over some of the players brought in these last couple of windows AND the prices we've paid for them .

woof woof ! » Thu Nov 07, 2013 5:39 pm wrote:

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:09 pm wrote:although hendo has improved immeasurably and he is probably one of the most important players in our team (mainly due to the fact he`s one of the few who can actually run) it`s certainly sobering to consider that we forked out £33m on just him and joe allen.
speaking of allen we seem to have mastered the art of spending a lot of money without it ending up on the pitch, a lot of our outlay ends up sitting on the bench.
last summer was similar, we brought in sahko, aspas, ilorri, cissokho, mingolet and luis alberto but apart from the keeper how many of those are a cast iron starters?
after what happened with carroll we seem to be against signing expensive high profile players but when you do bring in a high profile player even if they arent a roaring success they are usually good enough to at least get in your side.
we`ve got tons of fringe players now (sterling, alberto, kelly, wisdom, ibe, suso, flanno, robinson, ilorri, aspas, cissokho, coady etc) who have all had first team experience and pretty soon the likes of mclaughlin, texiera etc will be joining them padding that list out even more.
please brendan or whoever calls the shots in that tranfer cabal of ours no more squad players.
first XI players or dont bother, keep the money in your pocket.

Well said.

We obviously needed to add more depth to the squad but I'm still scratching my head over some of the players brought in these last couple of windows AND the prices we've paid for them .

The worrying problem is I think BR/LFC thought that several of the players would certainly slot very quickly into the first team. Whilst Henderson has improved would he be getting into the team if we had a half reasonable alternative. Allen has been a serious disappointment. Our captain is looking a tad knackered at times which is a big worry. Only Coutinho can be regarded as an absolute stand out purchase. Sturridge is close behind with Toure and Mignolet has been ok but he has his moments. The rest so far haven't turned up. BR and the scouts must improve in this area. Decisions must also be made quickly together with sensible bids !!

Only countinho??

Sturridge is a club record breaker for his first 20 goals. Not sure how much more he would've to do to be classed as a stand out signing

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Thu Nov 07, 2013 1:09 pm wrote:although hendo has improved immeasurably and he is probably one of the most important players in our team (mainly due to the fact he`s one of the few who can actually run) it`s certainly sobering to consider that we forked out £33m on just him and joe allen.
speaking of allen we seem to have mastered the art of spending a lot of money without it ending up on the pitch, a lot of our outlay ends up sitting on the bench.
last summer was similar, we brought in sahko, aspas, ilorri, cissokho, mingolet and luis alberto but apart from the keeper how many of those are a cast iron starters?
after what happened with carroll we seem to be against signing expensive high profile players but when you do bring in a high profile player even if they arent a roaring success they are usually good enough to at least get in your side.
we`ve got tons of fringe players now (sterling, alberto, kelly, wisdom, ibe, suso, flanno, robinson, ilorri, aspas, cissokho, coady etc) who have all had first team experience and pretty soon the likes of mclaughlin, texiera etc will be joining them padding that list out even more.
please brendan or whoever calls the shots in that tranfer cabal of ours no more squad players.
first XI players or dont bother, keep the money in your pocket.

Spot on.

I don't want to see Brendan spend 15m on 3/4 average players, we have enough fringe players in the squad now.

It's time to start taking risks and buying only one (or two if we are lucky) 15-20m+ type players.

Transitioning Stevie G won't be cheap and I really think we won't come anywhere near finding a player with enough potential that is an affordable replacement till the end of the season.

To raise funds I would sell Allen, Aspas as quickly as possible as they bring NOTHING to this club. Might get a few million for each but if it gets us a quality signing in January, pull the trigger Rodgers and pull it quick.

Other than that I would see if we can get another LB on loan to replace Cissoko as he has been rubbish so far and Enrique is starting to worry with his injury record.

While in recent years we have done pretty well with winter transfer window, IIRC  Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho.
Traditionally its not normally the time for big ticket money  spend player, So  I be somewhat surprised happily surprised mind you if we bring in some big money transfer during this period

eds » Fri Nov 08, 2013 12:09 am wrote:To raise funds I would sell Allen, Aspas as quickly as possible as they bring NOTHING to this club. Might get a few million for each but if it gets us a quality signing in January, pull the trigger Rodgers and pull it quick.

Don't disagree with that Ed's, but would the manager ? He'd effectively be admitting that he'd spunked £15 million on Allen, who he'd worked with at Swansea and is not without skill but who even when fit struggles to get into the side, and an additional £7 million + on Aspas who has made just six first team appearances.

The squad did need some depth which is probably how Rodgers would justify their respective purchases. 

I think he'll hang onto them, for the time being at least.

I think we'll be surprised by the spending in the Jan window. The bit that gets missed in the discussions on here is that people really didn't believe that we'd be anywhere near CL come the end of this season (some still don't) and one of the major challenges the club has is changing it's image in the eyes of the footballing world. Personally I think we've been doing that quietly the last couple of seasons after the drama of G&H, Rafa, Kenny, Carroll, Suarez etc etc. Irrespective of whether other teams are warming up now and might overtake us, there's no denying that we've done well the last 10 games and have exceeded a lot of expectations and we're a least in discussions around potential winners now, as opposed to the season being more or less over for us at this point This has to play a part in the way potential players view us as an option. We've got a world cup coming up and people will be looking for game time, so it's not out of the realms of possibility that we might pull someone in who's looking to sway a manager and is looking for game time. This is something we'll definitely offer over other teams.

The next 10 games will be important. I'll be surprise if we take a significant step backwards and expect (hope) to be there or thereabouts and think it could be quite interesting for us.

Regarding BR and his signings, you never know as a recruiter how someone is going to fit in until they're on board and you're living the life with them. I think you take gambles along the way and the ones that work stick and those that don't move on. A lot of people wanted Henderson gone at the end of last season, but you have to give the boss credit for holding onto him. Is he world class? No. But he's a key player for us at the moment.

I think he's been caught unawares by Stevie and Lucas. I think he was expecting them to cope better than they are and he's on a hiding to nothing regardless of how he handles Stevie. If he plays him, he's losing games, if he drops him he'll be slaughtered by the faithful. I think that is why you only ever hear him talking overly positive about him, he's playing the game. He needs the Kop to realise that his legs have gone and we need to move forward by getting new people in. I think we'll see the midfield addressed in the Jan window and I think you'll see Stevie playing more of an impact role rather than a starting role going forward.

As for the questions about the changes made, honestly I think he got the dissenters out. Pepe being a case in point or Torres for Kenny...you need as a manager to have people who want to be there else the team is disrupted. Often when moving a senior person out, that leaves space for others to fill and a different unity to develop. I think that's what we've seen this season to be honest. It's closer to a team/squad than I think we've seen in a long while and it bodes well if we can keep that rolling. We can only go on the position where we are today and if we'd forecast this position back at the beginning of BR's tenure, I don't think many would have believed it. It could be luck, or it could actually be the start of something.

By David Maddock
    8 Comments

Liverpool target Konstantinos Mitroglou with Brendan Rodgers desperate for January buys to sustain top four challenge
8 Nov 2013 22:30

Targets include Greek forward Konstantinos Mitroglou, with the hope that he could have the same impact as January arrivals Daniel Sturridge and Coutinho
Sales: Sturridge and Coutinho impressed after their winter arrivals, and Rodgers wants to repeat that success Sales: Sturridge and Coutinho impressed after their winter arrivals, and Rodgers wants to repeat that success
Andrew Powell

Brendan Rodgers will plead his case with Liverpool’s owners for two big January signings to deliver Champions League football.

After getting off to a flyer this season, the Anfield boss was brought down to earth with a bump last weekend after his side were outplayed at Arsenal.

The Reds’ American owners have tried to introduce a new financial reality at the club by stressing the need to live within their means...which will likely see far less money available than a year ago, when they spent more than £20million on Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Countinho.

But after the blunt reminder of the distance Liverpool still have to travel to even compete for a top-four place, Rodgers has stressed the importance of the upcoming transfer window.

He said: “The Arsenal game was another indication that we need to keep improving our team in order to be able to compete.

“The focus is on bringing in players that can come straight in and improve our team.

“We did that last year and ­benefited from that.”

It may be a gamble, but the club desperately needs the extra riches the Champions League will bring, and they may not get a better chance to rejoin Europe’s elite.

“Last year we made two great signings that came in and gave us that injection of quality that we needed. We will look to do that this January if we can,” he added. “We got Daniel Sturridge – who has been brilliant – for the same money as Wilfried Bony went to Swansea.

“And a lot of people had never heard of Coutinho, but you can see he’s a top young player.”

Benfica v Olympiakos Konstant threat: In-form striker Mitroglou
Getty


Perhaps Rodgers’ toughest battle will be with his own board, with MD Ian Ayre indicating this week that there may not be as much money in the kitty this New Year.

The Reds boss wants a striker and a midfielder, and has targeted Greece centre- forward Konstantinos Mitroglou, who could be ­available for as little as £6m despite having a stunning season so far with Olympiakos.

Liverpool have the opportunity to consolidate their place in the top four with the visit to Anfield of Fulham today.

Rodgers added: “I haven’t heard about spending restrictions.

“We know the areas we need to improve, but it’s all about timing, affordability and can we do it?”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/ ... ou-2711210

dont know too much about this lad at all but is he really the type of player that will enable us to sustain a challenge for 4th ?
i wouldnt be expecting a lot for 6 million tbh other than another gamble turning into squad fodder.