Liverpool FC Forum

We need to hire Southamptons scouts.

You guys think there's any traction to the Gabriel Barbosa rumours? He seems like a very good player, good technique, dribbling at speed and good finishing ability. He doesn't mind dishing out the assists as well...

redshade » Fri Dec 23, 2016 5:24 am wrote:We need to hire Southamptons scouts.

I think Everton have already done that.

Edit - they have recruited Leicester's chief scout Steve Walsh, not Southamptons.

maguskwt » Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:28 am wrote:You guys think there's any traction to the Gabriel Barbosa rumours? He seems like a very good player, good technique, dribbling at speed and good finishing ability. He doesn't mind dishing out the assists as well...

Never heard of him tbh mate but thanks for the heads up, I'll go and have a look at him on YouTube.

Edit - he looks a bit raw (which is to be expected given he's only 20) but there's plenty of talent there no doubt. He'd be an exciting addition to the squad.

Klopp didn't rule out new faces in January and I would like to think that the club will see the opportunity to win the title is still very much there, and its rare enough for us to want to grasp at it. If theres a possibility to enhance our chances then we must buy for now and go for it, no messing about, twiddling thumbs. Act and lets go for it.

parchpea » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:43 pm wrote:Klopp didn't rule out new faces in January and I would like to think that the club will see the opportunity to win the title is still very much there, and its rare enough for us to want to grasp at it. If theres a possibility to enhance our chances then we must buy for now and go for it, no messing about, twiddling thumbs. Act and lets go for it.

Hindsight is a b!tch.
3 years ago, I prayed that we would buy that one 'special' player when we were sat on top of the pile at xmas, with SASASAS and Gerrard in the team... 
We bought no-one 
I think the club has learned that January can be an important month if all else is going well. At least, that's what i'd like to think. 

johnbarnes » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:38 pm wrote:

parchpea » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:43 pm wrote:Klopp didn't rule out new faces in January and I would like to think that the club will see the opportunity to win the title is still very much there, and its rare enough for us to want to grasp at it. If theres a possibility to enhance our chances then we must buy for now and go for it, no messing about, twiddling thumbs. Act and lets go for it.

Hindsight is a b!tch.
3 years ago, I prayed that we would buy that one 'special' player when we were sat on top of the pile at xmas, with SASASAS and Gerrard in the team... 
We bought no-one 
I think the club has learned that January can be an important month if all else is going well. At least, that's what i'd like to think. 

Yep, good point. We were top at Christmas back in 2013 but as you say bought no one, again as you rightly point out given how tight it ended up (*) buying just one quality player in January could have tilted the scales in our favour.

(*) - easy to forget now but it basically went down to goal difference, I know we finished 2 points behind City but we threw those 2 points away against Palace in a desperate attempt to claw back some of that GD. If the team wasnt in kamikaze mode trying to score 7 or 8 goals no way would Palace have come back from 3-0 down in the last 15 minutes.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Fri Dec 23, 2016 4:03 pm wrote:

johnbarnes » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:38 pm wrote:

parchpea » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:43 pm wrote:Klopp didn't rule out new faces in January and I would like to think that the club will see the opportunity to win the title is still very much there, and its rare enough for us to want to grasp at it. If theres a possibility to enhance our chances then we must buy for now and go for it, no messing about, twiddling thumbs. Act and lets go for it.

Hindsight is a b!tch.
3 years ago, I prayed that we would buy that one 'special' player when we were sat on top of the pile at xmas, with SASASAS and Gerrard in the team... 
We bought no-one 
I think the club has learned that January can be an important month if all else is going well. At least, that's what i'd like to think. 

Yep, good point. We were top at Christmas back in 2013 but as you say bought no one, again as you rightly point out given how tight it ended up (*) buying just one quality player in January could have tilted the scales in our favour.

(*) - easy to forget now but it basically went down to goal difference, I know we finished 2 points behind City but we threw those 2 points away against Palace in a desperate attempt to claw back some of that GD. If the team wasnt in kamikaze mode trying to score 7 or 8 goals no way would Palace have come back from 3-0 down in the last 15 minutes.

Crazy isn't?
When Kolo made that terrible blind pass against WBA which we ended up drawing was a match to reflect on...
Oh well... There always 2016/17 season!   

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:03 pm wrote:We were top at Christmas back in 2013 but as you say bought no one, again as you rightly point out given how tight it ended up (*) buying just one quality player in January could have tilted the scales in our favour.

Not sure if I go along with all of that Yakka. Suarez apart I'm not sure how many real "quality" players are actually available in January.

I've always viewed the January window as an opportunity to reinforce the squad BUT rarely a time to snap up a "game changing" player.

woof woof ! » Fri Dec 23, 2016 4:03 pm wrote:

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:03 pm wrote:We were top at Christmas back in 2013 but as you say bought no one, again as you rightly point out given how tight it ended up (*) buying just one quality player in January could have tilted the scales in our favour.

Not sure if I go along with all of that Yakka. Suarez apart I'm not sure how many real "quality" players are actually available in January.

I've always viewed the January window as an opportunity to reinforce the squad BUT rarely a time to snap up a "game changing" player.

We have actually signed a lot of good players in January windows mate, as well as Luis the likes of Coutinho, Mascherano, Sturridge, Agger, Anelka, Litmanen, Maxi Rodriguez, Morientes and Skrtel all arrived in January too.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Thu Dec 22, 2016 1:52 pm wrote:

johnbarnes » Thu Dec 22, 2016 12:33 pm wrote:Julian Draxler anyone?
Out of form and probably struggled to live up to his potential. But if anyone can get it out of him surely Klopp's the man?

He'd be a great signing, I saw him on the telly last year playing for Wolfsburg against United at Old Trafford and he absolutely ran the show, tall and classy, reminded me a lot of Ray Kennedy. Apparently he's on the verge of signing for PSG though which is a real pity because at 23 he's just about to enter the best 6 or 7 years of his career.
Yes his form has dipped a bit but that's because his own fans have started to boo him after he announced that he'd reached the stage in his career where he wants to play for a bigger club.

So it looks like Draxler will sign for PSG..?
This leads me to think, will PSG seek to off-load Ben Arfa?
He cost them nothing so may be willing to do a loan deal until the end of the season.
Mane could miss up to 9 games, would Ben Arfa be adequate cover...
What say you? 

We need better options on the bench than what we have at the moment. I'd obviously prefer we went for some of the bigger names like Dahoud and Draxler but it wouldnt be a terrible idea bringing solid dependable players (similar to Klavan) who could come in and do a job when we're struggling with injuries. Out of all the players in the squad, Coutinho, Mane, and Lallana are the hardest to replace when they miss a game.Coutinho is our playmaker and him dropping deep, getting on the ball, and creating a chance or shooting opportunity out of nothing is something we've missed the past few weeks. Mane is our biggest goal threat. His pace and direct running at defenders gives us a different dimension going forward and makes us less predictable to defend against. Lallana was our best player until his injury imo. He's usually the extra man pushing forward from midfield and his link up play makes everyone around him look better. He also does his fair share of defending.

Not only do we not have players in the squad who are anywhere near as effective as they are in what they do, I'm sure there are many players out there who could come in and replace any of the 3 without our style of play taking a hit. Perhaps bringing an attacking midfielder on loan in Jan might be the best way forward.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Fri Dec 23, 2016 4:32 pm wrote:

woof woof ! » Fri Dec 23, 2016 4:03 pm wrote:

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:03 pm wrote:We were top at Christmas back in 2013 but as you say bought no one, again as you rightly point out given how tight it ended up (*) buying just one quality player in January could have tilted the scales in our favour.

Not sure if I go along with all of that Yakka. Suarez apart I'm not sure how many real "quality" players are actually available in January.

I've always viewed the January window as an opportunity to reinforce the squad BUT rarely a time to snap up a "game changing" player.

We have actually signed a lot of good players in January windows mate, as well as Luis the likes of Coutinho, Mascherano, Sturridge, Agger, Anelka, Litmanen, Maxi Rodriguez, Morientes and Skrtel all arrived in January too.

Some of those you mention went on to earn the title quality but didn't exactly have it when they arrived, ironically Litmanen and Morientes who were already regarded as "quality" when we signed them were for the most part very disappointing.

Litmanen was still a good player but didn't really fit in with Houlliers direct style.
In other news I see Draxler to PSG has been confirmed.  If the lad prefers to sign for a club that plays the role of flat track bully in a one team league then he probably hasn't got the right mentality to play for us anyway.