Liverpool FC Forum

The transfer committee's been pretty good of late (when they've had money to spend) so I'll leave it to them to do what's best. Lemar is a curved ball I'm sure, we'll be looking at someone else......

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Tue Jan 02, 2018 4:20 pm wrote:

Klopptomaniac » Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:58 pm wrote:Totally agree with Yakka. We've done this twice and must surely learn our lesson, IF (BIG IF) we let him go we've got to have a plan to mitigate the impact of losing him and sending out the wrong signals to potential targets. Phil can do one if we get the right changes in place. Losing him and bringing no one in will set us back.

The club probably think that by signing someone like Lemar that we will be replacing Phil but even with Lemar we will be taking a step backwards.
Lemar has huge potential but he is only 21 and has never kicked a ball in England, Phil is 25 and is an experienced premier league player who has over 200 appearances for this club to his name. Phil has played in all weathers against all types of opponents and in all types of stadiums, he has played Cup ties in ramshackle old cowsheds and he has played at the likes of Wembley, Old Trafford and the Emirates too.
After 5 years in England Phil knows English football like the back of his hand, Lemar would just be starting that same journey Phil did back in January 2013.
That's why I think the club needs to make 2 quality signings, and when I say quality I mean quality. If we could get Lemar and Kovacic it would actually be up in the air who has got the better deal, some would say Barca some would say us and that's what we need to do.
As I said (and you picked up on mate) we have been here twice before over the past decade, we can't allow the same thing to happen again. I know it would be difficult to get players like Lemar and Kovacic here but that's what star administrators do, that's why a paper shuffler like Peter Robinson is a genuine legend of this club.

As you suggest, 2 signings of a good level like the 2 mentioned would cushion the blow a lot, our midfield is in dire need of surgery so if we can fix that while losing Coutinho I wouldn't gripe too much.

On the side I know South Americans will always gravitate towards Real and Barca but having watched a lot of La Liga this season I genuinely don't see the appeal of that league. Games can slow down to the point of a nothing contest at times and the stadiums aren't remotely lively.

Klopptomaniac » Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:12 am wrote:

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Tue Jan 02, 2018 4:20 pm wrote:

Klopptomaniac » Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:58 pm wrote:Totally agree with Yakka. We've done this twice and must surely learn our lesson, IF (BIG IF) we let him go we've got to have a plan to mitigate the impact of losing him and sending out the wrong signals to potential targets. Phil can do one if we get the right changes in place. Losing him and bringing no one in will set us back.

The club probably think that by signing someone like Lemar that we will be replacing Phil but even with Lemar we will be taking a step backwards.
Lemar has huge potential but he is only 21 and has never kicked a ball in England, Phil is 25 and is an experienced premier league player who has over 200 appearances for this club to his name. Phil has played in all weathers against all types of opponents and in all types of stadiums, he has played Cup ties in ramshackle old cowsheds and he has played at the likes of Wembley, Old Trafford and the Emirates too.
After 5 years in England Phil knows English football like the back of his hand, Lemar would just be starting that same journey Phil did back in January 2013.
That's why I think the club needs to make 2 quality signings, and when I say quality I mean quality. If we could get Lemar and Kovacic it would actually be up in the air who has got the better deal, some would say Barca some would say us and that's what we need to do.
As I said (and you picked up on mate) we have been here twice before over the past decade, we can't allow the same thing to happen again. I know it would be difficult to get players like Lemar and Kovacic here but that's what star administrators do, that's why a paper shuffler like Peter Robinson is a genuine legend of this club.

As you suggest, 2 signings of a good level like the 2 mentioned would cushion the blow a lot, our midfield is in dire need of surgery so if we can fix that while losing Coutinho I wouldn't gripe too much.

On the side I know South Americans will always gravitate towards Real and Barca but having watched a lot of La Liga this season I genuinely don't see the appeal of that league. Games can slow down to the point of a nothing contest at times and the stadiums aren't remotely lively.

La Liga is not competitive. In the sense that there is a big gulf betwee  the top 4-5 teams and the rest in terms of quality. My own theory is that the inflated stats of Ronaldo and Messi ate due to this. In the EPL, there is also quite a gap, but EPL teams have more of a fight in them, any day the lowest teams can upset the top teams. Except for against the no 1 team that is running away with it like City this season and Chelsea last season.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Wed Jan 03, 2018 1:44 am wrote:

7_Kewell » Wed Jan 03, 2018 12:09 am wrote:

redshade » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:53 pm wrote:Just wondering anyone feel Mahrez would be a good choice? Not magical as Coutinho but a very very good player. Experienced in Epl and hitting his prime he would thrive under klopp.

Would be a downgrade in my honest opinion. I'd sooner we sign proven quality or someone young who Klopp see's as a future star. Lemar is the obvious choice. Although I'd like to see us go all out and push for Sanchez too, but don't think he'd join as he seems City bound.

Just reading that apparently Lemar has been poor so far this season, I think he's got something like 2 goals and 4 assists which is certainly not £100m form.
Obviously this dip in form could be down to all the speculation in the summer unsettling him or maybe it's because he is only 21 and young players go through peaks and troughs but still, it is certainly food for thought.
Mahrez will probably never reach the heady heights Lemar will but on the flip side you know what you are getting with Mahrez.
The lad who is actually taking the French league by storm is the player Arsenal have got lined up as Sanchez's replacement, his name is Nabil Fekir and he looks amazing.

I think the fact that Monaco lost just about every good player from the previous year has affected how Lemar has performed this year. And also like you said he probably is unsettled with the fact that he seemed close to leaving for a better club and now he's the only one left from the successful side of the previous year.

He's obviously got quality but im confused of what is his best position.. I think he'd be brilliant as a central attacking midfielder, but Monaco tend to use him more as a wide forward.

I've already said it a thousand times in here, so I'll say it again.
Sell Coutinho, bring in Lemar for 100m problem solved. Him and Keita next season will be a massive improvement to our midfield.

As good as Lemar is we will still be taking a step backwards. We need someone like Kovacic as well.

I'm hoping this is all summer business. We'll have serious disruptions if all this stuff goes ahead in January.

Same here i really hope if Couts goes its a deal for the summer. We've got a good flow going now our footy is getting consistent and the last thing we need is someone disrupting our season.

Supposedly his representatives are meeting LFC today to discuss a transfer to Barca. Maybe we'll hear something today.

Coutinho has been a good servant to LFC. We have invested in him, give him the opportunities and showered him with love  but time for him to go. We will make £130+ in profit and if they are properly reinvested then it will make us a stronger and a more balanced team going forward. I wished him the worst of luck in Barca and the club will move ahead and grow stronger without him. In all honesty I'm fed up with players packing up and leave for pasture new but we need to win titles and trophies consistently to turn the tide.

As a club we have a bigger worldwide fan base and English league are more competitive and have more viewers across the globe. Our commercial team badly need an upgrade or overhaul for the club to increase its revenue and match the spending power of the likes of ManU or Real. Premier League will generate more TV money and very very soon the English clubs will monopolised the European competitions again and hopefully the likes of Suarez or Coutinho will no longer wanting on pack their bags up and leave.

If I was in Jurgen's shoes I think I'd go for someone a bit older than Lemar, the odds of a 21 year old walking into our starting XI and picking up where Phil left off must be pretty long. IMO we need someone who's a bit closer to becoming the finished article than someone Lemar's age.
Remember Phil when he was 21? Yes he was uber talented but he was also very inconsistent as well. Being a flair player is not easy, being inventive is not a tap you can just turn on and off, flair players have to learn when to try a bit of magic and when as the game demands you keep it simple, Ronaldinho struggled with the exact same thing in his early years at PSG.
Don't get me wrong Lemar would be an incredible signing but we won't see the best of him for another 3 or 4 years, can we afford to wait that long? Every time we try to build a side from scratch we keep losing our best players before we actually win anything.
I think I'd go for that lad Arsenal have lined up as Sanchez's replacement Nabil Fekir, he's like a better version of Mahrez but he's 24, at that age he should be ready to pretty much hit the ground running over the next few years.
The dream scenario would be to buy both, you could probably get Fekir and Lemar for around £160m, if we drive a hard bargain with Barca we wouldn't need to add much to Phil's fee to get both.
As I said in an earlier post no one player can replace Phil, if we don't buy two top quality players we will be taking a step backwards.

Wonder if Klopp might be tempted to go back in for Christian Pulisic in the summer. He seemed to be very high on his list a couple of windows ago before signing a new contract. With Dortmund now struggling a little he might be tempted. Can play wide and in a more central role.

You're almost going to take a step back when you sell someone who is one of your best, if not your best player. Whoever we bring is unlikely to replace Phil immediately. I still think he'll be playing his football with us for the rest of the season. In the summer we'll need to replace him and Can, and then see where else we can strengthen. If we can move on Sturridge then it would be great to bring in some proper competition for Bobby up top. Also think that Can leaving is actually an opportunity to go big on a number 6 to replace Henderson. And I'm sure that Klopp will have his eye out for a left back for the first 11.

Apparently the Monaco manager has said that they have a club policy of not selling any big names midway through a season.
He said they will look at any offers in the summer but not before then.