Liverpool FC Forum

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

would have preferred that other south american lad from benfica who was a converted winger, this cissohko seems a bit raw to me.

That deal is supposedly done and dusted mate according to the Echo ,I think Cissohko is just another rehashed rumour.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

would have preferred that other south american lad from benfica who was a converted winger, this cissohko seems a bit raw to me.

That deal is supposedly done and dusted mate according to the Echo ,I think Cissohko is just another rehashed rumour.

cheers mate.

[red till i die!!]

where do they get this sh1t from 

TRANSFER  Balls: Writing in the Sunday Times, Duncan Castles has an interesting line about Luis Suarez’ Liverpool contract.

TOTTENHAM are considering a bid for unsettled Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and Colombia international Jackson Martinez as they plan to reinvest the income from Gareth Bale’s pending transfer to Real Madrid. Andre Villas-Boas is also seeking reinforcememts in defence and on the wing to mitigate the world-record sale.

A sucessful Spurs bid for Suarez seems fanciful. If Arsenal can offer Suarez the Champions’ League football he apparently craves, Spurs can’t. But this is the line that stands out:

With Liverpool refusing to honour a £40m clause in Suarez’s contract by permitting him to talk to Arsenal, the Uruguayan is likely to prove beyond Tottenham’s reach.

So. Liverpool are in a breach of contract?

But Caught Offside.com says:

“…in actual fact the two clubs are said to have already come to an agreement over the sale of Suarez, with the player set to join Arsenal for £45m on Aug 28 on the condition that the club have successfully navigated their way past their upcoming two-legged Champions League playoff that will take place across Aug 20/21 and Aug 27/28.

More facts to follow…

while i do believe we will sell to arsenal if they pay up surely saying a deal is already done is total sh!t, 28 august my ar$e

[damjan193]

would have preferred that other south american lad from benfica who was a converted winger, this cissohko seems a bit raw to me.

From what I read the Benfica lad is Sh*t at defending but might be of a good use as a winger. Cissokho ain't any better either, he is way off from.

[Doeboy]

I'm really not sure about this lad from Benfica. By all accounts sounds like his a winger who has been converted to a full back. Yeah may be great going forward but if his defending is not up to the mark, really would be a concern

[Doeboy]

I think we will probably make 3 more signings. Would not be surprised to see Costa, Eriksen and the lad from Benfica arrive. Think we may well try for Papadopoulos again but not too sure that will happen

[damjan193]

We're ***** if we don't sign a CB. But rumors say that we've had a deal done for Papadopoulos since May, but we've been waiting for him to get fit in order to undergo a medical. I read that he was present at the game against Fulham at the Cottage. Is this true, can someone confirm?

[Benny The Noon]

@Musker_LFC: Liverpool hope to sign Aly Cissokho or Guilherme Siqueira to compete with Jose Enrique. The deal for Lorenzo Melgarejo is dead. (Times).

[Doeboy]

Guilherme Siqueira would be a top signing and would have him over the other two. However there is talk of Madrid looking at him if Coentrao goes to Spurs as part of the Bale deal

[Benny The Noon]

He does seem a decent player but can't understand the focus on a LB when a CB is far more pressing

[Doeboy]

Yup agree with that. CB is definitely a higher priority than LB. I've always said I will wait until the end of the window to make a judgement on the business we have done. I'm pretty hopeful we will get it right but just hope BR doesn't think it's just a case of tweaking the team and squad. We did pretty well towards the end of last season, just hope it doesn't mask over our weaknesses

[the return of HAS]

From what I understand Aly Cissokho has been our number one target for the leftback opening since the beginning of the summer and is seen as a first choice, not backup to Enrique. He is very keen to come and Valencia are happy to sanction a loan deal. The only stumbling block is wages. We have made it very clear how much we are willing to pay him (which is significantly less than his contract with Valencia) and won’t pay any more. Either Valencia subside the difference, he takes a wage cut, or somewhere in between, but we have taken a back seat and told his agent to sort it out while we look at other options but haven’t heard from him for a few weeks.

[the return of HAS]

Presuming Kelly is seen predominately as a right back, then we still have 5 centre backs who are in their 20s or 30s (Agger, Toure, Skrtel, Coates, Wisdom), and with no Europe this season, I can’t see us brining any centre backs in unless we move someone out first.

[the return of HAS]

There are only really two gaps in the squad right now, one is at left back and one is in the attacking positions. Any other business should involve selling players first. We have had our fingers burnt far too often over the last 10 years when it comes to accumulating players and are still suffering the consequences.

[the return of HAS]

Decent interview with Diego Costa. Highlighted a couple of interesting points in bold for those who don’t want to read the whole thing.

http://www.guillembalague.com/en/blog/5 ... f7Ub-hwbIU

DIEGO COSTA INTERVIEW
Interview and Translation by Guillem Balague
Tuesday 05-02-2013


GB: Diego, this has been an extraordinary season for you. What has happened? What has changed for you to make this progress?

DC: I think it has been hard work. When you change your mentality and start to see things in a different light you take training seriously and things start paying off. This year things are working out for me and I hope that continues. I’m very happy.



GB: Is it sometimes prejudicial that you haven’t been bought in from a big club or broken through from the youth team but have grown up on the streets as a footballer?

DC: Yes it changes a lot. To come to a club like this having not come from a big club it is more difficult to get playing time. You have to work much harder than everyone else but I think things work out if you have patience, stay calm and work hard. [SOUND PROBLEMS IN THIS ANSWER – THEY RESET THE MIC]



GB: Tell us what it was like playing on the streets or on clay pitches and whether you miss it.

DC: I think it’s the best thing that can happen because there we play, we enjoy ourselves, we fight, everything. You live and breathe football. There’s no responsibility, no pressure. You simply play, do things well and enjoy yourself more than at any other time.



GB: Bit obviously it’s not the same playing on the street and playing for an elite club. What is the main difference?

DC: The difference is the pressure. On the street every player seems like he could be a professional or the next star but when you put those players in a team where they have responsibilities everything changes. I think that’s the big difference between playing on the street and playing for a big club.



GB: But you are proof that you can learn to deal with the pressure and mentality of the Primera Division.

DC: Yes, you can learn. You have to be patient and calm and I think the most important thing is your family. If you have your family around you and their support you always have confidence in your potential and confidence in yourself and I think that is the most important thing.



GB: Is it fair to say that there are three Diego Costas: one on the pitch, one off the pitch and one from years passed?

DC: Yes. I changed. In the past I always over-analysed things in my professional life. You are always going to change and I changed for the better, which is the important thing. I change when I go on the pitch because that is where I have to give my all, it is where I have to enjoy myself and do my best for my family. I have to get the best out of myself. Off the pitch I am more relaxed, more fun.



GB: Listening to you now, it is difficult to marry that image with the intense figure we see on the pitch. Do you recognise yourself?

DC: That happens to me a lot. Adrenaline gets hold of you or something winds you up because you want to play and win everything. Lots of times you don’t see a lot of the ball and you want to be on the ball all the time. If the team isn’t playing well or you aren’t playing well you get angry with yourself. I get wound up quite often on the pitch and I get annoyed with myself and think, “Today isn’t my day,” but I try and channel that frustration. Sometimes I go a little bit far but I don’t think it is anything unusual.



GB: How do you cope with the fact that you have 40,000 people in the stadium who all have an opinion about you even though they don’t know you and people in the street who have an opinion about you even though they don’t know you?

DC: It’s normal I think when you don’t know somebody. If you see somebody, like everyone you think, “This guy is arrogant,” but you don’t know what they’re really like. One thing is seeing somebody in the street and another is living with that person on a daily basis. I think living with somebody is everything. Not everyone has the opportunity to get to know not just me but anyone. When you see someone every day you get to know them properly. But just as the adrenaline gets to us players on the pitch it also affects the fans who care about how the club is faring and in most cases it is normal.



GB: What is thing you like least about football? Is it the press, the pressure, training?

DC: I’m not going to say it’s not the training because it’s like a job. You have to be there every day without fail but that’s a good thing. I would say it is the people who try to get close to you and you think they’re your friend but you realise they’re only doing because of who you are. That’s the only thing because you have to get used to everything else. A lot of the time it is good and a lot of the time it’s bad but I think there are more good aspects than bad aspects when it comes to being a footballer.



GB: Sometimes we forget that you footballers are 21, 22, 23. You’re just kids but you are forced to grow up ahead of your time, aren’t you?

DC: Yes that’s part and parcel of our profession. People think we all earn millions and millions of euros like Cristiano Ronaldo… [UNINTELLIGIBLE – Something about being young and making mistakes but having to accept people’s judgement because they’re in the limelight]



GB: How important has Diego Simeone been to your change and what does he ask of you?

DC: The manager has been important not just for me but for the whole team. The difference is he demands that you work really hard. He never allows you to settle into your comfort zone. He will sound you out for the minimal thing and even if you think you are a regular or you did something good you never know with him. Whether he picks Falcao, or me, or Adrian or Raul it is the same. The manager has the type of character that we’re all – I don’t want to say scared – but we’re always on tenterhooks. I always try and give my all because I know that if I don’t he will give me a really hard time.



GB: So is the success of the last year down to the manager’s attitude or the fact that you have a squad with so much quality?

DC: I think it is both of things but the manager deserves a lot of credit because, as everyone knows, they were the same players before he arrived and he hasn’t had a lot of time. The manager is still young but his way of working, the way he interprets things and his up front managerial style give him this special power at the club. I think the most important thing is that he has united us. We have great togetherness. There is no in-fighting, no envy. At the moment things are going perfectly well.



GB: Would you describe yourself as a modern centre forward who can play in various positions or how would you describe yourself?

DC: I don’t really like playing as an out and out centre forward. I like getting the ball in wide areas and being in possession all the time. If I’m not seeing enough of the ball I get quite agitated which is why I come looking for it and naturally drop out wide. I don’t know how you would describe me exactly.



GB: So that’s why, for example, you fit in well with Falcao.

DC: Exactly, because Falcao is a traditional centre forward. Falcao is tremendous and I’m delighted to be able to play alongside him. I hope things keep going as well as they are now.



GB: Atletico Madrid have talked about selling Falcao in order to stay afloat. How does he and how do you his team mates cope with that speculation?

DC: We want the best for everyone, what’s best for Falcao, what’s best for me and what’s best for everyone. If an offer came in which was good for the club and good for Falcao, who is the best centre forward in the world at the moment and always looking to grow and improve, it would depend on the club’s plans for next season, which competitions we’re playing in and I think you have to make the right decision. It has to be right on both sides, for Falcao and for the club and the players.



GB: You say Falcao is the best striker in the world but are we not counting Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi as strikers or do you believe he is the best of the three and has qualities which are superior to theirs?

DC: Falcao is different from Messi and Cristiano. Messi is above everyone else and Cristiano is also a top, top player. I think Falcao is different. Messi can do anything with the ball at his feet and Ronaldo is the same. Falcao does everything as well but not in the same way as Cristiano and Messi. Falcao is a goal-scorer and there is nobody like him.

       
                                                                                                                                     
GB: What attribute would you take from him if you could take something and it would immediately become a part of your game?

DC: The goals he scores. It would be great if I registered half as many goals as he does. It would be perfect.



GB: You are a player who knows how to play between the lines and drop back if necessary. Do you think your style would be suited to the Premier League?

DC: Yes. A lot of people have told me I would fit in very well in the Premier League because of the way I am and the way I play. Who knows, one day perhaps I can go and enjoy myself in the Premier League.



GB: If that was the case would you look for a club which would pay you the most, one that has won the most titles or the one in which you would fit best in a sporting sense?

DC: The one which wanted me the most. I think that’s the most important thing. You have to go where you’re most wanted. No matter which club it is, if the manager wants you and the team wants you it makes all the difference. I think the most important thing is to be in a place where the people believe in you, the manager believes in you and in that case you will have the confidence you need so that everything else will go better.



GB: What is Atletico Madrid’s objective this season, to win the league, to come second?

DC: We take one game at a time. That is the dynamic and mentality we have and that way things go well. We won yesterday, we are through to the next round of the cup and next we have a tough game against Athletic Bilbao. When we’ve only got a couple of matchdays left and there is a possibility of achieving something great, then we can say whether we’re in a position to win or not but at the moment we are carrying on with our work. We’re in the mix with the top three and I hope, God willing, we can do something great, which would be even better.



GB: Courtois is a Chelsea player who is succeeding at Atletico Madrid and is being linked with a move to Barcelona. Tell us about Courtois as a person and a player.

DC: He is a great person. He is very funny, decent and straightforward. As a footballer he transmits incredible confidence to the team on the pitch. He is one of the best players we have here and he knows that, which is why he is confident. I think very soon Chelsea will have one of the best goalkeepers around.