Summer Transfers 2014

[magicrat]

I just hope we don't repeat the summer of 2009. If Lallana is our target then get the business done quickly. We don't want to end up panic buying another Aquilani.

 

If our scouting department is up to scratch then our targets are prepared. Ian Ayre needs to prove his worth this summer.

Ian Ayre has repeatedly proved his worth to Liverpool . The proverbial square root of fuck all sums it up.

[magicrat]

No, I think it's foolish. I see value in looking at the ability and potential of a player and paying a commensurate fee. I don't see the point in looking at players who were never good enough to play for Liverpool and that we dramatically overpaid for. Why? Because they're different players. Lallana is good enough, Downing wasn't. That's the basic difference here.

 

How much we pay for them goes by the same rule, which is totally detached from Carroll/Downing, that has always applied but not always used: don't overpay for players who aren't good enough; occasionally marginally overpay for players who are good enough if it's required. The unspoken rationale being pushed here is 'Lallana is English and cost too much, so were Downing and Carroll, therefore Lallana is the same as Downing and Carroll'. Except he isn't. I don't think we should dramatically overpay for him, but it has absolutely nothing to do with players who weren't good enough in the first place.

 

Exactly. Why we get so hung up on fees is beyond me. If we can get top class players in I don't give a fuck whether they're English or not. Quality is the key

[Dundalis]

Antoinne Greizmann has had personality issues his ENTIRE career, and you think he's a safer bet than Lallana? Really? 

 

I can't argue about Reus.  He's excellent.

 

Absolutely. Griezmann has been fantastic the last two seasons for Sociedad. He's absolutely talismanic for them, and has developed into an excellent player. He actually has similarities to Lallana in terms of his versatility, but his speed and his left foot put him ahead for me, plus the fact he's younger and has played at a higher level for longer. Both Reus and Griezmann have excellent speed as well as proven goal scoring records over multiple seasons, while having similar versatility to Lallana.

 

You'd have to explain these personality issues to do with Greizmann, as I'm not aware of anything serious.

[Gym Beglin]

Lallana is an excellent player. Might be overpriced but I don't really care

I think there's some merit in this.

 

Personally, I think he's very over-priced and I'm not convinced by him. That said, it happens, look at Ricky Lambert now, or players like Fabian Delph or Jordan Henderson even, sometimes it just all clicks into place, and the player could be 22 or he could be 28, you never know.

 

But we'd still be over-paying.

 

THAT SAID, I don't mind over-paying on the first transfer of the window, because I think the signing of Lallana would initiate other signings. It's a statement of intent, not just to other teams, but also to other potential transfer targets, that we're ready to able to start strengthening right now, unlike a lot of top clubs who sometimes leave their shopping until the last minute.

 

Getting the ball rolling early can only benefit us, and if we overpay a bit then that's ok, WE CAN AFFORD IT BAAAAAAAABY!

[Cardie]

Exactly. Why we get so hung up on fees is beyond me. If we can get top class players in I don't give a fuck whether they're English or not. Quality is the key

Because while it's nice to pretend that money is irrelevant the reality is it isn't.

 

Whether it's the knock on financial issues or a player having to live up to and justify the value.

 

[DanDanShaw]

I don't like buying British footballers, who have had 1 good season in the Premier League.

[Reacher]

Offer £30m for both himself and Shaw, and get it done before the World Cup.

Sell Agger and Lucas. Let Johnson leave.

Get Richards in on a free.

Get in a world class centre half.

 

#19 will be ours before the end of April.

 

QED

£30 million? You'd have to nearly double that mate.

[Lecter]

Is he better than Joe Allen? I like Lallana but there's not much between them imo. £25M is way too steep.

 

Taken from Squawkas stat comparison software

 

[Babb'sBurstNad]

I like Lallana, but the whole point about being in the CL is that sides with that to offer don't usually have to overpay or gamble on players who could turn back into pumpkins.

 

We should be able to lure players with established international and CL experience.

[kalasoma]

Our best summer signing will be:

Sami Hyypia, Defensive Coach
 

[Cardie]

Our best summer signing will be:

Sami Hyypia, Defensive Coach

 

Based on what?

 

 

[Gym Beglin]

Another aspect of signing Lallana that I like is that he's British. I'm a bit sick of this mirage that British players are shite. There's no rational reason for it, and the shiteness has been an illusion due to the piss poor state of coaching in this country, even at International level for England, and a general lack of national identity, whereby playing for your national team isn't the nadir of a career, but CL football is.

 

I think it's very useful to have a team of players who share much the same social and popular references in their lives, who can converse in slang easily, and it can only help that they go off together and continue to train and bond on international duty.

 

But the other aspect I like is that we start to build a community whereby the best British players are drawn towards us, we become like Mecca.

Sturridge, Sterling, Gerrard, Lallana, Allen, Henderson. That's a very good collection so far, and then I'd wager that Ibe will do alright for himself, as will Rossiter, probably Brannagan, and Harry Wilson.

And then there's the ones we might still go for, like Will Hughes, Lascelles, Ward-Prowse, Morrison, and perhaps Wickham might fulfill some promise. I don't think we're likely to get hold of Barkley, Ramsey, Wilshire, OXlade Chamberlain, Shaw, but you never know. Build it and they will come....

 

But having a solid squad of the best British players possible, smattered with the very best players possible from the continent, is what will win trophies over the long term. There needs to be a solid foundation built on British players, and a youth system that draws in the best talent and develops them properly. United built a 20 year dynasty on having a solid base of excellent British players and when that wained, well, you see what's happening now.

[Ronnie Whelan]

I like Lallana alot from what I've seen, but I'm nervous as hell about another Charlie Adam showing up here. You need to be a special player to play for Liverpool. You aren't just judged against the other players in the league, but you're judged against the greats of the past that have played for us. It sounds like he has a good temperament, so I'm hopeful he will be able to handle the expectations of playing with us. I'd like us to be able to give Stevie much less game time next season and hopefully with Lallana coming in, we'll be able to do just that.

 

I don't know enough about foreign leagues but I'd love;

 

Shaw and Coleman for the full back positions, Lallana or another player of top ability for midfield, Konoplyanka and Remy for 3rd striker (I'm sure there's many better or cheaper on the continent, but I don't know the other leagues that well). A further two of three signings would be great, but i'd rather guys that can walk into our first team rather than squad signings.

[Jairzinho]

Why we get so hung up on fees is beyond me.

 

Because, unlike two of our rivals, we have a finite budget.

[Adebisi]

I think people would be spunking their pantaloons if Lallana was Spanish and good on FIFA.

 

He's a quality player, hope we buy him.

[J-V]

I think people would be spunking their pantaloons if Lallana was Spanish and good on FIFA.

 

He's a quality player, hope we buy him.

 

I'm sure everyone would be pleased spunking £20million+ on a 26 year old foreign player with 1 good season under his belt.  Just like we were all over the moon spending a huge amount on Aquilani you know that foreign player.  Oh wait.....

[Boss]

If we contend for the title next year and Lallana is used as a sub to provide that spark of creativity, or Sturridge gets injured and we play Lallana- Suarez - Sterling as a front three and still pick up the points we need, he's worth that 20 million to us, thats the way you have to look at it.

 

Was Allen worth 15 million, for me absolutely because if Henderson or Coutinho are out injured he fills in as flawlessly as you could expect from a substitute, that's why he's worth the fee. The fee really is irrelevant, we don't pay it, but i'd rather 15 million pound Allen, than 15 million pound Aspas and Alberto who the manager doesn't trust and will provide fuck all. 

[magicrat]

Because while it's nice to pretend that money is irrelevant the reality is it isn't.

 

Whether it's the knock on financial issues or a player having to live up to and justify the value.

Of course there is only a finite amount we can spend but in our position now quality is the top priority. Great if we can find another Coutinho or Sturridge but for every one of them you get an Aspas or Borini so does it work out cheaper than going in for someone like Lallana in the end . I doubt we will get Lallana because he will attract really stupid money but for me a couple of top quality players and bring on a few more of our youngsters is a better option than four or five possibles.

Anyway going to be a tough window for us I reckon. Good time to be an agent that's for sure. 

[Cardie]

If we contend for the title next year and Lallana is used as a sub to provide that spark of creativity, or Sturridge gets injured and we play Lallana- Suarez - Sterling as a front three and still pick up the points we need, he's worth that 20 million to us, thats the way you have to look at it.

 

Was Allen worth 15 million, for me absolutely because if Henderson or Coutinho are out injured he fills in as flawlessly as you could expect from a substitute, that's why he's worth the fee. The fee really is irrelevant, we don't pay it, but i'd rather 15 million pound Allen, than 15 million pound Aspas and Alberto who the manager doesn't trust and will provide fuck all.

If we spend 20-25 million on a sub, with limited funds and other positions that need strengthening then we have problems.

 

[Cardie]

Of course there is only a finite amount we can spend but in our position now quality is the top priority.

Which is the point.

 

Is he a 20+ million pound footballer with the quality to justify that fee?

 

 

[Pidge]

Based on what?

light hearted speculation?

[Horus]

If we contend for the title next year and Lallana is used as a sub to provide that spark of creativity, or Sturridge gets injured and we play Lallana- Suarez - Sterling as a front three and still pick up the points we need, he's worth that 20 million to us, thats the way you have to look at it.

 

Was Allen worth 15 million, for me absolutely because if Henderson or Coutinho are out injured he fills in as flawlessly as you could expect from a substitute, that's why he's worth the fee. The fee really is irrelevant, we don't pay it, but i'd rather 15 million pound Allen, than 15 million pound Aspas and Alberto who the manager doesn't trust and will provide fuck all. 

 

But there is no evidence that lallana can produce this form for another season. Having reached the age of 26 and done it once, is not a good indicator of his ability to maintain this level. It's one thing taking that gamble on a player like Reus or Draxler (for example), because if they bomb here, they'll still be highly rated youngsters and we'll get most of our money back. If Llana isn't what was advertised on the back, then we're not getting half the fee back.

 

We've worked ridiculously hard this season to get us into the position that we could do better, so the first news out of the club is a risky gamble on an anti-moneyball signing. It's all or nothing with llana, and that's too much of a risk.

 

Also, I agree that Allen was worth the £15m we paid for hiim, but we wouldn't go and sign him this summer if he was available, 

 

If we pay the money and he does everything you suggest, we'll all be delighted, but if we pay that money  and he doesn't work, then we're struggling to continue to find more £20m+ deals not only to replace him, but then to improve us again.

[Evil_Ways]

If we spend 20-25 million on a sub, with limited funds and other positions that need strengthening then we have problems.

I'd agree with that. But who's to say thats what he would cost, and that he'd be a sub? Quoted prices in the press are often very exaggerated.

Who's starting games next season will depend an awful lot on form and tactics i think.

Lallana looks very gifted, very hard worker too and able to play in a number of positions. I'd be very happy with us signing him, but i'd also agree a lot will depend on his price. Which i do think will be a decider for the club as well. We've shown these last two years we will step away if we deem the player too expensive.

[J-V]

If we spend 20-25 million on a sub, with limited funds and other positions that need strengthening then we have problems.

 

Suppose it's better than spending the money loaning the player out or the player not even making the bench.  We're getting better at it at it....

[Torvald Utne]

Couldn't really care less about the fee, he's still sub-standard