Summer Transfers 2014

[ZonkoVille77]

Are we meant to melt down? Or Utd fans? Or Man Utd themselves?

Well you are a Utd fan so it will affect you.

[Gym Beglin]

Didn't Swansea pay £14m for Bony? So they'd probably want about upwards of £25m for him.

 

Bundesliga watchers, anyone there we could/should be looking at?

 

Just noticed a Swiss lad called Drmic scored 17 goals for the 2nd worst team in the league this season. He's only 21 as well. Unfortunately he signed for Leverkusen (7m Euros) last week.

 

Adrian Ramos any good? Already 28, and doesn't appear to be a regular for Columbia so could have work permit issues as well.

 

Firmino? Seen him mentioned a bit.

 

Okazaki? Got a good record for Japan, seems like this season was the first that he got many at club level.

 

Pierre-Michel Lasogga? Only 22, looks like he'd have no trouble with the physical demands of the Premier League.

Nice to see someone else doing their research.

 

We were heavily linked with Drmic, but Arsenal were in front, so it's good to see him snub them.

Firmino doesn't seem anything special, but then again, neither did Willian.

 

I wouldn't sign a striker aged over 20. You can't mess with the hierarchy, and a big signing would mess with that. Suarez and Sturridge have earned their place, and Borini has earned his place as their primary back-up, so it's the 4th choice striker slot that needs filling, and they have to be willing to play that bit-part. I think we signed Yesil as that player for this season, but he's fucked, so we need another international class young striker to come in and sit on our bench and play occassional U21 games.

 

Valerijs Sabala

Mariusz Stępiński

Timo Werner

 

These are the three leading youth striking talents in Europe, if you believe some websites.

 

There's a Toulon tournament starting this week, so there's the time to do our shopping.

Ademilson of Brazil could be a contender.

 

But maybe someone like Berahino, or Ravel Morrison, or Viktor Fisher, or Michy Batshuayi, or Lazar Markovic, or my favourite might be Florian Thauvin at Marseille, though not sure how he'd take to being 4th choice.

 

That's the trick, the balancing act, everyone knows and accepts their place. I think we have 3 strikers in Suarez, Sturridge and Borini, who have the talent and the mentality and know their place. It's just that last place, the apprenticeship place, that's up for grabs.

 

In my next installment I will take on wide attacking positions.

[FanchesterCity]

Kenny Dalglish was over 20 when he joined Liverpool and I think Keegan was just over too.

 

It would be nigh on impossible to improve on Suarez, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have another striker.

 

Definitely not high on the list of priorities, but it's not always a bad thing to keep the players fired up with a little competition.

[kalasoma]

Are we meant to melt down? Or Utd fans? Or Man Utd themselves?

 

The hope is that Utd will. At least, as a Liverpool supporter, that's what I want to see happen.

[kalasoma]

In my next installment I will take on wide attacking positions.

 

Could you address our defensive positions in your next installment?

[Gym Beglin]

Could you address our defensive positions in your next installment?

No, wide forwards.

 

Bit rude, I don't take fucking requests.

[G Richards]

It will be interesting to see if Man Utd signings will want a clause saying if they don't get back in the CL they can leave. If they sign some good players this summer - players who are accustomed to playing in the Champions League - they might be OK with one year out of it, but if that turns into a second year then it will drastically undermine confidence, as at that point there would be no telling when they will ever get back in. 

 

Here's hoping...

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

Kenny Dalglish was over 20 when he joined Liverpool and I think Keegan was just over too.

 

It would be nigh on impossible to improve on Suarez, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have another striker.

 

Definitely not high on the list of priorities, but it's not always a bad thing to keep the players fired up with a little competition.

Kenny was 26 when he signed.

[DanDanShaw]

Get Anelka on a free, he's exactly what we need.

 

Joking, but seriously - no striker worth his salt will come to sit on the bench, the only way you can do that is to pay them silly money like City and Chelsea do.

 

I don't think we need a 3rd striker, bring back Suso and sign a winger.  We have enough playing systems that if one of the strikers are injured we could cope.  Coutinho and Suso behind 1, 2 wingers either side of 1, Coutinho or Suso just behind 1 with two wingers and two central midfeilders. 

 

We finished 2nd in 2009 with 2 strikers, and one of those was N'Gog and we finished 2nd last year with 2 strikers.

[CardinalX]

Debuchy would be a good signing.

[Gym Beglin]

Attackers:

 

We have Coutinho, Alberto, Sterling, Assaidi, Teixeira, Suso, and Ibe.

 

One thing that connects them all is that they are stupidly young and inexperienced. And then there's Wilson progressing nicely, and Ojo, who might be in with a shout in 12 months time. In the meantime, it would be handy to sign a couple of top class, experienced operators in that part of the field.

 

Chances are that Assaidi, Alberto and Teixeira will either move clubs or go on loan, this Summer. I think, watching Ibe the other day, he's knocking on the door in terms of making the bench, he looks like a quality option off the bench potentially, and looks ready for first team minutes.

 

Suso seemed to be someone Rodgers liked, but maybe he might change his mind. I think Suso will be given a big change in pre-season to see where he's at.

 

I think that our reservoir of youth in this position has meant that we CAN look at Lallana for £20m, because we can afford to just pay what we want for the best player we can get, regardless if it seems like we are over-paying. We could end up spending big on two big players, and I'd like to think that we'd be looking at two from:

 

Lallala

Shaqiri

Lennon

Reus

Muller (you never know what Guardiola might do in terms of shaking things up)

Emmanuel Emenike

Carlos Vela

Susaeta

Alexis Sanchez

Giovani Dos Santos

[Jairzinho]

Sanchez and Vela. Please.

[DanDanShaw]

Sanchez and Vela. Please.

 

I'd rip your arm off for Sanchez, but Vela is shite.

[JaminKibbler]

Surprised no one has been linked with Hakan Çalhanoğlu from hamburg. 20 years old and got 11 goals in 31 for them, including a great goal which was one of the goals of the season. Plays CAM and would be a great understudy to coutinho, if suso doesn't progress that is

[ZonkoVille77]

Fuck me I hate transfer windows.

[Jairzinho]

 but Vela is shite.

 

No.

[DanDanShaw]

No.

 

We've already seen he can't do it in this league, next.

[Cardie]

Debuchy would be a good signing.

 

I can name at least ten right backs better than him....wait......

 

(FYI, Gretar Steinsson....definitely one of them)

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Fuck me I hate transfer windows.

It is getting old already. Won't stop me bleating over every player, though.

[CardinalX]

I can name at least ten right backs better than him....wait......

 

(FYI, Gretar Steinsson....definitely one of them.

Debuchy is the best right back in the league.

 

Come on then give it a go.

 

 

 

[Jairzinho]

We've already seen he can't do it in this league, next.

 

Yeah, he was shit at 12, both games.

 

Players never improve.

[Red Phoenix]

I like Vela too, just because Arsenal didn't play him enough (or in the right way.) I don't think it makes him shite. As for Sanchez, of course, he'd be one of the first players I'd put into a world 11. He'd probably cost us too much though!

[FanchesterCity]

I don't think top strikers will come to sit on a bench, but I do think some will fancy their chances of ousting an existing striker. 

 

The odds are well against them offering more than Suarez, but a few might fancy being better than Sturridge. That's not saying Sturridge is rubbish, or anything like that, simply that a truly top notch striker might fancy their chances. However, Chelsea and Arsenal would be more enticing prospects for a striker since it's clear they need one far more.

[DanDanShaw]

Yeah, he was shit at 12, both games.

 

Players never improve.

 

He was at Arsenal until he was 23 and never broke though, which considering they're a club who throw in the youngsters at any time - speaks volumes.

 

Forlan is a perfect example - brilliant player, but couldn't hack the Premier League.  Dare I say Aspas is another (not really a brilliant player but still...).  See how well Diego Costa does next season for Chelsea, the Spanish league is much easier to score in for a striker.

[Cardie]

He was at Arsenal until he was 23 and never broke though, which considering they're a club who throw in the youngsters at any time - speaks volumes.

 

Forlan is a perfect example - brilliant player, but couldn't hack the Premier League.  Dare I say Aspas is another (not really a brilliant player but still...).  See how well Diego Costa does next season for Chelsea, the Spanish league is much easier to score in for a striker.

 

 

Costa's going to be a cunt, a Drogba level cunt. Wish he was going to be our cunt.