January Transfer Window 2015

[markcd]

It's a fair point about the total cost of out strike force and the relative shitness of it - but it assumes that it was possible to spend the £47m on a Benzema or a Cavani and that they actually would come. My guess is (and it is only a guess) that those players don't want to play for a club whose target is to just qualify for the CL - they want to play somewhere where they are challenging for it.

[Neil G]

Assuming Balotelli and Borini are fucked off in the summer at the latest, and maybe Lambert as well, we'll need cover in the striker positions. We still need one of first team quality as well, but we can't expect to have three of four of that calibre, so I've no problem with us getting someone like Ings.

 

I'd also have no problem with us loaning him straight back to Burnley if that's the only way they'd sell him to us now, and provided the money we pay for him doesn't mean there's none left to sign anyone else in this window who'll actually play for us this season. Although if we don't sign anyone else, I'm not sure how we'd know if there was any more money available.

[Jairzinho]

Could always have bought one of the sixty three trillion players in between the ability levels of Benzema and Balotelli/Borini/Lambert/Ings.

[Major Tom]

Chelsea bolstering their bench with £26m Cuadrado.

 

They compete in a different transfer realm to us.

[Chairman Meow]

It's a fair point about the total cost of out strike force and the relative shitness of it - but it assumes that it was possible to spend the £47m on a Benzema or a Cavani and that they actually would come. My guess is (and it is only a guess) that those players don't want to play for a club whose target is to just qualify for the CL - they want to play somewhere where they are challenging for it.

 

You may well be right and I agree it's not necessarily a case of not signing those and Lovren then going out and buying plazzy Ronaldo or Messi. But we aren't getting value out of having 5 strikers on the books who can't score and one who can score but sadly maybe too injury prone to build a team around. If you include Sturridge it's just shy of £60 million pounds worth of strikers at the club and we can't score goals?

 

Just more the point there is this thing about us not being able to compete financially, one of the main reasons for that is us pissing money away. 

 

We sign Ings (who may turn out to be brilliant) and then loan him back it's £50 million pounds of striker and we are still relying on Sturridge coming back. 

 

That's not good planning however you dress it up.

 

I've nothing against Ings, just think it's not what we should be doing right now.

 

Next season, Sturridge, Origi, Ings and another senior striker of quality then it's good value. Next season Balotelli, Borini, Aspas, Lambert, Sturridge, Ings and Origi on the books and it's not.

 

Needless to say if we sign him I hope he turns out to be great players for us if he signs. 

 

I just struggle to have any great faith in the people responsible for Balotelli, Lambert, Borini and Aspas. 

[Neil G]

Could always have bought one of the sixty three trillion players in between the ability levels of Benzema and Balotelli/Borini/Lambert/Ings.

I'm assuming and hoping we'll be doing that as well at some point.

 

If Ings is the only striker the committee have come up with that we can sign this window, that's yet another piss poor performance from them. That doesn't mean we shouldn't sign him though.

 

If on the other hand Ings was one of several options and the alternatives would have been able to play for us this season, the signing itself is a big mistake.

[El Rojo]

With Borini, Balotelli and Lambert possibly all on their way out in the summer, we'll need a few new strikers.

 

Ings could be a shrewd or depressing move depending on whatever other business we do between June and September.

[Hades]

Could always have bought one of the sixty three trillion players in between the ability levels of Benzema and Balotelli/Borini/Lambert/Ings.

Skygen/YouTube whopper.

[Chairman Meow]

With Borini, Balotelli and Lambert possibly all on their way out in the summer, we'll need a few new strikers.

 

Ings could be a shrewd or depressing move depending on whatever other business we do between June and September.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/29/mario-balotelli-liverpool-leave-die-mino-raiola

 

 

 

“I saw him on Monday and said: ‘You’ve got a [long] contract and I’m not taking you away. Either you leave Liverpool for €60m or €70m and I win the bet or you die there’.

 

Borini and Lambert I think we can maybe shift somewhere assuming Borini actually accepts leaving this time around.

 

Balotelli has all the hallmarks of becoming our latest unflushable turd. 

 

Finally Aspas has 8 appearances and 0 goals for Sevilla so we are probably stuck with him for a while longer too.

[Dr. J]

I've seen Ings in a few games - he certainly showed the work rate that Rodgers values in a striker. Of Balotelli, Lambert and Borini the only one who makes any runs in the box is Borini, something that Ings will do, too. A line of Sterling, Lallana and Coutinho will create chances for runners.

 

I reckon it's shrewd enough for the price and that Ings will run through walls for us if he comes.

[Section_31]

Chelsea bolstering their bench with £26m Cuadrado.

 

They compete in a different transfer realm to us.

We bolstered our bench with a £15 million Joe allen, a £25 million Lallana, and a £10 million Borini.

[fowlerisgod]

Love passion but running around like a headless chicken won't be enough for me I'm afraid unless we get an end product. Good player for Burnley, who fight for relegation but is he someone who can help us fight for top 4/league?

 

Borini is another headless chicken. Hopefully Ings scores more if he comes.

[magicrat]

I take your point but the Ings deal would be slightly different to Lambert. Lambert was an experienced striker bought to provide cover. ings is current England under 21 striker who has plenty of room for improvement even though he has already scored more goals than our strikeforce put together.

It's the old "plenty of room for improvement" caveat again.

Doesn't quite equate to plenty of goals  

[Dr. J]

Can't argue with that but I think Rodgers is committed to this formation and style of play, which demands a very active and mobile striker, someone like Cavani, for example. Not that we have much hope of signing someone like him.

[Jairzinho]

We could probably sign someone that has scored more than seven top flight goals though.

[Dr. J]

We did - Balotelli and Lambert, both. But their style doesn't suit us. Borini's does but he's just not good enough. We need a better Borini more than another static goal scorer whose goals will dry up once he's put in our system.

 

In any case, even though we obviously need a striker or two we can't ignore the fact that our production from midfield has also been pretty fucking poor.

[Gym Beglin]

 

Mourinho proving how good a manager he is once more with a £26m splurge on a player. Oh Jose, you're such a good fucking manager, look how you write them cheques out, like a fucking boss, you're amazing, nobody can buy players like you.

[Gym Beglin]

If we get to February and Sturridge gets injured again, then I want a riot.

[Major Tom]

We bolstered our bench with a £15 million Joe allen, a £25 million Lallana, and a £10 million Borini.

 

Happy to disagree, Section.

[Dave D]

Its hard to get too excited with potentially signing Ings but football can make an arse of you like that.

 

I was "mildly" excited at the prospect of Balotelli, certainly would have opted for him instead of Ings-  

 

Id have been orgasmic at the thought of getting Falcao. Hmmm

 

Or,

 

Wind back a season, Id have been very underwhelmed if we'd bought some young kid from Spurs by the name of Harry Kane.

 

I didnt want Bony. Then City bought him and Im suddenly thinking we missed out

[Trumo]

Even though the sale of Schurrle will finance the deal for Cuadrado, it seems Cuadrado will push Salah further down the pecking order, who pushed Atsu further down the pecking order, who pushed Marin further down the pecking order...

 

Sooner or later, there will have to be a rule which says that any club signing a player can only loan him once during his contract, and for no more than 1 season. After that, they must use him (having him named in their 25-man squad lists for example) or sell him. The stockpiling of players by certain clubs has only caused transfer fees and wages to further spiral as both clubs and players want parity with those they see as their peers.

[Major Tom]

Even though the sale of Schurrle will finance the deal for Cuadrado, it seems Cuadrado will push Salah further down the pecking order, who pushed Atsu further down the pecking order, who pushed Marin further down the pecking order...

 

But we bought Lallana for £25m...

[Jairzinho]

 

 

I didnt want Bony. Then City bought him and Im suddenly thinking we missed out

 

That's because we anticipated the club would replace Suarez with a much better player than Bony, then we ended up replacing him with a much worse player.

[Dave D]

That's because we anticipated the club would replace Suarez with a much better player than Bony, then we ended up replacing him with a much worse player.

 

It make me feel sick when I think that we sold Suarez and managed to buy 2 of the most unsuited players we possibly could and failed to get a Kings Ransom for Borini.

 

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 

[Section_31]

Mourinho proving how good a manager he is once more with a £26m splurge on a player. Oh Jose, you're such a good fucking manager, look how you write them cheques out, like a fucking boss, you're amazing, nobody can buy players like you.

It's not as simple as that though in fairness. He doesn't just buy expensive players he buys the right players. There were better strikers around than Drogba but he was tailor made for the way they play, he also bought athletes for his midfield because it was built to win in England. Pace, aggression, power, in fact if he learned off anyone it was probably off Wenger's first double winning side.

 

It was only when Abramovich went full on billy big bollocks and started spending mega money on the likes of Shevchenco that things went tits up for Chelsea.

 

The idea that they just buy the most expensive players and throw them at the opposition simply isn't true, in fact that's the mancs' MO these days and it doesn't seem to work. It's also the accusation levelled at Rodgers doubters that this is something they want for Liverpool, when what we really want is to not keep harvesting shit players.