Thiago Alcantara

[Code]

For Thiago, Im not really a big fan of those lofted passes he seems to make a lot of.

[Bjornebye]

37 minutes ago, Code said:

For Thiago, Im not really a big fan of those lofted passes he seems to make a lot of.

See the guy in your avatar.... he loves receiving lofted passes. 

[El Dangerous]

I love a lofted pass, it’s right up there with rangey cross field diagonals when they come off. Having played  for Bayern and Barce I’m sure he’s adept at playing against teams that sit deep but it’ll be ace to watch the grocks flocking to him because of his size then getting passed out of the game. Obviously if he doesn’t sign he can stick his lofted passes up his arse.

[TheHowieLama]

Picture in my head of Hendo throwing up another lofted ball to the back post.

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

Picture in my head of Hendo throwing up another lofted ball to the back post.

Is it where he pointed to? 

[Trumo]

4 hours ago, Saintslfc13 said:

3 Stacks made a good point that his age is right around the age as the more established players in our squad. I don't think they've totally shifted their overall strategy but that given the circumstances this move would make sense in the short term. I've really only seen a couple highlight videos but from the looks of it he provides something most of our midfielders don't in those accurate long balls and he seems to be very consistent at it. He also seems to be capable of running with/keeping the ball in tight spaces if he has to. That's something we want Keita to provide but as many have mentioned he's not been consistently good enough at it (hard to do when you're injured all the time but it seems those injuries have taken a toll on his mentality as well). Another factor is that, right now, it looks like we've only got Klopp until his contract runs out. They could very well be thinking that it's best to give him the players for right now and worry about the long term 1-2 years time.

 

The whole "moneyball" scheme of buying younger and/or undervalued players and moulding them into stars is great but even with the Red Sox they've shown they're more than willing to shell out for established players if they think it'll get them a shot at a championship. They're also not afraid to trade their stars away (sell in our case) if they think the window is closing and it's time for a rebuild. Werner is a special case. I think had the lockdowns not happened they would've been fine with the fee, and would've probably gotten him to agree a contract before Chelsea had a chance to offer him silly money. Turns out the kid wanted out of Leipzig, and/or said money, more than he wanted to play for Klopp. Probably didn't help that he spent the better part of the season publicly fawning over us and therefore didn't feel like he could stay there any longer. They might've even tried to get back in on that deal after Chelsea showed interest but when the wage demands became so high they thought fuck that. There's a certain point where if you're paying unproven young players the same as your established stars as well as a large transfer fee that it's not really "moneyball" anymore at all.

Of course, until it's official there's still a chance this could all be bullshit.

 

It's true that FSG aren't strict about always signing young players with time to develop and/or resale value. If a more experienced player comes along that can provide an immediate uplift as well as help bring on the younger players, they'll do it. In 2018, the Red Sox signed two players in their mid-30s - Ian Kinsler and Steve Pearce - to do exactly that. Both had excellent campaigns, the team won the World Series and Pearce was voted World Series MVP.

 

2 hours ago, Manny said:

Klopp seems to like experience in the midfield, probably because our setup seems to involve the midfield blocking up passing lanes whilst also being well-positioned to keep recycling the ball, so he values nous and positioning more than legs and lungs in this area. Hendo, Wijnaldum and Milner have always been key players for him, Lallana too to a lesser extent. Fabinho, Can, Ox and Keita are the only “young” players he’s trusted and they weren’t/aren’t exactly kids and they’ve often struggled to hold down places.

 

If we sign Thiago I doubt it’ll signal any change to overall policy, it’s more likely a case that there aren’t enough young players out there with the right skillset who‘re within budget, so we take a hit on the age and resale instead: it’s better value to sign Thiago to hit the ground running and play for 4 years than it is to sign his younger self for double the price and have to ease him gradually into the first team.
 

I’m still sceptical it’ll happen, but he could be an exception and we carry on signing younger, cheaper players for elsewhere in the team.

 

Of our current midfield options, I'd say Keita is the closest to having Thiago's skillset. He can play in a midfield two or 3, he can carry the ball, he can get past a press, and he frequently looks for the pass that can break the lines and get our forwards one-on-one or through on goal. Of course Keita hasn't shown this often enough, but that ability is there. If the squad has somebody of the experience and ability of Thiago (who will be used to playing against teams defending deep and narrow), which it currently doesn't, that is somebody Keita can observe at close quarters in training to develop his game into what he has the potential to become.

[Megadrive Man]

I still can't make up my mind if Thiago would elevate our midfield and give us a genuine world class midfield player or if it will be like when Veron went to United in 2001. I feel like we need something new in the front six for next season though. 

[Barrington Womble]

The echo throwing a bit more cold water earlier today. 

 

 

[BeefStroganoff]

22 minutes ago, The Gaul said:

The echo throwing a bit more cold water earlier today. 

 

 

They are fucking shit. I used to work a floor above them in St Pauls Square. The bunch of them think they are some sort of LFC celebs. They loved the fact they were seen as the bad guys on social media, especially Pearce. Gang of amateur nobs.

[Leyton388]

Once Pearce left for the Athletic the echo became irrelevant. 

[Anubis]

The only thing the Echo is good for these days is desperately trying to appease Evertonians only to continue to be labelled the Red Echo.

[Numero Veinticinco]

8 hours ago, Babb'sBurstNad said:

If he's good enough, he's too old enough.

Haha. Very good. 

[Guest]

54 minutes ago, The Gaul said:

The echo throwing a bit more cold water earlier today. 

 

 

I remember a couple of days before Alisson signed last season, the echo described Liverpool’s interest in the keeper as nonsense. 

 

Welcome to Anfield, Thiago and/or Victor. 

[Section_31]

Haven't taken an interest in the Echo's coverage since Bascombe left, when G&H were raping the club they were nowhere to be seen and they've got as much ITK info as someone on twitter called Istanbul_06 with 'respected ITK' in their bio.

[BeefStroganoff]

1 hour ago, Section_31 said:

Haven't taken an interest in the Echo's coverage since Bascombe left, when G&H were raping the club they were nowhere to be seen and they've got as much ITK info as someone on twitter called Istanbul_06 with 'respected ITK' in their bio.

Its all controlled now local journalism. There was once a time were a journalist would report unbiased news about the Club, especially in the 70s and 80s.

 

Now its all about keeping yourself in with the Club to get your access. Even the 'superfan' generation of independent fans that started off by telling it as it is, like TAW and Redmen TV have changed their stance since the Club has given them access to players and manager. FSG are smart cookies when it comes to local media.

[Lee909]

Signing that Victor Osimhen would be fucking stupidity. Yet another attacker that will fuck off for the ACON next year. 

[Leyton388]

2 minutes ago, Lee909 said:

Signing that Victor Osimhen would be fucking stupidity. Yet another attacker that will fuck off for the ACON next year. 

If we are doing that I'd rather us throw £25m to Arsenal for aubameyang with on 12 months left on his contract. 

[Trumo]

The AFCON has already been moved to January 2022.

[Strontium]

We're not signing a player who is as old as the age gap between John and Linda Henry.

[TheHowieLama]

1 hour ago, Trumo said:

The AFCON has already been moved to January 2022.

Aside from that

[Harry Squatter]

2 hours ago, Leyton388 said:

If we are doing that I'd rather us throw £25m to Arsenal for aubameyang with on 12 months left on his contract. 

I'm all for this, could be a Vam Persie type signing for us. Plus it would piss off all their bellend fans. 

[Lee909]

3 hours ago, Trumo said:

The AFCON has already been moved to January 2022.

I know, but we will still be stupid to sign yet another player that will miss mid season games. 

[El Dangerous]

1 hour ago, Doctor Troy said:

I'm all for this, could be a Vam Persie type signing for us. Plus it would piss off all their bellend fans. 

We signed Ox for £35m with a year left, they’ll be wanting more.

[Guest Alex_K]

1 hour ago, El Dangerous said:

We signed Ox for £35m with a year left, they’ll be wanting more.

Different scenario. Older player; more expensive salary. United paid 22.5 for RVP - much the better player to Chamberlain but his circumstances were different. Aubameyang probably flies similarly, assuming anyone is happy to pay the salary he wants. Not sure any English club will. United, maybe.

[aRdja]

9 hours ago, The Gaul said:

The echo throwing a bit more cold water earlier today. 

 

 

FFS. Thanks for ruining my weekend the Gaul.