January 2021 Transfer Thread

[Harry Squatter]

West Ham are selling Sebastian Haller to Ajax for €25m. They bought him for £45m.

[an tha]

30 minutes ago, Doctor Troy said:

West Ham are selling Sebastian Haller to Ajax for €25m. They bought him for £45m.

Hope they fancy investing that 25m in Divock Origi....

[cloggypop]

1 hour ago, Doctor Troy said:

West Ham are selling Sebastian Haller to Ajax for €25m. They bought him for £45m.

This just doesn't sound like an Ajax signing at all. I know he played under Ten Hag at Utrecht but it's way more than they normally spend, they are top anyway and he's going to have very little resale value. 

[cloggypop]

Having said that, Quincy Promes is facing four years for stabbing his nephew and Huntelaar can't be far off retirement. 

[Bad Red Bull]

According to Italian journalist 

@romeoagresti Liverpool offered David Alaba a contract worth €10m

[Chairman Meow]

7 hours ago, cloggypop said:

Having said that, Quincy Promes is facing four years for stabbing his nephew and Huntelaar can't be far off retirement. 

Huntelaar is still playing? He must be about 50 by now shirley?

 

5 hours ago, Bad Red Bull said:

According to Italian journalist 

@romeoagresti Liverpool offered David Alaba a contract worth €10m

Really good player but really doesn't seem like our kind of signing. That said neither did Thiago. 

 

If it's true maybe he's seen as the James Milner, older experienced pro who can play in loads of positions and be a good influence role. 

[Johnlj]

The we can save millions spin starting up again in the Echo. We apparently have the new Phillip Lahm and four others to save us millions. Teenagers 

 

Fucking tight ass Americans. Lets rely on teenagers to challenge for the only goal for them. CL qualification so the money keeps rolling in and the value keeps going up. John W's yacht must be in drydock and needing a new engine.

 

The Echo really is comical Ali these days.

[an tha]

By James Pearce in the Athletic this morning:

 

Liverpool won’t be ‘financially irresponsible’ and sign a new centre-back. 

 

The clamour for Liverpool to strengthen in the January window continues to grow.

 

Defensive injuries have left them without a recognised senior centre-back at a time when their Premier League title hopes have been hit by a concerning dip in form.

 

Midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson are being utilised as makeshift defenders.

However, there’s no sign of incoming reinforcements, with senior Anfield sources adamant that there are unlikely to be any new additions to Jurgen Klopp’s squad this month.

 

With Premier League and Champions League glory on the line over the coming months, it would be a gamble for Liverpool not to bolster their back line given the season-wrecking knee injuries suffered by Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez. Joel Matip, who is currently sidelined by a groin problem, has also had a succession of fitness issues. Rookies Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams have performed admirably when called upon but the step-up in class is considerable.

 

Why haven’t Liverpool dipped into the market and what’s going on behind the scenes?

 

Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon, sporting director Michael Edwards and Klopp, the three key figures when it comes to transfer dealings, have proved adept at blocking out the noise from outside the club in recent years.

 

They pride themselves on sticking to a clear strategy and long-term planning. They don’t entertain quick fixes. If they can’t get what they want, they sit tight until they can.

 

When Liverpool’s initial move for Van Dijk collapsed in the summer of 2017 after they were accused by Southampton of making an illegal approach, Klopp ignored the deafening calls to pursue a Plan B. He stuck to his guns and got his man six months later.

 

Similarly, when Philippe Coutinho was sold to Barcelona, Liverpool decided not to replace him mid-season. In his absence, they exceeded expectations in reaching the Champions League final and then reinvested £65 million of that fee in signing Alisson from Roma the following summer. Both calls were proved to be overwhelmingly correct.

 

Klopp says the prospect of pursuing a stop-gap defensive signing in January to get Liverpool through until the end of the season “makes no sense”.

Van Dijk’s absence is being sorely felt at the heart of the Liverpool defence (Photo: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The Premier League champions have come a long way since the January window five years ago when they brought in Steven Caulker on loan from Queen’s Park Rangers to ease an injury crisis. The bar has been raised considerably and Klopp would rather hand opportunities to a teenager with rich potential like Williams than bring in an experienced but limited defender who doesn’t fit Liverpool’s style.

 

Liverpool’s current inactivity in the market doesn’t mean that Gordon, Edwards and Klopp are blind to the area of weakness in the squad.

 

It was a calculated risk not to replace Dejan Lovren last summer when he was sold to Zenit Saint Petersburg. With money tight, they opted to prioritise the signings of Kostas Tsimikas, Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota in the knowledge that Fabinho could fill in if required at centre-back.

 

No-one could have predicted the devastating loss of both Van Dijk and Gomez but this wasn’t a situation suddenly thrust upon Liverpool. Van Dijk’s ACL was damaged by Jordan Pickford’s reckless challenge at Goodison on October 17. Gomez was hurt while training with England on November 11. They have had time to formulate a plan and discuss possible solutions.

 

In recent months, senior recruitment staff Barry Hunter and Dave Fallows, armed with the array of data and analytics provided by the club’s director of research Ian Graham and his team, have been assessing the merits of dozens of centre-backs from across Europe.

 

The list initially drawn up has been gradually whittled down based on three key factors — ability, availability and affordability. Inside the AXA Training Centre, they talk about “non-negotiables” in terms of what a Liverpool player must look like physically, technically and in terms of character and personality.

 

The Athletic understands that contact was made in November with intermediaries representing Schalke’s Ozan Kabak. However, after those initial discussions, it went no further. Liverpool opted not to pursue a deal for the Turkish defender, who is valued by Schalke at around €25 million. Sources close to Kabak now expect him to go elsewhere. AC Milan were also interested but deemed the price tag to be excessive.

 

Availability in January is certainly an issue. RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano is widely admired but with the clubs set to meet in the last 16 of the Champions League next month, there is little prospect of the Bundesliga outfit agreeing to sell one of their prized assets in the winter window.

 

Similarly, with Brighton locked in a relegation battle, they are determined to keep hold of Ben White, who impressed Liverpool during his season-long loan at Leeds United.

Anfield officials were baffled by reports suggesting they were in talks with Lille to sign defender Sven Botman. The suspicion was that Liverpool’s name was being used to drive up the price for the young Dutchman.

 

It was a similar story with Nicolas Pepe in 2019 when Liverpool were so annoyed by persistent speculation claiming they were on the brink of signing him that Edwards personally contacted Lille to make it clear they had no interest in buying him. Pepe subsequently joined Arsenal for £72 million.

 

“There’s zero interest in Botman. He’s not even under consideration for the summer window,” one senior club source tells The Athletic.

 

Finding someone of the required calibre who is available at a reasonable price in January to enhance Liverpool’s challenge for silverware has proved problematic. There would be a premium to be paid and finance is another important factor.

 

The impact of the global pandemic continues to cut deep. The cost to Liverpool in terms of the dip in revenues is understood to be in excess of £100 million and still rising in the absence of match-day income.

 

When they bought Thiago and Jota in mid-September, the key to getting both deals done was the selling clubs’ willingness to accept only a small chunk of the fee up front.

 

“This is a very difficult transfer window, as you can imagine. Not a lot of the clubs have real money,” Klopp recently admitted.

 

Of course, there’s an argument that rather than asking “can they afford to do something?”, the more pertinent question is “can they afford not to?”.

 

Getting past Leipzig in the last 16 of the Champions League is worth €10.5 million alone. Winning a quarter-final tie would bank another €12 million. Every Premier League place is worth £2 million. That’s before you factor in the obvious commercial benefits of lifting more silverware.

 

Liverpool hope to have Matip back fit for the crunch clash with Manchester United at Anfield on January 17 but for how long? He has missed four of the club’s nine league games since Gomez has been out. Matip has only completed 90 minutes six times in all competitions this season.

 

On the face of it, the absence of Van Dijk and Gomez hasn’t made Liverpool more vulnerable defensively. They have only conceded eight goals in a dozen league matches without Van Dijk. The issues with dropped points have been further forward, with Liverpool lacking creativity and a clinical edge in the final third.

 

Fabinho and Henderson have proved they can perform admirably at centre-back but the knock-on effect of playing them there is that Liverpool miss their presence in midfield, as Tom Worville explains…

 

While Fabinho has so far been a solid back-up for Liverpool at left centre-back, recent results demonstrate the opportunity cost to him, and Henderson, starting anywhere but in midfield.

 

There are elements of Fabinho’s game that translate nicely to him playing at the back. For example, he’s comfortable on the ball and usually averages around 80 touches per 90 minutes, in the top 20 per cent for central and defensive midfielders in the Premier League.

He’s decent at retaining possession too, with a turnover rate — which considers how often possession is lost as a proportion of total touches — of just 13 per cent, the 13th-best in his position.

 

Comfort and competence on the ball are key to playing at the back for this Liverpool team, and Fabinho ticks the boxes for both. The opportunity cost comes from how active he is when defending and the impact of where that defending happens on the pitch.

 

Out of Liverpool’s stable of midfielders, only Naby Keita averages more tackles and interceptions when adjusted for possession — how many of the actions does the player do per 1,000 opponent touches — than the Brazilian.

 

This is a useful skill when playing as a defensive midfielder as Fabinho can sit, screen and break up play, starting attacks himself from deep.

 

Fabinho’s tenacity hasn’t diminished with the shift to left centre-back, though. He ranks seventh for his number of possession-adjusted tackles, averaging 6.1 per 1,000 opponent touches.

 

That’s a polar opposite to how Van Dijk interpreted the left centre-back role, attempting just 1.8 possession-adjusted tackles, which puts him 102nd out of 114 centre-backs.

Van Dijk was comfortable sitting back, defending space and not the ball, and only engaging when he really had to. That allowed Liverpool’s midfielders — including Fabinho — to apply the pressure themselves in order to win possession back.

 

Fabinho still looks to go hunting in his new position, which in turn either means the space in behind him has to be covered by another body or is left vulnerable to attack.

 

With Fabinho at the back, Liverpool have started their possessions 36.8 metres from their goal on average, deeper than the 41 metres they used to start them up until Van Dijk’s injury.

 

The merits of the high line means a smaller amount of space to press but this indicates that the combination of Van Dijk’s absence and the redeployment of the only true No 6 in the squad to centre-back means they are actually winning the ball back deeper, and perhaps the defensive line actually isn’t as high anymore.

 

There’s a further knock-on effect for the team here, as it’s leading to fewer turnovers further upfield, with more space to defend between the defensive and forward lines.

 

In the games before Fabinho started at centre-back, Liverpool forced 6.2 high turnovers per 90 — defined as open-play possessions starting 40 metres from the opponent’s goal — and have averaged 3.1 per 90 since then.

 

Liverpool’s PPDA of 10.4 is unchanged across this period of time, indicating the press is still present, albeit markedly less effective.

 

Fatigue, the loss of Jota to injury and the types of games Liverpool have been involved in recently — facing plenty of deep defences in particular — all have an impact on Liverpool’s ability to press higher up the pitch, but by shifting their main midfield destroyer back a line, the impact is starting to be felt elsewhere.

 

During Klopp’s early days at Anfield, he declared that he “preferred training to transfers” and it appears increasingly likely that he will have to come up with answers to Liverpool’s problems internally rather than through an injection of new talent.

 

Unless an opportunity suddenly presents itself over the coming weeks, Liverpool won’t be buying another centre-back until the summer. By then, availability will be better and there will be more clarity on finances and the expected return of matchday income.

 

“Short-term fixes aren’t what this club is about anymore,” the source adds.

 

“It’s not how we arrived where we are. It makes sense to sign a centre-back we want for three to four years, not four or five months. And they are not available without being financially irresponsible in this window.”

[clockspeed]

Had to pull trigger 4th Jan to make loan or journeyman addition available. No one coming in now.

[Total Longo]

"They don't entertain quick fixes" - they've known about VVD since October and Gomez since November. Hardly like they both got injured over the Xmas period. It's massively negligent expecting to see out the season with the most injury prone centre back in history, two midfielders or two untried kids (who would be nowhere near the first team normally)  as your defence. 

[El Dangerous]

My guess is they’ll try and sign Alaba and then try and bend Bayern over a barrel and get him early for a knockdown fee. 

[sir roger]

1 hour ago, Chairman Meow said:

Really good player but really doesn't seem like our kind of signing. That said neither did Thiago. 

If it's true maybe he's seen as the James Milner, older experienced pro who can play in loads of positions and be a good influence role. 

Alaba is 28 , he would probably be one of our younger players

[Chairman Meow]

2 minutes ago, sir roger said:

Alaba is 28 , he would probably be one of our younger players

Is that all he is I thought he was 30 or 31 kind of territory, he seems to have been around forever.

 

Would put him at about the same age Milner was when we signed him though? He's won a shit ton, is used to playing in a team expected to win and covers a lot of players. Still would see him as a Milner replacement kind of signing. 

 

[sir roger]

1 minute ago, Chairman Meow said:

Is that all he is, he seems to have been around forever.

Yes, I thought the same , 29 in June.

[Johnlj]

A 1.80 meters centerback. Not for me, Clive. He is good in a completely dominating Bayern team. The grogs here would kill him. 

[sir roger]

5 minutes ago, Johnlj said:

A 1.80 meters centerback. Not for me, Clive. He is good in a completely dominating Bayern team. The grogs here would kill him. 

I don't think it is that big an issue , very few teams just send long high balls forward anymore , body strength does not seem an issue , and even our midget forwards do a job at defensive set pieces so I'm sure he would be useful.

[Harry Squatter]

50 minutes ago, Johnlj said:

The we can save millions spin starting up again in the Echo. We apparently have the new Phillip Lahm and four others to save us millions. Teenagers 

 

Fucking tight ass Americans. Lets rely on teenagers to challenge for the only goal for them. CL qualification so the money keeps rolling in and the value keeps going up. John W's yacht must be in drydock and needing a new engine.

 

The Echo really is comical Ali these days.

Same every transfer window, you can set your watch to it. Saw one of those articles and didnt even read it as it would piss me off.

[Daisy]

Disgraceful from FSG

[Harry Squatter]

55 minutes ago, an tha said:

By James Pearce in the Athletic this morning:

 

Liverpool won’t be ‘financially irresponsible’ and sign a new centre-back. 

 

The clamour for Liverpool to strengthen in the January window continues to grow.

 

Defensive injuries have left them without a recognised senior centre-back at a time when their Premier League title hopes have been hit by a concerning dip in form.

 

Midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson are being utilised as makeshift defenders.

However, there’s no sign of incoming reinforcements, with senior Anfield sources adamant that there are unlikely to be any new additions to Jurgen Klopp’s squad this month.

 

With Premier League and Champions League glory on the line over the coming months, it would be a gamble for Liverpool not to bolster their back line given the season-wrecking knee injuries suffered by Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez. Joel Matip, who is currently sidelined by a groin problem, has also had a succession of fitness issues. Rookies Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams have performed admirably when called upon but the step-up in class is considerable.

 

Why haven’t Liverpool dipped into the market and what’s going on behind the scenes?

 

Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon, sporting director Michael Edwards and Klopp, the three key figures when it comes to transfer dealings, have proved adept at blocking out the noise from outside the club in recent years.

 

They pride themselves on sticking to a clear strategy and long-term planning. They don’t entertain quick fixes. If they can’t get what they want, they sit tight until they can.

 

When Liverpool’s initial move for Van Dijk collapsed in the summer of 2017 after they were accused by Southampton of making an illegal approach, Klopp ignored the deafening calls to pursue a Plan B. He stuck to his guns and got his man six months later.

 

Similarly, when Philippe Coutinho was sold to Barcelona, Liverpool decided not to replace him mid-season. In his absence, they exceeded expectations in reaching the Champions League final and then reinvested £65 million of that fee in signing Alisson from Roma the following summer. Both calls were proved to be overwhelmingly correct.

 

Klopp says the prospect of pursuing a stop-gap defensive signing in January to get Liverpool through until the end of the season “makes no sense”.

Van Dijk’s absence is being sorely felt at the heart of the Liverpool defence (Photo: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The Premier League champions have come a long way since the January window five years ago when they brought in Steven Caulker on loan from Queen’s Park Rangers to ease an injury crisis. The bar has been raised considerably and Klopp would rather hand opportunities to a teenager with rich potential like Williams than bring in an experienced but limited defender who doesn’t fit Liverpool’s style.

 

Liverpool’s current inactivity in the market doesn’t mean that Gordon, Edwards and Klopp are blind to the area of weakness in the squad.

 

It was a calculated risk not to replace Dejan Lovren last summer when he was sold to Zenit Saint Petersburg. With money tight, they opted to prioritise the signings of Kostas Tsimikas, Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota in the knowledge that Fabinho could fill in if required at centre-back.

 

No-one could have predicted the devastating loss of both Van Dijk and Gomez but this wasn’t a situation suddenly thrust upon Liverpool. Van Dijk’s ACL was damaged by Jordan Pickford’s reckless challenge at Goodison on October 17. Gomez was hurt while training with England on November 11. They have had time to formulate a plan and discuss possible solutions.

 

In recent months, senior recruitment staff Barry Hunter and Dave Fallows, armed with the array of data and analytics provided by the club’s director of research Ian Graham and his team, have been assessing the merits of dozens of centre-backs from across Europe.

 

The list initially drawn up has been gradually whittled down based on three key factors — ability, availability and affordability. Inside the AXA Training Centre, they talk about “non-negotiables” in terms of what a Liverpool player must look like physically, technically and in terms of character and personality.

 

The Athletic understands that contact was made in November with intermediaries representing Schalke’s Ozan Kabak. However, after those initial discussions, it went no further. Liverpool opted not to pursue a deal for the Turkish defender, who is valued by Schalke at around €25 million. Sources close to Kabak now expect him to go elsewhere. AC Milan were also interested but deemed the price tag to be excessive.

 

Availability in January is certainly an issue. RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano is widely admired but with the clubs set to meet in the last 16 of the Champions League next month, there is little prospect of the Bundesliga outfit agreeing to sell one of their prized assets in the winter window.

 

Similarly, with Brighton locked in a relegation battle, they are determined to keep hold of Ben White, who impressed Liverpool during his season-long loan at Leeds United.

Anfield officials were baffled by reports suggesting they were in talks with Lille to sign defender Sven Botman. The suspicion was that Liverpool’s name was being used to drive up the price for the young Dutchman.

 

It was a similar story with Nicolas Pepe in 2019 when Liverpool were so annoyed by persistent speculation claiming they were on the brink of signing him that Edwards personally contacted Lille to make it clear they had no interest in buying him. Pepe subsequently joined Arsenal for £72 million.

 

“There’s zero interest in Botman. He’s not even under consideration for the summer window,” one senior club source tells The Athletic.

 

Finding someone of the required calibre who is available at a reasonable price in January to enhance Liverpool’s challenge for silverware has proved problematic. There would be a premium to be paid and finance is another important factor.

 

The impact of the global pandemic continues to cut deep. The cost to Liverpool in terms of the dip in revenues is understood to be in excess of £100 million and still rising in the absence of match-day income.

 

When they bought Thiago and Jota in mid-September, the key to getting both deals done was the selling clubs’ willingness to accept only a small chunk of the fee up front.

 

“This is a very difficult transfer window, as you can imagine. Not a lot of the clubs have real money,” Klopp recently admitted.

 

Of course, there’s an argument that rather than asking “can they afford to do something?”, the more pertinent question is “can they afford not to?”.

 

Getting past Leipzig in the last 16 of the Champions League is worth €10.5 million alone. Winning a quarter-final tie would bank another €12 million. Every Premier League place is worth £2 million. That’s before you factor in the obvious commercial benefits of lifting more silverware.

 

Liverpool hope to have Matip back fit for the crunch clash with Manchester United at Anfield on January 17 but for how long? He has missed four of the club’s nine league games since Gomez has been out. Matip has only completed 90 minutes six times in all competitions this season.

 

On the face of it, the absence of Van Dijk and Gomez hasn’t made Liverpool more vulnerable defensively. They have only conceded eight goals in a dozen league matches without Van Dijk. The issues with dropped points have been further forward, with Liverpool lacking creativity and a clinical edge in the final third.

 

Fabinho and Henderson have proved they can perform admirably at centre-back but the knock-on effect of playing them there is that Liverpool miss their presence in midfield, as Tom Worville explains…

 

While Fabinho has so far been a solid back-up for Liverpool at left centre-back, recent results demonstrate the opportunity cost to him, and Henderson, starting anywhere but in midfield.

 

There are elements of Fabinho’s game that translate nicely to him playing at the back. For example, he’s comfortable on the ball and usually averages around 80 touches per 90 minutes, in the top 20 per cent for central and defensive midfielders in the Premier League.

He’s decent at retaining possession too, with a turnover rate — which considers how often possession is lost as a proportion of total touches — of just 13 per cent, the 13th-best in his position.

 

Comfort and competence on the ball are key to playing at the back for this Liverpool team, and Fabinho ticks the boxes for both. The opportunity cost comes from how active he is when defending and the impact of where that defending happens on the pitch.

 

Out of Liverpool’s stable of midfielders, only Naby Keita averages more tackles and interceptions when adjusted for possession — how many of the actions does the player do per 1,000 opponent touches — than the Brazilian.

 

This is a useful skill when playing as a defensive midfielder as Fabinho can sit, screen and break up play, starting attacks himself from deep.

 

Fabinho’s tenacity hasn’t diminished with the shift to left centre-back, though. He ranks seventh for his number of possession-adjusted tackles, averaging 6.1 per 1,000 opponent touches.

 

That’s a polar opposite to how Van Dijk interpreted the left centre-back role, attempting just 1.8 possession-adjusted tackles, which puts him 102nd out of 114 centre-backs.

Van Dijk was comfortable sitting back, defending space and not the ball, and only engaging when he really had to. That allowed Liverpool’s midfielders — including Fabinho — to apply the pressure themselves in order to win possession back.

 

Fabinho still looks to go hunting in his new position, which in turn either means the space in behind him has to be covered by another body or is left vulnerable to attack.

 

With Fabinho at the back, Liverpool have started their possessions 36.8 metres from their goal on average, deeper than the 41 metres they used to start them up until Van Dijk’s injury.

 

The merits of the high line means a smaller amount of space to press but this indicates that the combination of Van Dijk’s absence and the redeployment of the only true No 6 in the squad to centre-back means they are actually winning the ball back deeper, and perhaps the defensive line actually isn’t as high anymore.

 

There’s a further knock-on effect for the team here, as it’s leading to fewer turnovers further upfield, with more space to defend between the defensive and forward lines.

 

In the games before Fabinho started at centre-back, Liverpool forced 6.2 high turnovers per 90 — defined as open-play possessions starting 40 metres from the opponent’s goal — and have averaged 3.1 per 90 since then.

 

Liverpool’s PPDA of 10.4 is unchanged across this period of time, indicating the press is still present, albeit markedly less effective.

 

Fatigue, the loss of Jota to injury and the types of games Liverpool have been involved in recently — facing plenty of deep defences in particular — all have an impact on Liverpool’s ability to press higher up the pitch, but by shifting their main midfield destroyer back a line, the impact is starting to be felt elsewhere.

 

During Klopp’s early days at Anfield, he declared that he “preferred training to transfers” and it appears increasingly likely that he will have to come up with answers to Liverpool’s problems internally rather than through an injection of new talent.

 

Unless an opportunity suddenly presents itself over the coming weeks, Liverpool won’t be buying another centre-back until the summer. By then, availability will be better and there will be more clarity on finances and the expected return of matchday income.

 

“Short-term fixes aren’t what this club is about anymore,” the source adds.

 

“It’s not how we arrived where we are. It makes sense to sign a centre-back we want for three to four years, not four or five months. And they are not available without being financially irresponsible in this window.”

Basically run your squad into the ground for 3 years, buy a couple of teenagers and bargains or pay a big fee over a long term as in Jota. When we won the Champions League we signed no one, it paid off eventually with us winning the league. But because we had a shit backup keeper who cost nothing we ended up out of the Champions League and FA cup. 

 

We only signed Minamino because his release clause was ridiculously low and he could be sold on for more if it never worked out.

 

Let's stick to our strategy of spending virtually fuck all and only fund it with sales. 

 

If the wheels come off and we end up 3rd or worse the club only have themselves to blame. Fucking ridiculous.

[joe_fishfish]

I don't think we'll finish above third, it's not even just about the centre back now. All of our key players are playing like shit. Hopefully we get past Leipzig and get a favourable Champions League draw.

[ZonkoVille77]

Almost like they don't care about winning the PL, that monkey is off their back. Focus now is the endless riches the CL offers. 

 

Not signing or even loaning a CB is criminal. 

[an tha]

18 minutes ago, Doctor Troy said:

Basically run your squad into the ground for 3 years, buy a couple of teenagers and bargains or pay a big fee over a long term as in Jota. When we won the Champions League we signed no one, it paid off eventually with us winning the league. But because we had a shit backup keeper who cost nothing we ended up out of the Champions League and FA cup. 

 

We only signed Minamino because his release clause was ridiculously low and he could be sold on for more if it never worked out.

 

Let's stick to our strategy of spending virtually fuck all and only fund it with sales. 

 

If the wheels come off and we end up 3rd or worse the club only have themselves to blame. Fucking ridiculous.

Our timing of finally being back on top is lousy/such bad luck! To be at our highest peak for 30 years plus when the arse is falling out of everything because of a fucking pandemic is just rotten.

 

The big worry is that we start to slide back and can't arrest the slide and then our time to really build and consolidate and kick on whilst on top passes and we become shit again just in time for when conditions get better and lose ground to our rivals we can't recover.

 

As for the centre half situation - nobody really wants a stop gap/short term fix... we need a long term fix, and we of course know that - our problems this season have just brought forward the need to act by one window.....is it really as hard as they say to do - yeah it is trickier, yeah there will be a premium to pay, but to my mind it is not just worth it, it is absolutely imperative it happens.

 

Unless they just can't get that long term fix now even paying the premium....which i find hard to believe.

 

 

[Simbo]

Fuck me everyone. We’ve lost ONE GAME.

[ZonkoVille77]

4 minutes ago, Simbo said:

Fuck me everyone. We’ve lost ONE GAME.

 

[Harry Squatter]

13 minutes ago, an tha said:

Our timing of finally being back on top is lousy/such bad luck! To be at our highest peak for 30 years plus when the arse is falling out of everything because of a fucking pandemic is just rotten.

 

The big worry is that we start to slide back and can't arrest the slide and then our time to really build and consolidate and kick on whilst on top passes and we become shit again just in time for when conditions get better and lose ground to our rivals we can't recover.

 

As for the centre half situation - nobody really wants a stop gap/short term fix... we need a long term fix, and we of course know that - our problems this season have just brought forward the need to act by one window.....is it really as hard as they say to do - yeah it is trickier, yeah there will be a premium to pay, but to my mind it is not just worth it, it is absolutely imperative it happens.

 

Unless they just can't get that long term fix now even paying the premium....which i find hard to believe.

 

 

Exactly, we need to stay on top and take advantage of this situation. We moved ahead when a few of our rivals were either shit or in transition. 

 

Klopp is here for a few more years and we need to take maximum advantage of that.

 

The club is it's worse enemy sometimes.