Glen Johnson....

[Maldini]

Why so angry, the point raised should be up for debate.

 

Why are we wasting our time with players for one season just to start all over again the next, its not good use of resources is it?

 

Why not make a better decision in the first place, its not like its something which happens only with 1 out of 5 signings, its more like 3 out of 5 and thats actually a pretty big problem for us and something I would have hoped we had seen the back off but I could not have been more wrong looking at last summers buys.

 

Johnson will be a good addition to our squad if we buy him, but the price mentioned is frankly insane.

 

Clearly it's because we haven't had the funds to get better players and other positions were more of a priority. We've spent less than £12m on 7 full backs in the time Rafa's been here. We've had to wheel and deal and be creative with how we bring them in (two were free transfers and two were swaps)

 

Degen - 0

Dossena - 7

Insua - swap

Arbeloa 2.6

Aurelio - 0

Kromkamp - swap

Josemi - 2m

[Lefti]

Arguments galore on this thread, have i stumbled into RAWK?

[WaltonRed]

I more meant it to the fact you cant have your own opinion without some fuckwit jumping on you. Im not calling you a fuckwit by the way.

 

I see what you mean. Apologies.

[INTORRESTING]

who do people want then?

[Section_31]

who do people want then?

 

A world class wide player, just like last year.

[Top of the Kop]

who do people want then?

 

Messi, Villa, and Iniesta would suffice...Maybe Essien too but thats just being greedy.

[Maldini]

These threads wreck my head. People come on and say they don't think it's a good signing and are slated for it, the fuck is this East Germany?

 

Keane round 2 this is, spending the bulk of a very small transfer fund on a position that isn't even a priority, on a player who shouldn't command fee of any more than £8m

 

They're not being slated because they don't rate Johnson, they're being slated because they're hijacking ANOTHER thread with their tedious agendas, twisting facts to suit their arguments and ignoring those that disprove them. I think 99% of people on here probably have questions about whether Johnson is good enough, I know I do, but it's about how you express it. Every thread these days becomes about Rashid and/or Code72's illogical agenda when they get involved.

[Code]

Clearly it's because we haven't had the funds to get better players and other positions were more of a priority. We've spent less than £12m on 7 full backs in the time Rafa's been here. We've had to wheel and deal and be creative with how we bring them in (two were free transfers and two were swaps)

 

Degen - 0

Dossena - 7

Insua - swap

Arbeloa 2.6

Aurelio - 0

Kromkamp - swap

Josemi - 2m

 

Thats fair enough, we have not invested much money in our full back purchases, but we have invested time in them and changing them after just one or two seasons does not bring really bring stability to a back four, something I think has let us down big time this season especially on the left where all three used in that position have been caught out behind their man inside the box and it has cost us goals.

 

I know people think I love Riise, something I certainly dont do, but Riise knew how to position himself between the goal and the attacking player and he hardly let in goals from his zone, we have conceded loads of goals because this has been missing this season, I might go as far as saying with Riise still here we would be celebrating number 19 still.

[NorwegianRed]

Well, this is the Glenn Johnson thread, but who do I want?

 

I'd like to get Glenn Johnson(for say, 14m£?) AND Micah Richards (given that Arbeloa is infact leaving us, which I hope he isn't) and a solid winger\attacker Silva\Tevez\Lavezzi.

 

That would for me be absolutely perfect.

[paddyberger15]

Thats fair enough, we have not invested much money in our full back purchases, but we have invested time in them and changing them after just one or two seasons does not bring really bring stability to a back four, something I think has let us down big time this season especially on the left where all three used in that position have been caught out behind their man inside the box and it has cost us goals.

 

I know people think I love Riise, something I certainly dont do, but Riise knew how to position himself between the goal and the attacking player and he hardly let in goals from his zone, we have conceded loads of goals because this has been missing this season, I might go as far as saying with Riise still here we would be celebrating number 19 still.

 

Yeah, you only need to look as far back as the European Cup semi final of 2008 at Anfield to see that.

[INTORRESTING]

A world class wide player, just like last year.

 

just out of interest, who?

[INTORRESTING]

Thats fair enough, we have not invested much money in our full back purchases, but we have invested time in them and changing them after just one or two seasons does not bring really bring stability to a back four, something I think has let us down big time this season especially on the left where all three used in that position have been caught out behind their man inside the box and it has cost us goals.

 

I know people think I love Riise, something I certainly dont do, but Riise knew how to position himself between the goal and the attacking player and he hardly let in goals from his zone, we have conceded loads of goals because this has been missing this season, I might go as far as saying with Riise still here we would be celebrating number 19 still.

 

Riise absolutely lost the plot with us, he became a bit of a joke towards the end. He was hindering not helping.

[SpeedyG]

Thats fair enough, we have not invested much money in our full back purchases, but we have invested time in them and changing them after just one or two seasons does not bring really bring stability to a back four, something I think has let us down big time this season especially on the left where all three used in that position have been caught out behind their man inside the box and it has cost us goals.

 

I know people think I love Riise, something I certainly dont do, but Riise knew how to position himself between the goal and the attacking player and he hardly let in goals from his zone, we have conceded loads of goals because this has been missing this season, I might go as far as saying with Riise still here we would be celebrating number 19 still.

 

Jesus, how quickly we forget the sight of Riise diving in and missing leaving the left side wide open, the aimless punts from deep straight to the opposition, the long "shots" injuring the fans in row z. Our left side was like a sieve when he was there.

[Ted]

How old is Simao?

[Code]

The thing is that you and a few on here suggest that everything Rafa does is wrong, it get's fucking tedious and boring after a while.

 

It might look that way, but thats just because I dont find it interesting to post stuff just to tell anyone how great everything is, if thats the case then I rather enjoy it, but when I feel something is wrong I`ll have my say.

 

If you take a quick look at this thread you will see I`m more than able to defend Rafa if I think thats the right thing to do.

 

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/ff-football-forum/57202-defence-rafa-benitez.html

[Anubis]

A world class wide player, just like last year.

Sorry Mark, but I don't think we have the money to get what you want. The world of transfer fees just went mad.

[Herp McDerp]

I might go as far as saying with Riise still here we would be celebrating number 19 still.

 

And I might go as far as to say that if it were not for him we would have won the CL last season.

 

[SpeedyG]

It might look that way, but thats just because I dont find it interesting to post stuff just to tell anyone how great everything is, if thats the case then I rather enjoy it, but when I feel something is wrong I`ll have my say.

 

If you take a quick look at this thread you will see I`m more than able to defend Rafa if I think thats the right thing to do.

 

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/ff-football-forum/57202-defence-rafa-benitez.html

 

It's not about defending this one or that one, it's about chatting crap.

[Jonte]

You don't win if you don't gamble.

 

I think Johnson will be a good signing, but I can't se why we want so sell Arbeloa as he is a utility player and we need both competing for the RB. Johnson can also play further up the pitch if there are needs.

 

If the price of £18,5m is correct, I guess £7m is Crouch and £5m is add-ons - So then it's £6,5m from our pocket.

 

Where do you get your fee from coop?

[rebel23]

it's 18.5m, if that's the fee that is the fee and how it shall forever be recorded

 

for people saying we should get Tevez, Silva etc. the fact is they're not available. tevez is probably going to city for nearly double (plus outrageous wages) and the president of valencia has said Silva is not for sale while demanding €50m for Villa, so to get a player who is available and wants to come in this market i think we shouldn't quibble about the fee

[Jose Jones]

There’s no harm in querying the fee, as money is a big issue.

I think nearly everyone agrees that we don’t have a lot of money to spend and that whilst we could probably do with a right back, a jinky matchwinning attacker, preferably for the left should be the priority. If we get Johnson for something like 15 million then sell Babel, Dossena and Voronin for about 15 million, plus get in someone like Silva for 20 million then most people would be ok with this. If Silva/another was available for 25 million and we missed out by going a bit over the top for Johnson then people will be questioning the deal.

Still, as Rafa had problems last season because he wanted Barry first then Keane and thought he could get them both, but then Parry went over the top in the money for Keane so we couldn’t then afford Barry, you’d think maybe he has thought this through?

[Maldini]

You can't count the £7m from Crouch, that will have already been accounted for, in the same way as the £10m we still owe on Torres has been accounted for.

[Red Nick]

Chill out gay boys

 

YouTube - REMIX:THE INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN ANTHEM "IN YOUR FACE"

[G Richards]

There are lots of ways of looking at this signing. I don't think any of us likes the price very much, but that is the reality of the current situation. There are a number of money laden clubs around. I would like to pay £8-10M for Johnson, but if that isn't possible then so be it. We have bought a fair few fullbacks for around the £2-3M mark during Rafa's tenure, so if he 'overpays' on one then that's not the end of the world.

 

If Arbeloa is off to Real Madrid for £8-10M then he nees to be replaced. I think Johnson is an upgrade over Arbeloa, especially in attacking. And we should take the whole right flank into consideration in weighing up the merits of Johnson's signing. Kuyt is a fixture in the side. He hasn't fully convinced everyone, but I think it is fair to say that most of those who have had legimitate doubts can at least see what he brings to the side. He is not a lightweight, dribbler-type, who will miss a fair few games through injuries and whatnot. He is a solid citizen who puts in a shift every single time; a player who defends in his area of the pitch by putting their defenders under pressure, and one who weighs in with his share of goals. All good. Lamenting what he does not bring to the side has been done ad infinitum.

 

So what has this got to do with Johnson? Well, if we can say Dirk is a 'defensive attacker', then Johnson is an 'attacking defender'. My point is, between the two of them we might, just might, have great balance on the right flank.

 

I think most people feel that we already have a good squad, so what we need to do is now look to improve the first team as best as we can. Johnson should be an improvement on Arbeloa, so it makes a lot of sense, especially if we also factor in his age and place of birth, given the quota of home grown that will be needed.

 

All this brings me to the price. If paying this much for Johnson means we cannot afford an attacker (I use the term loosely, referring to the front four, but in my view the position in most need of strengthening is the left of the three behind Nando) then I feel that Johnson is a mistake.

 

But if Rafa feels he can still get the attacker he needs after this signing then he should pursue Johnson. After all, it is not as though there are no other suitors for Johnson. If Rafa waited first to sign the attacker, in all likelihood Johnson will be snapped up by Chelsea/Citeh/whoever.

 

As ever, we need to see what the window brings in its entirety before we can weigh up the merits of an individual signing. If Johnson is the only signing then it is an improvement on one position, though probably not the most pressing area in the side. So, let's wait and see what happens.

[diego]

just out of interest, who?

 

Some of the anti-Rafa obsessives who claim that Degen was so obviously a bad buy because he was a crock also complain that Rafa wouldn't buy their darling "hamstrings" Owen.