1.) 21 Feb 2017
21 Feb 2017 19:27:26
I hope not.


2.) 21 Feb 2017
21 Feb 2017 20:04:29
I would literally take any of their midfielders over him.


3.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 01:42:24
He's actually not as bad as you'd expect, fairly decent player. Wouldn't want him at Liverpool but I'd take him over noble any day.


4.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 10:15:14
Where was that rumour plucked from?


5.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 13:42:57
there will be plenty more where that came from between now and august DecimusUK.


6.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 15:14:27
United linked with Dybala and Griezmann, we're linked with Pedro Obiang lol.

{Ed001's Note - why are people so down on Obiang?}


7.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 17:15:40
Because we want to sign names that will take us further ed. You surely can't defend Obiang. That's just blind faith. I'd rather stick Stewart in for a season, see what he's made of.

{Ed001's Note - I don't remember him being as bad as people seem to be making out. Nothing to do with blind faith, but it seems everyone wants to bitch about signings of players we actually need without anyone actually knowing if he is any good. Seems like most people are basing it on whether he is a flair player or not. Obiang has looked good when I have watched him, despite having to pair up with the utterly average Noble and carry him week in week out. I would rather we bought him than Goetze.}


8.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 17:30:55
18 appearances for west ham, 1 goal 1 assist.

99 appearances for sampdoria 4 goals 6 assists.

Gotze total for Bayern/ Dortmund/ Germany

225 appearances 59 goals 50 assists.

{Ed001's Note - what is the point in that crap? Obiang is not an attacker, Goetze is. Just meaningless numbers.}


9.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 17:35:13
Just putting numbers to names for people to view, its not crap its actual factual statistics.

You made the reference between the both in stating you would choose the later over Gotze!

{Ed001's Note - not because of meaningless crappy useless irrelevant statistics. It was because we need a player like Obiang, we do not need a player like Goetze, we have Coutinho.}


10.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 17:42:47
I have no problems with your opinions Ed1 but you way of articulating your points leaves a lot to be desired.

I personally find the comparison of interest seen as you raised the point of a choice over both, I would accommodate gotze on the left and bring Coutinho back into the 10 position, but again that's simply my opinion if we even targeted a player of Gotze ilk.

{Ed001's Note - if you don't like it don't read it. I haven't time to sit here reading through irrelevant stats. We don't need Goetze, we have shown a lack of bite and power and pace in central midfield, which would not be solved by Couts moving back, much as I would like him there. It would also not help our attack replacing Couts with Goetze, who is not as good as Couts, so would just weaken our attack while solving none of our issues.}


11.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 17:51:01
Hi ed,

I watch a lot of WHU because my missus supports them. Whenever I've seen obiang I just think he is a bog standard player who doesn't stand out with any attribute really. I've seen him be really sloppy in possession. It's not that I'm overly down on him, just think he doesn't offer anything we'd want or don't have in Stewart or potentially grujic.

{Ed001's Note - Grujic is nothing like that, totally different kind of player, so an irrelevant comparison, nor is Stewart for that matter. He is very similar to N'Zonzi, he looks all arms and legs but he is effective and what we are missing right now. Stewart is a holding player, Obiang is not.}


12.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 19:25:37
I think personally if we are looking at a central midfielder we should be looking for an experienced player who's got a calming influence. Obiang just looks nervous when I watch him, he's also made 2 errors leading to goals this season. We've got enough errors in us at present. I'd rather us be scouting the world for a cb.

{Ed001's Note - I would not disagree with that at all, though every player will have made at least 2 errors leading to goals, whether or not they are counted as such.}


13.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 20:31:34
I disagree with the eds a lot but comparing gotze and obiangs goalscoring record is pointless. How many goals has Kante scored?
Obiang is just the type of player we need, whether he's the right one is a different question.


14.) 22 Feb 2017
22 Feb 2017 22:18:24
Obiang is a CM not a cdm i would expect more goals/ assist over the volume of games from our cm's.


15.) 23 Feb 2017
23 Feb 2017 00:07:50
Jeez

And everyone was whining about Winjaldum last summer, seriously some people just make my eyes roll when reading such negative posts.

Typical ignorance.


16.) 23 Feb 2017
23 Feb 2017 03:00:45
I couldn't agree more with ed when saying he's the type of player we need but I don't think he is anywhere near the quality we should be aiming for, someone like Bakayoko, Kessie or even Tolisso seem like similar energetic midfielders but younger and more talented.


17.) 23 Feb 2017
23 Feb 2017 09:56:46
Why do we need more goalscorers?
Surely we need more defensively minded players.


18.) 23 Feb 2017
23 Feb 2017 11:22:19
Obiang is a decent player from what I have seen. Not what we need but the stick just shows how little some people understand a midfielders role. He is very good at reading the game, good on the ball, and an all round solid performer. If we did sell Can, we could do worse than Obiang.

Most my mates are Hammers, and they love him. His application, attitude and ability are all there. Could develop into a top player if he adds a little to his game. He either needs to add that killer pass, a few goals, or to get a little stronger in breaking up play. I don't think he has found his niche yet, but when he does West Ham have a player there.


19.) 23 Feb 2017
23 Feb 2017 11:04:25
Obiang is a poor man's Yaya toure.


20.) 23 Feb 2017
23 Feb 2017 13:48:39
For clarity nobody is suggesting we need goalscorers - the comparison was made purely as Ed1 suggested he would personally take Obiang over Gotze. Now whilst they are completely different players Obiang is predominately a central midfielder and in this day and age he is not classed as the ball winning role per-say so you would expect him to impact a game in different ways which naturally leads to the question of does he assist/ score enough to impact a match as you would expect a LFC central midfielder to do so.

I agree LFC need defensive reinforcements but if the question was posed would you rather take Gotze or Obiang to improve LFC I know what I would choose as I do not rate Obiang as good enough to improve on what we already have in Can, Henderson, Wiji, but again something that often gets lost on here that is simply my own opinion and I do not suggest that everyone should or will agree with as everyone will have their own thoughts on what is needed.

Hopefully that gives some clarity to the discussion.

Regards.

{Ed001's Note - those stats are still meaningless. In this day and age is just nonsense, as the central midfield role has never been about scoring or assisting on its own. We do not need Goetze, no matter what those cherry picked and completely pointless stats show. We do need a driving force in midfield, someone to break up play and get us the ball back early and high up the pitch. Why not show some stats such as how many times they have recovered possession or how many times they have intercepted the ball, won challenges etc? They would be far more relevant to the role we require to fill.}


21.) 23 Feb 2017
23 Feb 2017 14:10:47
Ed1 again that is your opinion whilst i appreciate what your saying your thought are on what we need it does not mean it is the correct one!

{Ed001's Note - no, my thought is that, as usual with stats, you cherry picked ones to back up your argument, rather than ones that had any relevance to the discussion. Considering we are the top scoring side in the league, it is obvious that the one worry we do not have is scoring goals.....

I should just ban stats from the site, they are so badly misused, as you are proving, to just cheat in a discussion, with no context to give them relevance. When used properly, stats are a useful tool, but no one seems to understand how to use them to do anything other than twist to suit their own argument.

I am not arguing with you about Goetze over Obiang, I am pointing out that your stats are irrelevant, but you are so busy going on about the two players that you are missing the point completely.}


22.) 23 Feb 2017
23 Feb 2017 14:50:25
No im not Ed1, what im saying is that having the choice between the two regardless of position purely based on the players and what they can offer the team/ squad in their current ability levels I would take Gotze personally over Obiang.

I am not suggesting Gotze is what the squad requires im simply stating that if it where a simply choice between both I would personally take Gotze.

I stand by the relevance of any midfielder being expected to make an impact by scoring and assisting games and thus the stats provided are entirely relevant to that point in todays games where we need to score from as many avenues as possible.

Some of the so called best central midfielders of the current premier league era are Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Fabregas, Toure, Xabi Alonso who all influenced the game with goals and or assists. This is not with regard to the ball winners/ play breakers like Makalele, Keane, Essien etc they are not what I would define as a CM more a CDM

I do think we need to reinforce in the DM ball winning role but I do not believe that is Obiang as he would not be an improvement on the options we already have available.

{Ed001's Note - pointless this discussion as you do not know what you are on about. Xabi Alonso is more of a CDM than Kante or Essien ever were or will be. You prescribe roles you clearly do not understand and produce irrelevant stats that you falsely believe relevant. I give up. I am not going to bother again. The whole point was that all these people getting all excited over a player we don't need while whining about a link to a player we do need. It is a pointless discussion as all you have done is prove the point. You get all excited and start producing pointless stats to back up your excitement over someone we don't need, while using those same irrelevant stats to bitch at the possibility of signing someone we might well need.

By the way Toure was never amongst the best central midfielders when he influenced the game with goals and assists, nor was Gerrard, Fabregas has never been amongst the best either. Toure and Gerrard at their best played behind the striker, AHEAD of the central midfield. Alonso played behind the central midfield in a holding role, similar to Makalele but with the ability to create as well as destroy. Keane was an all round midfielder, in an era before this obsession with having to have a pure defensive or attacking role came about. His time was different and he is not really relevant at all, but he was certainly never a CDM and it shows complete ignorance to suggest that was his role.}


23.) 23 Feb 2017
23 Feb 2017 15:09:48
I give up!

{Ed001's Note - good.}


24.) 24 Feb 2017
24 Feb 2017 11:17:13
i agree with JK and don't get the problem its easy to read what he was/ she was trying to say. Good to see most people agree as well! Well Said JK stick to your guns.


25.) 24 Feb 2017
24 Feb 2017 12:00:44
Great discussion.

Agree with Jk like most it seems on this particular point.

I'd hope we'd be looking at better than Obiang too.


26.) 24 Feb 2017
24 Feb 2017 15:20:04
Obiang or a player of his ilk would be a great alternative to play alongside Henderson and Wijnaldum / Lallana in the midfield.

He just offers something different. Like you say, he can break play up early but he is also direct and powerful enough to then drive us forward on a counter attack. Obiang is everything we need Emre Can to be. Hopefully it's a redundant argument and Can improves vastly, to the point that replacing him is unnecessary.

Gotze though, is surely just a worse version of Coutinho? Probably more natural talent, but he is also a disruptive, entitled little git with a complete lack of application.

Just so everyone can see how irrelevant misused stats are by the way, Moussa Dembele has 0 goals and 1 assist this season yet I would argue he is the best midfielder in the league. He is probably the prime example of how useful a player of Obiang's playing style can be if people can look past a 'specialist' midfielder tag, or statistics.

Sometimes you just need the guy who can keep things ticking, break up play, initiate attacks, occasionally go past a man to open up the game etc. Even just be a physical presence that can bully the opponents. Players like Dembele, Obiang and so on do this regularly. And whilst it doesn't directly influence the score line it cannot be under estimated in terms of importance.

I guess people don't see that nowadays though because it doesn't get Lineker, Shearer and Murphy excited on Saturday night.


27.) 24 Feb 2017
24 Feb 2017 18:14:58
Cheers all!