1.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 00:34:59
Eds, firstly great work in dealing with all our questions. So here is mine - can someone explain why we should spend 40m on a player to compete with mane who will also go away on afcon at start of each year leaving double the gap. Why not a european alternate who can slot in during this period and compete for starting spot all yeast round (I am all for competition) I know we will have more games in the coming year. But if both become required starters then we will have an even bigger hole during afcon. I do not see a consistent place salah, mane, firmino in match day team because I feel we also need a solanke/ sturrige type to have more than one plan of attack which can and has been successfully dealt with by the supposed lesser teams who I feel are happy to soak up pressure and hit where it hurts because of predictability.
Thanks in advance for a reply.

{Ed007's Note - That would be an ecumenical matter.}

2.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 00:50:57
I thought the next AFCON was in 2019?

{Ed007's Note - I know it's every 2 years between the WC and Euros so that works out for me.

3.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 01:06:12
In football manager 2017 salah is a left foot right winger maybe klopp want to play him on the left and when mane isn't able to play in the right.

Cheers!

4.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 01:48:17
GWT,

If Salah is bought, he won't be bought to compete with/ replace Mane. Why would the club do that? That's absurd! Clearly one of them would be played on the right and the other one on the left.

To be honest, I was surprised when LFC started going after RWs after our interest in Brandt (LW) dropped. Maybe there aren't any other LWs that Klopp would want, or maybe he wants to play with an inverted LW (who can cut in) . Mind you, Mane has played as a LW before so my guess is he would go on the left as Salah has mostly played on the right. Another alternative is Klopp wants even more dynamism up front and the front 3 will just rotate plenty during the games.

5.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 03:00:11
GWT,

Firstly, this is where the market is. If Liverpool come in for an established player these are the fees the clubs will demand (and so they should) .

Secondly, Salah is left footed and Mane has played on the left for Saints. Coutinho (who ironically has recently played on the right side with Brazil) can be either deployed as a playmaker in midfield or sold (worst case scenario) . Good players can adapt to the needs of the team and thrive. I suspect that if all goes well none of them will care about their position.

Thirdly, Salah has been very good in Italy. He is young, fast, prolific and willing to prove that he belongs. I don't know how many European alternates which could be had for the same amount of money.

Finally, the AFCON is a reality all teams with African players may have to deal with. It cannot be the reason for not buying a player.

Of course, the transfer has yet to be agreed.

6.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 04:39:43
I don't think focusing on AFCON should matter. That is nearly the equivalent to saying don't get South Americans because they have to travel further for international breaks. Purchasing Salah will be complete our need for left winger and I do not think it affects Mane's role. I wish we would have gone after Brandt, I can just see us kicking ourselves in a few years.

7.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 06:04:47
Ah. tat makes sense. We buy ox to compete with studge for the treatment bed then.

8.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 07:26:10
It is really a crazy market right now. Even if you factor in the pound's depreciation vis-a-vis the Euro, a lot of the prices still are difficult to swallow. If Pickford is worth 30 Million, then Salah is definitely worth 33.7 Million. In Salah, you have a young player with still a lot more experience, a lot more ups and downs and definitely less chances of him being a one-season wonder.

{Ed002's Note - You need to get out of this money thing - I am pretty sure I have not seen a correct figure on the Liverpool page for years. And to be fare, compating Pickford with Salah is rather odd - certainly after he left Chelsea because of his inability to catch the ball. But hey, this is the strange fantasy world of Liverpool.}

9.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 08:21:40
I don't understand this whole 'but they're both right wingers' confusion. It's really not hard to understand. Mane can play either side of the field. He could even play up front if he wanted to.

10.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 09:03:40
I've a degree of sympathy on the AFCON point to be fair, but it is what it is and it wouldn't have put me off signing some one like eto in his prime. Was it Fergie who was reportedly against signing players who represent AFCON countries?
We missed mane and matip this year, if we had a winter break like other euro teams it probably wouldn't be as much of an issue, but in the back of a very heavy work load over Christmas and new year it's a problem. I get where the op is coming from, if mane and salah where in our starting 11 you have to replace them both at the same time for potentially 6 games is it? Every other year is fairly regular if you factor in virtually all players will pick up a knock at some point and miss a few games.
Still, as I said, it is what it is.

11.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 09:29:29
Didn't Chelsea once have Essien, Drogba, Kalou and Mikel on their books at the same time? You'd do well to argue that it had a negative affect on them!

12.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 09:43:55
MK - the concern for most people I think is that it's our entire wing attack. If they played in two different positions the pain would be spread and I think people would be less concerned. However, for all we know by the next AFCON Wilson and Ojo could be dying to start every game whilst our current 5 strikers are almost forcing Klopp to play 2 up front, so who knows and why worry?

13.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 10:27:00
At the end of this season when Mane was missing Klopp switched to playing 2 strikers up front and we scored 7 goals in 2 games. Maybe for the month they are gone we put Sturridge and Solanke up front?

People are over reacting.

14.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 10:43:57
I think that's the point MK, so long as the squad depth is there, there should be a solution. In January, when Mane was missing and DS was injured, there was no real solution. Hopefully we improve the 1st 11 and then the depth of the squad will compensate.

15.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 11:04:22
By the looks of things If we sign salah we will have studge bobby couts mane salah origi ings and solanke which is 8 players for 3 places. We then have Woodburn Ojo and Wilson if any can make the step and lallana and gini who could potentially fill in if needed. If 2 players were missing for 3-4 weeks we have the depth to deal with it. And hopefully we will change our formation slightly throughout the season so we are not always relying on fast wing play and don't become to predictable.

16.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 11:13:18
Agree MK, sometimes I think we should vary the attack at times, depending on ow the opposition set up.

17.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 11:32:24
Stupid argument. It's 18 months away. Mane could have been sold by then. Both could be injured for 6 months from August for all we know. What I do know is you don't not sign players for fear of losing them for 4 weeks in 18 months time. A minor hamstring could do that. Or is the solution to boycott sigining an entire continents' players on that basis. Ridiculous.

18.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 11:51:14
To be honest I don't think we should sign anyone, should probably sell the players we have too. They might get injured and miss 3 or 4 games in 2 years time.

19.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 11:53:29
Would you have a squad made up entirely of AFCON players then swish? I'm not suggesting you boycott but I do believe you should factor it in when building a squad.

20.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 11:49:15
Ed7 absolute quality first post.

Can you beat that show.

{Ed007's Note - Father Ted's a classic and it's still as funny today as it was all those years ago.}

21.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 12:56:24
MK- that was exactly my point, Klopp can be far too unpredictable (in a good and bad way) to second guess what he will do in certain situations in the future, so if you want him as the manager it's best not to worry and wait and see what he does.

22.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 12:57:39
Jacko-I'm pretty sure the list you mentioned will be fighting over at least 4 positions, maybe even room for 5 of them in an ultra attacking formation.

23.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 14:26:30
LFC hopeful of course not but we have 1 player who plays in Afcon who missed more of the season through injury than he did that tournament. Buying 1 more player who may be gone for 4 weeks in 18 months time is hardly the basis to build / not build a strategy on. It's unlikely both would be our for the same time ( if selected) and 1 could even be sold. Hardly the same as buying 25 afcon players is it? ( whic is entirely realistic versus the current situation )

24.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 10:38:16
Ed002, I can give you a correct figure: I'm worth a friggin fortune, just ask my wife, my life insurance is hûge! 😀.