Liverpool Banter Archive January 30 2015

30 Jan 2015 20:55:28
Hi Eds, do we still hold any interest in Borussia Dortmund's Mkhitaryan? Thanks.

30 Jan 2015 21:47:18
Can I just say how much of a role model Daniel Sturbridge is? Unbelievably inspirational and a true professional!

30 Jan 2015 20:22:04
Maybe a bit naive voice here but I want to say a good word to the FA for Costa's suspention. I was sure after the game that he will get away with this one (it is not easy to prove is was on purpose the stamping even though we all know it was) so well done for not giving up and don't buy into Jose's crying. Also, well done to the referees that after some unbeliveable diving earlier this season from some Chelsea players are very careful before giving them penalties (a shame that didn't apply to the Emre can penalty). If they want to win the league they will have to do it with talent (which, unfortunately, they are not short of) and not by bullying or cheating.

I think the time had come to make an example of someone, or the stamping might have started to get more dangerous.

The real reason he got banned was because Mourinho tried to influence the referee in the tunnel.
The FA would have took a dim view of that and so they stitched Costa up in order to get to Mourinho.
The FA is a law unto itself. It is an embarrassing organisation.
I have no reason to stick up for Chelsea.
But you can't have an organisation which runs football in this country just making things up as they go along.
No appeal. So as soon as you are charged with something your doomed.
Divvies all of them.

30 Jan 2015 19:24:26
Andre Schurrle is looking likely to join Wolfsburg for just over £20m. I know we don't need another forward, but he would have fit perfectly in our team. He's a top player.

Red Rum

I would have agreed but we have signed a similar player in Lallana

Do you think Schurrle and Lallana are similar? I personally disagree. I think Lallana is much trickier where as I think Schurrle bases his game on pace. Personally I wouldn't have wanted Liverpool to sign him a bit of a risk, that said he could be an improvement on our strikers but not on our wide players.

I should have made myself clearer. Similar as in they play similar roles in the team.

30 Jan 2015 18:05:55
A question for everyone.

Out of 2 players heavily linked to us this week (Ings & lavezzi). Which of them would you rather have as a striker?

Personally I'd go with Ings, at 4-5mil he's a cracking buy and lavezzis goal scoring is shocking.

Neither mate. Lavezzi is almost 30 and Ings isn't an improvement on the strikers we have.

Red Rum

£4-5m on a player who's free in 6months is not a cracking deal to me

Give youth a chance. Does not cost us a penny then. I would rather we triedsome of them over a sustained 6 - 8 week period than keep pissing money away that we don't have.

We have Sinclair in the academy scored 21 goals so far and not given a sniff

30 Jan 2015 19:50:03
@ Omega - We'd have to compensate Burnley if he joined us on a free because of his age. That'd probably eat up a lot of that £4-5m "saving".

Regardless though, I don't think the player is good enough for us, even with due consideration to our lack of quality strikers apart form Sturridge.

30 Jan 2015 19:50:39
He's not free there's compensation to be paid which is roughly 3m . I'd take Ings I'm local to burnley and he's a cracking little player

He is a decent player, Ings, but like most of our buys, we seem to be banking on him hitting a level most of our buys simply don't reach.

If you want the goals, you need to spend the dosh and get a top striker.

30 Jan 2015 15:47:32
I know it's nothing to do with liverpool but love your knowledge and was just wondering what you think happened to freddy adu? I remember him being touted as the next best thing i'm sure he made his debut at 14! What went wrong for him?

{Ed002's Note - He is simply not good enough. He is a free agent at the moment so I guess Liverpool could make him an offer.}

Liverpool is letting Gerrard go with a mind to bring in Landon Donovan on a free in the summer.

He simply was never that good mate, unless you played fifa or fm. I think he went on trial at United a few years back and they didn't take him on.

30 Jan 2015 23:59:21
Not positive but I think he was pretty young a good student and his parents wanted him to finish school in the US. Ball hog either way

30 Jan 2015 13:10:35
Hi eds,

Forgive me if you guys have dealt with this before, but why did we not sign Christian Eriksen? I remember we were linked to him for like a very long time, and then Tottenham went for him out of the blue.

Love this site, keep up the good work!

{Ed002's Note - There were lots of clubs interested in him.}

Because Eriksen made it very clear from the beginning that he only wishes to use his next club as a stepping stone to his desired destination - Barcelona or Real Madrid.

Why is that a problem? Besides the 2-3 yrs of top class player for us maybe helping towards a trophy and then sell for a profit?
Spurs bought for what £8m? He's single handily won them games with winning goals, they are also in a cup final. £8m well spent and knowing Spurs sell for £20m.

Isn't this what we re doing with Moreno but in a less fanciable position of being a non match winning LB and £18m. Are there many LBs sold for £25m+?

30 Jan 2015 18:11:16
Whilst I remember him saying that, I would be highly shocked if that's why we didn't go for him mate.
A.Moreno anyone? Still got him despite similarly desperate 'come get me pleas'.

Clubs don't like being told you are just a stepping stone. Especially ones like LFC.

He was also a regular talker to the media while he was at Ajax and was changing his "dream team" every week. First it was Real, then Barca, then Man Utd, then Bayern, and so it went and after a couple of weeks clubs knew better than to be involved in that sort of flaky player.

30 Jan 2015 20:52:40
so saurez didn't start hinting or talking through his agent that he wanted to go to barca/madrid/arsenal lol.

The word. not before he joined!

What has Eriksen got to do with Suarez? I see you havr expelled sufficient embarrassment after Spurs made to final to come on hear. We have missed you the cowering Word.

30 Jan 2015 10:25:58
Is rodgers applying Trail and Error with Strikers and CBs?

Since he has come in

we have bought

Borini
Yesil
Strud.
Aspas
Alberto.L
Lambert
Balotelli
Origi

Now he wants Inngs.
None of above he fancies and keeps on buying more.

Same with CB.

Toure
Sakho
Illori
Lovren.

30 Jan 2015 11:08:03
tbh looks like instead of careful scouting and identifying the right players in the right positions - we just buy loads and hope some work.

Like instead of carefully aiming and taking your team to hit a bullseye in darts you just grab a handful of darts and lob them at the board - which has proven more successful for me but tends to annoy everyone near the board.

I can see Liverpool going in for him, because of his age, potential and future resale value. The thing is, by doing this we are constantly stockpiling players that we don't really need. Instead of buying players that will help the team challenge now we are buying players that could end up being worth a few bob in the future. This will a) limit the chances that our youth players will get b) give Rodgers more players to work with that he doesn't want, and c) create an unhappy atmosphere with so many players not getting a chance.

Red Rum

30 Jan 2015 13:46:45
I would prefer to give Sinclair a try (obviously BR would never take the risk)

Nothing wrong with Ings, first top flight season in a tipped for relegation lower side and has 7 league goals.

We got anyone with that record, within a side that creates twice as many attacking chances? Anyone?

I don't think I've ever seen strud play before ;)

Omega_Man, Andy Carroll was similarly talked about before we signed him too. Rickie Lambert too did quite well for Southampton, who like Burnley, came up from the lower leagues. Not exact comparisons, but there are enough similarities. How did those guys do?

30 Jan 2015 16:49:48
I think he is more versatile than Carroll & Lambert; I can see him as a good upgrade to Borini (his playstyle is similar borini's when he was at Roma). But I still think BR must work with what he has; we can't continue spendind and spending wrong because of the inablity of the manager & the scouts. The best for us is to wait until summer to rethink our transfers & management decisions. If we still want Ings after some offloads, It'll be ok. If in the way Sinclair, Dunn, or any other young striker gets a chance it will be even better.

Ings would work in our formation.
That's what annoys me about some of our signings.
Mignolet- a keeper who can't kick.
Lovren- a CB who plays on the same side as Sahko who was already here.
Lambert- not mobile enough for our system.
Balotelli- Does not fit our system.
There is a pattern developing here.
We keep buying players who were never going to fit our style of play.
Madness.

30 Jan 2015 19:28:57
To answer you AG. Carroll has a poor lifestyle for an athlete covered here many times and I can only imagine Ings a polar opposite of drinking and smoking. Homework wasn't done on Carroll looking at how it turned out.

Lambert? Lambert is 10 yrs older and cost £4m. Ings for free every day of the week

Southampton were hardly the struggling side Burnley are last season when Lambert did well.

Again, who has 7 league goals for us this season, consider our team creates much more then Burnley. If there is one, is he valued at free or tribunal minimum?

To repy to you Omega Man, Carroll was used as an example of buying a player who has only played half a seasona t PL, but looked great initially. Ings is similar in that aspect.

Ings won't be a free, even int he summer. There will be a compensation which will take it very close to Lambert's fee.

Southamton were every bit the struggling side in their first season back in the PL (2 years back) like Burnley are this season and Lambert was their main man in scoring terms.

The last point cannot be argued quantitatively. While it may seem Ings will do better in a team that creates more chances, the same could have been said of Lambert or Carroll at LFC rather than Southampton or Newcastle. Again, how did that go?

With all due respect to the lad, he is decent player, but not what we need. We also have Origi coming in next season who will need time to bed in. We have too many players of this sort (good or decent but not outstanding or match winners) - Lambert, Aspas, Borini, balotelli, Origi and now Ings. Anyone stand out?

Football does not work like that. Just because you score some goals for a lesser team doesn't mean you will bang them in because you have a better team behind you creating the chances. A lot of players simply can't make the step up to a bigger team. If it was the case Borini would be scoring goals for fum which isn't the case!

30 Jan 2015 07:56:31
Anyone else worried about who Rodgers is going to drop for Sturridge. if it was me it would be Gerrard then move sterling to am. But got a feeling it will be lucas and then move Gerrard to cm and sterling to am. Hope I'm wrong

Gerrard played for a lot of minutes against Chelsea, so.

Was it not the plan to play Sturridge AND Balotelli in partnership?

then 2 need to be moved out, can we still play 343?

30 Jan 2015 09:50:22
Remember Benny saying that we would revert to the diamond formation but not sure if he mentioned who would play.

Personally would just swap gerrard with sturridge and use then rotate to rest or on form. Diamond worked last season but requires 2 strikers on form (which we lack) and leaves about 4 players competing to play at the top of the diamond.

30 Jan 2015 11:47:06
Could keep the shape of 343 in terms of midfield and defence but change the front 3 to an attacking midfielder playing behind 2 strikers

30 Jan 2015 12:05:34
I'd take Henderson or Gerrard out. Don't really see what the vice captain does that's so special to be honest, apart from try hard and chase down. Not calling the lad I think he's a decent player but Lucas can't be dropped surely.

30 Jan 2015 12:32:37
I have never disagreed with a post more than the nonsense d-bol just spouted. Henderson is the most important player at the club end of. What a useless comment. He has 9 assists or something. Only Fabregas has more across Europe. Yeah you don't see because you need your sight checking. aboslutley shocked about self proclaimed experts know absolutley nothing about the game. Henderson is undroppable. END OF. Sorry for the rant eds but that is probably the worst post i have seen on here since you started the site. can't see what Hendo offers. You need basketball lad! Football ia just to much for you to comprehend.

30 Jan 2015 13:08:02
Completely agree Red Ramsis, Hendo is our most important player in our team END OF !

Lucas & Hendo is a great central partnership, Its everything else around it that is in need of a direction from BR.

Yep Hederson is captain in waiting and has for a long time been one of our strongest players. Always contributes and plays everywhere at full 100%.

Only Gerrard now is the passenger with woeful long shots off target, a pass sucess of 50% being generous and even his corners don't get past the first man. Think he should be an impact sub to rest Hendo or Lucas after 70 mins if we're on top. Or rest Coutinho or Lallana at 70 mins if we're behind. Let him finish on high impacting games for the best either way and be remembered as the all time great

30 Jan 2015 15:22:08
Sometimes you just got to go against the crowd. He's not the most important player Daniel Sturridge is,, because the way the manager speaks you'd think he was bigger than the club. The entire hopes and dreams of our club this season relied on one goal scorer and we've had to wait a full half season to have him back.
Stevie or Hendo for me lads sorry.
Red Ramsis you only know what Gary Neville and Carra tell you on Sky mate,,, pop down to Anfield and have a look for yourself kid and make up your own mind. This team is not going to get top 4,,, we've gone backwards from last season. It's not spouting rubbish it's an opinion mate you should get one of your own before people start calling you Gary Neville

30 Jan 2015 15:31:26
Yes all Henderson needs to add is goals, better shooting ability, that would be the next level for him and would make him an even more inspirational driving force for the team.

Is there nobody else at the club that can do Henderson's job? his shooting is poor and his heading is poor! the miss at Chelsea summed him up for me, i know he works his socks off but is that enough to make him indispensable? as for captain i think i would prefer Skrtel, that's my opinion by the way or if it is different from yours does that mean i should stick to Basketball?

30 Jan 2015 16:56:00
DBol its one thing to go against the crowd and have your own opinion, I respect that. But criticizing a obviously talented player like you know a good player when you see one is making you look foolish. Apart from score screamers i'm not quite sure what you want from hendo as he is as good (and in some parts of his play better) as Gerrard. "pop down to anfield kid" is that suppose to qualify your opinion, Any idiot can buy a ticket.

Time to let go of the past Gerrard is done. Hendo is the face of LFC. It may not impress you but if your a Liverpool supporter have his back like he would have yours.

As for captain i think i would prefer Skrtel, that's my opinion by the way or if it is different from yours does that mean i should stick to Basketball?

Skrtel ? :0

Yes jack Basketball for you!

30 Jan 2015 19:05:47
that is the most hilarious nonsense ever. kid? iam 37. i don't watch sky at all because those experts know what they are told which is usually nonsense. i have been to anfield like 70 times and i have watched Henderson live plenty of times and you have to look long for a better athlete. Your answer only proves who the kid is and who actually has never watched Hendo live. YOU.

The header he missed after sprinting like 70 yards in the 117 th minute from RWB? he is forgiven for that in my book. He tried to place it because cortoius was unbeatable but the cross was to fast for that. Skrtel for captain? He is the most queit player on the pitch.

Edd can you please let people Disagree more than once? I think its needed here.

31 Jan 2015 01:06:50
Don't cry Gary it's only an opinion. I stopped reading after ''I've been to Anfield like a billion times'' chill out it's only my opinion kid,, That's what this sites all about. I'd drop Hendo for Sturridge, you'd drop Gerrard.
Let's face it though, Brendan won't drop either will he ?

30 Jan 2015 07:32:39
Worrying times for me in light of the fact Rodgers doesn't fancy Mario, Ricky or Fabio so plays Sterling up top on his own.
Where are the goals coming from?? Sterling hardly scores and, Lucas, Alen, Coutinho & Hendo couldn't hit a barn door.
Sturridge will need to set the world alight and stay fit for us to consider top four.
No pressure there then!
YNWA

30 Jan 2015 01:36:02
Hey Eds,

I'm dying to know, can you give any insight into where the idea to sign Balotelli actually came from?

Thanks a bill! :=o

{Ed001's Note - I don't actually know mate, I have never asked.}

30 Jan 2015 06:58:35
Thanks for reply. Hmm, get on the case! ;)

{Ed001's Note - I doubt anyone will admit it now mate.}

Was it not the Ex Man City connection who put his name forward. Fallows or Hunter?

Well style wise he is wrong for us although against spurs playing with sturridge he was good so I'm prepared to wait and see.if no improvement then somebody must be held to account for it.

I can imagine the Transfer Committee meeting going something like this:

Ian Ayre - 'I hear Remy's passed his medical, I just need to tie up the paperwork and we can call the press conference.'

Brendan Rodgers - 'I'm just wondering what squad number to give him.'

Token fan on the Committee - 'He's hardly a Suarez is he?

Token Yank on the Committee - 'Yeah man, but he's only going to cost 8 million bucks. Good old John Henry's going to be pleased with that.'

Token fan - 'Until we try to sell him on for a profit, he must be nearly 30. Good old JH won't like that very much.'

Token Yank - 'But think of the profit if we can get 75 million bucks for . what's his name again?

Rodgers - I was thinking of giving him number 8 but just realised Stevie's got that.'

Token fan - 'I read in the Metro that Balotelli might be available.'

Token Yank - 'Is he of Italian / American descent? JH will like that. How much will he cost?

Ian Ayre - 'He's a world class player and will be well out of our reach at about 35 million.'

Rodgers - Just as well. I told a newspaper the other week that there was absolutely no way we would be signing Balotelli. I'd look a right tit if we went and signed him now!'

Ian Ayre - 'I wouldn't worry about that. People are used to you talking crap in interviews.'

Token fan - 'No, I heard Milan only want about 16 million because he's a pain in the arse and crap as well.'

Token Yank - '16 million bucks eh, that's interesting. Is he a bigger name than Remy?

Rodgers - 'Yeah, there's an extra 5 letters.'

Ian Ayre - The fans will be expecting a top player to replace Suarez - this guy won a title with Man City as well.'

Token Yank - 'If we get him for 16 million we just can't lose. He's only 24 and his value is sure to go up. Its a no brainer.'

Rodgers - 'What are we going to tell Remy?'

Token Yank - 'Just tell Dr Zaq to find something wrong with him. He hasn't signed anything yet, has he?'

Ian Ayre - 'No, he hasn't signed. I'm sure another club will come in for him but I'm not quite sure he's at our level.'

Rodgers - 'Yeah, that Balotelli's a very good technician.

Token fan - 'But he's a fruitcake as well!'

Rodgers - 'I'm sure I can bring him into the group and work my magic on him. Mourinho and Mancini are only amateurs at dealing with the psychology of players. Did I say he is a wonderful technician?'

Ian Ayre -'So, are we all agreed - Balotelli it is then?'

Token fan - 'Yep, we should have no trouble closing this one out, as nobody else will touch him with a barge pole.'

Token Yank - Hope so, because I hear JH is getting a bit peed off with us losing out on big name players.'

Rodgers - 'Yeah, who want big name players money.'

Ian Ayre - 'So, are we all agreed, Balotelli is the one? Ok, let's do it.

Token fan - 'Count me out.'

31 Jan 2015 11:39:10
Did you have the room bugged ?because that is exactly what happened

Good post

29 Jan 2015 22:54:29
Any truths Eds in Danny Ings with loan back until end of the season?

I used search and you said last time that it was Twitter. I am not on twitter or used it. So is this just recycled from before?

{Ed002's Note - Sorry - can't help.}

30 Jan 2015 00:35:19
I think it's just rumourmongerINGS. Sorry, someone had to do it!

29 Jan 2015 19:46:31
Hi ed, news saying liverpool consider former Barcelona chief scout and technical secretary albert valentin for a role in the club any true in it?

{Ed002's Note - Why?}