Topic: Alberto Aquilani - good luck to the lad

[Trim0582]

So your saying that notoriously tight Daniel Levy threw wages at Sigurdsson somehow I doubt it. As for Allen people are treating his signature as a foregone conclusion the way Sigurdsson's was. Even if we sign Allen we should be keeping players like Aquilani because it will will allow us to ease in Allen the way United do. They bring in players bed them in and then when that process has been successful they move on the older player.

Aquilani being around would mean Allen would be given time to adjust and means he wouldn't be thrown in at the deep end. We have done that far too often in the last few years and it has bit us on the arse.

Just to add I think Aquilani could be useful, I would have liked to see him given him a chance (he may yet), but I have no problem with how the Sigurdsson deal went down.

As someone else has said, I am slightly worried about all the players we are linked with being ex/current Swansea players. I hope for something a bit more resourceful

[Fromola]

Whatever Carragher is on he deserves it for dedicating his career to the club.

I bet Ledley King wishes he'd grown up a Scouser. Even on one leg he'd have been offered another lucrative contract for service given.

Paisley would be spinning his grave bearing his mind his famous philosophy regarding players whose legs had gone.

[Fromola]

Isnt no player bigger than club our motto ? 

It used to be when we were successful funnily enough. I wonder if there's a correlation.

[mysterio_86]

I bet Ledley King wishes he'd grown up a Scouser. Even on one leg he'd have been offered another lucrative contract for service given.

Atleast you can call Ledley King a legit defender

[bigbear]

I bet Ledley King wishes he'd grown up a Scouser. Even on one leg he'd have been offered another lucrative contract for service given.

Paisley would be spinning his grave bearing his mind his famous philosophy regarding players whose legs had gone.

In fairness, top player though he was, King has been getting paid for playing half a season for 5 years plus.

[The Grinch]

So essentially what your saying is that you want us to become Leeds 

I just love the way Leeds is thrown in the face of people who want the Club to show ambition. Leeds where a Club who had been in decline for decades, a team without a global fanbase and a team without a recent history of success. We have been in two CL finals in the last 7 years, have a huge global following and an incredible brand.

We are ranked as the 8th most expensive Club by Forbes and according to Deloitte we had the 9th biggest income in Football. That is not a Leeds that is a financial juggernaut that is acting like a financial rickshaw. If you have the 9th biggest income then shouldn't you be competing at the top table in terms of wages instead of trying to penny pinch.

Aren't all these numerous commercial deals we are signing left right and centre supposed to allow us to compete at the top end and keep top quality players like Aquilani within the squad.

[smicer07]

Isnt no player bigger than club our motto ? 

He's not bigger than the club. What's that got to do with anything?

[bigbear]

I just love the way Leeds is thrown in the face of people who want the Club to show ambition. Leeds where a Club who had been in decline for decades, a team without a global fanbase and a team without a recent history of success. We have been in two CL finals in the last 7 years, have a huge global following and an incredible brand.

We are ranked as the 8th most expensive Club by Forbes and according to Deloitte we had the 9th biggest income in Football. That is not a Leeds that is a financial juggernaut that is acting like a financial rickshaw. If you have the 9th biggest income then shouldn't you be competing at the top table in terms of wages instead of trying to penny pinch.

Aren't all these numerous commercial deals we are signing left right and centre supposed to allow us to compete at the top end and keep top quality players like Aquilani within the squad.

We do pay amongst the biggest wages though don't we Al. The problem is we haven't been getting value from those wages and signings.

[LFC_4_life]

In fairness, top player though he was, King has been getting paid for playing half a season for 5 years plus.

It has paid off though as he has improved them greatly. The point with Carragher is that he is on huge wages and he just isn't good enough anymore. So if we should be looking to get him of the wage bill just like it appears we are doing with Aquilani.

[Fromola]

In fairness, top player though he was, King has been getting paid for playing half a season for 5 years plus.

But Tottenham knew the half a season he did play he'd be excellent so he was worth the money. A bit like we know Agger will have his injuries in a season, but he's worth it because of how good he is when he does play.

When King's injuries started to catch up with him a bit last season, King wasn't kept on. The thought of which would be sacrilege here for someone like Carragher who's age has well caught up with him and he's not good enough for the level he's playing at.

[Trim0582]

He's not bigger than the club. What's that got to do with anything?

I think the 10's of millions he has earned over his career for doing something he loves, is probably enough - Legend or not

[kcbworth]

I just love the way Leeds is thrown in the face of people who want the Club to show ambition. Leeds where a Club who had been in decline for decades, a team without a global fanbase and a team without a recent history of success. We have been in two CL finals in the last 7 years, have a huge global following and an incredible brand.

We are ranked as the 8th most expensive Club by Forbes and according to Deloitte we had the 9th biggest income in Football. That is not a Leeds that is a financial juggernaut that is acting like a financial rickshaw. If you have the 9th biggest income then shouldn't you be competing at the top table in terms of wages instead of trying to penny pinch.

Aren't all these numerous commercial deals we are signing left right and centre supposed to allow us to compete at the top end and keep top quality players like Aquilani within the squad.

To be fair mate, you said you didn't want us to be financially sensible, so all that other stuff you just mentioned is kind of irrelevant to any responses to your earlier posts.

I thought the exact same thing re Leeds from your earlier post.

Re this latest post, we certainly aren't performed up to scratch with our income, although huge contracts to Carra & Cole, and huge manager payouts kind of eat into that I guess.

[Johnnyboy1973]

The point with Carragher is that he is on huge wages and he just isn't good enough anymore. So if we should be looking to get him of the wage bill just like it appears we are doing with Aquilani.

Yeah, cos they'll be queuing round the block for JC.

Seems the wrong people are being castigated for a Purslow decision.

[LFC_4_life]

I just love the way Leeds is thrown in the face of people who want the Club to show ambition. Leeds where a Club who had been in decline for decades, a team without a global fanbase and a team without a recent history of success. We have been in two CL finals in the last 7 years, have a huge global following and an incredible brand.

We are ranked as the 8th most expensive Club by Forbes and according to Deloitte we had the 9th biggest income in Football. That is not a Leeds that is a financial juggernaut that is acting like a financial rickshaw. If you have the 9th biggest income then shouldn't you be competing at the top table in terms of wages instead of trying to penny pinch.

Aren't all these numerous commercial deals we are signing left right and centre supposed to allow us to compete at the top end and keep top quality players like Aquilani within the squad.

Al, we showed huge ambition a year ago when the owners gave Kenny £100 mllion to spend and also allowed us to offer good wages for players. The problem is, Kenny and Commoli spunked it completely. They paid £100 million for assests worth £25 million and they paid ridiculously large wages for players that didn't deserve it.

We haven't got value for money whatsoever, so it's not that the oweners haven't shown ambition. It's those entrusted with making the right decisions making a complete pigs ear of it.

[mysterio_86]

He's not bigger than the club. What's that got to do with anything?

Wasnt Hyypia shipped out when his legs were done ? He did more for this club than Carragher can dreams off

Hamman, Riise, Finnan, Fowler - were all sent off graciously when they were thought to be not too good enough for Liverpool, Dont see that happening with this pensioner !

If he loves Liverpool so much Why cant he take a pay cut if a legend like Buffon can take a pay cut at Juventus - and he is still a jolly fucking good goalie

[Sangria]

So do I but I also don't want my club tottering around in financial chaos like we were 2 years ago.

We've increased our annual wage bill 30 million in the last few years. Can't remember whether it was since the 08-09 season or the 09-10 season. The value we're getting for the money spent has decreased, and probably the net amount of money spent has increased.

[Fromola]

Yeah, cos they'll be queuing round the block for JC.

Seems the wrong people are being castigated for a Purslow decision.

Bascombe's widely quoted article today - used to discredit Aquilani from a club briefing - is making out Carragher is underpaid!

[smicer07]

Wasnt Hyypia shipped out when his legs were done ? He did more for this club than Carragher can dreams off

Hamman, Riise, Finnan, Fowler - were all sent off graciously when they were thought to be not too good enough for Liverpool, Dont see that happening with this pensioner !

If he loves Liverpool so much Why cant he take a pay cut if a legend like Buffon can take a pay cut at Juventus - and he is still a jolly fucking good goalie

Why should he take a pay cut?

[LFC_4_life]

Yeah, cos they'll be queuing round the block for JC.

Seems the wrong people are being castigated for a Purslow decision.

Well, they weren't exactly queuing around the block for Kuyt and Maxi or for Aquilani now are they?

Carra could easily go for a couple million and it would get him of the wage bill. Once he retires, we can roll out the red carpet everytime he steps foot in Liverpool. But as long as he is an active player, his legendary status shouldn't mean anything.

[L666KOP]

In fairness, top player though he was, King has been getting paid for playing half a season for 5 years plus.

RVP been managing that trick for 7 years.

[mysterio_86]

Why should he take a pay cut?

so you just wanted to troll

[Fromola]

We've increased our annual wage bill 30 million in the last few years. Can't remember whether it was since the 08-09 season or the 09-10 season. The value we're getting for the money spent has decreased, and probably the net amount of money spent has increased.

It's frightening really. Our wage-bill was a lot less 3 or 4 years ago when the quality of the squad was much better. Purslow and Comolli in particular have made a right mess with the wages, but it's the good players that we keep losing to account for it. It's killing us.

[RyanBabel19]

Why should he take a pay cut?

Because he's on more than he's worth and we need all the money we can get to improve the side

[Sangria]

Bascombe's widely quoted article today - used to discredit Aquilani from a club briefing - is making out Carragher is underpaid!

Aquilani is apparently on 125k/wk and Carragher half that. I smell BS, which is par for the course for Bascombe.

[scared_person]

I just love the way Leeds is thrown in the face of people who want the Club to show ambition. Leeds where a Club who had been in decline for decades, a team without a global fanbase and a team without a recent history of success. We have been in two CL finals in the last 7 years, have a huge global following and an incredible brand.

We are ranked as the 8th most expensive Club by Forbes and according to Deloitte we had the 9th biggest income in Football. That is not a Leeds that is a financial juggernaut that is acting like a financial rickshaw. If you have the 9th biggest income then shouldn't you be competing at the top table in terms of wages instead of trying to penny pinch.

Aren't all these numerous commercial deals we are signing left right and centre supposed to allow us to compete at the top end and keep top quality players like Aquilani within the squad.

Al, I totally agree with your assessment of the situation as "managed decline". Unfortunately I think your previous post summed it up perfectly: Running a club on sound business principles will not generally produce a winning team. How many successful football teams in history have been genuinely profitable? Not many I'd wager.

Its very sad that there is literally nothing we can do to stop this happening because unlike H&G what FSG are doing is eminently sensible from a business point of view. The only real mistake I can see FSG have made in this regard is to believe that financial fair play would be properly implemented and policed. It won't be. We're going to have to get used to mid table.

[The Grinch]

We do pay amongst the biggest wages though don't we Al. The problem is we haven't been getting value from those wages and signings.

The two aren't linked though are they mate, we should still keep on paying the big wages that are necessary to secure the best players but simply buy better players. Andy Carroll is a perfect example we were happy to pay a ridiculous fee for him because his wages were far smaller than the player he replaced Torres.

The problem is that their is a direct correlation between the wages a player commands and his ability. If we were replacing similar quality players with the ones we are selling then their wouldn't be a problem but we are not, we are paying smaller wages to prospects and then expecting them to perform instantly, that for me is madness.

[bleedsred1978]

Aquilani is apparently on 125k/wk and Carragher half that. I smell BS, which is par for the course for Bascombe.

If Aquilani is really on that money then were fucked and he's going nowhere.

[bigbear]

It has paid off though as he has improved them greatly. The point with Carragher is that he is on huge wages and he just isn't good enough anymore. So if we should be looking to get him of the wage bill just like it appears we are doing with Aquilani.

Carragher will be gone this summer and on the coaching staff. He has one year left and has been an outstandingly committed lad, he has high standards in his training and his attitude. Hopefully, one of the younger lads like Wilson or Kelly or Sama or Wisdom will replace his role in the squad and so again we improve but reduce wages. Carragher is not the problem here albeit his last contract was ridiculous.

[LFC_4_life]

Wasnt Hyypia shipped out when his legs were done ? He did more for this club than Carragher can dreams off

Hamman, Riise, Finnan, Fowler - were all sent off graciously when they were thought to be not too good enough for Liverpool, Dont see that happening with this pensioner ! 

All those players weren't local lads, except for Fowler. Ged had the balls to get rid of Fowler(the right decision), and some people still hold it against him today. So that shows you the mentality that is rotting our club. No one bats an eye lid when we let go of foreign club legends past their best, but with local lads, it's a different story.

[Sangria]

Well, they weren't exactly queuing around the block for Kuyt and Maxi or for Aquilani now are they?

Carra could easily go for a couple million and it would get him of the wage bill. Once he retires, we can roll out the red carpet everytime he steps foot in Liverpool. But as long as he is an active player, his legendary status shouldn't mean anything.

There's an important point about Carragher that disqualifies him for legendary status. Same with Gerrard.

[smicer07]

so you just wanted to troll

What are you on about now? God, how I yearn for 10 years ago when you could actually have a decent discussion on this site. And with that, I'll leave you to it.

[mysterio_86]

If Aquilani is really on that money then were fucked and he's going nowhere.

if Liverpool can offer that kind of money we would have landed Aguero in January !

[The G in Gerrard]

Who said that? rogers or fsg? or fsg told rogers they wouldnt pay it so to save face, thats the story he concocted?

So Rodgers is a liar then?

So your saying that notoriously tight Daniel Levy threw wages at Sigurdsson somehow I doubt it. As for Allen people are treating his signature as a foregone conclusion the way Sigurdsson's was. Even if we sign Allen we should be keeping players like Aquilani because it will will allow us to ease in Allen the way United do. They bring in players bed them in and then when that process has been successful they move on the older player.

Aquilani being around would mean Allen would be given time to adjust and means he wouldn't be thrown in at the deep end. We have done that far too often in the last few years and it has bit us on the arse.

Aquilani hasn't been around the club for last two seasons in a playing sense.

Spurs offered (if stories are led to be believed) around 20-30k more per week than we did. You seem to think its an irrelevance and we should offer more when you don't know how much Rodgers wanted him.

[Hazell]

If Aquilani is really on that money then were fucked and he's going nowhere.

He isn't. And he took a pay cut to go to Milan.

[LFC_4_life]

There's an important point about Carragher that disqualifies him for legendary status. Same with Gerrard.

Whats that?

[Sangria]

Whats that?

They're still playing.

[Cadno]

I just love the way Leeds is thrown in the face of people who want the Club to show ambition. Leeds where a Club who had been in decline for decades, a team without a global fanbase and a team without a recent history of success. We have been in two CL finals in the last 7 years, have a huge global following and an incredible brand.

We are ranked as the 8th most expensive Club by Forbes and according to Deloitte we had the 9th biggest income in Football. That is not a Leeds that is a financial juggernaut that is acting like a financial rickshaw. If you have the 9th biggest income then shouldn't you be competing at the top table in terms of wages instead of trying to penny pinch.

Aren't all these numerous commercial deals we are signing left right and centre supposed to allow us to compete at the top end and keep top quality players like Aquilani within the squad.

Dress it up how you want,  you essentially said that you wanted us not to be financially sensible.  That would put us on the path to ruin you want us to spend money we do not have, you are attacking the owners for not being an Abramovic or a Sheik and bankrolling us, heck you are almot saying you would prefer Hiks and Gillette so we would take out loans to get players in.  Its a ridiculous stance to say you dont want the club to be financially stable and absolutey drips with your agenda against our owners. 
Edit- i should have added that its also ridicilous how you are using the potential sale of a player, who the manager who bought him has said it was a mistake and every manager since then hs not rated him, to further your nonsense

[The Grinch]

So Rodgers is a liar then?

Aquilani hasn't been around the club for last two seasons in a playing sense.

Spurs offered (if stories are led to be believed) around 20-30k more per week than we did. You seem to think its an irrelevance and we should offer more when you don't know how much Rodgers wanted him.

Rodgers isn't lying he is putting a positive spin on what was a very embarrassing situation for him, we failed to complete a deal for a player who is close to Rodgers and has already played for him.

What makes you think Rodgers gets to set players wages ?

[bigbear]

The two aren't linked though are they mate, we should still keep on paying the big wages that are necessary to secure the best players but simply buy better players. Andy Carroll is a perfect example we were happy to pay a ridiculous fee for him because his wages were far smaller than the player he replaced Torres.

The problem is that their is a direct correlation between the wages a player commands and his ability. If we were replacing similar quality players with the ones we are selling then their wouldn't be a problem but we are not, we are paying smaller wages to prospects and then expecting them to perform instantly, that for me is madness.

We pay a lot more in wages than Spurs and yet they are being held up as the perfectly run club. We will have 10 players earning more money than Spurs top earner.

The problem has not been the wages but the signings targetted which has been poor for about 4 years now. You can't keep signing players like Keane/Riera/Dossena/Aquilani/Downing/Adam/Carroll and expect to achieve. At least of all of those Carroll was bought for the long term, the others were signed as experienced players to come in and hit the ground running and failed to do so.

[bleedsred1978]

if Liverpool can offer that kind of money we would have landed Aguero in January !

Closer to 200k for Aguero i would think.