Author Topic: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD  (Read 3113099 times)

Offline disgraced cake

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35040 on: August 6, 2022, 05:04:26 pm »
I think we should be in the market for two midfielders next summer so in my view Bellingham being unavailable now shouldn’t be a huge problem. Go get the other guy, although the problem is we may need to know Jude is definitely coming before we can nail what the other profile we’re looking for is…

Aye, we definitely need two. I can't help but keep looking at it from the worst case scenario and think what if in a year's time Milner retires, Henderson gradually declines and has another disappointing season, Keita doesn't sign, Oxlade Chamberlain leaves and we're struggling to get Thiago out there. It'd certainly be overhaul territory. Thankfully we've got Elliot looking good, and if he can stay fit I think Curtis will have a good time of it this season. Would be really nice though if we could get one in now to bed in for the future (but also maybe improve us straight away)

I think about signing someone in January too, but when you look at Diaz it happened because Tottenham were close to getting him and it allowed us to come and get it done. Personally I'd guess we aren't going to get one now or in the winter which will probably end up being a mistake let's be honest.
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Offline BER

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35041 on: August 6, 2022, 05:07:34 pm »
Naby unavailable for the start of the season for some vague reason and Thiago getting injured in our first game.

Are we waiting for a sign from God himself?

Offline JasonF

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35042 on: August 6, 2022, 05:19:01 pm »
Naby unavailable for the start of the season for some vague reason and Thiago getting injured in our first game.

Are we waiting for a sign from God himself?

Naby has an illness (not covid), still had some symptoms but was expected to resume training after the press conference yesterday I think Klopp said.

Personally I think we probably do need another body in midfield but we don't make short term decisions like that, we've seen it time and again. Unless a long term target becomes available I think we'll make do.

Offline CowboyKangaroo

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35043 on: August 6, 2022, 05:21:51 pm »
Naby unavailable for the start of the season for some vague reason and Thiago getting injured in our first game.

Are we waiting for a sign from God himself?

Don't think Fowler is much involved in our transfer business to be honest.
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Offline disgraced cake

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35044 on: August 6, 2022, 05:22:23 pm »
Naby has an illness (not covid), still had some symptoms but was expected to resume training after the press conference yesterday I think Klopp said.

Personally I think we probably do need another body in midfield but we don't make short term decisions like that, we've seen it time and again. Unless a long term target becomes available I think we'll make do.

I thought Klopp said he had trained yesterday? Be typical Naby if he did and still picked something up  ;D
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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35045 on: August 6, 2022, 05:25:00 pm »
Think there’s zero chance we buy so we’ll stick with what we’ve got to be honest

Klopps largely against going for someone if it’s not specifically who he wants for a role so I reckon we’ll use those we have and Elliott and Keita will take up Thiagos minutes

Yes, I agree looking for solutions and allowing other players to step up is very into what Klopp is about. I think the likes of Elliot and Carvalho will get a number of chances this season, a big opportunity for Keita as well.
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Offline JasonF

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35046 on: August 6, 2022, 05:34:48 pm »
I thought Klopp said he had trained yesterday? Be typical Naby if he did and still picked something up  ;D

Yeah quite possible he said he trained yesterday, I wasn't paying full attention to the press conference. He should be back for the next game anyway.

Offline skipper757

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35047 on: August 6, 2022, 05:36:04 pm »
I think Klopp ideally wanted this to be a bridge year for some of the aging players and some of the new blood/youngsters.  We're already transitioning the attack and will continue to do so if Bobby isn't offered a new contract.

There are younger players who need minutes (Elliott, Jones, Carvalho) who will have ample opportunity to earn them.  At the same time, how many minutes at the highest level can the likes of Hendo, Thiago, and Milner continue to deliver?  (It's not their ability, more their age and fitness record).  Keita's down to a year left as well, so it's a big year for him.

We can assess throughout the season and make the moves for next summer.

It's a shame the last weeks of last season went the way they did, as it could've encapsulated the greatest season and took pressure off this season to help reshape the team for the future.  As it stands, there's obviously a lot of pressure to go again and repeat and try to win the big trophies.  Not saying we're not capable of that, but I do think there's some transition work to be done throughout the season, and it won't be without ups and downs (as we saw with the midfield today).  That being said, I see these issues for every team, including City (especially if Bernardo Silva does go).

The World Cup in the middle of the season does throw some chaos in, so that could be to our advantage (well-rested Salah, Carvalho more settled, older players on the mend, etc) as well as new signees in January (like we did with Diaz).
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Offline Kop Kings

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35048 on: August 6, 2022, 05:38:57 pm »
Naby has an illness (not covid), still had some symptoms but was expected to resume training after the press conference yesterday I think Klopp said.

Personally I think we probably do need another body in midfield but we don't make short term decisions like that, we've seen it time and again. Unless a long term target becomes available I think we'll make do.

Why do people keep saying we don't do 'short term' decisions when it comes to our midfield? We need 2-3 midfielders in the next few windows when considering the 'robustness,' age and contract situation of many midfielders currently on our roster anyway.

We've arguably needed a new midfielder for a while, next year we will have Milly retiring, Ox leaving, Hendo a year older and needing his minutes managed and Thiago, Ox and Keita still made of glass - we will probably need at least 2 new bodies. This isn't knee jerk, you could argue it's something that should have been foreseen and planned for months ago. Waiting for Bellingham next season? Fine, but we will need more than him to evolve this midfield in the coming windows, so I find it hard to believe we haven't already got some targets that we could pull the trigger on

Offline ApfelStudel

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35049 on: August 6, 2022, 05:45:00 pm »
For me it's quite simple now. If we don't sign a top midfielder we will not win the league. The margins in the league are too small. I understand that Klopp does not want to panic buy but surely the club has identified at least 3 midfielders that they feel would be a good fit. And I don't buy the whole we dont have the money arguments as we do; earnings are through the roof are net spend over the past 5-6 years has been around 20 milion a season.

Offline JasonF

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35050 on: August 6, 2022, 05:48:01 pm »
Why do people keep saying we don't do 'short term' decisions when it comes to our midfield? We need 2-3 midfielders in the next few windows when considering the 'robustness,' age and contract situation of many midfielders currently on our roster anyway.

We've arguably needed a new midfielder for a while, next year we will have Milly retiring, Ox leaving, Hendo a year older and needing his minutes managed and Thiago, Ox and Keita still made of glass - we will probably need at least 2 new bodies. This isn't knee jerk, you could argue it's something that should have been foreseen and planned for months ago. Waiting for Bellingham next season? Fine, but we will need more than him to evolve this midfield in the coming windows, so I find it hard to believe we haven't already got some targets that we could pull the trigger on

Short term as in getting someone who's not one of our top targets just to get someone in. If our top target(s) aren't available we'll wait, as we've seen before for example with Konaté. If one of our long term targets does become available then we might make a move, like with Díaz for instance.

Offline Kop Kings

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35051 on: August 6, 2022, 06:05:37 pm »
Short term as in getting someone who's not one of our top targets just to get someone in. If our top target(s) aren't available we'll wait, as we've seen before for example with Konaté. If one of our long term targets does become available then we might make a move, like with Díaz for instance.

I get that, but it's not like we've not been here before e.g. with Diaz. He was available, but we felt we could wait until the Summer. Another team got involved and we pulled the trigger and ended up being a pubic hair away from winning the quad as a result. I see the same thing with Midfield, Bellingham (for instance) can wait until next summer, but if you're telling me there isn't another midfielder out there who we are interested in and who would be available this season, then I would question that.

We have given the benefit of the doubt to our stellar midfield, but there comes a time when we need to be ruthless and this could be one of those moments. Many of our players in the middle are injury prone (proved again today) so I find it unlikely that our scouting team don't have a list of potential candidates that we can pull the trigger on. My feeling is we should probably make a move, or else we may find ourselves out of the race before things even get going.

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35052 on: August 6, 2022, 06:11:01 pm »
If its a few months for Thiago then we have to sign a midfielder.

Offline Solomon Grundy

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35053 on: August 6, 2022, 06:12:49 pm »
For me it's quite simple now. If we don't sign a top midfielder we will not win the league. The margins in the league are too small. I understand that Klopp does not want to panic buy but surely the club has identified at least 3 midfielders that they feel would be a good fit. And I don't buy the whole we dont have the money arguments as we do; earnings are through the roof are net spend over the past 5-6 years has been around 20 milion a season.

For me, this is a bit of a kneejerk reaction to dropping two points and Thiago getting injured today

But I will ask the question - Which top midfielder can we buy before the window closes? And don't say, Bellingham. He won't be going anywhere till next summer.

Offline Bend It Like Aurelio

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35054 on: August 6, 2022, 06:18:33 pm »
If we’re really hard up for a midfielder, won’t be surprised if we pick up a bargain at the deadline from the likes of Barca. Not sure if they have any levers left to pull.

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35055 on: August 6, 2022, 06:20:44 pm »
For me, this is a bit of a kneejerk reaction to dropping two points and Thiago getting injured today

But I will ask the question - Which top midfielder can we buy before the window closes? And don't say, Bellingham. He won't be going anywhere till next summer.

Surely that’s the point of our scouting system? Has Bellingham actually came out and said he wants to come here and only here next summer? What happens when city and Madrid offer him more money next summer. You can’t tell me there’s only one player out there who’d fit our style of play? The thing is come next summer, we’ll likely need 2 midfielders so getting one in early surely is the most logical thing- Henderson and Thiago will both be 33 next season

Would you be happy with us going in some games this season with a midfield of Fabinho Jones and Elliott if Thiago is out for that length of time and we need to rest Henderson? 

Offline Rob Dylan

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35056 on: August 6, 2022, 06:29:48 pm »
We have a superb scouting system and Klopp is an amazing coach who can improve any player. I refuse to believe we can't find a single midfielder who could 'fit our system'.

Numerically we have enough midfielders, but that's deceptive when three of the best ones are injury-prone, one of the backups is very injury-prone, and the others are either very old or teenagers. There's also a big drop-off in quality outside the best 3/4, and a real lack of creativity when Thiago's not there.

The fact that we were prepared to spend big on Tchouameni suggests we thought we needed a first-choice midfielder, yet now we think we don't? It makes no sense.

Offline disgraced cake

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35057 on: August 6, 2022, 06:34:23 pm »
We have a superb scouting system and Klopp is an amazing coach who can improve any player. I refuse to believe we can't find a single midfielder who could 'fit our system'.

Numerically we have enough midfielders, but that's deceptive when three of the best ones are injury-prone, one of the backups is very injury-prone, and the others are either very old or teenagers. There's also a big drop-off in quality outside the best 3/4, and a real lack of creativity when Thiago's not there.

The fact that we were prepared to spend big on Tchouameni suggests we thought we needed a first-choice midfielder, yet now we think we don't? It makes no sense.

All correct statements. Nobody's really asking for big money to be spent, but there's probably a lot of affordable options out there that you could class as low risk. I feel the potential is there for it to be high reward as not signing one could turn out to be negligible
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Offline Solomon Grundy

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35058 on: August 6, 2022, 06:34:54 pm »
Surely that’s the point of our scouting system? Has Bellingham actually came out and said he wants to come here and only here next summer? What happens when city and Madrid offer him more money next summer. You can’t tell me there’s only one player out there who’d fit our style of play? The thing is come next summer, we’ll likely need 2 midfielders so getting one in early surely is the most logical thing- Henderson and Thiago will both be 33 next season

We were interested in signing Tchouaméni at the start of the summer. So it's clear we were targeting a midfielder.  But since then we haven't taken it any further. Perhaps we've looked and looked and can't find the right types of midfielder to fit into our side. Or perhaps we found the right ones but those midfielders aren't available for one reason or another this summer. Who knows?.

Offline Solomon Grundy

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35059 on: August 6, 2022, 06:36:52 pm »

The fact that we were prepared to spend big on Tchouameni suggests we thought we needed a first-choice midfielder, yet now we think we don't? It makes no sense.

I don't think that's the case. I think it's more the case, that the player(s) we're interested in, we simply can't get this summer.
« Last Edit: August 6, 2022, 06:57:55 pm by Solomon Grundy »

Offline paisley1977

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35060 on: August 6, 2022, 06:56:27 pm »
If we were to do short term it would have made sense to of got Gini Wijnaldum on loan but that ship has sailed.
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Offline Suareznumber7

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35061 on: August 6, 2022, 06:58:38 pm »
The problem is we have 4 players in midfield who are constantly unavailable which is so frustrating.

I feel like I’ve read this exact post once or twice in the past.

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35062 on: August 6, 2022, 06:58:59 pm »
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Offline Rob Dylan

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35063 on: August 6, 2022, 06:59:57 pm »
I don't think that's the case. I think it's more the case, that the player(s) we interested in, we simply can't get this summer.

But at the same time, we clearly thought we needed a first-choice midfielder, which suggests it was a significant weakness in the squad. Yet we now seem happy to go another season without resolving that weakness, despite having money and a manager that everyone in the world would love to play for. It just seems to be complacent, like 'we can manage', when we need to do more than just 'manage'. That sort of approach was fine when Klopp was still building the squad, but we're now competing at an insanely competitive level where any weakness is exposed. We can't always afford to wait for the 'perfect' player.

If we can't get a 10/10 midfielder who's absolutely world class and perfect for our system, then we should at least go for an 8/10 midfielder who's still decent quality and isn't injury prone. Besides I'm pretty sure that Salah and a few other players Klopp has signed were not our first choices, but have turned out to be fantastic for us.

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35064 on: August 6, 2022, 07:08:40 pm »
We have a superb scouting system and Klopp is an amazing coach who can improve any player. I refuse to believe we can't find a single midfielder who could 'fit our system'.

No doubt there are loads. But what if Klopp doesn't want to just buy any old midfielder who can 'fit our system'? What if he has specific individuals in mind who are not available at the moment?
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Offline Solomon Grundy

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35065 on: August 6, 2022, 07:15:44 pm »
If we can't get a 10/10 midfielder who's absolutely world class and perfect for our system, then we should at least go for an 8/10 midfielder who's still decent quality and isn't injury prone. Besides I'm pretty sure that Salah and a few other players Klopp has signed were not our first choices, but have turned out to be fantastic for us.

That's not how Klopp works lad. Never has been. As for Salah not being his first choice, you're right he wasn't. But he absolutely was in a list of players he believed would fit our system perfectly.

Offline Egyptian36

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35066 on: August 6, 2022, 07:18:27 pm »

I think we made our mind regarding the midfield and an injury to Thiago won't change it. We saw it when our defenders got injured, we risked fourth to wait for Kontae which ended up to be the correct decision.

Let's hope Naby stay fit otherwise it will be tough for us and him getting a new contract.


 
We have a superb scouting system and Klopp is an amazing coach who can improve any player. I refuse to believe we can't find a single midfielder who could 'fit our system'.

Numerically we have enough midfielders, but that's deceptive when three of the best ones are injury-prone, one of the backups is very injury-prone, and the others are either very old or teenagers. There's also a big drop-off in quality outside the best 3/4, and a real lack of creativity when Thiago's not there.

The fact that we were prepared to spend big on Tchouameni suggests we thought we needed a first-choice midfielder, yet now we think we don't? It makes no sense.

Our Pep said it. We go for first team qauilty players or very young players who got the potential to be world class. Finding a qauilty midfielder is not easy and we can't risk it because of our limited budget. A club with our budget any big transfer that dont work out will effect you for a long time.

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35067 on: August 6, 2022, 07:18:35 pm »
But at the same time, we clearly thought we needed a first-choice midfielder,
Maybe. Or maybe we thought we needed Tchouemani specifically. To paraphrase Guardiola a few years ago "Tchouemani or nothing."

Quote
which suggests it was a significant weakness in the squad.
Not necessarily. It may simply have signified that Tchouemani specifically was too good to ignore when/if available.


Quote
Yet we now seem happy to go another season without resolving that weakness, despite having money and a manager that everyone in the world would love to play for. It just seems to be complacent, like 'we can manage', when we need to do more than just 'manage'. That sort of approach was fine when Klopp was still building the squad, but we're now competing at an insanely competitive level where any weakness is exposed. We can't always afford to wait for the 'perfect' player.
I think you've got that the wrong way round. It was while we were building and developing the squad that we were happy to go for second, third or whatever choices. The suggestion, based on a few things that Klopp and Ljinders have sad, is that they now view the squad as being at a point where (apologies to The Ev) only the best will do.

Quote
If we can't get a 10/10 midfielder who's absolutely world class and perfect for our system, then we should at least go for an 8/10 midfielder who's still decent quality and isn't injury prone.
That's one way of doing it.Many managers would agree with you. But perhaps this manager doesn't at the moment.

As for '...who isn't injury prone' that's easy to say but not so easy to guarantee. Any player we bring in could get injured or become 'injury prone'.
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Offline Rob Dylan

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35068 on: August 6, 2022, 07:19:17 pm »
No doubt there are loads. But what if Klopp doesn't want to just buy any old midfielder who can 'fit our system'? What if he has specific individuals in mind who are not available at the moment?

The problem is we can't always afford to be so picky. We have a clear weakness in our midfield, in that too many are injury-prone (and in their 30s), we only have 3 who are top quality and the rest are either inexperienced, not quite good enough, or very old. And only two could really be described as 'creative'. Even our first-choice midfield three is lacking something. This should probably have been addressed last summer but it definitely needs to be addressed now. There's still this attitude of just 'making do' when we really don't need to, and we can't really afford to.

Klopp's argument - that there's no point spending big money to resolve a problem that might only last a few weeks - makes sense if you start from the opinion that our midfield options were fine until we got these injuries. I just don't agree with that, it was still a problem that needed fixing even when everyone was fit.

Offline Solomon Grundy

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35069 on: August 6, 2022, 07:24:41 pm »
Klopp isn't going to change Rob. If the player he wants suddenly becomes available we will be in for him. If not, we'll be making do with what we've got until he can get his man or men. There will be no stop-gaps joining us. Not in my opinion anyway.

Offline JackWard33

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35070 on: August 6, 2022, 07:25:31 pm »
I think we made our mind regarding the midfield and an injury to Thiago won't change it. We saw it when our defenders got injured, we risked fourth to wait for Kontae which ended up to be the correct decision.



Did it? That season we went from front runners for the title to needing an Alisson miracle to scrape getting champions league.
Buying Konate was a great decision but going into that season light and then not reacting properly in January were mistakes
The management and recruitment department are great at identifying talent but they’re not infallible

Again it depends what we want to accomplish… and now it depends on Thiagos diagnosis. There really aren’t too many counter arguments to buying a midfielder if our best midfielder is out for the first 3 months (for example), and the goal is to win the league this season.
« Last Edit: August 6, 2022, 07:28:23 pm by JackWard33 »

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35071 on: August 6, 2022, 07:28:39 pm »
The problem is we can't always afford to be so picky. We have a clear weakness in our midfield, in that too many are injury-prone (and in their 30s), we only have 3 who are top quality and the rest are either inexperienced, not quite good enough, or very old. And only two could really be described as 'creative'. Even our first-choice midfield three is lacking something. This should probably have been addressed last summer but it definitely needs to be addressed now. There's still this attitude of just 'making do' when we really don't need to, and we can't really afford to.
Presumably they have a succession plan to address this and may decide to stick to it. Fans always want more and more - I'm the same - but the professionals have to actually deal with the real situation, including squad size management, budgetary concerns, keeping intended purchases with whom they might already have made contact happy etc. 

Imagine, for example, that we've sounded out Bellingham and have a sort of private understanding with him that we want him, and only him, to be the lynchpin of our midfield for the next decade, and then we panic due to injuries and buy another player who will compete for the minutes he'd expect to have, and he starts having doubts about coming here after all.

And being so picky has worked pretty well so far. Only City's unfair advantages have prevented landslide winning seasons for us. Unless you advocate a 'if you can't beat them join them' approach then we will have to do things differently and hope (but never be able to guarantee) that it will work out.
« Last Edit: August 6, 2022, 07:31:17 pm by Ghost Town »
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Offline Rob Dylan

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35072 on: August 6, 2022, 07:45:52 pm »
Klopp isn't going to change Rob. If the player he wants suddenly becomes available we will be in for him. If not, we'll be making do with what we've got until he can get his man or men. There will be no stop-gaps joining us. Not in my opinion anyway.

I don't think we should get a stop gap. I think we should get someone who can make a contribution for a long time after this season. Maybe not an absolutely top class £100m player but someone about the level of Keita who's not so injury prone, someone more experienced than Elliott and Carvalho but younger than Thiago and Henderson, and better than AOC and Jones. Not someone who will necessarily be the lynchpin of the midfield for years to come, but someone who can be an important squad member in future and fill a gap now.

The problem is we didn't address this issue earlier, which then leads to having to consider signing players in a hurry or going for players who aren't necessarily first choice, when you have an injury crisis or realise you're deficient in a certain area.
« Last Edit: August 6, 2022, 07:57:39 pm by Rob Dylan »

Offline Solomon Grundy

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35073 on: August 6, 2022, 07:52:01 pm »
I don't think we should get a stop gap. I think we should get someone who can make a contribution for a long time after this season. Maybe not an absolutely top class £100m player but someone about the level of Keita who's not so injury prone, someone more experienced than Elliott and Carvalho but younger than Thiago and Henderson, and better than AOC and Jones. Not someone who will necessarily be the lynchpin of the midfield for years to come, but someone who can be an important squad member in future and fill a gap now.

Look, I know it's all a bit frustrating, Rob. But what if signing someone like that stops us from signing the player Klopp really wants in the future? We aren't Man City. We haven't got a bottomless pit of money to spend.
« Last Edit: August 6, 2022, 07:56:11 pm by Solomon Grundy »

Offline Rob Dylan

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35074 on: August 6, 2022, 08:06:51 pm »
Look, I know it's all a bit frustrating, Rob. But what if signing someone like that stops us from signing the player Klopp really wants in the future? We aren't Man City. We haven't got a bottomless pit of money to spend.

I don't see why it would. There's quite a few players (most of them midfielders) who will be off the wage bill in the next couple of years, we're doing well financially and we apparently had the money to go for Tchouameni this year. I find it hard to believe that spending say £40m on someone now would mean we couldn't afford someone else in a years' time.
« Last Edit: August 6, 2022, 08:22:08 pm by Rob Dylan »

Offline Egyptian36

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35075 on: August 6, 2022, 08:08:25 pm »


Did it? That season we went from front runners for the title to needing an Alisson miracle to scrape getting champions league.
Buying Konate was a great decision but going into that season light and then not reacting properly in January were mistakes
The management and recruitment department are great at identifying talent but they’re not infallible

Again it depends what we want to accomplish… and now it depends on Thiagos diagnosis. There really aren’t too many counter arguments to buying a midfielder if our best midfielder is out for the first 3 months (for example), and the goal is to win the league this season.

Its not realistic to expect to challenge every season. We took a big risk that season and yes it was a miracle but still long term for the club it worked well. Even last season we took a big risk with our midfield. This season too.

Most of my posts are crying that we need new midfielders. I don't think our midfield is balanced at all or reliable enough. I always thought we should move Fabinho to Thiago position, new 6 and an attacking creative playmaker instead of Hendo. No counter arguments.

If we get a new midfielder then good but if we dont then we need to understand a club with our budget need to take risks and there is a good reason behind it.

Offline Henry Gale

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35076 on: August 6, 2022, 08:26:37 pm »
Its not realistic to expect to challenge every season. We took a big risk that season and yes it was a miracle but still long term for the club it worked well. Even last season we took a big risk with our midfield. This season too.

Most of my posts are crying that we need new midfielders. I don't think our midfield is balanced at all or reliable enough. I always thought we should move Fabinho to Thiago position, new 6 and an attacking creative playmaker instead of Hendo. No counter arguments.

If we get a new midfielder then good but if we dont then we need to understand a club with our budget need to take risks and there is a good reason behind it.

I don’t think it’s about budget, more a case of the player Klopp wants isn’t available. If Dortmund said fine you can have Bellingham for £80m or so then I think we would do it but they won’t for a few reasons.


Offline Solomon Grundy

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35077 on: August 6, 2022, 08:32:40 pm »
I don't see why it would. There's quite a few players (most of them midfielders who will be off the wage bill in the next couple of years, we're doing well financially and we apparently had the money to go for Tchouameni this year. I find it hard to believe that spending say £40m on someone now would mean we couldn't afford someone else in a years' time.

But would we have signed Nunez if we'd signed Tchouameni?


Also, what if we can't pick up a midfielder for 40 million Rob? I just don't think it's as easy as you're making it out to be here mate. A lot of these clubs will probably know we're after a midfielder you know.  What if they're asking too much for a player that is well down our list of alternatives? We aren't going to spend big money on someone unless it's the player we really want mate.
« Last Edit: August 6, 2022, 08:35:38 pm by Solomon Grundy »

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35078 on: August 6, 2022, 08:34:41 pm »
Well, there's always a chance that Barca get so desperate that they ship de Jong on a £10 million loan with option to buy near deadline day, you'll never know.
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Offline Haggis36

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Re: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD
« Reply #35079 on: August 6, 2022, 08:36:04 pm »
It's interesting, a lot of the debate here seems to be perceived short versus long-termism, but is there not an argument that what we're doing (by sticking) is in itself looking a bit short-term? We're saying "oh but we've got loads of players there" which is true this season, but won't be true in a season or so's time. Do we take the very real and very unnecessary risk of leaving ourselves short again because of the presence of a whole handful of players who probably won't be here for much longer?

I mean even putting aside the (very valid) discussions about the injury proneness of our midfield set, half of this midfield group are the very definition of short-term options. Milner and Ox will undoubtedly leave next summer, Keita is currently on track to join them. Henderson and Thiago are over 30 and either barely fit or slowing down. The only "long-term" option we actually have nailed on in midfield is Fabinho. We all hope Jones, Elliott and Carvalho will go on to make themselves LFC stalwarts but the former hasn't quite kicked on in the past few years and it remains to be seen if the latter two can be options in midfield over the course of a full season - either way, I think the three of them are arguably competing for one spot as I'm not sure playing two of them together would work. Honestly we need to be looking for at least 2 starting quality midfielders over the next 18-24 months, maybe 3 depending on how things pan out with some of the current crop. Why not start that rebuild now? It's not like we're in rude health and overreacting to one or two minor set backs by throwing a short-term option at it - it's both an immediate and long-term concern and comfortably the weakest area of our squad.

And to be honest, for me - leaving aside the numbers/quality debate - my concern about the midfield is that it is so, so, slow. Not a single one of the 8 players we have on the books excels in terms of pace or physicality and for what a Klopp midfield is actually required to do, that feels kind of wild to me. I mean we're a team who prides itself on high intensity, being first to second balls, high pressing and who asks a lot of the midfield in terms of covering the full backs but we line up every week with Fabinho, Thiago and Henderson - it's not a particularly mobile or youthful bunch. It's fine when we monopolise the ball but when teams are prepared to come out and contest the ball in the middle of the park it's clear that we can struggle.

It just feels like we're compromising when we really, really don't have to.