[CB91]

(Original post by Dorito)
Absolute dross. So many average players putting in half-hearted performances. Downing, Spearing, Henderson, Cole... I know it's still pre-season guys but Christ you're professional footballers put some bloody effort in.

Sick of hearing about bloody 'tika taka' football as well as if Brendan Rodger invented it. I can't be the only one that is worried that we seem to be aiming 'to play like Swansea'.

I'm more worried by the how weak our squad is looking in midfield and attack. Except for Gerrard, Lucas (who is trying to regain form and fitness after a massive injury), Bellamy (who can't play more than once a week) and Suarez, who else is there that can perform when we need it? Borini, Sterling, Shelvey and Henderson are still too young to rely on, Carroll is hit and miss and the less said about Downing, Cole, Spearing and Adam the better.

[Dorito]

(Original post by CB91)
I'm more worried by the how weak our squad is looking in midfield and attack. Except for Gerrard, Lucas (who is trying to regain form and fitness after a massive injury), Bellamy (who can't play more than once a week) and Suarez, who else is there that can perform when we need it? Borini, Sterling, Shelvey and Henderson are still too young to rely on, Carroll is hit and miss and the less said about Downing, Cole, Spearing and Adam the better.

If we have £15,000,000 then i'd rather it be spent on an attacking mid/striker that will bag us some goals rather than Joe Allen who is just going to make 5 yard passes... but I'm old fashioned like that.

[Gob Bluth]

You guys are getting it all wrong about the Joe Allen situation. His qualities don't just lie around good short passing. £15m for short passing would be silly would it not? Getting Allen strengthens the core of the side very much. All too and well having a good AM or ST but you need the midfield to provide for them. Allen is obviously part of the puzzle for BR

[ChrisWilliams]

(Original post by Mess.)
Whenever a defender has the ball all of the midfielders run 20 yards away and stand next to the opposition defenders. Can't blame our defenders for long balls in that instance.

*cough*Joe Allen*cough*

[ChrisWilliams]

(Original post by Dorito)
If we have £15,000,000 then i'd rather it be spent on an attacking mid/striker that will bag us some goals rather than Joe Allen who is just going to make 5 yard passes... but I'm old fashioned like that.

You lot are absolutely unbelievable, you moan about how we're not keeping possession and then playing long balls all the time cos the midfield always run away from the defenders with the ball, and then you moan because we want to buy a player who does the exact ****ing thing that you want him to do! Christ alive.

Also, the majority of those players playing today would have had cameo roles in one preseason friendly so far, they've been back in training a week, they aren't going to be up to speed with fitness or how Rodgers wants us to play yet so no, they aren't going to be playing how he wants them too or even getting anywhere near to playing well.

[Dorito]

(Original post by ChrisWilliams)
You lot are absolutely unbelievable, you moan about how we're not keeping possession and then playing long balls all the time cos the midfield always run away from the defenders with the ball, and then you moan because we want to buy a player who does the exact ****ing thing that you want him to do! Christ alive.

Yeah but anyone with half a brain can see that £15,000,000 for Joe Allen is an absolutely disgusting amount.

I'm sure we could go to Europe and find a player that can pick up the ball from defence and pass it a few yards. We don't seem to have any scouts, we seem to just go after whoever the Daily Mail link us with which worries me more than anything. Newcastle show you can buy good players without spending silly money, there are probably loads of players in Portugal, Holland, France that can do a better job than Allen for a fraction of the price.

[Dorito]

Sack Rodgers and put me in charge. I'd mould us a fantastic French strike force of Lacazette and Bakambu.

[ChrisWilliams]

(Original post by Dorito)
Yeah but anyone with half a brain can see that £15,000,000 for Joe Allen is an absolutely disgusting amount.

It's not. It's absolutely not. Believe me on this.

[Dorito]

(Original post by ChrisWilliams)
It's not. It's absolutely not. Believe me on this.

Are you sure you're not just sticking up for a fellow Welshman.

'Believe me on this'... do you train with him every day or something or have you just seen highlights of him on MOTD and read a few blogs about him by 'football experts'.

If he is the best midfielder available to us for £15,000,000 then the club has fallen further than I thought.

[Pn94]

(Original post by Dorito)

I'm sure we could go to Europe and find a player that can pick up the ball from defence and pass it a few yards.

Think there's a lot more to his game than that. Plus you're oversimplifying his role. He'll effectively become a metronome for the team; keeping us ticking over. It's a key role in the structure BR's aiming for, so let him get the man he thinks can do the job.

[JoeK]

(Original post by Pn94)
Think there's a lot more to his game than that. Plus you're oversimplifying his role. He'll effectively become a metronome for the team; keeping us ticking over. It's a key role in the structure BR's aiming for, so let him get the man he thinks can do the job.

Yep. An axis of him and Lucas will be excellent. It will also allow the other central midfielder to push forward, i.e Gerrard or Shelvey, where they are far more effective.

It's also pretty redundant comparing Allen to most other central midfielders. He comes with an absolute massive plus of being an integral part of BR's system at Swansea. He can slot straight in and improve the speed at which the team gels. He's also got a skill set that very few midfielders have, I actually can't think of many at all that can play the game as he will for a similar price. I'd be interested to see any names that people can put forward. People that only seem to think he plays 5-yard passes are certainly oversimplifying his role. He's actually very good at making bursting runs forward that disrupt the opposition.

He will also be much better cover for Lucas than Spearing. Currently he would be just behind Lucas (for me) in the order of our central players, possibly level with Gerrard depending on which way he goes. I also lost count of the amount of times people were crying out for someone that could just keep the ball last year after Lucas went out. Even tonight it's what people were moaning about. Allen goes a long way to fixing this.

I'm a fan of both Henderson and Shelvey, but Allen will bring too many positives to not go for him now, IMO.

Rodgers has said before that he knows our main problem last season was in attack and scoring goals. I don't think he'd go for a player like this without knowing that he will be improving our forward options.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[ChrisWilliams]

(Original post by Dorito)
Are you sure you're not just sticking up for a fellow Welshman.

'Believe me on this'... do you train with him every day or something or have you just seen highlights of him on MOTD and read a few blogs about him by 'football experts'.

If he is the best midfielder available to us for £15,000,000 then the club has fallen further than I thought.

No, I'm rating a player who I've watched develop for my country from schoolboy level right up to the senior team, who I've watched live more times than you've seen him on the MOTD highlights and who I've seen improve exponentially with every single step up he's taken, without looking out of place with every one. This is not some Football Manager "I've signed him and he did great so we should sign him too" thing, this is a serious football view of a player I've seen play football on nearly 50 occasions.

[ChrisWilliams]

(Original post by JoeK)
Yep. An axis of him and Lucas will be excellent. It will also allow the other central midfielder to push forward, i.e Gerrard or Shelvey, where they are far more effective.

It's also pretty redundant comparing Allen to most other central midfielders. He comes with an absolute massive plus of being an integral part of BR's system at Swansea. He can slot straight in and improve the speed at which the team gels. He's also got a skill set that very few midfielders have, I actually can't think of many at all that can play the game as he will for a similar price. I'd be interested to see any names that people can put forward. People that only seem to think he plays 5-yard passes are certainly oversimplifying his role. He's actually very good at making bursting runs forward that disrupt the opposition.

He will also be much better cover for Lucas than Spearing. Currently he would be just behind Lucas (for me) in the order of our central players, possibly level with Gerrard depending on which way he goes. I also lost count of the amount of times people were crying out for someone that could just keep the ball last year after Lucas went out. Even tonight it's what people were moaning about. Allen goes a long way to fixing this.

I'm a fan of both Henderson and Shelvey, but Allen will bring too many positives to not go for him now, IMO.

Rodgers has said before that he knows our main problem last season was in attack and scoring goals. I don't think he'd go for a player like this without knowing that he will be improving our forward options.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Cracking post that mate. Do you know what I love most about Joe? That little shimmy/turn he does when he's in a tight space and under pressure that instantly gives him either an easy pass to play or a few more yards extra to play the ball he wants. He's fantastic at it. Watch him on Saturday for Team GB, the team is built around him and what he does. He's the fulcrum of the team, and he's brilliant at it.

[Pn94]

(Original post by JoeK)
Yep. An axis of him and Lucas will be excellent. It will also allow the other central midfielder to push forward, i.e Gerrard or Shelvey, where they are far more effective.

It's also pretty redundant comparing Allen to most other central midfielders. He comes with an absolute massive plus of being an integral part of BR's system at Swansea. He can slot straight in and improve the speed at which the team gels. He's also got a skill set that very few midfielders have, I actually can't think of many at all that can play the game as he will for a similar price. I'd be interested to see any names that people can put forward. People that only seem to think he plays 5-yard passes are certainly oversimplifying his role. He's actually very good at making bursting runs forward that disrupt the opposition.

He will also be much better cover for Lucas than Spearing. Currently he would be just behind Lucas (for me) in the order of our central players, possibly level with Gerrard depending on which way he goes. I also lost count of the amount of times people were crying out for someone that could just keep the ball last year after Lucas went out. Even tonight it's what people were moaning about. Allen goes a long way to fixing this.

I'm a fan of both Henderson and Shelvey, but Allen will bring too many positives to not go for him now, IMO.

Rodgers has said before that he knows our main problem last season was in attack and scoring goals. I don't think he'd go for a player like this without knowing that he will be improving our forward options.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Spot on. I'd +1 but it seems I already have recently.

[CB91]

I wouldn't mind us signing Allen but not for a fee anywhere near £15m.

[Darth Vader 7]

(Original post by CB91)
I wouldn't mind us signing Allen but not for a fee anywhere near £15m.

What better midfielders could Liverpool get?

I think he's a quality player personally. I just don't know whether he should be top priority at the moment. But then again, Rodgers probably has something like £50m to work with so it shouldn't really dent your budget massively...

[CB91]

(Original post by Darth Vader 7)
What better midfielders could Liverpool get?

I think he's a quality player personally. I just don't know whether he should be top priority at the moment. But then again, Rodgers probably has something like £50m to work with so it shouldn't really dent your budget massively...

Contrary to popular belief, we haven't got a sugar daddy owner...

[Jim-Jam]

(Original post by Darth Vader 7)
What better midfielders could Liverpool get?

I think he's a quality player personally. I just don't know whether he should be top priority at the moment. But then again, Rodgers probably has something like £50m to work with so it shouldn't really dent your budget massively...

LOL.

Well the way they go on, I think we're actually in masses of debt or something..

But anyway, there's no money we're led to believe, selling Aquilani will get us near to nothing, and spending £15m on Allen instead of a winger or striker... The heeeeell.

[Darth Vader 7]

(Original post by CB91)
Contrary to popular belief, we haven't got a sugar daddy owner...

When has having £50m "sugar daddy" money? You guys spent in excess of £110m last year. That's essentially £50m factoring in all your sales. It's not too far fetched to expect you to have a similar amount this season for a new manager imposing his own philosophy. Especially considering that you'll probably get £8m for Aquillani and Adams alone. Then you might possibly get rid of Carroll as well (adding to that fund). I can definitely see you spending that much personally.

Just to put that into perspective, Chelsea have already spent £65m without even selling anyone(that I can remember anyway). They're expected to bring in more players as well. That's sugar daddy money.

EDIT: You've also got that £25m/year kit deal as well. Surely that'll help with transfers?

[CB91]

(Original post by Darth Vader 7)
When has having £50m "sugar daddy" money? You guys spent in excess of £110m last year. That's essentially £50m factoring in all your sales. It's not too far fetched to expect you to have a similar amount this season for a new manager imposing his own philosophy. Especially considering that you'll probably get £8m for Aquillani and Adams alone. Then you might possibly get rid of Carroll as well (adding to that fund). I can definitely see you spending that much personally.

Just to put that into perspective, Chelsea have already spent £65m without even selling anyone(that I can remember anyway). They're expected to bring in more players as well. That's sugar daddy money.

EDIT: You've also got that £25m/year kit deal as well. Surely that'll help with transfers?

We still have a very high wage bill because we decide to give players astronomical amounts a week that simply don't deserve it. If I remember correctly Adam and Henderson are on £60,000 a week with Carroll on a bit more.

And the owners have come out and said that they want the club to run off the profit it makes. Which is the right way to run a club but in the short term we need the investment. I hope they invest like they did last summer, but im pretty sure they won't.