Summer Signings

First of all I need to state that I am normally optimistic, I usually like signings and find it hard to find fault in what we do, last year for example I was happy with the business we had done by the time the season had started, over the season I was proven wrong with Lambert, Balotelli and Lovren failing to produce throughout the season and Markovic, Manquillo and Moreno,  failing in many fans eyes.  Despite this I'm still going to put on record my thoughts about this summers signings.

Once again I'm optimistic and like the signings, I feel that we have bought several players who can and will go straight in to the first eleven and that everybody is an improvement on last season.

Firstly the most controversial, Benteke, I like him, he seems to have the lot, pace, power, movement, physicality, finishing, technique, arial ability, proven Premier League record what more could we want.  Granted he is expensive and everybody is a risk but strikers are expensive no matter who you buy and I would argue that attackers with a comparable record go for similar money if not more, Lukaku would be a good example.  We as Liverpool fans often fall into the trap of wanting a foreign sounding name that we no little about rather than players we know are good and who can achieve.  There are other good strikers out there, possibly cheaper but we have a very good striker on our hands and that's what we were demanding at the start of the window.

Firmino, an excellent player and the marque signing that we have all been shouting for.  I'm very excited by Firmino several people were talking about him last summer and because of this I have watched him play and thought he was out of our reach and that he would be going to one of the big names for huge money, delighted that we got him and I am certain that he will be a huge success.

Ings a good young player he stands a chance, had a lot of work to do and needs to develop but in my opinion will be more effective than Borini, Lambert or for that matter Balotelli so an improvement in the squad so this makes me happy.

Clyne, again I have high hopes widely touted as the best right back in the country and he chose to sign for us over some of our competitors so that's good and a definite improvement over Johnson so yet again our squad gets stronger.  

Bogdan, not overly impressed I have to admit, we wanted a new reserve keeper and we got one and he without doubt is an improvement over Jones so at least he represents a step forward if only a small one.

Milner to be honest originally I wasn't to bothered by this signing but I have since changed my mind and now believe he will be a huge player for us over the coming season.  Several things have changed my mind, better people than me have been singing his praises, City were desperate to keep him offering lots of money, he seems to have bought into the Liverpool project and finally and most importantly his performances in pre season have been excellent.n I again believe he has improved our squad from last season with a 29 year old Milner looking stronger than a 34 year old Gerard.

Gomez didn't know anything about this lad but he has been the shining light of pre season with some exceptional performances, yes I know it's only pre season and the opposition weren't all that but that's all I have to go on and by God the lad looks exciting.

We have also signed a couple of youth team players that those who are in the know seem to be excited about so that also looks good and if we continue to support and develop our young players as we have been uni believe we will continue to be able to sign the best young talent from around the world and this can only help the first team.

So, overall I'm delighted and excited about the season ahead, with new coaches in place I hope some work gets done on defending and set plays at both ends and we could achieve anything, let's hope for exciting times ahead.

@lfclumo 

What Changes?

What changes are needed at Liverpool Football Club?  First and foremost we must look at the playing staff, some of what we have is simply not good enough and some are leaving the club anyway.  Wholesale changes are probably not a good thing as evidenced by this season but we have let our club deteriorate so far that we probably do need to do it again.  Personally I agree with arguments I have heard about buying strikers with our money as the most important problem area that needs solving but it could also be argued that we will need, starting at the back a reserve keeper cover at left back, two right backs, a central defender, a defensive midfield or two plus a box to box type and possibly three strikers.  Current rumours suggest that we are looking at a goalkeeper with Timo Horn of Cologne reportedly a target, Montoya a possibility at right back several midfielders have been linked with James Milner looking likely, and with Ings and Origi likely to arrive up front we already have 5 people coming in and I suggest this is still not enough we are looking for the marquee signing up front probably a further player in midfield and a centre half, to many changes but necessary especially as we need to get rid of so many players Enrique, Johnson, Aspas,Coates, Alberto, Lambert, Borini, Balotelli and Brad Jones make it eight in and nine out but we also have Gerrard leaving, probably Toure, possibly Lucas and huge doubts over Sterling all this amounts to huge changes in the playing staff and problems ahead for the manager.

Or possibly not for the manager as I think it's time for changes in the structure of the club with a Director of Football or similar to. E appointed to work with the manager, I don't know who as I don't know enough about the people who fill these roles but there is so much to do at Liverpool that I believe it is far to much for the manager alone to deal with, this summer we must get the majority of transfers right as well as bringing on the players from last year in my opinion broadly speaking our current manager is very good at developing players not so good at identifying targets and when we do identify targets the club is terrible at bringing them in.

Do we need a new manager? Has he simply made to many mistakes? To stubborn? Probably to all of the above but I also can't forget what we achieved under Rodgers last year so to be honest I'm on the fence I wouldn't be to upset either way but I do believe we should be looking at options, I would be disappointed in our owners if we weren't at least sounding out Klopp, a top manager who is available and on the face of it seems perfect for us.  If an improvement on what we have becomes available and wants to come then surely we should go for it, we can never turn down an improvement.

Whoever is in charge next season they need more help, more better coaches.  I do believe that Rodgers is a good coach but nobody can do it alone I would like to see a far bigger team of experienced coaches along with former players etc working under the manager.  I simply believe that more people are better, with more people you can do more its that simple and we have plenty to do.

So for me new players, new director of football, new coaches and possibly a new manager not much left to change but I honestly believe we need it we are in danger of falling even further away from the top table and need to reverse this fall now bringing in a couple of free transfers and hoping for the best will simply not do, big changes needed at Liverpool now.

@lfclumo 

Contracts, Banners and Rodgers Out

Firstly let me state my position.  I think it is probably time for a new manager, for me Rodgers has made to many mistakes, is a little to stubborn and the results of the first team have not been good enough over the whole season culminating in is, in all probability, missing out on qualification for the Champions League. I also think that £100,000 per week is enough for Sterling but I don't really care If we pay him more, I believe he is a good player I want him to stay at the club and would be gutted if he signed for any of our rivals.

Now bearing this in mind I absolute agree that people are allowed to disagree with me they are allowed to voice their opinions especially fans of the club people who have invested so much into the club are allowed, in fact should be encouraged to voice their opinions but surely we need to think a bit before doing so, surely we shouldn't be doing so to the detriment of the team or individuals or to put it another way don't act like a twat, don't engage in twatish behaviour.

Liverpool fans support the manager and the team no matter what you can voice an opinion but always support those representing us the manager and the players on the pitch, booing the team or manager can only have a negative effect on their performance so counts as twatish behaviour, same goes for Rodgers out banners or hand written signs in biro on a bit of paper both twatish, we all know things are not going well, so do our owners, so there is no need to tell them and destroying any confidence we have in the process.  Anybody who pays all that money to protest at the expense of team they claim to support is twat in my book

Shouting abuse at an individual because he dared to hold out for a bit more money is another example of twatish behaviour disagree with it, that's fine, but don't go out of your way to try and put him off his game he still gets his money and probably his pay rise or move we just get a poor performance and possibly a poor result.  Support players,money play for Liverpool, they are our players and we are all supporters.

Flying a plane over our ground with a banner on it is the ultimate twatish behaviour, I never thought I would see the day when we as Liverpool fans stooped this low, we all know Manchester United fans are generally twats but at the weekend we proved that we can lower ourselves to their levels.  A group of fans felt that it was appropriate to speak for all of us and what they said was look at us we are Twats.

The atmosphere inside our ground has become toxic, we are traditionally seen as the twelfth man, not anymore I doubt we are helping and I believe that now our own support is actually hindering the team. So please remember you prime role as a supporter is to support the team, have opinions and voice them but no matter what support the team, remember we tell our players and manager before every game that they will never walk alone, let's make sure we keep this promise, let's find the twats me tell them to behave, you can normally spot them by the half no half scarfs another thing that must go, but that's for another day

 

Contracts

I'm a fan, so if somebody offered me five quid a week to be a Liverpool player I'd snap their hand off and I would bloody well find a way to make it work but it's different for footballers it's their career, their job, they have dedicated their lives to football and they don't owe anybody any loyalty, or do they?

Firstly, Raheem Stirling, or his agent, is entitled to ask for anything he wants and he is entitled to negotiate for a figure higher than is first offered, it's standard negotiating technique, nobody takes the first offer.  We would all do the same in our work especially if we were being headhunted by all our employers competitors, I know I would.

Stirling does not owe us any loyalty, yes he has been given his chance by the club but I am pretty sure that he would have made his way in to most teams match day squads by now, he's a good player, he would have made it without us.  In fact he has propped us up over the last year so is the reverse not true, is it not Liverpool who owe him.  When we bought him, I'll say that again bought him, we were not responsible for all his development we paid him very very well he chose to come to Liverpool because they offered the best financial package.  Is it any surprise then that he is considering leaving because he can get a better financial package at another club.

What have we given Stirling, as a club we have pushed him to almost breaking point, we have been prepared to risk his career overplaying him, risking injury when everybody, yes everybody was aware it was a risk.  Recently he has been played out of position surely taking some of the enjoy,net out of the game for him, yes I expect him to be professional and yes this shows his versatility but he would argue that proven professionalism and versatility are good reasons to pay him more others in the squad are getting far more than him and have proven to be the opposite.  Have the supporters shown him much of the support and loyalty we talk about, I don't believe we have, I don't hear his name ringing around the ground, he doesn't even have a song and when he has done what we would all do in trying to negotiate a pay rise some of the support enough to be heard have turned against him, abuse that he must hear, not the best way to persuade somebody to sign on the dotted line.

Is he being greedy, let's consider £150,000 per week ridiculous amount I know but less than half of what some of the best players in the world are earning.  Stirling is not in that bracket of player, but he has the potential, he is one of the best young players in the world we have all being claiming that for at least a year.  Now if he was to sign for five years he would obviously be signing his next contract after this one when he was twenty five if we were to give him a similar pay rise to this ridiculous one we are talking about now that would be around £270,000 for a player at his very peak still short by a considerable way of what the worlds top players are getting now and in five  years they will have probably moved on and be earning more.  So realistically if he is at the level we all say he is even £150,000 puts him way behind the game so from his point of view he should be getting north of that.

Liverpool recently have had a policy of buying younger players with he ambition of turning them into the best in the world, not a bad policy and if we haven't got the money or the ability to attract the worlds best then a policy I can get behind.  But, if this works and players like Sterling, Ibe, Can, Markovic, Ojo, Moreno and Coutinho are to develop we are going to have to pay top money to keep them and if we don't keep them we will remain a mid table team with no ambition starting again every few years.

So my argument is yes negotiate to the best for the club that you can but pay the players the money I want the best players at Liverpool I am already sick of loosing players to those who will pay the money, Liverpool should not be a selling club

Rotation, Rotation, Rotation

Whilst like almost everybody else I think rotation, used correctly, is vital, sometimes I think it  is getting out of hand and dare I say ridiculous again with our supporters appearing to jump on a bandwagon and start shouting their mouths off before engaging the brain and thinking about what they are saying or asking for.

Firstly let me say that i agree with most it is absolutely imperative that we rest players so that we don't ruin careers like we have done in the past with the likes of Owen through over playing but also so that out team doesn't suffer in the hear and now suffering with unnecessary injuries or loss of form through tiredness both of which could cost us points.

Having said that I have listened to one recent podcast that during the course of their show called for all ten of our outfield players to be rested or rotated for an important league fixture and this is silly, taking things to extremes again.  Obviously all ten can't be replaced while we still field a strong enough team and whilst I agree that tired players need to be given a week off occasionally we have to look at it from the perspective of the whole team and who we can afford to drop and who we need for that particular fixture as well as who is available to come in and replace those we are resting, if we don't have replacements fit and available then players can't be rested they are just going to have to tough it out.

Form is an important consideration, if a player is in top form banging in the goals every week, for me it is not the time to rest him, let him play, let the team get the benefits and rest him when there is the inevitable dip.  By the nature of it his form will drop off when he tires and that is surely the time to drop or rest somebody not when they are in the middle of a hot streak.  At Liverpool we always seem to want to protect players for the later, that never seems to come.  When is the big game that we are resting or wanting to rest all these players for?  We have calls to rest players in the League Cup semi finals, in the FA Cup, in the UEFA cup in the Champions League and in big six point League fixtures exactly what are we saving them for, there is nothing left, they will all be nice and fresh for their summer holidays.

The opposite is also true a player struggling with form should be the one who is dropped or rested and given a chance to recover, poor form will inevitably be a symptom of tiredness so this would be the ideal time to take somebody out of the team but hen our manager does this we seem to criticise claiming he has chucked players under the bus and we should be supporting them.  Rodgers does take players out of the team when they appear to be suffering and when he brings them back it appears to work Sterling last season was dropped, Mignolet this season was dropped or rested and now looks like a star, Lovren, Balotelli, Sakho, Can, Lucas, Markovic, Lallana, Moreno, Sterling all possiby first eleven have had time out of the team and when they have come back have looked stronger with possibly only Sterling not showing terrible form before he was rested, when you add to this list the players who have been injured Sturridge, Gerrard, Johnson, Allan and those such as Lambert, Enrique and Manquillo who were possibly always just cover we are changing or rotating our team a lot.

 For me Rodgers is taking people out of the team and when they come back their form has been good so we are resting players and now at the end of the season when the fixture list is becoming more of a problem and every game seems to be a six pointer we should be seeing the benefits, we should be able to play our strongest team more often then rest players over the summer it's what Rodgers does look at our record in his previous seasons we finish strong look at the evidence players have been taking out of the team and have come back stronger and better.  So please trust our manager in this at least he appears to know what he is doing.

 @lfclumo