Willian secures 'Dream' Liverpool Spurs Chelsea move

[Baracus]

I'm starting to get confused. We seem to be switching our priority positions as soon as we miss out on a target and I don't like that. I'll give you an example. We wanted Mkhitaryan for the attacking midfield role. We missed out on him and decided to go for a striker who could also play wide forward. That name was Costa. We missed out on him and then decided to go for proper wide forward Willian. Now that we have missed out on him it appears we are now looking to sign an out and out striker in Damiao. It makes no sense at all.

[BigChief]

He's also had a poor season just gone.

So much for a positive 1000th post ey?!

Yeah, completely against the grain, that.

[Paddy]

Have to say fair play to Spurs though. When they have the opportunity to sign top players they don't **** about. It has been our achilles heel for years now. One bad transfer window can be a disaster waiting to be rebuilt upon for at least another 2/3 windows. Yet this happens to us all the time. At least Rodger's is improving upon that.

I hate to say it but the money Kenny wasted is still having it's effect.

[Tee]

Worrying really that despite our status in world football and the money we should have, we have been unable to seal a few big deals this summer with the efficiency we have sealed the smaller deals.

Makes me think we are using all the extra money for the stadium expansion.

[Neil Young]

I'm starting to get confused. We seem to be switching our priority positions as soon as we miss out on a target and I don't like that. I'll give you an example. We wanted Mkhitaryan for the attacking midfield role. We missed out on him and decided to go for a striker who could also play wide forward. That name was Costa. We missed out on him and then decided to go for proper wide forward Willian. Now that we have missed out on him it appears we are now looking to sign an out and out striker in Damiao. It makes no sense at all.

It does if you think players already in the squad can switch roles effectively and surely that's an implicit requirement of a system that relies on the attacking players interchanging positions throughout the match.

[Baracus]

Worrying really that despite our status in world football and the money we should have, we have been unable to seal a few big deals this summer with the efficiency we have sealed the smaller deals.

Makes me think we are using all the extra money for the stadium expansion.

Spurs are waiting to build a brand new spanking Stadium

[el matador]

its disappointing to hear that we might lose out on willian after losing out on our first two choice targets too.

it doesnt look good but it taking this as a positive it might make fsg and BR realise that we need someone to act as an intermediary between the owners and the manager. a guy with experience of negotiating deals to bring players in and someone who can attract top players.

it leaves the manager to coach and the intermidiary DOF to concentrate on players already rostered and potential recruits.

Ian ayre takes some stick but i think he comes from a field where time isnt of the utmost importance. when you;re negotiating for sponsorship it can take months but when we're dealing with recruiting players its days / hours.

we need someone who can close these deals quicker but im not blaming ian ayre for this.

[Vermilion]

I really think that this is nothing to do with our negotiations, and just a player making a choice where to play his football.

[dom9]

Spurs rumoured to be paying €35m no way will they be keeping Bale if they are spending like this.

I still don't actually know anything about this guy. Is he worth that much, do you think?

[john316]

I really think that this is nothing to do with our negotiations, and just a player making a choice where to play his football.

Liverpool need to stop though briefing journalists telling them that they are very confident of signing players that are clearly some way from being signed up.

[Alex]

It does if you think players already in the squad can switch roles effectively and surely that's an implicit requirement of a system that relies on the attacking players interchanging positions throughout the match.

It also does if you believe Rodgers isn't ridged to a certain system.

It exciting to think of the options we will have whenever a different player is mentioned. Each one would set up differently in a team, but the unpredictability is something we may try and use to our advantage.

[Neil Young]

its disappointing to hear that we might lose out on willian after losing out on our first two choice targets too.

it doesnt look good but it taking this as a positive it might make fsg and BR realise that we need someone to act as an intermediary between the owners and the manager. a guy with experience of negotiating deals to bring players in and someone who can attract top players.

it leaves the manager to coach and the intermidiary DOF to concentrate on players already rostered and potential recruits.

Ian ayre takes some stick but i think he comes from a field where time isnt of the utmost importance. when you;re negotiating for sponsorship it can take months but when we're dealing with recruiting players its days / hours.

we need someone who can close these deals quicker but im not blaming ian ayre for this.

I've seen no evidence that time is the issue. Yes, it might look like that this far away from the action but I'd simply add that as just one more possibility to consider and a long way from the most likely.

The one thing Ayre's record does suggest is that he is good at negotiating. So without any proper evidence to the contrary, maybe he generally plays the game as well as we can hope for, it's just that the hand he has to play isn't as strong as Tottenham's. We know that applies to clubs we don't even expect to compete with - e.g. Man City - so there's no reason why it shouldn't be true, if not so pronounced, for Spurs too.

I really think that this is nothing to do with our negotiations, and just a player making a choice where to play his football.

By far the simplest explanation for what has happened in this case.

[dom9]

I really think that this is nothing to do with our negotiations, and just a player making a choice where to play his football.

We don't know for sure, but to assume the negotiating process / approach / tactics / personnel are to blame here, well it's conjecture at best.

If you see a game, you can form an opinion on how well the player has performed based upon the evidence presented to your eyeballs. But to form an opinion on somebody's performance in executing a process to which absolutely zero evidence is available, well, it's a bit of a waste of time. It's human nature I guess. People like to think they know best.

[dom9]

I've seen no evidence that time is the issue. Yes, it might look like that this far away from the action but I'd simply add that as just one more possibility to consider and a long way from the most likely.

The one thing Ayre's record does suggest is that he is good at negotiating. So without any proper evidence to the contrary, maybe he generally plays his hand as well as we can hope for, but it's just not as strong as Tottenham's. We know that applies to clubs we don't even expect to compete with - e.g. Man City - so there's no reason why it shouldn't be true, if not so pronounced, for Spurs too.


By far the simplest explanation for what has happened in this case.

[Gazzla]

its disappointing to hear that we might lose out on willian after losing out on our first two choice targets too.

it doesnt look good but it taking this as a positive it might make fsg and BR realise that we need someone to act as an intermediary between the owners and the manager. a guy with experience of negotiating deals to bring players in and someone who can attract top players.

it leaves the manager to coach and the intermidiary DOF to concentrate on players already rostered and potential recruits.

Ian ayre takes some stick but i think he comes from a field where time isnt of the utmost importance. when you;re negotiating for sponsorship it can take months but when we're dealing with recruiting players its days / hours.

we need someone who can close these deals quicker but im not blaming ian ayre for this.

I thought that Billy hogan was responsible for these negotiations with Willian?