Have we lost 2 targets

[Sir Bob]

Not getting Neill was a big blow as we are very short of defensive cover. Say Carra & Finnan were out for a couple of weeks. all of a sudden our rock solid defence will look anything but. Imagine playing Barca away with defence of Peltier, Sami, agger & JAR. Chelsea have been caught out due to a lack of cover, I just hope we are a bit luckier with injuries.

[ineednewfootwear]

I said it in December H9 mate, we won't be signing any players(established) in January. It's proving that way so far. Either the purse is tight, or RAFA is happy with what hes got which I find hard to believe.

i find that hard to believe too, perhaps the targets he wants probably just aren't available. mascherano and mccarthy might be the only two signings, i certainly don't expect anymore.

losing out on neill and young isn't tragic. i agree it's a lot of money, he's still got a lot to prove and would be no improvement over our current players. if he's any good he'll sign with us when his contract comes up again. as for neill, no great lose.

[Redspin]

in Young and Neill?

Have we been outbidded or were we simply not that interested enough to chase and if not, who are we after or are we looking to strengthen at all.

Neill was only ever going to be defensive cover and Young is vastly, hugely, massively over-rated, so I would say we had a narrow escape rather than missed out on them

[Redspin]

I said it in December H9 mate, we won't be signing any players(established) in January. It's proving that way so far. Either the purse is tight, or RAFA is happy with what hes got which I find hard to believe.

I can't see what all this fuss is about. Rafa said categorically recently that he doesn't look to sign key players in January as all the best ones are cup-tied for Europe so he does all his main dealing in the summer. So why are people somehow expecting him to go against what he said? No other top team is buying either. The only teams that do buy at this time of the year - and pay well over the odds - are strugglers like West Ham, Villa etc. The big boys just don't. So all this talk of "missing out" and "disappointing window" is just crap

[The_weatherman]

I would rather pay 15m. for Alves than 8-9m. for Young. If he had gone at about 5m. I think we should have gone for him but this is a bit crazy price.

Momo cost 5m., Alonso 13 in the end, Kuyt 10m., C.Ronaldo was about 12m. and Robben about the same I think, Lennon under 1m. so I find this price just plain silly and I feel Villa and West Ham should have seen some sense and stop bidding.

[kurtangle01]

I can't see what all this fuss is about. Rafa said categorically recently that he doesn't look to sign key players in January as all the best ones are cup-tied for Europe so he does all his main dealing in the summer. So why are people somehow expecting him to go against what he said? No other top team is buying either. The only teams that do buy at this time of the year - and pay well over the odds - are strugglers like West Ham, Villa etc. The big boys just don't. So all this talk of "missing out" and "disappointing window" is just crap

I would have classed Nando and Agger as key signings....no?

Fair enough Nando never worked out but he was still a key signing and if my memory serves me right Rafa actually said that he wasn't bothered if players were cup tied because he was signing them for more that 7 games. He was signing them for the long term.

[simey85]

dont think we've missed out on anything with them two young was far too dear and i think he is overrated. neill just shows his priorities by turning down liverpool and champions league football for the glamour and the big games down in the dogfight. wat a ****ing dick! why would we want a player like that if that what motivates him!

[REDSCOUSER]

I can't see what all this fuss is about. Rafa said categorically recently that he doesn't look to sign key players in January as all the best ones are cup-tied for Europe so he does all his main dealing in the summer. So why are people somehow expecting him to go against what he said? No other top team is buying either. The only teams that do buy at this time of the year - and pay well over the odds - are strugglers like West Ham, Villa etc. The big boys just don't. So all this talk of "missing out" and "disappointing window" is just crap

whos making a fuss ? read me post again carefully and you will understand that.
I'm not dissapointed. Actually I got used to us not spending big every January. The summer is gonna be rocking for the REDS.

[kubrickscube]

I don't think it fair to label Neill a moneygrabber. He made it clear why he went to West Ham. They told him he'd definitely have a first team choice. Liverpool (his boyhood team) simply told him that he'd be back up, in case the likes of Carragher or Finnan got injured, which they rarely do *touch wood*. It's not even as if he could displace them if they lost form, they're two players who are arguably are most consistent performers.
You wouldn't want to go from Premier team captain to benchwarmer.

As for Young - we showed our interest, but weren't prepared (and cannot afford) to pay over the odds for him. I'm sure Rafa has a shopping list and a strict transfer budget. If Young was indeed worth 10m, do you not think the big 3 clubs would've been in there, rather than Villa and Spurs?

[Redzion]

No to both,as ifeel both would bring nothing to our team an when the DIC comes in we will have better fish to fry.

[Maestro]

FWIW, there is no indication that we were ever in for Young, even when his price was acceptable. I don't think Rafa wanted him. Ergo, we didn't miss out on him, as he wasn't a target.

Yes, we did miss out on Neill, but IMO Rafa made the right decision.
The player priced himself out of a move.