Aquilani - stay or go?

[Exiled_red]

While I tend to think there is a potential downside if he is genuinely homesick I wonder whether keeping him until January might help the team and increase his value. His homesickness has not upset his preseason form at least. It's clear the bids we have had for him are not representative of his talent and won't recoup what we paid for him.

While I see the logic of selling him I don't see that it is so overwhelming that there could never be a counter argument.

I was thinking something similar

How much of his homesickness is genuinely missing Italy and how much of it is because he hasn't really had a chance to settle in properly? The first season he was here most of it was spent injured or recovering from injury, he can't have spent that much time working with or getting to know the other players so probably felt isolated. Last year Hodgson sent him packing, he's been a Liverpool player for 2 years but has spent hardly any time working with the other players. It's no wonder he feels lonely and wants to leave.

Perhaps if he were here for at least 6 months it would give him a chance to settle into the club properly and he perhaps wouldn't be so homesick. If in 6 or 12months time he is still homesick and wanting to leave we let him go. As you mention his homesickness hasn't affected his preseason performances (although perhaps he's played so well so he can get a move), but either way I doubt in 6 or 12 months time we would get less for him than we would get now.

[Exiled_red]

€6m FFS

€6m no way should we accept that, they're taking the piss

[Suarez]

€6m FFS

You can apparently get 3 or 4 Aquilanis for 1 Henderson

[Lecter]

I was thinking something similar

How much of his homesickness is genuinely missing Italy and how much of it is because he hasn't really had a chance to settle in properly? The first season he was here most of it was spent injured or recovering from injury, he can't have spent that much time working with or getting to know the other players so probably felt isolated. Last year Hodgson sent him packing, he's been a Liverpool player for 2 years but has spent hardly any time working with the other players. It's no wonder he feels lonely and wants to leave.

Perhaps if he were here for at least 6 months it would give him a chance to settle into the club properly and he perhaps wouldn't be so homesick. If in 6 or 12months time he is still homesick and wanting to leave we let him go. As you mention his homesickness hasn't affected his preseason performances (although perhaps he's played so well so he can get a move), but either way I doubt in 6 or 12 months time we would get less for him than we would get now.

If what I am told is true then it wouldnt matter what game time or reassurances he has or hasnt been given

To quote the person who told me "Aquilani HATES living in the UK and DESPERATELY wants to return to Italy"

It was the same last summer and it is the same this summer

[Neil Young]

This is one of those times where we've treated a player really poorly. Ignoring the financial side of things as they're all insanely overpaid, he's decided to come to us(the first time playing outside of his homeland), we've hardly played the lad and sent him out on loan. We've touted him about europe and now we have only ourselves to blame for this situation. He's not had a decent chance yet he's probably one of the best players we have.

The worst part of it is that whilst he wouldn't have slotted into Hodgson's footballing phillosophy, he's made for Kennys IMO. I just have this feeling that given a chance this season he'd really make an impact and end up one of our best players of the season.

Which is more likely?

1. No-one (important) at the club thinks he's good enough for LFC. Only the fans see him as having anything to offer.
2. He doesn't want to stay for some reason.

Furthermore which of these is more likely?

1. Benitez's dark mutterings about how Aquilani lacked mental strength (I forget the exact phrasing but that's the gist I think) is rooted in nothing but his own frustrations with the player. It's yet another example of how crap Benitez is as a "man manager" - he's just not a "people person".
2. Benitez's dark mutterings about how Aquilani lacked mental strength (I forget the exact phrasing but that's the gist I think) are based on some mental (i.e. attitude) problem he had and Benitez going public with it, no matter how opaquely, is simply a sign that there was never going to be a way back for a talented but mentally and physically brittle player and that's why Hodgson and Dalglish have also looked to sell him.

I'd say 2 and 2 are far more likely.

And now I write that I also note the happy coincidence that 2 and 2 makes 4.

[Lecter]

€6m no way should we accept that, they're taking the piss

This is why I suggested the Fiorentina deal wasnt that bad a deal

Yes its a risk but the only guaranteed deals mean significantly lower fees

[Neil Young]

If what I am told is true then it wouldnt matter what game time or reassurances he has or hasnt been given

To quote the person who told me "Aquilani HATES living in the UK and DESPERATELY wants to return to Italy"

It was the same last summer and it is the same this summer

It's the simplest explanation.

[Arn]

€6m no way should we accept that, they're taking the piss

but we will probably accept it if he is still our player with less than a week remaining of the window

We should just make it very clear to every interested club that don't bother to bid anything less than €15m. We should also make that clear to Aquilani that if no club make a decent offer then he will stay and that it is not our fault.

He is a pro and signed a long term deal with us.

[Lecter]

but we will probably accept it if he is still our player with less than a week remaining of the window

We should just make it very clear to every interested club that don't bother to bid anything less than €15m. We should also make that clear to Aquilani that if no club make a decent offer then he will stay and that it is not our fault.

He is a pro and signed a long term deal with us.

This is all well and good but what happens if he stays and sulks or performs **** etc..

Despite your belief to the contrary I'd say it is quite possible that he would underperform due to him being unhappy

We'd then be stuck paying large wages to another player

For me you can only stand firm when you hold ALL the cards

He wants to leave and therefore your stance has to weaken

[fah-q]

I thought you spoke Italian

vai in culo

[Lecter]

vai in culo

[Roboklopp]

Not saying this is true like:

http://soccerlens.com/fans/liverpools-sad-treatment-of-aquilani/

[Lecter]

Not saying this is true like:

http://soccerlens.com/fans/liverpool...t-of-aquilani/

Seriously what a load of ****ing ****e

[Arn]

This is all well and good but what happens if he stays and sulks or performs **** etc..

Despite your belief to the contrary I'd say it is quite possible that he would underperform due to him being unhappy

We'd then be stuck paying large wages to another player

For me you can only stand firm when you hold ALL the cards

He wants to leave and therefore your stance has to weaken

We have all the cards as long as it is more than two years left on his contract. I have already said as you mention that he simply won't have a choice than to perform and give 100% because he wouldn't get a move back to Italy at a later date if he sulked.

I think Aquilani is clever enough to understand that. I also think he is clever enough to understand that we won't accept **** bids just because he is homesick. If he stays then it wouldn't be our fault. It would be the faults of the Italian clubs he want to move to that don't see him as important enough to pay an acceptable transfer fee. €15m is an acceptable fee. €6m simply isn't.

It would have been a different situation next summer when he only will have two years left on his contract.

[Roboklopp]

Seriously what a load of ****ing ****e

Was on snoozenow. Thought you'd like it Lec.