Lazar Markovic

[BigChief]

I know spending more eliminates an element of the risk & that we're not alone but the last few years we seem to be be making more mid to top end mistakes than we ever used to, even taking the ludicrous levels of footy inflation into account.

You must have been completely asleep during the 90s and 2000s then. The decades we were always 2 signings off from winning the league.

[Chris]

I'd rather he got Lallana's minutes but I dont really mind this, if he's not going to play then he might aswell go and get experience elsewhere. He's still really only had that 1 year at Benfica. The Serbian league is a bum league where half the games are bent anyway so doesn't really count as a great football experience!

[BigChief]

Absolutely, he's a world class talent who only failed to set the prem on fire due to managerial ineptitude.

The underhanded, and not so underhanded, digs at Rodgers is palpable.

I think the underlying point here is Rodgers should play Markovic every game regardless of how he's doing in training. In his favoured position. We fail to qualify for 4th place and we sack Rodgers for not seeing the bleeding obvious. Ad infinitum.

[Exiled_red]

A loan is a good option for him but having spent £20m on him it seems a waste. I hope he comes back in a year a better player but realistically how many players have gone out on loan and come back to be part of the first team? I know people say you win some you lose some but it's a shame as he has a lot of potential and I would of like to have seen him loaned to a premiership team. Someone like west ham or Newcastle

Unfortunately the lad was poorly managed last season. If there is a case for Markovic to go out on loan then there's an even stronger case for Joe Allen to be sold completely.

You never know he might do well next season and we can get £10m to £15m back which will be decent. This might also be us freeing up a space in the squad for a new arrival.

I agree it seems like a waste of money, but there is the possibility that he could go out on loan and come back to feature in the side, he is still young enough. While I can't think of too many players who have come back and featured in the first team it does happen, and I would say sending him out on loan does give him more chance of being in contention next year than sitting around in the reserves and getting a bit of game time in the League Cup or whatever. The problem is he is probably behind Coutinho, Firmino, Lallana, Ibe, Ings, Origi and Sturridge as players who could play as a second striker, in wide areas or in the hole. If that is the case it is difficult seeing him getting a game for the second 11 in the Europa League or League Cup, so a loan is the best option at the moment.

The thing that concerns me most about these types of signings is that many times it seems to be apparent so often that the player was the wrong signing almost immediately after signing them, why don't we figure this out in the scouting stages?

Regarding Allen, while I am not a fan, I don't think there is as big a case for him to be sold as Markovic to go on loan, as we only have 5 CMs (Henderson, Milner, Lucas, Can and Allen) given that we will play 2 or 3 of those in the first team the others will at least get game time in Europe or the League cup.

[Rowan]

The difference with Chelsea is that the failures mentioned would walk into another PL team. They are looking for a class of player above the rest, and there are less of them, and they're happy to keep spending until they find them. We just need our £20m wide players to be decent and be ahead of inexperienced youngsters, or for strikers to be better than playing with no strikers.

Well Atsu is at Watford who I'm sure would give Markovic and Ballotelli a game and the rest didn't walk in to another premier league team. They got bombed out of the country and are now either in Italy or wherever.

[Kenneth]

Well Atsu is at Watford who I'm sure would give Markovic and Ballotelli a game and the rest didn't walk in to another premier league team. They got bombed out of the country and are now either in Italy or wherever.

He's at PL Bournemouth and he cost them 3.5 million.

Granted, Marin has bombed since joining them, but he was only 6.5 million.

In fact Atu, Salah and Marin combined were bought by Chelsea for about the same as we paid for Lazar.

[Rowan]

He's at PL Bournemouth and he cost them 3.5 million.

Granted, Marin has bombed since joining them, but he was only 6.5 million.

In fact Atu, Salah and Marin combined were bought by Chelsea for about the same as we paid for Lazar.

And the Colombian chap who played about 5 minutes for them? How much did he cost? Less than Markovic as well?

[Kenneth]

15 games. He was a bit more than Markovic, but then he's better than Markovic and is playing for CL finalists Juve this year. Chelsea dont think he's good enough for them at the moment, but I reckon he'd be good enough for us in competition with Ibe.

[Rowan]

15 games. He was a bit more than Markovic, but then he's better than Markovic and is playing for CL finalists Juve this year. Chelsea dont think he's good enough for them at the moment, but I reckon he'd be good enough for us in competition with Ibe.

I should probably give him some slack as it wasn't really 15 games though, what with him being subbed at half time just about every game he started for them.

[Kenneth]

Cuadrado or Markovic?

[Rowan]

Cuadrado or Markovic?

I can't remember what my original argument was so Just pick whichever one makes me look the most rightest

[Kenneth]

[Fosterbloke]

Isn't it a myth that Lallana cost £25m? I thought Bournemouth got £4m from the transfer which makes it £16m in total?

[Cormack74]

Absolutely, he's a world class talent who only failed to set the prem on fire due to managerial ineptitude.

Or maybe that's way ott, and like someone like Lamela at Spurs, he is a fairly talented kid who looked scared silly in the prem

But he didn't look scared silly before he was mucked about positionally and if he did might part of it be that he was playing in a new league with people shouting onfield instructions which he may have struggled to understand?

and with our strength in depth this season

yes but the issue is last season's - if BR had done better with him then he would be part of a strong squad this year.

not loaning him out would have further hampered any chance we would ever see of recovering our investment or having a useful player at the end of it.

As several have pointed out, we will shortly be on games a week - isn't that likely to bepart of the reason why Lucas is staying?

Not sure where this narrative of Markovic being great and us ****ing it up has come from, unlike Sakho say who has actually had a few good performances for us, Markovic was pretty weak last season regardless of where and how he was played.

Would Sakho have starred in midfield or up front - I doubt it.

I know semi-permanent outrage at everything we do is in vogue

Fair point but if you look at my post history it's pretty rare I get outraged (although don't mention Allen too often or I might). .

[Cormack74]

Isn't it a myth that Lallana cost £25m? I thought Bournemouth got £4m from the transfer which makes it £16m in total?

Yes - pointed out several times but generally ignored when he's playing poorly!