Rafa on Stevie in the middle

[dww]

No its 6.8mil rising to 8mil as was stated at the time. The board have got the money if they can spend 6.8mil on a player like pennant. Its false economy to waste 6.8mil on a risk rather than spend some more on a proven international.

You have to accept that we had a limited budget though. We needed a right winger and had around £8m to but one. Alves would have cost at least £10m probably rising to more. So it is actually a pretty big difference and the gamble of a proven international from a different league is at least as much as on Pennant. There are very few right wingers in the PL who are better than Pennant has been at Leeds and then Birmingham, so while I think we did over pay form him, I'm not sure that there were many alternatives. You gamble with every transfer.

[Red_Al_77]

Thats not the case Al, well I never said if players werent up to the required standard we should sign them lol.
Ok well look at Pennant, He is a young wide right mdfield player, exactly the position we were trying to fill, with experience in the Premier League and had the best ratio of successfull crosses in the whole of the Premier League last season, and he is English. Has plenty of room for improvement.
Not only that, but if were to believe the whispers, some of the players were saying good things about him, which i'm sure they were.
As for Gonzales, to see his potential, all we had to do was look at his form in La Liga before he joined in the summer. Still steeling in and can only get better IMO. We made a few very average signing when Rafa first arrived, but with little time, and money, it was Rafa making the most of a bad hand.
Personally, I dont blame Rafa for some of the signings not working out, this happens at every club, without exception. There is planty more to come from Rafa and his signings, i'm just supprised that because of our dodgy start to the season seemingly alot of people are jumping on one of the most tallented managers in the worlds back.
For the record, I back Rafa and his way of doing thins 100% and that is the way it has to be for him to be successfull.

I just think this situation with SG won't exist if we had a winger of genuine quality. I've seen one good game from Pennant and I was expected a lot more for £6.8mil especially after us waiting so long for a right winger. I do blame Rafa because he picks the players. He has got it right about 50% of the time but the buck does stop with him.

Speedy on the other hand does have mitigating factors: 1/ foreign player adjusting 2/ very young 3/ coming back from a very serious injury 4/ inexpensive

[bazza76]

I just think this situation with SG won't exist if we had a winger of geuine quality. I've seen one good game from Pennant and I was expected a lot more for £6.8mil especially after us waiting so long for a right winger. I do blame Rafa because he picks the players. He has got it right about 50% of the time but the buck does stop with him.

Speedy on the other hand does have mitigating factors: 1/ foreign player adjusting 2/ very young 3/ coming back from a very serious injury 4/ inexpensive

Your right about the Stevie situation, he would be played so much on the right if we had a world class singer there.
but i still find it very hard to slate Rafa over the signing of Pennant, as i said in the previous post:
young wide right mdfield player, Premier LEague experience, best ratio of successfull crosses in the Premier League(one of the possibilities Rafa wanted), he is English. Has plenty of room for improvement. Pennant has not been a failure, he is only here a couple of months, still settling into a new system, expectations and surroundings. There is plenty of time to turn things around, and I honestly believe, with the right belief in the squad, we can be THE most dominant team in the second half of the season, I know it may be too late for a serious challenge, but its something positive.

[Diego]

He wants players who want to join Liverpool, All the players wingers mentioned enough didn't show enough of a desire to play for Liverpool IMO and in think LFC's management opinion too. IF they had, they would have been here, the ball was in their court on numerous occasions.

i think the only factor here is money apart from solano and figo, he choose to go back to newcastle cause he loves the club, fair game and figo went to milan cause of the money vages we wouldn't pay and cause of his wife...

simao and alves how ever were simply about money, both stated that they wanted to come here, simao very much wanted to come to liverpool and was devastated that the move was cancelled at the last moment, alves wanted a move but seville don't want to let him go, he now wants to go to barca as they want him but again sevilla wont let him go for anything less than silly money, both players respect the clubs opinion and don't want to screw them over, a club that has brought them to the stage they are on and they want to to whats best for the club as well...

players shouldn't get involved in the transfer deals, that is strictly between the two clubs, he can state the desire to leave, but thats where it ends for him professionally...

[bazza76]

i think the only factor here is money apart from solano and figo, he choose to go back to newcastle cause he loves the club, fair game and figo went to milan cause of the money vages we wouldn't pay and cause of his wife...

simao and alves how ever were simply about money, both stated that they wanted to come here, simao very much wanted to come to liverpool and was devastated that the move was cancelled at the last moment, alves wanted a move but seville don't want to let him go, he now wants to go to barca as they want him but again sevilla wont let him go for anything less than silly money, both players respect the clubs opinion and don't want to screw them over, a club that has brought them to the stage they are on and they want to to whats best for the club as well...

players shouldn't get involved in the transfer deals, that is strictly between the two clubs, he can state the desire to leave, but thats where it ends for him professionally...

Fair point mate, and good post
Still though, I think we were right not to let clubs start hiking up the price in the last minute and screw us over.

[Morph]

Fair point mate, and good post
Still though, I think we were right not to let clubs start hiking up the price in the last minute and screw us over.

But similarly, those clubs are right to try and get every penny they can for their player. SOmetimes we need to cave in and give the extra million or two.

[bazza76]

But similarly, those clubs are right to try and get every penny they can for their player. SOmetimes we need to cave in and give the extra million or two.

Its getting political now, but I guess it can sometimes go with being Champions of Europe or recent champions where everyone expects you to be minted after such a win, maybe we should let them to an audit before any deal lol

[Diego]

But similarly, those clubs are right to try and get every penny they can for their player. SOmetimes we need to cave in and give the extra million or two.

absolutely right, we are in no position to put us on a high horse and demand a player at the price we want, we negotiated for crouch and bellamy like that, we wanted the players for only a few million but club stuck to it's ground and we caved in and payed for both players what we tought at the time to be over the odds, altough no one complains about money we bought crouch now, but we rember how it was...

but in the case of simao and alves it was a matter of a little bit more than 1-2 million benfica toyed with us always raising when we met their price, agreed 7-8 mill bid he went through medical and then they pulled the plus last we heard is that they wanted in the region of 15 mill, and thats alot more than the 7 we originaly agrred with or the 10 we raised our bid to...

and if alves reports were true they always wanted 12+ mill for him, witch we didn't have...

so in that case we didn't have the money or refuse to pay over the odds, now we can also debate about if we under value players, if rafas estimate is not a realistic one and there for we don't pay what clubs will settle for than thats a problem...

[twistnkuyt]

players shouldn't get involved in the transfer deals, that is strictly between the two clubs, he can state the desire to leave, but thats where it ends for him professionally...

Not sure what you're saying here diego but if it's what I think you are then surely you can't beleive this ??

If you told your boss you wanted to leave would you be happy for him to then go out and find your new job ??

[Diego]

football transfer market isn't like that mate, i'm sure that it happens often the offer is accepted but player doesn't want to leave to that club, the club can not force you to join a certain club...

but the transfer deals between the clubs has nothing to do with the player and he should but out of it, but after things have been agreed he decides weather or not he accepts the other teams offer, altough in reality clubs know pretty much now if the player wants to join a their club, via agents etc. so player says to a club i want you to bid for me, but he has no saying and shouldn't be involved in the transfer talk it self, the club own him, and thats how the football marked differs from other markets...