Mamadou Sakho

[Big-Red-Ed]

I think he's toast. Brendan obviously doesn't rate him and now this.

[alonso14]

he was left out of the squad on saturday and left the ground.

sakho and a few others raise some eyebrows about our transfer committee and the role of david fallows and barry hunter. from the outside it all look fine but if you look at their record under scrutiny it doesnt stand up.

they've got a brief about signings from somewhere (perhaps the owners) but some of the lads that have been brought in havent been used by rodgers or it doesnt look like he wants to use them.

sakhos signing is a strange one because 12 months later we sign another left sided defender in dejan lovren. whats wrong with the one we already have because he looked decent for france in brazil.

[Shaggy]

He was France's best centre half in Brazil. You have to wonder why our defenders look excellent elsewhere and then come to us and sometimes look **** (not that I think Sakho has looked ****, but he along with the rest of our CBs is often left exposed).

[Alex]

he was left out of the squad on saturday and left the ground.

sakho and a few others raise some eyebrows about our transfer committee and the role of david fallows and barry hunter. from the outside it all look fine but if you look at their record under scrutiny it doesnt stand up.

they've got a brief about signings from somewhere (perhaps the owners) but some of the lads that have been brought in havent been used by rodgers or it doesnt look like he wants to use them.

sakhos signing is a strange one because 12 months later we sign another left sided defender in dejan lovren. whats wrong with the one we already have because he looked decent for france in brazil.

No manager in the history of football, ever, has gotten transfer policy correct.

Just because we have a name too it doesnt mean its any different to other clubs way of dealing either.

Rafa had as many hits as misses, and just as many mediocre players.

The committee got it right with Sturridge and Coutinho, probably with Lallana and Lovren given time.

[alonso14]

No manager in the history of football, ever, has gotten transfer policy correct.

Just because we have a name too it doesnt mean its any different to other clubs way of dealing either.

Rafa had as many hits as misses, and just as many mediocre players.

The committee got it right with Sturridge and Coutinho, probably with Lallana and Lovren given time.

the biggest 'disconnect' between what the manager wants and what is delivered by the transfer committee is simon mignolet.

this is an extract from a brendan rodgers interview when he was at swansea about his goal keepers.

"Zone 1 – ‘the sweeper goalkeeper’ – This specialised zone is expected to take charge of a much larger zone in Tiki-Taka football compared to the more direct approach. The emphasis is on the goalkeeper to play with the ball at his feet and play far more short threaded passes than usual. Characteristics in this role include: good stature, efficiency with balls in the air, bravery, agility and willingness to play on the deck without fear – the keeper is expected to act as a pressure relief for under pressure team mates. Given that Liverpool’s Reina received his education at Barcelona’s La Masia it will come as a natural for Reina to play the required role in zone 1."


simon mignolet doesnt come close to filling that description of a sweeper-keeper because he's not very comfortable with the ball at his feet or when he's asked to come further off his line and play as a sweeper. this is why he's under pressure at the moment.

but you're right no one team/committee ever gets 100% of signings right. but apart from sturridge and coutinho (and perhaps lovren and lallana) we have got quite a bit wrong too.

[frank the tank]

You would have to wonder how good he was when PSG agreed to sell him. Granted they had Thiago Silva and had just signed Marquinhos but even still - the guy was a ledge with the PSG fans - it would be akin to Chelsea selling John Terry all those years ago just because they were able to sign Carvalho. I think they didn't really rate him.

What is also strange, is that we seemed to have a clear run at Sakho. If he was that good - the next Desailly - then surely the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City would have been all over him. Surely.

I think he is a good enough player - he has the attributes to be a top player if he has the application to go and be the best he can be. If we were to sell him, then we would porbably take a massive hit on the transfer fee and also we would need to spend to replace him - especially when you consider that Kolo will also be focking off next summer. Are we going to buy 2 new centre backs next year - or will Ilori, Wisdom or (unlikely) Coates be able to come back and be part of the group??

So it would be good if we could integrate him into the squad, give him some game time, and make sure he is ready if called upon in the event of injury or suspensions.

I thought he was reasonably good for france as well in the world cup. I must say though, not sure i would have had him in front of Koscielny in the pecking order.

In reality if he can't force his way back into our first team then he will want to go next summer to a place where he will play every week - especially with France Euro 2016 in mind.

[Muddled]

the biggest 'disconnect' between what the manager wants and what is delivered by the transfer committee is simon mignolet.

this is an extract from a brendan rodgers interview when he was at swansea about his goal keepers.

"Zone 1 – ‘the sweeper goalkeeper’ – This specialised zone is expected to take charge of a much larger zone in Tiki-Taka football compared to the more direct approach. The emphasis is on the goalkeeper to play with the ball at his feet and play far more short threaded passes than usual. Characteristics in this role include: good stature, efficiency with balls in the air, bravery, agility and willingness to play on the deck without fear – the keeper is expected to act as a pressure relief for under pressure team mates. Given that Liverpool’s Reina received his education at Barcelona’s La Masia it will come as a natural for Reina to play the required role in zone 1."


simon mignolet doesnt come close to filling that description of a sweeper-keeper because he's not very comfortable with the ball at his feet or when he's asked to come further off his line and play as a sweeper. this is why he's under pressure at the moment.

but you're right no one team/committee ever gets 100% of signings right. but apart from sturridge and coutinho (and perhaps lovren and lallana) we have got quite a bit wrong too.

Could it be Rodgers has evolved? Rodgers' chat during his time at Swansea and his first year with us was all about seven (ish) zones and tika-taka and last season we looked like Rodgers had tailored a new approach to suit the players at his disposal.

Rodgers is building a squad to compete and a team to win things, using snippets from three years ago doesn't prove much. We all thought Johnson and Reina would thrive under Rodgers, but we couldn't have been further from the truth.

Without wanting to go off on a thread tangent, we buy players that are young and can develop, we haven't bought a player for an immediate impact like Chelsea. I think the transfers need to be reviewed another two years down the line.

[~LFCHistory~]

Del.

[Muddled]

You would have to wonder how good he was when PSG agreed to sell him. Granted they had Thiago Silva and had just signed Marquinhos but even still - the guy was a ledge with the PSG fans - it would be akin to Chelsea selling John Terry all those years ago just because they were able to sign Carvalho. I think they didn't really rate him.

What is also strange, is that we seemed to have a clear run at Sakho. If he was that good - the next Desailly - then surely the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City would have been all over him. Surely.

I think he is a good enough player - he has the attributes to be a top player if he has the application to go and be the best he can be. If we were to sell him, then we would porbably take a massive hit on the transfer fee and also we would need to spend to replace him - especially when you consider that Kolo will also be focking off next summer. Are we going to buy 2 new centre backs next year - or will Ilori, Wisdom or (unlikely) Coates be able to come back and be part of the group??

So it would be good if we could integrate him into the squad, give him some game time, and make sure he is ready if called upon in the event of injury or suspensions.

Monaco and AC Milan showed interest if I remember correctly, but you use this as a stick to beat all our signings with - including Lallana. Just because it's not reported in the media, it doesn't mean there is no interest in a player and it is really not a barometer to judge our transfer dealings with. Again, just because PSG were willing to sell doesn't immediately mean Sakho is ****. Maybe with their defensive signings and FFP played a part?

For all future transfer signings should we make sure we are competing with Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal?

[alonso14]

Could it be Rodgers has evolved? Rodgers' chat during his time at Swansea and his first year with us was all about seven (ish) zones and tika-taka and last season we looked like Rodgers had tailored a new approach to suit the players at his disposal.

Rodgers is building a squad to compete and a team to win things, using snippets from three years ago doesn't prove much. We all thought Johnson and Reina would thrive under Rodgers, but we couldn't have been further from the truth.

Without wanting to go off on a thread tangent, we buy players that are young and can develop, we haven't bought a player for an immediate impact like Chelsea. I think the transfers need to be reviewed another two years down the line.

i think thats fair. do you remember when we signed tiago illori and brendan rodgers said something along the lines of we hope hes (illori) a success long after im gone or something to that effect.

what do you think he meant by that ? Its quite an unusual thing to say about a player you've just bought.

[Muddled]

i think thats fair. do you remember when we signed tiago illori and brendan rodgers said something along the lines of we hope hes (illori) a success long after im gone or something to that effect.

what do you think he meant by that ? Its quite an unusual thing to say about a player you've just bought.

Your memory is much better than mine! I could be wrong, but didn't we move on Ilori after he was getting a lot of interest from other clubs? I seem to think Rodgers (the transfer committee, whoever) were prepared to let him stay at Sporting Lisbon to continue his development, but our hand was forced early. As such, Rodgers probably meant that he's one for the future and will be a regular a decade down the line.

[Chris]

Monaco and AC Milan showed interest if I remember correctly, but you use this as a stick to beat all our signings with - including Lallana. Just because it's not reported in the media, it doesn't mean there is no interest in a player and it is really not a barometer to judge our transfer dealings with. Again, just because PSG were willing to sell doesn't immediately mean Sakho is ****. Maybe with their defensive signings and FFP played a part?

For all future transfer signings should we make sure we are competing with Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal?

Yeah it's daft this, loads of brilliant players get signed without much speculation about other clubs. Spurs were supposedly our only rivals for Suarez, we had pretty much a free run at Torres, was a tenuous link to City who were owned by Shinawatra at the time I believe and theres loads more here or at other clubs. Meanwhile look at our competition to get Igor Biscan :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/942736.stm

[Shaggy]

Yeah it's daft this, loads of brilliant players get signed without much speculation about other clubs. Spurs were supposedly our only rivals for Suarez, we had pretty much a free run at Torres, was a tenuous link to City who were owned by Shinawatra at the time I believe and theres loads more here or at other clubs. Meanwhile look at our competition to get Igor Biscan :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ool/942736.stm

Ha! I always like to use the Biscan example.

We also signed Xabi Alonso unchallenged.

[Chris]

Ha! I always like to use the Biscan example.

We also signed Xabi Alonso unchallenged.

I got well excited as he was linked with us, Man Utd, Barca, Real, Ajax, Juve, Milan etc every day. Thought he was gonna be like Boban, Keane and Figo rolled in to one

Still, I'd happily have us pay it again for all the trophie wins he was involved in.

[Shaggy]

I got well excited as he was linked with us, Man Utd, Barca, Real, Ajax, Juve, Milan etc every day. Thought he was gonna be like Boban, Keane and Figo rolled in to one

Still, I'd happily have us pay it again for all the trophie wins he was involved in.

Same here

I remember him being ranked in the top 5 best young players in the world in some magazine.

I named my cat after him. Hero