Naby Keita

[Corndog]

Dossena scored against Man U and Real Madrid.
Degen never really got a game due to injury.

Cissohko was bad, true, but for alroind lack of ability PFK is the winner. I recall games where he really couldn’t mark his man, seemingly had no real understanding of the position or his requirements. He was awful.

He was a shocker no doubt. Thank god stevie G won that FA cup final in 2006. The thought of losing partly because of a PFK cross that went in over Reina is too much

[danperkins]

For me the other two stand out flops were Carroll & Big Ben. Konch only cost us 2m with few other lads going to Fulham so he's not even close to the worst imo (There are several signing for low fees that have been awful). As far as value for money goes I think here's a little break down, make of it what you will (Figures approx):

- Carroll scored 11 goals in 58 appearances, cost £35m and was on £100k pw.
- Big Ben was 42 appearances with 10 goals, cost £32.5 & was on £140k pw.
- Keita so far has had 71 appearances for us. He cost £48m & is on £120k pw.

We can't really compare Keita's goal return with the other two donkey's as it's not fair but in those 71 appearance, I genuinely cannot remember a stand out game from him. So 'not even close' isn't really true in my opinion when you look at the data & obviously his performances. 'Thus far' it has been a dreadful signing from a value for money point of view which really is what clubs ultimately are looking for in any signing. Whether that will change at the stage i'm not so sure, it will take an almighty comeback effort & a miracle to keep him fit.

[ntto]

Dossena scored against Man U and Real Madrid.
Degen never really got a game due to injury.

Cissohko was bad, true, but for alroind lack of ability PFK is the winner. I recall games where he really couldn’t mark his man, seemingly had no real understanding of the position or his requirements. He was awful.

what a game that madrid match was - sat in the kop for that one. Unbelievable. First and only time in my life I've seen an opposition goalkeeper clapped off by the kop for playing an absolute blinder even after conceding a pile of goals

[danperkins]

It's nowhere near as bad as Aquilani.

You don't half go overboard sometimes

He cost us £17m or so and was an absolute crock, hated the signing at the time aswell. Definitely up there with the worst but Keita was nearly 3 times his cost. So again I go back to value for money. It's not so over board when you take the transfer fee into account, wages paid out & the lack of return we have got from him.

[Resu]

Diomede? Have a WC winner ever contributed less?

[Doc_Piptorious]

Taking into account the massive fee and wage, could it be argued that this far it's one of, if not the worst signing we've ever made?

Think if you take inflation etc into account then you have to be looking at the likes of Andy Carroll, Benteke and a couple others before Keita along with waiting to see what Keita does for te rest of his LFC career. Also take into account how big a purchase Carroll and Benteke were versus the state of the club's financial heft at the time.

Unlike the likes of Carroll, Benteke and a few other awful buys, I can see why Keita was bought as he was immense before joining us but he just has been unable to stay fit enough to show it on a regular enough basis.

Would agree that his LFC career is coming to a make or break stage though because we simply cannot afford to keep carrying the amount of non playing or rarely playing passengers that we do each season, frwak injuries aside.

[Mark79]

For me the other two stand out flops were Carroll & Big Ben. Konch only cost us 2m with few other lads going to Fulham so he's not even close to the worst imo (There are several signing for low fees that have been awful). As far as value for money goes I think here's a little break down, make of it what you will (Figures approx):

- Carroll scored 11 goals in 58 appearances, cost £35m and was on £100k pw.
- Big Ben was 42 appearances with 10 goals, cost £32.5 & was on £140k pw.
- Keita so far has had 71 appearances for us. He cost £48m & is on £120k pw.

We can't really compare Keita's goal return with the other two donkey's as it's not fair but in those 71 appearance, I genuinely cannot remember a stand out game from him. So 'not even close' isn't really true in my opinion when you look at the data & obviously his performances. 'Thus far' it has been a dreadful signing from a value for money point of view which really is what clubs ultimately are looking for in any signing. Whether that will change at the stage i'm not so sure, it will take an almighty comeback effort & a miracle to keep him fit.

You’re making a very basic evaluation based on appearances, wages, fee.
But if you’re doing it that way, you’d have to include Ox as I’ve said and also Adam Lallana (178 apps in 6 years, £25m - big money in 2014, £110k pw).

When you look at data and performances, Naby actually has been a standout performer for us. If you can't remember, that’s on you. Many of our best team performances since last season have coincided with him playing, which is not a coincidence. So ‘not even close’ is completely fair.

[Doc_Piptorious]

You’re making a very basic evaluation based on appearances, wages, fee.
But if you’re doing it that way, you’d have to include Ox as I’ve said and also Adam Lallana (178 apps in 6 years, £25m - big money in 2014, £110k pw).

When you look at data and performances, Naby actually has been a standout performer for us. If you can't remember, that’s on you. Many of our best team performances since last season have coincided with him playing, which is not a coincidence. So ‘not even close’ is completely fair.

Yeah he has actually been a very steady performer when he has actually played. Very much in that 7/10 performance each game sort of bracket. Plays, does his job well in a not overly flashy manner.

Watching him tells you he plays well and his stats back that up too.

Agree on your pont regarding Chamberlain and Lallana too. Both were not cheap buys, both on good wages and both missing a hell of a lot of playing time.

[danperkins]

Think if you take inflation etc into account then you have to be looking at the likes of Andy Carroll, Benteke and a couple others before Keita along with waiting to see what Keita does for te rest of his LFC career.

Unlike the likes of Carroll, Benteke and a few other awful buys, I can see why Keita was bought as he was immense before joining us but he just has been unable to stay fit enough to show it on a regular enough basis.

Would agree that his LFC career is coming to a make or break stage though because we simply cannot afford to keep carrying the amount of non playing or rarely playing passengers that we do each season, frwak injuries aside.

he may very well turn it around, I doubt it but I suppose you have to look at what he had contributed thus far which really is not much. I never expected much from Carroll & Benteke to be honest and both are up there in the top 3 worst buys in our history alright but Keita I thought would be a revelation.

Is my opinion slightly skewed by how disappointed I have been in Keita as oppose to what I thought he would be? Maybe, but I think people seem to forget the huge fee wee paid for him, he was our marquee buy. When you say it aloud that he could be one of the worst value for money transfer in our history, it sounds daft but then you look at the figures and it's not so daft after all.

Injuries, bad luck, poor performances etc whatever way you try to swing it, from a value for money perspective it has been a disaster. Whether that will change we will see, I really hope it ****ing does

[danperkins]

You’re making a very basic evaluation based on appearances, wages, fee.
But if you’re doing it that way, you’d have to include Ox as I’ve said and also Adam Lallana (178 apps in 6 years, £25m - big money in 2014, £110k pw).

When you look at data and performances, Naby actually has been a standout performer for us. If you can't remember, that’s on you. Many of our best team performances since last season have coincided with him playing, which is not a coincidence. So ‘not even close’ is completely fair.

I am saying from a value for money perspective he has been a bad signing & yeah I agree with regard to Ox and Lallana too. IMO we should have got rid of Lallana years ago & same goes for Ox. I do think Ox will be gone in the summer.

Value for money is surely the way any club judges any signing no?

[Buzzo]

I think he will come good. He has had spells where he has played really well, scored some goals and our record with him playing is really strong.

Injuries have blighted him. But. He offers something different in midfield so I would stick with him.

[frank the tank]

For me the other two stand out flops were Carroll & Big Ben. Konch only cost us 2m with few other lads going to Fulham so he's not even close to the worst imo (There are several signing for low fees that have been awful). As far as value for money goes I think here's a little break down, make of it what you will (Figures approx):

- Carroll scored 11 goals in 58 appearances, cost £35m and was on £100k pw.
- Big Ben was 42 appearances with 10 goals, cost £32.5 & was on £140k pw.
- Keita so far has had 71 appearances for us. He cost £48m & is on £120k pw.

We can't really compare Keita's goal return with the other two donkey's as it's not fair but in those 71 appearance, I genuinely cannot remember a stand out game from him. So 'not even close' isn't really true in my opinion when you look at the data & obviously his performances. 'Thus far' it has been a dreadful signing from a value for money point of view which really is what clubs ultimately are looking for in any signing. Whether that will change at the stage i'm not so sure, it will take an almighty comeback effort & a miracle to keep him fit.

Having said that, surely the fact that we got 32.5m back for Benteke means that overall the deal wasn't as bad. Similarly with Carroll, we got a loan fee followed by 17.5m back......

Keita could end up staying at LFC because nobody would pay him the same wage and seeing out his contract.

I do think the "so far" aspect is true here too. He could still come good. Hopefully.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Have to say I would be very surprised if he was indeed on 110k or 120k as his basic wage too.

He might be on that when things like endorsements and other sponsorship add ons get added to his basic wage but would be stunnned if it is on 120k a week before endorsements/sponsorships etc.

Have a feeling that the wage that gets banded about for him includes endorsements and his signing on fee.


Just looked on a few sites and even things like whether it is in euro or pound is being mixed up by a lot of them.

[danperkins]

Yeah he has actually been a very steady performer when he has actually played. Very much in that 7/10 performance each game sort of bracket. Plays, does his job well in a not overly flashy manner.

Watching him tells you he plays well and his stats back that up too.

Agree on your pont regarding Chamberlain and Lallana too. Both were not cheap buys, both on good wages and both missing a hell of a lot of playing time.

I disagree with this point. IMO instead of being a steady performer, he has either coasted through most games or not been involved full stop. Tentative and afraid to take responsibility.

Watching him tells you he's a nice footballer that is clear, I have said that myself. But there are plenty of nice footballers who don't actually do much. He was brought here because he looked a dynamic midfielder, aggressive, box to box he could pass, tackle and get involved with goals and assists... the whole package. What we have seen is that he is not that dynamic, he is slow, needs time on the ball & has struggling massively with the physicality of the league. The stats can be skewed if you really want to with pass percentage etc which I am beginning to hate but what he is showing so far is not what we bought him for & that's besides the injuries.

[danperkins]

Having said that, surely the fact that we got 32.5m back for Benteke means that overall the deal wasn't as bad. Similarly with Carroll, we got a loan fee followed by 17.5m back......

Keita could end up staying at LFC because nobody would pay him the same wage and seeing out his contract.

I do think the "so far" aspect is true here too. He could still come good. Hopefully.

I suppose it's great that we got the fees back but unfortunately we couldn't get the time they spent at the club back