Football Season 2018/19

[Kav]

Courtois wants to join Madrid as his family are still based there, which I don’t blame him for.

New reports suggesting Madrid to big £150m for both Hazard & Courtois.

We should be asking for that for Hazard alone given what Coutinho went for.

[Emerald Emblem]

Liverpool all set to complete the signing of Alisson subject to a medical for £68 million. That's almost all the Coutinho money spent now on areas they needed to strengthen. Liverpool looking most likely to challenge Man City this season.

[Ramar]

5 hours ago, Emerald Emblem said:

Liverpool all set to complete the signing of Alisson subject to a medical for £68 million. That's almost all the Coutinho money spent now on areas they needed to strengthen. Liverpool looking most likely to challenge Man City this season.

Can’t help but feel Roma are having their pants down. Hasn’t he only been their number 1 for a single season?

[Fierce_LiNk]

1 hour ago, Ramar said:

Can’t help but feel Roma are having their pants down. Hasn’t he only been their number 1 for a single season?

I think the danger for Liverpool is that if they don't get him now, they may lose out. Real Madrid are in the market for a new keeper and there was talk of Alisson going there, but it looks like that won't happen now. If Courtois does go to Madrid, then Chelsea need a new keeper, too. 

It's a big transfer fee, but it'll be worth it in the long run for the club.

[Hero-of-Time]

As much as we need a new keeper i'm not really happy with the purchase. £68 million is an insane amount for a keeper who hasn't proven himself in the PL and I think this comes across as a very expensive panic buy. I'd honestly would have preferred if we had made a move for Kasper. He's been a very solid keeper for Leicester and I imagine we could have got him for a hell of a lot less that £68 million. Although I don't think his dad would be happy with a move to Liverpool.  

It baffles me why we didn't go in for Pickford when Sunderland got rid of him. You could see the potential that the lad had when he played for them and it annoyed me that we didn't go after him, especially as we've had keeper issues for a few seasons now. I think part of the problem was Klopp didn't want to admit he had made a mistake in bringing Karius to the club but now he's finally had to hold his hands up and show that it really was a bad move.

[Ramar]

5 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

As much as we need a new keeper i'm not really happy with the purchase. £68 million is an insane amount for a keeper who hasn't proven himself in the PL and I think this comes across as a very expensive panic buy. I'd honestly would have preferred if we had made a move for Kasper. He's been a very solid keeper for Leicester and I imagine we could have got him for a hell of a lot less that £68 million. Although I don't think his dad would be happy with a move to Liverpool.  

It baffles me why we didn't go in for Pickford when Sunderland got rid of him. You could see the potential that the lad had when he played for them and it annoyed me that we didn't go after him, especially as we've had keeper issues for a few seasons now. I think part of the problem was Klopp didn't want to admit he had made a mistake in bringing Karius to the club but now he's finally had to hold his hands up and show that it really was a bad move.

Exactly this. £68M on an unproven entity is a huge gamble. And I can’t imagine too much of the Countinho money will be kicking around afterwards. As we all know Barcelona never pay up all the cash right away.

[Charlie]

Liverpool look to have 'won' the summer transfer market so far with Keita, Fabinho, and Allison. With VVD in January they are now looking extremely strong.

I only hope that they actually do an Everton of last summer and their signings turn out naff. 

[killthenet]

I think the biggest transfer news of the past couple of days is that Adam Rooney has decided to move from Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen (who are involved in qualifying for the Europa League) to non-league Salford City. Obviously Salford City are a relatively rich Conference side seeing as they're owned by a collective of former Man Utd players but to take such a huge step down the league's is a pretty damning assessment of the situation Scottish football is in. One of the most potent strikers in the SPL will be plying his trade in the conference this season instead of lining up against Burnley in the next round of Europa league qualifying.

Edited July 19, 2018 by killthenet

[Julius]

@Hero-of-Time, I think Alisson is much better than you might realise. It might be hard to tell if some of your exposure to him is that of his Champions League performances against yourselves and Barcelona last season. Sure, he doesn’t have Premier League experience, but he had the third-best save percentage of any goalkeeper across Europe last season, at 79.26% (below only De Gea and Oblak — I’d recommend checking out one of his highlight reels, because, based on his performances last season, he is a brilliant goalkeeper). Speaking of Oblak, I’m very surprised to read that no-one has put a bid in for his services as of yet: he had the best save percentage across Europe last season, at 82.68%. @Kav, in the even that Courtois does leave, I think he’s the ‘keeper that Chelsea have to go after. I’ve seen Cech thrown around as another possible ‘keeper for us to turn to, and I honestly wouldn’t be against seeing him return, but Oblak would certainly be my preference. Courtois hasn’t been anywhere near as consistent in his performances for us as he was in his loan stints at Atlético, so I’m not against his move, so long as we go after someone like Oblak to replace him. Hazard is of course the player that I’m much more nervous about us losing, and I think that £150m figure for the pair has to be well off; I agree with you that such a figure seems fit for Hazard alone. We also seem to be in the market for another striker (I’ve seen Higuain’s name floating around, which I’m on the fence about), which shouldn’t be too surprising I guess, given how inconsistent Morata turned out to be in his first season, and I definitely think that the presence of a more experienced striker could take some of the weight off his shoulders.

@Charlie, I’d add Shaqiri to that list too. I doubt that he’ll start many games for Liverpool, but his impact as a sub could be great, considering his pace and physicality. Not to mention that he tries some audacious things on a regular basis, and with minds often starting to wander late on into games, I really think that he could be a great impact player for Liverpool, and I agree with you and others about Liverpool spending their money in the right places (finally!). I expect them to return to Fekir and attempt to sign him before the transfer window closes in a few weeks, seeing as the World Cup was the main obstacle which got in their way last month, and I think they’ll be a contender, on paper at least, to win the title next season. 

I expect to see the transfer market go into overdrive for Chelsea and United in the coming weeks. We’ve been silent because we’ve been waiting for Sarri, which I can understand, but United certainly need something more if they’re expecting to give City more of a competition in the upcoming season.

UPDATE: it’s official...

Edited July 19, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[Fierce_LiNk]

15 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

As much as we need a new keeper i'm not really happy with the purchase. £68 million is an insane amount for a keeper who hasn't proven himself in the PL and I think this comes across as a very expensive panic buy. I'd honestly would have preferred if we had made a move for Kasper. He's been a very solid keeper for Leicester and I imagine we could have got him for a hell of a lot less that £68 million. Although I don't think his dad would be happy with a move to Liverpool.  

It baffles me why we didn't go in for Pickford when Sunderland got rid of him. You could see the potential that the lad had when he played for them and it annoyed me that we didn't go after him, especially as we've had keeper issues for a few seasons now. I think part of the problem was Klopp didn't want to admit he had made a mistake in bringing Karius to the club but now he's finally had to hold his hands up and show that it really was a bad move.

I think Pickford did the right thing for him. There's a lot more pressure playing for Liverpool than there is playing for Everton, and who knows what effect that would have had on him. What if he makes a mistake early on or in a high profile game and the fans jump on his back? I think going to Everton was the right move at the right time for him. Maybe in the future he'll move to a bigger club and he'll be in a better place mentally to do so.

That's in the past, though. Liverpool could have done with sorting this out for good last season or the season before, but that's come and gone. Right NOW, look at the top keepers in the world. They are all unavailable. Liverpool are not going to be able to buy De Gea, Courtois, Lloris, Neuer, or anyone of that ilk. Because the big clubs already have those players because they obtained them at a much younger age. So, now it's onto the next bracket. Oblak? Potentially, but again, lots of money and also unproven in the Premier League. If you look internally, Schmeichel is the only real "get-able" goalkeeper who could potentially fit that mould. But, he's not on the same level as the types of goalkeepers that Man Utd, City and Chelsea have. There's absolutely no way Everton will sell Pickford to Liverpool because that...is just treasonous. The manager and chairman would not be able to live it down with the fans. So, that rules him out. 

Good players adapt and if Alisson is as good as he's touted to be, then he'll adapt. It may take time, but good players will find a way to make it work. There's a reason that other clubs were linked with him, with Real Madrid interested. On the RedCafe, the general consensus on there is that this guy will be a very good signing for you. Many are tipping Liverpool to finish above us, and judging on the calibre of signings you have plus the style of football you played last season, I'd have to agree with them. 

[Julius]

6 minutes ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

I think Pickford did the right thing for him. There's a lot more pressure playing for Liverpool than there is playing for Everton, and who knows what effect that would have had on him. What if he makes a mistake early on or in a high profile game and the fans jump on his back? I think going to Everton was the right move at the right time for him. Maybe in the future he'll move to a bigger club and he'll be in a better place mentally to do so.

That's in the past, though. Liverpool could have done with sorting this out for good last season or the season before, but that's come and gone. Right NOW, look at the top keepers in the world. They are all unavailable. Liverpool are not going to be able to buy De Gea, Courtois, Lloris, Neuer, or anyone of that ilk. Because the big clubs already have those players because they obtained them at a much younger age. So, now it's onto the next bracket. Oblak? Potentially, but again, lots of money and also unproven in the Premier League. If you look internally, Schmeichel is the only real "get-able" goalkeeper who could potentially fit that mould. But, he's not on the same level as the types of goalkeepers that Man Utd, City and Chelsea have. There's absolutely no way Everton will sell Pickford to Liverpool because that...is just treasonous. The manager and chairman would not be able to live it down with the fans. So, that rules him out. 

Good players adapt and if Alisson is as good as he's touted to be, then he'll adapt. It may take time, but good players will find a way to make it work. There's a reason that other clubs were linked with him, with Real Madrid interested. On the RedCafe, the general consensus on there is that this guy will be a very good signing for you. Many are tipping Liverpool to finish above us, and judging on the calibre of signings you have plus the style of football you played last season, I'd have to agree with them. 

Record scratch

Hold on a second. Oblak is among the top ‘keepers in the world, no question; he’s definitely not in that “next bracket”. Like I said above, his save percentage numbers were the best across the continent last season. Also, as great as Neuer has been in the past, don’t forget that he’s just returned from a serious injury which has kept him sidelined since early last season, so I don’t think even attempting to get him would have been a wise move for any club or the player himself (even if this is the most realistic chance anyone will ever have of signing Neuer from Bayern). I’d throw Keylor Navas into that mix of top ‘keepers too, and he certainly seems available, considering that Real seem to be after a goalkeeper and he’s hinted at leaving. 

That aside, I agree with your points on Schmeichel and Pickford, and certainly agree with your point on Alisson: if he comes good this season, which he’s got the talent to do, then he’ll come good. If not, and he takes more time to adjust? So Liverpool don’t win the Premier League title for another year...what’s another year of waiting?  

[Fierce_LiNk]

13 minutes ago, Julius Caesar said:

Record scratch

Hold on a second. Oblak is among the top ‘keepers in the world, no question; he’s definitely not in that “next bracket”. Like I said above, his save percentage numbers were the best across the continent last season. Also, as great as Neuer has been in the past, don’t forget that he’s just returned from a serious injury which has kept him sidelined since early last season, so I don’t think even attempting to get him would have been a wise move for any club or the player himself (even if this is the most realistic chance anyone will ever have of signing Neuer from Bayern). I’d throw Keylor Navas into that mix of top ‘keepers too, and he certainly seems available, considering that Real seem to be after a goalkeeper and he’s hinted at leaving. 

That aside, I agree with your points on Schmeichel and Pickford, and certainly agree with your point on Alisson: if he comes good this season, which he’s got the talent to do, then he’ll come good. If not, and he takes more time to adjust? So Liverpool don’t win the Premier League title for another year...what’s another year of waiting?  

Sorry, next bracket as in "available". De Gea, Neuer, Courtois and Lloris are unavailable due to them already playing at big clubs and there's no way any amount of money from Liverpool will cause said club to sell to them. (Also because they're Premier League rivals). So, next bracket as in top class and available. Oblak is the keeper I would want United to replace De Gea with if he moved on.

[Julius]

1 hour ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Sorry, next bracket as in "available". De Gea, Neuer, Courtois and Lloris are unavailable due to them already playing at big clubs and there's no way any amount of money from Liverpool will cause said club to sell to them. (Also because they're Premier League rivals). So, next bracket as in top class and available. Oblak is the keeper I would want United to replace De Gea with if he moved on.

Gotcha, sorry for misunderstanding. I’d love him at Chelsea if Courtois does move on, and I do think that a move is required for him to gain the status that his goalkeeping ability would warrant. 

I really think it’s possible that we see the most expensive goalkeeper transfer record broken again by the end of the transfer window, given all of the activity in that department. I could see Oblak costing more than Alisson, and if Roma are serious about chasing Donnarumma (I could see that going either way, seeing as Milan are banned from continental competitions for this upcoming season) I could see him easily costing more than Alisson too. 

I just hope that we actually effectively replace Courtois if he does leave. We have a great knack for selling players on and failing to replace them with a player of at least similar quality/traits, which goes right under the knack of keeping players past their sell-by date. On the other hand, I love to watch Hazard play and want him to stay at Chelsea, and whilst I’m worried about him leaving, I’m much more worried about the potential mess we’re going to make in the transfer market in trying to replace him. 

Just read that Pavard could be on his way to Bayern. What a world of difference some good shifts in the World Cup makes.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[Fierce_LiNk]

1 minute ago, Julius Caesar said:

Gotcha, sorry for misunderstanding. I’d love him at Chelsea if Courtois does move on, and I do think that a move is required for him to gain the status that his goalkeeping ability would warrant. 

I really think it’s possible that we see the most expensive goalkeeper transfer record broken again by the end of the transfer window, given all of the activity in that department. I could see Oblak costing more than Alisson, and if Roma are serious about chasing Donnarumma (I could see that going either way, seeing as Milan are banned from continental competitions for this upcoming season) I could see him easily costing more than Alisson too. 

I just hope that we actually effectively replace Courtois if he does leave. We have a great knack for selling players on and failing to replace them with a player of at least similar quality/traits, which goes right under the knack of keeping players past their sell-by date. On the other hand, I love to watch Hazard play and want him to stay at Chelsea, and whilst I’m worried about him leaving, I’m much more worried about the potential mess we’re going to make in the transfer market in trying to replace him. 

I thought Simeone would be in the running for the Chelsea job, in which case him and Oblak would have been fantastic additions to the club. But, that hasn't turned out to be the case. 
Donnarumma is only 19?! Wtf?! I thought he was easily in his early 20s...he's a baby. Another club could get almost 20 years out of him...that's insane. 

If Courtois does go, I think Chelsea will struggle to replace him. You'd think that Chelsea would do their utmost to keep hold of him. Quality keeper, and very difficult to replace.

[Hero-of-Time]

8 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Schmeichel is the only real "get-able" goalkeeper who could potentially fit that mould. But, he's not on the same level as the types of goalkeepers that Man Utd, City and Chelsea have. There's absolutely no way Everton will sell Pickford to Liverpool because that...is just treasonous. The manager and chairman would not be able to live it down with the fans. So, that rules him out. 

 

True but i'd rather take Schmeichel over what we already have.

Obviously we would never go for Pickford now. I was just making the point that we should have been after him when he was initially on sale. I'm honestly surprised more PL clubs weren't chasing him.

8 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Good players adapt and if Alisson is as good as he's touted to be, then he'll adapt. It may take time, but good players will find a way to make it work. There's a reason that other clubs were linked with him, with Real Madrid interested. On the RedCafe, the general consensus on there is that this guy will be a very good signing for you. Many are tipping Liverpool to finish above us, and judging on the calibre of signings you have plus the style of football you played last season, I'd have to agree with them. 

As you said, good players will adapt but there's always that concern that they may not. Stats and figures mean nothing to me until the player actually plays for my club and in the PL. There are countless stories of players being great in other leagues but then coming to the PL and not being able to reach that level they were previously at. Obviously this also rings true the other way. Admittedly, I do think a goal keeper is one of the easier roles to fill without having to worry about adjusting too much but it's still a concern of mine, especially considering the cash that has been dished out for him.

I'm just hoping the signings we have made are able to gel together and it's not just a case of what happened to Spurs a few seasons back where they brought in a bunch of players and nothing really worked.

[Fierce_LiNk]

4 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

True but i'd rather take Schmeichel over what we already have.

Obviously we would never go for Pickford now. I was just making the point that we should have been after him when he was initially on sale. I'm honestly surprised more PL clubs weren't chasing him.

As you said, good players will adapt but there's always that concern that they may not. Stats and figures mean nothing to me until the player actually plays for my club and in the PL. There are countless stories of players being great in other leagues but then coming to the PL and not being able to reach that level they were previously at. Obviously this also rings true the other way. Admittedly, I do think a goal keeper is one of the easier roles to fill without having to worry about adjusting too much but it's still a concern of mine, especially considering the cash that has been dished out for him.

I'm just hoping the signings we have made are able to gel together and it's not just a case of what happened to Spurs a few seasons back where they brought in a bunch of players and nothing really worked.

I think he'll work out. Klopp is a good manager and he's got a distinctive style of playing the game. So, imo, he's brought these players in to do a certain job and he's earmarked them as the ones who can carry out his plan. It's not like a Spurs thing where there wasn't a definitive plan. Klopp knows what he's doing. Bar any injuries to key players, there's no reason why Liverpool can't challenge for the title with that squad. It'll also be down to how the top players at City, Chelsea and United perform. I have to admit that I'm not particularly confident going into the new season and I expect more of the same from the last one, expect I don't think we'll finish second. 

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

I think he'll work out. Klopp is a good manager and he's got a distinctive style of playing the game. So, imo, he's brought these players in to do a certain job and he's earmarked them as the ones who can carry out his plan. It's not like a Spurs thing where there wasn't a definitive plan. Klopp knows what he's doing. Bar any injuries to key players, there's no reason why Liverpool can't challenge for the title with that squad. It'll also be down to how the top players at City, Chelsea and United perform. I have to admit that I'm not particularly confident going into the new season and I expect more of the same from the last one, expect I don't think we'll finish second. 

Didn't he bring in Karius?  

[Fierce_LiNk]

4 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Didn't he bring in Karius?  

Yeah, but I think he brought him in as a back-up to Mignolet, who was the number 1 at that moment in time. Apologies if I've got that bit wrong! I don't think Karius was ever brought to seriously be the long-term number 1 keeper. It's unfortunate that Mignolet didn't really secure that position and Klopp then had to do something, which is when Karius was thrown in. But, that hasn't worked out either, so he's got Alisson in now. 

Also, Karius did pretty well in the Bundesliga. Taken from his Wikipedia page:

Quote

Karius was ever-present in the 2015–16 season, keeping nine clean sheets, saving two penalties and being voted the second-best goalkeeper in the league in a poll of 235 fellow Bundesliga players, ranking behind only Manuel Neuer.^[15][16]

That's a high amount of praise. So, he's not a terrible goalkeeper. Unfortunately, he's just made too many mistakes and some of those mistakes were in a Champions League Final. Look at Lloris in the World Cup Final...we know that he is a quality keeper, but it just shows that the consequences are far greater when a goalkeeper makes a mistake. The difference is that Lloris is good enough to come back from that mistake and France still ended up winning the final. Karius' mistakes cost Liverpool their trophy. That's a huge amount of pressure for him to deal with and, unlike Lloris, I don't think he's as good mentally to come back from that at Liverpool. I'm sure he'll eventually move on to a different club and will do just fine. It reminds me of when Ben Foster was at United and he looked like he'd be the next number 1. Then, I think he dropped a clanger in a game against Sunderland and that was it for him. Think the game finished 2-2, so his mistake did cost us points. I remember knowing straightaway that was that for his United career. But, he's gone elsewhere and has done well, and I imagine it will be the same for Karius.

[Hero-of-Time]

Apparently Karius made another cock up during one of our friendlies the other day. Yeah, it's probably best he moved on elsewhere.  

[Julius]

7 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Apparently Karius made another cock up during one of our friendlies the other day. Yeah, it's probably best he moved on elsewhere.  

He did, against Tranmere Rovers.

And he also messed up in the warm-up ahead of your game against Chester, which was also last week. 

Just seen that the Court of Arbitration for Sports has just overturned Milan’s ban from European competition for the upcoming season, so they will still be taking part in the Europa League. 

[Fierce_LiNk]

17 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Apparently Karius made another cock up during one of our friendlies the other day. Yeah, it's probably best he moved on elsewhere.  

It's non-recoverable for him. He has to move on, unfortunately. A move back to Germany will probably do him good.

[Emerald Emblem]

What are Everton playing at with this? How on earth can they justify paying...

 

 

 

 

 

...wait for it...

 

 

 

 

 

 

...£50 million...

 

 

 

 

 

...for Richarlison!

For a player who right now is only potential and disappeared for most of last season after a 2 month purple patch of 5 goals in 12 games. Everton fans have no right to criticise Liverpool's transfer spending with this move.

Richarlison: Everton close to agreeing deal worth up to £50m for Watford forward

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Emerald Emblem

[killthenet]

I think it's just the way things are going with clubs towards the top end of the Premier League, 10 years ago even a £20m fee was a rarity for Premier League clubs but now it seems to be about the minimum you need to spend on a player. I think prices are going to continue to be inflated over the next few seasons but the bubble is surely going to burst at some point, even in the Championship spending has got completely out of hand, my club Aston Villa for instance basically threw everything at getting promotion last season and until the news that two investors had bought a controlling stake today things were looking really bleak for us with the prospect of having to cash in on our better players. Things are far from entitirely repaired even after the news of the new owners financial fair play laws could mean that we have to balance the books by selling the likes of Grealish so the team for the coming season could still end up being unrecognisable.

[Fierce_LiNk]

On ‎20‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 9:48 PM, killthenet said:

I think it's just the way things are going with clubs towards the top end of the Premier League, 10 years ago even a £20m fee was a rarity for Premier League clubs but now it seems to be about the minimum you need to spend on a player. I think prices are going to continue to be inflated over the next few seasons but the bubble is surely going to burst at some point, even in the Championship spending has got completely out of hand, my club Aston Villa for instance basically threw everything at getting promotion last season and until the news that two investors had bought a controlling stake today things were looking really bleak for us with the prospect of having to cash in on our better players. Things are far from entitirely repaired even after the news of the new owners financial fair play laws could mean that we have to balance the books by selling the likes of Grealish so the team for the coming season could still end up being unrecognisable.

It's simply unsustainable and there will come a time where a Premier League or Championship club overspends and ends up in serious amount of financial trouble. The way forward surely has to be promoting youth and putting tons of funding into the academy systems. £50million for Richarlison is insane. Suddenly, that price for Alisson doesn't seem quite as bad anymore, I guess it's all relative. 

There's lots of talk about Barcelona putting in bids for Willian. With Courtois and Hazard being linked to Real Madrid, it could end up being a very different look for Chelsea next season.

[Ramar]

18 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

It's simply unsustainable and there will come a time where a Premier League or Championship club overspends and ends up in serious amount of financial trouble.

Leeds United?