Liverpool Banter Archive February 01 2014

01 Feb 2014 23:41:32
eds if we do manage to get in to the champions league would you expect us to spend big in the summer and bring in some top players obviously hoping we go back in for konoplyanka again but any players who could handle the pressures of the champions league what do you think do you have any idea who we will look at

{Ed002's Note - I would not want to build up expectations too much but there will bound to be additions.}

01 Feb 2014 23:42:11
Im praying that united stick with david moyes for at least 3 seasons. This season they are already out of it, next season they could be a really good mid table team, 3rd season their empire starts to crumble and moyes will have spent 150 million on players.

At least moyes will be good in his 3rd season, he has experience of over achievement with average players.

I would expect that if United fail to reach top 4 this season and no CL, I would think the first 2 players out the door will be Rooney and RVP. Then I would assume they would fail to attract the required talent to replace them and others who would leave, without the lure of CL. If they fail to finish top 4 I can see the empire crumbling a little sooner than the third season under Moyes.

01 Feb 2014 22:53:54
Good evening Ed02, a favour if I may.
My nephew who is a talented 18 year old striker who's struggling to make an impression here is wondering if a U.S soccer scholarship may be an option. Could you advise?
Many thanks

{Ed002's Note - I would warn against it Chris. There are plenty of businesses in Europe that advertise providing services at a cost of something like £1,500 typically. I know of one British kid who did get to go to College on a scholarship but I know of many more failures. A few years ago (perhaps four) the Globe & Mail (from Canada) ran an item on these businesses and found that they are typically one man bands who will put a brief sports resume together and mail it around with a video. Chances of it working are 1 in whatever large number you wish to use.}

Depends on what you want from it. If you think he's going pro then definitely don't do American college. If you want an education, then the states are a great place to get soccer scholarships. There are some NAIA programs here that could beat div 1 teams easy. I've got a friend who played pro ball in Honduras and he went to an NAIA school. I really can't think of many players that went big from college soccer here. Dempsey. Other than that. idk.

My father is a well-respected local coach (Ottawa, Canada) who has had a number of players looked at by scouts. The best have always been taken overseas to England (and elsewhere). Not to say that the American school system is poor, nor that their soccer isn't continually improving, because it is, however my understanding is that Europe is the target and the US is good for those who may not have quite the potential in football.

That said, any approach which is positive in nature is surely better than sitting depressed and hoping for something that may not come. In that respect, a US scholarship is eminently better for his soccer career than a stalled nothing over there.

Thanks for the replies lads, I'm not sure what to advise him as to which way to go. I truly believe he's good enough to play in the lower leagues in England at least but because of his age he seems to have missed the boat. He got close a few times when he was younger to be being picked up by league teams but he was quite slight and I think that's what put them off. He's matured quite late but is now stronger than most of the players in the senior side he plays in. Unfortunately it's quite a low level team and the manager and players aren't actually good enough around him. I'm just trying to find him a break so if you've any ideas that'd be great

01 Feb 2014 22:58:37
I've just seen Fabio Borini's goal celebration at Newcastle on motd.
He was taking his life in his hands there wasn't he!?
Good pen though.

Haha that's what I was thinking. Standing up on the boards and all.

01 Feb 2014 22:19:31
Beautiful chance tomorrow to open up a gap. Four point on the Ev, 5 on Spurs and NINE on Utd. If we win I think that's them as good as gone in the race. They'd have to up they're PPG to that of a team that would finish on 95. Their manager is Moyes.

Assuming City beat Chelsea aswell then we'd be one point behind them and then we have Arsenal the following week.

If we win our next two I think we're pretty m.actually I won't jinx it!

Dont worry about opening a gap that will happen, its closing the gap at the top we are aiming for

I think the key about this weekend is that only Everton has picked up points thus far. Tots dropped 'em as did Disparate. er United.

I'm looking forward to Monday as, no matter what happens, we look better. A tie and they both drop points, a Chelsea win and we are closer to the top, and a ManC win and we could very well be nipping at Chelsea's heels.

Of course, that may be looking too far ahead. Looking forward to another *solid* game tomorrow first!

Absolutely ''Guv''and I wouldn't be surprised if ''Palace''did a job on Arsenal.Another must win game for us.The lot crossed but quietly confident!

What would be the ideal scenario for us would be a win against West Brom, a home win for us over Arsenal, and for Spurs and Everton to play out a draw next week against each other. All topped off by a Chelsea loss to City on Monday. This closes the gap to Chelsea and Arsenal and opens up a gap to Everton, Spurs and United.

Liverpool old boys as well as those who we've loaned out have performed well, hoping ince to do the same against arsenal if he plays

01 Feb 2014 21:58:10
I have nothing against Ian ayre, I think he's done a great job commercially although as MD you would expect that. I just think he's too much of an amateur at player transfers and negotiating these types of deals. There needs to be a change in the way some of these transfers are carried out, or a change in the personnel carrying them out. I understand Ian ayres position at the club, and he had little to do with the outcome of the konoplyanka deal. But this outcome has been the case far too often lately. We need someone with more experience and who is at a higher calibre than Ian ayre (like a big name). I think as long as Ian ayre is DM we will never sign a marquee signing, even if we get into the champions league.

Onwards and upwards for tomorrow, and I full expect the 3 points.

Rubbish.so its ian ayre fault the club don't want to meet the asking price of players we want like salah willian or dempsey
What the committe needs to explain is why they keep going after targets they can't afford.At some point in time they have to overpay for a quality player, if they can't do that I rather we stick to deals within our financial capabilities
The konoplyanka deal is even more frustrating how we waited so long to start negotiations, if we was our plan b then we should have statted negotiations early with enough time to spare.
All ian ayre does is negotiate on behalf of Liverpool its the so called committee that needs to be replaced not ayre

01 Feb 2014 21:12:56
I guess Juan mata wasnt enough.
Looks like there going to have to get two Mata's,
badum tsssish

If you couldn't see that then u got to come out of the fog

Haha love it.

01 Feb 2014 20:09:23
I saw a swedish rumour that dnipro made a contract crime, and if that's the case kono's contract will tear apart. Is it any truth in this?

{Ed002's Note - Of course not.}

Yes and on the 3rd day kono will rise up a Liverpool player.
YNWA

01 Feb 2014 19:58:36
RIP Tony Hateley YNWA

01 Feb 2014 19:39:56
Big thanks and respect again to eds for the work over the transfer window!
But just a question not transfer related what would happen if 4th 5th 6th place all finished on the same points goals goals against etc would their be some sort of play off?
I know it's highly unlikely for this but I was just wondering?

{Ed002's Note - Points, goal difference, goals scored and then a play off if needs be.}

Well we will be well above those positions so maybe ask that on the utd page

01 Feb 2014 18:32:26
Juan charlie Adam. there's only juan charlie Adam. Juan charlie aaaaaaaaadam! . Almost makes up for our rubbish transfer window

01 Feb 2014 21:29:59
Kuyt was not a winger! and when he played in Holland he was closer to a centre forward, but he playe wherever he was needed for us, as long as he got a game!

01 Feb 2014 18:22:59
Thanks Bryan

01 Feb 2014 18:12:08
Ed2 is it part of ian ayres job criteria to assist in targets set by the manager?

{Ed002's Note - It doesn't work like that.}

Well how does it work as from what I see ayre is always sent out to do the deal. So is it a coincidence the following transfers have gone belly up when in arye has been involved.
dempsey
willian
mk
sig
kono
Salha
All top targets for BR and all gone elsewhere when ian ayre dabbles his hands in it.

{Ed002's Note - Liverpool were accused of tapping up Clint Dempsey which is why Mr Werner and Mr Ayre issued apologies to Fulham in order to have them withdraw their complaint. Willian was a player Liverpool were interested in, but they did not offer enough money to buy him. Mkhitaryan was never going to happen due to the price being too high and Shakhtar wanting a single payment. Liverpool are not in a position to do that without selling Suarez. Sigurdsson decided to sign for Spurs instead of Liverpool because he felt they had a better chance of giving him Champions League football. The Dnipro owner was always likely to want to keep Konoplyanka - you cannot blame Mr Ayre for not being able to resolve that. As for Salah, the club's valuation of the player was miles away from what Basal would consider acceptable - hence there being no negotiation.

And don't forget the fourteen players he has done the deals for since Brendo arrived: Daniel Sturridge, Kolo Touré, Tiago Ilori, Joe Allen, Fabio Borini, Mamadou Sakho, Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Simon Mignolet, Coutinho, Oussama Assaidi , Samed Yesil and the loans of Victor Moses, Nuri Sahin and Aly Cissokho.}

Ian Ayre is not steeped in a football background, he was Barry ruberys right hand man at pace electronics when they took over huddersfield town, which lead to quite a disastrous spell which nearly put the club out of business, while he was there Ayre changed the team crest and presided over the selling of the clubs top goalscorer Marcus Stuart to Ipswich, a direct rival, in the last couple of months of the season, the week after Marcus Stuart was sold he scored the winner against huddersfield and the missed out by three points on the playoffs, Stuart went on to be the premierships second top scorer with 21, following ipswichs promotion.i do not rate Ayre and also feel he is a little starstruck, being a lifelong Liverpool fan,

Great answer Ed. I'm sick of all this Ayre bashing, given the position he's in with regard to the obvious strict financial constraints he is being asked to negotiate under, I think he's doing alright. 14 players in, and the few we've missed out on have largely been because essentially, we haven't bid enough money (not Ayre's fault). I'm sure there is someone out there somewhere that could do a better job, just like anyone in any job, but whilst he's in the position he's in, and unless he screws up in a big and obvious manner, for the love of God, give the man a break.

02 Feb 2014 10:34:42
That's a great answer Ed02.
People on here always want to point to the "one's that got away" not the deals he has managed to complete.
And we were rubbing our hands when we signed them too.
Lets got off there backs.
Some of the signings are taking a while to settle. And they are seen as "bad" signings. But its not wasted money. If they "let go" by the club there will be a sell on fee.
And for those who say we have wasted cash on players.
Lets take an objective look at things.
Yes some of our transfers have proven duds. Carrol, Downing etc.
But on a positive side, no one mentions how much PROFIT we would make on our successful purchases.
Suarez on his own would be £50 mill plus in the profit margin. How much would we make from a sale of Sturridge and Courtinho? If you look at it in an objective manner and in terms of profit and loss, yes at the moment we have made a loss on transfers. But we have players "on the books" that if sold (and I am not suggesting we do this) would wipe out ALL the losses we have made in the market.
Lets stop all this owner and staff bashing. Since FSG came in they have run this club excellently. Made mistakes? Sure. And they will make more too. But on the whole who would not have taken the position we are in now at the beginning of the season.
I know I would.
vrcomp
Y.N.W.A.

Thanks re your opinion ed2 as always its good to have a decent discussion. I still thinkmr ayre has a massive input into transfer failures but as always its about opinions. The players you state that he brought into the club out of that list probably only sturredge was his biggest fight as the rest no other clubs were really that interested in, I mean come on alberto, allen, aspas, have hardly set the world on fire. Borini sent out on loan, toure was a free, courtinho has been decent but we had little competition for. As for some of the others they haven't even played 1st team.
Sorry ed but your response doesn't have much weight.
as always geeat to have a discussion with a chelsea fan lol. LFC 4eva

{Ed002's Note - I assume you know practically nothing about the club or the transfer processes. There was no "fight" over Sturridge - Chelsea will not stand in the way of a player who wants to leave. As for Allen, Alberto, Aspas and Borini - these players were the choice of Rodgers - blame him not Mr Ayre. Toure was far from "free" when a signing on fee needs to be negotiated. As for "the others not playing in the first team", get on the back of Rodgers as it is him you should be bitching and whining about.}

01 Feb 2014 17:52:14
Will john henry consider replacing ian ayer as MD and placing him back in the commercial sector. I would like to see David Dein taking on the role. He has a proven track record at Arsenal and was apparantly seen at Anfield with Tom Werner and JOhn henry

{Ed002's Note - What do you think Mr Ayre has done wrong?}

Well maybe not in latest case but it could be argued on one hand he is acting on behalf of the owners and with the brief they set, I:E what they are willing to shed, what they want etc. it could also be argued he could have more impulse a little?

I don't know but it would seem to at least suggest he maybe is not the best at getting deals closed? But like I said I presume he has a strict brief to work within.

Do you rate him then?

Ed2 are you serious here?

{Ed002's Note - Of course.}

He's destroying our team!
Haven't you read all the comments on here?
Liverpool are just getting worse and worse.
Yes we're winning games and yes we've scored the 2nd highest amount of goals in the league, yes we've got the two of the top three goalscorers in our team, yes we've just hammered Everton, yes we're comfortably in 4th place, yes we're 9 points better off than this time last season but can't you see!? Ayre, FSG, Rodgers are all destroying this team and they should be sacked

Flidby,

I'm a Gooner looking from the outside, can you or somebody explain that post because it doesn't make sense to me.

You say how well you are doing, in 4th place, 2nd highest goalscorers, 9 points better off than last year but they are ruining your club.

Confused.

We have the players we have and were doing ok till now, west brom will be a hard match but if we want top 4 we must take 3points nearly every match . get behind the team and hopefully enrique sahko and lucas come back soon

It, s called irony

DG I believe he was taking the.

Sorry,

I didn't read the post properly, lol.

01 Feb 2014 17:35:33
Guess 37 million still can't stop the rot it's like fixing a leak with abit of gum helps for 5 minutes but once abit of pressure is put on the back of it it just implodes what was moved excuse this time?

01 Feb 2014 17:27:52
Edd, you said.no chance of Vidal, price mainly?

{Ed002's Note - There is no interest from Liverpool, price, whatever you want. It is not going to happen.}

01 Feb 2014 17:19:08
in the mirror and the mail today they r going with a big headline spurs r going to go back for konoplayanka in the summer after just missing out on him in jan, spurs really r the media darlings not a word of how he had already chosen Liverpool over spurs and had all but agreed to join Liverpool.

But he didn't join LFC did he Tommy or Sallah? It's now February and the window is closed. Time to move on.

02 Feb 2014 10:19:29
well davey good to see you back you went missing for a while but that's only to be expected since your wonderful team you think is billy big boots got a right oul spanking by the red men again.

01 Feb 2014 17:11:07
We must capitalise on the results today. We must take 3 points.

01 Feb 2014 17:07:21
Owen is the worst pundit.
The worst.

Yeah he never says a good thing about a player unless he is talking about their pace.

Andy Townsend is pretty close.

Have you seen the Carroll sending off? Not even a yellow.
Chico Flores clutching his face like he poured water on a chip pan fire.
Carroll barely touched his hair.
Owen was adamant that it was a red.
Even after seeing the replays

Maybe not a red card but I can see why it was given, carroll swung his arm with intent. chico's play acting only made the decision easier for the ref

BT Sport is decent coverage. Better than sky IMO. But as you say the commentary is absolutely awful. They flirted with a guest appearance from Andy Gray last week didn't they,, obviously lining him up next season

I agree about Owen, but I do like the coverage BT give, the build up and everything is way better than sly sports.
I hope the comment about Andy Gray was a wind up?

Andy Gray is the best match summariser by a country mile. He picks up on everything while some of the current ones miss things that should obviously be commented on. Gary Neville is very good but not in Gray's class. BT Sport would be doing themselves a massive favour by replacing Owen with Gray.

OK, we all know what he said, but how many guys can honestly say they have never indulged in a bit of sexist banter with workmates. The punishment for Gray and Richard Keys was far too harsh, pandering to the politically correct brigade who poke their nose into everything these days.

PS/ Sian Massey is brilliant and even better at her job than Gray is at his. If they could clone her and have have her on the line at every match, nobody would be asking for video decisions any more.

Heighway patrol is Andy gray.

02 Feb 2014 10:41:29
even his probable dislike for us being an ex blue didn't stop him giving what sounded like a red fan getting excited when gerrard scored that goal against olympiakos, what a hit son what a hit, my fav commentry moment ever, that and ray houghton scoring against england euro 88.im sure the banter he has with the women is old school winding up nothing malicious and he should be back on r screens asap the pc brigade do go overboard a bit if any of the women complained about maybe that's different but I don't think they did.

01 Feb 2014 17:03:26
If we win tomorrow a 4 point lead infront of Everton. Not as good as when they were all losing but atleast it could possibly end united threat with a 9 point lead. Everton won't gain 3 points against us because we already done that so a very good day!

Providing we win tomorrow.

Providing being the operative word.

01 Feb 2014 16:59:53
I won't lie, I am really really ticked off, not about yesterday . In what has seem like forever, we've finally got a manager that knows what he's doing. I didn't trust him at first but slowly he's convinced me . he's done wonders with very little, he's made mistakes like everyone. Mourihno seems to be taking apart chelsea from the inside, Moyes, don't get me started, love the guy for united. Wenger is wenger, its like clock work with him, Pellegrini, cash cow, Tony pulis with unlimited funds would aslo win the league.
Brendon Rogers, my man. Awesome manager, I feel for him. i'm optimistic about forth place, but if we don't make it to top four, it won't be his fault. I just pray to God he sticks around, I haven't been this happy about LFC in a while . he's got United, Spurs, Chelsea, Everton, Arsenal running scared.
Yesterday when we didn't get anyone these teams were ecstatic, it was like christmas all over again.
Im happy, they are afraid of us . We haven't made teams feel like that in a while.
Im 100% behind BR, all the way.

{Ed002's Note - I rather suspect the other teams are not "running scared" and certainly none will care about Liverpool not signing players.}

I think scared is the wrong word but we are taken more seriously as a contender. Does help having two in form strikers mind.

I agree with you Ndora in many ways.
In terms of feeling more confident now with Rodgers at the helm, I do, and have not felt that for a long time.

I hope if we reach top 4 that our owners, who I have no problem with at all do see what a good job he has done and surely they will see that he has perhaps been let down a couple of times and never moaned about it or said anything negative about the failings of others to secure players

Although ed you have to agree Liverpool look a lot better than chelsea at the moment

01 Feb 2014 16:33:38
What about Borini in Coutinhos role? More goal threat I think, what are your thoughts lads as he's having a blinding loan spell and would love him back in our squad and getting games.

It's not a blinding loan spell. He's been impressive, but not really overtaking anyone we have in the squad right now. And borini is a striker, not a #10. Aspas is the same way. We have 4 good strikers, its just our top 2 can't be replaced right now.

He will be a squad player if he comes back, covering injurys, cup games etc. I'm glad it's going well for him always been a fan.

01 Feb 2014 16:20:14
Look at UTD, Everton and Spurs being beaten at the moment .

I thought I was being premature when I was writing it, lesson learned .

Tottenham draw, UTD loss, I'll take that any day.

Thankyou TJRed .

01 Feb 2014 15:47:04
All our closest rivals for top 4 behind at half time
We MUST win tomorrow BR must tell the players to treat it like a cup final or better still a derby match

01 Feb 2014 16:00:16
If it stays that way then I will change my name to Susan.
In fact. I will let you choose the name!

01 Feb 2014 15:40:49
What a day so far:

Barcodes thumped by Mackems
Hull 1-0 Spurs
Everton 0-1 Villa
Stoke 1-0 Man Utd.

01 Feb 2014 14:27:29
I so want Konoplyanka to stay at Dnipro next season then sign a January pre contract with us just to spite Dnipro's Owner.

Eds, is there anything to prevent Kono seeing out the rest of his contract and then going on a free? If that's a possibility then couldn't we get him on the cheap? It seems strange that his club don't want to sell him now knowing that the clock is ticking and that they may get nothing for their star player if they don't sell him now. And also what would be the legal position if we tried to sign a pre-contract agreement with Kono now to secure his services next winter?

{Ed002's Note - He can't sign a pre-contract now.}

01 Feb 2014 13:38:17
Ok, we allegedly did everything to get Kono. But what I can't understand is why we didn't go for him early in the window.

Two advantages: Firstly, you can have the player playing for you for an extra 3 or 4 weeks. Secondly, you have more leeway if the deal hits a hitch. We might have clinched this one if we'd have had an extra day.

For some reason, we always try to play cat and mouse, but unfortunately we never get the mouse. We are very fortunate that nobody else came in with a serious offer for Suarez when we were going for him, or we would have been waving that one goodye as well.

I'm sure that there were good reasons that we didn't go for him earlier. End of the day if their owner didn't want to sell him then the window could be open another month and we wouldn't have got him.

01 Feb 2014 13:26:21
Hi

Just a little banter eds and reds,

Who do you think will finish in top 4?

and

Who do you think will be relegated?

For me

Top 4 - City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal

Relgation - Cardiff, Stoke and Fulham

YNWA-SA

{Ed001's Note - City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool.
Rel: Stoke, Cardiff, Norwich.}

My heart tells me Liverpool in 4th, but my brain thinks United will make a strong push. With Van Persie, Rooney, Mata up front, they will surely improve form.

{Ed001's Note - do you think Van Persie can stay fit though?}

Ed, I fancy the bottom 3 to be Cardiff, Fulham and Norwich with west ham just avoiding it by the skin of their teeth. I'd love to see them relegated though

01 Feb 2014 13:15:37
So we didn't sign anyone, no point in moaning about it or trying to cast the blame on a single person it was really a collective failure from the club, however there is still plenty of things to be positive about. At least we didn't have a Leeds scale meltdown yesterday and we still have 4th place and we're still in the FA Cup not a complete disaster at all.

01 Feb 2014 12:56:01
Hi ed, do you think this season is there a chance for Joao Carlos Teixeira to play?

{Ed001's Note - depends on injury I would say.}

01 Feb 2014 12:48:21
It's my guess that the £20 million loss on Carroll and seeing other expensive recent purchases sat on the bench or loaned out has made the decision makers extremely cautious. We don't have the bottomless pit of cash like city or chelsea so it's a sad reality that we cannot afford to throw more money at a deal to make it happen. I am sure we will be in a better position to attract and afford the players to move us forward once we become an established top 4 team again with the extra revenue from the capacity increase at Anfield and the progress Brendan is making with the way we are becoming more consistent. Don't give Ian Ayre a hard time, it's not his money he didn't spend, it's ours and our futures.

Well said.

We are swimming in a pond with some fairly dodgy characters in a game that is run by billionaires from let's just say "less than transparent" countries. Ayre did not create this world.

We need to stick to our guns, our budget, and concentrate on putting in performances like against Everton. With the owners we have, the off-the field stuff will get sorted out in due course. And we will get our reward.

01 Feb 2014 12:29:53
Window over, I accept there is disappointment that we didn't sign Kono but we have to move on. I'm hoping the money we had for this window carries over to the next window and we sign a player that could make a big impact. But we can't forget we have a game tomorrow. We NEED to win at least 9 of the last 15 games for me. If we win tomorrow we are one step closer to the Champions League. Nobody has ever managed to get 73 points or more and not finish in a CL spot. If we get that and we miss out I won't be too disappointed, because that's CL form, which is something we haven't had for 4-5 seasons now. I don't think Kono would have been the difference between top 4 or not, because it's a team game. So let's move on, we have a group of very talented players as it is, and we will add to that in summer. But for now, we must focus on the players we have, and give them confidence from now until the end of the season. We can do this! Like our very own BR said, you can live weeks without food or water, but you can't live a second without hope. We can do this!
Cheers,

01 Feb 2014 12:20:15
Eds I no end of season and the summer transfer window is a long way off buy can you see us trying for Konop then?

{Ed002's Note - RTFP.}

01 Feb 2014 12:16:00
do you ever get the feeling we couldn't take a dog home from the rspca shelter.

No kidding Tommy. Some say that it isn't that big of a deal missing out on the two targets, but everyone around Liverpool has improved themselves. Liverpool looked amateurish at best and incompetent at worst, in my opinion, throughout the entire transfer window. Having said that, who knows what really happened behind closed doors. Life will go on and we'll see what happens the rest of the season. Top 4 is still a real possibility, but the club really needs to do something about its negotiating skills before the summer.

01 Feb 2014 12:06:01
Hi

Suarez transfer = Konoplyanka transfer

Done and dusted, Kono is not our player just like Suarez is not an Arsenal player.

Let's move on, to bigger and better things.
New transfer window with the best targets who will Liverpool players.

Great work yesterday eds, THANK YOU.

Good luck lads, 3 points, onwards and upwards.

YNWA-SA

01 Feb 2014 11:53:09
We have a game tomorrow lads? I think everyone is frustrated about yesterday but we are, currently 4th and it is still more than possible. A couple of tough games for are rivals today, let's take advantage of that this weekend! YNWA!

01 Feb 2014 11:46:25
I hope our farcical transfer committee don't look too silly if we miss out on the millions champs league offer, I thought they were supposed to find the right available players to buy not targets that will use us as bargaining tools or impossible owners for us to deal with, sorry they are not doing their job.would you transfer money arrange a aa check up on a car before checking the owner would sell

01 Feb 2014 11:43:45
so-no-kono, oh dear kerplonk lol

Remind me who Spurs bought again?

Here are a couple of numbers to get your brain working:

0-3, 0-5, 0-6, 1-5. Make any sense?

01 Feb 2014 11:39:15
Ok I no the dnipro owner was playing hardball but what was ian ayre doing for 3 whole days out there making snow angels. Do you think we will turn our attention elsewhere come the summer also what are the chances of us signing a new managing director aswell that's where we need to strengthen the most.

01 Feb 2014 11:32:37
Dnipro oligarch owner, is he friends with Abramovich or what? Just saying, maybe he got a call.

{Ed002's Note - Why would Mr Abramovich do that?}

01 Feb 2014 10:54:21
im in australia, stayed up till 3am keeping on top of the kono circus, done, not done, done, not done.

weather we got him or not it was entertaining as hell, finally the beers kicked in and I fell asleep on the couch, woken this morning by the misses (beer still in hand).

Dont feel we overly need him, bout would of been excellent, thanks to the eds and other supporters.

rmtv was good entertainment also.

01 Feb 2014 10:51:17
2 questions please guys. Do you think Kelly is ready for 90 and How long does kono have left on his contract?

{Ed002's Note - (a) 90 what? (b) 18 months.}

Forget Kono. Come the summer he will be 12 months left and other clubs will be after him - and they won't start messing about at the last minute either.

01 Feb 2014 12:07:28
Sorry ed 90 mins. I really do think flano on the left and Kelly on the right will solve our defence issues.

01 Feb 2014 10:32:24
Surely BR wouldn't have been saying how thin his squad was for the last few months if he was really happy with it. surely.

It beggars belief that we haggle away for what seems like weeks and weeks and don't get anywhere - whereas Chelsea just pay what needs paying and sign the player. I mean Zouma was done in a matter of hours ffs!

I'm not just on about konoplyanka or having a go at IA - but something really needs to be done to improve our productivity in the windows.

It really is make or break now. If we don't take advantage of our position with 15 games to go, and fail to make champions league we truly have fecked it. We won't make CL for another 10 years. The other teams are just too strong.

Time to prove your worth lads.

{Ed002's Note - Zouma's transfer dragged out for the whole month.}

Totally agree we are terrible at transfer dealings if your role in the transfer committee is to get players I would think some are clearing their desk today.

01 Feb 2014 10:23:05
Would like to say well done to the eds last night for their effort during yesterdays hectic deadline day. Well Done guys :)

01 Feb 2014 10:05:41
Guys we missed out on Kono but we just beat Everton 4-0 so why can't we just carry on as we have been. I was devastated last night but to hear some of the things aimed at Ayre and the owners is just pathetic. Threats to the owners and not just from Liverpool but Arsenal fans because they never got a striker is not on. What's the world coming to. Sometimes I hate to say it but some of the stuff I have read towards the owners and Ayre just makes me ashamed of a small minority of Liverpool fans. And why aim things at the owners they have been brilliant. And this was not a case when Ayre was at fault.

01 Feb 2014 10:04:36
Absolutely delighted that the deal for Yevhen Konoplyanka was not completed. I am hoping in my belief that the current squad can pull through and get a Champions League spot. I heard from the grape vine that Liverpool may be interest in Lescott on a free in the summer. Have you heard anything to suggest such a move?

{Ed002's Note - No.}

01 Feb 2014 09:42:32
Was any1 really that annoyed, who had heard of this guy anyway, more money to spend summer now, let's get behind the team top 4 is on like donkey kong

01 Feb 2014 09:29:54
The sooner we all accept that its all one big PR exercise designed to show the club is committed to buying good players the less we will be disappointed in the future. This kind of farce is happening far too often for it to be a genuine cock up or failure every time. Kono will be gone come the summer to another big team as he only has a year left to run on his contract.

01 Feb 2014 09:12:57
What a transfer day dead line that was.
I have to say it had me on the edge of my seat up till midnight.
Deal done deal off deal done deal off.
I have to say I think Ayre did a good job on this one.
No one can seriously blame the guy if there owner decides to sign the deal off.
I cannot understand how we can be strung along like this though. Surely we must have been given permission from the guy to get the deal done. Some thing must have happened for this guy to change his mind. And don't tell me it was about the payment structure as reported. This guy is a billionaire. I don't think him waiting 12 months for a few million would be reason for him to turn the deal down.
And so now it begins. The doom and gloom merchants. let's get on thing straight. The position that this guy plays is well covered. We really needed cover in DM and some one who could cover across the back.
The failure to sign this player will not hamper our pursuit of CL football.
Yes, it would have lifted the team some what. But did you all watch the derby on Tuesday. We were outstanding. Does this team really need lifting?
We have an abundance of young talent that for month's people on here have been asking to be given a chance. Well now could be there time to shine.
We have a mountain of injured players that will bolster the team once they return to action.
Come on guys. let's not be down.
Yes it would have been great to have signed a few players. But we haven't. The window is closed. let's get over it and move on.
We have a team here that has some thing money cannot buy.
"TEAM SPIRIT"
I think that's worth more than some Ukrainian guy from the back waters.
Lets lift our heads. let's sing with pride. This is what LFC is all about.
We know and have seen this season we can beat anyone on the day. We are in 4th place. We are 3 clear of our nearest rivals. This is the best season we have had for many a year.
Lets SUPPORT our team.
If were behind them they can do anything.
We are LFC. And we're on our way back.

And on a final footnote. EDS. You have taken some stick over the last month. I'll be honest I haven't always agreed with you. But that's what this page is all about. "BANTER". You have done a fabulous job. I think you all have, but a special shout to Ed02 who took some VILE abuse over the Salah stories. I have not seen ONE post offering a sorry. I think some on here should be man enough to come forward and say they were wrong.
Well done to you all. And looking forward to the summer window.
Keep the faith.
vrcomp
Y.N.W.A.

01 Feb 2014 09:11:24
So whos the most likely signings in the summer eds ;) No but seriously I would like to thank all the eds and in paticular ed001 and Ed02 for all the work they put in, it really is much appreciated!

01 Feb 2014 09:02:27
Man walks into a car showroom and says"I'd like to buy one of those new XF RS Jags please" certainly sir" says the rep and after all the paper work is done the rep says"That'll be seventy nine thousand pounds please" "Ah" says the man "Can I give you three thousand now, and another two thousand if it does'nt break down in six months, and then if I get this new job with more money I'll pay another ten thousand" The rep looks at the man and says that this would be totally unacceptable, as the price is seventy nine thousand "Take it or leave it" "Aww please, please please I really need this car to please my boss, I'll even throw in this empty soup can and these magic beans" says the man.The rep gets really angry over the time he's wasted and throws the man out, the man pops his head back around the door and and pleads"Well just say you'll think about it" The rep looks at the name on the form and say"Go away! I'm sorry Mr Ayre but this just isn't the way we do business". and before ya start it's just a bit of fun :)

01 Feb 2014 08:53:00
never though we needed kono, but I do think victor moses is a better player, BR should look at getting him fired up, and also use jordan ibe in games like WBA Away . think he can trouble them with his pace and directness. also sterling has improved a lot.
we haven't really scored from crosses from the wing so I don't think not signing kono means anything. also we are not even short there.
come to think of it there was no speculation at all of any one leaving lfc at any point during the window, which means the entire team is ready and dedicated to get that 4th spot . which is much more than any new signing. I think we have enough players in all sections of the field to do the job. we are stocked in defence, have a good midfield ( we have 5 midfielders in gerrard hendo allen lucas and coutinho) we have the wide players too and two best strikers. ( both are still very freescoring even if one gets injured/banned)
. I think we need to sort out our defence as to what is the best pairing. albeit I would have loved a better lb than cissoko but he is still good at defending than most lb. he is virtually nothing offensively though.

is jack robinson back from loan? he had a good run under king kenny, when he was 16/17? how has he turned out?

01 Feb 2014 08:25:57
Interesting point made earlier about the clause with arsenal, but maybe there's a tit for tat conspiracy option?

Ihor Kolomoyskyi and usmanov (arsenal major shareholder) would appear to have business links if the web is to be believed. I haven't gone into great detail mainly because I can't be bothered, but its possible the old school tie brigade have got together to teach us a lesson after the suarez affair!

Just a thought.

01 Feb 2014 03:44:06
so do u think we can get him to sign a pre-contract now ed for the summer?

{Ed002's Note - Who?}

01 Feb 2014 12:14:04
konoplyanka I mean Ed02, not asking if he will or anything, but can he? as i'm not sure if he is on the last 6 months or final year of his contract. thanks.

{Ed002's Note - No he can't his contract has 18 months to run and he will be offered a new contract.}

01 Feb 2014 12:14:21
i think I just read your answer for a question on him Ed02 that there would be plenty of interest in him if he were to be made available in the summer, think that means no, sorry read that late.

01 Feb 2014 07:03:04
Bit gutted about last night, but woke up feeling very positive. Spurs haven't strengthened, Everton haven't really either. and Juan Mata is good, but he doesn't sort out Utd's midfield and defence. 4th is still on the cards, and maybe even higher. We're good enough to stay above the chasing pack. Champions league looms. Now let's batter West Brom tomorrow and hope others slip up!

Everton have strengthened with three players which will improve the squad.

A re-freshing post well said, couldn't agree more.

01 Feb 2014 01:41:53
Eds do you think Ian ayre will get moved aside in the summer? Appears he couldn't close a door let alone a deal.

Disappointing window but we have got this far with the current squad so let's hope no more injuries and the current injured players are back soon.

{Ed001's Note - possibly aside, though I personally wouldn't expect it to happen as that would require some kind of Director Of Football taking over this aspect of his role. Rodgers is adamant that he does not want a DoF.}

Not sure how the failure to sign konoplyanka was his fault? Why sack him for factors beyond his control? Clearly the lad is keen, hopefully he'll be our first signing in the summer.

It happens far to often, missing out on players that is. Why go after a player if the owner isn't going to sign off on it. Surely that should have been checked first. really don't rate him sorry.

Saying that I think that the squad has the quality to get fourth so hopefully he will prove me wrong in the summer

01 Feb 2014 01:12:14
Right Ed, I'm going to head to bed now and hope Ill wake up and Kono will somehow have signed for Liverpool. Its been great having the banter with you guys tonight and you all did an amazing job. Sometimes your hard work seems to go unnoticed, but nobody could have did what yous did today! And no I'm not talking about killing the Kono deal by getting out of the cupboard! So anyway, sit back, relax, and be proud of yourselves, yous did a great job as always!
Cheers,

{Ed001's Note - thank you mate, I did manage to take a nice break and have some time to just chat with my daughter. That always make a day much better.}

01 Feb 2014 02:26:38
If we have triggered konoplyanka release clause & agreed terms am I right in saying that he is a free agent & can be signed?

{Ed001's Note - no.}

01 Feb 2014 02:08:23
Hi Scouse lot, United fan here! I have read a few posts about your failed bid for Kolonkyapa or however you spell it, and believe its a case of foreign owners knowing the amount if money available from English clubs and just wanting to line their own pockets? I hoped you failed, but only so we can have a better even though slim chance of catching you for fourth! Even with our rivalry, I would still prefer the top clubs be not the cash cows of Citeh and Chelski! Good luck, and best team for third and fourth place!

Let me get this straight, your lot (ManUtd) hand over £37.1 million+ to Chelsea for Juan Mata and you're glad we (LFC) didn't sign Konoplyanka through fear of ''top clubs'' being ''cash cows of City and Chelsea''.

Um, yeah, that makes perfect sense. Well done buddy. It is also nice to see you concern yourself with the top clubs in the League. :)

01 Feb 2014 01:04:51
so, Mr Ayre yet again couldn't deal with a pack of playing cards. ok, owner refused to sign but aren't we supposed to talk with the owner 1st, before we buy something from them? its my opinion that the payment plans were just not adequate for the Dnipro owner to accept. I think its us trying to penny pinch, again, that cost us Konoplyanka, Salah, Mikhitaryan and who knows how many more.? i'm all for not being held to ransom by clubs looking far more than a player is worth but is this not just a case of cutting our nose off to spite our face? however, on a different note, I still believe top 4 is a real possibility. obviously in this league, nothing is a certainty, especially this season but if we can just take 1 game at a time and beat the big lads at home we should do ok.
without any transfers in this month, I really hope to see a few youngsters step up if needed. I think Ojo could already do a job on the left despite his age. I don't think there was any need for Konoplyanka in the 1st place to be honest. we needed to put all our eggs in a defensive midfielder basket, I think, not only because Lucas is out for a few weeks but also to give him competition, especially coming back from injury as I remember it takes him a while after an injury to get back to match sharpness which can be costly due to the role he plays.
but, shoulda, woulda, coulda.
roll on West Brom and then hopefully we can take something against Arsenal next week.
we are in a very good position at the minute in the league and I just hope we don't fluff it, thinking about what ifs.
sorry about the length, but I needed somewhere to rant, the mrs went to bed early.

YNWA reds! jft 96

Nonsense! According to the eds, all had been agreed upon (money, payments, medical, agents`fees etc) and Lfc got everything done the way this same owner had ordered. The all of a sudden, he changes his mind an vetos the transfer. Not much lfc could have done.

Yes, the fee for the player, agent fees, medical and everything else may have been sorted out. but its how the fee would be paid that was the main sticking point. that's what I was hearing all night. besides, unless you ask Ayre or the Dnipro owner directly, you might never know, so before you start jumping all over an opinion, think about what you know for sure mate.

Nowts agreed until the fat man sings, in this case the owner.
Lets be fair if people came to buy your house and you didn't want to leave then you would say no deal.
No atter how many people agreed itsdwn to the guy who owns it.

01 Feb 2014 00:57:23
Ed fellow reds, big well to eds great work again . But hope we don't get any more injuries over the next few weeks or we will have major problems .will be difficult to get forth now for me .

01 Feb 2014 00:45:02
ssn and BBC sources have both reported that Yevhen Konoplyanka didn't join Liverpool because the President of the club didn't sign the paperwork for the deal.

ssn have also reported that Liverpool triggered a release clause in his contract for £15 million and the player - Yevhen Konoplyanka - wanted the move. The ONLY stalling factor in the deal was the fact the President didn't sign the papers to release the player.

Therefore, by extension, IF these alleged statements coming from ssn and BBC are true, the president has broken the terms of Yevhen Konoplyanka's contract, which means that, by extension, if true, Yevhen Konoplyanka is no longer under contract with Dnipro, and he'd be free to do what he wants.?

Obiously his rule does not apply in the Ukraine.

01 Feb 2014 00:23:03
Hi Eds. any reason that my three previous posts were not listed. I was forthright from the first that the deal would not happen for 1 reason, now all I see are excuses dancing around the truth. my friend in Russia wouldn't sell me misinformation - he bleeds red. You could have saved 4 hours or so of heartache if you at least respected my first post.

Anyway, I still believe we have enough for fourth - if we win our next two games and City beat Chelsea, maybe even 2nd.

Never, ever underestimate the influence Chelsea has on every league around Europe - but for all that power they are still underachievers :-)

YNWA

{Ed001's Note - what you posted was quite frankly risking a legal issue and you have absolutely no proof other than 'my mate told me'. I would have saved nothing because your post was just simply pointless anyway. You gave nothing that had any relevance, just gossip.}

I think I may know what you are alluding to SilverSurfer, I had the same thought earlier.

Some kind of "Art Of War" shizzle going on ;)

01 Feb 2014 00:19:29
Everyone's talking about "we needed to boost our morale with a signing". Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't we just BEAT EVERTON 4 - 0. OUR BIGGEST WIN AGAINST THEM IN LIKE 20 YEARS! Isn't that the biggest morale boost we can get. Sorry but it just frustrates me.

01 Feb 2014 00:17:09
Seems really odd that we are meant to have matched the buyout and the owner wouldn't sign off the paperwork looks like it we be easy to keep Suarez in the summer then just hide all the pens

Clearly the Dnipro owner doesn`t give a rat`s a** about contracts or clauses.

01 Feb 2014 00:34:50
Got to feel sorry for Ayre on this one, supporters already blaming him and calling for him to be sacked and for once it's not his fault. Not many teams are prepared to let their star player go in January.

It's a shame this one didn't go through the guy was willing to take a pay cut to join us and seemed genuinely excited by the deal. Those are the sort of players we want. Hopefully we'll be back in for him in summer.

01 Feb 2014 00:33:44
Just a quick question for the eds, if a club triggers a release clause and met all the requirements of a transfer, are the club then bound to sell the player, if yes, then could they face sanctions from UEFA, otherwise they are pointless are they not.
thanks for all you hard work and not misleading anyone.

{Ed002's Note - You are making this stuff up.}

01 Feb 2014 00:32:54
Br open letter on lfc.com is a joke is embarrasing.

01 Feb 2014 00:30:24
I fear for the club. We can't carry on like this something needs to happen. Worst case scenario Real buy Suarez in summer, who we going to get in? We can't even get Ukrainian wingers in what chance have we got of ever buying world class players? Since BR took over as manager FSG/Ayre haven't gotten him 1 big signing through the door, not one!
Not 1 player over £20M! We'd end up with 8/9 Borinis

No but you could argue that 2 of those sub £20 million signings are now worth £20 million.

01 Feb 2014 00:26:12
Great know everyone knows he has a 15m buyout no chance of signing him in the summer now :(

01 Feb 2014 00:16:31
We have 2 quailty.players Borini and SUSO coming back from loans in the summer. Borini is getting bettet and bettet.and looking a real good player.whilst suso is excelling. The boy will be a top top player. Add to them a quailty DM( medel I wish ;) ), wideplayer( sanchez, if we make CL why not?hes available) and LB and we will thrive again next year. Many positive for the summer'

01 Feb 2014 00:15:38
If we finish in the top 4 or most importantly finish above spurs do you think he will be 1 of our main targets for the summer

01 Feb 2014 00:08:49
Ed001, surely, if as ssn say, the release clause was met, then the dnipro president has to allow the player to move?

{Ed001's Note - you would need a solicitor to ascertain that.}

01 Feb 2014 00:07:16
Hi ed's just so I can try to get my head round where the blame lies for our transfer policies could you help me out with our recent signings. Who is credited with the following signings a) Rodgers b) ayre c) committee
1) Sturridge
2) coutinho
3) aspas
4) Alberto
5) sakho
6) mignolet
Cheers I understand if you can't reply straight away, as it is difficult to type whilst shaking your head trying to contemplate what's happened tonight.
Just to add to that, I didn't really feel we needed a winger but just felt we needed a new face just to give the lads a lift. Personally would of liked a fullback or Dmid. Just feel that we gave settled for fighting for fourth.

{Ed001's Note -
1) a
2) c
3) a/c
4) a/c
5) not sure on this one sorry. I can't remember.
6) a

01 Feb 2014 00:06:34
can you please explain the point of the release clause? if its true that we met the price of it then how is it possible to refuse to sign off paperwork to stop it happening? just makes it pointless or am I missing the whole point of it?

01 Feb 2014 00:05:35
Heard that the owner of dnipro refused to sign the deal off, surely if it was in fact a release clause we triggered we can go to fifa with kono and get something done like force the move through even now as the owner broke the contract, in sure that release clauses are there so if an offer of x amount came in the player is free to leave and the club can not stop that right?

thanks eds

{Ed001's Note - depends on the wording in the contract. It would be up to solicitors to look it over.}

01 Feb 2014 00:11:25
Edds thanks for all your hard work and info throughout the window much appreciated! Keep up the good work but enjoy a nice break and a good little holiday while it goes quiet you guys deserve it! Time to enjoy the only thing we should actually care about THE FOOTBALL! Much love!

YNWA

{Ed001's Note - quiet? It will be moan city on here for a while!}

Just imagine if we lose on Sunday Ed, just imagine.

Yes ed your right, silly me! Forgot I was a Liverpool fan and on this page. !

01 Feb 2014 00:10:57
Everyone take a deep breath, now slowly let it out. Not buying a player is just fine. We were in first 4 weeks ago, dodgy calls and lack of luck for two games and we're all the way down to 4th! FFS, whose to say first game out Kono tore out his knee. Players returning from injury, scoring goals, so again Kono was a defender? (right now that's where we needed a signing if any). Support the team, get behind them, we'll climb that hill in our own way! And of course Eds thanks a million for putting up with this lot, we'd be lost without you.

Bergenred

{Ed001's Note - thank you mate.}

01 Feb 2014 00:09:59
Can't help thinking if it was Man City, Spurs, or Chelsea the deal would of been signed and sealed ages ago for KONO. They seem to get who they want with no hitches ( I know City failed with 2 players but that's only because teams ask for Mega money cause they know they are so rich), why had it come to the last minute to do the deal! Dragged all week! Sturridge and Couthino were signed early last year! Needed him big time to ensure progress for champs league.

RVP will more than likely be out injured again, and Mata had a totally different team behind him at Chelsea when he was playing so well. I keep telling Manchester United fans they keep mis spelling his name, it should be No'Mata.

01 Feb 2014 00:04:01
Switched over from tv now, but heard we offered release clause for Kono and still turned down, is that legal in FIFA's eyes? Not clutching at straws, as think other positions were more important, but just asking like!

01 Feb 2014 00:02:53
So apparently its down to the president of dnipro who wouldn't sign the paper work being an absolute baby sucking his thumb and holding his security blanket what a bid baby

01 Feb 2014 00:01:25
Read somewhere, everything was complete, medical, personal terms and club agreement, and the buyout clause was met according to konos contract, just the owner refused to sign, I'm not saying it's true but isn't that the point of a release clause?

01 Feb 2014 00:00:53
Someone has a lot of explaining to do! Thanks for your coverage Eds.

That would be Dnipro`s owner. You can give him a ring.

31 Jan 2014 23:59:56
It's pretty disgracefull for the Dnipro President to refuse to sign him over. They won't have a happy player on their books.

31 Jan 2014 23:58:19
Perhaps Ian Ayre can replace Lucas? He certainly knows how to shut up shop before the goal line.

31 Jan 2014 23:56:34
Ian Ayre is really turning into a scapegoat. We missed out on Konoplyanka because we wanted to pay in instalments, rather than pay it all up front. That is not Ayre's fault- we had agreed a fee and personal terms within a few days of serious interest becoming apparent. Ayre cannot do anything if the owners do not want to pay up front, so if you want anyone to blame, blame the owners.

That`s not true. We agreed to do everything the owner wanted and off a whim, he vetoed the deal. Not much one can do about it.

31 Jan 2014 23:55:18
So its all because the President of Dnipro wouldn't sign the paperwork, even though Liverpool triggered the £15m release clause. Surely he's broke the legal agreement to the contract? Player should sue him, disgrace!

Maybe the Owner was on the Vodka - hear you get good quality stuff out there. Once you're on it there's no reasoning!

31 Jan 2014 23:50:11
Obviously it is pointless to bemoan the lack of transfers this window. I really hope it doesn't affect our form, nor should it, but I can't help but think the players feel just as confused as the fans over the lack of ability to close deals. Since we have people specifically paid to look into transfers, it is difficult to swallow that the deal ran out of time. Surely this could have started months ago, or Jan. 1 or whenever. We all know the excuses that will follow (salah fell thru, not the right players available, etc) but few teams in our position have the same difficulty. Man u got their man, Chelsea signe a few, Arsenal did some business, etc. ). we created a bunch of hype over two transfers (Salah, Konoplyanka) that were probably no closer to happening than Messi coming to merseyside. We need top 4 more than ever now, because if not, the fans will hold FSG to ransom over this latest window of embarassment. Hopefully Suarez wasnt watching.

Coop

31 Jan 2014 23:49:45
No one knows if this was down to Ayre. Could well have been agents or anything let the dust settle and see then.

I'm wishing it still might just not have come out yet but paperwork has gone through, but not holding breath. I'm turning sky off now and watching something else.

31 Jan 2014 23:48:10
Right so déjà vu time, no signings made. anyone out there we could pick up who is unattached eds? I'm guessing no one has been released of late? Are we also unable to make any loan signings such as the loans from the MLS?

Failing that we work with what we have got then. We can still do 4th kono wasn't the answer, we needed a LB and DM as well so 1 deal Wudnt have changed the course of the season but questions need answering about the transfer policy and negotiations at LFC

A disappointing window :-(

{Ed001's Note - Razvan Rat is a left back.....}

31 Jan 2014 23:54:38
Personally not bothered if we sign Kono or not - there are better options out there in the summer

There are complexities in these types of deals but if you break it down it is quite a simple process from buying cars to companies

What gets me is Ayre and FSG clueless approach to transfer dealings and negotiations

When you go to buy something you want then you must be prepared to pay the asking price (eg transfer fee / wages / add ins etc) as you should know the figures in advance - if not then you are not prepared for the deal or the seller isn't interested in selling and will just mess you around

Then once you are at the ready you meet and try to negotiate and depending on your negotiating skills you try to strike a deal

If you are not prepared to meet the asking price - don't bother going to the table - You are just a tyre kicker or window shopper and soon your reputation will stick

Summer? what makes you think it will be any better then. Look at this summer. Three or four players signed early on then nothing. All three nothing but bench warmers.

If anyone uses the commercial sponsorships deals as Ayre defence the 2 points

1) let him stick to doing those and bring in a transfer specialist

2) are we really proud of the Dunkin Donut deal (which other sports / athletic team would be associated with such an unhealthy product) and the Chevrolet deal for £5m which they have now pulled (what is the point of a deal with your main rivals main sponsor - utd's deal is worth abound£200m in total with Chevrolet)

31 Jan 2014 23:54:09
WHAT A JOKE.
Now tv reports that it was the president of Dnipro (or whatever) refused to sign the sale! Did it have to take so many days for Ayres to find out this guy's not going to sign?

It get's worse by the minute. Please, God, strike tv or something, can't take more this. embarrassing!

Makes us look like total persons really doesn't it?

31 Jan 2014 23:53:54
If it is true that despite triggering the release clause fee, the Dnipro president still refused to sign the paperwork, does this not negate konos contract?

Does this mean when suarez s release clause is triggered, we can just tell other teams to piss off, after wasting three days of the transfer window of course?

31 Jan 2014 23:53:08
Apparently the deal fell through as Ian Ayre had sent the paperwork via pigeon carrier it still hasn't made it out of the Ulraine but should arrive for August 31st.

31 Jan 2014 23:52:17
And que the awkward John W Henry letter to the fans explaining just why we failed to sign a fantastic player. I'm so gutted over this - I think he would have been just right for us. I think Ayre probably did all he could to get the deal done - but is obviously constrained by the agent fees ect. It's clear that we will not be able to sign these kind of players, especially if other clubs are involved, and are usually willing to pay the agent fees. I think we can get 4th, but still would have loved him to have signed. Gutted.

31 Jan 2014 23:51:15
Being honest lads my biggest concern now would be Suarez. Not being able to seal the deals to bring us to the next level, I'm sure he's taking note. I think our team is strong enough and we are only 2-3 players short of a title challenge, but the question is, will Suarez be willing to wait and see what happens in the summer if we don't make top 4? I'm not sure. In the mean time, let's hammer the Baggies on Sunday and make sure Suarez doesn't have to make that decision!
Cheers,

31 Jan 2014 23:46:04
Man what's the big deal!?

I bet most people haven't even seen re lad play!

It was probably a case that more middle men wanted a slice than required.

So we saved 20million plus - keep it in the coffers for next time and get players in the summer.

Chill out man.

01 Feb 2014 00:37:11
Still a happy chappy myself.
We are in a right scrap for 4th, and that's fine by me.
At this point in the season we have exceeded expectations imo
Never been a fan of this 'last minute frenzy got to bring a player in now' type stuff, would prefer a calmer more measured approach come the summer.
I am luvin this season ( prem all round ) exciting stuff.

Right, time to count down the hours till kick off.

You actually believe we have enough depth to maintain 4th spot? doesn't matter who has heard of him, fact is BR and team identified him as a target and negotiations failed as is becoming common. It also seem obvious we didn't meet the financial requirements for his club. what will change by summer especially if we don't get 4th spot?

31 Jan 2014 23:44:47
Kono had 3 agents/reps who all wanted weighing in and it ran into the millions which took the cost of the player way way over the asking price. That was the issue not Ayre this time. But his time has come to be shipped out now I think

31 Jan 2014 23:44:28
hi eds and reds now that the deal for konopolyanka is off, I knew everyone would be out head hunting ayre, when are people going to cop on and stop blaming him, what happened tonight was not his fault he is doing the best with what he gets its fsg who has the say with the money also the say on what to spend not ayre, so imo I think all my fellow reds should stop blaming him, and start blaming who is really at fault over are failings in the transfer market.

31 Jan 2014 23:43:06
At the end of the day, I don't think this Kono was a player we badly needed right now, we should be able to get through the next 6 months without him without too much trouble, althoughit would have been nice to have got him!

My worry is more the fact that we didn't seem to be after players in the positions that we clearly needed reinforcements such as at the back (mainly full backs) and DM.

Also the fact that we chased Salah for so long and manage to lose him to Chelsea who took less than 24 hours to sign him up. Then we move on to just ONE more target, Ayre spent 3 days in Ukraine and still manages to mess that one up too! Surly he is not the right man for the job he is doing (commercial wise yeah great but not transfers)

31 Jan 2014 23:42:25
remember this moment. its should have been to strengthen the squad, lift the the players and the fans to believe we could challenge for the title.i wonder what mr suarez will think of this . strengthen the squad and we could've been top four.now I hope we get top four, impossible to think of us getting any higher . I'm afraid we may be seeing the last 5 months of luis.just remember this moment.

31 Jan 2014 23:41:51
Question to the Ed's!

Alongside the international clearance giving us an extra 1 hour to send in paperwork - Will the fact that the Ukraine Transfer Window opening on the 1st of Feb of had any influence on this very long drawn out process?

I just can't see us sitting there arguing over prices for 3 days? If we are a more stubborn club now (and I mean strong, not stingy) wouldn't we have threw our price on the table with a little negotiation room, and if we rebuffed just walked away?

All this time just seems ridiculous if it was over a price!

Thanks for all you do guys!

{Ed001's Note - there was so much more to be sorted than just a price mate.}