Liverpool Rumours Archive February 23 2013

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23 Feb 2013 18:38:53
Hey eds, any chance of us ochoa joining Liverpool? I know fener and kazan want him, he seemed good when he player in mexico 3-4 years back but then his form slumped because of off-field antics. Now he is suddenly peaking and he is been probably the best keeper in the french leage after siguru. So are we interested in him? - RED INDIAN {Ed002's Note - I understand that Liverpool, or rather more likely, someone on behalf of Liverpool made an approach to Ochoa in January. I can only assume that this was via his agent.}

Is this guy actually any good, and what sort of fee would he cost.

Not physical enough for England.

'not physical enough?'. he's a goal keeper!

Eds, I read that in 2010 that the FA blocked Ochoa's move the Premier League as the gloves he needs to wear are too big and outside the English FA regulations. If this story is true, then surely he can't move now unless the FA have lifted or changed their rules on glove sizes. He needs the larger glove due to being polydactyly. {Ed002's Note - I find the whole story rather less than 100% - because he said also Bayern Muich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Dortmund were interested as well.}

23 Feb 2013 15:20:34
Since we "lost" the race for Butland, what are the chance that Reinas replacement is Bernd Leno or Marc-Andre ter Stegen? {Ed002's Note - Near zero I would think. I don't see Leno moving this summer and there is strong interest in ter Stegen from elsewhere.}

Are there any other clubs looking at Ter Stegen ed? Apart from Barcelona of course

Hope all is well {Ed002's Note - Not any more.}

What about Ron Robert Zieler? {Ed002's Note - You seem to be just clutching at straws now.}

I see Forster from Celtic

23 Feb 2013 15:03:11
heard the club is making an offer for iker munain this summer

Rubbish

Would think Ince would be a third of the price and score three times more goals whilst having no problems settling.

23 Feb 2013 14:20:17
Hi eds, for Ed002 mainly.

The whole subject of the owners looking to step up the selling up of the club seem to be gathering pace (aswell as the rumor/fact the club has been up for sale since day 1 of the Americans buying it)

My question is Ed002 can you separate the wheat from the chaff with this subject - to the best of your knowledge of course

Cheers

Ray {Ed002's Note - Is this a Twitter thing today? I explained on Monday that some old interview with Mike Jeffries (from around September last) was being "discussed" as though it were new. Jeffries appeared then to be alluding to the club's valuation on floatation being determined by the owners which happened back in July. Avid readers will recall it being discussed at the time. I would suspect that this has come up again now as the owner's have again (recently) had the value of the club assessed and have been provided figures for the costs that would likely be incurred if it were floated on a stock market. Liverpool has certainly not been up for sale since the day it was purchased.}

Well if it is true then hope club ill get rich owners soon {Ed002's Note - The problem is not the owners, it's the fans.}

You mean the lack of patience some fans are having, Ed? I can understand their worries to a degree, but we are heading in the right direction, it just needs time. {Ed002's Note - It is not the patience, it is the fans who are desparate to see Liverpool become like Manchester City with owners who will spend endless amounts of money.}

Excuse my ignorance on the topic Eds, but by floating on the stock market, are FSG simply looking to raise additional equity?

Thanks {Ed002's Note - All they have done is established the value they would loikely get if the business was sold through floatation. They could also opt to go down the road the Glazers have taken and float part of the business on the stock market.}

Cheers ed, for your insight as always.

No it wasn't a twitter thing (I'm not on there) - I remember you saying a few weeks ago, that there was a conversation to be had on "Wednesday" so was following that up.

With regards to the problem being the fans, I understand your point but if your team had been in the same situation as ours over the years you would understand the cynicism.

However, I'm happy with Rodgers and the owners apart from a few things recently, one of which JWH, seemed to be protesting to the American media that Liverpool wasn't a distraction and that he hadnt been here since May, to me it felt like he is putting us secondary to his other project (s). and fir me I feel we need a bit more from a club owner.

{Ed002's Note - This has addressed your question then. As to the state of the club, it has suffered from issues with ownership and a number of poor decisions about staff etc. but has had sustained investment in the team. As for the "distraction" point, Henry was speaking at a session with the local press down in Fort Myers and was responding to assertions about Liverpool being a distraction for him in the running of the Red Sox. I suspect if he was giving the interview in Liverpool he would say the same of the Red Sox. People should not hang of every word the owners say - it always ends in tears. As for not being in Liverpool, I understand that when he was in London before Christmas that he had hinted at a visit to Anfield early in the New Year but obviously that never happened. I am not entirely sure what you are expecting of the owners.}

In my opinion the owner have bee nothing but positive on the club. They wiped out our debt and gave Kenny a large amount of money to invest. Whilst Rodgers has not spent as much as Kenny, he has received backing when he deems a player a key transfer target. We are simply not willing to be ripped off with inflated prices like what may have occurred in the past.

The owners have done more good than bad for the club and its time fans realise that

I respect the owners for the work they have done but until they can spend Endless amounts of Money on talent I just don't see us being Top 4 however good Rodgers is!. Now I am not asking for owners in the Abramovich mould who will spend a fortune for Every God damn player but an owner who has the money when and where the manager wants it. Let me put it this way, let us imagine Rodgers has highlighted Iker Muniain as his Main target and his club want 35-45M for him. I can put my hat on it that FSG won't give Rodgers the money!. People need to realize that having an extremely rich owner does not make us a Chelsea or Man City. It puts us in a better position to get the players the MANAGER and staff feel is right for the club. How do the Ed's know that with richer owners LFC wwill become like Chelsea?.

Jordan 59 years old from Huddersfield {Ed002's Note - No doubt you will be back again with further abuse Jordan - we are use to folks like. You would perhaps have a different view if you knew what I did for a living.}

Yes some fans are impatient and no wonder. We have never won the Premiership, we have won nothing this year and owing to total stupidity against rubbish like WBA and Villa, Champions League looks impossible. It's been too long already so I think the fans (money paying turn up fans, that is) have every right and reason to be impatient. {Ed002's Note - No doubt you can make things worse by getting on the back of the manager and the team. Go for it if that will make you feel better.}

No name that shows how clueless you are. Munian was offered to Chelsea last Jan for €40m. Your hypothetical had him at the same amount. Chelsea baulked at the price as no one would spend that kind of money on an unproven 20 with past attitude problems. He isn't worth it, but because Bilbao got into the Europa League Final last year, had a good season in the league and Munian played well, all you fans that just read stories on foreign players immediately think he must be worth x amount due to being so talented and young.

This year he has been poor. Going missing in games, consistently giving away stupid fouls and getting stupid bookings. If FSG won't pay 35-40m for a player, it's not ecause they can't or won't, it's because they don't see value for money.

Chelsea don't just buy any player with a 40m price tag, they buy ones for big fees if they think the player represents value or agree with a clubs valuation of the player.

This is why

Forgot to sign that last comment.

Melbourne CFC

23 Feb 2013 12:54:43
Hi ed's, what kind of budget will fsg give the manager in the summer, will it be a set figure + sales, or will Rodgers have to rely purely on money raised through sales. {Ed002's Note - The summer is a long way off and I imagine such matters are not being considered just yet. Very few clubs set a "budget" in my experience, but with the money that has already been invested and with FSGs recent efforts regarding attempting to constrain spending of clubs, I would think that sales will need to substantially cover the costs of any players arriving in the summer.}

Still think even if we do have to rely mostly on money through sales, we can still add 2-3 quality players.

Selling carrol15mill downing8mill coates8mill assaidi4mill reina10mill should raise around 45million ad 20 and we have 65 add 4 top quality players in the summer and were ready for a top 4 battle, mark

Think we need more contribution from the owners but it is completely understandable why they would require significant player sales to fund moves. It's slightly disappointing as this doesn't aid the building of a strong squad. Our first team is starting to take shape but if we get injuries we are going to struggle. I'm not complaining about FSG as I think they are doing well but I worry about next season - if the squad isn't strong enough we will not be competing for CL football in any way, shape or form.

SMc {Ed002's Note - It could always become a season of transition.}

Ed sorry to ask but do u know if the owners will give us any money or will all the cash have to be from sales thanks {Ed002's Note - Why not just read the answer already given.}

Lol another season of transition. we're in permanent flux the amount of seasons we've had like that. I think if we keep Rodgers and hang onto our better players then we'll have a strong foundation for next season, hopefully the personnel we bring in improve the squad. summer's a while away yet though.

SMc

Our net spend in January was £22 million, which is around what our annual average has been. In addition we may unfortunately not be in Europe at all next year - reducing both revenue and number of games. This will constrain available funds; and also somewhat reduce the cover needed in the squad. Assuming sales and purchases are balanced in the summer looks a very good assumption. Besides our biggest concern will probably be hanging onto Suarez.

40m + sales

Would the summer funds include the sale of Carroll or was that already included for the January/previous summer transfer funds? {Ed002's Note - It really doesn't work like that. There are lots of other considerations.}

Owners out if they're not willing to spend {Ed002's Note - They have been turned on to the view of many of the fans like you already.}

Well I recken Suarez wants to stay beyond the summer because he wants talks with the club to see if we will be buying at least a couple of class players to take us to the next level otherwise we can kiss goodbye to him. We need to show him that if he stay's we will be challenging so FSG get your act together.
We have to also cheer his name every match from now till the end to convince him that this is his spiritual home.

I believe suarez will go to fund yet another transitional season and could you please blame him for leaving thus team won't achieve nothing for yrs

23 Feb 2013 11:58:51
eds are v looking at any keepers and do u think v need to strengthen our attack even more in the summer if so who would be likely, strikers or wingers?
cheers {Ed002's Note - I understand that Begovic was considered but it seems he is rather too expensive and still a possible for Manchester United. There was interest in Butland but he has chosen a move to Stoke. There seems to be growing opinion that Liverpool will make an approach for Wigan's Al-Habsi. Given the efforts to take a wide player on loan in January I suspect that still remains a priority with Tom Ince likely to be the first choice still.}

Surely if reina was to leave, we could still get a decent fee for him, which would allow us to go after a better. Keeper than al habsi {Ed002's Note - It doesn't work as simply as that.}

If we got Al-Habsi I would be devastated - he is an awful goalkeeper who cannot command his box and who frequently makes errors - definitely not the answer to our goalkeeper quandry should Reina leave.

SMc

Ed is it an opinion or are we really interested in Al-Habsi?
if true I think we are on the brink of establishing mid-table mediocrity. I mean there are so many good keepers but somehow we manage to find the rubbishtest of the lot.
Could Cortouis not be an option on a season long loan?
surely Chelsea are going to loan him again. {Ed002's Note - The response is very clear about Al-Habsi, I can't spell everything out. There is no decision about Courtois at this time but there is a very good chance he will again be on loan next season. The only interest shown in the player has been from Barcelona who have had two offers to buy him turned down and Atletico who would like him to stay a third season on loan.}

Sorry Ed
Really pissed off at the moment. There are so many Quality keepers in the world and we would like to replace our 1st choice GK with dross. I understand if we want to save some money from Reina's sale for other areas of the squad but surely there are better keepers available at around 6-8 million such as Adler, Kraft, stekelenburg, sebastian Frey etc. {Ed002's Note - I am not so sure all of these would eb available (e.g. Adler), or otherwise a target of another team (Stekelenburg) or not interested in leaving Germany just yet (Kraft). Summer is a long way off and we know there will be a number of goalkeepers moving and clubs looking at buying replacements rather than promoting from within. I have said before, Atletico, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool all look to be in that market.}

Ed002 are u suprised that begovic is too expensive when he would probably not cost more than what we would get for selling reina? {Ed002's Note - I imagine that Begovic's price will be pushed up because (a) he plays for an English team, (b) the goalkeeper market will be busy with the likes of Atletico, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool looking, and (c) and there is interest in him from the likes of Manchester United. You also have tyo keep in mind that there is more than just a transfer fee when buying a player that needs to be taken in to account.}

23 Feb 2013 11:39:01
Why the hell is Dries Mertens not in the PL? Ed002, have any clubs been scouting him?
The guy is immense - Imagine an attacking line-up of Suarez, Sturridge, Mertens, Coutinho and Gerrard. Teams in the PL would fear it.

JFT 96

JP {Ed002's Note - If he moves next summer I suspect it may well be to Bayern Munich, subject to the new manager wanting him, although there remains serious interest from Lazio and a little interest from Barcelona.}

Because the German league is twice the league the premier league is

23 Feb 2013 09:04:46
Hi ed posting after long time. do u think assaidi will stay or leave in summer, he was good vs zenit. I think he will good squad player if given proper game time. (arshadredindianforever) {Ed002's Note - It has been suggested to me that Assaidi would like to move on, perhaps with a return to the Netherlands, this time with Twente.}

Hello Eds,
I know you have mentioned a couple of names that we are interested to shore up the defence but any news on some targets for the attacking front (other than Ince)?
especially with Assaidi and Downing possibly out in the summer surely we need atleast 2 attackers. 1 starter + 1 possible as back-up.
do you reckon schurrel be an option or possibly the lad Kevin de Brune? {Ed002's Note - Schurrle won't be a realistic option for Liverpool but he may well be moving in the summer. I don't know of interest just yet, but Gomez will be being offered around fairly soon. I am not sure what will happen with De Bruyne but I suspect Chelsea will put him out on loan for another year - but that won't be decided until the summer.}

He was 'good v Zenit'? Really? Our play went off the boil when he and Shelvey came on!

Where is Schurrle likely to end up Ed?
Please don;t say Chelsea. Do they really need another winger. {Ed002's Note - I cannot say at this time where he will "likely" end up but Chelsea remain very interested in him as a player. I also understand that he is a player that another English club (not Liverpool) will be looking at in the coming weeks, starting at managerless Greuther Furth this weekend.}

I think we need to give assaidi at least another season. Some of the stuff he has done has been very promising. I will be disappointing if he leaves without really getting a chance.
Andrew

Who would be the other English club Ed?
I reckon only the manchester clubs can afford him apart from Chelsea. {Ed002's Note - It is not the Manchester clubs and not relevant to Liverpool, but he is being watched today - assuming he plays.}

23 Feb 2013 08:35:37
Hi Eds
If Blackpool get promoted this season do you think Mr. Ince will want to keep Junior Ince, or do you think the promotion will inflate the asking price?
Thanks in return.

BaldyRed {Ed002's Note - It is the Chairman of the club not the coach that will deal with transfers. Regardless, Ince will be available at whatever he considers the right price to be.}

To the poster :
Do you really think Blackpool will get promoted this season?

23 Feb 2013 08:13:29
is lovren the player we scouted from lyon? what's his situation? Cheers Eds {Ed002's Note - Lovren is attracting interest from a number of English clubs and has been watched by representatives of Sunderland, Everton, Chelsea, Stoke and Liverpool in addition to Barcelona and Hamburg. With Hamburg close to agreeing a deal for a centre back I suspect their interest will drop off. He could well be available at the right price in the summer, but Aulas will look for a higher fee from English sides if he sells - perhaps why he has explained which clubs have shown an interest in Lovren.}

23 Feb 2013 01:29:36
Hi eds. Any known intrest in Semih Kaya? {Ed002's Note - Fortuna Dusseldorf and Inter have shown interest in Galatasaray's Semih Kaya, but not Liverpool.}

23 Feb 2013 01:07:53
Liverpool is considering replacing Reina with Gala's Fernando Muslera who is being highly recommended by Suarez. Got the tip from a very reliable source. But all is depending on selling Reina first.

Reina - barca
butland - Liverpool
de gea - madrid
casillas - milan
thats how I see the keepers this summer {Ed002's Note - One is possible. Butland will go to Stoke.}

I'd be VERY surprised if Gala were to let Muslera go, they're building a strong experienced squad to make a big champions league push over the next 2/3 seasons, Muslera is a key part of that ambition