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RationalRed's rumours posts with other poster's replies to RationalRed's rumours posts
07 Aug 2020 12:23:07
Hi Ed,
I was wondering whether there was any news on when the fixtures for next season will come out?
Cheers for all the hard work.
{Ed002's Note - Nothing yet. It was discussed yesterday and there was nothing coming of it so I can only guess. My guess is August 20 is more likely than August 13 right now.}
15 Apr 2018 11:00:19
Hi Eds,
Had a browse back of earlier posts. I know you've mentioned we'll potentially look at a right back this summer, I wondered if you had picked up any potential names recently? Thanks for your hard work.
{Ed001's Note - no mate, no one new sorry.}
1.) 15 Apr 2018 11:49:43
Has Trent not come on enough for Klopp to trust as his first choice next year Ed001?
{Ed001's Note - it is more that both Gomez and Trent are not expected to have a long term future at full back.}
2.) 15 Apr 2018 12:22:01
Trent is so young, will he not have another 2/ 3 years at full back before moving forward? He gets great experience there.
{Ed001's Note - he still is not going to play every game, and Clyne is unwanted, so another right back is needed.}
3.) 15 Apr 2018 12:39:47
I like Clyne, but is inconsistent. Where do you think Trent will end up playing in the long term Ed?
{Ed001's Note - he is expected to end up in midfield.}
4.) 15 Apr 2018 15:03:33
Thanks Ed001.
{Ed001's Note - very welcome.}
5.) 15 Apr 2018 16:00:50
I get that ed, but can't Gomez rotate right back and centre back? Who can we buy that will be good enough, and happy enough To be second choice to Trent for now?
{Ed001's Note - he would be pushing for first choice, allowing Trent to rotate there and in midfield and Gomez to rotate there and centre back.}
6.) 15 Apr 2018 18:50:04
In my opinion, Ed01, I would keep him at right back long term. Agreed that this season is the first I've seen him week in week out and didn't followed his development prior to this season, but if we get another RB, I would hope it's because Clyne is leaving.
7.) 15 Apr 2018 20:10:41
So ed001 with can leaving and Keita coming another expected
How do you think he will play midfield just interest to how ya think it'll work out.
{Ed001's Note - same as this season, one deep two up.}
8.) 15 Apr 2018 21:46:11
Very interesting that people see his qualities in midfield, ed1. Thanks.
Do you have any inclination of what type of midfield role Trent is expected by the club to play. or in your opinion where his attributes would see him suited?
I. e. the deeper “6†type role or a more box to box role with more attacking license type role.
Appreciate this is asking for a crystal ball in some respect and players can adapt to many roles but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts.
{Ed001's Note - more of a box to box type role as he has pace and energy to get up and down.}
9.) 16 Apr 2018 07:26:47
Trent playing right back short term is perfect for gaining experience for the box to box midfielder . Didn't Gerrard start at right back under houllier?
10.) 16 Apr 2018 08:08:50
I susupect a fullback in the Robbo type of deal would do,1 who is looking to push for 1st team but also looking to put in the shift of learning instead of sulking,
11.) 18 Apr 2018 10:21:59
definitely a box to box type. when he first started coming on fir the first team as a sub and in some age group games he played in midfield and looked very much like a player hungry to get forward, get stuck into tackles etc perfect attitude and engine for a box to box type especially in our system.
But I could see him playing more regularly at RB for another season or two. I struggle to see how rotating in and out of RB to CM will be helpful to him at this early stage unless he is going to be so influential as a CM that he ousts one of the incumbents there. I'd like to see him continue as a RB next season as the oreferred first choice, develop his experieence and reading of the game etc. it's a great position to learn from.
17 Jan 2018 12:28:31
Hi Eds,
A quick one away from all the transfer speculations. when a club loans a player out, are there circumstances where the parent club will be subsiding the wage? I. e. If Cardiff were to loan Grujic, they may only be paying 60% of his current wage and Liverpool the rest? I know that's quite a simplistic example. But I was wondering with how many players are loaned out from big clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool, if these players are costing them whilst away?
Thanks for all your hard work, don't know where I'd be without this page!
{Ed002's Note - Yes it is reasonably common for the loaning club to pay some or even all of the wages.
Liverpool only has a few players out on loan and suffers from a lack structure for loans and career progress which they do need to address. Firstly they must establish a structure and planning for a career path and look to establish relationships with a couple of sides such that the loan system can work for the club. The liaison structure is critical as whilst managers may occasionally see players it is generally something undertaken by others dedicated to the task. As an example, each loan player from Chelsea has a liaison officer assigned (some are ex-players) who regularly see them, deal with any issues and report progress back to the club. For instance there was a problem with a couple of players in the Netherlands and that resulted in the club having them get involved with spending some time with the local community (schools and charities). Chelsea has also helped clubs they have and are building relationships with - this may include providing training facilities, loaning coaching staff, having ex-players works with them in some capacity etc.. They have a structure in the Netherlands and Belgium in addition to relationships with South American and old Eastern Bloc countries. They are currently working a deal with a Champions League side as well. Similarly in Italy I know that the clubs with a significant number of players on loan have regular contact and bring them back as a group for training on a couple of occasions mid-season. I am sure there will be someone at Liverpool keeping contact with the younger players on loan where there are legal responsibilities as some are still technically children but others on loan from Liverpool reported the occasional text message only – simply not good enough. Many clubs in Spain and Portugal have built relationships with other sides and it helps with brining in players from South America.}
1.) 17 Jan 2018 13:17:19
Because knowledge is power Mrplums.
2.) 17 Jan 2018 13:27:50
Because it's very interesting Mrplums. and as hjikle properly said "knowledge is power".
3.) 17 Jan 2018 13:43:19
I’ve wondered about this too. Cheers Ed.
4.) 17 Jan 2018 16:35:01
Jesus! Abromovich must have every single ex player as a liaison officer with the amount of loans Chelsea have going on.
5.) 17 Jan 2018 18:40:18
Thanks Ed002 for the really insightful response.
While unconnected to LFC, if I may ask, why do Chelsea remain largely unable to produce first team players with a system as comprehensive as that? Is there a disconnect in the philosophy between development groups and first team, or is it just because of Abramovic's firing finger? And are there any other clubs who regularly churn out first teamers from a loan system?
{Ed002's Note - Courtois went through that process and is a regular. Christensen returned in the summer and is a regular. Moses had a few loans and is a regular, Ake went through it and is a regular for Bournemouth, Lukaku and De Bruyne went through the Chelsea set up and are doing ok now, plus Chelsea. Has a couple of squad players who have been through it. So it is perhaps not doubt too badly.}
6.) 18 Jan 2018 08:21:11
Ed, all due respect, I think that including Lukaku, KDB and Moses in that argument is a bit of a stretch. The first two players needed to *leave* Chelsea to play first team footy, Moses was already an experienced player who only went on loan because Mourinho didn't think he was good enough.
{Ed002's Note - Ok, if you don't think that Lukaku or de Bruyne went through that system then fine - or perhaps you don't think they are first team players, then remove them.}
7.) 18 Jan 2018 10:52:18
Thanks Ed. Chelsea did seem to have more talented youngsters though. Clearly KDB, Lukaku etc were always going to be better than Ibe and Markovic. But LFC should get their loans system in order if top young talent like Woodburn are to progress.
{Ed002's Note - Markovic moved too soon - I made that clear at the time.}
8.) 24 Jan 2018 09:01:51
What are you on about ed? Of course they went through the system, but hhanif005 was talking about first team players for Chelsea in particular, not just anybody. And he's right, Chelsea's extensive and "marvellous" loan system has only given them one first-team player.
{Ed002's Note - Which one of Christensen or Courtois is that? Idiot.}
23 May 2017 10:10:31
Hey Eds,
Thanks for all your top work. You mentioned that if Manninger were to leave we may get a veteran keeper in to replace him. There has been an explosion of reports out of no where today about Casillas coming in, wondering if you'd heard anything? Can't imagine he'd want to be third choice so seems unlikely, and probably has huge wages. Nonetheless, what a player to have around the club.
{Ed001's Note - not a thing thankfully. He was the problem child of Real Madrid that caused all the issues for years. I would not want him anywhere near the club, he was never even that good a keeper.}
1.) 23 May 2017 10:39:59
Hey Ed, I have a few mates in Spain who are RM fans and most of them love him and are very anti-Mourinho/ Perez; just out of curiosity what was the situation with Casillas then?
Thanks for all the hard work on the site it's great.
{Ed001's Note - they hate Mou and love Casillas because Casillas was Spanish and Mourinho is Portugese. Casillas played on that a lot to get his own way on everything. He was just an arse behind the scenes, caused great rifts between Spanish players and the rest.}
2.) 23 May 2017 11:08:27
I can confirm what Ed says. Casillas is very fond of playing office politics and often had the ear of Perez. Zidane was never a fan which is why you don't see Casillas around Madrid.
{Ed001's Note - never a fan is putting it mildly mate.}
3.) 23 May 2017 12:51:10
And this is why I love this place I've been saying for years that casillas is standard and people would slate me (not here) but at work and so on, thank you eds.
{Ed001's Note - it was not like he got tested often to prove anyone wrong or right about him, but he failed miserably those few occasions he was called upon. He reminds me of Joe Hart, beloved of the media for some unknown reason, so his gaffes would be hidden rather than highlighted.}
4.) 23 May 2017 13:18:27
Really enjoyed your info yesterday Ed001, do you not think that even if those transfers take place that the squal will still be very light/ small? Thanks Ed.
{Ed001's Note - not really, the best sides run with a small, tight squad. That is why you have U23s and an academy, to fill in any gaps during an injury crisis.}
5.) 23 May 2017 13:26:48
I bow to your knowledge. Quality over quantity. We must get the quality right this time.
Thanks Ed.
{Ed001's Note - we need to figure out fitness as well. It is not overtraining, that is complete nonsense, Chelsea training is amongst the hardest in the league, as is West Brom's. Both of those two suffered very few injuries. There will always be injuries, but we have had far too many and that needs to be resolved. Even if it is just to shut up that moron Verheijen and show up his ignorant bull as just that. The sad thing is people listen to his crap on twitter far more than the various sports scientists that have pointed out that he is talking nonsense.}
6.) 23 May 2017 13:41:42
I totally agree with Ed001 on Casillas, he's average at best and was bafflingly rated above Buffon for so many years.
7.) 23 May 2017 14:21:53
Ed1 on the fitness. Its true chelsea players are worked just as hard as lfc lads if not harder so what's the difference? Why so few injuries for them and so many for us? Thanks for replies and time.
{Ed001's Note - yes it is true. A lot of it comes down to basic endurance. Lallana has had to build up his fitness gradually, for instance, as he was always known for fading in matches. I just think a lot of our players lack stamina. That can take a long time to build, but it has been shown that high intensity training helps reduce injuries, so maybe we were not pushing our players hard enough due to the amount of games we played?}
8.) 23 May 2017 14:55:07
Although I don't agree so much on Casillas's lack of quality, Buffon and Neuer are the two greatest keepers of their generation by a huge distance and anyone putting Casillas in that bracket needs their head checking.
9.) 23 May 2017 17:31:13
I don't want Casillas, he's cause problems in the past which you have mentioned and has been over the hill for 3/ 4 years, I do however disagree with the comments that he was average in his pomp.
{Ed001's Note - cost Spain badly in a World Cup with his ineptitude in goal.....}
10.) 23 May 2017 18:34:59
He had a shocker in 2014 i agree. Made a couple of mistakes from memory but he wasn't the only Spanish player to have a shocker.
Can't see anyway this is true, surely we don't want him as our number 1 and surely he doesn't want to be a reserve?
{Ed001's Note - not he wasn't the only one to have a shocker, but it was his standard form, it was just very rare people saw it as only Barca ever tried against Madrid in those days. The rest just 'parked the bus'. I have watched so many games with him in, from the start of his career upto and including a game or two this season, but I have yet to see him play well. I have seen him not have to do anything, but never seen him do anything to generate this ridiculous hype he has around him. He is the Spanish Joe Hart.}
11.) 23 May 2017 21:30:45
Personally think Casillas was too short to be a top class keeper and always struggled on crosses.
12.) 23 May 2017 21:53:38
Ed is spot on. Training consistently and building fitness, allows your body to withstand the physical punishment of playing games consistently and allows you to play through small knocks and niggles.
Take Suarez for example. They guy never misses a game and that is because he is so passionate and wants to play all the time, he has trained himself into playing through injuries and even at LFC, many said he would play through tight hamstrings and ankle niggles.
The guy on twitter is talking nonsense and anyone with a brain or who has played footie at some level, will tell you that hard training does not cause injuries. It is the lack of it that does cos your body is not well-developed to cope and training helps with that.
As for Casillas, the guy is along with Raul and Morientes, have always been a prob at Real. Ask Nicholas Anelka.
13.) 23 May 2017 19:35:53
Going along the lines of long-serving Spanish Real Madrid players, what was your opinion on Raul, Ed001?
{Ed001's Note - great player, but it went to his head and he was the one who started the problems at Real Madrid. Raul and Casillas were a little clique who ran the show there, hence why he was moved on too early.}
14.) 24 May 2017 09:47:14
Cheers for the reply Ed. It's a miracle Real Madrid manage to continue to win trophies with the amount of power struggles between everyone associated with the club (Perez v managers, Perez v players, players v managers, players v players, fans v managers, fans v players etc) .
{Ed001's Note - to be fair it helps when the govt, every match official and UEFA itself are on your side each game.}
RationalRed's banter posts with other poster's replies to RationalRed's banter posts
16 May 2018 13:24:04
Reports that Trent is going to be going to the World Cup. Best of luck to the lad, hope it's a positive experience for him.
Let's try and keep him focused before that though so he can enter the tournament as a European champion!
1.) 16 May 2018 13:54:00
Stay out of any 50:50 challenges Trent and get yourself back fit for Liverpool ðŸ‘.
2.) 16 May 2018 13:56:40
Right, so we need to buy a new RB then cause he's going to be out for the season.
3.) 16 May 2018 14:18:02
As an Irish Liverpool fan, this is not good news.
He has played a lot of football for a 19 yer old, give the lad a break.
4.) 16 May 2018 14:24:05
I don't think he'll get a game if walker is fit.
5.) 16 May 2018 15:00:31
I think it’ll be great experience for him personally and though it might tire him, I think for the rest of his career it might very well help him. That said- I reckon he will get a game if he goes.
6.) 16 May 2018 15:33:48
Alongside that, in our first team squad only 5 key players will actually be going to the World Cup. Mane, Salah, Firmino, Trent and Henderson. (Think Mignolet will be going with Belgium, maybe even Origi) Will be a real positive to have such a large proportion of our important players with us for the whole summer with a rest. Keita also not involved in WC either.
7.) 16 May 2018 18:03:42
I think walker will play rcb and it will be between trippier and him for rwb.
8.) 16 May 2018 18:50:41
He needs a break I agree he shouldn’t have been picked. I doubt he’ll get a start or sub appearance and I pray he doesn’t get injured. I would have much preferred he rested this summer and got ready for a new season with us.
9.) 16 May 2018 23:46:53
Walker will be RCB in a back three I expect, but time will tell how Southgate plays in the WC.
01 Sep 2017 06:56:55
Hi Eds,
This is maybe more for Ed01 or even SquareTomato if around. Seeing as we didn't sign a centre back, I think most fans are hoping Gomez gets a shot at the centre back position alongside Matip at some juncture. I saw a lot of posts calling for a loud, commanding centre back who can properly organise the back four and take control when we are being sloppy, like players like Cahill and Kompany would. I know he's still young, but is that in his personality and game? I saw he's been made England u21 captain so surely has some leadership qualities. i guess it's a hard question, if you could possibly shed some light on how he's viewed on and off the pitch in terms of being a future leader, and having those dominant skills?
{Ed001's Note - from what I was told by former coaches at Charlton, it is possible he could develop that way. They believed he was a future captain, more than one actually said they saw him as a future England captain.}
1.) 01 Sep 2017 08:13:52
He has never embarrassed himself when he has played in the first team, he has the physique and technical ability to be a very good centre half, the question is whether he has the mentality and drive to be a top class centre back. I tend to think that getting through the injury problems that he has had takes serious mental strength and character so it is a good indicator. He seems to be one of those lads who is grounded and everyone has good things to say about, which is good as it means he is focused on his football and not the circus that can follow it.
2.) 01 Sep 2017 08:31:36
Cheers for the reply, good to hear!
3.) 01 Sep 2017 09:01:52
Considering the age when signed and Charlton weren't happy to lose him he must have had something about him and considering club were prepared to take a shot at him out of position at such a young age again suggests something there - although this was the BR era of not caring what position you were signed for you're now the physio selection practice.
15 Aug 2018 08:04:44
We'll let Deeney decide whether wilshere lacks the cojones after putting in that block.
08 Aug 2018 14:10:12
Wasn't Ross Turnbull a joke Ed002 made the other day?
15 May 2018 12:26:12
Looks like he's heading to Swansea, best of luck to him. Hope he gets a good amount of game time in the Championship and that we'll see him in the Prem in the near future.
31 Aug 2017 14:38:33
Dennis! Sanchez poor attitude? Best attitude in that Arsenal team, only player that gives everything every week.
23 Jul 2017 09:24:18
haha, their office address seems to be the same as the 'Ye Olde Cock Tavern' in London. They have eight members of staff, I doubt they'd be first to get inside knowledge on anything.
{Ed002's Note - I have on occasion been in Ye Old Cock Tavern - not for a few years though.}
02 sep 2020 13:35:37
struggle for 4th!
04 Sep 2018 20:04:34
For me has to be Aquilani. We'd had a great season in 08/ 09 and were massively tipped for the title. Was gutted when Alonso left and was desperate for Aquilani to ease the pain (really didn't happen)
Youth player - Adam Morgan. Scored a lot of goals in the youth team and actually got some first team appearances. Has massively plummeted since then unfortunately.
25 Aug 2018 11:32:11
Not really my way, but from looking around it seems the White Horse is a good option on Churchill road. I live closer to central Oxford, so St Aldates Tavern is always a good option if you are ever in the city, where I watch matches when I'm here. Check out BT Sport Pub finder though, Sky have one. Also Match Pint is a good way of having a looking around for pubs.
24 Aug 2018 08:36:49
Where abouts in Oxfordshire are you? I can definitely suggest some places.
08 Aug 2018 12:29:48
5pm tomorrow.