28 Mar 2021 09:14:42
To get us through this week of international boredom who is everyones biggest disappointment in terms of players bought that didn't go to plan and also the ones we let go?
Morientes, Cole, Keane, Aquilani, Balotelli, Diouf, Saunders, keita, Kirkland sure there's 100s to choose from.
For me I was so disappointed Keane didn't work out. Always seemed to have done so well wherever he was. At the time it wasnt a risk it just didn't seem to work. For me out of the players we let go would be Anelka or Mcmanaman. Wouldve been very interesting to see how Anelka had worked out had he joined us permanently as he was such a quality striker back then.

1.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 10:16:18
I was watching some old clips of macmanaman last night, he looked like a special player, I can barely remember him playing though as I was a kid.

2.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 10:36:12
This might not be a popular call, but if the rumours are to be believed, I'd take Luis Suarez back in a heartbeat.

Yes, he left under a cloud after agitating for a move, so I was hugely disappointed when he went. And yes there have been problems with his knees, but what a player. Even now he's still performing at the highest level and he genuinely holds the hear. We could have done with someone like him when we needed a bit of magic this season.

I was saddened to see him go and the manner in which he left but he's a winner and, should their be a surprise return, I feel he's still got enough left in him to make a difference next season and maybe even beyond as if utilised wisely.

3.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 10:44:23
I’d take back Suarez in a heartbeat, the guy is a footballing genius and scores goals for fun. He’s a winner.

“Ibiza Red” having read Brian Read’s book an Epic Swindle it almost suggests that’s Rafa sabotaged Keane because Hicks and Gillette wouldn’t finance Barry. It makes sense as Keane would play well one game then get benched in others.

Aquilani was a huge disappointment as we’d stupidly sold one of the best midfielder’s in the world and I was praying he’d be mustard.

4.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 10:45:32
holds the hear= holds the club close to his heart.

5.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 10:55:33
I loved watching Steve McManaman but you knew after 15 minutes if he could make his mark on a game or not. For players coming with hype Morientes does stand out as he had a stella European Cup run with Monaco and was coming in from Real Madrid (usually they go to Real not the other way around) .

Bruno Cheyrou being dubbed the new Zidane came with a lot of hype / hope which never materialized and for me that was a disappointment especially with Houllier being the manager and his French connections.

Also Kewell coming as injured Kewell and never really recovering was another disappointment.

6.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 11:02:20
I was more disappointed that we signed Keane as he really wasn’t as good as the press liked to make out. When you consider the players of similar value that we didn’t push for it was a colossal waste of money.

7.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 11:03:21
Suarez off the field was nothing short of a nightmare for us. On the field he was, even in his relatively short spell with us simply sensational. That season he scored 30 plus goals was one of the best individual seasons I have seen at the club. I would not take him back for two reasons though. One, the trouble he caused with Kenny losing his job and also dragging the club’s reputation through the mud would make it a non starter. Two, if you have seen him recently he is nowhere near the player he was, which is understandable given his age and injuries.

8.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 11:05:05
Red Star, Suarez is on his last legs. There are pensioners on attendance allowance who have more pace and mobility than Suarez. And that’s not even getting into his biting, racism and the underhand way he tried to leave, on MULTIPLE occasions, make no mistake about it if we signed Suarez again, that would be a huge mistake.

9.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 11:11:20
Suarez is nowhere near the level he was. Atletico look likely to blow another title. They are running out of gas and so is Chewy Luis.

10.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 11:18:02
I was delighted we got Robbie Keane but then it turned out Raffa didn't want him and to me Raffa didn't use him in his best position (deliberately? ) .

{Ed001's Note - that's not true. Rafa did want him. The problem is Keane was a complete bell of a person whose only interest was in getting smashed on nights out. It was a disciplinary issue that Rafa had with Keane.}

11.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 11:29:19
Dean Saunders to replace peter Beardsley shocking or just about anybody Souness signed to replace as the only players he signed that was any good where Rob Jones who would have been up there with a chance of liverpool's all time 11 without his injury and Mark Wright was not a bad player but the rest awful. So maybe Souness as manager. I still can't believe he sold Beardsley and Steve Staunton.

{Ed001's Note - Saunders was god awful. And that horrible assault on Paul Elliott should have been the last thing he ever did in the game. That was deliberate and he should never have played again after that. Vile prick of a man Saunders.}

12.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 11:46:49
Red Star, which Suarez are you talking about? Cos if it is the current version on show then, you are off your rocker for wanting to take back a player who is done and has been fine for a few years now. He is about 10 years older than the Suarez who played for us so not sure why you would want him back esp if he is not even on par with the one we had back then.

Secondly, Suarez was pardoned by the fans for all his transgressions on and off the pitch cos we were just desperate to win the league and he was our biggest meal ticket to get there, IMO. That is it! No way on this green earth would we have tolerated the absolute rubbish he pulled here and the list is as long as my arm, under Klopp. Why? We are not as desperate to win things as before anymore cos Klopp fixed that. I have NEVER wanted him back since he disgracefully left the club and long may that continue.

13.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 12:00:26
I was gutted when Jari left. I still can’t believe how little he got picked to play, I can only assume he wasn’t fit because he was brilliant.

14.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 12:23:37
Nuri Sahin cane with loads of hype and completely failed to deliver. In terms of who we let go I STILL am bitter we let xabi alonso go he was just a brilliant baller.

Macca was the reason I first decided to support Liverpool, his mazy runs got me.

15.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 12:34:48
Coutinho was one of my favourite players and I was disappointed to see him go and also that he seemed to drop off after leaving.

Same about Torres.

Aquilani was one I thought would be good, I can't remember him ever really playing!

16.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 12:58:53
ed001 it took the club 30 years to get over Souness as manager world class player god awful manager. Did he not bring in a lot of the crap players in on massive wages more than the top players at the club causing a lot of trouble in the dressing room.

{Ed001's Note - yeah he made a right mess. He tried to do too much too quickly, when he should have just evolved the team. He wanted thugs like himself, but forgot to look at their technical ability. Souness was an animal, but he was one of the best midfielders the game has ever seen technically as well. He could do it all but the players he bought in only had his bite, without his skills to go with it.}

17.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 13:11:23
Keane sabotaged himself, left the club no option but to get rid.

18.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 13:41:35
Red star, suarez left under a cloud? Is that all you remember? What about his racism?, his biting? His trying to force a move to arsenal and threatening to sue the club when they refused, his hanging Kenny out to dry at ot by not shaking evra's hand when he promised kenny he would? He is an absolute scumbag who should never put on a lfc again let alone be paid by them. Any fan that wants that cretin back should give their heads a wobble. He was a good player for us 7 years ago. Leave it at that.

19.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 13:46:54
Took 30 years to get over souness? Never read so much tripe! Souness took over a very aging team and needed to rebuild, admittedly he bought wrong but to suggest it took us 30 years to get back to being successful is nothing but ludicrous. How about the board? Who bought in houllier when Roy Evan’s was doing a similar job? Rafa wasted millions but was constantly moaning about not being given any money, remember he won the eufa cup of the back of an inherited team. Then we had Roy hodgson, less said the better but guess what? Yep you’re right that’s all Greame souness’s fault lmfao!

20.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 13:48:53
Disappointing player coming in would be Harry Kewell and one didn't want to lose would be Suárez.

21.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 13:21:47
To reinforce Ed001's point, Robbie Keane is currently unashamedly pocketing €250k a year from a cash strapped FAI to do nothing, from a sweet deal that the now disgraced ex CEO of the FAI set up for him.

In terms of a signing, probably Diouf or Morientes. Diouf just because he was so very poor for us and Morientes because so much was expected of him, having been so good in the CL for Monaco the previous season.

In terms of someone who left, I guess I'd go with Torres. Fowler was probably worse in retrospect. But he was slowly pushed out over a period of a couple of years, whereas Torres kinda came out of nowhere and felt like more of a kick in the guts as a result. Most of us thought that because he hadn't bailed in the summer and we'd got FSG in that the crisis was over and he'd stay and we'd rebuild, plus we had Suarez arriving to finally take some pressure off him. Then 2 days from the end of the transfer window it breaks he's leaving.

{Ed001's Note - he is very good at fleecing money for f all.}

22.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 13:27:19
Yeah that’s right ed Beardsley McMahon and staunton all should have stayed as they did was still top class players at the clubs they went to Beardsley was still playing for England 5 years later.

23.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 14:10:02
I actually feel embarrassed I didn't mention it but Alonso has to be the one. He never wanted to leave originally and loved the club. Some of the others wanted to leave for one reason or another like Coutinho Suarez but Alonso deserved far more respect.

24.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 15:23:55
I often wonder what would have happened if we had gotten Litmanen at the peak of his powers, not an aging player coming off a series of injuries. He would have been our Bergkamp.

I remember being very upset Keegan left for Hamburg. But then we wouldn't have gotten Dalglish otherwise. When a door closes, another one opens.

25.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 15:42:51
Lots of the players Souness bought didn’t work out and set us back years. The likes of Saunders, Stewart, Dicks and Clough all cost big money at the time and didn’t work out.
He also sold a number of players far too early, Beardsley, Houghton and Staunton all had a good few years left at the top level.

26.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 18:06:53
Didn't Saunders get caught drinking and driving? On film and was a real nasty piece of work.

27.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 18:38:27
Some players don’t work out, clough could play football but he didn’t work out. Julian dicks had a
Seeet left foot but came with a reputation that he was more of a hard man and not a footballer which wasn’t the case, he was a decent defender and wasn’t given a chance. Saunders moved on to villa and proved he was a decent player.

{Ed001's Note - Dicks was awful. He was at least a stone overweight and had the brain of a dead pigeon. He was simply not good enough.

Saunders was a very average player at Villa as well. Never good enough.}

28.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 18:39:40
Hit send too early! Sounesss had to buy, he was onto a loser from the start a bit like moyes at united.

{Ed001's Note - I do agree Souness needed to make changes, but not as many as he did and he didn't have to get rid of the best players in the squad to make space. He got rid of the quality players to bring in cloggers.}

29.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 19:04:07
Souness took over a team that finished 2nd in the League. Aging or not, there was no need for the changes he made. He screwed up Liverpool big time. When Kenny left the team was competitive, what Souness did in his seasons at the club made us uncompetitive. We never recovered. Worst Liverpool manager in my lifetime and yes that includes Hodgson, who was the ONLY Liverpool manager to literally have no money to spend.

30.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 19:44:28
In terms of expectations vs reality I think the three biggest flops in the last 15-20 years for me are:
1. El Hadji Diouf
2. Aquilani
3. Andy Carroll

In that order. Carroll is last because he at least provided some resale value and also he was more of a reaction purchase and expectations weren’t as high. Diouf came off of a red hot World Cup and then scored a brace on debut. And Aquilani, well he was supposed to be the “new and improved” Xabi Alonso.

{Ed002's Note - Aquilani was awfully treated by one of the Liverpool players.}

31.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 19:45:33
Did a team of the players Souness sold (houghton, mcmahon, Beardsley, gillespie, Staunton, ablett etc who were often man of match with their new teams) vs the players he brought in - he destroyed the team and we never recovered. Kenny left a poor ageing team mind. Mark wright was shocking, couldn’t play offside to save his life.

32.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 19:47:36
Letting Alonso go was huge for us.
That guy could play. Showed that with playing career after us. We would of definitely won more trophies with him there.

Biggest disappointment on purchase
Erik Meijer. Never hit the heights of (just Googling him now)

33.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 20:15:03
And we haven't even mentioned Paul Stewart. A striker turned midfielder because he wasn't scoring enough and Souness put him back up top to support Rush.

Be like if Rafa had signed Alan Smith from United around 2007.

34.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 21:33:04
Ed002 - would you be able to disclose which player treated Aquilani so poorly? Very disappointed to hear about that sort of culture at the club, albeit over a decade ago.

Totally understand if it wouldn't be appropriate for you to name anyone - just asking out of curiosity.

{Ed002's Note - It was dealt with years ago, it is of no relevance now.}

35.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 22:21:05
Biggest disappointment for me definitely naby keita. Loved watching him play for RBL just such a let down with a terrible attitude to go with it.

36.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 22:49:00
I wouldn’t take luis back he is a horrible human being and professionally he is at the back end of his career but all above saying he is useless and past it is a bit much he is still the second top goal scorer this year in la liga with 19. not that bad reallly.

37.) 29 Mar 2021
29 Mar 2021 04:05:26
Above all I was sorry to see Fowler being sold to Leeds. He emerged onto the scene at 17 and within two seasons was the best player in the league. What a finisher! He was such a brilliant striker who lost his way a bit (injuries/ off-pitch shenanigans/ houllier/ Owen) but he should never have been sold. I firmly believe that there are a small number of players for whom normal rules do not apply and for me Fowler was one of those along with the likes of Ronaldinho, Romario, Ronaldo Nazario, Best, Cantona, Gazza and Maradona. Fowler loved Liverpool and I still can’t believe they sold him. I would have fired Houllier for even suggesting such an act of sacrilege.

38.) 29 Mar 2021
29 Mar 2021 07:14:54
Ed2 re Aquallani. (sp) what's the point in mentioning it if you won't elaborate? If you would indulge us please? Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - I did not bring up Aquilani.}

39.) 29 Mar 2021
29 Mar 2021 10:45:57
Biggest what if for me is Anelka. Loved the signing when it happened, hated that we couldn't make it longer term.

Also was intrigued by Mark 'speedy' Gonzalez. a lot of fan fair and waiting for him, but he turned into nothing really : (.