Brendan Rodgers transfer market dealings, good or bad?

Rafa's transfer dealings have nothing to do with this thread and have already been discussed at length. My guess is if Brendan could overall do as well as he did in the transfer market most people would be pretty happy, and if he could do as well as Rafa did in his first two or three seasons people would be very happy. Like I said though, back to Brendan.......

People do surprise me when they STILL say that he has been poor in the market, I just don't get it at all. He took over a team which was consistently finishing 15-20 points outside the Champions League places, it hadn't just happened the once, it was happening every season. Clearly we needed changes in personnel, and equally clearly those teams finishing above us weren't exactly going to stop spending money either. Not only that, but he was charged with "bringing the wage bill down" by our c*ntish owners, and had to ship out some experienced and potentially useful players for F*ck all simply to make the aforementioned savings. Not only that, but he had to move on some of the poorer expensive players he was left with (Downing, Carroll, Cole etc) while he was at it. His biggest signing has been Sakho for 15 million quid which is peanuts in todays market, and he has also had to buy some "potential" for much less and accept the precarious nature of such dealings.

And here we are 18 months later with the team sitting in the top four and having a chance of achieving his objectives when he arrived. Yes we've spent around 65-70 million quid NET in transfer fees in order to achieve that, but we've probably saved 10-15 million quid a season in wages I should think. In the meantime, Man Utd have since last season spent 64 million quid on top of a title winning team (and before that signed Van Persie, Kagawa etc), Chelsea have spent f*ck knows how much, Arsenal have spent plenty on the likes of Ozil, Man City have spent shed loads on top of an already excellent squad, Spurs had the luxury of being able to cash in on Bale etc etc. It's not like we've outspent our rivals, far from it. And yet we've improved relative to them, which is surely the only sensible measure by which we can be judged.

And how easy is it for Brendan to find players for Liverpool, and has Brendan been any good at it? Lets have a look. Firstly the player MUST be relatively cheap. Our biggest signing under him is Sakho at 15 million quid, so there won't be any Mata's or Ozil's walking through the Shankly gates anytime soon. Secondly, it's not enough for the prospective signing to be a top player and available. The player ALSO has to be totally unwanted by any other club, completely off anyone else's radar. This is the case for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we never ever pay the asking price for a player under FSG so the way has to be clear for us to pay around 2/3 of what the selling club wants, as has been demonstrated many times. If the selling club won't be bullied into selling for a ridiculous fee, we lose out and they give the player a new contract (Diego Costa for 12 million for example). Secondly we never ever get involved in a bidding competition so if anybody else whatsoever comes in, we lose out. The best example of this was Willian, who despite saying he wanted to play for us was first taken away by Spurs and then taken away from them by Chelsea. You ended up with a situation where the selling club, Spurs and Chelsea ALL put a valuation on the player higher than our own. We've seen similar situations since with Mikiwhatsisface and now Salah. Course the FSG PR machine give it all the "we agreed a fee and then they doubled it" bollocks (like they did with Clint Dempsey before Spurs bought him), but that is blown out of the water by Chelsea agreeing a fee of 11 million quid, in about 10 minutes. And then there's wages. We won't pay a player more than any of our rivals, so if it's a straight fight between us and anyone else, the player goes to someone else.   

So if you want to join our scouting team, or be Brendan, here are the rules for new signings:

1. Never ever pay the asking price or anywhere near it. If the selling club is not willing to drastically reduce the fee, strike the player off the list. It doesn't matter if other clubs are willing to pay the asking price, we aren't.

2. The minute another club shows any interest whatsoever in any player we are interested in, walk away and claim "skulduggery" on the part of the selling club.

3. Do not pay big money for any player.

4. Don't pay big wages.

5. In conclusion, the player MUST BE:

a) YOUNG. This will allow him to improve, AND mean he is cheap both in fee and wages.

b) UNPROVEN. This will allow him to improve and will therefore ENHANCE HIS RESALE VALUE, AND obviously mean he is currently cheap in both wages and fee.

c) UNHERALDED.  This will mean we can avoid paying too much fee or wages.



Good luck with finding players lads, give us a shout when you've thought of any.

Overall - because of the success of Sturridge and Coutinho I'll say it's about breakeven.

The money on Aspas and Borini doesn't look like it was well spent and to be honest I don't really understand why we spent the money on Ilori and Sakho in the summer when neither are ready right now to play every week. Joe Allen hasn't given value for money and I think some of the praise in the games before injury this season was overstated because he wasn't quite as poor as he had been.

Mignolet surprised me....then disappointed me - let's hope it's back to the former asap.

However, as I say, Sturridge and Coutinho have to be characterised as distinct successes and as they're first picks I think that claws back some of the deficit.

To be honest when you look around I don't expect a manager to be more than 50/50 in his picks....it just doesn't really happen anymore.

His targets seem to be what we need.
It's just a pity FSG wont let him near any of the expensive stuff.

Well said, Mick. Totally agree.

I really don't see how or why anyone would try and refute Mick's post.

Puts things in to perspective.

His targets seem to be what we need.
It's just a pity FSG wont let him near any of the expensive stuff.

True.

I've said all along that I think he knows a proper footballer.

Pity the guys who employed him don't trust his judgement.

True.

I've said all along that I think he know a proper footballer.

Pity the guys who employed him not trust his judgement.

Costa.
Willian.
Mkhitaryan.

If FSG invest money in those players they pay for themselves as soon as the club gets Champions League Football.
It's there for the taking this season, unfortunately FSG have no interest in gambling any money on it, even in ideal circumstances.

Costa.
Willian.
Mkhitaryan.

If FSG invest money in those players they pay for themselves as soon as the club gets Champions League Football.
It's there for the taking this season, unfortunately FSG have no interest in gambling any money on it, even in ideal circumstances.

Exactly.

They'd rather sit back and hope Brendan can hang in there with what he has.

I'm pretty sure this level of ambition wasn't mentioned when Luis contract talks were going on.

Well we can at least be consistent and say that our transfer dealings with Rafa, Roy and Kenny, since 2007, have been appalling. A lot of players have come and gone and proven their utter worthlessness at this club. It stinks of a scouting/transfer system riddled with disease at the club. We may have not been blessed with the financial clout of some of our rivals, but we have not exactly been blessed with the intelligence or strong structures to compensate for the supposed absence of big pounds.

Only to a certain extent. Since the Summer, the scouting system has provided some quality targets but our problem has been an inability to land them, mostly down to haggling over a couple of million here or there. I admit a lot of his signings have been poor but it needs to be recognised alot of these signings where secondary and tertiary targets because we missed out on our primary, and in some cases, secondary targets. A Manager's success in the transfer market is only as good as the investment he's provided and right now there is a distinct lack of net investment going in to the club. It matters not if you have the most successful manager in the world, if their owners are unable or unwilling to go that little extra mile on payments to grab top quality targets then the results are exactly as we've seen with Brendan.

Now add Salah.

"I know the club has been working very hard to get players in. I'll leave that to them and see how they get on."

Quote from Rodgers.

I don't even think you need Rafa to spell it out.

Quote from Rodgers.

I don't even think you need Rafa to spell it out.

Don't blame me .... blame it on the boogie?

He's had one decent window out of four (unless we get someone decent by next Friday). That's poor. Only Sturridge and Coutinho have really made a difference to our first 11. On the other hand he's been getting the best out of Hendo, Sterling, Suarez etc. He's an outstanding coach. Recruitment has been very, very weak since FSG took over. I think they're hurting the club.

Kirkland

Christ, that is one horrific list. That said, it's only fair that we give him credit for players like Reina, Torres, Alonso and Masher, who are of a calibre some way above anyone that Rodgers has brought in, with the possible exception of Sturridge

It's also unfair to credit him with signing Kirkland when we landed the former Coventry keeper the same day we got Dudek. Both signed in August 01 by Gerard Houllier - some three years before Benitez became our manager.

As for Rodgers' transfers they've been, by and large, disappointing thus far.

Borini - shocking in his time here. Yes he's had a couple of injuries but even when fit didn't exactly set the world alight and was shipped out. Seems to have found some level of form at Sunderland, maybe he will come good in the end but I doubt it. Wouldn't be surprised if he was sold permanently in the summer.

Allen - abysmal signing. Given that he was the must buy signing in Brendan's first year, I was expecting a lot more than what he's shown. Even before his injury last year, he found himself out the team. That doesn't look good on Brendan since he was so adamant on getting Joey. He's struggled to make the grade since and still finds himself anything but first choice unless injuries force Rodger's hand.

Assaidi - poor signing although it looked like we actually had a decent winger on our books when he first came because he was direct and ran with the ball. However he only seemed to do it for ten minutes per game then wouldn't be seen again and was eventually completely frozen out the squad. Another one who ended up being shipped out on loan.

Sahin - loan signing who did very little in his time here and was soon shipped back off earlier than expected. Always heard he wasn't played in his rightful position, truth was he just wasn't up to it at Liverpool. Was hardly a loss when he left either.

Yesil - looks a decent prospect but injuries have prevented him making any real impact during his time here. Reserved judgement on young Samed for now.

Sturridge - happy when we signed him and no reason to change that. Without doubt, Brendan's best signing.

Coutinho - Phil has been a good signing although the last couple of months have been his biggest test for him. When he arrived he was boss, made everything look easy. Started his second year in a similar vein. However the last couple of months have seen him dip a level or two. And to remain a good signing, he'll need to pick it up again otherwise he'll be heading to an average signing.

Alberto - really like the look of the lad, would rather see him get more minutes. So again reserving judgement on him for the time being.

Aspas - thought we had a really good forward when I saw him in pre-season. Looked like a real finisher however since the season proper started, he's been a F***ing disaster. Woeful signing unfortunately.

Mignolet - had the very difficult job of replacing Reina. And he hasn't. It hasn't helped that he's got a poor defence in front of him but he's just not up to scratch unfortunately. He doesn't look comfortable catching the ball from crosses. He's made quite a few shockingly bad errors. He's also had a few impressive showings as well though so maybe he'll come good - a decent defence would help of course. Average just now.

Toure - didn't want him when we signed him, still don't. The early season buzz has died down and he's starting to show the frailties he's always had. Was never expecting a world class player so he's probably been the slightly below average I was expecting.

Cissokho - dreadful signing. Has practically nothing going for him. Sorry Aly lad but you're not gonna make it at Anfield and if injuries didn't prevent us from doing it, then I think you'd be doing the same as Sahin and have your loan deal cut short in January.

Sakho - massively overrated by many Liverpool fans. Started shaky on his debut against Swansea, still reminds me of Djimi Traore the way he panics with the ball and sells himself tackling far too quickly. There does seem to be something there though, just not the level some fans think. So far I've been disappointed given the high fee we spent.

Ilori - can't comment as I haven't seen anywhere near enough of him and he's been loaned out. Reserved judgement.

Moses - sh*t signing. Simply not good enough.

All in all, I don't think Brendan can claim too many of his signings have been raving successes. His success rate in the transfer market will have to improve.

Shall we go through Benitez's failed signings?

Josemi
Kromkamp
Dossena
Pennant
Morientes
Pelligrino
Carson
Kirkland
Nunez
Gonzalez
Leto
Babel
Voronin
Keane
Diego
Aquilani

Millions wasted

F**k, I remember Pelligrino! Hahaha he was proper sh*t him, massive dope!

Oh, and you forgot Kyrgiakos.

wonder what promises Luis has been made regarding quality of future signings?

F**k, I remember Pelligrino! Hahaha he was proper sh*t him, massive dope!

Oh, and you forgot Kyrgiakos.

Ah Pellegrino. I remember some armchair spazmos saying that his glacial pace wasn't an issue and that he would be able to "teach" our other defenders how to mark zonally.

Then of course, we played Southampton and he put in one of the most desperately sh*t defensive performances I'd ever seen.

Ah Pellegrino. I remember some armchair spazmos saying that his glacial pace wasn't an issue and that he would be able to "teach" our other defenders how to mark zonally.

Then of course, we played Southampton and he put in one of the most desperately sh*t defensive performances I'd ever seen.

He was also about 100years old too.If the opposition had slowed the pace down he would have been a world beater.

Shall we go through Benitez's failed signings?

Josemi
Kromkamp
Dossena
Pennant
Morientes
Pelligrino
Carson
Kirkland
Nunez
Gonzalez
Leto
Babel
Voronin
Keane
Diego
Aquilani

Millions wasted

Thats just f***in depressing

Thats just f***in depressing

why not go through his record as a manager and his trophies won as well as getting us to the top in Europe, now look at Brendan.

As for Rodgers' transfers they've been, by and large, disappointing thus far.

Borini - shocking in his time here. Yes he's had a couple of injuries but even when fit didn't exactly set the world alight and was shipped out. Seems to have found some level of form at Sunderland, maybe he will come good in the end but I doubt it. Wouldn't be surprised if he was sold permanently in the summer.

Allen - abysmal signing. Given that he was the must buy signing in Brendan's first year, I was expecting a lot more than what he's shown. Even before his injury last year, he found himself out the team. That doesn't look good on Brendan since he was so adamant on getting Joey. He's struggled to make the grade since and still finds himself anything but first choice unless injuries force Rodger's hand.

Assaidi - poor signing although it looked like we actually had a decent winger on our books when he first came because he was direct and ran with the ball. However he only seemed to do it for ten minutes per game then wouldn't be seen again and was eventually completely frozen out the squad. Another one who ended up being shipped out on loan.

Sahin - loan signing who did very little in his time here and was soon shipped back off earlier than expected. Always heard he wasn't played in his rightful position, truth was he just wasn't up to it at Liverpool. Was hardly a loss when he left either.

Yesil - looks a decent prospect but injuries have prevented him making any real impact during his time here. Reserved judgement on young Samed for now.

Sturridge - happy when we signed him and no reason to change that. Without doubt, Brendan's best signing.

Coutinho - Phil has been a good signing although the last couple of months have been his biggest test for him. When he arrived he was boss, made everything look easy. Started his second year in a similar vein. However the last couple of months have seen him dip a level or two. And to remain a good signing, he'll need to pick it up again otherwise he'll be heading to an average signing.

Alberto - really like the look of the lad, would rather see him get more minutes. So again reserving judgement on him for the time being.

Aspas - thought we had a really good forward when I saw him in pre-season. Looked like a real finisher however since the season proper started, he's been a F***ing disaster. Woeful signing unfortunately.

Mignolet - had the very difficult job of replacing Reina. And he hasn't. It hasn't helped that he's got a poor defence in front of him but he's just not up to scratch unfortunately. He doesn't look comfortable catching the ball from crosses. He's made quite a few shockingly bad errors. He's also had a few impressive showings as well though so maybe he'll come good - a decent defence would help of course. Average just now.

Toure - didn't want him when we signed him, still don't. The early season buzz has died down and he's starting to show the frailties he's always had. Was never expecting a world class player so he's probably been the slightly below average I was expecting.

Cissokho - dreadful signing. Has practically nothing going for him. Sorry Aly lad but you're not gonna make it at Anfield and if injuries didn't prevent us from doing it, then I think you'd be doing the same as Sahin and have your loan deal cut short in January.

Sakho - massively overrated by many Liverpool fans. Started shaky on his debut against Swansea, still reminds me of Djimi Traore the way he panics with the ball and sells himself tackling far too quickly. There does seem to be something there though, just not the level some fans think. So far I've been disappointed given the high fee we spent.

Ilori - can't comment as I haven't seen anywhere near enough of him and he's been loaned out. Reserved judgement.

Moses - sh*t signing. Simply not good enough.

All in all, I don't think Brendan can claim too many of his signings have been raving successes. His success rate in the transfer market will have to improve.

Difficult to disagree with much of that, though I do think Sakho will be a very good player for us. His eye for a pass is very impressive, and his timing in the tackle can be polished up, but for me, yeah, good signing, but not worth the £18m we paid for him, yet.

why not go through his record as a manager and his trophies won as well as getting us to the top in Europe, now look at Brendan.

And the signings of:
Alonso
Mascherano
Luis Garcia
Arbeloa
Reina
Torres
Lucas
Maxi Rodriquez
Riera
Sissoko
Agger
Skrtel
Smicer
Kuyt
Hamann
Ngog

And the signings of:
Alonso
Mascherano
Luis Garcia
Arbeloa
Reina
Torres
Lucas
Maxi Rodriquez
Riera
Sissoko
Agger
Skrtel
Smicer
Kuyt
Hamann
Ngog

You're scraping the barrel a bit with Lucas, Sissoko, Maxi and Rieira. And scraping about 5 miles into the Earth's crust with F***ing Ngog.

And he didn't sign Hamann or Smicer

But the rest were very fine indeed. And in many cases, totally wonderful.