Football 2010-2011

[ampersand]

it could be a bargain if he goes on to be as good as messi. if you want to think there's a chance that may happen, then fair play to you.

all i was saying is that 'bargain of the century' is a ridiculous thing to be saying. especially seen as it's in the century that ronaldo has been bought and sold in.

[ampersand]

It's called paraphrasing. It's the essence of what you've both said.

And as I've said repeatably is that you're *probably* right, but that no one can know for sure right now.

How f**king simple do you need me to make it? Would it help if I tried baby talk?

[eFestivals]

How good does Hernendez look for 7 million by the way? Hes scored more than Carroll and hes the same age. Whats he worth now then? 70 million? Whats Messi worth? A billion?

All the years of "Utd have inflated the transfer market...paid 18 million for Carrick...too much money" etc and then Liverpool go and spend 35 million on Andy f**king Carroll!!

Hernendez is a fantastic buy at that price, no doubt about it.

But it's not a comparison of like with like. The circumstances around both transfers are hugely different, with Liverpool over a barrel for any player at any club that they might have gone for yesterday.

If you consider that 'Arry went in for Carroll at the same price but when not really needing a striker (given that there's 3 of a not dissimilar level to Carroll at Spurs already), then that looks FAR madder than Liverpool's doings.

I'm sure that Liverpool know they've taken a big gamble, but I can't see how it's a bigger gamble than buying no one to replace Torres - which would have been about the only alternative.

If the stories are to be believed, then Liverpool tried to get Anelka, which would of course been a safer option in the short term (if they could have got him, which it seems they couldn't). But that would have still left Liverpool needing a striker in the summer really, and they'd have had more difficulty getting a 'near-ready prospect' like Carroll then, even with a similarly silly bid or even one much bigger.

The one thing this deal does is show that Liverpool are ambitious to return to the top, and that they're prepared to do what they need to to get there. Getting that idea out into the football world has a value all of its own, and I don't think that can be underestimated.

It seems like I can't repeat it enough, so I'll say it again: it's a huge gamble on the player that might not work out, and if I have to commit one way, I don't really expect it to work out great. But we've yet to know anything about how it might work out, so I'm prepared to wait and see before dumping ridicule on Liverpool for a stupid buy.

[The Nal]

It seems like I can't repeat it enough, so I'll say it again: it's a huge gamble on the player that might not work out, and if I have to commit one way, I don't really expect it to work out great. But we've yet to know anything about how it might work out, so I'm prepared to wait and see before dumping ridicule on Liverpool for a stupid buy.

[eFestivals]

Its mad money but you have to take a risk sometimes.

Yep - and I'd say the risks, and possible come-back costs onto the club (of having to hugely over-pay in wages as well as price to get decent players in the summer if they'd not bought Carroll), are probably worth it overall. But it does depend how he plays.

It's not like Liverpool have gone out on a limb and bought a player that no one but them rates, is it?

So from that angle, they've bought the best young striker in the country (who could be bought, anyway), who's familiar with the Prem (so should have less settling in time), and all that side of things is good.

The price is silly, but that was the price yesterday if they were going to get a striker in. The price is silly, but it's less silly than getting no one. The price is silly, but could be made to look very very shrewd, depending how he works out.

Looking forward to Sunday now either way, should be a cracker! Pity Carroll wont be playing.

Yep, should be a good 'un ...... will be interesting too to see what team Kenny puts out.

I don't expect anything but a Liverpool loss; it'll be the size of that loss which counts.

Edited February 1, 2011 by eFestivals

[The Nal]

I don't expect anything but a Liverpool loss; it'll be the size of that loss which counts.

[eFestivals]

Dunno, they'll be fired up for it. Something to prove etc. I can see Carra going through Torres in the first few minutes!

is Carra back for Sunday then?

I've not followed how near he is to fitness.

Also, anyone know if there were any significant movings in Spain/Italy yesterday? With all the madness I missed any news from that neck of the woods.

the biggest move in Eurpoe was £12M, so nothing big happened.

[Benj]

is Carra back for Sunday then?

[The Nal]

is Carra back for Sunday then?

[eFestivals]

Oooh, I hope so, a fired up Torres will rip that carthorse a new one

or alternatively, he'll kick Torres, who'll then be out injured for the rest of the season.

[The Nal]

Whatever about Carroll, Suarez looks pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA0QGL_RnXQ

[the_hedge]

Carrol and Suarez for Torres and Babbel - net £1 million.

Doesn't look too shabby when you look at the whole picture.

Edited February 1, 2011 by the_hedge

[eFestivals]

Suarez looks pretty good.

I looked up on wiki earlier how Suarez and Kuyt compared in their times in the Dutch league, and discovered there's not a huge difference overall .... but Suarez's best season (last season) is about 10 goals better than Kuyt's best.

I'm not entirely sure, but my impression of what I've seen of Suarez (WC matches only as far as I'm aware) is that he's a bit more nippy than Kuyt is (tho I could be wrong about that), so presumably that means he'll be more successful with goals than Kuyt has been.

Edited February 1, 2011 by eFestivals

[Benj]

or alternatively, he'll kick Torres, who'll then be out injured for the rest of the season.

Edited February 1, 2011 by Benj

[The Nal]

I looked up on wiki earlier how Suarez and Kuyt compared in their times in the Dutch league, and discovered there's not a huge difference overall .... but Suarez's best season (last season) is about 10 goals better than Kuyt's best.

I'm not entirely sure, but my impression of what I've seen of Suarez (WC matches only as far as I'm aware) is that he's a bit more nippy than Kuyt is (tho I could be wrong about that), so presumably that means he'll be more successful with goals than Kuyt has been.

[ampersand]

Has there really been anyone that’s come from the Dutch league apart from Ruud Van N whos continued as a quality goal scorer?

I don’t include Bergkamp because calling him a “goalscorer” is an offense to him. He was on a different planet.

Edited February 1, 2011 by ampersand

[Benj]

Whatever about Carroll, Suarez looks pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA0QGL_RnXQ

[The Nal]

Hopefully he'll be more Kezman than Van Nistelrooy

[worm]

Has there really been anyone that’s come from the Dutch league apart from Ruud Van N whos continued as a quality goal scorer?

I don’t include Bergkamp because calling him a “goalscorer” is an offense to him. He was on a different planet.

Edited February 1, 2011 by worm

[worm]

'Zactly' what I've said repeatedly too.

[worm]

And as I've said repeatably is that you're *probably* right, but that no one can know for sure right now.

[Benj]

What do you reckon about your match tonight mate?

[Benj]

Van Persie, Overmars, Van de Vaart, Roben, Bergkamp (despite your problem). It's not just about goal scoring though is it.

[eFestivals]

just seen 'Arry being interviewed - my god, he looked glum.

After all his talk a couple of months back about Spurs being contenders to win the league, it looked like the fact that Chelsea have outmanoeuvred him is starting to hit home.

And I'm now thinking that Chelsea's late transfer activity was precisely for that reason, to give Spurs little chance of going on their own buying spree and getting 4th spot above Chelsea.

Enjoy what's left of your Chumps League adventure, Spurs fans.

Still, it could have been worse. He's managed to not bankrupt you for another window.

[Benj]

No, he pointed out that the Liverpool fans were over-confident as they had absolutely no way of knowing, and that if they were to use unbiased reason then they'd be a lot more sceptical. There's no probably about it, he's right.

Edited February 1, 2011 by Benj