The OFFICIAL Liverpool Supporters thread

Started by Gabriel_Hurl, November 09, 2006, 10:52:45 PM

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magpie seanie

QuoteWho could they have got of similar ability for less money?

Michael Owen.  ;)

Balboa

Quote from: magpie seanie on July 04, 2007, 11:42:10 AM
QuoteWho could they have got of similar ability for less money?

Michael Owen.  ;)

Injury prone & over rated. No thanks

magpie seanie


Gabriel_Hurl


Balboa

Quote from: magpie seanie on July 04, 2007, 11:51:53 AM
Not even at 1/3 of the cost?

What use is a player that never plays? Do you think Newcastle have got value for money?

GalwayBayBoy

Fernando Torres passion was key - Rafa

Jul 4 2007 EXCLUSIVE by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo

FERNANDO TORRES' "passion for Liverpool" was the key to Rafa Benitez smashing Liverpool's transfer record to land the Spanish striker.

The 23-year-old passed a medical last night and was due to be unveiled at Anfield today.

And delighted boss Benitez said: "Atletico Madrid had better offers and the player had better offers.

"But he always wanted to join Liverpool. That was the key for me.

"We needed to work hard because there were other clubs who wanted him that we knew about - other clubs offering more money.

"But the player said straight away 'I want to join Liverpool'. He said we were his first choice and that was the key for me.

"He has taken a pay cut to come here. Okay he is still on a very good contract because he is a top player. But to be a successful club you need players with passion and Fernando has passion."

Liverpool completed a £20m deal yesterday, with the £5m rated Luis Garcia moving in the opposite direction, and Benitez added: "I am happy for everybody at the club, for George Gillett and Tom Hicks who agreed to sanction the deal and for Rick Parry who worked hard to make it happen.

"He is a fantastic player who can score goals and will work hard for the team.

"I have also seen that he is a very hard worker in training sessions.

"He has talent, but he can also improve."

Torres has finished top scorer for Atletico in each of the last five seasons, but Benitez believes the player's goals record can get even better.

"If you analyse the figures," he said, "he was a footballer playing first team football at 17-years-old and it is very difficult to score goals consistently at that age.

"Then Atletico Madrid were not a top four team and Torres was playing up front on his own.

"But if you read the comments of the Madrid supporters they say he couldn't have worked any harder for the team.

"To score the goals he has at his age, every season, shows he has great potential and he has the capacity to improve. I hope that at a big club surrounded by good players he will get even better."

Benitez also admitted that the sale of Garcia in the opposite direction had been a sacrifice.

"Luis was a fantastic player for us," he added. "He had ability and he could change a game. But it is a good move for him and his family. Atletico is a good club and we are professionals."

girt_giggler

27 odd million was the activation clause in his contract, they or no-one were ever going to get him for any less.  Most Spanish clubs have crazy prices for a buy-out clause in star players contracts  i.e. Henry, Messi, Ronaldinho etc - ranging from £80M-£120M!

GalwayBayBoy

Reds onto a winner with star Torres'
Jul 4 2007 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo

EARLIER this year, friends of Fernando Torres gave the young Spanish star an unusual birthday present.

It was a captain's armband bearing the logo: "We'll never walk alone".

It was meant simply as a symbol of their friendship, but led to inevitable speculation.

"My group of mates have got that logo tattooed on their arms," Torres later had to explain. "I have been told about Anfield and how special it is, but I haven't managed to go yet. I would like to, though."

Four months later and that innocently intended gift now has real sporting symbolism, with Torres set to make Anfield his new home.

But strangely the signing of a player coveted in the past by Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, has not met with universal approval from Liverpudlians.

Perhaps it's the curse of the long awaited "final piece of the jigsaw".

Built up, and then let down by a succession of big money strikers . . . Stan Collymore, El Hadji Diouf, Djibril Cisse, even the other Fernando, the much maligned Morientes, some fans prefer to wait before passing judgement.

Sky TV's La Liga expert Guillem Balague, however, has watched Torres since he made his debut as a raw 17-year-old. And he has already cast his vote - Liverpool are on to a winner.

"There is one thing I think everyone is getting wrong," he declared.

"I've heard people say 'Why pay so much money for someone who doesn't score 25 goals every season?'

"But you don't need that to be a successful team.

"You need a team which can score goals and Fernando is much more than just a goalscorer.

"He is only 23 now and is still a work in progress. He's not the finished product but he is still an outstanding player.

"I would put him on the same level as Wayne Rooney and the stats bear out that comparison.

"Atletico Madrid has always been a club which relies on counter attacking football and that has been, in a way, his success and his downfall.

"Obviously he fits very well into that system because of his explosive pace and his strength, and as a result he did very well very quickly for Atletico.

"But the problem is that you can get stuck in that type of role, as Michael Owen found out.

"Fernando is much more than just a counter attacking player.

"He is a very clever player, especially outside the penalty box, and I can see him forming very effective partnerships, especially with Dirk Kuyt.

"Fernando is prepared to do the dirty work outside the box, Kuyt is more effective inside, both are hard working, both are mobile and both can drift wide to complement the other."

Torres has agreed a six year contract at Liverpool, and Balague has warned that fans may have to be patient if they are to see the very best out of Torres.

But he believes it will be well worth the wait.

"Of course he will need time to adapt," he added. "People will have to be patient.

"He has always played up front on his own in Spain. Now he will have to play a different system and in a different league.

"It might not even be his first season before we see his best. Like Didier Drogba at Chelsea, we may have to wait until the second season before he can make his biggest impact.

"But he is very clever, on and off the pitch, and he is very humble.

"People may have to be patient while he adapts to English football but I am so excited about seeing him play in front of the kind of atmosphere Anfield generates.

"The fans there will love him.

"I have spoken to Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher and they are both very excited and I am very excited too."

Balague has interviewed Torres many times – and in their last meeting, in May, there were hints that Torres was finally ready to make the break from Spanish football and move across to the Premier League.

"It is important that Spanish players go to another league," he said. "All those in England have grown as players, they are more complete.

"I love learning from the best forwards in the world. [Thierry] Henry has been better than any other player in the world.

"Until recently, people didn't talk about the Premiership that often. But for the last two years it is almost an obligation to sit down to watch the Premiership."

In recent years three of the Premier League's big four all tried to turn that interest in English football into a permanent move.

In 1999 Torres was voted best young player in Europe.

Arsenal tried to sign him because he had no contract. He got one straight away.

Rumours last summer suggested that Torres was close to joining Manchester United.

There were meetings between Sir Alex Ferguson and his representatives in Paris, but after United signed Michael Carrick from Tottenham Hotspur, the chance had gone.

Then Chelsea made representations, but Torres made it clear he wanted to stay in Spain for another season.

Now he has finally made the break – and Balague is convinced it is the right move.

"He comes from a working class family from a working class district of Madrid and he became a working class hero," he said.

"The fans of Liverpool can relate to him and he can be a big success."

mooncatiii

Quote from: upthedubs on July 04, 2007, 11:26:33 AM
QuoteHow do you know they have overpaid? We will not know for a year or two

because they paid 27 million for a striker who is not a prolific goal scorer and they could have gotten him (or someone of similar ability) for less money.hence they overpaid.
i accept that he may well end up scoring 30 goals a season for the next 8 years but that does not change the fact that if they had negotiated better they could have got him for less money.they are paying for the big name and potential rather than current ability or past performance.

i dont they overpiad that much, the game has gone that way if you wanto to sign top players that is the sort of money you r dealing with!  look at chelsea and man utd, united have defenders who cost more than that they paid 17 r 18 million each for those 2 portugese 18year olds las week then whatever they paid for hargreaves!  

goin for michael owen would have been silly he has not proven his fitness and thsi team is about looking forward not going back, owen decided to leave for bigger glories and missed out on th biggest prize of all IMO his best has long since passed, Torres is 23 and has his future ahead fo him and if he scores 30 goals a season for the next 8 years then 26 million is a bargain even if he scores 15 league goals a season for the next 8 years it is still a bargain!!
shazam

full back

Quote from: mooncatiii on July 04, 2007, 01:30:14 PM
Quote from: upthedubs on July 04, 2007, 11:26:33 AM
QuoteHow do you know they have overpaid? We will not know for a year or two

because they paid 27 million for a striker who is not a prolific goal scorer and they could have gotten him (or someone of similar ability) for less money.hence they overpaid.
i accept that he may well end up scoring 30 goals a season for the next 8 years but that does not change the fact that if they had negotiated better they could have got him for less money.they are paying for the big name and potential rather than current ability or past performance.

i dont they overpiad that much, the game has gone that way if you wanto to sign top players that is the sort of money you r dealing with!  look at chelsea and man utd, united have defenders who cost more than that they paid 17 r 18 million each for those 2 portugese 18year olds las week then whatever they paid for hargreaves!  

goin for michael owen would have been silly he has not proven his fitness and thsi team is about looking forward not going back, owen decided to leave for bigger glories and missed out on th biggest prize of all IMO his best has long since passed, Torres is 23 and has his future ahead fo him and if he scores 30 goals a season for the next 8 years then 26 million is a bargain even if he scores 15 league goals a season for the next 8 years it is still a bargain!!

Good point moondag, but what about Mr Kewell - you are keeping him & he hasnt exactly proven his fitness. ???

IMO, Torres is a good signing, but the scousers are still missing a poacher in front goal. His goalscoring record proves he isnt a poacher, he is more the type of player who can turn a game & make something out of nothing. In the last few years Gerrard was the only man who could do this, so he will be a huge help on this front.
If the wingers arent weighing in with a quota of goals every season then a poacher is still required

Against the Breeze

Now that Torres has signed, who else in Benitez going to go after?? Siamo? Heinze?? Mich Johnson?? All the rumours are there but action will be needed swiftly if we are to build on this signing..

Who would fans like to see leave? I for one think there is no place for Kewell, Bellamy perhaps...???

Great signing for the Pool and I for one am excited for the start of the Season to see Torres in action!!

Balboa

Fullback.......At atletico he played quite a lot on upfront on his own so you are not going to get "poacher" statistics,at Liverpool he will probably benefit from a strike partner. His stats are comparable with anyone at such a young age i would think. I am not sure where the sudden uncertainty has come from about him, this time last year every top club in the world was apparentley after him, including United, maybe he needed a change of scenery.

GalwayBayBoy

I think we definitely need a left-winger. Even though we've lost Garcia from the right we still have Gerrard and Pennant that can play there. On the left we have two very injury-prone players in Kewell and Aurelio. An out and out left winger is needed.

Don't think we'll see any more strikers arriving.

A left-back would also be nice. Riise has never really convinced defensively and Rafa is obviously looking at this area with us being linked to Heinze (who can also cover centre-back).

Think Cisse (for around 7M) and Bellamy (for around 7 or 8M) will follow Garcia out the exit door.

Plus we have signed nearly a dozen youngsters in the past few weeks but obviously they might not be ready for first-team action for a while.

brokencrossbar1

So the deal is done with a six year deal and getting the number 9 shirt.  Hopefully he will do it justice and be as prolific as Robbie and Rushie.

Hinze is believed to be looking to purchase his remaining contract for £4.5m and getting that as a signing on fee from Liverpool.  I think it would be a great deal as he has a lot to offer still and if Liverpool get a better left back for that money I would be seriously shocked.  Can play left back or centre back, but I ideally would like him on the left of 3.  For what it is worth my favoured team as it stands would be(if Heinze signed)
                                                                   

                                                                  Reina

                                        carragher               Agger            Heinze     

Finnan                    Mascherano                                              Alonso                 Riise
                                                                 Gerrard

                                              Kuyt                              Torres.

I think that would be a hard team to beat.

Hound

The actual fee for Torres is EUR 30 million, so thats about STG£20.5m. Garcia was sold for about £4m, so Liverpool have to give cash of £16.5m. 
£20.5m is not bad at all when compared to other transfers so far this summer:

Owen Hargreaves £17m
Darren Bent £16.5m
Anderson £20.4m
Nani £17.3m