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Rowdy Yates
Overall we have spent very very little compared to our genuine rivals and even those seen as relative paupers. This isn’t even a debate.
Nunez and Gakpo aren’t close to £150 million. If you are including Diaz then yes … but that is with a view to replacing 3 world beating players. It’s about as little as you could expect to pay to ultimately replace Salah - Mané and Bobby.
Coutinho alone went for £140 thank the good lord. That was winter 2017/18.
This outlay on the front has also been the only heavyweight (if you can call it that - all pretty young and from weaker leagues) outlay there has been despite a team needing at least 11 to play at any one time and usually 6 or 7 of them outside the attacking positions.
Lightening in a bottle yes. We had that. I will concede that we probably captured that. We were never the best. Klopp admitting this himself several times. Was this a coded message to the owners? I think so. We also had huge fortune with almost no key injuries and hit max torque in a season where City were less than stellar.
The crucial post here is that we have only once gone out and spent the money on vital upgrades in 2 or more areas of the pitch.
We saw the change - it has never been close to being repeated.
Beyond a high kn 30 year old Thiago - NOT one single senior mid incoming since Alisson arrived!
Just the ONE single CB while Matip ages and Lovren went to Russia.
We have neglected the squad
Last edited by Steveo; 13th March 2023 at 12:01 PM.
Public Enemy #666
Offender Of The Offended...!!
It`s Better To Reign In Hell, Than Serve In Heaven!
Master Tactician
I was includng Konate, as you were in your rookie list.Originally Posted by Steveo
And your point on the front three - none of them were world beaters when we signed them.
No arguments about the midfield, and I think every man and his dog can agree that we haven't gone about this in the right way.
Something, Something, Something, Dark Side
Rowdy Yates
I would also add:
Mané was killing it at Southampton as was Virgil. We tried for Salah years before and Chelsea nabbed him and he was doing it extremely well out on the wing in Serie A at the time. Bobby came here under Rodgers for a big fee too and Klopp made him integral.
Konate was an under 21 when we signed him. In fact he only made the senior squad in June. He still looks raw, Look at our back line. All we have done is replace Lovren with Konate.
As I say - the front line is the only area where we have tried to address anything.
The majority of our back line is 3 years older than it was when we sold Dejan Lovren. We went a season with no replacement and it killed us. It’s 2023. Is our back line as strong as it was before we sold Lovren? Think… Virgil? Matip? Gomez? Konate?
It is older and less capable on all counts bar Konate over Lovren.
Ditto the midfield, where we went another summer without any midfield additions and it has killed is again.
Standing still is bad - going backwards is criminal if you genuinely want to stay at or close to the top.
Last edited by Steveo; 13th March 2023 at 02:56 PM.
Master Tactician
Front three - We're doing it pretty well. We've sign prominsing replacements for all 3 of our Magic 3. And we're doing it with decent overlap and age.
Back-line - We've improved our 4th choice CB with a young promising one. And I would expect us to bring in another one in the next few windows to replace either Matip or Gomez.
Midfield - Shocking. This is the crux of the whole problem.
Something, Something, Something, Dark Side
Rowdy Yates
Not bad
Not close
Agreed, shocking, but not the entire story.
Rowdy Yates
Once again.. On the back line..
Virgil played every single sodding minute of every single sodding game the year we won the title AFTER player every single sodding minute of every single bollocking game the year we took 97 points and number 6!
2018/19
4,400+ minutes DESPITE not even playing in a single domestic cup!
2019/20
4,600+ minutes
What do we do..? Sell Lovren and bring in NOBODY.. NADA - ZILCH! Instead of strengthening in light of the CLEAR and total OVER reliance on one player - we went and weakened ourselves meaning the geezer that had played every single bloody minute of every single bloody game for 2 seasons straight - was going to be asked to do it YET again for a 3rd season straight.!!!
Amateur time. Truly amateur.
And here we are in 2023. Virgil hasn't been close to his top level since Prickfords challenge (more than 2 years ago), Matip can barely get out of bed, Gomez is a scapegoat and Konate is still looking raw.
Virgil played 51 games last season. Coming back after his big injury the season before.
FIFTY FUCKIN ONE GAMES! We knew there was a world cup this season.. Who is steering this ship?
So folks.. At what point do we start reflecting on the fact that the team is now behind where it was before we got Virgil? This, despite a world class keeper. Midfield is a well worn path but it isn't the whole story.
https://www.thisisanfield.com/2023/0...oo-many-games/
Last edited by Steveo; 13th March 2023 at 03:42 PM.
Master Tactician
So we should have replaced all 3 in the winter of 2020? Do we jettison players as soon as their form dips? Even if we had brought in a replacement for Lovren for 'that' season, he still would have been partnering Side Show Bob or Fabinho and/or Henderson at the back. We have 4 very capable Centre Halves.
Something, Something, Something, Dark Side
Rowdy Yates
Who said anything about replacing anyone? Replacing 3?
You know full well what you do when you are over reliant on one man. You bust your own balls not to make it so. At the very least you don’t weaken yourself. Winging it and hoping for a 3rd straight season where Virgil can play every single game was bat shit crazy and anyone who wants to detract from that should go and stand in the corner with their hands on their head.
You suggested we have spent good money, I am asking for evidence.
Last edited by Steveo; 13th March 2023 at 04:19 PM.
First Team
While i don't think he meant it that way, Jozza absolutely nailed if you interpret it right, it's not the money we haven't spent, it's what we bought with the money we spent and how we went about our supposed evolution when there was so much evolution there to be done with the movement and interactions of the forwards and full backs through coaching and the mids for that matter trying to further develop their ability to play the right kind of passes
People get me all wrong on Hendo, i fight his corner because he's so wildly underrated by most here, as if most people don't understand how vital and in some cases more vital what our players do without the ball is than what they do with it, although whatever people think of his technique the passes he played 18-20 were better than any other players we've had under Jurgen by virtue of them being consistently excellent and being the right kind of passes for our forwards and full backs, why people persist in ignoring that to champion other players is beyond me
In 19-20 it was clear we were a much better side with Hendo at No6, so move Fab on in the summer of 2020 and get another younger actual No6 in who had thepositioning and reading of the game and box to box ability and at least as good ability to play the right type of passes, i'm more than happy for Hendo to be replaced and play a lesser, Milner type role and always have been, but that player has to have the required ability with and without the ball and that isn't Fab or Elliott
Then replace Gini with a player that can do everything he can but has better passing, of the right type, that player isn't Thiago
We fucked it up royally
"If Everton were playing at the bottom of my garden, i'd close the curtains”
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