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are we fucking buying anyone or what like?

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Well, that all makes sense of course, Jürgen, however maybe we have not scouted the market well enough then?

I do not believe we cannot even find one or two available players that are actually either very promising or already good enough to add up the numbers in our squad?

I mean a youngster like Pulisic is so obviously a major talent and he has already started to blossom at the highest stage. Dortmund and everyone else now knows that everyone wants him so of course they'll be stubborn there. We need to get hold on these kids BEFORE they set the world on fire and that's where scouts should come in handy.
 
Surely if we don't bring in more players (and they don't all have to come from fucking Germany) the we jeopardise our chances of champions league qualification. It's an easy excuse that no one wants to sell their best players in January.
 
Well, that all makes sense of course, Jürgen, however maybe we have not scouted the market well enough then?

I do not believe we cannot even find one or two available players that are actually either very promising or already good enough to add up the numbers in our squad?

I mean a youngster like Pulisic is so obviously a major talent and he has already started to blossom at the highest stage. Dortmund and everyone else now knows that everyone wants him so of course they'll be stubborn there. We need to get hold on these kids BEFORE they set the world on fire and that's where scouts should come in handy.
I haven't a clue what our scouts do to be honest. Maybe they've got season tickets at Southampton.
Surely we didn't need the scouts to assess Wijnaldum or Mane and I'm guessing that Klopp or his backroom staff were more than aware of Matip, Klavan and Karius. So that just leaves Grujic as the only one that was maybe scouted and signed since Klopp has been here (not that I'm blaming Klopp for the paucity of scouting).
I was a bit suprised that we didn't consider Berahino . 12 million and he can play up front or on the wing with pace and goals. He might have acted like a twat at West Brom to get a transfer but so did Lovren at Southampton and we still signed him.
 
Berahino isnt good enough. I want us to sign someone aswell but there has been very little movement in the market altogether.
Only Draxler has been a quality transfer so far that would go straight into our first team.

If you can get Brandt this summer, do you buy Promes now for 25 mill if he's available?
Difficult decision to make. In the past we've gone for the third or fourth option and its set us back rather then taken us forward. When we've been in this situation earlier we've invested in the wrong players. Nearly every time.
 
Isak to Dortmund. They're building quite the team now with the best talent around.
He rejected Real to sign for them.
They're doing something right at Dortmund.
 
Berahino isnt good enough. I want us to sign someone aswell but there has been very little movement in the market altogether.
Only Draxler has been a quality transfer so far that would go straight into our first team.

If you can get Brandt this summer, do you buy Promes now for 25 mill if he's available?
Difficult decision to make. In the past we've gone for the third or fourth option and its set us back rather then taken us forward. When we've been in this situation earlier we've invested in the wrong players. Nearly every time.
Maybe so but for me this is not about whether Berainho is good enough because that's just an example of one player.

There ARE players out there that would suit our style of play and make us stronger - if not better than what we already got then at least give us wider options and make us more competitive. We simply have to be more aggressive in the market when it comes to unearthing talent. We have for too long been sitting on our hands and often acted way too late when our targets had already been tapped up by those around us. Or so it very much seem at least.

There are at least three perhaps four areas of immediate concern and then a few more where one injury would set us back no end (i.e. Clyne or Coutinho).

Goalie, Central Defense, Winger and Striker. And then a few FB's and a creative midfielder too. Too many questions has not been answered for my liking.
 
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Berahino isnt good enough. I want us to sign someone aswell but there has been very little movement in the market altogether.
Only Draxler has been a quality transfer so far that would go straight into our first team.

If you can get Brandt this summer, do you buy Promes now for 25 mill if he's available?
Difficult decision to make. In the past we've gone for the third or fourth option and its set us back rather then taken us forward. When we've been in this situation earlier we've invested in the wrong players. Nearly every time.
We signed Suarez, Mascherano, Sturridge, Coutinho, Agger, Skrtel, Arbeloa and Maxi Rodriguez in January transfer windows. All good players at the time.
The only major January signings that failed were Carroll and Morientes.
Regarding Berahino he may not be good enough to be a first team player for us but he's a better squad player than we currently have at our disposal in the wide forward position.
 
Isak to Dortmund. They're building quite the team now with the best talent around.
He rejected Real to sign for them.
They're doing something right at Dortmund.
Indeed they are.

Add this kid to the likes of Emre Mor, Christian Pulisic and Jacob Bruun Larsen and you have arguably four of the biggest attacking talents around.

Why are we not doing this?
 
We signed Suarez, Mascherano, Sturridge, Coutinho, Agger, Skrtel, Arbeloa and Maxi Rodriguez in January transfer windows. All good players at the time.
The only major January signings that failed were Carroll and Morientes.
Regarding Berahino he may not be good enough to be a first team player for us but he's a better squad player than we currently have at our disposal in the wide forward position.

Yeah, I know. We have a pretty good record in the January transfer window. But that doesnt really help much if your targets arent avaliable.

I dont think Berahino is any upgrade in all honesty. He hasnt played much football either this season, what type of form is he in. Wasnt he at some fat camp aswell?
 
Indeed they are.

Add this kid to the likes of Emre Mor, Christian Pulisic and Jacob Bruun Larsen and you have arguably four of the biggest attacking talents around.

Why are we not doing this?

Well, we might get Pulisic this summer
 
I don't see why Dortmund would be any more inclined to sell Pulisic in the summer. He's figured in most of their games this season so we probably can't offer him more first team football than he's already getting and I don't see us offering 25 to 30 million for him so Dortmund could easily hold onto him.
In the last few years when we've both been linked to players or were in direct competition with them (Mkhitaryan) we lost out to them anyway.
 
If the transfer rumours were accurate, our scouting department/ transfer committee did spot the likes of Dembele, Mor and Guerrerio.

While it's good not to settle for 2nd best or poorer alternatives, the stubbornness/persistence to be 'devoted'/focused in the chase for a particular player can be dangerous.

Zieliński is an example and perhaps Dahoud (to a lesser extent) is another. Following/chasing the player for an extended period of time and eventually failing to wrap up the signing.

It is admirable of Klopp to believe in coaching and improving players and not over-indulge in signings players as a simple solution to getting results but we should also consider factors such as the position we are in (league position, progress in cup competitions, injuries/suspensions etc.) and the competition we are facing for the targets at the point in time.

How sure are we that we will be able to land the likes of Brandt and Pulisic in the summer to forgo other feasible targets/be reluctant to pay slightly over the odds for them now? Clubs who are well stocked in the relevant departments are less likely to join in the chase whereas competition is sure to increase in the summer. Then, let's say we suffer due to the lack of strength in depth and options and fail to make it for CL next season, surely that'll hurt our chances of landing intended targets further?

Besides, is it really bad to have alternative choices when chasing a signing for a particular position? Surely that's logical? It is up to the scouting department and transfer committee to make sure that the candidates on the list are of as high a calibre as possible.

*Edit. This was what Monchi said in last year's interview with Guardian.

[article]Monchi pulls out his phone and, carefully reducing the image so the names can’t be seen, says: “That gives us this.” A colour-coded spreadsheet shows players by position. Around 250 potential targets, in all positions. “The manager says: ‘I want a left-back who averages 11km a game, runs 800m at full speed, uses both feet.’ And from these, 10 will fit.”

Negotiations come next, where you have to know the market, have an alternative, and be realistic. “The guy selling a Seat Leon will claim it’s a better model,” Monchi says. “Kanouté wasn’t the first option; we were going after Fred, the Brazilian. We wanted [Kevin-Prince] Boateng before Keita. And if a player says: ‘Chelsea want me,’ I say: ‘What are you talking to me for, then?’ But if Swansea or Spurs want you, let’s talk. I sell the city, the club: a serious club that pays as promised, which sounds trivial but isn’t.”

There’s no guarantee, of course. “After a month [Yevhen] Konoplyanka wanted to throw himself off the balcony. I try to really know the player but there are always surprises. Grzegorz Krychowiak, aged 19. You think: ‘What’s a Pole going to be like here?’ But it turns out he’s the most sevillano bloke ever. Arouna Koné was our most expensive signing and scored two in 41; he goes to Levante, a ‘weaker’ team, and scores 17.”
[/article]
 
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He's been reluctant to sign a new contract. If he wants a move this summer, then Dortmund might sell if they are going to get some decent money for him.
 
And when those 2 players don’t sign for us in the summer, we can change the argument to.........." the player is only interested in the money".
 
There is obviously no guarantee of getting anyone in the summer. I'm just saying I can understand the relectuance to sign a target now that isnt that high on your list, just to sign someone.

We need some quality additions now though, which makes it a difficult decision.

Spurs have arguably an even more thin squad than us. Their bench for the last few months have been made up of youngsters and a misfiring Sissoko.
When Son scored against City it was the first time in about 11 goals scored that Alli and Kane wasnt responsible for. You can argue that their season would be fucked if they get injured.
Yet Pocchettino has said that they wont do anything in January.
 
There is obviously no guarantee of getting anyone in the summer. I'm just saying I can understand the relectuance to sign a target now that isnt that high on your list, just to sign someone.

We need some quality additions now though, which makes it a difficult decision.

Spurs have arguably an even more thin squad than us. Their bench for the last few months have been made up of youngsters and a misfiring Sissoko.
When Son scored against City it was the first time in about 11 goals scored that Alli and Kane wasnt responsible for. You can argue that their season would be fucked if they get injured.
Yet Pocchettino has said that they wont do anything in January.

Spurs have a stronger defence and base of the midfield than us, and decent cover in that area, but I agree they look rather thin in the attacking department.

If Kane gets injured they're in trouble, because Janssen is shite and Son can't play as the lone striker. I suppose Lamela may be back at some point, but that's no guarantee.

As for the rest of this rather circular debate, I have sympathy for almost all of the viewpoints and opinions - and there's validity in lots of it - but it is frustrating - and a little hard to swallow - that we haven't been able to strengthen in the last two windows sufficiently well, and have obvious weaknesses in all the obvious weak areas.

Whether we do it now or wait until summer is clearly not a simple decision, for all the reasons outlined, but we still need at least one CB, a keeper, a DM, a quick AM/ winger and a striker.

And probably a LB too.
 
Spurs squad is pretty thin in the striking department but because their defence concedes fewer goals than us they don't always have to score 2 or 3 to get a result.
So far this season they have 9 clean sheets in the premier league compared to our 6 and they haven't conceded any more than 2 in any league game whereas we've conceded more than 2 on 3 occasions (two of which led to defeats).
They did cope pretty well earlier in the season when Kane was out of form and then injured.
 
There's also their full back's contribution to offence and Pochettino's tactical skills and flexibility.
fullbacks.jpg
 
Spurs squad is pretty thin in the striking department but because their defence concedes fewer goals than us they don't always have to score 2 or 3 to get a result.
So far this season they have 9 clean sheets in the premier league compared to our 6 and they haven't conceded any more than 2 in any league game whereas we've conceded more than 2 on 3 occasions (two of which led to defeats).
They did cope pretty well earlier in the season when Kane was out of form and then injured.

Didnt they just win 1 game when he was out injured?
 
Alexander Isak is probably the biggest talent in Swedish football atm and he would definitely have been a decent signing. Dortmund are very shrewd, sure they paid around £9 million for a 17 year old but in today's market even if he doesn't become a superstar they'll definitely get their investment back.
 
Spurs have a stronger defence and base of the midfield than us, and decent cover in that area, but I agree they look rather thin in the attacking department.

If Kane gets injured they're in trouble, because Janssen is shite and Son can't play as the lone striker. I suppose Lamela may be back at some point, but that's no guarantee.

As for the rest of this rather circular debate, I have sympathy for almost all of the viewpoints and opinions - and there's validity in lots of it - but it is frustrating - and a little hard to swallow - that we haven't been able to strengthen in the last two windows sufficiently well, and have obvious weaknesses in all the obvious weak areas.

Whether we do it now or wait until summer is clearly not a simple decision, for all the reasons outlined, but we still need at least one CB, a keeper, a DM, a quick AM/ winger and a striker.

And probably a LB too.

Yeah, I agree, their defence is stronger than ours. Midfield I'm not to sure but probably in their favour. They've got Dembele and Wanyama but thats about it. Dier isnt very good. We havent got a replacement for Hendo which has cost us a lot. But as said earlier they struggle badly for goals if Kane is out.
 
I know we're all flapping about this, but beyond Draxler who went to Paris to gnaw on some proverbial Arab-cock, have any good players been bought or become available?

None of our rivals have strengthened. Perhaps, as Klopp has alluded, there are no decent, available players to buy?
 
Up to a point. Some of what he's said has suggested we'll be spending in the summer, so I suspect that in Klopp's eyes it's as much a question of timing as anything.
 
Didnt they just win 1 game when he was out injured?
I was going by the dates on Soccerway.com which says he was injured Between 18th September (when they played Sunderland and 3rd November just before he made a comeback against Arsenal.
In the 5 league games he was missing they won 2 and drew 3 and 3 of them games were away from home. Not too bad considering the lack of quality alternative strikers. More evidence that their defence keep them in games when they don't score too many.
Even in the Champions League during that period they won 1 lost 1 and drew 1.
 
I know we're all flapping about this, but beyond Draxler who went to Paris to gnaw on some proverbial Arab-cock, have any good players been bought or become available?

None of our rivals have strengthened. Perhaps, as Klopp has alluded, there are no decent, available players to buy?
Man city brought Gabriel Jesus in and Chelsea added some depth to their squad by recalling Ake from Bournemouth I suppose. United and Arsenal don't need to bring anyone in as both have massive squads. Bit surprised at Tottenham not bringing anyone in as they wilted somewhat in the last six weeks of last season with a smallish squad.
 
The real mistakes were made in the summer. I suppose the striking ones are Klaven and Karius which are costing us, the sale of Allen/not signing another CM, and we're a few players short in other areas - most noticeably a quick winger. January is an unreliable time to spend money. We've done well in the past but as Klopp says it's not always possible so now we are a bit stuck. Hopefully we can find our form and secure a CL place which will certainly help us with recruitment in the summer.
 
Indeed they are.

Add this kid to the likes of Emre Mor, Christian Pulisic and Jacob Bruun Larsen and you have arguably four of the biggest attacking talents around.

Why are we not doing this?

But you can turn it around and argue that we are doing this? We don't just buy someone but look for the right one. So when in example Mane is out injured we have secured a real option to take his place, not just signed Berainho cause he offered something we could use in Januar 2017 but is not good enough in the long run.
 
I was going by the dates on Soccerway.com which says he was injured Between 18th September (when they played Sunderland and 3rd November just before he made a comeback against Arsenal.
In the 5 league games he was missing they won 2 and drew 3 and 3 of them games were away from home. Not too bad considering the lack of quality alternative strikers. More evidence that their defence keep them in games when they don't score too many.
Even in the Champions League during that period they won 1 lost 1 and drew 1.

Yeah, just checked won 2 games. But drew 3 in the league, 2 away and 1 at home to Leicester.
In the CL they played 3, one win, one draw and one loss.

The point was in those 8 games they scored 6 goals.
 
The real mistakes were made in the summer. I suppose the striking ones are Klaven and Karius which are costing us, the sale of Allen/not signing another CM, and we're a few players short in other areas - most noticeably a quick winger. January is an unreliable time to spend money. We've done well in the past but as Klopp says it's not always possible so now we are a bit stuck. Hopefully we can find our form and secure a CL place which will certainly help us with recruitment in the summer.

Klopp and his team believe in Karius, and we will have to give him time. I believe Grujic was supposed to fill in for Allen but have been injured. Ings was also part of our squad plan and has been out as well.

It is difficult. Klavan is the odd one but came cheap and offer some kind of backup although he is clearly unstable.

Klopp cleaned out quite a few players and clearly has openings in the squad and money to spend. I like that we just doesn't buy to buy as that occupy spaces in the squad as well as take up focus and energy from the coaches.
 
Man city brought Gabriel Jesus in and Chelsea added some depth to their squad by recalling Ake from Bournemouth I suppose. United and Arsenal don't need to bring anyone in as both have massive squads. Bit surprised at Tottenham not bringing anyone in as they wilted somewhat in the last six weeks of last season with a smallish squad.

Jesus was bought last summer, and recalling Nathan Ake on loan doesn't merit discussion.
 
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