Transfer deadline day

[Rael]

We heard some reports that they promised Rodgers the full Andy Carroll money. These reports were both unsubstantiated and suspicious. First of all, there is no Andy Carroll money, there was 6M saved or thereabouts by not having him on the payroll. Then there was another 1M of loan fee. How could it be good business to agree to assume he'd be sold next year for a certain amount, and make that money available now, when we have absolutely no idea that he would be sold, that West Ham would stay up, that he'd agree etc. etc.

Then, if they did agree, is there a point at which we don't buy Clint Dempsey, who is an old, peaked player, because whatever money we spend will never be recouped? Or should we just take the 18M we believe we'll receive, and be willing to spunk the lionshare of it on an asset that will only ever depreciate, and is only a decent player in the first place. That's the sort of idiotic fucking logic that saw us get Carroll in the first place.

The problem is that we put ourselves in this position in the first place, not what we did in the last couple days of this window, and you might be comfortable laying it all at the feet of our owners, but you've not a shred of evidence to support that, and I'll be all ears when you do.

Lots of words but I guess your gist is we sold a striker before having a replacement in place. Believe me lad, I know what went on.

 

[Red Mullet]

Good job some of us have a bit of fire in our belly to fight for the club rather than sit there denying what is clear as day.

Shame about the vacuous head. All opinion and no intelligence to go with it.

 

[Farkmaster]

Lots of words but I guess your gist is we sold a striker before having a replacement in place. Believe me lad, I know what went on.

I'd rather some evidence rather than an appeal to belief and vague references to a few conflicting news stories that didn't make much sense on the face of it.

Red Mullet: Why we've gambled and lost is that any club needs good options at forward, otherwise they are begging for trouble. We've got one proven, but not particularly lethal finisher, one relative unknown with very little premiership experience, and then we've got hope. That's precisely why we were going after Dempsey, and while I don't agree with that choice, if you put all your eggs in that basket on the last day of the window, then you better get your man. And if you get outbid, you better have a plan B. And if you don't, you've lost that gamble.

Again, maybe we'll be fine until January, but hope is not a strategy. If Suarez gets his leg snapped in two next game, we could be in some dire shit by then.

 

[Markeh]

Rodgers was promised the up front loan lump sum AND the £15m add on regardless if West Ham stayed up. Check out the money we've recouped on fees and wages saved. It's astronomical and these jokers in charge have not put their hands in their pockets nevermind the cash we've freed up. No stadium and no investment.Sound familiar?

To be honest I'm not keen on the owners, they do seem a little too tight and aren't putting that much of their own cash in but sadly Scrooge McDuck and Bill Gates didn't really want to buy the club.

If what you say is true then Rodgers should feel free to resign and leave us in the shit 3 weeks into the season.

 

[Rael]

Shame about the vacuous head. All opinion and no intelligence to go with it.

Go on soft lad, tell us how our strike force is going to spread fear across the continent. You know, the one that scored 47 Premiership goals last season when we had Kuyt, Maxi. Suarez, Bellamy, Carroll. Now we've got Suarez and Borini. Go on, this explanation is going to be a corker.

 

[localny]

They really have not splashed the cash this window, but I do have some sympathy given the judges are in on Carroll, Hendrson, Adam and Downing. They trusted the last manager...they probably want to see Rodgers proving himself before they back him

 

[Rael]

They really have not splashed the cash this window, but I do have some sympathy given the judges are in on Carroll, Hendrson, Adam and Downing. They trusted the last manager...they probably want to see Rodgers proving himself before they back him

They want to see how he proves himself before backing him? Ha. Maybe they should have thought of that before they gave him the job. Wise up, they've lied to him, they're reducing the wage bill to make us more appealing to potential new owners.

 

[King Binny]

One can understand them wanting to take a more careful stand after last season's spendings and subsequent failures but only in terms of splashing the cash and making 'galatico' signings, not compromising with the team's need. For us, a striker was a necessity, not a luxury.

 

[Rael]

At last, someone with some sense Binny lad

 

[Farkmaster]

Yea, so have a credible back up, and don't wait till the last day, don't waste money on the likes of Dempsey.

 

[peekay]

They want to see how he proves himself before backing him? Ha. Maybe they should have thought of that before they gave him the job. Wise up, they've lied to him, they're reducing the wage bill to make us more appealing to potential new owners.

I dont think we are in a position to strike "fear" in the continent. The reason why we are not in a position to do that is due to a catalogue of disastrous decisions starting in 2008/2009 by a number of people, including a couple who have a huge emotional connection to us and are club legends. They all have to take the blame for this.

But hey, why do that. It is so much easier to paint people as good and evil and blame FSG for all the bad things right.

It is going to take some time to recover from the decisions made. We will stumble at times, go back. But we cannot repeat the same mistakes over and over again like spending the 15 million which we hope we will get next summer this year.

 

[Farkmaster]

The Guardian Reported the following:

On Friday afternoon Rodgers was confident of signing "one or two to reinforce the group" but also warned; "Does it [the departures] free up a lot of money for me to bring in other players? Probably not. We need to work on the finances at the moment."

So how does being promised the full amount for Carroll fit into that quote, Rael?

 

[steve tolan]

Rogers in his press conference early in the day seemed confident he was going to get at least 1 possibly 2 players in, he said we needed a goal scorer. So he ends up letting 10 players go almost 11 over the summer, we don't have all the figures but with the savings on wages and the fees received he must have felt he had done enough to bring in a player or two. Lettind Carroll go and not getting a replacement makes us look like a shambolic club once again, run by owners who prove they have no knowledge of the game.

 

[localny]

We have a lot of attacking talent lads. A lot more flair, and I for one am relieved we held firm and didn't get royally screwed on last minute signings like Dempsey. This will set us up well for the next window. No more panic 35 million buys.

 

[Farkmaster]

Rogers in his press conference early in the day seemed confident he was going to get at least 1 possibly 2 players in, he said we needed a goal scorer. So he ends up letting 10 players go almost 11 over the summer, we don't have all the figures but with the savings on wages and the fees received he must have felt he had done enough to bring in a player or two. Lettind Carroll go and not getting a replacement makes us look like a shambolic club once again, run by owners who prove they have no knowledge of the game.

He did have some limited funds to bring a player in. I've no idea why it had to be on the last day of the season, and what all the factors that lead to that high pressure situation were. Regardless, you ended up with a situation where Spurs were willing to pay more than Dempsey is worth, and we weren't. The problem is that we left ourselves in a position where we were desperate and had no plan B. I've no idea how to apportion the blame for that, and neither does anyone else.

 

[Red Mullet]

I dont think we are in a position to strike "fear" in the continent. The reason why we are not in a position to do that is due to a catalogue of disastrous decisions starting in 2008/2009 by a number of people, including a couple who have a huge emotional connection to us and are club legends. They all have to take the blame for this.

But hey, why do that. It is so much easier to paint people as good and evil and blame FSG for all the bad things right.

It is going to take some time to recover from the decisions made. We will stumble at times, go back. But we cannot repeat the same mistakes over and over again like spending the 15 million which we hope we will get next summer this year.

 

[FreshRed]

We have a lot of attacking talent lads. A lot more flair, and I for one am relieved we held firm and didn't get royally screwed on last minute signings like Dempsey. This will set us up well for the next window. No more panic 35 million buys.

I completely agree with this. We let a 3rd string forward leave and failed to replace him because Fulham tried to screw us. I comfortable with that.

Should AC be a 3rd string forward? Not sure, but he was and I like what Rodgers is trying to do, so he has my support with his choices re: AC.

 

[rurikbird]

Our lack of options up front means we will probably play kids up front in Europa League and save Suarez and Borini for the Premiership, which should be the overwhelming priority this season. We have a tough draw at EL and I won't be surprised if we don't get out of the group.

 

[Hyena]

Chill out people.

It's not the best transfer window but it's a lot better than the one where we spent 35 million on Andy Carroll or 16 million on Henderson just because Rael and the Spirit of Shankly would break down in tears if we didn't sign anyone.

 

[localny]

Fecking great window bar one striker we didn't get held hostage for..

Remember how happy we were last week people.. Remember the Şahin news, keep some perspective and keep the faith. We're talking bullets dodged here. Brendan avoided the mistakes other managers were Slagged off for, so don't be so hard to fecking please

 

[Red Mullet]

Chill out people.

It's not the best transfer window but it's a lot better than the one where we spent 35 million on Andy Carroll or 16 million on Henderson just because Rael and the Spirit of Shankly would break down in tears if we didn't sign anyone.

Fecking great window bar one striker we didn't get held hostage for..

Remember how happy we were last week people.. Remember the Şahin news, keep some perspective and keep the faith. We're talking bullets dodged here. Brendan avoided the mistakes other managers were Slagged off for, so don't be so hard to fecking please

Spot on posts.

 

[localny]

And no more Alberto, I mean come on! So much business dealt with...

 

[Farkmaster]

We got a lot right this window, at least on the face of it. It's just that we got something very simple very wrong. You don't go into a season with just two decent strikers, one of whom is an unknown. It's a fairly basic thing you try to avoid.

 

[localny]

I know Farky, not perfect, but a lot dealt with though. I think we'll be fine.

 

[King Binny]

We got a lot right this window, at least on the face of it. It's just that we got something very simple very wrong. You don't go into a season with just two decent strikers, one of whom is an unknown. It's a fairly basic thing you try to avoid.

Ditto.

To be fair, we aren't crying out loud because there isn't any big name (striker) signings. The transfer window period did not last from 31 Aug 12.01am to 11pm. We choose to leave it late. We choose to allow certain departures to happen before ensuring replacements are found/made. The likes of Şahin can create tons of chances but we still need someone to put them into the back of the net. Prolificacy aside, there'll be fatigue, suspension, injury and even lost of form to contend with. The frustration is about not seeing to fundemental problems and the manner in which transfer activities were handled.

 

[Hyena]

It was a bit amateurish to leave the striker problem so late.
I wonder if we have enough people working on transfers.

Is it just Ian Ayre and BR now? They certainly don't have the experience of David Levy

 

[King Binny]

"I've been given as much confidence as I can possibly get that we will have someone to come in," he said in the wake of Carroll's exit on Thursday night.

The extent of the financial constraints on Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool was laid bare on Friday night as the club's owners, Fenway Sports Group, failed to agree a deal with Fulham for Clint Dempsey. The collapse of the United States international's proposed move to Anfield leaves Liverpool with only two senior forwards – Luis Suárez and Fabio Borini – until the transfer window reopens in January.

In another day of wage reductions at Anfield, Rodgers released three more players – Charlie Adam, Jay Spearing and Nathan Eccleston – but that was not enough for his employers to meet Fulham's demands for a minimum £5m fee for Dempsey. Fulham claim Liverpool offered only £3m for the American, who became the second Rodgers' target this summer to sign instead for Tottenham Hotspur following Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Fenway Sports Group had misgivings over paying a substantial fee for a 29-year-old despite Dempsey, who scored 23 goals last season, doing his utmost to force a move to Merseyside. He had informed Aston Villa, who agreed a £5m plus add-ons transfer with Fulham, that he wished to join only Liverpool.

A proposed move to cover the departure of Andy Carroll with the loan signing of Daniel Sturridge also collapsed when the Chelsea striker insisted on leaving Stamford Bridge on a permanent basis. Rodgers had revived his interest in the former Manchester City forward when Chelsea dropped their demands for a £15m transfer and became open to a loan deal, but Sturridge's stance ended Liverpool's pursuit.

Rodgers removed approximately £8m from Liverpool's wage bill in the final 24 hours of the transfer window and raised a further £4m from the sale of Adam to Stoke City plus loan fees. The sum would have been higher but proposed loan deals for Daniel Pacheco to join Real Valladolid and Danny Wilson to Blackpool did not go through. Blackpool did sign Eccleston on loan while Spearing moved to Bolton Wanderers for the remainder of the season.

The Liverpool manager had conceded there was an element of risk in allowing Carroll to join West Ham United on loan without having a replacement secured but did not envisage the decision back-firing so spectacularly. "I've been given as much confidence as I can possibly get that we will have someone to come in," he said in the wake of Carroll's exit on Thursday night.

On Friday afternoon Rodgers was confident of signing "one or two to reinforce the group" but also warned; "Does it [the departures] free up a lot of money for me to bring in other players? Probably not. We need to work on the finances at the moment."

The Northern Irishman had a deal for Dempsey lined up all summer – the Liverpool chairman, Tom Werner, said in May that "any team would be lucky to have Clint Dempsey playing on their squad" – but even with the American pushing for a move to Anfield the club were unable to complete a deal.

Rodgers had to explain his reasoning for wanting Dempsey at the club to Liverpool's owners in a phone-call following the aggregate defeat of Hearts in the Europa League play-off on Thursday. A proposed exchange deal involving Jordan Henderson was also mooted only for the Liverpool midfielder to reject a move to Craven Cottage.

The Liverpool manager was handed a transfer budget of £20m plus monies raised through player sales when he replaced Kenny Dalglish in June. That went on the signings of Borini, Joe Allen, Oussama Assaidi and the 18-year-old striker Samed Yesil, while Nuri Şahin also arrived on loan from Real Madrid.

At Everton David Moyes completed a £2m deal for Copenhagen's Bryan Oviedo and also signed the 17-year-old Kilmarnock winger Matthew Kennedy. The 22-year-old Oviedo, a Costa Rica international who can operate at left-back and left midfield, was granted a work permit at a hearing in London on Friday morning attended by Moyes and the Everton chairman, Bill Kenwright. The Everton manager also wanted to strengthen in central midfield but was unable to conclude deals for Steven Nzonzi of Blackburn Rovers or an ambitious attempt to sign Michael Essien from Chelsea.

It also seems like Rodgers was frantically trying to generate cash in order to make a signing he deemed necessary. Could the owners not have shown him more faith and support by making a bit of 'leeway'? If this is the kind of strong stance the board are taking, then they obviously got the wrong idea...

 

[Farkmaster]

It's a signing he made necessary by virtue of getting rid of Carroll. If leeway was to be shown, it should have been by bringing in a cheap 3rd striker earlier on, which would have only underscored that Carroll was surplus. Or the whole thing should have been done earlier.

 

[King Binny]

Which is why I have doubts regarding Rodger's (full) say on the Carroll deal.

"There is absolutely no chance [of a loan deal] - and certainly not Newcastle," Rodgers said, quoted by the Guardian.

"Newcastle got £35m for this player last year. To even consider wanting to take him on loan is a liberty really.

"We have got a very small squad as it is. We have lost a lot of players this summer and I have not replaced them, as of yet. That is the reality of where we are.

"I need a minimum of three strikers. Once the window shuts, that is it until January. I have got (Luis) Suarez, Fabio Borini, and Andy Carroll.

"I would need to be a nutcase even to consider at this moment to let Carroll go out, unless there are other solutions for that."

The board probably stepped in and probably made assurance. Especially since West Ham's offer wasn't different from their initial one.

'I’ve been given as much confidence as I can possibly get that we will have someone to come in,' he said.

'I’ve said all along that I have Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini as front line strikers, and the young lads like Adam Morgan are getting experience, but between now and January I need more than that.

'Hopefully on Friday we can do some work and get something complete because we certainly need it. I am hoping for one or two. We need one, that’s for sure.'

 

[Red Mullet]

"I've been given as much confidence as I can possibly get that we will have someone to come in," he said in the wake of Carroll's exit on Thursday night.



It also seems like Rodgers was frantically trying to generate cash in order to make a signing he deemed necessary. Could the owners not have shown him more faith and support by making a bit of 'leeway'? If this is the kind of strong stance the board are taking, then they obviously got the wrong idea...

How come it's FSG fault that an agreement couldn't be made with Fulham yet it's Rodgers that removed £8 million from the wage bill? Surely FSG, just like Fulhams owners, are involved in involved when a contract has to be terminated? Or have I read it wrong?