So... the potentials

[mark1975]

When we're talking about the "disastrous" Summer signings, we're making it sound on a par with Diouf, Cheyrou, Diao, Aquilani, Keane and co, but what do we make of our Summer acquisitions?

Balotelli is a given he's gone. Lambert was a stop gap alternative who would have fared better last season, coming into a winning side who occasionally needed the alternative route to goal. But the rest?

Lallana, Markovic, Manquillo, Moreno, Lovren, Can..... What's your take?

 

[Halmeister]

Are you that sure on Balotelli? I never saw the fuss before he joined, but he does look like he's trying with us. Ideally I'd like to see him given a run alongside a partner. But yeah, he needs to pick it up.

Lallana - I think it's been done to death - good player, overpaid for him. He'll have a decent career with us... without pulling up any trees would be my bet.

Markovic I had/have high hopes for him before his recent run of decent form. He looked too good a prospect whenever I'd seen him to not show some glimpses of talent. I think and hope he'll be one that we look back upon and say was a good signing. Not all good signings are amazing from the off. Less so younger players in a new country.

Manquillo - looks okay whenever I've watched him really, but that's not enough. Not sure why we didn't see more of him while Johnson continued to get picked.

Moreno - looks a really good prospect I think. Just needs to find the balance between attack and defence sometimes - because he's good enough to be able to do both.

Lovren - I think this guy will be a dud. He doesn't seem to have a great attitude. It's all about him, and the way he's left his previous clubs suggests he could be a poisonous influence. I was wary of signing him beforehand, but he's been worse than I expected.

Can - I think he has great potential and ability. Question marks over his mentality and application also. I think he'll go on to be a really good player... just not at us.

 

[localny]

When we're talking about the "disastrous" Summer signings, we're making it sound on a par with Diouf, Cheyrou, Diao, Aquilani, Keane and co, but what do we make of our Summer acquisitions?

Balotelli is a given he's gone. Lambert was a stop gap alternative who would have fared better last season, coming into a winning side who occasionally needed the alternative route to goal. But the rest?

Lallana, Markovic, Manquillo, Moreno, Lovren, Can..... What's your take?

All good buys. Bed 'em in. Bye bye Balotelli. Ricky? Keep him as backup

 

[Frogfish]

The problem with FSG is that they want to give our manager the backing to buy players to improve us, however they also want to use this fibre-cyber-optics, or whatever the bloody under-valued-huge-potential identifying system is called, to confirm the players we're after have decent IQ levels and are prepared to make the tea when so instructed, as well as wanting to buy young players on the cheap that have the potential to develop into mega-stars (or good players at the very least). This seems to be the recurring theme since they took over.

Anyways :
Lallana & Lovren seem to be BR picks that somehow we were prepared to pay above their value for. I don't believe Lovren is as shite as he seems so I think we'll see improvement there - but maybe never above a 6 or 7/10 player. Lallana is a lovely player and he'll get better once we have decent strikers ahead of him, the last two games alone have shown something of that potential. He'll be an 8/10 signing.

Markovic, Manquillo, Moreno & Can all fit one of FSG's moulds in one way or another. Young & talented, even if a couple weren't exactly cheap. It's difficult to say how they'll turn out but considering they are all very young and inexperienced and have been thrown in at the deep end in a team that's floundering and thrashing about like a beached whale for most of the season, I believe they can all turn into good-to-very good quality players. Markovic seems the most naturally talented and I think he can get better and better.

Balotelli just doesn't have the team mentality and he'll be gone sooner rather than later (next Summer). Lambert was a cheap stop gap who was worth the gamble but doesn't really suit our style of play, whatever it is now.

 

[Rafiagra]

I've been relatively impressed with the new signings in patches (bar the strikers) and I just can't help feeling that they've been hampered by us having no goal threat in the team.

The defenders need some proper drilling and the midfielders need games. The forwards need binning.

 

[gkmacca]

When we're talking about the "disastrous" Summer signings, we're making it sound on a par with Diouf, Cheyrou, Diao, Aquilani, Keane and co, but what do we make of our Summer acquisitions?

Balotelli is a given he's gone. Lambert was a stop gap alternative who would have fared better last season, coming into a winning side who occasionally needed the alternative route to goal. But the rest?

Lallana, Markovic, Manquillo, Moreno, Lovren, Can..... What's your take?

I - almost - stand by what I said at the time. All sensible buys, which would have seemed so if we'd ALSO had bought a top class striker. Now I admit Lovren has been alarmingly poor most of the time. But the rest I still think were decent signings, with Lallana inspired. Bring in a genuinely top striker and the year's work will seem good. FSG really have to do that next month - whatever they think of anything else, they have to pull out all the stops and go for an exceptionally good striker.

 

[Woland]

I was gonna do that post, except add that Balotelli was a mistake.

 

[keniget]

I can see the strategy behind those signings - it's one that I'm really onboard with despite people (in the media) seemingly lining up to take potshots.

It's too early to tell but unlike in previous windows you can look at that group of young players and say there is talent there. Some may not work out but at least this time it won't be because we got bought in complete duds that would've failed regardless of the environment.

In terms of more experienced signings...

Balottelli has been the big talking point given how much we've been struggling in a talk. I actually think he could be fine as a squad player (the 'plan b') but not sure that's realistic.

Lallana is a good player, clearly, but jury is still out for me on account of the price tag. He needs to prove himself over the course of the next 18 months or so in my opinion.

Lovren. Who knows. Looks to be a disaster so far.

Lambert is harmless enough but worryingly looks a little physically shot. Perhaps we will find him more useful when the team comes together a bit more and we're not asking an impossible job of him.

 

[peterhague]

I think all our good signings are the young ones, most of whom are still finding their feet, so our business looks much worse than it will this time next year. Of the others:

Lambert - never understood this, right from the start. Not up to the standard, and not suited to BR's style. People say £4m is nothing to worry about but we'll get a max of 2 years out of that. So, cash flow aside, that's like spending £20m on a 20 year old.

Balotelli - just not right for us. Why gamble on him but not Remy's fitness, who was at least suited?

Lovren - I've got no problem with the plan of throwing money at the defence, and I'm sure he's not as bad as he's looked so far, but that sort of money should have got us a top class defender, and he's clearly not that. Lazy choice.

Lallana - good player but it'll take a long time until I'm convinced he's a good signing. Just don't see that he was a priority position, not with Markovic coming in, and big holes at DM, GK, and most importantly, striker. The money spent on him and Balotelli would have got us that top striker. That's what people seem to miss in their praise for Lallana IMO.

 

[StevieM]

While there's much I agree with in @peterhague's post, I don't agree with the last para on Lallana.

I think the attacking position was a priority. We'd looked at and tried to sign Salah & Konoplyanka last Jan window & we'd not taken up the option (rightly) on Moses - so it was an area we were short.

With Coutinho & Sterling the only options in those areas, it's clear we wanted/needed some experience in there - and Markovic wasn't it.

Arguably we needed both.

DM wasn't as much of a issue for me, with Gerrard, Lucas, Allen & Henderson all potentially able to fit in & Can signed - and the way we lined up - all to fill one role.

GK - I think, while doubts we're beginning to bulld, Mingnolet still had a chance to establish himself.

 

[Modo]

Lallana - good player but it'll take a long time until I'm convinced he's a good signing. Just don't see that he was a priority position, not with Markovic coming in, and big holes at DM, GK, and most importantly, striker. The money spent on him and Balotelli would have got us that top striker. That's what people seem to miss in their praise for Lallana IMO.

We have our differences PH, but this is pretty spot on.

 

[Wizardry]

All good buys. Bed 'em in. Bye bye Balotelli. Ricky? Keep him as backup

Pretty much spot on.


I've said it too many times so this is the last time I'll take up space with it. We bought well in the summer - our problem was what we didn't buy.

We should have taken Eto'o on a free beside Balotelli.

We should have found a really strong keeper.

I was one of, I think, the majority on this forum who voiced the fact we could not rely on Sturridge during the summer. Balotelli was never the guy who could fill his role - he always looked like an alternative. I think he can be good for us but, when played on his own, he destroys our game. We needed someone who could play a similar game to Sturridge and Eto'o looked the most obvious available.

A keeper looked the 2nd highest priority. Now it looks the number one priority. Either way we had to get one and didn't. That's cost us big time.

 

[hmmmmm1]

So we are 2 players short of a good team again......seems to be story of Liverpool transfer dealings for the last 20 years.

 

[ibromurph]

So we are 2 players short of a good team again......seems to be story of Liverpool transfer dealings for the last 20 years.

I don't know whether it's because we don't have the budget or appeal (or city), but it's true. We often are a player or two short.

For example, last year.. if we had kept and added to him, we'd probably be competing for the title.

The same under Benitez when he sold Alonso, and then Mascherano.

United, in the past have had the budget to keep their best players around long enough to play with other star players. I remember when they had Yorke, Cole, Soljkaer, Sherringham.. and then Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov, Rooney..

We all seems to have that 1 top striker, in Owen, Torres, Suarez.. last year was the first time I can remember (being a younger fan) that we had actually had 2 top strikers.

When you think of the players still playing, if we had kept them (and not have to sell to buy evidently), we could conceivably have had a team including Reina, Arbeloa, Mascherano, Alonso, Gerrard, Torres, Suarez, Sterling, Sturridge.. but we seem to always move our top players on, to make space for others.