..For the ridiculously high expectations of signings these days?
If you are not buying one of the recent World Cup winning squad or latest 'wonderkid' then a large section of most of the big clubs fanbases just moan moan moan.
What I don't get is where these expectations come from? When have ANY of the best English clubs regularly bought the best International talent in the world?
Was there some era I missed where Cruyff, Pele and Maradona all played in England, supported by Beckenbauer, Puskas and Zidane?
The vast majority of the best players around at any one time over the last 50 years have not played in England, and never played in England in their careers, yet for some strange reason, millions of fans now expect English clubs to sign players from the best around, as if its easy to attract these players.
It seems to be a relatively modern phenomena, and I think it stems from Chelsea/Man City style spending (not just them to be fair, Man Utd with Veron for example).
Some fans of Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool now seem to expect their clubs to sign everyone, and quickly dammit! How dare you take until the middle of July to make world class signing for the love of god!
Lets get one thing straight. Chelsea and Man City are exceptions. Other clubs cannot follow their rule because the money is simply not there, not just for fees, but for the real thing that attracts the best players to England, MEGA WAGES.
Sure they give it the spiel about loving the Premier League and English football yadda yadda yadda, but the main reason they are here is money, pure and simple. If the money wasn't here, they wouldn't be either.
So can you moronic fans please get this through your heads.
We are not going to sign Cavani, or Ozil or Iniesta or Neymar. Not because our managers think that Downing and Kagawa and Giroud etc are better than the aforementioned, but because we can't attract them, its as simple as that. Its not just about Champions League football. Its about wages.
Who is to blame?
posted on 13/7/12
Are we talking about The Masch ? The one who couldn't get in the West ham team?
posted on 13/7/12
Yeah. The same one who's a regular for Argentina and Barcelona.
posted on 13/7/12
The problem is the extortionate price-tags placed of young english 'talent'. The gulf in quality between english players and similarly priced foreign players is obvious. Therefore its only natural to want to get more for your money by buying foreign. Whether you can actually attract them while still complying with the home-grown quota is another matter but there's nothing wrong with wanting the best players in your team
posted on 13/7/12
You are talking rubbish Shorlight.
We bought Pennant, Benayoun and Babel in the same year we bought Torres.
Were they all part of this rule of only buying the best that you have dreamt up?
posted on 13/7/12
Short I am not disagreeing with you as such but the players you mention and others we have had we have turned them into expensive stars Torres 22is sold for 50 is a good example. What I am saying us that we don't need to buy Messi to be good (yes it would help !!) I am saying it is still possible to buy well but not at extortionate prices. Ibrahimovic is a good example
posted on 13/7/12
Righteous.
You're taking my comments out of context. I wasn't implying it was the rule that we ONLY signed top drawer players, but more that it was the exception to the rule when we didn't. Now, I would suggest, it's the other way around.
posted on 13/7/12
Its not the exception to the rule when we don't though.
I bet if you list all of Liverpool's signings in the last 20 years, less than double figures will be of 'the class of Masch, Torres, Suarez...'.
So if we are signing players of that class so infrequently, how the hell are all the other signings exceptions?
If you are saying we should be targeting players of that class, then maybe we should, but you also have to accept that right now, the VAST majority of players in the class have better options than Liverpool.
So are we supposed to sign nobody, because we can't attract the very best at the moment? Or, do we try to sign players who could be the best in a few years time? (Who had heard of Alonso when we signed him?, or Hyppia?)
posted on 13/7/12
Righteous.
I think we're basically in agreement. I'm not saying we should only target top drawer players, just that, at the moment at least, we can't attract them - unlike in recent years.
posted on 13/7/12
I don't think we are in agreement because you belittle potential signings like Borini and Dempsey, who I think would both be good players for us and I am excited at the thought of them joining.
A new signing doesn't have to be Fernando Torres to be exciting, though obviously if we suddenly signed Javi Martinez or Iker Muniain that would be more exciting.
posted on 13/7/12
if you read my comments again you'll see I didn't belittle anyone. I said both Borini and Dempsey are good players who'll do a good job. They aren't the sand calibre of the likes of Torres. That's all.