KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Is Rodgers in control?

Much the same, because I have said he was replaceable, people might think that I don't like/respect the guy. I do think he wants to leave, and I'd be happy for that to happen at the right price. I do think it is peculiar that he left after Mignolet came in. I don't think he wanted "a fight" to play for a team outside of the CL, and that is why if he goes next season, I'll wish him well. He has given us many great years.

He has been the best goalkeeper I have seen play for Liverpool in real-time. Westerveld, Dudek, James, Friedel and Kirkland are the 5 main keepers that have played for the club since I began supporting as a young kid. I have great admiration for the guy, but there is a difference between childhood hero-worshipping, and adults being able to critically assess how good a player is, and what else is available. Great guy and was a great player. He just needs a new challenge and we should give him that chance.

His form was improving, but he still made a lot of costly errors this season. I think he needed replacing, and he was on silly wages.

sorry i dont care who wanted out or not but £5.5 million a year is a scandal and whoever brokered that contract need big questions asked about , yes reina has been a top keeper but not that top a keeper to justify that sort of wages ,as i said a real top striker or maybe a steven gerrard could go close to that money but not a keeper , sorry absolutely shocking to see he is on that sort of money truly shocking and obscene .

I think FSG want to completely change Liverpool from the inside out. We have a squad of players that expect Champions League football and have not played well enough to achieve it. Many of the players that have under-performed have been players that have stagnated over time, and have still been reaping a large financial benefit. I didn't think a GK was anywhere near a priority, but to me, when one is available, at a good price, and we could relieve a high earner performing worse/the same as the one we could get, then it makes footballing sense. As much as it makes financial sense too.

I mean if everybody on this forum contemplated what FSG could be doing... They could be trying to reduce the salaries down to a level that we could spend £40m a year regardless of CL football. Where we could replace a full squad, player for player, while still trying to bring through youth. Rodgers could already have the blessing to spend big, but is choosing to analyse the possible options first, before buying, unlike the mistakes of the past when a player has been signed for either too much money, or on more of a whim that justified reasoning.

Plus, and this is my own thoughts, I think FSG tried to sign big and make up ground when they first came in. Their intent was not to sell Torres. But an under-performing player was moved on, for someone they believed, through the eyes of the current boss, could be a starlet. Having had a net spend of over £75m since they came in, I'm not sure how anybody can justify that we have been asset stripping.

I think that is a very accurate assumption. To be fair, we were in a right sh*tter when they bought us. We had some very good players, but the squad was full of overpaid players, many of whom were aging, many of whom were injury prone. We had massive debt, and we were not a CL team when they took over.

Benitez - the tactician, could only manage 7th in his last season. He had a good squad at his disposal. And he had players like Reina, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson all nearing their peak age at the back, and players like Mascherano, Lucas and Aquilani to choose from in the centre of midfield, AND a prolific Torres. Never mind the luxury of options out wide. Riera, Benayoun, Maxi, Babel, Kuyt... It is fair to say the teams around have improved a lot since then, but if we're still managing 7th when that whole aged squad is having to be renewed, I'm not sure how there can be such malice towards FSG, Rodgers etc. If we can't have moneybags owners, then we need ones frugal, and willing to invest in the RIGHT options, not the expensive ones.

One thing I am pretty sure about the Torres transfer because I heard it from Comolli's mouth on french tv (unless he is lying of course). He said that FSG told him that Torres had to go for that kind of money and on paper, it made sense because Torres and Babbel were replaced by Suarez and Caroll for about the same money but a much lower wage bill. Question is, was it better in footballing terms or financial? I would say none because we would have had a better chance to qualify for CL if Suarez was played alongside Torres, it could have looked better immediately then, but looked what happened afterwards, we lost more with Caroll. We should have kept Torres because there was no time to analyse properly for a good replacement. A new player coming is always a risk especially if he is young, let's hope that Mignolet settles in quickly.

I am watching Moneyball (again) right now and it easier to understand what FSG is up to, I hope it works out even if at Red Soxs success (on the pitch) was temporary. Anyway, there is no choice as FSG does not want to inject their own funds, unless they are kicked out, another bad season, their seats will get hot.

As I've said jj I'm believe what FSG are doing is correct. My only reservation is who has the final say? Reina going was the correct decision, I just hope we're focusing on the correct areas to improve and not just forcing BR to move players on just because of wages instead of priority.

You say the Red Soxs success was temporary, yet they have just completed another overhaul and are looking good from what I have read.

I think Comolli is right. £50m for a top player is a good value to sell at. FSG, Dalglish and Comolli at that time, were a little blinded by the money. They probably didn't have a game-plan, and it told. Dalglish was working under his old rules, rather than being able to do business in a modern climate. If there was no replacement lined-up, selling was silly. What can I say? You either blame the owners for requesting a sale of an asset at a great price, blame the manager for choosing a player who under-performed or you blame the scouting chief who was willing to fund this transfer astronomically...

I blame all three. I think Dalglish was a poor judge of talent. Downing, Carroll and Adam should never be seen as the best possible starters for our first XI. In Comolli, we had a guy that was willing to fund that up to huge values, that is over £60m. Crazy money. Add to that the owners, who had only been in the club 3 months. They were very naive back then. To note: They have spent £75m net since they came in, and have been trying to find funds to expand the stadium from inside the club. They have also been doing great work on the media/commercial side too.

I agree boxmonkey. I firmly believe the next big leavers will be Agger/Skrtel if they under-perform. The owners have some say I am sure, but Rodgers will be signing most of an entire squad of players in 3 years at the club if what I am led to believe is true. There are 8 players in the squad he has signed that are likely to play games, and certainly another couple of signings will be coming in too this summer. I am sure he'll get another opportunity to buy someone in January if we need it. I trust his judgment, whereas a lot on here don't. A lot have been happy to suggest that Reina is better than Mignolet on the past, and that Allen and Borini are terrible footballers. Rodgers has a near impossible task to cheer up these fans if they won't give him the time to do it. Some might say 1 year is enough, but I am sure United fans would laugh at that, given what they could have lost in Ferguson had the owners been premature and sacked him when they could have.