rgk_lfc

The equation is pretty simple, especially for non-European players who don't have any emotional attachment to any place in England. I don't blame them. I would do the same. VVD and Salah re-signed because we offered the best wages and the chances of winning trophies in the next two years but mainly because we offered the best wages.

Joao Pedro might not care about how many high-end handbag shops he has access to, but his wife/girlfriend, who might be a model or an influencer, brother, mother, and father, all tend to care about it. We have lost several players to London clubs in the past over it. It is not just the restaurants. It is about access to a community from their home country, social media opportunities, connections to modeling agencies, and other famous personalities - London offers much more than Liverpool and I presume Newcastle. I still don't get why anyone would waste away their short career signing and becoming one among the 70 squad players at the current version of Chelsea over Newcastle or LFC, but I am biased.

Ward is quality. He is another of Edwards' proteges - very analytical and data-oriented. Like Edwards, Ward remains in the background. He does not give media interviews or make proclamations about the difficulties of his job or the great things he has done. Doesn't have a social media account or profile. He has deep connections in Portugal. He was the brains behind the Diaz and MacAllister transfer. According to rumors, he was also vehemently against Nunez and preferred Goncalo Ramos. I would be surprised if he moved, though. Edwards' proteges tend to remain loyal to Edwards, and Edwards is loyal to FSG. But if you land him, it will be one hell of a catch—better than Monchi, Berta, Mitchell, or other glamorous DOFs who can't quite keep their mouth out of the media. The one negative thing is that Ward is very process-oriented, and if he feels that he is overruled one too many times, he tends to walk away. Which is what happened at LFC, according to most insiders? But when he was overruled for the contract extensions and Nunez signing, he decided he was not needed and stepped down. There was no fight or bad mouthing in the media. More of "If you don't trust my process, I am not needed". From 2016-2021, our transfer decisions were taken as a collective between Mike Gordon (CEO), Edwards, and Klopp, who were the three pillars with much respect for each other. Gordon was the tiebreaker if there were disagreements between Klopp and Edwards. After some time, Gordon took a back seat, which led to Klopp having more influence. When it was Ward versus Klopp, there was no contest. So you will definitely need a strong CEO to act as a tiebreaker.

He is a good technical player. Not sure what his position is though. He is not physical enough to play in midfield. He does not have the pace to play upfront. His best position is a number 10. While he is creative and technical, he is not that good enough to warrant a permanent number 10 role for a club who aiming to go deep in CL. All in all, great attitude, works hard. You have been linked with him but as you grow your squad, I am betting he will end up being a squad player.

Not sure why we are not looking at Gyokeres. Honestly, I am clueless about players other than those playing for Liverpool. We are linked to Ekitike, though. That link might have some truth to it. Edwards and the data nerds are running the show now. Staveley recruited some background Liverpool data nerds and performance analysts to your club. So, the fact that you were strongly linked to Ekitike in the past means that there is a good chance our data team is looking at the same information. I know we were looking at Bottman and Guimares, but you moved faster. In general, I know that when elite talent becomes available, Edwards and his team drop everything, focus on that player, go all in, and then figure out what the team needs with the remaining money. We did that with Van Dijk. We are currently doing that with Wirtz. We need a striker more than an attacking midfielder who operates in the left and center channels, but when Wirtz became available, they went all in. That is the message in the press. I guess we will get Kerkez, Frimpong, and Wirtz over the line, look at sales, and decide what to do about the striker position.

Chelsea are leading the race for Ekitike. They have an agreement with Emegha, who will join next summer from Strasbourg. Outside of Jackson, there are two other young strikers he will have to compete with. I don't want to criticize how they do things at Chelsea as it works for them, but it would be a mental decision for any young footballer to join them in the way they do things. Can you seriously rule out them purchasing another two young strikers by the end of next summer outside of the four they will have if all of their signings go through? You will play atleast 50 games next season. Isak wont start all of them. Even if Isak remains injury free throughout the season, Delap will organically get 10-15 games to start. Then you add the injuries and niggles to Isak. There are games in which Howe may prefer adding on two strikers. There are atleast six clubs in the PL, including Everton; Delap should consider joining before Chelsea. Good luck to him. I like him as a player.

When he was at Portsmouth, Edwards had created a database of prospective players and their profiles in a CD. Harry Redknapp complained he was not able to get it to work. Turns out Harry was using the audio CD player in his car to try to get player information.

Klopp wanted Gotze, Edwards pushed for Mane. Klopp wanted Brandt, Edwards pushed for Salah. Klopp has been effusive in praising Edwards and his role in securing those two and other signings. The disagreement between Edwards and Klopp was over contract extensions to Henderson and Gini. Klopp won one of those battle. Edwards won the other. In public there has been no animosity between Klopp and Edwards. Julian Wards took over after Edwards and he was definitely overruled with Klopp influence and our recruitment suffered. There is no way Klopp stepped down due to that. He had too much credit in the bank. My impression is that both Klopp and Edwards stepped away as they were burned out and needed a break. Edwards is not the CEO by the way. Billy Hogan is the CEO. Edwards is the chief executive of Football operations. Mitchell and Ashworth are solid pros and great appointments. The big difference between Edwards and them is that Edwards rarely goes in front of the press and seeks the spotlight. I highly doubt half of you can identify Edwards in a group photo of random people. There is a big element of self promotion going on with Mitchell and Ashworth which does not work well with the managers. The transfer committee led by Edwards was an object of ridicule for a long time in the English press with even Rodger’s briefing against it. Edwards did not use the press. He shut up and did his job. I don’t think I have seen a single photo of Edwards with the PL trophy or the celebrations even though he has been the single most important reason why we have been so successful. Everything started from him.

A couple of thoughts from an LFC fan, if you give a damn, that is Trent might lack defensive nous, but he is a unique talent, as TCD posts above. Salah and TAA were an attacking force to reckon with. With fully red-tinted glasses on, I believe they were on par with any PL right-hand side from an attacking perspective. At least I don't remember any other pair doing it day in and day out consistently for six to eight years. So, he will be a massive loss for us, no doubt about it. The fact that he was a local boy who came through the academy stings a bit more. I believe he will do very well in La Liga. He will be pinging balls to Mbappe, Vini, and Bellingham from the deep and racking up assists against most teams. At the highest level, say against Barcelona or in the CL against Bayern and PSG, I wonder how they will fare with four defensively weak players—Mbappe, Vini, Bellingham, and TAA. Most modern great teams accommodate a maximum of one. Historically, Madrid has been kind to attacking fullbacks who are defensively not the strongest - Carlos, Marcelo. We will see how TAA measures up against those. The one positive thing is that FSG has assembled the old data team—Edwards, Graham, Ward—and added Hughes. Slot has shown himself to be a tactically solid and adaptable coach. This is a big loss for us, but I think we have the right background team to find solutions.

Hakimi, Carvajaal, Vasquez, Nacho, Sarabia, Saul Niguez—their academy is not bad. However, they haven't produced anyone at Messi, Yamaal, or, for that matter, Pedri, or Gavi level in ages.

Congratulations!!! Howe tactically outclasses Slot on this day. Your players outfought us and wanted it more. The best team in the tournament won. Enjoy this day, week, and month !!!!

My understanding is that Amorim wanted more control on transfers. Arne Slott official title is head coach of Liverpool and not manager. As long as Edwards is at Liverpool, we will not be letting managers dictate transfers. We will see how that experiment shapes up.

I read a news article that summarized Mitchell's interview. I don't think he said anything wrong, but I wonder why your backroom staff is talking to the media so much. Edwards has been at LFC for over ten years now. I don't remember a single media interview or press conference he gave. When he left, he wrote a letter to the fans on the LFC website. When he returned, it was announced on our official website, and there was no welcome-back interview or anything. He got about doing his job. Hughes was present at the press conference introducing Arne Slott, but he was there to introduce Arne and tell everyone to direct all questions regarding signings to him. After that, we have not heard from Hughes either.

Agree. Add Mount to that list. Would not have paid the price they paid for most of the signings, but that is a young squad with potential.

I agree slightly with your point. Rice is a great player, but he lacks the passing ability and the ability to set the tempo that is critical at the highest level. He is no Kante from the defensive point of view and is no Jorginho/Pirlo from a press resistance and setting-the-tempo point of view. He is a very good player in his own right. Pirlo, at his peak, would look lost in Southgate ball. Rice was not the reason England lost today. It is all on Southgate.