alias75

“The fans of this club can rest assured that these boys are taking us in the right direction. No one individual is bigger than this club. There never has been and never will be. Players leave the club and players come in, it’s happened a lot in Liverpool history and it’s no different now. “The most important thing is the club, more important and bigger than any individual. I will never forget that and anyone who does is being a wee bit stupid and irresponsible.”

Selling Torres and buying Carroll is Kenny's biggest gamble - but also a move straight out of FSG playbook By David Maddock in Mirror Football Blog Published 23:41 31/01/11 It was a transfer deadline day that had bordered on the insane but, for ­Liverpool, there is method in their apparent madness. On the surface, a staggering £35million record transfer fee for a British player who has played less than two seasons in the top flight seems like an epic gamble, especially as a replacement for a world-class performer such as Fernando Torres. But even amid the near hysteria of the single most staggering transfer deadline day in history, there was a cool, calculating business brain dictating Anfield policy yesterday, as the club’s American owners ­transformed the potential disaster of losing Torres into a relative triumph. When they arrived at Liverpool, John Henry and chairman Tom Werner stressed they were prepared to bankroll major investment in playing talent, IF it adhered to their strict model for development. Quantcast The Fenway Sports Group plan for Liverpool is simple. They want young, hugely talented players with real potential to develop further, and to secure such talent, they are happy to take a calculated gamble. As the best young striker in England, Carroll fits that bill and even though his fee – which could rise to £40m – seems extortionate, in the context of the money secured for Torres, Edin Dzeko and Darren Bent it is understandable. Remember, too, that Carroll wasn’t the only business ­Liverpool did yesterday. They also completed a £23m deal for Uruguay World Cup star Luis Suarez, who having just turned 24, is only two years older than the young striker with whom he’ll form an exciting new Anfield forward line. When Torres delivered his stunning ultimatum on Friday, the American owners faced an ­immediate ­examination of their ­credentials. They knew the Spaniard was ­determined to leave, and if they stood in his way the club would be saddled with a miserable, sulking figure who could disrupt the rest of the squad. The challenge, then, was to find a solution to his departure to temper the obvious ­argument that Liverpool were no longer a top-level club, but one which was forced to sell its best players. Their decisiveness in identifying such exciting, raw talent as the clear direction the club must take was at least admirable, if still unproven. And within Anfield, there was quiet satisfaction last night. There is a genuine belief in some quarters within the club that Torres is no longer the striker he was. At 27 next month, he has already reached his peak, and injuries have taken a massive toll on his pace and ­confidence. He has looked a shadow of his former self this season, even for Spain, and the fear has lingered that two serious injuries have had a debilitating effect. To get almost £50m for the player under such circumstances seems like a minor triumph, and to effectively use that money to bring in Carroll, 22, and Suarez 24, doesn’t seem too bad a swap. As Kenny Dalglish was at pains to point out yesterday, Liverpool are bringing in massive youthful promise to replace someone who was ­undoubtedly world class, but whose best days could be behind him. And the new boss delivered a stinging rebuke to the departed Spanish striker, with the blunt assessment that anyone thinking they’re bigger than Liverpool is “stupid and ­irresponsible”. Dalglish asked his fans to believe in the vision the American owners have for the future and said: “The owners have been unbelievable in the support they have shown – If someone has a different view on what is happening here, then that’s up to them. “The fans of this club can rest assured that these boys are taking us in the right direction. No one individual is bigger than this club. There never has been and never will be. Players leave the club and players come in, it’s happened a lot in Liverpool history and it’s no different now. “The most important thing is the club, more important and bigger than any individual. I will never forget that and anyone who does is being a wee bit stupid and irresponsible.” Liverpool are evolving with the times, and even if the owners have ­gambled the lottery winnings of Torres’ transfer, they have not done it blindly but stuck to their model of ­investment in the future. As if to emphasise that point yesterday, Liverpool pulled off one more bit of business. Conor Thomas, a 17-year-old England youth ­international arrived from Coventry on loan

don't forget thats for Chelsea tv so they're not going to want him talking about us. Would like a Liverpool based journalist to ask him some questions about whether he feels for the fans and that type of stuff to see what he has to say.

so they turned down more from us than they accepted from spurs???

he keeps saying Charlie Adams, maybe they were after a different player

6-7 million according to Harry??? wonder what we offered then cos all the reports where we'd already had bigger offers turned down??

not what they need at all, they already have about 3 midfielders of his type. Not really that bothered if we got Adam or not would prefer someone a bit more mobile like M'Villa.

Well we can still spend £40million plus whatever we bring in from sales which should be £20 million plus. Which should get us a CB a left back and a winger.

we'll sell some players too, Aquilani for one.

Adam will be cheaper in the summer its frustrating for him but we don't need him at the moment. If we do sell Aquilani to Juventus our net spend will have been -£2million (assuming we get Adam for around £10million) so there should be money available for other problem positions. We still need another CB and its encouraging to know we did for a CB so they know that position needs improving, still need a left back and probably another wide player, but ive been hearing for months that Young is coming here whether it was in January or in the summer.

Whats the net spend?? £50million for Torres £6 million for Babel £13 million for Aquilani - in the summer = £69 million £35 million for Carroll £22 million for Suarez £10 million for Adam?? = £67million so its possible we''re gonna sign 3 first team players and lose Torres whose been sulking all year and doesn't want to be here, Babel whose never shown enough or made enough of a contribution, and Aquilani whose not been here all year and actually make £2million, not bad.

none of those players you mentioned are proven in the PL, its very romantic to talk about players like Rossi and Aguero and Fabiano but we don't play in La Liga, lots of the games we play in this league are against teams like Wolves and Birmingham and Stoke. Carroll is tailor made for this league and hes all the physical attributes to boss defenders and he can play a bit too. Its a lot of money but from what ive seen of someone like Dzeko id rather have Carroll for this league.

the report said and may be worth about £14m to the Seasiders. as usual we'll have to win the PL, CL and who knows what else to pay the full amount. Very few of these transfers involve all the cash up front there are lots of clauses that have to be triggered to reach the full amount. Of course the selling club is going to try and make it sound as good for them as possible especially when it involves selling a player the fans love. if we end up paying the full amount for any of these players it'll mean they've been a success.

get him a Suarez 7 shirt he'll soon get over it!!

Wouldn't surprise me if Harry made a late attempt for Carroll, Offered them a few players (like Crouch) and cash. But all the noise is we're not signing off of any Torres deal until we have a replacement signed up so i guess its win win.

its alright we'll wait until the summer and get him for £5million

Conor Thomas is a prodigy apparently good signing for the youth team.

you mean Conor Thomas the England U17 international?? (quick google search)

If we end up paying full whack for Carroll it will mean hes been a success so it doesn't really matter.

had the same feelings about Carroll as i did when i first saw Gerrard and Rooney, some young players you just know their going to make it. Would give us a real focal point to the team and someone that is a physical threat and can hold it up and link the play. Surround him with quick technical players and it could work really well. Forget about the comparisons with Crouch or Heskey they were big men that had no idea how to use their strength Carroll does. Could be our number 9 for the next 8-10 years so while its a lot of money if he does well it'll be money well spent.

his contract was running down and Valencia are skint, but it is a lot of money. but if they're prepared to spend it the only question should be will he do a job for us.

Talksport reckon the Torres deal will include Anelka... Front 3 Suarez............Carroll.............Anelka

adam whipping them left footed corners in for Carroll!!!

forget about the price its all about what the players will do, isn't it possible that NESV are prepared to invest in the team to a much greater extent than we thought?? is Suarez and Carroll better than just Torres?? id say yes. (especially on current form) Carroll could be our number 9 for the next 8 seasons so while it sounds like a lot of money if he produces the good over the next 5-6 years it'll be money well spent, we would have had to have started to look for Torres' replacement in 2-3 years anyway even if he were happy here. Ive watched Carroll quite a bit this season and i had the same feeling about him that i had with Gerrard and Rooney, sometimes you can just see a player has what it takes and is going to be a top player. Carroll does things that not many players can do (including Torres) he will give us a physical presence and aerial threat we haven't had for a long time. Forget about Heskey and Crouch they may physically look similar but they had no idea how to use that or weren't aggressive enough to go with it, Carroll knows how to use his physical attributes.

its all relative isn't it?? if you sell Torres and replace him with Suarez and Carroll does that make us a stronger team?? id say yes. Carroll is 22 and could be our number 9 for the next 8-10 years, its a lot of money but we might not need to spend in that position for a long time. Its also possible that NESV have more money to spend than we think in which case we should forget about the numbers being talked about and just focus on whether or not the players being brought in will do a good job for us and make us stronger.