Liverpool FC Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2012/13

@amiable When you were asking about the guys linking us with Aubameyang this morning, had you heard something about a link to him?

Opr

opr wrote: »

@amiable When you were asking about the guys linking us with Aubameyang this morning, had you heard something about a link to him?

Opr

He sporadically gets mentioned on twitter by people and I know Jen Chang rates him highly. I'm not sure what Jen Chang's brief is exactly but I think it's no coincidence that Chang rated Assaidi highly too and suddenly Liverpool signed him out of the blue

amiable wrote: »

He sporadically gets mentioned on twitter by people and I know Jen Chang rates him highly. I'm not sure what Jen Chang's brief is exactly but I think it's no coincidence that Chang rated Assaidi highly too and suddenly Liverpool signed him out of the blue

I would have no problem with Jen Chang being promoted to head scout to be honest. Knows his stuff

This is probably complete nonsense, but I have heard a rumour that Michael Owen may be returning on a pay as you play basis.

monkey_sponge

Leiva wrote: »

Since Rodgers arrival I have noticed that the competition for places is now intense, we are starting to see the benifits of it on the fiield and no one is safe - all true except for the Goal keepers position .

It's like every out field player knows he better give it his all or he is out but I'm worried about Reinas position as he has no real competition.

Hopefully in the medium term after we have lots of quality and backup in key positions that we invest in a young quality keeper to keep oul Pep in step.
( see that, that's quality poetry right there) but on a serious note its the only position that seems to have slipped the Rodgers hard hand.

That's what I've liked so far about Rodgers. Even though I thought he treated Carroll a bit unfairly. Hopefully this will have a positive impact on the team. Players will work harder.

Why would Chelsea loan Sturridge for a year when he only has one year left on his contract?

Brendan Rodgers explained why he decided to allow Andy Carroll to join West Ham United on loan as the boss reflected on Liverpool's progression into the Europa League group stage at the expense of Hearts.


Luis Suarez's late Kop end strike cancelled out David Templeton's opener to ensure the contest ended 1-1 and secure a 2-1 aggregate victory for the Reds.

While the game was in progress, Liverpool confirmed Carroll had joined West Ham on loan until the end of the season.

Rodgers told reporters afterwards: "I have had conversations and good communication with Andy right the way through the summer. I have spoken with all the players and made them aware of where I felt they stood within the group.

"Andy wanted this to be a season where he was going to be playing regularly, and obviously I couldn't guarantee that.

"He's got the chance to go and play and demonstrate his qualities. It allows us to move on and then we'll assess it over the course of the season.

"He wants game time. He's a good guy, has worked well in training, but I can only pick 11 players and I've got some wonderful talents here like Luis Suarez."

With the transfer window due to close at 11pm BST on Friday night, Rodgers remains hopeful of adding further reinforcements to his squad.

He continued: "We need cover and other players to come in to help the group, so I hope over the course of the next 24 hours that can happen. That could only have been the case to let Andy out, otherwise we'd be short of numbers."

Journalists quizzed Rodgers on the prospect of other players leaving Anfield before the close of the window.

He replied: "We've had one or two enquiries, so I am just waiting. Obviously my concentration today was on the game, so I'll get an update later from Ian Ayre, our managing director who has worked tirelessly over the course of this transfer window to manage deals both in and out."

Earlier in the day, Liverpool wrapped up a deal for German youth striker Samed Yesil, who moved to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen.

Rodgers said: "He had a terrific tournament at the U17 World Cup and we hope that over the next couple of years, we'll see how he comes along.

"He's a goalscorer, he comes in with good pedigree and I hope we can see him develop and progress through to the first team."

On the pitch, Rodgers was delighted with the spirited response of his players after Templeton had struck in the 84th minute to give Hearts hope of forcing extra-time.

But Suarez's fine run and finish just four minutes later means Liverpool take their place in Friday's group-stage draw.

Rodgers reflected: "We achieved our objective, which was to get through. They were two very tough games and were never going to be easy, but I thought the attitude and commitment of the players was excellent.

"We showed our spirit towards the end when we went behind. Steven Gerrard made an initial run to try and create an opportunity, the ball broke back and he ran 40-50 yards to regain possession again and set up the attack.

"If I'm being honest, I thought we were a wee bit wasteful. We created chances and could have put the game to bed a lot earlier, but the most important thing was to get through and we did that."

Liverpool carved out several opportunities throughout the game and Rodgers was delighted with the endeavours of his players on a night Academy youngster Adam Morgan was handed his first senior start.

"I felt it was only going to be a matter of time [before we scored]," he continued. "Adam Morgan did very well - a young, local boy getting his opportunity - and then when Raheem Sterling came on I thought he was dynamic and very impressive.

"From the way I was seeing it, it looked as though it was only a matter of time before we would get a goal. You've got to keep the faith. Teams come here and it's a big motivation for them to play at Anfield. That's when we've got to be patient and keep the faith.

"Unfortunately we conceded, but the reaction was very, very good and I'm pleased for the players. We didn't lose the game, which was important for our mentality, and we're into the group stages which is great."

He added: "The base I have here is hard work and integrity. The players have been absolutely magnificent since I came in and given me everything. As each day goes on, we're getting closer as a group and that spirit really took us through Sunday's game [against Manchester City] and tonight.

"It was very, very important that when we went 1-0 behind, we never got disappointed. We came back and Luis probably took his most difficult chance with a wonderful run and finish. But like I said, we probably could have put the game to bed a little bit earlier."

An uncharacteristic error from Pepe Reina contributed to Templeton's opener for Hearts, but Rodgers refused to attach any blame to his goalkeeper.

"Pepe has been brilliant since I came here," stated the boss. "He will be a pivotal part of how we work. He's been excellent off the field and is a really good guy. He understands the ideology of what we're trying to do.

"Unfortunately for goalkeepers, they [mistakes] are part and parcel of the game. There is no blame attached. Sometimes when they make a mistake, it leads to a goal, but if an outfield player makes a mistake they've got their mates to help them recover.

"We know it happens sometimes, but we move on."

amiable wrote: »

He sporadically gets mentioned on twitter by people and I know Jen Chang rates him highly. I'm not sure what Jen Chang's brief is exactly but I think it's no coincidence that Chang rated Assaidi highly too and suddenly Liverpool signed him out of the blue

I read a load of his tweets posted somewhere else a few weeks back when Assaidi joined about possible players available this summer he thought would make good targets that he tweeted about before he joined Liverpool. Assaidi, Dempsey and Sahin specifically on loan were definitely three he mentioned. I can't seem to dig out the post with all of them.

Opr

Anyone else think Gerrard gave the ball away a terrible amount again tonight? Maybe stats will prove me wrong but seemed to me that he misplaced more passes than most tonight again. Worrying really. Maybe time to try him up front like Rafa was on about.

Tony Barrett

Liverpool reduced to trying to take Sturridge on loan after attempted swap deal for Dempsey fails

budgemook wrote: »

Anyone else think Gerrard gave the ball away a terrible amount again tonight? Maybe stats will prove me wrong but seemed to me that he misplaced more passes than most tonight again. Worrying really. Maybe time to try him up front like Rafa was on about.

thought gerrard and shelvey were poor Henderson might as well stayed at home. Allen was great. Hope Sahin shows the way.

How much did qpr get julio cesar for? I'm now in the worried about reina camp, not majorly but slightly..

Mr Alan wrote: »

This is like a bad ****ing joke.

If we've let Carroll go without a proper striker lined up, we need our ****ing heads examined.

Rodgers said in the interview we have a player lined up. Are you going to listen to him, or to some numpty on Twatter?