17 Jan 2018 12:28:31
Hi Eds,

A quick one away from all the transfer speculations. when a club loans a player out, are there circumstances where the parent club will be subsiding the wage? I. e. If Cardiff were to loan Grujic, they may only be paying 60% of his current wage and Liverpool the rest? I know that's quite a simplistic example. But I was wondering with how many players are loaned out from big clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool, if these players are costing them whilst away?
Thanks for all your hard work, don't know where I'd be without this page!

{Ed002's Note - Yes it is reasonably common for the loaning club to pay some or even all of the wages.

Liverpool only has a few players out on loan and suffers from a lack structure for loans and career progress which they do need to address. Firstly they must establish a structure and planning for a career path and look to establish relationships with a couple of sides such that the loan system can work for the club. The liaison structure is critical as whilst managers may occasionally see players it is generally something undertaken by others dedicated to the task. As an example, each loan player from Chelsea has a liaison officer assigned (some are ex-players) who regularly see them, deal with any issues and report progress back to the club. For instance there was a problem with a couple of players in the Netherlands and that resulted in the club having them get involved with spending some time with the local community (schools and charities). Chelsea has also helped clubs they have and are building relationships with - this may include providing training facilities, loaning coaching staff, having ex-players works with them in some capacity etc.. They have a structure in the Netherlands and Belgium in addition to relationships with South American and old Eastern Bloc countries. They are currently working a deal with a Champions League side as well. Similarly in Italy I know that the clubs with a significant number of players on loan have regular contact and bring them back as a group for training on a couple of occasions mid-season. I am sure there will be someone at Liverpool keeping contact with the younger players on loan where there are legal responsibilities as some are still technically children but others on loan from Liverpool reported the occasional text message only – simply not good enough. Many clubs in Spain and Portugal have built relationships with other sides and it helps with brining in players from South America.}


1.) 17 Jan 2018
17 Jan 2018 13:17:19
Because knowledge is power Mrplums.


2.) 17 Jan 2018
17 Jan 2018 13:27:50
Because it's very interesting Mrplums. and as hjikle properly said "knowledge is power".


3.) 17 Jan 2018
17 Jan 2018 13:43:19
I’ve wondered about this too. Cheers Ed.


4.) 17 Jan 2018
17 Jan 2018 16:35:01
Jesus! Abromovich must have every single ex player as a liaison officer with the amount of loans Chelsea have going on.


5.) 17 Jan 2018
17 Jan 2018 18:40:18
Thanks Ed002 for the really insightful response.

While unconnected to LFC, if I may ask, why do Chelsea remain largely unable to produce first team players with a system as comprehensive as that? Is there a disconnect in the philosophy between development groups and first team, or is it just because of Abramovic's firing finger? And are there any other clubs who regularly churn out first teamers from a loan system?

{Ed002's Note - Courtois went through that process and is a regular. Christensen returned in the summer and is a regular. Moses had a few loans and is a regular, Ake went through it and is a regular for Bournemouth, Lukaku and De Bruyne went through the Chelsea set up and are doing ok now, plus Chelsea. Has a couple of squad players who have been through it. So it is perhaps not doubt too badly.}


6.) 18 Jan 2018
18 Jan 2018 08:21:11
Ed, all due respect, I think that including Lukaku, KDB and Moses in that argument is a bit of a stretch. The first two players needed to *leave* Chelsea to play first team footy, Moses was already an experienced player who only went on loan because Mourinho didn't think he was good enough.

{Ed002's Note - Ok, if you don't think that Lukaku or de Bruyne went through that system then fine - or perhaps you don't think they are first team players, then remove them.}


7.) 18 Jan 2018
18 Jan 2018 10:52:18
Thanks Ed. Chelsea did seem to have more talented youngsters though. Clearly KDB, Lukaku etc were always going to be better than Ibe and Markovic. But LFC should get their loans system in order if top young talent like Woodburn are to progress.

{Ed002's Note - Markovic moved too soon - I made that clear at the time.}


8.) 24 Jan 2018
24 Jan 2018 09:01:51
What are you on about ed? Of course they went through the system, but hhanif005 was talking about first team players for Chelsea in particular, not just anybody. And he's right, Chelsea's extensive and "marvellous" loan system has only given them one first-team player.

{Ed002's Note - Which one of Christensen or Courtois is that? Idiot.}