12 Apr 2018 13:58:26
I know we can attract top players but surely the way we play football and the progress in the champions league this season (hopefully will win it 🤞😜) must make real top top world class players take note of what we're doing here and building.

1.) 12 Apr 2018
12 Apr 2018 14:58:55
There’s more to it than that though. There’s club profile on the world stage are we a Real, Barcelona or I hate to say it but a Man U? There’s the wages we offer. It may have changed but the last I heard James Milner was our highest paid player on £150,000. The top top earners are more than double that now and the second tier group of stars are are looking for at least 250,000.
Where the player will be living as well impacts it. Liverpool isn’t Madrid, Paris, London, etc.
We haven’t had success recently and can’t promise regular challenges for silverware yet however this is hopefully about to change.
Call me crazy but I don’t want the top top stars at our club right now. I’d rather grow the club steadily and sustainably and attract the players like Firmino, Salah and hopefully Keita who have the capacity to be a top star in the future and brings success to us before they move on. Good players come and go.

2.) 12 Apr 2018
12 Apr 2018 15:13:23
There was me thinking Salah, Firmino, Mane, Keita and Van Dijk were top stars!

3.) 12 Apr 2018
12 Apr 2018 15:46:14
We've got Keita arriving.
I honestly don't think we need much more.

4.) 12 Apr 2018
12 Apr 2018 17:02:33
NorthYorkshire Red - Not to disagree with you, but I'll only say that things have changed a lot in the past couple of decades. While I agree that Liverpool, as a city, may not have the attraction of a Madrid, Paris or London, for players, I would only add that cities such as Manchester, Lyon, Donetsk, Torino, Dortmund and so many others, are not Madrid, Paris or London either. And yet the teams from these cities (and others) do a fairly good job of attracting footballing talent that belongs on the top level. The key is the ambition or the "project" of the club, the salaries they will pay, and the key "role" the player will have in the team. We're in the age where it's not just about the stadium or city that you're playing in. Football has gone well past that "local stage" and it's all about being seen across continents in different time zones, by millions of people who may have never (and may never) set foot in Madrid, Paris and Milan. We're in the digital age where everything happens online in real time, regardless of where you are. And the players know this all too well because most are ready participants in this online digital age. And revenues for national associations or teams are not coming just from the big prestigious cities anymore, either.

But I do agree with you that market based salaries have to be paid in order to remain being competitive in attracting talent on a continuous basis. Perhaps we could be more prudent with agents' and 3rd party commissions and divert some of that generosity to the players salaries 😉.

5.) 12 Apr 2018
12 Apr 2018 17:48:16
I really don't get London being an attraction. It is a horrible place to be. I can't think of a single place in this country that I wouldn't rather live. It's just a shame to most other people that London is the impression that they get of Britain.

6.) 12 Apr 2018
12 Apr 2018 18:18:39
If you think other players and potential targets are not watching us in the PL or CL or did not watch both legs vs City saying, "Wow, that atmosphere is boss and I'll have some of that" then you are fooling yourself. Players go to clubs for diff. reasons like money, the city, team mates, the manager etc. For me if I was a player, I would wanna play in that Anfield atmosphere every week and I'm sure there are certain players telling themselves this right now. Just a hunch.

7.) 12 Apr 2018
12 Apr 2018 21:03:18
London is a horrible place for the average person, but if your a young multi-millionaire with a wife who does nothing but shop then London is a very very attractive place to live.

{Ed025's Note - i happen to like visiting london mikey..

8.) 12 Apr 2018
12 Apr 2018 22:28:33
Ra1969 by all means disagree with me my friend. While I understand and agree with what you are saying about other cities attracting top talent, the op was talking about top top world talent being attracted by Liverpool. I took this to mean the Griezman’s, M’bappe’s and Neymar’s of this world who I think we can both agree would not be attracted by Donetsk, Torino, Lyon, etc.
And to the person that sarcastically pointed out that Firmino, Salah, Keita and Van Dijk we’re top top players, they are to us. They are indespensible to us and in the future some of them will be top world class players. But right now Firmino is not regularly playing for his national team as there are players above him. Salah is rebuilding himself after a flop move to Chelsea and is proving what a world class player he will be so that he can get his move to Real Madrid. And as long as we get another great season or two out of him I will wish him all the luck with it. Keita right now I don’t think anyone would describe as a top top player, he is very young and has a lot of maturing and developing to do first. And Van Dijk? Really? He has improved our team for sure and despite a very large fee has turned out to be a good buy for us but in my opinion he will never have the attitude needed to be a world class player.

9.) 12 Apr 2018
12 Apr 2018 23:02:06
Yea but to live? Admittedly, I'm not a city dweller and of course there are some nice places to visit, culturally speaking, but I get stir crazy if I'm there for more than a day. I'd take one of the northern cities any day - and I'm a soft southern fairy.

10.) 13 Apr 2018
13 Apr 2018 04:41:36
Ed025 - are you trying to tell us that you are a young multimillionaire with a wife who loves to shop?

{Ed025's Note - the first bit would be an exaggeration preso, but the second part of that...never a truer word said mate..

11.) 13 Apr 2018
13 Apr 2018 06:26:23
there are plenty of people who would rather live in London, most stars wouldn't even be able to tell you where liverpool and manchester are. its an awesome city which has everything. plenty to go against it as well - busy, rude, expensive etc but that's the same for all the major global cities: Paris, NY etc. Its not that hard to fathom that a multimillionaire football, with a wife with expensive tastes would prefer to be there.

12.) 13 Apr 2018
13 Apr 2018 07:17:25
Wellred, London is like no other place in the UK, there's more to do and more variety than anywhere else. I live next to the river, I have two parks within walking distance and I love it. The missus hopes to move to the country one day and I'm dreading it.

13.) 13 Apr 2018
13 Apr 2018 10:42:25
If a players motivation for a move is money do we really want him? Sanchez is a prime example, a hungry player on the pitch is worth more than a hungry player off it.

14.) 13 Apr 2018
13 Apr 2018 12:23:43
A sixth of the nation lives in London. That's 13% of the population in 0.6% of the country. In a country that has the highest (or second highest) population density in Europe. It is claustrophobic and I cannot stand it. The air is filthy and so are the streets a lot of the time.

I worked there as a driver so I have seen all parts but I have also spent plenty of time there aside and have never felt so lonely surrounded by people. It has a vibe that Londoners wouldn't necessarily get if they have lived there all their lives. Yes there are lots of tourist traps, museums, the river, bars etc but there also is so much to do elsewhere.

The people seem angrier and more impatient than anywhere else as well, its like they live there but don't want to share it. The good thing is that it doesn't matter if you're a billionaire or a bread-liner, everyone still has the same angry face as each other so they're all just as miserable.

There is a lack of respect or acknowledgement of anything other than London and it irritates the life out of me. There just seems to be no joy there. I just think it's a shame that the people of London and foreigners only seem to be aware of what is for most people outside of London, the worst part of Britain.

This is of course, from a country boy who would find less to do in Covent Garden than in a hedgerow in Oxfordshire and would rather we all still lived in huts, being self sufficient and showing some respect to the world we live in. I am not a millionaire footballer who grew up in the slums of Buenos Aires etc etc but I think more people would choose other places as destinations to live if they were more aware of their existence.