26 Jan 2023 13:00:42
If ED002 is around. Are we still looking to sign a midfielder in this transfer window and if so have we actually made any offers to any clubs? Thanks very much.

{Ed002's Note - Liverpool left it too late to sign Amrabat and the price was raised.}

1.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 13:33:03
I still don't think Klopp see's the midfield as an issue. He defended our options in the summer and i backed him as i thought he's earned that trust. Despite being proven wrong (in my opinion) he's doubled down and defended them again this window saying the issues need to be solved with coaching. He's even implied that Milner should be offered a new contract. At the end of the day he's the manager, and despite what I think is a mistake, there's not really anybody i'd say could do a better overall job.

I really don't see us signing a midfielder until Keita and Ox go in the summer now.

2.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 13:54:48
No Midfielders will come in unless we have departures as we are stocked with a pile of shizer in the midfield ranks.

3.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 14:42:47
Perhaps he doesn't see it as an issue MK but personally I think he's in a situation, where he can't sign anyone that he thinks is a right fit right now. So rather than admitting that we desperately need a midfielder and upset the players we have, he's trying to back them and get something out of them. Who knows but as you said, I don't see anyone else capable of doing a better job right now.

4.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 15:06:29
I wouldn’t say he doesn’t think the midfield is an issue it blatantly obvious with the tactical changes he tried against Brighton and the personnel changes since that game he knows there is an issue there.

I just think he’s pinned his hopes on signing Bellingham and he’s not a stupid man. It tells me that we have been getting positive noises from Bellingham that he wants to join us. If Bellingham was even 50/ 50 there is no way in the world we would not be moving for a different target in this window.

Think about it, we know there’s an issue there and we think Bellingham is the best option to start to fix it and we want to make him a mainstay for the next 10 years. He’s saying he wants to come but not until the summer and we don’t know how much we will have to pay to make that happen. Why would we then blow upwards of £50m on someone else putting us in a worse position with less funds to negotiate the Bellingham signing in the summer?

I might be wrong on this but I don’t think I am.

I also think at the start of the season going with what we had couldn’t be considered a bad move. We nearly won everything with that midfield just 3 months earlier so nobody could’ve foreseen the drop off in form they’ve gone through. He’s thought he has the players to see us through until we get Bellingham in the summer but with injuries and loss of form it hasn’t worked out that way.

That doesn’t mean that we should rip up the long term plan and sign Amrabat, a player we don’t even want. We got a short term signing in Melo to help see us through but he’s been injured the whole time he’s been here. Again something we couldn’t have foreseen.

I think we just need to be patient and it will all come together in the end.

5.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 15:34:14
Becker's P speaking a lot of sense this week.

6.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 15:42:47
5 days left to give us a chance to salvage the season. Inaction is doubling down on the negligence or as Ed says, stupidity.

7.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 16:09:40
Thanks Stoneage that’s the first time anyone’s ever said that about me. I’m touched ?.
I do think if we were waiting until the summer to sign Caceido or Amrabat just to save a few quid I’d be as annoyed as everyone else as we do need help now.
However, Bellingham is different. He’s a generational talent that would already be one of the best midfielders in the league at 19 years old. Imagine how good he will be in 5 years time.

He’s a Liverpool fan, his hero is Gerrard, we can give him Gerrard’s number 8 shirt so he can emulate a player he idolised as he was growing up. We have an advantage over every other team that wants him.

It’s just too good an opportunity for us to miss. He’s leaving Dortmund in the summer and we have to use all of those things to convince him to sign for us. If that means saving our funds and making do until the summer then I’m all for it.

8.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 16:37:28
Beckers pecker - I sure hope Bellingham lives up to your expectations.

In my opinion, signing someone with a 10-year view is naïve business. Injuries and drop-off can happen at any time. Sacrificing current performance/ objectives for that naïve view is concerning.

9.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 17:16:28
I would have bet my house in nov/ dec a mid would be coming in but not a hope will we see one this window!
The fume on this site if and when Jude says I nvr said I was going to Liverpool the interweb will break!
The summer will be interesting majors outs could be surprises!

10.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 17:02:08
Thanks ED002. That is a real shame. I think Amrabat would have been the perfect cheaper solution to help tighten the midfield.

{Ed002's Note - I think it was a mistake.}

11.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 17:49:38
FPF I would look at it the other way. I think it’s you who has a very naive view. Sacrificing long term success for instant gratification is what children do.
Adults have the ability to look to the future and know that a bit of short term pain can give them long term gain. Children want everything right now with no thought about what might happen tomorrow.
It’s a matter of opinion of course but also a matter of maturity.

12.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 17:58:39
Jay Dub if Jude does say he’s not coming then so be it. What I’m saying is that we have a very good chance of signing a real upcoming world star given his love for Liverpool, Gerrard, his friendships with Trent and Hendo so we should 100% give it a go.
How would you feel if we signed Amrabat now and gave up on Bellingham. He then signs for Chelsea in the summer who also have no CL and we didn’t even make an offer?

If there is a chance of signing Bellingham the club owe it to fan base to do all they can to make it happen.

Didn’t we have enough of this short term rubbish thinking during Rodger’s spell? We needed a striker so instead of waiting for the right one we signed Lambert and Balotelli!

It simply doesn’t work! We need to have a structured plan and we need to stick to it. If and only if Bellingham doesn’t sign then we move on to the next target.

13.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 18:03:17
Beckers pecker - I take you don't run a business or lead teams? Do you know what happens when you sacrifice the performance of a high-functioning team for a possibility that is out there in the long grass? You get declining performance levels, poor outcomes and a loss of trust.

If we finish outside the top 4 this season, we'll have put players that are not able to do so, through the ringer for another season and they will be rewarded with a season (at least) outside of Europe's elite ucompetition. All because we are dewy-eyed for one 19-year old that is supposedly the second coming of Stevie G.

Thanks for your lesson in maturity though.

14.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 18:13:24
So Beckers! We sign Bellingham in the summer and he covers what? 5 positions? This Bellingham must be a Steven Gerrard / Xabi Alonso and Ronaldinho with steroids in one pack, that he could play the B2B, Deeper, DM and what not. Ain’t it mate?

What a load of tosh! We don’t have a ducking penny to spend and the bits and perks we had we splashed it on a winger who isn’t even getting a sniff on the wings.

15.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 18:13:47
Let’s get it right now, all this should’ve already been Sorted.
We are 9th in the league. It’s absolutely terrible.

16.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 18:22:16
FPF mate, Beckers is firmly on FSG’s payroll lol. He is happy to write off an entire season in the hope of chasing a kid who can at his very vets only play one position while the club needs at least 4 midfielders in the summer m ?????.
He is also happy that we TRIED for Bellingham!
The absolute state of mediocrity!

17.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 18:44:31
Thank god they left it too late for Amrabat that is great news. An average player for a inflated fee. Now let’s talk Gavi of Barcelona any truth to Liverpool’s interest?

18.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 18:44:11
it just seems like that no one at the club is on the same page. very disturbing.

19.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 18:47:14
Don't forget that even the most brilliant player is only an Everton goalkeeper away from losing his edge.

20.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 18:52:49
FPF I actually run a very successful business and have done for the last 10 years. I see it as my duty to always be be thinking of the future as just looking for short term results without thinking about the bigger picture could mean disaster for my business, my staff and their families.

This short term thinking will keep us in a state of mediocrity forever. We’ve been there before, you have a hole in the squad but the player you want isn’t available so you make do with someone else. The same happens in another position, and another, and another. Then before you know it you have a squad of bang average players and have no chance of ever making up ground.

Sayonara you need to stop exaggerating. We definitely don’t need 4 or 5 midfielders that’s just silly. Get Bellingham in and that would help Fabs and Thiago, not to mention Bajcetic. You post is exactly what I mean when I talk about immaturity.

21.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 19:32:14
Beckers - if you think Jude alone solves our midfield issue then you’ll be proven wrong. It’s not one hole. It’s several. We need at least 3 incoming midfielders in the summer.

This is not short-termism. This is remedial action due to mismanagement.

22.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 20:02:55
Immaturity? Lol then you are epitome of mediocrity. Fabinho is done there is no going back! If not today you will realize it later! Bellingham is not going g to miraculously improve him. We also need squad fillers for Keita and Ox. Thiago also needs an upgrade at some point.
Pinning all the hope on a kid who hasn’t proved anywhere except in a farmers league is what you call “maturity” lol.

23.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 20:23:46
What's caused this current bout of knicker wetting hysteria?
Have some been given extra homework or something?

24.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 20:33:29
Hang on a minute. You are talking about squad fillers and signing any old midfielder that’s available and I’m talking about going after one of the top young talents in world football and I’m the epitome of mediocrity?
Not sure how you worked that one out ?.

Bellingham would not be the last player we ever sign but he could be a pivotal signing and be at the heart of our midfield for the next 10 years. Of course he can’t do it on his own but a squad is an ever evolving thing and Bellingham would certainly make us much more competitive than we are now.

If there is any chance of getting a player of that quality you take it and then build the midfield around him.
I’d much rather that than panic buy Amrabat or some other no mark.

FPF I would say that wasting our money now on any old player would be a great example of mismanagement. Like it or not we don’t have unlimited amounts of transfer funds so we have to use them wisely and I think it’s wiser to go for the best players we can.

You guys need to relax a bit seriously, it’s football and you can’t win every game. You will have bad seasons it comes with the territory and if every time things don’t go your way you throw your toys out of your pram and demand 5 new players maybe this game isn’t for you.

25.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 20:36:18
Your usage of lol and emojis and constant new usernames says more about your 'maturity' Harry. Now its 4 midfielders for the summer eh. Bet it will be 5 in June including your lovechild Kovacic.

26.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 20:39:24
Harry is that u again?

27.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 20:45:38
Good on you BP. Nice to see a sensible head! Fabs isn’t suddenly crap guys, the tactics and lack of legs around him are leaving him exposed and fighting a losing battle. Same as how people say TAA is crap cause he can't defend since Elliots been RCM and doesn’t give him the protection Henderson (used to be able to, unsure now? ) its a dead argument. Fabinho carried us last season even scoring a handful of goals to drag us up, next season he’s finished? Please! We can't judge anyone in this team at the moment its a strange old season. We benefit playing games regularly and not with a world cup mid way, people expect that to have improved us but the breaks never do, surely we know that of our own team by now? We build rhythm and play better each game, international breaks always undone us let alone world cups. But yeah, Fabs who was one of the best DMs going about 1-2 seasons ago is now finished. Jesus.

28.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 21:10:18
Harry has morphed again. The crying laughing emotis are a dead give away.

29.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 21:41:17
Beckers pecker’s logic is that any signing that is not Jude is “any old player”. Nuance is lost with every post.

I’m checking out guys. I’ve got some bed wetting to catch up on. Enjoy.

Maybe you’ll eventually come round when the Eds say it.

30.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 21:57:43
Fabs has been crap for 6 months. Will he get back to his best I very much doubt it. Will he be first choice at the start of next season? I sincerely hope not. Off the bench and start the lesser games is his role going forward. Time to be ruthless or see Man City, Arsenal, even Man U sail off into the distance. He turns slower than Maguire for goodness sake.

31.) 26 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 22:40:36
I know Oraujo I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall talking to these guys.
The midfield players we have, Fabs, Thiago, Hendo, Keita, Ox, Jones, Elliott between them in varying degrees of effectiveness won us 2 trophies, got us to a CL final and finished 1 point behind the champions merely 3 months before the start of this season.

I think it was a fair assumption that these players could get us through this season and we would be able to have a crack at signing Bellingham in the summer. I keep talking about Bellingham because a) He’s a future world star and b) by all accounts he’s our number 1 target.

I do still think that between them and now throwing Bajcetic into the mix these players can get us into the top 4. You don’t go from being as good as these guys were to losing it completely in the space of 3 months!

Why don’t we concentrate on getting the team functioning properly again and sign our number one target or targets in the summer rather than throwing the plan out of the window and panic buying players we don’t want?

I don’t get the small minded thinking that what is happening now will always be the way it is. Footballers are human beings they can have bad spells just like everyone else. As can managers, coaches, medical staff. It doesn’t change their ability.

32.) 27 Jan 2023
26 Jan 2023 23:42:55
I think a fairer comparison is them banging a brick wall off of your head! Pinch of salt goes a long way on here mate, half the times it's spoiled brats the other trolls. Take it easy brother!

33.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 08:38:58
Atm it doesn’t matter much what happened 3 years ago and it doesn’t matter that we lost the 2 main competitions last season. The past has gone. We should be doing miles better.

34.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 08:43:49
Reading that back this morning is comical.
Getting into an argument over something you have no control over has an air of futility about it.
Don't forget to change your bedsheets Pelican!

35.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 08:46:39
the worry i guess i would have is that there will be so much hope and hype if we sign Jude that it coul dbreak the lad, we aren't signing the finished article he is 19, I hope we do get him but also hope the expectations of him carrying the whole team as a Gerrard doesn't turn it sour, ALthough he could also thrive on it who knows, YNWA.

36.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 09:02:22
I guess the maturity comes from the way we post Sayonara ?.

37.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 09:06:02
For what it’s worth, I think you are spot on @Beckers.

As an aside and to nobody in particular, I love the inadvertent / un-noticed irony. A poster said basing a ten year plan, which was a (wilful? ) mis-interpretation of what was actually said, argues that we need someone for the here and now without even thinking of acknowledging the loan signing, and the purpose of the loan signing which was addressing the immediate issues we had, that we made on the last day of the last window…….

38.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 10:08:34
Financial prudence does not come from paying excessive prices in the Jan market . Brighton would struggle to replace Caicedo hence asking the ridiculous fee that they are. That doesn't mean that we don't want him, but if he is desperate enough to leave cause CFC are paying said silly money, then he's not for us anyway. Jurgen wants players that are committed to our cause .

We should buy Brighton's replacement if we can.

39.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 10:32:23
This will be the 5th transfer window we havnt signed a senior midfielder if nothing changes before the end of the window.

With Joao Gomes on the brink of moving to Wolves for €17mil, I’m wondering does that free up Ruben Neves?

40.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 12:02:15
Carrying a whole team that incudes Alli, Trent, Robbo, Virg, Konate, Thiago, Diaz, Nunez and Salah. Jude's poor back'll be broke??.

41.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 12:45:47
Actually add Jude and say a Caicedo to that bunch and that's some 11.But really just Jude and Fab/ Baj and it'd give anyone a game.

42.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 12:59:46
Bellingham is the main target. but we need 1 more quality midfielder atleast. So why can't a 50- 70m midfielder be bought now? If you think that money would stop us from signing Bellingham. we are in for more trouble next season. And god help us if Bellingham decides against us at last minute. We need 2 main mids and atleast 1 squad mid after ox and nabby are finally rid of. Morton recalled included. Milly needs to go. This window should of been a start of the rebuild that should of started 2 years ago. Atleast.

43.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 13:02:23
Saint Jude.
Gonna replace 4 midfielders leaving while simultaneously helping cover the miles the aging midfield 3 can’t.
The expectations put on this lad before he’s even signed is ridiculous.

44.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 13:12:14
People always mention we need midfielders to replace Millie, Naby and the Ox yet even without any signings we would still have 7 CM's in Hendo, Fab, Thiago, Jones, Elliott, Morton and Bajcetic. I thought the whole argument during the summer was that we had quantity and no quality in midfield. Get Jude in, the best and if we can another TOP midfielder in do it, not 3 or 4 decent ones.

45.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 15:06:21
Jude - spot on.

1 or 2 players who can be relied upon for fitness, quality and resilience will be worth their weight in gold.

Between Naby, Milner, Ox, Jones, Hendo, Thiago (to an extent), we aren’t able to rely on these games to play week in week out at a high level due to age, injuries, durability, etc.

The fact that arsenal have been able to put out an almost identical spine week in week out has been huge for them this season.

46.) 27 Jan 2023
27 Jan 2023 16:30:29
Genuine question for all you Liverpool fans that are convinced Bellingham wants Liverpool. Why are you so convinced? I haven't found anything that suggests he supports Liverpool other than the fact that Gerrard is one of his idols and he's mates with a couple English players from Liverpoool. Ed002 said recently (can't remember which page) that he thinks Real Madrid are probably best poised to sign him (he didn't confirm anything though, just an opinion) yet all I see on this site is that he's a die hard Liverpool fan and only wants to play for you.

Should mention I'm a Chelsea fan just being nosey. Enjoyed this thread a lot and this is the second club banter site I visit after chelsea of course. Cheers!

47.) 28 Jan 2023
28 Jan 2023 13:45:00
You always overpay in this window so I respect the club not leveraging the possible signing of Bellingham in the summer to overpay for a player now that isn't as good. If the plan is to go all in for Bellingham in the summer, wait until then. Get the business done early and/ or if he doesn't come then you know you have 100-150m to spend on backup targets. If he does come, then we know we can build the midfield around him. So, buying someone in Jan doesn't make sense in the long run since we don't know whether or not Bellingham is coming. I'm confident there are multiple scenarios being considered with the appropriate targets in mind. One "poor" season does not mean everyone at the club is suddenly inept. P. S. There's still a way for us to get CL footie next year even if we're midtable. just sayin.

48.) 28 Jan 2023
28 Jan 2023 16:15:48
Looking at another teams fan sites on a Friday evening? youth is wasted on the young?.

49.) 28 Jan 2023
28 Jan 2023 21:35:31
I'm staying with family at the moment Jude and I prefer reading stuff on my phone than listening to arguments all day ?.