tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post3953519023708252313..comments2024-02-29T09:58:18.342+01:00Comments on The Swiss Ramble: Liverpool - Keep The Car RunningThe Swiss Ramblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11423088862174893998noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-42431906719151094512013-01-03T00:36:16.362+01:002013-01-03T00:36:16.362+01:00It wasnt a 90k contract he signed at all.
Hodgson...It wasnt a 90k contract he signed at all.<br /><br />Hodgson got more as it was only 6 months into the contracts for his team and him.<br /><br />Highway was doing a great job with the kids winning the under 18 cup twice and players starting to come through.<br /><br />The reason Benitez started doing well with the youngsters was the fact they were starting to pump money towards the youth sides.<br /><br />Carra did speak out against the owners as he attended a few SOS meetings and spoke.<br /><br />Gerrard kept quiet though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-36500057280658560712012-05-28T22:05:21.401+02:002012-05-28T22:05:21.401+02:00Kieron, maybe you already have, but have you ever ...Kieron, maybe you already have, but have you ever thought about compiling some of your posts/articles into a book? Seems like lots of authors do that today from Thomas Friedman to even Simon Kuper. Love reading each one and I think you could definitely reach a wider audience beyond those lucky ones of us who have found your blog.<br /><br />Liverpool is my Club, will be interesting to read your insights at this time next year. Seems like FSG are really trying to shake things up for the best.Brockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12939882400278183993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-10304997638142533482012-05-23T16:19:48.785+02:002012-05-23T16:19:48.785+02:00Great read. A week back, I couldn't understand...Great read. A week back, I couldn't understand FSG's decision to sack KD. But it seems they were right. For the next years, we'll have to be very shrewd in our transfers dealings. Rewind to last summer; we could easily have got Mata!..but of-course KD wanted the "British" headless chicken - Downing. Shocking. Carroll could prove to be a very good signing if, as someone said, we compare the contract duration values and the 35m quid. But one worry (for me) is FSG's persistence with a DOF. But again, someone like Van Gaal or Begiristain would be very helpful to us; they have the experience, knowledge and the vital connections in the top footballing world. But again, this is England.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-4478193610667930332012-05-18T11:37:48.406+02:002012-05-18T11:37:48.406+02:00so goodso goodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-25526065947623281302012-05-10T18:35:42.156+02:002012-05-10T18:35:42.156+02:00Great articleGreat articlekanourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17578116617318111501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-19504902307189089282012-05-08T16:46:59.783+02:002012-05-08T16:46:59.783+02:00Great article. Really close analysis on Liverpool ...Great article. Really close analysis on Liverpool FCLi Minghttp://twoliverpoolfans.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-60672490137640115782012-05-07T10:34:09.002+02:002012-05-07T10:34:09.002+02:00Excellent reading, as usually! Thanks!
Being a LF...Excellent reading, as usually! Thanks! <br />Being a LFC supporter since 1982 (30 years, of which 22 are without a league title), this is hard to take. <br />The table of wasted money is a shocker. The fact of compensating that charlatan Purslow is driving me mad. <br />Since no quality player will join a team not playing the CL, LFC has to focus on the implementation of their own academy graduates. There is a bunch of talents (Suso, Sterling, Coady, the boy from Sporting Lisabon etc.) who are capable of breaking through, if given the chance. And that is the point: its a task for a sensible management and I doubt Kenny Dalglish is the right man for that. I was not fond of his permanent appointment and now he is ruining his own legacy. FSG will probably move him upstairs to the "director of football" role, but who should come in? Martinez? AVB? The mad man from Bilbao (Bielsa, I guess is his name)? <br />Without success on the pitch the stadium issue is irrelevant and both the secondary sponsorships and the foreign market exploits will not arrive. There is much work ahead. And we who support LFC have to believe. YNWA<br />Cheers, Aleš Novák.<br />JFT96Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-1857336242593756392012-05-06T22:01:58.600+02:002012-05-06T22:01:58.600+02:00Secondly, I think that FSG aren't doing half b...Secondly, I think that FSG aren't doing half bad for only 18 months in ... you have to remember that in football it is not as easy to move a player as in baseball, so getting the dead wood off the squad list will take more time ... I think we'll see that happening this summer ... and as said by Mr Werner himself "when it's time to act, we need to act" ... there plenty of players to whittle from the squad that are probably earning more than they are worth on the field (D.Kuyt, F.Aurelio etc.) ... I would be surprised to see any contracts renewed, aside from a youth team player.barthttp://www.creativeprojects.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-69750330294693674622012-05-06T22:01:08.621+02:002012-05-06T22:01:08.621+02:00I wrote this on The Guardian's website yesterd...I wrote this on The Guardian's website yesterday ...<br /><br />"One of the facts that never really comes up in discussions around money spent on players is the following ...<br /><br />In MLB (baseball) the values of players that get thrown around are actually their CONTRACT values, the values are stated for the whole contract duration ... so, if a player is worth 100 million and his contract is 5 years then he's valued at an average of 20 million a year ... this is average because the contract could be set up to increase/decrease the wage over that 5 year period (5 million first year ... 30 million last year; or 25 million first year ... 15 last year (set-up for an older player normally)).<br />In MLB players hardly ever get moved between teams for CASH CONSIDERATIONS (transfer fee in football) ... this is sometimes seen for players who are young and inexperienced and may not have a 1st team contract or options set up yet.<br />When a baseball player is brought in as a free agent ... he comes in for free but his value becomes the contract that he signs with the team.<br />In MLB contracts stay active when a player moves team ... this is contrary to football where if a player moves teams that player negotiates a NEW contract with his new team, this contract will only be valid for the time he plays for that team, as soon as he moves on another contract has to be negotiated.<br /><br />Therefore ...<br /><br />In football a transfer fee could be seen as an INSTANT value of a player, it can change due to circumstances and one minute it could be more (or less) than the previous minute. Therefore, the INSTANT value of A.Carroll was 35 million, this was due to the large influx of money that Liverpool had and the number of goals that the player was scoring around that period ... a little bit circumstantial and very open to fluctuations ... what I never see is what is A.Carroll's contract? This would represent the REAL value that Liverpool think the player is worth ... when compared to the player's contract he is supposed to replace (Torres) and other players' contracts on the team you can see which value he is thought to have.<br />Thus ... (Torres transfer fee + remaining contract value) - (Carroll transfer fee + contract value over the years that Torres has a contract) = a more balanced look at the difference in value.<br /><br />I could see a move where Liverpool wanted to get rid of a large wage cost and replace a player with someone who will cost them less money in the long run and would proportionally bring the same value on the field.<br />Furthermore, how does Carroll's contract at Liverpool, compare with that at Newcastle ... contract wise he could have been severely undervalued at Newcastle in the eyes of Liverpool, so how much do they really value him then?<br />What worries me with regards to Liverpool is the fact that they recently came out and stated that their wage costs had actually increased. But this was over the period where Carroll (and the other new players) did not figure into the accounts ... if I am to understand Mr. Conn's other piece correctly ...<br /><br />In review:<br />In the future it would give a clearer picture if not only transfer values but contract values were given, this would make comparisons better and more balanced ... e.g. so Carroll cost 35 million, how do his Newcastle and Liverpool contracts compare? This will give a better indication of how Liverpool actually value their players.<br />Comparing money spent on MLB players and football players is (at this stage) flawed, so is looking at "moneyball" tactics when they are not really understood nor represented correctly."<br /><br />It was in reaction to an article on the owner ... I did some more research and found that Carroll earns 60,000 a week and Torres would have earned 110,000 pounds a week till summer 2013. (internet figures so could be way off!)<br />This is a huge savings in wages (fixed costs) and the idea is to replace Torres' numbers (goals/shots/etc.) with a number of players, one being Carroll.barthttp://www.creativeprojects.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-37074678004531524552012-05-06T15:53:34.853+02:002012-05-06T15:53:34.853+02:00Reflection on yesterday's match: it was Carrol...Reflection on yesterday's match: it was Carroll - poor, dud, out-of-his-depth Carroll - who gave them any hope. <br /><br />I could have seen the point of sticking with Hodgson, to give him time to get his tried-and-tested methods working. Why would one stick with Dalglish? Is there any evidence that he has methods? On the other hand, after Hodgson's experience, would an up-and-coming man with methods of his own be sensible to take the job? I dare say that Chelsea and Man C are reserved for men managing on the continent (unless Chelsea win the ECL in which case there might not be a vacancy anyway), but it's conceivable that Spurs and Arsenal might be available soon. Even Man U. They are getting into a right pickle at Liverpool.deariemenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-81023914227708889022012-05-06T08:36:42.325+02:002012-05-06T08:36:42.325+02:00Great read as always... I am so waiting for your n...Great read as always... I am so waiting for your next article, it should be about Rangers F.C. in my view... hehe & btw I'm far from from a Rangers fan, in fact I'm a Celtic supporter (catholic as well) but I would love for you to help me understand better what the heck is Bill Miller trying to do at Ibrox (CVA) anyways CIAO!Ruffianohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08721235921801012554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-44947481432118784442012-05-05T16:31:51.714+02:002012-05-05T16:31:51.714+02:00Another excellent analysis.
Going forward FSG cl...Another excellent analysis. <br /><br />Going forward FSG clearly have to solve the problem of the stadium as soon as possible and develop a far more sophisticated player acquisition strategy. The basic idea of attempting to assemble a nucleus of British trained players was undoubtedly a sound one, but was poorly implemented. Premiership rules require clubs to maintain a minimum of 8 home trained players in their 25 man squads so this has the effect of inflating the price for home-grown players. The fees paid for Downing, Carroll and co reflect this. The most significant signings of last summer, from a Liverpool perspective, were those of Phil Jones and Ashley Young, both of whom were Liverpool targets but both of whom opted to join Man Utd. This demonstrates what every football fan knows – that there are only a finite number of top players, and they are likely to join Champions League clubs over Europa League teams, which is what Liverpool have become over the last couple of years. <br /><br />Liverpool have little choice now but to try and bring through their own youngsters and supplement these with shrewd foreign acquisitions. Both the French and German markets are relatively cost effective as Newcastle have demonstrated so effectively in the last 12 months or so. But it is a moot point at present as to whether Liverpool have the necessary scouting network to identify these types of players, or indeed the management team to utilise them effectively.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-22618504894945607892012-05-05T14:22:23.427+02:002012-05-05T14:22:23.427+02:00The financial position will hit a plateau over the...The financial position will hit a plateau over the next few seasons. The side will remain in mid-table and therefore not have the funds to sign better players. The other owners are just another bunch of charlatans who have no intention of reaching in to their own pockets and funding signings and absolutely no intention of funding a new stadium.<br /><br />A new stadium will become less of an issue as the contant mid-table finishes will eventually lead to difficulties in filling Anfield on a weekly basis. The delusional attitude that emerging markets can be exploited will be prove to be the fantasy that it as because Liverpool will have nothing more than a famous name and history. The emerging markets cannot be exploited without participation and progress in the Champions League.<br /><br />This is a vicious circle and the only way to arrest it is qualifying to play in the Champions League in the 2013-2014 season. However, this is extremely unlikely without massive investment in the squad which FSG have so far shown no appetite for.<br /><br />The signings of Andy Carroll, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing and Jose Enrique were signings of vastly inferior players compared to those they replaced let alone in comparison to the level of ability required to get to the Champions League.<br /><br />Furthermore, there are other more "political" forces operating inside the club and the attempt to make the club more British has not ceased, rather we are witnessing only the beginning of it, in my opinion. FSG have managed to hoodwink the fans in regard to the debacle's surrounding the loaning of Aquilani to Milan, the transfer of Raul Meireles as well as the Torres tranfer. The latter two we are insinuated to have had bad intentions and that is why they put in transfer requests at the last moment and yet it is widely discussed that Torres had rescinded his request but was told that the club was not interested in keeping him. Little wonder that both he and Meireles have intimated that the real reasons will be revealed in the future.<br /><br />In the matter of the Torres saga it should be noted that the only reason it got to the point of him even handing in a request was due in no small part to the faffing about in trying to sign Luis Suarez. But then that is expected when you have charlatans who appoint a man as incompetent as Comolli.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-23330806023838141912012-05-05T13:25:30.318+02:002012-05-05T13:25:30.318+02:00At the level of the squad the problem that strikes...At the level of the squad the problem that strikes me (beyond the obvious one: the absurd cost of their recent purchases bar Suarez) is the club's inability to make good use of Joe Cole and Alberto Aquilani.deariemenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-86505083725534785462012-05-05T13:12:10.663+02:002012-05-05T13:12:10.663+02:00Yet again another fantastic article...love it when...Yet again another fantastic article...love it when it's on my club too! Have shared this on the LFC official forum as there will be a lot of interested readers.<br /><br />Cheers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-40398949617832320252012-05-05T01:59:01.717+02:002012-05-05T01:59:01.717+02:00Juventus Stadium has a capacity of 41,000, less th...Juventus Stadium has a capacity of 41,000, less than Anfield's.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-69526013188358918772012-05-04T23:14:30.519+02:002012-05-04T23:14:30.519+02:00Great article and I really enjoyed reading it. Tha...Great article and I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you very much for the effort you put into it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-47982383874759329832012-05-04T22:07:28.809+02:002012-05-04T22:07:28.809+02:00Once again: Thank you for this excellent article!
...Once again: Thank you for this excellent article!<br /><br />YNWA!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-31295154193329999012012-05-04T21:30:48.194+02:002012-05-04T21:30:48.194+02:00Anyone fancy estimating what those charts might lo...Anyone fancy estimating what those charts might look like after this season finishes?Jonnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17181594917970580812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-87522985333364535732012-05-04T19:44:12.365+02:002012-05-04T19:44:12.365+02:00I see a lot of references to the high level of int...I see a lot of references to the high level of interest payments for the last few years but isn't it a fact that these were never actually paid which is what led to the banks calling in the loan.<br />It seems somewhat disengenuous to include 'interest payments' when in fact they were never actually paid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-17958053710612267372012-05-04T17:33:40.770+02:002012-05-04T17:33:40.770+02:00Jamie Carragher, “people need to remember the club...Jamie Carragher, “people need to remember the club was on its knees.” <br /><br />The club was on its knees at the time of the takeover yet Jamie Carragher signed 90k a week extension signed in blood from his mate Purslow. <br /><br />Says a lot about him.Jaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-40685977925966672572012-05-04T17:18:29.268+02:002012-05-04T17:18:29.268+02:00I think a lot of debt that LFC was paying interest...I think a lot of debt that LFC was paying interest on was on 'Kop Holdings' or whatever Hick's & Gillett's holding company was called. When their Ownership was effectively terminated by RBS selling the Club to NESV/FSG, these debts reverted to H & G. Hence Mill Financial chasing Gillett for $73Mill. The sweetest thing about the deal was that H&G lost ca. $140-150Mill.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-68511862101155768222012-05-04T15:51:06.138+02:002012-05-04T15:51:06.138+02:00More was paid out to fire that charlatan Hodgson a...More was paid out to fire that charlatan Hodgson and his team than was paid out to fire Benitez and his team. Shocking. But then that is what happens when you believe the hype of the superiority of the British manager and player.<br /><br />As for Carragher, I'd turf him out of the club along with Gerrard. They both gave an interview on Sky TV soon after the takeover and claimed they didn't understand the issues affecting the club during the ownership of Gillet and Hicks. Are they really that stupid or was it due to their advisors telling them not to rock the boat for fear of losing money in the future whether that is new contracts or sponsorship deals? Either way their status as "legends" in the eyes of much of the fanbase is surely unmerited. This is especially so for Carragher who gave a mealy mouthed interview some weeks before the FSG takeover about how the correct decision needs to be taken for the clubs future. That correct decision included whether the next bunch would give him an undeserved £90,000 a week contract no doubt. In the end of course he received such a contract hours before the takeover. Looking out for the club as usual. Of course, this is par for the course at Liverpool where a sense of entitlement has existed among certain sections of those connected with the club. For example, Steve Heighway who produced nothing of note for a period 10 years and when Benitez wanted to sack him those perceived legends from the former players backed Heighway and spoke against Benitez. Such a pity that most of them failed to do that against Hicks and Gillet.<br /><br />The future is certainly not looking bright. Bad signings and the permanent appointment of Dalglish put paid to that. However, removing Dalglish will surely lead to the Bootle Baresi i.e. Carragher becoming manager or leading a campaign via his conduit Bascombe in the media to get such a position. That isn't the answer either. I suppose we just have to get used to this mid table just so that Carragher's wife can speak in English to the other WAGS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-52161138069693010292012-05-04T15:18:11.556+02:002012-05-04T15:18:11.556+02:00Fantastic article mate - appreciate all the work t...Fantastic article mate - appreciate all the work that went into this.dannynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-17591114887093237282012-05-04T15:16:38.907+02:002012-05-04T15:16:38.907+02:00Why would it cost £300 million to build a stadium?...Why would it cost £300 million to build a stadium? Juventus stadium did cost €150 millons. That's less then half.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com