I'm very sure we don't buy off international performances any more. Whoever we buy, they'll be fairly sure about. Their loans are ****e though
I’ll be gobsmacked if we buy the two midfielders we are rumoured to be after - It’s happened before when we bout VvD and Alison….so…..
And we actually tried to sign VVD the summer before so maybe he was bought using 'the previous years budget'
Well irrespective of then in thr past signings happened the evidence suggests that the books have to then be balanced. We got vvd and alisson and won cl then bought nobody at all really. There was one 125mil net spend followed by seasons of net income. So who knows.... maybe they will maybe they won't, but the evidence suggests it's done then the books will be balanced somehow.
yes, but over three (?) years….and cash investments are allowed from new ownership structure I believe (otherwise chelsea a truly F*cked)
Madrid spending 60m on a 16 year striker that can’t actually join them for another 18 months. Gonna end up with front 3 of Vinicious, Endrick & Rodrigo. Could be a tasty Brazilian line up for a few years if he lives up to his potential.
They are a.ways gambling that someone will buy after. Odengaard was paid a massive wage for a 16 year old or whatever that never kicked a ball in anger, ended up sold to arsenal.
Odegard wasn’t quite the same. His fee was no where near what they’ve paid for some of the young brazillians.
Diouf probably one of very few players that was hated more by the home fans than the away fans in most games....
It's also inflation but yeah, at the time odengaard bummed his sidevin Norway by not signing up. 4mil euros, 80k a week for him. The kids f4om Brazil are 30-40mil pop for u18s just to see how it works out. In fairness they don't get it far wrong when they can loan a player to arsenal and get them to revalue to player by playing him.
Diouf is the only footballer I've "met" just by chance. When I lived in Liverpool, I used to take a short cut through a petrol station on the way home from Hockey training. Diouf pulled up in his huge Land Rover, black with black tinted windows, gets out talking away on his phone. The guy in the shop came out and told him he couldn't use his phone on the forecourt. Diouf pulled the 'Do you know who I am' and carried on on his phone.
I bumped into Glen Johnson at Purley train station. This was a couple of years after he left. he was just pretty normal and no one bothered him
From the Atheletic. Its behind a paywall so: Jude Bellingham to Liverpool: Signing the midfielder would be the best move possible please log in to view this image By Caoimhe O'Neill and Mark Carey It is hard to believe Jude Bellingham is just 19. Not because of those mature performances for Borussia Dortmund and England, but also because it feels like he has been linked with Liverpool for years. He has certainly been on the club’s radar for a long time. It is almost a decade since Liverpool invited Bellingham to spend two days training at the club’s academy in Kirkby. The midfielder was playing for Birmingham City’s under-11s at the time and eventually he and his family decided to stay put in the Midlands rather than relocate to Liverpool. And so Bellingham is one who got away. However, there is hope, particularly among Liverpool’s vast fanbase, that this might change in the coming months. Bellingham is future captain material. His interviews reveal a humble, passionate and thoughtful young person. He is a confident, determined and superbly talented midfielder — something that was once again highlighted at the World Cup. What the past few seasons have shown us is that the Stourbridge-born England international is going to dominate any midfield he is part of for well over a decade to come. And while Liverpool missed out on signing Bellingham almost 10 years ago – they can’t afford to do the same again this time around. He would be a perfect fit in what is an ageing midfield very much in need of reinforcements. The contracts of Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner all expire in the summer. If all three leave the club in 2023, that would leave Jordan Henderson, Thiago, Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott as the main core of midfielders. The trio would naturally need replacing. Even with exciting prospects emerging from the academy including Stefan Bajcetic and Tyler Morton, Liverpool would still feel light in that area of the pitch if they do not delve into the transfer market. And Bellingham, who has been described by many as a complete midfielder, feels like the perfect fit. In Qatar, he not only scored England’s first goal of the tournament against Iran, but was heavily involved in almost all of the team’s goals from open play. In the win in the round of 16 over Senegal, he assisted Henderson as England went 1-0 up, which led to a now iconic goal celebration. For the goal, it was Bellingham who started running forward from his own half… please log in to view this image Harry Kane then feeds a pass through to him into the final third… please log in to view this image Bellingham picks up the ball and is now surrounded by Senegalese players. This is when he cuts a pass across to Henderson who finishes with ease. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Bellingham was also at the heart of England’s second goal against Senegal. He single-handedly launches an England counter-attack as he wins the ball deep inside his own half… please log in to view this image please log in to view this image He then dribbles forward and attracts four opposition players before playing a pass into Phil Foden on the left with the Manchester City forward going on to assist Kane. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image It is this style of energetic play that sees Bellingham heavily involved in attacking sequences and makes him such a sought-after player. A lot of Liverpool’s attacking creativity depends on their full-backs getting forward. Having a player like Bellingham in the ranks would help alleviate the pressure on the likes of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. And while Bellingham may be key to building attacks, he is also a player who will do his fair share of defensive work. Against France in the quarter-finals, he dropped in at left-back to tackle and retrieve possession from Antoine Griezmann on at least two occasions in the first half. This allowed Luke Shaw to put pressure on Ousmane Dembele. But when the French winger managed to play a pass into Griezmann in space, it was Bellingham who made sure he got across to fill in. Had he not done that it would have left England exposed with Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud lurking in the box. Midfielders performing in this way has been fundamental to Liverpool’s success under Jurgen Klopp, and Bellingham has shown he has the positional awareness and nous to pull it off to great effect. As mentioned, Bellingham is someone whose touches often lead to goalscoring opportunities. And if we take a closer look at the breakdown of Bellingham’s shot-creating actions — which are the two offensive actions that directly lead to a shot — we can see how he compares to Henderson, Thiago and Fabinho — Liverpool’s most-used midfielders since 2021-22. Bellingham proved his worth when getting forward for England. The impact he has in the build-up to shots is even more impressive as he depends less upon open-play passes (71 per cent) than Henderson (90 per cent), Thiago (86 per cent) and Fabinho (83 per cent) do to create shots. The rate Bellingham dribbles with the ball which leads to a shot is higher (11 per cent) than the three Liverpool midfielders combined. Having a midfielder who will carry the ball through the middle of the pitch more often would be a massive advantage. please log in to view this image In terms of where Bellingham can play, that is somewhat of an open-ended question. For Dortmund, he has played the majority of his minutes centrally since the 2020-21 season. Most of his time on the pitch has been split between a defensive-midfield role and a more central attacking one. As his share of domestic league minutes shows, he is someone who can also play on the right and left, too. please log in to view this image He showed this flexibility at the World Cup after starting the tournament playing on the right of midfield in a deep-lying, double-pivot role alongside Declan Rice against Iran and the USA. He then moved to the left for the remainder of the tournament and did not look out of place. The number of minutes Bellingham has played in the Bundesliga since 2020-21 tells a story in itself. He has already played over 100 games for Dortmund in all competitions, which is remarkable given his age. As for this season, Bellingham has been box-to-box but balanced in what he offers on the pitch. His defensive impact, using smarterscout data, is rated at 89 out of 99. This number means Bellingham is a player who forces turnovers and limits ball progression by opposition players with his defensive actions. As for his carry and dribble volume, listed as a defensive midfielder, he can’t get a higher rating (99 out of 99). This means Bellingham looks to drive upfield and take on his man when given the opportunity. Basically, Bellingham loves running with the ball and is very successful when doing so. please log in to view this image His ability to retain the ball also feeds into this. A rating of 90 out of 99 for ball retention highlights how well Bellingham looks after possession. He rarely loses control. Now to his attacking impact. That is the blue part of the pizza chart, which is looking almost whole. We know Bellingham likes to shoot and his shot volume (96 out of 99) illustrates that. This number shows us how often he takes a shot out of the total number of touches he has. Kevin De Bruyne is another midfielder with a similar eye for goal. And while De Bruyne likes to hit those Steven Gerrard-esque pile-driving shots, Bellingham is more likely to take on shots when making those surging runs from midfield and popping up in good areas. Bellingham’s expected goals from shot creation (97 out of 99) and ball progression (98 out of 99) are almost as good as it gets for a player listed as a defensive midfielder and show just how involved he is in his team’s attack — whether that is at the start or the end of the sequence. This is what makes Bellingham special — he can do it all. But it is in the final third of the pitch where he can really light up. What team wouldn’t want to sign a player who oozes class, control and creativity? He is perfect for Liverpool. (Top photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
He was probably still making his way back into position. I once had Alan Hansen and Graeme Sharp towering over me in a club in town after a derby game. I couldn't get very close because they were surrounded by a buffer zone of young women. It's the closest I've been to pro footballers, apart from at a game.
I also saw Ian Wright (flat cap and all) outside Royal Oak tube station as I was on my way to play 6-a-side.
