http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/pepe-reina-napoli-loan-deal-5166530 LFC manager says Mignolet arrival meant deal made financial sense for club Brendan Rodgers has defended the decision to off-load Pepe Reina to Napoli as the Liverpool FC boss insisted: âThis team is evolving.â The popular Spanish keeper's eight-year stint as Anfield No 1 is over with Rodgers ready to put his faith in £9million new signing Simon Mignolet. Having decided that Mignolet would be his first choice this season, the manager says the Reds couldn't justify paying Reina his £110,000 per week wages in order to sit on the bench. Reina, who is under contract for another three years, is set to go on a season-long loan to the Serie A outfit where he will be reunited with former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez. âIt's my decision,â said Rodgers. âLast year I had to make decisions in pre-season for the financial stability of the club and that's something I've obviously had to do this year as well. âFinancially, it is something we needed to look at. I had a good chat with Pepe the other day and he knows where it's at. âIt reared its head over the last few months and I had to prepare for it by bringing in another goalkeeper anyway. âPepe is a good guy and Iâve got a lot of time for him. He's been a real pillar for me in terms of how I want to operate. âBut he's got a big season ahead because itâs a World Cup year and one where, if he wasnât going to be playing, that could severely harm his chances of going to the World Cup. We both understand that.â With Jamie Carragher having retired in May and now Reina departing, the Reds have lost two leaders and an abundance of experience in recent months. However, Rodgers is unconcerned. âIt doesn't worry me at all,â he said. âWe brought Kolo Toure in who is loud in the dressing room and we have others who can step up to the mark. We will get players who will come in and be hungry. âPepe has a great history with the club. He's been a lynchpin but the team and the club are evolving. âThere won't ever be anyone who is bigger than the football club. I've not overly worried about someone's standing, I'm worried about performance.â Finances may have dictated not keeping Reina at Anfield as a deputy but it's clear that the decision to replace him with Mignolet is based solely on Rodgers' belief that the Belgian represents a better long-term option for the Reds. Liverpool arrived in Melbourne yesterday after kicking off their pre-season tour with a 2-0 win over an Indonesia XI in Jakarta on Saturday. Luis Suarez reported for duty Down Under as planned and Rodgers will hold talks with the striker about his future ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Melbourne Victory. Fellow Uruguayan Sebastian Coates has also linked up with the squad. âI'm looking forward to seeing Luis,â Rodgers said. âHe's a player I have always supported. I understand his situation but the bottom line is he's employed by the football club.â Jay Spearing, who was an unused substitute on Saturday, is holding talks with Blackburn Rovers about a potential move to the Championship club. Liverpool's chief scout Barry Hunter has flown out to Melbourne to provide Rodgers and managing director Ian Ayre with an update on the club's pursuit of transfer targets.
Massive shame to see Reina go. But, while Rodgers is in charge we have to back him and let him build his own team, if not he's never going to succeed.
I suppose it depends on if he can be recalled or not, I hope he can be it would all crazy to only have Jones as cover.
can't say as anyone saying either half or all are making a supposition as no deal is apparently done. we have said we don't want reina to the world base don wages when a deal has not been struck. if reina fails to move then either he comes back and undermines mingolet by taking his slot or he sits there and waits for barca... who will pay buttons. the funny thing is.... it could all be avoided by just saying nothings being done yet and leave it at that. Reina is at least not mouthing off which i think most in his shoes would be entitled to do after a long and distinguished service to the club to be forced out it seems. Rodger sis quick to say its his decision so i can only assume pepe didn't say i want to go. I find it ham fisted again.... why say its your decision or its over wages until its all done. I had thought it was all done until suddenly rodgers is saying oh he doesn't know now and he has to wait to see.
He has no excuses now, it's his team and that team has to perform if they don't Rodgers could be deep in it.
and i agree with this. You have to respect he's made a choice even if the choice is one perhaps forced from on high due to wages. I don't know which way it is coming from. No issues with the choice, just the way its been done and the way pepe is being handled. a loan! and then taking credit for it when you've not got a clue its actually done. Last august 31 he looked like chemical ali in bagdad when the tanks were rolling by and nearly 12 months on he's making the same error.
I am thinking MITO that Reina will be more than happy to join Rafa at Napoli, one of the reasons he may not feel so bad about this whole situation. His exit has been pending prior to the new keeper arriving anyways so Reina's willingness to move on alleviates any perceived wrong doing by the club and Brendan in this matter.
You are probably right... and that's probably what rodgers thought. its a pity he could not just hold his water until it was confirmed cos that 10% chance it might not come off could blow egg all over him. I think the loan thing is a very clear signal to barca to come get me... I just have to wonder...... The thing is though..... you say "willingness to move" yet pepe has done nothing ar deny moving and has never mooted such a thing. Rodgers says he took the decision when napoli came in so we could be seeing a very unhappy reina travelling to italy and leaving his family in L4 for the duration rather than uproot to a new language... all because FSG don't want his wages.... we just do not know. I would not uproot my kids from school and the guy has 4.... for a year in italy where they haven't a word of the language. Bu that's pepe's call cos he wants barca. If he knows they are in i'd move them home. Its still 12 months without pops for them... I hope pepe is on the blower to spain seeing if he can sit on barca's bench even cos that'd be better. I hope barca do low ball us actually.
As much as I love them and don't want them to go, the sooner the likes of Pepe, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Lucas, Gerrard, etc go the better in terms of moving/progression. They all represent the not too distant past of failure.
At least we have a keeper already in for a good price. If Rodgers had been planing to offload Reina for months then it was best we secured Mignolet rather than selling/loaning Reina straight off the bat then being taken for mugs knowing we're in serious need of a new keeper. It's the best short term solution we have for Reina, if supposedly Reina is holding out for Barcelona, then get him out on loan and save a couple of million on wages. Rodgers has been backed now, he's spent over £60m since he's joined without taking in to account player sales. But he's kept the core of our side so you can't really argue we've lost our best players (yet). I agree with Luv that it's time to walk the walk. He talks a good game does Rodgers and I genuinely like him, but for the last few years we've been fed the "Team in transition" line, which partly was true but for me this could be the make or break season for him.
Its not going to happen overnight but, bar Stevie, I don't think they will be at the club in two years time.
Unless the intentions are to make it permanent, the Barca managerial situation may have scuppered his original plans
I think we have two professionals here. Rodgers knows what he wants and so does Pepe. Now their objectives are different. Whilst I'm sure that Pepe would love to return to Barca and take over the No 1 slot for Spain, Rodgers needs to do what is best in the long term interests of LFC. On this occasion, it would appear these two objectives do not appear compatible in the long term. However, both parties will work together to find the best possible outcome for both of them.
Why do they come out with all that **** a couple of weeks ago about competition and having two top level keepers if they were planning on moving Reina on. Piece of advice to the management, ' Dont bullshit your own fans.' Will miss Pepe, been a good servant. Dont like the way it has been done, but will back the managers decision.
I'm sure they would love to know how they can tell the fans the genuine goings on with opposition clubs finding out
How much of the wages we've saved on Pepe will we have to spend on a back-up keeper....Rodgers himself said we need at least two top players per position...let me guess...Jones is that player right
