please log in to view this image Liverpool need to break their wage structure if they are to win the Premier League, according to former player Ray Houghton. His comments come after forward Raheem Sterling rejected a new £100,000-a-week contract to stay at Anfield. Houghton says the club cannot compete with the Premier League's top spenders. The 53-year-old told BBC World Service: "The owners are going to have to try and do something about it. Whether they are willing to, only time will tell." Liverpool are seven points adrift of the Champions League places after damaging back-to-back defeats by Manchester United and Arsenal. Former Republic of Ireland international Houghton said: "Liverpool are not in that area when it comes to actually spending and paying out on wages. They can only bring in a certain calibre of player. "That may have to change if they are going to really be competitive to win the league and be competitive once they get back into the Champions League." Liverpool sold top scorer Luis Suarez to Barcelona in the summer for £75m, while their most expensive signing in the summer transfer window was Adam Lallana from Southampton for £25m. Manchester United, meanwhile, signed Angel Di Maria for a British record £59.7m, Arsenal bought Alexis Sanchez for £35m and Chelsea spent £32m on striker Diego Costa. Houghton added: "I don't think Liverpool can compete with Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United when it comes to paying wages. "You look at some of the players at their clubs reputedly on £250,000 to £300,000 a week. "Liverpool can't pay that. I think that the highest-paid player is Daniel Sturridge and I heard that figure is about £150,000 a week http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32198050
400 million just like city or chelsea Or utd will have by the end How much if you add it up have arsenal coughed up just to keep 4th lately? Ozil and Mr sanchez..... Our 120 mil went on dross but was supported by sales too Reality check utd spent it all out of revenue, not much was sales Arsenal have it in cash City and chelsea pretend they don't have it but do LfC talk about being smarter and making it count then gamble on lovern lallana and balotelli and that's just stupidity
Real point is that to improve you have to do it at a rate that is faster than decay We now have older guys going, then some key men not signing up so the ever present decay is there. You have to keep ahead of that always Utd learned this last year as vidic and Ferdinand stunk it up
Our major problem this season, simple poor start, and injuries to Sturridge. Money is not everything as City found out last night.
very true. we did well to get within 2 points given the fact that as we tracked ur season progress the obvious lack of goals and results piled in early. Its no coincidence rodgers tried his best for a league cup and now fa cup is it?
You've spent over £200m more net and gross than Arsenal in the last 5 years. You've spent the same as United in the same timeframe. You've just bought ****e
I already said that in post 4!!! but you just pick out arsneal as the only thing to talk about... they actually spent more than us last year despite out glut of spending. LFC have a consistently high net spend under FSG. its 30-40mil every year and yet i hear whining about it but the reality is that post 4 staes my feeling on it... but i will had the net spend on dross is allied to wages which seem to be one rule for one guy at our club and one rule for another. If we were EVEN CONSISTENT about rewarding performance Henderson would not be turning down an offer which to be honest would not attract a crap player like winston reid. It is so inconsistent i find it funny. But LFc fans do need a wake up call. We've loasdsa money. we toss it round every year... badly... wake the f up and stop defneding eithe rrodgers or the trnasfer committee and blame the lot please.
Exactly, and that was my point. The myth that you're somehow the poor relations, when the reality is you've been spending massively for year after year. The issue is what you've spent it on, quantity over quality and massively over paying for a whole host of players.
but its my point first there are degrees of poor relations People don't get this to win the league as say atletico did it is a massive massive achievement but it is an over achievement as to do it year after year requires vast sums. LFC managed one title tilt in say oh 5/6 seasons. 09, then go back to houlliers 10 games form greatness, then rodgers recently. That's it. If you do not pay the wages a cheslea or a city do then you go in cycles. Simply put we can build a side but we cannot sustain it. round europe we see sides like dortmund, ajax, atletico picked clean and don't really see it as an issue... oh but insterest comes in for an lfc player and its a travesty. LFC are very lucky to be able to constantly go buy players. Spending on having big squads or basically average enough players then defending said average players when they are called that.... to the hilt. Nobody can still tell me at the time joe allen was anything other than average and vastly over paid for. same for lowenr, lallana, bornin and the list goes on. If LFC are to be smart they need a much wider net where the Can type transfer is the norm not the exception. When we look at a player and have a sniff and the price comes back 25mil we must say **** off southmapton or whomever.. there were and are better players by far than lallana out there. I fully expect LFC to sell sterling for 50mil, spunk half of that on Bernahino (who is average enough) then have 3 seasons of defending the mouth piece to the hilt til he decides to move on. Its the gem that comes in under the radar for far less that we fail to notice.... LFC need a far better eye for talent and to use the money better, or at least to pay the going rate then players do actually perform somewhat. We were able to throw 180k at suarez for 6 months but when henderson is being approached for 5 year deal its 80k despite him ebing vital to us. why is that?
"Money spent doesn't mean a thing once the game kicks off " Seemingly it does when it can be used as an excuse for Liverpool's shortcomings.
Not sure about the Sterling situation (is it about more money, ambition of the club? all that ****) but you need your key players to stay and you need to pay them. When you're about to make a load of buck from Gerrard leaving and having got rid of all your top earners in Agger, Reina and Suarez, you at least need to start paying your soon to be captain the buck to stay. He is vital to your team and if you aren't even paying him you don't have a chance of hell retaining your players down the line if you keep that up.
who knows. What we do know is LFC fans have a great laugh about rooney demanding and getting any time he wants but Utd drew a line in the sand and said we must not let him go and they paid up. now...... bobby you are rigth clubs need to have key players secured LFC Locked in coutinho this year, we tied up sturridge too. thats good. LFC have not locked in sterling or henderson so the media are having a frenzy. Henderson said day 1 when it broke it was not happening til summer as he wanted to go play. so..... is it media, agent, club I don't know who's making the stories up. I don't know where 80k comes from but thats not even top 6 money. thats barely abvoe average these days. the average prem wage was quoted at 43k at start of year and that includes all sorts. an england international regular with vice captain role and auto first team lock at a side wanting to be at least top 6 and then top 4 merits more than 80k..... and if you call a 20 year old top talent in europe then don't be checked he wants a shedload for it.
You not run out yet after seeing your beloved Liverpool wave some sort of potential achievement in your face only to see them blow it yet again ?
Lol Saintsfan having fun fishing. I do find the suggestion of us spending more amusing, we need to spend less imo, use the academy better and buy quality when needed other than the panic buying we've done in recent seasons. One of the things that makes me laugh is with Roy, we obviously have money to spend and he still bought Poulsen and Konchesky!!! Regardless of the critisism of Rodgers and Kennys buys those two are ****ing hilarious.
