I was keen to see Keita stay. Iām less keen now having seen his agents comments in the media about the contract and expectation to start games when he hadnt been available.
There is also some stuff floating around on twitter suggesting he has been less than diligent in his trainingā¦for example one claim is that he did not travel to a game due to being sick. He was left a training programme to work on. He didnt do it, staying at home instead.
Its possible that it isnt true or he did the rihht thing , but iām reaching that point where i am having serious doubts about him being the right player for us now.
Did his agent actually publicly say this, or was this more second/third-hand reporting of something that supposedly happened?
Convenient. I think this is one huge reason why I havenāt turned against him like most have, simply because I do not believe any supposed ITK at all, not even the supposed top-tier journalists with inside connections to the club.
If itās the case based on flimsy bullshit rumours, then surely you should re-evaluate that conclusion given the dodgy provenance of some of your premises?
Cynically, if I wanted to post something negative about a player to draw clickbait, I wouldnāt do it about someone who, in JĆ¼rgen lingo, is āin a good momentā. Iād kick someone when they were down, and who better to do that about right now than someone who just got injured, had a hefty price tag, and has a chequered game time record?
Iām not quite sure as to all the to-ing and fro-ing over getting a midfielder in. We did! His name is Arthur. Letās see what he can do.
The numbers of the midfield group are high, but we know why, as we have lots with injuries, a few getting on too, and nobody came in for any of the ones we presumably would have been happy enough to sell.
Earlier in the window we thought we might manage with what we had, especially in light of preferred target/s not being available.
Later in the window we reassessed, after seeing the injuries pile up.
At that point Iām sure we made enquiries for several, and Arthur is the one we landed.
He might prove to be a very shrewd signing indeed. If so, Iām sure we will sign him permanently. If not, the outlay and risk is minimal. In the meantime thereās space for our young players to come through, and to the degree the rest of them can get themselves on the pitch or into the reckoning, so much the better.
Slow start to the season, so I get the introspection, but we needed a midfielder and we signed one. Arguably it might have been Caicedo, but Brighton didnāt want to deal, and we will see how he progresses. Arguably it might have been Kone, but we will see how he progresses. Arguably it might have been Bellingham, and thereās a lot of smoke to suggest we have done all the groundwork and he will come later, as Dortmund did not want to sell this summer.
So we ended up signing Arthur. Iām looking forward to seeing what he can do.
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Keita, when fit (the caveat), brings a dimension to our play that none of our other midfielders can. Heās a brilliant footballer. Iād like to see him extend because that player improves us and I donāt want to see him leave for nothing. He owes us.
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Like the Sopranosā¦ Itās overā¦
Let go.
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Sure, but is he that player? Is this a sunk cost? Isnt it better to just accept it didnt work and go and get a player who can be that player? As Teddy says āI think I better let it goā
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The caveat is key for me. Can he ever get fit enough to play 90 mins 25+ games a seasonā¦ Iāve gone from thinking maybe at the start of last season, to unlikely this. Iām leaning more towards no new contract as my hunch is that heāll just be much the same, and that will keep his value low and we may even end up seeing him loaned out. I wonder how much of this will be down to Klopp, compared to Ward/the owners.
Truth be told, provided we invest in the summer, Iām pretty comfortable with the idea of Naby (and Ox) leaving on frees and we go for that refresh in midfield. Get their relatively high wages off the books, and give the medical department a break too. Albeit Milner canāt do it like he used to be able to, Iād rather he stayed, for his leadership qualities and to help see games out (in CM - NOT FUCKING FULLBACK)- but would like to hope one of Bjatetic or Morton are in ahead.
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Rest in Peace Gandolfini my man.
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I was a big fan of Keita, but heās just not built for the PL. sell him ASAP and let him find a warmer climate to flourish. Southern Spain or France maybe?
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I fear that player isnāt going to be available to us often enough, even if he does extend. I also think, with no evidence simply my opinion, that he doesnāt think he owes us at all, sadly.
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What does climate have to do with this? He started his career at Salzburg and Leipzigā¦
Keita is the antithesis of the little engine that could. Iāll throw up in my mouth if we renew. I believed for years that he would transform our midfield.
some plants perform spectacularly in the right climate. itās been 3 seasons now, rather than fight the inevitability of failure just cut your losses and move the plant to a different environmentā¦
Gardening 101. If you buy a plant and it starts to wither in one location, chances are it needs a different location to flourish.
I remember for the first 2-3 winters, Sadio was always injured in Dec>Feb timeline as his body didnāt adjust well to playing in the cold. Not sure what changed in player management but it was pretty consistent for a while.
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Global warming
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Mane is an odd one re winterā¦played at saints and salzburg. Are you suggesting the climate in Liverpool is just too cold compared to Southampton and too warm compared to Salzburg?
Feb 2014 - sick
Jan 2016 - injured (calf)
Jan 2017 - Natāl Team
Oct 2017 - injured (calf)
Dec 2018 - injured (foot)
Jan 2020 - injured (hamstring)
Jan 2021 - injured (knock)
Jan 2022 - Natāl Team
heās only ever missed a max of three games at a stretch, which is of important note. he was quite a robust player and I miss him.
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Surely in that case he needs to move to a colder climate.
I was referring to Keita, actually. thinking that maybe the climate in Liverpool is too much for him. maybe weather, maybe otherwiseā¦