GiveMeSources sport.
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I mentioned it after one of our games against them last season that Klopp was showing him an unusual amount of love. It looked like that thing of openly tapping up a player by telling them how good you thought they were, and that got me thinking then if he hadnât already been identified by the club as a potential target
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Apparently we are willing to pay âŹ50m for him.
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Iâm usually not concerned about the nationality of incoming players, but if there is a criticism Iâd level at Rafa (very seldom coming from me) it would be to have brought in too many Spanish players during his tenure, and not always top-level quality.
To a degree, I can understand the willingness from a coach to bring in a few players he knows well, but we have already three important Dutch players in the first team. Thatâs enough imo. Quality and mentality should always be the paramount factor in bringing in a new player.
If there is a factor beyond quality and mentality the club should pay attention to, it should be to bring in a few more English, or at least British players. We are very short in that regard. Trent (possibly departing this summer) and Jones are our two only first-teamers. Robertson fits in as Briton. We have a few young players breaking through currently, but is it enough?
Iâm pretty sure thatâs just a perception and not reality. His Spanish signings (and I use that loosely in terms of Spanish in nationality/signings from Spanish leagues are:
- 2004-05 (6 of 8 signings)
- Josemi
- Antonio NĂșñez (I donât think he had a choice in this one)
- Xabi Alonso
- Luis GarcĂa
- Mauricio Pellegrino (Argentinean, if I recall correctly he was brought in to help the team get used to Rafaâs system rather than play a lot?)
- Fernando Morientes
- 2005-06 (6 of 14)
- Antonio BarragĂĄn
- Pepe Reina
- Momo Sissoko (Malian, from Valencia)
- Miki Roqué
- Mark GonzĂĄlez (Chilean, signed from Albacete)
- Jan Kromkamp (swap deal for Josemi, signed from Villareal)
- 2006-07 (3 of 10)
- Fabio Aurélio (Brazilian, from Valencia)
- Francisco DurĂĄn
- Alvaro Arbeloa
- 2007-08 (1 of 10)
- Fernando Torres
- 2008-09 (1 of 8)
- Albert Riera
- 2009-10 (1 of 4)
- Maxi RodrĂguez (Argentinean, signed from AtlĂ©tico Madrid)
Note that this list is compiled via Wikipedia, and quite a few of those were signed as youth players, and pretty much all of them turned a transfer profit for us.
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Then again Slot hasnât signed any Dutch players 
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Poor form from the gaffa.
#SlotOut
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Pellegrino was basically finished at the time, the PL didnât suit him at all. Remember his poor debut against United at home and a defeat at Southampton (Crouch brace). Rafa wanted a high line (so nothing to do with the system or principles), he was brought in more as a short term cover, since we were short at CB. Then Hyypia had another year and a half before Agger took over.
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Youâre right, I donât know where I had seen that story from.
Source: Liverpool complete Pellegrino deal | Football | The Guardian
Yeah fair enough, should have said Spanish-speaking players. For me, it was a bit too much.
On the other hand, to be fair with him, he knew the Spanish market very well, and being rapidly empeded by g+h in a financial sense, he could bring in a few low-cost players from there.
Again, I think itâs just the perception.
I find it a very odd nitpick, considering that (a) Spanish football was on the rise back then, (b) that was often the main route to South American talent, and (c) the main problems were the opportunistic signings, like a lower quality version of Carvalho/Minamino, etc.
If you go through the list, how many of them would you have said we shouldnât have signed?
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It was heavily touted at the time that he was identified as much for his influence and ability to be Rafaâs training ground general as for his ability to compete with Sami and Carra. It was known at the time he ultimately wanted to go into coaching and this was seen as partly, a late playing career step to give him some of that experience. But he did play a good amount of the league games in that half season (he was cup tied in the CL).
He came back to us within a year or so hanging up the boots and so that may have reinforced that part of the story in some peopleâs heads to a point that his (forgettable) performances have been forgotten
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Yes, he was credited with helping our defence finally get to grips with Rafaâs defensive/ marking system wasnât he?
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Thatâs what I remember reading, specifically the zonal marking bits, but I didnât see anything from a quick search to back it up.
Mind you, that could just be the enshittification of Google causing thatâŠ
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Yeah, his role in the process was part of the general criticism of âzonal markingâ
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He hasnât got a man on the post either. The lad doesnât have a clue.
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Itâs all hindsight, but as you ask:
Josemi
Nunez
Pellegrino
Morientes
Barragan
Roqué
Gonzalez
Duran
Riera
Morientes was surprisingly shit for us, and RoquĂ© was impeded by injuries, but the others? Second-class players, or not suited to English football. Anyway, Iâm going to stop here.
Yes, but when you look at our non-Spanish signings during that timeâŠ
- 2004-05
- Cissé
- Carson
- 2005-06
- Zenden
- Crouch
- Hobbs
- Idrizaj
- Anderson
- (David) Martin
- Agger
- Fowler
- 2006-07
- Bellamy
- Paletta (should be classified with the Spaniards, really)
- Pennant
- Kuyt
- El Zhar
- AjdareviÄ
- Brouwer
- 2007-08
- Voronin
- Benayoun
- Babel
- Lucas
- Itandje
- Leto (should be classified with the Spaniards, really)
- Plessis
- Ć krtel
- Mascherano (should be classified with the Spaniards, really)
- 2008-09
- Degen
- Dossena
- Cavalieri
- Ngog
- Keane
- Flora
- GulĂĄcsi
- 2009-10
- Aquilani
- Johnson
- Kyrgiakos
Youâre confusing our generally shit signings because of budgetary issues with generally shite signings because they came from Spain.
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Riera wasnât so bad, at least in the first half of that 08/09 season. We mightâve found better but as I recall, he was brought in on deadline day when we were desperate for any kind of width and he at last made us look more dynamic for a wee while.
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I remember him being a contributor to that title challenge too. I donât think he was that all bad, especially since weâd been having problems with finding a decent left winger for a while, he just wasnât magical.
He was also only kicked out because he had an issue with Pacheco if I remember correctly.
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