Summer Transfer Window 2016 || Klopp Loses His Virginity

Well, I can't remember that he has real weaknesses there. His main weakness is probably his passing, but when it comes to reflexes and 1vs1 situations, he is really good.

And the last two seasons, he held 6 of 12 penalties that were shot against him. I think I remember that in the Mainz forum there was a saying "Chuck Loris saves penalties even in the dark" XD

I have to agree a bit with RedO here.

The goalkeeper position is a difficult, highly political position.

I've made a post along those lines when most of you guys were ready to declare Klopp an idiot for renewing, and continuing to start Mignolet in winter.

I said that that if, as a new coach, you change the gk and he makes mistakes (as most gks make, especially new/young ones) these mistakes are on you in the eye of the fans.
It's a risky and tricky thing to do with regard to your political capital as a manager.

I could well see Klopp continuing to kepp Mignolet in place as the official no. 1 for a while, even if I have no doubt Klopp is long term, and also as quickly as possible, hoping to have a well-performing Karius as starter.

Maybe a split job league/cup games like at Barca, and then finish the change after Mignolet *bleep* up a few times, which he will.

Who knows. The right thing to do of course would be to bench Mignolet. The guy did enough mistakes to not be able to complain.
But as I said, you do it, then Karius makes a couple of mistakes (which really would be a normal thing) and you've got a problem with considerable potential for toxicity on your hand. GK position is a bitch.

I think we'll try and get most of our signings done asap / nice and early.

I think Hapless and RedO have it right, here. Assuming it's Karius that's coming in, he likely deserves to start over Mignolet. However, the smart play may actually be to persist with Migs for a while.

Mignolet is simply not good enough over the course of a season. There are simply too many instances of his errors leading to goals and, subsequently, dropped points.  However, he has the potential to be passable, and even good, in short samples. Playing him to start the season (with Karius getting the occasional start in the league and cup games) would not be the end of the world, especially if we assume the defense will be improved over the course of the summer.

What's the benefit...? Well, it keeps Karius out of the spotlight until he has time to settle, both on the pitch and off. Moreover, this gives Mignolet the "fair chance" he needs to retain any semblance of confidence, and keeps him from pushing for an exit. The intended result: we get a young keeper capable of holding the position for years to come, and we retain a capable backup keeper (something we haven't had in years).

Honestly if Mignolet was considered a backup and not a starter, he'd be the best back up gk in the league.

Don't call me James wrote:Honestly if Mignolet was considered a backup and not a starter, he'd be the best back up gk in the league.

It could be argued Begovic is better.

It could be agued, but it will come to a matter of preference. I personally think Mignolet is better than Begovic and I thought the same when were close to signing one of Begovic/Mignolet.

Like most of us, I've been pondering this summer's transfer strategy for a while now. Below is my take (personal opinion mixed with commonly reported targets) on the general approach to the transfer window

Additions (ordered by squad need):
CB - Jonathan Tah/Antonio Rudiger/Niklas Sule (£15-20m)
GK - Karius (£5-7m)
CM/DM - preferably Geis/Goretzka/Neves (£25m), seemingly more likely Zielinski (£10-15m)
ATT - Mario Gotze (£20m)
LB - Chillwell (£3-5m)
RB - ??? (£5-8m)
Total Gross Spend: £58-78

Returning/Arriving:
Matip*
Markovic*
Grujic*

Departures (Potential):
Allen - £7-10m
Benteke - £20-25m
Balotelli - £10-15m
Skrtel - £5m
Lucas - £5m
Texeria - £3m
Ilori - £5-8m
Total Gross Income: £55-71m

Net: Between £13m profit and £25m spent

Strikers: Sturridge, Origi, (Firmino), (Gotze), (Ings)
AM/SS: Fimino, (Gotze), (Coutinho), Lallana, (Markovic), Ings, (Ibe)
Wingers/Wide-AMs: Gotze, Coutinho, Markovic, Milner, Ojo, Ibe, (Ings), Canos(?)
CM/DM: Can, Henderson, Geis/Goreztka/Neves (Zielinski), Grujic, Stewart, (Milner),
LB: Moreno, Chillwell
RB: Clyne, New RB, (Ibe?)
CB: Sakho (when/if available), Tah/Sule/Rudiger, Matip, Lovren, Toure(?)
GK: Karius, Mignolet, Ward (if not on loan)

Now, obviously, not everything goes perfectly to plan. I'm sure we will miss out on targets, fail to move players, and adjust our strategy based on the situation. Moreover, the list of potential departures is awfully large, and may be spread over the course of a few windows.

In addition, not all of these players will come straight into the first XI. There certainly will be some that will be incorporated immediately. However, some changes need a little bit more cautious approach, with players being phased in more gradually. It's certainly possible (and potentially wise) that players such as Mignolet and Lovren could start the season in the first XI, despite "better" players in the squad.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/loris-karius-become-liverpools-new-11380434

Table:

In:

Grujic: 5.1m
Matip: Free
Karius: 4.7m

Out:

Jose Enrique: Released
Daniel Cleary: Released
Jordan Rossiter: Rangers: 250k
Daniel Trickett Smith: Free: Sacramento
Jerome Sinclair: Watford: Tribunal (3-4m)

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/germany-boss-backs-mario-gotzes-11384968

I'm a bit worried about the lack of real quality players linked with us.

The likes of Brahimi and Mane sounds like the same bs under the transfer committee we've being going through.

Can't say I understand the hate for the transfer committee. Despite conflict with the manager's targets and agenda, the club managed to bring in Coutinho, Sturridge, Markovic, Sakho, Emre Can, Origi, and Firmino. If we pluck a few more targets like that this sumer, I'll be pretty pleased.

As for Mane, he actually ticks a lot of the boxes we need. He's an attack-minded winger/wide-forward, he's a speed-merchant, and he has an eye for goal. Now, his value compared to his reported price tag is certainly a discussion worth having. However, he fits the profile of what our attack is missing. Mane, Markovic, and Lallana (with Milner filling in for certain situations) would certainly give us an attack with options enough to adapt to nearly any defense.

As for Brahimi, I can't claim to have watched/researched enough of him to judge what he would bring to the squad. The rumored price seems exorbitant, but that's to be expected for English buyers in this window.

Brahimi was one very real and serious candidate for us last summer before Pep settled on Costa.
Brahimi is great.

Btw hope we sign Rosicky for 1-2 years now that he's a free agent. One of my favorite players. He could play all the minutes that was wasted on Ibe, Teixeira etc.

Heck he's better than Lallana at 35 still.

He played 19 minutes this season xD
I also admire him, but no. Too old.

He was an absolute machine of a player, but there is a reason Arsenal let him leave. Guys injury record is as worse as Fabio Aurelio's.

I guess Yacine Brahimi is now standing in for Mario Götze . But he is nowhere near him and actually two years older than the German.

I keep hearing good words for Mahmoud Dahoud, but is he (just 20) the best solution to our midfield problems?

You can't have Dahoud. No way.

Gladbach already sold Xhaka, they won't sell Dahoud too.

And when the time comes that they do, he'll not go to Liverpool but to a club like FC Bayern.

We still really haven't addressed key positions, But the transfer window opens in July. Long time to go.

Nishankly wrote:We still really haven't addressed key positions, But the transfer window opens in July. Long time to go.

I think the lack of signings right now could be a good sign. it probs means that the players we are trying to sign are away at the euros at the moment which means they are not more 18yo kids that we hope will be good in 5 years

£9.5m Bid for Zielinski

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/12/liverpool-bid-piotr-zielinski-udinese

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-make-95m-bid-piotr-11461054

I guess we will need a CB. With Toure already gone, Skrtel to follow and Sakho facing a lengthy ban; we are left with just two senior CB.

iftikhar wrote:I guess we will need a CB. With Toure already gone, Skrtel to follow and Sakho facing a lengthy ban; we are left with just two senior CB.

Sakho is not banned. He's been cleared to play.

Matip, Sakho, Lovren, Gomez, Ilori is enough next season with no Europe. Can and Lucas can also play there.

Don't call me James wrote:

iftikhar wrote:I guess we will need a CB. With Toure already gone, Skrtel to follow and Sakho facing a lengthy ban; we are left with just two senior CB.

Sakho is not banned. He's been cleared to play.

Matip, Sakho, Lovren, Gomez, Ilori is enough next season with no Europe. Can and Lucas can also play there.

Liverpool Echo wrote:However, if UEFA were to issue Sakho with a further ban then Klopp would have to dip into the market to strengthen his backline options.

Any logical governing body would not issue a further ban after clearing a player to play, and doing it in time for selection to a major competitive tournament. Now, as I used the qualifier "logical", the statement doesn't necessarily apply to UEFA.

That said, I'm not sold on a Lineup of Sakho, Matip Lovren, Gomez, and Ilori. Given the indications at the end of last season (when we were using Skrtel and Lucas as a CB pairing ahead of Caulker and Ilori), I have a hard time seeing Ilori with a future at the club. I hope that I'm wrong. I hope that Ilori was simply being protected and placed on a similar strength regime to that which saw Origi progress so impressively. (Goodness knows he could use a bit more size.) However, if I were to go clearly on the manager's selection preferences, I'd say his days at the club are numbered.

That leaves us with 3 established first-teamers and Gomez. Your comfort level with that lineup likely hinges on your faith that Gomez is ready to be a semi-regular PL CB. I'm not yet convinced. I think he has a very bright future, and he might have been ready had he not just spent the majority of the season sidelined by injury. Therefore, I would like to see another CB come in, preferably a physically dominant, right-sided CB.