2017/2018 THE Premier League Thread

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Locke

As far as the Merseyside Derby incident with Firmino is concerned the ref should have sent Holgate straight off for shoving a player from behind into the stands then there would be no incident to look at.

oh come on Locke, you're way better than that.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

oh come on Locke, you're way better than that.

Haha! I know! It was a minor incident, I dont know what Firmino said afterwards, but that was Craig Forrest's take post-game.

[Senator Clay Davis]

If Liverpool don't have a guy (or guys) lined up to replace Coutinho then selling him is pretty puzzling. It also basically starts the countdown on selling Salah to Madrid, though that's probably not till next summer. Such a poor message to send to not only your fans, but to the team itself. They get a jolt from the Van Dijk signing, and then this. Brutal.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Locke

Haha! I know! It was a minor incident, I dont know what Firmino said afterwards, but that was Craig Forrest's take post-game.

Lol. Backtrack much? Craig Forrest did NOT say that Holgate should have been sent off. Stop making stuff up

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Slava

Spurs were supposedly in on him for along time and decided against him. I can see it because the guy hasn't played in months now, so I don't know how much of an impact he can have this season?

It sucks but it's the reality of financially lopsided leagues. Can't blame a team with 10% of the spending power for doing whatever they have to do to stay competitive.
I dream of a day when the EPL has similar salary cap structures to the NHL of NFL and imagine the king of football we would see.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

If Liverpool don't have a guy (or guys) lined up to replace Coutinho then selling him is pretty puzzling. It also basically starts the countdown on selling Salah to Madrid, though that's probably not till next summer. Such a poor message to send to not only your fans, but to the team itself. They get a jolt from the Van Dijk signing, and then this. Brutal.

They have the Ox!

[Senator Clay Davis]

Confirmed

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/firs...o-to-leave-lfc

Sounds like £105 million up front, rising to £142 million with add ons.

[browna]

With Barca’s fiduciary issues, I’d get that cheque or wire in the account ASAP.
Good work by Liverpool to hold off in the summer; netted them $30m more at least for a player that desperately wanted to go.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

If Liverpool don't have a guy (or guys) lined up to replace Coutinho then selling him is pretty puzzling. It also basically starts the countdown on selling Salah to Madrid, though that's probably not till next summer. Such a poor message to send to not only your fans, but to the team itself. They get a jolt from the Van Dijk signing, and then this. Brutal.

Yeah, the whole thing really doesnt make much sense. They got more money for him by holding out, but again, we need Coutinho right now more than we need the money, they've got a month to try and replace him, good luck with that, and he'll make little to no difference to Barca.

We know he wanted to go, but the timing makes no sense for either party.

[Locke]

Oh the FA Cup....this is why we cant quit you...

Not only did Fleetwood Town manage to force an FA Cup third-round replay with Leicester City by grafting to a 0-0 draw on Saturday afternoon, they also landed goalkeeper Chris Neal with a sweet -- or should that be savoury? -- bonus.

The Fleetwood keeper could win a year’s supply of pizza today if he keeps a clean sheet against #LCFC

http://www.espn.com/soccer/blog/the-...w-vs-leicester

Its Papa John's but still...

[Bagor]

Unsurprisingly Mark Hughes has been sacked.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/42332958

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by Locke

Yeah, the whole thing really doesnt make much sense. They got more money for him by holding out, but again, we need Coutinho right now more than we need the money, they've got a month to try and replace him, good luck with that, and he'll make little to no difference to Barca.

We know he wanted to go, but the timing makes no sense for either party.

Coutinho was convinced he was going to leave. Don't know how much stomach the team and management had to go through another episode again. It would be another 3 weeks of "will he/won't he" and another scene of "injuries" holding him back from playing games.


As for Barcelona, this reddit comment had some good points:
**Why Barca would overpay for Coutinho in January:**

* **They will be able to rest Iniesta** in league matches. This is worth a lot of money as it increases Barcelona's chances in the Champions League.

* There is a chance that **Coutinho will have an incredible World Cup** with Brazil. This could raise his prize even further (look at someone like James Rodriguez).

* The off chance that **he will change his mind about Barcelona.** Imagine that Barca loses to Chelsea in the first knockout round while PSG goes on to win the Champions League. Combined with a big check this might make Coutinho wonder if Barca is the right choice. How devastating would that be for Bartomeu on top of everything?

Edit: I know the third one is kind of an out there example. But it is just to illustrate that anything can happen in 5 months. Personal things, club crises, money.

[d_phaneuf]

They don't need to play Iniesta in league games anyway

They have won the league

Weird buy, they have bigger holes to fill in midfield and at striker as Suarez might only have a season or two left

I know Liverpool said the VVD money was seperate and they didn't need to sell Coutinho but I wonder if that was just paper talk, VVD and Keita basically cost Coutinho don't they?

[d_phaneuf]

Barca just posted this

https://mobile.twitter.com/FCBarcelo...22684887199744

Someone on Reddit through found the following counts, posted tweets etc were all from August

So they really thought that deal was done then

[cam_wmh]

$50m for Mahrez.
Jergen, not letting that $140m burn a hole in his pocket.

[azzarish]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

$50m for Mahrez.
Jergen, not letting that $140m burn a hole in his pocket.

Don’t think they’re interested in Mahrez. Will try and get Lemar and if not this window then wait till the summer. They aren’t going to replace Coutinho like-for-like anyway because you can’t. There are very very few players like him.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

$50m for Mahrez.
Jergen, not letting that $140m burn a hole in his pocket.

Doesnt look like it.

Liverpool has no desire to recruit Riyad Mahrez as Philippe Coutinho's direct replacement, sources told Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett.

https://www.thescore.com/s/3545151

[The Big Chill]

A lot of the rumours seem to be centered around Lemar being brought in (although maybe not until summer).

He seems like a good player, and a good fit for Klopp, but that price tag scares me for a player who is still as much about potential as he is current level of play.

I like Mahrez or Fekir out of Lyon, and they would both be cheaper then Lemar supposedly.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

A lot of the rumours seem to be centered around Lemar being brought in (although maybe not until summer).

He seems like a good player, and a good fit for Klopp, but that price tag scares me for a player who is still as much about potential as he is current level of play.

I like Mahrez or Fekir out of Lyon, and they would both be cheaper then Lemar supposedly.

It would be interesting to have Keita and Lemar in the lineup for next season, but we really have to make sure we're in the CL next season.

[Kipper is King]

West Ham had a scoreless draw against Shrewsbury Town, and Shrewsbury looked like Barcelona!

Now Arsenal is losing 3-1 to Nottingham Forest.

The FA Cup is nuts.