Birmingham bid 8M for Babel ?

[Wilko7]

For a young lad in a new league, I thought Babel had a very promising first season indeed. Playing mainly inside left, he could cut inside and shoot powerfully with his stronger right foot and he scored very well based on the amount of games played.

He seemed to be frozen out from the beginning of the next season after an injury sustained playing for Holland and Benitez seemed to go off him. A lot of the blame for a player with obvious ability not building on such a promising start has to be left at the manager's door, I'm afraid. What a waste.

 

[gene hughes]

Yea, it amazes me how extraordinary assets like Babel are treated by many clubs. I'm not saying he isn't a tit, I reckon he is, but when we signed him he had all the physical attributes necessary to either be a massive star for us or else be sold on at a significant profit. I really wonder if clubs think strategically about how to maximise the developmnent of assets like him. It all seems a bit haphazard and it's extraordinary that managers "going off players" is accepted. To be honest, if I was the owner of a club, or the Director of Football, I wouldn't tolerate it.

 

[Stulikesdrums]

Absolutely right Gene.

 

[Fabio]

Prob would've been decent if rafa banned twitter

or maybe he did and babel threw a strop about it

damn these haterz!

 

[themn]

[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029324#msg1029324 date=1262902698]
What is the longest run of consecutive games he's had ?
[/quote]

Ok, let's kill him.

Fucking cunt head etc...

 

[monsieurdantes]

he offers far more hope on our left wing than any of the others do. but when a season's already gone then all hope is gone too. so what babel offers is basically redundant now, and this is the only chance we'll have to get 9million for him so we have to take it.

even if he had a run of games and he came good, it would be wasted on this season. in fact it would just make everyone feel worse about what could have been had he played last year. he's failed so fuck him why do you give a shit? he's hardly robbie fowler. and the sight of his sorry arse is no longer comparable to having 9million pounds instead. the money offers more hope than babel

 

[themn]

[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029336#msg1029336 date=1262904776]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029324#msg1029324 date=1262902698]
What is the longest run of consecutive games he's had ?
[/quote]

Ok, let's kill him.

Fucking cunt head etc...
[/quote]

Come on !

 

[themn]

[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029338#msg1029338 date=1262905025]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029336#msg1029336 date=1262904776]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029324#msg1029324 date=1262902698]
What is the longest run of consecutive games he's had ?
[/quote]

Ok, let's kill him.

Fucking cunt head etc...
[/quote]

Come on !
[/quote]

Let's all make banners about the players we hate and march on Melwood.

Who's with me ?

 

[themn]

[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029345#msg1029345 date=1262905307]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029338#msg1029338 date=1262905025]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029336#msg1029336 date=1262904776]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029324#msg1029324 date=1262902698]
What is the longest run of consecutive games he's had ?
[/quote]

Ok, let's kill him.

Fucking cunt head etc...
[/quote]

Come on !
[/quote]

Let's all make banners about the players we hate and march on Melwood.

Who's with me ?
[/quote]

*piss and moan piss and moan*

 

[Wilko7]

[quote author=gene hughes link=topic=38274.msg1029332#msg1029332 date=1262904300]
Yea, it amazes me how extraordinary assets like Babel are treated by many clubs. I'm not saying he isn't a tit, I reckon he is, but when we signed him he had all the physical attributes necessary to either be a massive star for us or else be sold on at a significant profit. I really wonder if clubs think strategically about how to maximise the developmnent of assets like him. It all seems a bit haphazard and it's extraordinary that managers "going off players" is accepted. To be honest, if I was the owner of a club, or the Director of Football, I wouldn't tolerate it.
[/quote]

Agreed. If the manager spends a significant amount of the club's money on a player then he needs to be married to the lad. He needs to coax the player towards better habits, keep the lines of communication always open, not allow a major rift to happen and make sure that he reaches his full potential.

 

[ILD]

[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029347#msg1029347 date=1262905544]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029345#msg1029345 date=1262905307]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029338#msg1029338 date=1262905025]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029336#msg1029336 date=1262904776]
[quote author=themn link=topic=38274.msg1029324#msg1029324 date=1262902698]
What is the longest run of consecutive games he's had ?
[/quote]

Ok, let's kill him.

Fucking cunt head etc...
[/quote]

Come on !
[/quote]

Let's all make banners about the players we hate and march on Melwood.

Who's with me ?
[/quote]

*piss and moan piss and moan*
[/quote]

Put the keyboard down Themn

 

[darkstarexodus]

[quote author=Wilko7 link=topic=38274.msg1029349#msg1029349 date=1262905747]
[quote author=gene hughes link=topic=38274.msg1029332#msg1029332 date=1262904300]
Yea, it amazes me how extraordinary assets like Babel are treated by many clubs. I'm not saying he isn't a tit, I reckon he is, but when we signed him he had all the physical attributes necessary to either be a massive star for us or else be sold on at a significant profit. I really wonder if clubs think strategically about how to maximise the developmnent of assets like him. It all seems a bit haphazard and it's extraordinary that managers "going off players" is accepted. To be honest, if I was the owner of a club, or the Director of Football, I wouldn't tolerate it.
[/quote]

Agreed. If the manager spends a significant amount of the club's money on a player then he needs to be married to the lad. He needs to coax the player towards better habits, keep the lines of communication always open, not allow a major rift to happen and make sure that he reaches his full potential.
[/quote]

You're spot on, Wilko. It might not be exciting, or media friendly to not be having a player-manager feud all the time but it certainly is a sensible way of treating human beings and assets.

His second season with us truly ruined any chances of him making it with us. I also thought he had an encouraging first season and really hoped he would add some consistency and start to show more than glimpses of his potential. A lot of the blame has to lie with Babel, who has been in the spotlight more for rapping and Tweeting than for playing the past year as well as not having more than a handful of memorable moments when he has been on the pitch. However, Rafa has done an absolutely awful job of bringing him along. I don't see any improvement in any of his skills, temperament, etc. and a certain degree has to stay with Benitez. If Babel wasn't the right type of player to fit into Rafa's machinery, why buy him? I remember the deal happening almost out of nowhere; I barely believed it when I heard. Because Babel wasn't the sort of player we thought we'd see in Liverpool red. And we might not see him in it again.

 

[darkstarexodus]

And, if we are going to sell him, sell him now and fast. Otherwise, A) We will have no time to go after our targets in the transfer market (why did I even type this? HA!) and B) Brummies will sign an alternate target.

I think 8-9 million is a decent fee for Babel. We aren't likely to get anymore. Unless he's going to be played and played until he makes it, do it NOW.

 

[the_khl]

[quote author=mark1975 link=topic=38274.msg1029219#msg1029219 date=1262891169]
[quote author=spider-neil link=topic=38274.msg1029183#msg1029183 date=1262887567]
[quote author=ibromurph link=topic=38274.msg1029153#msg1029153 date=1262886046]
I personally think he was a very good talent who under the right management would have turned into a top quality player. You can talk about lacking workrate and attitude but that's part of what top managers coach into young players. Fergie's patience with Ronaldo despite his lack of end product early on his United career an illustration. However, Rafa's Liverpool was never going to be able to afford Ryan the same time and patience. (Unlike Ronaldo) he's hardly around a team crammed with top players already, which meant we required end product from him early on. Also, Rafa places so much emphasis on a rigid team unit, that having an unreliable maverick like Ryan would affect the balance of the side, particularly defensively.

I really would have liked to have seen Ryan given 40 games straight, even when he wasn't in form. Whilst short term, we may have suffered (by a lack of end product and workrate on his side), long term I think we would have gained a quality player.

..Or perhaps not. But I dare say in that time he'd have played a hell of a lot better than our other dutchman (who plays regardless of form/contribution).

You can be critical of Babel in attitude and workrate but I don't think anyone can truly say he had a fair crack of the whip. Moreover, in regards to the attitude and twitter (and whatnot), I remember one story from Ryan Giggs when he said Fergie was like a father to him early in his career. He'd make sure he wasn't partying, he'd discourage him from doing any media, hell he'd phone him up at 10pm to make sure he was in bed! A little OTT one could argue, but 10 PL medals later (still going strong), it looks great man-management of OGS part.

The long and short of it though is that Babel is now set in his ways. 10m is also a great price for someone who can barely make the bench. Rafa's lost far more money on other failures. I like Ryan as a player, and think he could still be a good contributor in a team. But that team won't be Liverpool, or at least not Rafa's Liverpool. We should take the money and move on.
[/quote]

an excellent post.
[/quote]

Ronaldo is by no means a valid example, because Ronaldo clearly had the quality but just lacked the decisive edge, he never really shirked it, even though he was a diving cunt. It was always a case of 'when' not 'if'. He was a tremendous talent even when people used to laugh at him for overdoing the step-overs while ultimately being hit and miss with the end product.

Babel just doesn't look that good, he has raw ability in pace and the ability to occasionally hit a ball with power and technique, but that's it. He doesn't turn defenders inside out using his pace, he doesn't look like a 'clever' footballer in terms of making the right decisions (running into blind alleys is frustrating as fuck), and he just doesn't possess the control, touch, consistent technique, confidence, edge or desire to make it.

I really can't believe that some people still feel he might turn good, and I despair that some people still think he might be the next Henry. Did people even watch the French guy? He had the most brilliant close control and was 'clever'. I really don't see how that draws ANY comparison to Babel. The only comparisons are that they're both black and they're both right footed and like to cut in from the left.
[/quote]
The reason why I mentioned Henry in my post was that his case was meant as an example, not a comparison. I thought that was clear.

Anyways not all players have shown their real potential at a tender age. Babel's struggled a lot in all kind of aspects it seems but I can certainly still see the raw talent.

Very good post Ibro btw. The Ronaldo comparison is probably a bit OTT but anyways I agree with most of what you've said. Apart from the selling part. Our squad is extremely thin and we need whatever quality we've got and I'd easily prefer Babel to El Zhar, an injured Riera or an unfit Kuyt.

 

[keniget]

I've always been a bit of a Babel fan and would love to see him succeed with us, but I've grown tired of the whole charade. There doesn't seem to be any real concerted effort on Rafa's part to make a success of him, so I can't be bothered getting into it anymore - it annoys me.

 

[ILD]

[quote author=keniget link=topic=38274.msg1029490#msg1029490 date=1262949547]
I've always been a bit of a Babel fan and would love to see him succeed with us, but I've grown tired of the whole charade. There doesn't seem to be any real concerted effort on Rafa's part to make a success of him, so I can't be bothered getting into it anymore - it annoys me.
[/quote]

Yep, im willing ot throw in the towel too. It's not going to happen here it seems for him. Both parties are somewhat to blame.

 

[dee]

The Reds, meanwhile, are finally hoping to wrap up Maxi Rodriguez’s move from Atletico Madrid now that Andrea Dossena has completed his £4.4m switch to Napoli.

Dossena arrived in Naples yesterday to undergo a medical and met his new team-mates before putting pen-to-paper on a four-and-a-half year contract.

Andriy Voronin was also expected to finalise his move to Dinamo Moscow last night but, as yet, the Reds have not heard any official word from the Russian capital to say that particular £2m deal has gone through.

Rodriguez has been waiting patiently to come to Merseyside and is understood to have told his Atletico team-mates that he simply could not reject Liverpool’s advances as he said his goodbyes in Spain yesterday.

Once all those deals are concluded, though, that is likely to be the end of Liverpool’s interest in the January transfer window.

While they are still trying to lure Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh to the club on a Bosman and believe they have a favourite‘s chance of winning that particular race against Arsenal, he would be a signing for next season.

As for Ryan Babel, he will not be sold to Birmingham, firstly because the £9m they initially offered was nowhere near Liverpool’s valuation of the player and, secondly, as any money they might recoup would not be reinvested in the squad.

What’s more, Babel’s form may be erratic but he still has the ability to produce special moments in games and Benitez is happy to keep him in the squad, in the hope he will have an influence at some point during the second half of the campaign.

😱

 

[Skullflower]

there is no way that that's true.

 

[DHSC]

Fucking hell Rafa.

No strikers again???

 

[Judge Jules]

Nah, I agree with Skully, this isn't true. We're jockeying for the right deal and part of that involves not letting other clubs imagine we're desperate to get rid - even if we are.

 

[Vlads Quiff]

[quote author=DHSC link=topic=38274.msg1029582#msg1029582 date=1262956347]
Fucking hell Rafa.

No strikers again???
[/quote]

If it's not Rafa, then someone at the top is quite mad.
Purslow purports to be a Liverpool fan and former season ticket holder, surely then he can see it, even if the others can't.
We were going to struggle to qualify, or win anything, regardless of who we might have brought in.
If this report is true and we don't bring in a tried and tested striker, I at least think it will be a major defining moment for Liverpool Football Club. They failed to see the problem in the summer and they still fail to see the blindingly obvious, God help us.
We may as well put the stadium on hold and discussions on any naming rights, as I have a feeling the place we will be going for a few years is unlikely to fill a 70,000 seater stadium very often, not often enough to make it economically viable anyway, and that place is mid-table mediocrity.
I can see us rebuilding away from the top four in this mid-table wasteland, having sold our family silver to fund it, as to who is going to be doing that I don't know, hopefully someone that does have a clue, Rafa will be gone next year. He will have to , he promised , indeed, "guaranteed" a top four place. As to who the owners will be, I don't know that either, but I can see the Yanks getting out, just happy to get most of their money back.
One thing I do know is it will not be Rafa, the owners or Purslow sat in row 9 seat 274 listening to every dick-shit away supporter give us shite for the next umpteen years until even they get fed up with it, and they too forget that we did used to be famous.
We needed to keep our heads above water this year and we are going to fail.
The only way we are going to save this season now is if every key player stays fit, Rodrigues hits the ground running , Aqualani acclimatises to the premiership quicker than looks likely, and each and every player in the squad punches their weight at least, and sorry, but those things ain't going to happen.
As I said at the start of this over-dramatic out=pouring, I am not sure if it is Rafa, but I have my suspicions it is, but he will , until any evidence to the contrary be the target of my anger.

regards

 

[Jürgen4PM]

No real surprise i guess that Babel rejected the offer.

 

[Vlads Quiff]

His agent inferred yesterday they were quite interested.
The bit I can't understand is when it says one of the reasons it did not happen was the money recouped would not go back into building the squad.
Would they let Rafa pull the deal based on that reason?

regards

 

[Jürgen4PM]

Rafa was giving his usual friday press conference (shown on SSN) and he said that Babel turned down the offer because he wants to stay with us. He wouldn't comment on Chamakh, but did say that the Voronin deal was all but done (Just waiting for the paper work).

 

[monsieurdantes]

for fucks sake nothing good is allowed to happen this season is it. what's next rafa? will you activiate your buy back clauses on dossena and voronin you failed fuck

 

[Jürgen4PM]

No mention of buy back clauses at the conference either.

 

[Squiggles]

That's good management.

 

[monsieurdantes]

[quote author=Rafa4PM link=topic=38274.msg1029651#msg1029651 date=1262961764]
No mention of buy back clauses at the conference either.
[/quote]

maybe the clauses aren't ours to activate. napoli and the other stupid team which accepts voronin probably insisted on them. can't you feel it in your gut that voronin is coming back a second time?

 

[Jürgen4PM]

Benitez: Babel not Liverpool rejected Birmingham bid

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has remained coy on Ryan Babel’s future at Anfield but made clear that it was the Dutch international rather than the coaching staff who took the decision to reject Birmingham City’s £8 million offer.

The 23-year-old winger has consistently complained about his lack of playing time over the course of the last two seasons with rumours circulating that he would be happy to quit the Reds in favour of a short-term loan move.

Wary of losing his place in Bert van Marwijk’s Holland World Cup squad, Babel had been heavy linked with a return to former club Ajax although the cash-strapped Amsterdam side appear unlikely to be able to fund an approach.

Speaking to the press ahead of Liverpool’s match with Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, Benitez clarified the situation surrounding Alex McLeish’s bid for Babel.

"I have not said that Ryan has to leave the club. We received an offer for the player and he said that he did not want to leave the club.

"Therefore we rejected the offer."

 

[monsieurdantes]

[flash=500,500]http://www.youtube.com/v/4WsoKbQ2a2I&hl=en_GB&fs=1&[/flash]