one season i believe and they got battered as usual didn't they?
Anyway we deffo make stars rather than buy them
The Donkey
- Thread starter rurikbird
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Anyway we deffo make stars rather than buy them
I don’t think Virgil was world class. They all fell into the v good with potential to outperform history based on style of play. That was exactly my point.
None of the players we signed under Klopp, except Thiago and maybe Alisson, were world class.
That was literally my point, which for some reason is being used as a 'counter' to my point. What a lot of our signings had in common was PL proven, strong data for areas that fit our game. Virgil, Gini, Robbo, Mane all performed well at lesser clubs in the PL.
VVD, as a player, was already world class, as was Alisson. Which is why we broke world record transfer fees in the respective positions when we signed them. Doesn't matter that VVD wasn't playing in the CL, he was already an international and he dominated in the Premier League.
VVD, Alisson and Fabinho were the world class players we needed in order to take that final step, which we did, by winning the CL and Premier League.
VVD, Alisson and Fabinho were the world class players we needed in order to take that final step, which we did, by winning the CL and Premier League.
Fans really do have warped visions of what a world class player is or does.
Stones, Maguire, Virgil, Fofana.....regardless of the fees, none of these were world class when they were signed by their clubs. 2 of them have never been. If one of the big boys were to suddenly sign Guehi or Branthwaite for similiar, neither would they.
Stones, Maguire, Virgil, Fofana.....regardless of the fees, none of these were world class when they were signed by their clubs. 2 of them have never been. If one of the big boys were to suddenly sign Guehi or Branthwaite for similiar, neither would they.
Of course, because although it is reasonably defined (among the best players in the World), it isn't as well measured. It's literally just down to opinion.
I suppose that is what it boils down to yes but for someone to bring up the amount we paid for him as a factor isn't valid reasoning because if you look around at the 60-70m+ signings that've been made over the last 10 years or so, most clubs will say they're paying for the potential they see and not ready made world stars.
The Virgil signing was a massive gamble, but one that ultimately paid off quite quickly seeing how much his stock rose in the first 6 months here, then the following 12 months is when he really began putting his name amongst the elite and being recognised as ballon d'or worthy.
And did Ali have champions league experience… at Anfield as well… even if it was picking the ball out of the net.
Anyone who watched Southampton regularly enough will've known that Virgil was already the best defender in the league when we signed him. The only question was whether he could maintain that level at a top club, and he obviously proved very quickly that he could. But we didn't pluck him from obscurity - he was the most sought after defender in world football, hence the gargantuan fee.
Opinions vary of course. But VvD and Ali were both stalwarts for their countries and experienced players. They weren’t youngsters.
VvD became world class at Southampton. 24 when he arrived and 27 when we signed him. You don’t suddenly become world class, be runner up in the Balon d’Or and in FIFA best player, in one season from 27 to 28 yrs old!
Ditto FIFPRO World XI in 2019/2020&2022.
Of course Liverpool winning trophies made him more prominent and eligible.
It was the same for Ali. One year after we signed him (as Serie A GK of the year) he won FIFA GK of the year, was twice in FIFPRO team of the year (2019 & 2020) and won the Yashin Trophy (best keeper in the world) in 2019!
Was one season so transformative it took VvD and Ali from ‘very good’ to being the best in the world in their positions? Or was it being at Liverpool and us winning trophies that elevated them in people’s minds? More likely we paid world record transfer fees for both a GK and a defender for world class players.
I know what I think. You’re entitled to a differing opinion.
Make the FIFPRO Team of the Year of course !
Well you do Froggy because believe you me had he stayed at Soton, he never would've been in the running for any of those awards. He was 26 when we signed him and still 26 when he helped us reach the CL final......he was runners up in the ballon d'or 2 years later. That period inbetween was crucial and what set him apart, we unlocked the potential we saw in him from being a top 5 CB in the league and he became world class under the guidance of Klopp.
& yes of course the 18 months from the time we signed him to getting to a CL final then winning it the following season was "so transformative" and that's what leads me to believe it was that period where he became world class.
The record fees we paid again have no bearing dictating whether or not a player was world class at the time, Szoboszlai, Naby, Nunez were not world class when we paid record fees for them.
But yes as you say opinions vary, some will agree with you....some others will not.
https://www.sixcrazyminutes.com/thr...ampton-defender-for-world-record-£75m.112423/
Quick rundown.
Ross repeatedly told the world Virgil wasn’t never to be any good.
Dreamie got into a fight with GKMacca and called him a cunt.
Moron, pre CJ, really wanted to fuck Virgil.
Ferguson did that all the time.
Both VVD and Ali had CL experience.
Aside from all the wonderful insults being thrown about, my favourite was Dreamy saying he thinks he will fall short of being the best defender around.
Completely agree. I know world class is a subjective term but my definition is: any player who all the top sides would want if they were available. VVD fitted that then and still does now.
Still looking for the posts that said we were signing a world class player regardless of the fee....let me know if you run into any.
Just throwing it out there, but I wonder if we'd consider swapping Darwin for Victor Osimhen. I know he's on a big wage, but surely he'd reduce it for game time.
Osimhen isn't that technically great either, but he scores the tap ins and is a much. much better target man. He's also has more intelligence to his game than our Darwin.
Osimhen isn't that technically great either, but he scores the tap ins and is a much. much better target man. He's also has more intelligence to his game than our Darwin.
Sounds like he would have been great fit for last seasons team but I think Slot wants a more technically strong number 9 rather than one that just finishes moves
Was thinking about this the other day and I'd do this swap in a heartbeat
Thiago was fucking shit and a total disaster of a signing.
Brizzle's right. That's when we should have known things were unravelling.
I think it was a calculated risk. However every defender got injured in Thiago's first season (including Virgil what 2 or 3 games in), which ironically he was fit for the majority of. If we had avoided that CB injury crisis then who knows - maybe adding Thiago to the squad of the reigning champions would have worked.
That summer we sold Lovren, bought Tsimikas & Ben Davies as our only defenders and then paid the price for expecting either of Gomez or Matip to stay fit, alongside the freak injury to Virgil.
The only thing shit about Thiago was his health. World class player.
He was old and a serial sicknote. If we're honest we should never have gone anywhere near him.
Yeah he was a good player, but imo also pretty overrated, and not a Klopp player anyway.
