Liverpool have today confirmed that our long term goalkeeper Pepe Reina has joined Rafa Benitez' Napoli on a season long loan deal. Reina has released a lengthy statement via his website on his time at Liverpool, making it very clear how much he loved being here and how much he will miss the club.
It's a very sincere statement and in this day and age of players moving on for money it's refreshing to see someone, especially a foreigner, take a club, it's fans and it's culture so much to heart. Pepe Reina loves Liverpool and Liverpool loves Pepe Reina, he'll miss us and we'll miss him.
What he also mentions in his statement is Barcelona. The Catalan club also have a long term goalkeeper but Victor Valdes has announced he will not be signing another contract at the club, meaning he will leave for free next summer and Barca will need a new number one. Top of the list? Pepe Reina. The Spaniard admits to having talks with Brendan Rodgers about a move to Barca, saying he is happy to stay at Anfield but would seriously consider a switch to the Camp Nou if the opportunity arises. Basically Reina wanted Barca, Barca wanted a 'keeper, what was Rodgers supposed to do?
A replacement was targeted and signed, Simon Mignolet coming in from Sunderland. By all accounts we weren't the only club interested in the Belgian international and we had to move quickly to secure his services. He has Premier League experience and youth on his side and if he settles and develops as we hope he could potentially be our first choice for the next decade. The catch? Victor Valdes has decided to stay at Barca and see out the final year of his contract rather than make a move to Monaco or PSG meaning Barca have decided against making a big money goalkeeping signing this summer.
If we had decided to stick with Reina and Barcelona come in for him next summer we would most probably lose him and be stuck. The way things have panned out we've managed to acquire our first choice as his successor, something that may not have happened if we'd waited twelve months. He's on a salary of around £5 million a year, something we simply cannot justify for a reserve goalkeeper. It's different for outfield players as they can come on for the last twenty or thirty minutes of a match and make an impact, goalkeepers sit and watch unless there's an injury or a sending off. We couldn't keep him, and letting him out on loan for a year benefits all parties.
I have a lot of time and respect for Reina as a man and as a footballer and I wish him well, to be honest the sentimental part of me really doesn't want to see him move on. But his idea that he would wait for Barcelona to come in for him and keep Liverpool as his back up option smacks of someone who wants to have his cake and eat it, something we just can't entertain.
It's easy to remember just how good he was two or three years ago and say that allowing him to leave the club is a mistake, but the way everything has happened we've taken the only option realistically available to us. Pepe Reina's goodbye statement confirms exactly why we love and respect him so much, and also explains exactly why Brendan Rodgers had no choice but to bring in Simon Mignolet and let Reina go.
Good luck Pepe, YNWA.
Monday 29 July 2013
Thursday 25 July 2013
I Didn't Want To Talk About Luis Suarez But...........
I'd made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to write about Luis Suarez until the whole 'will he stay or will he go' saga was resolved one way or another, but I've read so many opinions about it all I just had to contribute my thoughts. And to be honest I've got more views on how everyone else feels than I've got on the Uruguayan himself.
Arsenal fans - some of you seem to be against the idea of signing Suarez, if you'd actually watched him closely you would be prepared to move heaven and earth to get him to your club, he is that good, he would bring you far closer to being title contenders than you are now. You call him a diver, remember Robert Pires, Patrick Viera, Eduardo? You don't have any problems with divers at your club, you've proved it. You call Suarez vile, well, he's had a couple of unsavoury incidents on the football pitch, but off it he's a normal, decent guy. You worship the likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson who have been guilty of far more serious things in life than Suarez, get over it, stop being so hypocritical. You want your club to spend big, Suarez is the best player you have any chance of getting, you should back your manager and embrace the possibility of one of the best players in European football joining your club.
Liverpool fans - I'm hearing the word 'loyalty' a lot, and it's very appropriate. But be completely honest, have we stuck by Suarez because we stand by each and every one of our own, or simply because he is such an incredible player? Imagine Jay Spearing had caused us the same controversies Suarez has, a hard working local lad but with limited ability, would we stand so fiercely behind him or would we be happy to let him go to Blackburn or Bolton or some such club? And look at Stewart Downing, he's worked twice as hard to stay at the club as Suarez has at trying to leave the club, are we loyal to him? Does he get our unwavering support? I think not. Yes, Suarez has been in situations where we could have quite rightly taken a different view and cast him aside, and yes, it would be nice if he showed some commitment in return, but that's not how the world works, and if we were the chasing club in a similar transfer story would we be thinking the player should join us or not? Not difficult is it.
Another thing a lot of Liverpool fans are saying, why would he move to Arsenal? Man City, Chelsea, even Man Utd we could understand as they are challenging for the title but Arsenal are content with their '4th place trophy' every season. Well, lets be realistic about what we are aiming for, we want to break into the top four. In short what we want for Liverpool over the next few seasons is exactly where Arsenal already are and have been for the past decade. Our medium term ambition is Arsenal's current reality so calling Suarez unambitious for considering moving there is a little strange. And why wouldn't Arsenal be looking at Suarez? If we'd been playing Champions League football for the last ten seasons in a row and a team finishing seventh had a player as good as Suarez we would be screaming at the board to go out and try to buy him. Tottenham fans didn't want to see Robbie Keane leave for Anfield but I don't remember any Liverpool fans giving them a second thought when he came to us.
Fans of other teams, especially our rivals - those of you saying you just want to see the back of him should be honest about your reasons.. 'He's a cheating racist cannibal and Liverpool should get rid of him', I'm sick of hearing that. If a team I didn't like (Everton, Man Utd) had a player that caused them as much controversy and negative publicity as Suarez causes us I'd be desperate for them to keep him and hopefully drag their name through even more mud. Unless he was a world class talent who singlehandedly made a massive difference to their performances and results. You all may not like Suarez, that's your personal choice, but the only reason you want to see the back of him is because you would rather face a Liverpool side without him than with him.
Luis Suarez himself - well, where to start? He signed a new contract last summer when we weren't in the Champions League. At that time we had a new manager, a new project and a new philosophy at the club. When he signed his new contract he will have been fully aware that we were unlikely to break into the top four in Brendan Rodgers' first season so he can't be surprised to find Liverpool where we are. The second half of last season showed a lot of promise and if he stays he has every reason to feel optimistic about our chances for 2013/14. He has made plenty of mention of the English media influencing his desire to move on from Liverpool which I find a little bit soft but still understandable, to a degree. So why then move to the capital of England where the majority of the media is actually based? Very strange. In fairness I don't think Suarez has courted Arsenal, I think they're his only real option so far, but if he did decide to move to the Emirates he would have a lot of questions to answer. I wonder if he and his agent are using Arsenal to try to get Real Madrid's attention? Maybe Madrid are letting Arsenal do all the negotiating and will then jump in if a fee is ever agreed.
The £40 million clause - apparently this clause states that any bid in excess of this figure allows the player to speak to the bidding club, but doesn't mean Liverpool have to accept the bid. That sounds very strange to me and if it's true then the players lawyers haven't really served their client very well when that was drawn up. And as for Liverpool, if we were short sighted enough not to include some sort of 'not to a rival English club competing for the top four' note in his contract then we've left ourselves wide open to a situation like this.
Luis Suarez moving to Arsenal would be a double blow for us, decreasing our chances of returning to the Champions League while at the same time improving the team we could most realistically catch. Selling to Real Madrid for £40 million would make more economic sense than selling to Arsenal for a significantly higher sum. I still feel there will be twists and turns in the whole ordeal before it is over though and I doubt Arsenal will have a clear unchallenged path to the player.
I'm going to try not to make much more mention of the saga from now until it is resolved as I'm beginning to find it repetitive and boring, I just had to vent my feelings today. Do I care whether he stays or goes? Of course, I'm a dedicated Liverpool fan and I want our best player to stay. Can I be bothered with the whole soap opera? Not really. Come on Luis / Liverpool / Arsenal, get on with it, make a decision one way or the other and get on with life.
Arsenal fans - some of you seem to be against the idea of signing Suarez, if you'd actually watched him closely you would be prepared to move heaven and earth to get him to your club, he is that good, he would bring you far closer to being title contenders than you are now. You call him a diver, remember Robert Pires, Patrick Viera, Eduardo? You don't have any problems with divers at your club, you've proved it. You call Suarez vile, well, he's had a couple of unsavoury incidents on the football pitch, but off it he's a normal, decent guy. You worship the likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson who have been guilty of far more serious things in life than Suarez, get over it, stop being so hypocritical. You want your club to spend big, Suarez is the best player you have any chance of getting, you should back your manager and embrace the possibility of one of the best players in European football joining your club.
Liverpool fans - I'm hearing the word 'loyalty' a lot, and it's very appropriate. But be completely honest, have we stuck by Suarez because we stand by each and every one of our own, or simply because he is such an incredible player? Imagine Jay Spearing had caused us the same controversies Suarez has, a hard working local lad but with limited ability, would we stand so fiercely behind him or would we be happy to let him go to Blackburn or Bolton or some such club? And look at Stewart Downing, he's worked twice as hard to stay at the club as Suarez has at trying to leave the club, are we loyal to him? Does he get our unwavering support? I think not. Yes, Suarez has been in situations where we could have quite rightly taken a different view and cast him aside, and yes, it would be nice if he showed some commitment in return, but that's not how the world works, and if we were the chasing club in a similar transfer story would we be thinking the player should join us or not? Not difficult is it.
Another thing a lot of Liverpool fans are saying, why would he move to Arsenal? Man City, Chelsea, even Man Utd we could understand as they are challenging for the title but Arsenal are content with their '4th place trophy' every season. Well, lets be realistic about what we are aiming for, we want to break into the top four. In short what we want for Liverpool over the next few seasons is exactly where Arsenal already are and have been for the past decade. Our medium term ambition is Arsenal's current reality so calling Suarez unambitious for considering moving there is a little strange. And why wouldn't Arsenal be looking at Suarez? If we'd been playing Champions League football for the last ten seasons in a row and a team finishing seventh had a player as good as Suarez we would be screaming at the board to go out and try to buy him. Tottenham fans didn't want to see Robbie Keane leave for Anfield but I don't remember any Liverpool fans giving them a second thought when he came to us.
Fans of other teams, especially our rivals - those of you saying you just want to see the back of him should be honest about your reasons.. 'He's a cheating racist cannibal and Liverpool should get rid of him', I'm sick of hearing that. If a team I didn't like (Everton, Man Utd) had a player that caused them as much controversy and negative publicity as Suarez causes us I'd be desperate for them to keep him and hopefully drag their name through even more mud. Unless he was a world class talent who singlehandedly made a massive difference to their performances and results. You all may not like Suarez, that's your personal choice, but the only reason you want to see the back of him is because you would rather face a Liverpool side without him than with him.
Luis Suarez himself - well, where to start? He signed a new contract last summer when we weren't in the Champions League. At that time we had a new manager, a new project and a new philosophy at the club. When he signed his new contract he will have been fully aware that we were unlikely to break into the top four in Brendan Rodgers' first season so he can't be surprised to find Liverpool where we are. The second half of last season showed a lot of promise and if he stays he has every reason to feel optimistic about our chances for 2013/14. He has made plenty of mention of the English media influencing his desire to move on from Liverpool which I find a little bit soft but still understandable, to a degree. So why then move to the capital of England where the majority of the media is actually based? Very strange. In fairness I don't think Suarez has courted Arsenal, I think they're his only real option so far, but if he did decide to move to the Emirates he would have a lot of questions to answer. I wonder if he and his agent are using Arsenal to try to get Real Madrid's attention? Maybe Madrid are letting Arsenal do all the negotiating and will then jump in if a fee is ever agreed.
The £40 million clause - apparently this clause states that any bid in excess of this figure allows the player to speak to the bidding club, but doesn't mean Liverpool have to accept the bid. That sounds very strange to me and if it's true then the players lawyers haven't really served their client very well when that was drawn up. And as for Liverpool, if we were short sighted enough not to include some sort of 'not to a rival English club competing for the top four' note in his contract then we've left ourselves wide open to a situation like this.
Luis Suarez moving to Arsenal would be a double blow for us, decreasing our chances of returning to the Champions League while at the same time improving the team we could most realistically catch. Selling to Real Madrid for £40 million would make more economic sense than selling to Arsenal for a significantly higher sum. I still feel there will be twists and turns in the whole ordeal before it is over though and I doubt Arsenal will have a clear unchallenged path to the player.
I'm going to try not to make much more mention of the saga from now until it is resolved as I'm beginning to find it repetitive and boring, I just had to vent my feelings today. Do I care whether he stays or goes? Of course, I'm a dedicated Liverpool fan and I want our best player to stay. Can I be bothered with the whole soap opera? Not really. Come on Luis / Liverpool / Arsenal, get on with it, make a decision one way or the other and get on with life.
Saturday 20 July 2013
Loaning Pepe Reina To Napoli Is A Clever Move By Liverpool
It's been a while since I've put anything on here, to be honest not a lot has inspired me to write. The whole Luis Suarez saga is boring me and I'm not going to go into that until it reaches a conclusion one way or another. We've brought in four players but to be honest, Kolo Toure aside, I don't know much about any of them so I'll make my judgments on whether or not they're decent signings over the course of the season.
What does look likely though is that Pepe Reina is heading out to join up with Rafa Benitez at Napoli on a season long loan deal, which is something of a surprise. Players of Reina's age and standing within the game don't often move on loan but looking at it a little more closely I think it's a really good idea for all concerned.
A few months back Barcelona 'keeper Victor Valdes announced he wouldn't sign a new contract at the Camp Nou, Reina was immediately linked to being his replacement. I've been a Liverpool fan all my life and even I would love to play for Barca (unlikely to happen but I can dream......) so for someone like Pepe who already has ties to the club it must have been more than interesting. Some clubs can offer high wages (Man City), some can offer tradition and reputation (Liverpool) and some can offer Champions League football (Napoli) but Barca can offer all three, making them a dream destination for almost any player. Valdes later announced he will stay at Barca for the coming season, the final one under his current contract. Barcelona need a new 'keeper NEXT summer, not this one.
If Pepe is to join Barca next summer Liverpool don't want to wait until then to replace him so we've been out and signed one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Europe, and we've got him on approximately half the wages we're currently paying to Reina. It's a good deal, especially when you throw Simon Mignolet's Premier League experience into the mix. Reina has been loyal to Liverpool and the various managers of the last few seasons have always chosen him as their number one, and the fans have supported him even though there has been a small but noticeable drop in his performance levels over the last three years. If he wants to move to Barcelona he'll go with our thanks and our best wishes.
So why loan him to Napoli if he wants to go to Barca? Well, a season sitting on our bench will see his transfer value drop, and a year as a substitute leading up to a World Cup is not what a man like him deserves. Napoli will offer him regular football, Champions League football and the chance to work with a manager and goalkeeping coach who get the best out of him. They will also, presumably, pay Liverpool a loan fee. Assuming Reina's transfer value is the same next summer as it is now then adding a loan fee on top of that means in the long term we get more money for him (see Andy Carroll). If he does well under Rafa and they want to keep him there's a chance a bidding war for his services could start, leaving us in a position where we can get more money for him. And if Mignolet doesn't settle as Liverpool's number one 'keeper then we will still have the option of not selling Pepe at all.
It will be sad to start the season without Pepe Reina at the club, and losing him at the same time as Jamie Carragher puts a lot more pressure on the likes of Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger as senior players in the dressing room. We have a relatively inexperienced manager and a young squad by Premier League standards so losing long term servants could hit us hard, but Brendan Rodgers is aware of this and will have plans in place. Signings like Toure are clever and will hopefully fill more than just the void left at centre back by Carragher's retirement.
I don't want to see Pepe Reina leave Liverpool as a man or as a goalkeeper but it's football and these things happen. In many ways the whole thing makes a lot of sense, and as long as Mignolet settles it's a good move all round. Reina currently costs us around £5 million a year in wages and that's too much for a substitute. The loan deal has many advantages over a straightforward sale and I think Liverpool have made a clever decision. Good luck to Pepe and, more importantly, good luck to Simon Mignolet.
What does look likely though is that Pepe Reina is heading out to join up with Rafa Benitez at Napoli on a season long loan deal, which is something of a surprise. Players of Reina's age and standing within the game don't often move on loan but looking at it a little more closely I think it's a really good idea for all concerned.
A few months back Barcelona 'keeper Victor Valdes announced he wouldn't sign a new contract at the Camp Nou, Reina was immediately linked to being his replacement. I've been a Liverpool fan all my life and even I would love to play for Barca (unlikely to happen but I can dream......) so for someone like Pepe who already has ties to the club it must have been more than interesting. Some clubs can offer high wages (Man City), some can offer tradition and reputation (Liverpool) and some can offer Champions League football (Napoli) but Barca can offer all three, making them a dream destination for almost any player. Valdes later announced he will stay at Barca for the coming season, the final one under his current contract. Barcelona need a new 'keeper NEXT summer, not this one.
If Pepe is to join Barca next summer Liverpool don't want to wait until then to replace him so we've been out and signed one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Europe, and we've got him on approximately half the wages we're currently paying to Reina. It's a good deal, especially when you throw Simon Mignolet's Premier League experience into the mix. Reina has been loyal to Liverpool and the various managers of the last few seasons have always chosen him as their number one, and the fans have supported him even though there has been a small but noticeable drop in his performance levels over the last three years. If he wants to move to Barcelona he'll go with our thanks and our best wishes.
So why loan him to Napoli if he wants to go to Barca? Well, a season sitting on our bench will see his transfer value drop, and a year as a substitute leading up to a World Cup is not what a man like him deserves. Napoli will offer him regular football, Champions League football and the chance to work with a manager and goalkeeping coach who get the best out of him. They will also, presumably, pay Liverpool a loan fee. Assuming Reina's transfer value is the same next summer as it is now then adding a loan fee on top of that means in the long term we get more money for him (see Andy Carroll). If he does well under Rafa and they want to keep him there's a chance a bidding war for his services could start, leaving us in a position where we can get more money for him. And if Mignolet doesn't settle as Liverpool's number one 'keeper then we will still have the option of not selling Pepe at all.
It will be sad to start the season without Pepe Reina at the club, and losing him at the same time as Jamie Carragher puts a lot more pressure on the likes of Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger as senior players in the dressing room. We have a relatively inexperienced manager and a young squad by Premier League standards so losing long term servants could hit us hard, but Brendan Rodgers is aware of this and will have plans in place. Signings like Toure are clever and will hopefully fill more than just the void left at centre back by Carragher's retirement.
I don't want to see Pepe Reina leave Liverpool as a man or as a goalkeeper but it's football and these things happen. In many ways the whole thing makes a lot of sense, and as long as Mignolet settles it's a good move all round. Reina currently costs us around £5 million a year in wages and that's too much for a substitute. The loan deal has many advantages over a straightforward sale and I think Liverpool have made a clever decision. Good luck to Pepe and, more importantly, good luck to Simon Mignolet.
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