HOW much will Brendan Rodgers have to spend at LFC this summer? Is £100 million unrealistic? In my opinion we need at least that sort of money, spent wisely, to get us from being mid-table to top four.
But is Brendan Rodgers the right man to trust to spend it wisely? I think Rodgers will, like Kenny Dalglish, be given real cash to spend, especially with the increased TV revenue coming in.
There is no debate surrounding the fact Dalglish was given real money to spend as LFC manager. Whether that money was well spent or not is another matter. Should Rodgers get credit for making Dalglish’s signings look good (or do they even look any good is another topic of debate)? Let’s deal in facts and then the debates and opinion can follow.
How much has Rodgers spent gross? Net?
Depending on where you look you get different figures on transfers so these are just indicative: (roughly right)
Players in:
Joe Allen £15m, Daniel Sturridge £12m, Fabio Borini £12m, Coutinho £8.8m, Nuri Sahin £4.4m, Oussama Assaidi £3.5m, Samed Yesil £1.1m
Total: £56.8 million
Players out:
Charlie Adam £5.5m, Dirk Kuyt £800,000 Andy Carroll Loan fee £1.1m, Alberto Aquilani (undisclosed but believed to be £1.7m)
Total: £7.4 million
So that’s 56.8 – 7.4 = £49.4m net over two transfer windows – but that’s only half the picture as so many high earning players have been released on free transfers and a number of other players on loan, not just Carroll.
Now I am going to assume all of what we read about players being on more performance-related pay is true. I am also going to assume before Rodgers, players where on higher wages so the salaries of Allen, Courtinho, Sturridge, Borini, Yesil, Assaidi are offset by salary savings of Kuyt, Adam, Carroll and Aquilani. I think in reality the salaries would be more than offset and there are savings.
We are lead to believe Joe Cole was on £120k a week, so let’s assume the following players average out at £70k a week as most of these players (Fabio Aurelio, Maxi Rodriguez, Joe Cole, Nuri Sahin (loaned in and terminated loan), Alexander Doni, Craig Bellamy) were free transfers and so paid very well to reflect the lack of transfer fee.
6 x 70,000 = £420k a week which works out as £21,840,000 a year.
I think this figure is a conservative estimate.
So we could say in reality the saving Rodgers has made in wages mean LFC has spent net 52.4 – 21.84 = £30.56m over two transfer windows.
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There are a number of players on loan and all, or hopefully most, of their wages are off our books (e.g. Jay Spearing, Dani Pacheco) but we don’t exactly know so to keep things simple let’s just ignore them.
Now £30.56 is not a lot for us to spend over two transfer windows.
How successful have Rodgers’ transfer dealings really been?
Joe Allen age 23: Joe started brightly but his star has faded of late thanks to injuries and a ‘resulting’ lack of form. So, not very successful so far and not looking like value for money at £15m. He got the plaudits from the pundits, or at least he did at the start of his LFC career but in my opinion he never really did anything noteworthy.
(Nuri Sahin: Looked like an expensive error but I’m struggling to find out if we got any of the money paid for the loan back so at present £4.4m written off.)
Oussama Assaidi age 24: I like him the rare few times he’s been on the pitch and at £3.5m he may prove to be a good signing. At present not a great purchase.
Samed Yesil age 18: One for the future with a huge reputation but not seen anything yet. At £1.1m and at his age, we can afford him the time and space to develop.
Fabio Borini age 22: Fabio has had two big injuries and not really got into any rhythm or of form. Not looking like money well spent but is it fair to judge a player who has had no stability and moved so often over the last few years? A young man in a foreign country and injured; call me generous but I’ll make up my mind later. £12m not looking like money well spent, yet.
Daniel Sturridge age 23: Hit the ground running and looks at home in a LFC shirt, a rare statement. £13m well spent so far, an even rarer a statement.
Coutinho age 20: Looks like a class act! He’s a quality player and again, seems at home in a LFC shirt (getting less rare, this statement!) At £8.8m he was a bargain by Premiership standards, not just over the top LFC prices.
So out of the six players still at the club one has been injury plagued, another not been given enough of a chance with the first team, so that leaves four players. Out of those four buys, two are real first team successes – not great if you think two out of six – but what’s promising is its Rodgers’ last two buys. In a recent interview Rodgers explained that the scouting network had been improved from the summer. Maybe Mr Rodgers is learning about LFC and the types of players that will succeed here.
Coutinho does look a bargain. Even ignoring our own past big spending on Carroll, Downing and Henderson we can look at Hazard, Mata, Oscar and Santi Cazorla. Hazard (age 22) cost £35m plus £6m to his agent, Oscar (age 21) £25m, Mata (age 23) £23.5m but that’s money bags Chelsea. Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla (age 28) only cost £12m.
Coutinho’s stats: 6 games, 2 goals, 3 assists and 12 shots. Oscar: 27 games, 1 goal, 4 assists, 44 shots. Hazard: 28 games, 8 goals, 8 assists, 56 shots. Coutinho looks like a major bargain.
The last player bought by Rodgers looks amazing business and Sturridge looks good too. May be with this improved scouting network we can trust him?
But then again, one swallow doesn’t make a summer…
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Yes I would trust him, but I can’t see him being given 100m even though I would love him to. We really need to do our business early on in the summer and bring atleast 5 players in and next season 4th place should be our minimum target.
BR will only get £20million
there will be enough money when they sell carroll, skertel, coates, shevly. Plus £20
Rodgers has been a disaster and I wouldn’t trust him with my beer money
All his summer signings are awful , way below Liverpool standards. A total waste of 33 million. In fact Allen and assaidi are two of the worst players ive ever seen play for LFC
Sturridge looks like a decent squad player . And coutinho looks class.
That is one top player he has brought in out of 7
It’s very likely he will be signing more average rubbish in Ashley Williams too . He must be stopped before he blows all our money
you must be stopped i shall inform the internet police that their is a moron on the loose.
Yes there is and he calls himself Stevie G and has a violent guide dog so beware.
And spend about 50 million in the process! No , not to be trusted with anything. In the summer the big talk was about the 3 up and coming British managers. Adkins , lambert and BR! Two fighting relegation, the other one dragging us towards it.
You clearly haven’t watched Liverpool very long if you think Allen and assaidi are the worst you’ve seen. So you can’t recall Nicky Tanner, Sean Dundee, Paul Konchesky or Torben Piechnik. Ok, Allen and Assaidi might not be great but you’re making stupid exaggerations…….Cop on!!
Cop on?? …… Kop on
Yes well put Stevie. RODGERS OUT !!!
NO.
He only got the job because FSG know nothing about “soccer” and simply wanted a young manager to buy them time. Pressure can’t be put on a “young manager” after all.
No other club in the world the size of Liverpool would want Brendan Rodgers based on his CV.
yes , even Reading saw through his bull quick enough
well you could have said the same thing about Shankley wouldnt have him either i suppose?
Oh look . Another moron who thinks he can comp
we weren’t a big club then.
Let’s be honest, he was in the job only a few months when the summer window opened(not long to scout for players) but during the end of the summer window to January we had more time which proved on the coutinho and Sturridge signings, so I would trust him with 100 million.
I’d be more inclined to trust Rodgers with a comparable amount to that which KD was given because he wants value for money. I can’t see Rodgers spending £35m on a donkey with a peg leg.
can you see him buying a luis suarez, i can’t? If we had kept AC we may have just stayed in a competition or two. But as KD was given the push because of that transfer he didn’t dare keep him on the books in case he turned out to be a player. How long until BR brings us a trophy or takes us to a final? Out of all the cups and possibly out of europe next year before it even starts.
No . Rodgers buys 14 year old little wimps for 15 million
yes . lol . Rodgers has a napoleon complex , he only likes em small and weak . he is turning anfield into hobbiton
I wouldn’t trust BR with 5m. Useless manager and poor judge of player
If we don’t sack him , more Allen and Borinis will be coming our way
around 30m wil be gud but no english players….
Cannot believe the negativity.. constant cries to sack the manager. It’s ridiculous.
Forget the “real fan” debates.. Just stop talking * you plonkers!
no he will recycle crapp from chelsea nad swans
rodgers one of the brightest managers in premier league he has started to get the team playing excting football with 50 not 100 million he would turn this squad into serious contenders which is a big turnaround from 12 months ago give him a decent go at it and he will prove all you doubters wrong YNWA
Lol .trying watching the games pal. We are going backwards under this fool
he has already proved us ‘doubters’ right . Rodgers has failed , and failed badly at that
You fool, we are playing exciting football under rodgers? Yet we were cruised by aston and saints in a very horrible manner.
It think RB would do better if such an amount is given to him am ok with his pattern of play he needs time and encourgement
Give him time and sport
Rodgers is turning Liverpool into s joke. Right now every manure and everton fan is praying rodgers stays
We cant afford to give him 1 more cent. Or more average rubbish will be signed
There are some excellent top class managers out there. We are wasting our time hoping this no hoper willturn into one
Ridiculous. Crawl back in your hole little weasel.
exactly my thoughts Dave . well said . Bin Rodgers now – or regret later
Yess i can trust him… Give rodgers 100 million euros and he will turn us into tittle contenders next season….
If we don’t qualify for Europe next season and we are paying less wages than we used to we are dependent on the draw of BR’s name. These new scouts we have had better be pretty persuasive cos who’s going to come? All those above us will spend too and have bigger names as Managers than us and will be in Europe
The only problem I have with brendan is when a team has a ‘bad day’, all I hear is, “we were outstanding”. Err… NO
hell no . we can NOT trust him _NO WAY
56 million spent – for what ? 1 top player Coutinho
Rodgers is clueless , he will waste our dosh on more ex-swansea rubbish
Give the cash to Rafa , he will spent it better
Up Coutinho!!
i surely didn’t want BR to become liverpool manager, because i wanted a proven manager, but thats history right now. Rodgers signing Allen 15m,Borini 10m, Assaidi 3m, Sahin loan and yesil. let look at club idol spending Carrol 35m, Suarez 22.5m, Downing 20m,Enrique 7m, henderson 16m, charlie adam 8m, Coates 8m, estamted total 116.5m, Kenny sales, Babel 6m, Torres 50m,Meireles 12m,Konchesky 2m estimated total 70m net spending 46m. how much of kenny’s signings we can say him class, only Suarez and Enrique surely 2 out of 7. let look at Rodgers sale Adam 4,Aqualani more like 7m, kuyt 1m total sale 12m, with about 29m spend to about 4m for loan deal for Sahin.than takes it to 33m , 33-12 net spending in the summer 21m, Sturridge and Coutinho, 12 and 8m total 20m net total 41m estimated,am sure most of you would still give kenny a 100m to spend although he wasted a great deal, i agree Rodger wouldn’t spend 35m on a very technical weak player like Carrol, am also sure he wouldn’t spend 20m on Downing either, because he likes technical good players so i would trust him will money to spend, i wonder what does you really expected from a player worth 3m, and Yesil is one for the future, i believe Allen will prove to be quality once he recover from injury.
ALL of Brendas buys are atrocious except coutinho . Dont give him any more of our money .