Verbal Kint

And i'm not saying he isn't a useful player, i'm saying a 'useful' player isn't worth 150k+ a week

He was at Villa 5 years ago and 5 years is a long time in football. I don't believe he's anywhere near that level of form these days and has become nothing more than a hard working utility player who can cover a few positions, and even when playing in central midfield for City he's not looked outstanding, just ok. He's reportedly earning 150k a week PLUS a huge signing on fee. How many players in the league do you think earn that sort of money? It probably puts him in the top 20 or so best paid players in the league, and there is no way he should be in that sort of company

15 million for James bloody Milner? I can't believe the amount of money being spent on him. Decent, solid, unspectacular. 200k a week is just mental money for that

What an attention seeking post that is

It's no surprise that the two transfers that bypassed our transfer committee and were pursued relentlessly by the previous chairman, despite them being huge gambles at massive prices, have turned out to be the two worst signings in the history of the club. There have been some other poor ones at relatively low fees, but nothing compared to the huge waste of money these two have been. Thanks NC

And when Calum Chambers looks at that FA Cup winners' medal when he's retired he'll know he did **** all to earn it

But the truth is none of us really know what the transfer budget is for the summer on the basis that we don't sell anyone. Could we buy Toby, a goalkeeper, a centre forward and a creative midfielder that most fans seem to think we need to improve without selling one or two players for big money to fund it? Those four players alone, of sufficient quality, will cost us upwards of 30 million probably as well as adding significantly to the wage bill. Can we afford to do it without selling?

No, it's the bit where you accept he isn't the greatest right back in the world and does in fact have a few weaknesses in his game. He's a fantastic defender, excellent in a one on one battle, and he has great acceleration to help him recover from any mistakes. But his attacking play, which is pretty important in the modern game for a full back, is average. The stats support that view I have of him and I think 15 million plus when he has just 1 year left would be great business, just as I think 30 million for Shaw who has very similar weaknesses to Clyne, although young enough and with the potential to improve his attacking play, was also a great deal

3 assists in 2 seasons suggests it isn't. His crossing is average

If he doesn't want to sign a new contract then sell him for 15 million. A very good one on one defender but his attacking game is poor. Gets into good positions and final ball is consistently average. Just like Shaw

This

'Moneyball' came about from a team that couldn't compete financially with bigger competitors and therefore had to source undervalued players. Nobody in their right mind would describe Shane Long at 12 million as undervalued, and the idea that we couldn't have got a very similar player to Long for less than 12 million is ridiculous. I like Long, he's a decent player but he was never worth what we paid for him

I'm always surprised people want to keep him as a "squad player" despite the fact he's one of our highest earners. We can't have players earning 60k+ sitting on the bench every week

Certainly not spending 12 million on Shane Long. The central concept of it is finding CHEAP players unwanted by other clubs who offer best value for money

And that is exactly how a captain should behave. Not like some rat plotting his own escape and planning how best to go on strike. Well done Jose

Not sure I follow that. Obviously Liverpool are a bigger club than us and can pay bigger wages and offer a better chance of winning trophies. Chelsea, United, City and Arsenal offer a better chance of winning trophies and pay bigger wages than Liverpool, so why shouldn't he want to leave?

I don't fully understand why everyone is putting this on the agent. If, and we don't really know for sure, Sterling has told him he doesn't want to play for Liverpool any more, then why should he be signing a contract regardless of what sort of money he is offered? It's poor that the whole thing has played out in the media, but that is just as much Liverpool's fault as it is Sterling's and his agent. And those quote are bloody funny. I'd like to know from Souness, Carragher etc why it is perfectly ok and right for young, developing players from Southampton to move to bigger clubs for more money, better chance of winning trophies etc but it's outrageous for a Liverpool player to do exactly the same

I think it's both. Arsenal won't be looking to partner Morgan with another defensive minded player, they'll play him with someone like Cazorla. United have had Herrera alongside Carrick. Chelsea most of this season have played Fabregas alongside Matic except for the big games when they've brought in Ramires or Mikel alongside him to make them more solid. I realise those are world class players out of our reach but I'd like to us try and find a gem in that mould. Maybe Clasie is that player, I haven't seen enough of him to know

Has he been? If Sterling has said to his agent that what he wants from his career is to earn as much money as he can and win as many trophies as he can then his agent is doing the right thing. Remember the only reason he is at Liverpool is because he did the dirty on QPR. He marked himself then as a bit of a money grabbing tw*t but funnily enough that didn't make Jamie Carragher sick to the pit of his stomach then

I hope we go in a slightly different direction. The Wanyama/Schneiderlin partnership has been immense for us in shutting out the big teams, but at times when we are struggling to break teams down I don't think we move the ball quickly enough and often there too many sideways passes. I'd like someone in there who gets his head up earlier and tries to move it forward quicker. That's not to say Morgan isn't a great player. This club has developed him into one of the best holding midfielders in Europe and I'm confident we'll get properly compensated for that this summer, and with the funds we can improve the team

Neither do I, in fact I've seen a bit more potential in Gazzaniga to make me think he might be an ok number 3 next year, and I don't in theory have a problem with Gazzaniga playing. But the point I'm making is Koeman went with Kelvin at first and has stated that the reason Gazzaniga played last week and will play on Saturday is because they want to learn something in preparation for next season, and he has also said Kelvin will play at City for sentimental reasons. These are not the reasons you pick players if you have a lot to play for and are fighting for every point you can get are they? And if that is the approach and attitude Koeman and the staff have to the last few games of the season is it any real surprise the intensity of the players was nowhere near what it should be against Leicester?

You have to question just how seriously the management view Europa League qualification if we're giving Gazzaniga games to see if he's good enough for NEXT season and also then, for sentimental reasons, throw Davis back in for the City game to get his 300th appearance. That sort of attitude sends a strong message of "season is over, let's plan for next year"

Or we could have let him go for nothing this summer. That would have been really smart. Because Cork is just such an invaluable player we just couldn't live without him for these last few months. Just imagine how different our season would have been with such a crucial member of our midfield, carving out those chances and banging a few in from 20 yards which is what we've missed so much in our midfield Or, maybe, we got a decent fee for a decent, but not spectacular, player who was going to leave on a free this summer no matter what

I'm very surprised by that. Bertrand has been rock solid defensively and is much better in the final third. Shaw often got into good positions but the final ball was nearly always awful