{"id":587,"date":"2016-08-12T13:59:26","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T13:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=587"},"modified":"2016-08-12T13:59:26","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T13:59:26","slug":"liverpool-football-club-transfer-rumour-round-up-august-12th-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpool-football-club-transfer-rumour-round-up-august-12th-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Football Club Transfer Rumour Round-Up: August 12th 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

For those of you that haven\u2019t read one of my transfer pieces before and you\u2019re only here for the gossip, then you might want to skip to the bottom of the page. I\u2019d hope that you\u2019d stick around, though, as I like to put something of an opinion piece about what\u2019s gone on over the past week in the bit before I talk about the players we\u2019re almost certainly not going to sign\u2026<\/p>\n

Obviously most of what\u2019s gone on this week has been about the build-up to Sunday. At the time of writing we\u2019re just over 48 hours from the start of the new Premier League season and our match against Arsenal. I may well touch on that, but there are one or two other things that I think need a mention before we turn to our impending battle with the Gunners as well as the rumours of our ins and outs.<\/p>\n

Spend, Spend, Spend<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s genuinely bizarre how many Liverpool fans seem to be obsessed with the notion of J\u00fcrgen Klopp not having bought well enough in this transfer window. So many football supporters in general seem to fixate on the idea that money solves all problems. That\u2019s kind of understandable; after all, it\u2019s what the press have been telling us for years.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s odd, though, is that Klopp has made absolutely clear that that is not how he likes to work. Here\u2019s a quote from him:<\/p>\n

\u201dOther clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players, yes. But if you bring one player in for \u00a3100million or whatever, and he gets injured, then it all goes through the chimney. Do I have to do it differently to that? Actually, I want to do it differently. I would even do it differently if I could spend that money. I want a special team spirit \u2013 I don\u2019t feel it is necessary, I want it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vlad1988

Vlad1988 \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

That\u2019s the way the German likes to work. It\u2019s the way he has always worked. It\u2019s the way he worked at Dortmund that had Liverpool fans casting such jealous glances over at the Westfalenstadion and wondered why we couldn\u2019t get a manager who did that sort of development with our squad. In fact, of all of the big money signings this summer it\u2019s interesting to note that Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who cost United over \u00a326 million, and City\u2019s \u00a320 million acquisition in Ilkay Gundogan were both nobodies before working with our boss.<\/p>\n

So why the obsession with spending big on one or two players? Jos\u00e9 Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are winners. They will bring glory to our two Manchester rivals, make no mistake about that. But at what cost? They make little to no effort to train the players they\u2019ve already got, Mourinho especially.<\/p>\n

\"Rnoid

Rnoid \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

The classless big-mouthed moron from Portugal made a comment about United signing Pogba and said, \u201c\u2026to have this problem, you need to be at one of the top clubs in the world\u201d. The insinuation being that neither Liverpool nor Arsenal fit into that bracket. But is that true in either case? Obviously not. He\u2019s just crass and reacting to the knowledge that he\u2019s bought every title he\u2019s won other than the ones in Portugal, where it\u2019s basically impossible for Porto to do anything other than win.<\/p>\n

The Papers Dictate The \u2018Reality\u2019<\/h2>\n

Despite the growth of social media and fan-driven content, there is a sad truth that not enough football supporters are even close to realising: The papers dictate what people feel about any given situation.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about. Manchester United have always been the darlings of the press. This summer they have spent \u00a3100 million on the signing of Paul Pogba and brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic on \u00a3260,000 per week. But what should be considered to be a good season for them both? What will need to happen for the wider public to consider them as \u2018flops\u2019?<\/p>\n

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“It feels amazing!” @Ibra_official<\/a> spoke to #MUTV<\/a> after a memorable competitive #MUFC<\/a> debut: https:\/\/t.co\/kaE7FUGOCu<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/cqP4LQY9x8<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 7, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n