Did Tottenham and Liverpool over-pay for Bent and Torres?
Sweet justice? Reality bites?
Tottenham get Bent for 16.5 mil, Liverpool are reported to have agreed a 27m deal with Atletico Madrid for Fernando Torres.
For two clubs who have roundly berated the top two sides in the Premiership for ‘buying’ the title, what will they say now?
As Tottenham finalise a deal with Charlton to bring Darren Bent over to White Hart Lane for a deal that’s worth 16.5mil, I can’t help but laugh. After flogging Michael Carrick for 14m (although this is rising as United won the Prem and one of the bonus payments has been triggered) and making a big fuss about how United overpaid for Carrick, how will Tottenham fans react to the news that they themselves have overpaid - to the tune of 6-8mil - on Darren Bent?
Liverpool are paying 27m for Torres - perhaps 20m would have been a fairer price (considering that he’s not proven in the Premiership). But Liverpool need a big striker to appease the fans and they need quality - although I wonder if a player like Huntelaar might not have been a better choice. Even Martins or Owen would have been better (and cheaper).
Newsflash - prices in the transfer markets have been on a rise and will go higher. It’s not simply a case of strikers being scarce or the Premiership being over-charged for strikers - the market has been moving in this direction for a long time and it takes a lot of hard work for clubs to bring in players at the right price.
Deals like Pizarro and Rosicky are smart deals, and they don’t happen all the time. Football clubs will have to pay increasingly higher costs to match their ambitions.
And speaking of ambitions, why does it look like Tottenham are trying to buy 5th place permanently? Bent alone won’t take them into the top four. Bale’s presence will help, but Tottenham still lack that class midfielder. Yes, if Carrick had still been there I’d have tipped them as genuine challengers for 4th spot, but not at the moment.
Liverpool? Torres, if he really signs on, will help, but a change in mentality is also required by Rafa, otherwise Liverpool fans will learn this season what I’ve known for the last year - that not even a top-notch striker can make a difference if your mindset is to defend first.
- Tottenham vs Liverpool, Bent vs Torres - who’s getting the better deal?
- Arsenal vs Tottenham vs Liverpool - who got the better striker?
- Why Torres can change Liverpool’s fortunes
- Manchester United Want Torres, But Not Now
- How many ‘match winners’ do Liverpool have?
Discussion - 68 Responses
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I think both the players are over-rated by the look of the transfer fees, specially, Torres. Playing style is differnt in La Liga and EPL (someone ask Morientes and Beckham). They might justify their fees later but I rather prefer the likes of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger with low budget transfers who are considered icons today like Eric Cantona,Thierry Henry,Patrick Vierra , Ruud Van Nistelrooy , Peter Schimichael to name a few. The commercialization of football has resulted in most managers , specially , the ones with average skills to look for ready made instant superstars rather than building a team and developing players. For that reason alone I hope Wenger wields some magic and Arsenal wins the league (though it looks highly unlikely)
Its not over priced if you look at the bigger picture.
Look at Berba, 10.7m now worth 20m so if we bought him now at 20, people would be saying way too much.
Bent WANTS to play for Spurs. He scores goals, has natural talent and flair, is English and wants to work with MJ.
Defoe is too has been a professional. Whilst I think he is selfish on the pitch he has not moaned and I think he should stay.
Off load Mido. then you have four top tier strikers plus Barney from the reserves.
Why would we sell Defoe? Mido is the one going and bye bye lard ass
Pizarro was not a very smart deal. He is an OK player. Look at his goalscoring ration and you’ll see, it is not all that impressive. Rosicky was a smart deal but hasnt quite lived up to his talent.
TBH, I think Torres is a good deal. If Utd got him, us Utd fans would be over the moon. You are correct on Bent, he is completely overpiced.
was a british record 19 million fee cheap for nistelrooy? what planet you on? its hardly buying the title, its just catching up with chelsea and united, liverpools first 11 costs about the same as 2 or 3 chelsea or united players. if we were spending 200 million then i think you could call us hypocrites
shakil..
but I rather prefer the likes of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger with low budget transfers who are considered icons today like Eric Cantona,Thierry Henry,Patrick Vierra , Ruud Van Nistelrooy , Peter Schimichael..
Well what about when utd paid almost 30 million for Ferdinand.. that was maybe 15 million to much. What about Veron, or maybe Reyes 18 million.
And with all due respect, Arsenal have spent very little money over the last few years, that is why you will fall out of the top 4, you have lost Henry, you will lose Wenger, then just watch the exodus.
“that not even a top-notch striker can make a difference if your mindset is to defend first.”
We’ve had a defensive mindset since 2001 and been pretty good at it so don’t know what your implying here.
Yes of course 27m is over the odds, but if we’d been in a position to do that over the last 2 years, we’d also have simoa and alaves. Torres is also a product as much as a player and will earn back a substantial chunk of that fee in merchendizing.
As a Spurs fan I am slightly worried by the Bent purchase, I would have rather spent 20mill+ on a left footer. I am also concerned about the knock on effect with the established strike force.
Yeah ok, bye Mido! a perfect example of a player working his whatsits off for a contract, then happly warming the bench eating his kebab when he got it.But I am really concerned about Defoe, I hope he stays.
Whilst we all thought Man Utd paid too much for Carrick, I dont think MU feel the same now. Lets hope Bent can warrant his price, I sincerly hope he does, for his sake and ours
what a load of rubbish shakil! So you prefer AF’s approach of low budget transfers do you. Is this the 25m & below catergory?! Some low budget transfers by AF - Ruud was 18m years ago! Plus he has signed veron for 20+m, rio-forgot to turn up-ferdinand for 20+m, carrick (!!!) for 18m, hargreaves 18m…..you want me to carry on! The only players worth there transfers are rooney & ronaldo.
To call torres over rated without even watching him play a game smacks of jealousy! Or is your comment made based on all your scouting reports?!
Lets say Bent and Torres get 20+ goals each the coming season.. then are they overpriced?? think not.. Lets see how they do, then argue whether they were overpriced!!
Torres is one of Europe’s best young talents and after a while adjusting to the Prem is likely to become a key player as Liverpool challenge for honours.
Bent cost spurs £13mil over three years plus additional payments if spurs get in the champion’s league. Thats not way over the odds for a proven striker who can hit the ground running next season.
as for ‘buying fifth’ that just sounds like petty nonesence from a worried arsenal fan - and rosicky? how great a deal was he compared to Lennon?
I suspect he is overpriced at £16m.
But he has one quality that is rare if not extinct among premiership footballers, he doesn’t just chase the money.
How many others would take £30k PER WEEK less to play for the right premiership team?
A very rare quality. Charlton may have fleeced us, but we should be flattered at Darren’s determination to play for us and count ourselves lucky to have landed a player with character.
Firstly Torres is not over priced, he is one of the best up and coming talents in europe, a bit like rooney at 17/18 he was only a sub for everton and SAF jumped in and paid 30m for him. Rooney had a great first season for Utd but hasn’t done much since.
Torres has proven himself on club level and international level.
Bent has been one of the most consistant goal scorers in the prem in the last few years and is a great professonal. At 16.5 mill thats a good price if you consider all this and never mind the fact the west ham were offering somthing like 22mil.
Chelsea: 30mil shevchenko ha ha
Man utd: 28mil veron ha ha
When utd spent 12m on a certain 19 year old who hadn’t proved himself in the prem ppl said they paid over the odds for him… Ronaldo!!
Basicly just cus a team that hasn’t won the league or not for a few years spends a bit of cash on well known players ppl start giving out. Why? scared?
Shakil obviously doesn’t know about his football and didn’t do any research before he made his weak arguement. Veron was 28m, Ferdinand 30m, hargreaves 18m, Rooney 30m, nani 17m raising to 21m depending on appearances.
Fact is that if Nani is going to cost that much then i don’t see how Torres can be considered overpriced. These days you are paying for potential and potentially liverpool have a 23 year old who has pace, trickery, good in the air and strong and rated as one of the best players in europe. How the hell do you think that its possible to get him on the cheap. If you want to be up there with the best then you have to be willing to pay for it otherwise you end up being like Arsenal who have become a selling club trying to make it with just youngsters and buying cheap players like rosicky and hleb who just aren’t good enough.
simon
“And with all due respect, Arsenal have spent very little money over the last few years, that is why you will fall out of the top 4, you have lost Henry, you will lose Wenger, then just watch the exodus.”
clearly u know nothing about Arsenal and AW. He is set to sign a new contract and is not bringing young players into the squad just to abandon them. He is bringing young players that he has admired so that he can work with them. Arsenal gives him the autonomy and freedom that no other club could give a manager and he knows that.
As for these fees, Thierry Henry goes for 16.1 and erratic Bent for 16.5. Go figure. Ofcourse he is overpriced. Torres might just end up being worth his price since he is a proven goalscorer.
Ahmed, you make me laugh when you put the lower end figure for Carrick and the high end for Bent. That’s called the politican’s argument, and will earn you about the same respect.
Shakil, what are you on about? You prefer the SAF approach do you? £30m on Ferdinand? £30m on Rooney? £18m on Hargreaves? £18m on Carrick? £18m on Nani? £18m on Anderson? £20+m on Veron? Do you want me to continue? And how many hundreds of million are Utd in debt? £300m? £400m?
And how many big money signings have Spurs made over the last five years? 8 years ago they spent £11m on Rebrov. And then last year £11m on Berbatov. Every other signing has been in single figures.
And what are Spur’s profit/loss on transfers? About £7m a year for the last four years. What’s Utd’s? Liverpools? Arsenal’s? Chelsea’s? LOL
And how much debt do Spurs have? None, zilch, nada.
Each year they make a profit. A profit they reinvest in the team. Like they’ve just done with Bent and Bale. Each year they improve. And that’s without Champions League. Spur’s can’t attract the big names. They have to scout their players. Build from the bottom up.
And you admire the way SAF has done it do you? Or Mourinho? or Benitez? The man I admire is Wenger and how Arsenal have done it and that’s the route Spurs are following now.
Which team do you support btw? LOL
Lastly, which side has the best strike force in the Premiership? Arsenal with Adebeyor and Van Persie? Chelsea with Drogba and Shevchenko? Liverpool with Crouch, Bellamy and Kuyt? Utd with Rooney and Saha? Spurs with Keane, Berbatov, Defoe and Bent?
Tottenham have turned in annual profits for several years - check the accounts. Meanwhile Chelsea have run up a loss of £440 million in three years - that’s why people say they bought the title.
Bent is young, proven and can get better. The deal (fee plus wages) will cost Spurs £5m a year over 6 years. Ballack costs Chelsea £6.5m a year and he was free!
Henry for £16m plus £140k/week will cost Barca £11m a year over four years.
Spurs are aiming for the CL. If they make it Bent will look good value.
tottenham definitely over paid for bent. There is no way he’s worth more than Henry, and i don’t care how old he is for the next three seasons Henry would have bagged more goals than Bent will! Also Spurs have already got 3 strikers who are better than him. A complete waste of money!
On Torres I think this is a Good signing, as he will be like ronaldo, he’ll give him a challenge for player of the year next season. Although 27 million is still steep!
Dear Bilal
You berated me once for accusing you of drivel and bias, as you felt you had the right to an opinion, which you do. But, it cheapens your often-interesting views to sound like the Maureen winging that everyone else is buying the Premiership. ManU have been the biggest spenders for decades till the Rusky came in.
Paying £30m or thereabouts on several players who were clearly overpriced and over rated at that level, means, you ought to be quite about the activities of other clubs. Rio, Veron and even Rooney as well as both Carrick and Owen Hargreaves were grossly overpriced when you consider that both latter ones were available 12 or 24 months before ManU’s bids for around £3m each.
As for Martins & Owen being better options for LFC, tell me why it is that no top club has ever come in for Owen, or at least not until he became too much of a bargain and so Real got him and doubled their money in a year by selling him to a non descript mid table club with more money than sense.
As for Rafa’s mind set, well, he has the type that Sir So&So would only dream of, that’s why we have achieved two European finals in less time than your Sir did in his first n 5 to 6 seasons and then it was only a domestic cup. Its also worth remembering that he beat the power houses of Barca & Real with a fraction of their budgets.
Bilal I would love to debate with you but not while you are being a bit of a Maureen, trying to justify your clubs methods by criticising others. A little cheap mate.
I don’t think Liverpool overpaid. If United bought him, he could easily have gone for over 30mil. (Anyone knows what happened to the rumour of Xabi Alonso also being included in the deal? - if it is a case of 27 + Alonso, then it is overpriced imo).
I think Pool get a fair deal and pissed a lot of MU supporters off who wished that we would get him (me excluded). Well done.
I’m just concerned over what’s going to happen to Bellamy, Kuyt, Bellamy, Cisse, Crouch? Weren’t they the “best strike-force in the world” about a season ago? What are you going to do with Kuyt? The money you paid for him last season should now effectively be added to the Torres deal because its now money lost…
If you could define what Rafa’s mindset is but then you can’t…just a piece of journalist wannabe at work.
As for Spurs, the signing of Bent signals their intent to challenge the big four.
At the moment, only Arsenal and Chelsea (already a great squad) are falling behind.
It’s easy to say that Arsenal is going to struggle and with Henry permanently unavailable, the struggle continues.
Pizzaro and Rosicky are smart deals because Arsenal lacked funds to compete. No matter how smart it is, the limitation is there to be seen. It was only to maximise the funds utilisation which is already limited in the 1st place.
I guess the question is - if someone said have Bent and we want Defoe and Mido. Would you take the deal. I think I might. So I have no idea is Spurs have already lined up clubs for Defoe and Mido but if they get around 13 million for the 2 combined they might think they have done good business. If one looks at Spurs season you will see we suffered when Berbatov was out and King was out - in the first half. Ultimately if Spurs get into the Champs league they would think it is all worth it.
Hmmm, as a Spurs fan, I can think of plenty of good deals that we’ve made - Chimbonda, paid £4.5m (plus extras), worth £10m+. Huddlestone and Lennon, paid peanuts for both. Robinson, the same. And even players that we paid a reasonable amount for but have done well from, such as Berbatov and Carrick. Just because we ’splash the cash’ on one player, doesn’t mean we’re trying to ‘buy the premiership’. It’s hardly spending hundreds of millions a’la Chelsea, or £20m+ a’la Manchester United. Having said all that, it’s a hugely inflated market at the moment for everyone, not just us, and not even just the English.
When u look at it form the traditional point of view, they are grossly overpriced. But considering the market trend these days, Torres is a good buy…Proven hitman in one of the most demanding leagues and at the age of 23 he looks good…
Totts paying that amount of money for an average striker(that too their 3rd choice)…waste of money…
Liverpool rocks!!!
Bent was completely overpriced, but unfortunately that’s the way of the market. It says something that Berbatov was £5million cheaper, but for a long time British players have been over-priced in the market, I remember Paul Stewart being one of the most expensive signings ever for Liverpool in the 90’s and he was hardly going to set the world alight.
Having said that I’m sure Bent will score goals, and I believe he has a greater understanding of the offside rule than Defoe…
English football had better watch out, as before too long £16.5 million will only afford the likes of another Bent….Marcus…
tat is for sure be over-pay…both of them over-price is becoz they hv their talent and young but problem is…is them can prove themself after transfer to a new team?
torres famous becoz he is a main important player in atletric madrid and in national team….hv a potential to be a great player….
bent be value high becoz he hv talent and is a british player who scored most goal in the epl,hv talent be a great player…hv many team interst in him
however,it be sure over-price for them tat the team tat own them is greedy and wan more cash for their team own good,it not the fault for them demand for high-price but problem is buyer should ask themself,should them invest tat many money in a particular player who is no guarantee be a world class player in the future(no young player guarantee to be good after tranfer to another team)…so how if u find the player no suitable for our team?(cisse quite famous wit his talents and he no chance and be injury phone,bapstita also another example)jz sell it cheap?tat be a bad investment and let ur team being poor and down finally be leeds united… so,small investment and get a quality player is more important no becoz they famous or some statistic in their previous team…
Well most of u would compare Bents 16.5 to Henry`s 16 … Dont u think it is not Bent who is Over Valued … It is Henry who was Under Valued …
Even though Henry`s age may be against him and many might think Arsenal got huge amt compared to how Utd Sold RVN .. Do u people think Henry was only worth 16 ….
I am a United Fan and saying before even Bent or Torres step into the ground that “OVER RATED OR OVER PAID ” IS ILL-LOGICAL …
If a club has funds why wouldnt they buy above average players , even though they are not proven …( I m sorry Gunners … Paying Bent 16 or Torres 27 is much better than players of Unknown Quality )
Rafa himself said “We need Quality Players .. Look Utd they have a good a DM for 16 M ”
Why is the amount paid coming into picture when we all United Chelsea fans know Liverpool and Tottenham are great team even with Average players and with these players they are giving themselves they chance to Fight for top 4….
Simple Logic : “Amounts Dont matter as long as Manager has funds and thinks that those players he intends to purchase are above average ”
CARRICK IS THE EXAMPLE AND I M DAMN SURE THAT Both Deals will be good and Watch out Arsenal — Tottenham are for the 4ht spot (lol)
Liverpool is not going to pay that much of money, they do not have it, and they don’t need Torres either. The only place Torres is going is nowhere. 27mil is 2much, even ManU cannot afford it(although I hope they can buy him). The only club in the world which can buy Torres is the money, money and money Arsenal.(I hope not)
I am sorry football has gone mad . 16.5 MILL for a striker who is not world class . That is the end for me . I am 47 and been going to Spurs since I was 7 . I have not renewed by membership and will not . I am falling out of love with the game the money is just madness .
Does MU got 5-6 top class stiker and still scored most goal in EPL to be crowned Champions? No, only Rooney is fit striker the whole season. One word for Jol- TEAMWORK.
I AGREE WITH FRANK …..
Madrid chairman said today no negotiations are taking place regarding Torres but that can change. Liverpool fans see the THAT CAN CHANGE bit but everyone else sees the NO NEGOTIATIONS bit. You can see the desperation among the Liverpool fans like with Kuyt last year. Even if he does sign you’re still way behind Chelsea and Man U. It’s been in the press a week now and all that’s been said is NO NEGOTIATIONS ARE TAKING PLACE. He aint signing.
We paid too much for Bent although he’s proven, hope JD stays.
@frank
“As for Rafa’s mind set, well, he has the type that Sir So&So would only dream of, that’s why we have achieved two European finals in less time than your Sir did in his first n 5 to 6 seasons and then it was only a domestic cup. Its also worth remembering that he beat the power houses of Barca & Real with a fraction of their budgets.”..what a load of drivel..winning nine league titles in 15 odd years..now thts what..managers dream of..and rafa has won 1 ucl..tht puts him on par with fergie in european competition..tht doesnt make him better.and sure rafa led valencia to the title..because.real madrid’s galacticos were falling apart and barca were rebuliding..if that season had been 2 weeks longer..barca wud have taken tht title..and i dont know wen u thick headed imbeciles will ever understand..the money utd spends is the money utd earned ..and utd have every right to spend it the way they chose to..we never had to be spoonfed by a pair of yanks or a russian..
Shaheen Seedat:
What do you mean about Pizarro not being a smart deal? He was free….
Well said Govind also worth noting Rafa won the Spanish league with the team Hector Cuper built, he’s finding it much tougher starting from scratch at Liverpool. A lot of his transfers are shipped out the door after a season for not being good enough. How many right backs has he bought and still Finnan is their best.
Ahmed - do you think it’s just a matter of time, before Liverpool close the deal for Torres? I mean, again today his club has said, there’s been no negotiations of a transfer, and that they expect him to start working in Spain after his holiday.
What’s your view on this?
Govind
Clearly you don’t get the point, Bilal has judged Rafa after 3 seasons and said that he had a mindset that would fail. Compare that to Sir So&So after 3 seasons and I think you would be getting off your high horse and maybe contributing a worthy point, once you fond one to offer. Sorry for the sarcasm, but there is no comparison between the records of the two, managers. Sure Sir So&So can be called the best British manager currently employed, but that does not make him much more than a man who was lucky to monopolise the EPL when the mighty reds were on the wane and there was little if an real challenge to his wealth, till chelsky and we know what happened after that. The truth is he had all the money and a monopoly of the league and still only got to one European final and was lucky to walk away with a winners meddle. His record, as far as the rest of Europe is concerned, is not good enough to use to clean Rafa’s boots with.
Govind
1 meddle & 1 final in 20 years with one of the biggest budgets in world football.
1 meddle & 2 finals in 3 years with a relatively ‘poor man’s’ budget in world football.
If you come back and say the same to me after Rafa has been at LFC for 20 years and even if he only spends 10% of what your manager has, then I think you will find your points are superfluous.
Well like it or not Rafa is amongst the best UCL managers … He with a midocre team reached UCL Finals this time …
Nothing against u Reds .. Just that it is really a amazing achievement that he enters the finals with Wingers like Pennant and Zenden …
Well Man to Man if u compare Liverpool with Chelsea or Manutd u will know what a remarkable achievement it is ..
Well having said that it is also partly his fault of going after Average players than stars .. But I think it was because of Budget he had to look for Cheaper Players …
I remembered one point in time when MU has probably the strongest forward line, with Ruud, Rooney, Saha, Smith, Rossi and Ole. Then there was Real with Ronaldo, Raul, Cassano, Robinho, and where that lead these two clubs? No where. They acheived little because of over-dependence on the forwards. Tottenham is like that at this point in time. They already have enough forwards. They just need a creative midfielder to open up defense and give them another direction to go. Jenas and Zokora is not going to win you titles or bring you to 4th. Nor is Bent, considering the amount of firepower in their midst already. Defoe if given the chance will score more than Bent, Keane or Berbatov. His pace and finishing is delightful to watch and its a shame he is left to rot while Bent comes in and push him down the pecking order again.
However, there is no such thing as an over=priced player. Players do not have a price tag and with every deal, there is always an element of risk. Besides, Torres is one I still think someone should give a thought about. His pace, height, strength and mobility will make him hard enough to handle, and when he learn to be more ruthless with the ball, watch out. As with Bent, he is that wildcard people sometimes play. He has the potential, but just lack that swagger and flair that will make him a great player. But he will be an asset to Tottenham, and will do a job when called upon even though Defoe and Mido is sufficient enough.
Rick
You sound like a man to debate with. Football is far more complex than Maureen or any of her ilk would have us believe. No doubting the top four managers and their achievements, but, the two with limited budgets etc… must be respected above and beyond the others by those who seem to find it easy to judge mindsets without due consideration of the facts.
frank
yea we all know that rafa is tactically very astute when it comes to europe because he knows he can pack the defence and hope that his side score once to save his carcass….but he always sets up not to lose……that is totally different to setting up to win…thats why bilal has said that liverpool wont be challenging for the title even with torres…rafa doesnt know how to attack a side and break it down….thats why so many mid table sides mange to nick points of liverpool…and as far as united trying to monopolise the league during the nineties with just money…lets not forget even with fergie’s fledglings after selling the likes of kanchelskis UNITED went on to win the double ..and you say man utd won because of liverpool are in a slump…well that slumps gone on for nearly 2 decades now…so lets leave it at that..
when you talk about budgets rafa has bought over 30 players to anfield and other than alonso and maybe pepe reina i dont think you can call the rest any thing other than disaster..and please dont say crouch or kuyt were successes they were brought in to score 20-25 goals a season but they dont get more than 15 now do they…
according to me you seem to dispise united just because they have got the kind of success you liverpudlians want and its killing you that your greatest rivals have been THE BEST side in england for the last decade and a half..while you guys have had to settle for the odd cup here and there..
Hilarious. They point their fingers at United and Chelsea, and then go and do the same thing. Their defense will be that “We have to spending order to keep competing because of the percedent set by United and Chelsea.” Spare me, Kops and Yids.
If you have the money, spend it. So many clubs are being bought these days anyway and being infused with cash, the value of the single dollar, euro, pound, whatever is falling in transfer value, so overpayment of players is a reality of the new football market.
Just to say that Torres is not going to Liverpool, Athelico have quashed the rumors that he has been sold
bent isnt half bad……. but Henry went to barca fr 16 mil fr crying out loud!!! agreed, bent is younger….. but he is by no means worth that kind of cash…. even if he plays out of his skin, spurs would have payed too high a price….
i wont comment on torres bcoz i havent seen him play enough….
Frank, Rafa Benitez is only a good manager for the Cups, he knows how to plan for the one-off games, but as everyone can see under Rafa (and every other manager in the past 20 years) liverpool continue to show they aren’t good enough in the league, they continue to buy players who clearly aren’t and never were good enough - zenden, crouch, aurelio etc. and that they are probably the most boring team to watch in the top half of the premiership, if not in the whole league… In the champions league you need luck and clearly you’s have been lucky, that’s all. Take away Gerrard and you would struggle to beat most teams.
When the shoe is on the other foot, everyone is either pointing towards the 20m transfers or talking about catching up.
Now you guys know how it feels when your club spends good money to bring in good players and idiot fans from other clubs berate your side for over-spending.
some perspective required for you guys, I guess.
Bent’s deal is a good one - 13m over several years plus rising to 16m based on certain clauses. He might be a tad bit overpriced (I’d have thought 10m) but Tottenham are making a move for the Champions League and that has to be taken into account.
Torres - to be honest, there are very few strikers capable of being world class and Torres has that potential. Liverpool want the Prem and the CL, and for that buying a 20m+ striker is part of the game.
Moral of the story - sometimes clubs will overpay for talent. Before you call them out on it, remember that for your club to be a consistent challenger to them, they’ll have to do the same.
Oh, and someone must learn to read - I’ve clearly mentioned that Carrick’s fee will rise (I wasn’t aware of the full details of Bent’s contract when I wrote this piece though).
” that does not make him much more than a man who was lucky to monopolise the EPL when the mighty reds were on the wane and there was little if an real challenge to his wealth,”
@frank
ofcourse..being a ‘pool fan i never ever expect u to give due credit to fergie..lucky to monopolise the epl??well then the same argument can be attributed to liverpool’s domination in the 80’s..it probably coincided with the wane in fortune of mighty man utd..and fergie didnt just build great teams he built a great club..dragging a club which had been in the shadow of their merseyside rivals for 26 years from mediocrity back to the top of the english game is no mean feat..
“The truth is he had all the money and a monopoly of the league and still only got to one European final and was lucky to walk away with a winners meddle”..then ill say ur victory against ac milan in 2005 was a travesty of sporting nature..
“If you come back and say the same to me after Rafa has been at LFC for 20 years and even if he only spends 10% of what your manager has, then I think you..”
no i wont come back and say so..coz he is not going to last 20 years..he’ll be of to madrid by then..
To all Liverpool, Man utd, Arsenal, and Spurs fans- after cheap players with expensive price tags! Buying success? What happened to history? Say no more. Kettle, Pot and double hypocrisy.
AHMED ur article always seems to lack u havnt lkd at the isues surounding these 2 players movin to these clubs 1 bent movin to spurd wts gnna happen with defoe keane and berba these 3 will al be lkin to play regular footbal whch wnt hapen if bent has com in 2 torres to liverpool has liverpools search for a strika finished? wt will hapen in the tevez situation u need to strt pikin up wid news quiker m8 gd by and gd luk cus ur gna need it
If you want a renowned player you have to pay up.. not that Bent is!
Come on the KOPITES
dude harry
from what angle a player’s price tag is related to the history of a club..
wait a second you’re a chelsea fan…..cant expect anything better than you..
TBH i think bent will be a big hit with spurs, the lad wants to play there and i dont see why it wouldnt work, he definately a very talented player who knows how to find the back of the net, i do thnk he might have been a gamble at 16 million but if he ends up being successful, which is likely then well look back and say it was a good deal. I was really hoping utd signed torres, but id be more than happy if we got tevez. I do think liverpool are paying too much tho,he is genuine quality but 27 million somewhere around 20 million would have been a great deal.
Govind - points are well made…
Ferguson’s success did take time admittedly, however the success he has achieved CANNOT be questioned! He will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the greatest managers ever - its pretty pathetic to see Liverpool fans try to cheapen that,
I’d love to see biased fans such as ‘Frank’ talk these points through with ‘pundits’ such as Alan Hansen (Liverpool legend), the points would be dismissed as narrow minded, ignorance - which they are. Professional pundits are professional due to their objectivity which you clearly don’t possess.
Benitez is clearly a very talented manager, buying a player like Torres is a calculated gamble. Is he paying over the odds? Probably! But then players such as Torres, Rooney, Ferdinand, Shevchenko etc will always command a premium. The thing is that Benitez has to take this gamble if he is to challenge for the Premiership.
What cannot be argued is that the money now in the Premiership is ridiculous - United’s spending over the past decade has come from their revenue streams. United are now in massive debt due to the Glazers and clubs such as Villa, West Ham, Liverpool, Chelsea and I suspect Man City are spending money they simply don’t have. These benefactors aren’t driven by the thought of winning trophies - more the thought of a good return on their investment and its ultmately you and me, i.e. the fans that will finance that return! Its a sad story but unfortunately the history of great clubs is being re-written by American, Thai etc businessmen.
TO THE KOP FUNS..RAFA HAS PROVEN TO BE A POOR VERY POOR PLAYER BUYER,JUS REMIND ME..HOW MUCH HAS HE SPENT ON FLOP PLAYERS SINCE JOINING LIVERPOOL..TORRES,QUALITY PLAYER,N HE,S WORTH THE AMOUNT..PROBLEM IS WILL RAFA BE ABLE TO MAKE HIM REALISE HIS FULL POTENTIAL..
The amount for Torres is way too much n yet he has not proved he is an EPL player.
Sidharth- did I touch a raw never? Truth is out there! What goes around comes around! A player’s price tag is related to the history of a club whenever its jealous fans with no credentials, get selective case of amnesia about other clubs success, and its history, something that they can’t hack. So I gather you are not a Chelsea fan. What else can one can expect from likes of you?
ok harry you’ve lost it….a players price tag will be placed by the club who owns the player…reagardless of who’s bidding…sure if a bigger club is voting and i do include chelsea in that category bids for the player they might try and extract maybe 1 or 2 million quid more…but that is irrelevant..
whoever wrote this is a crackhead… let me guess… you either support chavski or ars*holenal?
you are courting contraversy just get people to come to your website… if so let me know & ill sign off right now!
Torres hasnt even signed yet so to make a comment like that when you dont even know the fee seems a little strange and tastes like sour grapes…
As for comments about benitez… show your hand & let everyone know who you support before making these disrepectful comments and passing them off as fact.
What are credentials? Who are you?
Sidharth- Thanks for stating the obvious. Regardless of who owns a player’s registration, Media and fans of those clubs I have already mentioned, on every occasion have taken advantage to post their jealousy by fabricating stories and trying to be critical about Chelsea. Now a couple of Yanks come with spoils of the war from Iraq, trying to mimick Chelsea strategy. Naturally I wonder if you have ever heard of the word irony.
arsenal finished 4th with henry out for most games. wat makes u think AW will sit and watch spuds challenge for 4th. Last season was undoubtedly arsenal’s worst and spurs best and we STILL finished 8 points ahead of them. at their best spuds cant challenge us. arsenal will challenge for 2nd or 3rd whilst spuds battle it out with everton,newcastle and man city. just watch. sorry spuds fans but its the truth. its ur destiny 2b in our shadows for eternity.deal with it losers.
I think Bent is a very talented striker and his work rate is exemplary - he times his runs very well too. 16.5m is a lot of money but Berba needs to rest……too many games will result in an injury. Jol and Commolli are doing a fine job BUT a 16.5m midfeilder is required….jenas / zokora are not quite the ticket for me…
COYS!
OFF COURSE THEY PAID OVER THE ODDS
HENRY REALLY WORTH 60M FORGET AGE 16M CANT BELIEVE HE LEFT HES A LEGEND GD LUCK IN THE FUTURE
BENT UNDERACHIEVEING 16M REALLY WORTH ABOUT 10M
TORRES 27M STUPID SILLY MONEY IF HE SIGNS 4 LIVERPOOL THEN HE SHUD B TOP SCORER OR HES A FLOP
AS A ARSENAL FAN I INSIST ITS A GOOD THING WE DIDNT GET TORRES THESE FOLLOWING PLAYERS HUNTERLAAR VILLA ETO BABEL ANELKA OWEN MARTINS R BETTER THEN THE OVER RATED SPANIART HES PROB WORTH 12M
Even though nobody is reading this, but I think the results says it all after 3 months.
Torres = super buy, would fit into any 1st team in the world
Bent = grossly overpriced, would struggle even to be in the bench of any 1st team in the world…well at least he would struggle to get a bench in liverpool, ask crouch.
no,dude. i’m re-reading it. how much s..t has been written above with no objectivity.
i was afraid bent was crap n he proved me right.
torres- thx god, he’s fantastic. but i think we should give them another 3-4 months n make another evaluation…
over-priced LOL
the manager always change people
Torres is so poor
i am sorry for him’
Bent is even worse…
Well for starters Liverpool’s deal with A Madrid is initially for somewhere around the 20m mark (this will increase with number of goals and appearances, trophies won etc.) not 26.5 as widely reported(which will be the maximum we pay) . Add into this equation the 4m obtained for Luis Garcia and then we are down to about 16m. Now correct me if I’m wrong but 29 goals in 41 starts doesn’t seem too bad a return for that layout. As for someone aboves comments that Torres is so poor you feel sorry for him all I can say about this is you obviously have no idea what football is and perhaps if you have no knowledge it probably best to keep your mouth shut!!!!
No. 66 … Jeremy ….. don’t you feel a prat now?
Steve (67) is correct that Torres was only 20 million and we got something like 4.5million for Garcia.
Read the recent interview with Benitez he spells it out exactly what we paid!
So as Steve mentions 16 million net is a bargain for the best striker in the Prem!
All the paper talk at 27 million …. it went up in every new print of the transfer story. When will people learn all that newspapers are really for is wrapping up yer chips!