Sunday June 28
Tom: So, the big news of the week, Roberto Firmino is going to be a Liverpool player barring a Loic Remy style-medical. He didn’t come cheap, £28m for the 23-year-old, but I love it.
Luke: It’s a big move for the club, it’s a bold move by the club, but let’s all get behind it. I’m excited to get back to all our boys in Red attacking full throttle again which is what I think will happen, I just hope people don’t concentrate too much on the fee.
Tom: Yeah, as you say, it’s not our money! I won’t feign and say I’m a huge Hoffenheim guy, I haven’t watched a full game of his. So most of my opinions on the lad are fitted from people smarter than me who’ve watched him week in, week out. Most of what I see are glittering reports and I have no reason to have trust issues like Drake. Hell, he’s a first teamer for Brazil at the Copa America. He dribbles, presses high and scores goals from the midfield. Sign me up.
Luke: Yeah, it’s not our money so I’m not sure why anyone would be too bothered in that respect. I’m the same, I haven’t seen anything of him. I’m still not entirely sure I even know what he looks like. But to hell with it. I like the fact that from how it sounds, he’s a hard-working attacker. He has skill but he’s got a work ethic, something we had to embed into Coutinho in the months after he arrived, so in that aspect we are possibly getting a better-rounded player. Plus he’s got the now trademark Brendan Rodgers-signing hairstyle. Like Can and Moreno before him, he will fly the flag in that department. But back on topic, I think we really needed a few attackers with a great determination this year following the summer of Balo and Lambo.
Tom: Back to the topic? As if his hair isn’t the topic?! 100% on board here. You see, I think that was Balo’s problem. He couldn’t pick a hairstyle, he couldn’t even pick a hair colour. Black? Faux-ginger? Blonde? The lack of confidence in consistency on the top of his led to indifference and inconsistency on the pitch. Shameful.
Luke: Hair is the topic for me too much of the time. But then, to be fair we didn’t have too much else to talk about last season.
Tom: That’s fair. We’re beginning to borderline mildly erotic hair talk. But hey, now Coutinho has a Brazilian mate he can play with. (Because Lucas doesn’t count, he can tackle and give the ball to Phil but that’s about it.)
Luke: Yeah, exactly. We’ve made some great signings in my opinion, upgraded a few places in our starting line-up, and I think that could take some pressure of Firmino somewhat. Milner is a better player for what we need right now than Gerrard would have been, the Clyne and Johnson swap is the best thing that’s ever happened to my life (legitimately) and as for our other signings, Ings and Bogdan, are a massive upgrade on what went before.
Tom: To be fair, you and I would have been an upgrade on what we had before.
Luke: Exactly, so in that respect we’ve had a really good window so far. A window that doesn’t end in me and you lining up against Stoke. I really think the Firmino transfer has helped it go from a solid window to a great window.
Tom: But yeah, totally agreed. I was happy about James Milner but he doesn’t move the needle like Firmino does. Ditching Glen Johnson for Nate Clyne has to be a similar feeling as fleeing a dictatorship to find democracy. We just swam 90 miles in shark infested waters from Cuba to find ourselves on Miami Beach. Hello, freedom!
The #2 is a great number for right backs, but, how would you feel about seeing Clyne in the #2 shirt if he takes it? Would you want him to, to get Johnson well out of sight out of mind? Or do you think he shouldn’t risk creating a Glenson curse? Or, what should he have to do if he takes the #2, burn 15 Johnson jersey’s?
Luke: He will probably go for that vintage right-back #2 shirt, and I’m already starting to forget about Johnson, slowly but surely. It was getting to a point where he was beginning to look like he couldn’t even kick a footie anymore. Sometimes I feel bad for him, because he gets loads of stick, but on the other hand he’s really crap. So it’s like some kind of perverted Stockholm syndrome, but footballer style. But no, I rarely liked him, so the sooner I forget properly, the better.
Tom: I’d like to think it wasn’t completely his fault because he’s gradually degenerated. Ian Ayre should have seen this coming, no doubt. But he didn’t and poor Johnson had to keep on trodding along, decaying. But overall, I’ll have to echo your words: the sooner I forget properly, the better.
Before we cease, what’ve we got to potentially look forward to next week other than hopefully the confirmation of Clyne (before we jinx it)? Hoping Aston Villa refuses to budge on Benteke so we don’t spunk £32m on the Villa man?
Luke: Yeah. I don’t even think Liverpool could screw the Clyne deal up, especially with the confidence that Ian Ayre must be feeling right now. Yeah, part of me hopes Villa don’t budge on their evaluation, but part of me hopes they do, to around £25million. The only thing I’m worried about if we don’t sign him, is who our other targets our. I would rather the club get their top target than panic and have to sign someone else. Benteke isn’t as bad as people say, and I don’t think he’s as unsuited as some people think. He’s not immobile and knows where the goal is. It could go two ways, either he will fail or he will absolutely smash it. I’m willing to get behind him if he arrives, but he wouldn’t have been my choice to be honest.
Tom: *takes a few seconds to imagine Ian Ayre strutting around in some Chilean hotel near the Brazil camp for the Copa America, feeling on top of the world after the Firmino deal*
Great point. Diego Costa doesn’t have pace but he never exactly slowed down Eden Hazard, did he? Also, I’m in the same exact mind frame as you, doesn’t matter if Liverpool signed Vlad Putin, you got to get behind the guy on the pitch. We’ll see what comes about these next seven days.
Luke: And on the note of Vladimir Putin playing for Liverpool, I think we should end it there. However, in all fairness, Putin is very popular in Russia, so would sell an awful lot of shirts over there. But for now, we’ll call it a day. Thanks a lot for reading our first TBT:TLTL, and hopefully you enjoyed this new but different take on Liverpool’s week in word. Next week, we’ll go again. Cheers, Reds.
