Premier League 2021/22

[Szumi]

This is insane to me. I know that total and net spend aren't the be all end all of success, but this is just absurd to see.

[Colly]

Can this be accurate? Not seen the account before, seems insane.

 

[Baddar]

I know the completed passes stat in the first half was around 48%, so it wouldn't surprise me.

[Colly]

Fingers crossed this works for Saturday, the flag lads are quite influential as anyone who's been to St James' in the last season will know. To be honest I can't imagine they'll be much, it's the pissed up kids who somehow get away tickets that are the issue with us.

 

[FLiam]

On 24/04/2022 at 18:34, Szumi - A Polack said:

This is insane to me. I know that total and net spend aren't the be all end all of success, but this is just absurd to see.

This is staggering really. 

One thing that Liverpool have probably done better than anyone since Klopp arrived it recruitment. Even now they seem to be acing it with Jota/Diaz/Carvalho etc.

I imagine the next step would be succession planning for defence and midfield and I have no doubt they’ll continue to get that right as well.

Meanwhile, Everton just spend as much as they can on various players with no over-arching plan on what they want to be. It’s no wonder managers have struggled.

[Hobo]

The thing with liverpool's defence is that Trent is still just 23. Joe Gomez is 24 and Konate is 22.

I think Joel Matip at 30 is the oldest of the regular defensive players.

[stokeriño]

Chelsea on top, nothing to show for it. That's going to cost us.

[FLiam]

It’s still strange to me seeing United having so little of the ball at Old Trafford in these big games. Regardless of the result, so used to United dominating games like this in terms of possession.

[stokeriño]

Two points dropped.

[Baddar]

21 minutes ago, FLiam said:

It’s still strange to me seeing United having so little of the ball at Old Trafford in these big games. Regardless of the result, so used to United dominating games like this in terms of possession.

90% of the squad have checked out it seems.

Awful season, can't wait for it to end.

[DavidMarrio]

Klopp has agreed to stay for an additional two years so that will push his contract to 2026. ❤️

[Tigerstyle]

3 hours ago, DavidMarrio said:

Klopp has agreed to stay for an additional two years so that will push his contract to 2026. ❤️

This is the best news, now just wrap up the Salah contract.

[The Lusophone]

3 hours ago, DavidMarrio said:

Klopp has agreed to stay for an additional two years so that will push his contract to 2026. ❤️

I love how this story developed from "Liverpool are preparing to offer a new contract" to "Klopp has signed a new deal" in the space of about 6 hours. Impressive lack of leaks from Liverpool.

[Hobo]

They're quite good at that at Liverpool. Things rarely seem to leak.

[Lineker]

Quote

Todd Boehly’s consortium has been chosen as the preferred bidder in the race to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe announcing that he had made a late offer worth more than £4bn.

Sources around the process said on Friday that Boehly’s group had seen off competition from rival bidders. There has been no official confirmation from any of the parties involved in the sale but a decision is expected to be announced soon.

Boehly’s consortium emerged as the likeliest to complete a takeover after Stephen Pagliuca’s consortium and Sir Martin Broughton’s group were informed they were out of the running.

Boehly is the part-owner of the LA Dodgers and founder of Eldridge Industries. The American has partnered with his fellow Dodgers owner Mark Walter, the Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, the British property developer Jonathan Goldstein and the US investment firm Clearlake Capital and they expect to be granted exclusivity. If the sale goes through, the Tory peer Daniel Finkelstein and the publicist Barbara Charone will become non-executive directors.

There was confusion when Ratcliffe, the owner of the British petrochemicals company Ineos, revealed on Friday that he had made his move to buy the European champions a fortnight after the deadline for final bids.. Britain’s richest man offered to pay £2.5bn for Chelsea and included a pledge to invest £1.75bn in the club over the next 10 years.

A source close to Abramovich did not completely rule out Ratcliffe from the running but it is expected the billionaire communicated his interest too late to Raine, the American bank handling the sale.

Chelsea will need to present their preferred bidder to the UK government and apply for a licence to complete the takeover. The purchase will also need to pass the Premier League’s fit and proper persons test.

The bidders have been waiting for clarity after final talks with the club at Stamford Bridge this week. They faced a late demand from Abramovich to raise their offers by £500m to meet the Russian oligarch’s £3bn valuation. It was suggested that the extra funds would be donated to charity as part of Abramovich’s promise to give away all net proceeds from the sale. The bidders had already been asked to provide commitments to invest about £1bn in Chelsea’s stadium and squad.

Abramovich, who has also vowed to write off £1.5bn in loans he has given to Chelsea since 2003, pledged to donate the net proceeds of the sale to all victims of the war in Ukraine before he was sanctioned by the British government last month. Ministers have insisted he will not be allowed to make anything from the sale.

Chelsea have been in limbo since sanctions were imposed on Abramovich. They cannot buy or sell players and cannot hand out new contracts. Thomas Tuchel, the manager of the men’s team, believes the sanctions have influenced Antonio Rüdiger’s decision to join Real Madrid on a free this summer. Indications that the takeover is moving towards a conclusion would be a boost for Tuchel.

Ratcliffe’s bid came as a surprise given that the billionaire has previously said there is no value in buying Premier League clubs. That view appears to have changed, though Ratcliffe has looked at buying Chelsea from Abramovich in the past.

Ineos, which would have to sell its stake in Nice if the Chelsea bid is successful, said in a statement: “Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of Ineos, has made a formal bid for Chelsea FC, for £4.25bn. £2.5bn is committed to the Charitable Trust to support victims of the war, with £1.75bn committed to investment directly into the club over the next 10 years. This is a British bid, for a British club.”

Ineos, which has taken over the former Team Sky cycling team and has a stake in the Mercedes Formula One team, said there would be investment in Stamford Bridge, the men’s and women’s first teams and the academy.

“We believe that London should have a club that reflects the stature of the city,” the statement said. “One that is held in the same regard as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich. We intend Chelsea to be that club.”

 

[gunnar hendershow]

That consortium is worth probably close to as much as Abramovich is. Whether they run it the same way is to be determined, but the money is there to keep Chelsea where they are. The LA Dodgers are run closer to how Liverpool is run than how Chelsea is currently run however.

[Cymbols]

Tidy finish from Keita, that. 

[gunnar hendershow]

Nice to see Newcastle play against a team like Liverpool and actually hold a bit of a high line. For years this club would've just sat back and then wonder why they had no chances. 

[DavidMarrio]

Job done in a tough game. Thought Newcastle played well but never felt like we'd lose once we got the goal at the same time

 

[Colly]

Come on Burnley!