Why is Rafa so keen on pushing Baros out of Liverpool? I think he is a tremendous talent and still only 23 yrs. old. It just doesn't make sense to me why he would prefer to sign Peter Crouch and then sell Baros. With Morientes and Cisse -- why sign Crouch? I mean depth is great to have -- especially for the CL. But why get rid of Baros? Maybe I am being a ignorant and don't know all of the issues surrounding Baros -- but I certainly don't want to see him go.
The main issue is that he is on the last year of his contract, meaning he would leave for free after next season. This is our last chance to sell him if we want to get anything in return.
In addition, his performance was quite poor during last season, when he was needed the most (with all the injuries). Extra money to fund additional transfers are also a plus. This is why Benitez wants to sell (i think).
There is a lot of interest in Baros, from Everton, perhaps, and Villa or Monaco. If dealing Baros now will make money available for another acquistion, now's the time.
He is 23 and despite years of waiting just hasnt blossomed as the "Maradona of *insertrandomsoundingczechcity*", last season was proof of that If he was 20, maybe even if he was 21 i would cut him some slack but at the age of 23, making as much as he does and playing for a club as big as liverpool, he really should be performing at least near his potential, At this age he should act his maturity and have at least utilized most of his talent, which evidently doesnt run deep enough to justify a new contract
I think that's really the bottom line. While there's no doubt he has talent and probably will succeed at some point, he just hasn't done enough for this club to deserve a new contract and pay raise, something that's pretty much a given when you re-sign. In a re-signing situation, you really have to look at "what have you done for me lately?", and the answer is 'very, very little', or "er, run around very fast, sweat alot and miss wide open goals".
--- i think this point about "playing for a club as big as Liverpool" is the principal issue. Baros cannot grow into form at Liverpool. he must produce at the rate of a striker who came at a 3.4M pound transfer fee. oh, wait. that's not a lot of cash, is it? not when 5M was splashed out on Kewell and 6M on Chris Kirkland. hmmmmmmmm. what happened to Kirkland? loaned to West Brom. well, that's a relief.
Maybe it also having to do with the fact that he's hinted at wanting to play for Barcelona, coupled with the fact that he tends to put his foot in his mouth with the ever popular I should always be a first choice striker which he's said before and it way have something to do with Rafa maybe not believing Milan would be happy being part of a squad as opposed to being a featured player week in week out. Oh and that this is the last year of his contract can't hurt that much either.
What is most scary is that if Baros ever got to a club with a great midfield that played very direct football, he'd be a nightmare for defenses. But he didn't gel with Cisse, and I can't see him picking out Owen's runs [if he came back]. I only see him working well with Morientes and/or Crouch. I don't think that works well with our plans because it keeps our most dangerous athlete off the field or out of position.
I was reading an article on Football365 written by one of the fans and I think his got a point. If Baros was really very good, why is he not attracting the big clubs?? Maybe he has a downside. It could be his style, prone to injuries or maybe just his attitude. Anyway, if he does go, I seriously hope that he will not join Everton. And if he does, it's probably to spite us.
Exactly. WTF was chris that bloody expensive 1M short than crouch. Baros is a great player he still has potential and what he needs is another chance If not at Liverpool then well we got to sell him cause from raffa it is clearly seen baros is not in his plans. I would seriously detest the move to goodison but Real Madrid is ok for me he can be seventh choice striker.
If you look at Moro, Cisse, and Crouch, they all offer varying levels of creativity. In other words, in being able to hold the ball up, look around, and spot a good pass in the danger area they offer more attacking weapons up front. Baros has demonstrated time and time again that he cannot do this. This might be okay if his direct style yielded more goals, but I think that he has not performed well in this area for such a one-dimensional striker.
I agree with a lot of people that Baros did not perform as well as he should have this past year. I can't even begin to count how many one on ones or easy shots he missed or never even got a shot off! But I also see why people don't want to sell Baros. He does make fantastic runs to get himself open....now finishing those runs is another story. But that much tiredless effort eventually will pay off. A lot of people blame him for not stepping up when we needed him most with all the injuries. While it's true, I think people need to remember he's only 23 and that's a sh1tload of pressure to be putting on someone. Some people can handle it, some can't. I understand that selling him would help us get a defender that we really need, and that's good. My concern is that I believe eventually this guy will find his rythym and start playing for a club like he does for his country! And I definitly don't want that to happen when he's at any EPL team, especially Everton. Throughout this whole deal I feel bad for Baros, because nobody wants him. He's made to feel like an outcast, publicly saying that he'll go to any club interested. It's a forgone conclusion that there's no place for Baros in this team. And i don't think that's fair to him. We're not talking about some player who was hurt all year or someone who never gave 100% on the pitch. Baros busted his ass every game. Granted he didn't really have an outstanding year, but he didn't have a bad year either. I think if he stays put, he'll end up being a good player. If they have a defender in mind that they can get and need to trasfer Baros, then yea do it. But if not, then why give up on Baros. I think most people would agree he's better than Le Tallec and Potter. And if you're saying those two are players for the future. That's fine, but baros is only 23 and can only get better. Of course none of what I've just said matters if by some chance we get Owen back.
The kid makes thirty five thousand pounds a week and wants more. He's been fast, worked hard, complained a little, missed a lot of golden opportunities and never really stepped it up in big matches. I think it's time to let him go. We can't keep paying a guy to be mediocre with us just because we're afraid he'll be good somewhere else.
26 goals in 106 appearances is not a good return for a striker but how long before he ends up a good player? do the supporters want success now or in 2 or 3 years time? could you imagine these and other boards if we end up 11th next year and 8th the year after and Rafa says well next year we will end up a good team because we held on to a couple of players that are now showing promise. Remind you of a certain French manager?
I agree, but I think that if we can't get a good offer we may hold on to him in the hopes of off-loading him to a more desperate team in January. Maybe a team with a surpirse success story that could not otherwise afford him unless they made it to Europe unexpectedly. During his time he could either fill in for an injury or feature extensively in getting us to the later stages of the League Cup. League Cup isn't much to get excited about, but it's a venue to try younger players and Baros' presence would make it less dangerous when playing a mostly reserve squad. There's still a lot of August left.
And get next to nothing for him or worse, have him reject every possible deal in January and just splitting over the summer for nothing. If Rafa felt he was a keeper, I'm guessing that there would have been some talk of a contract extension at some point over the last year. There hasn't been which seems to make it obvious that both sides want to part ways. The problem right now seems to be getting someone to pay what Rafa wants for Baros.
Baros is too good not to be playing somewhere. Meaning that he hasn't the mentality (or the wage level) to be a bench player. But he is not good enough to be starting for 'Pool. He simply does not score enough goals. That is the dilemma. And to be perfectly honest, he is flaky-enough seeming that he could just decide to put up and wait for a Bosman if we didn't play him the way he wanted. Especially if we hold him out of CL. The one silver lining in the Crouch injury + suspension is that it should give Mori a good opportunity to play a few matches with Cisse. They really need to be able to work together regardless of how well Crouch does. I appreciate the sacrifice that Mori made in coming to Liverpool when he did last season. And I appreciate the contract terms he signed under. It was a good piece of business for the club. But he needs to start clicking with his teammates. And now maybe he can get a run of 3 or 4 games alongside our best striker. Baros could be good cover for the first match or two of the league season (would transfer window allow this?) prior to a move to West Ham or wherever he ends up.
I shouldn't worry too much. Baros, if he stays in the Premiership, will still be playing more or less the same defences against which he scored a beggarly 9 goals last season. Granted, another manager may be able to bring the best out of him and turn him into a 20-plus-goals striker but it won't be Rafa on current evidence. And £7 million is too good a price to pass. Hopefully the blue noses, in their desperation for any signing, will fork it out.
I'll rephrase... Next to nothing is not a good offer. We haven't gotten any good, _legitimate_ offers now. So it's not like we'd be holding out for _better_ offers in January. But if no one is going to pay at least 3-4million now, then we may _have to_ wait until January. Then _hope_ for a desperate team [that may not feel they have a legitimate chance at signing him to a bosman] swooping in. For example, a team that overachieves and needs an extra push for a european place or a relegation battler. Both types of teams who may not be able to pay his wages long term but can offer him major playing time and a spotlight to showcase himself for a bigger contract next year.
And get less than 3-4 million you suggest people are willing to pay now. As far as I'm aware, the only concrete bid was Villa for 5 million. I'll expect Rafa to be a businessman regarding baros. if he really is going to sell him, he'll probably take the best price he can get this summer rather then risk having to wait until January.
Another option i bet rafas not entirely dismissed in fact has likely been exploring is keep Baros on an extension and play Cisse on the right wing. The best news on the field other than Stevies play is that Cisse can cross the ball very well. rafabrainman is eyeing that imo. Thinking cisse to crouch has serious chances. speed passing well onto height hmmm. Not to say who plays what minutes i dont know but imagine those 2 as late subs against a tired anybody defence. if you dont need a rw anymore than you can buy two defenders and still get owen or keep baros. maybe. its a thought i had anyway. sissoko looks like good news too also. very good news.