cant find a link to this but did anyone read kieran cunninghams artice in the star today about rafa, basically he was pointing out the financial constraints he has to work with and how we are getting slaughtered by the press this year for struggling to make the top 4 and there is not a mention of the fact that spurs squad cost 56m more than ours It was a really good article and finally a balanced piece of journalism on our manager
Sure arry has spent a woeful amount but he doesnt get slaughtered for it because he is english and he is a media whore
Ok, I just did an exercise there and worked out the rough values of both teams squads. Spurs have sent a couple of players they have bought in the last season or so out on loan to get regular Championship football and one to a PL club. It is basically both teams strongest squads in my opinion based on the players generally picked this season or so, prices are as exact as I could find - but am open to correction. I don't think I have missed out any players but there could be a glaring omission somewhere. I have Aquliani down as 17.1 million and I know it could rise to 20 million, however two players spurs signed together Naughton & Walker for around 8 million from what I can see there total costs could rise to 12 million between the too so it will balance out or so. I haven't double checked my sums as I'm going to bed, but you will get the gist of it. Imagine who Rafa could have signed with that 38 million - David Silva & another top class striker for example. Even imagine Rafa was allowed sign the players he wanted - Simao,Silva,Alves or maybe even Barry when we were in for him the first time but Parry/club wouldnt pay any higher yet a higher bid may have prized him away(possibly) So why should we finish ahead of Spurs this season? They should finish a few points ahead of us this season surely, just because we are Liverpool Football Club means nothing now, people need to accept that other clubs have more money and have spent more and have a bigger wage bill than us - we have done brilliantly to finish ahead of a lot of these clubs during Rafa's reign. No doubt this season we are underperfming, however we have arguably overachieved in every other season of Rafa's. Rafa has been trying to manage the team and try fight a boardroom battle, a lesser man would have quit or been admitted to St John of Gods and other teams would have suffered way more than we have. As regards the anti-Rafa brigade no matter what you say or prove you wan't Rafa out so I won't be expecting anything different from them. Spurs Gomez 9.0 Cudicini Free 9.0 King Youth Dawson 3.5 Hutton 8.0 Bale 5.0 Assou-Ekotto 3.5 Woodgate 7.5 Bassong 8.0 Corluka 8.5 Naughton 4.0 Walker 4.0 52.0 Taarabt Undisclosed O'Hara Youth Jenas 7.0 Lennon 1.0 Palacios 12.0 Modric 15.8 Huddlestone 2.5 Kranjcar 2.5 Bentley 15.0 Bostock 0.7 56.5 Keane 15.0 Crouch 9.5 Defoe 16.0 Pavlychenko 14.0 Di Santos 4.7 59.2 Total Cost of Squad = £176.7 million Liverpool Reina 6 Cavileri 3.5 9.5 Degen Free Aurelio Free Carragher Youth Kelly Youth Darby Youth Johnson 17.5 Insua 1.3 Skrtel 6.5 Agger 5.8 Kyrgiakos 2 33.1 Maxi Free Gerrard Youth Spearing Youth Plessis Free Yossi 5 Babel 11.5 Lucas 5 Masch 18.6 Riera 8 Aquilani 17.1 65.2 Pacheco Compensation Torres 20.2 Kuyt 9 Ngog 1.5 El Zhar 0.2 30.9 Total Cost of Squad = £138.7 million