There is an article in today english times that is highlighed on the LFC.tv media watch page. It claims that Rafa is workign on a swap deal with Sunderland that will see them take Ryan Babel and Liverpool take Kenwyne Jones. http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/media-watch/rafa-keen-to-swap-babel-for-jones Not sure how good a move that would be although his goal tally is not bad at all. But surely there is a reason Bruce is willing to let him go in a deal that will not see Sunderland get any kind of cash injection.
i know jones has a bit of on the floor skill,but dyou think this will encourage 'The Hoof' a bit more
The issue seems to be consistency. This appeared in the Guardian last Monday: A swap deal could be a very good idea. Babel's unsettled and I rate Jones as the better player. He's good in the air, awkward to defend against, 7 years younger than Heskey and alot more prolific. His goal per game ratio isn't bad. 6 in 16 this season and 23 in 78 overall for Sunderland. It's all the more impressive as Sunderland were relegation scrappers last season and aren't doing much better this year. At Liverpool he'd also have the benefit of better service from the midfield. I think he's exactly the type of striker we need to give the attack a bit more variety and options.
You have got to be joking!!! Jones is no more consistent than Babel and his goalscoring record is poor. I suppose that makes him right up Rafa's street. It is bad news when you can't afford Carlton Cole and Kenwyne Jones. However I'd do anything to get rid of the disrespectful Babel. Apparently he is a religious fellow well were are his christian beliefs?
Too many question about Jones! Radio City said it was 'pretty much done'. And that was with Tony Barrett sitting next to them. So v. likely. RobboHuyton of Well Red blog on Twitter...
I'm not joking Don't get me wrong I don't rate Jones as a world class player but a straight swap could be a shrewd move. It obviously wouldn't capture the imagination of fans (like Villa, Aguero or Tevez type players) but his record is still far better than Babel's. Babel: 9 goals in 67 appearances (Liverpool) vs Jones 6 goals in 16 appearances this season alone(Sunderland). I know Babel doesn't get much of a run up front but Jones is playing in a team that uses two defensive minded midfielders, fullbacks who aren't strong going forward and very average wingers. To say Sunderland lack creativity would be a massive understatement so 6 in 16 is certainly not poor. A team of Liverpool's calibre would instantly create more chances for Jones (although his game isn't so much based on goals but rather his overall contribution like Heskey). He's also a very different type of forward to anyone we've currently got. I also think his consistency isn't being helped by Sunderland's poor run of form and injuries to key players. Can he make the step up to a top club like Liverpool? I don't know to be perfectly honest. He's a very good player although parts of his game need to be polished a little more. But he does have top flight experience, may be available, could replace an unsettled player and on our tight budget we could do alot worse.
Could make a contribution on set plays too. Would like to see it happen as dont see rafa ever trusting babel to lead the line.
Ive seen enough from Jones to trust him more than i would babel. I cant see this coming of anything though. It would be much more of a gamble for Bruce than it would for us. Its not like we're losing a first team player here anyway & ive stopped waiting on Babel to come good a long time ago.
more chances? How many chances hav been in last four matches. I would say no more than two a match. If hoofing the ball out defence every time is tactic for the rest of the season is the tactic then no matter man than Jones.
i'd take jones as he think he could be a very good player while babel is just a prick that should'nt be near the club, the thing is if we do this deal and as seems likely were gona get this chamakh lad in the summer, we're gona be top heavy on strikers if we still have Torres
I agree. There haven't been many chances but by the same token we're pretty much the same side that challenged for the title only last season. I think that Jones offers more than just a hoof-ball game plan (at least no more than we currently play). Sunderland aren't a free-flowing passing team and at times they do restrict themselves to just long balls up to Jones. Heskey and Drogba (similar heights and builds to Jones) are in teams more on par with Liverpool (quality wise) and they certainly don't restrict their respective teams to just hoof-ball. Jones won't fix all the problems, not by a long shot but if the opportunity presented itself I'd rather have him as an option than a fringe player who sees passive aggression on Twitter as the best response to his manager.
Definitely. He's been a goal machine for Sunderland all season and near the top of the league goal scorer charts. I think they paid £10m with add ons that could rise to over £16m. His value must be even higher now but with a Billionaire owner there's no need to sell.