Selling Gerrard and Torres to fund a squad overhaul

[MFletcher]

This is an ongoing discussion in the 'Rafa to Juve' thread, but I feel it is sufficiently important to justify a new thread in light of, what looks like, the very serious possibility of one or both players being sold this summer.

 

Would you advocate the sale of Gerrard and Torres for £100M+ this summer if all of that money was reinvested straight back into the team?

 

I'm not afraid to admit that, right now, I think I'd sell them both and buy six or seven players to replace them. The reasons I would do this are numerous. Firstly, Gerrard is nearly 30 and I believe this to be the last summer we can sell him for mega-money. Torres has spent half of the last two league campaigns on the sidelines.

 

But ultimately the one thing that I believe necessitates a huge gamble this summer is this - if we don't finish in the top four next season, which is very, very likely without genuine investment this summer, then they will be off next summer anyway.

 

Is the time right to gamble on such a move? Or is it simply stupid to suggest that selling your two best players could move the club forward?

[Spiblish]

In a word "No" - things could change rapidly yet re ownership etc

[johngibo YPC]

F*CK OFF FLETCH

F*CK OFF YOU THICK C*NT

WE WOULDN'T GET THE MONEY YOU MASSIVE THICK GULLABLE BELLEND

 

 

 

feel better now

[surf]

I wouldn't sell either, Gerrard and Torres are the only matchwinners we have and selling them is madness.

 

I'd sell 2 poor players, buy one good one and promote youth. For instance, sell Babel & Riera, use the money to buy one player better than both and give Pacheco or Nemeth more opportunities.

Sell Insua & Skrtel, buy a defender and use Ayala & Kelly when needed.

 

We need to improve the quality of the squad, i'd sacrifice the squad depth for quality and risk having to play youth, rather than have average players on the pitch and average players as backup.

Edited May 5, 2010 by surf

[Frosty Jack]

Or sell them to clear the 100m for RBS, leaving us with about £20m interest a year saved to invest in the squad, on top of profit from other sales.

[Davvo]

Even if we got the money, replacing your match winners with squad players is about the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard.

 

Players like Torres and Gerrard are exactly what we need more of, not less.

 

Selling them to fund a squad re-build would be the quickest route to long-term mediocrity I can think of. At least with World Class players you've a chance of rising above your level.

[Bailo]

10 Print "FFS, No!"

20 Goto 10

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

10 Print "FFS, No!"

20 Goto 10

indeed

 

they're 'one of a kind' players. Irreplaceable

[Frosty Jack]

10 Print "FFS, No!";

20 Goto 10

[johngibo YPC]

Or sell them to clear the 100m for RBS, leaving us with about £20m interest a year saved to invest in the squad, on top of profit from other sales.

 

Do you really believe that? Not the clearing the debt bit, but the savings going into squad investment bit

 

On a purely footballing point of view, people have always talked about cashing in on Gerrard and using the money. But its not that easy. I remember having a conversation in 2003 about selling Gerrard for 30m. The lad who was most for it talked about signing Edgar Davids for 15m and buying a new striker......

[CarraLegend]

Its a woeful idea.

 

You have no guarantee the incoming players will be great anyway. Not to mention the message it sends out, you can see Buffon today commenting that Rafa "can handle off field troubles" so the whole world already knows we're a mess. How do you go and convince a top striker to join when the club is ridiculously unstable and has just sold Torres and Gerrard? Oh yeah and has no CL football.

 

You add to your top players, not sell them. Unless they want to go then theres not much you can do.

[Davvo]

I wouldn't sell either, Gerrard and Torres are the only matchwinners we have and selling them is madness.

 

I'd sell 2 poor players, buy one good one and promote youth. For instance, sell Babel & Riera, use the money to buy one player better than both and give Pacheco or Nemeth more opportunities.

Sell Insua & Skrtel, buy a defender and use Ayala & Kelly when needed.

 

We need to improve the quality of the squad, i'd sacrifice the squad depth for quality and risk having to play youth, rather than have average players on the pitch and average players as backup.

 

Exactly, the first team squad has around 20 outfield players, not including the likes of Ayala/Pacheco/Kelly. With no money to spend, I'd sell 4 average squad players, and buy one or two quality players, adding one or two youth/bosman's to fill out the squad of 22/23 outfield players if necessary. That would make us far stronger than selling two world class players, and buying 6 more Babel/Kuyt/Benny's.

[Epic Swindle]

I think selling Torres is a valid discussion point with or without new owners. He's no use to us for half a season (even though he's still our top scorer) and if a silly offer comes in from abroad we should at least consider it. I certainly wouldn't strengthen any of our rivals. But it all comes back to whether the manager would see any of the money.

[honourablegeorge]

i'd sacrifice the squad depth for quality

 

What squad depth? And we have very few young players good enough, even as backup

 

Although I agree with you, in that I'd be happier to see more youngsters given their shot and develop themselves instead of rotting in the reserves. Hopefully Shelvey, Sterling, Pacheco and maybe even Dalla Valle can be the start of a new wave of better prospects.

[Jarg Armani]

I wouldn't sell anyone at the moment. Not even Babel.

 

May as well hang on to what we've got and see what happens, we can't risk another rug pull and ending up with a smaller squad.

[MarkD]

Selling Torres? No.

 

We'd see about 10% of any funds received, the message to other clubs is that our best players are available, plus the cost to replace him with a good player would be inflated through the thiunking we have money to sell. He is the best at what he does.

 

Selling Gerrard? No.

 

A figurehead at the club, somebody instantly recognisible and used to market the club to other players. On his day, a totemic performer. If we sell, what do we get - mmm, David Prutton? scott Parker? that' the caliber we'll be fishing around at.

 

The track record of the current regime is that whatever we get in sales is kept, so sell nobody and do not let them have that cash stream.

[drdooom]

Some people seem to have a problem with the 'if' in the question. It's hypothetical. Getting 5 £20m players in to replace them and 3 of the dross might not be the end of the world. That is if those 5 actually play (unlike Aquillani) and play like £20m players (unlike Keane). That's 5 big ifs though and they'd probably all have to live up to it to make it ok. It would be damn scary.

 

Of course in the real world Rafa would indeed get £0 of that to reinvest.

Edited May 5, 2010 by drdooom

[Dee]

Riera, Babel, Aureilo = how much would be get for them?

[MarkD]

Riera, Babel, Aureilo = how much would be get for them?

 

In order; £5m, £7m, £0 - max

[Conrad]

Absolutely not. Our two world class match winners. Irreplacable. And who good enough to replace them would come in?

 

I can see David Villa and Frank Ribery saying sure I'd love to join a club that's just sold Torres and Gerrard, it'll give me a chance to play with the likes of NGog and Lucas...

[D.Boon]

I think selling Torres is a valid discussion point with or without new owners. He's no use to us for half a season

 

He has had injuries therefore he will always have injuries?

 

Interesting logic.

 

Regarding selling either it would be an absolutely disastrous thing for the club in the current climate as far as i am concerned.

Edited May 5, 2010 by D.Boon

[Sion]

Stupid topic.

 

We sell Gerrard and Torres for £100m.

How much of that (even if we're acting all above board, ignoring the debt) do we actually get after agent fees, loyalty bonuses etc? £80m?

 

How much of that do we then use to replace them two? £50-60m? maybe more? and even then the chances of finding 2 players just as good is remote.

 

 

So we're left with £30m tops to actually add to a squad we've just significantly weakened. Which if we're buying the players in the region we should be aiming at, it'll get us two, tops.

 

So we'll have a worse main striker. Likely a worse player in Gerrard's role. And two possible Aquilani/Keane players.

[Epic Swindle]

Riera, Babel, Aureilo = how much would be get for them?

 

8 million tops. Aurelio will leave for nothing.

[Jarg Armani]

8 million tops. Aurelio will leave for nothing.

 

We'll get 8 mil at least for Babel.

[Bogman]

no, no and thrice no.

 

squad overhaul? what message would that tell the world, getting rid of two of the best players in their position in the world and replace them with whom?

 

yeah, clear and precise message that spells out.