On a GOOD team, he would be a tremendous asset. On THIS team he is an expensive asset and we have yet to be able get the best out of him. It is not a difficult concept. Sadly, we are seeing the same with Hugo so far.
The question is not if the concept is difficult, it is weather it is the correct concept. Agree that Hugo is an unknown at this time. Regarding Shaqiri, some of us have a different evaluation. Apparently his two prior teams may not have shared your opinion either.
Shaqiri was unhappy and asked to leave Lyon. We can stop with this dead end point now. “I wanted to go away from France and the opportunity came.” -Xherdan Shaqiri
Dead end point only in your mind. A logical support for many opinions of him. Neither team was able to find a way to utilize him and justify regular starts. He just does not fit in most teams and is apparently unable to adapt. Regarding his quote, has there ever been an athlete who thought it was their fault they were traded? There is always a “reason”. We can agree on one thing for sure. It is more important for the Fire to build a better roster. Endless “discussions” about individual players mostly just aggravates people.
There's always (at least) two sides to the story... Xherdan Shaqiri 'wasn't fit enough' when he joined Lyon from Liverpool, claims manager Petr Bosz as he also says the Swiss star was a tactical misfit in tough six-month spell before his MLS switch 'We used Shaq on the right-wing at the beginning,' he said. 'As we weren’t so dominant, he played in wide-open spaces and had to attack as well as defend, and I don’t think he can do that. Granted Bosz also said 'He’s really a number 10 who has to play between the lines, you could even say that he was the best player between the lines for us, with his superb technique and vision in small spaces'
He was "appreciated" but then he "frustrated" them with his play and (largely) his injuries. Xherdan Shaqiri is treading same path as forgotten Liverpool outcast Shaqiri failed to make the bench for Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Leeds. In a season where the team is clamouring for more depth, for another option at wide-forward, why is Shaqiri not considered to be at least some sort of answer? The club was betting on Shaqiri securing around £25 million in the summer window, money that could be reinvested back into the squad. Then COVID hit. Shaqiri’s value has now tanked. Liverpool are now looking at bids in the region of £12-15 million if they’re lucky; if any bids come in at all. Klopp used to use Shaqiri as the team’s off the bench chaos agent...But now Shaqiri has all but vanished from view, relegated to secret friendlies alongside members of the under 18s. Shaqiri at one point was a nice change-up when the team switched to a 4-2-3-1, most notably at the beginning of 2018/19. And he always served as a spark-plug, anything-can-happen type of player off the bench. During a season, those guys help. But as the 2020/21 campaign gets underway, it’s clear that he has become an afterthought.
Not Chicago... 🟡⚫️🇺🇸 Olivier Giroud signs contracts as new LAFC player, ready for MLS new chapter after verbal agreement reached in March!Contract until December 2025 set to be sealed in the next hours.Giroud will leave AC Milan as free agent.Here we go, confirmed 🔐🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/3vvpF2GH3h— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 23, 2024
No shit. So why does some idjut keep parroting one side like it’s a known fact without any evidence and expecting it to stick? Oh yeah, because it’s a flimsy argument.
Neither one of us was in the locker room so neither one of us know. Why he left Lyon isn’t something ANYONE who has any integrity should be discussing. We have stories on both sides of the issue. We know nothing. We move on without claiming either side. Unless someone has no integrity.
I would have loved Giroud with the Fire. Also regarding Shaq...he has had a mixed career yes...But..with the Swiss National team he has been amazing. Alas the Fire is not that kind of quality hehe.
Sorry to be slow to reply but I wanted to make sure I did not miss things in my earlier review. I looked at three factors.1) on-field performance 2) transfer value trends and 3) comments by fans, sportscasters and soccer analysts. ( I did not consider comments by his team officials or coaches because of possibility of ulterior motives like pending transfers, attempts at performance improvement, etc.) 1) Liverpool played 165 matches in the three years he was there. He dressed for 112 matches ( many absences due to injury) and played a total of 2,525 minutes or about 22 minutes per appearance. He scored 8 goals and had 9 assists total. 2) He was acquired 7-18 for $14.7 million Euros and was sold 8-21 for $6.0 million Euros at age 29 3) This is the toughest category. On balance, comments reflected a wide variety of opinions, similar to those at Fire. He was both loved and hated. Comments found: Killer pass- no defense-strong on the ball- no movement- potential game changer- does not fit- why does he play better for Swiss Nats- too many injuries- lack of effort- bad attitude-like his attitude- great quads Did not see complaints about his salary, did see good late-game sub Probably more negative comments than positive ones but little overall value. His lack of playing time and low production plus his sale at a loss at age 29 leads me to believe he was generally not appreciated at Liverpool. I do not expect complete agreement with my opinion and would welcome a new discussion topic.
The point was that anyone can go find a quote that supports a side. No one really knows though. It’s an incredibly stupid point to try and argue though. Who care what people in Stoke thought of him? It’s an asinine waste of time to speculate on it. EDIT: When Shaqiri was first signed, a friend that is a Lyon fan and a Heitz detractor complained about Shaqiri because he wanted to leave Lyon. Now the opposite is being argued, that Lyon wanted him gone. It’s a dumb argument.
COVID. https://sportstar.thehindu.com/foot...sell-on-clause-free-agent/article66437000.ece “After two consecutive years of decreasing spending on transfer fees due to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, clubs, in 2022, increased their total outlay on transfer fees, according to the Global Transfer Report 2022, published by FIFA.” “According to the report, market spendings dipped from USD 7.35 billion in 2019 to 5.63 billion during the first wave in 2020 and 4.86 billion amid 2021’s second wave.”
One theory says the “reason” why Heitz/Pelzer player acquisition efforts are so underwhelming is because Fire has to pay 1.5 to 2.0 times normal acquisition fees and salaries. If this is true, I wonder what the multiplier will be by mid-season?
i think i've lost the thread of the argument here are you saying shaq is good enough to be the best player on a very good MLS team? that his play relative to the rest of the league matches his top-5 salary?
Sorry. Basically, yes. It would be possible to build a team that was not just fast up top but perhaps more tactical and technical. We haven't done that, but I believe it's possible. Maybe it's easier to find a 23 year old phenom that can run circles around a lumbering MLS defense, but that doesn't mean we couldn't put together a team that compliments Shaqiri's skills. Again, we didn't, but I don't think it's impossible.