Johnson wasn't performing at a level that justified keeping him, especially given his age and salary. Riise lost his mojo in a similar way. Even after a few games, Gomez showed great potential whilst offering more. Fans don't target players for no reason - Johnson became sloppy and seemed to play half asleep at times in terms of his sharpness. Having defended him for Liverpool and Englamd over several years, I no longer saw the qualities that had informed my opinion in his last season or so.

He may have pre-empted the liklihood that he was not in the club's plans for the reasons of age/salary and this may have adversely affected his form.

Like Reina, Riise, Kuyt and even Gerrard, it's a question of whether it's acceptable to see a notable dip in performance for the sake of loyalty and the vain hope they may somehow regain former glories. Sometimes it's their legs, sometimes it's their head but almost always it's irreversable - and the club has a duty to think about the bigger picture. In all these cases, on-field displays did not justify a first team place and I suspect all of them wanted that and, if not, the club had to consider whether their salary justified their degraded squad status.

I'd say there is a case to be made that all of those mentioned were let go of too soon, maybe Stevie G being the exception.

Disappointed Felliani hasn't received a ban for his elbow, not from a football point of view just because of a "it should have happened" point of view.

Most Man Utd fans are disappointed too. Id happily start a campaign to see him banned for the rest of the season...

You can join the Crystal Palace fan who did similar (I wonder how that campaign went for him actually?)

Although are you sure you are not looking at it from a "footballing" point of view only

I'm not sure the problem is they were let go too soon, I think that unfortunately, the replacements were just not good enough.

Ian Ayre will be leaving his role at the end of his current contract - in May 2017.

I'm quite happy about this. Time for some new blood in the role; I can't help but feel Ayre has been poor in that position for some time now.

Link

Probably not helped by the recent ticket increase saga - yes the club backtracked but that must have made him even more unpopular with the fans?

FSG have already said they asked him to stay. He hasn't been pushed and seemed he told them he wanted to leave a few months ago.

I'm not sure what Ayre's remit is but I fail to believe his not good at his job. If he was really that bad he would of been found out ages ago.

He seems to lack charisma and that real drive and passion to sell the club to potential players,media and fans alike. I remain uninspired. We need a visionary with the charm and steely focus of a Shankly rather than a mild mannered businessman. He puts the earnest effort in but just can't seen to bring home the spoils. Hopefully Klopp can get more hands-on with the PR/transfer stuff as we'd surely do better.

How many times have we missed out on players that looked all but signed on the dotted line? This is Ayre's job to negotiate and get deals across the line. In recent seasons he's failed on numerous occasions. He has to take his fair share of the blame seeing as he's the day-to-day CEO at the club. It's a high-level role that requires somebody with clout.

I agree. Perhaps he's not been the greatest at negotiating transfers (although I have absolutely no idea whether he's to blame for our failures in the market), but in terms of growing the club's revenue streams it's very difficult to fault him. In the last few years we have actually gained ground on Chelsea, City and Arsenal despite no regular CL football whereas they are in it every season.

The vast majority of any commercial successes can be attributed to Billy Hogan, not Ian Ayre.

As I said if Ayre is so bad how did he survive long? FSG are idiots I take it who just employ bad people?
As for signing players Ayre works withing the boundaries set by FSG.

I take it with the blame you also will praise him then for the players signed?

Why are you always so tediously argumentative? Do FSG sit in the room negotiating with him or fly abroad with him when he's sent to get a deal over the line? No, that's what they pay Ayre £1.2m a year to do.

He has survived so long in the role because, like FSG, he has no real clue how football works and is more businessman than forward-thinking game changer. We need a person in the role with the balls to follow up when he knows a good player when he sees one and somebody who isn't afraid to negotiate and get a deal over the line for the benefit of the club.

So in reality you don't have any idea what he does other than negotiate transfers which apparently his so bad at but continues to make a great living from it.

Makes total sense now.

What on earth are you on about now?

I'm guessing you have no idea what a CEO does?

No I said I have no idea what Ayre's remit was or what his targets were so I can't determine whether his been a success or not however the fact he was in the job for so long and was asked to stay tells me he couldn't of been all that bad.

The only thing you have mentioned in regard to his job is transfers which well I'm sorry I don't think is all a CEO does.

I remember years ago being rather annoyed by Parry, Ayre is fine in comparison I think. It's hard to tell where blame lies because of this awful transfer committee.
Ayre has done good things at times.

I never jumped on that ridiculous bandwagon of get Ian Ayre out of the club as he is the person to blame when Liverpool miss out on targets.

Them same people never gave him credit for the players we did sign.

FSG wanted to keep him and I back there judgement on this.

It has been confirmed that the World's cup worst referee Milorad Mazic will be in charge of our second leg fixture on Thursday.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport...econd-11042222

Here's hoping that this doesn't get too messy for us.

I think the new manager/Rafa effect might well see you avoiding relegation..

I hope so as I would rather lose Sunderland than Newcastle from the Premier League.

I'm not a fan of Allardyce so it would be fun to see him relegated.

Good luck to the Magpies.

Talking of bad refs , or in this case an assistant, did anyone notice in the Leicester game last night in the dying minutes. Leicester were trying to kill time and the ball looked like it was going out and the lino signalled for a corner before the ball went out, it didn't carry and didn't cross the line. Colebrook ? Pointed it out but the lino still gave the corner. The ball was in the corner quadrant and the lino was stood over it virtually but still couldn't see the ball hadn't gone out.

I'll second that - bizarre decision as the elbow was as clear as day. I do not get it at all - my son said it maybe was cos Can says it was not that bad. No idea if that is true but if it is I do not feel it is within Cans remit to decide how bad it was.

Not punishing MUFC for the chants too? - that was maybe more understandable as what can MUFC really do to stop it? Punishing a club for their fans behaviour away from home I think is bit dodgy but the thing is tho that EUFA have done that before I think so there is some precedent.

I just hope that our 'fans' do not retaliate and behave as badly at OT on Thursday - I have seen much on LFC sites asking for restraint but you cannot legislate for a few idiots and for sure LFC like all clubs have some idiot fans. I fear the atmosphere will be poisonous on Thursday. MUFCs official words after last week were welcome in condemning the chants but I would have liked to have seen a direct apology to LFC and the families of the 96 which as far as I can see did not happen.


Agreed.

I know we have not fully agreed on Glen and Clyne but that discussion has been done to death now and I am not going there again but I do certainly agree that Pepe, JAR, Dirk and Glen had all dipped in their form at the end of their LFC careers so changing them was not in itself a wrong decision. The point that you make is right - none of the replacements were good enough and that in turn made fans question the sales as they recalled when those players were all really good - at their peak - but their peaks were long gone.


Ian Ayre? - not sure what I think. I would never be a fan of a chief exec or whatever cos their jobs are less glamorous than managers and players and others with a greater direct involvement in what we as fans see and they also have to make unpopular decisions. We also see their failures if we do not secure players transfers ...., etc. Ticket prices, putting the interests of corporate fans above other fans, sacking managers (in partic for me Kenny - and more importantly the way it was done), seemingly putting money above all other factors in the club, the inefficiency of the ticket office, the seeming lack of real heart at the club these days are just some of the things which have annoyed in the past - but whether I like it or not the truth is probably that all chief execs at all clubs are like Ayre was and indeed had to be at our club.

There is not too much room for sentiment any more and if he had not been like that we would have fallen even further behind. Looking at things like the development of Anfield, pre season tours and merchandise sales we have got so much better under Ayre - and much of that means income which means we can buy better players which means success on the pitch - what we as fans all want above anything else so maybe he was not as bad as he was sometimes made out to be. He was an easy target - and still is - when he does not get players in we have no idea of the constraints being put on him in the negotiations for example

Also for all his faults Ian Ayre is a LFC fan who has followed the club all his life so he does know what the club is about and should know how the ordinary LFC fan thinks. Those rejoicing cos he is going maybe should hang fire a bit and be careful what they wish for - I would want a person with a knowledge of football (which Ayre was) to be in that job and if FSG brought an American businessman in it would not sit easy with me.

Watch this space I suppose and see what happens.

Looks like Jerome Sinclair is off to Watford, having agreed a pre-contract agreement.

Yes, read that earlier - can't blame him if he's ambitious. Shame, as I think he'll be a real success somewhere eventually. This will be a recurring theme as young players seen to be less prepared to wait in the wings and equally clubs less prepared to blood them as they want instant results. Good luck to him.