The Joys of a New Year Signing Who Is Great Value and Has Insane Underlying Numbers
(AKA Antony £86m vs Cody Gakpo £37m)
First of all, Happy New Year!
Many thanks for the support in 2022, and indeed, in some cases going back to 2009 when TTT first launched; 2005, when I started writing regularly for the official Liverpool FC website; and in some rare cases, 2000, when I wrote my first internet column. All in all, 2022 was one of the more turbulent years in my life (and for Liverpool FC, in good and bad ways), and I'm looking for a slightly mellower ride in early in 2023.
Second, a quick reminder that the ZenDen requires a separate subscription (£3.50 a month) to the TTT Main Hub, as this is for my additional thoughts and articles (rather than writing for other publications or websites, as I've done in the past whilst also writing for my own site, TTT); and with the cost of the Main Hub (£4.99) essentially the same price as the old TTT, even in this age of massive inflation.
The additional TTT Substacks (mostly also £3.50 a month) are also to help fund the work of the various TTT contributors, with them doing something unique and different to the main the site; instead of having to let them go, as we downsized the TTT dungeon (which used to be TTT towers) to the TTT cubbyhole.
Next, there is no community or commenting on the ZenDen, it's just to quietly read via the mailing list or on the website. But there are still hundreds of comments each day on the Main Hub, which is where the TTT community still resides (and where I still post regular comments, too). Many people have said that there's no longer any commenting or community – because they're not looking properly. They're on the website, where you'd expect to find them (and use the Debate drop-down menu, or the Community tab halfway down the homepage to see the threads where the most recent comments have appeared.)
Anyway, onto this week's positive ZenDen vibes, and it's about that man Cody Gakpo, and his incredible underlying numbers, and how they blow some far more expensive signings out of the water.
Gakpo comes with no guarantees, but I don't think people realise how he has absolutely blitzed a fairly strong (if not elite) league in a team that is not the national dominator, and is rapidly improving. He also seems physically suited to the Premier League, which is often half the battle for newcomers.
Also, he doesn't seem the type to film himself driving a £300,000 car down a motorway, which is another example of Liverpool's successful 'no dickheads' policy.
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