A detailed analysis of our transfer policy since we were last Champions is not needed, but just a brief look through the last 20 years’ dealings is enough to bring a tear to the eye of a Reds supporter, especially those down to a particular Frenchman (Sorry Gerard.)
Some of us think that signings like Neil Ruddock and Nigel Clough were mistakes made by Mr Souness, but despite transfer fees being substantially smaller then I am sure LFC could afford under £5 million for two players who at least were reasonably capable footballers, even if not up to the high standard we were used to watching at Anfield. At that crucial period it was the atmosphere around the club that was damaged.
For now I want to resist judging Mr Rodgers’ signings as they are too small a sample and are for now inconsistent due very possibly to injuries. Also I wish to discount Mr Hodgson’s and King Kenny’s second spells for many reasons (for example, the jury’s still out on some players like Jordan Henderson and there is little point in talking about the Koncheskys or Poulsens.)
This leaves us with Messrs Evans, Houllier and Benitez to examine.
Roy Evans was relatively conservative in his spending: while £7.7 million was squandered on Paul Ince and Oyvind Leonhardsen, he brought in Patrick Berger, Danny Murphy and Brad Friedel for a smaller total. Berger did us great service and I believe was underrated. I saw him at Vicarage Road one Saturday afternoon and he was electric. Danny again never let us down and could have achieved more with better players around him. In hindsight Brad was never used enough and could have notched up hundreds of appearances if the talent he showed after leaving had been recognised.
Skipping forward to Rafa Benitez it is easy to see the damage inflicted by Gillette and Hicks. In the first years in came Alonso, Bellamy, Agger, Reina, Lucas, Arbeloa and Skrtel for a total of £43 million and although Mascherano, Kuyt and Torres cost high amounts we benefited from their spells. I also feel that Luis Garcia, Peter Crouch and Mo Sissoko can hold their heads up high.
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These signings go some way to excusing Cisse and Pennant, while it was impossible to see Morientes, Babel and Keane failing to perform to their potential. Unfortunately towards the end of the era (and changed ownership) we should mention Benayoun, Dossena and Riera.
So now my friends to Monsieur Houllier; popular and likeable he brought success in 2001 for which we are grateful, although Phil Thompson hardly ever gets the credit he deserves for the role he played at the time. Sami Hyppia for £3 million seems like a joke now, and Hamann (£8m,) Henchoz (£3.5m,) Riise (£4.6m) and Finnan (£3.5m) were all worthy of being genuine first team players. Those five for a little over £20 million is remarkable dealing, but they weren’t all so good…
Song (£2.6,) Ferri (£1.7,) Heggem (£3.5,) Diomede (£3.0,) Heskey (£11.0,) Westerveld (£4.0,) Biscan (£5.5,) Ziege (£5.5,) Barmby (£6.0,) Diouf (£11.0,) Kirkland (£6.0,) Diao (£5.0,) Le Tallec (£3.0,) Cheyrou (£3.7,) and Kewell (£5.0) represent over £75 million of spending over a decade ago, and surely the worst period for buying new blood in the club’s history since finances became so important. I can feel a depression coming on!
It is not my intention to pummel Gerard. He always gave his best through a period of ill health and has left us a fair number of memorable and emotional moments on which to look back, but that list above is criminal.
Let’s hope and pray that there are safeguards in place at Anfield in 2013. Perhaps talk of transfer targets by committee and the policy of buying players with resale values aren’t such bad things after all and the FSG model will surely bear fruition in future years.
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the americans
are you high for writing such a crap article
I agree – what a bs article!
The signings of Diao, Diouf and Cheyrou in 2002 for £20m must rank up there as being the most wasteful, especially when taken in context. The UEFA cup, league cup and FA cup wins in 2000-2001, followed by a second place finished in the next league campaign.
Not to put the blame on Houllier, our problems precede that by a decade. In 1991, we replaced Beardsley, Houghton, Gillespe and Staunton with Walters, Michael Thomas, Lee Jones and Paul Stewart.
I agree our club started going wrong around 1991. I just think Monsieur Houllier shouldn’t be able to get away with that list of buys
Heggem would have gone on to be a great signing, had he not got that awful injury that finished his career.
It’s not the fault of the manager.
Possibly, fair point
Cisse was signed by Houllier, not Benitez
So you spotted the deliberate mistake!
for me it is not the money spend, but what we get for them that counts, and in that particular frame no-one has bought better than king kenny in the 1980´s. however it seems that we tend to spend more and more on each player and are becoming like “the others” and gets away from, what liverpool used to be. It is not simply the question of the price, but what value you get for the money, that is the case, and in that area everyone failed since 1990 in my opinion.
How can you dismiss ‘Mr Hodgson’s and King Kenny’s’ signings……the first was a joke, the second was a complete mess, expensive and a joke. £70 millions on three playes that would not get into any of the teams in the top 6, why we finished 7th. Kenny inherited a very good team and bought poorly in his first spell….should never have come back. Houllier done ok but went wrong after his opp. All down to bad management at the top….moore, parry, the americans…….!!!! Benitez was amazing, and all his hard work got undone by the two shisters. If he got left alone to do his job, we would have had more league titles than man utd by now.
Go follow Benitez at Napoli you punk. We are Liverpool.
Keep your BLINDED support 4 Dalglish, who shouldn’t be in tha same room as Benitez, Dalglish?, a good player, but a CLUELESS manager!!!.
I support Liverpool you thick plank. Benitez is nothing to do with us anymore, move on or go follow Benitez wherever he goes. I bet you were one of those muppets cheering on Chelsea in the Europa final just for Benitez sake. Get outta his a-hole!
I just think Hodgson’s signings aren’t worthy of a discussion and Kenny’s are complicated by a number of issues: two spells/caretaker/Gillette & Hicks etc. I do admit there are a lot of iffy ones though.
The problem with Kewell was not that he was a bad signing but that his injury was totally mismanaged by an incompetent medical staff. Most people are unaware of the absolute agony he must have played in. Instead of wasting money on an idiot like Diouf, we should have replaced the lot and gotten much better out of some key players.
Recently? Dalglish II, shocking manager.
What a poor poor article!
(How about incl kenny and hodgson – no valid reason to omit)
And maybe having a more analytical approach to this? Like “net” spend and trophies won/league positions attained.
This will far better evaluate if its money well spent.
*without errors would be useful too (cisse 14m I think, def signed by Houllier)
This could have been a v.good article but done v.poorly.
It would be interesting to see it done again properly – maybe I’ll do it myself 😉
Stats have their place but are being overused. Football isn’t played on a computer screen.
WHAT ABOUT K DALGLISH and the OBCENE FUNDS HE WASTED ON VERY VERY AVERAGE PLAYERS?????
Uncle Woy-C.Poulson was a class(sick).
Kd clearly the most idiotic of them all. Blind freddy could see that Carroll had achieved nothing to that point and wasn’t worth half of his obscene bill. Adam 10m. Embarrassing. Downing 20m embarrassing. Henderson wasn’t worth 25% of his rediculous fee. Even some those apparently got right – Coates as an example looks look one we paid twice as much as what we should have.
Big tick for Suarez and pass for Enrique. That’s it. Thank god we got him out when we did. A couple more years of his ridiculousness and we would’ve been battling relegation.
Too right
Fully agree with you,although i think Henderson may come good(still very young).
Dalglish was never a manager,carried by Paisley! LFC during his first tenure attracted the top players (Paisley’s doing!).
Barnes and Beardsley made the team complete,i could’n’t immagine a better side,but the foundations of that side were due to Paisley!
Dalglish did nothing at Blackburn (carried by Ray Harford,)Newcastle or Celtic!
Houlier was fortunate; Diouf,Diao,the two ‘little gem’s’ Le Tallec and Cheyrou were a total waste of time.
Rodgers wasted last summer transfer kitty. 35 million spent on sh*te