This article is written by James Murphy and is courtesy of our partner website FootballFancast.com. Read the latest news and blogs at FFC. – ed
With little money being made available to Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson, the loan market definitely seems as if it will offer Hodgson a small glimmer of hope. The Fenway Sports Group (formerly NESV) is believed to have been concerned by the millions of pounds haemorrhaged on transfer fees and wages by the club in recent years as it examined Liverpool’s finances as part of the due diligence process carried out before the £300 million purchase of the Anfield side was completed.
The Americans are also understood to be dismayed at long-term contracts handed to veterans such as Jamie Carragher. They are furthermore said to have voiced concern at the purchase of players such as Robbie Keane and Fernando Morientes without any re-sell value due to their age.
This said it is obvious NESV are wary of spending. However, I’m sure John W. Henry; NESV’s principle owner would never leave his manager Hodgson with little room for manouerve. The former Fulham manager is currently trying to sling shot Liverpool up the Premier League into the Champions League qualification spot. However, It is becoming evident as the season progresses that the present Liverpool squad is nowhere near the strength of its rivals who currently take up those four coveted league places. With money tight the most realistic opportunity for new faces would be through loan deals.
Furthermore Hodgson will not be allowed to add any players without first trimming the squad. Liverpool boast the fourth-highest wage bill in the Premier League – standing roughly at £107 million. Should Hodgson manage to sell come January, even then I am not sure he will see the money as John W. Henry says
“We have to be more efficient. When we spend a dollar it has to be wisely. We cannot afford player contracts that do not make long-term sense. We have to be smart, bold, aggressive. It’s a great challenge”
Once again lending the idea loan signings may fit the bill.
With Henry adamant they will not spend come January, the only way I see Hodgson adding to his squad is through loan signings and free transfers. Would Liverpool even be able to land a loan signing who could prove beneficial in their attempt to return to the Champions league in such a short space of time between January and May?
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Lemmy and his band Motorhead at a French bar
This week it is former Liverpool WAG Claudine Keane.
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CLICK ON THE IMAGE OR HERE TO SEE CLAUDINE KEANE’S GALLERY
O God loony season is here. There is a lot of accusations here, most of which are pure speculation. If we’re going to attack Rafa’s signings of Morientes and Keane, both failed so they deserve criticism, then I’ll add the names of Konchesky and Poulsen (Konchesky is not Liverpool quality and Poulsen despite the ever hilarious Jamie Kanwar’s defence of him is well past his best and not Liverpool quality). We all know that there are few top players available in Jannuary, only the Russian and Ukranian leagues have ended but I know who’ll be spending the money if money is to be spent in January and it will be Comeli not Hodgson.
As I see it then what did they buy LFC for? This article seems to say that all is doom and gloom and nobody is being bought unless business is conducted like the corner sweetshop!!
Forget about the Champions League if NESV aren’t going to spend in January. We have quality but not the depth in the squad so we will need at least 2 top class players in January to strengthen the squad and to push for that Champions League place. Talking about free transfers and loans, how often do you see top class free transfers in January and do you really think clubs will loan out some of their best players in the middle of the season? Forget about Mario Gomez joining on loan, he’s hit top form in Munich and there’s no way Bayern will let him leave. The only exceptions I can think of to this is Donovan to Everton last year on a loan deal and Maxi joining us for free, other than that, top quality frees and loans are very rare in January. So in all honestly, if we are to get quality players to improve the squad come January, that will require the cash and if NESV don’t provide the funds for transfers then you can expect the team to be unchanged and us getting an eight placed finish.
hey robbie keane was not rafas signing, he was the boards signing, rafa never wanted him
Who would loan 20 mil. worth player, for example, who would be that dumb to loan you as expensive player as that?
Only one manager in England would…
i hope houlier gets no more than a polite reception, his disgraceful attempts to claim the istanbul victory as his own doing deserves contempt.
i see houlier is telling the world he was the first to almost go for ronaldo ? unluckily for us he used his better judgement and bought diao and diouf, what a phoney he is – my brother lived in santander in spain, he watched the local team, he wrote a letter to houlier telling him to look at a lad named yossi benyoum, (we would have got him for buttons) he got a terse reply – the rest is history, typical french *****.
Maxi was not a quality player that joined on a free – he was a player that was struggling to even get onto Atletico’s bench and they wanted his wages off of the books.
We have as much depth as Man U, Arsenal or Chelsea – we just have an inferiority complex as a club…
Well that’s the point I’m trying to make- that good frees and loans are extremly rare in January. Last January it was only Donovan who joined Everton on loan and Maxi joining us for free.
And we probably haven’t got as much depth as Manu U and Chelsea. Seeing the likes of Poulsen, Konchesky and Ngog start show that point and the fact that we haven’t got a good back up striker and two wingers show that we are just not good enough.
I disagree that liverpool does not have enough depth as club occupying top 4. If we had won two of those matches ( against blackpool, wigan, everton or totenham to mention few), the table would be different now. IMO we did’nt lose those matches due to lack of depth but TACTICS.
YOGI…. well said. This manager just is not up to the job.
1, i wouldnt trust roy with 10 million let alone a big spend invesment kitty.
2, has anyone really not thought about the fact that roy brought an old over the hill foot soilder in poulsen for nearly 5 mill( which it will be in games playes) the fee was 4.5, do you really think with the nesv structure that he will be here for much longer…. no ,,no way.
3, the new investors will and have already said that older players on good contracts will not carry on happening and good to hear, look at the konchesky deal,, that was a laughing stock and thise deals just will not happen under henry and the other owners.
4, liverpool need 5 quality players and thats the end of this subject.
5, liverpool need to seel around 11 players to be fair and there is so much crap at the club its so bad!!!
6, OUT GO; babel, poulsen, konchesky, insua, plessies, degen, itandge, jovanovic, darby, el zhar, aquilani, manage to sell those deadbeats then we would have around 39 million, thats not a bad kitty without spending any money.
but we need INVESTMENT NOT JUST ASSET STRIPPING, ITS OK SELLING WHAT YOU DO NOT NEED TO SAVE MONEY AND AND ADD MORE VALUE, BUT WE NEED FRESH INVESTMENT AND THATS IT, SIMPLE…