One of the hottest debates during the summer has been the way Kenny Dalglish has spent around 47 million pounds on three midfielders – Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing.
At the start of a transfer window is when fans are most optimistic; about the transfers and and what the team can achieve next season. This transfer window Liverpool supporters have every season to be optimistic. The arrival of Kenny Dalglish at the helm, new ambitious owners, the winter arrivals of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll and the performance of the club since January. After signings such as the duo in January most fans expected many more big names to be added to the side. I cannot remember another transfer window in which the media linked us to as many players as they have this season with as many as 61 players rumored to be heading to Anfield in a month. Some were exciting and others were laughable. Players like Juan Mata and Sergio Aguero were heavily linked to us which excited many fans (myself included).
Then there were two people who paid no attention to all the hype and media frenzy – Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli. They went about their business in a professional, calculated manner and paid more attention to statistics, ability of a player to add missing links to the team rather than flair and trickery. The idea was simple – to add quality to the side with primarily British players which can meet the long-term needs of the club. Smart and responsible. Both Kenny and Damien realize that its not the most star-studded team that wins you trophies but the most complete team that win them. Keeping that in mind the club has purchased 3 midfielders :
Jordan Henderson was the first to arrive at Anfield. Many fans believed we overpaid for this young talented English midfielder. In reality he is a quality signing. A player who always looks assured in possession and looks to make good, positive passes and is touted to be a future English midfielder. He had a top season with Sunderland in which he made 82 goal scoring opportunities for his team-mates, 39 more than any of his other team-mates. It was such performances that saw him win Sunderland’s Young Player of the Year award. Kenny Dalglish is a master at spotting talent and this will surely prove a quality signing for the future if not immediately.
Next Charlie Adam was signed by the club for a cut-price deal. The man who tried to keep Blackpool in the Premiership on his own headed to Anfield. Liverpool attempted to sign him in January but failed. Following Blackpool’s relegation, it paved the way for his move to Liverpool. His accurate passes from 40 yards out to pick out a team mate or his through balls along the ground as well as his set-piece ability somehow remind us about Xabi Alonso. Yes, he is not a complete player and has his weaknesses in defensive duties and he may not be the most mobile player but at the price we got him, it is a bargain and he sure to make valuable contributions to the team.
Such a shame to see all of these people calling themselves LFC fans, yeah play fifa, and chat around with your buddies and build a dream team like castles in the air.
We are building a TEAM, get it a TEAM. Still don’t get it? Well lets make it easy for all of them, it is a T-E-A-M game.
Yes a 1 dimensional team. hoof it to carroll. great. Why didnt we build a TEAM around suarez???
lol this ^ Blind faith sunshiners are insfferable. I bet they had no trouble criticizing Rafa
you bet wrong, I for one do not belong to the ‘blind-rafa-hater’ club.
We don’t need to built a team around carroll,beer barrel will do,cheers carroll
wat??
Rememeber what the late great Bob Paisley said “It’s not about playing the long ball, short ball, it’s about playing the right ball”……
but to be fair i know what you mean we did this alot towards the end of last season when Carrol did play hoof ball is not a good way to play maybe that’s why we didn’t sign Mata. Then again KK we also played alot of good stuff when Carroll wasn’t playing in most of the games.
I for one wouldn’t play with Carroll and Suarez every game we should play 1 up top some games and maybe Kuyt n Suarez some other, from what i saw Kuyt n Suarez had a better understanding because they both work their socks off
Were not building a team around ANY individual player. And i’m sure suarez is licking his chops at having Carroll knock the ball down for him in the penalty area – Keegan and Toshack anyone? Or dont you lot remember that far back into our clubs history?
I am not impressed with the overall strategy. Midfield was not a bad area apart from lacking a decent winger. So I have no problem with getting Downing even though we paid too much. Adam is not a bad acquisition at the price we got him for, so maybe can accept that.
But Henderson makes no sense, to spend that money on a player who does not really bring anything extra to the squad. That cash could have been spent on a quality left back.
As another poster pointed out the team should be built around Suarez, not Carroll. We actually have a perfect player for him in Aquilani, killer pass, quick thinking and comfortable on the ball. Now it seems we are in a panic to get rid of him to have funds for defense.
This is a shambles, everyone knows we have to sell and so are waiting to rip us off. None of the players we have to get rid of can be moved on as they have massive salaries.
They want Henderson to be Gerrard’s successor, and as long as we didnt buy him instead of a left back and a center back then its a fine transfer, if overpriced.
That being said, if we make it to Sept 1 and our starting left back is Jack Robinson (Unfortunate probable Insua sale, and inevitable Aurelio injury) then there will be hell to pay
Put you dummy back in
GUYS, Doubters, supporters, get behind ur team u glory supporters……i hate 2 read bout fans questioning the transfer policy and work of KK…..da man is a legend, WINNER!!!….he knows what it takes 2 build a title winning team and its not inividuals!!!!….i cannot stand the constant names such as MATA, AGUERO, HAZARD, etc……KK is builing a team which has a winning mentality, young and are very hungry, players who hav experienced the EPL and NOT players who may take some time 2 gell…..I’m very happy with the business Liverpool hav done, although i wud want a left back and centre back at the club b4 the window closes…..REDS hav more faith in ur manager and club, reading sum ov the comments makes me sick and wonder whether these people are fans ov da reds or glory supporters……just 4 da record Liverpool hav lost da last 2 pre season games fielding weak teams…..yesterdays match was a joke, dey was at least 8 defensive players in the starting line-up….dat sed carroll was our only 1st team player on the night…..when KK gets suarez, lucas, stevie G as well as our summer signings, i can’t wait!!!…..FAITH….YNWA!!!!
Blind faith brigade much? We complain because we want the team to succeed. The fact that you close your paragraph-like-object with “FAITH” says it all. Constructive criticism never hurts
i realise many people are losing faith or do not seem to trust Liverpool with the signings made so far…..i say to those people have more faith with ur team and don’t question the work of KK…he knows what hez doing, hez a winner!!!….show more TRUST, BELIEF nd TRUST!!!….YNWA REDS!!!
TRUST:::::BELIEF:::::::FAITH…..YNWA!!!!
3 champs and 3 Prem?? u’re either just really funny or a big fan of Caughtoffside.com
since when did team goals become included in player deals??
thumbs up man. u made me laugh real hard.
Why is everyone banging on about Carrol’s price and what we paid for him,we didnt pay for him Chelsea did lol
They were gonna give us 50 million whether or not we paid 35 for Carroll. I’m pretty sure we can all come up with some better ways to use 35 million.
That’s not true we told chelsea they could have torres for the price of Carroll plus 15 million – john henry was quoted as saying that in the echo last year FACT
yeah but how many of them can head a ball like Carroll
£35m for a player to header.. Lol
I’ve been thinking for several weeks about the apparent “strangeness” of this year’s transfer strategy and think the answer to all this might be wages.
Dalglish, Comolli (et al.) might well be playing a shrewd game from one perspective: pay the 3-5 million extra up front (on transfer fees) and save 3-5 million a year on contracts (as the players being targetted are on 40-60k a week and not 90-200k). For example, yes, for 5 million more we could have gotten Augero from Athletico and not Carroll, but we would have paid £7 million more in wagers PER YEAR for the five year contract (so £35 million more in total). The same logic applies for targeting Henderson (over say Modric). The transfer fees might even be in the same ballpark, but we’re saving (again) £20-30 million over the span of the contract. Everyone’s getting worked up over the initial £3-5 million extra outlay (maybe £10 million in the case of Carroll), but by targeting young, talented players with less name recognition LFC are in the short, medium and long term getting value for money.
(If interest, Tomkins argues something similar in a recent article on his site.)
Downing & Adam can both do a useful job for us but huge money on Henderson doesn’t make sense. We’ve already got the next Stevie G – his name is Conor Coady. We need a player for now not one for the future – we’ve got loads of those and they look great. Spending £16 – 20 m on Hendy has meant we haven’t got the money we need for a LB, CB and striker. We desperately need another winger as well. It’s been a disappointing window when there appeared to be numerous and better possibilites. We also look to be about to get rid of Aquaman – one player who has real class and the ability to unlock a packed defence. He’d be great just behind Suarez!
Sorry lads but carrol was over priced by 30 million but we at NUFC will not spend the money.The fans lose out all round again.
Very true. Sadly.
Hendersons signing makes perfect sense if you really think about it… How long do you all think Gerrard will be in a LFC shirt? I’m tipping this year. In 2 years we will all be very happy with his signing.
Each player we have brought has either come through in previous seasons or shown to have something more. Carroll is going to be a monster to deal with all the people moaning about him seriously need to shut the **** up. He’s like hesky with skill and youth. Suarez is like a manic owen just wind him up and put him near the ball in the box, downing every season plays brilliantly totally proven in the top flight, maybe we should buy another aqua man for 20 million then loan him out and sell for 10 million?? I bet Carroll scores 23+ goals next season and sets up lots more and Suarez 30+. stop giving the team grief you haven’t even seen them all play together yet. Adam brilliant adds a proven set piece taker so Gerrard can be free for the rebounds and as I remember Gerrard always did best on the edge of the box with rebounds. in Henderson im guessing KK has seen a footballing brain to be moulded into the new SG. NOW STFU about mata and aguaro and co come 3 months you will be laughing about how they all have the Roberto Carlos factor. Weve tried the french and then the spanish and didnt really do all that well now its time for the english lads the least you bunch of moanin ladies could do is maybe build some confidence for them with positive posts they may read, not slating everything they have yet to do
All you so called ‘LFC fans’ who continue to rip into the team don’t deserve to have the privilage of watching our great TEAM. KK and DC are not building a team for 1 season, they’re building a team for 3-4 years, hence the reason we get henderson to fill in for Gerrard when he retires. Downing is what we need right now and we obviously gave interest in signing a left back otherwise we wouldn’t have had contract duscussions with clichy. He chose champs league football and ofcourse MONEY. The reason we’re buying British talent is because they know what it takes to get back into the top 4 and when we do e.g. Next may – you’ll see us go fir the BIG world-class talent next year. Anyone who slates KK is completely stupid, he knows what it takes to win the league, he’s done it FFS. Give him atleast 2 years to build HIS team and you’ll see us reap the rewards (although i can kinda agree with the Carroll comments)
Hey perry everyone’s got their view pal, and Suarez is by far our best player and he’s not British. And u don’t get to decide who shud be a fan or not, we are a global club not a British one.
its just a friendly guys!!!!!! wake up. next season we will be tittle contenders. im sure of it
The question that needs to be asked is who else was also fighting to sign Henderson?
I’m not aware that anyone else wanted him so why the high fee? £10m possibly worth a shout, but not £16m+ that a joke!
Downing on the other hand is a good player that will add to our team, but for £20m was he the best player was available? That’s very questionable.
Truth be known the biggest problem we have is that KK seems to be building his team around a £35m player who isn’t good enough to start ahead of Suarez or Gerrard.
It’s an expensive back up plan!
Reina
Johnson. Carra. Agger. New LB
Kuyt. Raul. Lucas. Downing
Gerrard
Suarez
That’s a solid team in defence and attack. With Henderson, Adams and Carroll keeping the bench warm.
They have no place in my first 11 but the squad has depth now and looks good.
Btw last yrs team just needed tweaking and more depth to the squad.
The worry Is that the way KK is spending he not just looking to add to the squad but he’s looking at complete overhaul of the first 11 :/
The way played against played in the 2nd half of the season shows that the team we had was more than capable of competing against the other 4.
That means if it’s isn’t broken don’t try fixing it!!
The whole left side needed addressing with hopefully a new LB coming in and Downing signed there should be no need for anyone other than maybe a back up striker?
So let’s hope we stick to last yrs season ending team with just just the additions on the left!
Liverpool have become the laughing stock of the Premier League. Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli have spent over 100m on players but only one of them is world class, the others being sub-standard British players. Kenny is stuck in the ’80s in signing average British players like Carroll, Henderson and Downing. 75m for 3 players who are average Premier League footballers at their best.
Those fans who approve of the 35m signing of Carroll are idiots. Carroll has no skill, no agility, no speed, no game intelligence and will force the team in playing hoof-ball cause all he can do is head the ball. He is so bad that he can hardly control a football. His finishing isn’t that good either. This guy has done nothing to suggest that he is worth even half his transfer fee.
The 20m signing of Henderson is just as bad. This guy has been an average squad player for a mid-table Premier League team and Kenny decides to splash out 20m on him. The only reason he was signed is because he is English. As if being Sunderland’s young player of the year means anything.
As for Stewart Downing, why did FSG sanction the his signing when he’s 27-years-old? Liverpool have wasted 20m on an average English winger who can hardly get into the rubbish England team. What’s worse, Liverpool decide to sign him when N’Zogbia was available for half the price.
Kenny Dalglish is wasting money on sub-standard British players. These guys are not good enough to help Liverpool win the Premier League and none of them are world class. Liverpool have a huge squad now but there is a lack of world class players. If Liverpool are serious about challenging at the top again then the obsession with British players must stop immediately.
Yep!
By the way fellow frustrated fans, the reason we were 2nd a couple seasons ago is because of how few goals we conceded, (and to many draws I agree) there is no reason to believe we won’t concede 44 again this year (like last) as we haven’t improved our defence.(while our key competitors have all improved their attack). U don’t need to be an analyst to work that out, our owners understanding of American football shud tell them that. U can’t concede 44 goals and come top 4! Simple!
Fans like this wants LFC to give roy 2 seasons!
We have bought midfielders which are for the present and the future, and each being able to play in different positions. The fact that they’re British doesnt automatically render them poor value and expensive, they are already geared for the EPL. Look at Masch and Tevez, settled in well but they have either left or want to leave. Signing Suarez was more of a risk than say Henderson but look how thats turning out.
The reason our defense has suffered is because we’re running out all the youth and fringe players n the friendlies. We do need a left back and centre back still as Carra and Soto will be turning in less games in the next season or two, coupled with Agger and his injuries, this hopefully hasn’t been overlooked by the staff. I believe that Kenny has at least 3 more additions for the defence to add to the 3 young forwards that have been signed for the reserves/youth team.
I think some fans are being a bit shortsighted, I can honestly see us being consistently in the top 3 in no time. We’re paying a lot of money for the players now, but if we compare the rate inflation caused by City with the last 5 years, then Hendersons equivalent will be about £40 million within 3 years. So I guess we buy now to save us shelling out again at even higher prices.
We’re still in transition, the only thing I hope is that KD doesnt let the 2nd half of last year get to his head and become complacent. A part of me believes that the LFC fairytale of the 80’s could happen again, but then I also remember Leeds being in the EPL not too long ago.
I remain hopeful but at the same time cautious of too many changes in too short a space of time.
Carroll – 35 million – major loss
Henderson – 16 miliion – major loss
Downing – 20 million – major loss
71 million on useless players ???
if i were in place if comolli
Benzema – 30 million
Mata – 20 million
Bastos – 15 million
Park chu yong – 6 million
and then i would sell – poulsen – 3million
Jovanovic – 3 million
NGOG – 5 million
Lucas – 7 million since we have meireles,Adams,Aquilani.
Maxi – 3 million
Total – 21 million
i would buy
Chris samba/Scot dann – 10 million
Charles Nzogia – 10 million
my team would have beenn
Reina
Johnson,Agger/Carra,Samba,Bastos
Meirele/Adams
Mata,Gerrad,Nzogbia
Benzema,Suarez
FORMATION – 4-1-3-2
Subs
Park chu yong
Joe cole
Pacheco
Skrtel
Aquilani
Martin kelly
Doni
EPL – GUARANTEED!!
Looking at the team on paper, things could look better couldn’t they? But that would only be on paper…
There are so, so many variables when it comes to actual success on the field. We were second on the league table in terms of points from the time Kenny arrived. In terms of players, we had Suarez as addition in place of Torres, sure. In effect we didn’t really have Carroll, Gerrard, Downing, Henderson, Aquilani. 5 top players (at least compared to many that Kenny worked with in that second half of the season) who virtually played no part in our storming run home in the second half of the season.
With these 5 players, no European football, Kenny’s man management skills and Steve Clarke on board, we should stand a good chance to do better than the second half of last season.
If we came second in terms of points during the second half of last season wih what we had, then surely the title isn’t out of reach…