WHAT do Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Fabio Borini and Stewart Downing have in common? Your answer might be, “They’re all not very good” and you might be right, but scratch slightly below the surface and another trend emerges.
Let’s begin with Andy Carroll, Liverpool’s most expensive signing, the most expensive British player and a man currently in a state of limbo at the club.
Carroll’s stock began to rise when he returned to the Championship with Newcastle, having previously played in the division with Preston, and started to fulfil the potential previously seen in him. He tore up the league as a hungry 20 year old and, the following season, he carried on where he left off with an impressive 11 goals in 19 games in the Premier League. With only half a season of impressive top flight performance, Liverpool launched an incredible, eye-watering £35m bid to secure his services and indeed they did. However, the huge Geordie has hit mostly bum notes in a red shirt and now is clinging on to his Liverpool future by a thread while LFC look set to take a huge hit on their outlay barely 18 months into his Anfield career.
Next up is Jordan Henderson, a player who broke into the Sunderland team at a time when they were looking to regroup and Darren Bent was smashing the goals in, propelling the Black Cats to the lofty heights of 13th in the league. Henderson’s reputation grew the following season when he started in terrific form and earned a call-up to the national team. He tailed off in the second half of the season but remained a permanent fixture in the Sunderland first team. On the strength of one stand out half season once again, Liverpool loomed large and a £20m deal was struck to put him in a red shirt. Yet, facing life on the fringes (of the right wing that is) Henderson has been off key and never truly looked like the young stylish midfielder he had looked just 12 months earlier and the deal looks a poor one.
Charlie Adam continues the trend. A much maligned figure at Rangers, he moved south of the border in hope of better times and less attention. Blackpool snapped him up and Adam helped fire his team into the Premier League. The following season he played brilliantly in the first 18 games – including scoring against Liverpool – and it was rumoured that he would head down the road to Anfield. He didn’t but a continuation of his form saw him secure his move to Liverpool at the end of the season for a fee somewhere between £7m-£10m. Once again Liverpool spent big money on a player who had had one good top flight season. A bright start in a red shit tailed off quickly, he was out of tune with the rest of the team and the 12 goal return provided the season before was never near being matched. Now with the squad looking bloated in central midfield Adam’s Liverpool career could be nearing its end.
It is stretching the point too far to say that Downing is a man who has only performed for one season. However, Liverpool have always had an interest in Downing but one that they were reluctant to act on. It was why he moved to Villa Park instead of Liverpool in 2009, Liverpool didn’t quite trust that he was good enough. A poor first season and Liverpool’s reticence looked correct. However, it was Downing’s second and last season at Villa that prompted Liverpool to act. He bagged 9 goals and 8 assists and Liverpool dreamed that Downing was entering his prime, would replicate that form and would orchestrate Liverpool’s return to the top. Once again Liverpool were making a move based on one season and hoping that the performance would continue. Zero goals and zero assists later, we all know how it panned out for Stew in L4 – £20m never looked so poor.
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Roll on the newcomer Fabio Borini, the latest in the line of one season wonders Liverpool are so desperate to buy. A season of Serie A and 10 goals later, a man with less than 50 senior games to his name nets a move to Anfield to the tune of£11m. Now judging a player before he’s played is not fair but everyone is entitled to their speculation and here’s mine. Italian players have rarely succeeded in the Premier League and going off the records of the above named players he’s likely to do poorly in his first season at Anfield. Throw into the mix the fact that strikers under the age of 22 very rarely manage a high goal tally in the Premier League and my hypothesis is that Borini will probably get two goals and have a couple of moments where he looks like a great player. Just like the players named above.
Not satisfied that they have enough players who have only had one season of quality, Liverpool are now banging the drum to sign Joe Allen for £15m. Again, it is unfair to prejudge the performance of a player who firstly hasn’t arrived and secondly hasn’t had a chance to perform but the evidence is in. The strategy has failed. The worst thing about this policy is that it means we buy players when they are at their highest possible price and when they fail and we are desperate to discard them we take a huge hit on the fee paid.
No other team spends so much money on unproven players and there’s a reason for that, the gambles rarely pay off. Carroll is one of the most expensive signings in football. Look at the players he is near to, not a single one had only had one strong season in the top flight. Moreover, all of them had delivered regularly elsewhere. The only exception is Rooney, which is the exception that proves the rule but he still had two seasons of top flight football before moving.
I don’t mind speculative punts on potential every so often but a policy based on paying premium prices for potential players doesn’t work. The clever option is to take higher risks with players for lower fees and spend big on players with potential who have already delivered like Luis Suarez, a man with 111 goals in 159 games with youth on his side.
The worrying part for Liverpool fans now is that a policy which has failed on the pitch has stretched to the boardroom and a man with one good season of managing in the top flight under his belt has the top job. Let’s hope for the sake of the club the same song doesn’t play out.
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Its okay. we are looking to sign Joe Allen and Clint Dempsey…
Very interesting article Brendan Riley. And your answer is?
Bearing in mind the rule changes and need to buy English players, who we can’t attract because ManU, Chelsea and Arsenal have already bagged them. We can’t afford to outbid them so end up paying stupid money for the crumbs.
So I ask you once again Your answer is?
@ Bill.
I do not know what is Brendan’s answer but i can offer you mine. Compete with Manure, Chelski and Gooners! I do not believe that top players go to these clubs simply because these clubs showed up. Suarez is a classic example and so does Glenn Johnson. Players need to field wanted and given a vision. They would be greedy players such as A. Cole but they are from all nationalities, Siggurdson is a good example.
KD signed 4 British clowns with a sum of 85 mill and what did they offer us? I would be happy if the same amount was spend on just 2 players but highly effective for us.
Oh BR, please stop signing one season wonders unless you have many more 85 mill to waste.
well i have that same feeling about borini and italin players in general they usually find it hard to find there feet unless there a young age and giving time at the same club or loaned out i felt that if we had of signed 2 players last year in the form of higuain and hazard we could have done very well in the league last year but we spend the crazy money on 3 players that would have kept 70 million in the kitty i gladly would have spend that on the 2 of them because there world class players ones proven ones not but hazard is young and unlike a lot of clubs last yearin the premier league not many would have bettered him in the midfield with his cracking runs and and control ,i think it will be interesting to see how brendan rogers gets downing and henderson motivated this coming season,maybe he should chase them down the training pitch with a hurley in one hand and bellamy behind them whens hes finished beating them lol…seriously there form has to improve lets hope its a case likes lucas leiva and they come alive ….ynwa
“italin players in general they usually find it hard to find there feet unless there a young age and giving time at the same club or loaned out”
What, apart from Zola, Di Canio, Di Matteo, Ravanelli, Balloteli? Even Benito Carbone & Vialli had initial good spells in England We have been scarred by OUR Italian’s who we have paid over the odds for – doesn’t mean to say Borini will be the same….or any different. Time will tell. Looking at him from a positive angle however, he has experience of the English game which he enjoys, and from a young age too. Plus manager should know him inside out.
I don’t think we could have got Hazard last season, whilst Higuain prob would’ve wanted Champions League footy if he moved from Madrid – tho agree he would have been a great signing and worth the ridiculous money wasted (by Comolli).
spot on.
Good points- going by this basis then when we were being backed with big money, we should have gone for players like- joao moutinho instead of Adam. Marek Hamsik/ instead of Henderson and Llorente instead of Carroll. In hindsight, the cost of Carroll/Adam/downing/Henderson was £82m? Moutinho £20-25m/ llorente £30m/Hamsik £20m. Works out about the same but got much better standard of player. Mis managed transfers/spending and now we have to set our sights lower to players like Borini, who could come good but we need players to produce now, not in 2-3 years time.
Nice article indeed I think since benithez has left we’ve not had luck in signing a player. British player that liverpool is going for is not good. They will buy them in outrageouse amount due to overhyping at the end of d day they become a flop. Liverpool should insist in buying british if they want to succed
One season wonders eh? Point well taken.
Here’s another for that list – Brendan Rodgers!
the point is we shldnt buy players who are going 2 mture in 4 years(lucas) we need impact sgnins. Im concerned why BR is only byng playrs he wakd wit b4. Allen had many passes bt few goals.(henderson) Ramirez had quite sm goals n asssts as wel
carroll, aqua, cole and adam all out of europa league squad according to skysports. therefore we can assume all are for the exit door. big signings needed for cm and up top now. lots of change. not a lot of time for bedding in. big fan of rodge but worrying with lack of concrete incomings and lack of urgency.
Yet another manager filling the squad with eye more on his own bias, than simply acquiring the best talent to fill the squad.
With Houllier it was French players. Rafa was Spanish. The King – English only.
[Course as there are levels of quality in any subset, Rafa was clearly the best at discerning talent from within his bias group]
And now Brendan – all those without prior experience on Chelsea Youth or Swans need not apply.
Pathetic…
I see the point ur tryin to make, but so what? Surely it makes common sense for any new man to trust players he knows more about/has experience with/trusts. How is that being pathetic? Works for Mourinho…
It works for Mourinho at Real Madrid where massive talent is plentiful. Same for Mourinho when he was at Stamford Bridge.
Either way – how about we recruit the best players we can find at value – whether they’re American, Spanish, English, Chinese, Korean, former Chelsea – whatever?!??!?
Liverpool should stop wasting money on more players and buy a coach or two to train players we already have and to save losing even more money selling or loaning out Andy Caroll and get a coach specifically to teach him and our other attackers how to put the ball in the goal as we have had trouble in this department since Rafa sacked Paco and other coaches I really believe we have the players with the right coaching could be made a lot better than they currently as they all have potential. we need a few more attackers for the ones that have left and another holding midfielder but other than that we should spend money on getting the best coaches to train the talent we already have
Benitez sacked Paco??
I think you are mis informed…
Paco was home sick there was never a case of him being sacked!
Unless you have some inside info that Paco himself has doesn’t have :/
No no you got it all wrong. Allen is a pass master . He got 2 assists the whole of last season in the prem. His pass success was amazing , must of been passing the ball back to the defence a lot. Unfortunately were goner yet again end up with a load more average players to add to Adam, Henderson etc . I don’t believe Borrini and Allen are going to strengthen our team . Certainly not a top 4 anyway. I know we don’t have champions league to offer but Newcastle didn’t last season and still managed some pretty good signings. The best British players are already playing for the top clubs so we need to look away from buying British .we have a few British youngsters in our team already . 15 mill for Allen what a waste of money. Not happy . Funny that man city, Chelsea ,man u arsenal are not going in for him. I remember last season when fergy said charley Adams corner kick taking alone was worth 10 mill. I new very well he was not going to bid for him. Funny that . Cause he new he’s shit that why. So were goner play barca style football this season with Scottish and welsh players. Yeah right . I’m really surprised barca have not gone for Allen since he had such a high pass success rate last season ? Lol.
Its one thing to criticize transfer policies, you are entitled to your opinion. But it is difficult to appreciate already getting on the back of an young player who has not yet kicked a ball in a competitive game in a red shirt. That too because he is Italian and is ‘unproven’.
The ‘Italian’ concept has already been dispelled by Jimmy.
Nice article…
As a life long Lfc fan I have zero expectiOns this season.
Though I’m hoping to be surprised!
I remember not too long ago telling some fools that if we got rid of Rafa we would find ourself around 5th to 10th positions in the league and look where we are now linked to all kinds of average players at ballooned prices and in that very position!
Those who wanted RAFA out can eat sh**!
We are currently an embarrassment to what this club was built on…
But like I said Im hoping to be surprised this season…….. :/
Personally I’d keep Carrol he has ability and youth on his side tiki taka football is nice to watch but it’s won arsenal sweet fa. Places like Stoke there not going to let you play this style you’ll need a bit of power and strength.
Henderson also I’d keep I think he is a good player young and has heart this kid will only improve with good players round him.
Downing and Adam can both be sold downing will not do anything at Anfield neither will Adam. Twenty seven million pounds that could be spent on young hungry for success talent.