A major determinant of success at the poker table is table image. If you can, in your betting practices and demeanour, convince the table that you are a force to be reckoned with, you will be more likely to dominate and, at the end of the day, walk away with everybody’s money.
If you show yourself to be easily dominated, unwilling to protect your blinds or are tentative in your raises, you will be identified as ‘the fish’ at the table and will be one of the first to bleed away all of your chips and find yourself on the rail.
The same is true of the off the field posturing and negotiation of professional sport. In the course of a season or, more often, a run of seasons, teams develop an ‘aura’ both on and off the field.
If the ‘aura’ persists for a decade or more, they become legends or dynasties and their name comes to help define the sport; such is the case with Real Madrid, the New York Yankees, the Montreal Canadiens, and the New England Patriots.
Liverpool have an established place in the pantheon of international sports icons but, in the age of modern sport, image is everything and the Mkhitaryan failure has dealt a serious blow to that image. Coming hard upon our failure to trump Spurs in the acquisition of Dempsey, this latest example of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory has far reaching implications for our image.
The importance of image in both football and poker cannot be overstated. For years now, players like Phil Ivey have won hands and tournaments that they had no right to win. In the past few seasons, Manchester United have won games and titles they had no right to win. The intangible in both cases is the aura of invincibility that causes opponents to over rate their opposition and almost invite defeat. The same is true of transfers where some clubs are perennial chip leaders and others are railbirds gathering up has-beens and never-quite-will-bes.
Although we are far from being considered the ‘fish’ in the transfer pool, the bait available for reeling in the blockbuster deals is rapidly dwindling. Yes we have the name and the international market to entice some name players, but to land the really outstanding trophy prey, you need something more and that something more is, in three words, the Champions League. More and more, not only a presence in Europe but participation at the pinnacle of European football is that tasty titbit that the top footballers crave and see as essential for their careers.
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Are we going through a period where we can only attract ‘troubled’ superstars like Suarez? Worse still, are we a club that can’t even hold on to ‘troubled’ superstars like Suarez? The only thing that is sustaining our position at the table is our storied history and the legitimacy of our current ownership but it is the ownership that holds the key.
As the glory of teams past becomes more and more a thing of ‘that was then; this is now’ the willingness of Fenway Sports Group to drop major cash into the pot is the only factor that may get us back to legitimacy in the international game of Hold ‘Em player negotiations.
Whereas the signings so far will improve the club, only the retention of Suarez or the signing of an acknowledged superstar will see HMS Liverpool continuing to sail with the international fleet. Although Toure, Mignolet, Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto are credible signings, their acquisition lacks the cachet of a Mkhitaryan, a Robert Lewandowski, or a Neymar. Liverpool FC are no longer a team basking in the glory of Istanbul – that can attract a Fernando Torres; we are a team that has stumbled through owners and managers to sit slightly above mid-table in a League we used to dominate.
In short, Fenway Sports Group need to splash some major cash in the transfer market in the near future. It is almost mandatory that they make a jaw dropping announcement of pursuing one of the top 20 transfer targets of 2013. Tiago Ilori, a current target, is an important ingredient in establishing momentum.
Being outmanoeuvred by Dortmund was an embarrassment and constituted a major blow to the credibility of one of the grand clubs of Europe. It cannot happen again. Whoever becomes our next target has to be signed, sealed and delivered, even if it means going all in.
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Gud article,suarez’ conversion rate is always disappointing..
Excellent report, spot on. It’s time to splash the big bucks and get the big names, big players, proven players. Hendon could have been fantastic, but oh well, he choose to go with the bubble bees!
In addition to the 4 signings we need two or three more. One to replace Suarez and couple more to reinforce mid-field and defence.
Also, I hope if at all possible to keep our future targets under the radar and not make a circus out of it like it happened with Hendo. And If we truly want them, pay extra and get them in Liverpool Red. As noted, go all in.
There’s some great arguments to a lot of points in the above comments, right or wrong?
I cannot understand however, that some of us, being the greatest fans in the world, still want rodent face in our team come next season?
We’ve stuck behind him through thick and thin and he’s brassing himself off to other clubs?
I don’t really give a monkeys what he gives to the team, or wether he scored plenty last season, he doesn’t want to wear our famous bird on his chest and doesn’t want to be part of (at last) an up and coming lfc team.
Get shot of him, everything we’ve done and all the unrest that this individual has already caused, £50 mil though, at least.
We’ve got a great transfer kitty with rhat, so onwards and upwards, then next season when we’re in the cl, lots of laughing.
Two fingers rat face judas, bye.
Dont agree . Suarez cant be blamed for wanting to play CL. he saved our seas last year and always gave 100%.
You should be venting your anger at useless players like Allen and Borini …not our best player who saved us last season from complete humiliation
Another genius piece of writing… Obviously thought yourself to be pretty intelligent with the poker analogy and all….
Firstly, buying players isn’t poker. By extension your suggesting – buy target at any cost or else we’ll look silly… Absolute nonsense. Every player has a price. you try to get them for under that price, and if you can’t get them at or under the price… it’s a big, big world out there with lots of good players.
The clear downside to this stupid analogy played out 2 years ago where Kenny identified his targets then went out and and paid 2 – 3 times the value for Downing, Henderson, Carrol, Adam etc.
The damage this stupid, moronic & irresponsible policy resulted in a great ‘poker position’ for everyone but Liverpool. Imagine Fulham rubbing their hands together last year when we came in for Dempsey…. “ah well if these fools have paid $20m for Downing, surely we can get that and more for Dempsey”… Not surprising the deal didn’t happen as we try to right the wrongs of the KD era and regain some of the credibility lost through this period.
Secondly. You say missing out on Mkhytarian is embarassing. By reports suggest that we didn’t even put an offer in. If we did, we offered what we though the correct value was and it wasn’t accepted. Move on… oh and it’s not like we lost out to Blackpool… it is the Champions League runners up… how embarassing.
Finally… ‘Splash the cash’… Wow u must have got a PHD in Business Management to come up with that… How many millions are you putting in to it? To use your stupid poker analogy – if you spend and keep losing then soon enough you’ll be out. And there’s plenty of clubs around Europe facing that exact future.
Am looking forward to the end of the transfer period. Am confident we’ll land a couple of rippers that won’t cost Andy Carroll money. What we’ve added to this point strengthens us but does little to our starting team other than maybe Aspas.
My god . You talk boll ocks. Go take a paracetamol and get a clue you dope
Thanks, everyone, for the effort you’ve put into some very well composed comments.
Moronic article.
Poker as an analogy to the transfer window… How clever. Guess what? in case you missed it, Kenny used your philosophy and all that got us was to pay 3 times the value of Carroll, Hendo, Downing, Adam etc….
Identifying your target then paying whatever the price isn’t clever, it’s moronic. It’s also cost us in future transfers as now when liverpool come knocking, the selling club thinks their Xmas’s have all come at once… See Dempsey last year.
As for Mkhytarian, We identified him and placed a value on him. Ultimately it was decided that the $ value placed on him was greater than the value he’d bring to the club, so move on to the next option. Most reports suggest we didn’t even bid for him so hardly embarassing… And good to see you think missing out on a foreign player to the champions league runners up is embarassing… absolute rubbish article.
Topped of with your harvard business degree strategy – splash the cash… Congratulations mate, you’ve just figured out that money buys players… now how about the plan to bing in money? To use your rediculous poker analogy, Europe is rife with clubs that have spent too heavily, gone all in and are now on the verge of bankruptcy. A painful reality of the world where real money exists not your monopoly make believe type.
Moronic comment . The guy who wrote it is devoid of intelligent thought
Comment of the day jack .well said sir
Not content with one lot of drivel , this dope writes ANOTHER one .aaaaaarrrggghhhh he is thick
We can’t seem to sign anyone without having to sell as well, the signings so far would be fine if we were to keep “Suarez” and not off-load players like “Shelvey” (for whome we do not have enough of these kind of no nonsense, roll their sleeves up, kind of players), our squad was paper thin anyway and to allow young, promising players to leave is ridiculous, esp if we are not going to sign proven, experienced internationals but instead young, under 21’s with no Premiership experience. So another season of re-building looks on the cards, and to be honest with our current owners I can see it being a regular thing, like at Arsenal, just hope I am wrong.
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