BRENDAN Rodgers has already made his intentions of challenging for the top four clear by signing four players so far, and the squad already has more depth as compared to last season.
The capture of the highly rated Henrikh Mkhitaryan would have made this one of the best transfer windows in recent years, however Mkhitaryan is now a Borrusia Dortmund player and that is a big blow to Liverpool FC fans.
For weeks it looked like Mkhitaryan was on his way to Anfield only for Dortmund to come with the offer of Champions League football and take the young midfielder away from Liverpool’s grasp.
The failure to land Mkhitaryan’s signature has not gone down well amongst the Liverpool fans who want a marquee signing. Some are already pressing the panic button and pointing out the acquisitions being made by the likes of Swansea, West Bromwich Albion and Southampton as a cause for concern. That coupled with the fact that there are few quality players left in the market represents a big blow to the Anfield faithful.
Mkhitaryan would have significantly improved our chances for a top four finish and at 24 years of age would have been an important component in our task of reclaiming the glory days, however that does not mean we have to start getting worried about our future prospects.
We are only a couple of weeks into the transfer window there is still time to make one big signing. I’m sure Brendan Rodgers and his team have many alternatives in case something doesn’t go well.
Christian Eriksen a player who has been linked to us is still available, his representative Martin Schoots claims there is an ongoing dialogue with several clubs who could be interested in signing the Ajax attacking midfielder; the Reds are rumoured to be among those sides. Eriksen is not yet on the same level as Mkhitaryan but comes with massive potential and is seen as one of the best young midfielders in Europe. He also would come at a cheaper price as he only has one year left on his contract.
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Philippe Coutinho who last season played most of his games wide on the left is more suited to an attacking central midfield role as seen in the last few games of the 2012-2013. Coutinho is at his most devastating when he is coming down the middle and he would probably like to have a run of games in that position; something he would not have had if Mkhitaryan had been signed.
Jordan Henderson is also another player whose opportunities would have been limited as a result of the Armenian international’s move to Anfield, next season but now he has the opportunity to establish himself in the Reds starting XI. He is continuously improving and will want to make the attacking midfield position his own.
How the failure to sign Mkhitaryan is felt is also largely dependent on whether Luis Suarez will still be a Liverpool player come the end of the transfer window in August. Suarez is a world class forward and with Coutinho playing alongside him in Rodgers’ favoured front three he is bound to improve on his 2102-2013 total of 30 goals. Failing to retain the services of Suarez coupled with the failure to sign Mkhitaryan will represent a big blow to the club’s preparations for the 2013- 2014 season.
We may have failed to buy Mkhitaryan , but all is not lost as there is still time to get that marquee signing we long for and if we fail to get the right player in the market we still have great players who can fill the attacking midfield role that Mkhitaryan would have occupied.
If the club do their business in the right manner we can quickly move on from the disappointment and look forward to a new chapter in Liverpool FC’s history.
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Imagine if we sign eriksen,ilori and bernard what squad will we have!
I sympathize with what you’ve said Steven but……we need to stop dreaming and become ruthless and severely ambitious is our pursuits. Nothing else would work.
I want lfc to bring back xabi alonso
Yeah… we should sign bernad.. then we can see coutinho`s magic n what coutinho is all about…
Get Bernad now…or else!
I’m fed up with all this! Surez will go ‘cos FSG will get a profit on him and that’s how they do business. He will not get properly replaced because we’ll get someone ‘with potential’. Thus giving FSG another free transfer window. We can’t attract, nor will buy, a top pro, that’s where we are. Sorry truth hurts.
Its sad to admit, but you are right, its a pattern that keeps occurring again and again, a lot of fans have noticed this.
All is not lost IF we sign some top players but fsg have shown they are incompetent and tight
LFC owners are not yet serieous!
They are serious about making money , they dont give a f++k about LFC
Get Eriksen, Bernard, Toby, Llori, Sissoko, (we still need cover for Lucas), keep Suarez for one more season (agree to let him go where he wants after this time for the right price). Get the deals done quickly with as little stalling as possible and not waiting too long or paying way over the price. We also can move Aspas and Alberto into other positions allowing Coutiniho to play where he is most effective.
Lol if they wanted to make money why would you buy liverpool they not making anything and they never will. What a stupid comment!
Lol. They bought Liverpool for just over 300 million. It was valued at 850 million. Liverpool make hundreds of millions every year in merchandise and sponsorships alone.
True.
All i can say is that author Nkanyiso Dube is dumber than a pile of rocks. It is deluded fans like you that are setting Liverpool back. I don’t know what rock you have been living under for the last couple of years but you are certainly not in touch with reality. As i read your article i had this urge to drown the pain that i got from reading your terrible article with a lot of alcohol. It is the only way to numb the pain.
First of all Brendan Rodgers has done nothing by way of challenging for a top 4 finish by his fast purchase of 4 players. If any thing the purchase of Simon Mignolet, is the one whose signing was most pressing. There is no doubt that there need to be better competition for goal keeping starting jobs. Toure, Aspas, Alberto were all brought in to add more depth to the team. None of these players are considered game changers by any stretch of the imagination. The one signing that really mattered was that of Henrikh Mkhitaryan. He scored more goals than everybody on the Liverpool team except Suarez last season. He scored 25 times i don’t think any of our guys you speak so highly about can repeat that feat.
Funny how you say that is a good thing we don’t have Henrikh Mkhitaryan because it means that Henderson will continue to play in his favorite position. You also say that it is a good thing because Henderson will “establish himself” as you put it which he couldn’t have if Mkhitaryan were signed. I don’t know what you are drinking Mr Dube but you need to put that bottle down. Henderson has only been at Liverpool for about 2 full seasons right now and if he hasn’t established himself right now the chances are he might not ever really fully establish himself. Coutinho seemed to have no trouble establishing himself even though he has been at the club for shorter time while not even playing at his natural position. Some players are just born with talent while others try to learn it. It never really works out if you have to learn it.
Finally i will end my rant by stating that for Liverpool to challenge for a top 4 position next season we need to buy creative type players of the same class of Henrikh Mkhitaryan. These players are game changers and it is them who you want to have the ball at their feet when the game is on the line. Suarez was our go to man last season and he may not be around. We need other players who are just as creative if not more. So unless you are not serous of winning a trophy with Liverpool before Stephen Gerrard hangs up his boots then we can just stick with an average squad playing an average game.
Your spot on . Well said mate
i’m not saying it is good that we have lost mkhitaryan but i’m saying we can take some positives out of it,for everything negative there is a positive force,there is still time to make a marquee signing,as Rodgers has said we have made improvements to the squad we are now going to make improvements to the starting 11
As Rodgers said ? How can u believe a word out of thst wafflers mouth ?
For every negative there is NOT always a positive ? That’s bull . Stop trying to put a silly ‘positive’ spin on everything . That’s what Rodgers does – that’s why most fans hate him
I know its one of the main reasons I have struggled to take to Rodgers, I can’t stand politicians and folk who talk like them and that’s the impression I get everytime I see Rodgers talking, the pathetic “being Liverpool” didn’t help either.
We do not yet know if the signings have “improved the squad”, lets hope so, but if we are to improve he squad we need to stop selling young players with potential, we need to be able to mix it up and battle physical teams, we should not be selling the Shelveys of this world imo. they offer something different to the average Rodgers style player.
Excellent comment, a bit of realism is needed, and you provided it.
@chibuzo Akobundu,i can see only you make sense. I thumb it up.
When football has been view as buiness.. we ll sufer for at least twenty years….
Yes but can we honestly say that the four players we have signed so far will improve the starting eleven, esp if Suarez is to go, I had never even heard of “Alberto” and “Aspas” if I am honest, and I bet a few others hadn’t either. Where are the big players that are going to fire us to top four, they have to have the quality to be able to do so, its not just about having a squad, we need the best starting eleven in the premiership in order to win it, surely Rodgers knows this, besides, we are selling players who offer something different IE….Carroll and Shelvey for example, and replacing them with players whose style is all the same, that’s all very well, until we need to change tact if a game is going nowhere.
br signed kolo??????;;;? exchanged allen with 9mil+shelvy, didnt buy henrick. for those who think fsg is tight fisted nd not listening to the coach, he wanted allen nd sturridge(15 million apiece) (both werent worth it when we bought them but sturidge is making up) my point is that if he (br) realy wants any player, fsg wld give him the money. we ve bought mig 10-12mil, why didnt we go for ceaser for less or sketelenburg who (fulham) bought for way less.
If Suarez is kept at club then i think these Seven players / Four defensive players and Three attacking should be brought in to make club top 4 challengers for sure to help take the three attacking players should help take the pressure of Suarez and Coutinho.
And Reina is shipped out/sold to either Arsenal, Barcelona or Napoli for £10-£12M
Four Class quality Defensive players:
1: GK: A Mccarthy(23) Of Reading for £3-£7M to compete with Mignolet
2: CB: K Papadopolous(21) Of Schalke for £12-£15M to compete with Skrtel
2: LB: A Cissokho(25) Of Lyon for £3-£5M to compete with Enrique
3: DM: E Capoue(24) Of Toulouse for £7-£10M to compete with LUCAS
Three Class quality attacking players :
1: AM: I Munian(20) Of A Bilbao for £10-£14M to compete with Alberto and Coutinho
2: RW / RWF: C Tello(21) Of Barcelona in swap deal with P Reina and £2M Cash to compete with Sterling
3: LW / LWF: Bernard(20) Of Athletico Minero Or Diego Capel Of Sporting Clube De Portugal/ Lisbon for £4-£17M to compete with IBE
If Suarez is kept at club and those 7 players are brought in this summer, then we would definately be top 4 class and calibre this season and even have a go for the title. Those 7 players plus L Suarez and Coutinho would make our squad very strong and get the club back amongst the top again