Another lie from the mouth of Tom Hicks was as inevitable as the over-hyped Sky Sports News Bonanza on transfer deadline day. It seems to have been an age since Tom Hicks promised a "big" summer for Liverpool back in January of this year and, with all of the media attention focusing on the managerial (and ownership) merry go-round at Anfield, most supporters had forgotten all about yet another unfulfilled promise from the Texan cowboy.
Stories of Joe Cole, Roy Hodgson and Kenny Huang splashed across the back-pages of most national newspapers distracted supporters and media-men alike as Liverpool once again failed to properly invest and build up a thin-looking squad during what could prove to be a pivotal transfer window.
Whilst the overall picture should only worsen fears that we are going backwards and not forwards, there remain a few positives to take from the summer period.
Firstly, whilst I, along with many other supporters, was disappointed to see Rafa Benitez leave Liverpool, I believe that Roy Hodgson is an adequate replacement for the Spaniard.
The vastly experienced Hodgson has managed to steady the ship by ensuring that our star players, with the notable exception of Javier Mascherano, remained at the club.
Gerrard, Torres, Reina and Kuyt were all heavily linked with moves away from the Merseysiders, however new manager Hodgson has impressed the quartet enough for them to commit their long-term futures to the club, providing everyone connected with the club a clear and obvious lift.
Moreover, as an Englishman coaching one of the best teams in the country, Hodgson clearly has the backing of the media. Whilst this period of grace will eventually end if results deteriorate, the lack of media pressure is certainly a pleasant change to the hype that surrounded every fixture last season.
In fact, Liverpool have even received support from some sections of the media, which was unheard of under former manager Rafael Benitez.
In relation to specific purchases, I am incredibly impressed by the hard-working Milan Jovanovic, who could prove to be a valuable asset down the left hand side.
Also, despite a disappointing start, which included a sending off, a missed penalty and a driving ban, I am delighted at the signing of Joe Cole. He is a wonderful player, who can unlock tight defences and thrill the Kop with moments of magic to savour.
Promising youngsters Danny Wilson and Jonjo Shelvey have also arrived at Anfield over the summer, which has helped provide more real potential for the future, complementing the healthy amount of youngsters already at the club.
Raul Meireles is another quality player who I cannot wait to see in a Red shirt, and Christian Poulsen appears to be a steady presence in the midfield, however the failure to sign a top-quality back up for Fernando Torres could come back to haunt us yet again this season.
Liverpool were linked with almost every forward this side of the moon, and yet the window slammed shut with no new striker arriving. Carlton Cole was the most likely to be signed, however I am glad that he hasn't as Cole clearly doesn't have the ability needed to survive, let alone thrive at a top club.
Ryan Babel hasn't exactly impressed during his time at Anfield either, but I would much prefer to have the relatively young Dutchman at the club with time to develop in his favourite position then England's sixth choice 26 year old front-man.
While we may have dodged a bullet by avoiding the purchase of Carlton Cole, the failure to sign another recognised striker really leaves us short up front. Babel and Ngog are both good players on their day, however they are not able to fill Torres' admittedly considerable boots on a regular basis.
Hodgson has not only spent his summer attempting to buy quality "home-grown" players. He has also successfully offloaded several players who had no future at Anfield. Albert Riera, Philip Degen and Diego Cavalieri all departed this summer, removing some of the deadwood, however talented players like Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun, Emiliano Insua and Alberto Aquilani were also allowed to leave.
Both Insua and Aquilani have only left on loan, however it is clear that they have little to no chance of featuring in the new boss' plans at any point in the future.
This is disappointing as Insua has bags full of potential, despite him having a nightmare campaign last season, where he was over-worked and suffering from the enormous pressure that comes from playing in a struggling Liverpool side.
The signing of Fabio Aurelio and Paul Konchesky compensates for the loss of Insua in the short term, however neither player has the same amount of potential as the young Argentine full-back.
Aquilani also deserved an extra year to prove himself after an injury-ravaged season last time out, however, with the arrival of both Christian Poulsen and Raul Meireles, we have more than enough cover in the central midfield positions.
The sale of Yossi Benayoun also disappointed me at the time, however we now have sufficient cover on the wings in the shape of Milan Jovanovic and Joe Cole. If Yossi wants to sit on the bench for ridiculous money at Stamford Bridge then so be it.
He clearly didn't have the heart to play for Liverpool any longer.
The same applies to South American mercenary Mascherano, who somewhat strangely left for Barcelona in order to be "closer to home" for his wife and kids. Mascherano is a brilliant footballer but I am glad to see the back of him. No individual is bigger than the club, and we will cope without the discontented Argentine dampening the mood in the dressing room.
This summer could be seen as a period of progress. Although some top players have left, other relatively inexpensive quality performers have arrived. We have also managed to get rid of some of the deadwood that was reducing the overall quality of the squad.
However, this worrying fact remains. Liverpool have made a profit for the fourth successive transfer window. Yes, the country's most successful football side has made money on transfer dealings once again and the reality is that you cannot compete in the Premier League unless you have buckets of cash to spend.
Look at Chelsea, Tottenham and City. None of them were even considered to be title contenders until they spent unreal amounts of money. Unfortunately, neither will Liverpool until the parasites ruining our club have left.
Perhaps more frighteningly, we have failed to fill all 25 places in our Premier League squad for this season. Whilst Manchester City fret about which world class player to leave in the stands for a season, we are left four players short of a complete squad.
The root cause of this mess that we are in are the liars in the boardroom. We should not be surprised at another "small" transfer period at Liverpool. We should not be surprised at the lack of world-class players in our team, and we should not be surprised at our paper-thin squad.
Nothing's going to change until we run the liars out of the boardroom, and we start being run like the fantastic football club that we are, not the under-achieving sports "franchise" that the yanks have made us.
YNWA
No comments:
Post a Comment