While the customary fanfare and hysteria inevitably surrounded what was another dramatic deadline day, the Reds were uncharacteristically content following a busy summer of big spending. After years of asset stripping and squad depletion under the ownership of despised American duo Tom Hicks and George Gillett, our new owners FSG demonstrated why they are so different to their American compatriots. Not only did they keep their promise to support Dalglish in the transfer market, they invested heavily on adding both quality and quantity to the Reds' previously paper-thin squad, seemingly without a moment's hesitation.
Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli clearly drew up plans to fill problem positions preferably with young, British talent with the ability to fit into the first eleven immediately and the time to develop further and add lasting value and quality to the Reds' squad. They carried out this plan efficiently and with expertise and class.
Although already possessing a reasonably strong spine, Dalglish added depth, competition and quality to the centre of midfield by bringing in Jordan Henderson for £16 million from Steve Bruce's Sunderland and Charlie Adam for £8 million from recently relegated Blackpool. 21-year old Henderson provides versatility as he can play in the middle and on the right wing and also adds a dynamic spark at the heart of the team. Meanwhile, Charlie Adam has settled in swiftly, instantly looking at home alongside Lucas Leiva in midfield.
In fact, while the Brazilian has won over supporters and filled the gap left by Javier Mascherano, Adam appears to have the passing ability to replace the much-missed Xabi Alonso. With Steven Gerrard set to return to action soon, an exciting midfield triumvirate resembling the Mascherano-Alonso-Gerard axis is encouragingly beginning to develop.
Moreover, at centre back highly rated Uruguayan Sebastian Coates was signed on the final day of the transfer window for £7 million from Nacional. Following the sale of Kyrgiakos and Ayala and with Carragher ageing, Agger injury prone and Skrtel under-performing, 20-year old Coates, who was crowned young player of the tournament at the Copa America, will provide stern competition for his teammates in that position and could prove to be the long-term replacement for Jamie Carragher if he fulfils his considerable potential.
The left hand side has always been a problem area for the Reds and millions of pounds have been wasted attempting to rectify that problem, with the likes of Ryan Babel, Albert Riera and Harry Kewell failing to provide genuine width and crossing ability on the wing. Based on their first few appearances alone, Jose Enrique and Stewart Downing appear to have finally solved our long-standing lack of quality down the left wing after striking up a compelling relationship in the opening stages of the season.
Downing's pace and ability to ping in a cross with pinpoint accuracy is complemented by the defensive solidity of Enrique. The 25-year old Spaniard isn't shy of getting forward himself though, and looks to have the right blend of bold attacking play and sensible defensive work. This partnership should prove helpful in bringing out the best in Andy Carroll as well, as the tall Geordie forward will thrive on the service provided to him from the wings.
Alongside Carroll up front this season will be the considerably shorter Craig Bellamy, who completed a move back to Anfield on a free transfer late last night after he had originally left the club in 2007 following an ill-fated round of golf with John Arne Riise. With David Ngog completing a £4 million move to Bolton Wanderers, Dalglish needed another forward to provide cover for Carroll, Suarez and Kuyt and went for the Welsh striker on a free transfer from Manchester City, where he fell out with Italian boss Roberto Mancini.
Bellamy undoubtedly has ability and can produce some powerful, fiery and memorable performances. However, his infamous bad temper and tendency to fall out with managers and cause division in the dressing room is worrying. Paired unfavourably with the fact that he is 32 and past his peak, the wisdom of signing Bellamy can be reasonably questioned. Perhaps signing another younger striker to act as an understudy to Carroll, Suarez and Kuyt would have been more shrewd but also, of course, more expensive.
In total Liverpool spent around £57 million on Henderson, Adam, Enrique, Downing, Coates, Bellamy and Doni, who arrived from AS Roma to provide back up to Pepe Reina. Although this equals the amount spent on just two players (Carroll and Suarez) in the January transfer window, the need to sell and release players to recoup cash and lower the wage bill was obvious.
Thankfully, after initially spending big to ensure our main transfer targets joined early and enjoyed a full pre-season at their new club, the Reds set out to remove some of the excessive deadwood that had developed under Hicks and Gillett and has held us back ever since.
The much-maligned Paul Konchesky, who arrived for a ridiculous £5 million from Fulham just last summer, was sold to Sven Goran-Erikkson's Leicester City for a fraction of the price paid for him, while Milan Jovanovic, reportedly on an eye-watering £100,000 a week at Anfield, returned to Belgium to join Anderlecht and Christian Poulsen, another Hodgson flop, left to sign for little known Ligue 1 side Evian. Meanwhile, Gerardo Bruna, Chris Mavinga, Thomas Ince and Nabil El Zhar were allowed to leave for free and Philipp Degen's contract was terminated by mutual consent on the final day of the transfer window.
While these departures would have pleased Kopites, other transfers resulted in mixed feelings. The main culprits in this category were the loans of Aquilani to AC Milan, Cole to Lille and Pacheco to Athletico Madrid. Although all three have failed to live up their potential at Anfield for various reasons, many believed they deserved a second chance.
Ultimately though I can understand the logic behind each of the temporary departures. Aquilani was unlikely to feature due to the increased competition from expensive new signings in the middle while both Cole and Pacheco do not fit into our system of play. Although they may return to prove me wrong, it seems improbable that Dalglish will welcome them back next summer.
Moreover, Emiliano Insua's transfer to Sporting Lisbon left me disappointed as he originally showed such promise and potential, before suffering a horrendous loss of form during the second half of Benitez's final year in charge and never recovering. The arrival of Enrique signalled the end of the road for Insua and, although his failure to realise his potential at Liverpool is disappointing, it was time for both club and player to separate.
Frustratingly, for the second successive transfer window Chelsea signed one of our better players minutes before the deadline but, fortunately, once again Liverpool appear to have benefited most from the transfer. After failing to entice Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to sell the much-coveted Luka Modric, new Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas turned to Raul Meireles, who played under him at Porto before moving to Merseyside.
The Blues' original offer of £7 million plus ex Red Yossi Benayoun was rebuffed; with rumours suggesting Dalglish wanted Daniel Sturridge instead in a part-exchange deal. However, when Meireles handed in a transfer request half an hour before the deadline, a £12 million transfer fee was hastily agreed with Chelsea and the Portugese was on his way to Stamford Bridge.
Meireles was certainly impressive last year and demonstrated his talent with numerous goals from midfield, however he failed to start in any of our first three Premier League games and consequently worried that he would rarely play this campaign. Although his departure reduces the depth of quality in the centre of midfield, with Gerrard, Lucas, Adam, Henderson, Shelvey and Spearing all available the Reds have more than enough cover in that position and £12 million is a decent fee for a 28-year old with little sell-on value.
Overall though, it has been an encouraging summer of steady yet substantial progress. The squad has been strengthened massively, with an infusion of young, hungry players helping to substantiate the belief that Dalglish's red revolution can be successful in the long-term. Crucially, the majority of the deadwood has also, at long last, been removed.
And all with a net spend of just under £40 million!
YNWA
(Thanks to Mick Mackay from Red and Proud's Facebook page for providing the title to this piece)
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