I know this has been debated before but it is quiet so why not. If Pardew or Bruce had brought Carol and Henderson in from lets say Everton and Liverpool for 55 mil, what would you be thinking? I know they are young and English and I know all about that word potential but can anyone give a good reason for 55 mil for the pair? Carol looked a good striker at Newcastle but he had played a handful of premier games, was still raw, good buy but not a 35 mil buy. Hendo had more premier experience and I know he was fantastic because everyone told me he was, I never quite saw it and I heard lots of drop him Bruce in his last season with us. I actually think its unfair on the two of them to be lumped with their price tags and could destroy them because of it. Iâm sure that when Ashley and Short got the call saying,âSorry to disturb you boss but we have had an offer ofâ, their first words were not,âLet me have time to think about itâ. But hey, we know we are mere fans, we know nowt and Dagleish is a very experienced footballer and manager so he must have seen something, or was it a rush of blood. Newcastle fans can speak for Pardew but if Bruce ad paid out 55 mil for them I would be questioning his judgment and Quinns sanity.
Inflated prices for English players.... £55m is ridiculous, but when considering they got £50m for a Spanish donkey, i guess it evens itself out.
Change the scenarios a bit though. Carrol played for Blackpool (they came up with the toon) Carrol gets an England cap or 2 and does look like a right handful. Typical English # 9 We sell Bent for whatever reasons for 50 milion. (I know we only got 24 but they did sell Torres for 50) We are desperate for a striker, but we have Gyan so we need a big bloke (which is what Quinn said at the time) Holloway says Carrol is worth XX amount as if they stay up, they will get XX amount (in this case 35 million) They hold out till the last dy of the transfer window, and January at that. We pay it. We would probably say, very good business at the time, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but he may still come good yet. Then we use the rest of it to buy another England International, who everyone is raving about, midfielder, so he will learn from Gerrard. (ok we havnt got Gerrard, but you know what i mean) again good business, get 2 present/future England internationals, for the price we got for 1 England international (Ok theirs was Spain, and atm he is crap anyway, so its a good move for liverpool imho)
Carroll is a poor acquisition for Liverpool, because he doesn't suit their system. He's a powerhouse and Liverpool just don't need that in their set up. Carroll would do well at Spurs, he'd basically be a better version of Peter Crouch. If Liverpool are going to spend £35m on a striker they should be looking to build a team around him, instead they spent £40m combined on Shooter Downing and Jordan Henderson. What a complete waste of money. When there's an ideal chance for Carroll to get in the box and smash one in with his pony tail, Downing or Henderson are gonna try a shot and stick it into row Z. Henderson is one of the worst CM "up and coming wonderkid, youngster" I have ever seen, it really makes me wonder how much Cleverley and Wilshere are worth if that kid has a £20m price tag around his neck.
I can speak for Pardew. There would never been 5 mio to spend, let alone 35. I think it's too early to judge Carroll, but agree their style doesn't suit him, it will probably have to be changed. Gerrard returning will probably help Carroll. Also Enrique will put balls on his head. I think Hendo will be the one to miss out when Gerrard returns. Kuyt/Downing on their wings, gerrad Lucas in the middle, Suarez behind Caroll. I don't understand how Kuyt is being left out. He's been their best player for the past 5 years running. it's an insult. Like ManU leaving out Rooney or Chelsea leaving out Lamps.
Also I don't see why Liverpool got Henderson, they needed a center half. They shoulda have gone and got Cahill for some of the Hendo money. Skrtel and Agger are decent players, but neither of them have been able to nail down a place alongside Carra down the years. liverpool haven't had a solid centreback partnership since Hyppia left.
Being a Sunderland fan I would love to see Hendo come through but hand on heart I just dont see it. At Sunderland he was a local lad made good and could get away with a lot. He is now a 20 mil superstar and wont be given loads of time to prove himself.
It is OTT but in reality they got 2 players who are Englnd Internationals, and have the potential to be 2 bloody good players, for the next 10 years in their side, for a total spend of £5mil (or £1 mil if Henderson was £16 million), not a bad bit of business if you ask me, the suckers in this (at this moment in time) are Chelsea, Torres may never come good, but he may storm to 30 goals this season, you just never know.
Kenny out...... Seriously doubt anyone here has more football knowledge than KD, no matter what we think. Plus they bought them because....they can, were trying to justify a few £m here and there, and they are making statements, just like City.
Hendo might work out there as a foil to Gerrard. I remember a time when every kid in Scotland was trying to play like Jimmy Baxter - except one. Bobby Evans of Celtic was exactly the opposite - the anonymous, quietly efficient grafter. And suddenly Scotland had the perfect pairing - when Jimmy went off on one of his brilliant runs, Bobby slotted in right behind him and there were no gaps left. Gerrard does like to drift forward and Henderson doesn't know what the word 'attack' means. It might work out. It certainly worked out for Sunderland If I could have Hendo for £16m or Larsson, Gardner and Vaughan for less, I know which I'd pick.
How do you work that out ? Liverpool have used Henderson soley on the right wing so far this season, Gerrard will go straight into central midfield, Mr Hendersons problem will always be convincing the Kopites to favour him above Kuyt, a struggle he l never win unfortunatley
It sounds awful and I hate talking negatively about a lad who loves Sunderland like hendo, but what does he offer? Potential? But potential to do what? I just can't justify his price tag and wouldn't pick him in sunderlands current team if he was still here. Just my opinion of course!
Kuyt is 31, personally I see Henderson as a ready made replacement for him. A workhorse, who will look to make the pass and keep the ball going - unfortunately Henderson just doesn't have that killer instinct that Kuyt has just yet. Kuyt is a workhorse, but he knows where to run too, Henderson is more of a run around for the sake of it type of player. Henderson will do well, but he needs to get some gametime and a bit more experience behind him. His main attribute over Kuyt is his athleticism and skill; if he can combine those with a real working attitude then I can see him being brilliant for us. He just needs to change a bit. Carroll also has brilliant potential, but it'll never be realised if we resort to changing tactics whenever he's on the pitch. He needs to be seen as a poacher more than a Target man because the defenders are all over him like a rash, and he can never reach the ball. If Carroll could improve his pace, and Henderson could improve his vision then it'll be £55m well spent. The only downside is, these are 2 players for the future and we will have to wait a couple of years to see them fulfill their potential; I just hope over the next 2 years we don't stumble and fail to reach the top 4, otherwise it'll be a waste.
£35m for Carroll (Potential if he stays of the piss) - bloody hell if they are willing to pay that snap their hands off £20m for Henderson (Potential) - bloody hell if they are willing to pay that snap their hands off (personally I didn't rate Jordan that highly, excellent business for SAFC). When you compare it to Barcelona paying £35m?? for Fabregas I know who I would rather spend that money on.. I think both Sunderland & Gnucastle did excellent business.
and I suppose its your opinion that counts because its your club that spent the cash, still happy from our end mind
Id say 5 or so games in was too soon to judge due to the turnover of players at Liverpool, Adam, Downing, Hendo, Carroll etc. all need time. Personally i think Suarez and Carroll seem like a good big/little combo and I can certainly see the pony tailed pisshead getting his fair share as long as he gets decent delivery from Downing/Hendo which they are more then capable of doing.
Ze Liverbird - you rated Henderson and Carroll's signings as 3 out of 10 on your own board whilst I was glancing over there the other day. Now our fans got slated for getting on Henderson's back - how is rating a young player at 3/10 not effectively the same?? Your fans got on his back at Stoke after he missed 3 one on one's in 15 seconds!! I personally think that Henderson and Carroll could have been good players if brought through correctly. But the price tags on their heads I think may ruin them. EDIT: Can I also just say - I have seen a large number of crosses land on Carroll's head that he would have burst the net with for Newcastle - but he's fluffed his lines almost every time with Liverpool
i agree apone, Henderson would definately not get in our team at present and would also be behind Colback in the pecking order imo
