I agree that it'll take time to implement the strategy properly but that's the same with every footballing strategy really, even if we spent money on foreign players, they might not adapt to the culture, they might not adapt to the climate or premier league football itself. I'd actually say there's more risk attached to buying foreign players than there is with buying homegrown players that have already done the business in this league. What Kenny will have to ensure is that we don't go too far either way with our recruitment policy, we can't just recruit players based on their nationality and the fact that they speak English and were born in England, but we can't also afford to sign 3 or 4 foreigners for the first team that will take time to adapt to the football, culture and location. With any transfer strategy, balance is the key, you can't afford to sign world class stars in every position, but you can' afford to sign players that will "do a job" in every position either. A perfect example of this would be Dalglish' first time in charge of Liverpool, he signed Houghton on the right as a hard worker that would keep things simple and ensure Liverpool kept the ball while pressurising the opponents when they had the ball and generally being a nuisance, then you had Whelan who was, along with Houghton, the ones who kept the midfield balanced and were basically water carriers. With these two in midfield plugging the gaps it gave license to the likes of Barnes, Beardsley and McMahon to do as they please and bomb forward and give Aldridge the ammunition to score. Aldridge was like Carroll in a way, a target man that thrived off service into the box he wouldn't have looked any good without the right service, but Kenny got him the right service and Liverpool reaped the rewards. If Kenny can do that again, which is a tough ask, then we'll have a great chance of overtaking Arsenal & Spurs, and possibly the other 3 clubs if we get that little bit of luck along the way. I personally am extremely optimistic and can't wait for the new season to see how our team will operate and who we will be signing. Sorry about straying away from the original point but there was not much for me to add as you had most of it spot on, IMO.
the window doesn't open until July. Since FSG arrived we spent a pittance on players nett of in and out. I think we'll unload the chequebook come July 2nd. On foreign players with class. To date the yanks have barely opened the thing in real terms. I reckon they've stocked up on players who fill a quota spot for a decade and will now focus on the proper talent from abroad. They got the club cheap and can invest a lot more and still effectively come out even on their investment.
FSG are making an investment. By buying all the English talent at the 20 years old mark, they know that other teams in the league will then have to wait maybe 2/3 years until more English players reach the point of Henderson, giving us a monopoly on this generation of English talent. It means we can then pick and choose foreign players without worrying about homegrown once in the Champions League as well. More importantly though you can get more potential than you can get proven quality for the prices we are paying, and they will know whoever we buy will need to gel, so why not build for the long term? With the players we already have, 1 or 2 'proven' players plus the top potential could realistically get us back into the Champions League, and if they can do that then by the time we are back in Europe we will have a generation of driven young players on the up, which is better than a squad who has just given its best years getting us there. This is exactly why Chelsea are having to invest hugely this year, because they did not back potential and put faith in their coaching set-up.
Right, so who have Man United bought this year? Phil Jones. Who else are they looking to buy? Ashley Young. What nationality are they? English. Who have Arsenal bought this year? Nobody yet. Who have Chelsea bought this year? Torres and Luiz, at HUGE prices. Who have Man City bought this summer? Edin Dzeko at a HUGE price. And don't say 'well you're only counting this year', because you're counting only TWO players (both from this year) when you say we buy them at huge prices. How do two players make a transfer policy? What about Suarez?
I wouldn't say I disagree with him completely. I was asked if I thought Suarez was good. I think he is although I wouldn't class him in the same bracket as Torres yet ( I doubt you will like me sayting that ). Whilst pace is important it isn't everything. Last seasons top scorers.... Berbatov and Tevez ( hardly the fastest players around ).
Mornin' Eric. You're right, of course- pace is an asset, not a necessity. Some of the best players in history were not particularly fast- others run like a greyhound but cross like one. If pace is all you have you should stick to athletics. About Suarez. He has to continue the way he started in order to bear comparison to Torres- although I think he already contributes more to a team than Torres does if he's not scoring. The point is Suarez seems to be on the way up whereas El Nino Lloroso is in the doldrums. I expect Torres will probably come good again, but you never know. Utd supporters may not like this but you know Mickey is a pale shadow of the footballer he once was. If it wasn't for the reputation he built up at Liverpool no-one would give him a second thought. Injury did for him- it could do for the same for Torres To tie this in with the OP- teams have more reason to worry facing Suarez than they do facing 'Nando at the moment ( though I bet he still gives Vidic nightmares )
Suarez is one of those rare players that has an excellent record at every level he has played at, the only question was whether he could do to Premier League defences what he has done to Eredivisie and International defences. I think he has already shown enough to say yes he can, it is now a question of attitude and form, and the team getting the best out of him. Doubts remain over Charlie Adam as he did poorly in the SPL but has done well in the Championship and EPL. Suarez has no such black marks, which i think is why we fans are thinking we have a superstar on our hands. Also no idea why people think he's slow, his acceleration is very good and his overall pace is average for a forward, but still better than most defenders. His feet are so quick he has a couple of yards head start on most defenders by the time he starts to accelerate anyway. I find him an absolute joy to watch, and he alone has improved my enjoyment of match days significantly on top of every other reason. He clearly had other offers but pushed for a move to us, and also has lived in Holland for a few years, so i'm not too worried about the typical South American homesickness which seems to follow the best ones of late. Hard to panic over transfers too much when we have a full season of this guy under Kenny alongside his £35mil strike partner to look forward to.
He may not be in the same ''class'' as Torres as he's a completely different player.Torres is like Ian Rush,in that he could do sod all for 70 minutes and then when he gains half a yard on the last defender he explodes.Suarez is a different animal,He's always on the move,He doesn't stay in the one spot,He picks up positions to create space not only for himself but also for his team-mates.He may not have Torres pace or Henry pace but he makes up for that with his quick feet.He's also incredibly strong for someone of his size.Whereas Torres tends to lose a defender by accelerating,Suarez lets his feet do the talking and moreso takes the piss out of defenders.
Hiya KPR, Now as an oldie I'm going to say "how dare you even try and compare Torres with Rushie! Torres at his best was never in the same class as Rushie!!!!!" If you look at Rushie's career then you will find that he was one of the few forwards who learnt to develop and adapt his game. When Torres lost his pace he had very little to offer whereas Rushie increased his use of positional play and used those arround him to both score himself and create for others. No matter how good Torres was he could never claim that talismanic title - Rushie scores and Liverpool don't lose
He'll probably do both, but he seems more focused on homegrown English talent than most. I've got the impression so far that he's made a bee-line for all of the rising English stars, and he'll probably do much of the same (alongside signing foreign players). It does seem that he wants a team with a strong English spine running through it though - for whatever reason. Liverpool is the only team who have bought English players like this. Both Henderson and Carroll have barely played HALF a Premier League season each. Carroll played half of his very first EPL season, scored 11 goals and was snapped up for £35million, making him one of the most expensive strikers in history. Henderson played for most of his very first season, but despite only having a few top class games at the most, he was bought for £15-20million. These are really raw players going for huge sums of cash. Phil Jones = You guys were after him before Man Utd managed to get in, so it just proves my point even more. Ashley Young = He's had a few brilliant seasons now with 15 international appearances Torres = When he's on form he's one of the best strikers in the world, and has been for a while David Luiz = Had a few good seasons and then one consistently brilliant season with Benfica during 49 matches and 5 international appearances for Brazil Dzeko = Three superb seasons for Wolfsburg and 37 international apps Buying them is absolutely nothing like buying two very young English players for huge prices with barely a handful of top flight matches to their names. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but so far, it's a very different approach compared to other clubs. If Liverpool hadn't come in for those two, I highly doubt we would have seen either player go for such sums of cash this season. There was hardly a battle for either player, was there?
Very good comment. Although I would say that Carrol has looked good so far and its unfair to say that he hasn't lived up to expectations yet.
Can we thank you for your concern and we have noted your (repeated) comments. However you clearly do not understand the needs and the strategy of LFC. perhaps you should concentrate more upon the dire circumstances of your own side?
"We"? I couldn't give a **** about what YOU think and I don't think YOU represent anyone apart from yourself. Sorry champ, but I'll say what I like. And Newcastle's situation is far from dire. In fact, if things continue as they have done so far (signing three quality players in Ba, Cabaye and Marveaux), then we could have the strongest side we've had in a LONG time. All very exciting stuff. The quality of the squad has already improved considerably and we've only spent £5mill of the predicted £25-30mill. He's looked decent, but he still hasn't fully settled into the new side after consistently scoring so many at Newcastle. He might need time, or he might not be used to playing with a different team setup and style.
"We"? I couldn't give a **** about what YOU think and I don't think YOU represent anyone apart from yourself. Sorry champ, but I'll say what I like. When you talk crap about a topic that you don't understand then don't expect people not to comment negatively - grow up!
No one has commented negatively apart from you. Other people either agree, or they disagree, but they suggest their own points, which I completely respect. You just had a dig at Newcastle United for no real reason. I think you need to grow up. Either contribute to a discussion constructively, or go away. It's people like you who make it difficult to have an actual football discussion on a football forum .
Just to confirm... Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City may be worried Man Utd & Chelsea are not worried. Your team is much weaker than the one that finished 2nd in 2009. Hodgeson is much better that you claim. Hes a highly respected and reasonably successful manager who took Fulham to the Europa League final. His European record is probably better than Kennys. Ken has proved absolutely nothing so far. Hes won some games and lost others. The ones he has lost have been pretty damn important, Braga, Spurs.... Lets just wait til next season now, there is nothing to suggest Liverpool have improved enough to get top 4, certainly not enough to challenge for the title and Carroll and Suarez have not impressed much. Gerrard is getting worse every year aswell.
United have played their own share of that last season and plenty of it when they had posession in hte CL final, hoof to Rooney, Hoof to Hernandez Hoof hoof hoof, stones glass houses
Next season is going to be extremely tough. There are six good teams fighting for 4 places. Realistically, you've got to say that United, City & Chelsea are going to finish inside the top 4, which means you are going to have Arsenal, Spurs & 'Pool fighting for 4th spot. We will each make a good case for our respective teams, but the reality is that any of us are good enough to finish 4th.
The only actual fear, and there is little amongst clubs, the fear is that Liverpool will win the league, by United and Everton supporters, thats fear, doesn't mean it will happen, I mean there is fear of zombies, doesn't mean they#ll get you But yeah, if we were top with a couple of games to go, there would be a lot of ****ty pants in China
