Kenny Dalglish’s appointment as Liverpool FC manager was met with a mixture of relief and excitement following the disappointing reign of Roy Hodgson. While there were few fans against Kenny’s appointment, I don’t think any fan, pundit or player knew quite what approach he would take. Clearly in somewhat of a transitional period for Liverpool, the former striker would have to stamp his authority on the team quickly. With the added pressure that the spending power of Manchester City and the rise of a strong Tottenham side may leave them out of the ‘big four’ for several years to come, no-one questioned that big changes would be made this summer. The manner of these changes however should please the neutral and any fan of the England team.
With a team that has proven themselves to lack the quality to challenge for the league title in recent seasons, Dalglish has been brave and looked for English talent over foreign. Even with the full backing of the Liverpool board, Liverpool will not carry the financial clout of either Manchester clubs. Rather than look for cheaper alternatives elsewhere in Europe or South America, the club have bitten the bullet and paid the premium for English players. Not only were the price tags of the likes of Carroll (£35m), Downing (£20m) and Henderson (£16m) grossly inflated due to their nationality, but even keenest admirers would admit they are largely unproven at this level. By level, I do not mean the premiership as such, rather the pressure of playing in a team that expect to win every game and finish in the top four.
In some ways the signing of Downing is the most interesting of the deals so far. Liverpool fans have been crying out for wide players since what seems like the dawn of time and unsurprisingly this was made a priority this summer. Downing certainly fits the bill in terms of ability. He has the speed and technique to trouble defences and is comfortable on either wing, largely playing on the right flank last season. However he is what has been labelled a ‘confidence player’. When things aren’t going Downing’s way, he has a tendency to hide and turn down opportunities to drive at the opposing full back.
His mentality suits that of a big fish in a small pond. He was outstanding in very average Middleborough team for years and yet was abysmal in an England shirt. Similarly many could argue that he only found his best form when Aston Villa faltered last season and lost key men to injury. At Liverpool he won’t be afforded the luxury of a guaranteed first team place if he loses form and I fear the pressure on him to hit the ground running this season may weigh him down. A very good player, but £20 million elsewhere may have bought Liverpool a safer bet.
It’s not only English but British players that Dalglish has favoured. In signing Charlie Adam for £7million from relegated Blackpool, Kenny showed the faith once more. Looking to add some quality passers to the Liverpool central midfield is no bad idea but does Adam really have the same pedigree as what is already there? He’ll be sharing the spotlight with Brazilian international Lucas and Portuguese star Raul Meireles, not to mention club legend Steven Gerrard. Furthermore, the lack of rumours linking the club to defenders is telling. The aging Jamie Carragher will be trusted to shepherd the defence once more while the talented but young Martin Kelly looks set to play a big role.
Kenny Dalglish’s transfer policy has been big, brave and British. The players he has brought in have shown promise that they can genuinely contribute to Liverpool’s success but only that and they certainly weren’t cheap. His gamble could easily backfire but I think deep down most neutrals will hope it doesn’t. Liverpool’s transfer policy is much more worthy and principled than that of Manchester City or even perhaps Arsene Wenger’s. Lets face it, if the coming season doesn’t work out for Liverpool it’s not just bad news for their fans but England fans too.
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The last time Kenny was in charge he brought 4 or 5 British players and they as a team totally dominated the league. Hopefully history will repeat and long live the king. YNWA
What a load of bollocks. How do you know his mentality suits big fish in a small pond. He hasn’t been in a big pond according to you (and I’m sure there are villa fans who would argue with you about that). It’s like saying any player won’t make it unless they only play at a high level immediately. same could be said of Sterling – he’s a big fish in the small pond that is the youth team. Surely you should wait until a player fails before you call them a failure. This attitude is growing at Liverpool and it’s getting tiring.
I’m an Aston Villa season ticket holder and I’m a big fan of Downings. However he does go back into his shell at times and he had a slow start to his time at Villa. And at Liverpool he will be under greater pressure to perform. I think the England national team was the ‘big pond’ I was talking about and he was disappointing for several years for England. But I agree that in club football he is worth backing at a big club and thats why I’m glad Kenny has gone for him., but its risky. Im not saying he’ll be a failure, I apologise if thats how it came across.
Josh it’s a fair point. I couldn’t argue with you over him going into his shell as you have watched him more times than me. However Kenny could be the man that prevents him being in that shell for too long, he has a reputation for giving players am abundance of confidence. So if it’s true, maybe he could be coming to the right place. £20m may seem a lot but a footballers value is not set like that of car where they a have suggested retail value, it’s way more complicated than that, ultimately his true worth will be determined by the goal scoring chances he supplies for Andy Carroll, if they are in abundance and we finish top four then £20m may look very decent come next May.
Dalglish is a thouroughbred, when he took over last year he used the same players to comprehensively beat Chelsea, with Man U the main change was Suarez and with Man City we had Suarez and Carrol. The purchase of key players and the emmergence of good youngsters will light up Liverpool’s tomorrow. Suddenly there is serious competition for places, players will have to play out of their skin to get and keep their place. I don’t know the set up but I fancy the following from the players that we have bought; Reina, Kelly, Carragher, Agger, Johnson, Gerard, Adam, Aqualani, Downing, Suarez and Kuyt. I have chosen Kuyt over Carrol over current form and also believe he had a better partnership with Suarez, If we get a recognised left back, I would move Johnson over to the right, Kelly to play with Agger and drop Carra. Not sure how we accomodate Henderson, Mierreles, Spearing, Lucas (still not a fan of his) but do see the passing of Adam and Aqualani, to get Gerard, Downing and Suarez to create the magic and lots of goals.
I don’t know why people keep leaving lucas out of the team. Know this the only way we can keep big and better attacking team at bay is by playing a solid 4 which no one in our team now can do better than lucas. Example. Makelele in Madrid and Chelsea, Viera in Arsenal.
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