In my opinion thus far Liverpool has certainly made the wrong signings. Whilst I applaud the criterion set by FSG and King Kenny for wanting to buy top young British talent, I personally would have and still would buy differently. The positions where Liverpool certainly needed strengthening were the wide areas. What has been endemic within Liverpool sides of the past decade is the lack of width and creativity in the wide areas to help break down teams of lesser stature, often forcing us to play narrow and rely on the exploits of Steven Gerrard and “Judas” Torres.
As well as addressing both wide areas, I felt Liverpool certainly needed a left back, as this position has plagued the club with no real reliable left-back since John Arne Riise departed from the club under Rafa Benitez’s watch. These three positions were what needed to be immediately prioritised for the club. Now given the scope that the players had to be young and British with a greater sell-on value, personally I would have gone for Adam Johnson of Manchester City and Aaron Lennon due to the youthfulness and talent that they possess. Given that we have been throwing silly money away, a tempting offer may well have prised these two much sought after commodities.
The left-back solution is somewhat of a predicament when seeking young English talent. Whilst there is Kieran Gibbs and Ryan Bertrand of Chelsea, both who seem set to have bright futures, realistically speaking, one would not have been able to buy them. Gibbs is likely to fill the void left at Arsenal by Gael Clichy and Bertrand has only recently signed a new contract at Chelsea, tying him down to the West London club for five years.
Had the scope been widened to foreign players, without hesitation I’d have bought Juan Mata to play on the left, Ibrahim Afellay to play on the right and Aly Cissokho at left back. They probably would have cost far less than the players we have brought thus far, due to the lack of inflation in foreign markets compared to the English one.
The players who have been brought thus far in essence are not required. With Lucas coming on bundles, Jay Spearing proving himself in the holding role last year, we have central midfielders in abundance, not to mention with the added quality of seasoned internationals such as Raul Meireles and Alberto Aquilani who has without doubt been the standout performer during pre-season. Talk of him being sold is ludicrous in my eyes. Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adams are both central midfielders and Stewart Downing at best is premiership class who is twenty seven years old. A pale in comparison compared to Adam Johnson who is more direct, dynamic and affective in the wide areas, not to mention younger.
Two other areas which may need strengthening but are not an important priority are centre-back and up front. Every team needs four top strikers; we only have three thus far. If pre-season has exposed anything it has been our frail defence, which has leaked an average of three goals a game. With Carragher aging, Agger still injury prone, Skrtel and Kyrigakos about as subtle as wrecking balls in a glass-house, somebody composed and reliable is required. Scott Dann in my opinion would be the ideal option for three reasons. His composure on the ball is second to none, his aerial ability interspersed with his timed tackles make him a complete defender and finally the boy’s a lifelong Liverpool fan. Who better to replace the great “Carra” than a lad who could quite possibly become a legendary centre back for Liverpool in his own right?
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Usual rubbish from you
lol and the usual pathetic response from you, which clarifies nothing. Go shine some shoes or something. good lad.
you dont get any better at being a pundit do you.
Why liverpool to rectify. Have you not seen chelsea zero transfer activity on a free fall with a 30yr old manager and a Liverpool reject striker. Arsenal cant hang on to what they have, let alone buy anyone decent.
I think Liverpool will be just fine with what they have thank you. See you in may. Be interesting to hear what you have to say then. probably forget what your writing now and claim you new they would come good.
I don’t care about Chelsea and I don’t care about Arsenal. And Torress ain’t a reject he’s a world class triker who will come good, he has too much quality for you to suggets otherwise. And I will see you in May. This was a great opportunity to buy wisely and correctly, which could have led us to mount a challenge for a title. But instead like most people you’ll settle for a top 4 position, which is not the Liverpool way.
Thank god you are not the manager!
Again no opinion being projected, Come on debate me, tell me what’s wrong and I’ll put you on the straight and narrow.
You talk without foundation. You state that Mata would cost less than downing, I think not, Mata himself said he would sort his future out after the Euro’s. Now Valencia have said he is not for sale, since then they have indicated that his price has gone up by £10m because it is near the start of the season.
Therefore, for Mata to be ‘cheaper’, than Downing, he would have to have been available at £10m after the Euro’s. More like £20m then, £30m now.
I for one think you have focused on the original prices quoted by the media, they made out that Henderson was £20m, now they say £16m.
Clichy, would not have moved to Liverpool when Man City, as they offered better wages. Man City will not sell Johnson to a team who is in the top half of the league. The same applies to Lennon aswell.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree with some of your suggestions, Scott Dann would be perfect, Cissoko would mean a balance between him and Johnson, both attacking full backs.
What I feel you failed to acknowledge is Kenny’s thought process. Going into the new season without Gerrard and Suarez for the first few games, and with doubt over Mereiles and Aquilani staying.
Kenny has sought to bring in enough midfielders to make sure we are ready, midfielders who have premier league experience.
He has collected a bunch of players who can be chopped and changed into various formations accordingly.
I for one will be excited to see our first game, stop criticizing.
According to Guillem, Spanish pundit, Arsenal could have put in a bid for 22 million euros which would have activated a clause before last week in his contract, though for some reason they lodged the bid late. So Mata would have been cheaper, not only would he have been a few hundred thousand quid cheaper, he;s younger and highly sought after. And yes i did concentrate on the orignial prices at the time, not what they are ow because he is on higher pay, Hence why i said how i would rectify the signings.
and kenny’s thought process does baffle me. we need quality in the wide areas, not the middle. so why waste 30 odd mill on henderson and adams when you got meirles and aquilani? and we seen it before under rafa, chopping and changing through the rotation system hinders teams more than benefits them.
Can’t agree with your Rafa statement… You’ve lost me there mate your on your own now! Lol
what rafa statement?
dont you remember when rafa was constantly rotating the team?
you sugested a wide player who is more direct than downing (Adams) but he isnt available (slight problem) you also sugested mata however he isnt particularly direct. he isnt an out and out winger, he cuts in and gets involved inside. his club are also suggesting 22M plus for him.
yea we need a left back but cissokho is unproven and would cost alot to get him.
lennon is a head down player who has struggled getting into the spurs team. doubt he is a solution for us.
2 are foreign and would not solve our british quota that will inevitably come in. (mata and cissokho) thats why there is a premium on british players and thats partly why we have invested in them. if you think british players are a premium now then wait 3 years and see their price go up even more.
we need a full back, a decent cb and stiker cover.
loose polson, spearing on loan, el zhar, deggen, cole and we will be in a health position.
I was gonna blast this clueless self hyped pompous ass…but u beat me to it. Seems like everyone else but Kenny knows what formation to play in and what style and consequently what players to fit in. Just bcos the author has an opinion n a fixed mindset for play involving wide players, tht makes him a manger of LFC!
far from pompous, very humble with strong opinions, that is all. If you disagree with anything than your entitled to have your say. Just don;t act like a pathetic juvenile and get personal. We’re grown ups, act like one. Ta.
Adams isnt direct, he’s in the mould of of alonso. he cant run past players and downing for me wont be the answer. I’d have gone for n zogbia or mata, they are far better. At valencia mata plays afar wider role and does tend to drift in but he has the pace and know how to beta players. I assume you concluded he is mainly central cos of the euros you recently watched, where he played a role far more central then he;s used to. and the positions you just stated are positions i concur with that needs improving, hence why i said kenny has brought the wrong players. we didnt need henderson, we didnt need adams and i think we could have got better wide players before downings purchase when we had the chance i.e mata, n zogbia.
and lennon’s crosses have improved and is far more direct and pacier then downing. apologies for the adams comment, i thought you were referring to charlie adams. adam johnson was mooted to have wanted a mvoe cos he isnt guaranteed first team football. Man city ar ein the hunt for another wide player, a decetnt bid would have prized him away.
In my opinion thus far (to quote you). You are an utter prick who is clueless about footie!!
no “mate” I’m a passionate Liverpool fan who believes we could have brought better and cheaper then we already have. And I’ve been to liverpool games, unlike you who appears to come across as childish armchair fan. If you got an opinion you;d like to express or disagree with, please do so my child. If you have to resort to ad-hominems (look it up in the dictionary my son) then i suggest you go on a man united fan page and vent it there. You’ll be doing me a huge favour.
you are a fucking thick twat downing is top quality he out done mata oh and ps he has been the 5th most creative premier league player 2004 to 2011 so stop talking shit adam can be world class under kenny as can hendo the thing they all have in common is that they were the top 5 creative players in the league last season all brought to make sure carroll is not a waste of money while adding new dimenstions and strengths to liverpools attack yet twats like you cant see past the name on the shirt going by what i have seen from mata yes it was only 1 game i know but from that i would take downing everyday but because his name aint ronaldo or according to you adam johnson or nasri he cant be good you are the perfect example of a group of people called thick fucking glory hunting bull shit writing lazy jouro cunts/fans well so called fans go fuck your self
lol if Downing was top quality he’d have had moe than 27 English caps by now and been snapped up by a top 4 English team b4 he turned 27. Gareth Southgate, (ex- Middlesbrough) manager has been quoted as saying Adam Johnson is better than him and I agree. nOT ONLY THAT, but Adam Johnson kept DOwning out of the English team prior to his injury in Feburary last year, despite (Downing being as creative as you say he is). Fact is Downing is premiership class at best. There are a whole host of premier league wide men better then him.
and how has he outdone mata? you chat pants mate.
Did you even watch the Velencia friendly?
Mata was at best Ineffectual and Downing was running the show.
Two things to take into account, one Mata was at theEuro’s and two valencia were playing away. Hardly gonna see the best of him in a friendly are you? When you see quality you know about quality. DOwning is good, but he won’t be great. He’s 27 now is well, which baffles me even more as to why we signed him.
are you a manc in disguise? If not you must be 10yr old as you do not understand anything about transfers. I think you should apply for Commoli’s position, I am sure you would be able to get all those you mentioned in your crap article.
I’m a brummie, and maybe if kenny listened to commoli we;d get better players in. Cos if carroll worth’s 35m, aguero should be worth double “mate”> Typical liverpool fan blinded by his “love”. Be real mate.
Yeah thank God he is not the manager. Downing is the best buy you f..l!! Ask City if they would have sold Adam Johnson to Liverpool. Answer is big no ok? Yes we need Left back and CB and KK is working on this for sure – he just doesn’t publicize his moves.
STewart downing for 20m is the best buy? WHEN villa have just brought n’zogbia, who is better at half the price? what school of economics did you go to son?
Who is this idiot!!!!!? Kenny is bought quality players. We now have a SQUAD capable of competing. I still believe KK will bring in a central defender, left back and another striker as back up. Mata would have been a nice addition (including downing) but his fee would now be too high. LFC should stop aiming for a top 4 finish and start believing they can win the title!
im the idiot who is bringing a sense of realness to you deluded liverpool fans. you dont see it. Henderson and Carroll aint even seasoned internationals, how can they be quality’/ why buy charlie adams when you have aquilani who has had a greta pre-seaosn and meirles who had a screamer last year? and tell me this if you had a choice paying 35m for carroll or 38m for aguero, who would you buy? it’s common sense you edjit. we could ahve got juan mata for 20 million quid before his clause got activated but kenny dithered.
As Ant says – Your a f**cking thick tw*t – We HAVE a better winger than Mata for the ENGLISH league in Downing and as to your so-called ‘young talent list’?
That mainly speaks of full backs like Gibbs/Bertrand etc Flangan & Robinson are better by FAR than ANYTHING in that area at ANY other English club of comparable age and that INCLUES The much hyped Manc’ Twins from Brazil. Get your facts wright and THEN you won’t be humiliated next time now get lost and DON’T come back again…….
falano and robo aint even under 21 internationals mate. and by saying they are afr better then any other full back in any other team shows your chatting out of your behind. lol they wont even be first choice liverpool full backs. and the manc twins are the real deal mate, just telling it how it is. and if you dont like my opinins fine, but don;t resort to personal attacks, it;s something a child does. Have good day sweetheart.
Downing better than mata??? Are you on drugs??
Next your gonna call Henderson the new Gerrard….
Your not are you :/
When did i say Downing was better than mata? I think you been taking LSD mate cos your definitely seeing things I didn;t write.the whole article I wrote is opining the contrary! My god can you people reaaaadddd. And I’m not judging Hendo yet, personally would not have brought him when we got Jay spearing there as a decent holding player and connor coady coming through.
Again you missed my sarcasm :/ I’d have Mata anyday over downing!
Come on guys relax, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I don’t agree with everything he says. I like the players we signed so far. However I do agree and also think that we are lacking an natural right winger in our side with lots of pace. Still lots of time to go in the transfer market maybe Kenny has some more tricks up his sleeve. Between him, Clarkie and Commoli I’m sure they already know where we are lacking. We also need to get rid of the deadwood in our side. I say that with the utmost respect to them. When we signed them they believed that they would make a difference but unfortunately it never worked out.
Can’t wait for our season to get under way!!!!! YNWA!!!
fINALLY a retort with a bit of common sense. Thank you for that! I agree we need to clear the dead wood and get a right sided winger, hence why I’m baffled at the signing of adams and henderson. Lucas came on bundles, speaiing held his own in the defensive mid role last year and we got aquaman and raul their too. Not to mention stevie G. we’re overloaded. I simply stated we should have brought soeone more seasoned than downing, he’s premiership class, but he won’t set the world alight. we need players of mata’s calibre. the under 21’s demonstrated his ability.
well thank god your not the manager, utter garbage from somebody who genuinely doesn’t have a clue. Jog on pal!
Not jogging on anywhere son, I;m here for the rest of the year. If you don;t like my opinion respectfully put yours across or you yourself can disappear. Goodnight sir 🙂
Idiot
A marvellous football opinion you just expressed. Glad to hear you said something worthwhile you douche.
Is that not a personal insult and childish??
well sometimes children only understand childspeak. If your going to swear and bark like one I’ll turn to gutter-speak too. If you don;t agree with an opinion express your message as you have done now. If your going to insult, jog on.
i dont think resale value is what Liverpool is going for because in order for that to happen is to buy cheap. Downing 27 too old, Henderson bought for 20 mil surely we cant sell him for 50 mil. None of them has commercial value and not that many will buy their jerseys.
Downing was excellent when we played Valencia and Mata was non-existent.
What a crap article!
So in your estimation, you know better than King Kenny? What a muppet!
you dont kno anything, why spend 20 million odd on either johnson or lennon when we already have a player almost as good and still only 16 in sterling, and he’s only goin to improve, why invest in a player when it would as a result give our young wing prodigy less time on the pitch, dalglish knows what he’s doin, look at his record, look at his previous signings for the club and what they did for liverpool, the king knows what he’s doin, a leftback isn’t as big as a problem as it seems aurellio is a class left back when fit, and when he is injured there is still cover in glen johnson and young robison, i would however love to see enrique at anfield, i do however agree a new centre back is needed, wilson and wisdom are too unexperienced and young at the moment, bring in scott dann and liverpool will definately be top four. YNWA
this is one of the worst articles i have ever read. what i total waste of time.
Interesting comments Dont think the boys are 100% supportive of your views mate