No team has faced more criticism in recent times regarding their transfer policy than Liverpool. It’s difficult to know how to describe the Red’s approach in transfer windows since the Fenway Sports Group took over and gave Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli a chance to splash the cash. Some commentators have been keen to fashion Kenny into a modern Billy Beane, a free-wheeling moneyballer looking to take statistically sound players from lower down in the League and build a solid team.
Whilst the analytic, sabermetric approach may well have been embedded within Liverpool’s transfer philosophy the point of a moneyball approach is to attract underrated talent on the cheap. And like it or loathe it, Liverpool’s signings have not come cheap.
Andy Carroll cost £35m and has scored a measly 8 goals since joining in January 2011. Stewart Downing cost around £16-20m but seems to have lost his crossing ability and all his creative flair. Then there’s Jordan Henderson who doesn’t look ready for the top echelons of the Premier League despite the fact that he cost the Reds between £12-20m.
That’s upto £75m spent on players who haven’t made the grade and we haven’t even mentioned Charlie Adam or Doni yet. In fact since Dalglish’s rival, Liverpool have spent more money on transfer fees than any other club in world football and beyond the Carling Cup have very little to show for it.
The aim instead seems to have been to amass a good crop of young British talent. But it looks as though things haven’t really gone to plan.
The signs are there, however that Kenny Dalglish and the Liverpool top-brass have learned from the mistakes of the past. Late last year Damien Comolli spoke of Liverpool’s ties to Uruguayan club side Nacional:
“We are talking about a partnership with them that we would like to create over the next three, four or five years, to see if there is more talent coming through. Maybe we can help them to develop their standards and in turn have the ability to bring those young players here.”
Luis Suarez once plied his trade with Nacional and Liverpool plucked £7.6m (wonder-goal scoring) centre back Sebastien Coates from their grip last summer.
It’s through signings like these that Liverpool may be able to re-find their feet. None too expensive signings that have some technical ability and some flair and won’t just play route one inelegant football that can be bettered by the likes of Wigan and QPR. By establishing a partnership with Nacional, the Red’s now have an invaluable source of fresh, young talent some of which could go on to make it big.
A recent article on In Bed With Maradona claimed that Nacional’s Academy coaches 120 players between 13 and 20 and that 14 of the 23 players taken to the 2011 Copa America by Uruguay had played for or been developed by Nacional. Considering that they ran out the eventual Champions that’s no mean feat.
This is an extremely forward thinking move for a club who has looked stuck in the past in recent times. So perhaps Liverpool’s future isn’t so gloomy after all?
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the 70 + million is sales dont count then /