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The new Spurs? Or the old Liverpool?


Wardy1801
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So it finally happened. Luis Suarez, our best player, a Kop cult hero, an absolute pleasure to watch for over 3 years, the player we couldn't get enough of, a scorer of some important, many brilliant and a few truly unbelievable goals in the last 3 and half years, has been sold to Barcelona. Suarez joins McManaman, Owen, Alonso, Arbeloa and Mascherano by having his head turned and swapping Anfield for one of Spain's giant clubs.

The club played a blinder by keeping him last season, ignoring the clamour of the press to get rid of him after he gave Ivanovic a beefy, by refusing bids of £40m when it would have been easy to get shut, by getting 31 goals out of him (depite missing 6 games). It paid off by building a first title challenge for 5 years, and by reaching the only place FSG really want to be - in the European Cup.
 
I was gutted to see him go, but it was inevitable after his amazing season that the two Spanish giants would come sniffing round, and as very few players turn those clubs down , it was now Liverpool's job to get the best deal possible. £75m, just 11 months after no one would offer more than a shopping trolley coin over £40 million, is another job well done, especially as he faced an even longer ban than last time. Its £53m more than we paid for him in 2011. Its £35m extra than we were offered last season, which is basically like qualifying for the European Cup twice in the same season.
 
From a business point of view, its excellent business.
On the pitch though - you know, that place where football is played and supporters go to watch it - this meant a big problem.
 
We had lost our best player. Money in the bank doesn't win points, score goals, or make tackles.
 
It was another hero lost, another massive void to fill. It was 31 goals disappeared, and god knows how many assists.
 
 
We have lost the leagues best player. So what now? How would Liverpool move on? Would we spend the money? If so, who can we get?
 
I no longer get involved in arguments with other supporters about how much money my team has spent, wasted or saved compared to other clubs, like City Chelsea Arsenal Utd or Everton. If you have it, spend it. Spending money creates an expectancy, but how much your club can spend is relative to how much your club has. I trust FSG not to spend what we don't have, so I dont mind if we pay more than market value for a player we want.
 
Many pundits, press and supporters were "concerned" that Liverpool would do a Tottenham, who got £86m for Bale, then spent over £100m on 7-8 new players, but didn't progress any further. Save it, dickheads.
 
Trevor Francis, that droaning tit who cried on his young players shoulders after losing a penalty shoot out in Cardiff 2001 - said "Liverpool need to buy a £30m striker to replace Suarez." He doesnt know who, he didn't give any names, but apparently we should just buy one. For that exact amount. What a fuckin stupid thing to say.

The only strikers to go for around £30m in this window are Diego Costa and Lukaku, and neither suit how we play. We tried to sign Sanchez but he chose to go to the Arse, and he is not an out and out striker anyway. I'd have liked him, but if he chooses London what can you do?

Trevor, we have done that before for £35m, and he turned out to be shite.
Trevor, we paid £20m for Robbie Keane, a good player but it didn't work out.
Trevor, we paid £20m for Aquilani to replace an Alonso shaped hole in midfield, and he hardly kicked a ball.
On the other hand Trevor, we bought Daniel Sturridge for £12m who has been briliant (when fit), and Coutinho for £8.5m who is a diamond who will only get better. Spending £30m on a "name" doesn't guarantee anything.

Basically, their were 3 options the club were likely to consider after Luis left.

1. Buy a similar player for the same price.
2. Put it towards the new Main Stand and cream the profits.
3. Spend it on 7-8 new players to improve last years thin squad.
 
Option 1 was not possible - another Suarez simply does not exist - and number 2 would make them no better than Hicks & Gillet, which doesnt seem FSG's style. Now we are in the Champions League, they want to stay there, so spending a transfer fee on a new stand would make qualifying again much harder. I believe FSG have made some very poor footballing decisions over the last 4 years, but they are happy to spend it on the team when it is needed, which is what every supporter wants from their owners.
 
Number 3 was the only option. The squad was thin last season, and this season we have at least 6 more games. Fringe players like Cissokho Moses Aspas and Alberto were hardly used - not because they were not needed - but because they were not consistently good enough for a team challenging for the title. They needed to be replaced for a start, and then we needed some more. It is easy and lazy to say "Don't do a Tottenham" but realistically, in the transfer market, that is the best thing, and probably the only thing, we could do in the circumstances.

The difference to Tottenham is that Liverpool have the momentum of an excellent last 18 months in the league. We have a manager who has been at the club for 2 years now, has got us where the owners wanted to be (top 4), and they offered him a new contract which suggests they trust him. We have not had stability like this since Rafa left in 2010 - and even his last 2-3 years were managed under a shadow of Hicks, Gillett and even Klinsmann.
 
Tottenham had AVB - one of the most over rated managers in the game - and then to make it worse, up popped Tim SHerwood and his bodywarmer. No wonder we stuck 9 goals past them, and gave Flanno a semi.
 
It is not a new thing at Liverpool to lose one star player and invest the transfer fee in a few others. In the last 40 years, legends like Keegan Souness Rush Owen and Torres have all left in similar circumstances to Suarez. They were all one of our best players at the time, superstars tempted by a far foreign land (or a Russian wallet), seemingly leaving us with the impossible job of replacing him.
 
Keegan was replaced by Kenny for similar money, and that was a one off, simply because Kenny was a one off. The others have been replaced in a different way. Not by one player, but by a few.
 
Molby McMahon and Mcdonald were bought in to fill the same position as Souness. None were as good individually, but we reached a European Cup final the following season, and won the Double the year after.
 
Aldridge Houghton Barnes and Beardsley replaced Ian Rush, we won the league back from the blueshite, went 29 league games without losing, and the team improved so much he couldn't resist coming back.

Nobody replaced Owen directly, but his money went towards Alonso & Garcia joining from Spain. The European Cup and FA Cup returned to Anfield in the next two years, and Owen nearly came back as well.
 
Torres was replaced by Carroll and Suarez, for £57M. Torres didnt win a medal at Liverpool, Suarez and Carroll did, and both have since been sold for a total of £90m.
 
At the time of writing, we have bought 5 players for this season (Lallana Lovren Lambert Markovic Can), loaned one in for 2 years (Manquillo), and bought another for next season (Origi), to the tune of £85m. It is likely that Borini Reina and Assaidi will be moving on, and as none of them kicked a ball for us last season, that is simply more money in the bank to invest. If the figures are right, they could bring in £23m, which is staggering as Assaidi and Borini both cost only £11m and have given us nothing in return. Selling Reina for such a low amount is a crying shame - a legend still with a lot to offer - but if you fall out with the manager it is best to move on, pronto.
 
A left back (likely to be Moreno) will follow to replace/compete with fit-again Enrique. Buying Remy fell through and we only have two strikers, so another striker is absolutely essential. I have written before that Sturridge cannot be relied on as he has never played a full season yet at any of his clubs, he was injured when we bought him, injured last pre-season, and has been injured this pre-season. 25-30 games seems to be his limit. Lambert gives us a different option but at 32 he is not the quickest, and I dont expect him to start many games.
 
Personallly, I'd like Bony from Swansea. He is exciting, a goal threat, strong and suits the Premier League. Swansea are a footballing side too, so he wont have to adapt as much as some others would.

Whoever we get, whether he costs £4m, £10m, £30m or £75m, just relax. Liverpool are richer than they have ever been, with the ludicrous TV money on the way, the Champions League money, £75m from selling a player, potentially another £23m for three unused players, a training kit sponsor (WTF!), a money spinning USA tour and even the Dunkin Donuts and Subway deals. (Where's the Foot-Long money John?)
 
FSG will not spend what we dont have, and wont leave us high and dry in debt like H&G. So I hope we spend whatever it takes, to get the players we need.

Looking at this pre-seasons arrivals, their is a balance of investment in the present and the future.

Lovren, Lallana and Lambert arrived for £49m. I am very pleased with all three of these signings, despite two of them being over priced. We have the money, they all have good Premier League experience, and are ready to go straight in to the team if needed. Rodgers has said publicly that one thing which appealed about these players was that Southampton played a similar style to Liverpool last season - high pressing, and playing the ball quickly on the deck - which should make it easier for them to fit in. £20m is steep for a centre back, but as the defence is the area of the team which needed improving more than any other, I wont complain when we invest heavily in defenders.

Southampton impressed me at Anfield last season. Other teams like Arsenal Norwich Everton West Brom West Ham and Tottenham were demolished with ease at Anfield, but the Saints were very organised, good on the ball, and deserved their 1-0 win.
 
I wont pretend to know anything about Emre Can, Manquillo or Markovic, apart from Youtube snippets. Regardless of the price tags, at the age of 20 years old, and with no Premier League experience, I wont have any expectations for them to hit the ground running, and if they do it is a bonus. If we have to wait 2-3 seasons for them to reach their potential, like players like Jordan Henderson and Lucas did, its worth the wait. However, the price tags for Markovic and Can will inevitably bring an immediate, unhelpful pressure, especially if results don't go positively during our tough fixtures at the start to the season. Patience could be vital for these players to settle and eventually become a success.

It is likely that we will have signed at least 9 players by the end of the summer, with 8 arriving straight away. The similarities to Tottenham will be echoed loud and wide across lazy journalists and pundits, and probably most of our fans. Liverpool actually signed 8 players last summer too, so why is it such a big issue?
 
Four of last years signings were dog shit and have left, so they need replacing anyway. Our best player has gone too, so thats five needed. Everybody agreed last years squad wasnt big enough, so if we needed at least 2-3 more as well, plus we have more games to deal with. So we needed at least eight players anyway.
 
Liverpool aren't doing a Tottenham - we are doing a Liverpool. We have been here before, we have lost star players before, and moved on to win things time and time again.
 
It will be tougher to maintain what we did last season, because we have lost the leagues best player, but signing eight players last summer didn't do us much harm. This time last year, no one thought we would take a title challenge to the last day. If this years signings are better than last years, they might just make us dream again.
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Expert pundits seem unanimous in predicting we will do a Spurs.

 

Hayward in the Telegraph, Savage in today’s Mirror, Francis on the telly and that paragon of objectivity Steve Clarridge on R5 all see us failing to mount a serious title challenge while slipping out of the top four.

 

I suspect its wishful thinking by most. Especially Claridge who, when asked what he thought of Steve Gerrard’s tenure as England captain, began his reply with; “Brian Robson was my favourite player, I remember when he.........”

 

I’m convinced we will have a good season considering my favourite piece of punditry from Xmas last year. Tony Adams on the Chris Kamara show confidently announced that Arsenal would “push on and win the leagues while Liverpool slowly dropped down the table”.

 

Brilliant.

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I’m convinced we will have a good season considering my favourite piece of punditry from Xmas last year. Tony Adams on the Chris Kamara show confidently announced that Arsenal would “push on and win the leagues while Liverpool slowly dropped down the table”.

 

That guy. He's fucking tragic.

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Expert pundits seem unanimous in predicting we will do a Spurs.

 

Hayward in the Telegraph, Savage in today’s Mirror, Francis on the telly and that paragon of objectivity Steve Clarridge on R5 all see us failing to mount a serious title challenge while slipping out of the top four.

 

I suspect its wishful thinking by most. Especially Claridge who, when asked what he thought of Steve Gerrard’s tenure as England captain, began his reply with; “Brian Robson was my favourite player, I remember when he.........”

 

I’m convinced we will have a good season considering my favourite piece of punditry from Xmas last year. Tony Adams on the Chris Kamara show confidently announced that Arsenal would “push on and win the leagues while Liverpool slowly dropped down the table”.

 

Brilliant.

"I remember when he......" Got pissed and smashed up his car?

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I fucking love the fact we're being written off by the southern back slappers in the media and so called experts who don't have a brain cell to rub between them. We're the underdogs, we shove your opinions up your arseholes and then stick 5 goals up there as well. We might not win the league but our style and explosiveness will still get us close.

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