Top Ten Rafa's signings

[Dracco]

Top Ten: Rafael Benitez Signings | Sport.co.uk

 

1. Fernando Torres – Obviously. What was it, £20m-odd? Well worth it for the player, who is undoubtedly one of the world’s best strikers, but factor in the frustration of seeing him on the sidelines and you’ve got the kind of dichotomy that characterises Benitez’s transfer record for Liverpool.

 

2. Xabi Alonso – Brought in for £10m-odd, sold for £30m. Some patchy form in between, but take the profit and add two x goals from his own area, and a blinding if ultimately trophy-less season last time around, and you’ve got yourself a good ‘un.

 

3. Pepe Reina – The Spanish goalkeeper underlined his importance with a superb double save during yesterday’s 2-0 derby win at Everton and, more and more, he is starting to look like the most valuable ‘keeper out of the Grand Slam Sunday cartel. £6m? Bargain.

 

4. Javier Mascherano – Although the tigerish Argentinean midfielder has been gently encouraging advances from Barcelona, his contributions at Anfield and potential profit margin make him a cert for inclusion.

 

5. Dirk Kuyt – He’s not the new van Nistlerooy; he’s a very…er…dependable right midfielder. When the Dutchman signed in for some £10m from Feyenoord, he brought with him a reputation as a prolific leader of the line. His reinvention as a hard-working wide man, however, has not dampened his importance and he continues to weigh in with crucial goals.

 

6. Daniel Agger – The young Danish centre-back appears to have everything in his “locker”, but his Torres-esque susceptibility to injuries raises questions about whether he can be the long-term defensive lynchpin his talents suggest he could be. Still, at £5.8m, it still looks like a very worthwhile gamble.

 

7. Yossi Benayoun – The mercurial Israeli midfielder is in and out of Benitez’s starting line-ups but his trickery and knack for goals – he has already scored a remarkable three hat-tricks for Liverpool – mark him out as a canny investment at just £5m from West Ham United.

 

8. Peter Crouch – The England forward’s slow start at Anfield was forgiven and forgotten once he began to plunder the goals that, despite his unorthodox approach, he can be relied upon to provide. A stunning hat-trick against Arsenal, and a £4m profit turned by his sale to Portsmouth, certainly merit inclusion.

 

9. Martin Skrtel – Signed from Zenit St Petersburg for £6.5m, the 24 year-old Slovak centre-back…ooh, that’s a nice flowing rhyme, that: Slovak centre-back. Martin Skrtel, Ninja Turtle, Slovak centre-back. Yeah, he’s alright.

 

10. Albert Riera – The £8m Quagmire lookalike has done a decent job on Liverpool’s left-flank, putting the memories of his unhappy stay at Manchester City firmly behind him with a series of…well, decent performances. Decent player, Riera. But he needs to do more before he is truly deserving of a Volare-mimicking chant in his honour.

 

Do you agree??

 

I am not sure about the last three players. Crouch never was a regular starter for us, Skrtel could be but is having bad season and Riera did not do enough to be not considered a flop.

[Section_31]

I'd have Reina at 1 myself, and I don't know what the fuck Riera is doing there.

[ZonkoVille77]

I'd remove Riera and add Arbeloa. He wasn't always great but he was solid and dependable for 4mil or whatever it was.

 

Momo too until he started passing to everyone but his team mates.

[Mr Piechnik]

Kuyt doesnt deserve to be that high.

[Ponz]

Garcia should be in there. Scored critical goals in both of our trophy wins and helped finance the Torres deal. I'd also put Yossi above Dirk and Agger. And Momo was sold for a 6-7 million profit IIRC. We'd never get that for Riera or Skrtel.

[Baresi]

I'd have Sissoko pre-injury, L'il Luis and Pepe as No 1.

[kop]

Aurelio for "free" wasn't a bad signing either, I would have him in the list. Maybe Sissoko for £5m and Insua for £1.3m aswell. N'Gog for £1.5m isn't a bad move either, he's probably worth at least 3 times that now. Don't know if they are worthy a place in a top 10 list but they are worth a mentioning.

[jon lad]

1.Torres

2.Pepe

3.Xabi

4.Luis

5.Dirk

6.The Yoss

7.Masch

8.Agger

9.Crouch

10.Arbeloa

 

Momo would be fighting Bob for his spot and johnson would possibly be up for a shout but still early days for him

[Section_31]

Johnson would be in there for me, even at this early stage. The lad's got cajones. Agree also with Momo, the lad was a wrecking ball early on before he seemingly developed brain damage, Garcia is still one of my favourites too.

[piscinin]

1. Torres - World class

2. Reina - World class

3. Xabi - As good as Reina though not as consistent

4. Mascherano - Best DM out there

5. Agger - A complete defender for peanuts

6. Johnson - Brave move

7. Yossi - Our Aimar

8. God - What a Buzz.

9. Kuyt - If only his brain were connected to his feet

10. Nemeth/Ayala/Pacheco/Saric/Buchtmann/LDV - One of them will pay off BIG.

[Tom R]

says a lot when we're only looking for ten, over 5 years, and we're struggling badly...

Edited December 2, 2009 by Tom R
cos i can

[Tom R]

...and three or four of my top ten rafa signing have been shipped out by him anyway.

 

Crouch

Alonso

Garcia

Momo

[Lucky Pierre]

5. Dirk Kuyt –

 

he brought with him a reputation as a prolific leader of the line.

No he didn't. He'd played one season up front.

[JohnnyH]

I'd have Magic in there already.

 

Garcia was fine, and scored some really important goals, but I didn't mind him leaving to be honest as more often then not he was really frustrating.

 

Glad Momo is gone as he wasn't good enough.

 

For me it would be

 

1. Pepe

2. Torres

3. Alonso

4. Masch

5. Agger

6. Yossi

7. Kuyt

8. Aurelio

9. Crouch

10. Robbie

[Tom R]

you honestly think Aurelio and Fowler were better sigings that Sissoko?

 

Fowler's was only great because it was an emotional signing. It was hardly a huge success was it?

[Lucky Pierre]

Momo is boss.

[hamstrung]

Sissoko was a large part of winning a cup, so I'd go with him. He was awesome that match.

 

He was worth signing for the charity shield where he took Chelsea apart. I was there for that, and it was an awesome display of power.

[Nomad]

1.Torres

2.Pepe

3.Xabi

4.Luis

5.Dirk

6.The Yoss

7.Masch

8.Agger

9.Crouch

10.Arbeloa

 

Momo would be fighting Bob for his spot and johnson would possibly be up for a shout but still early days for him

 

I think thats quite a good list to be honest.

[silverlining]

Riera?

Crouch?

Skittles?

Benayoun?

 

Holy fuck. Barrel-scraping or what?

 

If any other manager had these four in their "Top 10 Signings" I'd be laughing my tits off.

 

As it is, I'm not laughing.

 

Benitez's top signings are:

 

Alonso

Reina

Agger

Johnson

Torres

Masher

Garcia

Kuyt....er....that's it.

[Tom R]

Riera?

Crouch?

Skittles?

Benayoun?

 

Holy fuck. Barrel-scraping or what?

 

If any other manager had these four in their "Top 10 Signings" I'd be laughing my tits off.

 

As it is, I'm not laughing.

 

Benitez's top signings are:

 

Alonso

Reina

Agger

Johnson

Torres

Masher

Garcia

Kuyt....er....that's it.

 

There's some hurtful truth in there.

[hamstrung]

Benayoun has been an excellent signing.

[Lucky Pierre]

Riera?

Crouch?

Skittles?

Benayoun?

 

Holy fuck. Barrel-scraping or what?

 

If any other manager had these four in their "Top 10 Signings" I'd be laughing my tits off.

 

As it is, I'm not laughing.

 

Benitez's top signings are:

 

Alonso

Reina

Agger

Johnson

Torres

Masher

Garcia

Kuyt....er....that's it.

So no Crouch and Benayoun but yes to Kuyt and Agger (18 months injured?)

[Monster Masch]

Pellegrino because he introduced the zonal marking system.

 

 

AAAAYYYYEEEE!

 

Being serious, Yossi has to be in there. Johnson will be in there shortly.

[Count Morfeo]

No Crouch??? WTF?

[silverlining]

Benayoun has been an excellent signing.

 

 

Inconsistent squad player, £6m. About right.

 

Not a big cause for celebration.