What an amazing deadline day it turned out to be for us on Monday. Under G &H, past transfer windows seemed to be all about who was leaving and how much money could be raised for interest payments because they certainly didn’t give Rafa much cash to bring anybody in but on Monday we were in the thick of things and it was real edge of the seat stuff that had a little bit of everything and kept us guessing right up to the last minute.
First off I think you’ve got to say that the FSG guys really came through for us with two big money signings and attempts to further strengthen the squad with bids for Adam, Richards and Young turned down. While it’s true that our net outlay was only £1.8 million it’s still good to see that the money from our sales was ploughed straight back into the team and besides this the £22.8 million for Suarez was spent before anybody knew about the Torres situation. Owners need to earn the trust of supporters and it’s even more difficult at our club given our past experiences but I think those guys took a big step forward in that regard and I’m feeling confident that they will make more funds available in the summer.
I can’t say I’m thrilled about all the events of the transfer window but overall I’ve got to say I’m feeling pretty good about how things turned out for us, which is a long way from where I expected us to be a few days ago.
Last Friday I was as confused as a blind lesbian in a fish market! In the early part of the day I was delighted to hear we had agreed a fee for Luis Suarez and just as I was getting excited about our new strike partnership, I was stunned with the news that Torres had handed in a transfer request and I felt like someone who had found a fiver and then lost a tenner!
But after mulling it over for awhile I found that I was actually more bothered by the timing of it then the fact that Torres was leaving. I was concerned about whether we would have enough time to get in a replacement, I wasn’t overly concerned about us being able to cope without Torres because, let’s be honest, with the exception of four or five games we’ve been coping without him for almost a year now. Obviously, it’s annoying to see him go back on his word about not signing for another English club by signing for the chavs and then hearing his stomach churning words proclaiming the chavs a bigger club than Liverpool and all of that other crap but we got £50 million and ultimately I believe we will be better off without him.
Torres is high maintenance and with us now having positive new owners, a new manager who has us playing a more entertaining brand of new/old football and an exciting new young strike partnership, I believe he is baggage we can do without. He didn’t appreciate what he had at Liverpool and now he can get stuffed. He has moved from a club with a rich history to a club with a rich owner but a footballer’s career is a relatively short one and one day when the money is in the bank, the champagne bubbles have gone flat and the glimmering medals have lost their lustre, I think he will look back at his decisions and his conduct over the last year with a lot of regret.
As far as Liverpool’s history is concerned he has gone from being a headline to a footnote and he won’t fare much better with the plastic flag waving chav fans either, as the vast majority of them think that Osgood, Harris, Hutchinson and Dixon are a firm of solicitors! I honestly think our dressing room will now be a happier place without him but I did get a little worried when I heard that the deal almost fell through at the last minute, apparently John Terry couldn’t agree personal terms with Torres’s girlfriend! Anyway Nando you enjoy yourself there and we’ll look forward to seeing you real soon.
On a much more positive note, I’m excited about our new strike partnership of Suarez and Carroll. I felt a little sorry for Suarez, because his signing was totally over-shadowed by the Torres situation but perhaps it might be a good thing that he avoided the limelight. I remember him playing for Uruguay at the World Cup and he looked like a very good player, when he used his feet! I never saw him playing for Ajax but his stats are very impressive even for the Dutch league and some people who’s opinions I have a lot of respect for, including Dalglish, say he is a very exciting talent and that’s good enough for me.
I must admit I didn’t see the Andy Carroll signing coming, but it was a very pleasant surprise. At 22, the guy certainly fits the profile the club is aiming for in terms of being in terms of being an exciting young talent. While he is still raw, he is a big powerful lad who is good in the air and good on the ground, scores a good range of goals, has a lot of assists and from what I’ve seen of him he has plenty of energy and gives it everything he has every time he plays. In short he has everything you could want in a young striker and all he needs now is to build his experience and continue to develop. Fortunately for him and for us, he will now be developing his game under the guidance of Kenny Dalglish.
It took a record breaking £35 million transfer fee for us to sign Carroll but that’s not the players fault. I just want to see him do his stuff on the pitch and I’ll let the accountants worry about the price tag. The fact that Suarez and Carroll are coming in at the same time might actually help them both. If only one of them signed for a big fee they would have to endure all the pressure that it can bring but with both of them there the burden is halved. Unfortunately we won’t be seeing Carroll in action for a couple of weeks due to his thigh injury but I believe we’ve got the clearance through in time for Little Luis to play in our game against Stoke tonight so it will be interesting to get a first look at him.
I don’t like playing against Stoke. They play to their strengths and I don’t have a problem with that but it’s very boring to watch. All this long ball stuff, playing for throw-ins and the constant delay’s while there guy wipes the ball down with a towel and the big wind up to the throw-in just does my head in because it stops the game from flowing which is of course the idea but I don’t like to watch it. It will be interesting to see how Dalglish will set us up to deal with them and hopefully we can impose our game on them. Anyway, I’m feeling positive at the moment so I’ll put my money on a 2-0 win for The Reds and hopefully Suarez can nick one of them to make it a perfect evening.
Overall I feel good about the way things are going for us on and off the pitch at the moment. I think a lot of the work being done at the moment won’t fully pay off until next season but you can see we’ve started to make real progress since King Kenny took over. I expect we’ll lose a game or two here and there but if we keep working away and can stay around the Europa League places, do a bit more strengthening in the summer in defence and in the wide areas, we’ll be in great shape for the next campaign. The future’s bright, the future’s Red!
Keep the Faith
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