We’re about a quarter of the way through the EPL season and so far the hot topics have been City’s ascension and Arsenal’s early collapse. Well, It’s high time to talk about the team that has been hiding from the media’s cruel and judgmental eyes, Liverpool FC.
With the departure of Fernando Torres in January and 50 million pounds in the bank, Liverpool and newly reappointed Kenny Dalglish began the process to reestablish themselves as a title contender. Before Dalglish could even count the his Torres money, he sent nearly 23 million pounds to Ajax for Uruguayan forward, Luis Suarez. This was a record signing for the club, standing for merely a few hours until the signing of Newcastle “Hulk” Andy Carroll for approximately 35 million pounds. We’ve seen teams spend quite a bit of money in the January transfer window, and Chelsea will never get off the hook for signing a less than stellar Fernando Torres for 50, but that’s a discussion for another day.
We all know how last season unfolded. Fenway Sports Group purchases the team in the middle of a terrible first half of the season, Hodgson fired, and Dalglish is brought on to right the ship. He’s given money to spend to assure the fans that Liverpool can “hang with the big boys.” Past history has shown that in European soccer, and basically any professional sport, that it’s always better to be proactive rather than reactive (obviously easier said than done). Kenny turned the season around. The team was feeding at the bottom of the table (much like an early 2011/2012 Arsenal squad) and Kenny comes in to help them finish 6th. No one is disputing the turnaround that occurred at Anfield and it was nothing short of miraculous. It’s easy to speculate now, but looking back at a few of his decisions, it’s possible to assume that “King” Kenny’s anointment as the Savior of Liverpool may have been a bit premature.In the last 10 months, Liverpool has spent over 120 million pounds in the transfer market. Giving credit where credit is due, Luis Suarez (23m) and Charlie Adam (around 9m) seem to be good purchases. But it’s tough to say the rest are sensational buys. 35 million for a striker who hasn’t scored 35 goals on the professional level? Over 20 million each for Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing? Letting Raul Meireles go for 15m? The Reds’ spending policy is reckless. If buying countless midfielders is the plan, controlling the middle of the field has to result in supplying the pricey strikers with goal opportunities. Not the case so far. Spending a lot of money seemed to work in January, but was the team that rose to 6th in 2010/2011 much different than the team that began the season under Roy Hodgson? Excluding the Torres/Suarez-Carroll swap, it was the exact same team.Over the last few years it’s become clear that in order to compete for trophies, you must spend money. As the gap widens between the haves (City, United, Chelsea) and the have-nots (everybody else), maybe waiting for the perfect player and reasonable fees is the way to go. Liverpool currently sits 6th on the table with Arsenal, Tottenham, and Newcastle also in competition for the coveted 4th place finish. Will “King” Kenny’s spending spree pay off? This dude doesn’t think it will.
