It’s not like shopping at the supermarket!

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I would like to quote from an article which Eain McGurdy wrote yesterday to kick start a few considerations. This is what Eain wrote: “Let’s first take a look at what positions the club needs to strengthen in. In my opinion, they need to buy a couple of wingers, a center back and a left back. If there’s any money left over, I’d also say that they need a creative central midfielder in the Xabi Alonso mold, or maybe even recall Alberto Aquilani from Juventus at the end of the season!”

The way Eain put it, probably without wanting to, it sounded as if were looking inside our wallet before we go on a shopping spree, and after we think we’ve spent everything we find another 100 pound note and spend some more. I really don’t think building a competitive football squad to challenge (as Eain puts it) for PL and CL glory can be that superficial I’m afraid.

As fans, the only thing we can really do is play with our fantasy and desire to have the best and to have quality in depth, but there are a lot of parameters to take into consideration. Although everyone is taking it for granted, FSG have not as yet confirmed if Kenny will be our manager next season! Secondly we are also aware that Damien Comolli has a particular way of building football teams and I am led to believe that he does have some say as to which players to bring in and ship out (perhaps in liaison to the manager’s tactical requirements). For the time being, Comolli seems to be taking notes and perhaps a couple of quality pre-contracts have already been agreed and signed. FSG will not want to repeat mistakes done in the last few seasons where high player turnover resulted in zero honours.

Fabio Coentrao will not be cheap, Aquilani will not be coming back, and notwithstanding that I like him a lot, I really don’t think Charlie Adam’s value will rise to Stg 20 million!

I think FSG’s way of thinking is slicker than that. What happened in the last week of the transfer window last January is testament to this! Spending 25 million on Suarez and binding him to a 5 and a half year deal, they were aware Torres was on his way out and swooped for Carroll meeting Newcastle’s bluff and binding the player again for 5 and a half years. That is quick thinking on a long term basis.

Do we need another centre back? Yes! Do we need a left back? Yes. Do we need wingers? Ask Dalglish and Clarke! What we also need is to a) bring in a couple of reinforcements to add quality to the bench, and b) we need to keep honing players like Pacheco, Spearing, Shelvey, Wilson and Co and introduce them in the same fashion as Kenny has introduced Kelly. Quietly, discreetly, successfully!

It’s not really a question of what amount we will have to spend. Now it will be a question of how the money is spent. There will be a tendency to focus on younger players. Some players may be brought in not only for their quality, but also for their market potential. Players will also be leaving Anfield, and these will already create a first portion of spending money, but FSG know they have to spend to reap rewards, and spend they will….wisely and certainly not superficially.

13 Comments

  1. With that in mind though Tonio, I do think a real expenditure should go this summer for the top four next year. FSG’s “profit” is club value and nothing makes a club more valuable then champions league, thus spend to create. In Boston they do just that, reload with value and think long term, aka the Gonzalez deal. The net spend has been negligible so I do believe the base kitty could be somewhere around 25 million ( from Henry’s statement on the debt load under Tweedledee and Tweedledum being removed alone) With some offloading (Aquilani sadly and some of the scrubs who just are not good enough) conservatively we are looking at nearly 40+ in the chest i believe.

    So if the target is a good value, i bet Comelli moves. But I do believe in what you are saying. Long term is the right thing to do. Hastiness is waste and until we have revenue streams to match the Mancs and Arsenal *stadium issue* then we gotta build long term. God I hope Raheem is the real deal and ready in 2 years.

    1. Yes, I believe it’s possible that there will be a computation of commercial deal money, tv revenue, euro competition revenue if we qualify, and market value of the players the Club will wish to offload. I do think that FSG will most certainly put Stg 25 million on the table to start with, and perhaps all the above added to that would be enough. I don’t think we need to refound the team, what we do need is to give the squad more depth. And then it’s about time we start inserting our home grown talent vis-a-vis our rising stars because there is some very promising talent there. The stadium will be a long term issue and we cannot count on money coming from increased gate sales. We can however get some stars like the wonderful Honda which would generate as much merchandise sales in Japan as would 10,000 extra seats at Anfield!

  2. good read mate. I alWays had a funny feeling we may not spend that much in the summer. Our pocket are not as deep as Chelsea’s. I dont think we will spend over 50mil. Actually, we may end up nt spending over 30mil.
    So lets get Wendt as a bosman. Gervhino/Honda for not more than 18 mil. Sanchez is to expensive though he’d be a gr8 buy. Then Charlie Adam 4 not more than 12mil. We also recal Aquilani. Nw thats a strong squad 4 2012 glory.

    1. Personally I feel FSG will spend if its for a good player. As I said, its not how much we spend its on what we spend it.

  3. I’d be interested to know what you think of the value of a side that has played together for a long time?

    For example having a core of 8 or 9 players that have played a 3 or 4 seasons and thus have developed a great understanding of each other on the pitch. Once you have this core then one could look to adding one or 2 signings per season to freshen things up.

    1. Well Steve, I personally think that the core of the Liverpool squad is good. There are maybe a handful of players that really do not make the grade and a couple of these are out on loan. The team needs players that can come on and do the job. The Reds need to be a powerhouse whoever is playing.

  4. agree with a lot of comments here. If a player is worth the outlay i believe fsg will sanction the purchase. Coentrao is undoubtably one of the best left back prospects in europe, but will cost luiz money. Taiwo and wendt are poss available on a free and would improve our squad in that position without doubt. Skrtel makes me anxious. He’s too rash and lacks composure. Id bring wilson in to replace him and look at another centre back also. Players like jovanovic, poulsen, degen, insua, ngog, jones have got to go as they are blocking promising players routes to the first team- i.e suso, pacheco, sterling, coady, jack robinson, ince, morgan etc. Must buy sissoko from toulouse or m’vila or matuidi. Play gerrard or meireles alongside. Suarez behind carroll or on the left. A right and left winger like shaqiri, elia, young, sanchez for example. Back up striker as well as kuyt- wickham! Great prospect. Then we are well on our way. Lookin at what… £50 m for sissoko, shaqiri, young, wickham. Would be better than what we have now. Sell aquilani, poulsen, jovanovic, degen, ngog, insua maxi, skrtel, jones- £40m. Nearly there.. If only that easy though!

  5. I agree with general comments. Think certain players will be shipped on to allow players to come through the system from reserves. Reina Carragher Kelly Johnson Wilson Meirelis Gerrard Lucas Suarez Carroll and Kuyt should be 1st team squad. Skertal and maxi and cole can be kept but must not be first choice. Young players to come through : Shevley Pacheco Wisdom Coady Suso Sterling Ince Flannagan and Ince. If NESV are going to buy youth we will need left back, centre back, midfield and wingers. I believe we already have one player on precontract from Rennes. I like Sissoko from Toulouse for midfield. Coentrao would be a dream at left back but Taiwo on free may be more value. I think Charlie Adams overpriced. Gerrard can play his role. There are classy young players out there in mould of Adams. Sahin from Borussia Dortmund is a magician. Another winger with pace and ability to deliver crosses. This would have to be our marquee signing of the transfer window. An Ashley young or Alexis Sanchez. And finally a commanding aerial centre back in mould of Hyppia. I may have left Agger out of my original list of 1st team essentials but be aware he spends more time in treatment room than on pitch but Wilson will eventually supersede him. But he is too classy to lose. Happy times ahead if king Kenny pulls it off.

  6. AAHHHHH! I don’t think you guys get it! Throw out the idea of the “war chest”. Stop saying things like Stg 25 mil, net spend…blah blah blah. Sorry to be harsh, but you don’t seem to be listening. Being from NY, and knowing exactly how the Red Sox organization dominates, I can tell you there is no set amount. By setting an amount, you are effectively ignoring possibilities that may work better in the long run. There are at least a dozen young “superstars-to-be” in the market this summer. Wickham, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukaku, Hazard, Sanchez, etc (The last two are already practically there). Henry and co. like to spend big on young talent. They like “cheapies”…aka bosman deals. They like the long term injury with tons of potential. They even like the occasional overpriced superstar. If there is an opportunity to make the team more competitive, they may spend that 25 mil everyone keeps mentioning, and then some, on ONE player…and then go and get 4 or 5 more great players as well. You have to have a different mentality. These are not traditional Premier League owners. They’re not even traditional Major League Baseball owners. They don’t have the most money, but they also don’t have big ego’s. Henry and co. are VERY shrewd businessmen, who dissect transfer moves down to the smallest detail. They may make some mistakes, but they usually get it right. Be prepared for an interesting summer. I can’t guarantee we will move for a single player…. but if we do, it will be for someone who strengthens our team significantly, or adds a dimension we are desperately lacking. I know the owners won’t actually be choosing players themselves, but I assure you Commoli has the green light for the young, the cheap, the risky and of course, the glamorous.

  7. Yes..agree with everybody regarding players..but i really do have a funny feeling coz we’re all not sure whether FSG really will spend in the summer..If we were to win anything come nest season, we have got to spend money on true quality instead of just quantity (Benitez’s idea)..and this would cost at least 60-70 mil (based on the afformentioned players) but we must remember we do have loads of junk we can offload though, just dunno how we can..but if we do, we definitely can generate quite a lump sum of cash too..The problem for me regarding the managers and the board towards signing players is that they never seem to work hard enough!! If we want a player in a certain position, we should fight all the way for him, and not to settle for a second choice player all the time due to some minor financial restrictions..In this case, the signing of Sanchez will be greeted with roars from Anfield, but if we settle for a lesser player, we’ll be heading down the same old road once again..

  8. And the lack of commitment in the courting of players as i have mentioned earlier is of course in regards to last few seasons under benitez..The signing of Suarez and Carroll is not testament to this..In their singings, we did not just witness the capacity of wealth spent (although they were generated from the sales of babel and torres), but the most important thing is, we also witnessed the never-say-die and sheer desire by the board to get exactly what and who they wanted..They worked extremely hard and the resluts show for itself..Suarez is a class act worthy of a liverppol shirt, and Carroll will be there very soon…

  9. @dbn. I believe mate. I believe. Just cant wait 4 nxt season. Evry day i read transfer gossips. I hear Athletico want to release Aguero and Forlan.
    Bt i believe we MUST BUY HONDA 4 THE PROFITS IN ASIA. Besides the fact that he is a gr8 player. He can be our solution on the left wing, given that Sanchez plays on the right.
    So we must buy, Honda, Sanchez, Ymvilla and Taiwo/Wendt.
    We should retain Insua and maybe Aquilani.
    We should offload Maxi, Jovanovic, Poulsen, Soto, Degen, Elzar, maybe Cole too. Oh and Konchesky.
    Aurelio shouldnt be shipped out, but can be player coach

  10. Player coach? Based on what? As coach he may need to play 5 a side every now and then or kick a ball. He could easily break his back. What next? Kyrgiakos as heading coach, Joe Cole as fitness instructor? There must be a half decent Indian footballer somewhere, think of the profits!!!!

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