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Feeling the winds of change!
 | By Tonio Bone · Comments |
Gusts of strong wind are consistently moving away the storm clouds from Anfield as the Reds prepare themselves for what should be a season of resurrection. Finishing 7th and not winning any silverware, coupled with the departure of Rafa Benitez spelt doom and gloom for many Liverpool faithful. Barely a couple of months later, there is renewed optimism and belief in what may well the start of an important era for the Reds.
Now we have a new manager, and all our top players with the exception of Benayoun (he might have stayed had Rafa left earlier) and Mascherano (he already wanted out last summer) will stay, with or without CL football. The holding midfield player dilemma should be solved by next week (Christian Poulsen), and it is very likely that the sale of Mascherano to Inter will finance the arrival of a left-back and a striker (as Insua remains on the verge of leaving). The arrivals of Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovich, as well as hot prospect Danny Wilson seem to be inspired signings. Hopefully, we will also see the likes of Dani Pacheco, Martin Kelly, Jay Spearing and Stephen Darby burst into the side. Sammy Lee has stayed and Sami Hyypia will come back once his contract with Leverkusen expires. Roy has brought in a specialized team of sports science people that will have a positive effect on the physical work-rate and fitness of the players, and last but not least, we are all in trepid anticipation of knowing who the new owners will be in the hope that our debts are wiped out (and avoid paying almost Stg 50 million each year in interest that we can spend on transfers) and we can begin with the construction of the new stadium (which will boost the Club’s revenue by millions each year). We need to remember that the sugar-daddy spending era is coming to a close, and the Clubs will be a) not allowed to carry huge debt liabilities and b) allowed only to spend what they are able to generate in profits!
Now the actual playing! Our Europa League counterparts were no match for the Reds, not even a star-depleted formation, but what we did see was a more productive and stable 4-4-2 strategy, couple with players like Jovanovich, Pacheco, Rodriguez and Cole giving their opposition no reference points by constantly shifting their position along all the whole width of the attacking front with incursions into the penalty area coming from all four, with Lucas and Gerrard having their say too. This is going to be a different Liverpool, a totally different Liverpool. I will not commit myself any further, because all our top-of-the-table rivals have not (bar Man Utd) been exactly sitting pretty doing nothing. However I feel confident enough to say that we will most probably enjoy the coming season and that finally ‘at the end of the storm we will see the golden sky’.
Things are never as they seem!
| By Tonio Bone · Comments |
When Joe Cole said goodbye to Chelsea, he was said to be within the radar of Man Utd, Arsenal and Spurs, with the latter two taking the advantage in being London clubs for the very special Londoner. I feel confident enough to state that no one imagined Joe Cole (though everyone hoped and dreamt) would leave London to come to a non-Champions League north-west team, even thought that team is the most titled team in the Premier League: Liverpool FC!
So what do you know! ‘The Reds cannot afford his wage demands’, ‘He will never leave London’, and ‘He wants to play Champions League Football’. These are all statements that went down the drain once it was announced that Joe Cole went to the Club that ‘really, really’ wanted him: Liverpool FC!
So things are never what they seem to be. Liverpool is still an attractive proposition to class players, with or without CL football. Today, the Reds are incredibly linked with making offers for two left fullbacks (Figueroa and Konchesky) and this when Fabio Aurelio (offered new contract) and Emiliano Insua (Fiorentina move seems to have hit a snag) seem to be back in the fold. We are also linked with offers for three midfielders in an effort to replace the departing Mascherano: Scott Parker, Christian Poulson and Steven Defour being the hot candidates. Strangely, or perhaps not, there is very little talk of Liverpool approaching anyone for a top-notch striker!!! Could be Roy is happy with David N’Gog, or perhaps he sees that we have players like Kuijt, Cole and Jovanovic as being polyvalent in any attacking position, hence the non-urgency in bringing in more attacking fire-power.
Roy Hogdson is not used to big budgets, and at 62, I don’t think he will catch the ‘high spend’ virus now. Just the type of Manager Cristian Purslow and the Club needed perhaps: wise decisions coupled with quality signings at bargain prices. Having said that, I have this feeling that we will be in for another one or two pleasant surprises!!!
Completing the jig-saw!
| By Tonio Bone · Comments |
Players continue to be linked to the Reds left right and centre, but there are a couple of names that are becoming more consistent than others. We all know that the Reds are still in search of a left-back, a holding midfielder and an out and out striker to complete the jig-saw puzzle for the coming season. Okay, so let’s try to tackle each of the three vacant positions separately and see what we can come up with!
Left-Back : The candidature of Luke Young for this role seems to have fallen by the wayside, and perhaps at 31 year of age this would have been more of a stop-gap rather than a long-term solution. That said, the lad is an ex-England International (suitable for the new home grown quota rule) and does have bags of experience. The two most favoured tabloid and webnews candidates are now Paul Konchesky and Maynor Figueroa. Both lively attacking full-backs but Konchesky (29 years old) here takes a winning edge in my book for being another England International .
With the above said, Fabio Aurelio is back with the Reds after signing a fresh two-year deal. The Reds will probably still go for a left-back to make sure the turnover process covers all positions and also not to depend to much on the injury prone Brazilian!
Holding Midfield: Beppe Marotta, General Manager of Serie A giants Juventus, confirmed that the Reds are in fact interested in the Stg 6/7 million rated Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen. No doubt this is a solid player. He is excellent at sitting in front of defense but is not a nimble as Mascherano. What they do share in common is their ability to collect yellow…and the odd red cards! Solid Investment but not very ‘long-term’. Then there is Steven Defour. Those of us that recall a Champions League pre-Group qualifier against Standard Liege will remember how this 20 year old Belgian (at the time) directed his side in giving the Reds a real run for their money (and he was already captain of the Belgian national side). Dogged by injury last season, he is now 22 and is skilful at all three possible options a player can play in his role, i.e. defensive, central or attacking. At a rumoured Stg 10 million price tag, this would be a solid investment for the future (go for it Roy!).
Centre-forward: With our beloved El Nino destined to stay and David N’Gog giving the Reds a 2-0 away victory in the Europa League, the latter’s credit rating has been given a massive boost and there is no doubt the young Frenchman will have the time to improve and flourish into a wonderful striker. The Reds have been linked to various strikers and possible come-backs, but one player that stands out in my mind at present is the striker and player that impressed me most in the last World Cup: Keisuke Honda! Power, technique and work ethic are all part of this 24-year olds abilities (this one falls within the wish-list category). The problem here is that half of Europe’s football elite want him in their ranks and in this case perhaps we might fall behind in his order of preferences. Personally, I’d go for either Carlton Cole or Peter Crouch (that is if Old ‘Arry will sell him back to us). Both excellent forwards and both England Internationals!
On the way out: It is believed Inter Milan are putting together a Euro 25 million offer which will obviously be turned down by the Reds. If these people are demanding Euro 35 million for Balotelli and close to Euro 50 million for Maicon why should we sell him to then ‘on the cheap’? Rafa always claimed Masch was worth Euro 50 million, so why offer should we accept a half-price offer? The lad wants to leave, so be it, but the Reds should and will not make this too easy. Philippe Degen too is also on the way out. I suppose some players will leave on loan for the coming season. Pacheco seems to want to play first team football and Kriztian Nemeth will probably spend another season out on loan. It may be too early to cash in on these two wonderful talents even though I personally would not even think of selling them (not yet at least).
A good luck to the Reds for tomorrow’s friendly, and am all excited to see Joe Cole’s debut game!
Bits and pieces……the restructuring continues!
| By Tonio Bone · Comments |
What we know for a fact is that Benayoun, Insua and Riera have left, and that Jovanovic, Joe Cole and Wilson are in. This is what has happened so far, however, we might be in for another couple of both pleasant and unpleasant surprises before this longer transfer window is over.
What is being said and what is being reported! We are told Torres is locked in talks with Club over his future (but the chances of El Nino leaving are very remote). Mascherano on the other hand will feature as a repeat of last year’s ‘Alonso Saga’ and will ultimately leave for Inter Milan (the Club will probably look to make a substantial stash from this move as the player is still under contract). We are told Degen has been told he can leave, Ngog and El Zhar are both on the brink of being sold/loaned. I also read that newly promoted Serie A Club Lecce have offered Euro 1.2 million for 50% ownership of Kriztian Nemeth (if the Italian media is to be believed and the Club crazy enough to take the bait). Rumour of the week goes to talk of the Club going for Jan-Klaas Huntelaar in exchange for Ryan Babel (or an outright purchase), as well as a possible interest in Carlton Cole to partner/be a stand-in for Torres (both the Dutch and England internationals are 26 years old and cost more or less the same). The Reds have been linked with Wayne Bridge (unlikely) and Paul Koncheski (more likely) for the left-back position. For any quality left back that wants to be assured of first team football with one of the top teams in the world, then Anfield should be their obvious choice. They really should be knocking on our door! And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. What we must not forget is that we have an interesting posse of reserves players that are waiting to burst into the first team! That is one resource we must never ever keep out of the equation.
Three more aspects to consider:
• Roy Hodgson is slowly but surely restructuring the backroom staff. New coaches, new medical staff ecc, ecc. Sammy Lee is staying on too so there is also continuity here.
• More ‘England’ at Liverpool. An English coach after so many years, another England international in our ranks and the possibility of more arriving is well and truly refreshing.
• Money, money, money. The media, both written and online, continues to mention financial issues and this is has not only become stale, but utterly ridiculous. I don’t think we need to spend mega-bucks, what we need to do is spend wisely.
I read this week that Man Utd have been again named the richest Club in the world, and that includes being over Stg 750 million in debt. We are just a third of that and we have the same marketing potential as they have, not only, the Reds remain the most titled Club in England.
Roy Hodgson seems a sensible man and definitely not a risk taker. He will go for what is right for the Club and is used to work without extravagant amounts of cash on hand. Contrary to what is being said, Roy does have a decent amount of money to spend and when Mascherano’s transfer is finalized, this will become more substantial. As I said, we need to be shrewd in our choices. Three of our latest signings (Rodriguez, Jovanovic and Cole) have come on a free and they are all outstanding players….let the trend continue.
Who will take the helm?
| By Tonio Bone · Comments |
There are at least a dozen names being linked to the Manager’s post at LFC. Some are likely, others are quite improbable, but then there are many issues to take into consideration, the first one being that the Club cannot risk another massive move in the wrong direction.
The most palpable names have been those of Roy Hodgson and a return to management for King Kenny (which is unlikely and perhaps more beneficial for the Club is he keeps this important ambassadorial role which has turned out to be a buffer between the fans and the establishment).
Other names being mentioned are (or were) Guus Hiddink (under contract and expensive), Martin O’Neill (under contract and Lerner tends to keep him happy), Mark Hughes (Man Utd blood at Liverpool?), Sven Goran Ericksson (too flamboyant and never impressed me much), Jurgen Klinssman (not Liverpool material) and the latest being Marcello Lippi (free agent after World Cup) and David Moyes (is someone trying to instigate civil war on Merseyside?). Have I missed anyone, if I have, perhaps it’s because they fall within the improbable category.
If the above represent the essence of what may come Liverpool’s way, then I humbly propose my two preferences which are Roy Hodgson and Marcello Lippi. Roy Hodgson is a solid choice. He is not an expensive option; he tends to keep a low profile, and has always done a decent job with what’s at his disposal. Marcello Lippi is the epitome of Italian tacticians. Coming from the beautiful seaside resort of Viareggio, he might find life slightly harsh on Merseyside, but he might, just might, relish the challenge, not forgetting the fact that he is a free agent once the World Cup is over.
As for the players, everyone is predicting a mass exodus of players from Liverpool, but other than players that were already on the way out, I don’t see any big name leaving, apart from Mascherano of course, who has become Rafa’s golden boy and who would not mind joining the large posse of Argentinean players at Inter (Samuel, Cambiasso, Milito and Zanetti). His wife would not mind that either I suppose.
I just hope we make the right choice, and we make it quickly!
Will Rafa stay?
| By Tonio Bone · Comments |
Antoine has logged a second poll to check on the fans feelings towards our Manager and it seems to me that the majority of Liverpool fans want the Spanish tactician to stay. Many will probably fear the prospect of him leaving and taking some of our jewels with him. Antoine is an admirable defender of Benitez and a true unconditional Liverpool fan, but I have a feeling that we have arrived at a stage where this decision will be ultimately up to him, Rafa Benitez, and no one else.
I have a gut feeling that if the Reds do not win the Europa League and/or clinch 4th spot, the Spanish Master will concede ‘defeat’ and resign. This would be the result of a season which departed with promise and great expectations and which finds us depending on the results of others to play CL football next season, and having to make-do (so to speak!) with a possible Europa League triumph when the real objective was another assault at winning the Champions League. It’s really a question of being coherent with one self and of course, being a gentleman.
Big European clubs are chasing the Spaniard and waiting on his decisions. His recent ‘No comment’ to questions regarding his link to Juventus may be political, but he has not categorically denied (like he had done a month or so ago) the link and that he is committed to Liverpool. Can we blame him? This man has ‘guarantee’ Champions League football to his Liverpool squad and supporters! Should he stay on if he fails?
Personally, I don’t see any Messiah on the horizon…..or anyone that can turn our team into a PL and CL force over the summer. It isn’t even a question of H&G anymore. Okay money talks, but we have a squad that is envied by everyone player for player. We do have quality, and we have seen that you don’t have to spend mega money to have decent players. We don’t need to revolutionize our team, we need a bit more ‘kwality’ in one two/positions and a deeper squad with ‘kwality’ subs that can maintain a high level of expectancy and delivery even when our megastars are not available.
In essence, I feel that the final decision now rests with Rafa! Anfield has shown a lot of patience and a lot of love for the Manager. Rafa will wait and see. If Rafa is not our Manager next season it will not because the Club has asked him to leave, it will be because the man will feel he has let the fans down.
