James Pearce comment: Why Liverpool's summer spending spree is so different to 2014
Brendan Rodgers
IT WAS last October when Brendan Rodgers mentioned the dreaded ‘T’ word.
Liverpool had won just two of their opening six Premier League games and suffered a dismal defeat away to Basel in the Champions League.
The Reds boss admitted the challenge of trying to integrate so many new faces into the side was hampering the club’s progress.
“It brings us into a little period of transition again,” Rodgers said.
Liverpool had responded to the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona by splashing out £116million on nine signings with Divock Origi remaining with Lille on a season-long loan.
“For me it would have been a case of keeping the squad we had and adding a few bodies to thicken up the squad,” Rodgers said.
“But that wasn’t the case. There was big change here in the summer and we lost a world-class player.”
During the end of season review in May which followed such an underwhelming campaign, it was accepted that Liverpool did too much business last summer. Hampered by Daniel Sturridge’s injury woes, they were too heavily reliant on those who were still adjusting to the demands of life at Anfield.
Lessons would be learned. This summer would be about quality rather than quantity.
However, prior to the official opening of the transfer window this Wednesday, Liverpool have already made six signings. Nathaniel Clyne, who underwent his medical in the city on Monday, will become the latest new recruit. No Premier League club has been busier.
(L - R) England's Ryan Bertrand, Nathaniel Clyne, Adam Lallana, Charlie Austin and Jamie Vardy on the bench
So are Liverpool repeating the errors of 2014? Are they responding to the bitter disappointment of last term by trying to do too much too soon?
Closer inspection shows that this summer is different.
For a start, two of the new boys are unlikely to feature when the 2015/16 campaign gets underway. Defender Joe Gomez is one for the future and is likely to go out on loan, while goalkeeper Adam Bogdan is cover for Simon Mignolet.
Of the other four, three are established Premier League players - perfectly aware of what’s required to succeed in the top flight. James Milner for Steven Gerrard, Clyne for Glen Johnson and Danny Ings for Fabio Borini.
Roberto Firmino is the odd one out but after four-and-a-half years in Germany and 140 Bundesliga appearances under his belt he’s hardly a rookie. Liverpool are convinced that the £29million agreement they struck with Hoffenheim for the gifted Brazilian attacker will prove to be money well spent. That significant outlay provided the kind of statement of ambition that Liverpool simply didn’t make with their dealings in 2014.
It’s certainly a far cry from a year ago when at the start of July, Liverpool had only completed deals for Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana. This time around they have acted quickly and decisively. Negotiations haven’t dragged on to the point that targets have been missed.
In the summer of 2014, four of Liverpool’s eight new arrivals were aged 22 or under and hardly spoke a word of English between them. Emre Can, Lazar Markovic, Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno weren’t just new to the demands of the Premier League but barely out of their teens and trying to settle in a foreign country. Unsurprisingly, that period of adapting to their new surroundings wasn’t easy and they struggled.
LFC Foundation event with Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo at St Margaret's School in Aigburth with children from Royal School for the Blind, Liverpool Picture: Liverpool FC/Andrew Powell
Lambert was always viewed as a Plan B but was thrown in at the deep end in the continued absence of Sturridge, while Lallana’s hopes of living up to his £25million price tag were wrecked by the knee injury which forced him to miss the entire pre-season and left him playing catch-up.
Only the most blindly optimistic ever believed Mario Balotelli would be anything other than a waste of £16million. He never came close to justifying the hype that accompanied his arrival from Milan.
That was a panic buy at the end of the window when other targets had eluded the Reds. This time around they have been more ruthless and shown a much greater degree of planning.
Of course it’s not an exact science. A year ago Dejan Lovren appeared to tick all the boxes when the £20million signing became the most expensive defender in the club’s history. He was hailed by Rodgers as Jamie Carragher’s successor.
The Croatia international had enjoyed a fine season with Southampton and at 25 he boasted good experience after previous spells with Dinamo Zagreb and Lyon.
But Lovren crumbled under the pressure and expectation of life at Anfield. The shirt appeared to weigh him down.
Rather than provide leadership and organisation he spread panic and uncertainty. The hope is that he will come back strong in pre-season and prove he has learned from what was a brutal nine months for him.
Dejan Lovren
As a club Liverpool have clearly learned from the mistakes of 2014.
In an ideal world you would just add two or three top class new recruits each summer - like Chelsea did last summer. But the reality is that Liverpool aren’t at that level yet.
With Gerrard, Johnson and Brad Jones moving on, plus a dire goal shortage to address, Liverpool had to be busy without overseeing too much change.
Key areas have been addressed and one still remains - a proven marksman. The fact that Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke remains their No 1 target underlines a desire to buy those with Premier League goals on their CV.
It’s about ensuring there is no repeat of last season’s painfully slow start. Rodgers will know the ‘T’ word won’t be tolerated in 2015/16.
- 18:00, 29 JUNE 2015
- BY JAMES PEARCE
Brendan Rodgers
IT WAS last October when Brendan Rodgers mentioned the dreaded ‘T’ word.
Liverpool had won just two of their opening six Premier League games and suffered a dismal defeat away to Basel in the Champions League.
The Reds boss admitted the challenge of trying to integrate so many new faces into the side was hampering the club’s progress.
“It brings us into a little period of transition again,” Rodgers said.
Liverpool had responded to the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona by splashing out £116million on nine signings with Divock Origi remaining with Lille on a season-long loan.
“For me it would have been a case of keeping the squad we had and adding a few bodies to thicken up the squad,” Rodgers said.
“But that wasn’t the case. There was big change here in the summer and we lost a world-class player.”
During the end of season review in May which followed such an underwhelming campaign, it was accepted that Liverpool did too much business last summer. Hampered by Daniel Sturridge’s injury woes, they were too heavily reliant on those who were still adjusting to the demands of life at Anfield.
Lessons would be learned. This summer would be about quality rather than quantity.
However, prior to the official opening of the transfer window this Wednesday, Liverpool have already made six signings. Nathaniel Clyne, who underwent his medical in the city on Monday, will become the latest new recruit. No Premier League club has been busier.
So are Liverpool repeating the errors of 2014? Are they responding to the bitter disappointment of last term by trying to do too much too soon?
Closer inspection shows that this summer is different.
For a start, two of the new boys are unlikely to feature when the 2015/16 campaign gets underway. Defender Joe Gomez is one for the future and is likely to go out on loan, while goalkeeper Adam Bogdan is cover for Simon Mignolet.
Of the other four, three are established Premier League players - perfectly aware of what’s required to succeed in the top flight. James Milner for Steven Gerrard, Clyne for Glen Johnson and Danny Ings for Fabio Borini.
Roberto Firmino is the odd one out but after four-and-a-half years in Germany and 140 Bundesliga appearances under his belt he’s hardly a rookie. Liverpool are convinced that the £29million agreement they struck with Hoffenheim for the gifted Brazilian attacker will prove to be money well spent. That significant outlay provided the kind of statement of ambition that Liverpool simply didn’t make with their dealings in 2014.
It’s certainly a far cry from a year ago when at the start of July, Liverpool had only completed deals for Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana. This time around they have acted quickly and decisively. Negotiations haven’t dragged on to the point that targets have been missed.
In the summer of 2014, four of Liverpool’s eight new arrivals were aged 22 or under and hardly spoke a word of English between them. Emre Can, Lazar Markovic, Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno weren’t just new to the demands of the Premier League but barely out of their teens and trying to settle in a foreign country. Unsurprisingly, that period of adapting to their new surroundings wasn’t easy and they struggled.
Lambert was always viewed as a Plan B but was thrown in at the deep end in the continued absence of Sturridge, while Lallana’s hopes of living up to his £25million price tag were wrecked by the knee injury which forced him to miss the entire pre-season and left him playing catch-up.
Only the most blindly optimistic ever believed Mario Balotelli would be anything other than a waste of £16million. He never came close to justifying the hype that accompanied his arrival from Milan.
That was a panic buy at the end of the window when other targets had eluded the Reds. This time around they have been more ruthless and shown a much greater degree of planning.
Of course it’s not an exact science. A year ago Dejan Lovren appeared to tick all the boxes when the £20million signing became the most expensive defender in the club’s history. He was hailed by Rodgers as Jamie Carragher’s successor.
The Croatia international had enjoyed a fine season with Southampton and at 25 he boasted good experience after previous spells with Dinamo Zagreb and Lyon.
But Lovren crumbled under the pressure and expectation of life at Anfield. The shirt appeared to weigh him down.
Rather than provide leadership and organisation he spread panic and uncertainty. The hope is that he will come back strong in pre-season and prove he has learned from what was a brutal nine months for him.
As a club Liverpool have clearly learned from the mistakes of 2014.
In an ideal world you would just add two or three top class new recruits each summer - like Chelsea did last summer. But the reality is that Liverpool aren’t at that level yet.
With Gerrard, Johnson and Brad Jones moving on, plus a dire goal shortage to address, Liverpool had to be busy without overseeing too much change.
Key areas have been addressed and one still remains - a proven marksman. The fact that Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke remains their No 1 target underlines a desire to buy those with Premier League goals on their CV.
It’s about ensuring there is no repeat of last season’s painfully slow start. Rodgers will know the ‘T’ word won’t be tolerated in 2015/16.
