saw tis & think that it could become a problem 4 the management -
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns...nsfers&cc=4716
Deadwood may hamper Reds revolution
Depending upon interpretation, the numbers r awe-inspiring, extravagant or simply exorbitant.
Whichever, in signing 3 players, 2 of whom possessed a solitary England cap apiece when purchased, Kenny Dalglish & Damien Comolli hv contrived 2 spend £77.8 million within a matter of months.
Admittedly, & importantly, much of it was recouped by the sales of Fernando Torres & Ryan Babel, but the signings of Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll & Jordan Henderson hv propelled Liverpool back in2 the big spenders' league. They must register as statements of intent.
With ongoing quests 2 sign a left-back, a central defender, a winger, another midfielder & possibly a striker, more should follow. Besides giving Liverpool's squad Dalglish's stamp, tis is shaping up 2 be the summer tat renders Fenway Sports Group the Americans tat Merseysiders can accept.
Yet, much as they might wish it 2, Liverpool's past resolutely refuses 2 disappear. It was the unpleasant legacy both Dalglish & FSG inherited &, halfway thru the summer, the hope it would bid a profitable & speedy farewell seems overly optimistic.
Thus far, no 1 of note has left. While newcomers 2 the 1st team hint @ a 2-tier policy of expensive additions & eager locals, mediocre journeymen, fading forces or frustrating underachievers do not belong in either category. Thru no fault of his own, Dalglish has 2 many of them. As it stands, he - or perhaps more accurately, Comolli - has not succeeded in selling any.
Liverpool's owners may imagine a younger, hungrier & sleeker squad but, unless up to 10 players leave, the danger is tat theirs will be a bloated group containing several with little prospect of 1st-team football, especially in a season tat won't involve European football. There r men such as Milan Jovanovic (reported earnings: £120,000 a week) & Joe Cole (£90,000 a week), who prove tat free transfers can be a false economy. There r players who were loaned out, 4gotten but not gone, but now returned, such as Emiliano Insua, who @ least has shown promise, & Philipp Degen & Nabil El Zhar, who hv revealed none.
Then there r Roy Hodgson's recruits. Raul Meireles apart, the summer of 2010 was a nadir 4 Liverpool in the transfer market. Hodgson may not bear sole responsibility 4 the signings of Cole &, in particular, Jovanovic, but his reunions with Paul Konchesky & Christian Poulsen were all his own work.
Both were unmitigated disasters. The LB was hounded out of Anfield & borrowed by Nottingham Forest in January. Time may be a healer, but it will not convert an undistinguished tryer in2 a Liverpool player. Poulsen, meanwhile, is keen 2 stay. He has slipped behind Jay Spearing & Jonjo Shelvey in the pecking order but with 2 years remaining of a lucrative 3-year contract, his motivation may be clear. In both cases, reputations hv been diminished by Anfield careers & neither is overly marketable.
The bid 4 Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni suggests Jose Reina's deputy, Brad Jones, is also surplus 2 requirements. Tat Sotirios Kyrgiakos made sufficient appearances 2 trigger a 1-year contract extension does not make him any less slow or clumsy. Even the player whose talent appeared 2 make him bankable, Alberto Aquilani, will be back on Merseyside aft a change @ the helm of Juventus scuppered hopes of a £14 million cheque.
Besides feeling disappointment, he may encounter congestion. With Henderson's arrival & the possibility Charlie Adam will join, Liverpool's central midfield department threatens 2 be hugely overstaffed. Like Poulsen, his replacements hv arrived or emerged b4 his departure has been sealed.
In age, earnings & background, these r men who bear the hallmarks of the misfit. They r not the type of footballers Dalglish chooses 2 advance, being neither the products of a youth system who r belatedly being advanced or the Premier League's costliest young Brits.
Though they hv fared better & figured prominently under Dalglish, it is not beyond the realms of possibility tat Daniel Agger or Maxi Rodriguez would be sacrificed should an offer come in, a scenario tat becomes more plausible with each week when Liverpool fail 2 shift the overly remunerated & redundant.
In the meantime, a financial double whammy is threatened, whereby players cost the club plenty in wat are effectively wasted wages while their transfer values depreciate. The unneeded & unnecessary could earn in excess of £500,000 per week betw them, a spend tat can only harm owners & club.
The original intention, it is apparent, was the most radical reshaping of the squad since tat summer of 1999 when Gerard Houllier conducted an overhaul. Dalglish appears 2 hv both the authority & the determination 2 follow suit, but the job will only be half done if the Melwood training ground is populated by men Liverpool hv failed 2 sell.
Problems arise with planning a brave new world when the depressing old 1 refuses 2 go away.