Liverpool Fans Reflect On Broken Promises
Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger and Martin Skirtl show their disappointment.
The clock is ticking. Tom Hicks, Liverpool’s unpopular, in-debted co-owner, promised eight months ago that this would be a “big” summer transfer window for a club who have spent much of the last two years operating on the tightest of budgets. He has just six days to prove he is as good as his word.
Anfield is used to broken promises from Hicks and his partner, George Gillett. The last week of the transfer window, as far as Liverpool are concerned, will bring simply a resolution to the Javier Mascherano saga – the Argentine will not travel to Turkey today with the rest of Roy Hodgson’s squad – and perhaps one or two perfunctory additions. Few are expecting Hicks’s vow to come good.
“Our debt is very manageable,” Hicks wrote in an email sent in January. “We never use player sales for debt service. January is a poor-quality market. The summer window will be big.”
Even Hicks would struggle to defend Liverpool’s outlay so far this summer as “big”, at least when compared to that of Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United or even Arsenal. Christian Poulsen, Brad Jones, Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic, Jonjo Shelvey and Danny Wilson have all arrived, for a total of £11 million. Hardly a princely sum.
Perhaps, then, he was hinting at the threat of those departures which have haunted Liverpool for so long? Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard may have pledged their loyalty, but both Mascherano and Dirk Kuyt may yet leave. Liverpool may be in line to suffer big losses to a squad already threadbare in quality.
Argentina’s captain, who Hodgson claimed “was not in the right frame of mind” to play in Monday’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City, returned to training on Tuesday, but will not join his team-mates, who are thought to be unimpressed at an attitude they believe forced Hodgson to change his tactics at Eastlands at the last minute, on this morning’s flight to Turkey.
Mascherano has made it clear to Liverpool that the club he wishes to go to is Barcelona, with whom he has agreed a four-season, £4.5 million-a-year contract, though the Spanish side are still thought to be some way short of Liverpool’s £25 million valuation. Liverpool hope a deal will be completed by the end of the week but have no interest in any of the fringe players Barcelona have offered in part-exchange.
Kuyt, meanwhile, remains a target for his former manager, Rafael Benítez, at Inter Milan. The Italian champions, with £49 million to spend from their Champions League win, are believed to be readying an improved offer for the Dutch international. Kuyt is tempted by the prospect of a reunion with Benítez.
But while their sales would raise as much as £40 million, the precedent of Hicks and Gillett’s reign at Anfield suggests much of that will not be reinvested in the squad. Hodgson’s philosophy, too, that he will not spend money for the sake of it, makes it hard to see high-profile captures before the window closes on Tuesday.
Little wonder, then, that Liverpool seemed so deflated, so dispassionate, as their credentials were ruthlessly exposed at Eastlands. City are the standard-bearers of the Premier League’s ambitious wannabes. Liverpool are not even treading water. They are fighting against the tide.
The fans, of course, are familiar with the feeling. When Hicks fired off his missive amid the controversy prompted by the decision of his son, Tom Jr, to send an abusive note to a supporter, his message was greeted with derision on the Kop. Nobody expects Hicks and Gillett to deliver.
More worryingly, though, the club’s players share that belief. The sentiments which sit guiltily in Hicks’s email outbox have been expressed to the squad for more than a year as Liverpool attempt to oust their absentee landlords. Many have long been concerned that Liverpool’s inability to compete in the transfer market would soon translate into an inability to compete on the pitch. They had their proof on Monday.
Prime among them, of course, is Torres, who has gone public with his insistence that Liverpool need an infusion of top-class signings.
When Purslow shuttled back and forth to Madrid last month to convince his crown jewel to remain, no doubt he made much of the fact that the Americans’ demise was imminent. With their departure would come investment, funding and the calibre of team-mate Torres craves. Such a hope played a large part in convincing the Spaniard to spurn Chelsea, Barcelona and City to stay.
With just days left in the transfer market, that promise looks like being broken, too. No investment will come before the close of business. True, it may arrive in October, or by Christmas, as some involved in the sale process believe, but that will not be enough to salvage this season. If they do not arrive at all, Torres will be forced to reconsider his decision to stay, perhaps as soon as January. So, too, will several of his team-mates. The clock is ticking.
Courtesy of The Telegraph
Lack Of Suitors At Liverpool
Fernando Torres
It is a measure of football’s moral code that a man’s decision to honour a £110,000-a-week contract signed little more than a year ago is viewed as an act of loyalty, a pledge of allegiance. In truth, though, there was little else Fernando Torres could do.
Whether Liverpool priced him out of a move or whether a bid for his services simply never materialised is not clear, but, to an extent, the Spain international’s decision to allow the Anfield side one more year to prove they can match his ambitions was not his to take.
Chelsea, certainly, did not pursue him with the vigour which their indications earlier this summer suggested they might. Barcelona’s financial travails, prioritisation of Cesc Fabregas and failure to offload Zlatan Ibrahimovic ruled the Spanish champions out of the running.
True, Manchester City possess the means and the ambition, but Torres craves exposure among the elite. Eastlands is not yet the stage for that.
That is not a criticism of Torres’s character or an intimation of hypocrisy.
He deserves praise for his decision to draw a line under the episode, for a year at least, immediately after returning from his summer break on the beaches of Galicia and Ibiza. He should be feted for his willingness to allow Liverpool time to remedy the ills which have blighted the club for so long.
And he will be, of course, by a public even more adoring than before, their hearts fonder than ever simply from the prospect of absence, and by a manager whose life his words, delivered to Liverpool’s official website on Tuesday afternoon, he has made substantially easier.
Torres is the one man who lifts Liverpool above the ordinary and the Kop to the edge of their seats. He is, perhaps, the only true global icon plying his trade in the Premier League. Whether Roy Hodgson adopts the 4-4-1-1 he used to such great effect at Fulham or retains the 4-2-3-1 his new team are designed and built to employ, Torres fits the bill perfectly.
He is the perfect example of the modern forward: more comfortable on his own than in a pair – see also Drogba, Didier – and equally capable of holding the ball up or playing on a defender’s shoulder. He is a one-man forward line.
Such wondrous talent, though, comes at a price. His presence at Liverpool this season may be certain, but doubts linger over how often he will be seen. Torres has proven his loyalty. Now he faces the task of proving his fitness.
For two years, Torres has been blighted by injury. Twice last season the striker was absent for six-week spells with knee complaints, while his most notable contribution to Spain’s victory in the World Cup was the groin injury he suffered in the dying minutes of the final.
Perhaps that is due, in no small part, to the burden he shoulders at Liverpool. Few players are so conscious of how much their team relies on their presence, so determined to play through pain to help their side.
Hodgson may finally be able to dismiss the idea that he must replace his irreplaceable forward – instead concentrating on offers for midfielders Mathieu Flamini and Christian Poulsen – but he must also provide him with the cover he so desperately needs.
Should Hodgson fail, as his predecessor Rafael Benítez did, to deliver Torres the back-up that would allow him time to rest and recuperate, the risk of the player enduring another abortive season is overwhelming.
Liverpool, takeover or no, know that would most likely result in continued exile from the Champions League. Should that happen, Torres may find that, next summer, he does have a decision to make.
Courtesy of The Telegraph
Steven Gerrard Staying At Liverpool?
Steven Gerrard
Cole yesterday agreed a four-year deal with Liverpool after being released by Chelsea at the end of last season. It has been suggested that the 28-year-old, who was also wanted by Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, is a replacement for Gerrard, who has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer.
However, it would appear the 30-year-old sees his long-term future at Liverpool.
“I know Joe well through the England set-up and have seen first hand just how good a player he is,” Gerrard is quoted as saying by the Liverpool Echo. “He has proved his ability over many years in the Premier League – sometimes against us – so it will be fantastic to play alongside him in a red shirt for Liverpool.”
“I’ve told him what a great club this is and I’m sure Joe’s the sort of exciting talent our fans will love to see.”
Gerrard, who returned to pre-season training today, had refused to speak about his future while at the World Cup with England, fuelling the belief that he was about to leave the only club he has played for.
However, the Anfield captain has clearly been impressed by Hodgson having met the 62-year-old shortly after he replaced Rafael Benítez as manager at the start of the month. And, despite Liverpool’s difficult financial position, and the fact they will not be playing in the Champions League next season, believes he can instigate a turnaround.
“I wanted the chance to meet Roy Hodgson privately and having done so, I’m very impressed with his plans for the future,” said Gerrard, who has been credited by his new club manager for “selling” Liverpool to Cole while the pair were in South Africa with the England squad.
Doubts, though, remain over the future of Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano.
Courtesy of The Guardian
Joe Cole At Liverpool
Joe Cole
Liverpool hope Joe Cole’s arrival at Anfield on a four-year deal worth £18.7m can convince Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to commit their futures to the club.
Cole agreed to become Liverpool’s second summer signing today when he rejected the chance of Champions League football with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in favour of a £90,000-a-week contract on Merseyside. The transfer will be finalised providing the England midfielder passes a medical in the next 48 hours in Switzerland, where he has arrived at Liverpool’s pre-season training camp.
Liverpool’s offer to Cole, who was available on a free following Chelsea’s refusal to extend his contract at Stamford Bridge, is understood to have bettered the terms available in north London but was not the most lucrative deal on the table. West Ham United, one of Cole’s former clubs, made the highest offer to the 28-year-old but the prospect of joining Liverpool, and regular first-team football under the new manager, Roy Hodgson, swayed him.
Cole’s decision gives the lie to the notion that remaining in the capital on the most lucrative contract available was his over-riding ambition. The Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelotti, claimed at the weekend that Cole’s problem at Stamford Bridge was not personal but economic.
His move to Anfield has wider implications for Liverpool, who have endured a turbulent period on and off the field recently, with the departure of Rafael Benítez as manager accompanied by doubts over the futures of Gerrard, Torres and Javier Mascherano.
Liverpool are reluctant to say anything publicly about Cole’s signing, beyond confirmation of the agreement, until a player who suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury in January 2009 has passed a stringent medical. Club officials are increasingly hopeful, however, that a transfer that has been well-received by senior players will serve as a statement of intent to Gerrard and Torres should they become the subject of bids from Real Madrid and Chelsea respectively.
No offers have been received for Gerrard or Torres, despite long-standing interest in the pair and their frustrations at the club finishing seventh in the Premier League last season and Liverpool’s struggles to compete at the higher end of the transfer market. Mascherano is a target for Internazionale and Liverpool may show less resistance to selling a player who has agitated for a move for two summers.
In the circumstances Cole’s arrival will provide a significant fillip to Liverpool who, despite the £350m debt placed on the club by the co-owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have signed an England international and the Serbia striker Milan Jovanovic on free transfers, but substantial personal terms, this summer.
Selling Yossi Benayoun to Chelsea raised £5m and Liverpool intend to increase that figure significantly by reducing the size of the first-team squad. Emiliano Insúa is considering a £5m move to Fiorentina and Albert Riera is close to joining Olympiakos for a similar fee. All the deals were put in place before Hodgson joined on 1 July. The manager has confirmed a new left-back is a priority, given that three will have left since January should Insúa follow Andrea Dossena and Fábio Aurélio out the club.
Hodgson has said that Liverpool’s World Cup contingent will not be considered for Europa League qualifying duty next week, but that policy may not apply to Cole, who was restricted to just two substitute appearances totalling 44 minutes in England’s woeful campaign.
Ian Rush, who retains close links with his former club, said: “I’m sure Roy Hodgson will play him in every game, especially if he is playing well, and maybe getting regular football is a reason why he has come to Liverpool. To get Joe to come out of London and come to Liverpool is a coup for Hodgson itself. We might not have been as successful as we would have liked to have been recently, but this shows we can still attract top-name players, whether that’s an England international or a foreign international.
“We’ve got a great new manager in Roy Hodgson and he knows what he wants, and he can talk these players into signing for our club. This is the signing supporters wanted and it’s a big boost for them. You look at last season when we went into it not hoping but thinking we were going to win the league.
“This season people are thinking are we going to finish in the top four. I think this sends a sign out to Liverpool supporters that the club do mean business.”
Courtesy of The Guardian
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think Cole will make a difference at Liverpool?
Wesley Sneijder And David Villa Are Men To Fear
David Villa takes a shot at the goal.
Those who lead the line at this World Cup do not lead the scoring charts.
Those with most thunder in their boots are five-goal men such as Spain’s David Villa and Holland’s Wesley Sneijder, who grace Sunday’s final and highlight a theme of the tournament of danger flowing from those lurking out wide and behind the front man.
Centre-forwards have found the mark, four-goal strikers such as Miroslav Klose, Diego Forlán (although often deeper-lying) and Slovakia’s Robert Vittek.
However the presence of Germany’s right-sided Thomas Müller as the other attacker on four goals confirms that much damage is inflicted from out wide.
“In all the games we have played we have had more space on the sides,’’ reflected Dirk Kuyt, who operates on the left for Holland. “The players on the wings have scored the goals.’’
Even Landon Donovan, of the United States, has chipped in with three. Other wide men, such as Lukas Podolski and Arjen Robben, have hit two apiece.
Luis Fabiano recorded three through the middle but this has not been the World Cup of the rampant centre-forward. Premier League stars such as Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres have managed one between them.
“It is very difficult,’’ continued Kuyt. “Teams are well organised. Everyone knows Van Persie, Rooney and Torres. But everyone is struggling.
“If you see Villa, he is playing on the left and cutting inside and scoring a lot of goals. It looks like it is easier for players on the side to create chances and score.’’
With Torres dropped by Spain for the World Cup semi-final against Germany, Villa played through the middle but failed to score. For Holland, Van Persie has borne his lone-striker role willingly, allowing Sneijder in particular to plunder the spoils.
“Robin is a quality player,’’ Kuyt said. “We saw some things against Uruguay [in the semi-final] but in this World Cup it is very difficult for strikers to score goals, get some space and create chances.
“But one thing Robin does is work really hard. He is a team player. It is just difficult to create chances. People expected him to score five or six goals. He hasn’t done that but the way he is playing he is still very important for us.”
Especially for Sneijder, whose sustained prominence this season with Inter Milan and Holland has inevitably stirred talk of a move to clubs such as Manchester United. “I have a very good feeling at Inter and I don’t want to let them down after winning everything and losing Jose Mourinho,’’ Sneijder said.
“My goal is to be as successful this year with the new coach [Rafael Benítez]. I’m not surprised by the interest because I’ve been playing well but my intention is to stay at Inter. I want to talk with them later this month about extending my contract.’’ Inter’s president, Massimo Moratti, has invited Sneijder in for a chat.
Under Benítez, Kuyt endured a disappointing time at Liverpool. “It is really satisfying to end the season like this,’’ said the Dutchman, anticipating the final, his 63rd game of the campaign.
“It was a really long season at Liverpool and mentally it has been tough. You play for Liverpool to win trophies and it did not happen.’’
Kuyt has yet to speak to Benitez’s successor, Roy Hodgson. “I spoke to people at the club and I know he wants to speak with me,’’ said Kuyt, who stressed he wanted to stay.
“Of course. Liverpool is a great club with a great history. Unfortunately, in my four years I haven’t won anything with Liverpool. Hopefully, in the future I still have a chance to win something. Hopefully, the manager wants me to stay.’’
Kuyt then explained the new inner strength of Holland. “Dutch football is always very good. In every tournament we have played we have shown we have quality. In this tournament we have shown we have more than quality. We also have belief. We believe we can beat every opponent.
“We have the patience to do it. Against Brazil we were 1-0 down but we still had the belief we could win. We were 1-0 up against Uruguay and they equalised. Sometimes in tournaments that have gone before we have lost it at that point.
“This time we stayed focused. We believed in our own quality. We kept our positions.’’
Kuyt stressed that Holland were “not afraid’’ of Villa and company.
“You could see the Germans were afraid of Spain. They didn’t try to attack. We are going to attack and then you will see weaknesses coming to the surface. If you play like the Germans you are definitely going to lose.
“We don’t have players who are afraid and we don’t have players who feel small against the big opponents. There is respect but not fear.’’
Courtesy of The Telegraph
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