Date: 17th July 2011 at 10:00am
Written by:

It seems through out the last seven months a few different policies have been mentioned.

Firstly it was said that we were getting quality players that have are young, hungry an have a re-sale value in the future.
Suarez and Carroll fell into this category.

Then we wanted more home grown talent, presumably because they’ve either had Premier League experience or due to the home grown rule when it comes to European games.
Fitting in here are Henderson, Adam and Downing.

The final category which seems to be just about a good backup for Pepe Reina is Doni.

Doni played a total of 19 games last season for Roma and conceded 24 goals. He doesn’t seem to get itchy feet as he was at Roma since 2005. He’s played in Champions League games, and helped Roma finish sixth in Serie A. Nothing spectacular but a much more reliable and experienced keeper at the top level than Brad Jones.

Looking at the idea of Premier League experience is more troublesome.

Adam and Carroll have played in the Premier League for one season. Henderson has had 2 seasons at Sunderland in the Premier League and played in 70 games and scored four times.

As for re-sale value, Carroll; I’m not too sure if I would’ve paid £35 million for him and at that fee I think Newcastle got the better end of the deal. I hope he can dominate up-front in the air for most of his career though and if he does that the £35 million will be justified.

Henderson, at nearly £20million seems that unless the market inflates in a few years time the return will be minimal. Again if he improves playing with Stevie G and Adam then he could simply repay the club with being there for the long term and helping us challenge for honours.

Adam could well have a good re-sale value given how his stock sky-rocketed after one season in the Premier League. Blackpool didn’t help matters but driving a hard bargain means £6-7million was a better deal than was initially being reported. If his left foot can be half as good as last season then he will have done well. This time he will be surrounded by top class players who will share responsibility rather than expecting him to win games on his own.

Downing leaves me divided. He attacks down the wing and puts defenders on the back foot, something we’ve been lacking for far too long. He can put good crosses in which will help Carroll but at £20million did we over-spend? The British market is inflated but we have N’Zogbia who Dave Whelan is willing to sell for approx £10million and he can do just as much if not more than Downing. The ideal scenario if we are looking for width could be to buy both players which would be great although that would leave one less space for the existing squad. Maybe more news in another week or so on transfers will be forthcoming.

Are you happy with the Downing transfer?

Did we spend too much on him?

Would you rather have bought a player from abroad for the same/less money?

Anyone with Premier league experience that you would like in a red shirt?

 

12 responses to “Liverpool’s Transfer Policy Explained”

  1. michael says:

    why does everyone keep bangin on about andy carroolls price. at the time john henry said we wanted carroll + 15mil for torres and thats what we got. newcastle set the fee and chelski paid up. the squad already looks way better than last year. LB + CB and we’re sorted. keep aqua sell raul

  2. KB says:

    Your focus is just on transfer fee, not their ability or potential… the current transfer policy is a mixture of buying ‘potential’ based on stats ‘younger players with proven experience in the Premier League. I doubt we’re finished in the transfer market,not all our transfers will be British, but we want to make ground up so don’t want to wait for players fromother leagues adjust to the fast pace of the premier league.

  3. Nik Gresham says:

    We can all say buying Jeffren and nzogbia would have made more sense but the truth is Downing is a goo signing however we still need another wide man so lets get another. King Kenny will get it right.

  4. Tony says:

    N’Zogbia is not in the same class as Downing, never in a million years!!!. As for how much he cost, I couldn’t care less, not at all. FSG pay for the players not us and that is that, do we want some crap players instead?????

  5. Feranmi says:

    I prefer Albert Riera.

  6. gray says:

    awww cmon man.ur jst a dumbfounded ass.caroll is world class.35mil is good price for him.but m not too sure about signin english players only.we shldve bought hulk or falcao n yes nzogbia is class too.

  7. John says:

    we are in the right track as far as transfer is concern.we need to dispose off some of our players because we have got their replacements.Hence their stay shall have impact on wage bill

  8. @southafricanred says:

    I agree. it’s not just about their resale value. It is aldo about getting into the champions league as soon as possible and also winning trophies. Making a few million on a player pales in comparison to the marketing and prize winning money the above brings. These players will be ready for the epl challenge from day one!

  9. MB says:

    I think the Manager and coach know what they want. All players bought have been carefully chosen and when price inflated we have walked away. Yes we shd keep Aquilani and sell Raul Mereiles and get a LB.

  10. Redsim622 says:

    Spot on Michael, £55m on Carroll & Henderson is a real statement of intent by FSG. But this is only stage 1. Once we get back in top 4 hopefully we will be able to attract a couple of world class players – Aquilani and Adam already look like huge additions to the squad

  11. Peter King says:

    Nzogbia is, like all wigan players, hugely ineffetive in most games and very inconsistent. I wanted Mata to come but Downing would do. Having the most crosses in the whole league will do Carroll good and the success rate will only get higher if Downing is just aiming for a tall, bulldozer type-player. YNWA

  12. Exasperated ! says:

    If Utd sold Ronaldo to Real for £8 million & we sold Torres to Chelsea for £5 million then bought in Carroll for £3.5 million you would be saying it was great business even though the percentages are the exact same in terms of price difference .
    Either that or you are just another Foreigner that hates British & Irish Players ?
    When you buy a British player like Carroll , Downing & Adam you are paying for a guaranteed product .
    A Product that without fail compared to all its over priced up & down inconsistent competitors from abroad will deliver a high level of performance each & every time it is called upon .
    Apparently fair weather fans from abroad think that quality is worthless but in Britain & Ireland we think flamboyant nancy boy foreigners who cant dig in & scrap for a result when the chips are down are worthless & that is how we value players whether you like it or not