There has been a lot of talk over the last 48 hours about Charlie Adam finally making a move across to Liverpool for £10million with possibly Jonjo Shelvey going on loan to Blackpool. Nothing official has been said yet and for now it continues to just be speculation. Liverpool were after Adam in the January transfer window but Blackpool refused to sell him as they wanted him to help them stay in the Premier League. Their fight for survival did not end well as they got relegated and there is no way I can see Charlie Adam playing in the Championship next season, so it is not a matter of if Adam will leave Blackpool but when and for which team.
Liverpool are the front runners to sign Adam. Spurs were also after him in January but that cooled down. Looking at it from a Liverpool point of view, Charlie Adam is a central midfielder and Liverpool currently have a lot of those now especially with Jordan Henderson being signed recently from Sunderland. Where would Adam fit in for Liverpool with the current squad we have?
There is no doubt that Adam is a talented footballer and he virtually almost kept Blackpool in the Premier League by himself with his goals and assists. Adam has a sweet left foot and some say he whips in the best corners in the league. His threat from set-pieces would be a much welcome addition to Liverpool. We have relied on Gerrard to deliver corners for us but all too often they are not of a high quality as Adam’s. But surely we can not just sign Adam for free-kicks and corners. Unless this was the NFL where you have players in the squad who just kick the ball from set-pieces.
Some fans have dubbed Adam as the perfect replacement for Xabi Alonso. This statement has been met with a lot of debate amongst the fans. Replacing Alonso is a tall order which I doubt any player will be able to do. Adam does offer a wide range of passes and can certainly pull the strings in midfield with Kenny’s pass and move style of play. But Adam is not a strong defender and he would need to have a Lucas playing alongside him and protecting him when he ventures forward.
With that said, a central midfield pairing of Gerrard and Adam would look great on paper but on the field it may not work out quiet as well as both lack the discipline to defend when need be. But if we opt for a three man midfield with Lucas, Gerrard and Adam that would work nicely. That would then leave the likes of Meireles, Spearing and Henderson out of the squad.
For me this is a good headache for Dalglish to have. For many years now we have been crying about the lack of depth in the Liverpool squad. What a joy it would finally be to have the likes of Meireles, Spearing, Adam, Henderson on the bench at times.
So to those fans who think we should not sign Adam, I would say, think again. He did well for Blackpool last season and a step up to a bigger team with better players around him could make him an even better player. Yes, there is a possibility that Adam is a ‘small team player’ and will crumble when playing for a bigger team but with the guidance of our backroom staff, he should do okay.
Loading ...
I agree LFC should invest there money strengthening in other positions.
Charlie Adam has probably had his best season and his goal tally was mainly from set pieces and penalties. (only 2 scored from open play) His second half of the season was also poor. He has a deadly left foot, but and we need world class wingers wing pace in the squad. Not regulation drop outs that cost 10 million. He was only worth 1 million a year ago!!
I wish we would focus our attentions on getting two key wingers, Mata, Hazard, Adam Johnson and/or Arda Turan… These players would influence our team much more The central midfield is taken care of… We don’t even know if Aqualani will be coming back…. One good left back and another central defender should do the trick
adam is lazy. too many times u can see him casually jogging back when blackpool conceed. concentrate on getting mata or jeffren, downing and wickham.
Seriously, how many more times will it take before you people understand that there is ZERO chance of getting Mata, Hazard, A. Johnson or Turan? The season after next, providing we have a good one, maybe. But now? No chance. We’re spending stupid money on youngsters for the future, not for this season. City will never let AJ go, let alone to a main rival.
Would Adam be a good buy? Well, he was the best passer last year in the OPTA stats. Lucas was the best tackler. That would give us the best midfield two, statistically, of anybody. The problem we have is that Meireles is immense and Gerrard is coming back, so it’s finding a system to fit everybody in. Personally, I think we could have wing-backs next year to overcome our winger problem areas (floating between 5-3-2, 3-5-2 and 3-3-4, depending on the attacking), with Johnson and our new left-back being given freedom to roam the wings. This would allow a combination of Lucas, Adam and Meireles in the middle (very steady and dominant with superb distribution), with a headache between Kuyt, Carroll, Gerrard and Suarez as your front two.
Even in a 4-4-2, you’re better off looking at the midfield as a diamond with Lucas as your most defensive (mopping up) and Adam, Gerrard and Meireles as your creative distributors. They could effectively swap in and around with either other to create a shifting, fluid Barca-type attacking mid.
Do we need Adam? No. Should we get him for the price and what he could give us extra? Definitely. I’d rather we had younger players hungry and desperate to get on the pitch (like we saw with Flanno and Robbo) who perform amazingly when they get the chance, rather than older players angry at being second fiddle or kids who are starting to burn out.
Its sensible if we don’t spend haphazardly,lets buy the right players and avoid putting players career in jeopardy.its even as if we want buy players in bulk and do what with them.haba!
aren’t u guys tired of wishing 4 players who have stated (clearly) that they want to play in the champs league? there are a lot of very good wingers out there who have the pace to beat defenders, can score goals and can get decent crosses in consistently. Instead of lookin for name brands, why not look at other quality guys who can get the job done?
Pls enough of the whining about Mata, Turan, Hazard, Sanchez etc
I think Adam is going to be another good provided Aquilani is not coming back cuz a fully fit Aquilani will bench all those guys with his passes, set pieces delivery and scoring ability. I’ll suggest we take him back instead of signing Adam to save money for nice wingers and even a back up for Carrol incase of injury.
@ Mr Chopper – These are the opta stats from 2010-11 season.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11662_2705370,00.html
Adam was the not top passer but he committed the third most fouls (another reason not to get him!)
Danny Murphy was the top passer, followed by Essien, Ferguson anld Modic.
Fabregas would be another contender for top passer if he was fit for a whole season.
I trust King Kenny and Steve Clark though, so if it’s in there master plan, so be it.
I just think we don’t need another midfield player with Stevie G, Lucas, Henderson, Meireles, Spearing, Aquilani and Shelvey already on the books!!?
http://www.liverpooltees.com
If we get Adam, I see these possibilities:
1) Kenny doesnt trust Gerrard’s fitness and is getting Adam for good cover alongside Raul.
2 )KK wants to use Adam as a DM like Lucas (which is unlikely) though he’s not a very good tackler, or as deep lying passer(a position Alonso used to play and which allowed Gerrard score and create a lot of goals.) so that Gerrard can venture forward more often, cos the last time he played that role with Alonso behind him(2 seasons ago),he was the league’s third top scorer.
3) KK is tryin to give us more options in attack so that if we have to play only 1 striker, the midfield will be well stocked. Also considering the fact that with Ngog leaving, we have only two strikers rite now (and only one is world class n has got magic). we’ll probably get one more though.
4) Meireles is leaving… just thinking.
In my opinion, Adam coming will do more good than bad (though I would have thought we’ll try to get a combative DM like Lucas, cos Adam doesnt strike me as a good marker(kinda like Scholes). he’ll give us much needed depth and competition which should bring out the best in d midfielders.
I also hope we get a proven striker who is strong, fast(er than Suarez) and swift(er than Carroll). Wickham would be a good signing but i still feel we need a striker who can come off the bench and change the game (and I dont mean Ngog).
so IF we get our man, I’ll say we need at LEAST 5 more signings: leftback, 2 wingers, Striker, and centre back.
I dont think Henderson will be happy if we get Adam though. u no why??… am sure u know why.
Sorry, bit confused here…. On all these forums I see people saying that we only have 2 strikers. Now correct me if I’m wrong but I thought we had 3….Kuyt, Suarez & Carroll. BTW I think Adam will be a great signing, even if it’s just for his dead ball ability! How many goals did we score from free kick etc last season?
@Anthonya: I get ur point. Kuyt is probably a striker on paper but we all know its bn a while since he’s really been a Striker. As far as am concerned, he is a (striker turned to a) winger who lacks pace, width, n creativity. I think he’ll do a decent job anywhere in midfield upwards.
Personally, I dont rate him highly, but many will argue that his workrate, stamina and determination covers for all his inabilities.
I really believe we need two pacey classy wingers who play out wide (unlike Maxi n Kuyt who like to cut-in).
good contribution. Tell dem day dreamers to wake up. We cant buy Messi? not dis year….. not next year.
dont quite like some of ur formations though
My bad – you’re absolutely right. I think I was getting confused with the following part of the round-up of Opta Stats I read whilst on holiday (my mind’s gone to shit):
“Adam, in fairness, was also the league’s second-most fouled player (after Aston Villa’s Ashley Young, who was fouled 96 times, five more than Adam), all of which goes to show that the Scot tended to be in the thick of the action. Indeed, only one player touched the ball more times this season than Adam – Fulham’s Danny Murphy – and only one player had more goal assists from open play (Joey Barton with five to Adam’s four).”
we”ll prolly be playing 4_6_2 formation nxt cizn.mst we sign every1?