Former Liverpool manager Roy Evans believes that if with the spending Liverpool have done this summer coupled with the additions of Suarez and Carroll in January, Liverpool are still not good enough to break into the Top 4 this coming season and clinch a Champions League place for next season.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Evans said: “When you’re at Liverpool you always expect silverware, that’s the name of the game and that’s what comes with the job.
“But I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as everybody thinks.
“Kenny has done a fantastic job and took them to a reasonable place last season. But in the last game of the season against Tottenham you saw we were short of a little bit of class against the better teams and it’s going to be tough.
“Everyone expects Kenny to turn it around quickly but I think it’s going to take a little bit more time than the fans would like, but that’s the way it is.
“We’re a fair bit behind the top four of five clubs.”
Do you agree with Roy Evans?
think roy is wrong, we,ll make top 3
Unfortunately I do agree with him.Downing is simply not the quality of winger we need.We have missed out on younger , quicker , more talented players simply in pursuing the “English option” when we have sufficient home grown talent to satisfy the rules.
We are actually a genuine title contender provided Kenny spend the money wisely. We have enough stock in midfield and yet we bought Adam & Anderson..now we are still fragile in defender and need good back up for striker. Should this problem is not sorted out, I agree with Roy Evan.
Yes I do agree, because we do not the players that Man u or Chelsea have. They have well glass players and they can afford to pay 30 to 40 million fees. We bought few British players who are good, but not good enough.
I absolutely agree. I’m not being pessimistic, and am not a closet Evertonian. I’ve need a reds fan since the mid 60s. The club is playing catch up with the top four, who already have stronger squads before they spend anything. Talk of winning the Premiership is well premature. I hope the fans stay patient. There are still at least two quality players need bringing in before we can talk about top four with confidence. A top centre back is essential. Jamie is past his best. Agger is injury prone, and Skrtl is simply, a poor player – slow, not good in the air, and error prone. There is also a need for a good and experienced left back. Our ability to buy more will be limited by the fact we are stuck with players we don’t want – Aquilani, Poulson and Cole being the obvious ones. They aren’t going anywhere while they are sitting on lucrative contracts other clubs won’t match. When Poulson says he wants to stay and fight for his place, he is actually saying nobody else is daft enough to pay him what Liverpool is, so he’ll sit tight, do nothing, and get paid well for it.
I was at that match and must say that we did not have our full starters available because of injury. If we stay injury free to our main players this season then why not top 4! This is why a stronger squad is required and by the end of the transfer season we will be even stronger. We are not done yet mate! Roy should know better…
evans was wrong but we need defenders not wingers we have sua rez kenny should buy defenders
I don’t know why people have criticized the signings as much as they have! This JD a re building phase with the core (midfield) required as the two upfront are quality!
We do not have any depth in midfield until now!
One other right winger and we should be done!
Then focus on left back and centre back! Doni will give cover for our beloved Spanish stopper Reina! Then with a little tweak here and there purchase two or three marquee signings and back in we are!!!
I give it 2 maybe 3 seasons for title challenge!
Any sooner a MASSIVE bonus!
Easy to say we didnt perform well against Spurs, but we also destroyed Utd, outplayed Chelsea and had a fantastic end to the season. However, what became evident is that outside our main 11 we were very weak, hence when Miereles was injured we struggled.
This season, that will no longer be the case. Adam, Henderson, Downing – and maybe 3 more to come – will ensure that. Joe Cole and Aquilani are potential class acts and with the best juniors in the country the future is bright. I think 3rd – 4th spot is a likely outcome.
We don’t do well against better teams? We beat Chelsea, City and also United. Against spurs, we missed Gerrard, Maxi and we missed our preferable back four. I don’t agree with Evans. I believe that we, with Gerrard and Carroll returning fit together with the addition of Adam, Henderson, Downing, a decent left-back and a quality signing(Mata/Somebody), we will at LEAST finish 4th and maybe mount a serious title challenge.
Do not agree with Roy, with the new additions in Downing and Adam including Henderson so far i believe KK. is creating alot more attacking options but also a solid base which will be hard to break down. By the time the transfer window closes, our new formation will be strong enough to challenge this season and the spurs game will be all the more important…..
DO WE REALLY NEED HENDERSON & DOWNING? IT’S A WASTE OF MONEY SHOULD HAVE INVEST THE MONEY ON 2 WORLD CLASS PLAYERS £20M ON A 27 YRS NONESENSE WHEN WE CAN HAVE CHEAPER AND YOUNGER PLAYERS FOR THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY EVEN THE PRICE FOR CARROLL IS EXORBITANT
Roy might have a point because of the British players Dalglish is so obsessed about. Benitez took Liverpool to a high standard. The British and European game has changed. Dalglish should have gone for the best, but, he chose to go for English players. I hope he doesn’t regret it.
Roy is wrong, you need to consider the competition more fully. Tottenham will lose some of there best players but really, they will not be in contention for the top 4. Comparison then has to be made against Man U, Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea. All of these have good, but not great teams if you compare against those of years gone by. With the signings we have made, plus one or two more in areas where a little more strength in depth is required, we will be in contention for the Champions League places for sure. I do not think we have quite enough to challenge for the top two, I believe we are one or two world class players short but who knows what might happen before the transfer window closes. Remember, one must always look at preparations for the medium to long term and from the perspective, with new UEFA financial fair play rules coming in, LFC, with a new / refurbished stadium will undoubtedly have the resources to challenge consistently at the top of the table as parity will be achieved with those spending beyond capital generated purely through club revenues. If LFC miss out on top 4 this coming season then so be it, but it does not mean to say that we will not be challenging in the future and it certainly doesn’t mean will be far off now either.
Any of the others in the current top 4 have the potential to finish out of it next season if the league continues to be as competitive as it has been in the last two seasons. By LFC improving it’s squad logic says that we will be challenging for higher positions than 5th or 6th from last season.
Don’t read anything into the last two results of the season, it is clear that LFC did not want Europa football as everyone knows, as Harry Redknap said publicly, it is a big hindrance if your team wants to challenge for the top 4 positions, there are just too many games.
Why buy Henderson for £20mil when we have Conor Coady for free. Also it look like Flanno is a regular now and with Kelly, Johnson, and the occasional Aurelio that makes 4 full backs or 5 if you include Insua who seems like he’s staying too…that might be there reason why they’re not pursuing full backs so urgently. I do agree we need strength in central defence as some of our defending has been poor.
I trust Kenny, but have to question some of the signings Downing for £20m, Henderson for £16m and Carrol for £35m, for same money I would rather Liverpool paid £35m for Aguero, £25m for Mata and another £25m for Hazard. Quality, pace and power….. Henderson, Carrol and Downing are not in that league….. That would have left a quality left back and possibly Conor Wickham as the final piece….. New centre half needed for next season…..
ron is wrong we showed class against chelsea and against united if we stay the course and stay injury free we can actually ccontend
sorry dont agree with you there roy ,how can you take the tottengham game as an analysis when we beat chelsea twice and hammered man united and man city with a team less of the quality we have now ,
I hear a lot of people having a go at Downing, I to agree he not the greatest and possibly not good enough for LFC. Yet he is far better that anyone we have played on the left for a couple of seasons and will strengthen us for the coming season.
Yes I don’t like the price, but he has Premiership experience and has played for England. So although I not 100% happy, I can live with it.
As for top 4, since Kenny came back we whitewashed the teams from Manchester, beat Chelsea in their back yard and didn’t fold to the wenger boys. the only time we looked poor after Kenny got us going was Spurs and Villa, and I’m not sure if this was a bad thing as it kept us out of the europa.
Roy didn’t say we can’t finish in top 4 but it is going to be difficult. Our squad does not have the quality of the top 3 (MU, Chelsea, City) but Arsenal are in trouble and they are our target to replace. Roy like others at the club is trying to dampen down fans’ expectations. KK is putting together a squad that can get into top 4, and not slip up against teams like Stoke, Blackburn and Fulham as we have before. Once we’re back in CL FSG will have to splash out again and then we’ll kick on from there.
Firstly like Steven I am sick of people slating our signings, grow up Kenny is the boss get behind him or get stuffed. The absolute lack of knowledge is summed up by Badd who states “we bought Adam & Anderson”. Excuse me but we haven’t signed Anderson! As for Evans he bases his comments on the Spurs game, yes we came up short but we were decimated by injuries and o yes a shocking performance by Howard Webb, God only knows if he hadn’t have given the most dodgy penalty he’s ever given (and that’s some achievement),I have a feeling we may well have got a draw. However let’s look at the other sides we finished behind, man u well we played them off the park at Anfield, Chavski hardly gave them a sniff in a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge, Man City hammered without a 2nd thought at Anfield and we even got a draw at Arsenal so maybe uncle Roy should learn from that. Will we finish top 4? I’m not sure I think we are in a 3 maybe 4 team battle for maybe 3rd and definately 4th place. I can’t see us challenging Chavski or Citeh with their riches, and probably the mancs but if De Gea has a nightmare, then things get interesting espically as there central midfield looks weak. However Arsenal aren’t any great shakes and while some of their youngsters might step up the Fabregas and Nasri situation could well bring them down. Finally we have ‘Appy Arry’s lot’ even last year after the horror of woy, we finished an ant’s breath behind them so I’m confident we’ll beat them. So while I won’t say we’ll win the league I think we can definately finish top 4 and I won’t listen to Evans who is such a football expert he blew the best batch of youngsters we’ve had in decades, never qualified for the CL and slated both GH who won won more in 5 days than he did in 5 years! and Rafa. If I was him I’d look at what I’d done in the game since leaving Liverpool, a short stint as Riedle’s assistant when he was temporary manager at Fulham, 5 months at Swindon and making Wales a laughing stock (and I’m Welsh).
I can see were roy is coming from, but i do believe we will be better than arsenal and spurs, i think arsenal are the team who will drop out the top four this season, modric will goto chelski, Liverpool would have faired better in the league last season if kenny had been in charge from the start of the season. The second half of the season was much better. The signings woy made were not great and i do believe with a fit stevie g, fresh for the season, i think may suprise a few people. Champions league and eoropa league will take it toll on the london teams mentioned. Man u hasnt exactly got the best of squads, they won the league coz the rest of us were sh.te. but im more optimistic than last season
Roy did’nt realy make it as a manager, so maybe his assessment is a little suspect, but he’s probably right about central defence.
Roy is a real authority on getting a top four finish isn’t he!! if he says they can’t then I say they can, he is a nice guy but rubbish manager. kenny is a very gifted manager, he would see it as a disaster if we didn’t get top four. I’d say we will be in third place by Christmas based on the form he brought us.
Signing £30 _£40 players does not guarantee a team a top 4, but commitment, and fightin spirit ynwa!
I want to see the next Sami Hyppia signed – I think he was our most influential signing in 20 years … What did he cost … Less than 3 million – mind you he’s not British … Agree with the overall sentiment of posters – we have really over paid on the English factor – mind you – who knows when KK played almost 9 or 10 of the English first 11 were from LFC on some occasions.
A great centre half and Enrique will mollify me and a striker to liven things up in the winter transfer window
WE ARE NOT KENNY … NONE OF US KNOWS WHATS GOING THRU HIS HEAD OR THE REASONS FOR SIGNING WHO HE DID. IM POSSITIVE THEY MUST HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH BEFORE SPLASHING ALL THAT CASH. WASNT PARTICULAR HAPPY WITH DOWNING BUT CAN WE SEE HOW IT TURNS OUT BEFORE WE CRUCIFY KENNY
I cannot believe some of the comments posted above especially the one saying we should have signed, mata, ageuro and hazard. I think people are forgetting one thing we are not in the champions league and these players can go to teams who are and that is one of the biggest requirements of world class players that they sign for teams in champions league. It’s obvious that KK is buying players with proven EPL experience to get LFC into CL next season. We should support KK as he worked miracles last season with some average players at his disposal. We need a CB and LB which are must buys in my opinion I would love to see Scott Dann and Enrique. YNWA
I agree with what Steve Mac has said here, sorry Roy your wrong and call me soft but I’m going for broke, the only danger is Chelsea it all depends on how they play that man Torres.
United will be a sterner test, but with a stronger midfield we should hold them.
We have rested players coming back, we have players that know the league better, watch this space, come on Redmen.
Sorry that shoud have been Steve Mac, sorry Steve.
what does Roy Evans know about finishing in the top 4? he is a tool. We will be back in the top 4 as we actually had the 2nd or 3rd best record in the league since Kenny took over and we now have extra players and more depth in the squad. Roy will be eating his own words in a few months.
My worry is that the top four last season were better than us and are still buying and strengthening for new season. Also we are a bit short on strikers.hmmmmmm
roy evans, along with all the other ‘fans’ blasting our new recruits are a bunch of idiots. some dont even know who we have bought, its henderson and not anderson you freak
Roy saying: “But in the last game of the season against Tottenham you saw we were short of a little bit of class against the better teams”…so roy didnt you watch the games against Man Utd, Chelsea and Man City!? Didnt you see a world class LFC then!? or u mean that tottenham is a better team than the Man U Man C and chelsea!? U a tottenham fans now!? I think he is jealous because he has never been able to get some premiership medals!
I totally disagree with Roy. Afterall qualities like oshea, rafael, fabio, brown, fletcher were among those who won the league. Chelsea qualities like Ramires, flop Essien, Anelka, malouda and many more. If these two teams with these qualities can finish first and second, why not liverpool? And with King Kenny wonderful previous season Liverpool can finish top 3. Charlie adam of the best premier league last season, downing almost the 4 villa the same with JORDAN to sunderland. These lads can make difference. Go and check KING KENNY’S record in blackburn and liverpool. I think top 4, liverpool will finish.
Utter bullshit I say. Top 3 easily.
the top four last season were better than us??????
Geez dude were you even watching last season? We did the double over Chelsea….AGAIN, were unlucky not to do the same to arsenal and at home we THRASHED United and City.
Utter POPPYCOCK.
I suggest our away form was horrific and that if we had won half of the ones we lost we would have finished top 3. Thats a fact.
With the players weve acquired thats not going to be a factor this season, so if we can get off to a good start and gain some momentum we will be really tough to beat.
Roll on the season!!
Riena
Doni?
Johnson
Kelly
Carra
Agger
Skrkel
Soto
LB
Gerrard
Henderson
Adams
Lucas
Aqualini
Meireles
Cole
Maxi
Downing
Kuyt
Carroll
Saurez
Plus the likes of pacheco, shelvy, flano and our other good youth prospects like rashid, morgan and suso should be given a chance in the league cup games.
We will get a LB and I believe two more after that if the right players are available.
Roy you are wrong and it will be proven next year when we finish in the top 4
I hate pessimists!!!
Mark my words,,,,
Itz between liverpool and Man united.
that’s why he is former manager.same negative thoughts
we need an out and out finisher more than anything..
Roy evans hasn’t got a clue. Did he forget that we did man city, man u, chelsea, and got a draw against arsenal. If we do the same we will be right up there. So Roy pipe down We want to be optimistic come the new season have some faith. YNWA