Was it good deadline day business for Liverpool?
Christian Poulsen and David N’Gog have also left the club. Poulsen was signed by Roy Hodgson last year as a replacement for Javier MAscherano, who joined Barcelona. The Danish international has played for big European teams such as Juventus, Sevilla and Schalke and it was thought his experience would stabilize Liverpool’s midfield. But as a result of the consistently high performances of Lucas and good form of Raul Meireles, Poulsen hardly featured in the squad. Liverpool were right to let him go as he was surplus to requirements at Anfield.
David N’Gog was signed by Rafael Benitez for £2.5m in 2008. He played 94 games for the Reds in total, mostly coming off the bench, and scored 19 goals. The Frenchman started very few games for Liverpool because Fernando Torres was used as a lone striker before he was sold and replaced by Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez. N’Gog would have had very limited opportunities in Liverpool’s first-team this season and for £4m the Reds had to let him go.
Craig Bellamy was signed as the replacement for David N’Gog. The Welshman played for the Reds in the 2006-07 season and scored 9 times in 27 games- a record of 1 in 3. However, Bellamy’s time at Liverpool was marked by an incident with team-mate John Arne Riise where he attacked the Norweigan with a golf club and was sold to West Ham United in the summer. Since then he has played for West Ham, Manchester City and Cardiff, joining the Welsh club on loan last year, before returning to Eastlands. He was behind Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez for a place in the Manchester City side and manager Roberto Mancini made him available for transfer. Bellamy’s career statistics are impressive, 152 goals in 435 games, so for Liverpool to sign him on a free transfer- especially after selling N’Gog to Bolton for £4m- is a real coup. However, Bellamy is now 32 and approaching the end of his career, but as back-up striker to Carroll and Suarez he should have a few seasons left and will hope to play an important part at Anfield.
Uruguayan international defender Sebastian Coates is the second major signing Liverpool have made from outside the Premier League after Alexander Doni joined from Roma. The central defender was signed from Nacional, who play in the Uruguayan Primera Division. He impressed at this summer’s Copa America alongside team-mate and Reds star striker Luis Suarez and was awarded best young player in the tournament. He is a tall, strong and imposing central defender who is good in the air and on the floor and rarely mistimes a tackle. Despite having no Premier League experience, Coates looks to be a shrewd piece of business by Dalglish especially as Liverpool were desperate for a new central defender having allowed Sotirios Kyrgiakos to join Wolfsburg on a free transfer last week. He will probably not feature too heavily in the first-team this season but should be an Anfield regular in years to come.
So was it good deadline day business for Liverpool?
Yes. The Reds offloaded fringe players such as Christian Poulsen and Joe Cole and signed a talented young central defender in Sebastian Coates. They even managed to make a £4m profit by selling David N’Gog to Bolton and recruiting a better, albeit older, striker to replace him in Craig Bellamy. Although there may be question marks over Liverpool’s decision to let Raul Meireles join Chelsea, he did not want to play for the club anymore and as far as Liverpool are concerned was only a squad player so to get £12m for a squad player is great business! It should be an exciting season ahead at Anfield.
13 responses to “Was it good deadline day business for Liverpool?”
yes it was a good day. we got what we needed, and we got rid of what we didn’t need.
Do you think that Meireles handing in his transfer request so late had anything to do with where he was sold??????? Was that his plan????? What real choice of clubs did we have if this is true?
On deadline night it was on the Chelski site that they had told him to put in a transfer request late so that we would let him go cheaply, I also think we have a case for tapping up against them.
I personally think we were the best in the transfer window. Shrewd piece of busineeses by Comolli and KK. Again, hats off to FSG. You guys are a Godsend..really!
He that put his hand on a plough and looks back is not worthy of the kingdom. So also any player that submits a transfer request to his club is no more worthy of that club. Very good that we sold meireles, he shall ever walk alone.
It wasn’t good deadline day!
What a stupid question.
Yes Liverpool got Coats but he was already at Ainfield watching games so I dont think of it as deadline day transfer.
Liverpool lost Meireles to Chelsea, I guess they are not rivals any more, LFC has their rivals lower on the table now.
I expected Liverpool to get someone more offensive if Meireles leaves but not Bellamy!
I was hoping for Affelay, dare I say Adam Johnson who would be available considering all the players City now has.
Yes, some deadwood have floated away but the club is still paying Cole more than most PL players get payed for playing!
First option on Hazard! – I’ve never seen rumor rubbished as fast, and by the club’s president none the less.
Fully agree, apart from Bellamy
Bellamy will be a good squad player,and could offer even more.
If LFC were not aware with the late Transfer request from Meireles, they could have said “NO” and that would have been understandable as they would not have had the time to find a replacement.
I beleive LFC, Meireles and Chelski were negotiating throughout the day. Chelski actually preffered Modric, and even offered the 40 Mill asking fee,which was subsequently rejected. Chelski then had no other option, but to go for Meireles.
LFC only rejected a Player/+Cash offer the day earlier from Chelski. Because of that I can only imagine that Meireles went for a very much larger sum than the one being stated in the press “(12-15 Mill)- actually undisclosed”.
I can only imagine that LFC sanctioned this in the last minute having already agreed a very much larger sum, most likely 20 Mill+.
It was all pre-planned between LFC, Meireles and Chelski
I think selling Meireles to chelski was a big BIG mistake by Liverpool. As already mentioned in an earlier comment we have gone ahead and improoved their team. I agree that once a player puts in his transfer request, we should let him go, but not in this case.
Meireles is the type of palyer that Chelski have been lacking. Tosseres has not been firing, not because he his crap, but because of the service he has been getting from Lampard.
Meireles wil change that. His positioning of balls from the center will feed Tosseres, who in turn preferes to receive and play through the center, not from the wings as he has from Lamapard. I hate to say this, but I can see Tosseres starting to score. It will hate to see him scoring soon and kissing his plastic badge.
It was a bad experience not to reinvest 16 m. in a winger or a playmaker. Bellamy is not a serious decision …. The last day was the worst transfer day for Liverpool FC this summer, regardless of all the positives related to offloading of flops. It was a day of missed margin making.
Reinvest the 16mil? Wait, did you not pay attention all summer? They spent some 60 million on Adam, Henderson, Downing, Enrique, Coates and Bellamy. That’s where your 16mil went, making up some of the balance.
Besides, the team is fine. They’ll fight for 3rd with Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, probably end up 3rd or 4th this year. Without Champions League they were never going to get the biggest names now. They’ve got good players all over the field with half-decent replacements in every position. Only worries involve injuries.
Meireles going was hard to swallow. Always believed we would lose one of Meireles or Aqualani but not both. To me they both bring flair, skill and something special to the team. with the British players in the squad and a bit of flair I believed we had balance. But with both gone I am less convinced.
Meireles thing started early in the summer. With all the new mid fielders, the speculation of him going to Italy etc. Then the Chelsea rumor surfaced a month or so back. also remember he had the issue with his salary, he earning peanuts compared to the peanut Joe Cole. His increase in wages was performanced based, and nobody can deny he was one of our better players last year. His request for transfer was to be expected. Leading up to deadline day, Chelsea and Liverpool were talking, the price Pool wanted and what Chelsea offered was a bit off. How do you force Pools hand? Hand in a transfer. That is part of modern football. You were a good servant of the club for 1 season, thanks but cheers.
But to say that… Meireles would never have been as important, influential or effective a player to Liverpool as either Charlie Adam or Jordan Henderson have already been and will continue to do so. The season is 3 games young and you reckon Adams and Henderson have been influential and effective. Lets pass judgement on these things after a season.
Cheers
Meireles will be missed, beginning at Stoke away. Without Gerrard, Liverpool’s center mid players are ordinary; stong at chasing down and tackling, and the occasional through ball to Luis or Bellamy, sure. Not good enough to hold possession and work forward on the ground. Adam and Henderson mean more long balls forward. Raul’s world is on the ground and creative. Big loss. Can anyone imagine United selling a player with Raul’s quality to a bitter rival? NEVER. Chelsea have sealed 3rd, possibly higher if Raul unpacks Torres. We must now hope Arsenal falter, and Spurs too.
As for summer spending? 55 million spent, roughly, 22 million re-couped from sales, and 30 million in wages reduced. What spending? Don’t get me wrong; much better than the cowboys. But real ambition would have meant an RM with threat or a genuine No. 10. This squad was built to go 4th and no higher. Hopefully we’ll have more ambition after winning CL footy.
James,
“Without Gerrard, Liverpool’s center mid players are ordinary; stong at chasing down and tackling” You got that spot on. “Not good enough to hold possession and work forward on the ground. Adam and Henderson mean more long balls forward. Raul’s world is on the ground and creative. Big loss.” Again, I can’t help but agree with you. “Can anyone imagine United selling a player with Raul’s quality to a bitter rival?” Over Alex Ferguson’s dead body. “Chelsea have sealed 3rd, possibly higher if Raul unpacks Torres.” If we don’t make the top four this season, we only have Dalglish to blame for his obsession with British players; who will only end up getting him the sack, and brought back down to reality.