AFTER excitement, goals and a late fightback against Arsenal on Wednesday night, Liverpool were swiftly sent back in time with a vengeance on Sunday. Brendan Rodgers was back, as was talk of the mysterious transfer committee and various players the club have missed out on, and then the Reds were harshly beaten by Manchester United.
I was half expecting Christopher Lloyd to be spotted in a funky-looking car on Breck Road after the game.
The whys and wherefores of the defeat to the old enemy will continue to be discussed, but as annoying as it is, especially when United have the temerity to not even be particularly good in beating you, I want to look at a bigger problem that could well be Jurgen Klopp’s most crucial puzzle to solve.
As I’m sure you will be aware by now, former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers made an appearance on Goals on Sunday ahead of the United clash, and unsurprisingly, didn’t hold back when asked about how transfers worked (or didn’t) during his time at the club.
He mentioned missing out on Alexis Sanchez, having to settle for Mario Balotelli, and most interestingly (for me at least) that he thought he had current Spurs and England prodigy Dele Alli signed, sealed and delivered as a Liverpool player, before the North London club nipped in and took him away.
There’s been a lot of fume among Reds fans for missing out on Alli, especially when you consider the tens of millions spent on other young prospects who turned out to be nothing particularly special, and here was a talent who was not only coveted by Liverpool first, but who was practically begging to come here, being that he himself is a Reds fan.
Brendan Rodgers on Goals on Sunday by MrBoywunder
Rodgers told the Sky Sports show: “We thought we had him at Liverpool. The manager of MK Dons [Karl Robinson] actually drove him down to us. They played a game on the Saturday and we were playing West Ham on the Sunday.
“We’d had contact with Dele, it was all above board, I was speaking with Karl Robinson and I spoke to Dele and his adoptive parents. Karl did really well with him and he came to me and said, ‘I’ve got a really exciting player, I’d love to see him at Liverpool’.
“I spent a couple of hours in a hotel room with him and he wanted to come to Liverpool. It was all about getting the deal done with the club but unfortunately it never got done. On Saturday evening we thought it had got done but eventually he went to Tottenham, which was frustrating and disappointing. He’s done really well there.”
The exact reasons why the deal was not done have not been divulged, but the insinuation appears to be that the money men at the club could not agree a fee with the then League One side. That sounds bad, but in fairness, they were hardly to know that the kid would be this good, jumping up two divisions at his age.
The biggest shame about that deal not happening is that Alli appears to be everything Klopp looks for in a player. High work-rate, confidence on the ball, creativity, movement and a fantastic gnarliness that comes from being raised by League One football and not being cradled gently in the soft Under-21s Premier League. In fact it very much suggests that if you’re looking for young players coming through, it would be more sensible to look at players at Football League clubs, or at least ones who have had plenty of loans down there. See also what it did for Harry Kane.
Missing out on Alli does raise a much bigger issue though.
It was clear that under Rodgers, for all the criticism of his tactics, his man-management, his teeth, his choice of words in press conferences, his shirt and tie combinations, that the main issue with him and the club during his tenure was that the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing, or perhaps more to the point, didn’t seem to care.
This resulted in Rodgers signing some players and the ‘transfer committee’ signing other players, and now we are left with the squad we have. A squad that is so imbalanced you could throw 30 darts blindfolded at a Panini sticker album (they still have those, right?) and probably get a more suitable group of players.
It’s not that the current squad doesn’t have talent, which is an accusation that has been levelled at it in recent months. There is a lot of ability in most of these players, and we saw plenty of it against Manchester United. It just isn’t spread out enough.
At the moment we have four centre halves who all have different characteristics. Two regular full backs, one of which is very attacking, the other is very defensive.
We have one specialist ball winner in midfield in the entire squad. We have one central midfielder who makes runs into the box. We have an Emre Can. We have one winger with pace who tries to beat his man and we have two attacking midfielders in Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana, one who tries to move the ball with passes, the other who tries to move the ball with dribbles.
We have a player in Roberto Firmino who still doesn’t really know what he is, we have strikers in Divock Origi and Danny Ings who like to make runs and have the ball played ahead of them, and a striker in Christian Benteke who demands the ball to feet/head/chest and refuses to go anywhere near the six-yard box.
To put it more bluntly, Liverpool can’t change their personnel at the moment without asking pretty much everyone in the team to change the way they’re playing to accommodate those changes.
It has been advertised as “having options for different scenarios” but all it really appears to be is having a team that can never produce any consistency because it is, by its own definition, an inconsistent team.
Rodgers on one hand is right to blame the club for not sanctioning deals like Alli, and as a result it appears that the club has missed out on an absolute gem who seems to be everything we currently lack in our own midfield, but one thing he can’t really escape from is that he let it happen.
A strong manager puts his foot down and says “we either sign these players or you might as well bin me as I’m not winning the league with Balotelli and Markovic” and while you can understand why Rodgers might not have been willing to rock the boat given that he was very fortunate to get the job in the first place, I am absolutely certain that anyone at the club trying to tell Jürgen Klopp who he can and can’t buy will soon be hanging by his underwear from an L4 lamppost.
The mood of Klopp in his post-match press conference was concerning. It was the first time you saw him with an almost helpless expression. Perhaps he’s finally accepted that as long as this is the squad he has to work with, there’s only so much he can do.
The ceiling is very much the limit.
The January transfer window is still open and hopefully he heads into work this week with a spring back in his step and a list of demands to give to Ian Ayre.
First and foremost, this team is screaming out for a striker. Perhaps that alone could work as a bandage to take us through to the end of the season, but it can’t be a half-arsed approach as before. Liverpool very much need to use their whole arse, and so whatever money is there now needs to be spent on a good striker — a very good striker. I suppose the definition I’m after is “not Shane Long”.
Come the summer more extensive work will be needed. One of the great things about the Borussia Dortmund squad that Klopp put together was that it was impeccably balanced — so much so that he could introduce practically anyone into the team and they would fit seamlessly. This current Liverpool squad is about as balanced as Miranda Hart hopping on a single stilt across an oily glass floor.
Everything now needs to be aimed at building a squad with a clear identity — a specialised way of playing — and to make them all experts at it. At the moment you have to wait for the starting line-up to be named before trying to figure out how we’re going to play.
I’m hopeful that Marko Grujic is Klopp’s Dele Alli, and that his capture is a sign of a shift in the right direction from the powers that be at Anfield.
What is for certain is that for Liverpool to have any chance of becoming competitive in the Premier League under Klopp, they are going to have to do everything that the German tells them, from the owners, to the midfielders, to the lads and lasses in the Melwood canteen.
If they don’t make Jurgen’s coffee right, it could be years before we’re back in the Champions League.
When Rodgers was employed by the club, he stated “I have the final say in transfers” and “the owners have been great”.
Now he changes his tune, and admits he was a ” yes man”…a mouthpiece.
A proper manager would have said something like ” I asked for a sofa and got a lampshade ”
Not Rodgers though.
Thanks for the thoughtful read.
I won’t go on about injuries and how they have devastated our season. Mainly resulting in the lack of goals.
The squad does look short in some areas though. It makes me wonder about all the loans we have out. I wonder why some of these young players can’t start in the cup or European games – just one or two per game to get experience.
LB, RB, DM – where is the cover for these positions?
Benteke – could be an expensive back up for coming on to save matches. We needed someone like him versus Chelsea in THE MATCH where all was lost a few seasons ago.
If Arsenal can play and adapt for Giroud, I don’t know why we can’t play to Benteke’s strengths.
The bid for Shane Long is interesting. I won’t be an arrogant red and suggest he is not good enough for us. Some of the Strikers suggested by fellow fans are just Pie in the Sky – why would these top strikers come to Liverpool?
It is time our squad had a strong showing of British players – Rush, Barnes, Whelan, Nicol, Lawrenson, Beglin, Neal, Hansen, Souness, Daglish, Aldridge etc
It suggests to me that Klopp thinks a top four finish – this season – is still on.
We probably could build our play around Benteke, but is he really that good of a footboller (not goalscorer) to have a team build around him? In my opinion no.
Klopp just brought a load of youngsters back from loan to play in the cup ??
Randall & Jones plus a fit Flanno are cover for full backs and midfield is the least of our worries,
Striker is urgently needed and I agree on the Tekkers point,
United had Sherringham & Solskjaer coming off the bench for years so I see nothing wrong with us having him as plan b,
Reckon Klopp might still flog him in the Summer though.
Can I be an arrogant red then and say he’s not good enough?
It is time our squad had a strong showing of British *and Irish players* – Rush, Barnes, Whelan*, Nicol, Lawrenson, Beglin*, Neal, Hansen, Souness, Daglish, Aldridge etc
A big difference now with Klopp as manager is that he got trophies in his living room, or wherever he keeps them. He can actually point to fantastic results if his model is to be followed. To not back this man now would not just be the biggest dick head move ever done, it would probably also mean the end for FSG at LFC.
If they fail or simply refuses to deliver under this manager I’d say they’d have the collective fanbase against them. And that’s a battle you simply can’t win.
Yep. Essentially what BR is saying is that the job was too big for him.
I backed him to the last (as I have done with every manager apart from the Hodge) and at times tried to defend in the indefensible but I have to say I’m hugely disappointed by Brendan,
His 100 days are up and it’s only natural that he’s going to try and defend his reputation but come on?
Maybe the money men said no to Del Ali because they rem you saying that Borini would have people on the edge of their seat?
Should have been big enough to out the whole process if he thought it wasn’t fit for purpose, to come out like has now moaning after saying he had the final say on transfers is poor form to say the least.
Pretty sure Rodgers didn’t blame the money men for delle ali. He simply said the deal didn’t get done – that could be any number of reasons, most likely spurs jumped in and acted quickly. Knowing Ian Ayre in recent seasons he probably thought there was no rush as the lad wants to sign. Levy just moved quicker and got it done.
Much as I think Ayre is useless, maybe Alli listened to what Rodgers said in that hotel room and thought he was full of shit and that Pochettino was the more impressive. For all Brendon’s claims of bringing through youngsters, just who did he develop apart from Stirling (and he was good enough to come through under any manager)? Alli probably knew Stirling and Ibe – maybe they weren’t too complimentary about Brendon. Whatever the reason I’m gutted we didn’t get this lad. Someone of his age is usually a Manc fan, so to have Gerrard as his hero and a scouse manager telling the club just how good the lad was – if we can’t get that over the line then something is seriously wrong somewhere.
fair enough, it could have played out like that but he cherry picked that player because he is flavour of the month,
I’m sure someone at the club could produce a list of Brendan targets that would make us all cringe.
Sanchez, Mkhitaryan, Willian, Costa, Konoplyanka, Bertrand, Eriksen, Papadapolous, Vorm, Williams, etc.
You could probably put together a fairly strong 11 to compete in the CL. Add to that Cavani, Benzema, and Kroos who were all aspirational targets (Lacazette camp says he was contacted by the club, as well).
We are not privy to the goings on behind closed doors at the club so I won’t put out a list of players Walter,
All these could have been his targets of course but who knows,
I’m sure someone could also give us a list like yours of players that wouldn’t be competitive in the CL.
injuries, injuries injuries, it pains me to say it but we are f*cked due to the moblie strikers within the club being busted, broken or irreparable. Yes the dream is to get a tough mobile gunslinging marauding striker who bags almost a goal a game from now till retirement…. but he now plays for Barcelona.
God I feel ill.
Come on red men; ten nil tomorrow night; with Flanagan up front !
Agree. It’s funny how Firmino thinking he was off-side and a rebound from their one attack falling straight to Rooney have changed the discourse from Mig to an unbalanced squad. Any squad will be unbalanced when 3 of its 4 strikers are injured.
Take away the injuries, and some stupid loan decisions and play a diamond and you’d get something like …
Mig/Ward
Clyne/Flanno/Wisdom (BR sent him on loan so he has to wear that)
Sakho/Lovren/Skrtel/Torre
Moreno/Gomez
Lucas/Allen/(or one from below)
Hendo/Can/Coutinho/Milner
Lallana/Firmino/Ibe?
Sturridge/Benteke/Ings/Origi.
Sure there are quality issues in some positions and Benteke’s style but with the ability to mix and match the strikers, where is the imbalance? 1. Injuries, 2. BR recruiting for one style and playing another and 3. A new manager who presumably wants more width than we have although it is hard to tell when he has 13 fit players, which brings us back to injuries.
how much can you believe what Brendan’s saying though? Off the top of my head we didn’t play West Ham on Sunday last season
Its a ballsy or very stupid thing to be out of work and go on national tv and bullshit about specific player deals which can be denied or disproven very easily.
Obviously there will be some self protection in there – we’d all do it, but the fundamental facts should be true else he is going to find himself struggling for work if he can’t be trusted.
It’s self serving, self promoting.. typical.
From memory we played West Ham at home the last game of both August and last January. I don’t know. I don’t reckon it’s the most important detail of his side of the Dele Alli story tbf.
I for one wish Brendan well. I also wish he’d keep his mouth shut about Liverpool Football Club. 300 million spent on players in 3 years and not a damn thing won.. His predecessor spent 18 months in the job, won a cup and got to the final in another. I suggest Brendan repair his reputation by putting his skin back in the game and proving his worth managing, not spouting ‘only if’s’ on the Goals on Sunday sofa.
^This.
Let’s be honest here, the transfer committee, in its current guise, does not work.
They can’t be forcing a list of players on to the manager and saying “pick one of them or you don’t get anyone”. That’s just fucking ridiculous. You can’t give the manager a pigs ear and ask him to make a silk purse out of it. (Balotelli)
A committee CAN work, if it’s it’s job to provide info to the manager on certain players and not dictate who he can buy.
I.e manager goes to committee and says “I need a new left back who’s at least 5’10, fast and offensive”.
They then bring him a list of names and relevant info.
If he has additional names then they do some more research and bring him more info.
The manager then makes his decision, budget dependant, on the info they provide.
That’s it.
The only constraint the manager should have is money and even then if he has a good relationship with the chairman/owners may be able to convince them to push the boat out a little on a particular player.
I believe Klopp would have the cajones to stand up to the committee if he’d wanted Sanchez and they offered him Balotelli. He has a big reputation and he’s not gonna risk it on taking stupid gambles.
Signed expensive average players, played most of them out of position, tactically inept, couldn’t spot a player if his teeth depended on it, a bullshitter, a fraud, never won anything as a manager, sold his backroom staff down the river to save his skin and the owner of a dossier that a fair few people would like to have a look at.
Wasn’t his fault things went the way they did it was the transfer committee’s. It was probably the same story when he got sacked from Watford and Reading except for the seven million pay off. Just fuck off and stay fucked off.
Eloquently put.
The 2nd worst managerial appointment the club ever made after the Owl. We will be repairing the damage he wrought for years. Absolute fraud.
He’ll be lucky to get hired back at Swansea.
Thankfully, the vast majority commenting here are correct – Rogers’ re-writing of history, beneficial hindsight and servile supplications are frankly embarrassing. Enough said.
I very much agree with David’s point of young players being forged in the fires of the Football League as opposed to U21 nurseries. In The Times today there was a good article about Dan Harding of Eastleigh FC and saying much the same thing.
The dearth of League Players getting a chance in the Prem does not add up and is a disgrace foisted on us by the omnipotent #Skysports But that is another argument for another day.
Fact remains whilst we have a club where Right knows not what Left is doing and cares even less, what chance any of the scouts having the courage to step outside their comfort zone and suggest a young League player and what chance the fabled committee agreeing?
I truly hope that this statement becomes a reality… “I am absolutely certain that anyone at the club trying to tell Jürgen Klopp who he can and can’t buy will soon be hanging by his underwear from an L4 lamppost.”
And may it forever be immortalised
Our squad isn’t good enough. We spent top top brass but only got rubbish in return. How anyone could think Lallana is worthy of being here is beyond me. 18 months of torture has been long enough, get rid of this nonentity who is nothing but a complete waste of a shirt.
The most frustrating part is that Rodgers had put together a collective with a crystal clear identity for the end of 13/14. With a Reus or Sanchez, it seems so easy to imagine us kicking on from where we left off.
Now, imagine the look on his face when they suggested that Suarez be replaced by Eto’o.
Well then he should have had the balls to stand his ground and say no to the Balloteli deal (or whatever last min list he was supposedly given) and he would have been backed (I suspect) by the majority of fans,
What does he do ? He lets his ego take over and actually thinks he can turn Ballo into another Suarez type player and then comes out and says he has the final say in all transfers ?
He has just admitted he didn’t so basically he has outed himself as a liar,
Really should be in Irish politics this fella.
At that point i’d have to ask John Henry. What was he smoking ?