Today's post is by Stuart who you can follow on Twitter @strtbrdsn. In case you haven't noticed, the transfer window is open and Stuart decided to talk about transfers in his guest post.
One of the first thing in Kenny Dalglish's mind seems to have been getting that very "homely" feel back into Liverpool - he clearly understands the importance of having some foreign flair in their but you only have to look at the sort of targets we're allegedly (and I hasten to emphasise ALLEGEDLY) being linked with to see what the idea is - get back to the old way with a genuine English spine with a scattering of foreign talent to accentuate it where required - the most obvious name here being Suarez who everyone can agree is an absolute delight to watch when he plays, a true talent - but to get that undeniable Liverpool feel back to the place.
Personally my main problem with this somewhat admirable idea is that you are fully aware that buying English players brings with it a huge, sometimes unwarranted mark-up in price. Is Andy Carroll really worth £35M? Is Jordan Henderson really worth £20M? Of course not but then again a player's "worth" is only really what a club is willing to pay for his services and if we're willing to part with that much cash then who are the selling clubs to argue? That said I still find it quite shameful, if Carroll was Belgian we might not have paid more than £15M and if Henderson was Uruguayan or Bolivian, I highly doubt we'd be looking at paying more for him than Arsenal paid for Samir Nasri or Spurs paid for Luka Modric.
We've seen the same with previous transfers, most notably Darren Bent when he left Charlton Athletic and we refused to pay £16.5M along with Rafa's unwillingness to spend £18M on Gareth Barry (looking more and more like a good decision since his move to Man City) but as a mate pointed out today - a dangerous precedent has already been set by spending so much money on Carroll. Clubs will see what we're trying to do and will naturally increase their fees knowing that we'd rather pay an extra £5M than sign the French, Spanish, Belgian, etc... alternative to whichever player we're looking at.
The team already has a distinctly British feel to it, we're playing like an 80's Liverpool side, harrowing every single player, chasing every single ball and I don't mind admitting a swell of pride at the thought that, at some point next season, we could field an entirely English back line of Robinson, Kelly, Carragher and the hugely-impressive Flanaghan with the likes of Spearing, Gerrard, Shelvey and Carroll playing ahead of him. It's also possible that depending on how the transfer window pans out we could see 5-6 Liverpool players in the England squad, something we haven't really seen for a while.
I do look at some of the targets though and wonder if they're the best but at the end of the day - The King wouldn't do ANYTHING unless it was in the best interests of the team, the club and the fans and I say that with 100% honesty. If Kenny decides that Stewart Downing is worth more to the team than Juan Mata then he will get the full backing and support of millions of Liverpool fans the world over including myself... although Mata and Arda Turan are players I would damn near kill to see playing at Liverpool.
Above all else: in the King we trust and long may his reign continue.
One of the first thing in Kenny Dalglish's mind seems to have been getting that very "homely" feel back into Liverpool - he clearly understands the importance of having some foreign flair in their but you only have to look at the sort of targets we're allegedly (and I hasten to emphasise ALLEGEDLY) being linked with to see what the idea is - get back to the old way with a genuine English spine with a scattering of foreign talent to accentuate it where required - the most obvious name here being Suarez who everyone can agree is an absolute delight to watch when he plays, a true talent - but to get that undeniable Liverpool feel back to the place.
Personally my main problem with this somewhat admirable idea is that you are fully aware that buying English players brings with it a huge, sometimes unwarranted mark-up in price. Is Andy Carroll really worth £35M? Is Jordan Henderson really worth £20M? Of course not but then again a player's "worth" is only really what a club is willing to pay for his services and if we're willing to part with that much cash then who are the selling clubs to argue? That said I still find it quite shameful, if Carroll was Belgian we might not have paid more than £15M and if Henderson was Uruguayan or Bolivian, I highly doubt we'd be looking at paying more for him than Arsenal paid for Samir Nasri or Spurs paid for Luka Modric.
We've seen the same with previous transfers, most notably Darren Bent when he left Charlton Athletic and we refused to pay £16.5M along with Rafa's unwillingness to spend £18M on Gareth Barry (looking more and more like a good decision since his move to Man City) but as a mate pointed out today - a dangerous precedent has already been set by spending so much money on Carroll. Clubs will see what we're trying to do and will naturally increase their fees knowing that we'd rather pay an extra £5M than sign the French, Spanish, Belgian, etc... alternative to whichever player we're looking at.
The team already has a distinctly British feel to it, we're playing like an 80's Liverpool side, harrowing every single player, chasing every single ball and I don't mind admitting a swell of pride at the thought that, at some point next season, we could field an entirely English back line of Robinson, Kelly, Carragher and the hugely-impressive Flanaghan with the likes of Spearing, Gerrard, Shelvey and Carroll playing ahead of him. It's also possible that depending on how the transfer window pans out we could see 5-6 Liverpool players in the England squad, something we haven't really seen for a while.
I do look at some of the targets though and wonder if they're the best but at the end of the day - The King wouldn't do ANYTHING unless it was in the best interests of the team, the club and the fans and I say that with 100% honesty. If Kenny decides that Stewart Downing is worth more to the team than Juan Mata then he will get the full backing and support of millions of Liverpool fans the world over including myself... although Mata and Arda Turan are players I would damn near kill to see playing at Liverpool.
Above all else: in the King we trust and long may his reign continue.