Liverpool are about to sign Loic Remy, which should ferociously ring your mental bells. They’ve been consistently linked with him since the 2010/11 season when he scored 15 league goals for Marseille, and the yearly reports of a possible move to Anfield have grown tiresome. We’ve been here before. But it looks like this time the move is for real, and for Liverpool, that makes perfect sense.
Remy is an ideal winger/second striker type, fast enough to beat a defender down the flank and good enough to net double digit goals when playing through the center. Last season, Newcastle used him as a left forward/winger in about half of the matches he played in, which I discovered via ESPNFC’s average positioning charts. Even though he didn’t always play in the middle, Remy managed to score 14 goals in 26 Premier League appearances, which was the best goals/appearances ratio of his career. He’s not the star that many thought he’d blossom into, but at 27, he seems to be entering his peak as a solid, versatile Premier League forward.
And a solid, versatile forward who is battle tested in the league is exactly what Liverpool need to solidify their attack. As it stands, Brendan Rodgers has an abundance of multi-dimensional midfield options, but the frontline doesn’t yet have the depth necessary to cope with the addition of Champions League football. Lazar Markovic and Raheem Sterling are the team’s only real wingers besides the unproven Jordan Ibe, and so an injury to one of them could leave Rodgers scrambling. This becomes more apparent if the Assaidi to Stoke deal goes through as expected. Even if both Markovic and Sterling maintain good health, there’s no way that they can handle playing in all of the 45-50 matches that Liverpool will be tasked with. Remy is the perfect player to come in and put in a good shift on the wing while either Markovic or Sterling rest.
In addition to the depth that he adds to the winger position, Remy provides a pacey alternative to Daniel Sturridge at central striker. We’ve seen Sturridge struggle with fitness throughout his career, and it’s a essentially a given that he’ll miss some time this season. When that happens, it’ll be nice for Brendan Rodgers to have a fast striker like Remy who can stretch defenses vertically rather than being forced to choose Rickie Lambert. Remy can even play alongside Lambert to compliment his physicality. When you compare Remy with Wilfried Bony, another rumored target who would have cost significantly more money and lacks Remy’s pace, it’s clear that Liverpool are making a wise decision in signing the QPR man.
It’s unsurprising that Remy had an advantage last season in creation figures over Bony, but the fact that he was on par in scoring and conversion rates is a testament to how underrated he is as a finisher. He isn’t necessarily better than Bony – I deliberately selected statistics that favored the French forward – but it’s clear that the gap in talent between the two players is not worth a difference of £20m in transfer fees. And as mentioned, Remy fits the Liverpool side better because of his quickness and ability to cover multiple positions.
Loic Remy is no longer the speedy young forward who’s potential captured Liverpool’s attention years ago. He’s 27 and the mystique has worn off. We know who he is, we need what he brings to the table, and that’s why he’s an ideal signing for Liverpool.
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Poor article, incorrect statistics, littered with baseless opinion based statement. The comparison to Bony is poorly done, and to admit you deliberately picked stats to favour Remy is amateurish.
Incorrect stats? What? They’re completely accurate Opta statistics in meaningful categories. And it’s not amateurish to admit that I picked categories to favor Remy…it’s simply honest. I wanted to highlight his strengths. And I don’t know what’s baseless about saying that Remy fits into the team as good, needed cover for multiple positions. Do you disagree that he’s a smart signing or does this comment exist for the sole purpose of being difficult?
I think he has a point though. To intentionally select comparison points that favor your argument may seem OK because you’re saying so, but it also invites the question of what aren’t you telling us.
Further, I think it’s unnecessary. All you need to show is that Remy is as good, not better, and I think a balanced look at important stats would do that from the research I’ve done.
That’s fair. I guess the underlying point of what I said was that anyone picking statistics in an article like this would choose to make their point look good, even if that decision is subconscious. But like you said, Remy comes out looking good in any statistical comparison with Bony.
There are many reason Remy is a problem signing–his attitude, problems with the law–so it is important to consider why he is being signed. I hope he starts at a lower salary with performance incentives and a lot of predetermined fines; he seems like a player who needs to be hit hard and fast for bad conduct and who might work harder for progressively greater rewards. I’d rather start him a 50-60K a week at the most, with performance incentives. He’s a bad one, though. I hope we have him on a very short leash.
The equation is simple really. When LFC play another team a question I always ask which player am I worried by and would be pleased if they were injured/suspended etc. Remy was always a player that caused me concern at both QPR and Newcastle and now he can help us cause other teams concern.
Also he is a France International so maybe not as shabby as others are trying to make out on the podcast. Bony is also good, but in my view not as good as Remy and certainly not for twice the cash.