Player transfers were one of many things Liverpool managed poorly last summer, as Christian Purslow and Roy Hodgson oversaw some woeful signings and ludicrous sales. The arrivals of promising prospects Jonjo Shelvey and Danny Wilson were tied up by Rafa Benitez, who also sanctioned the signing of Bosman flop Milan Jovanovic. Following the Spaniards sacking, Hodgson and Purslow were active in the market themselves. Joe Cole and Fabio Aurelio were signed on free transfers, but in deals that will cost the club a lot of money in the long term; wages of approximately £90,000 per week for Cole and a two year deal for the injury prone Aurelio. The remaining signings were Paul Konchesky from Fulham for slightly more than £3m, Christian Poulsen from Juventus for £4.5m, Brad Jones from Middlesbrough for £2.3m and Raul Meireles from Porto for £10.7m. Leaving Liverpool was a raft of former Academy and Reserve Team players, the wantaway Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera and Javier Mascherano, but also Alberto Aquilani, after just one season of adaptation in England and the promising Argentine international Emiliano Insua, both on loan.
In the 2006 January transfer window, Daniel Agger moved to Liverpool from Brondby for what was a club record fee for a defender, at £5.8m. Agger made his Liverpool debut that February against Birmingham City, a match which also saw the ‘second coming’ of Robbie Fowler. However, the Dane was limited to just 4 appearances for his new club that season due to injury.
Despite this seasons ups and downs there has been almost one constant in the side, Maxi Rodríguez.
Our number 17 has featured in 24 of our 31 premier league matches, joint in 5th place with Glen Johnson for season appearances.
But many people question why Maxi continues to be selected and feature so heavily in the side.
To...
The third, and final, instalment of our nostalgic look at the midfield trio of the 2008/2009 season will concentrate on their performance in the attacking third of the pitch.
We'd expect Xabi Alonso to be ahead in the race for most creative central midfielder out of the three. Xabi's passing, whether it be a simple pass or a long ball, was always of the highest quality. We'll look at how much of his passing helped in creating chances for Liverpool FC in the season 2008/2009 and how his midfield partners did in comparison.
If there has been one criticism levelled at Andy Carroll more than any other since he burst onto the scene in 2008, it is that his aerial threat is where his ability begins and ends. As one disgruntled Geordie put it on Twitter, “That's his only trick though ....He's just a Geordie John Carew”....
“We’ve got the only Brazilian that can’t play football!”
“It’s clear that he’s not going to make it.”
“Not Liverpool class.”
“We’re not going to win a title with him in the squad!”
“Would he get into our rivals teams? No.”
Are just some of the comments I’ve heard or read. Others can’t be written down…
Suarez and Carroll. Two signings, for the price of one (well, almost).
For weeks, we have waited to see them play together. They have been talked up as the latest little and large combo, many of which we have seen over the years. Due to injury, and ineligability, we have been unable to see this partnership in all it's glory. But against Sunderland, we finally got to see them both, from the start.
In this instalment we're going to discuss tackling, possession duels, interceptions, blocks and fouls conceded or won. As you know this is going to fit right into Javier Mascherano's. You'd not expect this one to be close at all and expect Mascherano to be far and away the better tackler out of the three.
"We've got the best midfield in the world!" is what reverberated in Anfield and mainly on the Kop in the heights of Rafael Benitez's reign at Anfield. The song mentioned Xabi Alonso, Momo Sissoko, Gerrard and Mascheranoooooooooo! We loved that song, we loved that midfield quartet. Since then we've undergone a total transformation in midfield, no longer does it have the passing range of Alonso or the terrier like tackling of Mascherano or Sissoko.
Since Alonso's big money departure to join Spanish giants Real Madrid, we have never quite come to terms with his loss. Many actually believe this has caused our decline over the last few seasons.
