Tuesday, 27 July 2010

Javier Mascherano has told Hodgson he wants to leave Liverpool FC

This was the news we all expected to hear at some point but, like with the Alonso rumours last season, had hoped not to hear.

As disappointing as it is to hear a player who the club rescued from West Ham’s reserves and helped to become Argentina’s captain, say he wants to leave the club, we should refrain from labelling him a ‘Judas’ and burning effigies of him in a replica shirt. Let’s applaud his honesty in at least stating his intentions rather than trying to play cat and mouse with the club or releasing dubious statements about how he respects and admires Inter/Barca but would be equally happy to remain at Anfield. At least we all know where we stand and those at the club can plan a future that does not involve him.

What this statement does to his transfer value remains to be seen. The facts are, Mascher is under contract, is a top player and one that the club have no wish to sell so under normal circumstances he should command a minimum fee of £30m. However, Inter will argue that as the player wants to leave and Liverpool don’t want to be left with a disillusioned and potentially disruptive player, they should accept a lower bid. It’s tricky. While I can see the value of letting this one go down to the wire in order to squeeze every last penny out of the transfer, Liverpool could do without being involved in protracted transfer dealings this summer. Our focus needs to be on the new season and we need to have our 2010-11 squad in place as soon as possible.

Losing Mascher is a blow but not as big a blow as losing either Torres or Reina.

Mascher is a great player. He is the best in the world at playing that destructive midfield role and no like-for-like replacement of equal quality exists. However, plenty of teams enjoyed more success than Liverpool without having a destructive player of Mascherano’s ability last season so we have to look at this as an opportunity to try something different.

Lucas has the potential to replace Mascher as the defensive midfielder in Liverpool’s set up while Gerrard, Cole or a new signing could play alongside him as a more attacking midfielder. As a set up it would be less effective defensively but would hopefully contribute more goals both in terms of goals scored and direct assists.

I also feel less pissed off about Mascher wanting to leave than I would with Torres if he had come out with this statement of intent. I feel Torres owes us. Without doubt, last season (and indeed the season before) would have been more successful had Torres not missed half the campaign through injury. Granted, it is harsh to blame a player for being injury-prone but if Torres’ argument for leaving was that he felt the team around him was not good enough, I would counter argue that it could be with him in it. I have no doubt that had Torres played another 10 matches last season, Liverpool would have finished in the top 4 at least while his absences against Atletico Madrid severely reduced our chances of contesting the Europa League Final. In Mascher’s case, these arguments hold no water. Despite a poor start to the season which many put down to disillusionment over being denied his desired move to Barca, Mascher gave everything he could for our cause last season. Whomever is to blame for Liverpool’s disappointing last season, Mascher is not culpable. So I don’t feel he owes us anything.

I also think Mascherano’s stance is understandable for a couple of reasons:

First, the player is Argentinean. Without wishing to sound racist, it’s clear that there are significant cultural differences between England and Argentina – particularly in football terms. For example, cheating is still frowned upon in England despite diving, playacting and imaginary card waving by English players becoming increasingly common in recent years. In Argentina, over 20 years later, Maradona’s ‘hand of God’ moment is still hailed as an example of cleverly bending the rules to your advantage. Another example is that few of our top players play abroad whereas the majority of Argentina’s national team ply their trade in Europe. This is at the hub of my point. Mascher has no loyalty to the people of Liverpool. Despite his badge-kissing, Liverpool is just one of 20 to 30 top teams in Europe for whom Mascher could be playing.

Second, as Argentina’s captain, he will feel he should be playing for a top, top team like teammates Messi and Milito or at least a team with the potential to become a top, top team like close friend Tevez. Liverpool currently is neither. Within months of Mascher joining us, we were contesting the Champions League Final. However, since then the club has made headlines for all the wrong reasons as civil war broke out between manager and boardroom and funds that should have been invested in Europe’s top players has disappeared from the coffers into the vacuum of the debts placed on the club by dishonest owners. That Liverpool will not contest this season’s Champions League is immaterial. Without a mega-rich benefactor purchasing the club, Liverpool will not contest any of the top prizes domestically or in Europe for the next five years at least. Mascherano will feel he can attract a club capable of more.

From our perspective, Mascher undoubtedly strengthens our first XI but we have to remember that we won nothing with him in our team so it can’t be argued that future success is dependent on retaining him.

Assuming we receive a fair fee for him, he can go with my blessing and I will wish him well at his new club.

Saturday, 24 July 2010

Meet the Bosnans

Jean-Marc Bosnan. What a twat.

Not only did he cause us to lose Steve McManaman for nothing and Michael Owen for a derisory £8m plus Antonio Nunez (as if £8m wasn't insulting enough!), but he also was indirectly responsible for a roll call of dross walking through the Shankly Gates with the fact they cost nothing overriding the question of whether they were actually good enough to wear the Red shirt in the reasoning behind signing them.

By my count, Joe Cole became the eleventh player signed by Liverpool ‘on a Bosman’ since the ruling by the European Court of Justice in 1995. Amazingly, you can actually fit them into a realistic 4-4-2 formation (albeit with some players playing out of their preferred positions but still in positions they played from time to time).

So here they are, our team of Bosnans:

....................................Pegguy Arphexad
Philipp Degen..Markus Babbel...Steve Staunton........Fabio Aurelio
Joe Cole........Gary McAllister....Boudewijn Zenden..Milan Jovanovich
.........................Erik Meijer..........Andrily Voronin

Let’s be honest, if that was our best XI for the new season, most of us would be happy with a top 10 finish.

So how many of those were signed purely because they were free? How many would still have been signed if we’d had to pay a fee for them? And, excluding Jovanovic and Cole, for whom judgements will come far later, how many were actually decent acquisitions with hindsight?

Arphexad is statistically Liverpool’s most successful player based on appearances given the fact he made 6 first team appearances and picked up 5 winners’ medals. Of course, all 5 medals were won as an unused substitute so it could be argued that a blind monkey would have been just as successful. In Arphexad’s defence, Liverpool won all five games he started plus the game he joined from the bench with his team already 3-0 up. Could Liverpool have been just as successful if, instead of signing this Frenchman, we’d just retained Tony Warner? Probably.

Degen is a lousy excuse for a footballer and one of the worst right-backs I have ever seen. Seriously, it’s like watching a 6-year old who desperately wants to be playing up front but has been told to play in defence by his manager. Like a 6-year old, he seriously over estimates his level of ability and keeps grinning like a fucking idiot. Would Liverpool have fared any better or worse had we not signed Degen on a free? It’s possible we might have done fractionally better last season.

At the time, Babbel was an unbelievably good signing and a real coup to sign for nothing. He is a player whom, without the benefit of hindsight, I am certain we should have signed even if the asking price was £6m (a lot for a full-back at that time). Having the benefit of hindsight makes it a confusing dilemma because after contributing significantly to Liverpool’s treble of cups in 2001, he was tragically cut down with Guillain–BarrĂ© syndrome and we lost the player he was. As a free transfer, I don’t think anyone can argue with this one.

Staunton was a decent signing for free but I don’t believe he ever would have been signed had we had to pay a fee for him. In the summer of 1999, everyone knew we needed a centre-half or two. We signed two full-backs and, erm, Sean Dundee. Had we had money to spend, I am sure we would have signed a centre-half before Stan.

I could imagine Rafa signing Aurelio for cash if the fee was in the region of £2-3m. Rafa knew the player and clearly thought he could do a job for Liverpool FC. Aurelio backed up that belief in 2008-09 but sadly the lad just couldn’t stay fit long enough to really justify an extension to his Liverpool career.

As excited as I am about the signing of Joe Cole, if the player hadn’t been available on a Bosman, I don’t believe we would have been in for him. If we’d had the sort of money Chelsea would have wanted for Joe Cole under contract, I’m sure we’d have targeted plenty of other players first.

If Carlsberg did Bosman signings, they’d probably sign Gary McAllister. That man contributed so much in so little time and was undoubtedly an unlikely transfer masterstroke by Gerard Houllier. The intriguing question is, if Liverpool had had to pay, say £2m, to sign the Scottish veteran, would they have? I suspect not. Hindsight says he would have been worth it but could you imagine the furore if Liverpool had spent money buying a 35-year old?

Boudewijn Zenden is a player I am absolutely convinced we would never have signed had he not been available on a free transfer. At the time, squad depth was needed; he had looked half decent at a mid-table club and crucially had Premiership experience. He was not a raging success but neither was he an outright flop. He simply did the job he was brought in to do before leaving for nothing.

I hope to be surprised but from what I’ve seen of him so far, Milan Jovanovic looks no better than Milan Baros. Baros was decent but never even close to being worthy of following in the footsteps of the likes of Hunt, Keegan, Dalglish, Rush and Fowler. If we weren’t skint, would we have batted an eye lid at Jovanovic? I think not.

Erik Meijer is remembered fondly as something of a cult figure but let’s be honest, he was crap.

Andrily Voronin... I probably don’t need to say anything more than that.

So what is the conclusion, or indeed, the point of this piece? I guess it relates to expectations on Jovanovich and Cole. Hopefully they’ll both do well. Realistically, one or less will prove to be a decent signing. Ultimately, the fact we have signed two ‘Bosmans’ simply confirms we are not in a situation to sign players we want or think would improve us and are, instead, rummaging in the bargain basement. Recent history suggests it is not a strategy conducive with success.

Monday, 19 July 2010

Liverpool sign Joe Cole!!!

I’m stunned to hear we’ve signed Joe Cole [subject to a medical]. Delighted but stunned.

Even though they were separate deals, we’ve essentially done a player swap with Chelsea exchanging 30-year old Yossi Benayoun for 28-year old Joe Cole plus £6m. Can we sell them the Brooklyn Bridge while we’re at it?

Yes, Cole has had injury problems over the last few seasons that have severely limited his availability and rightly mean he arrives at Anfield with question marks hanging over his head but when fit, I believe he is a better player than Yossi. Crucially, he is the sort of big name player that might convince Messrs Gerrard and Torres to stick around for another campaign or two.

Harshly labelled a flair player, I recall being really impressed with Cole when he captained West Ham at the age of just 21. He looked a real player in central midfield and though the team was relegated, no one could argue that Cole was culpable in that. Rumour had it that he was set to join us in the summer of 2003 before Abramovich pitched up at Chelsea and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse (I mean financially – I doubt horses’ heads were involved). Then he became a real thorn in our side thrice netting winners against us in 1-0 defeats to Mourinho’s mercenaries.

I think this is a wonderful coup for the club and for Hodgson – who I am assuming was involved in some capacity.

What slightly vexes me is why the player chose to join us. He had offers on the table from Arsenal and Tottenham – both of whom have qualified for the Champions League and whom would have enabled him to remain in London where his family is settled.

Why would he want to sign for us? He can’t believe we will be title contenders next season and there’s not even any certainty we can finish in the top four. Our off the field issues are well known and clearly any outsider can see ours is not a happy club. If working for an English manager was his motivation, he could have joined Harry Redknapp at Spurs and Spurs also have more English players than we do.

I can only assume that we offered him a very attractive contract which, at the age of 28 and with a complete set of domestic medals already in his back pocket, he felt was too good to turn down. Cynical? Perhaps. It could be that he enjoyed the company of Gerrard and Carra so much on international duty that he wants to be around them 24/7 or that Glen Johnson was his best mate during their time together at Stamford Bridge? Or maybe his is a genuine fan of the club and/or was so inspired by the atmosphere at Chelsea’s two Champions League semi-final defeats at Anfield? Maybe the chance to don the famous number 7 shirt is too tempting to resist?

Of course, it wasn’t too long ago that I thought beating off the challenge from Man Ure to sign Harry Kewell on the cheap was fantastic news and we all know how that turned out (prick). However, for now I see this as an unexpectedly positive turn of events in a summer from which I expected nothing but doom and gloom.

Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Fucking stupid transfer rumours...

Honest to God! What the fuck is going on at Anfield?

I know this is silly season and all sorts of fabricated transfer stories come out of the woodwork but the sort of players a club is linked to says an awful lot about the standing of that club. Whereas last summer we were unrealistically being linked with the likes of Tevez and David Silva, this summer we’re being linked with Paul Scharner and James fucking Beattie.

I’ve nothing against Scharner. I just think he’s shit. As for Beattie, the ex-Blue and White Shite can’t even get in Stoke’s team so how the fuck would he enhance what we have at Anfield?

Meanwhile, it seems Insua is holding talks with Fiorentina over a £5m transfer and Lucas is being linked with a move to Palermo, also for £5m.

Selling Insua would be MADNESS! He is a youngster (23 next month) who was thrown in at the deep end last season and used far too much. At times he looked out of his depth but given it was his first full season as a first team player, that is to be expected. At other times, he showed enough to suggest he can be a decent player in the future and even was capped by Argentina (admittedly along with about 83 other players under the manic reign of Diego Maradona). In football there are no guarantees but there is every possibility that this lad could develop into a player worth a lot more than £5m in years to come and wouldn’t we be kicking ourselves for flogging him on the cheap then? Of course, the other ‘kind of’ significant issue is he is our only fucking left-back at the club now that Dossena and Aurelio have gone.

As for Lucas, I dearly hope that is just press speculation. Lucas was one of our better players last season and improved a great deal over the course of the campaign – not that it was noticed by the knob-heads who wrote him off as shit during the previous year and don’t actually watch enough games to form an alternative view. Given we signed him for £5m three years ago, are we seriously expected to believe that this player, who has since been capped by Brazil, has not enhanced his value at all? Surely he must at least be worth £10m now? However, the key issue is that with Mascherano certain to be sold, who will play the role of the holding midfielder if Lucas also goes? Scharner?

Is that Hodgson’s master plan? Sell a 24-year old with excellent potential who is now an established first team player and replace him with a 30-year old journey man whose career highlight was playing for Wigan? Relegation, here we come!

As for Beattie, the report in Metro stated:

"The former Fulham boss has already identified his strikers as an area of concern, with few options behind injury-prone star man Fernando Torres.

"Apart from the largely underwheming David Ngog and new signing Milan Jovanovic, the Reds have only a few youngsters on their books with little or no first-team experience."

Typically this lazy fucking reporter hasn’t checked David Ngog’s age. At 21, Ngog is a youngster but thanks to the large gaps in Rafa’s squad last season, he now has quite a bit of first-team experience that will undoubtedly aid his development. Does he look a world beater? No but neither did Adebayor when he first graced the Arsenal first team while it took Thierry Henry years (and a decent manager) to realise his full potential.

Personally, I would choose Ngog over Beattie any and every day of the week. I don’t know enough about Jovanovic, but I would be seriously concerned if Hodgson considered 32-year old Beattie a better prospect up front than the Serbian. Even Kuyt or Babel would be better up front. What a load of shite!

There’s probably no truth in the story but still, the fact that we’re even being linked with players of this standard (and age) instead of the David Villas and Wesley Schneiders says everything about the shit state Liverpool Football Club finds itself in today.


I already want Hodgson out.