'The more things change, the more they stay the same'. A famous saying but one that does not apply to Liverpool Football Club these days. In fact, turning the phrase on it's head offers more accuracy. At Anfield, the more things stay the same, the more they appear to change.
On the face of it, little at Liverpool has changed since their encouraging
opening day win against Stoke but the early sense of euphoria garnered from
their deserved victory last weekend has already worn off. Focus has quickly shifted
from the positives of that first opening day win since 2008 to the negatives
of their transfer dealings this summer.
Willian, their main target for the past couple of weeks, has
joined rivals Spurs. The Brazilian becomes the third big name player to reject
Liverpool’s overtures this summer, following in the footsteps of his former
team mate Henrikh Mkhitaryan and his countryman Diego Costa. Make no mistake; Willian’s
deferral to Spurs is a huge concern for Liverpool.
The London club, who missed out on Champions League football
by a solitary point last term, have added Etienne Capoue (£9.7m), Paulinho (£17m), Nacer
Chadli (£7m), Willian (£30m) and Roberto Soldado (£26m) to a squad that
finished 11 points ahead of Liverpool. They are also in the running
to add the fantastically talented Erik Lamela to their squad. On paper at
least, they appear to be leaving Liverpool behind.
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| Willian has disappointed Liverpool by moving to Spurs |
A top four finish is Liverpool’s target this season and
realistically, they are not going to catch Manchester United, Manchester
City or Chelsea. That leaves Spurs, Arsenal and Everton for
Liverpool to overcome in their desperate race to get into the Champions League
places. Arsenal are currently in disarray and Liverpool will fancy their
chances of overtaking their neighbours but Spurs could now be over the hill and
far away. They are amassing a squad capable of challenging for the title off the
back of Gareth Bale’s imminent world record transfer to Real Madrid.
Of course, football is never won solely by who has the
deepest or strongest squad on paper, but the quality added at White Hart Lane
this summer is disconcerting for Liverpool supporters. So too are the
conflicting reports on the failings of the club’s business this summer. The
Liverpool Echo would have it’s readers believe that Willian had simply chosen
Spurs over Liverpool due to his preference for living in the nation's capital after both
clubs had made offers for the player. Conversely, Tony Barrett of the Times and
various other journalists have suggested that Liverpool refused to match Spurs’
offer of around £30m for the Brazil international. If that scenario is true (and
many believe it is) then Liverpool and owners FSG have some answers to give.
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| Henry and Werner have questions to answer |
If FSG decided that Willian wasn’t worth the money required
to prize him from Russia then who advised them on this? Why bother to publicly pursue
a player of that profile in the first place when other top European clubs with financial
clout were certain to be in the running as well? Why, with Liverpool’s net spend this summer
in the minus column, could the club not dare to pay slightly above their valuation for a
player who could potentially transform their already impressive attack into a
top class outfit? Questions, questions, questions.
What we do know is that Liverpool have failed again to
complete a significant piece of business and in doing so, they have allowed a rival
to strengthen and further increase a gap between the clubs that was already going
to be difficult to bridge. Liverpool have conducted some decent business themselves
this summer (not least keeping hold of Luis Suarez) but there has been no real statement of intent to suggest that the
Anfield outfit believe they can blast their way back into the Champions League
this season. They haven’t captured a signing to excite their fans and
demonstrate true ambition. They will claim that they have tried, but have they tried hard enough?
Two weeks remain in the transfer window and the Reds are yet
to purchase a player for over £10m. Considering how desperate Brendan Rodgers
has been to add a top class centre half and another match winner at the top of
the field that just isn’t good enough. The Reds are an exciting side with bags
of potential but to seriously mount an assault on Spurs and the rest of the
sides above them in the pecking order this season, a statement is required. At least one top quality player is still required to take them on to the next level.
The way the summer has gone so far that player seems unlikely to arrive.
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