Spurs show Reds the way forward

'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.

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.

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. 

Rodgers evokes the Spirit of Shankly

Well, we know what Brendan Rodgers has been reading recently, don’t we. Red or Dead by David Peace is the hagiography of Bill Shankly and it is flying off the shelves as we speak. It charts the life and times of the great man from his arrival at Liverpool Football Club to the end of his days. It is a book centred around his fierce determination, passion, honesty and devotion to his life as Liverpool manager. It is a labour of love that celebrates his socialistic views, his desire for everyone at Liverpool (and indeed, the wider world) to work for each other. Every fan, tea lady and cleaner was every bit as important in Shanks’ mind as the superstars that he moulded into the great Liverpool teams of the 60s and 70s. Moments of triumph and despair were to be shared and commitment to the cause was not celebrated, but a pre requisite. How times change.

One can only guess how Shankly would have dealt with modern football and it’s spoilt, millionaire players. He’d probably have Luis Suarez doing laps of Melwood for the next three years for turning his back on the club and it’s people this week. Of course, in modern football that is not an option and lamentably we have no Shanklys left. Society and football have changed almost beyond recognition but when Brendan Rodgers faced the media to discuss that interview from Luis Suarez, the current incumbent of the Liverpool managerial position sent out messages that fans of any era would have approved of. The origins of those messages were easy to determine.

Rodgers can’t talk like Shankly, few can, but he gave it his best shot and relied on the principles of the great man to get him through a tricky moment.

The easy option would have been for Rodgers to give ‘no comment’ on his want away forward. Instead, he laid things out clearly. With honesty. With passion.

“Obviously the remarks I've read are bitterly disappointing - but my job is bigger than that. My job is to fight and protect the club. I will take strong, decisive action, absolutely. There has been total disrespect of the club - this is a lack of respect for a club that has given him everything. Absolutely everything.”

Rodgers is no Shankly. No manager today is. But his words evoked the great man. His words were music to the ears of Liverpool’s supporters. How Arsenal fans would have loved Arsene Wenger to say the same sort of things last year instead of selling Robin van Persie to Manchester United.

Rodgers poses next to Shanks' portrait at Melwood

The messages from Rodgers were not ambiguous. Yes, Suarez was bang out of order. Yes, he would be punished. Yes he has betrayed the club. The only surprising thing was that Rodgers didn’t repeat himself again and again during his answers to mirror Peace’s writing style in Red or Dead. 

Rodgers appealed to the emotion of fans and spoke of Suarez’s betrayal of them. It was almost textbook Shankly if, understandably, lacking in some of the gravitas that the Scot carried.

“I really, really feel sorry for the supporters, people that have sung his name. We have travelled the world over the course of this pre-season. 85,000 fans were singing Luis' name in Jakarta. It was the same in Australia, in Thailand and at Steven Gerrard's testimonial.”

Shankly’s holy trinity of manager, players and supporters were used in Rodgers’ condemnation of the Uruguayan also. When quizzed on whether Suarez could wear the red shirt again, the manager showed how deeply Suarez had cut the club.

“There's a few bridges to cross before that can happen (play for Liverpool again). It's about the respect, that's the only thing we look for. This is one of the most iconic football clubs in the world, you can't disrespect it. That's something I will ensure (an apology) before anything happens in the future.”

The great man in front of his adoring Kop

Of course, this could all be grandstanding but Liverpool’s resistance to sell to Arsenal seems sincere. How would Rodgers look if Suarez was sold for £40m after claiming that his value is far in excess of that all summer long? How would John W. Henry look after that famous tweet if Suarez made his way to the Emirates? Liverpool have backed themselves into a corner but it was the correct thing to do both from a moral viewpoint and as business decision. Selling Suarez to a rival at a low price shouldn’t even be an option.

The recent developments in the case suggest that Suarez has no legal grounds to demand a transfer at £40m. He is a rebel without a clause. Liverpool remain in the difficult position of having their best player being unhappy and determined to move but with no offer on the table that matches his value. It’s easy to see that there are many miles left in this saga but Liverpool and in particular Brendan Rodgers have dealt perfectly with it thus far. One hopes that FSG have the courage of their convictions and prevent Suarez from moving to the club that Liverpool need to overtake.

Rodgers’ press conference was a timely reminder that, even after all this time, the spirit of the man who built Liverpool and his ethos still reside somewhere within the corridors of Anfield.

Suarez interview - Football is a lie

‘Football is a lie’ - Rafael Benitez

Liverpool’s former manager has come up with some interesting quotes down the years. Priests on mountains of sugar, white liquid in bottles etc but his notion that the beautiful game is fictitious might just be his best. It certainly rings true during these arduous summer breaks. These hot, tedious months where the focus shifts from the football pitch to Jim White, agents and Twitter.

No doubt everyone has seen Luis Suarez’s interview with Sid Lowe by now.  In it, the want away striker essentially laid his cards on the table for all to see, inviting criticism and scorn in doing so. In isolation this interview makes little difference, but as Benitez’s quote suggests, in football perception means more than reality.

The Uruguayan has more or less begged Liverpool to release his shackles and allow him to scamper down to London to fulfil his dreams. It’s angered Liverpool fans, naturally. It’s given hope to Arsenal fans. But what else has it done? Precious little. What he said to Sid Lowe he will have undoubtedly said to Brendan Rodgers and Ian Ayre already. For every ‘extraordinary’ interview like this one, you must look past the headline grabbing quotes and try to discern what the reality of the situation is.

Let me go: Suarez is desperate to leave Liverpool 

People seem keen to push the notion that because Suarez has publicly slammed Liverpool and revealed his intention to vacate the north west that there has been some seismic shift in the landscape of this transfer fiasco. There hasn’t been. What this interview shows is desperation.

Early in the summer Suarez made passes at Real Madrid as regularly as he sipped mate from his omnipresent flask. Unfortunately for Suarez, as things stand Madrid have their eyes locked on a more attractive target and are paying him little attention. If Suarez wants to leave Liverpool this summer then right now his only option is to move to a team who are not yet guaranteed Champions League football and whose potential for winning that competition or the Premier League are remote at best.

He has cited his desire for Champions League football as his motivating factor for wanting to leave Liverpool and says people should accept this. The truth is, Liverpool’s supporters do accept this. They yearn for the same thing. Had Madrid rocked up and tabled an acceptable bid for the player, fans would have waved him off with regret but also understanding. The problem is that Arsenal, while not a local rival as Suarez correctly points out in his interview, are the team that Liverpool must catch this season and their offer undersells Suarez by a long way in today’s ridiculous market.

So why now? Why alienate the supporters who, as recently as this weekend, still had his back and chanted his name? Why threaten to take the club that have supported him so often to court? Why bring all this on himself? Again, we arrive back at desperation.

At war: Brendan Rodgers and Arsene Wenger 

Arsenal’s farcical £40m plus £1 bid came a long time ago now. It was rejected out of hand by Liverpool. It isn’t Suarez’s value and that apart, it was downright antagonistic. Arsene Wenger wants this saga to be completed ‘amicably’ but it was that childish bid that started a war of words between the two clubs and probably strengthened Liverpool's resolve to keep the player from the Gunners' clutches. If this transfer does end up in a court, one wonders what would be made of Arsenal’s extraordinarily specific bid. But I digress, back to Suarez. He claims he has a £40m release clause. He claims to have the PFA’s backing. He claims that he will hand in a transfer request. Once more, football is a lie.

Either that clause is fictional or his ‘super agent’ Pere Guardiola is, well, a little bit silly. If that clause is set in stone then Liverpool had no right to reject Arsenal’s bid. Guardiola, being a ‘super agent’ and all that jazz, presumably would know this. He’d have threatened Liverpool with legal action the moment he got wind of that offer being rejected. Liverpool insist no such clause exists and reading between the lines, it seems they are correct. If they weren’t then this transfer would have either been completed or would be being played out in a court room by now.

Suarez and Guardiola are obviously frustrated with Liverpool's resistance to the transfer (though, not frustrated enough to wave a ‘loyalty' bonus by submitting a transfer request just yet) and making the player’s position at Liverpool untenable by burning his bridges on the pages of the Guardian newspaper seems like a desperate roll of the dice to apply additional pressure to FSG and Liverpool Football Club. Moaning, whining and telling the world how you are a slave to a club that have gone back on their word are not the actions of people in control of a situation like this.

Assuming no clause exists then Suarez can conduct as many Twitter crashing interviews as he wants but his situation changes little. Liverpool value the player in excess of £50m and don’t want to sell him to the team they have in their crosshairs. Stalemate. If FSG stick to their plan and refuse to send Suarez down south then Suarez must hope that a team from abroad make a bid for his services or prepare his next move. That would be threatening to strike, ala Carlos Tevez. To do that in World Cup year, aged 26 would take some real bottle and stupidity but nothing can be ruled out. Words mean little anymore. Football is just a lie.

LFC adding steel to their style

Too often last season Liverpool were somewhat of a soft touch. Looking bad it’s hardly surprising. For the first half of the season the club had to play a lot of young players far more often than they would have liked and there was a shortage of experience. When the going got tough, Liverpool often seemed to wilt a little mentally.

Brendan Rodgers acknowledged as much and was quoted as saying he needed to add more ‘men’ to the squad. In a recent interview he also said 'last season we played with style but not enough steel' You could interpret that as Liverpool needing more experience (no doubting that they did require that) but you can just as easily make the case that the manager wanted more players who would stand up and be counted. Aside for Gerrard, Suarez, Carragher and Reina, Liverpool were a little thin on the ground when it came to leaders last term. As two of those players have now left the club it is little wonder that Rodgers has fixed his eye on players with a certain type of mentality this summer.

Suso and Sterling: Plenty of talent, little in the way of experiemce

Kolo Toure has come on and as well as his vast knowledge of the Premier League, he adds vocal presence to a defence that often seemed mute last season. He is undoubtedly a leader of men and his transfer makes a lot of sense.

Iago Aspas has drawn many comparisons with Luis Suarez already and not just for his busy style of play. By all accounts he was a little pest in Spain. He has a little bit of swagger and a temper too. That sort of thing can occasionally be a team’s downfall (his red card for head butting an opponent last season didn’t go down well at Celta Vigo as his suspension nearly facilitated their relegation) but it again shows that, like Suarez, he is a player who won’t shy away from a tough situation. In short, he’s a narky little fighter.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos has been a target all summer long for the Reds and it only takes ten seconds of YouTube viewing to see that he is no shrinking violet either. Personally I haven’t seen enough of the player to say whether he would be a good signing or not but you can see that his character appeals to Rodgers. He seems loud, in your face and aggressive. He doesn’t seem like the kind of lad who would accept being bullied by Christian Benteke and Kenwyne Jones in the way that Martin Skrtel did last term.

You wouldn't mess, would you?

Diego Costa is the latest player heavily linked to Liverpool and he could be on Merseyside pretty soon if reports are to be believed. Anyone who knows about Costa seems to jump to his temperament when describing him rather than talking about his actual ability. That’s because he’s, how shall I phrase this, a little controversial.              

You kind find footage of some very unsavoury things when you Google the Brazilian’s name and it is to be hoped that he can curb the wilder side of his character if he makes his way through the Shankly gates. Seek out opinions from people who have watched him regularly though and again it becomes clear that his mental toughness would appeal to Rodgers.

He’s a loud mouth, more than a little dirty, he works himself into the ground and he won’t back away from anyone. Go and look at his run-ins with Pepe and Ramos in the Madrid derby of last season and you will see some startling images. He has quality, naturally, but I would bet that his attitude impressed Liverpool’s scouts as much as his ability. 

'The most hated man in La Liga'

Described as ‘The most hated man in La Liga’ you can bet that Costa’s arrival would see Luis Suarez with a real rival for his current status as public enemy number one in this country. Some may feel that Liverpool could do without more bad publicity but there can be little doubt that Liverpool lack steel at the moment and it is encouraging that their scouting department have set about rectifying that.

And who wants a team full of angels anyway? As the saying goes: Nice guys finish last. 

Luis Suarez – A Betrayal to Embrace

Like life in general, football provides us with a wide spectrum of emotions. It gives us moments of ecstasy yet it can also crush our spirits. It can make or break days, weeks, even years of our existence. It offers the opportunity to form bonds and to partake in exhilarating adventures. It demands that you feel genuine love and utter hatred. It can leave you feeling bitter, resentful and downright betrayed. It can offer relief and fill you with optimism. Without the lows, the highs wouldn’t matter, just as in life. Football is all about emotion.

No matter how many times your team or idols break your heart you should always go back for more. No matter how corporate or sanitised the game has become these days, the emotions should remain. Negative or positive, they should be embraced. They must endure. Without them, football just wouldn’t matter.

Right now, many Liverpool supporters are in a state of turmoil. Their best and most cherished player is on the brink of breaking their hearts. They’ve been here before. They’ve been warned. It doesn’t matter. No amount of experience or foreshadowing can soften this kind of blow when it comes.

For the past couple of years, Liverpool fans have treated Luis Suarez, as their manager Brendan Rodgers so eloquently put it last week, like a son. While the rest of the country passed judgement on him, Kopites defended him and sang his name. When he fell down they picked him up again. Now, he is apparently ready to turn his back on them. And so returns that familiar feeling of anguish that was last felt in these parts back in January 2011.

When Fernando Torres traded Anfield for the Kings Road, hearts broke all over Merseyside. The turmoil of that transfer still lingers today. The scars have never fully healed. Liverpool legend John Aldridge, who has seen it all down the years, still can’t bring himself to even utter Torres’ name. He refers to him as ‘that fella’ or ‘FT’ on a good day. Why? Because Torres mattered to Liverpool fans. As the old adage goes, they hate him so much because they loved him so much. Emotion. Passion. 

Fernando Torres as a Kop idol

In truth, Torres’ leaving wasn’t really the problem. No Liverpool supporter would have begrudged him a move abroad to a European super club back in 2011. Throughout his time in Liverpool he had always talked up his bond with the city and seemed to genuinely understand it’s inhabitants. During his final season, Liverpool weren’t a good side and he remained a world class footballer dragged down by Hodgeball. Despite the apparent affection, his departure was always on the cards.

Like a relationship that had ran its course and was slowing grinding to a halt, his exit through the Paisley gates seemed inevitable. It was only his ultimate destination and callous timing that turned what should have been an amicable parting of the ways into a love affair defined and ruined by perceived betrayal. By joining such a hated rival as Chelsea, Torres had effectively cheated on those Liverpool fans who had given him their hearts.

Like anyone who has gone through a real life relationship that has ended in such a gut wrenching manner, after the initial anger, resentment and jealousy had passed, Liverpool fans searched for positives. They’d let their guard down and been taken for mugs while the man who professed unto them his undying love had jumped into bed with someone that they detested. Then, like all grieving singletons eventually do, Liverpool fans rationalised. Once bitten, twice shy. It wouldn’t happen again. Footballers had changed. Loyalty was a rare commodity and getting so attached to players was a bad idea. Love was for losers. The next time someone decided to up sticks from L4 it wouldn’t hurt so much because they’d been there before and would know how to deal with it.

Inevitably, that rationale has long since gone out of the window. With each piece of skill, each breath taking goal, each tireless performance in their famous Red shirt, Luis Suarez wormed his way into Liverpool supporters’ hearts the same way that Torres did. The Kop have stood by their latest squeeze through tough times and heartily rejoiced in the moments of joy that he has brought them. His triumphs were all the more enjoyable because of his tribulations. They overlooked his flaws and embraced his genius.This summer though, has brought a familiar sense of foreboding.

A few weeks ago Suarez was fluttering his eyelashes at Real Madrid. His heart and future seemed to lie abroad. Initially, despite the obvious disappointment, many Kopites were able to rationalise once more. They know Madrid can offer things that Liverpool can’t right now. They know that Madrid is a dream club for any Latin player and while losing Suarez would hurt, it wouldn’t rancour in the way that the Torres deal did. At least he looked like he was moving far away and going to a better place. The relationship seemed likely to end but at least he wasn't going to do the dirty on them.

Oh, how love blinds. It now seems that Suarez is merely intent on leaving those who have stood by him, unconcerned with his next destination. If Madrid aren’t interested then seemingly anywhere but Anfield will do for Luis right now. What other reason is there for Suarez’s apparent desire to follow Torres’ trail down to the nation’s capital by joining Arsenal?

Luis Suarez mocked up in an Arsenal shirt 

Sure, the Gunners can offer Champions League participation (usually not beyond February, mind) but Arsenal haven’t won a trophy in forever. They are extremely unlikely to compete with Chelsea or the Manchester clubs for the Premier League title and they certainly offer no refuge from the glare of the English media that Suarez had previously cited as his main reason for wanting to leave Liverpool.

Perhaps this is all just a long game by Suarez and his agent. Maybe it is a way to force Madrid into action. That would be more palatable for Reds fans. But if it is not and Suarez does genuinely want to set up camp at the Emirates next season then his love affair with Liverpool is destined to end in a break up laced with regret and resentment.

Some Liverpool supporters are preaching that detachment from Suarez has been their default position since he arrived. He’s just another mercenary footballer who they knew would jump the good ship Rodgers at the first chance he got, they say. He’s no different to Torres and they knew it all along apparently. Being ready for his departure has softened the blow.

Well, I cannot endorse or even believe in such level headed, clear minded thinking. Sure, it makes sense and it is a fine position in theory, but in football, emotional detachment shouldn’t be an option when it comes to your team and your best player. Liverpool fans should feel angry if Suarez moves to another English club. They should regret standing by him through his dark periods. They should be offended that their warmth and devotion hasn’t been reciprocated or appreciated.

95000 LFC fans filled the MCG and cheered Suarez on this week

Call me overly romantic or even deluded but if Suarez moves to Arsenal I want Liverpool fans to hurt. He’s their best player and a man they have taken to their hearts. No matter what anyone says, this should matter to them. Losing your best player to a direct rival is an regrettable thing. It shouldn't be taken with level headed numbness, it should piss you off. 

Because, if it doesn’t then what is the point of all this? Give me heart break over detachment any day. Feeling low is just part of the dance. Something will pick you up again, it always does in football. Raw emotion, good or bad, should be a pre requisite for football supporters. Without it, the game simply wouldn’t matter anymore.