It is no secret Liverpool are steadily loosing touch with the Premier League big boys, but Brendan Rodgers’ scattergun approach to the transfer period may be about to send the Reds further into mid table obscurity.
Liverpool’s £75m sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona should have been the line in the sand; the chance to reinvest in one or two world-class performers. Instead, an enigmatic eight were brought in – Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Emre Can, Lazar Markovic, Dejan Lovren, Divock Origi, Alberto Moreno and Mario Balotelli.
Out of those arrivals, only Can and Moreno made an impact on Liverpool’s 2014-15 season. The rest were complete failures, particularly the panic transfer of Mario Balotelli.
And it does not look as though they have learnt their lesson.
The recent signings of Roberto Firmino, Danny Ings, Nathaniel Clyne and Joe Gomez, for a combined £45m, are all the same type of purchases. Sure, one or two might make an impact in the coming campaing, but these types of signings will not be the difference to Liverpool’s top four aspirations, let alone take them anywhere near a title challenge again.
Even in the unlikely event that someone like Firmino sets the Premier League alight, like Raheem Sterling, it is only a matter of time before a Barcelona or Manchester City whisk him away with the lure of winning trophies.
All of Rodgers’ signings have been underwhelming, with no genuine star brought in during his tenure. But it is the amount of players he’s signed, which has magnified the problem.
History shows that purchasing large amounts of players is dangerous. When you bring in large numbers, team balance and cohesion are affected. It takes a squad time to connect, learn systems, and in the case of overseas transfers, adjust to horrible English food.
The most recent other example of this was Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale-funded spending spree in the summer of 2013. A staggering £110m spent on the likes of Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado, Paulinho, Christian Eriksen, Etitenne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches and Nacer Chadli.
These were decisions that subsequently saw the end of Andre Villas Boas, Tim Sherwood, and a breakdown in relationship between technical director Franco Baldini and chairman Daniel Levy.
When questioned last season by Sky Sports on the similarities to Tottenham’s transfer failures, Rodgers responded, ‘It’s a different club and different vision we have here. At Liverpool there’s a strategy behind what we are doing.’ – there are quite possibly a few that have been fooled by the Northern Irishman.
What is even more frustrating is the fact Liverpool still had a competitive squad after the sale of Suarez – the setup that almost snatched the league. It was a time where the Red could offer Champions League football and the very real opportunity to challenge for a title.
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Last season Chelsea and Jose Mourinho showed exactly how i is done, wrapping up deals for Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas at a combined £83 million. It was an investment in top talent that gave the Londoners the edge they needed to win the league.
Now with Sterling off to Manchester City for a reported £49m (£9m of which finds its way back to QPR), the time is now for Liverpool to invest in a fully-fledged star.
Make a statement. Sign a player who brings excitement back to Anfield; a player who will make an immediate impact – go and buy Marco Reus or Alexandre Lacazette. Yes, they may need to pay over the odds, but time is quickly running out.
Quality, not quantity, is what is needed now at Anfield. If the team requires another season for six or seven signings to bed in, Rodgers time will be up, and so may Liverpool’s.
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