Hot on the heels of NESV's recent statement about being 'smart' in the transfer market, Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has blasted LFC's transfer record, specifically highlighting how, historically, much of the the club's transfer funding has been mismanaged, a point I have been arguing for years.
Earlier in the week, John W Henry, NESV's principal backer, made it clear that he was not impressed with LFC's current transfer policy:
"We have to be more efficient. When we spend a dollar it has to be wisely. We cannot afford player contracts that do not make long-term sense. We have to be smart, bold, aggressive"
Today, Hodgson has underlined the fact that far too much of Liverpool's transfer funding has been wasted:
"I think you can pay an awful lot of money for poor players and you can pay not very much money for very good ones – it is all to do with how good your scouting and your eye is. There are a lot of things here that the club has got to get right. We have got a lot more expensive failures on our list than good players that we have brought in for next to nothing. Free transfers don’t necessarily mean that you have got a bargain. My experience of them has been very mixed. You need to be sure that the player you get can do the job you want from him.”
The amount of money (historically) wasted by various LFC managers in the transfer market is beyond belief:
* Since 1990, Liverpool has spent 528m on transfers.
* The turnover of players during that period - especially over the last 6-8 years - has been massively high, and many of those players bought/sold have been sub-standard, and/or the wrong players for the club.
* Tens of millions of the club's money has been wasted on buying expensive flops, many of whom were clealy the wrong players to buy in the first place (Case in point: Aquilani - why buy someone with a long history of injuries; why hring him to the club when he was *still* injured?!).
* Wasted money includes not only transfer fees but exorbitant signing on fees (Philipp Degen; Joe Cole etc); agents fees; unwarranted inflated salaries, and other costs associated with transfers.
Here is a list players I believe to be 'expensive failures' from the last 20 years. For me, an expensive failure is a player who costs the club money in transfer fees, salary etc but has no specific, measurable, consistent positive impact on the team, and/or did not improve the team in any beneficial way. (Some figures are approximate).
Paul Stewart - £2.3m
Phil Babb - £3.6m
Oyvind Leonhardsen - £3.5m
Paul Ince - £4.2m
Mark Kennedy - £1.5m
Sean Dundee - £1.8m
Jean Michel Ferri - £1.5m
Bernard Diomede - £3m
El Hadj Diouf - £10m
Salif Diao - £5m
Chris Kirkland - £6m
Bruno Cheyrou - £3.7m
Harry Kewell - £5m
Christian Ziege - £5.5m
Josemi - £2m
Antonio Nunez - £1.5m
Mark Gonzalez - £1.5m
Jermain Pennant - £6.7m
Fernando Morientes - £6.3m
Robbie Keane - £20m
Alberto Aquilani - £18m
Glen Johnson - £17m
Ryan Babel - £11.5m
Gabriel Palletta - £2m
Lucas Leiva - £6m
Diego Cavalieri - £3.5m
Andrea Dossena - £8m
Albert Riera - £7m
Jan Kromkamp £4.3
TOTAL: £171.9m
Factor in huge salaries, undeserved bonuses, bloated signing-on fees etc and the figure suddenly becomes much higher. And this list does not include the salaries/signing on fees wasted on ineffective free signings like Fabio Aurelio, Philipp Degen, Andrei Voronin and Joe Cole, OR the money spent on countless young players brought in and then shipped out in double quick time over the years.
One thing that people seem to forget (or, more accurately, ignore) is this: it's not just about loss of money, it's about loss of benefit to the team. As a result of wasting money on the wrong players, the benefit the club *would* have received from buying the *right players* is lost.
Imagine if the £170m above had been spend on the RIGHT PLAYERS. There would have been a positive knock on effect over the years that may have propelled the club to greater heights.
You can recoup all the money you like in player sales but that doesn't suddenly reverse transfer mistakes that were made in the first place; it doesn't wipe out the money ultimately LOST on transfers (like the £8m lost on Robbie Keane).
Hodgson is right to make this point about expensive failures, but rather ironically, he is also culpable of the same mistakes. Whatever way you slice it, Joe Cole is an expensive failure so far. Big fat retirement fund- sorry, I mean playing contract; a massive signing-on fee no doubt. And for what? Huffing and puffing around the pitch like a headless chicken, with negligible end product?
Hodgson also re-signed one of Rafa Benitez's expensive failures (!), Fabio Aurelio. I don't deny that he is talented but WHAT IS THE POINT IF HE IS PERPETUALLY INJURED?! How have Liverpool benefited from his signing, either under Benitez or Hodgson?
These are precisely the kind of transfes John Henry was talking about in his comments above, i.e. players near the end of their careers who offer nothing consistently to the club.
Over the last 20 years, Liverpool has spent MORE money on transfers than both Arsenal and Man United. Liverpool have no league titles to show for it; Arsenal and Man United have 14 between them.
That tells it's own story.
The club has been suffering from the knock-on effect of negligent transfer spending and shoddy squad-building for years. Things need to change, and thankfully, it looks like Liverpool FC may *finally* have the right Owners in charge to push through a much-needed - and long overdue - change in approach.
Jaimie Kanwar
Earlier in the week, John W Henry, NESV's principal backer, made it clear that he was not impressed with LFC's current transfer policy:
"We have to be more efficient. When we spend a dollar it has to be wisely. We cannot afford player contracts that do not make long-term sense. We have to be smart, bold, aggressive"
Today, Hodgson has underlined the fact that far too much of Liverpool's transfer funding has been wasted:
"I think you can pay an awful lot of money for poor players and you can pay not very much money for very good ones – it is all to do with how good your scouting and your eye is. There are a lot of things here that the club has got to get right. We have got a lot more expensive failures on our list than good players that we have brought in for next to nothing. Free transfers don’t necessarily mean that you have got a bargain. My experience of them has been very mixed. You need to be sure that the player you get can do the job you want from him.”
The amount of money (historically) wasted by various LFC managers in the transfer market is beyond belief:
* Since 1990, Liverpool has spent 528m on transfers.
* The turnover of players during that period - especially over the last 6-8 years - has been massively high, and many of those players bought/sold have been sub-standard, and/or the wrong players for the club.
* Tens of millions of the club's money has been wasted on buying expensive flops, many of whom were clealy the wrong players to buy in the first place (Case in point: Aquilani - why buy someone with a long history of injuries; why hring him to the club when he was *still* injured?!).
* Wasted money includes not only transfer fees but exorbitant signing on fees (Philipp Degen; Joe Cole etc); agents fees; unwarranted inflated salaries, and other costs associated with transfers.
Here is a list players I believe to be 'expensive failures' from the last 20 years. For me, an expensive failure is a player who costs the club money in transfer fees, salary etc but has no specific, measurable, consistent positive impact on the team, and/or did not improve the team in any beneficial way. (Some figures are approximate).
Paul Stewart - £2.3m
Phil Babb - £3.6m
Oyvind Leonhardsen - £3.5m
Paul Ince - £4.2m
Mark Kennedy - £1.5m
Sean Dundee - £1.8m
Jean Michel Ferri - £1.5m
Bernard Diomede - £3m
El Hadj Diouf - £10m
Salif Diao - £5m
Chris Kirkland - £6m
Bruno Cheyrou - £3.7m
Harry Kewell - £5m
Christian Ziege - £5.5m
Josemi - £2m
Antonio Nunez - £1.5m
Mark Gonzalez - £1.5m
Jermain Pennant - £6.7m
Fernando Morientes - £6.3m
Robbie Keane - £20m
Alberto Aquilani - £18m
Glen Johnson - £17m
Ryan Babel - £11.5m
Gabriel Palletta - £2m
Lucas Leiva - £6m
Diego Cavalieri - £3.5m
Andrea Dossena - £8m
Albert Riera - £7m
Jan Kromkamp £4.3
TOTAL: £171.9m
Factor in huge salaries, undeserved bonuses, bloated signing-on fees etc and the figure suddenly becomes much higher. And this list does not include the salaries/signing on fees wasted on ineffective free signings like Fabio Aurelio, Philipp Degen, Andrei Voronin and Joe Cole, OR the money spent on countless young players brought in and then shipped out in double quick time over the years.
One thing that people seem to forget (or, more accurately, ignore) is this: it's not just about loss of money, it's about loss of benefit to the team. As a result of wasting money on the wrong players, the benefit the club *would* have received from buying the *right players* is lost.
Imagine if the £170m above had been spend on the RIGHT PLAYERS. There would have been a positive knock on effect over the years that may have propelled the club to greater heights.
You can recoup all the money you like in player sales but that doesn't suddenly reverse transfer mistakes that were made in the first place; it doesn't wipe out the money ultimately LOST on transfers (like the £8m lost on Robbie Keane).
Hodgson is right to make this point about expensive failures, but rather ironically, he is also culpable of the same mistakes. Whatever way you slice it, Joe Cole is an expensive failure so far. Big fat retirement fund- sorry, I mean playing contract; a massive signing-on fee no doubt. And for what? Huffing and puffing around the pitch like a headless chicken, with negligible end product?
Hodgson also re-signed one of Rafa Benitez's expensive failures (!), Fabio Aurelio. I don't deny that he is talented but WHAT IS THE POINT IF HE IS PERPETUALLY INJURED?! How have Liverpool benefited from his signing, either under Benitez or Hodgson?
These are precisely the kind of transfes John Henry was talking about in his comments above, i.e. players near the end of their careers who offer nothing consistently to the club.
Over the last 20 years, Liverpool has spent MORE money on transfers than both Arsenal and Man United. Liverpool have no league titles to show for it; Arsenal and Man United have 14 between them.
That tells it's own story.
The club has been suffering from the knock-on effect of negligent transfer spending and shoddy squad-building for years. Things need to change, and thankfully, it looks like Liverpool FC may *finally* have the right Owners in charge to push through a much-needed - and long overdue - change in approach.
Jaimie Kanwar
you mention Cavalieri but not Brad Jones, why is this?
ReplyDeleteAlso how in Gonzalez or Paletta expensive failures? when we sold Gonzalez for twice what we paid and swapped Paletta for Insua?? Lucas would fetch upto £10m in todays market
Well said johnz cudnt agree with you more mate !
ReplyDeleteAll managers make good and bad signings - no one is exempt on that. Slur Alex has made some big clangers for very expensive fees. I think you have to accept that managers will make both good and bad signings - you just hope that predominantly they are good signings.
ReplyDeleteLiverpool have only paid over £20million twice -
Robbie Keane - expensive failure but was not given the chance to flourish. It seemed he was a pnawn in a boardroom struggle between Benitez and Parry. Maybe would have succeeded but he hasn't since movin back - no one seems to mention that.
Fernando Torres - Arguably one of Liverpools best ever signings. Although at the mo without his blond flowing locks he is like samson.
Point is pay good money get quality
agree with the lucas point raised it seams few hear haave realisation of how the game is played, It appears to be a lack of actual playing experiance at any level or just basic ignorance.
ReplyDelete(any one can type out comments on a pc) - id love to see some of the people making harsh and rash statments here acually try and play even 5 aside - it would be very interesting!
i canot agree with the critisism of poulsen , knoschesky etc.. just yet - I say again give them adequate time. the same happened last year with kiryiakous and lok at him now.
cowboy up thats what i say - its what the best people do when the heat is on.
Longchalk, I am not judging Poulsen and Konchesky on 4 months (actually just over 2 months really) I'm judging Poulsen on 10 years of following him, I'm a fan of Danish football it goes back to the great team of the 80's. 5 years ago Poulsen (in my opinion) wouldn't have got near our midfield and while our midfield has regressed since then so has Poulsen. He clearly, just like Carra, is losing his legs and the EPL requires energy in midfield. As for Konchesky, I never seriously looked at him and thought he can be a 1st choice Liverpool full back, how many did? Roy boxed clever signing him let Insua go, re-sign Aureilo with his injury history, leaving us with only Agger to compete, not good. Thus the signing of Konchesky was viewed by some with relief, despite his lack of quality (at best he's the 5th best English left back). I accept the point you have to spend big to get quality (in the main), I've often cited it as an example of why Chelsea have done so well since 2003. The question remains has Roy spent wisely and in my opinion I don't think he has and that's not just me.
ReplyDeleteyogi,
ReplyDeletei respect your opinion and will be interested to see how he does - I will be watching polusens efforts over the whole season and not just a tiny percentage of it.
a few things that strike me - as for players being past it' some people siad the same about gary macalister!
ive noticed poulsen does have great vision and his passes have illustrated why he has been brought here. far to early to judge a man getting to grips with the prem from italy.
Ive seen it many times as with kyriagkos last season and alonsos first apperances.
Your aqualinai points are also interesting he looked to have the application for t'his league in his first games and showed superb technique, it was dissapointing to hear he lacked get up and fight' when his injuries played on his mind again later last season.
I wouild like to see him back and do question the deals we did at the statrt of this.
Insua was another one i was sad to c go.
no question wever gone from the best midfield in the world to lightwieghts however the trasitional period we are in since manager change etc.. is always a difficult coursce to navigate
however this is it! and we have to get on with it.
so my point again is fans need to cowboy up, and stop with the histeria ive seen so far.
Benitez wanted Villa when he was Zaragoza it think and he was deemed too expensive at £12 million. I Think it was Houllier and Thompson who wanted Cristiano Ronaldo. My views on Rafa are that he had to go, but I remember some amazing nights we had during his tenure. We beat Barcelona in the Nou Camp, got to 2 Champions League finals and absolutely hammered Real Madrid at Anfield. I'm 28 and remember playing teams like Spartak Vladikavkaz in the UEFA Cup and being Jealous of United and Blackburn even for being in the Champions League. Rafa deserves credit for what he did at Liverpool. I Read a Comment that said Liverpool won the Champions League in spite of him???? Baffling. Apologies if this is a bit rambling and unstructured I've got a killer hangover.
ReplyDeleteA longchalk who did you play for then and what experiance have you had kicking a ball around the park . I think its you that doesnt no anything about football lad merrelis koncheski and poulson are average footballers and if we keep buying average players we will inevitably end up an average team and as some one who has played football for many many years i can tell you that you dont have to of played football to have an opinion i am not a politicaly educated person but I no this goverment is shite so should i not have a say because of my lack of education in politics you may not like other peoples opinions but on the other hand we dont like yours either
ReplyDeletei repect your opinion as anyone elses
ReplyDeletei dont care for the way u atack my views no wonder so many fans can only counter views/arguments with this tatctic it is basic
im taking issue with peoples sheep following mentality and the inability for a lot of fans to think for themselves.
im illustrating the fact our current 'me generation fans, have no idea of loyalty
berrating,riddiculing and anhilation of the club after just a brief period is maddness.
sure emotion runs high and bottom of league is not nice - however as ive said many times the position of lfc is nasty war like senario. on/off the pitch its not good.
this neagativity will hjave some effect on the players/staff : performances all round
booing at the final whistle is ok after uve paid yr money.
the hesteria i see beyond that is riddiculas
in my opinion is deserters should be shot (metaphorically speaking)
i dont care what anyone thisnks
cowboy the f==k up - thats the lfc way
Houllier wanted Eto'o before he signed a permanent deal at Mallorca but "the board" refused to allow the additional couple of million and so we ended up with Titi Camara instead. "The board" also refused to bring in Henry as they felt he wasn't suited for the Premiership, Evans wanted Zidane before he went to Juve & Ronaldo before he left PSV for Barcelona but in each case the board messed it up - wow, this is easy!!
ReplyDeleteJohn, Babel was a better prospect than Walcott when we signed him (better than Nani & Kalou too) but he has been destroyed by our managers and regressed as a player. Neither Walcott nor Nani would've faired any better at liverpool under Benitez & Hodgson
Interesting stuff and some good points. I would say that Lucas being a failure or mistake is wrong. You can say that 3 years is long enough to prove you're not "Liverpool quality", but he's had some very good games and has added more value then he has taken away. The idea that Cole is a failure after two month is hyperbolic and not a little bit silly. Even if I think it will eventually be found out to be true.
ReplyDelete"It's not about money in the slightest"
ReplyDeleteCare to address that issue now??