24 Oct 2015

'Outstanding': Carra confirms 'Liverpool' tried to sign 'superb' £11m attacker. Better than Lallana?

With very few exceptions, attacking players rarely hit the ground running at Anfield. It's an ongoing source of frustration for Liverpool fans, and it's the same old story again this season, with the likes of Firmino, Benteke, Origi, Can, Milner, Lallana, Ibe, and Coutinho struggling to consistently score/create goals. It's a different story for attackers at other clubs, though, and Reds legend Jamie Carragher has hailed one of Premier League's newest imports for making an immediate impact in the Premier League.

Embarrassing Lallana? Legend confirms when he played for St. Etienne


In his column for the Liverpool Echo today, Carra hailed West Ham attacker Dimitri Payet as 'outstanding', and claimed he's 'one of the top three or four performers in Premier League' this season. He enthused:

"Payet has captured the imagination. I know Liverpool looked at him five years ago when he played for Saint-Etienne".

Payet - who cost West Ham £11m - was linked with a move to Anfield during Roy Hodgson's reign, and at the time, the Daily Mail reported:

"Saint-Etienne have warned Liverpool off a January move for exciting midfield prospect Dimitri Payet. Damien Comolli's defection from the French club to Anfield has put Liverpool in pole position to sign the 23-year-old".

It's probably a good thing that Liverpool didn't sign Payet at that time as it's doubtful he would've prospered during a period of such intense turmoil at the club.

Right now, though, Payet is tearing it up in English football, and embarrassing the likes of Coutinho, Lallana, and Firmino with his creative output for West Ham. Stats this season:

Payet: 9 goals/assists in 11 games (Goal/assist every 86 minutes)

Coutinho: 3 goals/assists in 12 games (Goal/assist every 300 mins)

Firmino: 0 goals/assists in 8 games.

Milner: 3 goals/assists in 11 games (Goal/assist every 340 mins)

Can: 1 goal/assist in 13 games (goal/assist every 1040 mins)

Lallana: 3 goals/assists in 9 games (Goal/assist every 221 mins). No goals/assists in the league this season. 1 assist in the last 38 hours of football.

Why is it that newcomers to the Premier League like Payet, Mahrez, and Ayew can immediately and consistently score/create goals, but experienced players like Lallana, Coutinho, and Milner (all allegedly superior players) abjectly fail to make the difference?

Firmino has the excuse of being injured, and being barely used by Rodgers, but he should still be making some kind of impact. Ditto Can, who has played more minutes than any other player this season, including Milner.

Lallana, in paticular, continues to be a major disappointment. One assist in thirty-eight hours of football? Sorry, but that's totally unacceptable for an experienced Premier League performer.

I couldn't care less if - as Carra alleges - Lallana was Liverpool's 'best player' against Rubin Kazan; that means nothing. End product is what matters, and Lallana failed yet again to step-up and make the difference.

Hopefully, when he gets the chance, Klopp will sign some attacking players who are capable of making an immediate impact, and those players will - with any luck - relegate the likes of Lallana, Can, and Milner to the bench.

Author: Jaimie K


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