Why Liverpool Fans Are Silently Livid!
As a lifelong Liverpool fan I have to admit that this summer, contrary to what one might have expected, scares me more than I can remember.
The reason is this: While we are now rich we are acting as those who do not know how to spend our new-found money. In America they call it Neuvo Riche, or one who does not know how to spend unexpected wealth (for those of you subjected to a comprehensive education, or worse yet an American one…).
Basically, new, surprising cash means, usually, one of two things:
1. Hesitation and no new purchases. or
2. Impetuous and/or foolish purchases.
The former seems the more likely as today. Now I know the Red faithful (and for God’s sake I’m one of you) have the same apologetics I have. Mainly that Liverpool’s summer targets are in La Liga, thus we cannot move until they are done. But with La Liga still a week away from climax and what must be considered a failed attempted by Liverpool at a well-documented target in Eto’o, one cannot help but worry Villa (Now perhaps thinking he is second choice for Liverpool) will perhaps sign for another club, possibly an arch rival, and Liverpool are now shopping for a top class finisher with a list that has none to offer.
The winger problem has yet to be resolved as well, which is a concern as it may be an even bigger weakness than the forward mess. Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal all have much better wing play than Liverpool.
Why do we always seem unable to create and finish off the teams of the lower table?
Simple. Everyone knows they can shut us down if they have to. We have no creativity or plan B of attack. Control is nothing if we can’t take it with us into the box and create chances, just look at the CL final.
Now I’m not saying, “Abandon all faith, ye poor Reds…” But I am very wary that the, “Changes will come immediately,” claims have yet to be realized.
Food for pessimistic thought.
- 3 reasons why Babel for Liverpool is a good move at 13.5m
- Liverpool FC v DIC-Backed AFC Liverpool: Who Will Win The Premier League First?
- Liverpool fans: Time for some answers
- Chelsea welcome their new Special One
- Liverpool are finally under Rafa’s Revolution
Discussion - 31 Responses
Add Your Comment
Comments are moderated (our comments policy).
There’s far too much paranoia from Liverpool fans at the moment. Now that the world knows we’ve got a bit of money to spend they will drive the prices up on our targets (Chelsea-esque). Thats why Liverpool are playing a waiting game and there a rumours that maybe Rafa doesn’t have as much as first thought.
I’m confident we will see a couple of big names here even if it means waiting for the end of La Liga. There’s no point being all doom and gloom just because we haven’t signed a big name. Its only mid june and all our existing top players are signing new contracts which means they must be content with whats going to happen
I think Rafa knows that his priority is to stabilise first, add later. He finally has the funds to rebuild the squad - the first squad he built got him to two CL finals but couldn’t allow him to crack into the top 2.
Let’s see what Rafa does this summer - it will be interesting to watch, surely.
Predictions, anyone?
I don’t understand where all this panic haas come from. we have already signed (or at least done the deal in principal) for a couple of players which will go straight into the first team squad.
the Spanish league has not finished yet and a lot of the name which have been linked to us all play for Spanish clubs.
Give it a couple of weeks, then if we haven’t signed anybody, then it should be cause for concern.
So Man U have sighned 3 players for about £50M, we all knew about Hargreaves so that wasn’t a shock, neither really was Nani.
all I can say is Igetting bored with the complaints about our lack of transfers.
It’s nouveau riche - French, literally : New Rich. As always, GET THINGS RIGHT when you attack others’ schooling, and especially on such a general basis: “for those of you”!
That kind of slur really annoys people who actually are well educated. (I’d rather not use the phrase F’s Off here, but the truth is it would be better suited)
Worse still, you are corrupting the original term, as the derisory manner in which it is normally used comes from the belief that the nouveau riche are now able to do things they could not before, giving them the ability to make stirs in social cirles; circles where the old rich claim these newcomers do not belong.
Yes, it is obviously often reflected in tackiness and extravagant purchases which lack taste, which I suppose you could liken to paying 20 mill plus for SWP. However, the reluctance using the money and contemplating one’s options, is not a familiar motif in the nouveau riche.
Even if I may disagreee with the speed at which LFC are using their funds at the moment, accusing them of nouveau riche behaviour is accusing them of behaviour they clearly want to avoid. It may be over-cautious; Mais nouveau riche, ce n’est pas!
buy the new gonzalez and zenden for the left wing and a superb utility player that can be changed with Gerrard as central mid and right mid and you scousers will be CHAMPIONS! hahahahaha
I think Ribery was a classy choice but you let him go.Germany and Italy have nothing to be bought but ,you should look in Portugal. Maybe Simao or Quaresma or both of them should fit in well with the Iberians and they can make your wings fly. As for the striker problem I can’t see Villa or Torres leaving their teams and Spain.Maybe you can go for Martins , Owen , McCarthy or even the hungry for glory Nugent and Helder Postiga.Makay is also a good choice,but a little bit slow.But the spanish ones no way,forget it.Ditto for Etoo.
As for the tactics’ problem it’s Rafa’s problem.He is conservative totally square man.He wants his 0-O draws give him your own OO.It can’t always be the non-creative players.Are you an Italian team or what?
You have the money,you have great choices so it’s up on Rafa.But he is a chick as described above.
you make me laugh. all doom and gloom, some people seem to think. it’s no wonder the media are making such ridiculous stories up.
so what if man.u have bought a few players? doesn’t mean we can’t. wait for la liga to end, then we’ll see the action.
i’d rather be cautious than blow £40mill on someone like teves, as good as he is. we do NOT want to start panic-buying. trust rafa. he’ll bring it all together, of that i’m sure.
You are forgetting 1 very important issue in all this..
..YOU HAVENT GOT A CLUE WHAT IS GOING ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS !!…….be patient and keep the faith. As the old bull said to the young bull ” Why run down and f*ck one of those cows when you can stroll down and f*ck ‘em all”
IMO Rafa will bring in two strikers, perhaps two left wingers, a goalkeeper and a centre back.
Probable signings…
Owen (9m) and Torres (18m) - upfront
Simao(10m) and Malouda (8m) - Left Wing
Milito (8m) - Centre back
Keeper on free (Whoever)
Total funds for buys - 53m
Probable Sales…
Bellamy (9m)
Zenden, Dudek (Free)
Kewell (4m)
13m back
Outlay = 40m.
That will be about it imo, although ideally id prefer to bring in Tevez to Owen.
You speak for all Liverpool fans then?
Shouldn’t this really be:
‘I’m livid because we haven’t spent 50 trillion dollars on every over-hyped superstar in world football, and it’s just not fair, whaaaa!’
All Liverpool need is a world class striker, two world class wingers cum attackers and a world class right-back. Not that expensive, right?
Well we have Voronin coming already and i got a feeling he may do well,then there is Leto and Lucas.I am not really worried but i think that Bellamy should go,well that is my opinion and we get a world class striker as his replacement.
Torres maybe? 24million release clause,well pray.
As for the wings,Aurelio was beginning to play well and a fit Kewell is class.Pennant seems to be adjusting well but needs competition and i hope for Quaresma.Or i wish that the youngsters are given a chance as well.Like Adam Hammil and Paul Anderson though Anderson is kind of young but well look at Rooney’s breakthrough.
Right back Dani Alves? He seems expensive,anyone seen Volz from Fulham play? I have really been impressed by him and perhaps Rafa should consider him,will cost less as well and he is still young.
Perhaps you meant ‘nouveau riche’ as they say in france?
Oh dear!
Pennant wouldn’t even be able to dream of the pitch if they signed Quaresma.
No, Liverpool fans are not secretly livid: only you are. Most of us trust our manager and our club and will happily wait and see what happens over the coming few weeks.
But then, most of us don’t read red-flag newspapers and make comments that echo journo-hacks. We get behind out club and ignore the rantings of those who haven’t got a clue.
Rafa will get whoever we need and he will build a superb team for the years to come.
By the way, he has currently spent the equivalent of over £100 million signing superb players: Gerrard, Carragher, Alonso, Reina and Sissoko
Blind faith in your manager? Well, it’s better than doubting him, of course.
Why do people think Liverpool need to bring a top class right-back? Since Benitez has arrived Finnan has been one of the best in the Premiership so I don’t understand why peoiple are so eager to replace him. Arbeloa looks like a decent back-up player for next season and the club still have an option to buy back Barragan who has looked impressive at Deportivo.
If Liverpool do sign Alves I reckon it will be to play on the right of midfield instead of right-back because his defensive play is a bit weak. I remember watching Sevilla play Barcelona this season and on one occasion while Sevilla were on the attack Alves took a dive to try and con the referee into giving a freekick. Barcelona went on the attack then and instead of getting up and tracking back Alves just lay on the ground until the ball went dead before standing without needing any sort of attention. He’s a good attacking player but he is a liability in defence.
Dude, when Tom Hicks and Gillet talked about splashing cash and new signings what did you expect?
See, they now have Gerrard, Alonso, Reina and Carra on long term deals and soon they will have Sissoko, Riise, Finnan and so on on new deals.
Those are your new signings. Your new owners have done their job!
(So much for the ‘Good PR’) Thank God the Glazers didn’t talk much. At least our expectations weren’t too much. (Imagine our joy now!)
rob, the problem with your dealing so far, the ones you called “equivalent of over £100 million signing superb players,” is that you guys already had those players…. and these players dont improve your squad…… and all the talk before the end of the season revolved around “improving”…………..
that said, its still early in the summer and the la liga isnt done yet. and as man utd showed, it takes only a couple of days to change your fortunes around! no need to panick yet!!
Of course Liverpool will bring in some quality players - it’s just a question of how good exactly.
A lot of Liverpool fans seem to underestimate the price tags for the kind of players Liverpool need, if they are to challenge for the title anytime soon.
You’re looking at Simao, who’ll easily cost £15-17 mil and not £10-12 mil as you hope. Malouda will cost £13-15 mil and not £8-10 mil. Torres will cost £22-25 mil and not £18-20 mil. And just because you play a waiting game, the prices won’t drop. David Villa will cost £30 mil. David Silva will cost £20 mil. It’s a simple matter of the transfer fees going up this summer, and Man United and Bayern Munich have set the course for that.
There’s also the factor of players not wanting to leave their clubs, or rich clubs not having to sell their star players, who are there to take them to the next level.
And even if Liverpool get Simao, Malouda and Torres that won’t allow them to challenge either. Remember you have to gain 21 points plus Anderson, Nani and Hargreaves (plus maybe a striker, who knows) on Man United, and those 3 alone won’t do that. Man United will still have the better players over the course of a season…no question about that.
There will be some transfers going in, and Liverpool’s fans will be thrilled by that, because they’ll be pretty big names, I’m sure. But then you have released Padelli, Zenden, Fowler, Dudek and will sell Gonzales, Bellamy and Hyypia, which leaves 7 spots open. And since the likes of Guthrie, Brouwer, Huth, Peltier, Paletta, Insua and Darby are nowhere near good enough (not even as squad players), the squad will suddenly look weak, despite an improved starting 11. And what about the players coming back from long term injury (Garcia and Aurelio), how will they come back, and Kewell who’s always injured (probably the most injured player in the PL)??
Oh, and I disagree with the ones rooting for a right back signing - it’s a left back you really need. Finnan is good, but you have noone on the left side with defensive quality.
And as a final note, I don’t think Rafa will ever bring you the title. His tactics are simply not right for the Premiership. He rotates too much, and he binds his players in tactical manouvres. And playing cautiously a soon as you are away from home won’t win you the title…get rid of the 2 DMs in the starting line-up, my friends.
I agree with Ahmed that there’s a blind faith in Benitez at Liverpool, but fact is - he hasn’t been that great. He did win the CL, but the team is too boring to match, and it’s a pitty…especially when finishing 3rd or 4th every season. Maybe something needs to be changed.
Hey guys,
Thanks for your comments, this was my first post, and aside from accidently sending it without a proof-read (notice the choppy flow and spelling errors) it definitly lacked focus and clearity.
What I was attepting to point out was what was promised by the new regime (perhaps we fans made some of this up…) was world class talent, and what many now fell we will end up with are two different things (I’m refering losely to the Benitez article on Football365).
I’m not quite at the “Chicken Little” phase, but readg through the LFC message boards the list of hopeful targets has changed from E’to/Villa/Tevez into Owen/Bent/G. Milito.
The new owners have basically told Benitez that the 30-40 million required for one world class striker is out of the question and that 12-15 million is actually the range per signing (alot like the years before)
Perhaps I’m making mountains out mole-hills but each day that passes, another Scouser goes negative on the message boards, and this “livid” tide is gradually increasing.
Thanks to all who commented. You’re critiques were very helpful. I’ll make a concerted effort to make sure that my next posts are better presented.
Best,
BelfastLFC
Tomas,
I esspecially liked your post. Well spoken points……not saying I agree but I’ll do well to be as clear.
Cheers
Tomas,
I esspecially liked your post. Well spoken points……not saying I agree but I’ll do well to be as clear.
Cheers
And to those good enough to point out the “neuvo/nouveau” error, again, my apologies. Posting was, this first time, somewhat complicated (at least for me) and I accidently posted the article before I proof-read. I hoped I would get an email telling me to rewrite before they post it…..no such luck.
Best,
BelfastLFC
@Tomas
“About Florent, his transfer fee remains at £17million,” Aulas told L’Equipe.
by http://www.sportinglife.com/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/06/12/manual_115305.html
What about this?
You have to splash the casssssssss,and you shouldn’t trust Rafa.
I want your team make this moves cause it will raise the rivalry for us,MU, and the title challenge will have another meaning.
Are those 1-1 away with Shefield and O-O away with Middlesbrough or Man City results for your Liverpool? Isn’t Rafa responsible for results like these? Come on I think I love yore club more than you. Do you think your team should be able to win all those teams plus Fulham and Charlton?
I have to agree with Tomas, in Europe tactically there probably isn’t a better manager than Benitez, but when it comes to the Premiership, he is woeful. Liverpool rotate there squad too much, again like tomas said, why are you playing two defensive midfielders against teams like Fulham. However the biggest mistake Benitez has made and continues to make is to constantly play Gerrard out of his central midfield position so he can accomodate the likes of Sissoko, Alonso and now Mascherano. Benitez needs to understand they should be the ones who play second fiddle to Gerrard and not the other way around.
As to can Liverpool sign the quality signings they need to take them to the next level, i don’t believe that it will be enough this summer, i reckon maybe in two summers time with accumulated top class signings you will be ready but im afraid to say that you shouldn’t expect 17 years of hurt to be washed away this year!! Although im sure most Liverpool fans will believe this is their year as they have been saying for the past 4 or 5 seasons!!!
Benitez is a proffesional and has a special talented for finding gifted players with his low budget. Just imagine what kind of liverpool benitez is planning in my opinion benitez will take us all the way to the top!!!
The market is so adjusted that you pay for what you get, which means you won’t get the best players for £10 mil, so if £10-15 mil is the most, Liverpool are willing to spend on one player, they’ll have problems claiming the title.
“Just imagine what players Benitez is planning”, you say. I know most of the players worth buying, and Bennayoun isn’t one of them. The israeli is apparently what you are looking for…he won’t take you anywhere.
You’d do well with Diego Milito from Zaragoza…very clinical striker, but he’ll cost you £15 mil, so we’ll see, if you’ll go that high for a single player…I have my doubts.
my opinion is that rafa signalled his intentions wen he wanted to take over the youth team. he wants to bring in 15-16 year old starlets to join the academy. there is also european u21 championship and a copa america to go this year so he must be on the look out for talent there. plus if the owners are “all talk” he maybe waiting to c whether real madrid keep capello.
Livid? Liverpool Fans? Doubt it…
Regardless of whom we sign, and for how much, the support and love for the club, players, manager(s), and yes, even club owners, will not falter.
Why?
Because being a fan of Liverpool Football Club means much more than merely supporting a football club…. Being a fan of LFC means that hard work, passion, self-belief and loyalty are qualities that we respect, and hope to have in our everyday lives. These are qualities that are in the history and heart of every Scouser, and qualities that are transferred to the players, the fans, and to the “footballing” world, week-in, week-out, whenever and wherever our warriors-in-red turn out to play.
And that is why Liverpool Football Club is a team with the best fans in world. Win or lose, rain or shine, you will always see the red army from Merseyside sing and scream their lungs out, loyal to the very end.
Silent? Liverpool Fans? Doubt it…
YNWA
As you can see I am posting 2 weeks later, not much has happend, we have signed a new young goalkeeper (did a paul robbinson other day though!). We have however ultimatley sealed the Torres move, he is our first big signing, though maybe not as big as i’d hoped.
We have secured long term contracts with all our stars and have many youngens coming through the ranks, it’s an exciting time.
I hope for one more big signing but would be very happy with Tevez, I reckon him being reunited with Mascherano would give them both a boost.
Rafa is great and tactical genius in ANY league or tornument. But I do have to agree he needs to be more offensive but nether the less he gets everything he can done to perfection.
Have hope because this year WILL be our year and if it isnt the next will.
‘Come with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone’
Bitch, bitch, bitch. My God, you’re about in the Champions League final. And, that’s AFTER two very generous penalty calls.