Transfer window Roundup
Well that was a bit anti climatic wasn’t it? We all spent most of Thursday glued to Sky Sports News in the hope that Liverpool would get some more deals over the line before the 11 PM deadline. However, once Oxlade-Chamberlain had to put pen to paper for Liverpool it became very obvious that no more signings were coming through the door this transfer window. But with Liverpool only signing four players and only two of them being relatively big names the question has to be asked was it a successful window for the Reds?
Before I get into things I have to say I wrote this article in my head on Friday morning whist on my way from Derby to Leicester to celebrate Eid with my family, I hadn’t yet watched Chris’s deadline day show, I only watched it on Saturday and realised that me and Chris are making very similar points. So I’m sorry if this sounds a bit repetitive or if it sounds like I’m coming to Chris’s defence but I just think we both have similar views on Liverpool and I think these points are worthwhile mentioning again.
I think we will all admit this window could have gone a lot better but that being said I still think we had a good window, Liverpool have made some big steps forward this summer not just in the players that we have signed but also in the players that we haven’t. For the first time in a very long time players have actually wanted to come to Liverpool, top players have been willing to reject other clubs and even caused trouble within their own clubs just to get a move to Liverpool, in my books that is big, big progress. It was only a few years ago that we were unable to get Carlton Cole and now we are pulling out players like Mo Salah and Naby Keita, even Virgil Van Dijk has been willing to train on his own for the last four weeks just to get his move to Liverpool. For me this indicates a massive change in momentum from where we were, to where we are now and where we are heading, yes okay we didn’t end up getting Van Dijk but that wasn’t the fault of the owners, it was due to Liverpool being a little too eager to get there man.
We have also brought players with great potential like Andy Robinson and Dominic Solanke, who have both looked good early on in the Liverpool careers and both look like they can become a real success at Anfield. The purchase of Mo Salah has been the main talking point this summer, the Egyptian international arrived for a club records £40 million and has hit the ground running in his first couple of games in a red shirt. Salah will provide much-needed pace down the other wing and with him and Mane running at defences Liverpool are going to cause a lot of team’s problems this season.
Now let’s get to the nitty-gritty of it all, and the FSG argument, much like Chris I have said I would make a decision on where I stand with FSG after the window closed. I’ve had a few good days now to digest my thoughts and to be quite honest I don’t think FSG have done a bad job at all with regards to this transfer window and the way they have handled Liverpool in general ever since they took over. Let’s face it after 11 PM on Thursday Twitter exploded with FSG haters calling for the American owners to go but my questions is, why? What have they done that means we need to get rid and get new owners? Have they not broken our transfer records twice this window, all be it Naby Keita will be arriving next season, and were they not willing to fork out £70 million on Van Dijk? Is this not the sign of good owners and if it isn’t please tell me what good owners look like? I have to be honest I am struggling to find any reason why we need to get rid of FSG. They have built a new stand and developed Anfield into a modem stadium, they have put money into our Academy so that we can find the next generation of Liverpool stars, and we already have seen that in the shape of Trent Alexander Arnold and Ben Woodburn who both seem to have very bright future is ahead of them. On the pitch they have invested heavily in our current first team, we have a world-class manager who is going to be given every chance he can to win us the league and we are now starting to attract world-class players, so again I asked the question, what’s the problem? I am fully aware Liverpool have not brought a centre back this summer and this was an area that we all agreed needed strengthening. Whilst that is a big disappointment I don’t see how it’s FSG’s fault, they were willing to put in the money for a centre back and the fact that we didn’t get one surely it’s down to the transfer committee and not FSG. Some Liverpool fans have clearly not learnt the lessons of the past; we were here in 2007 with David Moores. We were all shouting for new owners and more investment, we ended up with Tom and Gerry running the club, be careful what you wish for.
I have also read comments throughout this weekend from some Liverpool fans saying we have a “shit team”, we just beat Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield and completely played them off the Park, Arsenal are meant to be one of the title challengers this season and beating them in the manner that we did proves that this team is oozing with quality. I have been a Liverpool fan for about 25 years now, I have seen a lot of “shit” Liverpool teams down the years and trust me the one that we have at the minute is not shit by any stretch of the imagination. Personally I’m getting a bit fed up of our fans comparing us to Manchester United and Manchester City and saying how shit we are, if you really feel that way why don’t you go and support those teams? It seems like no matter what Liverpool do these people are not going to be happy, if we win the league this season this season these group of supporters will be saying we should have won the Champions League, if we win the league and the Champions League they will say we should’ve gone unbeaten the whole season, no matter what Liverpool do they will never be satisfied, so if that’s the case why are you a football fan? For me football is all about enjoyment, I love watching the game and I love getting excited over those little moments that make a season, even in the 2013-14 season when we came so close, what I remember that season is belting out that “we’re gonna win the league” song every day for about two months. People were even coming up to me in the streets and patted me on the back wishing us luck and that whole journey towards the end of the season is one that I will never forget. Even though it ended in disappointment those little moments is why we became football fans. It gives us identity, hope and allows us to escape from the reality of this world, that’s what’s being a football fan is about not about whingeing and whining over social media and acting like we are going to get relegated just because we haven’t signed one player. I know I’m going on a bit of a rant here but I think the point needs to be made, the window is shut now, so stop moaning and get behind the team, that’s what we do, that’s what makes us the best supporters in the world.
To wrap things up I honestly don’t think this window has been anything like the disappointment that some fans are making it out to be, could it have been better, of course it could have, but you can say that about every transfer window. There will always be a player that we missed out on or a player who has left that we didn’t want to leave, that’s the way football works it’s the nature of the beast. We have improved our squad a lot from last season and we now have options to come off the bench if things aren’t going our way. The team and the club is in a better position than we were 12 months ago and personally I think the future is looking very bright for Liverpool. I’m not going to make any predictions about what we can accomplish this season but I do think that we can enjoy another good season and I think we can build on what we did last season. I know fans are desperate for the Premier League, I am myself, I want that more than anything but Rome wasn’t built in a day and I think what FSG are doing is trying to build an empire so that Liverpool can remain successful not just in the short term but for many more years to come.
