You say you want a Rafalution…
So, Rafa Benitez is taking the plunge on Torres, according to news sources. £25 million for a man completely unproven at the top level of domestic football is a huge gamble by any standards, especially given the recent takeover of Liverpool – and therefore increased scrutiny of the incumbent regime.
Torres has never been a prolific marksman, and has played in an Atletico team more renowned for inconsistency than anything else. That he has the reputation he does is almost bewildering, though his talent is unquestionable. Benitez’s transfer history doesn’t inspire much confidence either. Despite two European Cup finals, including a win, and a feeling that Rafa has delivered on his promise to make the Reds a contender in the title shake-up, his use of the Scousers’ wallet hasn’t been consistently successful. Below is a complete list of players Rafa has signed in his three years at the club…
Liverpool’s transfers in 2006/2007
Player From Fee Date
Fabiano Aurelio Valencia Free 05-07-2006
Jermaine Pennant Birmingham £ 6700000 26-07-2006
Dirk Kuyt Feyenoord £ 9000000 18-08-2006
Nabil El Zhar St Etienne Signed 01-10-2006
Alvaro Arbeloa Deportivo £ 2600000 31-01-2007
Francisco Manuel Duran Malaga Signed 31-01-2007
Javier Mascherano West Ham Signed 31-01-2007
Liverpool’s transfers in 2005/2006
Player From Fee Date
Boudewijn Zenden Middlesbro Free 04-07-2005
Jose Reina Villarreal £ 6000000 04-07-2005
Antonio Barragan Seville Signed 04-07-2005
Mark Gonzalez Albacete £ 4500000 04-07-2005
Mohamed Sissoko Valencia £ 5600000 13-07-2005
Peter Crouch Southampton £ 7000000 20-07-2005
Godwin Antwi Real Zaragoza Signed 01-08-2005
Jack Hobbs Lincoln Signed 18-08-2005
Paul Anderson Hull City Signed 02-01-2006
Jan Kromkamp Villarreal Swap 04-01-2006
David Martin MK Dons Signed 12-01-2006
Daniel Agger Brondby £ 5800000 12-01-2006
Robbie Fowler Man City Free 27-01-2006
Craig Bellamy Blackburn £ 6000000 22-06-2006
Gabriel Paletta Banfield £ 2000000 01-07-2006
Liverpool’s transfers in 2004/2005
Player From Fee Date
Josemi Malaga £ 2000000 27-07-2004
Luis Garcia Barcelona £ 6000000 01-08-2004
Xabi Alonso Sociedad £ 10500000 01-08-2004
Antonio Nunez Real Madrid Swap 17-08-2004
Mauricio Pellegrino Valencia Free 05-01-2005 F
ernando Morientes Real Madrid £ 6300000 13-01-2005
Scott Carson Leeds £ 750000 21-01-2005
I’ll discount Cisse from these lists as he was already bought and paid for by Houllier. However, Benitez has spent well over £80 million in transfer outlay, not including wages, on these players, which includes no less than 6 strikers (5 if we’re not counting Garcia), and 15 players purchased from Spain.
Of those players you would count as unqualified successes, I’d count Xabi Alonso, Daniel Agger, and Mohammed Sissoko. Luis Garcia, Crouch Kuyt, Reina and Pennant might all have been team regulars at one point or another, but you’d still have doubts about them performing to the highest level consistently, while Carson, Mascherano and Arbeloa have all shown glimpses but nothing more (mainly due to a short amount of time with the team, it must be said). You would never see Man United, Arsenal or Chelsea buying, and then playing, players like Nunez, Pellegrino, Josemi, Fowler, Kromkamp, Gonzalez and Zenden.
What does all this prove? Well, ultimately very little. Benitez obviously has tactical nous, and has a history in Spain – hence the number of Spanish-based imports. His conversion rate of players signed into relative successes is good, but converting relative successes into stars has been notably lacking. No one player out of over 30 signed for a combined total of £80m+ is a superstar. Torres could be the player to arraign that trend, but, personally, I still think it will be a bridge too far…
Breaking
The news…
Wolves set to sign Darren Ward from Crystal Palace, while in talks with Billy Sharp.
I’m all excited.
Current
Currently reading: Memoirs of a Geisha
Currently listening to: Les Savy Fav / LCD Soundsystem / Elliott Smith
Just so you know…
A sad day
Goodbye, Arsene’s rose…
Sorry for the time away. Turns out being busy and blogging don’t mix. There’s a surprise.
So – Thierry has finally admitted the inevitable and jetted off to Barcelona to join Messi, Eto’o, Ronaldinho, Deco, Giuly, and Iniesta in what will probably be the most frightening attack in the world. He leaves for something of a paltry £16 million, considering he was being touted for nearer 50 last year. However, his contribution since then, bar a wonder-strike or two, has been relatively negligible. His swansong in English football came in defeat to PSV, and he totalled a mere 12 goals in 2006/7 – a sad and, at times, sulky end to what has been a world class spell at Arsenal.
Nary a summer these days goes by without the speculation, or reality, that one of Arsenal’s stars will leave. Petit, Overmars, Vieira, Henry. Arsenal didn’t want to sell any of them. With Pires and Lauren also departed, Ljungberg likely to move this transfer window, and Fabregas and even Wenger under increasing scrutiny, Arsenal are seemingly in meltdown. They have lost their captain and talisman, and only have the money they’ve made from transfers, and little else, to replace him and plug the fairly gaping holes in their squad from last time around.
And yet, the whispers grow – Arsene knows.
Henry, for all his match-turning brilliance, was not a good captain. He was selfish, egotistical, and impatient – not exactly a role model to hand-hold a generation of kids through their development. He wanted success badly with Arsenal, but was aware of the ticking of the clock, and ultimately it was fair that he moved somewhere where that success would be more immediate. His likely successor, Gilberto Silva, is everything Henry is not. He’s quiet, selfless and works hard. He led by example last year and showed rare fortitude in a team bereft of mental strength. He’s the man for the job. Arsenal, without Henry, will operate in much the same way.
The system’s merits are debatable but, without Henry, the team should be able to play without an Henry-shaped monkey on their back. Thierry’s influence and role within the Gunners was such that often, faced with either a shot or a pass to Henry, Thierry would find himself with the ball. The youngsters now have no-one to hand-off responsibility to in the final third, and this could be their defining moment. In the same way the departure of Van Nistelrooy revitalised a Man U side dragged down by continually looking for him in the box, Arsenal can now play to their strengths and express themselves without fear of recrimination. Wenger’s notorious for unearthing a gem or two – he needs two now more than ever but, as ever, Arsene knows.
Expect the unexpected – to see a resurgent Arsenal next year.
