The ‘big summer transfer window‘, Tom Hicks’ words not mine, has edged to a conclusion and Liverpool end their 5th consecutive transfer window with a transfer profit, this summer roughly £9M. Not exactly a profit obviously when you’re over £400M in debt and paying almost £1M a week for the privilege of it.
Today saw the conclusion of a number of deals that had been brewing for the last couple of days.
The first deal involved Fulham, who Hodgson had initially promised not to raid, but Mark Hughes was pleased with this deal.
IN
Paul Konchesky (pictured above)
OUT
Lauri Dalla Valle
Alex Kacaniklic
£3M
The 29 year old Konchesky has been handed a 4 year contract. We thought it was a shame that two promising youngsters had to leave especially on top of £3M. We wish both former Liverpool youngsters the best and welcome Paul to the club in his new left back role.
OUT
Emiliano Insua to Galatasaray (1 year loan – option to buy)
Insua’s deal went through in the early evening. Galatasaray have an option to buy of approximately £3.5M at the end of the season.
The other circus of the day involved Ryan Babel and West Ham’s Carlton Cole. According to the Sky, Ryan Babel flew down by helicopter (wonder who paid for that) to speak to West Ham and/or Spurs. To cut a long story short Liverpool FC don’t appear to have had the money to pay £10M for Carlton Cole and either needed some kind of swap deal with West Ham or a purchase.
Fortunately or not, depending on your opinion on the 6ft 3 West Ham forward, Babel announced in the afternoon he wasn’t going anyway, LFC for Life, YNWA, etc etc. You know the drill.
Later on both Damien Plessis and Nabil El Zhar were also shipped out for ‘undisclosed’ fees.
So in summary these are our major transfers from the 2010/11 summer transfer window.
IN (8 players)
Milan Jovanovich (Standard Liege) Winger/Attacker £0
Jonjo Shelvey (Charlton) Midfielder/AM £1.7M
Joe Cole (Free Agent) Midfielder/AM £0
Danny Wilson (Rangers) Defender £2M (to rise to £5M)
Christian Poulsen (Juventus) Midfielder £4.5m
Brad Jones (Middlesbrough) Goalkeeper £2.3m
Raul Meireles (FC Porto) Midfielder £10.7m
Paul Konchesky (Fulham) Left Back £3m
OUT (12 players)
Javier Mascherano (Barcelona) Midfielder – £17.25M
Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea) Attacking Midfielder approx. £5m
Albert Riera (Olympiacos) Midfielder – £3.3M
Kristzian Nemeth (Olympiacos) Midfielder – £1M
Nikolay Mihaylov (FC Twente) Goalkeeper £1.5M
Diego Cavalieri (Cesena) Goalkeeper – £1.3M
Philipp Degen (Stuttgart) RB – 1 year loan
Alberto Aquilani (Juventus) AM – 1 year loan/option to buy £13M
Emiliano Insua (Galatasaray) LB – 1 year loan/option to buy £3.5M
Mikel San Jose (Atletic Bilbao) Defender Centre £2.6m
Nabil El Zhar (PAOK) – Right winger undisclosed
Damien Plessis (Panathiniakos) – Midfielder Centre undisclosed
YOUNG PLAYERS OUT (9)
Lauri Dalla Valle (Fulham) Attacker – Part of Konchesky deal
Alex Kacaniklic (Fulham) Attacker – Part of Konchesky deal
Francisco Duran (Released) Midfielder – free
James Ellison (Burton Albion) Forward – free
Liam Jacob (Manchester United) GK – undisclosed
Vincent Wiejl (SD Eibar) Left Wing – Undisclosed
David Martin (MK Dons) Goalkeeper £0
Chris Oldfield (Released) Goalkeeper £0 contract ended
Robbie Threlfall (Released) Defender Left £0 contract ended
TOTAL SALES
Profit £7.75M to rise to £10.75M
If only Roy actually read these posts, we might see a marked change
Robben could be classed as an out and out wide player, but even then he drifted inside. Kuyt is wasted as a wide player, so why not play him as the lone man to hold the ball up with Cole and Torres either side. That way at least we’re playing with 3 players that are an attacking threat high up the pitch rather than 1. We could go 4-3-3 and rely on the full backs to supply the width. Poulsen could shield the back four with Gerrard and Meireles ahead of him, With Stevie bombing forward.
How well we do depends on how much we can get out of our current crop of players. We need to play to our strengths as much as possible and it will be down to Hodgson set this particular bunch of players up to enable them to play to their strengths. We don’t have many striking options, but neither did Chelsea 04/05. what they did have was quick players (Duff and Robben or Cole and Robben) supporting a lone central striker that was adept at holding the ball up. When Cole played with Robben, only
Yeah yeah quality players my ass,with this current squad and manager,we cannot expect more than an average season display and finish sixth or seventh,really! With this current squad we cannot compete against the current top four and to add insult to injury ,Everton for that matter will whipp our sorry asses!
I think we’ve had a right touch in the transfer first of all we kept Gerrard and Torres which is still the bottom line of the summer. I’m suprised by sending aquaman out on loan but we dont see him on the training ground.
Poulson is a fantastic signing selling a DMF for 18 and replacing him for 4.5 brilliant business given our terrible financial status. Raul Meriles is an interesting one not sure when we last had a Portugese player but we know he’s a regular international. PLUS JOE COLE
Loaning out aquilani and then blowing 10mil on meireles…senseless, then he doesn’t even sign a cover striker. Toivonen would’ve done the job. That being said, it’s good that pacheco might get a go, he’s more promising than ngog at the moment. Babel should be utilised in a wide position if he doesn’t make the striking grade. I don’t think we should sell anymore youth, the majority of the squad is already making retirement village bookings.
I think if we want stevie to play the cm game we no he can we need to accompany him with a complete midfielder n I think we got that with meireles, aquilani is a very good player but no point having him at this moment wen we’ve brought cole in and gerrards gonna play cm every week, while I think he is quality and we’ve seen nothing compared to wat he’s capable of, but hes only an attacking option which if honest is a luxury we cant afford right now with our finances and the shape we play.
I would still of liked a forward to come to the club though but saying that Roy looks like he has faith in ngog and pacheco, I just hope he gives babel a chance as I feel hes the better of the 3 right now…
Sorry Hamijj but with what we’ve got we still wont get result, this gang of pensioners will be knackered well before the end of the season. Roy hasn’t got a clue.
I think the players we have brought in are quality. We had to many average or young promising players. Roy has it right . Get the first team stronger buy selling the inconsistent players and young players. Liverpool needs results now not in 5 years.
Personally, I have to wonder why we paid 10.7m for Raul Meireles when we let Aquilani go out on loan! We’ve got tons of midfielders at the club that could do a job for us, especially in that centre slot. Surely this money would have been better spent on a forward? But what have we ended up with? We’ve not even brought in a second rater on loan just to cover us until January.
Well i’m glad Ryan Babel is staying, i just hope he gets to play more than he has been lately, i reckon he could be a great player, so come on Roy give the lad a chance, let him prove himself to you.
Still no forward or pacy winger instead we continue to burden Torres like a donkey until he breaks down again!.Adding another defender to a backline that we’re regularly tinkering with is good and well but understand that it’s the creative midfielders,wide men with pace and goal scoring forwards that will win us things!
We don’t have enough creativity or pace to trouble most teams so will struggle to finish in the top four again,Man City and Spurs have far stronger squads.It’s a joke!!
It just proves, as if we didn’t already know it the Yanks are a gang of liars, they promised funds for transfers, they didn’t materialise, in part due to the pay off to Rafa and the fact we were shortchanged for Masch. It also goes to prove that Roy’s Hicks boy and is part of the plot by the Yanks to take LFC down with them. Hodgson knew he needed to buy a striker but all he’s done is a Rafa and mess around with the midfield & brought in a pensioner at left back, 10th place if we’re lucky guys