Liverpool balls: the desperate story of Alexis Sanchez
Matt Hughes and Tony Barrett explain the Liverpool transfer policy, one dictated by committee. Having missed out on the wonderful Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal, Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool looked around for a player:
The oddity is that, given that a player of Sánchez’s style is so fundamental to the way Rodgers wants his team to play, Liverpool’s response to missing out was the move for Loïc Rémy, a different type of forward altogether. That they ended up feeling the need to sign Mario Balotelli, even though he certainly does not fit the profile that Rodgers was looking for, was also bizarre, providing another indication of an inadequate strategy. These failings have been undermining Liverpool ever since, and even if they pull off a morale-boosting win this afternoon, these are unlikely to go away…
And Rodgers agrees:
“I think if you look at how I ask the teams to play, it is critical,” Rodgers said, when asked about the impact of missing out on Sanchez. “Not just with the ball, but the intensity with the pressing. When Daniel Sturridge was injured in August, I think everyone who knows football should hopefully be able to see that our game has become much deeper because of personnel. But Sanchez was identified for us as someone who would have been a key signing and really just a roll on to what we had with Luis Suarez. He (Sanchez) is a world-class player and was regarded as somebody who could come here and be perfect for us. He is a brilliant footballer with outstanding quality and even bigger work-rate, so to not get him was obviously bitterly disappointing. But once he was gone that was it. We just had to focus on what we had. It doesn’t matter (if I think he made the right decision). He made his decision, the best option for him, but he will probably give you that answer in 20 years.”
So. Liverpool bought strikers Mario Balotelli and Ricky Lambert.
Go figure…
Posted: 20th, December 2014 | In: Liverpool, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
