Monday, January 31, 2011

Liverpool's Number 9?

On Thursday January 27th, 2011 Liverpool Football Club seemed to be in a good place. They were coming down off a 1-0 victory over Fulham, their second victory within a week, a 7th place standing and a team seeming to grow into their identity. By Monday January 31st that identity seems to taking a whole new shape. The rumors that Fernando Torres would be heading south to London came to fruition even after an 11th hour signing of Luis Suarez seemed to be the answer to the long awaited search for his strike partner. What is even more shocking is that Liverpool, who failed to sign a suitable secondary striker in the 2 and half years that Torres roamed Anfield, actually signed a second striker to pair with Saurez in Newcastle's Andy Carrol. So where do these teams stand after the dust has settled in what brings the end to the most memorable January transfer window in recent memory. Here are my opinions, feel free to discuss, argue or agree.

The Players: Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll

The true winners in this are the players who were bought for absolutely ridiculous amounts of money. All of them are going to fatten their wallets and be able to buy a new sports car or two. But I'm not bitter, that's the nature of the beast and as long as people love soccer, owners will pay magnificent amounts of money for the services of young men who can put the ball in the back of  the net. Seriously though, this is a good move for all players involved. Torres will get a legitimate chance to compete for a Premier League title before he inevitably heads back to Spain and that was ultimately his drive and motivation in moving to Liverpool in the first place. He also gets a chance to wake up from the bad dream that has been the last 6 months, including a lackluster World Cup (at least from a personal standpoint) and a mundane Premier League campaign in which he has either been starved of service or lacking the killer instinct that made him so deadly in his freshman and sophomore campaigns with the Reds.

Suarez and Carroll enter a very unique situation that I am interested to see how it plays out. They enter as a handpicked tandem that very few managers are lucky enough to capture in one transfer window, let alone one weekend. Both are young, talented and a tad bit unproven. Suarez automatically becomes Liverpool's most dangerous scoring threat and Carrol enters with a chance to mend the broken hearts of  The Kop as the stereotypical tall, strong, English number 9. I look forward to see this pairing mesh, hopefully sooner rather than later as the season goes on, but more importantly I look forward to seeing both players enter their prime in Liverpool red. They seem to be the ideal big man, little man combo but only time will tell.

The Clubs: Liverpool, Chelsea

Chelsea may be the biggest loser in this deal. To the naked eye they just purchased a dwindling flame of a striker who needs  constant cooing and coddling to give the appearance of effort on the pitch. On the flipside, they could be the biggest winner in this if they have suddenly sparked the fire within the world's most dangerous goalscorer a mere year and a half ago. The scary part of this is that neither scenario would really surprise me. I guess when you have the money to take big chances you accept that it could be a big risk or a big reward. For Chelsea, the risk seems worth it. At best they can bring the title back to Stamford Bridge and at worst they will fall no further than fourth and qualify for the Champions League and try it all over again next season.

Liverpool's entire season could be characterized as a crossroads, but now more than ever, the club find themselves at a crossroads. A new manager, under new ownership, with new strikers... and it is February, not July and preparing to play in a handful of meaningless friendlies. Nope, Liverpool must adapt in the middle of the season in arguably the toughest league in the world. But don't expect sympathy from me, even as a strong supporter, I understand that Liverpool's past mistakes have led them to this predicament and the only way to solve it is to win matches and play themselves into a state of normalcy. It's funny to look back on the signing of the past two managers and to see how few of their "impact signings" even call Merseyside home anymore. I personally like the turn they are taking. More youth, more energy and hopefully more wins. Best case scenarios seems to be a miracle run at a fourth place spot with a Europa League title. Worst case (and I'm blocking out the subconscious part of my brain that even hints at relegation) would be a spot out of European competitions for 2011-12 and David Ngog becomes the first name at the top of Liverpool's teamsheet.

From my point of view, this is good for the league, good for the game and great for the players. I can't wait to see the new faces trot out in Liverpool red and I'm sure I'll tune in to see Torres in the unfamiliar blue of Chelsea.