HOW’S the transfer window been for you so far? It’s now an established past of the season — when football teams try to solve all their problems and supporters are glued to Twitter and Newsnow with even the most obscure link only a YouTube compilation away from supporters crossing out that ‘Liverpool XI on the opening day’ and starting again.
But for Liverpool fans the summer window up to now has become as frustrating as it is exciting. We just want to focus on ‘the final pieces of the jigsaw’ but footballers who play for us keep being tempted by being the final piece in someone else’s. Despite losing Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling in consecutive summer windows, and plenty more big names if you are willing to go further back, these links away keep catching us out. In our focus on strengthening we forget that others have the same idea. And that, occasionally, they might actually be more appealing.
This summer’s saga looks set to be Philippe Coutinho.
Newspaper, or indeed website, stories need to be taken with a pinch of salt of course, especially at this time of year. Just like Liverpool won’t bid for 90 per cent of the players we are linked with this summer, the same applies to Paris St Germain and Barcelona. Just because Dani Alves thinks it is a good idea for Phil to go to the Nou Camp, doesn’t mean it will happen. He might not fancy the French league, or indeed the French cheese. Still not ideal though, is it?
I’ve been surprised by the mixed reaction to the news. When speaking with John Barnes at an event for The Florrie on Saturday night he was strongly of the opinion that if a player wanted to leave he should be allowed to. His theory was that an unhappy player could be disruptive if things started to go wrong, and that everyone needed to be fully committed and on board with the ‘project’ if it is to succeed.
I understand this, to an extent. And John Barnes knows much more about what makes a successful dressing room than I do. But I just can’t imagine we are at the point with Coutinho where things are that drastic. He may be considering his future; he may be wondering if Liverpool is the best place for his talents right now. But that just means you have to convince him. If the owners and management are confident in the direction they are taking the football club, then they should be able to convince our best players of that direction.
Because Coutinho is one of our best players. His team-mates think he is the best. But that seems to have been forgotten all of a sudden. Since the story of a possible move broke I have heard various surprising comments along the lines of “he’s rubbish in big games anyway”, “he isn’t quick enough for a Klopp attacking three”, “he doesn’t score enough goals” and, the one we never seem to learn from, “I’d sell him and use the money to buy X”.
In this case the new exciting target — who may or may not want to play for Liverpool — is Gonzalo Higuain.
Selling your best players should always be a last resort, not a tactic to build a squad. I don’t buy that he can’t fit into a Klopp system and I think it’s a massive gamble to suggest the money could be used better elsewhere. As Neil suggested in this week’s free Anfield Wrap show, you often feel with transfers that fans are targeting perfection that doesn’t exist. That, too, we focus on what a player, no matter how strong, can’t offer and presume that someone coming in can rectify that.
Liverpool won’t be perfect next season. They won’t be perfect in the transfer window this summer. Players who have performed at a high level need to be supplemented with others who can raise the overall quality of the team. But there is another issue, aside from just quality, that is often overlooked.
It is thought that, on average, footballers peak in their late 20s. If you look at the ages of those who started the Europa League final, seven of the outfield 10 were aged between 23 and 26, with two of the others aged 30 and above. The three substitutes were aged between 21 and 26. The club captain Jordan Henderson, and unused substitute, is 25. Only one of the outfield players who featured in Basel was aged 27 to 29, and that was Adam Lallana.
We seem to have an age gap in our team — the age that common football consensus suggests is the best one to be winning things. In contrast to Liverpool, six of Sevilla’s outfield players in Basel were aged 27 to 29. All of their starting outfield players were aged between 26 and 30. And we wonder why they looked like they knew what they were doing a lot more than Liverpool.
Which brings us back to Philippe Coutinho. Coutinho wasn’t great in that final, but he’s gaining experience. He’ll be better next time. You have to accept, if you largely have a policy of buying young players, that there will be some bumps in the road. That it will be worth it when they mature. Liverpool can’t keep buying young talent and selling them before they peak. As fans we are sick of watching former players in the Champions League playing for other teams.
We can’t become a breeding ground for footballers; a place where they learn their trade before playing their most effective years elsewhere. If that happens then the policy falls down and needs revisiting if we genuinely want to be winning trophies.
Coutinho is ready to move from top class to world class in the next few years. We need to make sure that is in a Liverpool shirt.
Good article John. Coutinho may not be a perfect fit for Klopp’s style and there might be a world in which we could improve our team by selling him. But that is not the world we are living in. At this early stage, it doesn’t appear finance is going to be our issue but desirability. If we sell Coutinho, we are not going to be bringing in a Barnes, a Beardsley and an Aldo.
AGREE… IN THE LAST YEARS WE SOLD OUR BEST PLAYERS AND CANT REPLACE THEM OR BUILD AROUND THEM . CARRYING ON LIKE THIS WE WILL BE A SELLING CLUB AND WATCH OTHERS WIN TROPHIES !!!!
If we sell Coutinho I may well shove a red hot poker up someone’s Arse.
Nobody can force a player to stay at a club if he thinks his playing career or financial circumstances will be improved by going elsewhere — just the same as any employer in any field of work can’t keep an employee who wishes to move on for a higher salary or a better career opportunity or imagined job satisfaction.
Nobody can predict or control a player’s family having desires that influence a player’s decisions, especially if those influences align with the player’s own ambitions. A perfect example is Suárez’s desire to go to Barcelona, combined with his wife’s desire for their children to be closer to their Spanish grandparents. Another is Sanchez being influenced by his wife’s desire to pursue her modelling career in London instead of Liverpool. Vardy’s new wife is also an aspiring model — no surprise that suddenly he’s attracted to and tempted by a London club. One can only imagine that modelling opportunities in Leicester would be more limited.
Phil Coutinho and his wife seem more modest and humble. They’re settled in Liverpool and are just starting a young family. Their child is nowhere near school age. If they’re happy and comfortable where they are, it seems the odds of their wanting to disrupt their lifestyle are lower than they might be for players in other circumstances. But if he’s susceptible to being persuaded he can do better elsewhere, they’ll be off. He only has about 8-10 years (barring injury) to make his millions and his mark on football history that every player of his calibre dreams of. He can’t afford to waste much time, and during 2015-16 there were moments on the pitch when his frustration was palpable.
“Nobody can force a player to stay at a club if he thinks his playing career or financial circumstances will be improved by going elsewhere — just the same as any employer in any field of work can’t keep an employee who wishes to move on for a higher salary or a better career opportunity or imagined job satisfaction.”
This isn’t true. Despite common and ridiculous references to a “bad day at the office”, being a footballer is not like other jobs. On the one hand, they get paid incredible amounts of money for something most of us do in our spare time for fun. On the other, their freedom of movement between jobs is limited in a way that probably will eventually be found contrary to the law. As a result, LFC can actually force a contracted player to stay. Whether that is a good idea or not is another thing..
Nonsense. It’s been proven again and again that if a player really wants to leave a club he will leave. Even Jürgen Klopp has said flat out that he doesn’t want any player who doesn’t want to be there. If Phil Coutinho is persuaded by his friends and fellow pros that he can do better elsewhere he’ll be off. He’s a contracted employee, not an indentured servant or slave. Breaking a legally binding contract no doubt has financial ramifications, but the player’s agent would neutralise any losses by negotiating the new deal with the receiving club.
The club’s only tools to stop a player going are offering more money (if that’s really what the player is after by threatening to leave) and/or letting the player dictate terms related to game time. I’m sure there are other negotiating points, but those are the most obvious ones. Jürgen Klopp is his own man and would probably not let himself be dictated to regarding the latter.
Good common sense post
Phil is obviously class. Sometimes tries to do it all and sometimes disappears in games but obviously has unbelievable talent. Added to that he seems a likeable guy and not a dick. Every effort should be made to hold on to him, to be part of a successful team in the next few years. I guess it’s about how much money he’s on. If a team with more chance of success comes along and offers him more money how does he say no? People who say good riddance, or better off without him to players with talent like they did sterling are deluded. Ultimately, Liverpool is not currently in a position to attract or keep the very best players in world football. It will take a lot or hard work or cash, well both, to achieve that.
I vaguely remember abit of news/goss earlier in the season about him having relatively low wages, could this be the old agent game for higher wages?
I think he’s our 4/5th highest earner behind the likes of Sturridge, Milner, Benteke and possibly Skrtel.
He only signed a new contract last year but perhaps he should be offered a payrise to demonstrate his importance to the team.
He’s about to turn 24 and his inconsistency in performance is usual with a young player, however his best years are now ahead of him.
Do we really want to develop a player in order to sell him to someone else who gets his best years?
Perhaps this is what FSGs plan is when buying all these youngsters with potential. To me it won’t work. How can you build a squad if you continually sell your best players. It’s not like we are some miracle workers in the transfer market either able to unearth gem after gem.
Don’t understand how anyone could even think about selling Phil. He’s been our best player for 2 years on the bounce now.
Peoples main complaint about Phil has always been that he do loads of boss stuff but he doesn’t get enough goals. This season, in which he has had patches of injury, he has gone and got goals and they’ve all been boss, but of course now he isn’t affecting the games enough now apparently. It’s just a bit mad to me.
The argument that he doesn’t show up in big games is the biggest piece of bullshit there is. Apart from the Europa League final, show me another big game he’s gone missing. In fact show me a big game in recent times he hasn’t scored in. He scores for fun against City, bagged 2 at Chelsea, got in on the act against Everton, scored the killer goal at United, scored the goal that put us back in it against Dortmund, scored our only goal in our last 2 trips to Wembley.
He’s a great lad, loved by all, who’s seen the club sell their best players the last few years and he’s just stepped up to plate became our best player. You never hear anything about him moaning and he’s not even on that great wages. I’m sure when he signed the new deal it put him on around £75k, when you think that Benteke is supposedly on around double that he has reason to moan.
Keep the lad and build a team that gets the best out of him.
This simply isn’t a player we want to be losing. Nothing else needs to be said.
The reason it is easy to believe Coutinho wants out is because we are a mid table club and FSG have a history of selling on. We are the worlds largest mid table feeder club.The reality is maybe that Klopp just isn’t that impressed by Coutinho, and doesn’t like the way he can vanish and doesn’t connect his market value with his ability.
This is Klopp, not Rodgers.
One thing is certain already. The top 4 will return to normality next season, and the ancient correlation between squad value and league finish will return. Business as usual. We will be pleased with anything, as improving on 8th place and no cups is almost guaranteed.