Has Brendan Rodgers strengthened Liverpool in any way since arriving
Liverpool’s season looks all-but over after costly results away at West Bromwich Albion and Hull City, picking up just one point out of the double-header, and they are now left fighting for a Europa League spot rather than a Champions League spot.
The Reds finished second last season and finally looked like a squad that could challenge for titles and trophies on a regular basis. The SAS as they were known were dominating games and scoring goals for fun, but after a nightmare against Chelsea and Crystal Palace, Rodgers’ men just fell short of the title.
One year on, Liverpool are now fighting for fifth place. They’ve lost Luis Suarez to FC Barcelona and they’ve spent hundreds of millions without success.
Since taking over at Anfield, Rodgers has spent £206.5million on transfers and in reality, only a handful have shown any promise.
We thought it would be a good idea to take a closer look into Rodgers’ transfer dealings since moving from Swansea to Liverpool.
Summer 2012 – His first Transfer Window
Rodgers’ first window came back in 2012 and he brought five players to Anfield, spending £29.5m collectively.
– Fabio Borini, £10.5m from AS Roma: Hasn’t impressed in Liverpool colours. Should have been sold over the Summer. Verdict – MISS
– Joe Allen, £15m from Swansea City: A regular in Rodgers’ line-up but rarely makes an impact. £15m? Not worth that. Verdict – MISS
– Oussama Assaidi, £3m from Heerenveen: Tried to sell him last Summer but couldn’t find a buyer. No future at Anfield. Verdict – MISS
– Samed Yesil, £1m from Bayer Leverkusen: Some people probably don’t even know who this guy is. Sums his impact up. Verdict – MISS
– Nuri Sahin, Loan from Real Madrid: Highly-rated and wanted by Arsenal as well. Failed to deliver however. Verdict – MISS
Overall, £29.5m spent by Rodgers in his first window and all signings weren’t exactly great.
January 2013 – Brilliant Transfer Window
After a dismal Summer window, Rodgers had to rescue himself in January and he definitely did that. Two signings made and they are both easily Liverpool’s best players now.
– Daniel Sturridge, £12m from Chelsea: Liverpool have won 60.9% of their Premier League games with Sturridge. Superb signing. Verdict – HIT
– Philippe Coutinho, £8m from Inter Milan: £8m?!?! Brilliant bit of business from Rodgers. Standout performer this season. Verdict – HIT
So just £20million spent in January but what a coup from Rodgers to sign these two for that little. Both easily worth more than £20m individually now.
Summer 2013 – Eight players, Six Failed
A very busy Summer for Rodgers at Anfield. He brought in eight players for the squad and spent £48.5m to do so. However, the majority of them were flops.
– Mamadou Sakho, £18m from PSG: Not a bad player but error-prone and not worth £18m. Verdict – MISS
– Simon Mignolet, £9m from Sunderland: Dodgy at times, but not a bad goalkeeper to have. Picked himself up recently. Verdict – HIT
– Iago Aspas, £7.7m from Celta Vigo: Poor signing. Poor striker. Waste of money. The end. Verdict – MISS
– Luis Alberto, £6.8m from Sevilla: Poor signing. Poor striker. Waste of money. The end. Sound familiar? Verdict – MISS
– Tiago Illori, £7m from Sporting Lisbon: Barely given a chance. Probably off this Summer. Awful signing. Verdict – MISS
– Kolo Toure, Free from Manchester City: Always an error in him, but experience and free. Can’t complain. Verdict – HIT
– Aly Cissokho, Loan from Valencia: Not signed permanently. Sums up his time at Anfield. Verdict – MISS
– Victor Moses, Loan from Chelsea: Not signed permanently. Sums up his time at Anfield. Now playing for Stoke City. Verdict – MISS
To sum up, that’s what you call an awful Summer, but surprisingly, this isn’t Rodgers’ worst transfer market.
Summer 2014 – Rodgers’ worst window
This is Brendan Rodgers’ worst transfer window and could have got him the sack in my opinion. Lost Luis Suarez but got £75m for him. Rodgers went out and splashed £119m on nine players.
Bare in mind, they had just finished second in the Premier League and were back in the Champions League. This is what Rodgers spent £119m on.
– Adam Lallana, £25m from Southampton: Great for Saints, but not good enough to warrant a £25m price-tag. Verdict – MISS
– Lazar Markovic, £20m from Benfica: Has barely kicked a ball for Liverpool and a waste of £20m. Verdict – MISS
– Dejan Lovren, £20m from Southampton: Exactly the same as Lallana. Good for Saints but not worth £20m. Verdict – MISS
– Mario Balotelli, £16m from AC Milan: A gamble. A gamble that SERIOUSLY backfired. Verdict – MISS
– Alberto Moreno, £12m from Sevilla: Couple of errors in him, but overall a dangerous threat from left-back. Verdict – HIT
– Divock Origi, £12m from Lille: Sent out on loan straight away so would be unfair to judge him. Verdict – N/A
– Emre Can, £10m from Bayer Leverkusen: Took time to settle but looks solid at the back for Rodgers. Verdict – HIT
– Rickie Lambert. £4m from Southampton: Not really given a fair chance, but not good enough for Champions League. Verdict – MISS
– Javier Manquillo, Loan from Atletico Madrid: Started well but then faded out of the team. Not used frequently since. Verdict – MISS
So there we have it. 24 Brendan Rodgers signings and only six can be considered as successful purchased in my opinion.
Over £200million spent on those players. No trophies won. Out of Champions League again. It’s not good enough from Brendan Rodgers or Liverpool.
Comment me your thoughts below.
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
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