Summer Transfer Window

The onset of this summer's transfer window is almost certainly the most important in Liverpool’s recent history.  We cannot afford to languish outside the top four for another season with the likes of Man City moving into another dimension and with both Spurs and Arsenal trying to improve this seasons positions after falling away.  In addition, the fact that Manchester United were well beaten by Barcelona and the fact that Alex Ferguson having equalled and surpassed our record of title wins is now soley driven by the need to become part of the European elite alongside the multiple Champions League winners such as Barcelona, AC Milan, Real Madrid and ourselves means they will be active in the transfer market, maybe more so than they would have been had they not beaten so soundly thrashed.

The key advantage going forward into next season is we are able to concentrate on each competition because we do not have the distractions of European midweek games.  The earlier King Kenny’s team hits its straps the better, as he can find a winning side and will not have to chop and change for European games.  It will have it problems, as the games available to bed in youngsters and those on the periphery of the team will be negligible, but this why the culling of the squad is just as important as bringing in top talent – many of those like Insua, El Zhar and Degan will be obvious candidates to be moved on, but it is Kyrgiakos, Poulson and Ngog, now rumoured to be on the transfer list, which will offer up openings within the squad for new recruits and youngsters alike.

The Champions League is now the footballing world’s premier competition and it is for this reason that Dalglish must aim for Champions League qualification in his first full season since his return.  Establish players now in their mid-twenties like Young, Downing and Adam all reputedly on our wish list, can see the end of their shelf lives as players and as such will not want wait to long for a chance to pit their talents against the best, thus the package offered by Liverpool in terms of its future prospects has to be enticing at the very least to compete with the instant gratification of Man United and Chelsea.

Liverpool are being linked to every available player and some not available – given King Kenny’s attitude at keeping club business in house most of this is either agent talk or just plain speculation.  But, what every fan wants is players who want to play for the club and can take us on to the next level.  The second-half of the season showed we have the foundation in place, but we need now is the building blocks to move forward. Thus the next few weeks will tell just how much belief there is in the footballing world about project Liverpool.

By Kop Talk