The news that Luis Suarez has signed a new extension to his current contract. has given the club the shot in the arm it required. With Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel both seemingly non-committal the board now has the impetus it needs to forge ahead with potential signings and placate those wavering on signing new contracts.
We all know that players can change tact on a whim and a prayer and while Suarez could in future change his mind in looking for glory, one always felt because of previous sentiment regarding the club initially coming in for him and his families happiness in the city his affection wasn’t a sham. His comments today to Liverpoolfc.com bourn that out:
"To sign a new contract with Liverpool is unbelievable for me because I am so happy here at both the club and also in the city." "That is important for me and I am very happy with my new contract. "When you are a kid, everybody wants to play for Liverpool. I am here now and it is a dream for me, and now I am a Liverpool fan. "I am happy off the pitch because the people of Liverpool are good with me and my family. "I try my best on the pitch and when you are happy off the pitch, you are happy on the pitch. "I want to say thank you to the fans because they are our 12th player. The supporters of Liverpool are unbelievable. "Five or six years ago I watched on TV the stadium and the club, and now I play here and the supporters have helped me. That's very important for me." Liverpool need a steely resolve to withstand the likes of Juventus and resigning of this enigmatic talent shows a statement of intent. The fact that the board have placed a £22 million price tag on the head of Daniel Agger shows on one front that any team wanting the Danish captain will have to pay top dollar/ Man City’s recent back down from Van Persie transfer shows an unwillingness to be taken for granted in the transfer market and continuing to pay the highest wages to players in the later half of their twenties.
The problem is that like top class finishers, top class ball playing centre-half’s are a rare breed and with Agger and Skrtel as a pairing Liverpool have arguably the best and most consistent pairing since Hansen and Lawrenson. With these two in tandem and Gerrard’s return to form, the inclusion of a few top class signings and keeping Carroll to add an extra dimension should the need arise, Liverpool could be on the cusp of a change in fortunes without raising expectations of a top tthree place.
Rodgers system based on a vey fluid 4-3-3 and will look to instil pace and movement something which has been missing from the locker on a consistent basis over the years. Intriguingly, it will be interesting it to see how Rodgers uses two undoubted ball playing talents in his squad.
Joe Cole, at his best is still a magnificent talent and many see that talent as unfulfilled at the highest level. The player seems to hint at his best position being in the centre of midfield position where Liverpool have a number of candidates and thus it seems a more likely any position would be out wide where the ex-Chelsea made his name under Mourinho. Cole over the last few years has lost a yard and his ability to go past his man makes a wide position questionable and it may well be that he could be used more as an impact player.
Charlie Adam is another possessing the technical ability which Rodgers craves and his long range passing is second to none. But, the possible purchase of Joe Allen, to my mind is a direct threat on his immediate future or at least his starting place. Having watched Allen representing Team Great Britain in the Olympics, one of his main attributes is to keep the game moving and his short passing is crisp allowing him with his busy movement to act as conductor of ceromonies, whereby Adam in contrast needs others to create the space and time for him, but it depends on where and how Steven Gerrard is deployed for to how this will all take shape.
Also, with the flourishing talents of Sterling and Suso, Liverpool have in the ranks two young diamonds who could have an enormous impact on the season ahead. Enough has been written about Sterling on this blog, hasten to say he offers pace, trickery and a directness and an excellent delivery from wide areas which presents Rodgers with additional weaponry looking ahead. In reserve games he has often linked up well with the mercurial and sublime skills of Suso whose passing often seems laser guided and has in his artillery something which Adam doesn’t and Cole no longer possesses, that being an ability to go pass opponents from a standing start. For a midfield player driving from the centre that’s an extremely useful talent to have especially when there is a clinical striker and wingers ahead of you to latch on to through balls on the run.
All in all, Suarez signing has provided a late pre-season filip and partly answered dedlc’s recent blog in which he examined his flawed character as he prepares to go back into the cauldron of a new season.
No comments:
Post a Comment