Liverpool FC Forum

[7_Kewell]

OK, i know there's new rules coming in about fielding X amount of home grown players, but i was wondering what Newkiters' opinons were on the fact that Liverpool is getting an English spine of players again.

We've not seen this since the Evans days in the mid 90s and i for one am glad to see it. Don't get me wrong, players from abroad are important, but we really need a core of guys who REALLY understand LFC and its history. 

Anyone else?

[Kharhaz]

Im all for it. Before Kenny Dalglish, I thought our youth set up was awful. Nobody was shining in particular. Now of course we have seen Kelly, Flanagan and Robinson come in and perform brilliantly, and of course Spearing go from an average player to a bloody useful one.

I am not ruling out still signing quality players, but my faith is restored that we can produce the players when needed.

[red till i die!!]

quite happy to see a british core to the team and hope to see further talent emerge through the ranks for the future.
kenny is bringing back a legacy to the club that was missing for too long.
we arent attractive enough at the moment to be competing with big clubs for the cream so i think we have done well in signing henderson and adam and if we can get downing too it will further improve the team on last season.all have shown they can perform in the prem consistently,they have youth on their side and bags of potential and all 3 want to play for us which is paramount.
already looking a much better outfit than last year.

[aCe']

Having a core of British players is a good thing but only as long as the players are top quality.

Regarding the youth setup, I think Kenny giving the kids a chance last season was a brave and ultimately rewarding gamble. Like someone else mentioned, we now have Kelly, Robinson and Flanagan looking to force their way into the squad which is a great thing.

Regarding he signings, I cant say im too happy with our activity so far regarding the issue. Carroll at 35mill is grossly overpriced and will need to produce excellent displays early on to warrant the price tag. Henderson for 20mill for me is a nonsense, silly deal. When it comes to British talent from the premier league, everyone knows that the players are overpriced for little reason. Thats why big clubs only make such deals when the player is either already established and guarantees success ( Ferdinand, Cole, Johnson, Young..etc) or shows tremendous potential from a young age (Rooney, Smalling, Carroll, Bale..etc)

For me, Carroll while being someone who could become a top player if surrounded by the right players, is still not a 35mill player and will never become one. However, given our situation in the Jan. transfer window and the fact we needed to bring someone in urgently you can understand the transfer.

Henderson is a different story. He is neither a top player nor a player with great potential. His best position is central midfield but hes not good enough to play there at the top level and needs to be moved around to allow him to do what he does best (crossing). The only reason I can see for signing him is what was mentioned in the opening post: bringing in more British players. I think it was a bad transfer and I really hope the kid proves me wrong.

When it comes to Adam, it all depends on 2 things for me.. 1) how much he cost and 2) who leaves this summer. If we end up with Meireles, Adam, Aquilani + the others then its another deal that makes little sense.

In that respect, while the concept might be the right one, I'm not entirely sure about our approach. Carroll apart, our transfers on paper seem to do little -to nothing- in terms of improving the starting 11.

[The Good Yank]

The thing that seems to be forgotten or at least swept aside regarding the Carroll transfer fee is that we had agreed with Newcastle that we would keep 15 million of the Torres deal and they would get the rest.  Thus, the 35 mill pricetag.  If we'd have gotten the original 30 that was offered, they would have gotten 15.  40 mill they'd have gotten 25 etc.  My point is, once the deals are done, Who gives a what the price of the player was, just hope they do well when they pull on the shirt.  In other words, if we'd have paid 35 million for Suarez and paid the amount for Suarez (I think it was 23 mill) for Carroll, would the side have been any different?  No, two players came in and it doesn't matter what the fee was for them.

[stmichael]

At the end of the day I have faith in Kenny and Comolli and that's the bottom line. It's not about where a player is from but the quality they have. Whether we buy English or foreign you can be sure it's because Kenny thinks he is good enough to play for Liverpool.

[7_Kewell]

Kenny certainly seems to favour UK based players and i think next season we'll be seeing 8 or 9 English players starting week in, week out for LFC.

Which i think will be great...because some of the forign tat we bought over the years acted like they didn't give a toss about LFC, its history or the English game.

[Penguins]

I for one don't belive in that is the way forward for a minute. That is so 80's.

Teams that win today has a solid mix of british strength and physical power combined with europeain skill and flair.

I don't believe going down just one path is the way forward.

[7_Kewell]

I for one don't belive in that is the way forward for a minute. That is so 80's.

Teams that win today has a solid mix of british strength and physical power combined with europeain skill and flair.

I don't believe going down just one path is the way forward.

I agree with the mixture of the two...but a British spine in our team is what we need.