JohnBull wrote:I was not really happy about the Yanks at first and some of Raffas signings in the past were obviously from his "B" list and were never going to make it here.
This close season has been brilliant and I could not fault ONE of the signings. Just let's hope we show the aggression this NEW team has, when we play the other two.
Anyone with access to the Dutch channels (RTE etc) should have a good look at Babel before putting a question mark on him.
Exactly. If you look at what has gone on over the past couple of months is outstanding. All top players signed to new long-term contracts, new (improved) stadium moving forward and now top quality signings. I can't believe people can still be complaining!!! You can't go out and buy proven, world class stars (Etoo, Kaka, Ronaldinho et al) at this stage of the club's development, you need to take a bit of a risk on buying younger players.*
*The similarities between Babel and C Ronaldo are uncanny, similar price, similar player / position coming from a league of similar standards.
Rafa has drastically improved our goal scoring threat without breaking the bank. Net outlay of £20 million on Torres / Benayoun and Babel. Can't argue with that. This closed season is about bridging the gap, improving the quality and depth of the squad while adding some players that will go into the first team. I don't think we can underestimate the transformation of the club since Rafa took control. As he pointed out, our top signed was £14 million and Man U were spending more than that on a second defensive midfielder! The improvement is now gathering pace, personally I think this year we will come up short again but not by nearly as far as before. Keep on improving the team and the squad, another two decent transfer windows and we'll be there. Liverpool FC - 2008 /2009 Premiership Champions!
In Rafa we trust.