Without European football Liverpool are plunged into ‘The Champions League Vicious Cycle’. There are three ways out. Which one should they take?
Finishing 7th for a club like Liverpool has its disadvantages: The obvious discontent amongst supporters, the financial implications and the non-stop gloating from Evertonians. But none of these downfalls comes close to one specific dilemma: Liverpool don’t qualify for the Champions League.
The Champions League Vicious Cycle
So without the quality of current top 4 teams, Liverpool don’t have a realistic hope of qualifying any time soon either. The answer seems obvious, doesn’t it? Liverpool need to sign better players. Well, it’s not as simple as that anymore. World class players demand Champions League and/or huge wages (depending on the relevant morals of said world class players) and as we’ve already established via the initial problem, Liverpool aren’t in the Champions League. In addition, Liverpool don’t have the kind of money the Chelsea’s or PSG’s have (who are partly funded by, yes, you’ve guessed it, the Champions League). Furthermore, the sorts of players who go to clubs purely for the money are clearly not the sort of driven individuals that Brendan Rodgers would hope to sign.
Now that I’ve explained why the best players aren’t available to Liverpool, I hope that you can see the logic behind the term ‘The Champions League Vicious Cycle’. If not I refer you to my simple graphic below:
The Champions League Vicious Cycle
So without the quality of current top 4 teams, Liverpool don’t have a realistic hope of qualifying any time soon either. The answer seems obvious, doesn’t it? Liverpool need to sign better players. Well, it’s not as simple as that anymore. World class players demand Champions League and/or huge wages (depending on the relevant morals of said world class players) and as we’ve already established via the initial problem, Liverpool aren’t in the Champions League. In addition, Liverpool don’t have the kind of money the Chelsea’s or PSG’s have (who are partly funded by, yes, you’ve guessed it, the Champions League). Furthermore, the sorts of players who go to clubs purely for the money are clearly not the sort of driven individuals that Brendan Rodgers would hope to sign.
Now that I’ve explained why the best players aren’t available to Liverpool, I hope that you can see the logic behind the term ‘The Champions League Vicious Cycle’. If not I refer you to my simple graphic below:
At first sight the cycle seems unbreakable but there are three obvious loopholes, two of which are readily available to Liverpool and one of which I believe is by far the better transfer tactic. I’ll start with the un-available option first.
The Solutions
Spending Big
The most ruthless but effective way out of the vicious cycle is to throw ridiculous amounts of wages and transfer fees at already established players in the hope of prying them away from already established clubs.
This strategy seems watertight but there are some disadvantages though: The club in question would end up becoming one full of selfish, money-grabbing egos until the club qualifies for the Champions League (at which point the club could look to attract even more top quality players). This is of course a recipe for disaster which Roberto Mancini found out the hard way at Manchester City. In fact one could argue that Mancini’s failure to manage the ego’s such as Mario Ballotelli and Carlos Tevez played a big part to give him the sack.
Another downside of this method is that mindless spending often leads to the purchasing of older players who have already proved themselves at the top level. At first sight this seems like a positive thing as it usually guarantees immediate results but brings about the problem of having to buy another pricey replacement a few years later. Suddenly the club is having to spend £50m+ every summer just to maintain their progress towards their goal of finishing in the top 4. It’s therefore extremely clear that the club would have to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, spenders in their respective league, something Liverpool aren’t capable of being unless there was a sizable investment from an outside source.
The final danger of spending big is the potential of damaging the traditions and culture of the club, something fans could be strongly against, especially at a club like Liverpool. Re-writing the image of a club is particularly prone to receiving abuse from clubs, as Chelsea has already shown (Voted the most hated Premier League club in June)
This transfer policy, implemented by clubs like PSG, Monaco, Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea and Manchester City is clearly too unsuitable and far too against the values of Liverpool as a traditional football club. So what methods are available? Star players from smaller clubs The most common method for trying to improve a team is targeting the ‘big fish in a small pond’ players and hoping that they keep their ‘big fish’ performances in a bigger pond. We see this attempted every transfer window and rarely does it work for Liverpool. We’ve been guilty of using it much more recently, since we’ve stopped attracting the best players from big clubs. Names like Charlie Adam, Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing all spring to mind. However, not always does this strategy end as badly as the aforementioned players have done. Jose Enrique, Lucas Leiva and Jordan Henderson are all first team regulars for the current squad. For other teams the same inconsistent success can be applied. Victor Moses, Demba Ba and, to an extent, Fernando Torres all fall under the underwhelming transfer category for Chelsea. But Chelsea have had successes like Liverpool. Gary Cahill and of course Frank Lampard both continue to impress with the latter claiming legendary status.
So why are clubs so inconsistent when using this transfer method? One theory I put forward is that all hinges on the mentality of the player being signed. If the player views the move as an opportunity to shine on the world stage and relishes each chance they get to represent their new club, they are likely to do well. Even if initially the quality of the player is lacking, the effort they put in week-in-week-out will assure their popularity with the fan base.
My prime example here is Jordan Henderson and, as he’s proved, technical ability can always be improved but you can’t teach the determination and desire to do well that he possesses. On the flip side, if a player comes to a club being apprehensive and without self-confidence their performances can severely suffer. A bad start can cause fans to raise doubts and in turn this pressure could send the player’s career spiralling out of control. This is exactly what I think happened to Torres at Chelsea and Downing at Liverpool. Mentality and personality is key to making the jump up from mid-table or lower to a club like Liverpool.
A club can’t always gauge how a player will react to being thrown in at the deep end which brings me to my final solution: Why not pick players who aren’t wanted at the even deeper end?
Big club rejects
Squad player. On the fringe. Surplus to requirements. There’s plenty of ways to describe a player who isn’t needed at a club. All these players are often given a lower price tag than they’re actually worth. But their bargain value isn’t the main reason Liverpool should go down the route of picking the scraps from wasteful teams like Chelsea and Manchester City.
The mentality of the player joining the club will always be to strive to impress having been stewing in one of Europe’s super giants for months or even years. They see the move going down as a chance to show the doubters they were wrong and to finally play some regular football. This ‘liberated’ mindset is key.
But it’s not just this that makes these kind of moves successful for both club and player. Having been trained and brought up alongside the players Liverpool aspire to have, it would be naïve to think that some of their brilliance hadn’t rubbed off onto the sold player. This usually guarantees the player has the right technical ability for Liverpool.
There isn’t a better example of this than a certain ex-Chelsea striker, Daniel Sturridge. At the time of writing the Englishman has scored 16 goals in 20 appearances for Liverpool and 11 in his last 9 games including a brace against Newcastle at Saint James’ park and a hat-trick against Fulham at Craven Cottage. It’s fair to say that Chelsea fans weren’t exactly distraught to see him leave and some Liverpool fans, including myself, weren’t exactly rejoicing either. The pessimists and doubters were soon silenced as Sturridge made a flying start to his Liverpool career and hasn’t dropped his form over the summer either despite sustaining an injury on international duty which saw him miss most of Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies. He’s also made use of his fellow teammate’s, Luis Suarez, 10 game ban early on this season by scoring the winning goal in each of the opening 3 Barclays Premier League games as well as a brace in midweek to secure a win in the second round of The League Cup against League 1 opposition, Notts County. Sturridge’s seemingly endless goals due to ruthless finishing, paired with his drive to prove himself is a super effective combination as demonstrated by his impressive performances.
Another example of this method bringing a quality player to Anfield is in Brendan Roodger’s second purchase of January 2013 for a bargain £8.5m from Inter Milan. Philippe Coutinho has since bewitched Liverpool fans with his deft touches, inch perfect passes and clever flicks. Just 6 months after joining Liverpool this magician beat Steven Gerrard to become the most popular name on the back of the new 13/14 kit (Although Stevie still makes his way onto the back of my own shirt). No doubt Coutinho, like Sturridge, felt wasted at his old club. His move to Liverpool surely felt like a chance to finally show how good he knew he was and this determination spurred him on to produce some fantastic football.
This brings me back to the original statement in my title. Why waste money on players who could buckle under the pressure of a move to Liverpool when you could spend less money on potentially more gifted players who would relish an opportunity to prove themselves? There would be no danger of the player feeling out of their comfort zone because they’d already spent years sitting in Europe’s best teams around the world’s best players, wondering when their next appearance would be. Granted, not every transfer from a smaller club ends badly, but the chances are Liverpool would be overpaying and could use the money a lot more wisely. Liverpool should look up for their transfers, not down.
The Solutions
Spending Big
The most ruthless but effective way out of the vicious cycle is to throw ridiculous amounts of wages and transfer fees at already established players in the hope of prying them away from already established clubs.
This strategy seems watertight but there are some disadvantages though: The club in question would end up becoming one full of selfish, money-grabbing egos until the club qualifies for the Champions League (at which point the club could look to attract even more top quality players). This is of course a recipe for disaster which Roberto Mancini found out the hard way at Manchester City. In fact one could argue that Mancini’s failure to manage the ego’s such as Mario Ballotelli and Carlos Tevez played a big part to give him the sack.
Another downside of this method is that mindless spending often leads to the purchasing of older players who have already proved themselves at the top level. At first sight this seems like a positive thing as it usually guarantees immediate results but brings about the problem of having to buy another pricey replacement a few years later. Suddenly the club is having to spend £50m+ every summer just to maintain their progress towards their goal of finishing in the top 4. It’s therefore extremely clear that the club would have to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, spenders in their respective league, something Liverpool aren’t capable of being unless there was a sizable investment from an outside source.
The final danger of spending big is the potential of damaging the traditions and culture of the club, something fans could be strongly against, especially at a club like Liverpool. Re-writing the image of a club is particularly prone to receiving abuse from clubs, as Chelsea has already shown (Voted the most hated Premier League club in June)
This transfer policy, implemented by clubs like PSG, Monaco, Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea and Manchester City is clearly too unsuitable and far too against the values of Liverpool as a traditional football club. So what methods are available? Star players from smaller clubs The most common method for trying to improve a team is targeting the ‘big fish in a small pond’ players and hoping that they keep their ‘big fish’ performances in a bigger pond. We see this attempted every transfer window and rarely does it work for Liverpool. We’ve been guilty of using it much more recently, since we’ve stopped attracting the best players from big clubs. Names like Charlie Adam, Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing all spring to mind. However, not always does this strategy end as badly as the aforementioned players have done. Jose Enrique, Lucas Leiva and Jordan Henderson are all first team regulars for the current squad. For other teams the same inconsistent success can be applied. Victor Moses, Demba Ba and, to an extent, Fernando Torres all fall under the underwhelming transfer category for Chelsea. But Chelsea have had successes like Liverpool. Gary Cahill and of course Frank Lampard both continue to impress with the latter claiming legendary status.
So why are clubs so inconsistent when using this transfer method? One theory I put forward is that all hinges on the mentality of the player being signed. If the player views the move as an opportunity to shine on the world stage and relishes each chance they get to represent their new club, they are likely to do well. Even if initially the quality of the player is lacking, the effort they put in week-in-week-out will assure their popularity with the fan base.
My prime example here is Jordan Henderson and, as he’s proved, technical ability can always be improved but you can’t teach the determination and desire to do well that he possesses. On the flip side, if a player comes to a club being apprehensive and without self-confidence their performances can severely suffer. A bad start can cause fans to raise doubts and in turn this pressure could send the player’s career spiralling out of control. This is exactly what I think happened to Torres at Chelsea and Downing at Liverpool. Mentality and personality is key to making the jump up from mid-table or lower to a club like Liverpool.
A club can’t always gauge how a player will react to being thrown in at the deep end which brings me to my final solution: Why not pick players who aren’t wanted at the even deeper end?
Big club rejects
Squad player. On the fringe. Surplus to requirements. There’s plenty of ways to describe a player who isn’t needed at a club. All these players are often given a lower price tag than they’re actually worth. But their bargain value isn’t the main reason Liverpool should go down the route of picking the scraps from wasteful teams like Chelsea and Manchester City.
The mentality of the player joining the club will always be to strive to impress having been stewing in one of Europe’s super giants for months or even years. They see the move going down as a chance to show the doubters they were wrong and to finally play some regular football. This ‘liberated’ mindset is key.
But it’s not just this that makes these kind of moves successful for both club and player. Having been trained and brought up alongside the players Liverpool aspire to have, it would be naïve to think that some of their brilliance hadn’t rubbed off onto the sold player. This usually guarantees the player has the right technical ability for Liverpool.
There isn’t a better example of this than a certain ex-Chelsea striker, Daniel Sturridge. At the time of writing the Englishman has scored 16 goals in 20 appearances for Liverpool and 11 in his last 9 games including a brace against Newcastle at Saint James’ park and a hat-trick against Fulham at Craven Cottage. It’s fair to say that Chelsea fans weren’t exactly distraught to see him leave and some Liverpool fans, including myself, weren’t exactly rejoicing either. The pessimists and doubters were soon silenced as Sturridge made a flying start to his Liverpool career and hasn’t dropped his form over the summer either despite sustaining an injury on international duty which saw him miss most of Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies. He’s also made use of his fellow teammate’s, Luis Suarez, 10 game ban early on this season by scoring the winning goal in each of the opening 3 Barclays Premier League games as well as a brace in midweek to secure a win in the second round of The League Cup against League 1 opposition, Notts County. Sturridge’s seemingly endless goals due to ruthless finishing, paired with his drive to prove himself is a super effective combination as demonstrated by his impressive performances.
Another example of this method bringing a quality player to Anfield is in Brendan Roodger’s second purchase of January 2013 for a bargain £8.5m from Inter Milan. Philippe Coutinho has since bewitched Liverpool fans with his deft touches, inch perfect passes and clever flicks. Just 6 months after joining Liverpool this magician beat Steven Gerrard to become the most popular name on the back of the new 13/14 kit (Although Stevie still makes his way onto the back of my own shirt). No doubt Coutinho, like Sturridge, felt wasted at his old club. His move to Liverpool surely felt like a chance to finally show how good he knew he was and this determination spurred him on to produce some fantastic football.
This brings me back to the original statement in my title. Why waste money on players who could buckle under the pressure of a move to Liverpool when you could spend less money on potentially more gifted players who would relish an opportunity to prove themselves? There would be no danger of the player feeling out of their comfort zone because they’d already spent years sitting in Europe’s best teams around the world’s best players, wondering when their next appearance would be. Granted, not every transfer from a smaller club ends badly, but the chances are Liverpool would be overpaying and could use the money a lot more wisely. Liverpool should look up for their transfers, not down.