I believe we spent so much on overvalued English players in summer was so we did it before the FFP comes into play. I believe Comolli and Kenny have come to the conclucion that when the FFP comes in English players value will jump even more.
Or at least when the FFP comes in and we have a limit on our spends:
We need 3 players to help boost our squad if we needed an English player for the quota then it would look like 25-30 mil on an english player and 2 - 7- 9 million pound players. Where as now we can just spend 25-30 mil on a world class player if available and 2 - 7- 9 million pound players.
So you see filling our quota now will give us a choice when back in the champions league and not having to spend on English players when our spends will be limited.
Agree with that in theory, although we'll have hardly saved money on our English choices as a whole, FFP or not. I am sure though that Henderson's market value would only go up if we hadn't come in at this stage, whatever fuss some people made, 'cause his qualities would continue to stand out more in a lesser team.
If we take it all apart...
Likely Liverpool squad 2012/138 homegrown senior players: Johnson*
Kelly
Spearing
Gerrard*
Henderson
Downing
Carroll
Bellamy*
8 non-homegrown senior players: Reina*
Skrtel*
Agger*
Enrique*
Coates
Lucas*
Adam
Suarez*
*top players right now, among the most effective in the league (allowing for occasional dips in form)
Then...
7 outstanding youth players, already given squad numbers, clearly considered by management as being close to earning more regular premier league football experience at some point in the not-too-distant future (most no younger than the likes of Gerrard, Fowler, McManaman, Owen, etc. when they broke into the first team): Robinson
Flanagan
Wisdom
Suso
Coady**
Shelvey
Sterling
**perhaps questionable on current form, recent developmental progress, competition for placesAnd you can maybe add the likes of Adorjan and Joao Carlos to that list sooner rather than later.
So that's 16 seniors so far, with the path to first team football of a further (let's say) five properly exceptional teenage talents left reasonably clear, just as it should be [Robinson at leftback; Wisdom at centreback; Suso in midfield; Shelvey in attacking midfield; Sterling on either wing - it's entirely arguable that right now we don't actually possess any senior equivalents in terms of sheer natural quality to Suso and Sterling]. Though they're not currently ready for the big time, and have the Nextgen competition and reserve games to focus on this term, next season is surely when we'll begin seeing a few of them getting regular cameos, which will lead to a few low-profile starts while seniors are rested if they manage to impress anything like as much as they have done against some quality youth opposition. A couple or so of them definitely stand out at that level, and if anything have been let down by a lack of similar quality throughout the rest of their team, or at least the other hot prospects not shining as brightly as expected.
21 valid starting/deputising options, then.
I haven't listed any back-up goalkeepers, so let's just say Doni makes it 22. I've assumed Jones, Carragher, Aurelio, Maxi and Kuyt will have left. If we sign just 3 more players (I want a midfielder, a real winger, and a goalscorer, kthx), then there's your magic number 25, with the under-21 contingent being no less valid playing options really than the likes of Spearing, Downing, Kelly, Coates, etc. The experience they currently lack is all there to be gained - you either wilt in the sun, or blossom with the sudden pressure like Kelly and Robinson did. In fact, a few of those boys could well tear shit up in a way the seniors haven't been able to on occasion, as long as they're adequately protected by their teammates and referees.
Am I doing it wrong? I suppose I sort of understand where Abrak's coming from about what the owners' primary role should be in regards to our 25-man squad allowance, but why is it necessary to deliberately block the path of our brightest youth products with senior journeymen? Only 11 men are out on the pitch at the starting whistle of every game, and at least 6 of them are damn near permanent fixtures in our side. We'd realistically only properly utilise around 19 or 20 players in a single season, even if we were rotation-mad.
Apart from a couple of fairly poor choices in terms of judgment of individual quality, our owners' overall approach to senior transfers so far is quite alright. Suarez, Henderson, Enrique and Adam were all very decent bits of business. We went crazy with the Torres cash, but regardless, Carroll can still become a very strong, effective player for us. How Downing's turned out for the most part might well dissuade FSG from the Buy British thing, seeing as Luis and Jose have been the ones to really make spots in our best xi their own - I don't imagine we'll see us shelling out top dollar for another English player over 24, at least not anytime soon.
Being optimistic, in the summer I expect us to attempt to buy both a striker and right winger to replace Kuyt, perhaps bring through Sterling to put some pressure on Downing, and maybe also augment our midfield with a steely type, to ease the burden on Lucas, free up Gerrard/Adam/Henderson to concentrate on creative play, and to compete with them and Spearing for starts. Kelly, Coates, Wisdom, Robinson and Flanagan will be tasked with deputising for the now-immovable back four, and I doubt we'll bring in any more defenders over 21 unless we have big injury concerns. If those 2 or 3 additions are real quality, we'll have a pretty strong side and a pretty serviceable squad, regardless of how many spaces are left untaken by pretty pointless 'fillers'. Sometimes we panic because when the few cracks in the team get expoited (lack of cold steel in the centre of midfield, poor service from wide areas, shocking conversion rate), it spoils the absolutely awesome foundations (how well the new back 5 complement each other's strengths, Lucas' [sorely-missed] ubiquity, Gerrard's drive, Suarez's invention, etc).