Ahhh, another transfer window, more underwhelming investment, yet again some on here helpfully explaining that the relative lack of investment isn't, and everything is hunky dory.
Last summer was a lengthy series of back and forths on this forum, with some calling for investment and others explaining why it wasn't needed. All the voices saying there is no need to invest now, said the same thing last summer, all the way through the window, when, right at the end, Liverpool suddenly bought three players all in one go. Those who had said Liverpool didn't need players suddenly changed their tune, but that tune was "see, nothing to worry about".
The problem then, even more so this summer, is no longer the gaps in the squad (that still persist in terms of depth) but the age profile; Liverpool have 10 players, key players at that, in the 29-30+ bracket that need replacing in the medium to long-term. Jota was certainly in that mould, but Thiago was an elderstatesman and Tsimikas made 2 appearances in the league, in a year when the backline was devestated. So, only one of those three felt useful in the medium-to-long term.
The season started in 2020 and things were a little shakey, but ok. Then the injuries in key areas mounted and suddenly Liverpool were in dire straits. Come Christmas the holes were patched but still leaking, but the bigger iussue was tiredness, with key players rapidly running out of steam. This is not unusual in an aging sqaud with a lot of mileage. Enter the winter of our discontent and the fans are screaming for CBs in the transfer market.
Again, some were saying that LFC did not need transfers (often those who had said the same in the summer, right up until the point where players were brought in), as they believed Phillips and Williams would save the day, they were the future in fact. A month later, Liverpool are on the floor and at the last minute some cheap transfers occur, Kabak and Davies, and patch over the problems once more.
Again, those who had said at the start of the window that transfers were not necessary suddenly change tack and decide that these transfers mean no more problems. However, Kabak has already ended his loan and Davies has not even appeared once on the pitch (and is likely to move on).
So we come to this summer and so far just the one transfer, Konate. And again, people are saying if Liverpool end the summer without making any more transfers it will have been a good summer. Maddening.
The same problems that were there last summer are still here this summer, only more so. Liverpool need players to come in so that older players can be phased out. Last year's collapse was as much about the minutes in the legs as those missing with injury. The fundamental problem is that Liverpool's squad is old and needs a replacement plan, not desperately jumping from window to window filling gaps.
The year before Liverpool won the CL the club spent £160m on players. The following year again they did the same, and that enormous investment over those years resulted in two major honours. Since then the club has dramatically curtailed player investment and that is beginning to hurt.
This summer, I, like many other fans, hoped to see investment in the future. Konate is a start, but that was the buy that should have happened in January, effectively replacing Kabak. Had he come in then, the club wouldn't be dependent on three CBs coming back from long-term injury hitting the ground running at the start of the coming season.
Wijnaldum has left. "Hurrah", some say "more minutes for Elliott and Jones." But that means dropping the team's level to where those players currently are at. In time they may reach Wijnaldum's level, but if they were that good already, they already would have done so. So, just to get back to where Liverpool were at the end of the league last season, scraping 4th, they at least need one player to get to Wijnaldum's level, or more realistically bring in a replacement. After that, you need Gomez, Matip and VDV to get back up to speed to at least get them to where they were 2 seasons ago. And that still doesn't address the problem of an aging squad needing medium-term replacments of an equivalent level... and that is just to keep Liverpool competitive.
United, the team that finished ahead of Liverpool in second last season, have already signed a major star in Sancho and are looking to bring in Varane. Liverpool fans believe that once key personnel come back Liverpool will magically and effortlessly leap past them. It never works quite like that.
It feels like the ownership are wasting their most valuable asset, namely Klopp, asking him to do a Benitez and work magic with lesser lights. But he has proven that given the best players he gets the best results. I, for one, will be massively disappointed if Liverpool and FSG fail to adequately invest this summer and allow the team to meander forward into another season of getting by rather than competing.
