A little over a month ago, I conducted an interview with Ben Lyttleton, and he made the following point:
“I was very wary when the first two players (Brendan) Rodgers signed were Fabio Borini and Joe Allen: to me that sent out a message that he needed his own people around him.”
Ben seemed to suggest that bringing in familiar players was almost Brendan’s safety blanket, which could be a concern for Liverpool. Now, Brendan Rodgers isn’t the first manager to sign a player from an old club, in fact is is fairly commonplace. I think Ben was suggesting that Liverpool didn’t actually need these type of players, but Brendan needed to get players in who understood what he wants from his players.
It’s tough to criticise the manager for this, after all he was making a change to Liverpool’s style of play (albeit a change that isn’t as dramatic as some would have you believe, after all Liverpool fans have been raised watching sides keep the ball). Joe Allen started really well before he hit a patch of poor form, which may or may not be related to his injury and it’s tough to judge Borini on his handful of appearances.
I had no problems with Liverpool signing these two players at the time, as I think introducing players familiar with the manager’s preferred style made sense. Not only would they be able to slot straight in, they could also help other players come to terms with the changes.
What I do have a problem with is Liverpool looking to sign Ashley Williams in the summer. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticising Williams as a player – I actually rate him higher than most fans I’ve spoken to – I just feel this is another ‘safety blanket’ move by the manager.
Rodgers has had almost a season to get the side used to his style and methods, so he can’t justify saying Williams knows the system/style etc. That doesn’t wash for me. The whole squad should by now know what’s expected of them, so if a new member of the squad comes in, surely he’ll find it much easier to adapt? After all, the coaching staff should be confident in their abilities to get one player integrated into our system/style of play. They managed to get a retiring Jamie Carragher to change his game, so surely they could do the same with any potential new players?
If you believe the reports, Liverpool could end up paying up to £12m for Williams. It does seem a high figure but the justification to spend it is fine if Rodgers believes that Williams is the best defender he can get for that price, but I’m positive that isn’t the case. Instead, Williams is a familiar face and is familiar with the managers methods and signing him seems the easy option.
Sometimes the easy option is the best option. In this case? I’m not so sure it is.
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