September 1 2009 should be a date all Liverpool fans remember. Transfer deadline day was the time when it became abundantly clear that cash really is in short supply at Anfield.
Rafa Benitez had of course hinted as much in recent weeks as he played down the chances of making any more acquisitions before the window slammed shut.
However, there was always the hope that the American owners would relent and loosen their grip on the Anfield purse strings.
After all, the opening weeks of the season have highlighted concerns about the lack of depth in Benitez’s squad, but any call for extra funds clearly fell on deaf ears.
Even the speculation about possible new recruits this time lacked any sense of credibility.
The Sky Sports News crew got very excited about a possible loan switch for Spurs’ David Bentley on deadline day but that was never on the cards.
Some optimistic fans clung to the belief that a deal had been done with Valencia for David Villa and that was why the number seven shirt had been left vacant all summer.
The stories linking Benitez with a swoop for Real Madrid’s Arjen Robben could swiftly be consigned to the bin as soon as it became known he had a £20million tag.
Striker David Trezeguet was another ‘on the verge’ of making the move to Anfield after nine years with Juventus. He was apparently available for ‘just’ £5million.
It wasn’t difficult separating the fact from the fiction because Benitez had nothing to spend.
He was told there was £1.5million left in his pot after Alberto Aquilani was snapped up and all that went on signing Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos.
Keen to avoid another bust-up with Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the Spaniard has opted to keep his thoughts about his transfer kitty to himself.
But one look at his summer dealings makes a mockery of claims that Benitez is operating on a level playing field to his rivals.
The Liverpool manager has traditionally been given £20million each year to spend on new recruits plus whatever he could raise from moving players on.
However, this summer he has had to balance the books.
The sale of Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, Sebastian Leto and youngsters Adam Hammill, Jack Hobbs and Paul Anderson generated around £38million.
Aquilani and Glen Johnson were brought in at a cost of around £36million with centre-back Kyrgiakos following after the price of Ryan Shawcross and Michael Turner forced the manager to look at cheaper options.
Of course, strictly speaking Benitez has returned a profit as the amount the Reds actually had to hand over for Johnson was greatly reduced because Portsmouth still owed most of the £10million they agreed to pay for Peter Crouch.
And although the Aquilani deal could rise to £20million, only £4.3million was paid up front with further payments to follow in January and next June.
Benitez has been told that a big chunk of available funds was taken up by the new contracts given to the likes of Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger and Dirk Kuyt.
There are also fears that cash has been redirected to fund the owners’ recent refinancing deal and crippling interest payments.
Only time will tell if the lack of financial backing will wreck hopes of going one better than last season. If it does a great opportunity will have been missed.
The result is that Benitez must battle on with what he’s got and hope those on the fringes finally rise to the challenge.
Ryan Babel is one of those who have consistently failed to live up to expectations since he arrived for £11million two years ago.
His comments this week that Benitez has ‘broken promises’ about playing him more often this season beggar belief.
Babel was gifted a big chance to impress at Spurs on the opening weekend but he blew it and was equally wretched when he came off the bench against Aston Villa.
The manager has shown remarkable patience with the under-performing winger but it must be wearing thin.
It’s just a shame the Dutchman waited until after the window closed before revealing he wants to return to his homeland.
If Babel had been sold then Benitez might have been able to use the money to bring in someone who truly appreciates what it means to pull on a red shirt.
Rafa Benitez had of course hinted as much in recent weeks as he played down the chances of making any more acquisitions before the window slammed shut.
However, there was always the hope that the American owners would relent and loosen their grip on the Anfield purse strings.
After all, the opening weeks of the season have highlighted concerns about the lack of depth in Benitez’s squad, but any call for extra funds clearly fell on deaf ears.
Even the speculation about possible new recruits this time lacked any sense of credibility.
The Sky Sports News crew got very excited about a possible loan switch for Spurs’ David Bentley on deadline day but that was never on the cards.
Some optimistic fans clung to the belief that a deal had been done with Valencia for David Villa and that was why the number seven shirt had been left vacant all summer.
The stories linking Benitez with a swoop for Real Madrid’s Arjen Robben could swiftly be consigned to the bin as soon as it became known he had a £20million tag.
Striker David Trezeguet was another ‘on the verge’ of making the move to Anfield after nine years with Juventus. He was apparently available for ‘just’ £5million.
It wasn’t difficult separating the fact from the fiction because Benitez had nothing to spend.
He was told there was £1.5million left in his pot after Alberto Aquilani was snapped up and all that went on signing Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos.
Keen to avoid another bust-up with Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the Spaniard has opted to keep his thoughts about his transfer kitty to himself.
But one look at his summer dealings makes a mockery of claims that Benitez is operating on a level playing field to his rivals.
The Liverpool manager has traditionally been given £20million each year to spend on new recruits plus whatever he could raise from moving players on.
However, this summer he has had to balance the books.
The sale of Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, Sebastian Leto and youngsters Adam Hammill, Jack Hobbs and Paul Anderson generated around £38million.
Aquilani and Glen Johnson were brought in at a cost of around £36million with centre-back Kyrgiakos following after the price of Ryan Shawcross and Michael Turner forced the manager to look at cheaper options.
Of course, strictly speaking Benitez has returned a profit as the amount the Reds actually had to hand over for Johnson was greatly reduced because Portsmouth still owed most of the £10million they agreed to pay for Peter Crouch.
And although the Aquilani deal could rise to £20million, only £4.3million was paid up front with further payments to follow in January and next June.
Benitez has been told that a big chunk of available funds was taken up by the new contracts given to the likes of Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger and Dirk Kuyt.
There are also fears that cash has been redirected to fund the owners’ recent refinancing deal and crippling interest payments.
Only time will tell if the lack of financial backing will wreck hopes of going one better than last season. If it does a great opportunity will have been missed.
The result is that Benitez must battle on with what he’s got and hope those on the fringes finally rise to the challenge.
Ryan Babel is one of those who have consistently failed to live up to expectations since he arrived for £11million two years ago.
His comments this week that Benitez has ‘broken promises’ about playing him more often this season beggar belief.
Babel was gifted a big chance to impress at Spurs on the opening weekend but he blew it and was equally wretched when he came off the bench against Aston Villa.
The manager has shown remarkable patience with the under-performing winger but it must be wearing thin.
It’s just a shame the Dutchman waited until after the window closed before revealing he wants to return to his homeland.
If Babel had been sold then Benitez might have been able to use the money to bring in someone who truly appreciates what it means to pull on a red shirt.
1 comment:
I saw the interview with Babel on Dutch tv, and he said that Rafa couldn't sell because he wouldn't have been allowed to spend the money raised from the sale. The best option was to just keep as many players here as possible. So Babel is just as much a victim as Benitez. The competition on the left is tough, he's got Benayoun, Riera and even Dossena to compete with. Maybe he should start competing with Kuyt for the place on the right. He did well there last year at PSV.
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