Apparently they name hurricanes using men and women’s names, working their way sequentially through the alphabet.
After Irene left a trail of havoc up the eastern seaboard of America, I don’t know what happened to Jose but there’s no mistaking that Hurricane Kenny swept through Anfield in the last fortnight, carrying away lots of dead wood and depositing things in unlikely settings.
Not many people would have expected to find Craig Bellamy on their doorstep once the dust settled, and a giant Uruguayan made a welcome change to the hordes of Spanish donkeys which have landed in previous violent cyclones.
Inevitably, some inhabitants have chosen to move on, putting the wreckage of their Anfield careers behind them, and start again somewhere in a less demanding environment.
When they survey the aftermath of the last two transfer windows, most fans will be pretty happy that most of their boxes have been ticked.
Left-back who can tackle as well as career blindly up the wing? Check.
Left-winger who slings in crosses that don’t end up in Row Z? Check.
Stop paying ridiculous wages to average players just because they were free transfers? Check.
Only time will tell, but the squad looks of higher quality and better balance than before Kenny returned, if only because having a left foot seems no longer regarded as the modern equivalent of the Black Spot.
We missed out on the likes of Jones, Young and Mata, maybe, but that’s going to be our lot until we get back into the Champions’ League I’m afraid.
But Kenny has strengthened the squad to the point where we’re starting to discuss how he will fit them all in, and who’ll play where, which is a much better place to be than looking in despair at the bench when we’re 1-0 down and wondering who will make a difference.
As always, some of the new players will hit the ground running and others will need a bit of time to settle in. Adam, Downing and Enrique seem to be coming on nicely while Henderson might need some patience before we see the best of him, though he showed encouraging signs against Bolton.
Suarez of course lit up the Premier League from almost his first touch, while the focus is now starting to fall on Andy Carroll and how he might fit into the pass-and-move style that Kenny is reintroducing. Some fans are beginning to question his worth after an indifferent start, but this is surely wildly premature.
Two parallels from the late 80s spring to mind.
When Kenny signed Barnes and Beardsley, Barnes was an instant success but Beardsley took his time to settle before producing some sparkling stuff. And in that same side John Aldridge flourished despite having to bear the brunt of pompous criticism that he was not on the same level as the rest of the side.
There’s no shame in being the big bloke who smacks it into the net when others have done all the pretty stuff.
Fabio Capello’s resurrection of Carroll’s ‘lifestyle’ and fitness issues are timely reminders to Andy that he still has plenty to do to fulfil his undoubted promise. It’ll be a great shame if a lack of application costs him. He only has to look at one of his new colleagues to see how a potentially brilliant career can be undermined by a fiery temperament and indiscipline.
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