Analysis of our Transfer Window business.

Now that the transfer window is closed its a good idea to have a look at the playing squad we are left with to see if we can analyse the impact our dealings have had on the playing squad. Notice I have not said how Roy Hodgsons dealings have impacted the playing squad because its pretty unclear right now as to how much control Roy actually has over the transfers. I am sure he is responsible for some of the business we did but when discussing Insua's possible transfer shortly after his arrival Roy said "I saw him play in the last three days and I like him both as a player and on a personal level. However, talks with Fiorentina started before I got here, so I don’t know how advanced they are. I cannot say if Insua will stay at Liverpool or not. I’ll have to discuss that with the club." This does kind of imply that he may not be 100% in charge of our transfer policy.

OUTBOUND:

The main exit from the Club was Javier Mascherano who went to Barcelona for (reported but unofficial £22m).

Alberto Aquilani left the club on an initial 12-month loan which Juventus have the option to make permanent for£13.2m


Mikel San José, Yossi Benayoun, Martin, Albert Riera, Diego Cavalieri and Krisztian Németh brought in a total of £15.9m in from transfer fees.

Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic were used as part exchange in the deal which brought Paul Konchesky to Liverpool.

At the time of writing Emiliano Insua is still a Liverpool player but reports say he is in Galatasaray to tie up a deal, the window stays open accross most of mainland Europe until 12 tonight so that deal could still very well be completed. At the same time this could end up being an initial loan deal.


INBOUND:

Our main piece of business, or at least highest value, and highest profile was the £11.5 paid to Porto to being Raul Meireles to Anfield.

Milan Jovanovic and Joe Cole both arrived on Free Transfers (Bosman Ruling).

Brad Jones, Jonjo Shelvey, Danny Wilson and Christian Poulson were all brought in for a combined value of about £10.5m, however the fee for Wilson could rise if he hits certain targets laid out in the terms of his transfer.

Paul Konchesky arived in exchange for Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic.



Analysis:

When analysing our transfers I try to keep in mind the current ownership situation. I always defended Rafa Benitez's transfer dealings because of the constraints he was forced to work under, due to the disrgraceful tenure of Waldorf and Statler (or Hicks and Gillet as they are sometimes know) and this situation has not improved at all for Roy Hodgson.

With regard to our reserve and prospect dealing I feel our transfers have improved us slightly. We may have lost a few players who were prospects and may go on to have decent careers, Nemeth in particular certainly impressed at times for the reserves and who is a prospect, but the 25% of any future transfer fees certainly means that should he fulfil his potential we will still recoup some of our losses. The players we brought in, Wilson and Shelvey both arrive with a lot of experience for their age. Shelvey just completed a season where he starred in the 1st division for Charlton and Wilson was named Rangers young player of the year. Hopefully both players can go on to become regular members of the red's first team squad.
With their transfer fees pretty similar we basically swapped Brazilian Diego Cavalieri for Austalian Brad Jones. I believe both keepers are of a pretty similar in standard and in fairness nobody would expect to have a keeper who actually expects to challenge Pepe Reina for his place. Our reserve keeper needs to be professional enough to be ready if called upon but happy enough to warm the bench and i think we have a keeper who will do this job.

Its harder to judge our first team transfer business. Joe Cole coming in on a free was certainly a good piece of business, he has premier league experience and comes with a winning mentality, he is 29 and so should be right in his prime and ready to fit in immediately. If you take Joe as a direct replacement for the departed Yossi Benayoun, you would have to consider this an upgrade. Jovanovic is an experienced international player who can play a number of positions. Already he has looked a hardworking player with a decent touch. Although he is being played wide on the left he is not a natural winger. He is however a tough and disciplined player who can definitely be useful to us in games against stronger opposition where midfield battles are essential. We did lose Albert Rieira who would have been an option in this position but although he was a natural winger was inconsistent at best, lazy at worst, he was to inclined to moan to the press and there were some rumoured discipliary problems in the changing room so it should be greeted as good news that he has left.
Losing Insua and gaining Paul Konchesky is a strange one. I am aware that a lot of people felt that Insua was a weak link in our defence last year and although at times his naivity was exposed it is worth bearing in mind that he was 21 years old and given a lot more responsibility than he should have been due to injuries to Aurelio. Konchesky is a decent left back who has never really been tried at the top level. Although I dont think he is a great player or will improve us, he will offer decent cover and competition for places, also its important for managers to half certain players they know inside out and can trust 100% and this is obviously the case between Roy and Paul (rumour has it that Konchesky was just about to sign for Birmingham  in June but decided to pull out when Roy whispered in his ear that he may be in line for the Liverpool job and if he got it he would do everything he could to bring him with) I am dissapointed to lose a player who i feel will improve overtime in Insua but really I dont feel we have been weakened in this position for this season.

In midfield we lost Mascherano, or should I say he finally succeeded in forcing his way out of the club. In fairness to Mascher I loved him as a Liverpool player and felt he always gave 100% when on the pitch. He is one of the best players in his position in the world so any team will be weaker for having lost him, however he wanted to leave and so once that was clear we could never really force him to stay. His family were not happy in Liverpool and were living in Buesnos Airies so its only fair that he decided to move to keep them happy. I wish we had gotten more money for him but it appears that even if we had that money would not have been put back into the transfer kitty so it doesnt really matter. We also lost Aquilani who never really made an impact at Liverpool. In fairness his first season at the club was disrupted by injuries then a number of illnesses and then the fact of our season going so poor that Rafa couldnt put him in as often as he would have liked. Aquilani is clearly a quality player who maybe had not adapted to English football 100% but would certainly have been a useful option to have in our squad. I cant really understand letting him go on loan meaning we cannot get a replacement but lose a quality player. As defensive midfielder we brought in Christian Poulson, a good experienced player who Roy worked with earlier in his career. I feel Poulson is a decent player but not immediately a first team regular. I would have been happier to see him come in as an addition to, but not replacement for Mascherano. Raul Meireles who I feel is very exciting in that it seems he will give us a new option and not simply be a replacement for any one player who is leaving the club. He is a box to box dynamic type player who loves a tackle and can use the ball very well.  He could give the side better balance when playing beside either Lucas or Poulson as a player looking to create chances rather than simply retain possession.

Over all I feel we have a decent balance to our side after this transfer window. I would have preferred for us to bring in another striker to help take the weight off Nando and to a lesser extent Ngog but at the same time i am glad we didnt end up paying over the odds for a player such as Carlton Cole just to add an extra body. We have certainly added experience to our first team. I am excited to see how the players gel and how the balance works, if the new players settle quickly we could see some exciting football at Anfield. Some of the problems from last year remain insofar as we are short on numbers and after the first team there is not much strength in depth but if we stay injury free we are a match for any team in the league. Three points against West Brom were a good start but with trickier fixtures coming up we need to hit the ground running.