After last night’s cracking win against Tottenham which
featured no less than six of Rodgers’ summer signings, two of which made the score
sheet, I feel there is no better time than to evaluate their progress.
It’s no secret that Liverpool initially struggled after the
departed Suarez made fans realise just how important he was to the side that
went so close last season. However with what seemed to be a promising start to
the new campaign, with wins over Southampton and an impressive 3-0 triumph away
from home against Tottenham, all seemed rosy and the Suarez hangover seemed to
be non-existent.
In spite of this, the injury to Daniel Sturridge ruling him
out for an initial few months really rocked Liverpool’s bright start which conversely
led to disappointing performances in the League and Champions League. By the
midway point of the season after 19 league games, we were languishing down in 8th
place, yet only five points off the top four, but after being knocked out of
the Champions League, a keeper in Mignolet devoid of confidence, a misfiring
Balotelli, things looked bleak.
It seems that Rodgers and Liverpool have turned over a new
leaf since the New Year; unbeaten in the eight league games, a system that
actually seems to be working and a completely revitalised goalkeeper.
This brings me to the summer signings. Having been subject
to much criticism in the early stages, it seems that a few have stepped up to
the proverbial plate. This is a run-down on how I feel they’ve coped.
1)
Dejan Lovren - £20m - Southampton
Excitement rippled through the Liverpool
faithful at the announcement of the signing of Dejan Lovren from Southampton,
finally a defensive leader to replace a great void left by Jamie Carragher’s
retirement. After an impressive debut season in England, few eyebrows were
raised at the £20million fee and he was seen as a great signing. However it
seems to have all gone wrong for him. Mistake after mistake, poor decisions and
the fact he can’t get into a side with three centre backs in the formations
tells its own story. There may be a future at Anfield for him, but performances
have to be much better.
3/10.
2)
Javier Manquillo - Loan - Atletico Madrid
Signed from Atletico Madrid, the young
right back was brought in to provide extra competition and back up to Glen
Johnson. From the outset it looked like it would take time for him to settle
in. A few solid displays to begin with filled fans with hope, however after
only being played for a limited amount of games, his progress had stagnated and
it’s easy to see why Atletico let him go on loan. Not blessed with a huge
amount of pace, although no slouch, the physicality of English football seems a
huge step up. Rodgers must see something in him if he was brought in on a 2
year loan deal, it’s only early days.
4/10.
3)
Mario Balotelli - £16m - AC Milan
Similarly to Lovren, the controversial
Italian arrived with a great reputation, certainly for his talent, if we ignore
all the shenanigans that come with it. The £16million fee represented what was
a bargain for a player of such talent and potential (a word that’s thrown
around like a rag doll nowadays) even though there was an element of risk.
Finally Rodgers got his man, a big name signing to fill Suarez’s shoes. Soon
after though, everything came crashing back down to earth, no Premier League
goals until last night’s winner against Tottenham and a number of abject and
lazy performances to boot. His performances
have even led him to be dropped from the squad all together even though he’s
been fit. The goal last night will certainly help confidence but saying he’s
back, I’m not convinced.
4/10.
4)
Rickie Lambert - £4m - Southampton
Another raid on Southampton left us with
Rickie Lambert, a boy-hood Liverpool fan coming to the club in his swan-song
years to plug a hole in the squad and add a further attacking option. A fairy tale
ending to his career it would seem. Although his performances haven’t been awful,
the lack of goals have been a concern to many having only netted 3 times in all
competitions since joining, this can of course be attributed to lack of opportunities.
He is a player who shows passion to wear the shirt and I like him, he just
seems to lack that bit of quality necessary and with Sturridge’s return to
fitness, chances look even slimmer for the big target man.
5/10.
5)
Lazar Markovic - £20m - Benfica
One of Europe’s most exciting talents,
comparisons in terms of ability to Messi and Ronaldo, I was hugely excited but
this signing. Even though I had never previously watched him, this was high
praise indeed, and like most football fans I checked his stats on FIFA –
lightning pace. His performances flattered to deceive on many occasions in his
budding Liverpool career, looking weak and off the pace. I began to wonder what
the fuss was about as he looked every bit the player that Chelsea turned down a
year previous for £12million, and it’s unlike Chelsea to turn down the chance
to sign a winger! Remember Salah? Performances have picked up as of late in his
new wing-back role and a couple of goals suggest that he is acclimatising gradually.
At such a young age (still 20) there is still huge potential to be fulfilled.
Time will tell.
6/10.
6)
Adam Lallana - £25m - Southampton
There seems to be a theme here, another
Southampton player! If you offered me Lallana, one of the best performing English
players last season, I would have shaken your hand. However the £25m price tag
for a 26 year old with only one outstanding season under his belt, questions
were raised, although this is standard practice for English players – massively
overpriced. His performances have been steady, an injury right before the
season kicked off didn’t help but 4 goals and a few sparkling performances, for
instance against Swansea at home in a 4-1 victory, shows glimpses that he’s
worth the huge price tag.
6/10.
7)
Alberto Moreno - £12m - Sevilla
A left back was a priority for Liverpool in
the summer and the Europa League winning Spanish international 22 year old
seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Fast,
aggressive, brave, the defensive version of Jordi Alba were all descriptions I
read about the player, perfect! After his debut against Man City, a solid
performance even though he was at fault for their opening goal that night, it
became apparent he was not the defensive version of Jordi Alba. Although very
good at recovery tackles using his blistering pace, his positioning lets him
down and is often found wondering too far forward and is subsequently caught
out. Like Markovic, the new wing-back role seems to suit him well with slightly
less defensive responsibility allowing him to maraud forward as he loves to, he
seems like a very good little player.
7/10.
8)
Emre Can - £10m - Bayer Leverkusen
After signing him and reading that he
turned down Bayern Munich, I thought he must be good. Another player I knew
very little about, I was impressed with his performances from day one. The man
looks built for the Premier League. To begin with his chances were few and far
between with Rodgers persisting with Joe Allen in the middle when I, like many,
were crying out for Emre to be given a chance. Sure enough a start against
Chelsea and a goal in the first 10 minutes, get in! Even though we lost that
game, I was excited by what I saw. Composed of the ball, good passer and strong
and excelling in an unfamiliar position currently at centre back, he is without
a doubt the best signing Liverpool made this summer. He has the potential to be
even better too when moved into his rightful position in the middle of the
park, maybe the long term replacement to Steven Gerrard? Exciting times.
8/10.
So there we have it, a lowdown on my views of how Liverpool’s
summer signings are currently doing and how I rate them. Of course it’s early
days but we’re beyond the midway point of the season which is enough to grasp
how they’re performing. Yes, I’m aware I mentioned Suarez a few times, I miss
him, I would have let him bite my nan to keep him if that’s what it took.
Obviously I haven’t wrote about our ninth signing of the
summer Divock Origi from Lille as he hasn’t actually played for the club, so
judgement will be reserved.
Thanks for reading, feel free to comment if you agree or
disagree with what has been said or the ratings and let me know what you think!
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