No Gray Areas - Carroll is a great buy
What a week that was! Who could possibly have predicted that was going to happen in the manner in which it did?
Yes, my friends, Fernando Torres has left Liverpool to join Chelsea.
We'll probably never know exactly how it all happened but we can speculate that it went something like this...
Having watched Torres look out of sorts and disillusioned for most of the season, Kenny Dalglish asked the striker if he wanted to leave the club.
The answer clearly wasn't a resounding "yes" so the powers-that-be at Liverpool got together and decided that they were prepared to sell him if their asking price was matched and they were sure they could get a suitable replacement before the close of the transfer window.
They inquired about Andy Carroll and when Newcastle and the player made all the right noises about being in favour of the sale, Liverpool told Chelsea they were prepared to sit down and talk business regarding Torres. The exit of Torres was clearly dependent on the arrival of Carroll.
Are Liverpool better or worse off, all things considered? That's for you to decide but in Andy Carroll Liverpool have bought a player who is already a star and will get better and better.
He's the future of the football club just like he's the future of England. And that was a significant factor in all this. Every Premier League club loves to have players in their side who are stars of the national team and that's something Kenny understands better than most.
Speaking of which, those who suggested the Liverpool legend had been too long out of the game to be able to take over as manager of Liverpool FC need to think again and now that the club have sorted out their transfer activity, the next step is for sign Kenny a long-term deal. Not only have performances and results improved on the pitch but he's also managed to attract two top players to come to the club in his short time there.
And why wouldn't those two and other international stars want to come and play for him? He's one of the greatest players ever to have been born on these shores, a true Kop legend and was a highly successful manager at both Liverpool and Blackburn.
How Kenny plays Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in the same side is one of the big decisions he'll need to make. I suspect Carroll will be employed as the big target man just as he was at Newcastle with Suarez playing just behind him. I've said before I think Steven Gerrard's best position is as an all-action midfielder but it may be that we see the skipper employed on the right with Raul Meireles and Lucas playing through the middle. In any case, exciting times indeed at Liverpool!
As for Torres, I think in the long-term we'll see him play in a Chelsea 4-4-2 with Ramires and Florent Malouda playing either side of Michael Essien and Frank Lampard. Who will play upfront with Torres over the next few seasons? Your guess is as good as mine.
Of the other big transfers that took place, I think Aston Villa's signing of Darren Bent was a real coup and I'm also expecting great things of Obafemi Martins at Birmingham, a transfer that went somewhat under the radar but could really re-ignite their season.
A final word on Blackpool. As it happens, they brought in a few new faces, but the most significant action they took revolves around someone who didn't go out. Keeping Charlie Adam at the club will probably be worth a lot more money than any transfer fee they could have got for him because, whereas I think they would have struggled to stay up without him, they've got every chance of doing that with him.
Published: 6 Feb 2011
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