Poll: Signing of the Season

By: Noel | May 17th, 2011

liverpool best signing suarez meireles carroll

This is a guest post from Nathan, aka. Grubb, former regular commenter here and current contributor to Paisley Gates. While you’re around, don’t forget to take part in yesterday’s Young Player of the Season poll.

One of my least favourite football phrases, guaranteed to make my teeth grind, is the age-old chestnut about football being “a game of two halves.” Maybe I resent its patronising, stating-the-obvious tone, or the ritual and meaningless way it’s slipped into half-time punditry. Maybe I despise the way it has become clichéd and boring, ranking alongside “football is the real winner today” in terms of overuse, and rivaling “the magic of the FA Cup” for sheer stupidity.

However this season has honestly been a season of two halves. Sloppy, unambitious and 12th in the league during early January, Liverpool have metamorphosed into a fluid, attacking side in the second half of the season, storming up the table and back into contention for Europe: a comeback of such remarkable proportions that it’s only been bettered by Jesus and Istanbul.

Each candidate for our Signing of the Season poll has played a significant part in revitalising Liverpool’s form and fortunes since those dark January days. Please vote for the candidate you think has been the best signing in the poll widget and we will collate the results next week. Remember you can vote once per day, so feel free to come back and vote again tomorrow if you so desire.

Without any further ado, the Signing of the Season candidates:

Raul Meireles celebrates his newly bald head

Raul Meireles
The only player from our list to have joined the club at the beginning of the season, Liverpool’s new number four endured a difficult start to his LFC career. With the team stumbling collectively as they tried to implement the rigid, organisational style of previous manager Roy Hodgson, Meireles struggled to integrate into his foreign surroundings. While it was clear from the beginning he was hard-working and intelligent with the ball, Meireles took time to adapt to the physical nature of Premier League midfield battles, and was often guilty of pulling out of contested tackles. With Hodgson unsure of Meireles’ best position, the Portuguese schemer was shunted out into unfamiliar territory in the wide midfield areas, and consequently looked out of his depth.

But as he acclimatised, Raul Meireles began to show his true worth. His outstanding stamina was acknowledged when he was named the fittest player in the Premier League, averaging 8.1 miles every game. Now a regular contributor at both ends of the field, Raul Meireles leads the team in chances created (58) and interceptions (65). He has also scored 5 goals and provided 5 assists – a very good contribution from midfield.

Luis Suarez: I just can’t get enough

Luis Suarez
One of the most eagerly anticipated attacking signings in my time as an LFC supporter, Luis Suarez finally joined Liverpool after 3 tense weeks of negotiations between LFC and his previous club Ajax. After scoring as a substitue on his debut against Stoke City, Suarez has gone from strength to strength in his short time at the club. Ambitious and enthusiastic, Suarez has demonstrated the never-say-die attitude Liverpool fans adore in their players, combining his tenacity with flair and skill beyond anything Liverpool have seen in the modern era. His assist for Kuyt’s opener against Manchester United at Anfield was one of the finest pieces of play I’ve seen from a Liverpool player, beating Rafael, Michael Carrick and Wes Brown before slotting through Edwin Van Der Sar’s legs for Kuyt to smash the ball home.

Suarez has contributed 4 goals and 3 assists from his 11 starts, but his key strength has been the movement, skill and awareness that brings the best out in his team mates. Maxi Rodriguez in particular seems to be benefitting from the space that Suarez and his ‘mayhem’ creates.

Carroll does his best Joe Cole impersonation

Andy Carroll
Liverpool’s most-expensive-ever signing at £35M, Andy Carroll joined the club in a last-minute merry-go-round switcheroo at the end of the January transfer window. With fans grieved by the treachery of F***nando Torres, it was difficult to get a grasp of just exactly what Liverpool had received for their money.

A physical centre forward, Carroll exceeded expectations in his debut Premier League season with Newcastle, amassing 11 goals in his 19 games – not a bad record for a previously untested 22 year old. However his Liverpool form has been less remarkable. Signed while nursing a minor injury, Carroll has taken time to recover his fitness, and shown only brief glimpses of his undoubted talent: while his brace against Manchester City helped ease some of the question marks, it will take sustained success in order to justify his massive transfer fee. With his fitness continually fluctuating, and the team seemingly unsure of how to integrate him without sacrificing the quality of their play, one can only assume we will see the best of Andy Carroll in the years to come.

Can you top this smile?

Kenny Dalglish
January 8, 2011. That was the day the tide turned. Roy Hodgson’s strict adherence to an inflexible system of play had yielded scarce fruit, and fans’ frustration with the dire football and the endless stream of pathetic justifications had hit an ugly, sour note. Owners FSG, true to their word, listened to the fans, and acted swiftly, installing club legend Kenny Dalglish as the interim manager. Never has a managerial choice been more perfectly suited to a club, throughout the history of football.

An inspirational figure, Kenny had captured the hearts and minds of Liverpool fans before, as both a player and a title-winning manager. More than any other, he embodies the ‘Liverpool Way’ beyond mere football. His fluid pass-and-move tactics may have reinvigorated the playing staff, but it is the restoration of club values and the dignity with which he conducts every element of his job which has reignited the passion of the fans and the hope we have for a glorious Red future. His appointment has been such a raging success in every aspect, that Director of Football Damien Comolli admitted it was a “no-brainer” to award him a 3 year contract last week, and secure the short term future of Liverpool FC as they seek to re-establish themselves amongst the elite teams in the Premier League once more.

If any man can make it happen, that man is King Kenny Dalglish.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: Premier League, Season Review, Special Features

« Missing Meireles | Home | Rafa’s Mini Cooper, Gerrard’s Future, and Other Tuesday Notes »

poorscouserbobby

On he field Suarez v Meireles is close. Meireles does lots of running as the statistics show, hence why he's a bit tired in the 70th minute. Suarez does more than his share and is certainly a creative player that we all love to see and can't wait til he does something again that just takes our collective breath away. Meireles is probably more important in getting the actual ball to Suarez and further up the field, passing defending he and lucas are the link. In a game where we should have been in the fight, the lack of Raul Meireles cost us dearly. Yes Suarez is huge to our goal scoring abilities but he can't do it without the support. All of that v The King... no contest. King Kenny!
RedDownUnda

A final word from me on what was a bloody difficult choice. The only way I could sort out any kind of decision was to reverse the problem - who, if we had NOT signed them, would we have missed the most? And that's easy - King Kenny. So without doubt, ipso facto, post partum, vice versa, ad infinitum and ave maria, Kenny is without doubt our best signing.
Ryan

Meireles. I don't exactly remember Suarez or Carroll doing anything for Liverpool the first 20 games of the season. You've got to respect Meireles for playing as good as he did. Think about it. He left FC Porto--where he could have played in the Europa League final and won a league title undefeated--to come kick a ball in shitty weather with Roy Hodgson and Konchesky.
INCABRUCE

Key word in this vote is SEASON. My vote goes to Meireles. Over the course of the entire season he has proved valuable- and even though he may have struggled at first it was clear that he had the goods since matchday 1.

I think in the longterm I would vote Suarez. And wouldn't consider Dalglish a signing - he is already the King.
Red2death

Inclined to say Kenny. But then it's hard to draw a clear conclusion because you can't really separate his arrival from the juxtaposition with Roy Hodgson. And of course any manager juxtaposed with Roy Hodgson...

But then for providing that outlet. And for making the team play like we knew they could all along (weak squad my arse), it's still Kenny for me.
Ravenilli

Although some commenters believe that KK wasn't a signing I believe he is and I had to give him my vote.

After that for player wise there would be no one better for a vote than Luis because even when both Meireles and Carroll where in the Europa league Luis was cup tied and he was trully missed from the team. One of the main reasons why I believe Liverpool dropped out of the cup.
Lynz

Where's the Joe Cole option?
Disappointment.
wak

poulsen anyone??
Ismael Jawad

Honestly, I wasn't expecting Dalglish to be thrown into the mix. He has done miracles since his second coming but I wouldn't consider him a "signing".

My vote goes to Meireles. It was pretty obvious on Sunday that he was integral to whatever plan Dalglish was trying to implement and with his absence our midfield seemed lost. Add to that his goals since the turn of the year including the winner against Chelsea at the Bridge. Hodgson might claim credit for signing him, but what's the good in buying a Ferrari when you don't know how to drive.

The tattoo addict gives you that feeling as if he has been at Liverpool for quite some time now which goes to show how much he has adjusted himself and how important he has become to the team since joining the Reds.
matt

i voted for suarez for the very reasons you listed above. didn't consider dalglish a signing, i don't know why but i guess it would make me feel like he wasn't here at some point which i guess is kinda true? idk just a ramble. also, meireles has been here since the start of the season which honestly feels like it was 4 seasons ago, incredible.

also: "a comeback of such remarkable proportions that it’s only been bettered by Jesus and Istanbul."

hell of a line, well done
Grubb

Thanks, I did make myself chuckle when I wrote it. But then I'm an idiot, so it's hard to know if the humour translates for normal people...

Cheers!
redtrev73

Like the man from France said...a "no-brainer". Rivalled only by Shanks in the pantheon of club greats, Kenny Dalglish IS Liverpool Football Club.
paul

"Never has a managerial choice been more perfectly suited to a club, throughout the history of football."

A little over the top perhaps? For us, I would say both Paisley and Shanks were better managers. Shanks built the empire without mega money, and Paisley was his coach before taking the club up to its peak. That's not to say KK won't be successful, time will tell.
Grubb

Yeah, agreed, totally over the top. Sorry. But I've not been this excited in a long time! Perhaps I should have said something about Paisley and Shanks. Might be giving away my relative noob-status, both by omitting such great managers, and by using the word 'noob'.
Ed

You left out "fail" though, which means you were close but still welcome. Three strikes and so on.
Grubb

And I should have combined 'fail' with 'epic', to produce an epic fail FTW.

FML.

Too much?
RedDownUnda

Man, this is difficult. How do you pick between Kenny, and Kenny, or Kenny, Kenny, Kenny, maybe Kenny, then there's Kenny, and of course, Kenny? But hey, it's got to be Kenny.

Swervez is a real prince, but Kenny is King.
KC

If KK wasn't there I would choose between Suarez and Meireles. But all those articles on the joy, happiness, pride and team spirit KK brings to Liverpool really doesn't make this much of a challenge. A great player can be stunted by a bad(ly suited) manager (Meireles by Hodgson) and therefore I can (kind of) assume that Suarez wouldn't be performing to the epicness he is now without the guidance of a great manager.

And also, KK was the one who got rid of a player who didn't want to be here which any lesser manager wouldn't have the courage to do since he was the player that Liverpool had built itself around.

And KK has grace but also sticks up for the team (Kenny vs Wenger).

So King Kenny for the win! :D
paul

If you're referring to Torres, he told the club he wanted out a couple of weeks or so before Chelsea came along. KK had very little control over it, other than playing hardball over cost and timing. Which he did *very* well. Roy would have bleated to the papers as soon as Torres Ltd said he was off, and then let him go for a very low fee. The club kept everything behind closed doors and Chelsea, who had probably tapped him up in the summer, had to do it by the book. We could have said "no", but when a player wants out and there's funny money on the table, it's an easy decision.

KK certainly won't take any crap directed at the club or players. That Wenger incident was absolutely brilliant. I think you'd have to go back to Souness to get a reaction like that from one of our managers, but Souey would have kicked him too.
INCABRUCE

What is your vote, Paul?
paul

Suarez for me. I just love players that get the ball and take on people, and a sprinkling of tricks and flicks, bake in an oven for the summer = CL qualification and a good cup run! Sometimes it looks like he has elastic between his boots and the ball.

I really like Raul too, even his early days under the Wubbish one he looked like our best player, but his classy ball movement wasn't being read by those around him. Life under Woy took stole the game from him (like all the other players!), at least until KK got them passing again. We're passing into players paths like the old days, not static balls and one over the defense to chase.

I disqualified KK because: 1. he was already an employee and changed roles within the company, and 2. he got an extension to the temporarily role. So he's more of a department changer and a promotion rather than real signing :D

---

It's going to be an interesting summer, a positive one for once! Gerrard will be back, I can't see Lucas getting dropped. Raul must surely start, Carroll will certainly be in with that price tag, Suarez must be a certain starter too, so where does that leave Kuyt and the illusive new winger(s)? If we do get one, someone is going to have to make way. Kuyt seems to be the first on the name sheet, and the others aren't really squad men. Raul is our glue, Lucas our ball winner. I hope we don't resort to "better give it to Gerrard" again, his pace has gone and he was pretty lazy at chasing / defender when he played this year.

We'll have to see how Gerrard starts. If he's slow, lazy and bitching at others in the side as he does, time for a new captain? We never really got to see him under KK, maybe he'll find his captain fantastic form again? Heck, maybe Agger will last more than 3 games too.
paul

Oh dear, sorry for all the typos. That'll teach me for being lazy and bouncing between windows.

But having just got back from eating out, I was telling (arguing) that we'll win 3-0 at Villa and the Spuds will only get 1-1 at home, thus, Europa distraction is ours :D
cheekyfellow

oooooohhh, suarez vs KK...sorry i'm plastered, this poll seems more dramatic than it should be.