Renewals in Defense, Gerrard Out for Asia, and Other Thursday Notes

By: Ed | July 7th, 2011

adammedical As a fair few mentioned yesterday, one of the residual effects of the Charlie Adam really for real this time medical is that we can stop talking about what might actually be happening. We saw him arriving with Kenny Dalglish, we saw him getting all checked out by Zaf Iqbal in the Melwood training room, and soon enough we’ll see him putting pen to paper. The days of wondering if anything would actually happen are gone, and if nothing else, that there’s a conclusion is welcomed news.

The downside is that now we have to find something else to run into the ground—the early frontrunners are potential new formations that have people out of position, exclude Liverpool’s best midfielders, and are BRITISH BRITISH BRITISH, along with the Stewart Downing “negotiations”. Only time will tell which one ends up being our new hate figure, but I’m confident in three weeks time we’ll be cursing someone.

For now, though, the Thursday news and notes:

* Not completely buried by the Charlie Adam news from yesterday was the story that Glen Johnson had further extended his contract with the club, which was met with mostly positive sentiment. He proved to be both adaptable and influential as Liverpool improved during the 2010-2011 season, and while he’s struggled to shake the criticism that he’s not that good defensively (which really isn’t, you know, wholly accurate), an extension is well deserved. Noel’s favorite organ harvester had this to say about Johnson and the contract renewal:

“It’s obvious when you watch him play his technical ability is second to none. Physically he is absolutely fantastic as well and his fitness level is great. Towards the end of last season he showed how versatile he is by playing at left-back or right-back – mostly at left-back – and was outstanding.

“For us he is a great asset to have around. As we’ve always said, we don’t want to sell our best players or sell our assets and as long as the players are happy to be here, we’re happy to commit to them.”

Johnson also spoke about the renewal today, which accompanied the news that Andre Wisdom had also extended his Liverpool stay. If you watched much of the club’s lower levels last season, you probably came away thinking that, despite much of the hype around Suso and Sterling and Coady, Wisdom has the potential to be one of the more consistent performers at the senior level for years to come.

With Johnson renewed, Wisdom coming through the ranks, Martin Kelly back to full fitness, and the late emergence of John Flanagan and Jack Robinson, all of a sudden Liverpool’s looking relatively deep (and young) at the back once again. There’s not really anything set in terms of who we’ll actually see in action though; Emiliano Insua’s return may be very brief, Fabio Aurelio hasn’t yet had an adamantium transfusion, and Daniel Agger is still in search of a season without an extended spell on the injury list. Even with the aforementioned depth and youth, that leaves a need to bolster at left back and centrally—Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel finished the season strong, but the former’s only got a few years left and the latter’s inconsistencies are too frequent for anyone’s liking. In the absence of any additions, there’s still a high-level back line available, although I’d hope there’s still activity left to take place in the transfer market.

* Earlier in the week it was announced that Steven Gerrard would be sitting out the upcoming Asian tour to attempt to ensure that he’s available for the start of the 2011-2012 campaign, news that was met initially with indifference. Over the last couple of days that indifference has given way to broader concerns about the captain’s long-term fitness, though, as he’s not getting any younger and has had a hell of a time staying fit over the past few seasons. At current there’s nothing substantial to contribute to the worry, and it could very well turn out that he’s fit and ready to go on August 13th.

But it is enough to spark discussion about the captain’s place in the side moving forward, and more specifically how his long-term future affects the decisions the club are making in the transfer market. The newly-found depth after the signings of Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson is encouraging, but with more than a few seemingly content to see the backs of Alberto Aquilani and Raul Meireles, combined with Gerrard’s niggling groin, all of a sudden there’s not that much depth in central midfield. Lucas is and should be the staple, and Meireles was second best all season long—beyond that there’s little that’s settled, and it’s looking less and less likely that we can count on Steven Gerrard as one of the first names on the team sheet for years to come.

* Lastly, there’s a new(ish) blog to accompany the recently created NextGen Series, which, if you’re not up to speed, will be a competition for the U19 squads of sixteen different European Clubs. Liverpool are among the teams included, and they’ll be tracked along with the others at the Next Generation blog. Mal Bennett, who’s one of our buddies on Twitter, is the man in charge, and he’s overseeing a range of contributors currently previewing the squads involved.

Shaun Howland’s been responsible for the Liverpool preview in the past week—you can catch part one here and part two here. Both pieces are lengthy and in-depth, and both include plenty of names you’re likely familiar with. There’s no doubt it’ll be an interesting competition to follow, and with the younger players at Liverpool experiencing a relative rise to fame in the season gone by, it’s nice to have a resource that focuses squarely on the squad and the competition.

That’s Thursday wrapped up, and I’ll plan to be back tomorrow with any other miscellany before we run the weekend’s guest post. Brief reminder that if you’re interested in writing something for the blog and having it run over the weekend during the summer, go ahead and get in touch at liverpooloffside@hotmail.com to let us know.

Until tomorrow, then, and in the meantime, get back to spending your summer building a mega Slip ‘n Slide:

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: International Duty, Miscellaneous, Premier League, Team News, Transfer News

« Liverpool Agree Deal for Charlie Adam | Home | Comolli Talks Transfers, Flanagan Re-ups, and Other Friday Notes »

Corey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...
It is a sick joke...
Corey

Check out which club he is playing for.
Khaine

Haha England Liverpool. Also, he just turned English. Good stuff.
Corey

I wonder how many profiles that guy had to make. The original author must be livid-hope he is not a Lyon fan!
Khaine

Yeah, he'll be losing his mind about now.
"In July 2011, Cissokho joined Everton on a five-year contract, and was reportedly delighted to be playing at the same club as his boyhood heroes Francis Jeffers and Slaven Bilić."
Khaine

What is?
lfc80uk

The Downing situation baffles me because if rumours are to be believed Villa are holding out for £18-20 million. Now if this is the case I think a lot of Liverpool fans will agree with me on a couple of points. First of all there is no way in hell Downing is worth that amount of money, he is above average at best and at 27 years old will not have a re-sell value as per FSG's supposed transfer blueprint.

Secondly if one spends that amount of money, surely you would actively try to sign players that are of the quality of Mata, Bastos, Honda. I think again the transfer BS that has become diluted with the ITK's and media outlets seemingly linking us with every player in the world that has a pulse is also to blame.

I just hope that in the next couple of months players are signed that are not only top draw but also give Liverpool the platform to move back into that much coveted top four.
Tropics Red

Good Ole Paul Tomkins with a good dose realism:

http://tomkinstimes.com/2011/0...
Sam

I think this is one of the best football blogs around, but I also you think you guys (well, Noel mostly) have been pretty big dicks about these Meireles and Adam situations*, which culminated in Noel calling out a Guardian writer twice on Twitter for daring to suggest that we might (*might*) line up in a formation next year with Adam as the deepest-lying midfielder. And now you've done it again here.

Look, I'm sure you get an absurd amount of abuse for simply not thinking Adam's all that great, and I mostly agree with you. If it were up to me, I would have called back Aquilani, picked up a cheap and/or young backup to Lucas and called it a transfer window for the central midfield. However, you seem to conveniently ignore it's entirely reasonable to deduce that a) Kenny doesn't consider Meireles all that essential and b) Kenny sees Adam as an option at DM.

Now, I'm no Dalglish apologist, and it's certainly true that we don't know what Dalglish's intentions are for the rest of the window or for the tactics next year. But here's what we have to go on:

1. Dalglish never played Raul as one of the two deepest-lying midfielders, except in the last 30 minutes of a game we were chasing (West Brom, I think). You can go on as much as you like about how Spearing couldn't play on the right and Meireles could, but there were at least a few games where we had Spearing, Meireles, Maxi and Carroll all fit, and Meireles was still played out wide. In fact, I even remember Noel complaining about it (as I was doing on my couch), writing something like Maxi>Raul on the left and Raul>Spearing in the center. It could have been that KD simply rated Spearing over Maxi, but there's at least reason to suspect that he doesn't think Meireles is tough enough to play in the middle in the PL (despite plenty of evidence to contrary from under Hodgson). And if he's simply an attacking midfielder, then I can understand why he's not considered all that important.

2. Rumors seem especially untrustworthy this summer, but except for some tidbits from BS ITKs, there haven't even been rumblings of us looking at a backup DM. Considering Lucas is in the Copa and Poulsen surely must be sold, the position looks to me like our third priority after LB and LW. If we don't sign a DM (not a given, of course) that means that either Adam or Spearing has to be Lucas' primary backup. While Spearing seems more defensive than Adam, there's not really any more evidence that he's actually a DM or that KD sees him as one, and there's plenty of evidence that Adam is a better player overall. So it's not unreasonable to believe KD thinks Adam's at least capable of playing as a DM, and from there it's only a small leap to imagining him giving Lucas a rest against a poor team at home and letting Adam dictate from deep. Granted, I still highly doubt he'd ever leave Lucas out for purely tactical reasons, but it's not patently absurd to suggest he might.

Anyway, I'll repeat that I generally think this is a great blog. It just seems like the transfer window BS is really getting to you. All the best.

*That is on the actual question of us signing Adam, not in relentlessly calling out the 'ITK's who kept saying he was having a medical RIGHT NOW. You were totally right to do that.
Ed

Appreciate the compliments and the critiques--I'll respond briefly for myself, and since Noel can't use Disqus, we'll have to hope he makes some mention of it on the blog or Twitter or telepathically.

When it comes to fantasy formationing, the part that irks me is that it treats new signings as though they're an automatic upgrade over current personnel for no other reason than that they're new. Henderson and Adam add depth, but I'm not of the opinion that they're better than Lucas or Meireles or anyone else until they've proven that. Having that opinion doesn't mean I think it's the only one or that I have to be right, it just means that I tend to disagree with people who have a different one.

As for Kenny not viewing Meireles as essential, I have considered it, and I disagree with it, which is why I go on and on about my love for all things Raul at every opportunity. I think he was one of the best players in the squad last year and can be just as impactful in the coming one. To discard him because there's newer, younger, more left-footed imports doesn't make sense to me.

Regarding the DM cover, I think we're in agreement--the sticking point for me (and probably Noel) is that benching Lucas to place Adam in a defensive midfield role in any situation just doesn't compute. Adam has shown himself to be consistently poor when it comes to tracking back and covering for the defense, and Lucas is probably one of the best in Europe. If Adam was brought in as occasional cover, hopefully his workrate improves and he's adaptable enough to do it successfully.

I appreciate the thought you put into it, and you're probably right that the transfer window BS has gotten to us. For me it's the same shit every day, which makes it easy to respond in kind. And despite the general sentiment that this was a doom and gloom type post, I'm actually feeling positively about the rest of the summer and the season. I really think Liverpool are close to being a team capable of playing at a consistently high level week-in, week-out, and that's an exciting prospect.

Unless they sell Raul Meireles.
Cheekyfellow

what
Ismael Jawad

It seems as if all the enthusiasm which began to gather since Kenny's arrival is finally starting to evaporate. Suddenly, it's all doom and gloom again. If you really think we're in a bad position right now, take a look at Arsenal.

Regarding the club's transfer activity thus far, I'm pretty satisfied. We have signed 4 players since January and only sold one big name. Now I'd be lying if I say I am overly joyed by the arrival of Adam but at least he wants to be here. It's a lot harder to sign players when you're not playing in the Champions League, especially if you're after someone whose club will be involved in next season's elite competition.

It's the utter silence regarding the future of Poulsen, Cole, and Konchesky which is really bothering me the most at the moment. Transfer rumors seldom turn out to be true but if any of the those 3 are mentioned in tomorrow's papers as possible departures (for free if necessary), I'd be more than happy.

As for Steven Gerrard, well, I wouldn't mind watching him play with the aid of cripple sticks safe in the knowledge that he'll give 110%. It's not like he's turning 38 next month. Perhaps we won't see those brilliant surging runs that often anymore but what he adds to the team remains invaluable in my opinion.
Bertrand

Arsenals in the top four, are they not?
Ed

From now on the only news pertaining to Steven Gerrard will be links to greatest goals compilations.
Azmatshahs

tbh its tough being a liverpool fan no matter which part of the world u live in at this point. we have been through a total rollercoaster of a ride over the last season. literally. but its quite annoying to find people making judgement on players who have not even played for us yet...
thats why i suggest one keeps his judgements to himself regarding our next season.
when we dont sign players people have an issue and when we do they have an issue.. its kinda a damned if u dont damned if u do scenario with us currently.
yes we have like 10 midfielders currently but.. heck last i noticed all of us had nothing but praise for lucas and aquilani.
now he comes back having a fantastic year with juve and we complain complain complain...
ummm... incase nobody noticed but even our liverpool fans have been doubting gerrard since he got injured... and incase no body noticed he was still one of the top scorers in the team last season.
SERIOUSLY GUYS get a grip.... this summer has been alot better than any we have had in the last 2 years... for once we aint selling our key players but instead adding to them.. yeah carroll cost 35mill but would u be happy with just suarez when torres left? if we had not signed him u would have moaned and bitched.... again i say DAMNED IF U DO. DAMNED IF U DONT....
again i say please give kenny a chance, give the squad a chance. and honestly if we make it to the top 4 next season that is a HUGE step up! fuck the title, and fuck SCUM! it does not matter... all that matter at the end of the day is that your proud to be a liverpool fan.
Mike

Honestly may have read you wrong, but since Aquilani came back I've been play for us play for us play for us.
Khaine

The shots taken at Adam's physique really are uncalled for. First off, footballers generally aren't physical specimens at all, compared to many other sports, and secondly, plenty of players have looked soft and dominated in the PL. It's not like he's Andy Reid.

Slightly surprised the Gerrard's groin rumours is gaining traction (especially here) based off nothing. He had surgery to an injured muscle, not a new injury. It's rehab. Or at least, I find that far more likely (and agreeable).

Also, a tactics and formations article in the works?
Mike

As far as Adam's physique goes, I don't see any need for jokes. He's fit. If anything his extra stock will help maul down dainty Arsenal players next season.
Ed

The Gerrard groin stuff, like I mentioned, is more about discussing what
the club is doing longer term, as there aren't many sources needed to
confirm that he's a) aging and b) got a shitty fitness record of late. I
also mentioned that there's nothing substantial to report, etc etc etc.
I don't think it's fear mongering to suggest that he won't be in the
first team forever, and that those happy to see Meireles/Aquilani leave
would do best to remember that the captain isn't going to be around
forever. Worrying fitness concerns in the last few years could
contribute to/acclerate that; if mentioning this is going overboard, then I
apologize.

As for tactics/formations, I'm sure one of us will
come up with something sometime soon. Right now it's more fun to make
stuff up about nothing.
Khaine

Haha not accusing you of fear mongering or going overboard. I said slightly surprised. This site is fairly tempered, which is one of many reasons I check it 8 times a day.
Ed

Ah, gotcha, sorry if I came on a little strong. Like I said, the will he/won't he for the coming season is less relevant than what happens as his career winds down considering how important he is to the club. The current rumors about the groin are mostly a convenient segue to that discussion, which is probably a few seasons off anyhow.
matt

pretty sure that me and charlie adam share a similar physique. i wouldn't spend $10 on my athletic ability so i don't know where this leaves us, but i will say going from raul meireles (last year's king of distance covered) to charlie could make people realize raul's value after all.
Jay Wright

I'm sure that despite bearing a similar physique he's far more of an athlete than you Matt. By all accounts Liverpool are buying Adam for his technical ability, rather than his athletic ability anyway...
John

You can always train a player to have a fitter, leaner body, buts you can not train in quality. I would like to think they have disccused the issue with him and have a training plan to turn him in to a fitter player. He may never be the fastest, but I expect the best players to be the fittest.