Monday 21 March 2011

King Luis reigns supreme at Liverpool

On transfer deadline day, Liverpool fans mourned the loss of their star striker and welcomed Andy Carroll with open arms to replace him.

One deadline day deal which seemed to go almost un-noticed was that of Luis Suarez, Ajax's goalscoring king.

Much more emphasis was placed on Carroll, while Suarez was allowed to breeze through the Melwood doors and get on with his business.

This was a big benefit to him. The spotlight being on Carroll took away a huge burden from him, and he is reaping the benefits of that now.

But why was Carroll's transfer highlighted more than Suarez?

Carroll is a man with around a years' top-flight experience, whereas Suarez has scored goals consistently in Europe and was hugely influential in Uruguay's progression to the World Cup semi-finals.

This is a man who scored 81 goals in 110 games for Ajax, a man with real pedigree on the European and world stage.

He is the sort of player to get fans out of their seats, with the ability to do almost anything with the ball.

Ah, but that was in Holland, you say? Yes, but he is only 24 years old, has scored goals in the Champions League, looked good in the World Cup and generally looks like a very talented player.

This is not another Mateja Kezman, Afonso Alves or even Dirk Kuyt. This is a player who will live up to his reputation and continue to score goals, whatever league he is in.

Kezman and Alves failed spectacularly in England, magnifying the weakness of the Dutch league.

Dirk Kuyt has excelled, although in a different role to the one he was accustomed to in Holland.

He came to England as an out-and-out striker, a striker who was a consistent goalscorer in the Eredivisie.

He quickly became more known for his work-rate and wing play in the Premier League, and is now a firm favourite with Liverpool fans.

But this is not the job he was brought there to do. Suarez will not be another Kuyt, he will not become more of a winger. He is a genuine natural goalscorer.

He proved this in Sunday's 2-0 win at Sunderland.

Surrounded near the corner flag, he wriggled his way into the box and deceived the goalkeeper with a wonderful shot with the outside of his foot, a truly stunning piece of improvisation.

This lad was born to score goals, he can create something out of nothing and works hard for the team. What more can you ask for?

He joins a long line of Liverpool number 7s, which include his manager Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan, and he is in a similar mould.

He will be a great player for Liverpool for years to come, the sort of player the Kop will love for his talent, enthusiasm and work-rate.

As for the other deadline day signing, Andy Carroll is clearly not match fit.

He looked laboured on Sunday and didn't commit to headers as he did in his time at Newcastle.

The Liverpool system does not play to his strengths.

They do not have out-and-out wingers who get the ball into the box at every opportunity, looking for his head.

Unless Liverpool buy some wingers, in the form of someone like Stewart Downing or Matthew Etherington, I can see him struggling.

£35m is a massive transfer fee to justify and he may just be feeling the pressure of that tag now.

He is a great talent but still relatively unproven at this level, and untested on a European stage.

There was a great fanfare when he arrived, mainly due to the fact he is the archetypal English centre forward many felt had gone out of the game.

But £35m? They only paid that because he was English.

If there was a foreign equivalent of Andy Carroll, the fee would be nearer the £10m-£15m bracket.

He has a lot to prove and must perform quickly to get the concentration on what he does on the pitch, rather than his price tag.

As for the man Liverpool lost, the question on everybody's lips at Anfield must now surely be, "Fernando who?"

Liverpool certainly aren't missing him, in fact he is more of a liability to Chelsea than anything else.

He too needs to perform quickly to justify his price tag but it just seems like his heart is not in it and as though he has lost half a yard of pace.

I think he has fell out of love with the game, I haven't seen him smile once since joining Chelsea.

If he doesn't start scoring quickly, the comparisons with Andriy Shevchenko are going to grow and that is a burden he could really do without.

He has been a world-class striker for a number of years but his reputation is taking a battering and he really needed to hit the ground running at Chelsea.

He hasn't done that, but there is still time for him to turn it around. One goal may be all it takes for the real Fernando Torres to shine through.

With every passing game though, the doubts continue to grow. In truth, this is no different to how he played in last summer's World Cup and the first half of this season.

Perhaps he has lost it.

As for Liverpool, the future looks bright with Suarez and Carroll. Torres is not being missed.

Carroll needs to be given time to show his quality, whereas the quality of Suarez is clear for all to see.

For decades the Kop have raved about 'King Kenny', now there could be a new crowning in the form of 'King Luis'.

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