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SNUB OFFERS REDS A DOSE OF REALITY
The Sun, UK
July 9 2013
MY VIEW
By MARK IRWIN
Football correspondent
HENRIKH MKHITARYAN might just have done Liverpool a huge favour by
turning them down in favour of Borussia Dortmund.
For the Armenian international has finally delivered the reality check
required by the red half of Merseyside for a long time.
Not having seen Shakhtar Donetsk on a regular basis, I have no idea if
Mkhitaryan's £25million transfer fee will turn out to be a good deal
for Dortmund.
But Liverpool's willingness to match that figure was not so much a
sign of their ambition as confirmation of their increasing
desperation.
A succession of recent Anfield managers has thrown good money after
bad in a bid to reverse the fortunes of a once great club.
Ryan Babel, Robbie Keane, Alberto Aquliani, Andrea Dossena, Christian
Poulsen, Charlie Adam and Andy Carroll all came and went without
making any kind of impact.
Others such as Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Joe Allen and Fabio
Borini remain on the staff but have yet to justify the huge outlay on
their acquisition.
Yet still the club's American owners are prepared to bankroll an
apparently haphazard recruitment policy.
Brendan Rodgers has already spent the best part of £25m this summer on
Luis Alberto, Simon Mignolet, Iago Aspas and Kolo Toure. And the move
for Mkhitaryan shows he hasn't finished yet.
But in the continued absence of Champions League football, Liverpool
have little more to offer prospective new recruits than a glorious
past and vague promises of a brighter future.
So maybe it is not surprising that the likes of Mkhitaryan are not
buying into Rodgers' sales patter.
The same thing goes for many of Liverpool's incredibly passionate but
increasingly frustrated supporters.
For a large number of Kopites remain unconvinced by their loquacious
manager, who talks a good game but has yet to deliver one on a
consistent basis.
Last season his team trailed home seventh in the Premier League table,
27 points behind Champions Manchester United and 12 behind
fourth-placed Arsenal.
That was a slight improvement on the previous campaign, when they had
finished even further adrift in the table under Kenny Dalglish.
Yet at least with Kenny in charge they had won the Carling Cup and
reached the FA Cup final. Under Rodgers they failed to mount a serious
challenge in any competition.
There were signs towards the end of last season that they were slowly
getting their act together, but that was only when they had nothing to
play for after a dismal start.
Failure to win any of their first five league games meant that their
top-four ambitions were effectively over by mid-September.
This time, with the exception of a home game against Manchester United
on August 31, Liverpool could not have asked for a kinder start.
Opening games against Stoke, Aston Villa, Swansea, Southampton,
Sunderland, Newcastle and West Brom are all eminently winnable for a
team with serious ambitions.
It is an opportunity which Rodgers and his players dare not miss out on.
But with Jamie Carragher gone, Luis Suarez looking to leave and Steven
Gerrard buckling under the strain of carrying the team on his
shoulders for too long, these are worrying times at Anfield.
English football needs a strong, vibrant Liverpool. But time waits for
no club in the modern game and, as Rodgers is starting to realise,
history counts for little these days.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/5004866/Henrikh-Mkhitaryan-Dortmund-transfer-does-Liverpool-a-favour-Mark-Irwin.html
From: Baghdasarian
The Sun, UK
July 9 2013
MY VIEW
By MARK IRWIN
Football correspondent
HENRIKH MKHITARYAN might just have done Liverpool a huge favour by
turning them down in favour of Borussia Dortmund.
For the Armenian international has finally delivered the reality check
required by the red half of Merseyside for a long time.
Not having seen Shakhtar Donetsk on a regular basis, I have no idea if
Mkhitaryan's £25million transfer fee will turn out to be a good deal
for Dortmund.
But Liverpool's willingness to match that figure was not so much a
sign of their ambition as confirmation of their increasing
desperation.
A succession of recent Anfield managers has thrown good money after
bad in a bid to reverse the fortunes of a once great club.
Ryan Babel, Robbie Keane, Alberto Aquliani, Andrea Dossena, Christian
Poulsen, Charlie Adam and Andy Carroll all came and went without
making any kind of impact.
Others such as Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Joe Allen and Fabio
Borini remain on the staff but have yet to justify the huge outlay on
their acquisition.
Yet still the club's American owners are prepared to bankroll an
apparently haphazard recruitment policy.
Brendan Rodgers has already spent the best part of £25m this summer on
Luis Alberto, Simon Mignolet, Iago Aspas and Kolo Toure. And the move
for Mkhitaryan shows he hasn't finished yet.
But in the continued absence of Champions League football, Liverpool
have little more to offer prospective new recruits than a glorious
past and vague promises of a brighter future.
So maybe it is not surprising that the likes of Mkhitaryan are not
buying into Rodgers' sales patter.
The same thing goes for many of Liverpool's incredibly passionate but
increasingly frustrated supporters.
For a large number of Kopites remain unconvinced by their loquacious
manager, who talks a good game but has yet to deliver one on a
consistent basis.
Last season his team trailed home seventh in the Premier League table,
27 points behind Champions Manchester United and 12 behind
fourth-placed Arsenal.
That was a slight improvement on the previous campaign, when they had
finished even further adrift in the table under Kenny Dalglish.
Yet at least with Kenny in charge they had won the Carling Cup and
reached the FA Cup final. Under Rodgers they failed to mount a serious
challenge in any competition.
There were signs towards the end of last season that they were slowly
getting their act together, but that was only when they had nothing to
play for after a dismal start.
Failure to win any of their first five league games meant that their
top-four ambitions were effectively over by mid-September.
This time, with the exception of a home game against Manchester United
on August 31, Liverpool could not have asked for a kinder start.
Opening games against Stoke, Aston Villa, Swansea, Southampton,
Sunderland, Newcastle and West Brom are all eminently winnable for a
team with serious ambitions.
It is an opportunity which Rodgers and his players dare not miss out on.
But with Jamie Carragher gone, Luis Suarez looking to leave and Steven
Gerrard buckling under the strain of carrying the team on his
shoulders for too long, these are worrying times at Anfield.
English football needs a strong, vibrant Liverpool. But time waits for
no club in the modern game and, as Rodgers is starting to realise,
history counts for little these days.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/5004866/Henrikh-Mkhitaryan-Dortmund-transfer-does-Liverpool-a-favour-Mark-Irwin.html
From: Baghdasarian