I was genuinely surprised to arrive home tonight and discover that Raul Meireles had handed in a transfer request and subsequently signed for Chelsea. Now I don't particularly pay attention to Liverpool affairs, so there may be something I've missed, but I didn't expect this transfer.
I'd seen Meireles before when he played for Portugal and my fleeting impression was that he looked good, when he went to Liverpool, he didn't perform as well as I expected, but in the second half of the year, he seemed to find his feet and start doing well for Liverpool.
I was surprised that Dalglish had him on the bench at the start of this season, because from what I've seen of him, I think he was better than Lucas and Henderson; he linked up well with attackers and had some very good off the ball movement.
Maybe there was good rationale behind the move, I don't watch Liverpool enough to really evaluate this transfer properly, but I'm curious to hear Liverpool fans' view on this; I've always thought you've looked more dangerous with Meireles on the field.
United Fan in Peace!
posted on 1/9/11
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posted on 1/9/11
>>I don't buy Liverpool not being in the Champions' League as a reason
I think it's the biggest reason.
I reckon he joined thinking we'd bounce right back into the top4. We probably would have if those idiots hadn't brought Roy in. The league was rubbsih last year and 4th was easily achievable.
2 years out and more competition for top4....I would have left. Same thing with Torres.
posted on 1/9/11
I am sure Meireles will be a rip roaring success at Chelsea just like Benayoun and Torres are
Oh wait....
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this will be Torres first full season with Chelsea so don't worry
posted on 1/9/11
Lisandro (U8669)
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Even Spearing looked good in the second half of the season under Kenny.
And if you don't rate Lucas I don't see why I'm arguing with you. Was clearly our best player last season.
posted on 1/9/11
i was not a fan of lucas but last year kind of shut me up, he was the best DM in the league by a long shot. im glad we have him just hope he keeps it up.
fair play to him aswell he was bought as an attacking midfielder.
posted on 1/9/11
All bitterness aside I an very unhappy Raul has gone. Also in the manner he has gone. Chelsea sniff at him and like Torres he's jumped at the chance. He is a quality, technical player. Sure he lacks pace and tackle but he makes up for it with his passing, great link-up play, forward runs and goals. He was one of the first names I'd have in the squad. Oh well
posted on 1/9/11
redconn,
Really? Meireles thought Liverpool would bounce straight back into the back four? The manner in which Benitez's Liverpool had failed the previous year surely was a clear warning that the team had deep problems that required a lot of investment to solve. When things actually began to look up when Dalglish brought in some big money signings, surely he realised that this Liverpool squad is in much better condition than Benitez' outfit?
That said, if I were Meireles, I'd want to play for Chelsea too (assumiing I'd already severed any potential ties with Utd by joining Liverpool)!
Honest Liverpool Five Times,
"Even Spearing looked good in the second half of the season under Kenny. "
That's extremely optimistic. I think you've both under-rated your youngster and over-rated your manager. Not to mention the improvement was always going to be radical when Liverpool got their issues in check - it was literally that bad before the turn of the year.
"And if you don't rate Lucas I don't see why I'm arguing with you. Was clearly our best player last season."
Eh, because I have a different opinion to you? A debate is not suddenly over, closed and shut because you declare a player to be fantastic. He's solid, but nowhere near the likes of a fit and firing Essien or Toure.
posted on 1/9/11
>>surely he realised that this Liverpool squad is in much better condition than Benitez' outfit?
I wouldn't even remotely agree with that.
In Rafa's last season we were undone by a lack of depth combined with massive injury problems, not by the side needing an overhaul. A bit like Chelsea in the middle of last season when injuries to midfield exposed them horribly.
We should have walked top4 last season but Roy had other ideas.
If I was foreign and relatively new to the side I'd have walked away as well. If we don't get top 4 this year Raul would be well into his 30s before he saw the CL again. If ever. That's why Torres left as well.
The CL is 5x the trophy and comp than the prem is to foreigners. That's the only reason the best would stay at an English club.
posted on 1/9/11
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posted on 1/9/11
Well, Liverpool had sold arguably their best player and replaced him with somebody who barely featured that year. Coupled with the heavy reliance on Torres (Rafa's treatment of Robbie Keane baffled me - he did really well with your team when given a chance), this lack of squad depth you mention is the very reason Liverpool's collapse was inevitable - their progress from 08/09 was simply unsustainable, and collapsed when Liverpool received key injuries to Gerard and Torres (and others at various times). A squad that is crippled that easily is a recipe for disaster!
This is the clearest exposition of the problem: in 2008/09, Liverpool had a nucleus of top class players surrounded by players of lesser quality. When the star players were fit and firing, they were powerful, but when one of them leaves and another two become injured, then the replacements are well below the standard required at this level. There were too many squad players who weren't good enough to fill in for the injured players, and that led to a downward spiral of bad results and lost confidence. No top level squad is stable under such conditions.
That Liverpool squad needed investment, and it needed it fast, I think that was obvious to anyone who had witnessed Liverpool plummet. If Meireles really thought that that squad was going to magically put all their problems to rest, then he needs to sack his agent and get a new one! A string of squad player signings under Benitez that was continued under Hodgson contributed to last year's mess of mediocrity - granted, most managers would do a better job than Hodgson, but only because of the investment that Liverpool's owners (and Chelsea FC) would pump into the club; otherwise, an underbelly of problems rooted in the previous regime was only going to get worse.
It's interesting that you mention Chelsea, that's exactly what happened to them - they were an aging squad that desperately needed investment because the squad depth they had the previous season had vanished and not been replaced. It's one of the reasons I believe sacking Ancelotti was a mistake - he should have been given much more money to invest once Ballack, Belletti, Carvalho, etc, left, not in January when it was too late.
Bottom line - if Meireles and his agent didn't see this coming, they have to ask a few questions of themselves. As an adjoint, I'm very certain that Liverpool will take 4th place (much as it pains me to say it), so if getting Champions' League football one season early were that important, then I hope he's thought this through - moving to a new club has it's own risks.
That said, I'm not knocking the guy, I think he's made a good move - I just think he should have moved to Chelsea much sooner than this!