The big transfer fee/striker jinx at Anfield

Andersonsonson

Was just chatting with a few Liverpool fans earlier and ended up having a good old slagging session over Andy Carroll. The conversation then turned to how players with a big fee do not perform at Anfield and how Liverpool haven't signed a reliable striker since Owen. Big fee players tend to flop and strikers too at Anfield

Sounds knee jerk but really it isn't....lets take a look at the biggest transfer fee paid per year and main strikers signed.

Liverpools big fee signings and league goals

2000: Emile Heskey - £11million 150games -39 goals
2001: Chris Kirkland - £6.25million 24 games
Milan Baros - £3.6million 68 games 19 goals
2002: El Hadji Diouf - £10million 80games - 6 goals
Nicolas Anelka LOAN 20games 4 goals
2003: Harry Kewell- £5million 93 games - 12 goals
Florent Sinama Pongolle £3million 38 games - 4 goals
2004: Djibril Cisse £14.5million 49 games -13 goals
2005: Peter Crouch £7million 134 games - 42 goals
Fernando Morientes £6.5million 61 games -12 goals
2006: Craig Bellamy £9 million 27 games 7 goals (First Stint)
Jermaine Pennant £6.5million 55games 3 goals
Dirk Kuyt £6million 191games -49 goals
2007: Fernando Torres £20millon 102games -65 goals
Ryan Babel £11.5million 91 games - 12 goals
Andrei Voronin FREE 27games - 5 goals
2008: Robbie Keane £19.3million 19 games -5 goals
Albert Riera £8million 40 games 3 goals
2009: Alberto Aquilani £20million 18games 1 goal
Glen Johnson £17.5million 66 games 6 goals
2010: Raul Meireles £11.5million 35 games 5 goals
Milan Jovanovic FREE 10 games -1 goal
2011: Andy Carroll £35.5million 25 games - 5 goals
Luis Suarez £22.8million 29 games - 9 goals

• Almost EVERY striker or big name signing since 2000 has flopped for Liverpool. Almost 18 Strikers signed, including the winger/strikers support strikers.

• It could be argued that Torres flopped in the end but even still his goals scoring record was fantastic. Crouch didn't look too bad

• Glen Johnson had a better scoring record than Diouf from right back

• If Carroll scores 4 in the next 4 league games does he has the same scoring record as Suarez in the same amount of games...so is Suarez shit?

It sums one thing up, Liverpool seem to have a very poor track record in bringing in a goalscorer and getting big transfer tag players to live upto their fee.

So....where is it all going wrong? Do they make too many knee jerk purchases or is their scouting network not up to scratch where checking on player mentality is concerned?

peterstorey

Torres was a towering hit as his numbers indicate. Morientes I thought would make a big splash in the PL and he was shocking. Of the other CFs Heskey, Crouch and Keane were never the right stuff.

Grinner

Harry Kewell was very close to signing for us and we were all excited about that.

Andersonsonson

I'm sure Fernando was averaging a goal a game at one point before his head went elsewhere

Andersonsonson

I remember raging he joined them "to win trophies " as 'we were on the decline'

Grinner

Kirkland's rate of return was rubbish.

Kid Cunto

There is A LOT of shite on that list. Torres, Johnson and Meireles are the only successful signings I see there.

Jury is still out on Suarez.

fatboy

Cisse was hailed as the 2nd coming in French football, on a par or even better than Henry and Anelka. That was shocking too.

Ole's_toe_poke

Since when did Kirkland become a striker. And does that explain why he's such a shite goalkeeper? Can't be easy being played out of position all your life.

Denis' cuff

thank fuck we didn't sign that waste of space

RyanGoggs

I've always thought there has been a kind of curse on Liverpool when making big name signing. The likes of morientes, kewell and keane and were playing well before joining. Then you had the likes of babel and heskey who had great reputations as up and coming talents. I think a lot of it has to go down to bad management.

Decotron

Helped win us the league one year. Always remember his goal against Arsenal. Knocked over two tables when the beauty hit the net!

Ray Peterson

Chelsea's recent record for high profile/expensive striker flops is worse.

Andersonsonson

Read the list....strikers and biggest transfer spend that season

esmufc12

Was Diouf's record really that bad?

golden_blunder

why is there a goalkeeper included in the list?

Cling Bak

Kuyt and Crouch have been/were successes. For 6 and 7 million each, respectively, they've both been value for money. Milan Baros (3.6m) wasn't too bad and dare I say it, Heskey had the odd moment. I'm sure Liverpool fans at least appreciate his early contributions - first season more than any other. Still nowhere near worth 11 million, in today's or 2000's money.

Some incredibly bad buys on there. I forgot Albert Riera even existed.

Is Alonso missing? They paid about 10 million for him and he was a resounding success. So was Mascherano in his short stint.

Overall, I agree with the OP, it's quite shocking. Particuarly with forwards.

Ralaks

I think he showed promise but was ruined by injuries and Benitez, had a decent record at Liverpool the first season despise a broken tibia and fibula and the next season Benitez started using him as a right wing.

Then a year later he broke his leg again on international duty and they buggered him off to Marseille.

Andersonsonson

Biggest Transfer fee that season.

In 2001 he was the most expensive Goalkeeper in British Transfer History

Andersonsonson

The general consensus with Pool fans where i live, is their lack of being able to buy a goalscoring striker or when they buy a "world class" one he suddenly flops.

decorativeed

Don't forget Ronny Rosenthal, Dean Saunders, Paul Stewart, Nigel Clough and Stan Collymore in the 90s. They spent £17m on that lot - £4m more than we spent on Cantona, Cole, Solskjaer and Sheringham!

Team Brian GB

Simple answer, buy better players.

It is Chelsea who have the real trouble with strikers - the likes of Heskey not scoring so many isn't exactly a mystery but Mutu, Crespo, Shevchenko and Torres on the otherhand.

And why does the list include the likes of Glen Johnson? How many goals do they expect a right back to score?

204Red

the Torres they signed was a world beater for several seasons... hard to call him a flop when they got 50 Million for him.

They clearly should have kept Anelka following his loan, he would have been a useful player for them and may have found his "home" a little sooner.

Bellemey has had some spurts of success...
... but otherwise, what a bunch of losers! Vornonin with that 80's porn star hair, couldn't score on the set of a porno shoot!

Reapersoul20

To be fair, I'd say they all felt incredible pressure at trying to fill the boots of Heskey.

Can't believe they got rid of him.

golden_blunder

so your thread is two pronged

I thought it was about expensive strikers who have flopped at LFC

which would have been more interesting because every club could list expensive players who have flopped for them

Cutch

Morientes was the most bizarre from what i remember. A real class player, one of the most natural goalscorers of the last 15 years, moved to Liverpool and just turned immediately shit.

Ralaks

He used to be one of my favorite players, fancied him a lot when I was a kid! Kinda ruined it with the whole scouser thing.

Went very much off the radar as well after.

Andersonsonson

Well thats how the convo went but yes i agree with you. Agreed that players with big fees generally stuggle at Anfield as do anyone that gets handed a striking role.


The point i made in the OP was....

In comparison to ourselves....
Alan Smith, Hargreaves,Forlan, Veron, Barthez, Saha in recent years would be the only big fee purchases we have taken a hit on. Yes we have had flops like Djemba x2 and Miller etc but we must really take our time when we sign a player.

In the striking department we seem to be pretty lucky as we have always had one prolific goalscorer in the squad at all times which hasn't put as much pressure when bringing new strikers in.Cantona, Cole, Solskjaer, Van Nistelrooy, Rooney. The difference compared to Liverpool is that they had no main performing goalscorer once Owen left and were buying strikers to perform straight away meaning more pressure.

Crustanoid

Hardly bizarre when you consider the effect of Shitfinger, the Man with the Reverse-Midas touch

vuc

Cisse broke two legs, I'm amazed he still plays after those injuries. It's a shame cause at one point he was a beast.

Sonny Feehan

Jari Litmanen was one of my favourite players and I was surprised when Liverpool let him go as I thought he was playing very well for them.

Coca Cola

I'm pretty sure he's the only #9 in Liverpool's history to go through an entire season without scoring a goal.

Denis' cuff

aye - remember that one. A brief wave of gratitude and affection for him lasted about 5 seconds. He was capable enough when he could be arsed.


Incredible the way United and Liverpool's roles have reversed in so many ways. We too, had the same hand of death on any decent player or more particularly, striker. Birtles, Brazil, Davenport (half decent) then we got desperate with Terry Gibson and that's probably only half of em. Just can't see any way back for them for a long time.

Cling Bak

Crespo did quite well for you, no? He scored a fair few over two seasons - sandwiched between a Milan stint - and helped you to a league title, too. I was surprised you sent him to Inter after his second season.