As we all know, all is not right at Liverpool. A baron spell of four years without a trophy and with Manchester United closing in on a record breaking 19th title, fans of the club must be anxious for their team to back amongst the big guns. A clear-out period was needed. Out with the old, in with the new – time for a new Anfield generation. Roy Hodgson is the man tasked with this operation and where as some his signings have been questionable, he is starting to turn his team around; the process has begun. So what’s the next step forward? Assembling a team to get back in the top four has to be the aim. If reports are to be believed though, another questionable buy could be about to join the Anfield ranks – David Bentley.
Firstly, you have to question whether this is a Roy Hodgson target or one of Damien Comolli’s. Liverpool’s director of football strategy (whatever that means) is believed to be the main broker behind Bentley’s £16.5 million move from Blackburn to Tottenham back in 2008. But even if it is, what does the player offer that Hodgson doesn’t already have at his disposal? Joe Cole, when fit, can deliver a ball as good as anyone, Dirk Kuyt provides plenty of energy down the flanks and Steven Gerrard speaks for himself. Where would the Spurs man fit in? Surely the reported £8 million could be better spent?
Maybe Hodgson sees Bentley as a replacement for the seemingly outbound Ryan Babel, but if this is the case, I fail to see the progression. Sure enough, financially Babel may sell for more than Bentley would cost, but what about his wages? Don’t forget the Spurs man is English and therefore demands excessive wage packages for very little in return- that is the British way.
It certainly doesn’t represent a move forward, more like a sideward step seeing as the 26-year-old struggles to get a game for one of Liverpool’s main rivals. And what about the temperament of the player? When he came through at Arsenal, Bentley played without fear and he looked the part. But as soon as people expected things off him, he didn’t seem able to make the step up. At Blackburn, he was a big fish in a small pond and proved his ability which forced Spurs to pay silly money for his services. Again, in a bigger club environment, he has yet to fulfil the potential he so rarely shows.
The signing would provide yet another sign of Liverpool’s fall from grace. Bringing in a player of Bentley’s ability doesn’t make a point to the likes of Tottenham and Man City that the most successful club in English history are on their way back to the upper echelons of the Premier League. I by no means wish to call the ex-Blackburn player worthless but does he really shout out Champions league to you?
Progression has to be a slow process and there is no doubt Liverpool will be in top six come the end of the season. But the fact the club are aiming for players like Bentley would suggest they are content to finish in the bracket of teams just below the likes of United and Chelsea. The club still has the pull of being one of the biggest teams in the world and it’s time they started using that attraction if they are to return to the top of the league.
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