How did Liverpool fare in the Summer transfer window?

So the Big Ben strikes 11pm on Monday, the 2nd of September and Jim White in all his glory reports that the summer transfer window of 2013 is finally closed. Some managers will be climbing from underneath their desks with a big sigh of relief whilst others may be looking to get back under it after doing some expensive last-minute trolley dashes.

Others may have woken up the next day realizing that they had just brought an overpriced bulldozer, with extremely large elbows and an afro, but I wouldn’t want to point any fingers here. Peter Odemwingie finally got to be a part of transfer deadline for all the right reasons and the comical Dave Whealan also had his say on deadline day by constantly being on the phone to some sky sports news reporter being mobbed by the cast of shameless.

I know that I am not alone in saying this but it was such a nice feeling on deadline day to just sit there watching the Mancs running around like a dog on heat trying to buy anyone and everyone with a pulse just so David Moyes could put his stamp on the premiership champions.

As the dust finally settles on what has been a long and hectic summer, let’s see how our beloved LFC done. Did Arsene Wenger finally make a big move at the Emirates? How did we fair in what was the most expensive premiership transfer window ever? Did we send any impostors to Bilbao? And did Stewart Downing ever fulfill that potential?

Where best to start than the Luis Suarez saga. After all of the flirting, the whining and stamping of feet the Uruguayan is finally staying at LFC for at least 4 more months but he has left more than a sour taste with a lot of fans including myself. The £40 million + £1 contract debacle made Suarez and his agent look like a pair of rabbits caught in rather large headlights, whilst making a complete laughing-stock out of Arsene Wenger’s transfer policy. The futile bid to obtain one of the best players in the world of course fell on death ears, leaving Wenger to wonder if there was any change left over in that oversized coat. Also Real Madrid did come calling, but the phone was off the hook.

Reports suggest that he will sign a new contract with every lawyer and their dog reading through the small print this time to make sure that Suarez can indeed leave if LFC do not make the champions league this time around. So the plan is that we should now be in a decent position when Luis does return to the first team by winning our first 3 games of the new season.

The impact that a quality player like Suarez can do to an ever improving team should be massive and not underrated by anyone. Yes, I have seen the stats showing that we have won a higher percentage of games without him – which is interesting – but I am not totally buying it.

Suarez does frustrate me sometimes by losing the ball, but he does have this magical ability to do something special. When you need a goal from a tight game then Suarez is your man. In my eyes he still is one of the top 5 footballers in the world right now, therefore keeping the ungrateful little devil should be viewed as great business by LFC.

Player power over the last 10 years has gone crazy and loyalty in the game is well and truly dying, hats off to FSG and Rodgers for standing strong. I literally could go on all day about the Luis Suarez situation but I would probably send you into a coma – so lets move on.

Ok well, what about our outgoings? Whilst the irreplaceable Jamie Carragher retired on a high, other players were shipped out to new homes. Like expensive flops Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing, who were moved on to what seems to be LFC’s dumping ground of overpriced footballers at West Ham. Shelvey was also let loose in Wales by joining Swansea with some saying he should have been given another year. I agree that Jonjo had all of the talent in the world but sadly he was lacking anything in between his young ears in which Rodgers saw more than most.

Pepe Reina was sent packing to Naples after flirting with Barcelona and will probably move to the Nou Camp next summer with his high wages going with him. Pepe will be sorely missed in the changing room but his performances have simply not been good enough for the past 2 years. As much as I love Reina time does not stop for anyone I’m afraid.

The fragile Borini was loaned out to Sunderland to try to find the little Italians bite back and there were lots of fresh faced reserves/ academy players sent out on loan. Dani Pacheco finally found someone to love him in his native Spain and Suso also joined Almeria on loan to see if he could rekindle his impressive form from the reserves a few years back.

So what about our incomings? Well, we have been busy littles bees haven’t we? No less than 8 first team signings have been made and our squad looks so much stronger, with the competition for places this year looking hotter than an in form Daniel Sturridge.

Simon Mignolet was brought in to replace the departing Pepe Reina and has started really well indeed with some very important saves in our first 3 matches. The most notable double save coming in the final minutes of the Stoke game which looks to be a pivotal moment in this season thus far.

You could certainly sense the relief and the togetherness of the whole team when Mignolet made those saves. This is slowly showing that our squad now has that animalistic fight within them whilst running through brick walls for each other which is a good habit to have.

Alberto looks like an excellent ball player but still looks too raw for me but I eventually see him as either a Xavi Alonso type ball player or a number 10. I am not quite sure which one he suits yet but he does look one for the future. Aspas, at £7m, looks like a steal to me as he has already shown in his handful of LFC appearances so far that he has a football brain.

Positionally, he looks aware and is always making clever runs. Aspas may need to bulk up a little as he is small and will need time to adjust to the premier league but the signs look good for him. I am not sure he is going to be the first name on Rodgers team sheet every week but he certainly gives us an option. Whereas, Downing never really gave us anything other than a sore head by constantly blazing the ball wide or passing to the opposition.

Then there is big Kolo Toure, whom I must say has surprised me so far, with his all action defending style and has been an absolute rock for us at the back so far this season. Toure had only played 3 competitive matches for LFC before he went off injured against Notts County to the utter despair of every LFC fan, which just shows you the impact he has made so far. As Rodgers said Toure is our invincible.

We havent really seen Cissokho in action for LFC yet and given the loan option to buy then I am not holding out for any fireworks from him. As long as he pushes Enrique out the team or makes Enrique play better than I am all for it. The left back position was one of our weakest areas and Rodgers may look to revisit the market again next year, or hope that young Jack Robinson will eventually fulfill his promise.

Our new signing Mamadou Sakho can play left back so that is another option for LFC this season. Sakho’s a big, strong and commanding defender with his best position being centre back so he will surely be played there. Sakho in my eyes is one of the best, if not the best, signing this summer made by LFC as he has been one of the most coveted young defenders in europe for years.

Larry White (Laurent Blanc), the PSG manager, did not want to let him go but Sakho in a World Cup year wanted to play first team football. He is their loss and our gain and I’m convinced that he will be a massive signing for us.

Then there is Tiago Ilori whom will surely be back up for the forthcoming season but has all the attributes to be a top ball playing centre back. He is only young so Rodgers can iron out any weaknesses he may have.

Last but not least we signed Victor Moses from Chelski on a season loan, to play the much coveted left wing or attacking left midfielder depending on which way you see it. I have never been convinced by Moses but I will never discount any player until he has played at least a season.

I fully trust Rodgers ability to find the right player and given his recent history with the likes of Sturridge and Coutinho then I would be foolish to discount anything regarding any of our new signings.

In conclusion, we have had a very productive transfer window shipping out expensive dead wood whilst replacing it with real competition for places with a light covering of real quality and experience. This should give us more of a fighting chance this year of challenging for at least fourth place. Rodgers has to be given huge credit for his transfer dealings this summer as we have not had the money that the top 5 clubs above us have had.

It is clear that he has had to fight the financial restrictions at the club this summer but he has made us much stronger. Brendan has also not just thrown money at someone for the sake of spending money, but it is also backed up with the loan signings of Cissokho and Moses.

I would also expect some sort of inquest or at least a meeting between the manager, Ian Ayre and the owners, regarding our transfer policy and wage structure as it was clear for all to see that we missed out on Willian for financial reasons. I do admire the way FSG are trying to structure our club. However, there has to be some flexibility in our model to attract this calibre of player so we can push on to the next level. The flip side is that Rodgers is trying to obtain world-class talent rather than buying players who are not champions league quality.

Last but not least, we have made a great start to the season with 4 wins out of 4 in all competitive games with 3 wins, 3 goals and 3 clean sheets in the league, whilst beating the Mancs on the way.

Oh and we have the best striker in the league at the moment in Daniel Sturridge, who is on fire whilst sitting very pretty at the top of the league going into the terribly boring double international week.

However, we must not lose sight of what we are doing at LFC. Being the cream of the crop is nice at the moment and we should all enjoy this whilst we can and believe me I am. Over the past few days I have been sending copious amounts of text messages to United fans giving them all sorts of grief. But in reality it’s a marathon not a sprint, it does not mean we will end up being the cherry on the cake at the end of the season.

Finally, I feel the whole club is going in the right direction. For the first time in almost 5 years I have felt on top of the world this week being a LFC fan which feels wonderful and long may it continue.