Liverpool transfer chief and FSG ‘NOT to blame’ for Zubimendi failure and post-Klopp mess
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes and owners FSG are ‘NOT to blame’ for failing to sign Martin Zubimendi or indeed anyone. He made a pinky promise.
Blame academy
‘Missing out on Martin Zubimendi could be the difference between third and winning the title… but Richard Hughes and Liverpool’s owners are NOT to blame,’ is a strong old MailOnline headline to a piece by Richard Hughes and Fenway Sports GroupLewis Steele.
It is apparently ‘far too simplistic to suggest that the title race will come down to’ Liverpool‘s inability to sign a midfielder in the mould of Zubimendi. And that is fair: it should not affect the battle between Manchester City and Arsenal.
But this is weird:
‘Liverpool’s chief problem as they stuttered on the final straight of the title race last term was more down to a lack of clinicality in attack as they dropped points in six of the final 11 games.’
They scored 22 goals in that stretch, more than Arsenal (21) in their final 11 games. Liverpool also conceded 16 goals in that time, more than Brentford (13) and Everton (12).
They could have been more clinical in certain games but that slump from March onwards was not ‘down to’ that whatsoever.
But this is all besides the point: how are the people in charge of Liverpool’s recruitment ‘NOT to blame’ for them a) failing to recruit anyone this summer, and b) very publicly failing to recruit their clear top target?
‘What should be said in this case is that any fingers pointed at the owners, Fenway Sports Group, or new sporting director Richard Hughes are missing the point. Zubimendi had given his word and reneged on that regardless of finances. The club were willing and able to do the deal.’
Oh well that’s alright then. Zubimendi made a pinky promise. What was Hughes supposed to do, identify other possible signings just in case a contingency plan was needed? Try and sign someone who hadn’t also rejected Arsenal and Bayern Munich in recent summers, underlining how difficult it is to persuade him to leave his boyhood club? Not spend the first two months of the summer waiting for something to crop up, before chasing an unlikely deal and then ending up with nothing and only a couple of weeks left of the window?
Zubimendi told Liverpool he would join them and he ‘reneged’. Blame him.
‘It is also worth noting that if pundits are to criticise Chelsea, for example, for signing 11 players this summer in a gung-ho style, it would be wrong to stick the knife into Liverpool for operating with a measured, quality-over-quantity approach.’
Good lord, that straw man has just been blown over by a light breeze. Chelsea are being criticised for signing about four teams’ worth of players in two years, giving them all lifetime contracts and selling their homegrown academy talents to fund it all, while still ending up with eight goalkeepers, two right-backs and no strikers.
And can Liverpool really be described as ‘operating with a measured, quality-over-quantity approach’ when they have not signed anyone at all? It’s neither quality nor quantity.
‘It is now unlikely that Liverpool move on to alternative targets in the holding midfield department. They are being opportunistic in the market and only signing players that will definitely improve the team.’
Correction: they are signing no-one. And again with this ‘opportunistic’ line on Zubimendi. It really does not reflect well on a supposedly elite recruitment team to just wait for situations to present themselves. The literal dictionary definition of ‘opportunistic’ refers to things not being done ‘in a planned way’. If that is how Hughes and Liverpool are choosing to go about their first summer together then fine but it doesn’t sound like they aren’t to blame for the situation it has created.
‘Ultimately, they lost out to a convincing charm offensive led by Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil. Mail Sport was told the boss had multiple meetings with Zubimendi that tugged on his heartstrings and centred around the quality of his life in San Sebastian.
‘Zubimendi, a keen hiker, was told about his perfect life in the shadows of the Ulia Mountain range and how he would miss Basque eateries. He was also reminded of an interview he gave to Spanish TV after the Euros where he promised to stay at La Real.’
Not to labour the point, but that isn’t a defence of Hughes or Liverpool. Quite the opposite. They made a player who has spent literally more than half of his life as part of his boyhood club their priority signing. Their top target was someone who has never lived outside of San Sebastian. They were then apparently surprised to discover he a) really likes his boyhood club, and b) really likes living in San Sebastian.
‘Hughes is not to blame for Zubimendi’s decision but the former Bournemouth man is not fully exempt from criticism. Slot has a big enough task in preventing any post-Jurgen Klopp drop-off. With zero new faces this summer, does the new boss have the tools to reach the club’s goals?’
Slot probably has less of a chance of that with no new signings added to a team which Jurgen Klopp, the greatest manager in modern Liverpool history who had worked with them for nearly a decade, could only inspire to third last season, yes. That is fair.
But if he is NOT to blame for Liverpool taking three months to realise their priority target is out of reach, then can he really shoulder responsibility for anything else that falls directly under his remit?
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BREAKING
‘What Martin Zubimendi did the day after rejecting Liverpool transfer’ – Liverpool Echo.
He trained for Real Sociedad because that is his job.
De Ligt full
‘Ajax troll Man United with hilarious social media post after ex-players Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui moved to Old Trafford in £60m double swoop’ – MailOnline.
The post Ajax made on the social media site formerly known as Twitter was: ‘Manchester is red,’ with a winking face emoji. Two things:
a) How is that ‘trolling’ Man United?
2) ‘Hilarious’ is slightly questionable; perhaps you had to be there.
Keane learner
‘Roy Keane confirms intentions to quit Sky Sports and ITV pundit role’ – Daily Mirror website headline.
‘Roy Keane has revealed his intention to quit punditry within the next 10 years’ – Daily Mirror website opening paragraph.
The scoop here is that Roy Keane does not plan on doing punditry for the rest of eternity.
Release me
‘Sancho releases six-word statement as Man Utd transfer confirmed’ – Daily Mirror website.
Can an Instagram message – to the departing Aaron Wan-Bissaka, for it is his ‘Man Utd transfer confirmed’ – ever constitute the release of any sort of statement? It’s a Notes app screenshot or nothing.
