While United, Chelsea and City make their changes, and Arsenal seemingly stagnate, a quiet business like atmosphere prevails at Anfield.
One the hallmarks of the club during the eighties domination was the seamless replacement of players, the rolling personnel as teams morphed from one incarnation to the next while retaining titles and collecting cups in May. This transfer window seems, or at least seemed, to be following the pattern of recent years with drawn-out pursuits of players, and if the paper speculation was to be believed, the failure to land several key targets.
However, something feels very different from the last decade of squad maneuverings. Kenny Dalglish’s recruitment policy, going back to the January trading, appears to have a clear pattern of team building as opposed to any flavour of the month buying policy. With the purchase of Carroll and Adams Dalglish has injected into the squad a fighting spirit allied with skill, with Suarez and Henderson he has added youthful, exuberant talent allied with a team ethic.
This process is taking place against a background of competent and low key management of the club by FSG and Ian Ayre . No club has been successful, certainly not for any sustained period, without the unity of vision and stability that is back at the club right now. Dalglish has gone on record with his admiration for the way the club is now being run and clearly it goes beyond any mere lip service. It’s not hard to believe that he can see the similarities to the stewardship of Peter Robinson and John Smith.
One of Dalglish’s first achievements when replacing the hapless Roy Hodgson, was to change the language coming out of the club. He instantly emphasized the need for people at the club to pull together. His constant reference to “the football club” had the effect of minimizing the impact of individuals while reinforcing the responsibility of everyone at the club to play their part in the collective good. The sale of Torres was clearly the first big shot in the war to rid the club of disaffected influences left over from the acrimonious atmosphere bequeathed by Hicks and Gillett.
Speculation and debate continues over the weaknesses of the squad, or the value of some of the players purchased. However, the quiet determination of the club hierarchy and the steely winners resolve of Dalglish reminds me of the eighties and I’ll take that. The feeling that football is uncomplicated and can be enjoyed with a smile on your face is back at Anfield, success will not be far behind.