What happens after a marquee player leaves . . .
| The departure of Luis Suarez has left a huge void in the Liverpool side, but not every team falters, as the Reds might, after selling their star player
THE departure of Luis Suarez has left a huge void in the Liverpool side that narrowly missed out on winning their first league title in 24 years last season.
It is not only Suarez’s goals that will be missed — 31 in all competitions — it is the talismanic qualities the Uruguayan held at Anfield. Suarez was not only the best striker in European football last season, his very presence in the side lifted those around him.
The team hummed to Suarez’s tune. The opposition hated seeing him in Liverpool red, their hopes dented as soon as he emerged from the tunnel to face them.
On the other hand, his teammates were galvanised when they lined up alongside him, knowing the team’s chances of winning were far greater as a result.
His loss will be acutely felt and many expect Liverpool to struggle to replicate their title challenge without him.
It can take teams a while to recover from such a highprofile departure, but not every side falters after selling their star player.
Arsenal have persistently shown they can cope with losing key figures, but their lack of title success should serve as a warning to all Liverpool fans this English summer.
If Liverpool use the money they have received wisely, manager Brendan Rodgers could have a deeper squad this season that is far more suited to balancing the demands of playing in the Champions League, while maintaining domestic ambitions.
Whether he can win the title without Suarez, though, looks extremely doubtful.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Manchester United to Real Madrid £80m July 2009 Where money was spent: Much to the annoyance of United fans, the sale of their idol did not lead to major reinvestment in the first team squad. The suspicion was that one of the world’s most profitable clubs merely used the then world record fee to service the debts it had been saddled with by the Glazier family’s buyout. What happened next?
United were extremely fortunate they had someone even more valuable at Old Trafford than one of the world’s best players, one of the all-time great managers.
Sir Alex Ferguson had fought hard to keep Ronaldo out of Real Madrid’s clutches and the following season showed why as Chelsea snatched the Premier League title they had won in Ronaldo’s last year with them. United reached the Champions League final in Ronaldo’s final campaign as well, but they could not live up to those standards without him.
Fortunately, Ferguson was able to reignite United again and although he lost the title immediately after Ronaldo’s departure, the Red Devils were back on top of the pile in 2011, thanks to their master manager.
Nevertheless, some United fans would argue the team’s gradual decline, which culminated in last season’s seventh-place finish, began when they let their star player move to Madrid five years ago. Star player: Wayne Rooney was not a new arrival, but he seemed to enjoy being able to play again free from Ronaldo’s shadow. League position before sale: 1st. League position after sale: 2nd.
FERNANDO TORRES
Liverpool to Chelsea £50m Jan 2011 Where money was spent: Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, Jose Enrique. What happened next? Manager Kenny Dalglish was keen to give his Liverpool side more of a British feel and spent a huge chunk of the Torres money on a striker who had only been a first team regular at Newcastle for less than a year. Half of that time had been in the Championship, but Carroll had enjoyed an excellent six months in the Premier League and was tipped to become the future of English football.
Dalglish pounced, but Carroll never got to grips with the move. He scored just 11 goals in 58 appearances and was eventually sold to West Ham for half of the £35m Liverpool paid for him. Downing also failed miserably at Anfield and it was only when Brendan Rodgers replaced Dalglish in the summer of 2012 that Henderson began to look like a good player. Dalglish ultimately paid the price for his poor use of the money with his job. Star player: It has taken Henderson a while to lose the expensive failure tag at Anfield, but he has always possessed a good character and willingness to learn. He has improved hugely under Rodgers and was a key player last season League position before sale: 7th. League position after sale: 7th.
ANDY CARROLL
Newcastle to Liverpool £35m Jan 2011 Where money was spent: Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba, Papiss Cissé, Davide Santon, Sylvain Marveaux. What happened next? Newcastle were trying to consolidate their place back in the top flight when they took the gamble to sell their star striker to Liverpool, who were flush with cash following the sale of Torres to Chelsea.
Manager Alan Pardew was far from happy that, after weeks of promising Carroll would not be sold, he was, on transfer deadline day in January. The gamble paid off, though. Newcastle managed to stay up and, over the course of the next two windows, rebuilt the squad using the Carroll money.
Interestingly, rather than rush into spending, Newcastle took their time and the largest fee spent was the £9m invested in Cissé 12 months after Carroll’s departure.
The new-look side blossomed and, to the surprise of everyone, qualified for the Europa League the following season, finishing above Chelsea and Liverpool. The failure to spend again the following summer, though, cost them dearly and they were almost relegated in 2013. League position in season of sale: 12th. League position after sale: 5th.
CESC FABREGAS
Arsenal to Barcelona £30m August 2011 Where was money spent: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gervinho, Carl Jenkinson, Joel Campbell, Park Chu-young, Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta. What happened next? Arsenal lost the heartbeat of their side when Fabregas left and although he departed on good terms, Arsène Wenger’s side arguably lost the player who might have gone on to lead them to a long-awaited Premier League title.
Wenger deserves credit for keeping Arsenal in the top four throughout his time as manager but, at the very best, all he was able to do by selling Fabregas was keep treading water. Just as the young team he had nurtured looked ready to land some silverware, he lost his captain and best player and had to rebuild all over again as Chelsea, Manchester United and, eventually, Manchester City landed the trophies. Even though Arsenal finished one place higher in the table after Fabregas left, they never looked like winning the league. Star player: Of all the new arrivals at the Emirates signed thanks to the Fabregas money, Oxlade-Chamberlain has probably been the most successful, but he has still not matched the impact Fabregas had on the side.
League position before sale:
4th.
League position after sale: 3rd.
ROBIN VAN PERSIE
Arsenal to Manchester United
£25m August 2012
Where the money was spent: Lukasz Podolski, Olivier Giroud, Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal.
What happened next? Once again, Arsenal managed to absorb the sale of a key player without falling down the league, but Van Persie’s departure hurt them in two ways. The loss of their captain and top goalscorer deprived the team of the chance to kick on and win some silverware of their own, but it also helped fire Manchester United to the Premier League title in what turned out to be Ferguson’s final campaign as manager.
It is also maintained the perception that Arsenal are a stepping-stone club. As big and as glamorous as they are, Van Persie’s exit to one of their main rivals left the impression Arsenal will never be able to hold on to their best players. As a result, others will win the major prizes in English and European football, while Wenger makes sure they remain a consistent top four side who can absorb the sale of prized assets each year.
League position before sale:
3rd
League position after sale: 4th
GARETH BALE
Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid £85m August 2013 Where money was spent: Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela. What happened next? Tottenham had narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League the previous season, with Bale in blistering form. The Wales international developed the vital knack of scoring winning goals, seizing games by the scruff of the neck and imposing his will on them.
Tottenham were happy with the fee they received and showed plenty of ambition in the transfer market spending it, but they tried to do too much, too quickly. Trying to settle seven new players into the squad without any prior experience of playing in the Premier League proved troublesome, as did the fact manager Andre Villas Boas did not seem to have a final say on the players who were signed to replace Bale.
The Portuguese was sacked a few months into the season, as was his replacement Tim Sherwood at the end of the campaign, as Tottenham were plagued by inconsistency. Some of the new signings, most notably striker Soldado and winger Lamela, endured a terrible first season and Tottenham were not nearly as threatening without Bale as they had been with him. Star Player: They were at least some signs towards the end of the season that former Ajax star Christian Eriksen was getting to grips with English football as he delivered a few exceptional individual moments. League Position before sale: 5th. League Position after sale: 6th. —©