There's a good interview in todays Echo where Toshack talks about the scouting methods in Shank & Paisley's time. The first question they would ask a scout who was suggesting a buy was "Is he a Liverpool player ? ".
This was a far deeper question than "is he any good?"and it makes the point that there was a difference between a good player and a good Liverpool player. It brings in the qualities of honesty to the club and supporters and the bond which builds up between them and a player.
If you go through the signings of the past 15 years how many would pass the Shanks test of "Is he a Liverpool player ?"
It is easy to get carried away with the hype surrounding todays superstars and I can understand younger supporters expecting us to sign the big names all the time but at the end of the day it this question which must be answered everytime.
I don't think that Houllier had a clue of what it meant and the other managers since Paisley lost their way and missed this aspect of the game. I like what I'm seeing with Raffa and can see the club returning to the attitude in the 60s 70s & 80s where the team is a unit not just 11 egos.
By the way Tosh does like the Crouch signing, not just because he's another beanpole.