Rafa is different. He signed for 5 years. And he is doing things right. Now, when you turn up at a club like Liverpool with it's huge fanbase and pots of cash (although those pots never seem to be big enough) it's very tempting to just rush out into football's shopping centre and do one of two things. You can either; a) Go running around the stores snapping up whatever is on special offer and come away with loads and loads of stuff that you are going to end up not wanting at all or b) You spend all your time trying to fight off the richies for the massive star items. Both of these styles of shopping will leave you tired, broke, full of regrets and surrounded by useless junk that you must now defend the purchases of to the people who gave you the money to shop with. Needless to say, this is not the way to go. Rafa has a list!
Now I know that the whole thing about Rafa "not buying the players I wanted him to buy" thing has been done to death (several times over) so don't worry, this is not one of those threads where I argue the toss about "why didn't we sign SWP?" or "Where are all the super*s?". This is a thread that makes me happy. I'm looking to the future. The future's bright. The future's red with a Liver bird on it!
Today, Rafa has/will/has-confirmed-he-will-be signing some chap from Austria called Idrizaj. Never heard of him? Join the club! What I have heard is that he won the Austrian Young Player Of The Year award and is being chased by Arsenal and Inter Milan. Another incredibly talented youngster with bags and bags of potential signs for us. Not Man Ure, not Chel$ki, not Arsenal or Real Madrid, Us.
Let's look at some of these kids and a couple of points that we know about them.
Idrizaj - best youngster in Austria, wanted by Arsenal and Inter
Gonzales - best youngster in Chile (hope we get him now)
Barragan - was wanted by Real M, Barca and Sevilla
Hobbs - was wanted by Arsenal
Carson - was wanted by Chel$ki
To say the least, any one of these suitors wouldn't have to do much to attract these impressionable youngsters, would they? But we got them. So, let us take a hyperthetical look at Rafa's team of Tomorrow... Today!
. Carson
Barragan Warnock
Whitbread Hobbs
Walsh
Potter Idrizaj Gonzales
Mellor Sinama
Could this be the team, that in a couple of years will lift the EPL trophy? Who knows. What I do know is that if these kids all fullfill their potential and are interspersed in a squad that includes Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko, Carra, Cisse, Riise and a few others, it will be very good indeed.
Now, it could be said that Houllier bought young and failed, and that is widely correct although some of his youngsters did turn out OK. But the players that Rafa has bought are not the "hot tips" that Houllier sought after, nor are they the "high risk buys" of the frenchman's era either. We are fighting off the big boys of Europe for these players, and what's more, we are winning.
OK, I can't deny it, I would have loved SWP, Joaquin, Milito, Raul and all the others, but at the end of the day they didn't come so what's the point in crying about it. And why cry anyway when you can look to a bright tomorrow, a stronger squad and a manager who is dedicated to winning and doing what is best for the team.
I tell you people, Everything's coming up Liverpool!
VIVA LOS RAFALUTION!!! VIVA LOS PODEROSO ROJOS!!! E VIVA MANANA!!!
