da realbet： It would be presumptuous to say Liverpool are sealing their fate in mid-table mediocrity simply by signing Kolo Toure on a free transfer. Even if there isn’t too much to take from this move on face value, the effects could prove to be extremely important for the short and long-term successes of the club under Brendan Rodgers.
da bwin： Manchester City made the same signing with Patrick Vieira in 2010, Manchester United found plenty of use in Henrik Larsson and Paul Scholes, and Monaco have just added Ricardo Carvaho to their squad. It isn’t really suggestive of a team’s standing in football, rather it’s better to look at the surrounding factors and try to make some sense of it all.
For Liverpool, they’ve just lost a veteran leader in Jamie Carragher. It doesn’t really need explaining that Kolo Toure won’t be a regular in the first team, but he will go some way to filling the void of an experienced figure in the dressing room and on occasion on the pitch. All Liverpool have done is allowed themselves to carry on from where they left off with Carragher. If Brendan Rodgers had the opportunity to extend Carragher’s stay into next season, I’m sure he would. It’s not always about footballing ability; in this case, Liverpool are fortunate to have Steven Gerrard, but there is a lot of importance in introducing newcomers, especially those from abroad, to the values of the club and English football.
It’s all very low-risk, too. Liverpool don’t really stand to lose anything from the signing of Toure. There is no transfer fee involved and the wages, I’m sure, are much less than what Manchester City had offered in his previous contract.
Despite having only played 13 times for Manchester City last season, Toure doesn’t arrive at Liverpool as a hopeless centre-back. At 32, there is still a few years left in him at the highest level in England, and, obviously acknowledging his lack of pace now, he is able to provide cover at right full-back.
What shouldn’t be said is that Liverpool are falling away from the top four. You see these signings all over sports, no matter how good or how talented a team is. The addition of experienced figures can be invaluable at the best of times and it would take a lot away from Rodgers to assume the Liverpool manager doesn’t have a role planned out for Toure.
The nature of this transfer also allows Liverpool far more flexibility in the market when pursuing their marquee centre-back signing. It has already been reported that Brendan Rodgers may not have a lot to work with in the market, with additional funds being raised through player sales. But the club are in need of a centre-back of note to help push the team on. With that, the true value of Toure’s signing will be determined by how well the club does in bringing in another name for the defence.
As of now, it looks to be a smart move for a club who don’t have too much to work with in the transfer market. Importantly, it is another building block in the ascent up the league table.
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