It was looking like it would be one of the dullest January transfer windows on record. Liverpool had been cautiously asking around promising players to bolster their flagging and aging squad. It's a huge comedown for a team that were top of the Premier League just two years ago. Last Autumn it was beginning to look like they would suffer a Leeds United style downfall but, with new owners steadying the boat financially and a new manager improving their sporting endeavours, they were sniffing around to see if any players would be available on the cheap. In fact, they had some income from the sale of the constantly inconsistent Ryan Babel, so a modest signing wasn't going to break the bank. Of course, this is when our benefactor stepped in.
Roman Abramovich made his money in Russia's booming oil industry but he is probably known more widely for his love of football. There has been a long history of football benefactors who indulge their love of football by buying and investing in their local team. David Murray's ownership of Rangers and Jack Walker with Blackburn are two notable examples of businessmen indulging their football interests with the profits of their business dealings. However, Abramovich was one of the first to take up their football philanthropy with a club for which they had no obvious previous ties. On the one hand, this has been great for the fans of the lucky club but I am rather unsure whether it is healthy for the game in general. Murray bought in talented English players to Rangers - possibly at the expense of local Glasgow talent. Walker brought together a vast array of talent including Alan Shearer and manager Kenny Dalglish. Abramovich has taken this to a whole higher level.
There had already been a few notable signings: Dzeko to Man City for £27m, Makoun to Aston Villa for £6m and then Darren Bent, also to Aston Villa, for up to £24m. That last figure drew some breaths: £24m for Bent - is he really worth this? In fact, he probably is because the transfer window makes it very difficult for Sunderland to sign a replacement, quickly, without disrupting yet another team. It was only towards the end of January that rumours started to circulate that Fernando Torres may be on his way.
In fairness, Torres has looked deeply unhappy at Liverpool and even the spurt of form he has shown under new management can't hide the fact that this was not the top European side he imagined he was joining back in 2007. But is he seriously worth £50m? He was to Liverpool. They could not afford to let their top striker leave when they were already struggling to find another. They had made tentative offers to Ajax for Luis Suarez at around the £12m mark. From what I saw of him at the World Cup I think this was grossly undervalued (at least at today's silly prices) but he is Ajax's top scorer and if they were to be deprived of him mid-season then they needed compensating. Within hours of the news of the Torres move breaking Liverpool had agreed top dollar: £22.7m and a club record signing - at least for a few hours.
Chelsea had already been splashing the cash. David Luiz cost £21.3m from Benfica. He is a good player but this is a lot of money for a defender. However, it was soon clear that Chelsea would aim to invoke Torres's contract opt-out by offering £50m for him. How could Liverpool refuse? In fact, they couldn't - they were legally obliged to sell the player if he wanted to go. Within hours, Liverpool had moved for Newcastle's Andy Carroll for an eye watering £35m - and even then he is injured at the moment; how did he pass the medical? As good as Carroll has been in his short career, how can he possibly be worth £35m? Well, he was to Newcastle as they had no chance of finding a replacement.
Who has actually lost out in all this? Liverpool broke even financially but replaced a talented but disheartened and injury prone player and a player with unfulfilled promise with two of the most exiting young forwards to have emerged in the last couple of years. Suarez scored (an admittedly soft goal) on his debut although Carroll will take a few weeks recuperation before playing. Newcastle and Ajax are both without their star players but, at least, with a bundle of cash to ease their finances. Chelsea, and particularly Roman Abramovich, have spent a large fortune in the hope of buying success. Without his spending the only move of note would have been Darren Bent at the now seemingly reasonable price of £18-24m. The thing is, I don't think Abramovich cares too much about the money. It's all for his amusement after all. I just wonder if this kind of cash would be better spent on facilities for the fans or training programmes for young players - which, in fairness, Abramovich has done in his native Russia.
I think 31st January 2011 will go down as the day the football world went mad. I wish it would get back to entertainment on the pitch but, just as the Great Train Robbers played monopoly with real money, we now seem to have Billionaires playing X-Box FIFA 2011 with real footballers.
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