The Liverpool fans here in the Transfer Tavern were left drowning their sorrows again yesterday evening, after they witnessed their side throw away a two-goal lead at home to Sunderland, being forced to settle for a point in the end.
Jurgen Klopp has inherited a pretty average squad and one Liverpool fan present in the Tavern believes that Klopp will not really be judged, until he has had a full pre-season where he can shape the squad into his own.
If any manager can revive Liverpool and put them back among Europe’s elite it is Klopp, but he will need time to get a string of stellar signings into the club.
Two Reds supporters are enjoying a game of pool and they start discussing where some of the average players in the current squad would rank in a list of the all-time worst players to ever feature for the club.
Here we take a look at the FIVE worst signings in the history of Liverpool Football Club……
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE 5 PLAYERS!
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Andy Carroll
Carroll was signed by ex-Reds boss Kenny Dalglish for a whopping £35 million in one of the most bizarre signings of the modern era.
In just two years with the Anfield-based outfit, he managed just six goals from 44 appearances and his spell was blighted by niggling injury problems, that in truth have had an influence on his whole career.
The ex-Newcastle United player is not a bad player at all, if you ask West Ham United fans or even Magpies supporters they would tell you that Carroll is a more than able Premier League player. He quite simply couldn’t live up to the mammoth price tag that the Reds valued him at.
Mario Balotelli
The Italian character arrived at Liverpool in the summer of 2014 for a fee in the region of £16 million and after a reasonable 20-goal return from 50 games for Manchester City, it was anticipated that he might do a job for Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool side.
In 16 appearances during his one season with the club he netted just one goal, a tap in from underneath the bar against Spurs, which quite frankly our landlord here in the Tavern would also have buried!
Rodgers has admitted since departing Liverpool that the former Inter Milan striker wasn’t a player who was identified by Rodgers himself, and that it was the Reds’ board who pushed ahead with the transfer.
Technically still a Liverpool player, he is currently out on loan with AC Milan, Balotelli will have to do something pretty special to convince new boss Jurgen Klopp that he still has an Anfield future.
El Hadji Diouf
The Senegalese forward was signed for Liverpool by Gerard Houllier after he impressed on the international stage at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, and cost the Reds a reasonable £10 million.
Diouf was abysmal for Liverpool and has taken trouble with him to every club he has played for throughout his career. A particularly nasty low during his time with the Reds was an incident where he spat at a Celtic fan during a UEFA Cup game.
In three unsuccessful years with Liverpool, Diouf scored three goals in 55 appearances before eventually being sold to Bolton Wanderers in 2005.
Paul Konchesky
When Roy Hodgson was handed the managerial reigns at Liverpool back in 2010 his first accomplishment was to raid his former club Fulham for left-back Paul Konchesky.
The London-born full back could possibly go down as the worst full-back to ever play in the famous red shirt, playing just 15 games and being bombed out on loan to Nottingham Forest later in the season, following Hodgson’s departure as boss.
Since leaving Liverpool, Konchesky has played the majority of his football in the Championship with Leicester City and is now a regular in the Queens Park Rangers first-team.
Alberto Aquilani
The Italian central midfielder was signed for £18 million from Roma and was seen as a perfect replacement for Xabi Alonso, who had been sold to Real Madrid.
Having played 38 times for Italy on the international stage, big things were expected of the dynamic midfielder but in harsh reality he was never even close to being fit to lace the boots on Alonso’s feet.
In three years at the club some poor form and a series of injury concerns restricted him to just 18 appearances, in which he scored one goal, before he embarked on loan spells with Juventus and AC Milan, before being sold to Fiorentina in 2012.
