Coombs wrote:
I really had no faith this was going to happen. I thought we'd wasted all our time failing to sign Aouar and would come away with nothing.
Seems Arteta and Edu are going against decades of precedent and I'm going to have to change my mindset.
As much as those running the club have made mistakes, I think the entire focus changed when KSE took full ownership. We saw it last summer with the money spent. There really does seem to be a determination to get back to the top, and Arteta's arrival last Christmas has intensified that because it's clear that the man is not only driven to drag us back to the very top, but he has everyone at the club convinced that his ideas are worth buying into and backing. And that last part is a big deal.
The only thing that can really stop us from progressing now is if Arteta isn't as good as he appears to be. But the signs are he knows what is needed for a balanced, functioning team that can compete with the best around.
And that really is the crucial factor.
Liverpool had grand ambitions 5 years ago, and assembled a great transfer/analytics team, but Klopp is the man that has created that team. Without his vision for the shape and tactical emphasis of the team and then the ability to work out exactly which players fit where and how, this Liverpool success doesn't happen. People will say signing the best around in their positions isn't rocket science, but years of focused building got them to that privileged position. And even so, why didn't the clubs with more money than Liverpool sign Alisson, van Dijk and Fabinho? I guarantee Klopp knew the moment those three had signed their contracts that he'd just given himself the chance to win the Premier League and Champions League, because he knew precisely where they'd fit and what they'd do for his team. Whilst Barca, Madrid, United et al. sat on their thumbs spending similar money in isolation and without a plan.
With every passing week, Arteta looks more and more like he might just be the man to execute something similar for us. Very exciting.
And Happy Birthday, Claude. What a magnificent present! 🙂
