Liverpool must wait until summer for squad overhaul, warns John W Henry - 7M sport

Liverpool must wait until summer for squad overhaul, warns John W Henry



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Posted Tuesday, November 16, 2010 by theguardian.com

Liverpool must wait until summer for squad overhaul, warns John W Henry
Liverpool's principal owner, John W Henry, said the team needed a long-term strategy for developing players.

Liverpool's principal owner, John W Henry, has warned that there will be no quick-fix to the club's problems and that it is likely to be next summer before New England Sports Ventures can improve the first-team squad.

Disillusionment at Anfield has not dispersed since NESV completed its £300m takeover last month. Supporters turned on the manager, Roy Hodgson, following Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Stoke and key players have questioned the direction of the club. In an interview with a supporters' website, Red And White Kop, Henry says it is "simply wrong" to blame the manager for the malaise at Liverpool and up to the squad to sustain the form that beat Chelsea only last weekend.

Liverpool are looking at transfer targets for January – Hodgson watched the Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila against Auxerre yesterday – but Henry says the overhaul at Anfield will be a long-term process, with emphasis on improving the output from the club's youth academy.

"The club has gone through a very difficult period and the period has not ended," the Liverpool owner said. "We saw a certain team on the field against Chelsea last week that showed what they can do. We also know how competitive the EPL is this year. There are no guaranteed matches any longer for any club. This club can be better. Blaming the manager or any one particular player is simply wrong. This club needs to play up to their potential every match. If they don't, they won't win.

"That said, we have work to do and must invest in this club to improve it on the field. Can that be successfully done in January? A number of people I've talked with doubt it. Most people seem to think it will be the summer before we can really begin to improve. So the players – all 11 each week – have to be on the same page every match and have to live up to the history and respect this club has engendered – no matter what."

Damien Comolli, recently appointed by NESV as Liverpool's first director of football strategy, said today: "As I've just joined, we've got only a few weeks to prepare for the window but we are also looking at the summer transfer window. That's what I would call short-term but then long-term we are already looking at things like the pre-season tour for next season [and] we are already looking at the academy to see what we can improve."

Henry confirmed his support for the changes made at youth level last summer, when Frank McParland returned to the club as academy director and appointed two former Barcelona youth coaches, José Segura and Rodolfo Borrell, with a view to replicating the Spanish champions' production line. "We need 'top four' young players," Henry said. "They will not produce a quick fix but our philosophy in football will be based on the long-term. That is what has made Arsenal and Manchester United so strong. They understand something we understand in Boston – to be consistently strong on the field you must have a consistent flow of young talent that has been nurtured and developed the right way. We will focus on that. That is also the philosophy of Damien Comolli."

However, Henry accepts that an approach designed to "solve the problems that have plagued the club for some time now" may not appease players anxious for honours in the near future.

He said: "I've met with a number of our players and had private discussions with some of them. I've been greatly impressed by them personally. They are all exceptionally bright and they all want to be here. The question they have had, rightfully so, is whether or not the club is going to go in the right direction. They all want to see that. I have been very forthright about our philosophy and about what we are going to try to achieve. Some would prefer a quick fix. Others prefer to focus on the long-term and that is very difficult for most players."



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