Comparing Kenny Dalglish’s 1987 signings with 2011: Carroll, Aldridge, Suarez, Beardsley, Adam, Barnes, Henderson and Houghton
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has gone on a spending spree this year as he rebuilds his Anfield squad, reviving memories of his previous stint as Reds boss. Back in 1987, Dalglish entered the transfer market to sign four key players that took Liverpool to another level, leading to the glorious 1987/88 season. talkSPORT looks at the parallels between Dalglish's 1987 and 2011 signings and asks if the modern crop can prove anything like as successful as their predecessors?
THE STRIKERS: 1987 JOHN ALDRIDGE, 2011 Andy Carroll
With Anfield goal scoring machine Ian Rush departing for Italian giants Juventus in 1987, it looked as though Liverpool would be considerably weakened up front. Dalglish had other ideas, however, and having secured a then-record transfer fee (for a British club) of £3.2m for Rush, the canny Scot set about using the funds to strengthen his hand with several signings. The first came with the £750,000 purchase of John Aldridge from Oxford United in early 1987, as Dalglish prepared for life without Rush. Aldo went on to score 26 league goals as the Reds coasted to the '87/88 title, banging in a total of 63 goals in 104 career Liverpool appearances, including one in the 1989 FA Cup final success. Fast forward to January 2011 and Dalglish oversaw the sale of star striker Fernando Torres for a record fee, using some of the cash to bag a new number nine in the shape of Andy Carroll. If the big Geordie frontman can emulate anything like Aldridge's scoring feats, he'll be well on the way to gaining the adulation of the Kop.
THE NUMBER SEVENS: 1987 PETER BEARDSLEY, 2011 LUIS SUAREZ
In his Liverpool playing days Kenny Dalglish struck up a fantastic partnership with Ian Rush and, having signed John Aldridge in 1987, he set about luring the wonderfully gifted Peter Beardsley to compliment his new striker. Beardsley arrived from Newcastle for a record fee (paid by a British club) of £1.9m and his trickery, dribbling ability and clever play lit up Anfield. The famous Beardsley shimmy bamboozled many otherwise competent defenders as the Red Men played a brand of attacking football that opponents simply couldn't live with in '87/88. Nearly a quarter of a century later, Luis Suarez has emerged as an exciting Liverpool number seven and who looks a potentially worthy successor to Beardsley, compared to the erratic likes of Harry Kewell, Nigel Clough and Vladimir Smicer. Indeed, Suarez has already torn Man United apart at Anfield, helping Dirk Kuyt score the easiest hat-trick of his career, as Beardsley did when he himself bagged three against their fierce rivals in 1990.
THE LEFT-SIDED MIDFIELDER: 1987 JOHN BARNES, 2011 Charlie Adam
Quality left-footed midfield performers have been few and far between for Liverpool in the past two decades. A club that has boasted the likes of Billy Liddell, Peter Thompson and Steve Heighway, has cast envious glances up the East Lancs Road as Ryan Giggs has given Man United the kind of balance Kopites once took for granted in their side. Patrik Berger aside, the last left-footed class act Liverpool could boast in midfield was the supremely talented John Barnes. Dalglish signed Barnes from Watford for £900,000 in 1987, just before his 24th birthday, and was repaid with stunning performances that saw him cruise to the PFA and Football Writers' Player of the Year awards in that first season. Like Adam, Barnes had a big build, but the latter was more of a winger for the majority of his time at Anfield – should Stewart Downing sign for the Reds, he may prove to be more of an equivalent in the current team, getting chalk on his boots as Barnes once did. However, Barnes' football intelligence and measured passing enabled him to move into a central midfield role during the Roy Evans years and it was then, as his mobility slowly diminished, that his class became truly apparent. Dalglish knows how important balance is to a top team and he will look to Charlie Adam to supply that to the modern day Reds.
THE RIGHT-SIDED MIDFIELDER: 1987 RAY HOUGHTON, 2011 Jordan Henderson
While Barnes provided the left-sided artistry for Liverpool, Dalglish moved in autumn 1987 to sign industrious right-sided midfielder Ray Houghton from Oxford United for £825,000. Houghton's energy and runs were an important part of Liverpool's success in the late '80s and his willingness to work hard off the ball fitted perfectly with Dalglish's pass and move philosophy. In fact, his sale to Aston Villa by Dalglish's successor, Graeme Souness, was arguably one of the worst pieces of business by a Liverpool boss; Houghton had been a standout player in a poor season by the Reds' standards in 1991/92 and went on to star as Villa came close to winning the Premier League title in 1993. Henderson, likewise, is a player who will give the Liverpool midfield plenty of energy on the right-side and the kind of explosive athleticism that, as good a player as he is, Dirk Kuyt lacks. With the class of Adam, Gerrard and Suarez providing guile to Liverpool's attack, Henderson's mobility in theory should dovetail nicely in Dalglish's new-look team.
What do you think of Liverpool's signings so far this summer? Let us know by commenting below…