Summer 2011: Revisiting one of Liverpool's worst transfer windows

LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM – AUGUST 03: Manager Kenny Dalglish (C) presents new signings (L-R) Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Alexander Doni and Stewart Downing of Liverpool following a press conference at Melwood Training Ground on August 3, 2011 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clint Hughes/Getty Images)

Summer 2011 was one of Liverpool’s worst transfer windows when looked in hindsight. Let’s revisit and see how each player got on.

In the same summer that Manchester City signed Sergio Aguero, Manchester United signed David de Gea, Chelsea signed Juan Mata, Arsenal signed Per Mertesaker and Liverpool signed…. Stewart Downing.

It was that kind of era.

The 2010’s have not been kind to Liverpool and that notion is typified by their transfer dealings. Naturally it’s translated to on-field heartbreak.

In the first year of the decade, the man making the decisions at the club was Roy Hodgson. We know how that went.

What follows is what happened in 2011. The January window hasn’t been awful, Luis Suarez was signed the January prior to this summer 2011 window but it also brought with it Andy Carroll and his pony tail, so there’s that.

Kenny Dalglish was in charge of the books that summer, his only full season back as manager of the club he’s a legend at.

Some positive business from the window included offloading the likes of Joe Cole, Paul Konchesky, Milan Jovanovic, Christian Poulsen, Sortirious Kyrgiakos and David N’gog. But what was bought to replace them would mostly need offloading in the years following.

Free Signings: Alex Doni and Craig Bellamy

The anonymous signings: a backup keeper and a past-his-prime ex-Liverpool player returning (probably because he was British and that was Dalglish’s M.O. that year.)

There’s nothing to say about Doni. He made four appearances for Liverpool before being usurped by, wait for it….., Brad Jones. That tells you all you need to know about Doni.

Bellamy scored six goals in 33 appearances that season for Liverpool. The most notable memory of him that year is a sad yet touching story.

Bellamy’s good mate Gary Speed, then the manager of the Welsh National Team, had tragically committed suicide. Two days after his passing, Bellamy was in the team. Liverpool played Chelsea and, well, Chelsea didn’t have a chance.

Here’s what Bellamy said himself, via Mirror.

“I was determined to play against Chelsea. I had to play. I needed to play to help with my grief, to do something to try to escape what had happened. … The Liverpool fans started singing his name. It was real to me then and I started crying. I’m a man’s man. I’m not supposed to cry.

‘I’m going to play f****** well tonight,’ I thought.

And Chelsea couldn’t get near me. It was one of the best games I have ever played. We won 2-0 and I set up both goals.”

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – DECEMBER 05: Bryan Ruiz of Fulham challenges Jose Enrique of Liverpool during the Barclays Premier League match between Fulham and Liverpool at Craven Cottage on December 5, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

Low priced signings: Sebastian Coates (£5million), Jose Enrique (£6million)

To denigrate these signings and brand them as failures would be a bit excessive. Firstly, their prices weren’t much of anything. Second, Enrique had a decent few years before falling off and Coates was loaned out enough to amortize his light fee and contract. Plus he was Uruguayan and meant to be a friend for Suarez.

Okay, Coates first. After being named Young Player of the Tournament at the Copa America in 2011, one that Uruguay won off the goals of Suarez, Liverpool beat other clubs to his signature. It’s a fee believed to be £5million.

Coates only made 12 appearances in the league for Liverpool but consummated it with one brilliant scissor kick goal against QPR.

But sometime around when Coates was making 6’8″ Lacina Traore look like the reincarnation of Jay-Jay Okocha with dribbling ability in the Europa League in 2012/13 was when it was cemented that he would never make it at Liverpool.

He spent 2013/14 and 2014/15 on loan at Nacional then Sunderland, respectively, before signing for Sunderland on a permanent basis the next summer.

By January they had loaned him out to Sporting where they re-upped the loan this summer.

As for Enrique, to squeeze 76 Premier League appearances, albeit mainly in his first two seasons, out of just a £6million fee, well, there’s worse business to be done.

He’s the king of the internet which was brilliant until it was something fans mercilessly derided him for once he fell out of the first team. Enrique will always have that.

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 29: Charlie Adam of Liverpool in action during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool at The Hawthorns on October 29, 2011 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Mildy priced failure: Charlie Adam (9m)

My biggest surprise from this summer is that Adam didn’t pan out. I’m not too proud to admit that somewhere in the darkest depths of my closet, you’d find a no. 26 “Adam” Liverpool kit. We all make mistakes.

Adam was chubby– so what. We’ve been making fun of Wayne Rooney because of it forever and it hasn’t exactly ruined his career.

The midfielder was meant to alleviate Steven Gerrard from the set-piece duties so Gerrard could lurk at the top of the box and hit some more trademark wonder goals from distance. Adam was also meant to be the Scottish Xabi Alonso next to Gerrard after Alberto Aquilani didn’t pan out.

Hold on… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Okay. We’re back.

Adam was brought on board from Blackpool after scoring 12 goals in his lone Premier League season. His first season on Merseyside, he’d score two.

The Scot has carved out a decent career post Liverpool, featuring fairly frequently for Stoke City since moving there after one season at Liverpool.

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 26: Stewart Downing of Liverpool in action during the Carling Cup Final match between Liverpool and Cardiff City at Wembley Stadium on February 26, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Big money failure: Stewart Downing (£20million)

Big money in 2011 is different to what big money is in the inflated market of 2016. Enough steroids have been pumped into the transfer market to supply Major League Baseball in the early 2000’s.

To render that thought effable and yield an example: Aguero was purchased by City for *only* £38million. A few years later, they’d spend £11million more each on both Raheem Sterling and John Stones. How much would Aguero have sold for this summer?

Anyway, back to Downing.

The winger’s beginning was ominous. He smacked the crossbar and that’s the kind of luck he’d have for his entire Liverpool stay. It just wasn’t meant to be.

Downing’s first season ended with zero Premier League goals and zero Premier League assists. Two doughnut holes. Absolutely useless. I’d say anonymous but he wasn’t very hard to find, he was infamous going around the pitch.

The next season he’d score three (!!!) times in the league but it’d (thankfully) prove to be his last on Merseyside and was sent to West Ham.

Nowadays, he’s back in the Premier League with his boyhood club Middlesbrough.

LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM – AUGUST 03: Liverpool FC present new signing Jordan Henderson at a press conference at Melwood Training Ground on August 03, 2011 in Liverpool , England. (Photo by Clint Hughes/Getty Images)

One success: Jordan Henderson (£16million)

WE’VE GOT ONE! One player signed during the summer of 2011 remains at the club and he remains as Liverpool’s second longest serving player, behind Lucas Leiva since Martin Skrtel left. There’s just no longevity at Liverpool from this decade.

The best part is the club tried to make him bounce as well. He was going to be makeweight to sign Clint Dempsey (*sigh*) from Fulham. The deal was accepted but Henderson refused to leave, he wanted to dig in under Brendan Rodgers and fight for his place in the team.

Now, he’s captain. And STILL receiving unwarranted stick from supporters. Some things never change.

The handsome Englishman was signed from Sunderland and in his first four seasons at Liverpool he was a mainstay in the team, making 30 or more Premier League appearances each year.

Last season, due to injuries, stands as the only year in his career (both at Sunderland and Liverpool) that he failed to crack that 30 match mark in the league since he broke into Sunderland’s first team in 2009-10.

Henderson was part of the British revolution that Dalglish tried to start at the club and remains as the only success of purchases from that region, with Carroll being the other the winter prior.