Kenny Dalglish is clearly a determined man. Having been denied the services of Charlie Adam in the January transfer window by a defiant and relegation-threatened Blackpool, the Liverpool boss has finally secured the playmaker’s signature, with the club last night completing the signing of the Scottish midfielder on a five-year deal rumoured to be in the region of £7m to £9m.
Adam’s arrival fits the profile sought by the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, of young, British talent and the twenty-five year old follows Jordan Henderson through the Anfield “In” door this summer. Having had a £15m bid for Stewart Downing rejected by Aston Villa, Liverpool are expected to continue their spending by returning with an imminent offer Alex McLeish can’t refuse.
Following months of speculation, Adam -speaking to the club’s official tv channel- was clearly relieved to finally complete the deal and talked of his future hopes:
“It’s been difficult because everyone has been asking what’s happening and I haven’t known. I’m just glad it’s done now and I can focus on the football. I’m here to play football and we are looking forward to a successful season and a successful future for Liverpool Football Club.”
“I am absolutely delighted to be here. It has been a long process but now I can’t wait to get started and hopefully this will be a successful period in my career and in the club’s history. I see this as the perfect development for me to come here, play with such wonderful players and hopefully help the team to win trophies, because that’s the most important thing.
The Statistics
Adam made his debut for Rangers in the 2003-04 season, but featured just four times for the Scottish club in his first three campaigns, moving on loan to Ross County in 2004-05, where he scored 2 goals in 11 games. He was loaned out to St Mirren the following season, playing 29 games and scoring 5 goals as he helped the club to the Scottish First Division title.
The arrival of Paul le Guen finally saw Adam make his Ibrox first-team breakthrough, as he started the 2006-07 season firmly in the new manager’s plans. Le Guen lasted just half a season at Rangers but Adam reaped the benefits of regular playing time, scoring 11 goals in 32 games in a campaign that saw him voted the club’s Young Player of the Year. That was as good it got at Rangers and with 25 appearances and 2 goals over the next couple of seasons, Adam was loaned to Blackpool halfway through 2008-09.
The Seasiders snapped up Adam for just £500K at the start of the following season and his performances for Blackpool have subsequently made a mockery of Rangers’ asking price; with 35 goals and 22 assists in 98 games for the club, Adam proved unbelievable value for money. His displays under Ian Holloway helped Adam back into the international fold, with a total of 11 matches for Scotland producing 3 assists over the last four years.
Adam was, of course, a cut-price FPL phenomenon last season. Initially priced at 5.0, he ended the campaign on 192 points, second only to Nani’s 198 overall. Adam scored 12 goals, made 9 assists and picked up an astonishing 45 Bonus Points for his displays, despite Blackpool‘s subsequent relegation.
The Prospects
There are a number of factors to mull over when it comes to considering Adam as a Fantasy option next season:
At present, the number of midfielders at Liverpool clouds the situation, though it’s unlikely Dalglish would have chased the player for such a long period of time if he was buying him for a place on the subs bench. A move for Stewart Downing also looks likely and with Steven Gerrard, Lucas, Dirk Kuyt, Jordan Henderson, Raul Meireles and Maxi Rodriguez all in with a shout of first-team action, it’s impossible to second-guess Dalglish’s thinking. The next few weeks will surely clarify matters to an extent, with Meireles, Maxi and Joe Cole all strongly linked to join Milan Jovanovic in departing the club.
In terms of team shape, it would seem the personnel offers Dalglish a variety of options. Adam has been bought as a deep-lying playmaker and it’ll be intriguing as to how this may affect Liverpool’s formation. Not known for his all-action performances, playing Adam in a 4-4-2 would place a lot of responsibility on his fellow central midfielder and seems, perhaps, the unlikeliest of systems for him to slip into naturally. Will Liverpool try a 4-2-3-1, then, with Adam playing the “Xabi Alonso” role and Lucas offering industry and protection? Or a 4-3-3 with a midfield three of Adam, Gerrard and Henderson, with Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez flanking Andy Carroll up front?
A look at Liverpool’s away performances under Dalglish last season suggests they may be best-suited to tightening up on their travels- Liverpool lost four of their nine away games since the return of King Kenny, including defeats to relegated West Ham and Adam’s Blackpool, as well as West Brom and Aston Villa. Perhaps a 4-1-4-1 with Adam in front of the back-four could be more effective away from Anfield? At the moment, though, it’s all speculation; pre-season is the only real gauge of how he may fit into the starting XI. One thing’s for sure, though; Dalglish has proven to be adaptable, even playing three at the back last season on occasion.
Delving deeper into Adam’s stats from last season shows that of his 12 goals scored, 7 were penalties, 2 free-kicks, 1 directly from a corner and just 2, therefore, from open play. Four of his 9 assists were also the result of free-kicks and corners which highlights just how dependant Adam was on set-pieces last season. If Dalglish decides to keep Steven Gerrard as number one for set-pieces, Adam’s returns would considerably diminish. He may even have troubling dislodging Dirk Kuyt as second-choice for spot-kicks, such was the Dutchman’s success in Gerrard’s absence last term.
In addition, Ian Holloway’s 4-3-3 was built to get the best out of Adam‘s creative talents; shorn of much defensive duties, he had time and space on the ball to conduct matters from deep. This was crucial to Adam picking up so much Bonus Points and as our Members Area shows, Adam’s Touches per game was on a par with the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Luka Modric. At Liverpool, he’ll no longer be the main man and a substantial dip in Bonus returns also looks likely, though he’s still capable of breaking the 20+ mark. The upshot of all this is that if Dalglish does choose to rotate his midfield, both Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll could be the safest initial options until first-team matters become a little more apparent.
Adam’s FPL pricing is a tricky one to predict. Second-top scorer in 2010/11 FPL, playing for a side fighting for a Champions League position, just how much will this influence the jump in value? Dirk Kuyt’s starting price last season was 9.0, though his first XI place was assured; with uncertainty over their first-team places, both Maxi and Meireles came in at 7.0. If FPL have doubts over his number of starts, perhaps Adam could creep in around 8.0 but a value similar to Kuyt’s last term seems the likeliest scenario.
