THE MOOD, the manager, the net spend, the debt and the lack of revulsion at US owners; the changes at Liverpool since the high court verdict that saved them from Tom Hicks and George Gillett exactly 12 months ago are well-established now. It is the impact of Luis Suarez, however, that has afforded Anfield a transformation where it matters most.
Fenway Sports Group has been accused of overspending on some assets in the quest to reclaim Champions League status but, nine months after a €26 million deal with Ajax, the Uruguay international represents a sound investment. Suarez has injected goals and assists into Liverpool’s play but also the win-at-all-costs mentality that, despite the damage to his own reputation at times, was lacking when John W Henry first observed his acquisition at Goodison Park last year and a disillusioned Fernando Torres pursued aimless long balls down the channels.
This week the 24-year-old also proved the exception to Kenny Dalglish’s general media rule of tempering expectancy. “I don’t know how Manchester United think but I’m sure they will know what he did to them last year,” the Liverpool manager said. “They know what he is capable of and that is their problem.”
It was the corresponding fixture last season, Liverpool’s third successive win at home over a United side about to overtake them on 19 league titles and Steven Gerrard’s last start before injury, when Suarez announced that his arrival into English football was not only seamless but liable to revise the timescale placed on the club’s recovery.
Two moments illustrated his gifts to a disbelieving Anfield audience. The latter came in the 86th minute with Liverpool cruising 3-0 and Suarez, having sprinted beyond two defenders only to slice his shot into the Kop, kicked out at the advertising hoardings in disgust. The first, when he beat Rafael da Silva, Chris Smalling, Michael Carrick and Wes Brown to send Dirk Kuyt on his way to a hat-trick, defies explanation. “I don’t know how he did it,” Dalglish admitted.
“It’s not the first time he’s done that, maybe it was in terms of how many he went past, but each of the individual things he used to get past people he had done before. He just collated them in the one run. But he has got other things to his bow. Dirk scored a hat-trick but if you added up the distance of all his goals I don’t think you’d get outside the six-yard box – it was two yards, two yards and two yards. But they were a vital two yards.
“For me, Luis has made a fantastic contribution. He does something different every time you see him. I think the problem people have with Luis is that they don’t know what is coming next, but he does and that’s helpful. We just hope he continues to surprise us. But pleasantly.”
Along with every other Premier League manager this week, Dalglish’s opinion was sought on Wayne Rooney’s costly indiscretion in Montenegro. His reply lends itself as easily to Suarez as it does the divisive England international. “It is not just Wayne Rooney but any footballer; the characteristics make the person and the person is what makes the footballer. If you don’t like the personality, you might not get the footballer.”
In his autobiography, Pepe Reina tells of how he “loved” the Uruguay international from the moment he arrived. “I could tell straight away he had a bit of the devil in him and that he was going to be really exciting to watch,” the goalkeeper writes. “He has so much talent and so much potential that there is no reason why he cannot become a truly great player, someone who gets supporters on the edge of their seats and has people talking about him all the time because he is so good.”
It remains a challenge for Suarez to convince an audience beyond Liverpool and Uruguay to appreciate his talent without reservation. To Ghanaians, Otman Bakkal – the PSV Eindhoven player he bit while at Ajax – and others tired of the theatrics, that may be an impossibility but the man of the tournament during his nation’s Copa America triumph this summer has the ability to present a firm argument. Dalglish insists Suarez has the character too.
The Liverpool manager added: “Everyone can see what he has done on the pitch but he is a fantastic personality in and around the place. He was happy and smiling from the moment he signed. He settled in very quickly, moved into a house very quickly and scored on his debut against Stoke when he came on as a substitute, so everything went well for him.”
