Damien Comolli has been sacked

Moles

Liverpool owners told me Jordan Henderson was a 'massive mistake', insists former Anfield chief Damien Comolli

Former Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli believes his Anfield legacy should be gauged on the burgeoning career of Jordan Henderson rather than the scars left by the Andy Carroll saga.

Comolli was instrumental in buying Carroll for £35million in the January transfer window of 2011 - still the highest fee ever paid for an Englishman - only to see the striker score just 11 goals in 58 appearances in all competitions before being offloaded on loan initially and then permanently to West Ham for £15million.

However, Comolli was also responsible for taking Henderson from Sunderland to Anfield for around £20million and the England midfielder and Liverpool vice-captain is tipped to take the armband full-time when Steven Gerrard leaves for the United States at the end of the season.

A defiant Comolli believes the Carroll episode should be consigned to history, saying: 'The decision was made in a conference call between the owners, myself, Kenny Dalglish (the manager at the time) and the commercial director at the time who is now chief executive, Ian Ayre.

'We made the decision collectively, knowing exactly the money we would lose if it did not work out, and they said they were happy to go ahead with the transfer.

'I will stick to what I have always said about Andy Carroll. When he is fit, he is unplayable. When he has been fit at West Ham, he has shown what he can do, scoring goals, making assists, being a constant threat.

'When people say we made a mistake, I'm still not convinced we made a mistake. It's just we haven't seen the best of Andy Carroll because of all the injuries.'

Comolli insists the success of Henderson at Anfield, plus the development of winger Raheem Sterling and full back Jon Flanagan, only highlights the need for the continuity and stability he believes is provided by a director of football.

The 42-year-old, who was also director of football at Tottenham and who was passing on his experience this week to future sporting directors in a lecture at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: 'Nothing is guaranteed.

'What we do is try to lower the risk in the decision-making process. But we are dealing with human beings. It is not as though we are buying shares or property.

'Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don't. Sometimes life gets in the way of talent, sometimes there are injuries, sometimes the player doesn't adapt to one place.

'I don't think I have to justify whether Carroll was a good decision or a bad decision. Look at it as a whole. When people talk to me nowadays about Liverpool, they say what a fantastic job you did in bringing players like Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson to the club.

'The issue I have got is when a group of owners approach somebody like me and say we want to invest for the long term, we want you to sign young players, we want you to put together a squad which has a future for the next three to five years, we want you to work with the academy and we start to do all this and after a few months or a few years they say: "Sorry, it's not working out".

'You cannot say you have to focus on the future and at the same time say the young players are not ready to compete at the top level.

'When I left Liverpool, the owners told me Henderson was a massive mistake. Now he's turned out to be the next Liverpool captain and he's a regular in every game.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2940897/Liverpool-owners-told-Jordan-Henderson-massive-mistake-insists-former-Anfield-chief-Damien-Comolli.html

Liverpool owners told me Jordan Henderson was a 'massive mistake', insists former Anfield chief Damien Comolli

Former Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli believes his Anfield legacy should be gauged on the burgeoning career of Jordan Henderson rather than the scars left by the Andy Carroll saga.

Comolli was instrumental in buying Carroll for £35million in the January transfer window of 2011 - still the highest fee ever paid for an Englishman - only to see the striker score just 11 goals in 58 appearances in all competitions before being offloaded on loan initially and then permanently to West Ham for £15million.

However, Comolli was also responsible for taking Henderson from Sunderland to Anfield for around £20million and the England midfielder and Liverpool vice-captain is tipped to take the armband full-time when Steven Gerrard leaves for the United States at the end of the season.

A defiant Comolli believes the Carroll episode should be consigned to history, saying: 'The decision was made in a conference call between the owners, myself, Kenny Dalglish (the manager at the time) and the commercial director at the time who is now chief executive, Ian Ayre.

'We made the decision collectively, knowing exactly the money we would lose if it did not work out, and they said they were happy to go ahead with the transfer.

'I will stick to what I have always said about Andy Carroll. When he is fit, he is unplayable. When he has been fit at West Ham, he has shown what he can do, scoring goals, making assists, being a constant threat.

'When people say we made a mistake, I'm still not convinced we made a mistake. It's just we haven't seen the best of Andy Carroll because of all the injuries.'

Comolli insists the success of Henderson at Anfield, plus the development of winger Raheem Sterling and full back Jon Flanagan, only highlights the need for the continuity and stability he believes is provided by a director of football.

The 42-year-old, who was also director of football at Tottenham and who was passing on his experience this week to future sporting directors in a lecture at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: 'Nothing is guaranteed.

'What we do is try to lower the risk in the decision-making process. But we are dealing with human beings. It is not as though we are buying shares or property.

'Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don't. Sometimes life gets in the way of talent, sometimes there are injuries, sometimes the player doesn't adapt to one place.

'I don't think I have to justify whether Carroll was a good decision or a bad decision. Look at it as a whole. When people talk to me nowadays about Liverpool, they say what a fantastic job you did in bringing players like Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson to the club.

'The issue I have got is when a group of owners approach somebody like me and say we want to invest for the long term, we want you to sign young players, we want you to put together a squad which has a future for the next three to five years, we want you to work with the academy and we start to do all this and after a few months or a few years they say: "Sorry, it's not working out".

'You cannot say you have to focus on the future and at the same time say the young players are not ready to compete at the top level.

'When I left Liverpool, the owners told me Henderson was a massive mistake. Now he's turned out to be the next Liverpool captain and he's a regular in every game.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2940897/Liverpool-owners-told-Jordan-Henderson-massive-mistake-insists-former-Anfield-chief-Damien-Comolli.html

If if's and but's were candy & nuts then everyday would be xmas Damien....go cry somewhere else.

So much for the misguided and misinformed blaming Carroll's signing on KD, Comolli holds his hands up.

We handled the whole Andy Carroll situation terribly. Everyone inside and out was too busy worrying about how a 35 million pound "mistake" would "plague us" and they were moaning that we had to get rid of him ASAP and pretend it never happened. That is the opposite of what the LFC we know should have done. If Liverpool Football Club make a signing of that magnitude you would expect the club, ideally, under the right management and in the right time, to back that player, especially if he is young, to make it and become a great, to justify the price, to knock any naysayers dead. But we were in the wrong time with the wrong people in charge, who had no idea what they were talking about and still know very little. Now we have Balotelli who has not even been as 'good' as Carroll was for us. We spent the money we got back on Carroll on a similar player who isn't performing as well.

We as supporters always love to play the blame game instead of looking at the bigger picture. People screaming for Rodgers' head early in the season, embarrassing. Look at Dortmund - we say our fans are as good as theirs? When we were whinging at the start of the season and they were even lower than us in the Bundesliga, they did not lose their minds like so many Liverpool fans, and they STILL haven't despite BVB being in the relegation zone. Our Scouse mentality has been utterly wiped out by the British mentality and that leads us to betray our players and our managers, the only people we should be inherently supporting in the football world.

He might have proved himself but he was never going to fit in with Brendan's style. I think we did well to get what we did given the situation.

And i struggle to believe the words of people who may have an agenda. He also bought Adam, Downing, Doni, Enrique, Coates and Bellars. Aside from Bellars, none have made a proper impact.

He left Tottenham fighting with their staff, he left his French club blamed for putting them in financial hardship and he left here defending some sh*te signings.

And he's been unemployed since hasn't he?

him saying this BS is just part of his agenda to create problems at lfc... cause he is still butt hurt he got let go.  grow up dude and move on...

him saying this BS is just part of his agenda to create problems at lfc... cause he is still butt hurt he got let go.  grow up dude and move on...

He's taking the piss - what did he get £4m for wrongful dismissal!!!

So much for the misguided and misinformed blaming Carroll's signing on KD, Comolli holds his hands up.

The tw*t has taken long enough to reveal the truth.

He's got a frigging nerve. He was the key architect in KK's downfall. That's his fu*king 'legacy'.

If if's and but's were candy & nuts then everyday would be xmas Damien....go cry somewhere else.

 

'The decision was made in a conference call between the owners, myself, Kenny Dalglish (the manager at the time) and the commercial director at the time who is now chief executive, Ian Ayre.'

The point still stands 

And i struggle to believe the words of people who may have an agenda. He also bought Adam, Downing, Doni, Enrique, Coates and Bellars. Aside from Bellars, none have made a proper impact.

"People who may have an agenda" hmmm - Yeah I know. 

Let's try to look at it without "agenda" then...

#1: Adam - @ £7m, a squad player who had 11 assists and 2 goals. Maybe not a "proper impact" [mainly because, for some weird reason, 'knowledgeable' fans expected  him to deliver the league/top 4]... yet... a bigger impact that most £7m(+) squad players since.

#2: Downing - @ £20m, supposed to be the man who made the bombs for Carroll. Absolute pish first season. Worked his way back into Brendan's team [in front of his own signings] the following season. Definitely no "proper impact", given the reasonable expectation after such expenditure... yet... a bigger impact, with 3 league goals and 6 assists (under Brendan) than many signed after Comolli.

#3: Doni - Really? Was anyone really expecting a "proper impact" from him? I hope not. 

#4: Enrique - @ £7m, a defender who was part of a defence which conceded only 40 goals in his first season. Played his way into Brendan's team the following season; scoring 2 goals with 6 assists in a team which conceded 43 goals. Next season - didn't play much due to serious injury. Now whilst some might say he hasn't had a proper impact, I believe that this assertion is stretching it, to say the least. He may have played less because of injury (or he may not be in Brendan's thinking) but Enrique has made a bigger impact, both defensively and offensively, than many signed post Comolli.

#5: Coates - @ £7m, a young centre half with potential... pretty much like Ilori in every respect. Hasn't made much of a proper impact (depending what impact was expected, of course) but... yet again... no less than many signed post Comolli.

So there you have it - no agenda, just an honest look at what we got for the money Comolli spent. Was his time here that much more wasteful than what followed? I don't know.

Would any of you 'take' all five signings [and Carroll] again if we could guarantee a Suarez & Henderson in the same batch? I know that I F***ing would... all day, every day. 

 

"People who may have an agenda" hmmm - Yeah I know. 

Let's try to look at it without "agenda" then...

#1: Adam - @ £7m, a squad player who had 11 assists and 2 goals. Maybe not a "proper impact" [mainly because, for some weird reason, 'knowledgeable' fans expected  him to deliver the league/top 4]... yet... a bigger impact that most £7m(+) squad players since.

#2: Downing - @ £20m, supposed to be the man who made the bombs for Carroll. Absolute pish first season. Worked his way back into Brendan's team [in front of his own signings] the following season. Definitely no "proper impact", given the expenditure... yet... a bigger impact, with 3 league goals and 6 assists (under Brendan) than many signed after Comolli.

#3: Doni - Really? Was anyone really expecting a "proper impact" from him? I hope not. 

#4: Enrique - @ £7m, a defender who was part of a defence which conceded only 40 goals in his first season. Played his way into Brendan's team the following season; scoring 2 goals with 6 assists in a team which conceded 43 goals. Next season - didn't play much due to serious injury. Now whilst some might say he hasn't had a proper impact, I believe that this assertion is stretching it, to say the least. He may have played less because of injury (or he may not be in Brendan's thinking) but Enrique has made a bigger impact, both defensively and offensively, than many signed post Comolli.

#5: Coates - @ £7m, a young centre half with potential... pretty much like Ilori in every respect. Hasn't made much of a proper impact (depending what impact was expected, of course) but... yet again... no less than many signed post Comolli.

So there you have it - no agenda, just an honest look at what we got for the money Comolli spent. Was his time here that wasteful? Would any of you 'take' all five signings [and Carroll] again if we could guarantee a Suarez & Henderson in the same batch? 

I F***ing would... all day, every day. 

 

Agree 100%.

The Carroll transfer has always used as a stick rk beat Comolli and Kenny with at times.

Agree 100%.

The Carroll transfer has always used as a stick to beat Comolli and Kenny with at times.

The Carroll transfer has always used as a stick rk beat Comolli and Kenny with at times.

By people who may have an agenda? I struggle to believe that mate. 

I thought FSG sacked Kenny for our poor league showing & winning a trophy rather than his & Comolli's signings?,anyway.

Agree 100%.

The Carroll transfer has always been used as a stick to beat Comolli and Kenny with at times.

Scapegoats at the time.

We handled the whole Andy Carroll situation terribly. Everyone inside and out was too busy worrying about how a 35 million pound "mistake" would "plague us" and they were moaning that we had to get rid of him ASAP and pretend it never happened. That is the opposite of what the LFC we know should have done. If Liverpool Football Club make a signing of that magnitude you would expect the club, ideally, under the right management and in the right time, to back that player, especially if he is young, to make it and become a great, to justify the price, to knock any naysayers dead. But we were in the wrong time with the wrong people in charge, who had no idea what they were talking about and still know very little. Now we have Balotelli who has not even been as 'good' as Carroll was for us. We spent the money we got back on Carroll on a similar player who isn't performing as well.

We as supporters always love to play the blame game instead of looking at the bigger picture. People screaming for Rodgers' head early in the season, embarrassing. Look at Dortmund - we say our fans are as good as theirs? When we were whinging at the start of the season and they were even lower than us in the Bundesliga, they did not lose their minds like so many Liverpool fans, and they STILL haven't despite BVB being in the relegation zone. Our Scouse mentality has been utterly wiped out by the British mentality and that leads us to betray our players and our managers, the only people we should be inherently supporting in the football world.

Carroll didn't help himself either, let's be honest. He was lazy on the pitch, seemingly lazy off the pitch as well. It's not like he epitomized hard work or anything.

Carroll didn't help himself either, let's be honest. He was lazy on the pitch, seemingly lazy off the pitch as well. It's not like he epitomized hard work or anything.

Maybe the negativity surrounding Carroll was not helping him? Maybe our innovative & inventive Manager who its claimed is an excellent man manger should have given Carroll the support he needed when he took over from Kenny, knowing Carroll's price tag could be a distraction for the player instead of trying go flog him off before the season even kicked off.

Are people are still bigging up Andy Carroll or making excuses for him? He was given many opportunities here. He did not take them. He was lazy. He was never in the box. He couldn't finish. He never fit in when we bought him. He didn't fit in when we bought a bunch of players to complement him. He was, ultimately, a big reason why Kenny got sacked.

Maybe the negativity surrounding Carroll was not helping him? Maybe our innovative & inventive Manager who its claimed is an excellent man manger should have given Carroll the support he needed when he took over from Kenny, knowing Carroll's price tag could be a distraction for the player instead of trying go flog him off before the season even kicked off.

Or looking at his career here and since Carroll just sucks?

Rake up the old sh*te.

F**k comolli and F**k the gypo.

Maybe the negativity surrounding Carroll was not helping him? Maybe our innovative & inventive Manager who its claimed is an excellent man manger should have given Carroll the support he needed when he took over from Kenny, knowing Carroll's price tag could be a distraction for the player instead of trying go flog him off before the season even kicked off.