King Kenny's hall of shame? As Liverpool write off £20m on Carroll, Sportsmail assesses £85m spree that saw him joined by Henderson, Downing and Adam
Andy Carroll's £15.5million move to West Ham means Liverpool have written off almost £20m on the England hitman.
Then-manager Kenny Dalglish and then-director of football strategy Damien Comolli purchased him from Newcastle for £35m in January 2011, as part of their plan to sign young players with potentially high resale values.
They also adhered to a Moneyball-esque strategy of bringing in players with superb performance data and statistics, mostly sourced from British sides.
A closer look: How have Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli's (right) signings fared?
But the plan fell apart - Carroll was sidelined at Anfield, failing to fit in, pining for a move away and a fresh start.
Sportsmail analyses Dalglish and Comolli's signings and judges whether their strategy worked or not.
Andy Carroll (Bought January 2011)
Bought for £35m at 22 years old from Newcastle.
Sold for £15.5m at 24 years old to West Ham.
Net profit/loss: -£19.5m
Played 58 Goals 11
The lanky target man divides opinion. To some he is a whirlwind, horrific to play against. To others, a clogger. But there is no doubt that his time at Liverpool was an abject failure. Being signed on transfer deadline day obviously contributed to his vastly inflated fee, but splashing £35million on the striker and expecting him to fit into Liverpool's game, rather than adapt to his, was bizarre.
At Newcastle they played to his strengths, ignored aesthetics, and utilised Kevin Nolan as someone to devour the knock-downs and tee-ups. Suarez, who he was to play with, was a fine player but at the time far from lethal.
Verdict: Failure
Luis Suarez (Bought January 2011)
Bought for £22.7m at 24 years old from Ajax.
Valued at £45m at 26.
Net profit/loss: £22.3m
Played 96 Goals 51
The reverse of Carroll, Suarez has gone from strength to strength in a red shirt. The striker initially wowed with his technique but couldn't find the net frequently enough, but has trained hard and is now the side's best goal threat and most dangerous player. His 'culture-shock' problems even serve to show the advantages of buying players already established in Britain.
The money Liverpool lost on Carroll could be made back if they sell Suarez, with Real Madrid and Barcelona interested in procuring his services. But to sell would be to sacrifice the club's best asset and their only hope of reaching the Champions League next season.
Verdict: Success
Charlie Adam (Bought summer 2011)
Bought for £7.5m at 25 years old from Blackpool.
Sold for £4m at 26 to Stoke.
Net profit/loss: -£3.5m
Played 37 Goals 2
Another case where Liverpool bought the key man from another side and then expected him to fit in like a jigsaw piece into their team. Adam ran the game at Blackpool but at Anfield he was a small fish in a big pond. He rarely impressed in a red shirt and was allowed to move to Stoke for a cut price. His statistics at Blackpool indicated his value - but only in a side that was otherwise lacking a heartbeat.
Verdict: Failure
Jose Enrique (Bought summer 2011)
Bought for £6m at 25 years old from Newcastle.
Valued at £6m at 27 years old
Net profit/loss: £0
Played 78 Goals 2
He was bought as a solid left-back option and that's what he's proved to be. Dependable but not spectacular, Enrique has continued the form he mustered at Newcastle - unlike Carroll. Although he gets forward in support of attacks he rarely provides goals or assists. But Enrique has retained his value and has lived up to his billing.
Verdict: Success
Sebastian Coates (Bought summer 2011)
Bought for £7m at 20 years old from Nacional
Valued at £4.5m at 22 years old
Net profit/loss: -£2.5m
Played 24 Goals 2
The Uruguay defender has made virtually no impact at Anfield, save for one memorable bicycle kick he scored against Queens Park Rangers. He has barely played in two season and is behind youngsters in the defensive pecking order. He is available for loan and Liverpool would do well to get £5m for him now - which is what they are looking for.
Verdict: Failure
Jordan Henderson (Bought summer 2011)
Bought for £20m at 20 years old from Sunderland
Valued at £12m at 23 years old
Net profit/loss: -£8m
Played 92 Goals 8
The most ridiculed of all of Dalglish's signings because of his fee. Hardly a household name despite being a regular part of Sunderland's midfield (Sebastian Larsson and Stephane Sessegnon took the limelight), that Liverpool stumped up £20m was a shock.
Henderson's performances in his debut season were poor at best, looking lost and aimless as the Reds struggled. Since then, though, he has picked up. It's still possible he could go on to be a success at Anfield, even if he never turns out to be worth the price tag on his neck. But judged on his performances up to now...
Verdict: Failure
Stewart Downing (Bought summer 2011)
Bought for £20m at 26 years old from Aston Villa
Valued at £7m at 28 years old
Net profit/loss: -£13m
Played 91 Goals 7
The left-winger has by and large endured a torrid time at Liverpool, and was even dumped at left-back by Brendan Rodgers for a period last season. He was ridiculed for not having notched a goal or made an assist in his first season in the Premier League with the club, but finally found his feet - to an extent - last term.
But at 28 he will not improve other than to become a little more consistent and will forever be seen as wasted talent. At Villa he stood up to statistical scrutiny, but at Liverpool he faltered. Not the disaster he could have been after one year, but still, £20m still appears a ludicrous fee.
Verdict: Failure
Total spend: £118.2m
Recouped/current value: £94m
Net transfer revenue: -£24.2m
Verdict
Losing just over £24m on transfers doesn't seem that bad a deal in the grand scheme of things.
But when you consider that the purpose of buying players like these at high values, rather than cheaper - and sometimes better players - is to garner a high re-sale value, you could argue that Liverpool have lost two years to the scheme already.
