My 2p About Shevchenko
As you may have read in the early postings on Offside: A Football Chronicle I have taken a swipe at Chelsea and their distortion of the English football and world football transfer markets. Ukrainian center forward Andriy Shevchenko is one of the latest examples of Chelsea spending. And at between £30m-£54 I'll say he was more appropriately priced than a £21m Shaun Wright-Phillips, however, he has not shown the form that earned him that price tag or his 2004 European Footballer of the Year honor.
His time as Chelsea FC has been blighted by poor form and constant allusions to his close relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abromovich and his strained relationship with his manager Jose Mourinho. So, to no ones surprise he recently became tangled in the middle of a feud between Abramovich and Mourinho and has been forced into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. This is what life at Chelsea FC can become, and lost in the drama of a medium-sized club with big club and world-beating aspirations is the poor displays of team football and the great players that seem to shed their talents for a shot at glory. Look no further than the once incredible talent of the aforementioned Wright-Phillips as an example. Now that Andriy Shevchenko is slowly becoming a part of the tragic script of the soap opera that is Chelsea FC, it is, in my opinion, a perfect opportunity for a real football team with a real history and genuine reputation to step in and save him from this terrible fate. Queue the 18-time English league and 5-time European champions Liverpool.
Liverpool Football Club is a team on the verge of greatness and lack that one piece of the puzzle to take them to the top. With the exception of its front line, Liverpool are a complete team with strong depth just waiting for that cutting edge that Shevchenko could provide. Historically Liverpool have never spent the money that could lure a player like Shevchenko to Anfield but the attitude at LFC has changed, and the arrival of the recent financial takeover by US businessmen George Gillet and Tom Hicks could put and end to the club's 17 year spell without a Premiership title. More money for transfers and a new 60,000 capacity stadium await supporters on Merseyside and Shevchenko could be just the type of player to bring the glory years back to Liverpool.