In July 1974 Bill Shankly signed his last player for Liverpool, paying a club record £200,000 for Ray Kennedy from Arsenal. This was understandably overshadowed by Shankly himself resigning on the very same day.
After struggling for some time Bob Paisley moved Kennedy back to play as a left sided midfielder. He never looked back and became one of the best midfielders to have played for our club. He won five league titles and three European Cups while playing for us. It has long been thought of as a Paisley masterstroke.
Last year we tended to see Ryan Gravenberch as a talented but frustrating attacking midfielder. He obviously had strength, pace and technique, but tended to run down blind alleys, giving the ball away far too often.
When we didn’t go into the market for a ‘number 6’ with Gravenberch covering, I was seriously worried. I even wrote a piece expressing these concerns. I felt he didn’t read the game well enough to play this new role, and even wondered why Arne Slot put him there. Would he have the concentration for the role , or the footballing intelligence to play the position successfully?
Well, I’m pleased to say I was wrong. He’s been my man of the match in the last few games, including at Wolves on Saturday evening. The transformation has been astounding, and he has used the physical asserts he has to work for him. He wins the ball, and rarely gives it away. When the midfield in front of him opens up, he uses his speed to push on, before choosing the right ball to play.
Unlike so many on Twitter who push ‘confirmation bias’ to its limits, I quite like being proven wrong. Whether it’s Arne Slot mentoring his fellow Dutchman with his tactical prowess, or simply Gravenberch finally realising his potential in a new position while taking the responsibility such an important position has to bring, I don’t know. In medicine we tend to talk about things being ‘MultiFactorial’ to cover all of our options!
All I know is we seem to now have a top class defensive midfielder, possibly the best in the league.
I think it’s too early to suggest he’ll be anywhere near as successful as Ray Kennedy was. I can but hope. He’s made a quite astounding start in his new position and if this team gets anywhere near as successful as the Liverpool teams of which Kennedy was a part, then I’ll be more than happy.
