What do we want? Transfers! When do we want them? NOW!!!

The past week has been dominated with rumours of ongoing negotiations for the transfer of Ajax's Luis Suarez to the Reds. The response to the rumours from fans, whilst generally positive about the prospects of the player joining, has seen a surprising number of demands for the club to pay whatever it takes, seemingly with little or no regard to the value placed upon the player by the club or any potential alternatives which may exist but of which we are not aware.

"Just pay the extra £Xm, that's what you have to do to get top quality"

Ok, so I'm paraphrasing, but I have lost count of the number of times I've read that sentence, or a similar one from Liverpool fans this week. Following various Reds on Twitter, contributing and reading various forums it is not difficult to get a sense of how the fanbase is feeling (well, the online fanbase at least). Whilst there are always calm voices amid the general hubbud, the worrying conclusion seems to be that many fans don't seem too concerned with value for money, negotiation or the like. They want their transfer fix and they want it now.

The Suarez deal has been widely rumoured for little more than a week, if that, and yet a sizeable contingent appear to be expecting the owners simply to bow down to whatever is demanded by the selling club, in this case Ajax. Twitter rumours abound of offers from Liverpool of €12.5m, and the owners are accused of 'not understanding how the transfer market works' and of making offers which are 'disgracefully low'. The spectre of Rick Parry is mentioned at every turn and Liverpool's record of being poor negotiators is lamented time and time again. As I myself tweeted earlier this week, the self-flagellation from some fans this week has been nothing short of ridiculous. Having seen a pair of asset-stripping, penny-pinching owners run out of town to be replaced by owners who, whisper it, appear to actually understand that Liverpool has a history of keeping its dealings in house and of only making announcements when there is something to announce, and who appear to be going about their business in exactly the right fashion, it seems the patience of some of our fanbase over new signings lasted for about a week before the demands to pay whatever it takes begin to be aired.

In my opinion, Suarez looks to be a promising target, his goal record is good, he has international experience and is a good age to make the transition from big fish in a smaller pond (with no disrespect intended to Ajax) to smaller fish in the Liverpool ocean. Granted, doubts arise concerning his disciplinary record, the biting incident is unsavoury and if he arrives he will have to quickly appreciate that Liverpool fans won't accept that sort of behaviour from their players (see Diouf, E). However, looking around the transfer market at present and it is hard to see many better options for the sort of money being talked about. He is capable of playing numerous roles and it is not hard to imagine him replicating the sort of partnership he has formed with Forlan at international level with Torres at Liverpool. Any transfer is a risk but the signs for me are good that this one might work out, if FSG can pull it off.

For me, the last thing I want is for FSG to turn us into Man City-lite. You can name numerous players signed in the early days of the ADUG reign who were grossly overvalued and yet Man City paid the price regardless. Santa Cruz, Lescott, Barry, the list goes on and on. With the Financial Fair Play Rules imminent (and FSG having specifically referenced said rules as a key driver behind their decision to become involved in football) it is no great surprise that value for money figures prominently in the transfer strategy at the club. Some fans would argue that as this is the last transfer window before transfer spend counts towards turnover for the purposes of the FFPR we should be going all out to secure our targets whatever the cost. Whilst that view might have some merit, setting a precedent early in their reign for being a light touch in negotiations and for overpaying for talent will have repercussions further down the line when the rules are not so forgiving.

To my mind, under no circumstances should FSG start their transfer dealings as Liverpool owners by paying more than they think he is worth. The January transfer market tends to be inflated (although in this instance it may fairly be said that there might be greater competition for Suarez's signature come the summer), and it would send the wrong signals across the market if Liverpool roll over and pay over the odds. As Birmingham found to their cost after their takeover, advertising that you have money to spend is a surefire way to increase the asking price for all of your targets. Pay £2-3m more than you want for every target you buy, and very shortly you've overpaid to the tune of another quality addition. Fans crying out for a short term fix by FSG paying whatever is demanded often ignore the longer term implications of employing that sort of policy. FSG, sensibly, appear to be being a great deal more cautious about their transfer dealings, and that is to be welcomed. Not only does it suggest that the club is in good hands in a fiscal management sense, it is also in keeping with how things should be done at Liverpool. I for one have no desire to see the club embark on a spending spree designing to appease supporters and generate headlines by overpaying for mediocre talent. Darren Bent at £24m stands out to me as the sort of move made by a club desperate for a lift, rather than one strategically preparing for a better future. Interesting, Damien Commoli has been quoted as saying that Liverpool looked at Bent and decided that he wouldn't work well with Torres. If that is indeed the case, it suggests that value, and not price alone, is impacting on the Suarez deal. After all, Bent was hardly going cheap. Work quietly, work effectivey, but work intelligently is the way the owners appear to want to do things, and that can only be a good thing.
Finally, it is also worth considering that we are not talking about owners who have no experience of high value sports transfers. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling and Alex Rodriguez are just three examples of high profile difficult negotations which the owners have been involved in as owners of the Red Sox. Two of those ended with the deal being done, albeit close to the deadline available for the respective trade. I would not be at all surprised to find that if Suarez is to become a Liverpool player, some fans might have to find a little more patience before the window shuts.