Sometimes I wonder if I should pack up my bags and move to Holland to earn a living playing Football. For years and years proven goal scorers in Holland have made big money moves to England only to flop and be shipped off within a year.
A good example of this is Alfonso Alves, who was a consistent goal scorer in Holland scoring 45 goals in 39 games for Heerenveen (including scoring 7 goals in one match). He then moved to Middlesbrough in a club record fee thought to be around £12.7 million. He went on to score just 10 in 42 games for Middlesbrough before being sold to Al-Sadd for a surprisingly healthy £7 million.
Another example of a flop is Mateja Kezman. He scored 105 in 122 for PSV which prompted Chelsea to splash out £5.3 million on him, which at the time seemed like a bargain surely. Kezman went on to score just 4 times in 25 for Chelsea and since moving away from Stamford Bridge in 2005 he has played for 4 different clubs failing to rekindle the form that saw him score 105 goals in 122 games.
However, it would be false to say that everyone who does well in Holland flops elsewhere. A prime example of this is Ruud Van Nistelrooy, he scored 62 in 67 for PSV before moving to Manchester United in a big money move believed to be £19 million. He scored 150 goals in 220 games as well as being the club's all-time European scoring record with 38 goals.
This brings me onto the main reason for the post. Liverpool have recently spent close to £23 million on Luis Suarez. This is a hefty price tag which brings with it added pressure. Suarez scored 81 goals in 110 games for Ajax which prompts the question 'will he be a flop like Kezman and Alves or a success like Van Nistelrooy?'
Personally I think he will be a success at Liverpool as he has confidence from having a successful World Cup and also Liverpool are renowned for getting the best out of their strikers- they even got N'gog scoring. But only time will tell and the proof is in the pudding as they say.
A good example of this is Alfonso Alves, who was a consistent goal scorer in Holland scoring 45 goals in 39 games for Heerenveen (including scoring 7 goals in one match). He then moved to Middlesbrough in a club record fee thought to be around £12.7 million. He went on to score just 10 in 42 games for Middlesbrough before being sold to Al-Sadd for a surprisingly healthy £7 million.
Another example of a flop is Mateja Kezman. He scored 105 in 122 for PSV which prompted Chelsea to splash out £5.3 million on him, which at the time seemed like a bargain surely. Kezman went on to score just 4 times in 25 for Chelsea and since moving away from Stamford Bridge in 2005 he has played for 4 different clubs failing to rekindle the form that saw him score 105 goals in 122 games.
However, it would be false to say that everyone who does well in Holland flops elsewhere. A prime example of this is Ruud Van Nistelrooy, he scored 62 in 67 for PSV before moving to Manchester United in a big money move believed to be £19 million. He scored 150 goals in 220 games as well as being the club's all-time European scoring record with 38 goals.
This brings me onto the main reason for the post. Liverpool have recently spent close to £23 million on Luis Suarez. This is a hefty price tag which brings with it added pressure. Suarez scored 81 goals in 110 games for Ajax which prompts the question 'will he be a flop like Kezman and Alves or a success like Van Nistelrooy?'
Personally I think he will be a success at Liverpool as he has confidence from having a successful World Cup and also Liverpool are renowned for getting the best out of their strikers- they even got N'gog scoring. But only time will tell and the proof is in the pudding as they say.
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