Transfer Deadline: Liverpool Ignore Milos Krasic and Risk Champions League Exile

As the dust settled on the January Transfer window of 2012, one thing became apparent.

Kenny Dalglish was not bluffing when he said that Liverpool wouldn't be doing any business in the January transfer window.

As the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea, and Newcastle all made adjustments to their squad—albeit some bigger than others—Liverpool sat back and watched.

Does Dalglish know something the Liverpool faithful don't? Or is he just so supremely confident that once Luis Suarez returns, Liverpool will breeze their way into the Champions League qualification spot?

One thing we now know is that there were deals to be had in January.

Milos Krasic could have been purchased by Spurs if they had been willing to make a £15 million bid, but they opted to try and loan him and the player didn't go for it (See time line 10:28pm on the Mail update)

Krasic wouldn't have been breaking the bank at £15 million for Liverpool, and at the age of 27 he still represents longevity in a purchase which fits the Liverpool policy.

Krasic is a Serbian International and has fallen out of favour at Juventus due to a change of club formation, which he is not accommodated in. His ability is not the issue.

If Liverpool talk about the need to supply Carroll with better crosses, what better player than a pacy winger with something to prove?

In the end Liverpool did nothing—barring the signing of youngster Joao Carlos Teixera for the academy—and Dalglish will now have to qualify for the Champions League with the players he has had at his disposal since the beginning of the season.

If Champions League qualification doesn't occur, then Dalglish's pre-season signings will be considered a major flop considering the expenditure of the club in 2011.

Yes, Liverpool are a team in transition, but that transition should be constantly evolving and able to change direction at a moments notice.

Liverpool will now risk going into the Summer without being able to attract big name players if they can't offer top European football.

What then for the Dalglish masterplan?

I am not saying for one minute that Krasic was the answer to Liverpool's problems, and it also can't be said for certain that the player would even have been interested in a move to Liverpool, but better to try, and fail, than to have never tried at all.

New players coming in can lift the morale of the fans if nothing else and, at a place like Anfield, that reaction can be as influential as any player on the pitch.

I fear Dalglish has opted to play a risky strategy by ignoring this transfer window, and I wonder what reaction the Kop will have towards him if Liverpool go on to finish 6th or even 7th in the league because of it.

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