10.12.06  Loan move a success for Diao
Paul Grech

In the summer of 2002, Liverpool were on the verge of greatness. Second the previous season with a total of 80 points that would have been enough to win the title in other years, what they needed was to merge a little bit of flair with their dour defensive style.

Two years later and those dreams of glory had long been swept away. Liverpool had barely scraped into fourth spot and after two seasons of uninspiring football Gerard Houllier’s time as manager had come to an end.

The reason in the eyes of many lies in the players that Houllier brought in during that summer. At the time, few knew about El Hadj Diouf, Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou but that was hardly surprising. In previous years the manager had shown an instinctive ability in taking to Liverpool players like Sami Hyppia who had been playing his football at little known Dutch side Willem II. There was no reason to doubt him now.

Of those three, Diao was the most intriguing. Whereas Diouf had built something of a reputation at Lens and Cheyrou had starred in the Champions League for Lille, Diao was the kind of hardworking midfielder you don’t really tend to notice. That he was playing for a small mid-table side like Sedan made it all the more difficult to spot him.

He was, however, a Senegal international and had played a key role in their fine World Cup showing which included the opening win against France (where he was sent-off). If there were any doubts about his ability, they had been answered and Houllier’s judgement confirmed as correct once again.

Only that it wasn’t. Expectations had been raised not only by what he had shown for Senegal but also by the manager’s premature (and ill-founded) comparison with Patrick Vieira. What quickly became apparent that the only common factor linking the two was that they had both been born in Senegal.

Diao had none of the guile, poise and vision that marked out Vieira as one of the Premiership’s best midfielders. He was simply a good tackler without any real tactical discipline. Combined with erratic passing, those limitations soon started to tell.

Under normal circumstances, Liverpool would have gotten rid of Diao. In fact, it is what Benitez has been trying to do ever since seeing the midfielder completely lost during a 1-0 derby defeat in his first season in charge. Finding buyers – ones willing to take on Diao’s wage – has however been a problem.

Although he was apparently signed before the transfer fee boosting appearances in the World Cup, Liverpool still paid an inflated £5 million for him. Even more, they handed him a five year deal. Regardless of how highly Houllier thought of the player, it was quite simply too much.

Apart from failed loan spells at Birmingham and Portsmouth where he was injured most of the time, he has remained at Liverpool. In total he has started 35 times for them meaning that he’s cost the club £140,000 per game, and that’s excluding wages. No wonder Benitez tried so hard to get rid of him last summer.

But that will only happen next May when Diao’s contract finally comes to an end and justifiably so. His decision to reject a move to Recrativo Huelva in August might have frustrated most fans who tend to take an idealistic stance over such matters but, realistically, it is what anyone else would do. Why should Diao move somewhere for a lower wage simply because he is a footballer?

The loan move to Stoke for the past three months has at least saved the club some money, although one wouldn’t imagine that these would amount to a great deal. For Diao it will allow him to find some form at a level that, realistically, suits him fine until the time comes for him to leave for good.

And indeed, he has been doing surprisingly well. Stoke’s rise up the Championship table had a lot to do with the arrival of Lee Hendrie from Aston Villa but also to Diao’s midfield presence. Log onto any Stoke forum and you will find fans praising his contribution and swearing that he is just as good as Vieira.

Perhaps it wasn’t that Houllier had misjudged his qualities after all but rather the level at which he could really play.