HAVING secured the first piece of silverware in six years the Redmen must now regain focus and secure the real prize – 4th place in the Premier League. OK, so there’s no silverware as a reward, but the financial muscle that it provides is invaluable to any club. The Champions League still the ‘holy grail’ and we need to find our way back onto that path very quickly.
The previous cowboy owners and Hodgson’s ill-fated reign seem a distant memory or nightmare. Kenny is now 12 months into his second coming and I think it’s safe to say the ‘honeymoon period’ is now over. Fans now expect the club to return to the top table ASAP.
The 11/12 league season has once again been a mixed bag. We seem to have sorted out our dreadful away form, but this seems to have come at the expense of ‘fortress Anfield’. Too many draws litter a disjointed campaign. So-called lesser teams have left Anfield with a share of the spoils largely due to inspired goalkeeping performances and some less than clinical finishing. Our return in front of goal has been a disaster, not just from the strikers but from the squad as a whole.
We have had the Suarez situation which hasn’t helped, but for me and many fans the most worrying aspect so far has been the undoubted failure of Andy Carroll to replicate his Newcastle form on Merseyside. Yes, it takes time to settle, both on and off the pitch but below-par would be a kind summary of the ‘big man’s’ stint in red so far.
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The most worrying trait that Carroll is displaying on a regular basis is his reluctance to get into the penalty area to finish some of the flowing moves that we have created. Against Cardiff at Wembley, the big Geordie again went missing when we were all screaming at him to “get yourself in there”. This lethargic approach cannot continue if our current number 9 wishes to extend his L4 stay beyond 18 months.
Charlie Adam has Jordan Henderson to thank for escaping largely unscathed on the terraces & in the media thus far. Blackpool’s former midfield leader has looked somewhat more limited at Liverpool and at times looks a yard or two off the pace. Henderson has suffered more than most this season. Largely played out of position on the right side of midfield, Jordan has looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. He is still young and to a large extent still learning his trade in the premier league & I do feel that with the right application & placed in a more central role Henderson will have a long future at Anfield.
Wide attacking areas continue to be a concern. Downing’s failure to replicate his Villa form so far has contributed to our lack of threat in front of goal. Hopefully his Carling Cup final display will give him the confidence to produce his undoubted ability on a more regular basis in the league. Switching attention to the right side of midfield…. I’m not sure what to say. Problem not solved there.
I hope that we rediscover fortress Anfield from now until the end of the season & makes those soft southern teams stand up and say “Dam those Scouser’s are at it again”.
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Sorry, but Pool can’t get it anymore…
Carroll, Downing and Adam will never be good enough for the first 11 of a team that wants to be champions.
We win the game in hand were 7 points behind! Is that really insurmountable?
Arsenal are inconsistent and should have been beaten yesterday. I’m encouraged by our performance if not the finishing.
How are we going to reach 4:th without scoring any goals? We have to overtake Newcastle, Chelsea and Arsenal. It takes more than a miracle.
It’s not insurmountable but we’ve won 1 league game this year! That doesn’t make us inconsistent, it makes us VERY consistent!!
4th spot is Arsenal to lose now.
Sorry but looking at our starting midfield yesterday it could have been a wolves or an aston villa lineup.This is were im supposed to say “no disrespect” but i dont care! this is why im so upset. You live and die by your signings and other than Enrique and Bellamy ours have been mediocre at best and im being kind. What waste of money they were. What annoys me most of all is that these players where shi*e before we bought them e.g whoever thought what Andy Carroll did at Newcastle was gonna make him good enough for Liverpool was deluded! Anyway Comolli, what does a french lawyer know about scouting players?!?!?!?
ask bale
It is time now to forget any illusion of fourth place. Instead the remaining 12 games of the season should be used to give valuable Premiership experience to the likes of Coates,Wisdom,Coady,Robinson,Flanagan,Sterling,Shelvey,Amoo,Ecclesstone,Ngoo,Adorjan,Suso and Morgan.
Reina,Carragher,Gerrard,Kuyt,Henderson,Carroll,Spearing,Maxi,Suarez and Aurelio should all be shown the door in the summer.
The only signings that should be made in the summer are at least 4 goalscoring strikers like Sturridge for example.
The club needs to trim the fat from its wage bill and promote the youth to fill most of the gaps. The club also needs to engage with Everton about building a new stadium together because Anfield is no longer an option. It makes the whole mindset at the club feel inferior to United and Old Trafford which cannot be allowed to continue.
I totally agree Kenny, and now I’m just going back to my padded room in the hospital, you are without doubt Liverpool through and through, you should be the masscot at the next game, the only fat that needs trimming, is that which is swimming around your brain. Go and support Chelsea they deserve you so much more than us.
Ouch ! Are you talking about trimming the fat or killing the cow ???
I don’t think Carroll is great myself, but you are talking about changing out the entire team here !
Kuyt and Gerrard? I have rarely seen a more dedicated duo than them, in any league, dare I say in any era.
Liverpool problem is manager, no tactics, no style of playing, no fighting spirit, this man called Kenny or what u people call him is not a manager and does not deserve to be Liverpool fc manager, we have played 7 premier League games from January to now which is 21 points but Kenny and his 35 and 20 something millions players can only pick 5 points out 21 point, the worst manager I have ever seen, after spending over 100 million for one season, this man and his boys cannot kill me with heart attack, I for die on Saturday,
The problem we r having is d coach. He just needs to b axed. He was suppose to b a temporal manager. Get Frank Rijkaard NOW!
The problem we r having is d coach. He just needs to b axed. He was suppose to b a temporal manager. Get Frank Rijkaard NOW! We dnt need d lyks of Carroll, Downing, Adams,Henderson, Caraghar and Reina. We need Eden Hazard, Allen of Swansea, Tevez, Torres (chelsea has ruined Premiership best striker, i still want him back).
Well said. This is what a lot of us have said all along. Many are having this illusion that Kenny is agreat manager and he is doing great and he is doing LFC a favour by returning. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Roy made Kenny look good. That is all. Fact is anyone taking over from Roy would look good. Our biggest mistake was to give the job to Kenny on a permanent basis.
While its good to win the league cup but we have to bear in mind (especially to those KD lovers outthere and also Mr. J.H) that we were nearly beaten by a second division team and last season, the same trophy was won by a team who got relegated.
Apart from swiftly blowing 75 mill of LFC’s money (take note Mr. J.H)on dudes such as Downing, Henderson, Carroll, Kenny’s tactics makes us looks like the great Shanks. Last week game as usual was a classic example. First KD started with Henderson, who as his consistent self looks nothing like a 20 mill player and more of a passenger. Then when we need an inspired substitution, KD dis nothing untill its too late, by desperately introducing Bellamy and Carroll.
We would never make it to the CL, let alone win it or the Prem with KD in charge. KD should take a good look in the mirror and ask himself whether he wants to lead us into oblivion.
JH should have enough courage (take a leaf from owners such as Roman, Tony of QPR) to remedy his eralier mistake. We all make mistakes and its ok to change, that is a real measure of a man, unlike KD.
Roman indeed, a manager for each year !
The point is Roman does not tolerate failure although his reactions is to the extreme.
LFC on the other hand under FSG and KD does. KD and his supporters more often makes excusese why we should.
Can anyone tell me how did we become one of the most succcesfull club in Endland and Europe by tolerating failure?
What did the great Shanks says about finishing 2nd?
Now under KD, we could not even make 4th.
I am not very pleased with KD’s ways either, but I think letting him go now will also will be imprudent. If Kenny sees the sense and buys some real good players this summer, then I think we are likely to have a successful season ahead.
However one of our problems have been we have let our expectations down to a great extent, to such extremes that now if Carroll does a couple of good things we clap our hands saying ‘here, the lad is coming into his own’, where the truth is he should be doing all that all too regularly, on a consistent basis.
I don’t understand why Maxi doesn’t get more playing time, he was an integral part to a respectable second half of last season. As was Shelvy, I really feel bad for the young man. He also made some solid contributions last season, went on loan and was having a great season this year before he was called back to, apparently, do nothing but polish the pine. What a waste. Henderson should be sent somewhere on loan, Adam should be moved on if at all possible and Carroll and Downing need to have serious questions asked of them.
because maxi is useless. in his liverpool days he has had one good run of form [2nd half of last season] he cost us the game in tottenham last season. then he wanted to leave on a free last summer.if lfc could get a big mac meal for him i think they should let him go..
This so called useless Maxi still contributes more than Downing, Henderson and Carroll on a per minute played basis. What would you make of these dudes and the bloke who signed them? How much did Maxi cost us?