SO, with every passing week most Reds will find it harder and harder to disagree that we have serious problems. The result against Sunderland was made all the worse by the distinct lack of effort, desire, attacking nous or – though I hate using this in football – passion for the majority of our players during the entire game.
Losing to Arsenal the previous week was a bitter pill to swallow primarily because we’d played so well and dominated the Gunners. Against Sunderland we, again, dominated possession but looked as clueless as Arsene Wenger with a huge transfer budget. So with our 3rd successive league defeat (we’re at least breaking records in that respect) over the weekend in mind, I thought I would expand on a few points I’ve picked up on recently.
Firstly, there is a growing faction of Liverpool fans that believe that Pepe Reina should no longer be first choice/at the club. May I be the first to say: you’re a bunch of idiots and you embarrass yourselves and the club. What is it with Liverpool fans in the last 10 years that they’re prepared to give a ‘local’ lad 3-4 years to prove that he’s any good, when he’s clearly out of his depth (Jay Spearing, Davey Thompson) but even the most established, consistent and talented of our players only need to make a handful of mistakes over the course of a season and they’re automatically suitable for the trash can?
I admit that Pepe has made one or two errors this season and I’m as baffled by the inexplicable loss of his ability to save penalties as anybody but the man is one of the best ‘keepers in the world and has been for the last 5 years. I noticed one or two fans blaming him for the goal on Saturday too but seriously, when the ball hits the post and bounces back out, hits him on the back of his head, again hits the post and is tapped in by an advancing player while Reina is trying to work out where the bloody hell the ball has gone you’re being a bit unfair to say that he can take the blame for that. If we’re to have success going forward, Reina must be one of the mainstays along with Skrtel, Agger and Lucas to form the spine of any future team. Pepe Reina has earned himself a few mistakes for the overwhelming amount of times he’s saved our skins over the years, so if he goes a full season and makes a handful of mistakes, cut him some slack, consider yourselves lucky and show me a better Premier League goalkeeper.
Secondly, there has been a lot of praise for Jay Spearing following the game on Saturday; apparently, he was our best player. At least this is what I’m led to believe by a number of fan emails and comments on various threads here and there. To refer back to a previous point: what is it with Reds and this overwhelming desire to see a local lad do well, to the point that some of us will blinker ourselves to the obvious? Namely: the lad is far from good enough. He tries – god, does he try – but as many people have pointed out regarding Dirk Kuyt, as he enters his twilight years: trying isn’t enough.
Spearing’s contribution seems to involve nothing more than chasing the player in possession, demanding the ball and then either passing it straight back to him or giving it away. Contrast this to the way Lucas acts a conduit for the continuation of the teams forward moves (when he isn’t utterly destroying the opposition attack) and you can’t help but see how he is so sorely lacking. I wish Jay the best for his career and I’m sure he’ll find a role for himself at a mid-to-low table Premier League club but his future is not with us. When he comes up against powerful midfielders like Yaya Toure and Michael Essien or geniuses like David Silva or Juan Mata, he is completely overpowered or out-foxed – respectively – time and again. Contrast this to how Lucas dominated both Toure and Silva (on his own) last year and the gap between both he and Spearing is so large that Spearing can’t be considered his understudy if we are to truly have strength in depth.
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Finally, I have noticed a lot of contemplation from Reds fans over the weekend; a lot of people torn between ‘we need to see improvements or… ‘ and ‘… but it’s King Kenny and I love him!’. Having not been old enough to have many memories of Kenny as a player, I don’t have the same affinity as a lot of older fans do but that doesn’t mean I can’t understand it, as the man is a total legend. It’s hard to find any suitable comparison but if you look at how long we persevered with Roy Evans in the 90’s it is easy to see the state a club can end up in if you let sentimentality rule your decision-making. For too long we held out from letting Roy go, simply because he was a nice guy and had been a member of the famous ‘Boot Room’ (and hadn’t internal promotions always worked before?) but it was a decision that had to be made, much like the decision to let Gerard Houllier go some years later.
I can only imagine how hard it is for people to balance out this decision when their head is battling against their heart but some tough decisions will have to be made during the summer and with each passing week it’s looking more and more like we may need to be in the market for a new manager, never mind being in the market for some new players. I’m sure I won’t be the only one to point out that we currently sit with the same points haul as we did after 27 league games last season. And the league, as they say, is Liverpool’s ‘bread and butter’. The last 3 managerial sackings Liverpool have experienced have all resulted from poor league performances, with Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez and Roy Hodgson all being removed because of this. Houllier and Benitez ended their reigns with 60 and 63 points respectively in their final seasons, while Kenny managed to pull a 58-point haul out of the wreckage of the first half of last season, to his credit. 58 points is possibly an attainable goal this year but we still need 19 points from the last 11 games; 19 points from a potential 33. To achieve the 60 or 63 of Houllier or Benitez’s final seasons, I think, is a little too much to ask, requiring either 21 or 24 points from a possible 33 remaining. With the form of our last 10 games, I just can’t see that happening.
With so much money spent in the past 12 months, anything less than 60 points, though, will be impossible to defend from a managerial standpoint but perhaps the most damning aspect may be yet to come because should we submit as meekly to Everton during the Merseyside derby tonight as we did against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon, then they will leapfrog over us into 7th by a point. Just to put that in to some context: Everton have spent £8 million in the 2011-12 season, whilst Liverpool have reached almost £57 million (not including the £55 million spent last January). Anything less than a win tomorrow night is going to see things become very uncomfortable indeed.
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If only the players wages were performance related,they should be ashamed, also we need a captain in the middle to shout instructions to wake up all the passengers or they can get off one by one.
It is now painful to watch us play. NO CREATIVITY WHAT SO EVER.I fear the only one with any magic will follow Torres out of Anfield. The attitude is give it to Luis, he will do the work!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone please tell these guys what playing for LFC means.
YNWA
Well KD is supposeed to work that out but he did not as clearly the message had not been understood by the likes of Carroll, Henderson, Downing and Adams. Strangely KD persist with them, just because he blew a combine 85 mill on this mid table flops?
Lets face it, those who called for Reina’s head are buffoons, Spearing with those 85 mill flops are mid table at best AND KD is no better than R.Hodgson.
Actually i am Hodgson, i would feel insulted to be compared to KD. Utterly poor judge of players withe near zero tactical understanding of the modern game, Hodgson at least had managed teams like Inter Milan and the Swiss national team. KD was a complete flop at Celtic and Newcastle.
He won the league with Blackburn but nearly bankrupted them and with us in the 80’s, Paisley had built his winning team.
Clearly we need to sack KD if we harbour any hopes of progressing as a club and let reasons rule, not our hearts.
Good article. Points you’ve made are sad but true. Have to agree with Sharde too. I’m worried that Luis will follow Torres out the door.
Can you blame Luis if he does?
At times i look at liverpool and feel ashamed of what we’ve become. I really wish benitez would come back , he worked with pennies compared with the invest kenny was given. But i can only live it in my heart what Rafa would have done with such a huge transfer kitty. And lastly, i’d shed no tears if i woke up tomorow and kenny, comolli,adam, henderson, spearing, carrol just disapeared and we didnt get a cent in return. They are worth more dead. Id be pleased if we gave suso and steerling a chance , check out the passes and technical ability suso posses on you tube, out of this world.
Yes, Rafa would have the courage to give youngsters a chance.
It would be great to have him Rafa back and gives him proper resources.
Some very good points. I like Kenny but can’t understand some decisions. Signings have been poor and so are his substitutions. If rafa was in charge with our new owners we,d be a lot better off.
Arsenal, our supposed challengers for the 4th place have just won their 5th straight EPL match, and we have lost our 3rd straight, a sorry state of affairs.
we are in relegation form, 5 points from 24, terrible. I blame Comolli for his signings. Why are we are playing Henderson out of position, Spearing just runs and gives the ball away; Adam couldn’t tackle a rice pudding, why are we so respectful to mediocre sides? we need a manager who can motivate, Kenny has become obsessed with the media and misses the point. As for Luis, a scorer of great goals, not a great goal scorer. We need major surgery, not tinkering. martin O’neill anyone?
Martin O neil!! what medication are you taking nev?
I would bring back rafa and let him re-sign El Nino
Rafa back yes, El Nino no.
You’re wrong about Reina mate, the players in front have made him look good in the past, he’s terrible at crosses and at least half of the first choice keepers in the PL are better keepers. I’d rather a keeper who was confident at taking crosses than saving penalties.
David great article. Get yr mate Chris to read it cos he seems to think that we won th CC and everything is fine. First time I saw Spearing play I thought he was rubbish and I still think the same. He’s rubbish and just cos he’s local lad everybody praises him. He ain’t nowhere near as good as AQUILANI, J COLE OR RAUL MEIRELES but these weren’t local lads that’s why they had to go. God help Us. Ynwa
Bekim i agree with you about spearing not being
good enough to play for liverpool,i am a liverpool lad born and bred,and many other local fans fell the same way as i do about him,so dont spout crap saying that because he is local to the area that all local fans think he should be in the team that is plain wrong,anyhow he is from the
wirral which last time i checked is not in the city boundries of liverpool,and as for the players above that you mentioned i think the reason that they are no longer at the club is a simple one they too are crap!
I was not talking about local people praise in him. I was talking about the pundits on tv going on about it. I lived in England and I have friends from Liverpool so I know that they don’t care where the players r from as long as they r good. The players I mentioned might b crap but they r all better than Spearing and I think you’ll agree on that one. The best thing about the scousers is they will stick by someone they like regardless of where they’re from. YNWA
I can defo vouch for that. Plenty of us locals won’t back local lads over better players, just because they’re from round here. If you’re not good enough, you’re not good enough – doesn’t matter where you are from.
I know mate. I know how scousers(mostly) stood by Benitez when British mafia(the press) was in full swing. YNWA.
Reina Is a great Keeper but I doubt he will want to stay – There’s a few British lads around who look very good so If Reina wants to go id sell him for 20 million and buy a local for 5 mil, then use the left over to get a striker. Same with Suarez – If a ridiculous offer came in – sell him and buy another striker + creative midfielder (we are missing an Alonso so much). Spearing is good as a Bench player so id keep him there (for now). As for Kenny he must be given at least 2 more seasons… We don’t have the cash just go out and buy a team capable of winning a title… sacking managers after jsut 1 season is what Chelsea do… Patience is a virtue – there’s a lot of young talent and we havent seen the youth Acadamy players come through yet…
I just cannot believe u guys, kenny has a worse record that hodgson over the current games hes managed. To you people he’s just immune to criticism. I’m sick of kenny, he thinks he’s god and way above him, if hodgson wouldve done what kennys doing . He would’ve left a long time ago. The team is a resemblance of its mananger. We can blame comolli, but kenny did ok the player purchases. If he is not gone by the summer liverpool will suffer. He has too much damn pride. Pls get off Reina’s back, the guy is a world class keeper and like all world class players he has atleast one weakness. Remind me again i’ve forgoten, what are charlie adams strenghts ? Do this for me , just bundle up adam, henderson, spearing, carrols strenghts , and please tell me what it is that they are good at, cause i havent seen it .
Charlie adams strenth is in his left arm,reasons why
1,lifting all those pints of beer in the nightclub
2,lifting the mirror and saying to himself “charlie you are one hell of a player”
3,for knocking one off because he,s too ugly to get a bird
4,to brush his teeth 10 times a day(have you seen the kip of them?
and all the above applies to Carroll and Henderson
except in Hendersons case the nightclub is a gay bar.
There are plenty of articles on the site that agree with your opinion, Ciah. Take a look around and have a read. Thanks!
Every supporter has an opinion and it is so weird that every one lost the view of a descent team. Liverpool’s team is not descent and is not worth playing for my club. i am sooooo disgusted at our performances and it is all the fault of the coach. Doulglish was good, but his got no clue of tactics and selecting the best squad for games. U know, i don’t even want to go into why i say so, but do my fellow liverpool supporters really think there is anything gud of our teams play if u compare it to ANY other team in the league, We just SUCK BIG TIME!!! and our manager is blind and clueless to realize it. I know my fellow fans is going to critisize me big time, but wake up and smell the roses, Were cannot win and we look pethetic, cant u see????? Yet i envy your loyalty and stubborness. I will always be a LFC fan, but i do not believe in stupid coaches and pethetic players and some of our players, we all know who it is, need to leave. LFC fan for life, Just hope there is one sensible person left at my club LFC, to do something about my team to get them to play soccer again – YNWA
Its bad enough that we made a complete mess by signing Adam,Henderson,Carrol and Downing.Average players will get you average results.Whats worse is the excuses and stubborness in admitting we made a mistake.How can you fix something if you dont admit theirs a problem.The height of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.Hendo is terrible week in and week out yet he plays every game,Adam is slow,lazy and off form,Downing is average with minimal involvement?Carrol – dont have to comment.Yet Carrol apart they play week in and week out?Now we have a problem scoring,so it makes perfect sense to play Suares on his own up front to be marked by 4 defenders cos we know that our “pacy” midfield will get into the box to support him?So we force the lad to try and do the impossible and then question why he’s not scoring regularly.We sign players who played in certain positions in formations that suited their play and then we play them out of position in a formation that they cannot even understand never mind play?Now when stubborness and denial or perhaps obligation to play certain people to justify buying them comes at the expense of performance then we have a problem.If you cant cut the mustard you must be dropped – the message our flops are getting is that they dont have to make the effort to make the starting 11.Maxi,Sterling,Suso ?Why not ? Poor Shelvey who is streaks ahead of Spearing,who has pace,energy,runs at defenders and actually shoots gets recalled and then doesnt get a chance.Last season KD was bold and not afraid to have a go – he played attacking football, threw in the youngsters and their was actually progression.This year he’s predicatable,stubborn,indecisive and unable to influence a game(late and ineffective changes and poor selection and reluctance to drop players who put in poor performances as well as playing players out of position)Players mirror their manager and the message is clear – I dont have to put in the effort or perform to start for LFC.KD’s unwaivering support of mediocre performances and hes refusal to throw the proverbial hairdryer at players sets the tone.You cannot be 1 of the boys KD – you actually have to influence,manage,critise and most importantly drop players irrespective of price tags or reputations.
spot on seano….kenny & comoli are craps.
Once upon a time liverpool had old men in flat caps they were called Scouts,the legend goes that these wise old men would suddenly out of the blue
appear at obscure places with strange names like
blackpool,scunthorpe and even northhampton!then with magic vision they could spot skill in these young men who they came to check upon,and low and behold just like magic these young men turned out to be superstars,and all for the price of pint of beer and a loaf of Hovis(uncut bread)Now these old men are no more,and just like the story of merlin the wizard or king arthur nobody can really
be sure if these amazing figures fron the past exsisted or were just mere mortals like you and i.
Beautiful !
What a great article, very sad, but very true and I love KD.
So right that sentiment much not come into it!!!
Absolutely agree with Seano, selections of players for team and matches have been awful. I was excited when I heard Carroll had been signed, he showed so much promise at Newcastle, wtf happened to him we’ll probably never know. I’ve been screaming from this side of the pond all season that;
1. Henderson is no where near ready for this level
2. Adam was a big mistake
3. Downing is innefective and anonymous far too much
4. Johnson should be our right mid and Kelly should be at right back, week in week out. Johnson never afraid to drive into box, unlike most of our other mids.
5. Maxi should be first choice left mid.
6. What KK has done to Shelvey this season should be near criminal. He was used regularly in our recovery last season, sent on loan, where he excelled, and then gets recalled to apparently do nothing but polish the pine with his backside.
It is a great article indeed, highlighting the seeming fact that we, as a club, can be too loyal at times. We must be the only club that buy over the odds, then keep players that don’t work out – then eventually sell on at a ridiculously reduced fee. We often get ‘had off’ in the transfer market – and this is not just indicative of the current regime…it’s happened for years.