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Our Midfield Also Needs To Be Held Responsible For This!

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IT’S easy to point the finger at individuals after yet another hair tearing, frustrating, seat punching, cat kicking home defeat to vastly inferior opposition. The simple option is to point at the chances missed in the game on Sunday and say “we need someone who puts the ball in the net.”

The above is very true, we have been missing a poacher all season long. Some of the chances we have spurned this season would have been gobbled up by Cheatarito at United, or Higuain at Real Madrid. That is the sort of poacher we need over the summer to turn chances – half, glaring or otherwise – into goals.

The West Brom game was ironic in a way in that it encapsulated our entire season in one 90 minute match. Create chances, don’t take them, make mistake, get punished. We simply cannot miss the chances we did yesterday and expect to win games in top flight football.

West Brom were always going to get one chance in that second half yesterday and sure enough when it was put on a plate to them by a bizarre and hugely frustrating piece of “defending” by Glen Johnson, they took their chance.

But instead of just blaming the strikeforce, I think it’s time to pick up an issue that has plagued the club for a while now. Steven Gerrard aside, our midfield simply doesn’t contribute enough goals. Now, I’m not proposing that Lucas should be chipping in. He’s obviously and to our massive detriment injured at the moment. But he has become one of the best in the business at holding midfield. No, it’s out wide I am looking. Our wide players need to get more goals.

We’ve had a horrible season where our best two attacking players, Gerrard and Suarez have been out for long stretches for whatever reason. This has hit us, hard. I don’t think anybody is under any illusions about that.

Carroll’s problems in front of goal have been well documented. I am a sizeable fan of the big guy and his performances if not goal return in the last three months have, generally, been at pretty high levels, with one or two exceptions to the rule of course. His goal return has not been as it should be. I know he’s scored a few high profile goals lately but if there is a next season for him, and I think the 2012 part of the season means he deserves that opportunity, then he needs to score more goals.

But our midfield simply don’t score enough goals.
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This issue could well have been remedied by playing Maxi Rodriguez more, but he’s not been playing for whatever reason so there you have it. He’s scored 4 goals this season. Henderson, Adam, Downing, Kuyt (who is a striker but mostly plays wide right) and Bellamy have chipped in a total of 13 goals between them all season. Downing has none in the league, his goals came in the FA Cup. When you consider that Bellamy has 6 of these goals to his name, that means that players who have played huge chunks of the season have just seven goals between them.

I have sympathies for Henderson, who has spent much of the season out of position on the right, and for Adam, who has been largely like a rabbit in headlamps. Also, to an extent, Maxi, who is part of my simple equation that quite often, Maxi = goals. But if those players are on the pitch, they need to be scoring more goals.

It’s easy and fashionable to stick the boot into Downing but he has not lived up to expectations since his move from Villa, where he was very productive. He needs to improve and he definitely needs to start scoring. I’m not going to knock his “assist” record though as he has put plenty of good balls in – we’ve just been too wasteful to take advantage of it.

Yet again we are in a position where “it’s a big summer.” I’m sick to death of saying it, but it’s true. But one thing that is for certain is that if we make any changes to our midfield, which we need to, then we need to bring in someone who not only creates chances but scores them. Someone who can get 8-10 goals a season from midfield is invaluable in this league. I haven’t got any suggestions, but that’s not my job, it’s Comol… Oh… Well, it’s someone’s job, not mine!

Yes, we need to sign a striker, but we definitely need to add goals from midfield. Big job on this summer, because that’s not an easy task.

In the unlikely event you want to hear more from Dan, you can follow him on twitter (@TLW1Dan) and you can also catch him as a regular writer in The Liverpool Way fanzine and on TLW forums. Please be aware that any content from Dan may contain sarcasm.

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I'm a fully trained journalist who shunned a career in the profession due to my disillusionment with the tabloid press, instead hoping to become a professional author. I've written for The Liverpool Way for 7 years and am a regular on the forum using the name Agt Provocateur.

A passionate member of supporter group Kop Faithful, I've been a season ticket holder of 8 years and a regular match goer since 1995.

When not criticising diminishing refereeing standards in football, I can be found at Langtree Park, the home of St Helens Rugby League Club being highly critical of non existent standards of refereeing in Rugby League. I'm is also a massive Lancashire and England cricket fan.

6 comments

  • wk says:

    well said! The flops should b loan out or sold. Bring in some real skillfuls ones, please! (keep Kuyt, Belemy, Maxi though coz they r the ones scoring!)
    Its not abt LUCK KD!!!

  • Davemulligan says:

    Please can everybody stop telling me Carrol is a decent player! He isn’t!! yes, he’s looked a little better but he’s a striker and simply not good enough for LFC! I can’t actually believe people (including shearer, barnes and rush) are saying he will come good. He won’t! simple as. Downing we have to take a hit on, he can play but similar to Joe Cole in that he can’t play at Liverpool…Hendo will come good, in next two seasons, not sure about shelvey. Really needs to be getting rid of Carrol (loan) and downing and bringing in a 5 quality players. Getting rid of Kenny Daglish would be a good idea in my opinion his tactics have been awful (except against chelsea with 2 wing backs lasr season), too much rotation and playing players out of position. and his handling of the media is so bloody annoying!!!!

    • hemanta says:

      seriously?? you think henderson will come good and not shelvy?? hell I might as well say in short amount of games shelvy has played this season. He has produced more attacking runs and flairs than henderson!! what’s sure enough henderson is played out of position but if he’s good enough he should be fighting for his place then . Despite playing whole season he’s not been threatening the goals. He has no composure in ball, he has no defensive skill, absolutely awefull with pass. he’s the reason our mid field lacks flair because he is the one supposed to give it.Shelvy in far contrast is a better attacking player than henderson has yet to develop into.

  • steve p says:

    Shelvey will come good, remember he is only 19. Henderson looks much better in the middle, and again is a class act in the making.

  • Liam says:

    Its simple really. You see carroll at newcastle and the way the team plays around him. You have joey barton floating the ball for carroll to score. But in liverpool, there are players like suarez and gerrard. Add new players like adam, downing and henderson. And with players who were already at liverpool like johnson, kuyt, maxi. It would be difficult with egos clashing and players trying too hard to impress. Ive seen the way newcastle play now and my god they sure are better than us by a longshot. And its no secret that they (newcastle) play as a team where liverpool right now is so bad, that even norwich wants to finish higher than us. It might not be the liverpool players who are at fault buy maybe, what the team needs right now is new blood in addition to belief and a better formation overall. The way we are now, clubs are mocking us left and right and surely the players are affected by it also.

    Ps: been a liverpool fan since the 80’s

  • Chan says:

    Downing, Adams, Hendo, Carrol they all came in at a codt of 85 mill. Who bought them and worse continued to played them even though they are at most Championship material? KD.

    The first should go is KD. Even FSG has more money to spend KD should not be the one to do it.

    I had been a fan since the 80’s and seen it all, Spice boys, Evans, Houllier, Rafa and of course Hodgson but KD is by far up there with RH the worse. Actually this is an insult to RH, comparing KD with him.

    Only the most deluded would think this players would come anywhere near the value we bought them.

    Sack KD before we talk about spending more money.

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