Fans short changed by lack of desire and effort

I have tried to let the dust settle after the very disappointing defeat to Hull on Sunday afternoon; however I feel the need to say the following on the subject.

I travelled to Hull (244 miles in total) via car and paid £35 for the privilege to watch LFC put in the worst display I have seen in a long time – in fact maybe the worst under Rodgers.

I can accept losing the match as we did not deserve anything from the game and credit to Hull they were worthy winners on the day. No club can win a game just on name alone, however at the end of the day we are Liverpool Football Club and I expect the team (and am sure you the readers do as well), that when they put the Red shirt on and they cross the white line and go on to the pitch that they will perform to the best of their ability and fight tooth and nail to get a result that the us the fans can be proud of.

Sadly I did not see that on Sunday afternoon from the very first whistle I could see that the players were not going to be on top form, they looked as though ‘it’s okay its only Hull we can just play in first gear today’.

‘Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.’ – Bill Shankly

The passing game of the team was non-existent; they couldn’t control the ball especially in midfield which has been an ongoing concern for some time and the players at times did not look interested in trying to receive a pass.

The fringe players of the squad for example Moses and Sterling need to look at themselves and ask the question why they are called fringe players.  And based on Sunday’s performance that should have given them the reason why. Now I have two bad legs but I could have got down the wing quicker than them both, and I don’t fall over as much as Raheem.

Brendan cut Nuri Sahin’s loan spell short mainly because he wasn’t right for the squad, now maybe he should do the same and send Moses back to Chelsea in January. Now you may think I am been harsh but surely now you must be thinking if he was any good Chelsea would of tried to integrate him in to their team.

Victor’s bad mistake in losing the ball started the attack which leads to Hull’s first goal. He didn’t make an effort to try and try and retrieve the ball. Apart from a decent debut against Swansea he hasn’t lived up to his full potential.

Brendan mentioned in the lead up to the packed December schedule that he would try and freshen up the team. I’m for giving players rest when they need to but make changes if you are 3 or 4 nil up, don’t tinker too much before a game as it can back fire as was the case on Sunday.

I have to question some of the decisions made by Rodgers on the day moving Skrtel to the left side of the defence when he is right footed to accommodate Kolo Toure who looked a forlorn figure at the back and no wonder Skrtel looked shaky in that position. We didn’t have centre-half who could come out at the back and bring the ball out – Agger and Sahko are better alternatives. Flanagan who played excellent against Everton went back to normal on Sunday; very indifferent. Johnson was completely off the pace and looked not bothered.

Our midfield was ropey again apart from Gerrard who got the goal to make it 1-1. No one else made an impact to try and get to grips with the match.  We cannot expect Gerrard to be the shining light to get us out of a hole every time. There are 10 other players who should step to the plate when needed. Suarez didn’t have the right service to try and make a difference. Nevertheless the team picked were all international footballers and they should be able to play to the best of their ability.

A few people have said to me it’s only Hull, it doesn’t matter and that LFC raise their game for the bigger matches – I’m sorry but that’s wrong! The MENTALITY needs to be changed quickly so that the players realise before it’s too late that EVERY game is important.

Brendan has since said after the match that the team cannot cope without Sturridge and that the squad depth is weak to cope with the packed schedule and injuries. Yes, okay the squad is young but this is a squad that Brendan is building (his signings: majority of them on the bench) £64 million worth of talent – surely £18m on Sakho, £15m on Allen, £7m on Aspas, £6m on Alberto and £8.5m on Coutinho shows that he has players that should be able to make an impact.

After the game I have seen the following quote from Shankly on various social media outlets:

“If you can’t support us when we draw or lose, don’t support us when we win.”

Yes, I agree with the statement as I have supported the team through and thick and thin all my life and I praise the team when they do well, however I think it’s fair to criticize them when then they don’t perform.

All this talk about giving Rodgers new 5 year contract should be put on the back burner until he achieves what he is ultimately paid to do and that is to get Liverpool FC back into the Champions League. Until then the main focus should be to give the fans a performance that they would be happy with and get back to winning ways against Norwich on Wednesday evening.

Now you may think that it sounds like a rant – but like Rafa, I am only stating fact – and sometimes the truth hurts.

Follow me on Twitter @MRSSG

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