12 May 2017

Lawro insists: 'Brilliant' €43m Liverpool star must 'start' vs. West Ham, even if he's 'not 100%'. Agree?

Liverpool travel to West Ham on Sunday for a vital Premier League clash, and Reds legend Mark Lawrenson has urged Jurgen Klopp to start one of the club's recently injured players.

In his column for the BBC today, Lawro explained:

"I presume Jurgen Klopp will start with Adam Lallana even if he is not 100% fit because there is no point protecting him any longer - they need his help now".

Liverpool need Lallana's help on Sunday, but the same applies to *all* the senior attacking players, including Coutinho, Firmino, Wijnaldum, and Sturridge.

The problem is, Lallana *always* chokes when the going gets tough, and it's been that way for the last three years. Take this season, for example.

* Just ONE goal in the last 18 games. Last goal = Dec 27th.

* Just ONE assist in the last 18 games. Last assist = Dec 31st.

* No goals/assists in over 22 hours of football.

* Only 21 chances created in the last 18 games (One every 66 mins).

Additionally, Lallana's dereliction of duty has coincided with Liverpool's inconsistent form. Results since Lallana last scored or assisted:

* 4 wins in 15 games (6 draws/5 defeats)

* Just 16 goals scored in 15 games (just over one per game)

I'm sorry, but this is just unacceptable for an experienced, obscenely well-paid international in the prime of his career, who is given every opportunity by a fawning manager to play himself into form.

The fact that Lallana runs and presses a lot is utterly irrelevant, and the proof of that is Liverpool's results over the last 18 games. How exactly has his Olympian running ability helped the Reds' results since the turn of the year?

According to The Guardian, Lallana earns £150k-a-week, yet he is not held accountable by fans (or Klopp) for his damaging (and consistent) inability to influence results.

Well, the time for excuses is over. Lallana needs to step up against West Ham, and after such a long barren spell, he needs to make a match-winning impact. Anything else outside that is abject failure.

Furthermore, if (heaven forbid) Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League this season, Lallana's lack of goals/assists since January will be one of the major reasons for falling short.

* * Lallana: €43m-rated. Hailed as 'brilliant' by Alan Shearer..


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