As great as it is to see Liverpool embracing an attacking philosophy and scoring lots of goals in the league, the team has still been unable to win against anything other than comparatively inferior opposition. And with Chelsea coming up on Sunday, this does not bode well at all.
Here is a list of teams Liverpool has played so far:
Tottenham
Stoke
Aston Villa
Bolton
Burnley
Debrecen
West Ham
Leeds United
Hull City
Fiorentina
What do all the beaten teams (in bold) have in common? They’re all comparatively inferior to Liverpool. It’s great that Hull were hit for 6 and Burnley and stoke were both hammered 4-0, but Liverpool SHOULD be beating these teams comfortably, shouldn’t they?
The same principle applies to West Ham, Bolton and Leeds United – Liverpool should be beating them, and they did, albeit less convincingly than against Stoke, Burnley and Hull.
What is worrying this season is that Liverpool have woefully underperformed and lost all games against half-decent opposition. Spurs, Aston Villa and Fiorentina are definitely a higher class of opposition than the likes of Hull/Burnley, but despite Liverpool’s self-proclaimed confidence, the team has been unable to win.
This is why it’s madness to get so carried away with our apparent good form this early in the season. As I highlighted in my last article, Rafa and the players have been bragging and massaging each others’ egos over last few weeks but they’re jumping the gun as usual.
Three defeats in 10 games is nothing to brag about; beating inferior teams is great but it’s not proof that Liverpool is a genuine title contender.
This cycle of losing to good opposition needs to end, and hopefully it will against Chelsea this Sunday.
Here is a list of teams Liverpool has played so far:
Tottenham
Stoke
Aston Villa
Bolton
Burnley
Debrecen
West Ham
Leeds United
Hull City
Fiorentina
What do all the beaten teams (in bold) have in common? They’re all comparatively inferior to Liverpool. It’s great that Hull were hit for 6 and Burnley and stoke were both hammered 4-0, but Liverpool SHOULD be beating these teams comfortably, shouldn’t they?
The same principle applies to West Ham, Bolton and Leeds United – Liverpool should be beating them, and they did, albeit less convincingly than against Stoke, Burnley and Hull.
What is worrying this season is that Liverpool have woefully underperformed and lost all games against half-decent opposition. Spurs, Aston Villa and Fiorentina are definitely a higher class of opposition than the likes of Hull/Burnley, but despite Liverpool’s self-proclaimed confidence, the team has been unable to win.
This is why it’s madness to get so carried away with our apparent good form this early in the season. As I highlighted in my last article, Rafa and the players have been bragging and massaging each others’ egos over last few weeks but they’re jumping the gun as usual.
Three defeats in 10 games is nothing to brag about; beating inferior teams is great but it’s not proof that Liverpool is a genuine title contender.
This cycle of losing to good opposition needs to end, and hopefully it will against Chelsea this Sunday.
spot on ,
ReplyDeletelucas not good enough to enforce a game , masa and him cant play together , gerrard in the midfield is only hope in the centre
kuyt , torres, yossi & reirra needs to start every game
lucas good against the weeker opposition.
this article is crap - yes we've lost 3 games but its not doom and gloom. why are people putting up such crap.
ReplyDeleteYesterdays game we missed Mash thats all - Lucas is a good player but he cant do Mash's job
Spurs was always going to be a hard game and im not surprised that we lost. Aston Villa was the one that shocked me as i felt we approached the game wrong.
Fiorentina on the other hand are no mugs and if you look at thier reord against english teams they have never lost - even beating Man U by the same score line.
Sunday is a different kettle of fish and opposition such as chelsea the game can go either way.
Doesnt mean that all is lost so dont be so quick to call the under taker
liverpool supporters my arse
lucas is rubbish and managers persistance to play him in the big games are starting to hurt us.
ReplyDeletemasa needs to be play next to stevie in the centre until aqualani is ready,
kuyt is doing a great job behind torres at the momenet .
teams are man markin stevie when he plays up front as well.
benitez , time for you to wake up and start paying attention.
All I can say is that I'm stunned you didn't publish an article like this on Sunday Jaimie, after the 6-1 victory over Hull.
ReplyDeleteYou know it's starting to seem you are desperate for Liverpool to lose Jaimie, so you can have a go at Benitez. I know you will say that is not the case at all etc. but I think we all know the truth.
Everyone is disappointed at the defeat and yet you seem to be revelling in it Jaimie. The good thing about football is that there are no guarantees, which is great because without defeats there would be no reason to celebrate victories.
For you the opposite seems to be the case.
Did anyone else seem to think that pepe reina seems to want to be anywhere else but on the field for liverpool? His body language seemed to show that he just didn't care.
ReplyDeleteAbsolute nonsense. I'm not revelling in the defeat at all, I'm merely telling it like I see it, and telling the truth. This site is about critical realism; deal with it. Stop deflecting the issue and address the points. It's a fact that Liverpool have only beaten poor opposition this season. This is worthy of debate. Or should we only discuss things when Liverpool win?
ReplyDeleteI give credit where it's due when Liverpool win but, unlike many other sites, I will also criticise where it's due too.
The defeat is not down to Lucas - the whole team needs to take the blame. Why did Benitez feel the need to break up a winning team/formation?
ReplyDeleteYou could say exactly the same thing about chelsea.......but dont let this stop your knee jerk (or is it just jerk) reaction to every defeat.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying it's all doom and gloom - it isn't. If Liverpool lose, this should be discussed in the same way a win is discussed, not just brushed under the carpet.
ReplyDeleteWe did not miss Masch yesterday - Gerrard could've played in the centre with Lucas and that problem would've been solved. Instead, Aurelio - who is just coming back from injusry - played there, which caused a problem.
And how is Chelsea a different kettle of fish?! They will be the best team we've faced so far this season, and given the fact we've lost to all half-decent opposition so far, it doesn't bode well for the game, especially since it's at Stamford Bridge, a ground where Liverpool rarely win.
Should we expect a congratulatory article from you Jaimie if we beat Chelsea this weekend? I suspect not.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a knee-jerk reaction at all. That's a typically cliched response to anyone who questions a defeat - we're all 'knee-jerkers'. I'm always consistent with my views on Liverpool, and if we lose, I analyse it. If I was just criticising a single defeat then that would be a kneejerk reaction but I've put this defeat into context, i.e. three defeats so far this season against good opposition contrasted with winning against inferior opposition.
ReplyDeleteYou're just avoiding the issues being discussed here - instead of throwing around cliches, why don't you address the real issues here?
Or is it the case that only victories should be discussed?
thay did not look motivated
ReplyDeleteWhen will we accept we are a top 6 team? If Gerrard or Torres get injured we're screwed. Lucas couldnt get in Man City or Spurs's first 11. What are we doing moaning about losing in the Champions league....We're lucky to be there! I can't see us winning anythin this year and Fernando going back to Spain. :( Ah well same as every year!
ReplyDeleterhay did not play hard enoguh , and center becks do not look good this year at all
ReplyDeleteI don't do 'congratulatory' articles - I praise the team by focusing on specific things. Example: Yesterday, I praised the team for overcoming it's tendency to draw lots of games.
ReplyDeleteThis myth that I only criticise is not supported by the facts.
"Real issues"...such as liverpool not being genuine title contenders as they've only beaten "inferior teams". Lets look at chelseas games so far
ReplyDeletehull
sunderland
fulham
burnley
stoke
porto
spurs
qpr
wigan (comprehensive defeat)
...off the back of these games chelsea are lauded as not only title contenders but title favourites....and yet, according to you, liverpool cannot be deemed to be the same as "<span>beating inferior teams is great but it’s not proof that Liverpool is a genuine title contender".</span>
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I think it is you who are avoiding the issues kanwar. I look forward to your deafening silence on Sunday evening if liverpool win.</div>
for this game in itally,gerrard inthe middle ,riera to start and aurrelio on the banch
ReplyDeleteOne other thing - how exactly could 'the same thing be said about Chelsea'? They have only lost one game this season, not three against better opposition. In fact, there is absolutely no comparison to Chelsea here. Liverpool have beaten then small teams; Chelsea have lost to Wigan. What is your point?
ReplyDeleteWhat I actually stated was:
ReplyDelete<span style=" ">Three defeats in 10 games is nothing to brag about; beating inferior teams is great but it’s not proof that Liverpool is a genuine title contender.</span>
I'm not interested in what people say about Chelsea; I haven't said they're title contenders, so what's your point? The wider point here is if Liverpool only beat inferior teams and keep losing to the good teams, they cannot be considered title contenders. Am I wrong?
*sigh*
ReplyDeleteKanwar if you cannot see the contradiction in your own article. You <span>should stick to playing Football Manager and writing those dreadful screenplays. Intelligent debate just isnt your thing.</span>
www.football365.com
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why on earth is everybody criticising lucas. he's been a solid player for us this season and has been forced to tidy up a lot more than i think he should be doing because of poor passing from players like kuyt, gerrard and our entire back line. he doesn't appear quite as physical as mascherano but if some of you fans actually genuinely watched him for a game you'd see a terrific work rate, an eye for a good pass and some great tackles over the entire pitch. mascherano on the other hand has been poor when he's played this season.
ReplyDeleteHi Jamie
ReplyDeleteI have read many of your articles and i know alot of the time you are trying to be controversial but sometimes ,as has been previously stated by many other respondants, you just sound like a liverpool basher.
It's easy from where we are sitting to say all we have to do is show up to beat the likes of burnley, hull, bolton and stoke, but these teams have fought hard to get where they are. they also have coaches,players,fans and tactics to try and win games against us so it's never a walk in the park for anyone anymore in the prem league.
U say its madness to get carried away with our good form.. well then u must be clinically insane to write this article on the back of last nights performance...
Sometimes u need a defeat like last nights to get the squad on track.. let's face facts.. we outplayed florence last night, we have been losing an away tie almost every year in the group stages since the year we won it and it hasnt hindered our progress to the latter stages.
We're 3 points of the top, travelling to a depleated chelsea (no cech no cashley cole) at the weekend, where we won last year.. judge us after the big games jamie..
No need to jump on the players back when they probly feel bad enough as it is.. You could see the effort they put in after going behind and thats the effort that the top scoring team in the premiership will be putting in for their 'fans' for the rest of the season..
Have u bought your new michael owen shirt yet or what?
ps.. "the cycle of losing to good opposition must end"
ReplyDeleteWE BEAT CHELSKI AND MAN U HOME N AWAY LAST SEASON KIDDO> Are there any bigger tests than that out there?
Jaimie re response to Peter Gill, I agree that we have had a poor start to the season but as the majority of teams in our league can be considered 'inferior' your comments would suggest that we should win every match bar MU, Chelsea, City and Arsenal. If only football was that easy. You claim to be fair in your reviews bit it seems that the team cannot win in your eyes as when they do beat these 'inferior' teams you simply state 'well so they should'. Statistics aren't always black and white, we could have drawn with Spurs had the Voronin penaly been given, the Gerrard penalty that lost the game against Villa was inexplicable and out of character and Chelsea have beaten Hull in injury team first match of the season and not only equalised against Stoke in 1st half injury time but also won it in the 5th min of injury time at the end of the match. If you were to change these results the table would look rather different.
ReplyDeleteRafa current formation works wonder against weaker opponents. But I think another formation is needed against better oppositions. The current formation doesn't seem to work against good teams like vila, tottenham.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fair observation that we've yet to beat a good team this year. However, the way we've brushed aside the 'lesser' teams is encouraging. The defence and centre midfield are not as consistent as in the recent past and this has to be a concern. However, the spirited response in the second half last night was what we hope & expect to see and in reality we could easily have escaped with a draw if some of the good chances had been taken.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the poster who questions how closely people have watched Lucas before castigating him, he's far from the duffer many portray.
Great point by Brian - if Rafa & the squad have been "bragging" (ludicrous assertion in the first place - Rafa's the least likely person in the history of football to get carried away) and 'jumping the gun based on a small run of decent wins then one loss away in Europe hardly constitutes a crisis...is Jaimie disqualified for two false starts?
I would be interested in Bikram Rama's take on your comments about Aurelio playing in mdifield based on the article on this website which suggested it would be a fantastic idea
ReplyDelete<span> <span><span style="background-position: right -1650px;"></span>Rafa and the players have been bragging and massaging each others’ egos over last few weeks</span> but they’re jumping the gun as usual.</span>
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This an extremely negative interpretation here, Jamie. I would have thought that as a journalist you know exactly how media conferences work.</div>
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<div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Our players and the manager will be asked questions like: "How good is Fernando Torres?", "How crucial is the form of Yossi Benayoun?" or "Is confidence high now - do you feel you can beat anyone?.</div>
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<div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Then, of course, what they say is written up into a piece saying "Steven Gerrard feels that with the best striker in the world on board, Liverpool can beat anyone right now."</div>
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<div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">It's not bragging, or over confidence, it goes on all the time and means very little when it comes to playing the game. The players and the manager are contracted to speak to the media so what do you want them to do?</div>
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<div style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">It's goes on at other clubs, too, it's not exclusive to Liverpool. See, for example, today's headlines about "Rooney will be as good as Messi", "Rooney will be the best in the world" from Ferguson's conference yesterday.</div>
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<span> <span>"Rafa and the players have been bragging and massaging each others’ egos over last few weeks</span> but they’re jumping the gun as usual.</span>"
ReplyDeleteThis an extremely negative interpretation here, Jamie. I would have thought that as a journalist you know exactly how media conferences work.
Our players and the manager will be asked questions like: "How good is Fernando Torres?", "How crucial is the form of Yossi Benayoun?" or "Is confidence high now - do you feel you can beat anyone?".
Then, of course, what they say is written up into a piece saying "Steven Gerrard feels that with the best striker in the world on board, Liverpool can beat anyone right now."
It's not bragging, or over confidence, it goes on all the time and means very little when it comes to playing the game. The players and the manager are contracted to speak to the media so what do you want them to do?
It goes on at other clubs, too, it's not exclusive to Liverpool. See, for example, today's headlines about "Rooney will be as good as Messi", "Rooney will be the best in the world" from Ferguson's conference yesterday. Cheers
Well Red - a Liverpool FC blog
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I'm in a meeting at the moment but will respond to all comments in a few hours.
ReplyDeleteSent using BlackBerry� from Orange
Imo it's a bit near-sighted or OTT to say they failed the three 'real' tests they had so far.
ReplyDeleteEvery game is a real test, whether you pass it with flying colours (hull) or fail miserably (spurs, fiorentina).
How many of the 'real' tests did Liverpool pass last year? How many 'unreal' tests did Liverpool fail last year? Who won the league?
It was just a poor first half last night. These things happen. I'm sure Liverpool will stuff Fiorentina at home. Rafa needs to take some of the blame for his (untested) midfield pairing.
I don't think there's much to worry about. As you said earlier in the week in one your articles, had we beaten the lesser teams rather than drawn with them then we would have won the league last season. That's what we're doing so far this season. Remember that we lost only twice last year, Man Utd lost 4 and still won the league. So having said that why are you now so worried about losing a couple of games. We played awfully against Spurs and Villa but at this stage of the season we are better off than in the past 5. As you said in that article we had drawn 3/4 games out of the first 9 in the past 4 seasons. Now we seem to have remedied that.
ReplyDeleteMan Utd won the league last year because they beat most teams outside of the top 4, not because they beat the top 4. We had the best record in that mini league and still finished second.
I believe that this season is tougher as Spurs and Man City are much better than last season. As the season progresses the teams around us will also lose points. Wigan beating Chelsea was a perfect example; nobody expected that. I bet there is a Chelsea version of Jaimie Kanwar writing of their chances of winning the league, or are us Liverpool fans the only ones who get the pleasure of a cricitical realist like you :)
See how the Chelsea game plays out before you start making grand statements about whether we are genuine title contenders. The way I see it is we're three point behind Chelsea and Man Utd with a long way to go. Absolutely no reason to get worried at this stage.
As for Fiorentina, they are a good team, and I don't believe an English team have ever won there. So losing there isn't all doom and gloom. We are still on the same points as them after two games and have another four games to go.
Jamie i totaly agree - and all you who are having a go at him take a moment to reflect on this:
ReplyDeleteLiverpool, 2-0 down to Fiorentina with 20 mins to go are defending a corner. Fiorentina push 4 players into the box - so liverpool pull their WHOLE team back to defend a 2-0 loss!! Liverpool win the ball off the 4 fiorentina players, liverpool get pressured and so lump the ball forward - straight to Fiorentina's defenders who have no liverpool players to worry about..Fiorentina attack again.
That in a nuthshell is Liverpool's problem - consistently the wrong decisions made by Benitez, and usually its an over defensive decision. Playing lucas in the Alonso 'role' - Lucas cant pass over 20 yards, he cant pass at all when under pressure and he's so lacking in confidence he passes square, doesnt offer himself for the ball and continually positions himself exactly where liverpool players CANT pass to him.
Benitez realises his mistake so plays him in the Mascherano role - even WORSE decision!! Lucas is weak, has bad positioning defensively, gives away fouls consistently, RARELY wins the ball and leaves gaping holes in Liverpool's midfield. But Benitez sticks with him because he shows 'effort'. Effort doesnt win you cups if you dont have class.
The same applies to Kuyt. As much as people value and love effort and commitment - what use is that when the ball needs to be controlled first time and the player has a foot more like a spade! ok so he loses it and runs after it - the point is he loses it!! How can you play fast flowing football with a player who doesnt have a good 1st touch?? (Benitez even admitted Kuyt doesnt have a good 1st touch).
The biggest problem in Liverpool is Benitez. Imagine Torres played for Arsenal, Man Utd, Tottenham, Man City..he would of scored way more goals!! imagine he didnt always have to chase after meaningless punts up the pitch, with no support as usual?? He'd have less hamstring problems, less injuries, less fatigue during the game and even more energy!!
Liverpool need a change - they need a Guss Hiddink, or a Zola, or a Rijkaard. Or they need Dalglish. An attacive manager. one who values good football, fast and incisive play, creativity. not one who judges players on 'did they chases back or not??'. Benitez mistreated and badly man managed Alonson and gave alonso no option but to leave!! Benitez has mismanaged Babel - a great player with huge potential, and when he leaves liverpool and becomes a world star instead of askin why he didnt do it for liverpool - ask why didnt benitez LET HIM do it for Liverpool
I support liverpool but i want a great liverpool - not a mediocre liverpool run by dodgy owners and a dodgy manager.
Good comments gary. I haven't written off our chances. Ill resppnd properly later. J
ReplyDeleteSent using BlackBerry� from Orange
I'm kind of on the fence with this article. On one hand, Jaimie is rather right. On the other, I feel that pretty much any premier league game this season is a test. For instance, the Wigan-Chelsea game. I thought Wigan played very, very well. You never know when some of the lower teams are going to have an "on" game. After all, the bar is very high just to stay up in the Prem.
ReplyDeleteThe one serious thing we are lacking, though, is momentum. All these stops and starts, great-to-bad games, do not help us. There's a definite uncertainty to our playing. Our defense still is not in sync and Rafa needs to decide how to most effectively utilize Stevie G. Not to jump on, but Lucas's poor passing just can't be tolerated any more. He puts the brakes on every counter attack. One thing I've always admired about the Reds is our clean passing (especially from Stevie). Lucas's sloppy technique is not in the tradition.
Rather have Zola.... Mmmm
ReplyDeleteThat's just the most glaring in a post full of ludicrous comments
Last season we didn't loose a game to the top 4 including beating Manchester United and Chelsea home and away. This season clearly the loss of alonso has led the team needing a period to settle and certain players to step up. I think this has started to happen with Lucus looking much better and we still have aqualani to come into the team. If anything last season the problem was that we weren't beating teams like Hull and stoke although we were beating the better opposition including in Europe.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that we have failed three tests. We had a poor game against Fiortina but I have no doubt that we will qualify for the CL knockout stages and i'm enjoying liverpool's attacking play which means we go for it more in games!
"I bet there is a Chelsea version of Jaimie Kanwar writing of their chances of winning the league"
ReplyDeleteI bet there is, and he's really a Fulham fan
Same old rubbish mate. We lose so lets blame the same old people, Lucas, Kuyt. We lost yesterday due a defensive error (Insua not stepping up) and from a good finish we we could do very little about. So how is it Lucas or Kuyt's fault? Tell me how they individually lead to us losing?
ReplyDeleteI am not just trying to be controversial - I write what I think; there's no padding or sensationlising. What I write is *exactly* what I think.
ReplyDeleteI'm not suggesting that all we have to do is show up and beat the likes of Hull/stoke; I'm saying (and this is quite clear)
a) We have only beaten comparatively inferior teams this season
b) We've lost the three games in which we've faced a better standard of opposition.
Sometimes we need a defeat to get the team on track? Well that's three in 10 games; how many more do we need to get on track?
We should be beating Hull, Stoke, Burnley, Bolton, Leeds and West Ham. On paper, Liverpool have much better players and a better manager. Liverpool fans and players are always quick to proclaim that x, y an z are' the greatest in the world' - well, prove it by beating half decent teams.
ReplyDeleteHi Robbo - I know this goes on but it does not *always* go on. For example, Benitez was not asked if he thought Liverpool could beat anyone recently; he just came out and said it. Lucas was not asked if he thinks Torres is the best striker in the world; he came up with that by himself.
ReplyDeleteAnd even if players are asked these questions, they don't always have to take the bait. They can underplay their answers or sit on the fence; they don't have to be so OTT in their comments.
Liverpool players need some serious media coaching - the overconfident comments are used to build Liverpool up for a fall, which is a speciality of the media (on occasion). With this in mind, why are the club not coaching the players on what they can and cannot say to the press?
I agree that every game is a test, but you must concede that some teams are better than others. Spurs, Fiorentina and Villa are more of a test than Hull, Stoke and Burnely because:
ReplyDeletea) They have better players
b) more experience of top-flight football
The same principle applies to games against the top-tier - Games v Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, Real Madrid etc will be bigger tests than games b Villa, Spurs and Fiorentina.
I haven't said that our title/Cl challenge is over or suggested anything of the sort; I've merely highlighted the fact that this season, Liverpool are beating the poorer teams and struggling against the better teams.
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't suggest that we're not title contenders; I suggested that beating the smaller teams only is not proof that we're genuine contenders. If we lose to Chelsea on Sunday (hopefully not!), that will be 4 games against better opposition that we've lost. This is surely a problem and something that's worthy of discussion?
I have no doubt we will qualify for the next stage of the CL, and it's great that we're beating teams we drew against last season. It will all be for nothing though if we ca't beat the better teams in the league.
ReplyDeleteIt is worthy of discussion but after the game. In the same way that you suggest Liverpool players shouldn't be bigging themselves up before games and do the talking on teh pitch, is it not right that we as fans should also wait until after games to discuss whether we are genuine title contenders. If we beat Chelsea then this whole article was pointless.
ReplyDeleteThe way I see it is we played very badly against Spurs and Villa. We've got better since then beating what has been put in front of us; regardless of who it is we have beaten them. Then we lose to Fiorentina, which isn't ideal but its not as if it has knocked us out of the Champions League. We must also give them some respect here; they are a top 4 serie A team who played very well last night. That Jovetic kid looks like a find. No English club has beaten them at home. We played badly but its not the end of the world.
Lets wait and see what happens on Sunday. If we win then we have to be considered genuine title contenders. No team, apart from the Arsenal invincible team goes through a season without losing. If you go back through the all Premiership season you will see that the average number of losses for the league winners is 5.
Did liverpool honestly look a better team than fiorentina, or aston villa, or tottenham? I dont think so - liverpool not only lost those games - they played terribly! and against west ham you could clearly see which team was playing the flowing football, the better football - it was West Ham. The only reason Liverpool won is because Liverpool have perhaps the best striker in the world - Torres. Its nearly always Torres or Gerard bailing out Liverpool - and if they dont benitez says 'the top players didnt play well'. EXCUSE ME!?? maybe they would play better if they had players who they were confident in around them. Was Gerrard likely to get a good pass from lucas, like those spectacular 25-30 yard 100% accurate in between two opposing player type passes Alonso did. NO, because lucas would take the EASY option and pass it square, collect it, pass it back to the defence, flit out of the game and re-enter it to lose it or to foul someone. Which meant Gerard or benayoun drift towards the centre circle to pick up the ball, look up and see even less options to pass to than usual.
ReplyDeleteThen you have Kuyt, picking up the ball bustling through perhaps one challenge through sheer clumsyness, then losing the ball, or toe poking to a team mate just before he looses it - leaving his teamates rushing to reach a short pass and usually ending up injured by the opposing teams defenders. Kuys has consistently passed dangerously short balls that put his team mates in danger of either losing the ball or getting injured. i havent even mentioned how MANY mooves slow down or break down as soon as he gets involved. He cant thread a through ball to save his life either.
Let me ask this - who would you rather have, Arshavin or Kuyt? Joe Cole or Kuyt? Modric or Kuyt? Ronaldo or Kuyt? Robinho or Kuyt? Tevez or Kuyt? Iniesta or Kuyt? Aguero or Kuyt? Silva or Kuyt? Villa or Kuyt? Rooney or Kuyt? All those players are world stars, capable of amazing skill and peices of play. Kuyt is a work horse with no finess, skill or vision. The simple undeniable truth is when you include players in a team who are not good footballers, you lessen the options, dumb down the level of football u play and remove any chance of playing good football. And since your midfield consists of poor players like Leiva moves breakdown, possession is lost - so you end up with players leaving their position to collect the ball, meaning the teams shape is lost. you lose self esteem in yourself and your team. You become the Liverpool we saw yesterday, and against Villa, and against Tottenham.
Look at Zola - no money, has lost many of his better players to sales, and yet west ham has shined end of last season and even though theyve lost a few this season they play BETTER football than liverpool with a team worth a fraction of the liverpool team. If you have Liverpool's players under Zola, they will play great fluid attacking football - not robotic follow the leader rubbish that Benitez loves. I honestly hope Liverpool have to do without Lucas and Kuyt for 4 matches. You'll see how the form and football picks up
I agree on our form, it's yet to pass a significant test. Our performance against Chelsea will be a much better indicator of where we are this season. Not sure that it warrants a page of rambling rhetoric and another dig at the team for answering the questions they are asked by the press.
ReplyDeleteWell said... It is infuriating to see Rafa support (in a pointedly biased way) Kuyt and Lucas and select them for every match! They epitomise Rafa's cautious approach and aren't even worthy of warming the bench of any of the top four clubs either in England or Spain...
ReplyDeleteI am tired of hearing Rafa eulogise Kuyt in press conferences, how he can even play in central defense, his work rate, blah, blah... all the while giving stick to players like Riera who according to him has to earn their place with hard work (Which IMO he does, I mean who doesn't? at that level? especially with a manager who shows so much favoritism to mediocre players?). Even Benayoun is getting into the starting XI only recently...
Wonder what happens when Aquilani starts playing (Riera and Benny to the bench automatically I guess, while Lucas and Kuyt start as usual!)... Hope he doesn't turn out to be a dud...
Well I'm no sports psychologist, but surely you want your players to speak confidently? I certainly do. And as for straight batting questions, *whatever* they say will be twisted into something. I think most fans, and players, are intelligent enough to take the media with a pinch of salt.
ReplyDeleteBenitez's quote was: "<span style="">The Champions League is a very different and difficult competition, but we have confidence we can beat anyone."</span>
What's the problem with that? For me it send out the right message. It's hardly a left-field approach and i don't think it warrants criticism.
Equally, Lucas on Torres: "<span style="">"I don't think there is a better striker than him in the world at the moment. Hopefully he will stay at this level for the whole season."</span>
Again, don't see the problem. He probably is the best striker in the world so why not say it?
I accept the aim of your site Jaime, but this seems like criticism for criticism's sake.
Robbo - you have to look at these comments in the context of the last few years under Benitez. The comments so far this season have not been as crass as previous seasons, but Liverpool have a tendency to big themselves up and bait the opposition whenever they go on a good run. Everyone is suddenly the best in the world, and Gerrard-Torres love-in is particularly sickening.
ReplyDeleteLiverpool teams of the past were never like this; you never heard the likes of john barnes and Peter beardsley eulogising each other repeatedly. They just got on with the job; low key, unfussy and effective.
I just dont understand ..why ppl keep supporting Lucas!! ...he is not worth playing for liverpool ... whole team was miserable yesterday but I believe that they will step up but not Lucas ....
ReplyDeleteTake your point but I think we are living in a different world these days. The Barnes-Beardsley team of 1987 was superb but the fact that they "just got on with the job" is probably more down to the media landscape of the time - i.e. no internet, no OTT tabloid coverage, no Sky Sports 24-hour sensationalism.
ReplyDeleteAs it is now, the media demand placed on the players and managers is constant and from a huge range of sources.
And ALL teams go OTT about how good they are etc, as evidenced today with Fergie over Rooney, all last season and the season before with Ronaldo, Wenger with Fabregas, Chelsea with Drogba, Lampard and Terry.
Par for the course, I'm afraid.
that season is gone and we didnt achieve anything ...lets not live in past ... We need to do that again this season .
ReplyDeletedude what u have against Kuyt ...he is far far better than lucas ...I agree Reira should be given more opportunity ...
ReplyDeleteWhinge, whinge, moan, moan. He makes one change and he is changing a winning team. Why don't we start the rotation debate again?
ReplyDeleteThe Mancs beat the lower teams and picked up very few points against the top four and yet they still won the title last season.
ReplyDeleteNo I won't look at Zola, because West Ham are languishing in the bottom 3 and haven't won a game since the opening game of the season.
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<div class="js-singleCommentText">No I won't look at Zola, because West Ham are languishing in the bottom 3 and haven't won a game since the opening game of the season.</div>
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No I won't look at Zola as West Ham are currently languishing the bottom 3.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with u jaimie. Rafa is very good but at the same time have lots of ego which can destroy the club if not highlighted. keep up your good job
ReplyDeleteRead more: <span style="color: #940f04;">http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2009/09/lets-be-honest-here-liverpool-have-had.html#ixzz0SiFtphNO</span>
With football as with everything else in life, you have to take the rough with the smooth. No team has a god given right to play 60 games a season and win them all, or for that matter not lose even one.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I do think that sometimes Liverpool fans do seem to think this way. Maybe it is because for nearly 20 years we were spoiled with fantastic sides that seemed to win everything in front of them.
I agree with some of the comments on here both those that agree with what Jamie writes and those that don't and at the end of the day we are all entitled to our opinion. At least there is a right to reply on here.
What I do believe more than anything else is that Rafa Benitez is a quality manager, he knowa what he wants and knows what he is doing. What we the supporters maybe need to do is give the man a bit more respect and when we lose, which we will, as others will do too, we should get behind the team and the manager instead of lambasting them all the time. When MU or Chelsea or Arsenal lose I never really hear their fans and supporters calling the players rubbish or the manager garbage. Instead they talk about which team is going to get the backlash in the next match.
Rafa is paid to be the manager and pick the players and the team, we all reckon we could do a better job if were honest but in reality could we? I doubt it very much.
Stop calling the players, the manager and the team and get behind them for a change. By all means give an opinion of how we might do it differently but stop having a go at how those who do the job do it. We are supposed to be supporters, so please support and not slag off out team!
And now a fourth one and Liverpool has failed again.
ReplyDeleteCarragher needs to be benched agger should step into his shoes he is worn-out what do you think
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