One of the management principles in which I strongly believe is the merit system: if someone is playing well, you continue to play them. It's simple, and seems to make sense, but in recent years, that policy has been regularly ignored. Hopefully, Kenny Dalglish will employ the merit system with his team selection today.
Rafa Benitez regularly ignored the merit system when selecting his players. Ryan Babel, Peter Crouch and Yossi Benayoun were regularly dumped on the bench after scoring goals, something that seemed perverse and counter-productive to me.
In my mind it's simple: if a player scores in one game, he should automatically start the next game, particularly when it's an attacking player. Dropping someone after scoring is arguably counter-intuitive, and if done often enough, will have a negative impact on a player's confidence and performance.
Where is the benefit in disrupting goalscoring momentum? Scoring a goal is the ultimate confidence booster, and those who score deserve to be rewarded with the incentive of an automatic starting spot for the next game.
Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt both scored against Brighton, and both contributed to a vastly improved attacking performance from Liverpool. Consequently, they must surely both start today against Wolves.
Why should either of them be dropped for the likes of Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll? What have those players done recently to deserve a starting spot?
If we see Henderson and Carroll in the starting line-up ahead of Bellamy and Kuyt then it sends a message that scoring goals is irrelevant when it comes to judging a player's merit and importance to the team, which obviously cannot be right.
For me, there's just no excuse not to start Bellamy and Kuyt today. Goals win games, and the players who score the goals should obviously be played. And after two league defeats in a row, Dalglish should surely put out a team that has the most chance of scoring goals, and including players who scored in the last game would seem to be a no-brainer.
I really hope King Kenny does not follow Benitez's example here. It's massively frustrating to see players dumped on the bench after scoring goals, and injury/fitness issues notwithstanding, I would argue there's rarely a credible argument for taking that action.
My team for today:
-------------- Reina
Kelly ----- Carra --- Coates --- Enrique
Kuyt ------ Lucas ---- Adam ----- Downing
------------------- Bellamy
----------------- Suarez
That team has more than enough quality to comfortably beat Wolves, and I have no doubt that Liverpool will win. With Gerrard just back from injury, I would have him on the bench and give him half an hour in the second half.
EDIT: 7PM
Good win for Liverpool, but it doesn't change the basic principle, i.e. players who score should not be dropped for the next game. Kenny got away with it today but we might not be so lucky in games to come. Henderson and Carroll are not the reason Liverpool won the game; I believe that with Bellamy and Kuyt on the field, we would've been out of sight a lot earlier.
Jaimie Kanwar
Rafa Benitez regularly ignored the merit system when selecting his players. Ryan Babel, Peter Crouch and Yossi Benayoun were regularly dumped on the bench after scoring goals, something that seemed perverse and counter-productive to me.
In my mind it's simple: if a player scores in one game, he should automatically start the next game, particularly when it's an attacking player. Dropping someone after scoring is arguably counter-intuitive, and if done often enough, will have a negative impact on a player's confidence and performance.
Where is the benefit in disrupting goalscoring momentum? Scoring a goal is the ultimate confidence booster, and those who score deserve to be rewarded with the incentive of an automatic starting spot for the next game.
Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt both scored against Brighton, and both contributed to a vastly improved attacking performance from Liverpool. Consequently, they must surely both start today against Wolves.
Why should either of them be dropped for the likes of Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll? What have those players done recently to deserve a starting spot?
If we see Henderson and Carroll in the starting line-up ahead of Bellamy and Kuyt then it sends a message that scoring goals is irrelevant when it comes to judging a player's merit and importance to the team, which obviously cannot be right.
For me, there's just no excuse not to start Bellamy and Kuyt today. Goals win games, and the players who score the goals should obviously be played. And after two league defeats in a row, Dalglish should surely put out a team that has the most chance of scoring goals, and including players who scored in the last game would seem to be a no-brainer.
I really hope King Kenny does not follow Benitez's example here. It's massively frustrating to see players dumped on the bench after scoring goals, and injury/fitness issues notwithstanding, I would argue there's rarely a credible argument for taking that action.
My team for today:
-------------- Reina
Kelly ----- Carra --- Coates --- Enrique
Kuyt ------ Lucas ---- Adam ----- Downing
------------------- Bellamy
----------------- Suarez
That team has more than enough quality to comfortably beat Wolves, and I have no doubt that Liverpool will win. With Gerrard just back from injury, I would have him on the bench and give him half an hour in the second half.
EDIT: 7PM
Good win for Liverpool, but it doesn't change the basic principle, i.e. players who score should not be dropped for the next game. Kenny got away with it today but we might not be so lucky in games to come. Henderson and Carroll are not the reason Liverpool won the game; I believe that with Bellamy and Kuyt on the field, we would've been out of sight a lot earlier.
Jaimie Kanwar
for once i agree with you, although the tone suggest you will start a campaign against yet another Liverpool manager should your wishes not come true. Still...
ReplyDeleteThis guy just want stir controversy, in the expense of the club's respectable servants, to attract traffic and ads.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your team...first time I've ever agreed with anything you have said.
ReplyDeleteThere's always a first time. I'm sure you'll be back to disagreeing in no time at all :-)
ReplyDeleteSkrtel should start instead of Coates
ReplyDeleteI definitely don't agree with this. I think youll find that it was not only Benitez who regularly took scorers out of the team. I just noticed that all the players you didn't want starting are. Last year Berbatov was the leagues top scorer yet regularly found himself on the bench and not even in their biggest game of the season. I reacall games where bendtner started and scored for
ReplyDeleteArsenal but was dropped for the next game. This was not an exclusive Benitez policy, do not mislead people
'Fraid not mate, Carrol and Henderson back. I agree with your article. When asked what his team would be for the game, Shanks used to reply "Same as last season"!
ReplyDeleteYou're right Arabee, but I'm not interested in what other managers do. My article is solely about Liverpool managers, and the impact on the Liverpool team.
ReplyDeleteYes, a simple but effective philosophy. Obviously, the game has changed but elements of that idea still apply today. 'What will your team be for the game' - Reply: 'Same as midweek'
ReplyDeleteI believe Jamie's right here. The difference in quality throughout the squad is minimal. It made no sense changing the team considering how bad our form has been of late and how little the players coming in will change our style of play. The only difference between Kuyt and Henderson, Bellamy and Carroll, at the moment is form. So why not play the lads who are confident?
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty clear Suarez likes to play alongside a man who has similar movement and attributes to Forlan. Bellamy fits the bill. But andy cost £35mill. Something has to give.
Surely we can learn form other clubs Jaimie. Clearly this policy has had a positive affect on manure and other clubs, so why use the policy to cast Benitez in a negative light. The whole point of a squad is rotation. I also think dropping Carroll for 2 games in a row would notr be good for his confidence. Long term the confidence of Carroll is undoubtedly more important than Bellamy
ReplyDelete"In my mind it's simple: if a player scores in one game, he should automatically start the next game.."
ReplyDeleteStopped reading there. A goal on it's own should mean nothing in terms of picking the next starting 11.
It really makes me laugh when people write 'Stopped reading there', as if they are the ultimate and absolute authority on what is and is not correct when it comes to football. If you stopped there, why bother commenting at all?
ReplyDeleteLaughable article , and wrong as the selection today showed that Kenny is in favour of so called Rafa anti merit system.
ReplyDeletenot going to defend Rafa as his record and his achievemnt is there to be seen when he worked under very difficult situation but all managers do select their to win. for instance is Alex ferguson wrong to drop owen and gigs out after their midweek terrific perfomance.
for god sake, change your record, Mr Kanwar, as your constant attacks on Rafa is as ever divisive.
Kenny should better resign than this senseless and biased tactics he is employing. I see no reason why Henderson should be playing while Kuyt, Bellamy, and Maxi are left in the bench.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing after seeing the line up & thought Kenny has some favouritism issues here, like Rafa. Suarez was clearly not happy after being subbed tonight. That's not a good sign.
ReplyDeletethats why you write crap articles and kenny picks the team.
ReplyDeletewere all experts aint we
Kanwar you're a complete shithouse - Rafa is holding a Q & A on October 16th in Liverpool, there's still tickets left and it is on a Sunday night so there's plenty of hotel rooms at cheap prices (check on www.laterooms.com if you don't believe me). You'll do anything to stick the boot in, and this post is the proof. Rafa left over a year ago and you're still having a go!
ReplyDeleteNo doubt you'll delete my comment cos you're a shitbag who doesn't like anyone going against the grain of Jaimie Kanwar. Fuck you you cretin! (you said that to me remember)
I heavily look forward to a team with offensive players in front of Lucas are:
ReplyDeleteKuyt - Steven - Downing
Bellamy - Suarez
... and agree on one thing in your article: USE PLAYERS HIGH ON CONFIDENCE FROM THE START OF EACH MATCH (and let others have a chance as substitutes).
I agree with this idea, you shouldn't be dropped if you score, another idea I like is if the team wins it stays the same, there is no greater incentive than that to give your all. If we lose there are going to be changes, a draw could go either way.
ReplyDeletehow can you not include Andy Carroll....an England regular ...scored 10goals last year..kenny know his football and footballers .....he has signed top quality who will me good someday just you wait....we are going to win the league...and yet we have only spent 130million and we play better football than stoke
ReplyDeletewhy were we great first half=again?!then drop deep,dont see game off,then twitching starts.no leadership.no shape ,closeind down 2nd half.adam trotted around=luxuary,nrrds worker beside him-lazy.v good passer if time.doesnt wana do ugly side.hendersen same.cept clueless aswell.krnny dont be a smartarse.footballs simple,complicated by fools.i aint forgot palace semi me.dalglish!sentiment never sorted defence then.now suspect over fees/stubborness,you picked wrong side today.and we just!hung on.how kuyt and bellamy dont play insteadve 2 north east yard dogs ill never know.and suarez off,just daft.youll drive lad out.bellamy and kuyt must! start in next 2 huge leauge games.=passion and workrate
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree, i have the greatest respect for Kenny but i am a bit baffled at his team selection. We were under so much pressure at the end of the game and he takes off Suarez ............... is it because he is not british? You play the best and ur taken off. these are some worrying signals .... and with Real madrid seamingly knocking at the door, i think kenny needs to be careful not to frustrate out most influential player.
ReplyDeleteDDon't worry if suarez leaves..we still got carragher and Carroll and jay spearing
ReplyDeleteWhat a load of nonsense!
ReplyDeleteYou have no clue what happens on the training ground from one game to the next, minor injuries, fatigue all play a part and should play a part in any manager's decision on player selection.
And to say carrol didnt contribute makes you sound pretty pathetic, almost as if u wished for a poor result to prove you right.... Am glad theres a real football person managing liverpool and not some online nobody.
Bellamy have big knee problems. He almost can't play twice a week. You will have to consider things like that. You clearly don't or didn't bother to find that out. If you write an article then at least a bit of research would help.
ReplyDeleteGood article. I think you have reflected what everyone had in their mind. Suarez was apparently unhappy at the substitution. Caroll should have been replaced by Gerrard, not Suarez. The player wants to score more goals in order to become the top scorer. It is unlikely that he will get injured because he plays quite a safe game. So Kenny shouldnot make any stupid change again.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you.....my God! I can't believe I've just said that!
ReplyDeleteActually, Jamie, if enough fans agree with you on this issue, I expect you will seek out another theme 'cause you won't be upsetting enough people ;-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jamie....not very often, but this time you are 100% right....players that play well have to be retained in the next game, those that don't play well can come on as subs and prove a point.
ReplyDeleteSo are you telling me what happens on the training ground means it will play out in the game? Henderson must surely be burning a trail blaze behind him then on the training ground if he is continually picked in the starting line up because for the life of me he provides NOTHING on the pitch when the 3 points are at stake. So I suggest you just keep your clueless opinions to yourself and stop making a fool of yourself by blindly following Kenny's team selections. Kenny is a legend to all of us but HE is not bigger than the club. YNWA
ReplyDeleteKenny is trying to boost carrolls confidence, but we would have been better had bellamy started. As for Henderson, I truly believe spearing is the better player of the two, and that's is something I thought I would never say about spearing. Even Adam has been disappointing in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWith Benitez, dropping players that scored was something of a norm, to the extent you would feel he wanted to emotionally get into those players minds in a negative way. In addition to the players Jaimie mentioned, and as major proof was the case with Kuyt, he kept sticking with him, when everyone one was against him, until he scored his first goal, and guess what, he was dropped the following game.
ReplyDeleteSo according to your theory there is no such thing as (a) playing certain players for attributes such as height for example especially when making changes based on potential opposition match ups OR (b) giving players (like Henderson and Carroll) a run in the team so that they can develop their skills to perform better (the very argument you are making when referring to Babel, Crouch or Benayoun). In fact Crouch didn't score for the first 20 odd games he played for LFC then started banging them in for fun.
ReplyDeleteKenny's side yesterday won the game, playing good fotball and creating more chances to increase the lead.
ReplyDeleteIn an usual afternoon Wolves' game could easily end with a 3-1 4-1 5-1 scoresheet.
Big Andy did anything well yesterday except score a goal.
I have my personal thoughts, like anyone, but if a Kenny's side came out there and got a well deserved win, then I must realise that Kenny's doing well and Kenny's right and I have no problem if Kenny is right, because I'm a Liverpool's supporter. I'm not interested in my best formation if Liverpool plays good football, like They did yesterday. The facts dictates the analysys, not our views. Our views become irrilevant if Kenny picked up a side and got a well deserved win, and the true reality is that our best sides actually didn't get three points against Wolves, it was Kenny's side Who got the three points.
Andy did play really really well yesterday, and in the first half Hendo showed great moves, great passes as He's really improving game by game. Kenny is simply protecting the guys from the insane pressure of Media relating to their price tags, and this is excatly what a Player want by his manager. Someone consider football like a science: If You cost £35ml why You didn't score an hattrick every game of the season? It's not so easy, football is good work, composure, balance and the teams need to gel. But if Someone every occasions believe that They can do oit better than King Kenny, then They should send their cvs to the CLub.
And Fans Who are accusing of racism a Man with high values of Kenny, are really
ReplyDeletereally unfair, and an embarassing for our Club.
Suarez was called of in 80th minute, after 80th minute of brilliant performance, for a Guy named STEVEN GERRARD.
The point of keeping plays in form in the team is a correct one, but also so are selection of the correct tactics, this might mean different approaches with different players/choices.
ReplyDeleteAs for any player who is happy to be substituted, they should not play for the team in the first place! Suarez is a player who plays with emotion and will pick up cards for this approach all season long, maybe a reason to substitute him was due to trying to ensure the team does not loose him later in the year, Carrol was having a good game and i see no reason to substitute Carrol instead as he is fresher after not playing as much as Suarez.
^^^^^^^^^^^ SUPERRRRRRR DUPERRRRRRRRRR - MY HEAD IN A TWIRL LIKE .........
ReplyDeleteI bet Jamie is waiting for the day when Kenny retires, doing the same with KK as he does with Rafa will get a 1000 comments and a 1000000 hits easy
don't like to argue with a person like you because that is what you want ............ certain facts : Benayoun and Babel hardly contributed when they started, it was only coming from the bench that they had telling impact, Benitez was the one that persisted with Crouch ............ I suppose if you do the same analysis that you did with Glen Johnson you will notice the difference what Benayoun and Babel did while starting and after coming on as substitutes ....... If you don't want to admit you are wrong and don't want to do this exercise then you are what we already know you are - A HYPOCRITE
Of course - I can't have people agreeing with me (!)
ReplyDelete"Henderson and carroll are not the reason we won the game"
ReplyDeleteand at the same time, they are the reason we didnt lose the game...as every one of our 11 players are!
You make some valid points at the start of your article, but yet ruin this with ridiculous, petulant comments such as the above.
A successful team requires 11 individual contributions, yet you discount two of them because of your obvious bias against them. pathetic!
not a good article, based on this theory, a player such as David Ngog would come on as a sub in the last 5 mins and tap in a sitter which would warrant a start next game?
ReplyDeletegoal scoring momentum is not proven. you may just be a victim of selective memory (i.e. you remember the times when someone is streaky but not when someone is not). Unless you conduct a complete statistical evaluation, your point is pure conjecture.
ReplyDeleteJust because it "feels" intuitive doesn't mean it's true. The reason I have serious doubts is that the "hot hand" phenomenon had been debunked in professional basketball (where people believed when a player is "hot" his probability of making the next shot increases).
See Gilovich, Vallone & Tversky (1985) The Hot Hand in Basketball: On the Misperception of Random Sequenceshttp://www.psych.cornell.edu/sec/pubPeople/tdg1/Gilo.Vallone.Tversky.pdf"The belief in the hot hand and the "detection" of streaks in random sequences is attributed to a general misconception of hance according to which even short random sequences are thought to be highly representative of their generative process"
Sadly, football is about egos and politics. For example. Henderson has not showed any improvement game to game, his approach has been the same and he disappears and doesn't link up with other players. Any fan will know he is a player that is sent off but still on the field. Wouldn't it benefit his game if he was made as a bit part player this season. Come on the field as a sub so he can learn how to be effective. Maxi\ Kuyt are two players that are already developed and can consistently perform during the game. They wont freeze on the ball and pass it back or sideways, they will always look forward. Now heres where politics come into play. Why is Henderson playing ahead of these two already seasoned players? Because he is the most expensive and youngest. Bottom line. He is an investment. An investment atm that is proving to be a loss. Carroll is improving, i can tell by the way his effort has gone up, he just needs to be more clinical now and not have to think too much. Just one dink and a quick release like Suarez did and not a 3 or 4. Henderson though, its the same old story with him. Some one needs to grab him by the scruff of his neck and tell him what in the world is he doing?!!
ReplyDeleteBeing an LFC fan i perceived that Kuqt & bellamy deserves the starting place prior the likes of henderson & carroll respectively. Given their current form & scoring ability, kenny should consider them prior & let the like of henderson & carroll to be as substitutes & when they come on pitch on the last 15-20mins they are likely to play better as 1st the LFC already taking the lead in the first half, they are not stressed nor pressuried to score, hence being as subs they will likely perform better, improves their confidence, playing good football given oppoentents have tired legs @ the time they are introduced as subs.. Kuqt & bellamy deserves to be in the starting 11 & this applies to every LFC player, the 1 whose most in form, hardworking & confident should be selected in the starting 11 irrespective of their age, price tage or nationality...What LFC need is victory every match & the right selection of player for the starting 11 is crucial for LFC success. If you look @ the 4-0 defeat @ Tottenham, the starting 11 was the cause, henderson & Adam(recently injured) was not in form so the mildfield look so fragile. Kuqt deserves to be played especially when we were 2men down. Belllamy was introduced too late be kenny. Its was the worst LFC match under kenny, the only reason to that is the wrong selection of the starting 11..
ReplyDeleteA goal alone doesn't prove tevidence of a player's performance.
ReplyDeleteA goal in a cup game against lower league opposition provides even less evidence of a player's justification for a starting place.
Team selection is made on the basis of a combination of factors such as tactics, form of the players and team balance. I doubt that any manager who adopted a simple rule such as selecting goal scorers from a preceding fixture would get very far in the EPL or indeed any major football league.
ReplyDelete