After the West Brom victory last week, I argued that the quality of Liverpool's second half performance had been wildly exaggerated, and suggested that if the team continued to play like that, there would be trouble ahead. The gross hyperbole coming from fans, pundits and ex-players after the game was laughable, and just served to deflect attention away from the real issues, which were exposed again today by an outstanding Swansea team who, quite frankly, gave Liverpool a footballing lesson on their own ground.
Those who want to become a successful team manager or coach may look into university degrees in sports management online.
After I posted the aforementioned article, very few people would accept the blindingly obvious truth, preferring instead to luxuriate in a comfortable bubble of denial. The warning signs were there, but as is so often the case, no one wanted to acknowledge them.
The truth is West Brom were appalling on the day; definitely the worst team Liverpool have played this season; maybe even the worst team played in 2011. Despite this, Liverpool spectacularly failed to capitalise in the second half, and the disjointed nature of the performance was a glaring concern. Specific issues included:
* Regularly giving the ball away
* Distinct Lack of pace
* Huge gaps in midfield
* Regular breakdown of attacking moves
* Inability to capitalise on promising positions
* Allowing West Brom back into the game
* Lack of imagination in attacking positions
* Slow attacking play
* Poor finishing
etc.
All of the above were again in evidence against Swansea at Anfield today, but this time, Liverpool were up against a team that was good enough to capitalise, and could quite easily have won the game.
It's hard to admit, but Liverpool were outclassed at home by a newly promoted side who haven't been in the top flight since 1983.
If Liverpool had played like Swansea today, fans and pundits would be going gaga pover the quality of the performance and the brilliance of the pass and move football.
There were several times in the game where Swansea kept the ball for 30+ passes and left Liverpool chasing shadows. It got embarrassing at times, especially in the second half, where Swansea actually dominated for long periods.
It may sound like I'm overpraising Brendan Rogers' team, but anyone who saw the game would surely agree that they were outstanding, and played the kind of football Liverpool should've been playing (and used to play once upon a time)
Believe me, I take no pleasure in writing these words, but it's always best to tell the truth.
Liverpool had a few good passages of play but that is the bare minimum we should be expecting from a team boasting over £100m of newly acquired 'talent', especially at home against a newly-promoted team.
Kenny Dalglish called the performance 'disappointing' - it was worse than that; it was downright disturbing, and I think we can now lay to rest the growing myth that genuine pass and move football has returned to Liverpool.
PROS
* Starting Carroll. He scored in the last game, and it's never right to drop a goal-scoring striker (IMO).
* Charlie Adam was at the heart of everything creative Liverpool achieved. Came up with a couple of sublime defence-splitting passes, and spread the play really well.
* Another clean sheet.
* 6 games unbeaten in a row.
CONS
* Henderson on the right: it doesn't work, so why keep persisting with it? It's not Hendo's fault he's played out there but he does himself no favours with his 'safety first' approach. Whenever he gets the ball, he plays the safe pass, and seems afraid to take responsibility or take a risk.
* Depressing lack of pace in the team, which is regularly exposed whenever Liverpool come up against teams with fast players (Spurs, Norwich, Swansea etc)
* Reina: had a dodgy game overall IMO. Seemed to lose concentration a few times. Made several mistakes, and almost cost Liverpool a goal on a couple of occasions.
* Downing: Great cross for Carroll, but one great cross per game is not enough to justify starting every match, or a 20m fee. 12 games without a goal or assist now. Not good enough for en experience Premier League player in the prime of his career.
* Finishing! There's no excuse for Andy Carroll missing that golden chance in the first half. The quality of shooting was poor overall, especially from Enrique and Downing, who skied some great chances.
* Right side of defence: The amount of space on the right at times was ridiculous. Most of Swansea's attacks came down the right, courtesy of Glen Johnson's suspect positioning. I still can't see what Johnson brings to the team that Martin Kelly doesn't.
* Right wing: Liverpool have a real problem here; Henderson can't play there; Kuyt is better, but still not the best solution, and for some inexplicable reason, the last three managers refuse to do the obvious and try Glen Johnson out on the right. Instead of splurging £20m on Henderson (who has been forced to play on the right), why wasn't the money spent on a top-quality right-sided midfielder/winger?!
* Substitutions: Downing arguably should've gone off for Bellamy, not Carroll. What exactly had he done to stay on the pitch in the second half?
* Carroll/Suarez 'partnership'. It doesn't work, and the West Brom game is not evidence that it works. Carroll just doesn't have the technique, pace, movement, positioning or game intelligence to work effectively with Suarez. How many times did Carroll give the ball away by heading it down to no one? He's probably never chested a ball down and brought it under control in his life. Carroll is a good player (on his day), but he does not fit into this team.
Overall, the most concerning thing is that Liverpool were made to look ordinary on their own ground by the superior passing, movement and athleticism of a newly-promoted team with practically no Premier League experience.
With Spurs level on points with TWO games in hand, and Arsenal ominously rising up the table, 4th place is looking further away than ever.
Jaimie Kanwar
Those who want to become a successful team manager or coach may look into university degrees in sports management online.
After I posted the aforementioned article, very few people would accept the blindingly obvious truth, preferring instead to luxuriate in a comfortable bubble of denial. The warning signs were there, but as is so often the case, no one wanted to acknowledge them.
The truth is West Brom were appalling on the day; definitely the worst team Liverpool have played this season; maybe even the worst team played in 2011. Despite this, Liverpool spectacularly failed to capitalise in the second half, and the disjointed nature of the performance was a glaring concern. Specific issues included:
* Regularly giving the ball away
* Distinct Lack of pace
* Huge gaps in midfield
* Regular breakdown of attacking moves
* Inability to capitalise on promising positions
* Allowing West Brom back into the game
* Lack of imagination in attacking positions
* Slow attacking play
* Poor finishing
etc.
All of the above were again in evidence against Swansea at Anfield today, but this time, Liverpool were up against a team that was good enough to capitalise, and could quite easily have won the game.
It's hard to admit, but Liverpool were outclassed at home by a newly promoted side who haven't been in the top flight since 1983.
If Liverpool had played like Swansea today, fans and pundits would be going gaga pover the quality of the performance and the brilliance of the pass and move football.
There were several times in the game where Swansea kept the ball for 30+ passes and left Liverpool chasing shadows. It got embarrassing at times, especially in the second half, where Swansea actually dominated for long periods.
It may sound like I'm overpraising Brendan Rogers' team, but anyone who saw the game would surely agree that they were outstanding, and played the kind of football Liverpool should've been playing (and used to play once upon a time)
Believe me, I take no pleasure in writing these words, but it's always best to tell the truth.
Liverpool had a few good passages of play but that is the bare minimum we should be expecting from a team boasting over £100m of newly acquired 'talent', especially at home against a newly-promoted team.
Kenny Dalglish called the performance 'disappointing' - it was worse than that; it was downright disturbing, and I think we can now lay to rest the growing myth that genuine pass and move football has returned to Liverpool.
PROS
* Starting Carroll. He scored in the last game, and it's never right to drop a goal-scoring striker (IMO).
* Charlie Adam was at the heart of everything creative Liverpool achieved. Came up with a couple of sublime defence-splitting passes, and spread the play really well.
* Another clean sheet.
* 6 games unbeaten in a row.
CONS
* Henderson on the right: it doesn't work, so why keep persisting with it? It's not Hendo's fault he's played out there but he does himself no favours with his 'safety first' approach. Whenever he gets the ball, he plays the safe pass, and seems afraid to take responsibility or take a risk.
* Depressing lack of pace in the team, which is regularly exposed whenever Liverpool come up against teams with fast players (Spurs, Norwich, Swansea etc)
* Reina: had a dodgy game overall IMO. Seemed to lose concentration a few times. Made several mistakes, and almost cost Liverpool a goal on a couple of occasions.
* Downing: Great cross for Carroll, but one great cross per game is not enough to justify starting every match, or a 20m fee. 12 games without a goal or assist now. Not good enough for en experience Premier League player in the prime of his career.
* Finishing! There's no excuse for Andy Carroll missing that golden chance in the first half. The quality of shooting was poor overall, especially from Enrique and Downing, who skied some great chances.
* Right side of defence: The amount of space on the right at times was ridiculous. Most of Swansea's attacks came down the right, courtesy of Glen Johnson's suspect positioning. I still can't see what Johnson brings to the team that Martin Kelly doesn't.
* Right wing: Liverpool have a real problem here; Henderson can't play there; Kuyt is better, but still not the best solution, and for some inexplicable reason, the last three managers refuse to do the obvious and try Glen Johnson out on the right. Instead of splurging £20m on Henderson (who has been forced to play on the right), why wasn't the money spent on a top-quality right-sided midfielder/winger?!
* Substitutions: Downing arguably should've gone off for Bellamy, not Carroll. What exactly had he done to stay on the pitch in the second half?
* Carroll/Suarez 'partnership'. It doesn't work, and the West Brom game is not evidence that it works. Carroll just doesn't have the technique, pace, movement, positioning or game intelligence to work effectively with Suarez. How many times did Carroll give the ball away by heading it down to no one? He's probably never chested a ball down and brought it under control in his life. Carroll is a good player (on his day), but he does not fit into this team.
Overall, the most concerning thing is that Liverpool were made to look ordinary on their own ground by the superior passing, movement and athleticism of a newly-promoted team with practically no Premier League experience.
With Spurs level on points with TWO games in hand, and Arsenal ominously rising up the table, 4th place is looking further away than ever.
Jaimie Kanwar
Games like these we were losing the last few seasons. So there is progress.
ReplyDeleteThe new look team has only played together for a dozen or so games. They will need time to hit their best. Keep the faith. YNWA
Plus the pasting the players will get from Daglish post match will also help them gel!!!
ReplyDeleteOf course we keep the faith; it's not the end of the world by any means, but the problems still need to be highlighted.
ReplyDeleteThe reason there was so much space on the right for them to attack was because Henderson kept moving into the centre when we had possession and it was leaving Johnson exposed who had poor game anyway. I don't think Johnson wants to play right wing as he will loose his England place to Kelly and tbh his final pass in the final third is usually poor. We lacked a leader today, pepe is great yes but we need someone who will drive the team on from further up the pitch. Can't help but feel that Kenny is trying to accommodate signings and egos into a team rather than playing the right formation
ReplyDeleteIMO the problems are nothing more than a team that hasn't played enough together to fully gel yet. I cannot see Newcastle maintaining their remarkable run the whole season, 3rd and 4th places are wide open
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more ! Your article is bound to raise the ire of the Dalglish supporters who believe him to be infallible, but at the end of the day the buck stops with him ! Today the performance was 'disappointing' at Spurs it was 'unacceptable' but nothing seems to change. I think that the starting team selection was poor, and why oh why does he persist it playing all the new signings ahead of the tried and trusted ? Dalglish is sadly lacking in his ability to make telling substitutions. He waits far to long to make a decision and then invariably causes further upset by taking off players who are contributing more than others left on the field. The honeymoon is now well and truly over. Six points lost already at home this season is hardly going to get us a top 4 finish.
ReplyDeletewe need to start dropping players for young keen and fearless players like spearing kelly etc. its a joke. why is it teams like manu fear anfield more than teams like swansea? im baffled, every season. its just a wrong attitude from so called first teamers. shame on them
ReplyDeleteThis result was sadly not surprising in my opinion. I read an article only yesterday about how we could challenge for 2nd place and I got shot down for saying that we'd do well to finish 5th.
ReplyDeleteIf this season (and most of last season) has highlighted anything, it's that nobody really knows anything about football anymore. And sadly that seems to extend to the management and playing staff of our club.
It might sound pessimistic and defeatist, but how anyone can tell me they they believe that on current form we're going to finish ahead of Arsenal - let alone Spurs, Chelsea and one of the Manc clubs - and not show me the prescription for their medicinal weed is beyond me. Selfish bastards.
If I see some prick at the end of the season saying 'we should have signed someone to complement Suarez'; or 'we needed to sign another world class foreigner'; or 'we missed our opportunity to take advantage of our finally good PR after the new owners took over by instead signing substandard, unimpressive British dross', then that's it from me - I'm out.
I haven't been surprised by Liverpool since we murdered The Scum at Old Trafford in 2009. That's so depressing.
Hello , Swans fan here. Why is it people keep saying sides like Swansea, we been playing this style of football for a few seasons now. I see Liverpool fans kept on saying before the game, Swansea have the worst away record in the Prem
ReplyDeleteYes that is true, but what you have to remember , is that were are finding our feet at this level. Now we are getting confident and we are not at our best yet.
We are here and enjoying the ride, and long may it continue :))
PLS KENNY OUT NOW BEFORE IT S TOO LATE.HE HAS NO IDEA OF THE MODERN FOOTBALL.PLS RESIGE NOW LIKE YOU DID THE LAST TIME YOU WAS IN THE HELM.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are pointing this out Jaimie - You were right about the WBA game and it was ignored by many fans - and if Kuyt's goal had stood today and we won the game one nil a lot of supporters would not acknowledge the issues that are so clearly there ... but instead continued to advocate the currrent myth that we have returned to a pass and move game of old... it is simply not true...
ReplyDeleteIn fact our performances at the end of last season (albeit with no real pressure to achieve) were closer to the pass and move style fans insist we are playing ( something that I believe was heavily down to Meireles / Maxi in the team) but we have not repeated that after the summer signings we have made and changed the face of our midfield.
It may only be 2 points dropped but we are not playing well, the fear is an injury to Suarez could completley jeoparadise our quest for 4th as everyone else apart from he and Adam are virtually anonymous in the final third.
Can't disagree with that article Jamie. truly believe that young jay brings more to the table especially in terms of
ReplyDeletepressing the opposition and not giving them a moment's peace when in possession.
That's a damning indictment on players bought for 23M combined (Adam and
Henderson). I haven't got to Downing yet.
Granted i know the players mentoned
have other qualities but in general they have been very,very poor. The whole
midfield is devoid of pace and the technical and creative ability to put the
opposition under sustained pressure. How slopppy we are in possession is quite
remarkable. Time and again we gifted Swansea possession. We don't play neat
triangles, passing and probing, no patience to our play. We don't work the
opposition, we don't press due to the fact our midfield hasn't got the players
to do it, in terms of pace and work rate. it's not just about individuals, it's
also a collective thing. We have no wingers of any description. Downing has
always been functional, he's never been effective or brilliant. He's a limited
winger. Hasn't got the skill or pace or intelligence to make the difference. For
20M quid you expect an absolute game changer who can kill the opposition. So so
poor.
Please tell me what Charlie Adam brings to the table? Numerous
long aimless balls to Andy Carroll. Seems to fade in every match. Never presses
the play as he lacks the ability to do so. Has no subtley to his play. Can't
play a patient pass and move game as he continually has to make "something
happen" instantly.
t does not impose it's will and game on the opposition for
sustained periods. It lacks the requisite technical and penetrative ability to
run and shape a game and open teams up.
Also up front Carroll is still a
big worry. Remember the chance against Norwich, the header near the end of the
game. He has to be scoring. Today again, another sitter from 5 yards. We are a
work in progress and Kenny deserves time and respect but i can't help but feel
our recruitment strategy in the summer was flawed and lacking thought.
I don't think Carroll is conducive to pass and move football with a purpose. I
don't hink we have wingers of the desired quality to penetrate the oppositon and
really make the difference. I think Lucas is a vastly improved player who does
an admirable job in midfield. I just don't think he has the requisite talent
alongside him to make it count. We don't keep the ball well enough, which is the
big issue for me. I do miss the systematic build-up, the pressure
mounting in waves before a goal. It doesn't happen. We are sporadic in our
attacking play because we are limited in possession and don't impose our game on
the opposition for long spells. We lack the pace and skill out wide as i have
stated. It is a work in progress but the recruitment strategy in the summer was
flawed and lacking thought. It does seem we are over reliant on Suarez for goals
at present and that is alarming. With the finance we had since January
it should have been enough to propel us into the elite group with sound
management. I'm not writing Kenny off. We have only played 11 games. I still
think as a club we are in a recovery process after the Hicks and gillet era. 4th
is the aim. It doesn't look likely at present but the next two games will tell
us a lot - Chelsea (A) and Man.City (H). I think we need a top striker in the
window. I'd look to cut my losses on Carroll personally ala Robbie Keane and go
again for another option next summer. We could have spent better in my opinion.
At least we did n't lose like we have in the past! You seem surprised that a newly promoted team plays football?
ReplyDeleteChampionship is a hard league to get out of and if you watch nearly all the teams that get promoted play football it is the Premier League which teaches teams poor football or defensive football to survive the shut up shop park the bus tactics.
Funny this season all the teams are trying to play attacking football again and not rely on defensive football which suits the footballing promoted teams Chelsea,Man U and Man City have all struggled to beat the promoted teams!
Kenny needs to go back to some of last seasons players and bring in Silva or Ngoo on the wings who both look big enough and strong enough for the first team and give Morgan a chance but not from the start,shame Ecclestone watches to many Michael Moore films and put himself out of the picture a player with pace.
I think Pacheo and Shelvey should be recalled from their loan clubs.
Kenny got them playing last season hopefully he can do it again
and give the new signings some breathing space.
sorry but your hardly top ten? will you be around next season? looks like were the ones trying to find our feet. fair play to swansea.
ReplyDeleteBang on with the analysis JK. I'm hearing too much criticism levelled at Kenny. We have to assess him next season, the guy's been out of the game for over a decade, he's still playing catchup. I truly believe ae are just short of a quality striker and then we will turn teams over. I also believe we will be the first team to inflict this season to inflict Man City's first defeat. Why? because we perform better against top sides.
ReplyDeleteI'm gutted at our display...
ReplyDeleteOur midfield was utterly dismal and the root cause of our problems today.
For large portions of the game Swansea ran riot through midfield and down our flanks.
Our defense came under enormous pressure, Agger, Skrtel and Lucas ware constantly scrambling to keep Swansea at bay.
Most alarming was our inability to hold onto possession.
We could barly string 3 or 4 passes together before we lost the ball.
As such, Suarez and Carroll were starved of the ball for long periods of the game.
Charlie Adam can only play half a game. FACT!
So many times this season he just disappears, his fitness and mobility are one of the main reasons we get overrun in the second half of games.
Downing is a one trick pony. Other than whipping in crosses for Carroll I see no other redeeming qualities.
I feel sorry for Henderson, I rate the 20yo, but he's not ready for the big time just yet.
Why Kenny keeps playing the lad on the wing is a mystery, he's feeding him to the wolves out wide.
Like most English players, all three are poor technically and its
little wonder we have problems retaining the ball under pressure.
Put them together against a team who know what their doing (and Swansea do), and you have a recipe for disaster.
How we managed to spend so much on midfield players and yet look so poor is particularly galling.
The midfield players we brought in are totally unsuited to pass and move football.
And the longball shite for Carroll isn't working, so where now...
I honestly can't see how Kenny's going to fix this mess.
thankyou martinez for giving us swans this great football,and liverpool keep it simple and on the deck if we (swansea ) can do it liverpool certainly can
ReplyDeleteyes there a number of things wrong at the moment, its seems like a bit of hangover from last season. we still look short of team understanding at times in the final third, and we need to gel more, but we still 12 from the last 18 is not the worst. are form will improve, but we do need to let maxi and bellers out of their cages.downing needs to want the ball more. adam was very good again,
ReplyDeletethings are still on course but we need more wins, yet 9 games unbeaten in all comps is still a good foundation upon which to build.
pass and move is back in the sense that we are starting to play it at times.I don't think any one is saying we are a pass and move team all the time again. rome will take a few days to rebuild.
YNWA
Don't be daft. I feel like deleting this comment but it's football related so I can't.
ReplyDeletesad idiot. fair play for not deleting. we dont need your kind. give it up. your no supporter of lfc
ReplyDelete100M spent and we have a worse team than last season, these sinings are poor average players and you have to question who selects them Mr C.It says it all when Lucas is praised as one of our best players, the other dross just make him look good. People have got to be real and forget this blind faith, this is possibly the worst Liverpool team for years. Henderson would struggle to make a Camphill team on a Sunday.
ReplyDeleteRafa and Houllier should have resigned to after losing to Birmingham and Derby at home because they knew nothing about the Premier League in their first few games were you one of them as well!
ReplyDeleteYou talk like we are in the bottom 3!
The myth of the modern game?
Don't Barcelona play pass and move one touch football, sorry to tell you that is not modern football but football from the past and a youth academy system from Ajax and the 60s!
It is good old football that wins you trophies,especially the league get a system then stick to it.
There are good signs with this team and there are in different signs hopefully Kenny will get them playing consistently and carry on creating chances and the forward line start firing, a win is a win if we play poorly or extravagantly and as the season progresses the consistence will come.
Jamie, you got it all right, and thank you for pointing it all out.
ReplyDeleteI would only disagree on Reina: yes, he did a couple of mistakes, but he corrected them and he saved us from a very humiliating defeat.
As for Johnson, not his worst game. But there was a moment when Suarez gave a pass to him and Glen just missed it, gave away a throw-in to Swans. Then the camera showed Suarez's back for a few moments, and even from his back I could see disbelief, disappointment and dissatisfaction with what was going on around, even though tonight he was not his best self either. But on the other hand, he is definitely getting frustrated at the lack of support and blown chances that he keeps creating in vain. Tonight he couldn't do much because Swans kept possession and the ball rarely reached Suarez at all... Like you put it, he and the rest of the team were chasing shadows, to their and our embarrassment.
One thing that I can't understand is how was it obvious for everyone that players with no natural flair were not going to gel with Suarez, and yet Kenny traded them for the likes of Raul and Aqua, and he persistently keeps Maxi, Kuyt and Aurelio on the bench...
Besides, that "we were just told to go out and play" thing is hugely worrying. There seem to be little or no tactics at all. We play the same formation and the same players v WBA and v such a technically gifted side as Swans.... Benitez must be having nightmares looking at it week in and week out.
Just because Rafa and houllier made these mistakes means we should carry on making them..if defense of Rafa ..houllier..they didn't have spending spree of 130million and then play the way we are
ReplyDeleteWell said
ReplyDeleteSwansea City Journalist here; As disappointed as you all must feel, Swansea were excellent. The author of the article raises many great points and I thank you for your kind words towards our team.
ReplyDeleteCarroll isn't good enough, I don't think - not for Liverpool.
Pass and move, pass and move and having a team working extremely hard for each other is more important than multi-million pound individuals. I still find it hard to believe that "experts" still feel Swansea will get relegated this year.
Great article and a good read - Thanks.
Twitter @Curinor
I think that's going to far to say this is the worst liverpool team in years. Under Kenny we are far more attacking and I enjoy our football. I can see what Kenny is trying to do. This team will click and do remember other than Tottenham we have outplayed most teams we have played this season including the current champions. We outplayed Stoke twice this season at their turf, which Utd couldn't do. Downing and Carroll have been poor thus far.
ReplyDeleteThis team will click at some point, we need to forget 4th spot this season and focus on these group of players gelling together for next season. Rome wasn't built in one day.
As I keep saying Kenny has been out of the game for a decade so he's playing catchup and will learn to pay attention to the finer details which is the difference between collecting 3 points or dropping points.
I said it from the beginning that Kk will do a keegan ..no improving..and leaving when the going gets tough .
ReplyDeleteKenny did n't lose:)
ReplyDeleteDid we need to spend on Henderson when we had Shelvey no,was Downing needed when we could have blooded Ince or Bruna last season then no and played Pacheo instead of buying Adam then yes we have wasted money.
But Kenny and Comolli decided they wanted to buy British players and that is what we have got like it or lump it !
I actually think Kenny is a good manager. He says the right things, gets players, to play for him, picks a good coaching team (or does he? maybe swapping sammy Lee for Kevin Keen has blown up in our face slightly) has fans blindly following him and also runs through walls for his players. BUT his transfers since he left Blackburn have been really poor.
ReplyDeleteAndreas Anderson 3m, Stephane Guivarc'h 3.5, Gary Speed 5.5 replacing Ginola on the left of midfield because speed offered balance (sound familiar?) Temuri Ketsbaia, Jon Dahl Tomasson 2.5, Alessandro Pistone 4.5, Paul Dalglish, Nicos Dabizas 2m, John barnes and Ian Rush when they were 36 apiece.
Andreas Anderson and Guivarc'h go down as two Strikers who looked horrific in the prem. The rest were also pretty terrible. When Kenny 1st took charge at Liverpool the 1st thing that went through my mind was the above list of players and more specifically Kenny's knack of substituting 'Flair' with 'balance' as he also shipped out Tino Asprilla and anyone else capable of winning a game on his own.If kenny's career signings were on a graph showing year to year improvement there would be a sharp down turn from 1997 onwards. With this said I wouldn't sack Kenny, I would however give more powers to comoli to sign young players who have the potential to be world beaters from the continent of HIS choosing.
You play football like a lot of promoted teams like
ReplyDeleteNorwich, West Brom,Reading,Burnley,Wigan and Blackpool.
Hopefully the Premier League football will not poison your style of play and results and staying in the league (MONEY)does n't mean you have to change your footballing game.
It's hard for me to say this but I have to agree with you, Kenny is not the right man for the job any more. We are not in the 90s and football has changed a lot since he last managed in the EPL. I always knew we would struggle this season with the money we spent on over paid English crap as they are noway near good enough for Liverpool. I have never liked us signing English players as they are not good enough and are not the same as they use to be. I have never liked or rated Downing and Adam (Scottish) and we shouldn't of signed Henderson ether, also we should never of signed Carroll in Jan as was a panic buy. If we want to get top 4 and challenge for the League we need to sign much better players than them. I know people will say we only signed these kind of players because no world class players would of came because we were not in the CL but I think that is a load of bull and Mata even said before he joined Chelsea that he would of been interested in a move to us and that it wont take us that long to get back in the CL.
ReplyDeleteOn the performance no one escapes Suarez again had a chance in the middle of the penalty area and the keeper saved he has had a chance like this in nearly every game and missed he as well needs to take his chances.
ReplyDeleteYou should be mighty proud of your team.
ReplyDeleteWatched them a few times this year and find them a joy to watch.
Keep that up and I guarantee you wont be getting relegated.
Pass & move is a great football philosophy.
Which sadly for us, Kenny appears only to pay lip service to these days.
Keep up the good work & Congrats.
Red Chica - Your last point about a lack of tactical approach from game to game is fantastic ... no one really elaborates on this and something I have questioned in relation to this is if we do get back into the CL how is KD gonna cope with his approach... he has never managed in Europe (apart from Blackburn which was a disaster)
ReplyDeleteI think recently G Gillespie pointed out that KD does not concentrate too much on tactics and prefers for you to go out and play - that only works if you have 11 world class players that are capable of playing their own game regardless of opposition
Can't say I disagree with the article at all. We have thrown 80 odd million onto a bonfire. We'll just have to let them get on with it now.
ReplyDeleteWe have no choice .either Kenny changes things on the field and i don't see how unless he plays those who got him the wins last season.
ReplyDeleteOR continue the pathetic way we are and pretend we are champs material.
Or some how get to January and hope the owners give us some serious cash to but a top central defender..a left winger and a striker
why not judge him after a season. dont tell me your a jose fan? if you not noticed were gona be spending 350 mill plus. your just ungrateful. we were going bust and a laughing stock and the championship looked possible last season. think its you that wants to leave when the going gets tough. one of many many fickle supporters.
ReplyDeleteI think he's giving the new guys lots of game time to get them settled in to create this new side (everyone north of the defence is new).
ReplyDeleteParticularly as most of the seniors' contracts are up either this season or next (which means they may not stay beyond this year/get injured/get sold if not needed) so the new players must get their act together and KK is trying to give them that chance.
The aqua situation was a disaster and it's hard to know what to say about Raul except we need him.
Things would look a lot better if we would finish the chances we create, but the point is we haven't.
So then we can be criticised for trying to accommodate too many new players at once, some of whom lack mobility (Adam, Carroll) and a couple of whom are very young and need development (Carroll, Hendo). Add to that the distinct lack of pace and it's created a challenging situation.
All these factors haven't stopped us creating chances but it does mean that teams have been able to come back at us, particularly at home.
Anyone notice? our players seem to do a lot of talking before matches then not delivering. Too much talking for my liking. This needs to be addressed. Do it on the pitch then talk.
ReplyDeletehe's made his life more difficult by not buying mobility and pace in key signings.
ReplyDeletemartinez did well and your new guy Brendan ? has carried it on, though he's had a few painful lessons on the road.
ReplyDeleteAs stated by me when Dalglish was appointed ,I said it was a very poor appointment.Lets look at the facts.1.He was given a top team with no signings required with the pool.2.Utd handed Blackburn the title ,which Dalglish almost put the late Jack Walker in the poor house with his spending.3 regarded by Celtic supporters as their worst manager ever losing the title to Rangers by a record 21pts.4 Newcastle ????Liverpool are going nowhere with Dalglish he has spent a fortune already and the owners will want a return on that investment,they will not sanction any more big signings by Dalglish and correctly so.Liverpool are no longer a big club and havent been for 20yrs so finishing in the top six will be seen by Dalglishes supporters as progress,my god how times have changed.
ReplyDeleteGo look at years gone by, how many of those started of well? In fact, go look at Rafa's 6 seasons and you will find that we were in the top four after 11 matches ONLY ON ONE OCCASION.
ReplyDeleteTHATS RIGHT, the ONLY TIME Rafa found his team in the TOP 4 after 11 matches was in 08/09...
I went onto our official website again today and had a look at these psycho people pleading for Rafa to come back. Theses fans are all smoking the good stuff.
Here are some things I would like to say...
Adam was superb today, if he was not helping out the defence he was making sublime passes. He was just about everywhere on the pitch today. I do not know why we actually needed Lucas today, what exactly did he do for us in this match? Henderson should not play out wide, it is not working for him. He has played better as a CM and I would partner him with Adam.
Johsnon is rubbish OMG how anyone can call him a defender must be on crack and what exactly did Kelly do wrong to loose his place to the the 18mil waste of space Johnson? Another thing, if we could see that Henderson was struggling down the right THEN WHY WHY WHY substitute him with Kuyt who is slow and did f^^^ all during the second half. Why did we not bring on Bellamy instead to replace Henderson? We were non existant down the right throughout the match. Downing Enrique and Adam were the ones taking the team forward and most of that was happening you guessed it DOWN THE LEFT.
My biggest gripe was this, after the first half our dugout knew that the match was going nowhere and what do the do? Send Kuyt on to rescue the match? Kuyt has been stinkingly bad when he has played this season and no better than what Henderson has achieved down the right...
I still believe that we will turn the corner though, it has only been 11 matches.
Jaimie, remember when we were calling for fans to be patient last season?
Agree to an extent, Enrique, Bellamy, Downing, Suarez all have pace. Don't forget Dalglish is a very ambitious guy he wants the best players at Liverpool and if he is successful you will see him bid for world class players.
ReplyDeleteAlso note Kenny's first preference was Phil Jones and Ashley Young both mobile and pacey players, unfortunately both went to Utd instead.
You can't fault Kenny too much; when we purchased Carroll he looked very good for Newcastle, everything he was hitting was finding the back of the net. His goals had variety, long range efforts- left and right foot, corners, set pieces. He was purchased to provide variety to our attack. The price we purchased him for was inflated, however you need to take consideration many factors over the sale price- english and his commercial value to the club i.e. merchandise revenue. This fact is overlooked by people who criticise Carroll's price tag.
Nobody expected Carroll to be this bad, he falls to ground too easily, constantly complains during games, ball control especially first touch is very poor. Andy Carroll needs to forget about finding the back of the net each time he gets the ball and concentrate on improving the other areas of his game. If he can improve the areas mentioned, goals will follow. No question about it.
thank god it's only 6 points lost. Very recoverable.
ReplyDeleteIt is of course a good thing to get the new guys gelling. But then there is a question of priorities. As I understand, the top 4 and CL remain the top priority, and the development of "young British talent" comes next... because, if we don't reach the top 4, and by the looks of it it is going to be one hell of a challenge, given that Newcastle, Spurs and Arsenal show a great form, then... we've got a problem. Firstly, because John W. Henry pointed out at the start of the season, and after all that money was spent on the new players that "not finishing in the top 4 would be certainly a maijor disapointment", and as much as I know Americans, they are quite ruthless in business, they do not tolereate when the goals are not being achieved... to put it simply, Kenny may be asked to resign. Secondly, and we faced this problem last season, no CL spot - no top signings... and on top of this we may lose Suarez, our only world-class player at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words - appreciate it as the media and pundits don't give us a cat-in-hells chance this season.
ReplyDeleteTop quality support from the Kop in clapping off our players at the end of the match, really nice touch and it won't be forgotten.
Twitter @Curinor
Henderson does this consistently, and exposes his full back each time. Hence the half time substitution for Kuyt who always puts a shift in forwards and defending.
ReplyDeleteHe's a central midfielder not a winger so he always struggles, but Gerrard and Adam have 1st dibs on that spot!! Kenny's going to struggle to get this sorted out until he learns to play the wide position (which will be good for him, but not for us).
when he went off today, he wasn't doing a whole lot but we lost control of the midfield.
Adam can't hold the centre, Lucas understands but can't do it on his own, and Kuyt stays wide, so Swansea were suddenly able to pick up their own game.
The tough thing to deal with is Adam/Carroll aren't mobile, Adam has little defensive positioning sense or work rate, Henderson needs a lot of development and Carroll needs very specific service and support if he's knocking it down.
Also, none of them other than Hendo has pace but even then he doesn't yet have the courage to confront people.
Despite all these things we're creating enough to have won every game except Spurs. So while Jamie's right about the problems and it means that teams can come back at us, it isn't a total loss situation.
It just makes 4th very unlikely if we don't have a blinding last 10 games.
Am critical of Dalglish but your criticism of him is unfair. He's won the league with 2 clubs. Played some of the best football seen by liverpool in his first stint as a manager. Completely turned the club around last season, you name me one manager who could have done that for Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteIn today's climate you have to be an iconic figure to manage footballers, otherwise players don't play for you and certainly don't respect you. Benitez and Roy Hodgson were not respected by players. Man City may be sitting on top of the league but their players don't respect him. You take David Silva out of the Man City team and they won't be as prolific as they are now.
As for Kenny's failures at other clubs, some managers are made for certain clubs and Kenny's club will always be Liverpool.
One question to you, since Kenny joined Liverpool last season name me one top side other than Spurs that we haven't outplayed?
The Swans manager gave exactly the right team talk at half time.
ReplyDeleteWe removed Henderson leaving the midfield to the whims of Adam, who cannot own his territory, doesn't work hard enough or position himself correctly. Lucas understands but can't do it on his own. Kenny won't put Henderson in the middle.that allowed you to play your game and dominate the middle of the park when you should never have been given that opportunity.
There's no doubt we're letting teams off by not scoring our chances but the shortcomings allow the opposition playtime they should never get.
We are so far behind the likes of the Manchester clubs is scary.
ReplyDeleteGood article Jamie. I also thought West Brom were 'Shiny and Brite' last week, but was pleased we didn't give them any time on the ball.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can say is the shortcomings you so directly identify means we allow teams who want to have go come at us and gain territory. that being said, we're letting teams off the hook by not taking just one or two of our chances.
Henderson wasn't great by any stretch of the imagination, but our midfield was a disaster when he went off and we were reliant on Adam.
The only benefit of missing our chances is it must shine a glaring light on our deficiencies and hopefully force the coaches to address them and Kenny to look at his tactics, given that the failings are major ones.
That being said, I fully expected the team to take the whole season to work itself out. We're going to need a blinding last 10 games to make 4th.
UTD are looking dreadfull mate, they had to ask Sunderland to score an own goal in order to win the match.
ReplyDeleteCity are the clear winners so far but money is not everything. Look at what has happened to Chelsea...
Forget 4th spot, that's gone now. Besides who wants to play in CL? As long as Barca and Real Madrid are in it nobody has a chance. The winner comes from these two this season.
ReplyDeleteI'll settle this season for us to stamp our own signature of football. If I'm right in how I think Kenny want's Liverpool to play then once the pieces fall into place we will be devastating.
Man City last season were dull to watch, fast forward this season and their football is good to watch.
Forget about 4th... We were obviously dreaming and quite clearly it not going to happen. What a waste of 100 mill.
ReplyDelete3rd and 4th places are wide open? We are 3 points off 4th with Tottenham on same points and 2 games in hand. If they win these then we are 6 points of 4th. Games against Chelsea away and Man City coming up and there could be daylight between us and 4th. Simply not good enough and it is now becoming obvious how the signings brought in are not upto standard. I cant see any improvement over the last 6 months of the previous campaign. If anything we've gone backwards. Daglish must abandon his outdated British gameplan and bring in some creative players. Adam too slow & cant defend , Downing has no creativity and cant defend and Henderson non existant and cant defend. The midfield is atrocious and Gerrards abscence just compounds this.
ReplyDeleteYour happy with the fact that we didnt lose? We just spent 100 MILL on players and were outplayed at home by a promoted team. Im sick of hearing the bedding in gelling in period. Its just not good enough. We need to start winning games or else 4th position will be quickly just a distant fantasy. Daglish should drop his British buys and start playing the team that did so well in the last six months of the previous campaign.
ReplyDeleteSpot on DavidK . Something ive been saying for a long time now. The midfield has become our achilles heel. Daglish has gone and altered the very make up of what was our biggest strength and now is the reason we get overrun by mediocre teams. Defense is under immense pressure keeping wave after wave out and the front line isnt getting the quality service it needs. At the moment we are requiring individual brilliance from players such as Suarez to get us through on goal and score there is no build up to our play. I pray I dont see the day where we lose him for an extended period thats when we will be devoid of any ideas.
ReplyDeletejj every answer you give makes it more and more obvious you are one of those with blind faith in Kenny. We are very very poor and time will not change this.
ReplyDeleteIt doesnt matter who we have outplayed .. The 3 points is all that matters. Look at United they havnt outplayed their opponents in half the games theyve played this year but they continually grind out the results. We brought in the British players to bring in a bit of steel to the team but they are a bunch of pansies.
ReplyDeleteAdam and Downing had superb games..? Please what match were u watching? Adam is USELESS and slow as F##K
ReplyDeleteon the day I thought charlie adam was one of the worst on the field don't see how you can praise him in this game. His balls were horrible, his corners were even worse and he seemed to be the only player who played long ball football up to carroll and just hoof it long to him and just hope he gets a header onto it.
ReplyDeleteMan City last season played safe to make top 4. They had a clear agenda of playing dull as you point out. At the beginning it was give Daglishs signings a chance to settle in now its give them a year to settle in. I dont see Newcastles new signings having to SETTLE in. The have just as much of a shake up of personel as us yet they are putting in performances week in week out the same cannot be said for the overpayed dross that Daglish has brought in . In a years time nothing will be different unless investement is made again in QUALITY signings not the British crap we keep getting associated with.
ReplyDeleteI think you and Jamie have hit the nail on its head, liverpool fans live in a 'bubble of denial' i for one said the signings kenny made were poor before a ball was even kicked this season, by now if these signing were getting good we should have atleast started to see signs but nothing is really encouraging, kenny sense of soccer is not modern, keeps ignoring players like maxi who merits a game or two after finishing the season strong, Raul who was our best player last season was shipped out, aqualani who was praised by our owner John H. if we dont finish fourth we cant give kenny another season to find his feet or worse still waste money on overly average players, we had enough of that , i can see suarez gets frustrated by lack of quality around the biggest culprits are downing and adam, cant seem to play simple passes to him, if he decides to leave we should not blame him, all in all if we dont get fourth we is looking quite certain now, KENNY HAS TO STEP DOWN, if he really loves the club, he will do whats best and STEP DOWN!!!!
ReplyDeleteCarroll miss signifies the question of where did the 35 million go. And that miss was the nail in the coffin because it was one chance we had that carved Swansea open. For the rest of the match the ball rarely go to the feet of Carroll and Suarez in dangerous positions.
ReplyDeleteThe team also needs to take a lesson in crossing the ball, and Carroll needs to take a lesson in getting headers in a better positions. I lost count of the crosses that were over-hit, or the wrong people that they were aiming at. Why on Earth was the ball swung in to 10 yards to the far right of the box; because of Carroll's lousy positioning. And if it wasn't that, it would be Downing's poor final delivery. Today I saw better off-the ball running from Downing, not the usual static runs, but it was the same yet again with his final product. Adam is not suited under pressure. How many times has he scoffed passes and lost possession in a game where Liverpool are chasing a goal. He does not have that calm reserve of a creative midfielder in games like this. Aquilani and Meireles thrived on these situations but Adam flaps. Suarez looked tired, maybe it was the boots he was wearing, but he didn't have that extra step today. Although he had a couple of good attempts, his overall game wasn't up to his own standards. Johnson in my opinion played a good game, except one mishap where he fouled the player after losing possession. He was RB today and he did well to guard against runs when there was an additional player attacking his flank as well as the player who had possession of the ball. Enrique also played well on the other side, and dealt well with the speed of Swansea attacking players. He is also a player that picks it up when Liverpool are chasing a goal, whereas Adam just doesn't know how to deal with it.
Suarez shot was saved well by Vorm, as well as Johnson's. But the chance that was squandered by Carroll was bad, and almost to the same degree the same can be said to Agger who missed an open header. The only good luck Liverpool had in this game is that they didn't lose.
The shots that he took were saved well. No blame for this game on Suarez's boots.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. World-class players produce quality because they have the ability to express themselves. Downing's final product is dismal therefore he cannot produce, and Adam does not have the ability to go out there and play.
ReplyDeleteWith Lucas around, Liverpool is not going anywhere. Those Lucas supporters out there cant see whAT his handicaps are , what a pity. This guy is lightweight, easily gets shoved around, cant dribble past just one opponent, cant head the ball well and dont win high balls because of his height and never win a decent tackle. He's only good in short passing and strolling around the park. His presence dont strike fear among opponents.
ReplyDeleteNow Jaimie i seem to agree with what you wright these dayz and totally in support of what u r saying in this article, but i think it is inappropriate to say 'Dont be daft' to RUBENAGIUS as this goes against what u preach about in terms of being respectfull to each others opinions, while i dont agree kenny should step down now, he should however do so if we dont make 4th, if RUBEANAGIUS thinks he should now thats his opinion and lets respect it, besides he does have a point when he says" HE HAS NO IDEA OF THE MODERN FOOTBALL." i somewhat tend to agree with this, cause kenny seems to want to recreate a team similar to the ones in the 80's, as shown by the signing of rather average english players
ReplyDeleteTackles Won as of 6 November 2011:
ReplyDelete1. Lucas Leiva 1112. David Vaughan 1043. Scott Parker 93
4. Gael Clichy 90
5. Antolin Alcaraz 87
Most of Suarez's goals have come with Carroll on the pitch, look it up, I dare you to.
ReplyDelete....and most of carrolls goals have come at Newcastle. look that up.
ReplyDeletethese fans who are calling for KK to step down; who are we going to get in to replace him? I forgot that their is a long line of world class managers just itching to take charge at liverpool, from this long list of world beaters we had to settle for Roy Hodgson? Some liverpool fans are a little deluded, they need to understand that this is year 1 in the new era of liverpool and the fact that we will have to suffer some deafeat in order for us to develop and progress. I would love nothing more than for KK to have come back and we instantly become the team we had in the eighties, however this was never going to happen. The one thing I will do is, support the team and above all else give KK time. If I know one thing as a liverpool fan; if I where going to give any person my unstinting support and time to have his shot it is KK. The main reason why I support liverpool is because of this man. In the eighties I could of easily supported either everton or liverpool as I live in the city and havE fans in the family from both sides, but when I played football in the park I used to pretend I was rushie or KK. the fact I have never forgotten this and I have personnally lived through the times and knew exactly what he has done for this club is the reason he will get my support and above all else time. I can understand people in their 20's being discruntled as you only probably hear what KK done for the club through dvd's or web sites. when you have lived through it , it is totally different, it is simmilar to how people have massive support for Rafa due to what he done for the club, but imagine Rafa's achievements 10 fold then you know why I hold this man in high regards.
ReplyDeleteSteven Gerrard said this about Lucas,
ReplyDelete"Lucas Leiva was our best player last season,"
First of all, great article, Jaimie. I couldn't agree more on what you had mentioned. But not for two points, Reina, I think he had done quite a great job out there not conceding a goal and I don't think Charlie Adam is actually performing yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI have so much respect for King Kenny, clearly he had united the whole squad and motivated the team. But I must admit that he had done a terrible job both in transfer and tactic. No.1 is the game plan, Kenny obviously does not have an effective game plan in his mind. In every game up until now this season, Kenny probably is playing the same tactic again and again without so much of alteration based on the opponents we had. He is indeed clueless yesterday and made some ineffective substitution also. Back in Rafa's days, we had Alonso bossing in the midfield, Lucas/Mascherano anchoring the attack as the defensive midfielder role while Gerrard and Torres pairing being lethal and clinical in the front line. But for King, I do not a game plan out there. If he wanna play the winger style, then why is he putting Henderson, who can't dribble, no pace at all, and consistently out of position exposing Johnson, as the right winger. Lucas is a defensive midfielder but ended up fighting for possession, joining the attack in the penalty area yesterday. Where the hell is Charlie Adam?
And the wingers he bought, Downing in my humble opinion had failed miserably so far in his career at Liverpool. He clearly abandoned Maxi, and do not prefer Kuyt as the winger, and Bellamy is not best solution due he might pass his career best in a short time more. But then why he didn't purchase a real winger in the transfer window? But instead, let go our creative players like Aquilani and Meireles. Meireles sold is absolutely the worst business and he didn't replaced by another player. He never settles the winger problems on the transfer, so how on earth he is going to activate Carrol's potential and his ability as the focal point striker in the middle? Turns out Carrol needs to wander at the flanks some times. Rubbish tactic. Carrol obviously had done a better job in Newcastle than in Liverpool. So I think we should be patient with him providing Kenny give him a better role playing on the pitch. Henderson is still young, maybe he needs some nurturing from Gerrard himself to develop into a better player. But for Adam, Downing, I have not much impressed by their performance in their previous team either. So I guess their time is up.
And Kenny, if you still do not wake up, I guess your time is up too. YNWA!
Jamie
ReplyDeleteI disagree with
your analysis. And I will get to that later. I like your blog, and I really think that you
raise some good points. I think that
most of your analysis is pretty good.
However, I feel that you have a habit of saying things just to piss
people off, and for the reaction that it will get. I have read a few of your posts and thought
this. I am not meaning this as an insult
(because unfortunately, this is a trait that I have myself), but as
constructive criticism. I know you will
probably moderate this comment and that is fine.
This
is my interpretation of the game.
Liverpool
looked pretty good for the first half an hour of the game. Probably should have been in front from the Carroll
chance. The rest of the game was pretty
even, it could have gone either way.
However, the last 10 minutes we were all over them.
Where
I agree with this article –
Start
Carroll, he scored in his last game
Clean
sheet was good
Henderson
on the right is not working
Finishing
– WTF, are we the worst team at putting away chances in the league???
I
would love to see Johnson on the right wing
Where
I disagree (and why) –
We
did not get a footballing lesson. (It
was a fairly even contest. We are a good
side that played average, while Swansea are an average side that played very
good. We had over twice as many shots,
with nearly twice as many on target. At
one stage, it was 11 to 3, with 6 to 0 on target. We had 52.3% possession, with although not
great is still more than the opposition.
We had 11 corners to 4. Hardly a
football lesson).
You
said at half time that Swansea had had 30+ passes. (Who cares?
They weren’t in attacking positions.
Evidenced by the fact that they had only had 3 shots on target with 0 on
goal. It does not matter how many passes
they have if they aren’t going to score).
Charlie
Adam at the heart of everything. (He is
ok, nothing better. I know that you love
him but he his tackling is terrible.
Really, really terrible. The
worst! Ever! And he gives the ball way
too much).
Downing. (I disagree with your dislike for
downing. He has serious pace and gets
past players. He got in a few good
crosses. Nobody in the team is really
scoring goals. Therefore nobody is
getting assists. This isn’t solely
Downings fault. Name on player this
season who has gotten a lot of assists. You
cant. Suarez probably has the
most? No one is scoring goals, this isn’t
Downings fault).
Tackles lost
ReplyDelete1. lucas leiva 61
3. david vaughan 37
12. scott parker 28
41. gael clichy 21
2. antolin alcaraz 42
Assuming that adding the two would give the total tackles made in all...
% Accuracy in tackling= tackles won/ (tackles won+tackles lost) * 100
hence lucas accuracy= 111/(111+61) * 100
= 111/172 * 100
= 64.5% (3sf)
Similarly accuracy for others would be
vaughan =73.8%
parker =76.9%
clichy =81.1%
alcaraz =67.4%
To conclude lucas has the WORST ACCURACY in tackling among those players you listed. Now do the same math for all the players in the whole list for tackles won/lost and you will all realise that lucas is so overrated.
source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rankings/4949054/Premier-League-Statistics.html
Most of suarez goals have been created and scored by suarez himself ..did you know most of suarez goals have come with CARRAGHER on the pitch..check it out man..its CARRAGHER we need.
ReplyDeleteDid you watch the game ???
ReplyDeleteSwansea ran us ragged. At times it was downright embarrassing.
I'm not going to bag any of our defenders today because I thought they put in one hell of a shift.
We were under the pump for large portions of the game, and yes we
looked ragged, Yes there were mistakes and mixups, But by hell did they
fight for our clean sheet.
How did you expect their stats to look after that mauling ???
Only an imbecile would criticize them after that effort.
its funny, as a liverpool fan your last sentence totally supports the lack of faith and understanding of the concept of you'll never walk alone. it seems to me your mind is more or less made up so you are in fact letting people know they are walking alone!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a long one. Sorry about this...
ReplyDeleteReina = Low on confidence and indecisive.
Johnson = Not a right-back.
Agger = Good. Our best defender when fit.
Skrtel = Occasionally rash and defensively immature. Bench player unless we can't sign someone authoritative.
Carra = Should be benched. Legend but his weaknesses are too obvious and exploitable. Like how Neville became a liability for The Scum, he needs to ask himself some questions. Sadly though, he's similar to Skrtel so it's hard to call between them.
Coates = Needs time. 50/50 promising/ponderous.
Kelly = Good. Needs games, maybe at CB though because RB will kill his hamstrings, mark my words.
Flanagan = Immature. Too much to prove and will pick up to many cards.
Robinson = Good but needs games. Cover for Enrique. Loan?
Enrique = Good, but hope he doesn't develop Johnson-syndrome (good start but loses confidence due to shite team performances).
Wilson = Loan with a view to sale.
Gerrard = Ageing, but a starter (in a deep attacking role until the pace finally gets too much for him) when fit. Days are numbered though and this needs to be addressed.
Lucas = Good. Better alongside Spearing.
Spearing = Good when playing with Lucas.
Adam = Too slow and Hollywood. Decent in recent weeks but not 'CL decent'.
Henderson = Simply not good enough to warrant a starting place yet. Doesn't offer anything particularly interesting or different.
Downing = Severe Johnson-Syndrome (Decent start but loses confidence due to poor team performances). Worrying.
Kuyt = Ageing. Decent bench player mind you.
Maxi = Needs games. I was personally never his biggest fan but he offers so much more than some of our current starters.
Carroll = Signs of slight improvement but he was a panic buy, he's the elephant in the room, and like Henderson he's being played because of the price-tag.
Suarez = I'd like, at this stage, to point out that I have copyright on the phrase "He'll be gone in June if we don't make the CL - or he'll give us another season AT BEST..." and I've had it since March. It sickens me to say this, but a player of that quality shouldn't be asked to play for our club in its current guise. Kenny says regularly that "No player is bigger than the club". Well unfortunately that soundbite doesn't hold true anymore.
Overall, money wasted and good publicity ruined. In May, we were riding the crest of a PR wave - all we needed to do was publicly associate ourselves with some exciting players. It would have signalled intent and sent a message to some of Europe's bigger names, whilst ensuring that any poor form after the season started might be overlooked because it appeared that LFC weren't just in the habit of signing British rubbish.
We also shot ourselves in the foot closer to home by not signing a star and basically asking Luis to do all the work - I heard through other journalists that the Mata thing was nonsense: we were never even in contact with him, Valencia, or his agent.
It's all very well buying 'players for the future' but FSG came in and used Arsenal as their business model. I'm a fan of Arsenal but surely using a 7-year trophyless club that's run purely like a business as a standard for any form of sporting success is showing a lack of savvy? I mean, since Arsenal espoused the 'buy them young' MO, they've won nothing. You need to also buy strong for the short-to-medium term and this is something that I think we haven't done. It's no surprise actually that earlier in the season, Arsenal suffered very similar vibes to the ones we've endured for the last 2 years. Both clubs have very obvious problems and in spite of recent unbeaten runs, both clubs still look vulnerable and you wouldn't bet on either club winning anything this season.
It's depressing but the sooner we address it all and acknowledge it, then the sooner we can move on. Right, rant over.
KK must pick players on form and not because he bought them, Maxi, Bellamy and Kuyt must star more often???, otherwise this will carry on week in week out!!!!
ReplyDeleteMadness - don't be worrying too much about Europe mate. I can't see it being a problem that'll need to be addressed any time soon unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteWe do keep it on the deck when Carroll doesn't play, he is the problem, Swansea were good i must say!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is easy for people like you to come out and say that the players that Dalglish signed were rubbish after a result like that. There were only a couple of players yesterday who I thought actually played well, both of which were Dalglish signings. Adam played some quality passes yesterday and you shouldn't overlook that. Raul and Aquilani WANTED to leave Liverpool - we need to get over them. I am not defending the team/mgmt and it is clear that some things need to change. As with you I think Maxi should get a game - he linked up very well with Suarez last year however he was also hankering for a move in the summer. I'd also like to see Bellamy get a few more minutes on the pitch and I don't think Henderson should be 'tried' out at right mid for any longer. I'm sorry but I don't agree with swapping out Dalglish now. Who would we get? and 3 managers in a year isn't going to benefit anyone. Look at a certain club 35miles away who were on the edge of sacking their manager 23 odd years ago. We need a bit of stability however the right team needs to be out on the pitch.
ReplyDeleteSome good points L4L, would love to see stats on how many goal scoring chances have been created by all team in EPL so far this season, I would be surprised in there were many more than the Mighty Reds. Add now 10 times the woodwork has been against us, if even half of those had gone in, we would be at least 4 points to the better. So, hard to agree that things are as poor as JK has made out, though undoubtedly after yesterday's game, very clear that KD needs to drop a few players to bench at least - was never a great fan of Maxi, but he did have ago,den finish to last season, and none of his replacements have played better to date. He seemed also to have greater anticipation in front of goal.
ReplyDeleteJay S although a bit weak on the ball, has incredible accuracy and urgency, and I believe showed the best partnership with Lucas. He should be getting at least 30 minutes when Adam is bushed.
Let's face it though, we do miss a fit Stevie G and gutting that he is out again just as he was starting to get some touch back. His class lifts everyone.
At the back, agree that Kelly has got to be first choice.
I have supported Liverpool from New Zealand since 1977 FA cup final, when they were underdogs to Manu. I saw all of KDs career as a player at Anfield and manager first time. Has given me many many moments of joy. If I can be critical of one thing, I think he is too loyal. He needed to smooth incredibly choppy waters when he came back in, but time is right, to be brutal and make some of the overpaid professionals hungry again.
The season is certainly not lost, and I truly believe with a could of perosnnel changes and a bit more luck, things will start to click, and every other team will dread the Liverpool fixture!
Hi dixie222,
ReplyDeleteI respected your point but I would like to point out the fact I always stand behind the manager when Liverpool is in hard time, during Benitez and Houllier time, but not during Hodgson's one. I, thought that Kenny was the man for the job when we finished our last season. But up until this point during this season, do you think that Kenny had not done any mistake? We do understand one does mistake once in a while, but seems like Kenny persistently is making wrong decision and prefer his English players in the starting eleven. And his overpriced average British players transfer policy should stop in Jan, because I've read few articles he is targeting English players again like Huddlestone.
For my last sentence, I would like to emphasize 'And Kenny, if you still do not wake up', because I still want to get behind him and the support the team. Do not get me wrong, I do not hunger for success and if I do I would have gone supporting Chelsea or Man City. Patience is what Liverpool supporters need here, but of course it must be provided the manager and the team is being on the right track and the right direction. And right now, it seems to me that Kenny is clueless on what he is doing and I'm unsure whether he knows how to fix this mess. There are so many question marks over his tactical approach and his transfer policy. But still, I hope King Kenny can prove me wrong. The next two or three big games could be crucial.
would you be the burt off sesamie street?? you sound like a muppit lol
ReplyDeleteapply for the job you sound the man
ReplyDelete* Regularly giving the ball away
ReplyDelete* Distinct Lack of pace
* Huge gaps in midfield
* Regular breakdown of attacking moves
* Inability to capitalise on promising positions
* Allowing West Brom back into the game
* Lack of imagination in attacking positions
* Slow attacking play
You pointed out our flaws in the Swansea game. And to an extent Charlie Adam has been responsible for most of these. Agreed that he had 2 defense splitting passes. But apart from that he was pathetic. He was responsible for most of the flaws listed above. When you play in a 2 man midfield in a 4-4-2 formation, there is something called positional discipline, that should be kept in mind. Xabi Alonso was exceptional in this regard. And Charlie Adam is the worst I have seen.
* Huge gaps in midfield- The main culprit for this was Adam's positional indiscipline. He neither got into any goal scoring positions nor he did any pressing or tracking back while defending.
* Slow attacking play and * Distinct Lack of pace- When the ball is on his right foot, he needs to shift that into his left foot to make a pass which takes valuable time. He is so weak on his right foot and he loses possession when under a little bit of pressure.
* Regularly giving the ball away- Always in a hurry. Instead of retaining possession, as soon as he gets the ball he goes for a hollywood pass, which is not there. It looks spectacular when it comes off, but he should have tried less spectacular useful options rather than trying the impossible and giving the ball away. He gave away the ball so many times, which is uncharacteritic of a midfielder in top 4 side.
His deliveries from free kicks were pathetic against Swansea.
Adam's tackling is not all that bad, his success rate is HIgHER than that of Lucas so I do not know where you get the idea that Adam's tackling is terrible?
ReplyDeleteJames - it is silly to question sacking Kenny at this moment- but if we dont make 4th, do we give him another year? he will then need the transfer window next summer to improve a team thathas already cost 100 million plus so should he be given that oppurtunity to spend further?
ReplyDeleteJJ - I think what people are trying to get at is the situation if we dont make 4th - lets say we dont then KD will arguably need more money right? Question is should he be given further funds at all if we dont make 4th ? Will this team Gel by the following season and then be good enough to break back into the top 4? I doubt people will see it like that so it is inevitable he will need to spend further ... or IMO should be forced to sell to buy like past managers had to.
ReplyDeleteMali341 - question is should he really be given further funds? I think he has been backed by serious money in the summer so FSG shouldnt need to provide additional transfer money. And plus if he buys a striker in Jan - he will be doing what he cannot do in press conferences - admit Carroll is just not working...
ReplyDeleteI agree the calling for KD to step down now etc is silly - but if 4th is not achieved this year - do we back him again in another transfer window next year? I think not playing CL football next year again will only add to the problem of not attracting top talent and also present the danger of top talent leaving for pastures new - 4th is a must this year for so many reasons
ReplyDeleteexactly my point if we dont get 4th we cant afford, to allow him to spend aimlessly again, yes am in full support of stability, but u have to think SAF was a young manager, kenny is well along his years, right now does not have a right sense of the modern game, not saying wont ever but how long before he does, but more importantly how much MONEY will have been wasted before he gets his footing, financial fair play is around the corner, it may jus happen that by the time we jus want to sign truely quality players will not be permitted to, so my point is if kenny does not make 4th will have to look elsewhere, AVB may not be at chelsea long and he fits in with John H visison for livepool as he is young and driven
ReplyDeletep.s. the only reason raul and maxi showed signs of wanting to leave is because, kenny showed no faith in them , dont forget we tried to sell raul to juve so no 4th good bye Kenny!!!!!
I agree with you - supporters and Players (craig bellamy for example) have banged on about this new great football we are supposedly playing, great attacking pass and move - we are exposed defensivley and look vulnerable to everyone who decides to attack us. We have been pragmatic in the past but defensivley solid and never this open....
ReplyDeleteYou know who I feel sorry for- Mr Henry who is a decent man, invested in the club, and has listened with a genuine sympathetic ear. He must have wondered what have i bought as he sat there yesterday with his wife at his side, watching a Swansea team emulate a Barcelonaesque pass & move game.
ReplyDeleteMr Henry deserves more.........
You are right 100% with everything that you stated i can't believe some players are picked over others like Glen/Kelly,Downing /Bellamy or Maxi and keeping Carroll in the team over a player that can hold and pass that football. Hurts so much to struggle against a team like Swansea.
ReplyDeletewatching Liverpool in a poor position and failing to score goals especially at Home is of growing concern. I am afraid of the coming next two games against the giants in the form of Chelsea and Man City, the latter might inflict the same wound on LFC as the game at Old Trafford this season is a witness.
ReplyDeleteLiv4life - you say we can forget 4th this season but consider the consequences - if we are not good enough to make it and Arsenal / Tottenham pip us to that spot then we will need to spend again to improve right? should KD be allowed more money? Who will be lured to the club who is not in the CL for the 3rd year in a row? Will players who are good enough to feature in that competition be the subject of bids (Suarez will be a target one day, I guarantee that)
ReplyDeleteLIv4life - I dont agree with your assesment of KD's managerial credentials as the best man for the job - he was helped out by Fagan / Paisley early in his career and you forget he did not have to compete in Europe so we do not know if he could have steered Liverpool to European dominance over the AC milan team of the late 80s. He did turn it around last season , that is what is so shocking, we played better last year then we have looked all season now.
ReplyDeleteAnd I dont agree you have to be an iconic figure, Benitez was respected but he treated players as they should be treated and although he was a stubborn man he took crap from no one.
I leave you with this thought. Since the early 90s we have had 4 managers ( I disregard Hodgson as he did not complete a season). Two were iconic and had affiliations with the club previously in the glory days. Two were continental managers with no previous affiliations to the club. Ask yourself what Graeme Souness and Roy Evans achieved in comparison to Gerrard Houllier and Rafa Benitez who both put Liverpool back where they belong - not iconic figures of the past.
Question is does he / should he be expected to provide further funds?
ReplyDeleteI doubt FSG will bankroll any further excursions in to the transfer market. They are not warm heart philanthropists who grew up in the shadow of the Kop. They are businessmen who will at some point demand a return on their investment.That may be sooner rather than later
ReplyDeleteAshfah - Lucas plays in Defensive Midfield - we did not score - so the issue is not really with him is it? duh
ReplyDeleteStephen J - what do you mean by this? Do you mean that you think FSG will pull out?
ReplyDeleteStop picking players because of the money we paid for them!!!!!
ReplyDeleteRaul, Aquilani and Maxi all wanted to leave....how exactly do you know this? Maxi and Raul were loving playing for Liverpool last season, they were genuinely happy and playing great football. Some people are so desperate to show kenny in a good light they ignore the obvious and blame the players! Hilarious! What should happen now is Kenny should not be given a penny in January, and if our 'MINIMUM REQUIREMENT' of 4th place is not attained he will absolutely have to go. I know a champions league winning manager with premier league experience, who gets on fergies tits, who understands what a good midfield looks like, who has a fantastic record of beating newly promoted teams at home, who unfathomably is out of a job right now. Answers on a postcard...
ReplyDeletewhats it gonna be either I'm of Sesame street or I'm a muppet like Kermit and ms Piggie. They're not the the same. I consider this puppet discrimination. It's like calling a Korean decendant.. Chinese because they both look the same. I'm offended. Puppet on Muppet violence is at an all time high, it will never stop until we can at least distinguish between the two.
ReplyDeleteI think he means Fsg are smarter than to keep throwing money onto a Kenny Dalglish shaped bonfire.
ReplyDeleteJJ Please please educate yourself on Liverpool's record against newly promoted teams at home (particularly during Rafa's reign) then comment.
ReplyDeleteThe sickening thing is we will loose Luis Suarez. He deserves to play in the champions league with top quality players. Instead he's slumming it with us, more championship than champions league. I think it's also fair to say that Andy Carroll looked a much better player with better players around him 2nd half of last season (e.g Man Shitty at home). So not really fair to lay all the blame on him.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion we only need a top class striker and possibly a central midfielder from going from 5th to any of these- 4th, 3rd, 2nd and yes 1st.
ReplyDeleteThat's not spending big.
Suarez must feel ashamed playing with Carroll as his partner ..
ReplyDeleteLucas 56 tackles 75% of tackles won
ReplyDeleteAdam 23 tackles 78.3 of tackles won
Adam might have a slightly better ratio but Lucas has made twice has many!
You can go to the LFC website and go to team and all the stats are there.
Adam was n't brought for his tackling.
The players are here now. We have to change our formation to get the best out of the team and not just Luis Suarez. When Luis plays well we still don't win so it is probably best to find a way of getting the best out of one or two others. My idea would be to play 4-3-3 with downing right Carroll center and Carroll through the middle. Carroll and Downing both played their best football in this formation and Suarez can do anything. Its time to stop hoping that Carroll can play in tandem with Luis upfront because they have no chemstry whatsoever.
ReplyDeletePlaying three in the middle of the park should also make Jordan Henderson and Adam more effective. Steve Clarke knows all about the 4-3-3 formation having won the league with it with Chelsea. Why not make the most of a difficult situation by using a formation that will potentially improve the chemistry of the team and maximize the talents of more than just Luis Suarez.
Helped out by Fagan and Paisley? then I'd say he was taught by the best ;-)
ReplyDeleteWho was Mourinho taught by?!!? Therefore I fail to identify what point you are trying to make here.
Yes he didn't compete in Europe but if you know anything about European football particularly in the late 80's, LFC were playing some of the best football around in Europe at the time. I'd say he had a good chance of winning at least once any of these- UEFA, Cup winners or European Cup during his time at Liverpool. Everton won the Cup Winners Cup!!
To win Champions league is no walk in the park, ask Fergie, 2 CL in 18 seasons!!! that's once every 9 years. Compare Paisley 3 in 6 seasons.
Mourinho 2 in 8 seasons.
I can assure you Benitez wasn't respected by the players, look at the number of players who left the club who all had a parting shot at him. Some still do.
Roy Evans was not iconic!!
I said to manage players in this age especially for a big club you have to be an iconic figure.
I think he's had all the money..they would be crazy to give him anything more...they will show him the door sooner or later if things carry onthe same unless he works miracle
ReplyDeleteEventually losing Suarez is a fact Liverpool fans will have to come to terms with which is why it is important we dont rely on him ...
ReplyDeleteHe might have got confused with ADAM JOHNSON..and as for downing it might be the Jamie Redkrapp syndrome..where you see Alonso rip manure up in the 4-1game even though he wasn't even playing ..
ReplyDelete. some people only see what they want to believe
Liverpool are much better than last season, by a million miles. The chances created show that, all we need is to bin Carroll and watch us go, he is holding us back!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat about the move that carroll wasted hitting the bar, who set that up???
ReplyDeleteThey won't sack Kenny mid-season. The best thing they ever did was to stall on offering Kenny a full managerial role, and then to only give him 3 years. It shows that they're not blinded by sentimentality, unlike the media and the more impressionable LFC fans.
ReplyDeleteSubmission of a transfer request - doesn't that mean you want to leave? Especially on the transfer deadline day!!! And why turn this into a Dalglish v Benitez debate? Both have their strengths and weaknesses. However you have to ask yourself why Benitez is still out of a job. You could argue that he is waiting for the right opportunity. He openly admits he wants a club with ambition and cash - they don't come around that often but you also have to look at the 'other aspects'. I'll never criticise a manager who put Liverpool at his heart which both have done and continue to do so. I think we need to reserve judgement on Dalglish until the end of the season. And don't mis-intepret wanting to give Dalglish a chance with being blindly loyal to him. Yes I will admit I believe he is the greatest player to ever wear the red shirt. He will say it himself - nobody is bigger than the club - he above all knows this and I find it deplorable that people believe that Dalglish will wantingly through any type of ego trip put Liverpool at risk!
ReplyDeleteWe all seem to have short memories - this time last year things couldn't have been any worse. He came back and restored faith and is probably a victim of his own success. You are deluded if you thought we were going to win the league this year. Yes we have invested (and please some please need to look at the net spend and stop bandying about how much 'they' have wasted - don't forget Comolli in all of this) however how much have the 'others' around us invested? If we nearly got Europe from where we were in the league in January last year then we are still in a much better place this year. You have to admit the squad is so much stronger this year than compared to last however they have been togther for 5 minutes. Dalglish and co need to find their best positions/strongest team and play them and we need to get behind them. End of!
He needs to get his strongest team out and that will mean making a few hard choices
I hope you've been a very good boy mate cos there's no chance of Santa bringing us even one of those players.
ReplyDeleteYes Adam has made less tackles but you can only judge him on the amount of tackles he has made and with a higher percentage than Lucas it does show that Adam can actually tackle. I believe Adam has made the 2nd most tackles in our first team?
ReplyDeleteOh and Lucas will make more tackles than Adam as that is what he is designed for. Defensive midfielders will always make more tackles than attackers.
Do you not think he knows that himself? Unlike other managers he doesn't have that much of an ego that if he doesn't believe he is the right man for Liverpool then he would do what is best for the club. I am seriously wondering why we are talking about Dalglish and his tenure - are supporters so fickle nowadays that a draw at home is the end of the world? How long has it taken City and all of their investment to get where they are? They just made fourth spot last year after investing over £250m.
ReplyDeleteNot with that attitude he wont .
ReplyDeleteBut that is hardly the point .
The point is those 6 players added to our current squad would give us an almost fair chance of genuinely competing for a trophy this season & finishing in a European place in the League ... THIS SEASON !
The Yanks bought us , we didnt buy them & those are the players we need & if they arent going to provide us with the tools to do the job then they can Fcuk Off !
Otherwise all you pussys had better stop yer complaining & accept the fact that we are a top 10 club & we are over performing with what we have got & where we are .
Wow, what happened to you Brehon? You're singing a different tune today. 72 hours ago LFC players could do no wrong and should be backed 100% .
ReplyDeleteSo can you name the players you have identified that need to be replaced?
'The Yanks bought us , we didnt buy them & those are the players we
ReplyDeleteneed & if they arent going to provide us with the tools to do the
job then they can Fcuk Off !'
They have provided more than enough to at least get in the top 4 this season, don't start blaming 'the yanks', they've backed the manager to the hilt.
Your prejudice is starting to irk me .
ReplyDeleteNever did I say anything of the like , you are clearly reading a context into my comments which does not now & never did exist .
I haven’t singled out any member of staff , I merely stated the facts as I see them which I was under the impression that is what this site is for , is it not ?
I dont work with the players on a daily basis & even if I did I dont have the expertize or talent to identify those not up to the required mental standard .
Kenny Dalglish on the other hand ticks all those boxes & I have 100% confidence that he will continue to progressively improve our club while continuing to maintain & restore the professional & dignified manner in which we have traditionally always conducted our affairs under .
I am an admirer of "The Liverpool Way" however I am not a party to its implementation .
Besides that , only a fool would try to predict that when the 6 players of the quality I have named haven’t even arrived .
How the squad blends together with their additional quality is anyone’s guess & it may take 6 months or more for it to become apparent who sinks & who swims with the improved competition for places .
Yes I have my own ideas but I'm not going to possibly slander anyone from a position of ignorance .
With that said it doesn’t take a genius to work out that if you have become a millionaire for delivering the bare minimum you are hardly likely to chance your ways anytime soon unless you receive a shock to your system .
We are a big enough club with owners ambitious enough to sell the whole squad & replace it by the time the next season kicks off .
That would ruin a few reputations & careers tho & that simply isnt "The Liverpool Way" .
Patience & acceptance are the watch words between now & the end of the of the next transfer window , if not for the rest of this , our new owners & new managers first season in charge .
If you are happy with merely finishing 4'th then you can join them as far as I am concerned .
ReplyDeleteWhether they have provided enough or not remains to be seen but what can not be denied are our squad numbers , we remain 6 senior players light of the permissible 25 .
Nor can the fact that after only 11 games played we are already 11 points off the top of the table , to finish anything more than 6 points from the 1'st position is a disgrace for a club our size .
Perhaps you think we are superhuman & dont need a full squad to compete ?
Perhaps you think we must be in the relegation zone before we demand an improvement ?
Well I dont .
So its either a case of accepting we are merely a top ten club being run for profit & stopping whining about it ... or you acknowledge the facts & demand an improvement on the fans behalf .
The Yanks made assurances to us & now its time for them to put their money where their mouth is & Spend , Spend , Spend like tha crass , vulgar unapolegetic , overly competitive Yanks that they are .
God Bless America .
When Kenny hits back at criticism of the team, Brehon also does the same.
ReplyDeleteWhen Kenny criticises the team, Brehon also does the same.
There's a pattern emerging here!
Are you trying to say that I am Kenny Dalglish again ?
ReplyDeleteClearly you have trouble accepting the fact that both Dalglish & I happen to be fair men , knowledgeable about the game & have LFC in our hearts ?
If or when we deserve criticism I will acknowledge it & when we are being treated unfairly I will also acknowledge that , what is your problem ?
twat
ReplyDeleteRight so. Good man. Cheers for that.
ReplyDeleteAnytime .
ReplyDeleteHe has made more tackles! that is what I am showing there is no comparison between Lucas and Adam!
ReplyDeleteHi SWANS fan here,
ReplyDeletethe first thing is that yes you are one of the all time greatest clubs in the uk, but that does not give you right of passage in every game.
you have world class players, who think just because we are a newly promoted side that we should just step aside
your supporters are brilliant, but some are complacent in thinking that every game is going to be 3 points to the pool, they have forgotten that they have to be earned. and on saturday they just didnt work hard enough to break us down. as the post match stats proved that we had more of the ball than you and the shots on target that stat was incorrect as we had far more near chances on goal than we where given credit for.
when a team like the SWANSEA turn up who have nothing to fear from teams like LIVERPOOL, as we are expecting to get beat.
we play to win each time, even though it hasent worked out for us up to now, but we are still learning, and will get better and better.
a few posters on here had some good points and gave us praise for our style and movement which is well recieved, so thank you to those people.
but we at SWANSEA expect that each week our team play, that they give everything to achieve, even if its a draw.
(reach for the stars, but if you only reach the clouds you havent done so bad)
so i want to end my post in asking for a cheque to be put in the mail for a few million pound, as payment for teaching LIVERPOOL how to play football.
Best wishes from Andy pat the jack (STID)
Very Cheeky !
ReplyDeleteI didnt disrespect your lot in anyway Twinson & if you look back 10 posts or so to where I entered this thread you will read me agreeing in one way or another with everything you have just said .
Worked as an interpreter for Sir Bobby Robson ,worked with him at Sporting Clube de Portugal and Porto in Portugal, before following him to Spanish club Barcelona. He remained in the Catalonian club after Robson's departure and worked with the successor, Louis van Gaal.
ReplyDeleteI would say mourinho has had some pretty good teaching!
Ask Torres about your first sentence ??? He was forced out for the money, but had he still been with LFC this season he would scored a shed load of goals! Remember the difference between his fee and Carrol's is 15million,he should have been kept for that !
ReplyDeleteI have, in different wins,draws and losses home and away throw them in results against teams you expect us to beat and FA Cup results Rafa struggled to beat lesser teams like Stoke,Birmingham,Hull,Wolves,Crystal Palace and Portsmouth especially after 2007 season.
ReplyDeleteLets not forget Burnley,Barnsley and Reading in the FA cup and struggled to beat Havant & Waterlooville at home.
I'm aware of this and that's the point I was making, assuming the poster and readers knew about Mourinho's background.
ReplyDeleteShaped his body to much and the keeper knew which way to go we should be taking these chances no excuses for anyone and they say I have blind faith!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteA very biased article I'm afraid, one for the daily mail readers.
ReplyDeleteHow were we given a footballing lesson? I must have seen a different game.
Carroll and Suarez drop deep on several occasions, which is due to our midfield being too slow with the ball. I think they show promise together - and obviously need a bit more time - but to dismiss out of hand is arrogant beyond belief.
It was a subdued performance for about half of the game, from 30 mins to 80 mins we did not play very fluidly. It is something that will be worked on.
I'm surprised no one spotted the tactical adjustments where Henderson dropped in more allowing Johnson forward and Skrtel seemed to cover the right more as Swansea only had one up front. It was like we played with a 2-5-1-2, two central defenders, wing backs + 3 centre mids, one winger and two strikers.
I wish people would actually check these things before they bring their venom filled, expert opinion to the internet.