Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing have struggled to make any consistent creative impact in the league this season, and against Stoke City yesterday, it was the same old story: lots of huffing and puffing, but no end product. After watching the game, former Liverpool defender Jason McAteer admitted that frustration over the pair's ineffective performances is growing.
Summarising the game for LFC TV, McAteer - who made 139 appearances for Liverpool - observed:
"It was another frustrating performance by the two of them. Don't get me wrong, they're willing, and the work rate was excellent, but you want to see more.
"Stewart had a frustrating game; things didn't happen for him. he played inside; tried to go outside; he played on theleft, then popped up on the right, but it just didn't happen for him.
"With Henderson - he's got to take responsibility. I sometimes feel like he worries about breaking from midfield and getting into the box.
"It's as if he's thinking 'If I get into the box, and the ball goes over my head, and they break and score, I'm going to get the blame'.
"He's got to stop thinking like that, and he's got to take responsibility. Sometimes, players have to take responsibility themselves".
Henderson undoubtedly has talent, but he's a very 'safe' player, who doesn't take risks and doesn't take responsibility. As we've seen so often this season, given the choice, he'll always play the easy ball sideways or backward, and pass the responsibility on to someone else.
This needs to change, and maybe it will in the second half of the season.
Jaimie Kanwar
Summarising the game for LFC TV, McAteer - who made 139 appearances for Liverpool - observed:
"It was another frustrating performance by the two of them. Don't get me wrong, they're willing, and the work rate was excellent, but you want to see more.
"Stewart had a frustrating game; things didn't happen for him. he played inside; tried to go outside; he played on theleft, then popped up on the right, but it just didn't happen for him.
"With Henderson - he's got to take responsibility. I sometimes feel like he worries about breaking from midfield and getting into the box.
"It's as if he's thinking 'If I get into the box, and the ball goes over my head, and they break and score, I'm going to get the blame'.
"He's got to stop thinking like that, and he's got to take responsibility. Sometimes, players have to take responsibility themselves".
Henderson undoubtedly has talent, but he's a very 'safe' player, who doesn't take risks and doesn't take responsibility. As we've seen so often this season, given the choice, he'll always play the easy ball sideways or backward, and pass the responsibility on to someone else.
This needs to change, and maybe it will in the second half of the season.
Jaimie Kanwar
Neither is good enough or nearly worth enough the enormous amount of money we paid. I could've told Comolli and Kenny that beforehand.
ReplyDeleteDowning is crap and I said that before Comolli bought him, Henderson reminds me of Lucas a few seasons ago and needs to speak to whoever gave a kick up the backside. Kenny should also be thinking of blooding some of the forwards in the youth teams, they couldn't be any worse than Carroll or Kuyt at the moment.
ReplyDeleteDfruk you are spot on with you're assessment!
ReplyDeletedowning i don't know, but seems a little flop. henderson have a great talent and sometimes is a pleasure to watch him but is too young in my opinion to do "the thing" that makes him a great player. time, time and time. the performance vs stoke was good, but this season we don't have luck. when carroll will show what he can do, there will be goals...
ReplyDeletehenderson hasnt been that bad, at least hes shown glimpses of talent whereas downing has nothing that a winger needs. we really should have signed ben arfa and should also sign perotti. if we got ben arfa when newcastle did both these players put together would still have been cheaper than downing. capel could have been thrown in as well because he only moved for around 3 million in the summer. dalglish and comolli are bonkers, even theough i though comolli did great at spurs.
ReplyDeletekenny must go he buy shirt players,bring back RAFA we have money now,look at Totenham,we a big club players like Henderson,Downing,Carroll over price,shame not the way forward....
ReplyDeletei agree, rafa did a great job and one bad season under the cloud the whole club was under at that time didnt merit his sacking in the first place. weve gone down hill since then and i cant see much light at the end of the tunnel with the amount of money been wasted on players when i see other clubs buying more quality for less. no doubt spurs will sign remy and he will be much better than carroll and much cheaper.
ReplyDeleteapply for job within!!
ReplyDeletecut our losses with downing in january, either sign another winger or use bellamy as much as we can , get kuyt starting regular maybe on the left, push g. johnson up right wing with kelly behind. of course there is maxi as well who can cover down the wings. or we go and buy a natural winger whos on form with potential ie adam johnson.
ReplyDeletethink its unfair henderson has been thrown in at the deepend a bit, tidy player, but is slowly losing confidence. should have been used as more of a sub this season.
shelvey looks good most the time he comes on and has the bottle to try things and has good vision and an eye for goal.
dont like to state the obvious but we should be doing a lot better with the players we have in our squad.
some players need to take a bit more responsibility and express themselves.
after all they have some of the best fans in the world behind them
I'm not sure why Kenny still play Downing although he know he's an average winger, no end product, no threat whatsoever, no bottle to beat defenders...*sigh*
ReplyDeleteIs it because he's English? Why can't we have someone else like Johnson there at right wing and Carra at right back while Maxi on the left wing. Maxi and Enrique compliment each other well while we attack and Gerrard and Adam in the middle with Bellamy and Kuyt / Carroll up front.
Why does Kenny tinker too much every single game? And the BIG question is why isn't Maxi playing?
SRKD and Overtravers
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean Hendo isn't doing that bad?,At 16 *#^ million plus add on that is a massive fee for someone who pop in a nice ball only once in a game or two,just because he's English everyone saying he's young and needed time,Watabout lucas???? he's from brazil and cos only 6 million but all the media and English were bombing him and Benitez,From my point of view the english can endure their player from playing badly but not others.
The English should be ashame of them self for unfairness of treating foreign players compare to theirs.High price pricks with average quality.
to quote its not the players fault they have a price tag on there heads ,its the club who sells them and buys them ,nothing to do with the player im sure if you asked carroll henderson and downing none of them would think they are worth that money ,but with some supporters they are reminded every day ,bad enough playing with a price tag on your head let alone supporters on there backs at the same time , with a bit of luck this year we would be a lot higher in the league ,and if the times carroll ,downing had narrowly missed and hit the post ,but actually scored then we would be chanting there names, even suarez as much weve come to adore him has missed some guilt edge chances ,18 times weve hit the post this year ,dominated man united chelsea ,man city at home ,only team that made us look chit was spurs , the only way you will ever beat a team like stoke is let them hav ethe ball let them have confidence to get at you then you hit them on the counter ,no way will u ever score against a bus parked in front of a goal its ridiculous ,and might i remind you weve had a lot of games lately and even man city with there huge squad are dropping points ,so lets get of players backs and let them know we are behind them a 100 percent ynwa
ReplyDeletehit the nail on the head dfruk. i think the problem with carroll is he is a relatively stupid player as compared to the others. the other guys are more intelligent with the ball -- if not very good at either finishing or delivering, but nevertheless smarter with movement. carroll looks lost, doesn't know what to do and runs around like a child lost in a shopping mall. he doesnt brace himself for impact and flops on any kind of contact when he should be saying to himself enough is enough and if they are going to hit me i am going to make them feel it and attack them hard instead. but he is taking the easy way out and that is just so sad for a player with so much misguided promise and price tag.
ReplyDeletekuyt is infuriating because he works so hard and puts in plenty of concentration on the whole move only to lose that concentration with the final kick. it's akin to a basketball player making grabbing a defensive rebound, dribbling out of trouble and then through a sea of defenders only to blow a 2-foot layup. then again, the same can be said of suarez (now).
the team should let the youngers player. with real youth comes no real fear. the downside is they may waste chances but for every mid/low table team we play, they do the same and just shoot every chance they get. we don't seem to do that and the only reason we play really well against competition is because we appear to be taking on the mid-table team mentality against them. it's sad really.
and henderson, for a guy so young, is truly pathetic. he plays scared, plays without proper concentration. i wonder why nobody has been able to get to him and given him a proper motivational speech. either that or he is too dumb to understand. but like carroll, he also looks lost and a step behind the others.
the biggest mistake of the year was to abandon the alleged pursuit of juan mata for downing. imagine what service we would have gotten with mata? then again, he might not have wanted to come.
downing to sunderland in next 6-12 months. henderson need's to man up, he's too worried about his hair the f*cking pansy.
ReplyDeleteIf I were Kenny, I will cash in a world class midfielder now. It is clear that we don't have a superb midfielder to provide creativity on the field, dictate our tempo and initiate our attacking play. We do not have any pace at all, all we had done is passing the ball aimlessly, waiting for opposition player to make a mistake or maybe depends on some individual effort such as Enrique, Johnson and Suarez to create chances for us. Adam had a good game during Stoke but he is not up to the Liverpool's starting eleven standard. Henderson is still young. Gerrard prefers more attacking role and I think he play much better as a shadow striker, always run into spaces when he sees an opportunity, just like the goal he scored during Newcastle game.
ReplyDeleteBuying a striker is another option but if Kenny buys a new striker, yes, it will definitely cause a blow in Carroll's confidence. No people want that to happen so striker is our last resort.
Getting wingers is another option but we already have players who can play in that position, although Downing is the only traditional winger we have. Kuyt plays better at wings, Bellamy and Maxi is our options too.
We need players like Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Alberto Aquilani or maybe Eden Hazard? It is very critical to the team because a world class player can maximize other players' potential like Downing and Carroll. I think this is what we are lacking right now. This is why we played badly during Alonso's absence last time, our players seem clueless on the field without the creativity, pace and imagination to break down the defense. Act fast, Kenny. And it's your last chance get things done.
ye look at how Suarez is issue is handled.
ReplyDeleteForget the price tag for Downing. To Liverpool he isn't worth MORE than what El Zhar was worth. He had more value for Aston Villa because he was an important player for them. For Henderson I want to take a Lucas approach to the matter. But Lucas did not play as many games as Henderson did when he first started for Liverpool. Henderson at this point of time is not good enough.
ReplyDeleteThe big problem or problems for me lies with Downing Adam and Carroll. Adam has got his name on a few assists, but his performances are short of any quality. It takes a rebound shot in the last minute against lower league opposition for Downing to get his first goal.
Carroll is the one I can't rip the price tag off. 35 million? I feel sorry for the charities in the world that could have benefited. He is soo bad. How can a "professional" football player, have difficulty controlling the ball? Above all else 35 million? If I was Henry, as a business man, I would be fuming. This is 35 million out of HIS pocket. Even a neutral can see the lack of quality Carroll has. He's a laughing stock. I might be being too blunt but its the truth. I've said all this after 5 games of the season. I hope I was just moaning for perfection, but I was clearly wrong about doubting myself.
we lack creativity and pace and a good striker
ReplyDeleteWe have blamed a lot of players here Carroll, Downing, Henderson, Adam. But how did all of them become crap as they joined Liverpool ? We have seen their quality last season with their previous teams. They are not the best but they haven't maintained the quality of last season.
ReplyDeleteI am not defending these players but question arises that it can be one or two players not all of them. May be the problem lies somewhere else.
At Sunderland, Steve Bruce bought many players like Liverpool and they didn't perform but the same team is collecting a lot points as O'Neil took charge.
Kenny needs to change his tactics and prepare a better plan for each players precisely. Just 'Kicking and Chasing' is not going to give results.
This is the sad state of affairs that a player who came on a free and is towards end of his career is out doing three players (downing ..Carroll..Henderson) who cost over 70million between them...and that's even when all three are on the pitch at the same time...
ReplyDeleteBellamy has scored more goals as a striker ...created and assisted more than Henderson and downing on the wings ..
If we didn't buy downing ..Henderson ..Adam and Carroll...and kept the same squad from last season....would we be any worse off....no and we'd have over 80million in bank
wow, Aquilani in the same breath as Xavi?
ReplyDeleteMadness
Henderson and Downing, simply a pair of mules. Admittedly, they do complement the donkey Andy Carroll to some extent.
ReplyDeleteDid you not know.? Maxi has been dropped for calling Dalglish a stupid manager during one of the training sessions.
ReplyDeleteComolli said the same thing to Dalglish, but our man at the helm simply refused to accept Comolli's advice. Why? Because he reckons he is the so-called King!
ReplyDeletei'd just like to say im not one of the many many 'fans' who slated lucas. i liked him from the get go because i saw what he could do for gremio. no doubt the price tag for hendo is way too high im just saying i dont think he deserves as much stick as carroll and downing. especially to blame him for the stoke result, i didnt even see gerrard make any great runs into the box that game. ultimately its the managers fault and its him i blame for paying too much for players. i only criticise players i see as been utter rubbish. id prefer aqua to hendo but that wasnt my fault, id prefer rafa to kenny but i didnt make that decision. trust me im not unfair in the way i treat foreign players, i actually prefer foreigners because they are much better technically and much cheaper. i dont think ive ever wanted a british player over a foreign one, so please make sure u have all the facts.
ReplyDeletethis is exactly how i feel. most people say adam has been good but i think hes been average at best and his delivery most of the time is shocking considering he is supposed to be a bit of a specialist. and great summing up of carroll, i struggle to find words to describe how insane i felt when i heard we paid 35 million for him. also the el zhar thing at least he had a few tricks and flair and was willing to try things, downing truly sucks big time.
ReplyDeletejason wilcox 271 games 31 goals
ReplyDeletestuart Ripley 188 games 13 goals
Tim sherwood 246 games 25 goals
David batty 54 games 1 goal
As the stats above demonstrate, since leaving Liverpool Kenny has been of the firm belief that strikers score goals and midfielders create. Downing and Henderson were brought in to emulate Jason Wilcox and Ripley by getting a yard and whipping in as many crosses as is humanly possibly....and it worked for the most part. However, the sad reality is the game has moved on since 1994. In today's game most Full backs are devastatingly quick which means the majority of wingers in the prem will struggle to do their man on the outside. We are playing 1994 tactics with 1994 type players and we're shocked we're not doing well...........hmmmmmmm.
Kenny's Flintsones meet Kenny's Flintstones their a modern stone age family, they all play at An-field their a page right out of his-tory.
(Hopefully Kenny throws Downing and Carroll out of the window in the end) Wilmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Ye me and my pops LOL watching Carroll play.
ReplyDeleteYa. Downing and Carroll are playing bad because supporters are calling out on them. The quality of their performances are affected as a result. Load of rubbish. They get paid more in one week than most people get in a year. Give me 35 million and I would outperform Carroll.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the article in principle but do remember Henderson's through ball for Downing against Man City last week, great vision and weight of pass was perfect.
ReplyDeleteAlso, he created Gerrards goal against Newcastle with his aggressive running from Midfield and perfect weight of pass!! So he has got this in his locker but probably still adapting to such a big club and due to his age.
Always easier to take the simple option if struggling for confidence!!!
still convinced owning will come good, sometimes takes some players longer than others to settle even if they are established international players, happened with him at Villa.
As for Carroll, don't think it is going to happen and I for one feel awfully pained to see him struggle so badly!! Growing more clear he will never be established big team player. Got to accept it was poor scouting on LFC part whoever wanted Carroll!!
Forgot to mention, I am astounded how Dirk Kuyt is never up for debate on such Forums or being blasted by Ex (Expert Analysts) pro's such as Jason Mcateer(He was a waste of bloody money as well!!!)
ReplyDeleteKuyt might run himself into the ground for the team but to what use when he gets chance after chance and still misses!!!
Agreed - its KD who has the final say in who he brings into club - as Comolli has already said - he will scout players and make his recommendations to KD, but KD will choose who he wants in his team - its as simple as that.
ReplyDeleteSo everyone please dont slag off at Comolli for this mess- it rest squarely on KD s shoulders - Carrol, Downing, Adam,, they are NOT GOOD ENOUGH to be in the LFC team and WILL NOT get us into 4th,.
Hendo is showing potential and is very young - but he is not ready to be playing every week - and he will also NOT Get us into top 4..
Why cant KD see this?
He is not the man for the job that is why..
Not kuyt fault that dalglish cannot see that he ain't good enough..dalglish cannot see alot ...wenger is getting slated having spent next to nothing and kk is applauded for throwing away our money on crapp...and its wenger who the experts want sacked
ReplyDeleteWhy is it wrong to provide competition for Carroll by buying another striker?
ReplyDeletePepe can you expand on that I heard the same thing from someone as well.
ReplyDeleteKuyt has been a good servant for the club but his time has run its course. Yep Jason Mc Ateer was a waste of cash
ReplyDeleteCan't wait until all your socalled "supporters" are made to eat all your rubbish comments, Remember Lucas you t####! Carroll will come good, he will be a beast of a striker, Henderson will become a brilliant central midfielder, Downing will supply both assists and goals in due time, and Adams passing range will prove highly valuable. We've got an excellent team who are actually working as a team and things will click into gear over the next few months. I still believe in a top 4 spot and one or perhaps two trophees on top of that .... but that's just my supportive nature :) YNWA
ReplyDeleteDoes Downing do like he had done at villa and wimp out of challengeseven when he was favourite to win them, or avoid them completely?
ReplyDeleteI don't see how it was 'frustrating' as most knew it was a case of two over-priced average English players and guess what? That is what they have shown. Nothing to be frustrated about, in relation to their performances as this is their level of quality. Thanks KK
ReplyDeleteAre you part of GALS?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering on the YNWA reference, as that is what GALS sang
A waste of cash indeed, so would be a good judge on fellow 'waste of cash' players like Downing, Henderson, etc
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, Gusto. One is the Ballon d'Or recipient while another is talented but being injury prone in his football career. My point is they are the same type of players, not being in the same class. The reason I mentioned Aquilani is that he was once in our squad, but was not fully utilized and ended leaving us. And we're missing this kind of creative players.
ReplyDeleteSome people look better in a poorer team. Just like Stevie G may not stand out as much if he were to play in a better team with better players.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying it's wrong, it's another option for us as well. I'm just saying it might dent Carroll's confidence. I think he is suffering from low confidence at the moment. Kenny always defended him but he seems to be reluctant to start him in recent games. He needs game time to blend to the team and to build up confidence. Competition is always a good thing in teams like Liverpool. But I'm not sure whether young Carroll is mentally prepared to be ready for the competition challenge he will face with another striker. Look, we paid 35 millions for this guy. In my humble opinion, I think it will be wiser if we keep trying to find a way to activate his potential and utilize him than finding a way to replace him.
ReplyDeletethat'd be Kenny mate ... and his poor judgement I'm afraid
ReplyDeleteone thing u should remember that liverpool doesnt concede much defeats nowadays compared to the past 2 seasons ! and our defense is really great ! and we have dominated 90 % of our total games this season and we just needed that bit of luck to win almost ALL games this season ! and we just need a striker like fowler to be champions next YEAR !
ReplyDeletei admire your blind optimism - I'd like to take a look through your rose tinted specs for a bit of escapism from work if you don't mind please; I hate mondays!!
ReplyDeleteCarroll will not come good - he is awful and a liabiltity when he's on the pitch for us. I admit he'll most likely improve a bit, but only because he cannot get any worse.
Th truth is that the players mentioned there are medicore/average at best. The most we can hope for this season is 6th. We are not a top four side, this has been ensured by KK's buying policy. I believe he has set the club back 3 or 4 years or more as the players he has bought will not move on till around the, and even then we would sell them all at a loss. Compared to the current top six team squads, we have the worst squad out of all of them (inclsuin Newcastle). We are sh!te.
YNWA tho!!
I feel this why but then be labelled the Blind faith brigade!!!! Sometimes a little easier to live in hope as opposed to being negative in an assessment when results go not as expected.
ReplyDeleteDon' exactly see Carroll being a beast of a striker though to be honest, wanted to believe when he first signed!
I am not happy with all these draws and the lack of being clinical but it is not easy trying to break down these defense minded teams parking the team bus in their own box all game.
So pisses me off hearing KK receive so much negativity on here, same fans WILL be out celebrating on February 27th with our 1st trophy in 6 years!! Champs league may be little too far but atleast we ARE moving in the right direction and I remember last season under Hodgson.
All great managers make mistakes in transfer market.FACT. It's how they rectify them makes them great and I am fully behind my faith in KK.
bring back rafa the cancer? are you out of your mind? he would've been the lousiest coach we've ever had if not for that freak win in 2005. and he is clearly the most self-sabotaging coach ever. can't you remember how boring our games were?
ReplyDeleteLike Henry said to the Arsenal fans moaning yap yap yap!We are hard to beat even Fergie came with a team to defend after what we did to them last season other teams are copying! The defence is playing the best it has in years with playing the ball out of defence also defending corners and set pieces better as well then under Rafa, we just need to start scoring we need a couple of players but you can't buy them all in one go like some fans think!
ReplyDeleteBut to me, Xavi and Aquilani are not similar players in terms of where they play. At Roma, when fit and getting in the side ahead of competition like Perotta, Aquilani usually played more forward than Xavi does at Barca. It was usually Pizarro who played in that deep playmaker role that Xavi plays in, with De Rossi alongside him.
ReplyDeleteYes, at Pool, Aquilani played deeper but that was because Stevie G played in Aquilani's favoured position. As long as Stevie G is here, no central attacking midfielder will ever get to play in their favoured role.
Aquilani is not a bad player but he has never been anything brilliant for a decent enough period at anytime in his professional career.
Not one of Rafa's better big buys thats for sure, along with Glen 'I am a defender but i can't defend most of the time' Johnson
makes sense-never replaced masch and alonso. We missed our chance by not having a winger then. Come on KK lets have a creative midfielder with some pace
ReplyDeleteI agree Dr Theodore. KD should be sacked for playing 5 defenders against a team that never attacked us.
ReplyDeleteLucas is still crap....
ReplyDeleteKeep Maxi. Sack KD
ReplyDeleteMuch better than Lucas, Downing, Adams, Henderson and the list goes on and on...
ReplyDeleteBottom line...sack KD
ReplyDeleteAs boring as now under Kenny and hodgson? Please think again.
ReplyDeleteYou know nothing about football. Lucas has been outstanding for two years now, is our current player of the year and plays everytime for Brazil. But hey, what do those Brazilians know about football! Lucas has developed into one of the best holding midfielders in the country and we will miss him for the rest of the season.
ReplyDeleteWhat on earth has Aquilani done to prove that?
ReplyDeleteEven he is better than them, that would say more about the very low standards at the club now than it does about Aquilani's questionable quality
even *if he is...
ReplyDeleteWow, you make it sound like we're doing great....bloody hell
ReplyDeletewe miss lucus more than anyone
ReplyDeleteI think I have to agree with you since you're making some very good points of this matter. One thing I really missed about Alonso is his delicious long pass that tears apart opposition's defense. Gerrard can do that, Adam produced some of that in the last game but certainly both of them are not as good as Alonso.
ReplyDeleteAquilani may has never been anything brilliant for a decent enough period in his professional career, but still I think he had proven himself a better player than Adam and the current Henderson. The same case goes for Meireles as well.
We let good players go but never replace them with players that is in the same par with the previous one. This is the main problem happened in Liverpool.
Seconded to that. No pace in our wings and no pace in our midfield. Without pace, we're just like an average team. Everything Kenny tried to do in Liverpool so far didn't work out except for Enrique.
ReplyDeleteTotal Clueless comment.
ReplyDeleteJust for the fact we cannot kill teams off at home, look at the performances against the big teams!!!
KK put the club back 3 or 4 years, what were you saying last season under Hodgson!!Hell of a squad he developed.
Squad needs tinkering, hell of a coup signing Bellamy on a free and the aquisition of Suarez for 22m!!!
keep hearing this blind faith bull shit, fact is some mindless negative people continue to look for the faults in players such As Downing and Henderson and totally ignore their qualities.