8 May 2012

Wimbledon legend warns: Liverpool still have 'big issues' to deal with. Agree...?

I'm sure most Liverpool fans view the FA Cup Final defeat against Chelsea as a crushing disappointment, but according to Wimbledon legend Robbie Earle, it could be a blessing in disguise.

Analysing the game for ESPN last night, Earle argued that Liverpool have 'big issues' to deal with, and warned that the the club had to plan for the future, and stop endlessly relying on Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. he added:

"They [Liverpool] did't win the FA Cup but I think that's not a bad thing. The two cups would've been papering over the cracks at Liverpool.

"I still think they've got big issues at Liverpool; I look at the squad, and I don't think some of the players are going to be better. There's still question marks over most of Kenny's signings, and the question is, will he be at Liverpool next season'?


It would've been fantastic for Liverpool to win the FA Cup, and like most fans, I'm sad that it didn't happen. However, I think Earle does have a point - winning that trophy would've allowed the apologists to perpetuate the 'two cups = progress" excuse, and this may have shifted the focus away from the club's horrible league performance.

In my view, when the inquest into the season begins, the focus should solely be on Liverpool's woeful performance in the league. As the latest club accounts show, failure to qualify for the Champions League last season had a negative financial impact on the club, and the same financial loss will happen again as a result of this season's failure.

Hard questions need to be asked, and after John W. Henry's dispassionate display at Wembley, I'm sure he is going to ask them.

Jaimie Kanwar


28 comments:

  1. John Henry's Mrs is fit though, I wonder what she sees in him haha

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  2. Yea not bad at all. The bad thing is LFC now at 9th place. The good thing is someone is getting fired.

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  3. Rely on Carragher?? The guy has been a liability for the past two seasons! 

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  4. Defeat tonight and Everton cannot be caught and to finish below Fulham would be an embarrasment. Carragher has been a great servant to the club so I will not slag him off. It is not his fault he gets selected but who else is there Coates is not good enough, Wilson not sure if he is still there is crap and last season Kyriagos was woeful. Ryan Shawcross would be a good replacment for Carragher, same type of player but much younger.

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  5. Some fans think there isn't much wrong at the club and that its just a matter of time, so a FA Cup triumph would have just encouraged that view. So in that respect, Earle has a point as I think there is plenty wrong. We have CL-level of wage (we are high up the wage table in football) & transfer expenditure (last 18 months anyway) (different from net spend, sorry net spend mob) yet we are another season without CL and the quality of the team is very questionable. To put it simply, we simply are not value for the money we have spent on wages and transfer expenditure (you could say that about the period between 1990 and 2010, as our 'net spend' (uh oh ;) rivals that of Manure but not a single league title to show for it). If we didn't have such level of wages and transfer expenditure, than it would be more understandable for people to be content with the current situation and see the club as some mid-table up-n-down club. But the fact is we have a high wage bill (like a big club should) but (unlike a big club) very little to show for it.

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  6. Disappointment? Tale of this season.

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  7. ka-ching ka-ching!

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  8. any defeat is bad,never a good thing. it would not have papered over any cracks, eveyone knows there are big problems. certain problems need to be offloaded and sensible spending on quality value for money is what is needed. kd to spend it? judging by the signings and use of them, i would maybe rather he didn't. move him not sack him.

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  9. robbie earle has zero credibility IMO, i'm not sure that he has ever achieved anything ever in his career so don't give a flying **** what he thinks tbh

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  10. Agree with Robbie Earle. For a couple of decades Liverpool have been hampered by managers, old and new, importing half a team which needs a season to acclimatise but never get it. If John Henry really wants success and can afford it he should clear the deck of all players, coaches  and managers and do a straight swap (plus cash) with Athletico  Bilbao for their full squad. That way the players can hit the ground running and will only need to become acquainted with the scouse accent and the English weather.

    Look out Manchester United we're coming to get you (again)!

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  11. IAN HOLLOWAY - We need a CHARACTER AND THIS GUY IS GOOD- VERY VERY GOOD

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  12. I see what he's saying but a defeat is never good.

    Even if we had won, it wouldn't have fooled the majority of us that everything was OK.

    The squad is just not good enough, the manager is a relic from a by-gone era and the competition is getting better all the time.

    Even Arsenal with a penny-pinching manager have a stronger squad than us. They might not win the Carling Cup, but they're consistently in the Champions League and therefore have a better chance than Liverpool of attracting good players

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  13. Considering how many fans seem to think that winning the Carling Cup is a sign of progress (I'm sure Birmingham fans would tell a very different tale) I was worried that winning the FA Cup would cover things up so much that the changes that need to happen wouldn't.

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  14. Wilson Michaelpaul1:24 pm, May 08, 2012

    I hope no one is getting fired , FSG need to use thier heads with this one and move kenny up stairs  - any hint of pressure on him to resign or god forbid they sack him and it will get real ugly realy quick  - you can expect FSG out banners and email campaigns if they dont treat the situation with kid gloves - such bad publicity is the last thing we need.

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  15. But he is RIGHT!

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  16. yeah but he is merely repeating what everyone else has been saying - this is not an opinion  formed of himself but cut and pasted off somebody else. the guy is useless, remind me - does he have a job?

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  17. Dude, you got it right. I hope FSG gets it right too during the summer. Dollar for dollar, LFC is by far the worst in EPL. The failed appointment of KD has effectively set LFC back for at least 3-5 years. Yeah, hardcores will argue about net spending, luck and patience etc. Crappy and scary.

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  18. 1) No defeat is very good at all, Bill Shankley would turn in his grave at that comment, he played a five a side training game like it was a cup final.
    2) Wimbledon Legend my arse, didnt he get sacked by ITV over something he did, selling tickets I think, Wimbledon legends are Pete Sampras and Roger Federer not Robbie Earle.

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  19. Good managers and a good sale pitch will still attract very good players to LFC we need to get a good manager, i hear the Velencia manager is to quit and there is Pep not to mention AVB. KK does not have the ability  to manage in the modern game he does nothing when the game is in the balance he tries to match up players the way they did 30 years ago the football is different now. Rafa could be looked at again i am not sure but i liked him, there will always be bad signings in football but it is how you deal with them that will count and KK has done a terrible job with his, they never earn't the right to keep their place in the team but he just kept playing them, thats bad management.
    I to don't like the fact we lost to Chelsea but if that will have an impact on change, then so be it we will never know though if that loss or a win would have made a difference.

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  20. What did Debbie Mc Gee see in millionaire {Paul  Daniels ??? Debbie is a bag of spanners nor tho

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  21. Get Herman Munster in from Stoke......absolute sensation

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  22. Worzel is not a bad call !

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  23. now i meant

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  24. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

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  25. Stop overrating another manager/player simply because he's British.

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  26. I totally agree. JH should only ask questions about the league. I hope that somebody already told him that CC is not worth even a debate. First question he should ask is that How can a team who two years ago were in championship are 16 points above Liverpool after spending so much less than us. I'm gutted that we lost against the Chavs but you r right Jamie it would give the " Proper fans" an excuse to say that two cups= PROGRESS. Even with one they r still saying that we already made progress.

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  27. as dumb as it sounds i am glad we are losing so much and i want us to lose our last two games so that fsg can see how big of a mess were in and how urgently we need a big change (new manager)

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  28. Two cup wins and it would have been some form of compensation for the poor league performance but not made up for it. Remember, we were not in Europe and should have been able to cope with the league and cup competitions. Kenny is unable to motivate the players and, so, they are only up for games where the motivation is already there, such as Man Utd, Everton, Man City, Chelsea, cup games, etc, etc.

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