Liverpool put in a very encouraging performance against Manchester City in the 2-2 Premier League draw yesterday, and although the team deserved to win (yet again), the fact remains that the Reds have dropped four points in the last two games, and thrown away two victories as a result of calamitous defensive mistakes. Despite this, Brendan Rodgers showered the team with his usual brand of fawning, over-the-top praise, none of which is fooling Anfield legend Dietmar Hamann, who suggested last night that Liverpool are still an 'average' team.
Here is a selection of Rodgers' post-match comments:
"It was an outstanding performance at a notoriously difficult place for teams to even score a goal. We've been outstanding in our game but mistakes have cost us. I can't fault the players. I thought they were absolutely brilliant today. We showed great character"
On Sturridge:
"He was terrific today. His hold-up play, his movement, his pace. He was a real, real threat. His combination with Suarez and Downing and Henderson up front was outstanding."
On Gerrard and Carra:
"I thought they were brilliant. Carra has never put a foot wrong for me. And Steven Gerrard - It was a brilliant goal from him to beat Joe Hart, who is six feet five, from that distance. His performance was immense".
On the senior players:
"The senior players are vital for us. We've got a lot of young players, talented players, who are going to need time to grow. But while they're growing we've got senior players who've been outstanding"
With the greatest respect to Rodgers, this kind of praise for two draws in a row is massively over the top. If the players were 'outstanding, terrific, and absolutely brilliant', then the implication is there's nothing they need to do to improve.
Thankfully, Didi Hamann is one of the few who prefers (like myself) to take a more realistic view of things. Whilst everyone else is bending over backwards to worship the Reds for drawing another game, the Kaiser is not convinced. He agreed that the team put in an "encouraging performance', but pointed out that there is 'still no win against a top 10 side'. He observed:
"Yes, LFC played very well but City were without Kompany and Toure. The team is improving but we are nine points behind Spurs which we won't make up [which means] another season without Champions League football. The best teams win even [when] playing badly. Collectively the team made too many mistakes this season. A good team finds a way to win. An average team finds a way not to win".
Predictably, Hamann received abuse on Twitter from fans who can't hack the realist approach, but he responded:
"Stop telling me we deserved three points. The mentality is not top 4 material. LFC should have won last two matches but they didn't. I'm very happy how the team is playing but if you play very well and don't win it's not a good sign".
I totally agree with Hamann here, which is why Rodgers' gross overpraise is really irritating. It's great that the team is playing well, but that will mean nothing at the end of the season if Liverpool finish between 6th and 8th.
I honestly believe that constantly showering players with exaggerated praise - win, lose or draw - dulls competitive edge. It's simple: glowing praise should be reserved for victories; draws and defeats mean the team didn't do it's job properly, and the focus should be on improvement, not rewarding players for failure, which - harsh as it may sound - is what a draw ultimately is.
For some reason, over the last 10-15 years, Liverpool have developed a counter-productive habit of jumping the gun with premature praise; whether it's Gerard Houllier telling everyone that the team is 'ten games from greatness'; Dalglish and Rodgers showering undeserved praise on the team after defeats and draws; players constantly massaging each others' egos in public, or - like yesterday - Steven Gerrard telling everyone that Liverpool can finish 4th, the club and its players constantly talk the talk in public, but rarely deliver on the field, especially in the league.
I disagree with Didi's suggestion that Liverpool are an 'average' team; that's clearly not the case, but the team's league results this season are definitely average, and irrespective of the City performance, the cold, harsh truth is:
* Liverpool have failed to win five of the last nine league games.
* That's thirteen points dropped out of a possible twenty seven.
* The club is nine points off fourth place, and twenty-six points off the top.
Irrespective of good performances on the field, that is average, and there is nothing 'outstanding, brilliant and terrific' about it.
People may accuse me of being churlish after such a good performance, but what is the point of regularly performing well without winning? Ultimately, football is about winning games, and I really wish the club would just tone down the unwarranted triumphalism and just get on with quietly progressing on the field.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Here is a selection of Rodgers' post-match comments:
"It was an outstanding performance at a notoriously difficult place for teams to even score a goal. We've been outstanding in our game but mistakes have cost us. I can't fault the players. I thought they were absolutely brilliant today. We showed great character"
On Sturridge:
"He was terrific today. His hold-up play, his movement, his pace. He was a real, real threat. His combination with Suarez and Downing and Henderson up front was outstanding."
On Gerrard and Carra:
"I thought they were brilliant. Carra has never put a foot wrong for me. And Steven Gerrard - It was a brilliant goal from him to beat Joe Hart, who is six feet five, from that distance. His performance was immense".
On the senior players:
"The senior players are vital for us. We've got a lot of young players, talented players, who are going to need time to grow. But while they're growing we've got senior players who've been outstanding"
With the greatest respect to Rodgers, this kind of praise for two draws in a row is massively over the top. If the players were 'outstanding, terrific, and absolutely brilliant', then the implication is there's nothing they need to do to improve.
Thankfully, Didi Hamann is one of the few who prefers (like myself) to take a more realistic view of things. Whilst everyone else is bending over backwards to worship the Reds for drawing another game, the Kaiser is not convinced. He agreed that the team put in an "encouraging performance', but pointed out that there is 'still no win against a top 10 side'. He observed:
"Yes, LFC played very well but City were without Kompany and Toure. The team is improving but we are nine points behind Spurs which we won't make up [which means] another season without Champions League football. The best teams win even [when] playing badly. Collectively the team made too many mistakes this season. A good team finds a way to win. An average team finds a way not to win".
Predictably, Hamann received abuse on Twitter from fans who can't hack the realist approach, but he responded:
"Stop telling me we deserved three points. The mentality is not top 4 material. LFC should have won last two matches but they didn't. I'm very happy how the team is playing but if you play very well and don't win it's not a good sign".
I totally agree with Hamann here, which is why Rodgers' gross overpraise is really irritating. It's great that the team is playing well, but that will mean nothing at the end of the season if Liverpool finish between 6th and 8th.
I honestly believe that constantly showering players with exaggerated praise - win, lose or draw - dulls competitive edge. It's simple: glowing praise should be reserved for victories; draws and defeats mean the team didn't do it's job properly, and the focus should be on improvement, not rewarding players for failure, which - harsh as it may sound - is what a draw ultimately is.
For some reason, over the last 10-15 years, Liverpool have developed a counter-productive habit of jumping the gun with premature praise; whether it's Gerard Houllier telling everyone that the team is 'ten games from greatness'; Dalglish and Rodgers showering undeserved praise on the team after defeats and draws; players constantly massaging each others' egos in public, or - like yesterday - Steven Gerrard telling everyone that Liverpool can finish 4th, the club and its players constantly talk the talk in public, but rarely deliver on the field, especially in the league.
I disagree with Didi's suggestion that Liverpool are an 'average' team; that's clearly not the case, but the team's league results this season are definitely average, and irrespective of the City performance, the cold, harsh truth is:
* Liverpool have failed to win five of the last nine league games.
* That's thirteen points dropped out of a possible twenty seven.
* The club is nine points off fourth place, and twenty-six points off the top.
Irrespective of good performances on the field, that is average, and there is nothing 'outstanding, brilliant and terrific' about it.
People may accuse me of being churlish after such a good performance, but what is the point of regularly performing well without winning? Ultimately, football is about winning games, and I really wish the club would just tone down the unwarranted triumphalism and just get on with quietly progressing on the field.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
