Two Results, One News Story, And a Fixture.

Well I've not been able to write much at all this week. I still haven't been able to watch all 90 minutes of the West Ham game, although I saw highlights it wouldnt really be fair to write a Positives & Negatives piece based on that. I think it is fair to say though that the performance was an improvement. I base this on the stats (Increased possesion, more chances and less chances given away) as well as some match reports from trusted sources like the Echo website. I think its also fair to say that by using the same sources its easy to gather that West Ham didnt exactly put up the strongest of challenges. Regardless of that though, on the back of a few poor performances it was important for us to improve and we did that. It would have been nice to have finished 1 or 2 more in the second half to give our goal difference some respectability but I think prior to the game, and baring in mind we were missing Steven Gerrard, most Liverpool fans would have taken a 3-0 victory. Something which shouldnt be forgotten, amidst all my talk of poor performances, is that over the last 6 games we are currently second in the form table!

Link to Dominic King's review in the Echo

During the week there has not been much major news. Glen Johnson seems to have put his recent troubles with the manager behind him (publicly at least) by admitting that he is aware that he has not been in the best form this season. Glen stated that he had held clear the air talks with Hodgson, but made it clear that he is his own worst critic and did not need to be told he wasnt playing at his best level "I didn't need to hear it from the boss to know that I hadn't been playing at my best, I'm an honest man and I know how well I can play".

The reserves played out a 1-1 draw in the mini-derby against Everton with Dani Pacheco netting a goal which he will hope helps him reclaim his place in the squad for the upcoming European games.

Link to Review of the Reserves 1-1 draw with Everton

On Sunday at 4pm Liverpool play Tottenham at White Hart Lane in a match-up which has grown in signifigence due to Spurs emergance and Liverpool's decline over the last view years, which of course resulted in Spurs qualifying for the Champions League this year.

Its hard to believe that even after our well known dificulties this season we could go level on points with Spurs, who currently lie in 6th place, if we win on Sunday. Although to put that into context it is also worth remembering that we are only 5 points ahead of Wigan who currently lie in 18th.

Spurs have had some famous victories this season, notibly Arsenal last week and Inter Milan earlier in the season, but they have not been in sparkling form either. Of course they have been juggling Champions League and Domestic competitions for the 1st time in their history which is difficult for any club. This is reflected in the recent form guide (which I mentioned earlier), from the last 18 points available Liverpool have taken 13 whereas Spurs have only taken 8.

Team News: Liverpool will definitely have to take on Spurs without the efforts of Steven Gerrard, Jay Spearing and Daniel Agger. Joe Cole is back in contention but may not be ready yet to start a full game.

A Long Delayed Update. Time for change???

This has been another hard week for Liverpool fans. A week which follows another disappointing result and performance! I've had a bit of time now to reflect on the game against Stoke and I decided I couldnt force myself through the pain and frustration of trying to squeeze more positives out of another embarrasing peformance and instead i've decided to just write out a few of the things in my head at the moment.

The performance itself was again the problem on Saturday. As I have said this on a lot of occassions this season that I could handle a the results (or at least some of them) if I felt we were growing or building towards something, but the fact is apart from a few minor peaks the general theme this season has been disappointment. Against Stoke we got one of the clearest indications yet of the impact Roy Hodgson has brought to the club, we were out-played, out-thought and out-fought by Stoke City.

The thing is that we are now a third of the way through the season and we are still showing no signs of improvement and to me it seems that any signs of the style that Roy has brought to the team have all been negative and contrary to the ideal's Liverpool fans hold dear. Pass and Move, Passionate football has been replaced by Hoof, Hope and Sitback football and the Kop dont like it. I have seen polls on many of the site's I visit frequently where over 90% of the voters believe Roy should go now. That would seem an accurate reflection of the popular opinion which was also proved by the travelling Kop singing Kenny Dalglish's name on Saturday.

I dont think there are many people who can argue that King Kenny is the long term solution for Liverpool Football Club but there is no denying the deserved love he receives from every single Liverpool supporter the world over.

I am of the opinion that we need to change our manager. I never believed Roy would be the man to bring us to the next Level and he has done nothing so far to change my mind. In fact, he didnt even have to take us to the next level really the fact that our last manager was sacked for finishing 7th with this team whilst achieving an often forgotten UEFA cup semi-final means Roys initial remit would have been to simply improve upon last season, and at this stage it must be said that even that looks unachievable at the moment. There seems to be a lot of fresh starts at the moment and NESV are going through a process of putting their stamp on the club, they have changed the structure of the club by bringing in Comolli as director of football, and are currently searching for a new Chief executive, surely it makes sense for them to hire a new manager, their manager to take the club forward. They are clever people and i am sure they are going through the process of finding the right man now. There is a case to be made that the reason Comolli has been brought in so early is so he can be involved in helping choose a manager who suits his (and NESV's) vision, and it is important this process is thorough and is not rushed so that when the right man is found he has the full backing of the owners and has the best chance to succeed.

However, Liverpool fans have been at war for a long time now. We were at war with Hicks and Gillette for so long that it caused divisions between fans. We were at war with each other over Rafael Benitez. Hell, weve even been at war over the standard of player in our squad this season with some people believing it is the worst crop of players to be at the club in 100 years and others believing we have a stronger squad than the press will gived us credit for, certainly stronger than our current style and position reflects. I think we need something to galvanise the fans again and get us all back on the same page, united in support of the red men. That is one thing which Kenny Dalglish could most definitely do. We not looking for him to come in and win the League (although we wouldnt mind) just to restore some pride and unite the fans again.

The thing is that if all Roy is doing is treading water until the owners man comes in surely it is doing more harm than good right now. Every few days another story of player unrest is reported. The two latest being Glen Johnson and Dani Pacheco (one of the more promising youngsters in Europe who has been effectively frozen out). Surely if morale is allowed to keep on slipping in such a way we are going to find it harder to get it back.

So, is it time for change? In my opinion, its been time for change for weeks!

Wigan 1 - 1 Liverpool (Positives and Negatives)

Wigan 1 - 1 Liverpool. Well after a great start to the game we took the lead and then faded out of the game. A lot of the old habits came back into our play in what turned out to be a very frustrating performance. Going from the high of a 2-0 victory over Chelsea to a 1-1 draw with Wigan can be frustrating in itself so its important not to look at things purely based on the result.





Torres finishes with precision at the DW Stadium!!!





POSITIVES:

Torres' Goal: Although it wasnt enough to seal the 3 points this time out, its a case of another game, another Torres goal. This time he linked up well with Steven Gerrard who provided an excellent through ball which Torres controlled perfectly and finished with! deadly precision. There were a number of times through the game when Torres looked dangerous but as the game wore on he became an incresingly isolated figure.

Martin Kelly: Kelly was called upon to play right back yet again in place of the injured Glen Johnson and without having a spectacular game he again defended well, and attacked brightly when the opportunity arose. Kelly is getting more experience than he might have if Glen had not been injured but it is proving to be a blessing in disguise as Kelly's performance continue to improve.

We Didn't Lose: Although this remains a game we should have had enough to win, especially after our explosive start to the game, the way we allowed Wigan back in and the dominence they held for about 75 minutes of the game means we should be pretty relieved to have gotten out of there. Wigan created some great chances and even had one goal (correctly) disallowed.

NEGATIVES:

Failing to press home our advantage: As mentioned earlier we really started this game well. We started off the game in much the same way as we started against Chelsea. We surged forward as a unit and seemed able to cut open the Wigan defense at will. Once the goal went in I am sure I am not the only Liverpool fan who felt that we would go on to record a comfertable victory. This obviously didnt happen, and although a draw away from home isn't neccesarily an awful result its the performance which will rankle fans the most. The players will need to take a certain portion of the blame, In fact Steven Gerrard tried (admirably) to personally take the blame in an interview with the echo, but after the goal our approach to the game changed completely.

Our tactics after the goal: After taking the lead we seemed to drop right back and concede possession to Wigan in much the same way as we had done earlier in the week against Chelsea, the difference being Chelsea currently sit in 1st place in the Premier League table and are the reigning champions, Wigan started this game 3rd from bottom. Dirk Kuyt started the game up top with Fernando Torres and interplay between them and Gerrard was very fruitful until we took the lead, but after that he was dropped into a much deeper posision and that seemed to help Wigan regain possession more easily. We started playing a lot of long balls out of defence to an isolated Torres and so we basically just gave the ball back time and time again. I totally understand that we cant go gung-ho all the time but surely we are strong enough to hold possession better and continue to try and attack the game.

Our Substitutions: At half time Meireles had to come off due to injury, in his place came Jonjo Shelvey. Jonjo put in his best effort and tried his hardest but although he is a hugely talented and promising player, he is not the finished article yet and it showed today. Its these kind of times that remind me that Aquilani (currently playing out of his skin for Juventus) is still technically a Liverpool player and surely didn't need to be loaned out so prematurely. Just when we needed to press and chase the game further Roy withdrew Kuyt and brought on Poulson. Now I fully understand that Dirk may have needed a rest but bringing on a defensive midfielder who has struggled for any sort of form, in place of one of our most attacking players seemed baffling. Our last substitution was made in the 80th minute with Maxi, who had been largely quiet, being withdrawn  for Nathan Eccleston, another player with a bright future but is not near being the finished article. The fact that Ngog and Jovanovic were left on the bench was very strange, to say the least, when considering those who were brought on!

Roy's Comments after the game: Roy made a comment after the game stating "We have five injuries at the moment. We finished the game with Martin Kelly, Jonjo Shelvey and Nathan Eccleston. That's what we have at the moment. Hopefully we will get some players back soon." this is hardly going to inspire confidence in the 3 players mentioned. It also begs the question of why others were left on the bench (Or loaned out like Aquilani or Insua) if these players are so dissappointing that they are to be used as an excuse.

 



Liverpool 2 - 0 Chelsea (Positives and Negatives)

Liverpool 2 - 0 Chelsea. Liverpool got a result which can be seen as an actual turning point in our season. Just before the game Kyriagos and Johnson were suddenly ruled out which forced some changes on Roy Hodgson which he (and the team) coped with admirably. It was a great performance and a brilliant result, and the scoreline by no means flattered Liverpool, which means as you can imagine, has made this article very Positive heavy but hey, we have to be able to enjoy results like this!

Torres Celebrates another fantastic strike against Chelsea

POSITIVES:

Fernando Torres Liverpools number 9: What a great personal performance! There is a banner which hangs in Stamford Bridge which declares "Chelsea, Carefree since 1905", well I think after Sunday they should change the words to Read "Chelsea, Carefree until Fernando Torres arrived in Liverpool". Nando kept up his phenomenal scoring record at Anfield which now stands at 44 goals in 47 premiership games! Nando now seems to have confidence running through his veins and hopefully this is just the start of a rich run of form, for him and Liverpool.

Dirk Kuyt: Dirk is the kind of player who is never appreciated as much as he should be until he is not there. Over the last few weeks we have missed Dirk's attitude and workrate which is infectious to others around him. Against Chelsea he played in as a withdrawn stiker and his dinked pass to set up Torres' opener was an apt reminder to everybody that although he is one of the hardest working and commited players of his generation he is also a gifted player and deserves more credit for this side of his game.

Lucas Leiva: Lucas is an outstanding team player! Had Nando not been the scorer of the 2 goals in a 2-0 win Lucas would surely have won the man of the match award. This should not be such a surprise to people who have watched Lucas' progression over the last couple of seasons. The press are starting to warm to him and now fans are too (funny how that happens though isnt it, the papers start saying he is great and then your average fan in the street feels the same). However it has come about, the recognition is deserved and long overdue.

Martin Kelly: Another step forward for this very promising young full back. When Glen Johnson was ruled out late with a bout of tonsilitis Kelly was handed a huge opportunity and he went about his business in the right way. He certainly at the level now to deputise for Glen so he can continue to take these steps forward. It could be argued that he offers a stronger defensive option than Glen and while i feel that may be true in time, right now it is all about getting experience and not pushing him too hard too early.

Jamie Carragher: Jamie rolled back the years in a performance which reminded you of one he gave at Anfield against Chelsea in 2005 on the road to Istanbul. He Tackled fiercly and threw his body in the line of danger on numerous occasions, once in particular to deny Drogba scoring a simple tap in which would have given Chelsea a platform to build on and made for a very panicky finish for Liverpool.

Pepe Reina: As always Pepe showed why he is so highly rated making a number of remarkable saves to keep us in the lead.

The Defensive Unit: Finally Roy is stating to put his mark on this team. A few weeks ago I spoke about the minimum expectations we would have had from a Roy team one of which was a strong defense, over the last few weeks we are starting to see that.

Roy's Tactical Decisions: Roy made some subtle changes yesterday which I found quite impressive! Playing Meireles on the right has had differing levels of succes so far this season, but yesterday it proved an astute decision as it free'd Dirk up to be more attacking. Meireles and Kelly teamed up well on the right and made sure that was not a succesful attacking route for Chelsea. Another big decision was for him to replace Kuyt with Shelvey instead of Poulson near the end of the second half. Throughout the game we harried Chelsea and attacked swiftly. Credit where its due, against Chelsea Roy set us up very well!

NEGATIVES:

Possesion: We gave away a lot of possesion in the 2nd half which resulted in Chelsea creating some chances. Chances which did not turn into goals due to some good fortune and some wasteful finishing from Chelsea.

Thats really all I can come up with on the negative side. Sorry if that dissapoints anybody but really 2-0 against the champions was a brilliant and well deserved result.

A Roundup of the Weeks Happenings at L.F.C

Damien Comolli

Well, following on from our 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers this has been a fiarly eventful week at Anfield. Damien Commolli has been confirmed as the clubs new Director of Football Strategy, this seems to be the first step of NESV's new vision for Liverpool FC. NESV had spoken about implementing a new transfer policy, based more on the example set by Arsenal i.e. buying young and allowing players to grow with the club, this would be in direct contrast to the clubs transfer business this summer in which we bought Cole - 28, Poulson - 30, Jovanovic - 29 and Konchesky - 29. The problem with buying players in this age range is that there is little or no resell value attached to them, whatever money is spent will not be recouped and so it may not be seen as the most sensible way to extract the best value from a limited transfer kitty. It seems Comolli's immediate remit will be to overhaul our scouting network and ensure the required changes are implemented. Liverpool have been too long working with a short term vision, Comolli will be bringing the long term vision that the club has been desperate for Comolli is vastly experienced and hugely respected within football. He was employed at Arsenal as their European scout  between 1996 and 2003, He was also Director of football at Spurs from 2005 to 2008 where he is credited with signing players such as  Gareth Bale, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Younes Kaboul , Luka Modrić, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Heurelho Gomes, Roman Pavlyuchenko, as well as Dimitar Berbatov amongst others. His record also includes some flops (i think a 50% success rate for anybody in the transfer market is the most that can be expected) but overall his record is impressive. He has also worked with AS Monaco and AS Saint-Étienne in France. This is yet another example of the new ownership situation being a case of so far so good.

John W. Henry

John W. Henry has also been busy engaging with fans in different ways. He met with Liverpool Supporters Union - Spirit of Shankly, details of this meeting can be read here:

http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Meeting-with-NESV-Representatives.html

He also took time out to answer some questions directly from Liverpool fans on Fan Forum Red and White Kop (RAWK) the questions and answers can be found here:

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=265701.0

John W.Henry also took a leaf out Rafa's book by taking time to meet with Liverpools most famous and popular blogger Paul Tomkins. Paul's website is generally subscription based but the article regarding this meeting has been made free to view along with some other excellent pieces. The details of the meeting can be found here:

http://tomkinstimes.com/2010/11/my-lunch-with-the-quiet-american/

Mr Henry seems to be engaging with fans to guage their opinions on club matters and this is very promising for the future, for who knows the issue's better than the fans themselves. This is obviously a direct contrast to the previous administration and that has to be good!

This week Liverpools current manager had another poor week for his press dealings. 

He attempted to deflect focus from our poor start to the season away from himself and onto the previous manager by having a few jabs at Rafa Benitez. This was yet another example of Roy's poor performances when dealing with the media. Rafa then came out and defended himself (which he has every right to do of course) and it all seemed pretty embarradding for Roy when it was plain to everybody that he was completely and utterly in the wrong (details of the spat can be found here and it is DEFINITELY worth a read: http://www.anfieldroad.com/news/201011014198/rafa-tells-roy-to-quit-talking-and-concentrate-on-coaching.html/ ) However Roy deserves respect for realising his mistake and offering a fairly complete apology and looking to end the matter.

Liverpool also have a game this week at home against Napoli. The redmen will be aiming to win following our goalless draw in Naples two  weeks ago. Roy has said he will be fielding a strong team so hopefully our winning run can continue and we can cement our position at the top of the group. Injury wise we are missing Ryan Babel and Daniel Agger. Dirk Kuyt and Fabio Aurelio are returning to fitness but this one may come too early for them to be considered starters. Kyriagos will have a fitness test prior to the game.