Happy Christmas

This is just a quick note to say Merry Christmas and Thank you to everyone who reads The Red Article! It's been a hard year to be a Liverpool fan and we have all put in a lot of effort to continue supporting the boys in red and trying to stop becoming disillusioned but hopefully 2011 will be more succesful for us all and we can get back to thinking about what happens on the pitch alone!

When I decided to start this blog back in August I had no idea it would be so succesful, but thanks to everyone who has read it and kept reading it, Its been way more sucessful than I could have hoped, and although I havent had a lot of good news to talk about its been even more enjoyable to do than I expected. So far the blog has been read by more than 1,000 people with an average of 200 people visiting each month from as far afield as Indonesia, India and Thailand.

And in case anyone is wondering, no I didn't get what I wanted for Christmas . . . .  yet, but it's not Santa I am waiting on, It's John Henry. All I want for Christmas is Rafa back in the Liverpool Dugout!

Liverpool 0 - 0 FC Utrecht (Positives and Negatives)

Well ...... what can I say? More of the same really. Liverpool were playing... we all got excited..... we watched the game...... we were all disappointed. Thats it really, although there was one major difference in that this game didn't really mean anything. We knew before we kicked off that we had qualified for the knockout phase of the UEFA cup, we even knew that win, lose or draw we would qualify as group winners. As such, i'm sure most never expected this to be a rollercoaster of a match, we did however expect some form of performance. It was a European night, at Anfield so even if nothing else pride was at stake.

Even before kick off things werent looking good there was the usual confusion caused as usual caused by statements from Roy Hodgson. In the run up to the game Roy said “Fernando Torres will be involved in the game, as will Pepe Reina and our centre-backs. Pepe Reina likes to play, he would like to play in this one and I’m not going to be the one who says to him, ‘You want to play, so you don’t play.’ So he will start the game and Brad Jones will be the second goalkeeper.” However when the team was named it seemed that something had changed because Fernando Torres had been relegated to the bench, Pepe Reina wasn't even in the matchday squad. After the game Roy explained Torres' ommission thusly "Following discussions with the conditioning people, they persuaded me to see the error of my ways. "I had a vision of Fernando going out there, having a great 45 minutes, it being good for his confidence, maybe scoring a goal and giving him a little lift."I was only going to play him for 45 minutes. He didn't play against Aston Villa and he was quite looking forward to playing."But when we sat down and we started to talk about it again, it seemed to me the disadvantages or potential disadvantages far outweighed any potential advantage." This seems strange in that if true, you have to ask why was he on the bench if it was decided prior to the game that he was never going to play. Now the simple fact is I completely agree that it was unnecessary to play Nando and risk injury in a game which meant nothing, but why make such a bold statement prior to the game? It was a case of putting your hand out to get slapped, the statement had the potential to make Roy look silly, and in the end, the statement did make him look silly.

So anyway, on with the crux of the article the Positives and Negatives.

POSITIVES

Martin Kelly: One of these days, definitely at some stage during the season I will have to tot up who appeared in the different sections of this feature each week and when I do I am sure Martin Kelly will have been one of the most occuring positives. His performances have been a shining light this season and this game was no exception. He attacked with verve and defended like a more experienced player. Regardless of the teams erratic form Martin Kelly has been consistent through the season.

Jonjo Shelvey: Another youngster performed well in the circumstances, he's only 19 but he looked stronger than his years aswell. He chased lost causes, put in hard tackles and played some creative intelligent passes and it was his strongest performance in a Liverpool shirt so far. Prior to the game the press had been comparing Jonjo to Steven Gerrard, I think that is most definitely pre-mature but in fairness he is a promising footballer who i am sure will improve if he is handled in the right way.

Aurellio's Return From Injury: Fabio Aurellio made his latest comeback from Injury against Utrecht and played pretty well, for a comeback game. We have been crying out for some competition for Konchesky at left back and it seems we finally have some. Hopefully Aurellio will come back into the squad, or at least push Konchesky to improve his current standards.

NEGATIVES

Joe Cole: Joe had a particularly poor game against Utrecht, he was wasteful in possesion and gave the ball away cheaply on most occasions. He also missed Liverpool's best 2 chances of the night, both inside the 6 yard box. Joe is having a crisis of confidence, we really need him to step up soon. There is no doubt that a fit, confident, on form Joe Cole  would definitely mean an improvement to our play.

Poulson: I'm not going through it again, Poulson did his usual thing........

The Hamster Face Rub: You know when Liverpool are playing shite and your pissed off beyond belief and the camera goes on the dugout, you'r hoping to see your manager in total control dishing out instructions, reassuring you that he knows how to turn it around, but what do you see on Liverpool's bench? The Hamster Face Rub thats what! Its that rub Roy does with both hands where he vigarously rubs his face as if to warm up his brain, it makes him look like a man who has no idea what is going on. unfortunately i cant take credit for this term but it is pretty accurate.

Houllier's Liverpool

Gerard Houllier returns to Anfield on Monday night, and you can be sure it will be painted as the return of a fan favourite by he press. The return of the last succesful manager Liverpool have had, the man who signed the players who won Liverpool our 5th European Cup. A manager so good that he didnt even need to actually lead Liverpool to becoming European Cup champions, he just built up a squad which was so brilliant that even Rafael Benitez couldnt help but lead them to glory. Djimi Traore, Harry Kewell and Djibril Cisse were proof of that.

The facts are that Houllier did achieve much as Liverpool manager and this shouldnt be forgotten, even though my sarcastic tone may rankle with many I do still have respect for the fact that Houllier was very important in restoring our reputation in world football. He turned us around at a very important time, when we were in terminal decline and changed the culture of our club and made us more professional from top to bottom. He won for us three competitions in 2001, The UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup and brought joy to a place were none had been seen for a long time. However, we must also remember that that is where the success story ends. After that we had to put up with some of the most boring football ever seen at Anfield (until Roy's appointment of course) we had to put up with players wearing the Liverpool shirt on the pitch who should not even have been allowed to wear replica shirts when playing 5-a-side with their mates. We had to bear witness to Robbie Fowler being bombed out of the club he loved in unceremonious fashion, by which he wasnt even given opportunity to say goodbye to the fans who he adored and who adored him so. He left behind an ageing, poor quality and ill diciplined squad of players who had little or no resale value... but when some of these players were lifted enough by a stronger manager to reach the maximum of their potential to win the European cup the press sent kudos in the direction of Houllier, disregarding the fact that none of these players ever looked like European champions when led by the Frenchman.

I've decided to write this REALLY SHORT article just to help any fans who, led by the press over the next few days, may remember Houllier's reing purely through rose tinted glasses.

Dion O'Bannion wrote an amazing article in the Irish Independant which explains things even better than I can manage here (If you can imagine that), its definitely worth 5 minutes of your time, please click on the link below to read:

LINK

8 Reasons to be Positive

Well, yet again it has been a hard week to come up with a blog. I really dont want to end up sounding like a broken record and going on about the same things, making the same points week after week, but in fairness, we have spent a fair proportion of the season making the same mistakes, so the blog was bound to get a bit repetetive.
  

So, thats the reason I have decided to change the tune this week and write something different, an article which focuses only on the positive points to the season so far.

Please use the comments section to let me know if you agree or disagree with these, or anything else which you think qualifies as a reason to be positive but has not been listed here.

Martin Kelly

 

The Kids:

A lot of kids have come into the team this season, they were in and around the squad for large parts of last season but they have been more responsibility this season. While its true that a new manager generally has better opportunity and allowances in blooding young players (when Houllier took sole charge he was immediately able to promote Gerrard, amongst others, where Evans while on a poor run would have been easier to criticise) our thinner squad this season has also aided their promotion. Young players who deserve special mention are Kelly and Spearing, who have not looked overawed and fitted into the first team picture well. Neither is the finished article yet although Kelly is probably further along than Spearing, but both have shown enough promise to believe they will soon take the next step in their careers. Pacheco, Shelvey and Eccleston have also performed well when needed although they have been used sparingly.

F.A Cup 3rd Round:

When the draw for the 3rd round of the FA Cup paired Liverpool and Man Utd I'm sure the F.A as well as sponsors and TV Executives rubbed their hands together. Its not the first time England's two most famous teams have been drawn against each other in cup competition, but its more rare for this fixture to happen at such an early stage in the cup. This game is exactly what we need at this stage in the competition, It will be difficult of course, but the players will be inspired by this one, of that there is no doubt. We have shown at times this season that our style of play can be effective against the bigger sides, when teams play against and attack us, we can create chances, and if we do we all know how much Torres enjoys scoring against Man U. A win in this fixture could inspire an exciting run in the cup which goes all the way to Wembley.

The UEFA cup final is in Dublin:

This may not be a positive to everybody who reads this blog but its a big one for me, as an Irishman the possibility (no matter how remote) of being able to see Liverpool play in a European Cup final (Even if its not THE European Cup Final) in my home town is exciting, even when its this far away. The Aviva stadium is certainly a venue which will do the occassion justice and is fully deserving of this showpiece. I was lucky enough to attend the European Cup final in 2007 in Athens and even though we lost, and even though the venue was an absolute disgrace ,I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life! I would love to repeat that in Dublin.... now I just have to arrange the tickets!!!!!

We still have a chance of Silverware:

Again, this may be a long shot but regardless, right now we are still in with an opportunity to win a cup. We may have gone out of the League Cup in embarrasing fashion (but in fairness so have Man Utd now) but, as mentioned above, we are still in both the FA Cup and UEFA cup and while winning one certainly wont replace winning the League or Champions League, Liverpool have always existed to win trophies and we have been too long without a trophy. Whilst getting fourth place and qualifying for the Champions League is very important in terms of money and keeping players happy, not to mention attracting new players, winning silverware should not be disregarded to achieve it. Just think back to the treble season to remember how good winning cups feels, even if they are so called "second tier" trophies.

We still have Torres, Reina and Gerrard:

In order to consider this positive we have to think of one negative, albeit momentarily. Things are bleak at the moment and if we dont qualify for the Champions League or possibly change manager, it may happen that we lose one or more of this triumvirate. So lets enjoy them while they are here. We are currently in possesion of 3 truly world class players, if they leave it may take time to attract more of them, so lets enjoy them.

Rodolfo Borrell and Jose Segura:

When Rafael Benitez was given the control of Liverpool he had long campaigned for in 2009 one of his first actions was to appoint Rodolfo Borrell in charge of the u18's. Rodolfo came from Barcelona where he helped develop well-known Barcelona players past and present, such as Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas, Bojan Krkic and Giovanni Dos Santos, as well as many potential stars of the future, including Liverpool's own Daniel Pacheco. Also appointed from Barcelona was Liverpool's Academy technical manager Jose Segura. His role with the Catalan giants saw him help develop players of the calibre of Andres Iniesta, Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique, Bojan Krkic, Cesc Fabregas and Mikel Arteta. Having men uch as these resposible for our youth development can only bode well for our future development

Players finally being given credit:

Last season, as well as being split over the suitability of Rafael Benitez as manager, Liverpool fans were also split over the quality of certain players. It seems that this year people have been able to recognise the improvement and further potential in certain players, Lucas and Ngog being the prime examples. While these players qualities still arent neccesarily acknowledged by fans of other clubs at least most Liverpool fans seem to finally be on the same page.

NESV:

After the disastrous ownership situation of Waldorf and Staedtler we now have some stability in the shape of NESV. The moves they have made so far are promising and have done nothing to make fans doubt that their intentions are less than noble.They have appointed Damien Comolli and Tom Werner has taken over as chairman, they have also made the right noises with regard to finances. They have also shown an appreciation of "The Liverpool Way" a prime example being the fact that Comolli's appointment was only reported in the papers, after it was official, this shows no leaks occurred and the business was completed in the right way. They have a proven track record of success so lets hope they can bring more of this to Liverpool.