My answer to a question....

The last few weeks have been my hardest since I started writing this blog. Of course there were the time constraints I mentioned due to our new arrival, but mainly the problems are caused by how things are right now. Liverpool won the first trophy available of the season only 4 or 5 weeks ago, but in line with how the season has gone for the most part things took a downward turn after this. The nadir of our downturn became apparent when the players allowed a 2-0 lead versus struggling QPR be turned into a 3-2 loss. People thought that this was as bad as it gets and we would go out in our following game against Wigan and win comfortably to restore some faith. Unfortunately we got the reverse of our expectations when the players put in a particularly poor performance and again suffered defeat to a relegation threatened side. There is no point in sugar coating it, this is simply not good enough. The form guide shows what a low we are on, in the last 6 games we are L,L,L,W,L,L which gives us a total of 3 points from an available 12 with a goal difference of -2. Two of these games (Utd and Arsenal) were always going to be difficult but overall the return is pitiful. Its left us as supporters in a particularly low position. You cant go anywhere without people taking pot shots at you, and in fairness you just have to take it. There is no apparent defence, at least none which might make sense to your average idiot! Liverpool fans are taking the stick, letting it eat at them and ending up coming to all sorts of conclusions of what needs to be done. After a run like this its hard to look at an overall picture, you tend to just focus on what's hurting you. But just because our league form is at a particularly low point right now, it doesn't mean we are not building or picking up experience. Its clear that not everything is bad, we won our first trophy for 6 years a few short weeks ago. If the question is should we sack the manager, my answer is:

There are a lot of things going wrong at the club right now, but you cannot just throw out the baby with the bath water.

 

Is this where we are now? What happens if a new manager comes in and he has a difficult period in his first year? Do we sack him too?........ And the next?....... And the next? We are not Chelsea. We are not Inter Milan. We are Liverpool Football Club. I am not for one minute suggesting that Kenny Dalglish should be exempt from criticism or scrutiny. I don't deny that mistakes have been made. But we have to be realistic too. We are building and that will take time. Even through poor results we've seen that this side can produce some excellent football. We've seen some excellent results too. We've won a cup and we are going to play an absolutely mega FA cup semi final versus the blues in a couple of weeks. Mistakes may have been made in the transfer market, that is true of every manager who has ever lived. I would love for somebody to point my in the direction of any manager for whome every signing has worked out perfectly. In general it seems the best managers get about 50% of their signings spot on, I would argue that Kenny/Commoli's signings are not far of this figure. Some players have struggled but they can improve with this experience. We may need to cut our losses on some and there is no doubt we need to add more, but this can be done. I've said it before, but its still true. W are NOT a million miles from being a good side. It's not time to cut and run. It's time for a bit of faith and patience.

Things can change.... quickly

I should probably start with an apology for the lack of Articles over the last few weeks. Any readers who know me will know that my Wife and I welcomed our 2nd baby into the world last Wednesday, and to be honest the weeks leading up to then have been bedlam. Not that I will have loads of free time for a while but I should be able to work out a routine to get back to producing at least 1 Article a week going forward. I actually had a comprehensive article on the Arsenal defeat fully prepared but I never published it as it was out of date by the time I had a chance to.

With the baby coming home on Saturday, surprisingly in time for the match, I settled down to watch our game against Sunderland with the expectation that there was a script written and that after a few hard weeks, both personally and in terms of Liverpool we would return to normality by gaining victory. Sunderland had been in good form since appointing O’Neill, but so had Liverpool, albeit with the same difficulties in terms of chance conversion, I was confident we would have enough to beat them although I did accept that this would be a difficult game. As has happened so many times this season, my prediction was wrong.

From the minute I heard the team was slightly confused by our starting line-up. There is a persistence with selecting players who seem so clearly out of form and I find very difficult to understand. There was nobody named in our starting line-up who I am prepared to write off as Liverpool players just yet. Arguments on the merits of players that end with comments like “he’ll never be a liverpool player, simple as” baffle me completely. I’ve seen too many supposed failures reach unexpected heights and too many iron clad successes fall flat on their faces to ever base opinions about players on a short term of reference. Particularly when players are still young and learning their trade, or still acclimatising to life at Liverpool. I must admit, I am struggling to reconcile this point of view whilst watching Charlie Adam at the moment but I have no doubt that he is being utilised so often through necessity due to our midfield injury troubles this season. Also I have to accept that what I, or any other fan, see of the players and know about the players probably makes up about 10% of what goes into selecting the team week to week.

I’m not going to go into the game itself too much, sufficed to say I was not happy with our performance. Like a lot of fans, I have no problem expressing my frustrations and asking questions as to why this isn't done and that isn't done, but when it all boils down to it I honestly cannot suggest any quick fix solutions to the problems we face right now. Its not simply a matter of 1 or 2 things that can be solved by instant decisions, but at the same time lets not throw out the baby with the bath water and start demanding huge changes purely because of frustration. One major frustration is when Kenny doesn't criticise the players following a performance like this, but lets be realistic such criticism would do no more than appease fans for a very short period of time but could damage the team on a much larger time frame. I have no doubt there is a major crisis of confidence amongst the players right now (how many spot kicks have we missed again?) and that needs to be managed very carefully.

I don't want to sound like I’m trying to be positive just for the sake of it. I know from talking to some fans that some people have reached a type of point of no return where trying to point out any type of positive is seen as crazy talk. I think that people who cannot acknowledge, or remember that this is not the first time we’ve been down, and it wont be the last either, are crazy. I’m always saying it but the only way to control your emotions and not allow yourself to be eaten up by despair is to maintain some sense of perspective. One of the things I've heard that particularly annoys me is people saying that we are no better off than we were under Roy. I can admit that we are currently going through a run of results that were typical during Hodgson’s time, but the repercussions of those results are nowhere near as drastic as they were becoming at that time. I’ve repeated myself far too much this season to bother pointing out the steps forward that we have taken in the last 12 to 15 months and to be frank I think if anyone still needs these improvements spelled out they are probably too far gone for their minds to be changed.

We are down right now but we will not stay down. We have, at the very least a very strong spine of players who have experience and will fight tooth and nail to see this club succeed. We have a manager who, while still in the early days of this term in charge, has shown he can manage this team to fantastic performances and results. He lives and breaths the club, the city and its supporters. We have already won a trophy and have booked our place in next seasons UEFA cup. We are still in the FA Cup.

Regardless of League position, current form, or even time of the year we have a fixture on Tuesday which is always the first I look to at the start of the season - the home tie against Everton. This one ALWAYS sets the pulses racing no matter what the end result. It offers a perfect opportunity for the players to win the fans over again and gives the whole team a chance to redeem themselves. It is also a perfect opportunity to change mindsets and get back in form. Its important to remember that things can change very quickly, sure only last week it was possible for me to get a full nights sleep. It might seem unlikely but the hardship is what makes it all worthwhile.

YNWA

Carling Cup Winners 2012

Step 1.… complete!


On Sunday Liverpool took another major step in their mission to return to their former standing. It had been a long 6 years since Liverpool last appeared in a final, and an even longer 7 years since we had last lifted a trophy. It is not the most glamorous competition to win and when Europe is on the cards it is rightly deemed to be 4th in the pecking order of possible achievements at the start of the season. Of course due to previous failures Europe wasn’t on the cards this year and so at the beginning of the season the most pragmatic Liverpool fans were saying a season of transition where we improve on the league and hopefully pick up a cup would be successful. The most optimistic of fans were saying that we should win a cup and finish in the top 4. I’m sure there were pessimists too but the less said about them the better. Whether you were in the pragmatist or optimist camps, your pre-season ambitions are still well and truly alive and step one of this mission has been completed. Although some Liverpool fans were blinded to the reality of our perilous situation last year, I don’t think anyone can say that what we have achieved, even at this (relatively) early point of the season, doesn’t show massive improvements. The silverware for one means Kenny has continued a record which is blighted only by one Hamster Scratching individual, this being that every Liverpool manager since Bill Shankly has won at least one Trophy during their managerial tenure. Granted, Hodgson was only in for a short period of time, but he had already ensure we suffered an embarrassing defeat at mighty Northampton Town and were firmly locked in a relegation battle, remember people this is just over a year ago I am talking about here. Pundits have been lining up to criticise our performance in winning this final, conveniently forgetting the epic battles which went into securing our place in the showpiece event. Heroic battles away to Stoke and Chelsea and a 2 leg war versus Man City meant we earned this The game itself was never going to be a formality, well I say never but who knows how we may have kicked on had Johno’s early effort not crashed back off the bar only to be launched into row Z by Stevie. The optimists were out to make life difficult as always proclaiming that we would steam roller the lowly Cardiff City who it would seem from these kind of predictions must have been given a by all the way through to the Final. You would think Liverpool fans would know better after previous recent difficulties against the likes of Alaves, Birmingham City and West Ham. Anyway … I tweeted at half time, and it proved to be the case right through to the final whistle that this game served as some sort of microcosm of our entire season so far we had huge amounts of possession and created some chances, although very few clear cut ones, but failed to make our advantage pay. From the minute the starting 11 was announced (which was very late by the way) it seemed we may be missing something, and with retrospect we can we were. Some big players failed to deliver and some previous under-achievers stepped up to the plate.

Stuart Downing in particular put in his best performance whilst wearing the Liverbird yet, even if I do think his performance has been exagerated by some. Jordan Henderson on the other hand failed to make any impact, in his defence he was played in the position which he has struggled to impress in for much of the season, wide-right and even more wide in this game than in many others. Its not a good sign that he allowed this game to pass by, but on the plus side its good experience for a player of 22 to have, especially because we managed to win the game in the end. Luis Suarez also struggled to make an impact as he has done in each game since his ban. I don’t think he should be dropped but perhaps if Andy keeps his form up to a decent level we could think about introducing him from the bench on the weekend against a tired Arsenal defence. It may take some pressure off and help him impose himself to regain some confidence. Andy Carroll had a decent enough game, he was involved in us getting the equaliser but didn’t really add much in other phases. He is doing simple things well,much better than he was at the start of the season but I still find myself frustrated by his lack of movement in the box. His confidence in general play is improving, to a point where he no longer looks like an elephant on one leg when controlling the ball but his strikers confidence is not yet at 100%. He has done enough to take the pressure off himself for a while but he needs to keep improving. Jose Enrique played, what he admitted afterwards, was the biggest game of his career to date, but unfortunately put in one of the weakest performances of his time in this team. He definitely needs to improve to maintain his place in the side through to next season but again the experience will surely benefit him. The outstanding performer of the tie, and of the season so far has undoubtedly been our Slovakian monster Martin Skrtel, He continued to defend with the strength and consistency Kopites are becoming acclimatised to and he scored our equaliser, succeeding where our more natural scorers had failed by simply putting the ball over the line! Gerrard, Carra, Reina, all had decent but unremarkable games. I was delighted to see Carra coming onto the pitch and being involved in adding another medal to his collection. I think its important to note that we won this final without having to lean on the hero of many previous finals, Steven Gerrard, who played well enough but who’s shooting was way off the mark.

By the end of the season I hope that this wont have been the biggest game we have played in. Its just as important to win on Saturday when we face an Arsenal side which is resurgent after a huge victory in the North London derby last weekend. We have a game in hand on them at the moment, even if this is the tricky derby, but if we lose this one we will be 10 points behind them and even the most optimistic fans would have to acknowledge this would be too big a task. A draw isnt much use either but I am hopeful of getting a victory. We’ll need to be on top form of course but spirits should be high now that the players have a medal in their pockets.

A Look back at the last few weeks

There has been a lot happening since my last blog, going to be hard to comment on everything but i’m nothing if not a tryer....

The run began with an abysmal peformance away to bottom of the table Bolton. There was nothing much good to take from the game, other than the fact that (with hindsight) it seemed to prove a catalyst. The players on the field that day let the shirt down, and where King Kenny had made it a point to defend his players through thick and thin during the season so far, he took this opportunity to publicly state that performances needed to improve. Of course this public statement was, i’m sure, much more cordial than what was said behind closed doors.
The first game following the public criticism was the second led of a Semi-Final versus top of the league Manchester City. The first leg was as close to a smash and grab as you are ever likely to see. Once we got in front we hung on and dug in for dear life eventually going home with a goal advantage.The second leg was a much more confident display. I must say the atmosphere that night was the best I have to experienced in my time going to Anfield. From before the game until well after, the red faithfull shouted and lifted their team over the finish line. We went behind during the game and many may have thought this game was over at that point. But the mighty Kopites have seen some dramatic turn arounds over the years and never let their spirit drop. I honestly believe this transmitted to the field where a heroic effort brought the equalising goal which won the tie. A first cup final since Athens 2007 (a game i also attended by the by) and a first appearance at the new Wembly for the red men. It actually annoyed me in the coverage of this game, people kept making such a big deal of our first appearance at the new wembly, like as if all those appearances at the Millenium Stadium didnt count, even though we appeared there so frequently it was dubbed “Anfield South” by many.

After a strong performance in such a big tie, it can sometimes be hard to keep the intensity up for a lower profile game against a smaller side. There was no chance of this after the city game though. Next up was a 4th round tie against the old enemy, Man Utd. Of course the Reds looked tired at times in this game, there were some mistakes and we were not crisp enough in possession at times, but we had enough to win the game 2-1 to keep our cup momentum going. All the talk prior to this game had been around the Suarez-Evra controversy. Inevitably Evra was booed throughout the game by the Anfield crowd. Its was painted in the press yet again as if this means Liverpool fans condone the alleged racist remarks that Suarez is accused of making. I just want to make it clear, Liverpool fans (on the whole, i’m sure there a lot of A-Holes in the bunch too) are not defending racism, and we are not racist sympathisers. The booing and protestations at the punishment meted out to our number 7 are because we do not believe the accusation and do not believe that the FA panel proved Luis Suarez to be a racist! I know its a bit “broken record” here but i honestly cannot believe how some people (journalists and opposing fans) cannot get this into their heads. A quick analogy, if a member of my family is accused of murder, and I do not believe they did it so I protest their innocence, does this mean I am saying murder is ok? of course it doesnt! There was also some revolting, but not surprising, songs sung from the away end. In fairness i’m sure there were some songs sung back at them and I will never condone it from either end. I wish we could ever just get to a point were death and tragedy is not used as a stick in this immature baiting.

Anyway, rant over, back to the football! These two highly impressive results were followed up by a strong performance, against a poor Wolves performance which resulted in a fairly pedestrian 3-0 victory. Following this run we were confident going into a very important game against one of the league’s strongest sides, Spurs, at Anfield. Unfortunately it was back to service as normal in the league and a return to “Copy, Paste and Repeat” where we dominated the game for large parts, rarely looked in danger but were somehow unable to find the winning goal. Of course, out of context this is a decent result. Spurs are a very stong side and still involved in the title race. But having watched the 90 minutes it was hard not to be disappointed at only achieving the 1 point when it would not have take much more to achieve the 3.

While our League form has continued to frustrate, I don't think anyone would say that things aren't looking rosier than they were this time 3 or 4 weeks ago. As well as what I've written above we've also had a number of other positives. Andy Carroll has bagged a goal, a couple of assists and his performances have improved to a level where many are starting to believe that we might actually have a player on our hands. Bellamy has been a revelation and he has seemed in better shape to start games more frequently which has been a bonus. Dirk is back amongst the goals too and maybe making people who wrote him off think twice. Lets not forget that this run has also coincided with Luis Suarez’s ban, imagine what we can achieve with him back in their side. We are still without Lucas meaning Kenny still wont have a chance to name his strongest 11 until next season at least but on the whole Spearing has looked an able deputy in the hard running defensive mid role. We have another huge game coming up at the weekend. this time an away trip against United. I think all in all were are sitting quite well in the league. There is no doubt we need to improve our chance conversion rate if we want to get into the top 4 but with Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle all looking like they will drop more points there is no reason to stop believing that we can make it. Were already in 1 cup final and who would bet against us making it 2? As transitional seasons go... its not bad is it?

Copy, Paste and Repeat

I get a familiar feeling now pretty much every time I write a new blog. Sorry I shouldn’t say every time, its maybe every third time or fourth time. Its been a theme that’s been running throughout this season. It feels like I’ve written this blog before, and in all fairness I pretty much have. The Stoke game at home was another one where we dominated possesion, were barely threatened but failed to come away with the points. There were a few decisions from Kenny in this one that I couldn’t get my head around, I think most Liverpool fans would say the same. His tactics of course may have been dictated somewhat by the very tough game against Manchester City, perhaps he felt Andy Carroll couldn't do it over 90 after chasing shadows in that game. We know Bellers has to be managed carefully, Agger was injured, Maxi too and Suarez is banned of course. Still it felt like maybe we gave Stoke a little too much respect. 3 Centre halves to mark Peter Crouch seems a little excessive at least. I feel doing my usual post match blog would be, as ive said above, simply a matter of repeating myself so instead i’m going to do as I have done before. I’m going to take this opportunity to look at a few positives, from the game itself and the season. At times like this it can be hard to not get wrapped in negativity, so for readers of this blog, and probably as some form of self-therapy too here we go



GAME:





Defensive Solidity:


I know that we have one of the best defenses in the league over the last few months so you might think this is a strange thing to include, but this was very much a changed set, from 4 at the back we moved to 3/5. Out went Agger and in came experience of Carra and the youth of Coates. Playing 3 centre backs against the bustling Stoke side is nothing new of course, it was something Rafa did a few times. It was good to see Carra get a came to keep his chin up. As has been the case throughout the season Skrtel was our best defender. He dealt brilliantly with anything that came his way, the other centre half…..






Coates:


A first home start and a full 90 minutes from our young Uruguayan. He’s not the finished article by any means but its clear to see the potential he has. He looks very comfortable on the ball and strode forward to great effect at times during the game. A full 90 minutes against a strong side will help him settle and get used to life in the Premiership. Once he is acclimatised we will have a very strong defender in our hands and another to put pressure on our current first choices. On this point isn't it mad how a centre half carrying the ball up the pitch always seems to cause such mad panic to the opposing team. I mean realistically, as a defender, would you rather have Gerrard or Coates running at you with the ball? But when Coates did run with the ball, Stoke seemed to lose it with tackles flying in everywhere and defenders leaving their positions to make a challenge. You would think this would be something they would be used to but we’ve seen the panic before with Agger and when Rio does it for Utd. its the same thing, I just think its funny really.






Stevie’s road to recovery:


Our talisman and captain took another step forward in his recovery. Another 90 minutes and another good performance. Again, he’s not 100% yet but he’s getting there and he certainly has kept himself fit. We have more big games coming up and each game that goes by Stevie is improving. Its going to be a hard run in and we will need our best players to be operating to the best of their abilities, with Gerrard think that is assured. It was a pity that in this game Stevie seemed to be under instruction to sit back, but again maybe this was due to Wednesday nights efforts and he needed to conserve energy.






1 game closer to the return:


At the very least we can take comfort from the fact that this is another game of Suarez’s ban gone. We definitely miss some inventiveness and guile with him out of the side. This was exactly the kind of game were you feel he could have been the difference, It was not to be of course but we are closer to seeing him wearing red again and Reds all over the world cannot wait for that!



SEASON:





Were still in the running for 4th:


That’s the crazy thing about this eason. Weve not had a great season so far, there have been frustrations and disappointments’ and very costly decisions by the powers that be. We could be higher in the table, even without more effort just through better luck, be “would have” and “should have” have no place in football . We are were we are and that’s that. Arsenal also dropped points again and so were not out of the running yet. We need to get our performances together of course if we want to start climbing the table, but if we can do that there is no reason that we cannot get up to fourth.






Cup’s:


We have a 1 goal advantage going into a semi-final second leg at Anfield. People might say its only the Carling cup, you can say that to me if you like, I’ll tell you to fuck right off. it’s a competition that has been a favourite of ours for the last 30 years or so. We are the record holders for times won. With no European football this year I always thought it would be great to get a run in this competition, and while it doesn’t make up for Europe it goes someway to helping you cope. Like a European Cup patch if you will. We have an amazing fixture ahead and what promises to be a truly amazing night at Anfield, one which I’m proud to say I will be sitting in the Kop for. Don’t forget, this time last year we were out of both domestic cups!






Possesion football:


If the cutting edge has been lost from the team this season, one thing that has clearly been gained is an ability to control games. I think this can be perceived at times as a negative because it leads to such frustrations when watching your side dominate but not win. I’ll be honest I actually wanted to break something….. anything! after the final whistle on Saturday. That’s all part of the match though. it’s the reason why I wait a while before posting anything, particularly after this type of game. You have to cool down before making judgements. Nobody can expect to be cool headed during, or just after such a game. But when you have perspective and look at the whole picture things dont seems so bad. we’ve had plenty of big performances this season that show we are not a bad side. We’re not a great side by any means but we don't need to add much to become one. a little more inventiveness and an ability to finish if added could move us on leaps and bounds.

Liverpool 2 - 1 Chelsea (Talking Points)

I must admit I was nervous about this fixture. It just felt like we needed things to click in order for us to win this one. Everyone will be aware that we had suffered a few poor home results recently and our profligacy issues were getting highlighted more and more over the last few weeks. It really felt like we would need to convert our chances in this game. We haven’t been at our strongest at the back in the last few weeks. Okay, we’d not conceded a lot of goals but we had conceded a fair few chances. Chelsea would punish us if we gave them opportunities to score, so we had to make sure we took our chances. I got more confidence when I saw our starting line-up though. In was Maxi and Bellamy, out went Carroll and Downing. We started off brightly and at times in the first half I felt this could reasonably be described as one of our best performances so far this season. We dipped a bit in the second half, Chelsea got into the ascendency and pushed back hard. They took control of the midfield and controlled things for a spell which culminated in an equaliser. There were some sensible tactical changes though which restored our control eventually leading to a great winner from Glen Johnson.

Maxi, Maxi Rodriguez goes down the wing for me!

It seemed a little unfair on Maxi that he had been out of the first team picture for pretty much the whole season so far. He was one of the most dependable players available for Kenny when he took over and he scored important goals as our season turned last year. It was great to see that his time out of the frame hadn’t diminished his goal-scoring form as his fine opener took his current scoring run to 8 goals in his last 5 league starts for Liverpool. A lot more people had started to question Dalglish’s decision to marginalise the player, the theory being that his intelligence, movement, creativity and finishing ability were exactly what we were lacking from midfield. Such theories are easy to trot out in pub conversations between amateur tacticians but often prove fruitless when an opportunity to prove them are presented. But in this case, the amateur theory was proven to be correct, and how! There was a lot to be admired in Maxi’s play. His very presence seemed to give the team more confidence when passing the ball, particularly in tight situations. The interchange in the lead up to his goal showed some evidence of this. His sharpness from the off was testimony to his professional attitude, a lesser player might have become lazy or distracted when out of the side but Maxi looked fit and alert and he deserves kudos for this. He certainly tired in the second half, due to a combination of lack of match fitness and his very high workrate. All big teams need to have players who while they want to start every week, must be prepared to be out of the side and be professional enough to be 100% ready when needed. Its something we’ve struggled with over the years, but in Maxi we seem to have this quality. I hope his attitude is rewarded with a prolonged return to the team.

The battle of the Ex's

A lot of talk and focus before the game had obviously been centred on Meireles and Torres. Two successful players for Liverpool who both left in acrimonious fashion were expected to be fired up and raring to kick-start their Chelsea careers against their former club. As it turned out, neither player was deemed worthy of a start by Andre Villas Boas. I saw something come up to say Torres had been brought on as a sub, but maybe that was a mistake because I didn’t notice him out on the pitch. Instead of these two it was another player playing against his old club that stole the headlines - Glen Johnson. Johnno’s return to fitness has been progressing nicely so far, and this performance certainly showed that he is now back. He had a great game all round but his finish for the winner was fantastic. He may have been helped a little by John Terry’s poor positioning but his run, confidence and the precision of his shot was worthy of winning any game. One or two people in fact pointed out Johnno’s own poor positioning for the Chelsea equaliser but I think its fair to say he made up for that. I was a bit surprised that he got man of the match from Sky, but I certainly don’t begrudge him the award.

Changes

As I discussed last week, the pressure had been building on our new signings over the past few weeks. When the results aren’t going the way we wanted, it is easy to look for scapegoats. If the scapegoats also have big transfer fees it makes it even easier to pick on them. Carroll, Downing Hendo and to a lesser extent Adam have been the scapegoats of choice for many over the last few weeks. Regardless of the fact that it made tactical sense I thought it was a very good decision to take these players away from the limelight a bit for this fixture. We’ve all spoken about the strength in depth we have this season and this game provided some evidence to back up that claim. It provides some breathing space for those in the firing line. Hendo came on and put in a really stong performance, much the way he did against Man U a few weeks ago. With Man City up next followed by another game against Chelsea, this time in the Carling Cup, There will be ample opportunity to spread games around and hopefully the new boys can rediscover their form under the radar.

Subtle Revelations

It seems strange to say it but something which doesn’t seem to have been mentioned by many people since the game is the absence of two of our Heroes. Two men who have been the epitome of everything that Liverpool stands for over the last few years. I’m talking of course about Stevie and Carra. Stevie’s injury luck has continued to be poor this season meaning he has featured very rarely this season and he again wasn’t available to be part of the squad for this game. Carra is further along the recovery road but wasn’t considered ready for a return to the first eleven. What’s not clear is whether the decision was based on fitness or form. Certainly Carra has been coming in for stick lately where he has been untouchable in previous years. Dagger has returned to fitness (touch wood) and Martin Skrtel, to my mind anyway, has been one of the best Centre Halves in the premiership so far this year. Either way, what is encouraging is that where in previous years Carra returning to fitness would mean an immediate return to the line-up, we are now comfortable enough to bide our time and the result we achieved certainly proved this. As for Stevie, there is no doubt that he remains one of the best players in the league. When he returns to fitness I have no doubt that he will strengthen the team in any position across the midfield, or further advanced. But what’s been striking about his absence is how little people have been talking about it. We achieved a fantastic result on Sunday, and it didn’t seem like we missed our talisman at all in the game. The fact that the absence of two such legends is worthy only of a footnote, not a headline, can only be taken as another mark to prove the strength of our squad.

Current Frustrations - Talking Points

Unfortunately Saturday turned out to be another mediocre performance where we went in with a very realistic ambition to win the three points but ended the day very frustrated having tried but failed to achieve all we felt was possible. After 90 minutes on Saturday I felt very low indeed. I had seen our form dip and rise (and then repeat) through the season so far but I really felt after the very comfortable (although not amazing) performance against WBA last week that we were ready to push on, hit some decent form and keep improving. On paper a home game against a newly promoted side always looks win-able. Unfortunately, if you don’t put games like this to bed when the early chances arrive, your own confidence suffers and the opposition’s confidence rises. Of course when at Anfield this can lead to the fans getting restless and all of a sudden there is a huge uphill battle to climb. Saturday followed this pattern to a T. Andy Carroll had an early chance which he struck well but unluckily crashed off the cross bar. From that minute you get a feeling of, oh no – not another one of these games. It took me a full day to cool down after the result and try to view things more calmly. Immediately after the game I was giving out about this and that and at times like this I know the best thing to do is stay away from twitter, facebook and message boards. I’m wound up enough without listening to the poisonous diatribe of the Doom-mongers not to mention wind-up merchant fans of other clubs. There’s plenty that I’m frustrated at right now and plenty of points I’ve heard others raise. I’m going to try to raise a few of them here and give them my own sense of perspective. These are my opinions and these are the reasons why I won’t let myself get too down, or agree with the points,  about where we are right now. I hope you’ll use the comments section below the article to agree or disagree, I’m more than happy to have some constructive debate on the subjects.

Complaint:                     Suarez’ Goal Ratio

Example comment:         He’s a good player but he’s no goal scorer

I’ve been guilty of this one myself, in fact I remember a long conversation with family after the Utd game where I was making this exact point. The difference is that it’s now being used by some as a stick to beat the team or Suarez himself with. When I made the argument it was to highlight that he is a brilliant player but that is something which, if improved, could make him even better. The thing that gets me about this argument is that although Luis may miss some chances, he makes most of these chances himself. Its not like we can say “oh Micheal Owen would be scoring bagfuls if he was in that team” because its not true. MO wouldn’t because he would need the other players to make his chances. Most of the chances Luis gets are down to his own endeavour so even if he does miss them, nobody else would have been capable of making the chance in the first place. He’s also not getting a lot of luck with his finishing at times. He could have had 2 on Saturday if not for the Swansea keeper’s superb performance. Same has been true against a few sides this season. I think he has had a decent return goal-wise so far with 7 goals in 14 games (all competitions) He could have had a lot more and I’m sure he’ll start converting more of his chances soon.

Complaint:                     Kenny’s too old

Example comment:         Its been years since he’s won anything, maybe we should get rid now.

No, just No! I don’t know what people expected Kenny to achieve in his first full season in charge. I can’t help but ask myself did he possibly over achieve in his brief caretaker role for the 2^nd half of last season? Perhaps after the upturn people just thought, thats it were back now we’ll win the league next year. Quite simply that was NEVER a possibility. Kenny steadied the ship last year and lifted us out of the doldrums with a very weak squad. He is 11 league games into his role on a full time basis. The players are still learning his methods and will certainly improve with him. I certainly don’t see that age has anything to do with anything. Remember Rafa’s first season? Or Houllier’s? Inconsistency comes hand in hand with a new manager. Changes to playing staff, tactics pre-game rituals can all be unsettling to players especially when trying to bed in so many at once. I know that there are very few managers in the world who boast such an impressive CV and there are none who can command the respect of our dressing room with such ease. I think Kenny is learning more about his players week in week out. Those calling for a change in manager would quite simply want to cop on! At the end of the day.... this is Kenny Dalglish at the very least the man deserves more respect. I thought it was very refreshing that he didn’t try to make any excuses after the Swansea game. He seemed to agree with supporters that this performance simply wasn’t good enough and that improvement was needed. You can bet your last Euro/Pound/Dollar/Yen (Delete as appropriate) that Kenny will be working every waking minute to ensure that improvement happens!

Complaint:                     Disaster

Example Comment:        We’ll never get fourth place now

The thing is we have reasons to be down, that’s true. I cant argue that there are plenty of things that are frustrating me right now. But there is NO disaster at Liverpool Football Club right now. No matter what the gutter press try to say, no matter how many supporters of other clubs talk about it and no matter how many doom-monger fans throw this shite in your face. A disaster is where we were just about a year ago when the club had literally been crippled by debt by two ignominious owners who cared not one iota for the club or the fans and were prepared to see the club fall into administration rather than lose a penny of the money they hadn’t even invested in the club. Disaster was when we were sitting in the relegation zone after 10 games . Disaster was when we were under the command of a man who’s CV offered no consolation of an impending improvement. Who’s signings, tactics and weekly comments showed that he had no connection with the club, players or fans. A manager who called a 2-0 defeat to Everton one of our top 3 performances of the season.

I think most right minded Liverpool fans felt that we could hope to qualify for the Champions League this season. And if we look at things in context there is absolutely no reason to lower that ambition. We are currently in 6th place in the table, 3 points off Chelsea in 4^th. Newcastle currently occupy 3^rd place but they are about to embark on the most difficult period in their season so far, I think its reasonable to expect that they will drop some points over the next few weeks. Things haven’t quite clicked yet, but that is always the case when so many new players along with a new manager, need to bed in together. We are now on an international break so hopefully (injuries permitting) our boys will come back raring to get on a run and start stringing some wins together. We have an immediate opportunity to start clawing our way to fourth when we face Chelsea in our next game. This is followed by a game against Man City which is nearly a no lose game for us. After that we have a decent run of winnable games which, if we can start converting more of our chances, could see us make a significant climb up the table. It’s a long season, most teams will have a period when things don’t go the way they want them to but that doesn’t mean that everything has to be an apocalypse. At times you just need to keep some perspective. I know one thing, Kenny, Steve Clarke and all the players will be working 100% to ensure an improvement.

There are more points to be discussed, but as this article turned into such a long one I thought I would break it into 2 parts. I hope to get part 2 up before the end of the weekend. Be sure to sign up to receive email alerts so that you don’t miss it!

How are our new signings performing so far?

With the end of the international break on us, and no games to report on this week, I thought this might be a good time to have a look at how our summer signings have been doing so far. The season has been patchy as so many new players try to become part of the team, and our coaching staff try to work our tactics to make best use of them. Its not gone all according to plan really for any of our summer signings but we have seen pieces of brilliance from each one of them with only Enrique and Downing so far failing to find the back of the net. I've included marks out of 10 for each player, because I thought this may be useful if doing follow up articles at the midway point and end of the season. it will be good to see who I feel has improved, or not as the case may be, as the season unfolds. As always this is just my opinion and I welcome any comments from any reader in the section below the article.

Charlie Adam

He has certainly shown signs that he can be a potent attacking threat. We have seen many of the qualities which we hoped we would see, he can play some magnificent long range passes, this has been very useful when trying to switch the play quickly from one wing to the other or when trying to build quick counter attacks. He has been very good in possession and hasn’t shown many signs of stress at making the step up to such a big club from Blackpool. Unfortunately, we have also seen some of the drawbacks to his game of which we were forewarned by supporters of his previous clubs. He doesn’t seem to be the best tackler and when trying not to allow his man to get past him he gives away a lot of needless free kicks. He also seems to drift out of games when it gets to around the 60 minute mark. I actually think this is more of an issue around his fitness and conditioning, he doesn’t look like a natural athlete and his stamina suggests he isn’t one either. Overall I think he has done well , and although giving away free kicks can be very frustrating, his efforts when taking our free kicks have been a joy. Be it a fiercly driven shot, a sublime curling placer or a good delivery into the box Charlie can provide them all perfectly. It will be interesting to see what kind of role Kenny deems him worthy of when Steven Gerrard is fully fit. I see him as understudy to Stevie who can offer an alternative tactically as the 3rd man in a 3 man midfield but right now I don’t think he is a definite member of our strongest 11.

7/10

Jordan Henderson

Hendo is what he is, a youngster still learning his trade, albeit a youngster with a very hefty price tag around his neck. He certainly hasn’t done much wrong, but he hasn’t shown an awful lot to justify his price tag either. He has shown that he is capable of producing brilliance, particularly in the Bolton game when he scored a great goal and played some beautiful passes too. I just don’t think he brings an awful lot to the sideright now, certainly not as much as the more experienced and industrious Kuyt, or the more classy Maxi.  I certainly don’t think it harms us to have him in the team, as long as we appreciate what he is, a young inexperience player. Unfortunately a lot of our fans have fallen into this trap of writing him off already. When the results were briefly going against us he became a bit of a whipping boy to certain sections. Ridiculously, he has even been jeered by sections of the Anfield faithful. When judging Hendo I think everyone just needs to have a little perspective. The price-tag has much more to do with what he will become, than it does to what he is right now. Perhaps Kenny's faith is what is causing people to make harsh judgements, but you need to remember that he needs experience. He is not going to start every game (as evidenced by the game at Goodison) but when he is in the team he needs to be cut a bit of slack and be allowed to grow. As is true for nearly all players at his level of development, inconsistency will just have to be accepted until he matures. I have certainly seen enough to convince me that he can become an important player.  For now I think he should also be an understudy but Kenny can see something in him which has earned his trust

6/10

Stewart Downing

Another player who has shown bits of what he is capable but is yet to truly announce his arrival. He started off very brightly in the first few games, his performances improving simultaneous to the whole teams, but when the team hit a bad patch so did his form. He still looks fit and offers quality which no-one else can right now, genuine natural width and pace on the flanks. He has been useful as an outlet too as he always seems to be available for a pass when needed.I feel he is one where those who welcomed his arrival will be satisfied with what they’ve seen, but the doubters will not have seen much to change their minds as yet. It has been so long since Liverpool have had a natural winger, that by virtue of him being that I think his place in the team has been justified. There certainly arent many wingers i can think of in the premiership who match his level of experience in the league. Its important to remember too that his position on the left, is not being backed up by a veteran of the team, his main support comes from another newbie and as their partnership grows, each of their performances will surely improve.   I certainly think ive seen enough to justify his starting place right now and assure me that he will be a big success through the rest of the season. Andy Carroll too seems to be coming into better form and this can only help Downing.

6/10

Jose Enrique

Probably the most impressive summer signing has been the arrival from Newcastle, Jose Enrique. Different from the others, he has arrived without the burden of a big price. I think this has helped him in settling in so quickly. In his first game he kept his game simple and made defending his priority, rarely carrying the ball past the halfway line or overlapping Downing on the wing. In subsequent games he has shown more of his attacking ability, without ever compromising his defensive stability. Its been refreshing and exciting. Himself and Downing are still getting used to how each other plays and I feel that each of their performances will grow at the same time. Already as a change from last season, and seasons before most of our attacking play seems to come down the left hand side. . I think once Glen Johnson returns to the team this will change and we might begin to use the right flank as frequently as the left but until then, it seems that our left side is more of a potent weapon than it has been for many years. From starting last season with a very poor left back, with  an experienced and very classy but also very fragile substitue. We now have a very classy and exciting left back, with the same experienced and fragile player in reserve along with an impressively improving young player. The form shown by Enrique so far means he is definitely a member of our strongest 11, and in my eyes one of the top 4 left backs in England.

8/10

Craig Bellamy

Its a bit to early to make a major judgement on Beller's return to L4. The fact that he was a free transfer means that it really is a no lose situation for us. If it were not to work out we couldnt really have many complaints, but the early signs are that he is going to give everything to make a success of his second spell in red. He was impressive in his (second) first start, showing the pace, drive and tenacity we have come to expect. And adding a fine finish to get his (second) debut goal out of the way. His introduction at Goodison Park also seemed to give the team some much needed impetus and he was very much involved in the build up to Carroll's opening goal of the game. He can perform in pretty much any of the positions accross the front and so gives us options as well as putting a number of people under pressure for their place in the side simultaniously. He may not necesarily be a member of our strongest 11 on paper, but for different opponents when variable tactics are required he is very much part of the 11.

Too early to give a rating

Spurs 4 - 0 Liverpool (Talking Points)

Liverpool travelled to White Hart Lane on Saturday hoping to rekindle their early season form but instead suffered a bit of a thrashing from Spurs. It really was a day when everything seemed to go wrong, although while defeat seemed likely from the kick-off the score line surely would not have been possible but for 2 sendings off. Spurs were brightest from the first whistle and had chances to open the scoring even before Luka Modric’s sublime effort in the 7th minute. While trying to stop the Croats effort Daniel Agger managed to damage his ribs and he was in evident pain from then until his withdrawal at about 20 minutes. Dagger has been our best defender so far this season but unfortunately his injury curse has stuck again and it seems like he will miss at least a few weeks as a result of this latest set-back. Young Uruguayan defender Sebastian Coates came on in Dagger’s stead to make his debut in a Liverpool shirt.Shortly after Agger was replaced, Charlie Adam was also leaving the field, Kenny Dalglish however didn’t have the luxury of replacing the Scot, because Adam was leaving after receiving his second yellow card, for a tackle which although it didn’t seem malicious was certainly reckless. From here on in damage limitation seemed to be the order of the day. Hold on in the game and hope to sneak one on the break. It seemed that we had achieved the unlikely equaliser before half time when Luis Suarez slotted home but his strike was ruled out for offside, upon seeing the replay it was clear this was the correct decision. The game continued at 1-0 into the second half when another unnecessary foul, this time from Martin Skrtel earned him his second yellow and an early bath. With Glen Johnson injured and Martin Kelly only regaining his fitness, Skrtel in an unfamiliar role was preferred to young JohnFlanagan in his natural position. It seemed a strange decision, but more on that later. By the time the final whistle blew Liverpool had conceded a further 3 times, 2 goals from Adebeyor and 1 from Defoe. It was a dark day and certainly one we cannot allow to linger. The lads need to regain their confidence and soon before any downward spiral begins to take hold. Our next opportunity is away at Brighton in the Carling Cup, for me its not an ideal fixture. It’s a real no-win situation, where by a win will be greeted as no less than expected but a loss could be used by critics as a major stick and the players themselves would find it much harder to restore confidence. Let’s not expect a cricket score, a win would be enough to satisfy me and begin the turn around in fortunes to set us up nicely for the Wolves game next week.

Perspective 

The old adage that “your only as good as your last game” is a truism of modern football. Its an adage which I’ve never gone for. When trying to determine where your team is at any moment a sense of perspective is needed. True this performance was poor but there are certain extenuating circumstances which need to be thought of along with the result. Its very easy to watch a poor performance, accompanied of course by a surprise score line and decide that that means we are currently crap, the players are crap, tactics are crap and the manager is crap. How true is this though? I mean the players were certainly poor on the day, with one or two exceptions, and I am certainly of the opinion that some of Kenny’s decisions were not very good, but this game doesn’t reflect an entire season. Only 2 weeks ago the players were on top form, our tactics spot on and changes were influential as we put in a stellar performance against Bolton at home. Throughout the upturn in fortunes since the Kings second coming we have seen magnificent performances against Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal. We have pride back and we are building towards a new set up with a lot of new young blood in what will surely be a very exciting team. Nobody can expect that everything is going to click immediately and that we will be unbeatable throughout the campaign. The players will have more off days, and the manager will make mistakes, every manager does. In the grander scheme of things though there will be more good performances than bad, and more great decisions than poor ones. In the same way as we shouldn’t herald every victory as a return to greatness we should be careful not to over emphasise poor games as a sign of regression. The manager still has plenty to learn about his players and the players have a lot to learn about each other.

Tactics

There were a few decisions on the day that I found hard to interpret. Of course I am only talking about these because we suffered defeat, had the game plan worked there would be no need to think about any of these. But after seeing how the game pans out, and with the benefit of hindsight you can spot things which may have been improved if different choices had been made. I thought the decision to go with a straight 4-4-2 seemed strange, especially starting with Suarez & Carroll together for the first time in a few weeks. I felt Andy was one of our better players on the day actually so its not that i didn’t want him in the team, i felt thought if we were going with the 2 up top either Kuyt or Bellamy may have been the better option as they could drop off and become auxiliary midfielders when we lost possession. Having said that, Spurs are quite a big team these days so perhaps Kenny felt we needed Andy’s height for defending set pieces. In the end we were being over-run in the middle of the park prior to Adam’s exit. Lucas worked hard, doing what he doesn’t, but i felt he wasn’t given much help by Adam, Downing or Hendo. Of course, all three of the midfielders I just named had weak games and so perhaps an extra body wouldn’t have helped either way.

Our right hand side also seemed to be screaming out to be attacked. As mentioned before Skrtel was chosen to play out of position at right full, I presume Kenny made the decision due to Spurs quality on their left, he went with the experience of the Slovakian rather than play Flanno who is natural in the position but clearly still a bit green. That seems like a reasonable decision but the question mark for me is in advance of this position. Hendo was picked again to play right midfield, this lessened the support on offer to whichever right back was picked to play. I just want to point out, I don’t actually have any problem with Hendo, but he is still young and while he has attributes in an attacking sense he doesn’t offer much yet defensively. It seemed clear to me that whether we chose Skrtel (out of position) or Flanagan (inexperienced) Spurs were going to attack our right full back, and knowing this maybe it would have been a better idea to offer the better protection of Dirk Kuyt who would get up and down and take a bit of pressure off the full back. While i’m on the subject, i thought it was also strange that Flanno didn’t even make the bench in the end. It seems that Kenny has lost a bit of trust for him. From starting our first game of the season against Sunderland he is no out of the picture, even when he is our only fit right full. In that Sunderland game he was blamed for their goal, he lost his concentration on one or two occasions during the game but at the time i felt he would need a break but get back into the squad soon enough. The thing is, in that game he was paired on the right with Hendo, and i personally felt that his lapses in concentration were connected to the lack of support he had been offered throughout the game. I wonder if his fall has something to do with Kenny’s faith in Hendo? He knows he cant play them both together but right now it seems that he has complete faith in Hendo, which seems to mean young Flanno has to miss out.

Stoke 1 - 0 Liverpool (Talking Points)

Liverpool fell to their first defeat of the new season on Saturday when we were defeated 1 - 0 at the Brittania stadium. Liverpool had started the season well and in our first three games of the season we certainly seemed to be improving with each performance. So much so that expectations for the season ahead had started to rise. From aiming for a return to the Champions League suddenly there was talk of title challenges and people were starting to consider us as only behind the 2 Manchester clubs in our aims for the season. If there is any positive to be gained from this defeat its that hopefully it will give everyone a slight reality check. Its not that optimism itself is a huge problem, but when expectations get too high, a team, at our early stage of development, can end up in a no win situation. If people start to have expectations above what is realistically achievable they can only be disappointed when the expectation is not realised. We saw this a few years back when a second place finish under Rafa somehow became painted as utter failure, regardless of the fact that we got 86 points, lost only two games in an entire season and finished behind a Man Utd team who picked up 90 points! As things stand we still in a decent position and in line with our realistic targets. We are not the only team who will come away from Stoke with nothing and the performance by the man in black (charcoal?) on the day was nothing to be ashamed of. We were in control of the game for the most part and how we didn’t score at least once on the day is beyond me. Jordan Henderson alone could have had three, alone all in the same move! The fact that the performance levels never slipped and the effort put in right until the end, shows that the players haven’t necessarily lost form, it just wasn’t to be on the day. It certainly wont knock |Kenny, or the players, confidence going into next weeks game against Spurs.

Kenny’s post game comments

I’ve heard a lot of comment over the last couple of days about Kenny’s post match comments regarding the referee. Some are trying to use them to say that Kenny is clearly in a state of paranoia and getting worried now that his honeymoon period is over. Ridiculous! What Kenny said was nothing more than the kind of statement Fergie has been making for the last 20 years when he spots a pattern of decisions going against his team. it’s a kind of mind game where he knows he cannot influence what has happened in this, or pre-ceding games, but he is trying to influence the referee’s thoughts in our next games when there is a 50/50 decision to be made. There’s nothing wrong with that, Lord knows we can use all the help we can get this season! The comments about speaking to the owners about which course of action to follow are, I believe, for effect only. I would be very surprised if there are any official complaints made by Liverpool. Hopefully the short few comments will have the desired effect and there will be no more need for discussion on the subject!

The Penalty

To be 100% honest, I think there was enough to excuse the referee giving this penalty. I’m no fan of Clattendburg, I find it very hard to read him as a ref. but on this occasion he probably got it right. Carra gets himself into an awkward position by allowing Waters to get his body between him and the ball which leads to him putting his arm around Waters. I certainly don’t believe that he pulled the Stoke man to the ground, but by putting his arm round he gives the striker the chance to go down, and gives the referee a decision to make. Put it this way, if this was up the other end I would have been screaming for a pen!

The Performance 

Of course, whilst watching your team suffering a loss and immediately after the game its very easy to say it was shite and rant about the performance, once you let the dust settle a bit you can look back on the game and see things a little clearer. We didn’t hit the heights we’d been hitting recently but we were still very much in control of the game from early on. Stoke did their thing and played a solid hardworking game but never put us under much pressure. We started with a strong team. Skrtel, who had impressed in this position last time out, continued at Right Back. Caroll stayed on the bench leaving Kuyt to start up top with Suarez and Hendo moved to the right. The new boys in particular struggled in this game. Downing’s levels dropped, Henderson and Adam, even more noticeably, but we still had enough on the day to win the game, we created enough chances. The team worked hard enough, as said before, if we continue in this vein we will certainly win more than we lose.

Arsenal 0 - 2 Liverpool (Talking Points)

On Saturday we achieved our first win of the 2011/12, we also simultaneously won our first away fixture against Arsenal in almost 11 years. Suarez was dropped to the bench for this fixture, along with John Flanagan, who made way for Dirk Kuyt and Martin Kelly respectively. Arsenal were clearly under strength, between injuries and high profile departures, they were not at their strongest. This was still Arsenal though, and through the game they looked pretty strong at times. Liverpool looked strong too and for the first time in as long as can remember we dominated possession against Arsenal. We were a little fortunate in that the first goal was a pretty calamitous own goal from Arsenal, but i don’t think many people would deny that Liverpool were worthy winners on the day. Certainly there were no question marks over the quality of our second goal.

A Lucky Victory

A lot of people have been writing this victory off as nothing more than a “lucky” victory. From fans of other clubs this is no more than we’ve grown to expect, but I have hear it said by a lot of Liverpool fans too, which is surprising. There are a number of things people point to back up this “lucky” theory. Firstly, the early injury to Koscielny, well this is just one of those things really isn’t it? In this very fixture last season we had to start with John Flanagan (still in his first few appearances) at Right Back, he was quickly joined by Jack Robinson on at Left back when Fabio Aurelio succumbed to his usual fate. I don’t remember Liverpool being given extra credit for achieving a draw in that game and so similarly I don’t think Arsenal’s injury issue should take anything away from this victory. Secondly the sending off of Frimpong. The only thing lucky for Liverpool about this sending off was that the tackle which lead to his second yellow card didn’t also lead to Lucas being seriously injured! That tackle on its own could very well have resulted in a straight red card, and I’m sorry but Frimpong had been at it all game. He really does look like an outstanding player and I’m sure it was not malicious, most likely nothing more than youthful naivety, but from the first few minutes he was throwing himself into tackles, having niggles and moans at the referee and opposition players so it seemed it could happen that he receive a second yellow at some point, if his manager chose not to take him off having seen all this then I don’t think that is as much down to our good fortune as it is the player or manager themselves. Finally, we come to the Own Goal and Offside. I wont for one minute try to deny that the OG was good fortune. The offside may have been fortunate too, but it was an incredibly difficult call, the kind of one where if its given against you moan, no matter which team you support. My problem with the own goal being used as fuel for the “lucky” win theory is that this wasn’t the type of OG where a defender tries a hopeful punt back to his keeper only for the keeper to fall and allow it in. This was a crisp passing move where Liverpool forced the ball into a very dangerous position which left a young defender in trouble in a crowded penalty area, he tried to clear through the bodies and it took a wicked deflection over the, here-to unbeatable Szezesny. It was a fortunate outcome but it was forced too.

The Squad

Liverpool started this game with the strongest bench I can remember for a while. Doni, Skrtel, Flanagan, Spearing, Maxi, Meireles, Suarez. The bench had natural cover all over the pitch. It contained some experienced players and it also contained some game changers. Of course Suarez would be everbody’s starting 11 whenever fit, but it showed something new to us that even with these players on the pitch we had a very strong starting 11 on the pitch, a starting 11 which you would back against the majority of premiership teams. Lets not forget that we still have Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio, and although it seems nailed on that he will leave soon Alberto Aquilani, in reserve. I would still like us to improve in certain area’s a centre back seems to be lined up by the club and I personally feel we need a back-up striker, but the squad is certainly taking shape and looking stronger than in recent seasons.

The Big Man up Top

Are certain people under some contractual obligation to mention Andy Carroll’s fee every time they mention his name? “Was that worth £35 million?” is the usual refrain, the only way to stop this question being asked is for everyone of Andy Carroll’s touches to be a header into the top corner, or to score a 25 yard screamer with every shot. I understand that Andy Carroll is by no means the finished product and I understand that his price tag seems to reflect that of a player who is very much the finished product, but lets keep things in perspective and not write him off after every poor touch or every goal-less game. I personally think he is doing ok overall. He came into the team last season when clearly not fit and scored a few good goals to get him off the mark. He has done well in getting a full pre-season under his belt, and although he is not at 100% fitness at this early point in the season, neither are most of our players. The team has a set up now which will naturally lead to getting more out of Andy. We can see that our wingers have been told to hit him when in possession out wide. The problem at the moment seems to be too many balls into his head, don’t get me wrong I know the wingers are mostly going to hit his head, and while on the subject I think it’s pretty incredible how many crosses he actually gets his head to, I know these haven’t lead to goals in the first two games but once it all starts clicking it should prove very productive. When I say the problem is too many balls into his head I mean more-so from midfield and defence. When under pressure or when rushing to start a move its an easy option to just lump it, but this ignores the fact that Andy is strong in possession and a lot of the time it would be preferable to see the ball played to him to hold-up, wait for support, lay-off and go. This hasn’t been happening too much so far but I’m sure it will come as the players get more used to playing with him, and of course he with them.