So here we are part way through the season and for want of a better work, we are dire. No-one is more shocked than me, but, here we are. The $64,000 question is what can be done about it? I look at all the "ingredients" at the club, and on paper, we should be winning this league, so why aren't we? We have Kenny Dalglish, club legend, and the manager who salvaged our last season. Taking us from relegation worry to possible European football. Yet here we are with a manager who is incapable of making a substitution before the 70th minute no matter how desperate we are for new ideas, and the only man in existence who thinks that Glen Johnston is a better player than Martin Kelly. Then we have the man behind the scenes, Damien Comolli, who I personally, I have not seen or heard sight nor sound of since the start of the season. Because we have a Director of Football, we don't know who is responsible for our current crop of British failures. Who wanted to buy them all? Kenny, Comolli or the owners? Steve Clarke, allegedly responsible for Chelsea's glory days, yet has yet to coach any creativity or free thought into our squad. Then we have the front-line failures, the All-British superstars at the club. Andy Carroll, a true Geordie who was ripped away from the club he loves, who never wanted to leave, and has since been pushed into becoming someone he is not. If we wanted a target man who covered the pitch and defended from the front, why did we buy a lazy arsed goal-sitter who lives on good quality passes from the wings? I will not get on Carroll's back, as he never wanted to be here, and he was never the player we appear to want him to be, and now his confidence is shot and we have a £35M dud on our hands, and I can't see a way of anything good ever coming from this situation. Either Liverpool have to play to his strengths, or we sell him quickly and get someone in who can play how we want, without the need to re-sculpt a player from an already finished product. Jordan Henderson, was never a set the world on fire player, he was OK in the north east, and he hasn't done anything worse in Liverpool, but the fact that we went out and spent big on him, right at the start of the transfer window did put a focus on him, and he has paid for that added expectation, when, in fact, he was never that good, and he is playing as well as expected now, just not good enough for Liverpool. Another bad purchase, and again, not the players fault. The fact that he seems biologically unable to pass a ball to a team mate is his fault though. others might not be so innocent. I had much higher expectations for Downing and Adam. With Downing we were supposed to be rubbing our hands over the fact that we had got Downing, while the Mancs had bought Villa's second best winger. We had out-done the mancs in the transfer market, and we would reap the rewards in the season... Alas... I never followed his career at Villa, and I've not watched a "we can make any player look good" youtube video, but could he have been as bad as this last season? Did we really go out of our way to buy a player with no creativity and such weak passing? Adam started better, but has trailed off since September, and is now best known for his weak, indifferent passing into the box, that is always cut-out by even a mediocre defender. Then we come to his ability to give cheap free-kicks away all over the pitch, costing us way more goals than he has ever help make. At least when Mascherano use to shoulder barge people off the ball, he seldom did it in such dangerous places on the pitch. Stoke must Love to play us, and must wish they could face us every week, with talent like Henderson, Downing and Adam, wasting 90 minutes by floating piss poor passes into the box that Shawcross feels like a pig in ****, because he can deal with them all without breaking into a sweat. And do Liverpool change things? Try something else? No we keep the futility up for the whole game, unable to think of anything else to try! Now we can expect Kenny to not keep his job if he doesn't get 4th, but is it his fault? You would expect Kenny to rule with an iron fist behind the scenes, but it is all guesswork. If we don't get any real activity in the transfer market this window, I think we can say that the owners will be making him live and die by his previous transfer dealings, if they are his dealings, and you wonder why the Director of Football potion is so loathed in the English game? Personally I would like the person who brought Carroll, Downing and Henderson to the club to leave now. Or to agree to never again to interfere with transfer dealings again. After that, I am at a loss as to how to fix this mess. I would like to think that it would be a easy fix, as in slight tactical changes here and there, but I think I would be fooling myself.
You know it is serious when Noblesox turns from one of the most positive posters on here to this. I'm afraid you echo a lot of Liverpool fans who don't have answers. Henderson isn't too bad imo, not £16m but I think he will be fantastic and a permanent fixture in the starting 11 for years to come. As for the others you mention...**** knows. Not many people left that are willing to continue giving them a chance.
I never thought this season would be the one where we'd challenge for the title but I did expect a stern challenge for fourth place. Henderson, Carrol and Downing didn't suggest their transfer fee so I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about their performances. Carrol's confidence is shot to pieces and even his teammates seem reluctant to pass the ball to him! In saying that he flicked a few good 'uns on yesterday, which is more than he's done in a long while. Downing has been disappointing so far and needs a goal. I still reckon he'll come good but he needs to get one to go in off his nose or something to get him back on track. Henderson was never one for this year. If it wasn't for Lucas' injury he'd have played half the games he's featured in. Since Gerrard has been back he's played better and upped his game. Of all the so-called "flops" I've the most faith in him coming good, not this year but a few down the line. Adam can't defend and is being asked to. Again, he wouldn't have played as much if Gerrard had been fit all season. Some will argue he can't attack either but I disagree. Yesterday's performance was a shocker, if they (all the players) learn from it then I have no problem. If we have another game like that soon then we can forget this season.
It annoys me when people say Carroll or Downing need a goal and they should start banging them in because it doesn't work like that. We said it when Torres scored vs West Brom early last season and after that...nothing. Carroll hasn't done anything all season and I doubt that will change before May. Looks like we will come out of Jan with only 2 points because we will not beat Wolves. If stroke face Kenny can't see we need someone who will score goals then I have little hope.
here is a simple few points that can be made to answer some of these points. 1. Glen Johnson, a) he and skertl came in and up to a couple games ago put together a run where we had the best defense. b) No-one would say that johnson is a great defender but Kelly aint all that and wronged by missing out here. He makes "rookie errors" himself. We've a good player in johnson and if we are depending on a full back we've got issues. 2. Kenny. The guy has back his players and cajolled, begged and prised performances out of them while the window was closed. He's given them a full blast yesterday to really let them know where they stand and I for one expect that we'll be buying this window. I think kennys tired as much as he could while he'd no other options and now he'd told them where they stand and that must be folllowed up with changes. 3. henderson.... sorry but this KID is 20, the u21 captain. He's a hard worker and willing to leran. He's got the right attitude and I'll for one add that to the glimpses we see of his latent talent and say he will prove the knockers wrong.... maschernao and alonso chuffed off with themselves and lucas got thrown in and is now lauded after unwarrented abue of a young man. Henderson has the attitude to overcome and is to be frank thrown in there too.... incidentally Carroll... he shows none of this attitude. 4. Adam, downing, carroll. I'll be the first to say that i wanted none of them. ok ther ei said it but just tell me who we realistically could have laid hands on? we are not in europe! young.. nope, mata? nope Llorente? nope... they prob all turned us down.. REALITY check. 5. Building on point 4, poulsen, degen, aquilani, jovanovic, cole, voronin and the list goes on and on... kyrgiakos for chuffs sake. We've been DESTROYED systematically and are doing our best to build back. If some guys don't cut it thats life.... every manager has guys who should have done better that will happen.... it will take time. 6. Lets build more on point 5... nobody but nobody can say that the players we have no matter how good or bad should not be that bad. They have under performed and not done half what they should have. thats also a fact. no point in trying to brush over trash lazy performanaces o nthe pitch and to me ................ but hang on semi of the carling cup and not that far off 5th... wow its a mess? fair enough but i don't agree.
Ahh right so now we are half way through the season all LFC fans now say all purchases are done by Comoli and the manager (KK) has no say on these matters. If you guys only realised how funny your logic seems from an outside perspective.
Comolli was/is employed by LFC to identify players he thought could be useful to the club and to then offer them contracts and sign them "this strategy discussed by John W. Henry, the role of Damien Comolli becomes very important. As a director of football strategy, Comolli would be the one responsible for bringing in players at Liverpool. This means that Roy Hodgson’s role would be reduced as the Liverpool manager. Hodgson will now have less liberty in finalizing his transfer targets. The final approval would lie with Comolli, who is apparently an expert in these matters." http://blogs.bettor.com/NESV-Brings...erpool-new-Director-of-Sports-Strategy-a39302 Whether or not the same situation applies under Kenny's management is debatable but possible.
I simply put it down to missing Lucas and Suarez. Having Lucas as a specialist DM provides the back 4 with added security. Not only this, Lucas is very disciplined and you will not see him venture forward very often. This means his partner i.e. Adam does not have to worry (or rather worry less) about his defensive duties and can concentrate on building attacks. By having Gerrard and Henderson, or Henderson and Adam etc, they are more jack of trades rather than specialists. Adam's judgement is now clouded because he has to think about the defensive aspects whereas before Lucas would look after that. Since Lucas has been out, our back four looks more exposed and the opposition have managed to get in behind our midfield far too often. Suarez - well he's our most attacking and creative outlet. Along with Bellamy and Gerrard, there is no one else who can create anything out of nothing and we're lacking that. He may not have scored many this season but it's clear to see that he's involved in pretty much every attack. He's a player who can create space, by creating space, the midfielders like Henderson and Adam can then find a player to pass to which then makes them look good. In summary: Lucas - relieves Henderson and Adam of their defensive duties and allows them to play their natural game. Suarez - gives Henderson and Adam an outlet to play the ball and gets the best out of their attacking talent. NOTE:- Not having a go at Henderson, I think he will be a great player and has a good head on his shoulders. Has a very good foundation on which to build on.
