Everytime I see that Kolo error, my astonishment and bewilderment grow exponentially.
In all honesty, I would seriously consider releasing Kolo Toure immediately.
Here me out.
This idea is not born out of a belief that he isn't good enough for the squad, cause I think he is definitely a good back up CB.
This feeling is based purely on that one single pass.
Quick Preface: I have never felt this way about any football error ever. When Riise had that header own goal in the CL semis, I was devastated but I never wanted him released.
No, this feeling is based on the nature of his error and how I believe it reflects something undesirable in his mindset in regards to his place at the club and within the team.
I have never seen a professional athlete in any sport commit an error so outrageous as this.
Don't get me wrong, plenty of footballers have made the errant backpass to the keeper only to be greeted with the awful realization that a striker was behind them. Skrtel knows what I'm talking about, and so does Gerrard.
But the important aspect of those errors was that they were committed as a product of complacency; they backpass is a safety net and is made dozens of times a game, week after week, without incident or danger of giving a goal away. They become second nature in a way and therefore can show up when a defender has a lapse in concentration.
The difference with Kolo Toure is that this mofo is looking directly in Anichebe's direction. Moreover, Kolo is being closed down by two WBA players and we are protecting a lead. It is also important to note that WBA has been pressing our midfield the entire game and playing it out from the back has been fairly difficult, we have already made SEVERAL careless passes and gave the ball away in our own half and those giveaways almost led to goals. More importantly, KT, himself, had made several mistakes in possession by taking too long and dwelling on the ball allowing himself to get closed down and forced into a bad pass.
Being able to pass the ball out of defense against a team that is pressing high up the field has been a recurrent challenge all season. In this game, it was the KEY FACTOR in us getting a result. WBA had produced fuck all in the way of real chances on their own. The only way they could get back into the match was if we became careless.
THAT WAS THE NARRATIVE OF THE MATCH --- Retain possession and build from the back smartly = win.
There is no excuse for KT being that completely oblivious.
At this point, you may be thinking that this hardly warrants his release...I agree. These next 2 or 3 points are what makes me infuriated.
Point 1: WE ARE IN A DOGFIGHT FOR 4TH PLACE
- This is the most competitive premier league season in its history. If we were fighting for 4th a couple years ago it would have only been with city or arsenal. Now we have to beat out 3 teams to get the 4th spot and 2 of those teams have quite a bit more money and have been able to buy numerous quality first team players giving them solid depth. Everton is in a similar situation with us in that they need a bit of good fortune to sustain a full season top 4 challenge.
- The race for 4th is so tightly contested that we not only worry about getting wins but also about padding our GD where we can, ruing any missed chances against relegation sides as it could prove decisive.
POINT 2: We had a chance to put some distance between us and our competition
- This stings the more I think about it.
Everyone knew the fantastic opportunity we had been presented with given saturday's results. That should have given us extra motivation to separate ourselves from the pack. Instead we allowed everton to gain 2 points back.
- Which brings me to my final point...
POINT 3: THIS SEASON IS TREMENDOUSLY CRUCIAL TO OUR RETURN TO PL CONTENDERS
- If we don't get top 4...it will be a nightmare of depression
- The most devastating consequence, of course, no more Luis. And even if we get 80m for him, it will be damn difficult to replace his production and presence on the pitch. He is not a typical star player like a Ronaldo or a Bale that have glaring strengths to their game that put them on another level physically. No, Suarez' trademark is that he is unpredictable mentally and unrelenting physically. He is impossible to prepare for. He is truly in another class with messi and ronaldo.
Also, he is just a pure joy to watch and the fact that he is a red means that watching LFC is one of my favorite things in this world. Him leaving really would leave an unmistakable void at the club. The guy is very special
- Another devastating consequence: we continue to lose ground on the PL elite.
- This second consequence is actually just as devastating as the first one I mentioned because losing Suarez would compound the effect we would feel by missing out on top 4.
- Top 4 is the key to our transfer window woes. None of these young pups give a fuck about history and prestige and past honours as much as the old guard used to. But that is because before the internet and the information super highway, clubs and stadiums were spoken of with far more reverence and wonder. The most successful clubs in Europe have a mystique to them. They were the football royalty growing up. But no everything is transparent and the all the veils of mysticism and wonder have been torn down and nothing retains its luster when it is put under the microscope every day.
As much as we would love to believe that our history and prestige will be the defining factor in whether they choose us or tottenham, or whoever, it doesn't bear the same weight anymore.
If you don't have CL, you might as well have nothing because that is where all the prestige is now. On top of that, prestige can be bought in just a few years. Man City are probably just as prestigious as LFC in the mind of a lot of foreigners because City is competing for top honours and they are buying the top talent in the world.
At the moment, we will never beat City to a transfer target. They have CL and we do not
Once we get top 4 and are reaffirmed as among Europe's Elite clubs then our history and titles will become a major factor.
- If we get top 4 this year than we will have given ourselves a phenomenal opportunity to return to PL contention as early as next year. We will gain
all that CL money and then we are back in the spotlight and back in the global consciousness as an Elite football club. Currently we are a dormant giant
- If we don't, then we not only lose out on the exposure and transfer opportunities and CL revenue, european nights but our failure would mean one of our competitors success. I really can't stress how important I feel this season is to our progression as a football club.
- City, Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Tottenham all have more money and have all had CL recently which makes this seem like they would be more likely to return than us who haven't been there in 4 years or so.
- If we do get top 4 then we will probably be able to keep Suarez and then finally make some real waves in the transfer market.
- LFC having CL football again is like a King winning back his crown. It would immediately restore us to football royalty because our history in the CL or Champions cup is only matched by 3 other clubs. And because we have had a prolonged absence pundits and commentators will have to state our history and success in the competition to educate new fans and by them reiterating the greatness of our club it will be like our aura will have gotten a new polish and look better than ever.
- Apart from being able to once again offer transfer targets CL football as well as playing for one of the greatest football clubs of all time, they will also be enticed by the fact that we already have one of the 3 best players in the world in Luis Suarez, IN HIS PRIME, and Daniel Sturridge who is becoming a world class striker.
- And the cherry on top for any prospective target is the fact that if they sign for LFC and are able to bring the PL title back to merseyside, they will be glorified and honoured forever and join other club greats in this storied footballing institution.
So when I start to think about the ramifications and the difficulties and challenges lying ahead in our battle for 4th place, I grow even more infuriated with that complete and utter catastrophe that caused us to drop an incredibly valuable 2 points that could very well be a deciding factor in the fight for 4th place.
Kolo Toure has to be aware of just how crucial 4th place is to our revitalization as a PL power. Also, he is a back up CB who we bought for his experience and leadership so that we can have a veteran presence who has title-winning experience and can help guide our younger players in how to move and react to the up and downs of a PL season.
He is the CB we rely on to step up and put in a performance when our Starters are out injured or suspended. And instead he steps in and costs us the game with such an incredibly careless and preposterous error.
He steps in to the team to do a job and he has to know just how important each match is in the race for 4th. The match against WBA hadn't really been going all that smoothly and their pressing had us a little off our attacking rhythm and caused numerous careless errors in the first half which gave WBA their only scoring chances of any kind. Toure himself had overplayed in possession giving away possession cheaply. At halftime, one would imagine that Rodgers stressed the importance of ball security and made sure that we didn't fuck around in our own half.
And yet, around the 65 minute mark or so Toure receives the throw from mignolet, who has to take some blame for a poor decision, and is immediately confronted by two players. At this moment in fucking time, one would imagine that given the way the game had and us having a one goal lead that Toure would undoubtedly be sure to make the safest pass to give WBA any way back into the match. Instead, he turns to the middle where Anichebe happens to be standing and plays a pass across our own 18 yard box even though WBA has been looking to create turnovers in our own half by pressing high up the pitch. The pass wasn't even crisp, it was just lazily passed across the middle.
How the fuck can a player of his experience who has won PL titles with two different teams, and understands just how fine the margins are between 4th and 5th place, can shut off so completely in such an important match and commit an error that school children would get yelled at for.
He was bought in as an experienced, veteran presence in the locker room who can step in to the lineup when needed and be a composed, accomplished defender.
When he was called upon though, he let us down. Its not that he made a mistake, its how fucking naive and oblivious he was in committing it.
Fuck him. He played that whole game with an air of carelessness. I just cannot fathom how he even contrives to put himself in that position after all his years and matches.
So yea, I am just fucking gutted about the way we gave that result away and then all the possible ramifications it could have due to the closeness of the CL race.
