Paul,
As much as I would love to defend the manager, I can't.
He is tearing apart a good, solid team with players who simply are not up to the task. Poulsen and Konchesky thus far have been absolute disasters (at fault for the first Man u goal, and again at fault for the 2nd Sunderland cross). For all their "experince" they have been bypassed, beaten on crosses and have shown nothing new or inventive or cultured that we didn't already have under Insua on the left back slot or even trying to bring in Paul Parker, a seasoned midfielder would would have probably cost the same or slightly more than Raul or Poulsen and would probably be doing a better job in the middle of the park than either of the two new midfielders.
And where do I start about the strike force? Keeping Babel was always going to be his call and he clearly should have sold Babel and brought in a proper, striker who could come on and inspire the team and either create, cause mayhem or get us a goal if an opportunity came. He didn't. In Purslow's interview last week, he clearly stated money was available but Roy chose NOT to buy. And it's now coming back to bite him in the arse.
He is, quite frankly, LUCKY Torres hasn't suffered yet another serious injury...because it was 2 assists from Torres last weekend, and another pair of assists from Torres this weekend that have got us goals...take him out of the equation and can you really, really see any creativitiy up front? Cole has not been the revelation we expected thus far because he isn't getting the support up front or service he needs to create. Jova has been flat thus far...Gerrard is playing deeper than normal, the first we have seen him do in a number of years, whilst Poulsen can't stem/hold the midfield.
We are simply getting bypassed by locomotive trains every bloody time we play! It happened AT ANFIELD against West Brom and we were lucky to come away with Torres goal to win it, it happened at Birmingham where we were over fun for all of 80 minutes and for exceptional goalkeeping from Reina or we would have been 0-3 down at half time! And let's not even start about the Man U match...they were all over us, midfield was again no where to be seen, Cole and Maxi starved of any service for 60 minutes...we got back into it BRIEFLY for 15 minutes and promptly sat back and conceded yet another stupid goal from a cross that shouldn't have happened.
Roy has had OPPORTUNITIES to bring in left back cover, to bring in at least another striker, to bring in quality, experinced PREMIERSHIP midfield, but didn't.
This is a guy with one of the WORST away records as a manager in the premiership and it's no surprise thus far, our away record is as bad as it was at the start of last season. He doesn't inspire me, he doesn't stand up for his players when he should, especially his number 1 "asset" who is called a diver and a cheat and waits a bloody week to comment on it, blames the team for the Northampton defeat when its him who picks the side and the substitutes and plays Babel who, yet again, has done jack all in his time at the club, bar a few inspired, impact substitutions, coming on to change the pace of the match against tired opposition but otherwise, is AWOL whenever starting match's...
Has he not learned anything from the mistakes Rafa made as a manager? Does he really think everyone in the support are stupid goats who know nothing about football?
And for "supporters" like YOU to come on out and to claim you are embarrassed/ashamed with the attitude of support like me? Oh please. I was there in the mid 80's at Anfield watching GOOD, ATTACKING FOOTBALL without defending being compromised under Kenny Dalglish, and have been/seen it all under Souness, the Evans years and then the Houllier years.
You can speak for yourself and a number of supporters but you don't speak for me.
This is NOT what Liverpool Football Club are about, this is NOT the way we should be playing, nor should a number of players who have been failures at the club for the longest time even BE HERE to start with. We are in such a state that we are resorting to buying players like Poulsen, who bring NOTHING to the side....and Konchesky, an average journey man who simply cannot defend crosses..the simplest of things a full back is supposed to be able to do.
And Johnson, for 18 million pounds, and for all his industry as an attacking right back is still plagued d by his inability to concentrate, and mark players. His positioning on crosses, his focus and his ball watching remain a massive liability in a side that needs to stop conceding stupid goals. Did you notice when Carra was switched to right back last season whilst Johnson was out how the crosses coming in from the right went down sharply and it was Insua who was getting flack for the crosses coming in from the left?
And the treatment of Agger. This is one of the best defenders at the club, if not THE BEST center half's. He is on the bench, out on the left or is left kicking and watching on the bench whilst we conceded, game after game after game stupid, pointless goals that are for the most part, school boy error goals.
Tactics are worry..we simply sit back far too deep because we are afraid fo the pace of center forwards who would unmask Carra's lack of pace if we did push up when its obvious the midfield and attack are too far apart now because of this need to sit deep, and to play defensively and to NOT conceded first....
But here lies the problem. THIS IS NOT THE WAY WE PLAY FOOTBALL. We are not a poor side that depends on counter attacking to win us games. We shouldn't. We have some of the best players in the world in this team and we are now scrapping for points, going into match's expecting to LOSE and you expect supporters like me to sit and take this kind of shit?
Get over yourself.
And anyone else who suddenly feel's the need to stand up for a manager who just never had a clue from day one.
You stand up for your players, you give them confidence you believe in them and you stand up for the club and supporters when assholes like Ferguson have a go at the club. The one thing you cannot fault Ferguson is his undying loyalty and protection of his players...he may rant, and he may talk nonsense and act like the massive tit he is..but he stands by his players, protects them to the hilt with the media..and that quite frankly, isn't what I have seen from Roy.
For the most part, I think he is incompetant and for all his experince as a journeyman throughout Europe as a manager, what exactly has he achieved that warrants huge amounts of respect for his tactics and "success?" What?
Why can't we play attacking football and put pressure on the opposition from the whistle? WHY?
We are an absolute embarrasment to watch and it goes back even to last season so Rafa is also at fault to some degree with the quality of football we have had to put up with. We have the talent, we have the players but we can't seem to get the tactics right, the training right pre-match nor educating the players on simple rules of defending. Who is at fault for that? The manager? The coach's? Who!?
Seriously!
