it's only fair to keep things in context.
That's appreciated, and I'll try to do the same. Please note that I'm trying to focus on the short-medium term past, so when I say something like
If we went with risk, arrogance and adventure every match we played,
I mean this season, and that recent rotten patch. I certainly am not suggesting caution forever - one of the great joys of being the big stack is the ability to play very aggressively, and bully the smaller stacks by blatantly stealing their chips. But you have to *be* the big stack before you can do that.
So, no I don't think our squad is shit, but:
Do you honestly think our squad of players is that bad? I think, given how our squad played in the closing stages of last season, and how they've actually played at times (in offensive terms) this season, you've drastically underestimated how good large numbers of our players are. But then I sometimes think Rafa does that too - certainly this season.
That's not the squad that was beating a lot of teams by 3, 4 or 5 goals last season, or overturning deficits twice or thrice or even four times in one match last season. Against Pompey away last season, Rafa was crucially able to first throw on Kuyt to tire out the defenders, Xabi to spray the passes, and then Torres to nail the coffin shut. He wasn't underestimating his squad, in fact, judging by the thick layer of Fat Spanish Waiter shit on the faces of all the pundits who were taking the piss when he left Torres on the bench the first two times, it's arguable that he *overestimated* his ability to kill teams off late.
This season is different. So take the Reading replay I was on about earlier. We lose Torres early, and Gerrard at the half (after he scored no less), and Rafa still didn't underestimate his squad. On came Ngog and Babel, decent replacements considering, and we actually played better out of the halftime. Three quick touches, no five even, Yorky-style
But we couldn't put it away, not for lack of trying, I don't think. Benny gives up a silly peno, and it's tits up. You might question his bringing on of Skittles late instead of Pacheco, but he'd already used two attacking subs, and was getting killed the back in the air. He certainly probably figured one of Ngog, Babel, Kuyt, Benayoun or maybe some big thumping free kick from Agger would have been enough to win it. Was he chicken? Would Pacheco have been the difference?
Firstly, the likening of Liverpool with its current playing staff and Leeds and Scunthorpe getting the astroglide out for Jermaine Defoe - it really winds me up. I hope other people read that and thought the connection was wrong, because to accept it would be to say we're substandard - a mid-to-lower Premier League squad.
Specific games, Royhendo, specific instances. I'm not suggesting we're a substandard team - far from it. But we had just about enough to beat Arsenal - again, no Johnson, no Torres, no Benayoun - using the contain and counter tactics, and really in my opinion didn't have it in us to pass our way around them. The three slickest players in our squad at beating their man we all out. So we contain and counter. Makes sense to me, especially since they got shafted by Chelsea and United on the counter. It wasn't a secret. Ngog couldn't finish, and we hit the bar twice. The the defense takes its customary nap, and it's tits up again. Right tactics, bad execution. Playing attacking football against Arsenal away would probably have a winning percentage less than 20 I would imagine. Playing triangle football at the home of the triangle football artisans with your three triangle football specialists in sickbay would seem to me to be the wrong decision.
Leeds could just have easily ran into Fernando Torres as they did Defoe, I was only using that as an example. Reading could have run into Fernando too, had no gotten fucking hauled off before I saw the bottom of my first beer glass. Most times, they will run into Nando. Everyone does. Ask the two "world class" defenders he pisses on and gets sent off twice a year. One of them's England captain or something. Torres Owns.
Speaking of Leeds - their ballsy approach didn't get them past 2 of the three Prem teams they faced in knockout competitions this season.
Secondly, the first paragraph in that chunk above hints at the performance in the last few seasons being enough - that level 2 football as we've cast it without command of the more dominant passing football that some sides can resort to will tick us over, and we'll be happy to accept no further progress. We want to return to dominance, and independently of the shitstorm behind the scenes, we want to see our footballers used in the most effective way. Should we accept no progress beyond where we were in the last few years?
Last season was the best I have seen us look for a long time. There was this absolute sickness about how we crushed teams from the 60th minute on. Whatever level dominance is at, it has to pass last season on the way.
And here's where I take greatest exception to the post. You suggest that what follows is 'the truth'. It's not really, is it?
No probably at best debatable, but it sure got your fucking attention didn't it
So the 'truth' is that in losing Sami and Arbeloa, it was inevitable that the defence would cease to function. Also there's the hint that for the midfield to be able to turn the screws, the defence must keep us in games for a while. Only then can the forwards win it.
So defenders defend, midfielders turn screws, and forwards win it. What about the side functioning as a unit, the Rafa always talks about wanting his sides to function?
Being dead hard to beat is the first order of business. Our recent success under Rafa has been built upon that premise. We do not concede many goals. Reina wins Gold Gloves at home. We are a stingy fucking side away in Europe. We don't have defensive lapses in twelve games straight. The team functions as a unit, yes, of course, but everyone has a primary function. Our forwards are expected to do the bulk of the goalscoring, and our defense is not supposed to get beaten consistency. That's the understanding. Or was.
Hindsight is 20/20, and the rearview mirror shows that our centerbacks were weak to start the season. Skittles and Carra stumbled out of the gates. Both match winning goals against Spurs and Villa were given up in the air. We escaped from Bolton away, but we had to come back twice. Fiorentina, Chelsea, Lyon, Arsenal and Fulham benefited from shambolic defending on our part.
So yes, absolutely, I think Captain Sami Hyppia would have made a difference. Less mistakes, more aerial presence, leadership, and probably a goal or two at the other end.
Losing Sami and Arbeloa left us with Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Sotiris Krgiakos, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Andrea Dossena, Emiliano Insua... from that list, you've got 8 international footballers. Coaching was the issue, not the loss of Sami and Arbeloa.
I would trade most of them for the impact Sami would have brought to a dodgy back line. In any case, Aurelio and Agger weren't usually available, Johnson joined them in sickbay before long, and only after the initial fifteen stitches hit did we scramble for Kyrgiakos. Usually the culprit was a big defensive lapse. Coaching might have prevented Carragher from tackling Mascherano and then breaking Skrtel's jaw, but I'd sooner blame Carra. I was amazed at that bull-in-a-china-shop routine, and you probably also saw the confidence drain from our XI right up and out of the stadium.
Why is that a 'truth'? We ought to have recovered, given the players we had at our disposal and the fact that, save for a couple of games, our side was stronger than its opponent every single time, and often held a lead until the dying seconds, only to lose it due to poor decision making and rank stupidity.
No argument there.
That's where the poker metaphor is maybe more apt. What happens when you've got the game locked up and one deal left to play?
You maximize the damage. The football equivalent would be Babel scoring with his arse when we're up a half dozen in garbage time. A one goal lead is not garbage time.
My memory of that game is not that we attacked like drunken frat boys, and the goals we conceded were basic defensive mistakes. The fact we couldn't stick to a game plan and make it work was down to the coaching, and nothing else.
How can coaching overcome losing 2 players to injuries in the first 20 minutes? Agger looked like he was pulled out of a car accident. How many times have we had big injuries in the first half of a match this season? How can you blame not being able to stick to a game plan when you have to change it twice in the first twenty minutes, watch the replacement player score, then fuck up, then fuck up again, and you still come from behind to snatch an opportunistic draw against a team that pisses money? How can it be coaching? That ball bounces one way, we have an early lead, and Rafa's a genius, it bounces another, Agger's hospitalized, Rafa's bottled the coaching.
At the very least, we should have been able to muster the defiance we eventually managed to show against Spurs at home. Why didn't that come earlier?
We did, against United, no? And Everton since. You're quite right, though, I thought our Champions League campaign was particularly weak. Jovetic, really I mean come on. Five Times, have some pride.
It's a dangerous thing to swallow excuses whole I'd suggest. We are a better side than you're saying, regardless of the problems we face. We've been in enough winning situations and thrown them away that had we dealt with even half of them, we'd still be in the CL, and we'd still have a mathematical chance in the league.
We weakened the squad, especially at the back, stumbled out the gates, and got inured while drowning in vats of bad luck. Subtle coaching changes may have made a difference, as you suggest, we did enough to take the lead against Arsenal, but then got done on an own goal. You want take the lead, draw them out, and hit them again. Sometimes, rarely, you score an own goal to let them back in the game before you can score again. Defensive disaster can strike. Johnson - own goal - Arshavin - bang bang, go home, thanks for coming. Forget the blatant penalty appeal, nothing to see here.
That I put down to confidence. When a football team is shaken, it makes mistakes, almost expects disaster like a self-fulfilling prophecy. The poker equivalent is the expectant loser.
I believe this season is an obstacle course that will determine our medium term future. It's not pretty, and it's littered with mistakes, but you cannot ignore the guys that left, and the hundred million quid worth of sickbay. That's the difference between last season and this. Not coaching.
