Gah. It was horrible wasn't it?
It's just been a horrible season, to be honest. I know we could end up with two trophies to our name by the end of it (though that looks increasingly unlikely with the sheer number of absentees for the semi-final, Reina, Agger, Lucas et al.) but it has been dire. Directionless, chaotic, frustrating. The fact is it is April and I don't believe that with a fully fit squad Kenny would be able to pick a starting XI, or at least a starting XI where all of the players would be fielded in their correct positions. What is Steven Gerrard? Because he isn't a central midfielder, yet he is being played there. What is Luis Suarez, because he isn't a no. 9 and that's where he has been played every single time he has taken to the field for Liverpool this season, even when the actual no. 9 is on the pitch. And the less said about the aforementioned no. 9 the better at this stage.
It is desperately frustrating because last season, we had the makings of a very, very good Liverpool side. It was as though you had rewound to the eighties (not that I was there), but added exotic names, pass and move football, international stars, goals and plenty of the, We were the second most in form team in the league and we went from relegation long shots to mounting a sort of assault on forth place. Eleven months on from that that wonderful evening at Craven Cottage, which in terms of pure footballing enjoyment from a Liverpool side comes second only to our demolition of Aston Villa at Anfield in 2009 that I have seen, we are an abject mess.
This is sort of vaguely how I remember us lining up last season, and I honestly had the hardest time working it out because, what I recall from that period from January to May when all the deals had been done was fluidity, was movement, was freedom in our forward play, and goals (remember those?). It was a narrow midfield, the width came from Glen Johnson whether he was being deployed on the right or left of the back four and the front four moved around alot, and all of them scored popped up scoring goals.
--------Lucas--------Spearing--------- -----------Lucas-------Spearing----------
--Meireles--------------------Maxi----- --------------------------------------------
---------------Suarez------------------ -------Maxi-----Meireles-----Kuyt-------
----------------Kuyt-------------------- ------------------Suarez------------------
Indeed in the fourteen games after the transfer window shut our 'front four' scored 25 league goals, twenty-five and that's discounting a goal a piece from Skrtel, Johnson and quite bizarrely Joe Cole, as well as Carroll's brace against Manchester City.
Player GoalsMeireles 3
Suarez 4
Kuyt 9
Maxi 7
The period between Stoke City (h) and Tottenham Hotspur (h) was one filled with a sense of optimisism, it was an absolute joy to watch Liverpool play, Anfield was for that brief window of four months a lovely place to be. We played with freedom, with passion, with fight, with speed, with intellegence, and these weren't easy games both victories against Chelsea and Manchester United and a hard fought draw at the Emirates had to be earned. It wasn't perfect but our form was impressive
WWDLWWLWDWWWLL, our performances even more so and the general consensus was that we had something to build on in the summer and with the right investment we could get back up into the Champions League places and eventually challenge for honours.
It was considered by almost everyone that with Dalglish, Clarke, Comolli, and Fenway, with stability off the pitch, unity amongst the fan base that we had a winning formula. Yet this summers transfer activity tore up the foundations of a potentially very good Liverpool side that had pass and move coursing through its veins in favour of the current mess we have seen turn out for large portions of the season. And the reasons as to why are beyond me. Out went the shithouse whose probably won more tackles that Charlie Adam this season, into oblivion went Maxi Rodriguez, the fluid style of play where interchanging positions was common place waved goodbye and a static, rigid, lifeless 4-4-2 replaced it.
The problems we are currently seeing, the nervousness across the back four, the hurried, uninspiring, uncreative play in the midfield, and the ineffective forward play has been there all season long. It has been exacerbated by injuries and in this ridiculous post-cup final lull but it has been there all season long. And to assess where this has all come from we really have to look at the summer and work our way through to the present day.
If you could have drawn up a 'wish-list' in the summer most Liverpool supporters would have said we needed, a left back, a centre back, cover for Lucas Leiva, and support for Luis Suarez. And Kenny/Comolli went out and provided the first two, Jose Enrique came in and has done well save for his somewhat fatigued performances in recent weeks, unsurprising when considering that the only legitimate cover in the shape of Emiliano Insua was sent packing. Sebastian Coates followed and that was an exciting deal was it not? Fellow insomniacs would have seen him impress for Uruguay as we cheered on Luis Suarez (hoped they got knocked out as early as possible so he could have a proper pre-season) at the heart of the South Americans defence. Support for Suarez was in theory found by the inspired re-signing of Craig Bellamy but his knees have limited his impact and ability to remian anyting more than a bit part player.
But after that our focus turned elsewhere, Adam came in as a partner for Lucas, and for 'partner' read 'the fella you leave to do all the legwork while you ping about the ball with gay abandon', Henderson came in as one for the future, a young lad many accredited as being good enough to potentially ascend Gerrard's throne, who has been shunted out on the right of midfield and gone from 'quietly effective' to a bag of nerves ironically cheered off at half time at Anfield, with moments of great technique and skill interspersed throughout. Hopefully the Anfield 'faithful' will resist the urge to beat out of him any remaining self-worth and allow him to be the talent for Liverpool we know he can be, but I don't hold out much hope.
--------------Lucas------Adam----------------- ----------------Lucas---------Adam-------------
Henderson----------------------------Downing --Henderson-----------------------Downing----
------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------
--------------Carroll---------------------------- -------------Kuyt---------------------------------
----------------------Suarez-------------------- ---------------------------Suarez-----------------
This season, from August to April, we have scored on just thirty six occasions and the front four that we have started with this season is producing very little in the way of quality, and where last season it seemed as though everyone was on the same wavelength, the current crop look like strangers.
Player GoalsHenderson 1
Downing 0
Suarez 7
Kuyt 2
Carroll 3
The loss of Lucas Leiva was a shattering one, it pretty much spelled the end of our league season. He is growing more and more important to the Liverpool cause with each passing week and he can't even kick a ball again, yet. And while yes, everyone would miss a player of his standard and it is understandable there has been a dip in form as a result it makes the decision not to ensure our squad had adequate cover for the Brazilian a truly unforgivable one. Indeed he shouldn't have even been fielded in the game where his injury occurred, considering the legwork he had been doing in the centre of the park and his lack of preseason. It was horrendous mismanagement, because Spearing, likeable though he is, ain't the man to step into Lucas Leiva's boots.
So that brings us to the question of where has it all gone wrong?
Tactics and personnel:We have abandoned the offensive minded 4-2-3-1 (of sorts) from last season in favour of a rigid 4-4-2 and through this and judging by the players signed it was clear to me that Kenny/Comolli sought to accomodate Andy Carroll. £35M they had too, right?
So in came Charlie '10M for his set pieces alone' Adam for free kicks and corners, so too Stewart Downing a conventional left winger, and Jose Enrique who had linked well with him at Newcastle. But in order to do this Maxi Rodriguez, a perfect foil for Luis Suarez was dropped, and has barely featured even from the bench this season. Meireles went who likewise linked well with Suarez, as late as in our 2-0 victory against Arsenal in which the pair changed the game and grabbed us the three points.
And while Luis Suarez has still dazzled this season, he hasn't been the same threat as he was last term.
Attitude:A wise man once said
'the difference between players is not always the quality but the mentality' and I think if our season is a testament to anything it is this, there is no fighting spirit, there is no drive, there is no leadership.
Stewart Downing is not a bad footballer, in fact he is a very good one, but he is all too content to go hide when the going gets tough. He has all the skill necessary to be a very good left winger for Liverpool, he is bloody quick, he can cross a ball, he can score goals, but he is all to happy to coast through games and go unnoticed. He is a good footballer but he doesn't have the mentality to perform at a Club like Liverpool, at Aston Villa a player like Downing flourishes but at Liverpool he has made next to no impact: 0 goals and 0 assists in the PL.
Andy Carroll, I had to mention him eventually. Newcastle was the final straw for me. I've been accepting of the fact he is young, he is inexperienced in the top flight, he has the burden of a price tag he didn't ask for and a move he was pushed into. But on very few occasions has he shown the character, or fight, or commitment that could repay the continued support Kenny Dalglish has given him.
And our captains attitude in the last two games has been unacceptable, certainly not befitting of the armband his is supposed to wear with such distinction, he spent the last fifteen minutes against Wigan hiding, and he barely broke a sweat in that 90 minutes against Newcastle, the only time he took control of anything was sending his manager packing back to his technical area, it may be a case of reading too much into it, but it didn't look good did it?
So, Newcastle 0-2 Liverpool:The two biggest concerns I brought out of the game yesterday, as for my own sanity I'm disregarding Andy Carroll until the end, came in the shape of the continued presence of Jamie Carragher and the performance (and attitude as mentioned above) of Steven Gerrard.
The simple fact is that Jamie Carragher is not good enough to warrant a starting berth in a Premier League side, and when I say that I don't just mean Liverpool. He has started I believe 15 of the 31 league games this season and these figures are only as 'low' as they are because he suffered an injury which in turn allowed the Agger-Skrtel partnership to being, and it was only on account of it's success that he remained out of the side (though he was brought in on a couple of occasions as a part of a bizarre 5 man defensive unit).
Daniel Agger then breaks his rib (which is of course a huge loss to any side and one that would have adversely affected us regardless) and it is not Sebastian Coates who is chosen to replace him, the internationally capped, athletic, aerially dominant, former Nacional captain who is elected to replace him and garner some much needed Premier League experience allowing us to draw a hugely beneficial positive from a bad situation, but Carragher.
In the five league games that he has started in since this game, we have conceded nine goals, and this is from a defence that had been statistically superior to all other PL sides to the extent that Pepe Reina was on course to win his forth golden glove award. Now we must also consider the disruption to the right back berth since the final, but these symptoms were long before, you only have to consider the disarray away to Spurs, the penalty conceded at Stoke, the fact he allowed Van Persie the most deadly striker in the league to slip away from him twice in the penalty area, on the fact he decided the best course of action when Caldwell found himself with the ball at his feet eight yards out was to, well what exactly did he do?
He shouldn't be playing for Liverpool anymore, not at 34 with tired legs, an even tired-er mind, and when his inclusion brings the degree of disarray to the back line as it does. It is no coincidence that Martin Skrtel, our player of the season, looks a shadow of himself when paired with Carragher. The level of disorder the man apparently famed for his organisational skills brings in worrying. But the biggest reason why Carragher shouldn't be in that side is simply because there is a better player sat on the bench and ultimately the buck stops with Kenny. He has to make the call, galling though it may be for him, he has to make it, and if it's player power, he has to stand up and ship them out.
Now on to our captain, I'm sure everyone will have seen the statistics of Liverpool's form when since Gerrard returned to the starting XI and while in some quarters they'll be dismissed as part of a bitter agenda against him, anyone who is willing to look at them as 'player X', a 31 year old midfielder who has been riddled with injuries and has shirked responsibility for much of the last three years, and not Steven Gerrard the man who lifted the European Cup seven years ago, you will see there are massive, massive concerns.
Playing in a position he insists on playing in, and really we cannot continue to pretend that Steven Gerrard is playing there for any other reason than Steven Gerrard thinks it is his best position, he has looked dramatically off the pace. With Steven Gerrard part of a midfield 'two' in a four man midfield, Liverpool FC will struggle. He isn't a central midfielder, and at 31 he isn't going to suddenly learn how to be one. We can make all the same arguments over and over again if we wish but the fact is the father away from goal, the less relevant Gerrard becomes. In the centre of the park he is wasted. He can't drive at defences (because if he does - which he has - he leaves our back four exposed), he can't link up with Luis Suarez, he cannot provide the crosses, or incisive passes the will create space for his teammates. We are opting to have a mediocre central midfielder in favour of a wonderful offensive midfielder.
The first goal was evidence of the disarray in our defence. Why was Skrtel so deep? Why did both Spearing and Shelvey feign to close down Ben Arfa but neither actually do it? Why were Carragher and Enrique so flatfooted?
The second goal was testament to the lack of presence and quality in the centre of midfield, Newcastle won the ball from a broken down attack deep in their half, they then passed the ball throughout the midfield with ease, with pace and most importantly without any pressure. No pressure. In fact the only time a Liverpool playergot within five feet of the ball was when Skrtel rushed out of the extremely deep back four and then the pass to Cisse was a simple one.
As for Carroll, s long as I live I'll never understand why he went down, it was a dive. Kenny is defending his player again, and to be honest it is testament to the man he is that he hasn't slaughtered him in the press because it was an embarrassment to the Club and to Kenny Dalglish. He was shown faith by getting a starting role, he then dives with the goal at his mercy, whines and moans for the rest of the game, playing the occasion and not the game, is subbed and shows disregard to his manager and his Club by stomping of down the tunnel hurling his shirt as he did so. He doesn't want to be here, he isn't good enough to be here, and he shouldn't be here when the league season kicks off in August.
Kenny:Quite simply isn't the problem, of course I am concerned at the lack of direction and game plan but he is entitled to a bad season and to reassess and regroup in the Summer. Of course he must take a degree of the blame, as all managers ultimately live and die by results but he has been let down by players, let down by the boardroom over important issues and has the nous to sort out the underlying problems. Last season showed he can get us playing and we don't know the dynamics of the relationship between him and Comolli to know who must take the 'blame' for whom.
But these owners are an unknown entity and this run of form and failure to qualify for the CL is disappointing to say the least. He should be given more time and more money, but I doubt he'll get both and fear he won't get either.
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Liverpool in the league this season, can be described in the million words I've probably used above, or with one picture;
A bit of a flop really.
