So the FA are looking at Brendan Rodgers' comments after the Man City - Liverpool game yesterday, and it's not really a surprise. It won't be a surprise to Rodgers either. Will he be punished? Yes. Should he be punished? Probably. Will it bother him? No.
Saying the officials were horrendous is merely putting forward a personal opinion, even if any seasoned football fan can see it as a fairly accurate statement. Mentioning the Lee Mason is from Greater Manchester is implying, without saying it explicitly, that the referee favoured the home side. Suggesting a match official is / was biased isn't really acceptable and to be honest I very much doubt it's true. More to the point I doubt Brendan Rodgers believes it to be true. Bad decisions were made, but they were made because the officials were inept, not because they had any vested interest in seeing a specific team win. And Rodgers knows this.
I didn't watch very much of the 'Being Liverpool' documentary at the start of last season but the bits I did see made it clear our manager is very keen on the psychological aspects of the game. I have a strong feeling the Northern Irishman knew what he was doing when he laid into Lee Mason after our defeat at the Etihad.
Which manager has spent more time than any other criticising officials during the Premier League era? And which manager has had the most success during the Premier League era? You should have the same answer for both questions. As much as we despise Alex Ferguson as a manager and as a person you cannot argue with his ability to make a team play for him. Having a pop at match officials was part and parcel of this for him and it worked. 'Come on lads, everyone is against us, even the ref, we'll have to put twice as much in today to get a result'. It worked. The 'it's us against the world' mentality helped forge winning team after winning team and it can work for us the way it worked for them.
When Man City come to Anfield it will be a tough game for us, but imagine the team talk now - 'Right lads, remember the ref last time? We're not going to get any favours, we've got to give it everything out on that pitch'. And if Rodgers does receive a touchline or stadium ban for what he said, how easy will it be for his assistant to motivate a team to play for the manager who took a bullet standing up for them? The manager is the spokesman for the group and saying difficult things that you know will land you in hot water for the good of the group will earn you respect.
At the end of last season I hadn't really warmed to Brendan Rodgers, I don't mean I wasn't keen or I didn't have faith in him, I just felt he hadn't left much of an impression on me. Hearing him standing up for the Liverpool players and echoing the words of most of the fans watching the game yesterday will go just as far towards winning me over as some of the exciting football he's been getting out of the team. We're Liverpool and we stand by our own.
Friday, 27 December 2013
Monday, 2 September 2013
One Nil Wins, New Signings And The League Cup
It's been a little while since I put anything on here so there's a bit to catch up on LFC related, first and foremost we've earned nine points out of nine and currently sit top. Looking at our fixtures I would have been happy with six or seven points by now so to have achieved the maximum is impressive. Last season it took us eight games to earn nine points, this season we've done it in three matches. And of course it's always nice to beat Man Utd, and it's always fun to defeat David Moyes, I think this is why they invented the phrase 'killing two birds with one stone'.
All three games have been 1-0 with Daniel Sturridge getting the goal, but that's where the similarities end. All three goals have been very different and so have all three performances. Against Stoke we passed well and played very positively, against Villa we tailed off dramatically after half time and against Man Utd it was a case of scoring early and keeping our heads and working hard as a unit. Three different types of victories but all pleasing. Our next four fixtures are Swansea, Southampton, Sunderland and Crystal Palace, all winnable games. Though football being football we won't win them all, it's just not how it goes, but if we could manage three victories from the four encounters we'll be set up nicely for a big season. Our good start so far rightly increases expectation but it shouldn't lead us to believe we'll win the title, there's too far to go yet and we haven't proven we have the consistency needed to achieve anything like that. But three wins and three clean sheets is the prefect start and long may it continue.
We've brought in a couple more defenders, Tiago Ilori and Mamadou Sakho at a total cost of around £25 million. Currently we have Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel, Kolo Toure plus the two new recruits which seems a bit excessive to me for a side without the extra fixtures of European football. I think Skrtel was probably on the verge of a switch to Napoli before his performance yesterday, though I wouldn't be overly surprised if that still happened. Ilori is one for the future but Sakho is ready now and will have joined with the promise of first team football. Toure has settled in quickly, meaning once he recovers from his injury Brendan Rogers has a big decision to make about who plays, but no manager will ever complain about having too many options, competition is healthy and will hopefully lead to raised performances from those chosen.
Victor Moses also looks like joining on loan from Chelsea in what at first seems like a strange move but after a bit of a think it makes perfect sense. We've tried and failed to sign attackers Henrik Mikhataryan, Diego Costa and Willian so far, showing that Rogers clearly feels the squad needs more forward options. Having failed to secure any of these signatures we're left with two choices - panic buy and over pay (prime example being Andy Carroll), or start the season with the squad a forward short, like the first half of last season until Sturridge arrived. We dropped too many points before Christmas and were left playing catch up from too early on and consequently missed out on a European place. Finding a third option of bringing a loan player in is without doubt the right way to go. As far as I understand it it's a straightforward loan deal with no option to buy, meaning we're not looking at Moses long term, he's here for a year. This gives us time to scout properly for a genuinely top class attacker without leaving the squad short. I'd also think that bringing Moses in on loan means we have no real interest in bringing Tom Ince back to the club, as had been suggested in some quarters.
The League Cup victory against Notts County was the perfect example of why you shouldn't pick first team players in such a fixture, three injuries taking the shine off what was a really well fought cup tie. The difficulty of the game was also the perfect example of why you do need to pick first team players in the competition, it's a bit of a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' scenario. I think overall it was good for the players to have experienced being ahead, being pegged back and pushing on to win, without having the pressure of dropping any league points. Hopefully County's comeback from 2-0 down will serve as a helpful warning to us early on in the season.
The draw for the next round sees us visit Old Trafford, which will be feisty to say the least. Visiting fans are allocated more seats for cup games, add an evening kick off into the mix and it gets more explosive, throw in the return of Luis Suarez (assuming he doesn't move on today) and you have dynamite. Bring it on. Without European football we have two cup competitions we can win this season and we should be having a real go at them both. If we're to win the League Cup then somebody has to knock out Man Utd along the way, why shouldn't it be us? What would have made it better for me though is if Brendan Rogers had come out with the following statement - "It's a tough draw, the hardest we could get, suspiciously so, especially considering we won the competition two seasons ago, it's as if they don't want us to win it again, I only hope the balls in the draw weren't marked, it can't be a coincidence". Of course he couldn't actually say that though could he? They would have been the words of a paranoid manager who has found himself in a job that's far beyond his capabilities......
All three games have been 1-0 with Daniel Sturridge getting the goal, but that's where the similarities end. All three goals have been very different and so have all three performances. Against Stoke we passed well and played very positively, against Villa we tailed off dramatically after half time and against Man Utd it was a case of scoring early and keeping our heads and working hard as a unit. Three different types of victories but all pleasing. Our next four fixtures are Swansea, Southampton, Sunderland and Crystal Palace, all winnable games. Though football being football we won't win them all, it's just not how it goes, but if we could manage three victories from the four encounters we'll be set up nicely for a big season. Our good start so far rightly increases expectation but it shouldn't lead us to believe we'll win the title, there's too far to go yet and we haven't proven we have the consistency needed to achieve anything like that. But three wins and three clean sheets is the prefect start and long may it continue.
We've brought in a couple more defenders, Tiago Ilori and Mamadou Sakho at a total cost of around £25 million. Currently we have Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel, Kolo Toure plus the two new recruits which seems a bit excessive to me for a side without the extra fixtures of European football. I think Skrtel was probably on the verge of a switch to Napoli before his performance yesterday, though I wouldn't be overly surprised if that still happened. Ilori is one for the future but Sakho is ready now and will have joined with the promise of first team football. Toure has settled in quickly, meaning once he recovers from his injury Brendan Rogers has a big decision to make about who plays, but no manager will ever complain about having too many options, competition is healthy and will hopefully lead to raised performances from those chosen.
Victor Moses also looks like joining on loan from Chelsea in what at first seems like a strange move but after a bit of a think it makes perfect sense. We've tried and failed to sign attackers Henrik Mikhataryan, Diego Costa and Willian so far, showing that Rogers clearly feels the squad needs more forward options. Having failed to secure any of these signatures we're left with two choices - panic buy and over pay (prime example being Andy Carroll), or start the season with the squad a forward short, like the first half of last season until Sturridge arrived. We dropped too many points before Christmas and were left playing catch up from too early on and consequently missed out on a European place. Finding a third option of bringing a loan player in is without doubt the right way to go. As far as I understand it it's a straightforward loan deal with no option to buy, meaning we're not looking at Moses long term, he's here for a year. This gives us time to scout properly for a genuinely top class attacker without leaving the squad short. I'd also think that bringing Moses in on loan means we have no real interest in bringing Tom Ince back to the club, as had been suggested in some quarters.
The League Cup victory against Notts County was the perfect example of why you shouldn't pick first team players in such a fixture, three injuries taking the shine off what was a really well fought cup tie. The difficulty of the game was also the perfect example of why you do need to pick first team players in the competition, it's a bit of a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' scenario. I think overall it was good for the players to have experienced being ahead, being pegged back and pushing on to win, without having the pressure of dropping any league points. Hopefully County's comeback from 2-0 down will serve as a helpful warning to us early on in the season.
The draw for the next round sees us visit Old Trafford, which will be feisty to say the least. Visiting fans are allocated more seats for cup games, add an evening kick off into the mix and it gets more explosive, throw in the return of Luis Suarez (assuming he doesn't move on today) and you have dynamite. Bring it on. Without European football we have two cup competitions we can win this season and we should be having a real go at them both. If we're to win the League Cup then somebody has to knock out Man Utd along the way, why shouldn't it be us? What would have made it better for me though is if Brendan Rogers had come out with the following statement - "It's a tough draw, the hardest we could get, suspiciously so, especially considering we won the competition two seasons ago, it's as if they don't want us to win it again, I only hope the balls in the draw weren't marked, it can't be a coincidence". Of course he couldn't actually say that though could he? They would have been the words of a paranoid manager who has found himself in a job that's far beyond his capabilities......
Monday, 19 August 2013
First Weekend Ramblings
So the first weekend of the season has come and gone and it's good to start with a win after last season's disappointing opening result. There were good and bad points from our performance but overall it was encouraging and a good way to begin our campaign.
Firstly the obvious, Simon Mignolet. Our new 'keeper looked a bit nervy early on but that's understandable and his save in the last few minutes from Walters' penalty will help him settle in no end. It's the second time in a row our season has begun with a 'keeper saving a penalty conceded by Daniel Agger, but this time it led to a far happier ending.
I'd also like to mention Kolo Toure. When we announced his capture I didn't think he would be first choice but it seems he is, and he looks to have found his feet within the group very quickly. He's good in the air and very forward thinking and will be a good addition to Liverpool Football Club. It was interesting to see how a player who has been there and seen it all before slots in compared to the less experienced youngsters we've recruited over the last few years. It wasn't just his performance that impressed me but the way he was the first to congratulate his team mates when they did something good, it looks as if he will be a strong and positive personality within the squad.
I'll be the first to admit I was slightly underwhelmed when we shelled out £12 million on Daniel Sturridge but so far he's been worth every penny. Fast, persistent and confident with a much better long range shot than I'd previously thought, he is more than capable of leading our attack.
Stoke are a team we tend to struggle against and it was nice to beat them, and in truth it should have been by more. There's no denying we were far better than they were and that Asmir Begovic was the best player on the pitch, but the one goal margin of victory was slightly concerning. We should have had four or five but weren't as clinical as we will need to be over the coming months. Stoke hit the bar, had one cleared off the line and failed with a late penalty. We got the thoroughly deserved three points but only by a matter of inches, if we continue being so wasteful in front of goal there will be times when we don't get the points our dominance will deserve.
Elsewhere it was interesting to see Arsenal go down at home to Villa, this will surely spark a reaction from Arsene Wenger in the transfer market. Will the come back in for Suarez? Personally I'd be surprised if they don't. I'm not saying they'll get him but they're sure to try again, it's a saga that isn't over despite it going quiet over the last few days. If you're going to buy a player and pay him £150,000 a week but he's suspended until October why wouldn't you leave it until the last minute to sign him? Every three weeks you wait to buy him would save you almost half a million pounds, and for that reason I still expect more bids for him as the transfer deadline approaches, and possibly not just from Arsenal.
It's also interesting to see Everton turning down £28 million from former manager David Moyes for Baines and Fellaini. Personally I think that is a fair price, £12 million for a 29 year old full back sounds about right, anything more would be excessive. And £16 million for Fellaini also sounds about right. He could have gone for £24 million before his release clause expired but nobody bid, suggesting his market value is well below that figure. Of course it's Everton's prerogative to turn down any bid the feel makes the deal not worthwhile for them, I think it's more a measure of Man Utd's desperation if they have to come back with a higher bid. It's frustrating that we've not managed our marquee signing yet despite targeting Mikatarhyan, Costa and Willian but we've still fared better in the transfer market so far than Man Utd and Arsenal.
It's rumoured our pursuit of Brazillian Willian for £30 million (a poet's dream...) will either succeed or fail in the next couple of days, with Spurs also interested. I've not really seen him play so I'm not getting too excited about his potential arrival but he's reportedly a very talented player. Right now there's not a lot to choose between us and Tottenham but they can offer him life in London, something that appeals to many foreigners so in my opinion I'd have them as favourites over us for his signature, though it would be nice to be wrong.
Anyway, that's more than enough of my ramblings, will leave it at that for now. Bring on Villa away at the weekend, let's hope their midweek game at Chelsea takes plenty out of them and we can take full advantage on Saturday.
Firstly the obvious, Simon Mignolet. Our new 'keeper looked a bit nervy early on but that's understandable and his save in the last few minutes from Walters' penalty will help him settle in no end. It's the second time in a row our season has begun with a 'keeper saving a penalty conceded by Daniel Agger, but this time it led to a far happier ending.
I'd also like to mention Kolo Toure. When we announced his capture I didn't think he would be first choice but it seems he is, and he looks to have found his feet within the group very quickly. He's good in the air and very forward thinking and will be a good addition to Liverpool Football Club. It was interesting to see how a player who has been there and seen it all before slots in compared to the less experienced youngsters we've recruited over the last few years. It wasn't just his performance that impressed me but the way he was the first to congratulate his team mates when they did something good, it looks as if he will be a strong and positive personality within the squad.
I'll be the first to admit I was slightly underwhelmed when we shelled out £12 million on Daniel Sturridge but so far he's been worth every penny. Fast, persistent and confident with a much better long range shot than I'd previously thought, he is more than capable of leading our attack.
Stoke are a team we tend to struggle against and it was nice to beat them, and in truth it should have been by more. There's no denying we were far better than they were and that Asmir Begovic was the best player on the pitch, but the one goal margin of victory was slightly concerning. We should have had four or five but weren't as clinical as we will need to be over the coming months. Stoke hit the bar, had one cleared off the line and failed with a late penalty. We got the thoroughly deserved three points but only by a matter of inches, if we continue being so wasteful in front of goal there will be times when we don't get the points our dominance will deserve.
Elsewhere it was interesting to see Arsenal go down at home to Villa, this will surely spark a reaction from Arsene Wenger in the transfer market. Will the come back in for Suarez? Personally I'd be surprised if they don't. I'm not saying they'll get him but they're sure to try again, it's a saga that isn't over despite it going quiet over the last few days. If you're going to buy a player and pay him £150,000 a week but he's suspended until October why wouldn't you leave it until the last minute to sign him? Every three weeks you wait to buy him would save you almost half a million pounds, and for that reason I still expect more bids for him as the transfer deadline approaches, and possibly not just from Arsenal.
It's also interesting to see Everton turning down £28 million from former manager David Moyes for Baines and Fellaini. Personally I think that is a fair price, £12 million for a 29 year old full back sounds about right, anything more would be excessive. And £16 million for Fellaini also sounds about right. He could have gone for £24 million before his release clause expired but nobody bid, suggesting his market value is well below that figure. Of course it's Everton's prerogative to turn down any bid the feel makes the deal not worthwhile for them, I think it's more a measure of Man Utd's desperation if they have to come back with a higher bid. It's frustrating that we've not managed our marquee signing yet despite targeting Mikatarhyan, Costa and Willian but we've still fared better in the transfer market so far than Man Utd and Arsenal.
It's rumoured our pursuit of Brazillian Willian for £30 million (a poet's dream...) will either succeed or fail in the next couple of days, with Spurs also interested. I've not really seen him play so I'm not getting too excited about his potential arrival but he's reportedly a very talented player. Right now there's not a lot to choose between us and Tottenham but they can offer him life in London, something that appeals to many foreigners so in my opinion I'd have them as favourites over us for his signature, though it would be nice to be wrong.
Anyway, that's more than enough of my ramblings, will leave it at that for now. Bring on Villa away at the weekend, let's hope their midweek game at Chelsea takes plenty out of them and we can take full advantage on Saturday.
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Welcome To The Jeremy Kyle Show Luis Suarez And Brendan Rodgers.....
JK – Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Jeremy Kyle show. Today we have with us Luis and Brendan. Luis desperately wants a baby but so far Brendan hasn’t been able to give him one, Luis claims Brendan promised him a baby and after a year of trying without success he wants to end the relationship. Luis has also said he’s had enough of the neighbourhood gossips and wants to move to a new estate. Let’s not wait any longer and bring out Luis.
(Some applause, some booing)
JK – Now Luis, this seems a fairly common situation, tell us your side of the story.
LS- I’m very happy with Brendan but I’ve had enough of the gossips on the council estate and I need to move house. They say things about me that aren’t true and I need to get away from them. They don’t treat me the same way they treat everyone else and it’s not fair.
JK- Is that the real reason? It strikes me that if you’re happy in your relationship you can get past that.
LS – OK, the real reason is that I’m 26 and I want a baby now, I can’t wait any longer. Last summer Brendan promised me a baby within a year and we haven’t had one so I want to leave him and find someone else who can give me the child I want so badly. I’d be a great parent, I really deserve a baby.
JK – What’s your relationship like with Brendan? How does his family treat you?
LS – I’ve had a great year with Brendan, probably the best year of my life so far, but we haven’t managed to have a baby yet. And I really want a baby. His family have been really good with me, even when I wrote horrible things on Facebook and embarrassed them they stuck up for me and always ‘liked’ my status updates. But I’ve had enough of the gossips on the council estate and I want a baby.
JK- We’ve heard from Luis, now let’s bring out Brendan.
(Muted applause)
JK- Welcome to the show Brendan. We’ve heard from Luis, now let’s hear your side of things.
BR- I’ve never promised Luis a baby, I’ve told him we’ll try really hard for one but I’ve never promised he can leave if we don’t have one. I really want a baby too and I want that to happen with Luis.
JK- So you’re saying you’ve never promised him he can leave if you don’t have a baby?
BR- That’s exactly what I’m saying. Luis will be a great parent and deserves a baby, but if he’s patient I can give him that.
JK- And what about all this stuff about the gossips on the council estate?
BR- He’s saying that, but it turns out he now wants a baby with someone else on the same street!!
JK- Is this true Luis?
LS- So what? It’s not like it’s with our next door neighbour or that lot across the road that we don’t get on with, it’s all the way down the other end of the street. And Brendan promised me a baby and I want to leave him.
BR- I never promised him a baby.
JK- Have you been trying much lately?
LS- I tried really hard to get us a baby.
BR- Luis hasn’t tried very hard lately as he’s had an STI for the last few months and it won’t clear up until October time.
JK- Now that is a revelation! Luis, how has Brendan and his family treated you since you’ve had your STI?
LS- They’ve been really good with me, always saying nice things and trying to make me feel better.
JK- And you don’t feel you owe them anything in return?
LS- I want a baby, Brendan promised me a baby. I want someone else to give me a baby now.
JK- So how are you going to find someone else?
LS- I’ve told the neighbourhood gossips that I want a baby with someone else and now I’ll see who comes over to chat me up next time I’m in the pub.
JK- The same neighbourhood gossips you say have been making your life miserable?
LS- Yes, those ones. And Brendan promised me a baby.
BR- I never promised a baby.
JK- Ladies and gentlemen, I think it’s time for a lie detector test…………………
Monday, 29 July 2013
Pepe Reina's Emotional Goodbye Proves Brendan Rodgers Right
Liverpool have today confirmed that our long term goalkeeper Pepe Reina has joined Rafa Benitez' Napoli on a season long loan deal. Reina has released a lengthy statement via his website on his time at Liverpool, making it very clear how much he loved being here and how much he will miss the club.
It's a very sincere statement and in this day and age of players moving on for money it's refreshing to see someone, especially a foreigner, take a club, it's fans and it's culture so much to heart. Pepe Reina loves Liverpool and Liverpool loves Pepe Reina, he'll miss us and we'll miss him.
What he also mentions in his statement is Barcelona. The Catalan club also have a long term goalkeeper but Victor Valdes has announced he will not be signing another contract at the club, meaning he will leave for free next summer and Barca will need a new number one. Top of the list? Pepe Reina. The Spaniard admits to having talks with Brendan Rodgers about a move to Barca, saying he is happy to stay at Anfield but would seriously consider a switch to the Camp Nou if the opportunity arises. Basically Reina wanted Barca, Barca wanted a 'keeper, what was Rodgers supposed to do?
A replacement was targeted and signed, Simon Mignolet coming in from Sunderland. By all accounts we weren't the only club interested in the Belgian international and we had to move quickly to secure his services. He has Premier League experience and youth on his side and if he settles and develops as we hope he could potentially be our first choice for the next decade. The catch? Victor Valdes has decided to stay at Barca and see out the final year of his contract rather than make a move to Monaco or PSG meaning Barca have decided against making a big money goalkeeping signing this summer.
If we had decided to stick with Reina and Barcelona come in for him next summer we would most probably lose him and be stuck. The way things have panned out we've managed to acquire our first choice as his successor, something that may not have happened if we'd waited twelve months. He's on a salary of around £5 million a year, something we simply cannot justify for a reserve goalkeeper. It's different for outfield players as they can come on for the last twenty or thirty minutes of a match and make an impact, goalkeepers sit and watch unless there's an injury or a sending off. We couldn't keep him, and letting him out on loan for a year benefits all parties.
I have a lot of time and respect for Reina as a man and as a footballer and I wish him well, to be honest the sentimental part of me really doesn't want to see him move on. But his idea that he would wait for Barcelona to come in for him and keep Liverpool as his back up option smacks of someone who wants to have his cake and eat it, something we just can't entertain.
It's easy to remember just how good he was two or three years ago and say that allowing him to leave the club is a mistake, but the way everything has happened we've taken the only option realistically available to us. Pepe Reina's goodbye statement confirms exactly why we love and respect him so much, and also explains exactly why Brendan Rodgers had no choice but to bring in Simon Mignolet and let Reina go.
Good luck Pepe, YNWA.
It's a very sincere statement and in this day and age of players moving on for money it's refreshing to see someone, especially a foreigner, take a club, it's fans and it's culture so much to heart. Pepe Reina loves Liverpool and Liverpool loves Pepe Reina, he'll miss us and we'll miss him.
What he also mentions in his statement is Barcelona. The Catalan club also have a long term goalkeeper but Victor Valdes has announced he will not be signing another contract at the club, meaning he will leave for free next summer and Barca will need a new number one. Top of the list? Pepe Reina. The Spaniard admits to having talks with Brendan Rodgers about a move to Barca, saying he is happy to stay at Anfield but would seriously consider a switch to the Camp Nou if the opportunity arises. Basically Reina wanted Barca, Barca wanted a 'keeper, what was Rodgers supposed to do?
A replacement was targeted and signed, Simon Mignolet coming in from Sunderland. By all accounts we weren't the only club interested in the Belgian international and we had to move quickly to secure his services. He has Premier League experience and youth on his side and if he settles and develops as we hope he could potentially be our first choice for the next decade. The catch? Victor Valdes has decided to stay at Barca and see out the final year of his contract rather than make a move to Monaco or PSG meaning Barca have decided against making a big money goalkeeping signing this summer.
If we had decided to stick with Reina and Barcelona come in for him next summer we would most probably lose him and be stuck. The way things have panned out we've managed to acquire our first choice as his successor, something that may not have happened if we'd waited twelve months. He's on a salary of around £5 million a year, something we simply cannot justify for a reserve goalkeeper. It's different for outfield players as they can come on for the last twenty or thirty minutes of a match and make an impact, goalkeepers sit and watch unless there's an injury or a sending off. We couldn't keep him, and letting him out on loan for a year benefits all parties.
I have a lot of time and respect for Reina as a man and as a footballer and I wish him well, to be honest the sentimental part of me really doesn't want to see him move on. But his idea that he would wait for Barcelona to come in for him and keep Liverpool as his back up option smacks of someone who wants to have his cake and eat it, something we just can't entertain.
It's easy to remember just how good he was two or three years ago and say that allowing him to leave the club is a mistake, but the way everything has happened we've taken the only option realistically available to us. Pepe Reina's goodbye statement confirms exactly why we love and respect him so much, and also explains exactly why Brendan Rodgers had no choice but to bring in Simon Mignolet and let Reina go.
Good luck Pepe, YNWA.
Thursday, 25 July 2013
I Didn't Want To Talk About Luis Suarez But...........
I'd made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to write about Luis Suarez until the whole 'will he stay or will he go' saga was resolved one way or another, but I've read so many opinions about it all I just had to contribute my thoughts. And to be honest I've got more views on how everyone else feels than I've got on the Uruguayan himself.
Arsenal fans - some of you seem to be against the idea of signing Suarez, if you'd actually watched him closely you would be prepared to move heaven and earth to get him to your club, he is that good, he would bring you far closer to being title contenders than you are now. You call him a diver, remember Robert Pires, Patrick Viera, Eduardo? You don't have any problems with divers at your club, you've proved it. You call Suarez vile, well, he's had a couple of unsavoury incidents on the football pitch, but off it he's a normal, decent guy. You worship the likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson who have been guilty of far more serious things in life than Suarez, get over it, stop being so hypocritical. You want your club to spend big, Suarez is the best player you have any chance of getting, you should back your manager and embrace the possibility of one of the best players in European football joining your club.
Liverpool fans - I'm hearing the word 'loyalty' a lot, and it's very appropriate. But be completely honest, have we stuck by Suarez because we stand by each and every one of our own, or simply because he is such an incredible player? Imagine Jay Spearing had caused us the same controversies Suarez has, a hard working local lad but with limited ability, would we stand so fiercely behind him or would we be happy to let him go to Blackburn or Bolton or some such club? And look at Stewart Downing, he's worked twice as hard to stay at the club as Suarez has at trying to leave the club, are we loyal to him? Does he get our unwavering support? I think not. Yes, Suarez has been in situations where we could have quite rightly taken a different view and cast him aside, and yes, it would be nice if he showed some commitment in return, but that's not how the world works, and if we were the chasing club in a similar transfer story would we be thinking the player should join us or not? Not difficult is it.
Another thing a lot of Liverpool fans are saying, why would he move to Arsenal? Man City, Chelsea, even Man Utd we could understand as they are challenging for the title but Arsenal are content with their '4th place trophy' every season. Well, lets be realistic about what we are aiming for, we want to break into the top four. In short what we want for Liverpool over the next few seasons is exactly where Arsenal already are and have been for the past decade. Our medium term ambition is Arsenal's current reality so calling Suarez unambitious for considering moving there is a little strange. And why wouldn't Arsenal be looking at Suarez? If we'd been playing Champions League football for the last ten seasons in a row and a team finishing seventh had a player as good as Suarez we would be screaming at the board to go out and try to buy him. Tottenham fans didn't want to see Robbie Keane leave for Anfield but I don't remember any Liverpool fans giving them a second thought when he came to us.
Fans of other teams, especially our rivals - those of you saying you just want to see the back of him should be honest about your reasons.. 'He's a cheating racist cannibal and Liverpool should get rid of him', I'm sick of hearing that. If a team I didn't like (Everton, Man Utd) had a player that caused them as much controversy and negative publicity as Suarez causes us I'd be desperate for them to keep him and hopefully drag their name through even more mud. Unless he was a world class talent who singlehandedly made a massive difference to their performances and results. You all may not like Suarez, that's your personal choice, but the only reason you want to see the back of him is because you would rather face a Liverpool side without him than with him.
Luis Suarez himself - well, where to start? He signed a new contract last summer when we weren't in the Champions League. At that time we had a new manager, a new project and a new philosophy at the club. When he signed his new contract he will have been fully aware that we were unlikely to break into the top four in Brendan Rodgers' first season so he can't be surprised to find Liverpool where we are. The second half of last season showed a lot of promise and if he stays he has every reason to feel optimistic about our chances for 2013/14. He has made plenty of mention of the English media influencing his desire to move on from Liverpool which I find a little bit soft but still understandable, to a degree. So why then move to the capital of England where the majority of the media is actually based? Very strange. In fairness I don't think Suarez has courted Arsenal, I think they're his only real option so far, but if he did decide to move to the Emirates he would have a lot of questions to answer. I wonder if he and his agent are using Arsenal to try to get Real Madrid's attention? Maybe Madrid are letting Arsenal do all the negotiating and will then jump in if a fee is ever agreed.
The £40 million clause - apparently this clause states that any bid in excess of this figure allows the player to speak to the bidding club, but doesn't mean Liverpool have to accept the bid. That sounds very strange to me and if it's true then the players lawyers haven't really served their client very well when that was drawn up. And as for Liverpool, if we were short sighted enough not to include some sort of 'not to a rival English club competing for the top four' note in his contract then we've left ourselves wide open to a situation like this.
Luis Suarez moving to Arsenal would be a double blow for us, decreasing our chances of returning to the Champions League while at the same time improving the team we could most realistically catch. Selling to Real Madrid for £40 million would make more economic sense than selling to Arsenal for a significantly higher sum. I still feel there will be twists and turns in the whole ordeal before it is over though and I doubt Arsenal will have a clear unchallenged path to the player.
I'm going to try not to make much more mention of the saga from now until it is resolved as I'm beginning to find it repetitive and boring, I just had to vent my feelings today. Do I care whether he stays or goes? Of course, I'm a dedicated Liverpool fan and I want our best player to stay. Can I be bothered with the whole soap opera? Not really. Come on Luis / Liverpool / Arsenal, get on with it, make a decision one way or the other and get on with life.
Arsenal fans - some of you seem to be against the idea of signing Suarez, if you'd actually watched him closely you would be prepared to move heaven and earth to get him to your club, he is that good, he would bring you far closer to being title contenders than you are now. You call him a diver, remember Robert Pires, Patrick Viera, Eduardo? You don't have any problems with divers at your club, you've proved it. You call Suarez vile, well, he's had a couple of unsavoury incidents on the football pitch, but off it he's a normal, decent guy. You worship the likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson who have been guilty of far more serious things in life than Suarez, get over it, stop being so hypocritical. You want your club to spend big, Suarez is the best player you have any chance of getting, you should back your manager and embrace the possibility of one of the best players in European football joining your club.
Liverpool fans - I'm hearing the word 'loyalty' a lot, and it's very appropriate. But be completely honest, have we stuck by Suarez because we stand by each and every one of our own, or simply because he is such an incredible player? Imagine Jay Spearing had caused us the same controversies Suarez has, a hard working local lad but with limited ability, would we stand so fiercely behind him or would we be happy to let him go to Blackburn or Bolton or some such club? And look at Stewart Downing, he's worked twice as hard to stay at the club as Suarez has at trying to leave the club, are we loyal to him? Does he get our unwavering support? I think not. Yes, Suarez has been in situations where we could have quite rightly taken a different view and cast him aside, and yes, it would be nice if he showed some commitment in return, but that's not how the world works, and if we were the chasing club in a similar transfer story would we be thinking the player should join us or not? Not difficult is it.
Another thing a lot of Liverpool fans are saying, why would he move to Arsenal? Man City, Chelsea, even Man Utd we could understand as they are challenging for the title but Arsenal are content with their '4th place trophy' every season. Well, lets be realistic about what we are aiming for, we want to break into the top four. In short what we want for Liverpool over the next few seasons is exactly where Arsenal already are and have been for the past decade. Our medium term ambition is Arsenal's current reality so calling Suarez unambitious for considering moving there is a little strange. And why wouldn't Arsenal be looking at Suarez? If we'd been playing Champions League football for the last ten seasons in a row and a team finishing seventh had a player as good as Suarez we would be screaming at the board to go out and try to buy him. Tottenham fans didn't want to see Robbie Keane leave for Anfield but I don't remember any Liverpool fans giving them a second thought when he came to us.
Fans of other teams, especially our rivals - those of you saying you just want to see the back of him should be honest about your reasons.. 'He's a cheating racist cannibal and Liverpool should get rid of him', I'm sick of hearing that. If a team I didn't like (Everton, Man Utd) had a player that caused them as much controversy and negative publicity as Suarez causes us I'd be desperate for them to keep him and hopefully drag their name through even more mud. Unless he was a world class talent who singlehandedly made a massive difference to their performances and results. You all may not like Suarez, that's your personal choice, but the only reason you want to see the back of him is because you would rather face a Liverpool side without him than with him.
Luis Suarez himself - well, where to start? He signed a new contract last summer when we weren't in the Champions League. At that time we had a new manager, a new project and a new philosophy at the club. When he signed his new contract he will have been fully aware that we were unlikely to break into the top four in Brendan Rodgers' first season so he can't be surprised to find Liverpool where we are. The second half of last season showed a lot of promise and if he stays he has every reason to feel optimistic about our chances for 2013/14. He has made plenty of mention of the English media influencing his desire to move on from Liverpool which I find a little bit soft but still understandable, to a degree. So why then move to the capital of England where the majority of the media is actually based? Very strange. In fairness I don't think Suarez has courted Arsenal, I think they're his only real option so far, but if he did decide to move to the Emirates he would have a lot of questions to answer. I wonder if he and his agent are using Arsenal to try to get Real Madrid's attention? Maybe Madrid are letting Arsenal do all the negotiating and will then jump in if a fee is ever agreed.
The £40 million clause - apparently this clause states that any bid in excess of this figure allows the player to speak to the bidding club, but doesn't mean Liverpool have to accept the bid. That sounds very strange to me and if it's true then the players lawyers haven't really served their client very well when that was drawn up. And as for Liverpool, if we were short sighted enough not to include some sort of 'not to a rival English club competing for the top four' note in his contract then we've left ourselves wide open to a situation like this.
Luis Suarez moving to Arsenal would be a double blow for us, decreasing our chances of returning to the Champions League while at the same time improving the team we could most realistically catch. Selling to Real Madrid for £40 million would make more economic sense than selling to Arsenal for a significantly higher sum. I still feel there will be twists and turns in the whole ordeal before it is over though and I doubt Arsenal will have a clear unchallenged path to the player.
I'm going to try not to make much more mention of the saga from now until it is resolved as I'm beginning to find it repetitive and boring, I just had to vent my feelings today. Do I care whether he stays or goes? Of course, I'm a dedicated Liverpool fan and I want our best player to stay. Can I be bothered with the whole soap opera? Not really. Come on Luis / Liverpool / Arsenal, get on with it, make a decision one way or the other and get on with life.
Saturday, 20 July 2013
Loaning Pepe Reina To Napoli Is A Clever Move By Liverpool
It's been a while since I've put anything on here, to be honest not a lot has inspired me to write. The whole Luis Suarez saga is boring me and I'm not going to go into that until it reaches a conclusion one way or another. We've brought in four players but to be honest, Kolo Toure aside, I don't know much about any of them so I'll make my judgments on whether or not they're decent signings over the course of the season.
What does look likely though is that Pepe Reina is heading out to join up with Rafa Benitez at Napoli on a season long loan deal, which is something of a surprise. Players of Reina's age and standing within the game don't often move on loan but looking at it a little more closely I think it's a really good idea for all concerned.
A few months back Barcelona 'keeper Victor Valdes announced he wouldn't sign a new contract at the Camp Nou, Reina was immediately linked to being his replacement. I've been a Liverpool fan all my life and even I would love to play for Barca (unlikely to happen but I can dream......) so for someone like Pepe who already has ties to the club it must have been more than interesting. Some clubs can offer high wages (Man City), some can offer tradition and reputation (Liverpool) and some can offer Champions League football (Napoli) but Barca can offer all three, making them a dream destination for almost any player. Valdes later announced he will stay at Barca for the coming season, the final one under his current contract. Barcelona need a new 'keeper NEXT summer, not this one.
If Pepe is to join Barca next summer Liverpool don't want to wait until then to replace him so we've been out and signed one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Europe, and we've got him on approximately half the wages we're currently paying to Reina. It's a good deal, especially when you throw Simon Mignolet's Premier League experience into the mix. Reina has been loyal to Liverpool and the various managers of the last few seasons have always chosen him as their number one, and the fans have supported him even though there has been a small but noticeable drop in his performance levels over the last three years. If he wants to move to Barcelona he'll go with our thanks and our best wishes.
So why loan him to Napoli if he wants to go to Barca? Well, a season sitting on our bench will see his transfer value drop, and a year as a substitute leading up to a World Cup is not what a man like him deserves. Napoli will offer him regular football, Champions League football and the chance to work with a manager and goalkeeping coach who get the best out of him. They will also, presumably, pay Liverpool a loan fee. Assuming Reina's transfer value is the same next summer as it is now then adding a loan fee on top of that means in the long term we get more money for him (see Andy Carroll). If he does well under Rafa and they want to keep him there's a chance a bidding war for his services could start, leaving us in a position where we can get more money for him. And if Mignolet doesn't settle as Liverpool's number one 'keeper then we will still have the option of not selling Pepe at all.
It will be sad to start the season without Pepe Reina at the club, and losing him at the same time as Jamie Carragher puts a lot more pressure on the likes of Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger as senior players in the dressing room. We have a relatively inexperienced manager and a young squad by Premier League standards so losing long term servants could hit us hard, but Brendan Rodgers is aware of this and will have plans in place. Signings like Toure are clever and will hopefully fill more than just the void left at centre back by Carragher's retirement.
I don't want to see Pepe Reina leave Liverpool as a man or as a goalkeeper but it's football and these things happen. In many ways the whole thing makes a lot of sense, and as long as Mignolet settles it's a good move all round. Reina currently costs us around £5 million a year in wages and that's too much for a substitute. The loan deal has many advantages over a straightforward sale and I think Liverpool have made a clever decision. Good luck to Pepe and, more importantly, good luck to Simon Mignolet.
What does look likely though is that Pepe Reina is heading out to join up with Rafa Benitez at Napoli on a season long loan deal, which is something of a surprise. Players of Reina's age and standing within the game don't often move on loan but looking at it a little more closely I think it's a really good idea for all concerned.
A few months back Barcelona 'keeper Victor Valdes announced he wouldn't sign a new contract at the Camp Nou, Reina was immediately linked to being his replacement. I've been a Liverpool fan all my life and even I would love to play for Barca (unlikely to happen but I can dream......) so for someone like Pepe who already has ties to the club it must have been more than interesting. Some clubs can offer high wages (Man City), some can offer tradition and reputation (Liverpool) and some can offer Champions League football (Napoli) but Barca can offer all three, making them a dream destination for almost any player. Valdes later announced he will stay at Barca for the coming season, the final one under his current contract. Barcelona need a new 'keeper NEXT summer, not this one.
If Pepe is to join Barca next summer Liverpool don't want to wait until then to replace him so we've been out and signed one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Europe, and we've got him on approximately half the wages we're currently paying to Reina. It's a good deal, especially when you throw Simon Mignolet's Premier League experience into the mix. Reina has been loyal to Liverpool and the various managers of the last few seasons have always chosen him as their number one, and the fans have supported him even though there has been a small but noticeable drop in his performance levels over the last three years. If he wants to move to Barcelona he'll go with our thanks and our best wishes.
So why loan him to Napoli if he wants to go to Barca? Well, a season sitting on our bench will see his transfer value drop, and a year as a substitute leading up to a World Cup is not what a man like him deserves. Napoli will offer him regular football, Champions League football and the chance to work with a manager and goalkeeping coach who get the best out of him. They will also, presumably, pay Liverpool a loan fee. Assuming Reina's transfer value is the same next summer as it is now then adding a loan fee on top of that means in the long term we get more money for him (see Andy Carroll). If he does well under Rafa and they want to keep him there's a chance a bidding war for his services could start, leaving us in a position where we can get more money for him. And if Mignolet doesn't settle as Liverpool's number one 'keeper then we will still have the option of not selling Pepe at all.
It will be sad to start the season without Pepe Reina at the club, and losing him at the same time as Jamie Carragher puts a lot more pressure on the likes of Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger as senior players in the dressing room. We have a relatively inexperienced manager and a young squad by Premier League standards so losing long term servants could hit us hard, but Brendan Rodgers is aware of this and will have plans in place. Signings like Toure are clever and will hopefully fill more than just the void left at centre back by Carragher's retirement.
I don't want to see Pepe Reina leave Liverpool as a man or as a goalkeeper but it's football and these things happen. In many ways the whole thing makes a lot of sense, and as long as Mignolet settles it's a good move all round. Reina currently costs us around £5 million a year in wages and that's too much for a substitute. The loan deal has many advantages over a straightforward sale and I think Liverpool have made a clever decision. Good luck to Pepe and, more importantly, good luck to Simon Mignolet.
Friday, 31 May 2013
So How Would It Really Feel To See Luis Suarez Leave Liverpool?
With all the quotes attributed to Luis Suarez over the last couple of days it’s looking increasingly likely he’ll be heading out of Anfield and into the Bernabeau this summer. I’m not happy he’s leaving and I can’t say I’m overly gutted either, I’m finding it hard to feel anything either way over the probable transfer.
Liverpool have released a short statement saying Suarez is not for sale and neither the player nor his agent have contacted them about him seeking a move. Statements like this are normal in this sort of circumstance and 99% of the time the player still gets his move so I'm not expecting the club's desire to keep our number seven to win out. If we're lucky it may add a couple of million on to the transfer fee we receive. To those saying Suarez making public his desire to leave weakens our negotiating position I disagree. If he wants to leave his agent would make potential buying clubs well aware of this so just because it's now public knowledge I doubt Real Madrid know something they didn't yesterday.
As a club and as a set of fans Liverpool could not have shown the Uruguayan any more support than they have done, but if he doesn’t feel comfortable in Britain then what can we do about it? Yes, his problems are largely of his own making, but that doesn’t mean any human wouldn’t be tempted when offered a very attractive way out. If you had caused yourself issues in your own workplace and were offered a better paid job in a sunnier climate would you take it or would you show your bosses loyalty? The fact that Real Madrid are challenging for the league title and the Champions League would be very hard for Suarez to ignore.
Steven Gerrard is a top player but he’s not the force he was a few years back, Coutinho has genuine potential but the fact remains that Suarez is currently our only world class player, and nobody wants to lose someone like him. Any Liverpool fan who says they’re happy he’s going obviously isn’t bothered about us improving our league position.
Comparisons are already being made between Suarez’ imminent departure and Fernando Torres leaving us a few years ago, the majority feeling Torres walking away hurt more. In my opinion it probably did, but not because our affection for the player was any stronger. Choosing Chelsea over Liverpool was a clear sign that the newly rich London club are a better prospect than us, something that’s not easy to stomach. The fact that a South American fancies Real Madrid more than he fancies Liverpool isn’t really a big deal and I’ll accept it, though in a perfect world it wouldn’t be true.
I have a feeling that if we’d qualified for next season’s Champions League Suarez might have chosen to stay, but we didn’t so we’ll never know. It would be nice if he’d come out and say he wants to play in the Champions League rather than blaming the media but he’s not the first and won’t be the last player to avoid the honest truth when seeking a move. Real Madrid are one of the biggest and most prestigious clubs in world football and it would be quite easy to say 'I'd love to stay at Liverpool and be part of their future but from a footballing and a financial perspective this move was just too good to turn down'. I don't think there is any real need for Suarez to blame the British media for his exit, even though I'm sure they have certainly helped speed up his departure.
I don't believe it was particularly the reaction to Suarez biting Branislav Ivanovic that bothered him, he was clearly in the wrong and apologised for his behaviour and subsequently accepted his suspension that most judged to be at least a little harsh for the actual offence. I think it was the reaction to the incident at Mansfield that really hurt the Uruguayan. The ball ricocheted upwards and hit his hand, and he then put the ball into the net. To any seasoned football observer it was quite clearly unintentional but large sections of the media reported that he had basically ruined the entire FA Cup competition. He seemed to be made into the poster boy for all that is wrong in football on the back of an accidental collision between the ball and his hand. This was where the press had the opportunity to report the facts rather than aim more arrows at an easy target and we all know which path the majority of them took.
There is something a bit off if Suarez leaves Liverpool of his own desire, after all the controversy he has caused the club it seems that it should be them who tell him it's time to go, not the other way around. Liverpool supporters and management rallied around Suarez after he bit Ivanovic when they had the chance to condemn him. To allow everybody to come out so strongly and publicly on his side when he probably already knew he wanted to go isn't classy behaviour.
For his ability on the pitch Suarez deserves to be playing in the Champions League and challenging for titles. If one game summed up his time at Liverpool for me it was when Newcastle visited Anfield earlier this season. Suarez scored probably the goal of the season, ridiculously controlling a long ball from Jose Enrique before rounding the keeper and slotting calmly into the net. But the team didn't win, a fixture we were strong favourites to take all three points from ended in a 1-1 draw despite our main striker's man of the match performance.
If, as now looks virtually certain, he moves on this summer I hope the money we receive is invested wisely in new attacking talent. If he goes to Real Madrid then good luck to him, and good luck to Liverpool too, I think all parties involved may need it.
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
What Sort Of Signing Is Kolo Toure?
Liverpool have confirmed that a deal has been agreed in principle with Man City's central defender Kolo Toure, stating that the Ivory Coast international will join once he becomes a free agent at the beginning of July.
Toure is 32 years old and will come with a hefty wage packet though the lack of transfer fee for an experienced Premier League player is an obvious plus point. Only time will tell if he proves to be a good signing or not but there are arguments that could be made both for and against us adding him to our squad.
The retirement of Jamie Carragher leaves the squad short of both a central defender and an experienced professional, Toure ticks both of those boxes. He's played in England for over a decade, won trophies and been a solid, consistent performer. On the face of it you'd have to say it's a sensible signing, not spectacular or exciting, but sensible.
He's older than any of FSG's previous signings but I don't think they've particularly broken their transfer policy to bring him on board. A measured approach to recruiting new squad members has been their trademark so far, only buying players they feel will hold or even improve their values, and signing somebody on a free clearly fits into that category.
I don't see Toure being a first team regular, I think Daniel Agger is our first choice centre back and it remains to be seen whether Martin Skrtel is trusted to play alongside him or if we bring in another defender (Shalke's Greek Kyriakos Papadopoulos has been strongly rumoured to be on our radar) to partner the Dane. Giving a regular starting berth to a 32 year old signing would be against everything that Brendan Rodgers has done so far and I don't see him changing his policy any time soon. Where we have struggled this season has been with our 4th choice centre back. Sebastian Coates has potential but there was no way you could put him into the starting XI and be fully confident he would deliver, meaning he wasn't genuine competition to the established Agger/Skrtel partnership. When Skrtel's form dipped it was Carragher who was brought in, not the young Uruguayan.
This is where my doubts over Kolo Toure come in. He hasn't played much football for Man City over the last couple of seasons and at this stage of his career he has two choices - go somewhere and play every week for the love of the game, or move somewhere else as a squad player and take the nice salary on offer. A player happy to take his money without contributing can be disruptive so there is an element of a gamble in signing him. I'm not saying Toure is definitely like that, but it's a possibility and one hopefully Rodgers is fully aware of.
It remains to be seen who else we bring in this summer but it's good to see us acting swiftly, having a settled squad enjoying a full pre-season together can only help come the start of the next campaign. Let's hope for a few more new faces at Anfield over the coming weeks, there are still a few positions on the squad that need sorting (left back) and getting the players in early can give the manager a more relaxed summer and more time to prepare for next season.
Thursday, 23 May 2013
What Should Liverpool Look To Achieve Next Season?
I think the general response to Brendan Rodgers from Liverpool fans this season has been fairly positive, our new manager has made changes and the majority of them for the better. With the spate of sackings and retirements this year he will begin his second season in charge at Anfield as the sixth longest serving manager in the Premier League.
We finished seventh this season which isn't good enough for Liverpool, but the performances over the last few months have left most Kopites with a feeling of optimism for our future. One thing came back into my head from our reasonably recent history though - didn't Gerard Houllier get the sack for actually finishing fourth?
Yes, he did. So what's changed, why was finishing fourth not enough and now finishing seventh is considered a promising start? Well, there's a few reasons. I think the main factor is beyond the club's control, that being the huge financial backing given to Chelsea and now Manchester City. Back in 2004 when Houllier was let go there was still a genuine belief we could challenge for and even win the title. Now that looks much harder with too many clubs above us who can simply go out and buy the best players from all around the world, something that we can't do to the same extent. To win the title in the early part of the century we would have had to finish above Arsenal and Man Utd, now we would have to overtake the same pair, plus Man City, Chelsea and an emerging Spurs side.
I've had a look at the league table from 2003/04 and it's interesting to compare it to this season -
2003/04 Played 38, won 16, drawn 12, lost 10, goal difference +18, points 60
2012/13 Played 38, won 16, drawn 13, lost 9, goal difference +28, points 61
So, almost identical then, one more draw this time around and a better goal difference, and a solitary point better off, and yet we finished three places lower than in 03/04. In 2003/04 60 points qualified us for the Champions League (which we then went on and won) and this season Spurs reached 72 and had to settle for Thursday night football next term.
The conclusion from that is that qualification for the Champions League is harder to achieve now than ever, making Brendan Rodgers' task an extremely difficult one. I think most Liverpool fans are realistic enough to realise that winning the title will only come with a strong financial input allowing the club to compete with everyone else when it comes to transfer fees and wages. And the only way to strengthen the club's finances is to regularly qualify for the Champions League.
We want to get back to the top of the table, back on our perch, but it has to happen a step at a time. In modern Premier League football teams simply don't leap from seventh to first, nobody suddenly one season manages thirty more points than they did at the previous attempt. Brendan Rodgers needs to move us up three places and approximately twelve points. Only once that step has been taken can he consider the next step of targeting another league title.
Much has been made of our lack of victories against the top six teams this season but I'm not totally convinced it's as important as it has been made out to be. We have dropped vital points in winnable games and I think that has cost us more. If we'd won at Southampton and Reading, at home to West Ham and beaten West Brom home and away (all games we went into as favourites) we would have finished in the top four.
We are capable of getting the number of points needed to achieve our short term goal of returning to European football's big stage, we just need to turn it on week in week out and let the belief build within the squad. We have no European football next season and we simply have to take advantage of this. We have to turn it into a positive and use the free midweeks to prepare properly for every game no matter who the opponent is. Chelsea have played 69 competitive matches this season, we have 38 plus the domestic cups next season. Taking advantage of having fewer games than the other contenders is something that we cannot fail at.
Next season may be bigger for Liverpool than any of us realise, it's our best opportunity for a while to climb back up the table. For me if we don't get top four next season then serious questions will have to be asked. I don't mean I'm expecting it, I just mean that if we can't make it when the fixture list is on our side then we may need to re-evaluate our approach. I have faith and our manager has my full support, let's just hope we deliver.
We finished seventh this season which isn't good enough for Liverpool, but the performances over the last few months have left most Kopites with a feeling of optimism for our future. One thing came back into my head from our reasonably recent history though - didn't Gerard Houllier get the sack for actually finishing fourth?
Yes, he did. So what's changed, why was finishing fourth not enough and now finishing seventh is considered a promising start? Well, there's a few reasons. I think the main factor is beyond the club's control, that being the huge financial backing given to Chelsea and now Manchester City. Back in 2004 when Houllier was let go there was still a genuine belief we could challenge for and even win the title. Now that looks much harder with too many clubs above us who can simply go out and buy the best players from all around the world, something that we can't do to the same extent. To win the title in the early part of the century we would have had to finish above Arsenal and Man Utd, now we would have to overtake the same pair, plus Man City, Chelsea and an emerging Spurs side.
I've had a look at the league table from 2003/04 and it's interesting to compare it to this season -
2003/04 Played 38, won 16, drawn 12, lost 10, goal difference +18, points 60
2012/13 Played 38, won 16, drawn 13, lost 9, goal difference +28, points 61
So, almost identical then, one more draw this time around and a better goal difference, and a solitary point better off, and yet we finished three places lower than in 03/04. In 2003/04 60 points qualified us for the Champions League (which we then went on and won) and this season Spurs reached 72 and had to settle for Thursday night football next term.
The conclusion from that is that qualification for the Champions League is harder to achieve now than ever, making Brendan Rodgers' task an extremely difficult one. I think most Liverpool fans are realistic enough to realise that winning the title will only come with a strong financial input allowing the club to compete with everyone else when it comes to transfer fees and wages. And the only way to strengthen the club's finances is to regularly qualify for the Champions League.
We want to get back to the top of the table, back on our perch, but it has to happen a step at a time. In modern Premier League football teams simply don't leap from seventh to first, nobody suddenly one season manages thirty more points than they did at the previous attempt. Brendan Rodgers needs to move us up three places and approximately twelve points. Only once that step has been taken can he consider the next step of targeting another league title.
Much has been made of our lack of victories against the top six teams this season but I'm not totally convinced it's as important as it has been made out to be. We have dropped vital points in winnable games and I think that has cost us more. If we'd won at Southampton and Reading, at home to West Ham and beaten West Brom home and away (all games we went into as favourites) we would have finished in the top four.
We are capable of getting the number of points needed to achieve our short term goal of returning to European football's big stage, we just need to turn it on week in week out and let the belief build within the squad. We have no European football next season and we simply have to take advantage of this. We have to turn it into a positive and use the free midweeks to prepare properly for every game no matter who the opponent is. Chelsea have played 69 competitive matches this season, we have 38 plus the domestic cups next season. Taking advantage of having fewer games than the other contenders is something that we cannot fail at.
Next season may be bigger for Liverpool than any of us realise, it's our best opportunity for a while to climb back up the table. For me if we don't get top four next season then serious questions will have to be asked. I don't mean I'm expecting it, I just mean that if we can't make it when the fixture list is on our side then we may need to re-evaluate our approach. I have faith and our manager has my full support, let's just hope we deliver.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Sturridge And Coutinho Give Reds Real Cause For Optimism
With one game to go, no trophies won and a seventh place finish confirmed I think looking back over Liverpool's season it's fair to say the most important part of 2012/13 was the January transfer window. The additions of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho have given our team a greater attacking threat and a genuine reason for optimism going forwards.
Sturridge has received plenty of praise from Liverpool fans (though not the press coverage you'd expect a young, English striker with his goal return to get), scoring five times in the three games we've had since Luis Suarez' much publicised suspension. Now I'm going to say something that may seem a little off - I don't think Sturridge is a great striker. But he doesn't have to be. He fits into how we play, he's the right player for that specific position in the system we play, and that's worth all the ability in the world.
I'm not saying Sturridge is a bad player, far from it, but I think his goal return has been as much down to the team and the formation as the individual. We play one central striker with an attacking midfielder behind him (I'll get to Coutinho in a bit) and two advanced wide midfielders with license to roam infield as and when the opportunity arises. In short we have a system designed to create chances for one main man, and Sturridge has been finishing off those chances. He's just doing his job, playing his role in the system and that only happens because everyone else is also fulfilling their briefs. Like I said, he's the right player in the right role in the right system. We needed somebody selfish who is quick and doesn't really move too far from the central striker position and our January signing from Chelsea fits the bill perfectly, full credit for this must go to Brendan Rodgers for seeing exactly the right qualities in our number 15.
Suarez has scored a lot of goals this season, but he's had A LOT of chances. He's a fantastic player and a world class talent, but is he a deadly finisher? Well, sometimes. But not all of the time. With the ball at his feet there is no better player in the league than the Uruguayan and he's made plenty of his goals for himself (see his brace at QPR) but he's also missed a shedload of chances. A more consistent finisher playing in Suarez' position would probably have finished off more chances that team mates had made for him, but scored fewer self-made goals. Suarez playing out wide making chances for himself and a central striker (Sturridge) seems ideal. Downing and Sterling between them can cover the other wide position (though personally I'd like to see Andre Wisdom at right back and see how Glen Johnson fared in an advanced role) and there is real potential in that attack.
Coutinho's arrival from Inter has been another major factor in our recent run of good results. I must admit when we signed him I half expected him to flop, I think I've just seen too many skillful foreigners (Kewell, Smicer, Gonzalez, Cheyrou, Diouf) turn up and make no impact and I've lost a bit of faith. But on the evidence so far the little Brazilian seems to be a player of genuine quality. Some of his passes to create goals and goalscoring chances seem unremarkable at first as he makes them look so easy but on second viewing you realise exactly what he's just done, and then you have to watch it again and again.
He's still very young and hasn't been impressive every match (Chelsea at home) but when he's given space he uses it intelligently and with no little amount of vision and skill. The way he plays some of his passes through the air to land in just the right place is something I haven't seen before and it's difficult to defend against - thankfully we don't have to! He's more effective playing centrally behind the striker than he is when he's put out wide which makes him slightly harder to accommodate but certainly not impossible.
Steven Gerrard and Lucas playing as more orthodox central midfielders with Coutinho in front of them, Suarez and Downing wide and Sturridge central seems like a very effective front six. Players like Henderson, Allen, Shelvey, Borini, Sterling and Suso can also fit in when needed and be trusted as able replacements. We're blessed with a flexible squad with the likes of Suarez, Downing, Sterling, Borini, Henderson, Suso, Coutinho and Gerrard who can fit into more than one position within our system, meaning it's easy to change things around during a game without using up substitutions. We can also switch from a version of 4-3-3 to more of a 4-4-2 at the drop of a hat and that can be invaluable in a tight game.
The two men brought in to Liverpool in January may not have been cheap, but by today's standards it looks like we got a pair of bargains who have improved our team no end. Brendan Rodgers has shown that he is a man who can be trusted with a transfer budget and hopefully whoever we bring in over the summer will be just as wisely chosen as Coutinho and Sturridge. It's about having a system and finding the right players to buy into it and make it work and the way we've played a lot of the time this year suggests we're on the right path.
Sturridge has received plenty of praise from Liverpool fans (though not the press coverage you'd expect a young, English striker with his goal return to get), scoring five times in the three games we've had since Luis Suarez' much publicised suspension. Now I'm going to say something that may seem a little off - I don't think Sturridge is a great striker. But he doesn't have to be. He fits into how we play, he's the right player for that specific position in the system we play, and that's worth all the ability in the world.
I'm not saying Sturridge is a bad player, far from it, but I think his goal return has been as much down to the team and the formation as the individual. We play one central striker with an attacking midfielder behind him (I'll get to Coutinho in a bit) and two advanced wide midfielders with license to roam infield as and when the opportunity arises. In short we have a system designed to create chances for one main man, and Sturridge has been finishing off those chances. He's just doing his job, playing his role in the system and that only happens because everyone else is also fulfilling their briefs. Like I said, he's the right player in the right role in the right system. We needed somebody selfish who is quick and doesn't really move too far from the central striker position and our January signing from Chelsea fits the bill perfectly, full credit for this must go to Brendan Rodgers for seeing exactly the right qualities in our number 15.
Suarez has scored a lot of goals this season, but he's had A LOT of chances. He's a fantastic player and a world class talent, but is he a deadly finisher? Well, sometimes. But not all of the time. With the ball at his feet there is no better player in the league than the Uruguayan and he's made plenty of his goals for himself (see his brace at QPR) but he's also missed a shedload of chances. A more consistent finisher playing in Suarez' position would probably have finished off more chances that team mates had made for him, but scored fewer self-made goals. Suarez playing out wide making chances for himself and a central striker (Sturridge) seems ideal. Downing and Sterling between them can cover the other wide position (though personally I'd like to see Andre Wisdom at right back and see how Glen Johnson fared in an advanced role) and there is real potential in that attack.
Coutinho's arrival from Inter has been another major factor in our recent run of good results. I must admit when we signed him I half expected him to flop, I think I've just seen too many skillful foreigners (Kewell, Smicer, Gonzalez, Cheyrou, Diouf) turn up and make no impact and I've lost a bit of faith. But on the evidence so far the little Brazilian seems to be a player of genuine quality. Some of his passes to create goals and goalscoring chances seem unremarkable at first as he makes them look so easy but on second viewing you realise exactly what he's just done, and then you have to watch it again and again.
He's still very young and hasn't been impressive every match (Chelsea at home) but when he's given space he uses it intelligently and with no little amount of vision and skill. The way he plays some of his passes through the air to land in just the right place is something I haven't seen before and it's difficult to defend against - thankfully we don't have to! He's more effective playing centrally behind the striker than he is when he's put out wide which makes him slightly harder to accommodate but certainly not impossible.
Steven Gerrard and Lucas playing as more orthodox central midfielders with Coutinho in front of them, Suarez and Downing wide and Sturridge central seems like a very effective front six. Players like Henderson, Allen, Shelvey, Borini, Sterling and Suso can also fit in when needed and be trusted as able replacements. We're blessed with a flexible squad with the likes of Suarez, Downing, Sterling, Borini, Henderson, Suso, Coutinho and Gerrard who can fit into more than one position within our system, meaning it's easy to change things around during a game without using up substitutions. We can also switch from a version of 4-3-3 to more of a 4-4-2 at the drop of a hat and that can be invaluable in a tight game.
The two men brought in to Liverpool in January may not have been cheap, but by today's standards it looks like we got a pair of bargains who have improved our team no end. Brendan Rodgers has shown that he is a man who can be trusted with a transfer budget and hopefully whoever we bring in over the summer will be just as wisely chosen as Coutinho and Sturridge. It's about having a system and finding the right players to buy into it and make it work and the way we've played a lot of the time this year suggests we're on the right path.
Friday, 10 May 2013
Managerial Changes At Our Rivals
I try to keep this website more Liverpool related and not comment too much on other clubs but this week has seen both of biggest rivals lose long term managers who have brought relative success to their football clubs so I felt it was worthy of a few words.
It’s impossible to knock Alex Ferguson’s domestic success despite the slightly disappointing return of ‘only’ two European Cups in over a quarter of a century. I’ve no doubt his departure can only weaken Man Utd, though by how much only time will tell. I had a feeling he would go if they won the title, he sees Man City’s finances as a genuine threat and there’s no way he would want to retire with City as champions so he’s gone while he’s on top, and you can’t blame him for that.
I’m obviously pleased that Man Utd will be weakened but to be honest I’m a bit disappointed with the timing. They have several ageing key players and now will have a new manager coming in, which will kick off a period of transition for a side that can fairly be described as the best of a bad bunch this season. I would expect them to struggle by their standards for the next couple of seasons and I’m gutted we’re not yet in a position to take advantage of this. If Fergie could have kept going one more year and then left, leaving us a year further down the road in our progress I would be happier.
While Utd’s annual league finish being higher than ours has a sort of permanent feel to it, Everton’s feels temporary. It looks like they’ll (deservedly) finish above us this time, making it two seasons in a row but I’d expect with Moyes leaving, possibly along with a few key players, normal order to be restored from next season onwards. It’s been a long time since Everton have been challenging for top honours so finishing above them is a much lesser aim than it was in the eighties, but it’s still nice to be the top team in the city. I completely agree that the difference between finishing sixth and seventh is pretty irrelevant, but anybody who says they’re not bothered at all if we finish below Everton is a liar.
In my opinion David Moyes replacing Alex Ferguson at Man Utd will weaken both clubs so overall as a Liverpool fan I’m happy, but I’m certainly not celebrating the changes like some people are. And it’s nice after all the stick that Utd fans have given Rafa it was a victory by his side at Old Trafford that finally pushed Fergie over the edge and into retirement.
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
What Does Finishing Seventh Mean For Liverpool?
Liverpool now look certain to finish seventh in the table, one place higher than last season and between 5 and 11 points better off than last term, depending on our last two results. Seventh isn't good enough for Liverpool, but it is acceptable, and why have we finished so low?
For this season, Brendan Rodgers' first in charge, the final league position wasn't the only thing we would be judged on, we needed to see improvement and promise. We've definitely seen these two things but probably not as often as we'd like. A good example would be our last four matches, during which time we've scored eight goals and only conceded two, but only managed one win and six points out of a possible twelve. We've scored goals in gluts and they haven't been spread out, we're the second highest scorers in the league this season but have all too often fired blanks.
The teams that have finished above us are all decent sides but none of them have been particularly exceptional this season and our results against them have, in some ways, been disappointing. In a mini-league made up of the top seven sides we've only lost four out of twelve games (the same number as champions Man Utd) but we've only won one. It's often been said that you have to beat the lesser teams, which is true, but three points against a close rival is always more important for the simple reason it's three points they don't win. We need to win more games against the top sides next season, plain and simple. Even the likes of Norwich, Sunderland and Southampton have won more games against top seven sides than us.
We need to be mentally stronger, especially in games where decisions don't go our way. In draws against Everton, Swansea and West Ham we've had goals disallowed for offside that probably shouldn't have been, but this happens to sides and if that goal doesn't count then you've just got to keep going until you score one that does. Penalties not awarded to us, especially in the early part of the season (home vs Man Utd and Arsenal spring to mind) haven't helped our cause, but again, this can't be an excuse. If things don't go our way then we have to channel the sense of injustice into something positive and get a result anyway.
I wouldn't say this has been a bad season for Liverpool, but it would be disappointing if next season was the same. We won't have European football to contend with, giving us more time and energy to concentrate on the thirty-eight Premier League games in front of us. I don't think there's a team in the league we haven't outplayed at some point this season so we have to believe we can win every game we go into. Providing we don't lose any key players this summer I think we're capable of challenging the top four but we will have to spread out the goals a bit more.
Brendan Rodgers has had a year to see where we do well and where we slip up, he now needs to prove he is intelligent enough and tough enough to make changes where they are necessary. This season can, to a degree, be written off as one of transition and learning, but next time around big strides need to be made. 2013/14 will be a massive time for Liverpool Football Club and we all need to rise to it.
For this season, Brendan Rodgers' first in charge, the final league position wasn't the only thing we would be judged on, we needed to see improvement and promise. We've definitely seen these two things but probably not as often as we'd like. A good example would be our last four matches, during which time we've scored eight goals and only conceded two, but only managed one win and six points out of a possible twelve. We've scored goals in gluts and they haven't been spread out, we're the second highest scorers in the league this season but have all too often fired blanks.
The teams that have finished above us are all decent sides but none of them have been particularly exceptional this season and our results against them have, in some ways, been disappointing. In a mini-league made up of the top seven sides we've only lost four out of twelve games (the same number as champions Man Utd) but we've only won one. It's often been said that you have to beat the lesser teams, which is true, but three points against a close rival is always more important for the simple reason it's three points they don't win. We need to win more games against the top sides next season, plain and simple. Even the likes of Norwich, Sunderland and Southampton have won more games against top seven sides than us.
We need to be mentally stronger, especially in games where decisions don't go our way. In draws against Everton, Swansea and West Ham we've had goals disallowed for offside that probably shouldn't have been, but this happens to sides and if that goal doesn't count then you've just got to keep going until you score one that does. Penalties not awarded to us, especially in the early part of the season (home vs Man Utd and Arsenal spring to mind) haven't helped our cause, but again, this can't be an excuse. If things don't go our way then we have to channel the sense of injustice into something positive and get a result anyway.
I wouldn't say this has been a bad season for Liverpool, but it would be disappointing if next season was the same. We won't have European football to contend with, giving us more time and energy to concentrate on the thirty-eight Premier League games in front of us. I don't think there's a team in the league we haven't outplayed at some point this season so we have to believe we can win every game we go into. Providing we don't lose any key players this summer I think we're capable of challenging the top four but we will have to spread out the goals a bit more.
Brendan Rodgers has had a year to see where we do well and where we slip up, he now needs to prove he is intelligent enough and tough enough to make changes where they are necessary. This season can, to a degree, be written off as one of transition and learning, but next time around big strides need to be made. 2013/14 will be a massive time for Liverpool Football Club and we all need to rise to it.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Clean Sheet For Carra In His Final Derby
I'm not going to insult anybody's intelligence by suggesting today's 0-0 draw with Everton was a classic, but there's undeniably something about a Derby game going into it's final minutes still there for either side to win that creates a tension like no other.
Neither team particularly deserved the three points on the strengths of their performances this afternoon, Everton seemed content to keep it tight and hope for a goal from a set piece while Liverpool never found their attacking stride and 0-0 was the only fair result. The visitors will be disappointed the referee disallowed a Sylvain Distin header after a small push by the Frenchman on Jamie Carragher as soon as the corner was taken but a foul is a foul, no matter how small. Liverpool didn't really look comfortable defending set pieces and can feel fortunate Distin gave the official the opportunity to rule the goal out as he was given far too much space to put away a straightforward header.
Daniel Sturridge had probably his poorest game since joining us in January, often choosing to shoot when the shot wasn't on but then opting not to pull the trigger when it seemed a good chance was there. The closest we came were two Steven Gerrard efforts that Tim Howard wasn't stopping, Distin and Phil Jagielka putting the blocks in at the right moments for the blues. Our attacking play wasn't sharp enough to warrant a goal but thankfully our defence wasn't overly troubled and despite looking vulnerable to corners and free kicks there wasn't a whole lot of danger of us conceding.
A lot of credit should go to the referee Michael Oliver today for understanding the occasion and keeping his yellow card in his pocket for the majority of the game. Both Leon Osman and Gerrard could have been booked in the first half but weren't, the game was struggling to flow as it was and a flurry of cards wouldn't have helped at all. One thing (okay, four things) that he missed though was Marouane Fellaini's elbow. He managed to get Daniel Agger twice, Gerrard and Martin Skrtel and it will be interesting to see what punishment he receives from the FA because A: the ref didn't see his elbows, B: the incidents were mentioned a lot on Twitter, C: the game was shown on live TV across the world, D: he's a repeat, in fact serial, offender, and, E: we wouldn't want our children going into school and elbowing other children. I'd be very surprised if the Prime Minister doesn't give us all his views at the first possible opportunity. Of course I'm being sarcastic about all of this, but it shows just how ridiculous the reaction to incidents like this can be.
The draw today means it's quite certain we'll finish seventh this season, one place higher than last. We've already got five points more than we managed last term and there's still two games to play so there are positives, despite our failure to qualify for Europe. I'll have a look at what finishing seventh means for us later on this week and hopefully get a few comments from my readers, see what you all think of our season.
Back to today and it's a shame we couldn't win for Carra but I'm delighted for him that he helped keep a clean sheet in his final Derby match. If I was petty I'd also take some satisfaction from the fact David Moyes will now leave Everton never having won at Anfield despite more than a decade of trying, but I'm not like that so I won't say it..............
We've had a couple of scoreless draws at Anfield recently and it makes you appreciate the 1-0 wins against Reading and Southampton a little more, the crucial and hard fought breakthroughs in those games earned us just as many points as when we've hit four, five or six past other teams. It would be easy to say we missed the creative spark of Luis Suarez today but most teams would miss a player of his quality and it's something we'll have to get used to until October so it's not an excuse for being poor in front of goal.
There are a few performances I'd like to highlight today apart from the obvious man of the match display from our captain. Firstly I think Philippe Couthinho showed a real eye for a pass and in spite of his diminutive stature he didn't struggle in his first Merseyside Derby. Jordan Henderson played well first half and made some very good short first touch flicks, he's certainly improved over the last few months. And finally Stewart Downing. He didn't offer a huge amount that will contribute to any highlights package but he played a big part in making sure Leighton Baines was no threat. If you don't play well enough to help us win then you have to make sure you help us not lose and he did that today.
The draw today means we've lost the same number of games against other sides in the top seven as the title winners Man Utd, but we've only managed one win. The draws against the sides we want to be competing with have proved costly and if this doesn't improve next time around we won't be able to take that next step forward.
Neither team particularly deserved the three points on the strengths of their performances this afternoon, Everton seemed content to keep it tight and hope for a goal from a set piece while Liverpool never found their attacking stride and 0-0 was the only fair result. The visitors will be disappointed the referee disallowed a Sylvain Distin header after a small push by the Frenchman on Jamie Carragher as soon as the corner was taken but a foul is a foul, no matter how small. Liverpool didn't really look comfortable defending set pieces and can feel fortunate Distin gave the official the opportunity to rule the goal out as he was given far too much space to put away a straightforward header.
Daniel Sturridge had probably his poorest game since joining us in January, often choosing to shoot when the shot wasn't on but then opting not to pull the trigger when it seemed a good chance was there. The closest we came were two Steven Gerrard efforts that Tim Howard wasn't stopping, Distin and Phil Jagielka putting the blocks in at the right moments for the blues. Our attacking play wasn't sharp enough to warrant a goal but thankfully our defence wasn't overly troubled and despite looking vulnerable to corners and free kicks there wasn't a whole lot of danger of us conceding.
A lot of credit should go to the referee Michael Oliver today for understanding the occasion and keeping his yellow card in his pocket for the majority of the game. Both Leon Osman and Gerrard could have been booked in the first half but weren't, the game was struggling to flow as it was and a flurry of cards wouldn't have helped at all. One thing (okay, four things) that he missed though was Marouane Fellaini's elbow. He managed to get Daniel Agger twice, Gerrard and Martin Skrtel and it will be interesting to see what punishment he receives from the FA because A: the ref didn't see his elbows, B: the incidents were mentioned a lot on Twitter, C: the game was shown on live TV across the world, D: he's a repeat, in fact serial, offender, and, E: we wouldn't want our children going into school and elbowing other children. I'd be very surprised if the Prime Minister doesn't give us all his views at the first possible opportunity. Of course I'm being sarcastic about all of this, but it shows just how ridiculous the reaction to incidents like this can be.
The draw today means it's quite certain we'll finish seventh this season, one place higher than last. We've already got five points more than we managed last term and there's still two games to play so there are positives, despite our failure to qualify for Europe. I'll have a look at what finishing seventh means for us later on this week and hopefully get a few comments from my readers, see what you all think of our season.
Back to today and it's a shame we couldn't win for Carra but I'm delighted for him that he helped keep a clean sheet in his final Derby match. If I was petty I'd also take some satisfaction from the fact David Moyes will now leave Everton never having won at Anfield despite more than a decade of trying, but I'm not like that so I won't say it..............
We've had a couple of scoreless draws at Anfield recently and it makes you appreciate the 1-0 wins against Reading and Southampton a little more, the crucial and hard fought breakthroughs in those games earned us just as many points as when we've hit four, five or six past other teams. It would be easy to say we missed the creative spark of Luis Suarez today but most teams would miss a player of his quality and it's something we'll have to get used to until October so it's not an excuse for being poor in front of goal.
There are a few performances I'd like to highlight today apart from the obvious man of the match display from our captain. Firstly I think Philippe Couthinho showed a real eye for a pass and in spite of his diminutive stature he didn't struggle in his first Merseyside Derby. Jordan Henderson played well first half and made some very good short first touch flicks, he's certainly improved over the last few months. And finally Stewart Downing. He didn't offer a huge amount that will contribute to any highlights package but he played a big part in making sure Leighton Baines was no threat. If you don't play well enough to help us win then you have to make sure you help us not lose and he did that today.
The draw today means we've lost the same number of games against other sides in the top seven as the title winners Man Utd, but we've only managed one win. The draws against the sides we want to be competing with have proved costly and if this doesn't improve next time around we won't be able to take that next step forward.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
My Derby Highlights
I’ve got a few favourite Derby memories, and a couple of specific favourite matches, both of them from the same season.
My favourite Derby matches were both in the 2000/01 season, the 3-1 win at Anfield and the 3-2 win in the ‘Gary Mac’ Derby later that season. I was lucky enough to be in the lower centenary stand to see Nick Barmby head home his first goal for his new employers against his previous club. The Everton fans singing ‘die, die Nicky, Nicky die’ and ‘who had a heart attack, Hou, Hou, Houllier’ left an impression on me that day. Until then I'd had no real experience of Evertonians in such big numbers and they surprised me, all the Everton fans I knew I got on with well and didn't expect that kind of chanting from them. But you live and learn.
At that game sitting a few rows behind us was Samuel L Jackson (he'd been filming The 51st State) and whenever I see him on TV I always think 'he knows what it's like to be in Anfield an Derby day when the Reds win'. Goals from Emile Heskey and Paddy Berger added to Barmby's early strike and gave us the win. It wasn't my first taste of Derby day but it was the first when I was old enough to appreciate what was going on and I'll never forget it.
At Easter time the same season we traveled to Goodison chasing a Champions League place (as well as a treble of trophies) and after a frenetic encounter during which Robbie Fowler missed a penalty and Igor Biscan was sent off it all came down to the last seconds of injury time. Gary Mac waited to deliver his 45 yard free into the crowded penalty area and came up with the unexpected, a precise shot into the bottom corner that took everyone by surprise and gave us the win. A Derby win to always remember.
Another highlight of recent encounters for me was something that happened off the pitch after the game. Everton had come to Anfield and played for, deserved and got a 0-0, and in his post match interview Rafa Benitez mentioned that sometimes smaller clubs come to Anfield and play for a draw. Nothing untrue about that, and anybody who saw that game knew exactly what the visitors aimed to get out of the ninety minutes. Now one of the Everton songs contains a line 'we don't care what the red side say' which, as it turns out, is one of the biggest lies in football. They went nuts, claiming Rafa called them a small club, which technically he didn't. And even if he had their recent trophy haul wasn't exactly much of an argument to prove him wrong.
And then we come to last season, a 2-0 victory at Goodison, a 3-0 win at Anfield and a 2-1 triumph at Wembley in the FA Cup semi final. They finished above us in the table but as far as I'm concerned three Derby wins in the same season certainly gave us the bragging rights.
If anybody has any special Derby memories please feel free to share them on here, just write them in the comments section. It's a great encounter, it will be a great weekend and hopefully it will be a great home win on Sunday.
Another highlight of recent encounters for me was something that happened off the pitch after the game. Everton had come to Anfield and played for, deserved and got a 0-0, and in his post match interview Rafa Benitez mentioned that sometimes smaller clubs come to Anfield and play for a draw. Nothing untrue about that, and anybody who saw that game knew exactly what the visitors aimed to get out of the ninety minutes. Now one of the Everton songs contains a line 'we don't care what the red side say' which, as it turns out, is one of the biggest lies in football. They went nuts, claiming Rafa called them a small club, which technically he didn't. And even if he had their recent trophy haul wasn't exactly much of an argument to prove him wrong.
And then we come to last season, a 2-0 victory at Goodison, a 3-0 win at Anfield and a 2-1 triumph at Wembley in the FA Cup semi final. They finished above us in the table but as far as I'm concerned three Derby wins in the same season certainly gave us the bragging rights.
If anybody has any special Derby memories please feel free to share them on here, just write them in the comments section. It's a great encounter, it will be a great weekend and hopefully it will be a great home win on Sunday.
Monday, 29 April 2013
Derby Week Is Here
So, what happens when two Evertonians get together? They talk about Liverpool of course.... I have first hand experience of this all year round, but this week they're justified in doing so as it's Derby week!
Our neighbours have had a good season, they've been consistent, hard to beat and difficult to score against. They've proved wrong all the critics who say players don't try when they're not sure if their manager will be there the following season and whoever is in charge at Goodison next season will have something to build on.
We're missing our star striker through suspension (just in case you hadn't heard...) but January signing Daniel Sturridge stepped up to the mark at Newcastle and Liverpool fans have every faith he can do so again in his first taste of Merseyside Derby action.
I'm not the most optimistic of supporters when it comes to predictions and it bothers me somewhat that we haven't lost this fixture for over a decade, though I know come kick off on Sunday previous results, good or bad, count for nothing. It will be hard fought, passionate and intense, as it always is. Coming so close to the end of the season with the teams right next to each other in the league table it has all the makings of a classic Derby.
Last season we won the game 3-0 (see match review here) thanks to a hat-trick from Superman, captain Steven Gerrard. More of the same would be very welcome this time round.
I'll put a few posts on here over the course of the week in the build up to the game so keep checking back. Let the excitement build and let's hope we keep the bragging rights where they belong for another season.
Our neighbours have had a good season, they've been consistent, hard to beat and difficult to score against. They've proved wrong all the critics who say players don't try when they're not sure if their manager will be there the following season and whoever is in charge at Goodison next season will have something to build on.
We're missing our star striker through suspension (just in case you hadn't heard...) but January signing Daniel Sturridge stepped up to the mark at Newcastle and Liverpool fans have every faith he can do so again in his first taste of Merseyside Derby action.
I'm not the most optimistic of supporters when it comes to predictions and it bothers me somewhat that we haven't lost this fixture for over a decade, though I know come kick off on Sunday previous results, good or bad, count for nothing. It will be hard fought, passionate and intense, as it always is. Coming so close to the end of the season with the teams right next to each other in the league table it has all the makings of a classic Derby.
Last season we won the game 3-0 (see match review here) thanks to a hat-trick from Superman, captain Steven Gerrard. More of the same would be very welcome this time round.
I'll put a few posts on here over the course of the week in the build up to the game so keep checking back. Let the excitement build and let's hope we keep the bragging rights where they belong for another season.
Friday, 26 April 2013
Why I Feel Wronged By The Whole Luis Suarez Saga
This last week since Luis Suarez bit Branislav Ivanovic has been difficult for rationally minded people, it's been hard, it's been tiring, it's been frustrating and most of all it's been exasperating. The whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth (excuse the pun) that I'm not convinced I'll ever fully get rid of.
Let's start at the beginning.
I feel cheated by Luis Suarez. Our talented Uruguayan is probably the most exciting player that someone of my generation has seen in a Liverpool shirt. His skill, work rate, love of the game and desire to win is unbelievable, he's almost like Fowler, McManaman, Barnes, Owen, Torres and Kuyt all rolled into one. When he was banned for racially abusing Patrice Evra I continued to support him. I'm not going to go over old ground but the evidence was never 100% substantial, and as long as there was even a tiny bit of doubt I wasn't willing to give up on him and hang him out to dry. On the occasion of his most recent indiscretion I felt let down by one of my favourite Liverpool players. Yes, I feel angry about the inconsistencies in the FA disciplinary procedures that mean he will miss ten games, but what is in no doubt at all is his guilt. Only he and Evra really know exactly what was or wasn't said when they squared up in the six yard box in front of the Kop, but when he inexplicably chose to bite Ivanovic on almost the exact same blade of grass the whole world saw him do it. I can have my opinions on the severity of his punishment, but I can do nothing at all to defend his behaviour. I hope he stays at Liverpool and I will continue to give him my full support, but my trust in probably the most dynamic player I've ever seen play for us isn't completely there anymore and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the general public. For all it's problems I'm proud to be English and live in England. I love English food, the English sense of humour, English beer and certainly English football. The reaction of the English public to Suarez' bite left me in despair. Yes, he bit him. But it wasn't exactly a full blooded assault, my eight month old son regularly causes me more physical pain than Suarez caused Ivanovic. The reaction of the public was as if they'd seen a different incident. All of a sudden biting became the worst sin a person could commit. Had Suarez grabbed Ivanovic by the throat with one hand and punched him unconscious with the other he couldn't possibly have been more strongly condemned than he was for what was actually, in terms of how painful it was, a very minor scrape on a football pitch. The public reaction was nothing short of hysteria, there was nothing even remotely approaching a measured verdict, just a demand for the death penalty. People actually telephoned the police to complain about the 'assault'. Talk about wasting police time. It's just people wanting to see someone else get in trouble because they obviously haven't got enough excitement in their own lives and I pity them. And as for the lady who called radio 5 to blame Suarez for her son being bitten in school, don't even get me started on that one! I want to live in a society where at least the majority of people are right minded, even handed and not bitter about others making a success of themselves but it seems I don't, and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the media. Seriously, some of these football journalists have been reporting on the game for decades and have seen things happen on a pitch that you wouldn't believe. They've seen all sorts of manner of violent conduct, all kinds of injuries and more dramatic confrontations than you can count. They're bound to put what was a very minor (but still very wrong) act of physical violence into perspective aren't they? They know what they're talking about. But I forgot, controversy sells papers. Nobody wants to read that what Suarez did was naughty but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't that bad, so nobody wrote that. People wanted a public execution so that's what the papers gave them. Jamie Redknapp and Graeme Souness, two former Liverpool captains who have seen a lot in the game and, one much more than the other, been involved in violent altercations, often of their own making. Claiming to have never seen anything like it on a football pitch when a high profile Premier League star had done the same thing only a few years previous smacked of hyping things up to get themselves noticed. It comes to something when you eventually find the voice of reason in Gary Neville. I respect the written word and the tradition of impartially reporting the facts, but now there's no way I can form an opinion of something I haven't seen with my own eyes by reading the trusty old back pages, and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the FA. When the ban came through as ten matches I was shocked. I completely expected it and had predicted ten games, but only because I felt the FA would bow to the mass hysteria rather than actually look at what happened and reach an outcome that reflected what the crime was, not the over-hyped version of the crime doing the rounds on Facebook, Twitter etc... On 'Judgement Day' I'd somehow convinced myself that the ban would be in proportion to the offence so when it came through as more than double what John Terry received for calling Anton Ferdinand a f**king black c*nt I lost all faith in the organisation that presides over the sport I love, and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by Liverpool Football Club. After the negative press we got for the handling of the last Suarez saga I was very impressed with how we responded on Sunday evening. Lessons had clearly been learned. And then the charge was announced. All sense of a measured approach was lost. We stated that a three game ban was sufficient, why was that allowed to happen, never mind be made public? Yes, a three game ban for violent conduct is the norm, but whether you feel this incident was particularly serious or not it was certainly different and would be treated as such. There are four games to go in a season that is already over for us, keep your mouths shut and the logical four game ban will surely follow. Then the ban length was made public by the FA. It was clear that in attempting to tell the FA not to ban him for more than three matches we'd angered them and it had hurt Suarez' case. So what did we do? Criticised them, publicly. Ruining any chance of an appeal. Seriously, how hard would it have been to say 'I'd rather make no further comment on the matter until it is concluded'? I wanted a sensible response to the matter from LFC and they failed spectacularly and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the Prime Minister. This morning David Cameron stepped in to condemn Luis Suarez' behaviour as an appalling example for children. This coming from a man who left his own daughter in a pub. Well firstly Mr Cameron, since you've been in power you've cut funding in several cultural areas and as a consequence my girlfriend lost her job, so Suarez will not be a bad example to my son as I can't afford to take him to football anyway, thank you. And secondly, I know you've been trying to make childcare more affordable, but having Luis Suarez bring up my kid is not a route I'm going to go down. There are two people who will be responsible for teaching my son what is right and what is wrong, HIS PARENTS. A few weeks ago Mr Cameron was asked his opinion on whether or not the Formula 1 Grand Prix should take place in Bahrain despite the country's deplorable human rights record - his response? 'That's for Formula 1 to decide'. So in summary, human rights = not for me to comment on, a little bite = where's the nearest microphone? I haven't voted for you before and I won't be voting for you in future. I believe politicians should run the country and focus on what is important but on this evidence it seems they don't, and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the FA again. I'd just got my head around the ten match ban. I'd rationalised it. Suarez accepted a seven game ban for a similar offence a couple of years back, he repeated offended so yes, I can see the logic in giving him the same ban again with a few games added on as he clearly hadn't learned his lesson. But then came the FA report with their reasoning. I'm not going to take it apart in great detail as I'm sure several other websites will be doing that. But in short biting somebody is more serious than tripping over a referee because it got more mentions on Twitter. So it has to be ten matches. The Jermaine Defoe bite cannot be considered a precedent as the referee saw it, and the other biting incident (Chester's Sean Hessey receiving a 5 game ban) won't be looked at in any way, shape or form as part of deciding what punishment is appropriate. I'm convinced Suarez' decision not to appeal was not based on him thinking the punishment was fair but on him expecting his ban to be extended if he did. And this extension would come from the same FA who appealed Wayne Rooney's red card for England when his guilt was as obvious as Suarez' in this case. I can't quite believe how far out the FA have got their priorities and I have no faith at all anybody will be punished fairly by them in future, and for this I feel cheated.
It can't be all doom and gloom. I don't want to be bitter and angry so I'm looking for good in this whole situation too, and it's not hard to find. For a start the Hillsborough Family Support Group has an extra £200,000 to help it's cause. And surely now the FA (with it's new Man Utd supporting chairman, assisted by his Man Utd supporting vice chairman) will come under intense pressure to reform it's disciplinary procedures which currently seem to follow the 'we make it up as it suits us' rule and not a lot else. And also this week Man Utd won the title for the 20th time and it has slipped totally under the radar so every cloud......
That's it from me for now, I'm off to watch some rugby.
Let's start at the beginning.
I feel cheated by Luis Suarez. Our talented Uruguayan is probably the most exciting player that someone of my generation has seen in a Liverpool shirt. His skill, work rate, love of the game and desire to win is unbelievable, he's almost like Fowler, McManaman, Barnes, Owen, Torres and Kuyt all rolled into one. When he was banned for racially abusing Patrice Evra I continued to support him. I'm not going to go over old ground but the evidence was never 100% substantial, and as long as there was even a tiny bit of doubt I wasn't willing to give up on him and hang him out to dry. On the occasion of his most recent indiscretion I felt let down by one of my favourite Liverpool players. Yes, I feel angry about the inconsistencies in the FA disciplinary procedures that mean he will miss ten games, but what is in no doubt at all is his guilt. Only he and Evra really know exactly what was or wasn't said when they squared up in the six yard box in front of the Kop, but when he inexplicably chose to bite Ivanovic on almost the exact same blade of grass the whole world saw him do it. I can have my opinions on the severity of his punishment, but I can do nothing at all to defend his behaviour. I hope he stays at Liverpool and I will continue to give him my full support, but my trust in probably the most dynamic player I've ever seen play for us isn't completely there anymore and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the general public. For all it's problems I'm proud to be English and live in England. I love English food, the English sense of humour, English beer and certainly English football. The reaction of the English public to Suarez' bite left me in despair. Yes, he bit him. But it wasn't exactly a full blooded assault, my eight month old son regularly causes me more physical pain than Suarez caused Ivanovic. The reaction of the public was as if they'd seen a different incident. All of a sudden biting became the worst sin a person could commit. Had Suarez grabbed Ivanovic by the throat with one hand and punched him unconscious with the other he couldn't possibly have been more strongly condemned than he was for what was actually, in terms of how painful it was, a very minor scrape on a football pitch. The public reaction was nothing short of hysteria, there was nothing even remotely approaching a measured verdict, just a demand for the death penalty. People actually telephoned the police to complain about the 'assault'. Talk about wasting police time. It's just people wanting to see someone else get in trouble because they obviously haven't got enough excitement in their own lives and I pity them. And as for the lady who called radio 5 to blame Suarez for her son being bitten in school, don't even get me started on that one! I want to live in a society where at least the majority of people are right minded, even handed and not bitter about others making a success of themselves but it seems I don't, and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the media. Seriously, some of these football journalists have been reporting on the game for decades and have seen things happen on a pitch that you wouldn't believe. They've seen all sorts of manner of violent conduct, all kinds of injuries and more dramatic confrontations than you can count. They're bound to put what was a very minor (but still very wrong) act of physical violence into perspective aren't they? They know what they're talking about. But I forgot, controversy sells papers. Nobody wants to read that what Suarez did was naughty but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't that bad, so nobody wrote that. People wanted a public execution so that's what the papers gave them. Jamie Redknapp and Graeme Souness, two former Liverpool captains who have seen a lot in the game and, one much more than the other, been involved in violent altercations, often of their own making. Claiming to have never seen anything like it on a football pitch when a high profile Premier League star had done the same thing only a few years previous smacked of hyping things up to get themselves noticed. It comes to something when you eventually find the voice of reason in Gary Neville. I respect the written word and the tradition of impartially reporting the facts, but now there's no way I can form an opinion of something I haven't seen with my own eyes by reading the trusty old back pages, and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the FA. When the ban came through as ten matches I was shocked. I completely expected it and had predicted ten games, but only because I felt the FA would bow to the mass hysteria rather than actually look at what happened and reach an outcome that reflected what the crime was, not the over-hyped version of the crime doing the rounds on Facebook, Twitter etc... On 'Judgement Day' I'd somehow convinced myself that the ban would be in proportion to the offence so when it came through as more than double what John Terry received for calling Anton Ferdinand a f**king black c*nt I lost all faith in the organisation that presides over the sport I love, and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by Liverpool Football Club. After the negative press we got for the handling of the last Suarez saga I was very impressed with how we responded on Sunday evening. Lessons had clearly been learned. And then the charge was announced. All sense of a measured approach was lost. We stated that a three game ban was sufficient, why was that allowed to happen, never mind be made public? Yes, a three game ban for violent conduct is the norm, but whether you feel this incident was particularly serious or not it was certainly different and would be treated as such. There are four games to go in a season that is already over for us, keep your mouths shut and the logical four game ban will surely follow. Then the ban length was made public by the FA. It was clear that in attempting to tell the FA not to ban him for more than three matches we'd angered them and it had hurt Suarez' case. So what did we do? Criticised them, publicly. Ruining any chance of an appeal. Seriously, how hard would it have been to say 'I'd rather make no further comment on the matter until it is concluded'? I wanted a sensible response to the matter from LFC and they failed spectacularly and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the Prime Minister. This morning David Cameron stepped in to condemn Luis Suarez' behaviour as an appalling example for children. This coming from a man who left his own daughter in a pub. Well firstly Mr Cameron, since you've been in power you've cut funding in several cultural areas and as a consequence my girlfriend lost her job, so Suarez will not be a bad example to my son as I can't afford to take him to football anyway, thank you. And secondly, I know you've been trying to make childcare more affordable, but having Luis Suarez bring up my kid is not a route I'm going to go down. There are two people who will be responsible for teaching my son what is right and what is wrong, HIS PARENTS. A few weeks ago Mr Cameron was asked his opinion on whether or not the Formula 1 Grand Prix should take place in Bahrain despite the country's deplorable human rights record - his response? 'That's for Formula 1 to decide'. So in summary, human rights = not for me to comment on, a little bite = where's the nearest microphone? I haven't voted for you before and I won't be voting for you in future. I believe politicians should run the country and focus on what is important but on this evidence it seems they don't, and for that I feel cheated.
I feel cheated by the FA again. I'd just got my head around the ten match ban. I'd rationalised it. Suarez accepted a seven game ban for a similar offence a couple of years back, he repeated offended so yes, I can see the logic in giving him the same ban again with a few games added on as he clearly hadn't learned his lesson. But then came the FA report with their reasoning. I'm not going to take it apart in great detail as I'm sure several other websites will be doing that. But in short biting somebody is more serious than tripping over a referee because it got more mentions on Twitter. So it has to be ten matches. The Jermaine Defoe bite cannot be considered a precedent as the referee saw it, and the other biting incident (Chester's Sean Hessey receiving a 5 game ban) won't be looked at in any way, shape or form as part of deciding what punishment is appropriate. I'm convinced Suarez' decision not to appeal was not based on him thinking the punishment was fair but on him expecting his ban to be extended if he did. And this extension would come from the same FA who appealed Wayne Rooney's red card for England when his guilt was as obvious as Suarez' in this case. I can't quite believe how far out the FA have got their priorities and I have no faith at all anybody will be punished fairly by them in future, and for this I feel cheated.
It can't be all doom and gloom. I don't want to be bitter and angry so I'm looking for good in this whole situation too, and it's not hard to find. For a start the Hillsborough Family Support Group has an extra £200,000 to help it's cause. And surely now the FA (with it's new Man Utd supporting chairman, assisted by his Man Utd supporting vice chairman) will come under intense pressure to reform it's disciplinary procedures which currently seem to follow the 'we make it up as it suits us' rule and not a lot else. And also this week Man Utd won the title for the 20th time and it has slipped totally under the radar so every cloud......
That's it from me for now, I'm off to watch some rugby.
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