Hammer Blow To The Reds

Right, so I've waited a while to sit back and let the dust settle before i got round to this. I've been saying for some weeks now that a 4th place finish was not going to happen, sure it mathematically possible - still is - but after the nightmare we had before Christmas we should be happy to take a 5/6th place finish and it is down to Kenny Dalglish and the way he has turned the club around that we were actually realistically aiming for 4th, but now it is more of a wild dream.

Firstly, Sundays game. Credit to West Ham for playing better than they normally do, but that was it, they played better, they never played the greatest game of football you will ever see, Scott Parker did not turn into Messi overnight although the way the commentators carried on you could be forgiven for thinking so - he did what he tends to do for West Ham, he gave them everything, it's not like we haven't seen him do it before, not like we won't see him do it again. West Ham Played well, Liverpool played bad, the result, we made them look better, whilst that in turn made us look worse then what we are. West Ham deserved the victory. There were still too many elements of their game that would have been vastly exploited by stronger more determined opposition - Liverpool were neither on the day. The attitude they displayed will give them  great chance of staying in the league but there are no guarantees.

As for Liverpool, well, the defeat was coming, no two ways about that. Following on from the victory at Chelsea performances have gone downhill, against Wigan we could have ended up losing, not the greatest display ever, then over two legs against Prague we gave the kind of displays that would have seen most of the premier league beat us with little effort, we didn't look up for it or interested and we got through only due to Prague's own lack of ambition and poor performances and it all led into the game against the Hammers. Have to say i didn't think it would be an easy game, the relegation battlers are never going to role over an take a hiding, but - i did think we would win, and, i thought this because following on from 3 poor showings i thought the team would recognise that a game against West Ham would be a good place to restore belief and get 3 points - didn't exactly go to plan.

The loss of Martin Kelly is a big one, no doubts about that. We all knew he had 'potential' but he never really got a proper chance until Dalglish threw him in against Utd and he quickly established himself as first choice right back for the club, ahead of England's own first choice right back, Glen Johnson, and that is something that deserves credit. What it does give us in terms of positives is an interesting dilemma. Who plays right back, and who plays left back, the obvious choice would be Johnson right back, Aurelio left back, or Johnson could stay left back, Carragher at right back, with the central positions being occupied by any of Agger, Soto or Skrtel. What i think will happen is a bit different. I think that Johnson will shift to right back, and Danny Wilson will take the left back role.

Now, there were a few who were quick to jump in and give Wilson criticism on Sunday, unfairly. He gave us two good, solid displays in the Europa League and he kept his place in the team on merit, he deserved it. Secondly it was a poor performance from the team all round, the midfield battle was non existent and as a result the defence came under increased pressure, and quite often he was left with no cover with Johnson playing more advanced he wasn't always eager to get back and help, which left Wilson exposed. He is only young and he will learn but he is not a bad defender by any definition. He has played numerous times for Rangers in the SPL and has also made Champions League appearances too. Now there are not many 19year old defenders who could claim to have done that. The criticism is premature and unjustified, had we decided to play as good as we can and controlled the midfield properly the defence would have been able to operate under less pressure, the team would have performed better and confidence would have improved all round, especially for a player making his first Premier League appearance and most of that spent at left back when he is predominantly a centre back - same as with Kelly on the right.

I've had a lot to say about Glen Johnson recently, still maintain that he is pretty much an average defender, nothing special at all, but in attacking positions he seems to come alive, and he is a real threat. Against West Ham he had (initially) more of an attacking role and he proved what i and other have been saying - he is a much better attacking winger than he is a defender and to be fair to him he had a good game, a full game in that attacking role would have reaped more positives but injuries and the resultant re-shaping can not be helped, although he did get the goal that on the balance of it his performance deserved. Lets hope he gets another crack in that more advanced role, would love to see him playing there more regular.

We were all annoyed at the defeat and there has been a lot of talk of 'perspective' since. One defeat in nine we are told, something to be pleased about - of course it is. On January first if you had given any Liverpool supporter the choice to be going into the Utd game on the back of a 9 game run that involved 5 wins, 3 draws and a solitary defeat i think they would have bitten your hand off, or laughed thinking it was a joke - lets be honest on January 1st it didn't exactly look likely to happen did it? But talk like this ignores the real perspective and that is that recently performances have been lacking and have gone downhill since the victory at Chelsea and if we are not careful and do not address this problem quickly we could fall out of contention for a Europa League place never mind 4th place - which we are pretty much out of.

In terms of performances we are not as fortunate as our next opponents who have been well off the boil this season yet are quite comfortably walking away with the title. The game against ManUtd is a big one, and form doesn't tend to count for much and as is always the case, the easiest thing to do is win the game, what we do after it is the hard part. A good performance and a good result will be meaningless if we do not follow it up. Earlier in the season we played Chelsea, we stepped it up, we won, and then results dipped afterwards, there was no springboard, again we have played Chelsea and results have dipped, we can not afford the same thing to happen after Sundays game.

We have 10 games left, 30points to play for, we really should be aiming to finish on a high, the target should be maximum points, realistically i would say that 24 would be acceptable, finishing with a total of 63 points which would have to guarantee us a top 6 finish and if all goes our way, Europa League football next season. In the League we have only personal pride left to play for this season, all we can do is finish as strongly as possible, but with games against Arsenal, Utd, City and Spurs all to come we might have some influence on the final positions of those above us.

For me though, our main target must now be the Europa League, we have a good chance of winning it too. I know a lot of people regard it as a second rate trophy that no one wants but after we had endured a rather barren and unsuccessfully uneventful period just over a decade ago, winning the UEFA cup in 2001 was seen as a huge triumph, and it would be a great boost to the club to claim the trophy especially as we haven't welcomed any silver wear home since 2006. And it would be a great way to cap off a season that started so badly, and looked to be getting worse only for the return of Kenny Dalglish. Wouldn't be bad either to start this decade as we did the last, although i wouldn't want another 5-4 final!

Bottom line though is that performances have to improve, if the team doesn't perform well, we don't get results, like i said, we are not ManUtd, we can not play poorly yet win every week as they do and the biggest mystery of this season is how they have actually managed to do it with what many regard as the worst Utd team in recent history.

Lets make Sunday a game they will wanna forget for years, just like that 1-4 at Old Trafford only this time the goblins can't leave after 80mins, their locked in til the very end.

Performances must improve.

Bore Draw In Prague

OK so lets be honest, it wasn't a classic, and i don't think that too many people predicted a goalless, lifeless draw. Performances like this have become commonplace away from home in the Europa League, and you have to go back to August for the last time we won away from home in the competition. In fact since beating Trabzonspor 1-2 in August the reds have played 4 away games and scored only 1 goal, OK so it's only 1 conceded as well but that's besides the point, all of those game have been played out pretty much the same as this one - poorly.

It isn't all doom and gloom, a draw away from home in Europe, with the second leg to come at Anfield is never really a bad result, an away goal would have been nice, but at this moment in time - not essential. The 'gloom' comes from the fact that once again we have been subjected to a poor performance in a competition in which we are regarded as one of the favourites to win it. And a Steven Gerrard hat-trick aside, this Europa League run has been a pretty drab and uneventful affair.

Before the game, much was made of the inclusion of some of the younger players, our stars of the future if all goes well, but to be honest, I never really thought any of them would get any game time at all unless with 15/20 mins to go the game was pretty much over as a contest, and i don't think they would have made too much difference. They were taken to get some experience of what it is like to travel abroad and to get in some more training with the first teamers, their time will come soon, but not yet.

One youngster who was included was Danny Wilson who had a fine game at left back and was easily one of our best players on the pitch. He looked to be a strong and very capable player and never looked out of his depth, something made all the more impressive as he was played out of position at left back. He gave probably the best performance at left back that we have seen this season, not too eager to get forward and run down the wing but hardly surprising seen as how he is used to playing as a central defender. All in all he gave a great account of himself and I'm sure he will do well in the future.

Something that i find a Little bit worrying though is that our best left back is a young central defender playing out of position, and our best right back is also a young central defender playing out of position. OK so Wilson has only played a game at left back, but he performed better in the role than Johnson has done, and Martin Kelly is a much better right back than Johnson is. And that is a problem. Glen Johnson is not a bad player, I've said this before, on the whole he is an average defender at best, in fact it would be truer to say that he is not a defender full stop. His attacking qualities far outweigh his defensive ones. Attacking wise he is generally quite good, sometimes a little hesitant to play the ball but on the whole he is a threat going forward - defending is another matter entirely. His positional awareness in defence is not what it should be, you only have to look at Kuyt's reaction last night after he showed the attacker down the wing, preventing him from cutting inside, he was beaten for pace but he turned expecting Johnson to be in position to prevent the cross, Johnson however had drifted into the box and the fact that he was the one who cut the cross out inside the box is irrelevant, he should have been there to stop the cross ever being made. I think the time surely must have come to give Johnson a go on the right of midfield - he isn't being utilised properly in defence, he could add an extra cutting edge to our attack.

Krygiakos came back into the starting line up and was a rock once again. He has his critics but his no nonesense approach is great, nothing fancy just do the job, pretty much the same mentality as Carragher and he is a real threat going forwards. And last night even the kit man was more of a threat going forwards that Ngog was. He is too lightweight, and is not a player who can lead the line alone. With the ball at his feet he is generally quite good, and he is capable of scoring goals, but he is way down the pecking order now, the only reason he played was because Suarez is cup tied and Carroll is injured and Kuyt was needed on the right. Maybe in a 4-4-2 with Kuyt alongside him he might have had more joy, but playing alone he wasn't in the game at all, and he didn't try to get in the game either. With our new arrivals and more strengthening to come, coupled with the great young talent that we have coming through i can't see him having too long a future at Liverpool unless he starts to show that he deserves to be here.

Attacking was the main problem last night, no creativity, zero shots on target in 90mins is unacceptable at any level, it is unacceptable full stop for Liverpool FC. This lack of any real attack almost cost us the game. Sparta are in the middle of a winter break and before last night hadn't played a competitive game since December, match fitness for them was probably not at a high, and they probably would have preferred other opposition for their first game in 3 months but they looked the more dangerous and the more likely to score as the game went on. Liverpool had been in good form recently, even after stuttering against Wigan, many expected the reds to raise their game, but we lowered it.

One puzzling thing, is Dani Pacheco. He got game time last season, never more than 15/20 mins, he looked good, he had a great summer with Spain in the U19 championships - finishing top scorer, yet this season he is very much a bench warmer and most games he doesn't even get to do that. There are a few younger players have been given a go this season, but Pacheco has been largely overlooked. He has hinted that he wants to play more, that he may have to consider his options, and if the club want him to stay then they are certainly doing a great job trying to convince him that his future lies at Anfield. Now I'm not saying he's the next Messi or anything like that, only what most people are saying - we have a very talented youngster, 20years old, it's round about now that he should be getting game time, starting to make the step up, showing us what he can do, and we all want to see him get a decent chance that lasts longer than 10mins at the end of a game. There are players allot younger who are getting more game time, he has been excellent in the reserves and he must be doing alright in training because his performances in the reserves are consistently good, he must be wondering what he has to do to get a chance. Puzzling.

OK, so not the greatest of performances, probably up there with out worst for the season, but we do have a second leg to play at Anfield. I did try not to get too depressed over the performance and i do realise that it is still a good result and we do have an excellent chance of progressing but when the team plays so badly it really brings the negatives to the front - and lets face it, there where a few last night. Based on last nights performance, next Thursdays performance can only get better.

Hopefully we wont start with Ngog alone upfront, Hopefully Gerrard will be back, I would let Wilson keep his place, and if Kelly is fit he should get the nod ahead of Johnson at right back, Pacheco will probably be on the bench, Cole will get another chance - not too sure how many more he will get, needs to improve fast. It should be a better game, i think we will go through, but the performances in the Europa League simply must improve - our only chance of success this season, we should be going for it with everything - Hopefully from now on we will.

More HERE, can also follow this blog, click follow on the sidebar ---->

Positives and Negatives: LFC v Wigan

Raul's the man....again!

Victory was vital against Wigan following on from the Chelsea game. Those were the words from everyone's lips, mine included. This was the case earlier in the season when we beat Chelsea, the next game was a must win, the game to kick start our season - that game was against Wigan too, and just like today it finished 1-1. It was a really frustrating afternoon to a game which promised so much and the inclusion of Luis Suarez in the starting line up raised hopes of a victory higher. The victory however would not come.

The game had barely got going when Suarez played the ball to Kuyt who in turn played the ball back in to Suarez in the box only for Suarez to be bungled over by a defender, there was only one thing that the referee could do - signal for a corner? Haven't seen it again but it certainly looked like a penalty at the time, and it was not the only puzzling decision to come from the officials today.

Credit to Wigan for actually coming to play football, they are in a dangerous position and fighting displays like today will go along way to keeping them in the league and from early on in the game they looked to play the ball and attack on the break but never really looked like getting a goal - it wasn't too long before the Reds settled into the game an started to take control.

And surely enough the breakthrough came.

Aurelio's cross from the left found its way to Meireles just inside the box and his volley was perfect, his technique brilliant, the goal superb. He just can't stop scoring at the moment and long may it continue. Minutes later, Suarez showed brilliant skill to turn in the box and get a shot away only to see it curl onto the far post and away from goal with Al-Habsi beaten. By this time the Kop was in full voice with the new Suarez song getting louder an louder as the masses picked up the words - followed closely by what i think was a debut for the new Meireles song - both quality it has to be said.

The remainder of the first half would pass without anything of note really happening, the Reds looked good for the victory but Wigan were certainly making a game of it and it was clear that the second half would be a real test for Liverpool.

Wigan came out and looked much brighter, more dangerous than they looked in the first half and they had nothing to lose really - in danger of relegation even a point would suit them and the longer it stayed at 1-0 the more belief they took. Raul Meireles was removed early on in the second half due to sickness and his presence would be missed. All Liverpool's play was in front of the Wigan defence and Wigan were now starting to attack on the break an were looking more dangerous and the goal they needed wasn't too far away.

Liverpool were slow at pushing out from Wigan set pieces, instead defending deep into the box and this would only invite pressure back. N'zogbia crossed the ball which was then put into the net at the far post from inside the 6yard box, suspicion of offside but it was impossible for me to tell from behind the goal. Dirk Kuyt who had had an ineffective game was replaced by Jovanovic but the decision would not have any impact on the game at all.

Liverpool started to push on in the last 10/15mins, but Suarez was to come closest, rifling the ball against the crossbar with the goal keeper well beaten again - just wasn't going to be his day. By this time the writing was on the wall and a draw looked inevitable - and that is exactly what we got.

It was a game that has left us with positives and negatives, although i would have to say, more positives than negatives.

Negatives - the big negative for me was the inability to cope with Wigan's approach to the game. Take nothing away from them, they came to play, they did not come to sit back and hope for a draw, and in the end it was their fighting attitude that got them the point they quite clearly deserved. Liverpool looked lost in the middle, the free flowing pass and move ethos that we have seen in recent weeks was absent, instead we saw a lack of movement in the middle, players dwelling on the ball too long and short passes backwards and sideways - it was an off day.

Defensively we never really looked uncomfortable, but that said we never really looked comfortable either. Too many times in the game did we see Skrtel and Carragher hastily heading the ball forwards or quite often they simply hoofed it up field - not a good idea when the opposition want to come an play, also not a good idea when a lot of the time there was plenty of time for the ball to be controlled an played to a team mate with some purpose.

The biggest negative of the game was by far the officials. The referee had a shocker and his linesmen weren't much better. Possible penalty and offside goal set aside there where very few big decisions to be made, in fact there were very few hard decisions to be made. Throw ins given the wrong way when the whole stadium could see that they should have gone the other way, a corner given to Wigan late on in the second half when the ball quite clearly went out off a Wigan player - he had a shot, he missed, goal kick, not a hard decision at all. Inconsistencies regarding what is a foul and what isn't, generally for most of the game if your name was Luis Suarez you weren't going to get a free kick - despite the fact that Wigan could only get the ball off him by fouling him. The whistle was all too eager to blow for nothing challenges on Wigan players though, and exactly how long does Al-Habsi need to take a goal kick - it felt like 30seconds at the quickest!

Don't like having to talk about the officials, always seems like I'm looking for an excuse, especially after a loss or a draw but anyone who was at the game, or watched online ;) will know that the officials really did have a poor game.

Quick note - should we have stuck with the formation used against Stoke and Chelsea, after the fact i would say yes, that formation would probably have been better than 4-4-2, especially considering the way Wigan played. Thoughts on this one folks???

Positives - Luis Suarez, quality from start to finish, looked to be tiring towards the end but he still kept going. He seems to drift into space effortlessly, always available, his touch is superb, and he was a real handful today, so much so that the only way Wigan could deal with him was to foul him. Unlucky with the penalty shout, unlucky to hit the post, unlucky to hit the bar, so so unlucky not to score - a goal was the only thing missing from his super display. His tracking back and help in the middle was also refreshing to see as was the Kop in full voice with a song dedicated to him - you just knew it would blast out if he found the net!

Raul Meireles, quite what Kenny has done to bring out the best in him is anyones guess, and as much as the boss plays it down there can be no doubting that his arrival has seen Meireles' form rise and rise and rise - no coincidence at all. Another quality goal from the man who just can't stop scoring and his presence in midfield was missed when he went off. If he keeps it up he will have another player of the month award coming his way in a few weeks.

Martin Kelly, he was given a chance, he took it and now he is seemingly a permanent fixture in the first team. He was superb again today, still not the finished article but well on his way. Glen Johnson says he is happy to play at left back - probably because he realises that ousting Kelly from that position is beyond him.

The main positive is that we are still unbeaten, six games unbeaten now, 2 draws, 4 wins and that can only be a good thing.

After four straight wins and four straight clean sheets a draw is always going to feel like a let down, but it is better than a defeat. The red machine marches on, this draw is just a stutter, and there is a real drive and determination at the club which was not present prior to January. To even be considered as an outside chance for a Champions League spot is incredible especially since at the start of the year, all the pundits and newspapers in the land had us down for a relegation fight, mid-table finish at best. Fourth spot is a long shot and after the disaster that was Roy Hodgson, securing 4th place was not Kenny Dalglish's main objective - it probably wasn't an objective full stop.

Performances have improved, both individually and collectively, everyone is pulling in the same direction. The owners have come out and signalled their intent, they want to lead the club forwards, they want to win, to be successful and they aren't afraid to put their money where their mouth is in doing so. The spirits of the supporters have been lifted, it is no longer a chore to watch Liverpool play, it is at times a real joy once again - there are frustrating moments but you have to take the rough with the smooth.

Since Kenny Dalglish took over the club has been reinvigorated, there is a renewed sense of purpose and belief and there isn't really one player that stands out as having had an awful time over the past 6 weeks. All have played well, all have had their dodgy moments, but that's football, players can't get it right all the time and when they don't get it right they need to have the right attitude, the ability to move on and improve. What they don't need is praise one week and criticism the next. Many players who last week received universal praise are now being universally criticised. We can't just support them when they are good. Players have off games - fact. Really i think players should only be criticised if they consistently give poor performances. It is one thing to 'constructively' criticise certain aspects of a players performance in a game, and it is another to openly criticise their whole performance.

Take Dirk Kuyt for example, praised for his efforts and work rate against Chelsea, had a decent first half against Wigan, but was below par for his time on the field in the second half - he had a mixed game yet has received most of the criticism and negativity following on from the game. Which is it? Is he the tireless Duracell Bunny with excellent work rate, the right attitude in abundance and someone who gives his all for the team, or is he the uncreative, slow, touch like a rapist striker who is deployed on the wing? He isn't the quickest, his touch lets him down at times and sometimes he could be more creative, but he also keeps going, his work rate is second to none and he does give his all, and at times his touch is perfect, his link up excellent, he is creative and he puts in a good cross. Pretty much he is every one of those things at one point or other, but he isn't lazy and he gives his all every time - he had a mixed game, simply acknowledging this is enough. When it comes to criticising players you have to take into account the bigger picture and not just one game - we all have bad days at the office.

I do not think that the international friendlies should be used as an excuse either. They are a pain but would the performance have been any different had we just returned from a mid week European game?

West Ham next in the league, no easy games in this league anymore. They are fighting for survival and seeing Wigan take a point will fill them with confidence, they would take a point now if they could. A win would be great, going into the game against ManUtd on the back of a 7game unbeaten run in the league with 5 wins in that period would be a huge boost - not that we need any help raising our game for them. Who knows, if you factor in the two Europa League games we could be looking to extend our run to 10 games unbeaten when we play Utd.

For now we must be content that we are six games unbeaten and things look good for the future, we have renewed belief and that is all that we need to be worried about. This season was always going to be a hard fought battle, especially after Purslow's manager Roy Hodgson dragged us down further. The feeling is that we will strengthen in the summer, based on the strength we acquired in January then things are definitely looking up and next season will be the real test, can we be competitive? With the King in charge...why not?

Don't forget your feedback folks, more ON TWITTER

Fulham, Stoke and Transfers

Ok, so it wasn't the greatest performance that we are likely to see from the reds, but lets face it, in our current situation we'll take the three points how ever they come. Also, too many times in the past we have seen Liverpool cave in to pressure in the final 10mins of games and drop points as a result, Wednesday is a step in the right direction, it may have been a laboured performance, it may have been sloppy at times, and we may have invited pressure on too much, but, we still left with three points. Now I'm sure the players are in agreement with the supporters that we would all love to avoid situations like what we found ourselves in for the final 10mins against Fulham in future games, but it is reassuring to know that we are actually capable of holding out.

Fulham never really came to do any real damage, looking at the way they set up, and the way they went about the game, their plan was all about frustration. They closed down and tried to restrict the passing movement that Liverpool had expertly displayed against Wolves, they had plenty behind the ball, and played quite deep at times always looking to play on the break, which, when you consider that Liverpool had a 5 man midfield, was something of a strange way to play. And for the first 10mins at least, it looked like we where going to run riot, we started brightly, we retained the ball well, passing was excellent, the goal was coming.

And where is Sian Massey when you need her?? Fernando Torres incorrectly ruled offside, in pretty much the same position between the defenders as Meireles was at Wolves. The finish was calm and composed and just what we needed. Had the goal stood, the game would have taken a different turn, Fulham would have to have played with more purpose, open up a bit more, and with energy levels running high more goals would have come. Instead the first half seemed to pass without incident. The second more of the same.

The own goal was brilliant, a chip and then a complete miss kick, nice to see a bit of luck go our way for a change. The game then dragged on to the point where we found ourselves under increasing pressure for no reason at all, too much haste in the play, sitting back too deep, inviting Fulham forwards, but Fulham never really looked like making the push on their own, even after the goal, their game never changed, we where contributing to our own downfall yet again and the final whistle couldn't come soon enough.

The reason i suspect is down to tiredness, early on the players looked bright and energetic, but from the hour mark onwards, many players looked like they where running on empty. And there was definitely a big Lucas sized hole in midfield, say what you will, but for the last 18months he has been a very dependable and often unsung performer in the middle, and he was missed. Poulsen again, as he did against Wolves, played well, he looks a different player than the one we saw before New Year, doesn't quite have it there for a full game, but he was physical, passing was good, link up was good, still not world class, but he did a good job.

I have to say though, Steven Gerrard had no effect on the game whatsoever, too often was he playing too deep, dropping back to collect the ball to take it up, and more often than not the ball played went backwards or sideways, others did this at times, but for a player who was chomping at the bit to get going, he didn't even get started. Match fitness doesn't come into it either, he has trained everyday with the team and a comeback game against a Fulham side with little ambition to do anything other than get a point was just what he needed. Hopefully he will rediscover his form in the coming weeks like so many of his team mates have.

Johnson for once did quite well at left back, the main problem with him in this position though is that nine times out of ten he has to turn back onto his right to get the cross in, this makes it too easy for defenders to force him to use the left, which isn't going to be of much use most of the time. Have to say though, Dani Pacheco must be wondering what he has to do to get a game, great summer with Spain at the under 19 championships, golden boot winner, a real hot prospect, if he's lucky he gets to sit on the bench - give him a go!

We may have been fortunate to come away with a victory but at least it saved us from bemoaning another poor decision from the officials, both linesman had a poor game as did the referee to be fair.

Stoke up next, and lets face it, not an easy team to play against. Interestingly, they lost their last game to Fulham and play Wolves at the weekend, so by the time the game comes around they could have lost back to back games against the teams that we recorded back to back victories against. So it is promising, and with the reds playing better football, confidence up i think we are very good for the three points. Stokes only real threat is those silly throw-ins that take about 90seconds to complete, stop them, stop the threat, maybe throw the Greek in to rough it up a bit. Next Wednesday is a perfect opportunity for us to start February off as we mean to go on, and make up for the disappointing 2-0 defeat from earlier in the season. These are the games LFC should be winning - no doubts.

Transfer time! Bid rejected for Charlie Adam?? Get in, made up, over the moon, decent player he may be, in good form, yes he is, but, he is not what Liverpool need. We have plenty of depth in midfield, Poulsen, Lucas, Gerrard, Meireles, Shelvey and if needed Pacheco can play through the middle albeit slightly advanced. Adam is worth at the very most, very very most, £6m. £4m is a fair price for player who cost Blackpool just £500k, and he is not a priority for Liverpool at this time, and he is by no means worth upwards of £10m, the thought is ridiculous. Buying him would be a waste of money, currently we already play with 3 central midfielders, can't see how signing another would help, especially not with other potential signings having the ability to alter the formation.....

And that brings us to Luis Suarez, the biter, the cat between the posts, an he scores some decent goals too. His arrival is not nailed on certain, but quite likely, and in the event that it does go through, you would have to say that the formation is also likely to change, with him off Torres, a midfielder will have to make way, presumably one of the middle 3, and that's a hard pick to make, on performances alone though, i have to say Lucas and Meireles deserve their places. Reports suggest 20m euros offer rejected, Ajax want 25m euros apparently, middle ground then, 22.5m euros should close the deal on that one, if the reports are true, the player himself certainly wants to come, especially to play alongside Torres....

Speaking of the #9, Chelsea bid £35m, but then again don't they do this every window?? has it ever worked? We always have something that they want, sadly for them though, they'll never have Torres, or Gerrard, or 5 European Cups, or 18 League Titles, or Anfield and its atmosphere, Mr Abramovich probably wakes up hot an sweaty in the middle of the night wondering why he bothered with Chelsea in the first place when he could so easily have bought the club he so wishes to emulate. As for reports that Torres has held talks with Kenny Dalglish about his future, that is I'm afraid, old news, that was weeks ago, remember, it was after those talks that he came out and expressed his desire to stay with Liverpool and honour his contract, how long ago was that? errrrr little over 3 weeks.

The fact that the media are reporting it now as if its new is just a poor attempt to elevate the story further, to sell more papers, get more web hits, as far as i see it, Chelsea made an offer of £35m, when asked, Liverpool responded by saying NO even posting on LFC.tv that the player was not for sale. That's it, there is nothing else, direct quotes there, Chelsea acknowledge bid, Liverpool acknowledge turning it down further adding that he isn't for sale. The media then add that he has had talks about his future, yep, covered that, weeks ago, and that he is begging Liverpool to negotiate with Chelsea, begging?? of course he is, that's why the stories use direct quotes from the player and his representatives and LFC, oh wait a second, they DON'T. Don't believe everything that you read in the comics, or the pro Manure/Chelski media.

Nando has more respect for the club and it's supporters than people give him credit for, would not surprise in the slightest if stories to the contrary are being spoon fed to the media by Chelsea, really wouldn't surprise me.

Right thats me done now, as always feedback is much appreciated - it really is, you can follow me on Twitter HERE please feel free to retweet this post, followbacks for those who do!

Oh an if the woman with the Vuvuzela, KOP 305 Wednesday v Fulham, do me a favour love....leave it at home next time.

Post Blackpool Thoughts

Lets be honest, there was never going to be any quick fix to the predicament that we find ourselves in currently. The results still aren't going our way but the signs of improvement are there to be seen. Two games on from the return of the King and the  team has shown more spirit and a general improvement in play than we saw from them in the previous 2 months. If not for some dodgy refereeing from Coward Webb perhaps the outcome of both games may have been different......

Firstly, the FA Cup game, it wont live long in the memory for the quality of football on show, lets face it, neither side played good football at any point really. Berbatrips fall in the box with the game barely half a minute old proved to be the difference between the two sides. Flashback to earlier in the season, Berbatrips hat trick was the difference, in a much different game. To sum it up, Utd had a dive, a header off the post and a frantic 10-15seconds around the goal with Reina showing why hes the best at what he does, and that's it for the whole 90mins. Liverpool's only real chance that sticks in the memory was Aurelio's free kick. But its nothing to be disheartened about.

The arrival of Kenny Dalglish was never going to be the catalyst for immediate change, the problems are not superficial, they run much deeper than that, the team was not prepared by him, did not train under him, and had spent very little time with him prior to the game. But it was there for all to see, the players without ever setting the the world alight somehow looked different, there was clearly the influence of an Anfield Legend about them and there was belief. The one change that stands out was the inclusion of Martin Kelly at right back, easily one of the best on the pitch, a young player with a bright future, a player capable of challenging for that right back position outright. Lucas as he always seems to do in this fixture produced a fine performance, Torres looked more interested than he had been in a while, and even in defeat it seemed like a statement of intent had been made, albeit with out the reds ever looking close to dismantling their opponents a la 2009. To quote a great man, the penalty was 'a joke', the red card in my opinion unwarranted for a 50/50, both players go to ground and if Carrick catches Gerrard i don't think red would have been the colour, BUT you do see them given, and we did. An hour with 10 men and there was no hopeless capitulation which we might have endured before Christmas, and an unjust 1-0 defeat was never going to dampen the spirits on what was a big day for the club.

Just to say though, the referee has assistants for a reason, they are there to assist. How Coward Webb can give a penalty from all of 25yrds away with the absolute wrong view to judge the offence when his assistant no more than 10yrds away with the best view in the house does not give a penalty is absolutely beyond me. Assistant has a better view, sees no foul, waves no flag, referee wastes no time in awarding penalty. Webb had a shocking WC Final, said he wanted to give the game and the players a chance, he appreciated that it was the WC Final, biggest game of those players careers bar none. Liverpool v ManUtd is THE big game in England, but the impression he gave was that he was not going to give this game a chance, his judgement was poor. A referee should only overrule his assistant if he is absolutely 100% CERTAIN it is the right call, from his position he cannot be sure more than 50/50 in which case the assistants view is crucial. Interesting that Gerrard should suffer a straight red under pressure from Utd players but De Jong did not suffer the same fate even under protest from Spanish players for a kick on Alonso that Bruce Lee would have been proud of - Webbs idea of what is and is not a red is quite baffling to be honest. Guess Babel summed it up on Twitter though. OK rant over.

Blackpool, overall a much better performance from the reds, still the scoreline isn't what we want to see, but it was certainly more entertaining to watch than the reverse fixture earlier in the season, or more recent fixtures against Wolves and Blackburn to name a few. Again the signs of improvement were there to see. Torres looked a little more like the Torres of old for most of the game, and to see him run onto that through ball and smash one past the keeper from that position was stunning, Dalglish said himself, he will help him get the belief back and on that evidence hes well on his way. Kelly once again gave a good account of himself and doesn't look too bad going forwards either. Poulsen, much hatred flying round for him, in my opinion he has alot of experience, his only flaw i think, he just is not suited to the Premier League, not every player is and at his age i don't think he'll benefit too much from a fast paced physical game, he's much more suited to the Italian football he left behind, he also played a decent game, not the worst on the pitch.

It was a case of baby steps for the reds though, much more attacking, more belief, more urgency but the same problem that has dogged us all season resurfaced again, we were very poor in the final third. Loose balls, bad passing, lack of real creativity at times but i suspect that will change in the coming weeks, can't improve everything at once. Read alot about Jovanovic, i think he's strong, he makes some determined runs, isn't too eager to be knocked off the ball, and i think he is a real victim of Rafa's departure. Rafa identified him, Rafa draughted him in, Rafa obviously had an idea of how he would fit into the team and that idea left with him. He represented a low risk, free transfer and was pretty much overlooked by Roy Hodgson probably because he never wanted him and nothing to do with ability. He is a player who racked up 52 goals in 116 appearances for Liege contributing double figures every season - fairly decent, and against Blackpool, for me, he just looked like he was trying too hard to make an impression. Chances have been limited for him during his time at Liverpool, he didn't look match sharp and its hardly surprising given his lack of game time and i suspect more opportunities may come his way from now til May.

What i will say, and it is something i have been saying for over a year now, Glen Johnson is a poor defender. You may point to the fact that against Blackpool he was a right back playing out of position at left back but the fact is he was playing out of position due to the fact that he was in the back line full stop. Personally he should have at the very least put pressure on Campbell who was given a free header from close range, they way the players lined up it was clear that he was Johnson's man. Too many times have we been caught short or players given too much space and free headers/shots on goal courtesy of Glen Johnson, its criminal. That said, i do think he is a good player but whoever identified him as a right back during his youth days at West Ham made a poor decision. His attacking qualities far outweigh his defensive ones, he has pace, quick feet, a decent shot and a fair bit of skill, those skills are completely under-utilised at right back, he looks uncomfortable. Rumours before the game suggested that he would play at right mid, but i think those rumours may have been started by someone who shares a similar view to myself, and i know there are a few out there. Give him a shot at it, Kelly is more than competent at right back, as is Aurelio at left back, bring Insua back for cover if only til the summer, free Johnson of his defensive shackles and i think we will reap the benefits. Like i said, poor defender but a good player, or rather a good right winger.

Like i said, and many others aswel, we were never going to improve overnight, we are not going to win the league now that Hodgson is gone, top six is not beyond us, in my opinion, top 4 is. Europa League football next season is not a shameful thing for a team that is locked in transition and it provides a good avenue to hand experience to younger players, and bringing in younger players in NESV's ethos. Sunday against the bitters, the day the King really does return, and what an atmosphere there will be, i cant wait, that said i cant stand to watch us in this fixture but i also can't stand not to watch, regularly the most uncomfortable 90mins of my life. Form goes out the window, previous results mean nothing, roared on by the supporters, filled with the belief and determination instilled in them by the King, this could truely be the game that signals the start of a different Liverpool. Not saying we will 'turn the corner' or any other such phrase you may want to use, but i expect that we will at least reach the 'corner' at the conclusion of this game.

In order to improve the results, the mentality and the belief of the players had to improve, that is happening, it looks promising, only once that belief has been restored can we move forwards, the missing link?? the Anfield faithful - i think that this is one homecoming parade that will suffer no upset, not from the bitters and not from Phil Dowd. The supporters will throw their full voice behind the team and the manager, something which is yet to happen on both fronts this season and that i think will be the signal the players need, that will lift them and i think Kenny Dalglish will have them worked up for this game like never before.

The media and general football crowd may cry that Hodgson was unfairly dismissed, and that his successor has been no different but the state the team is in at the moment is down to Hodgson, forget Rafa, I'm sick of hearing that one, the team had no belief, no spirit, they looked disinterested, unmotivated, the starting 11 Hodgson inherited was as good as any on their day, the backup players not all up to standard but years of 'sell to buy' will do that to a club, it is the managers job to lift the players, to inspire them, not just to coach them and pick a team and a formation. Hodgsons tactics were poor, his demeanor as uninspiring as his substitutions, it quite clearly was not working, and he had six months in the job. From now til the end of the season, Kenny Dalglish is only going to get 5months, were we go from there is currently unknown, but already in 5 days he has given the players a lift and the performances if not the results are improving, on the basis of the last 5 days, cant wait to see what he will do in 5 months.

Keep the faith reds, unlucky against Utd, perhaps a draw was the best outcome against Blackpool but they were good for what they got, the best is yet to come and now all attention is firmly on what is happening on the field and thank god for that. I'm sure the players are looking at themselves and I'm sure they know they must improve, but in Kenny Dalglish they have a manager who knows what a privilege it is to represent Liverpool Football Club and he will definitely let them know what the fans deserve and what they are required to do, and he will do it the Liverpool way.

As always feedback is welcomed, and you can follow my ramblings on Twitter: the_real_ash_23 there's a link on the page somewhere too, cheers.