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.

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?

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LFC January Review

Played : 6
Won :    3
Drew :   1
Lost :     2
Goals:    10
Against:  8
Position: 7th

What a month, none stop drama really wasn't it??

We went into the month on such a down, we had a manager we did not want, a team that was under performing and a transfer window that looked like being completely uneventful.

Allot has been said on this so i will try to keep this part brief. Roy Hodgson was not right for Liverpool, i don't think it was ever really likely to work out with him, we were going backwards, an fast, our away record had become unbearable, our performances unwatchable, his press conferences were torture - this man had been brought in to work on a nothing budget and to steady the ship but instead he was taking us down faster than the Titanic.

The players looked uninspired, they seemed to have no faith in themselves let alone their manager and the supporters had now turned against the manager - something had to be done.

And in stepped the King himself, returning to the club he loved and the club which idolises him. I do not think that the boys from NESV had any idea just how much of an impact his return would have but on the whole the return of Kenny Dalglish has saw a return to form, a return the old Liverpool way, a return to pass and move, a return to optimism and a resurgence in faith. The team looks a million miles away from the one which he inherited and not much has changed.

He came in determined, he proclaimed that it would take time and that he was happy to work with what he had and maintained that the squad of players that he inherited where capable of achieving success, and when you consider that he only brought in two players and one of those due to an unforeseen loss - he meant what he said.

Performances have improved, from the very dire (Blackburn) to the very brilliant (Wolves), allot has changed. For starters our tally of 10 points is our biggest points total for a month this season. The 10 goals we scored in January is the most goals we have managed in a month this season. Those figures are for league games only, but it is safe to say that January has been our best month this season and gives us a great platform to build on in February.

Stand out performers for January? Well there have been a few, Martin Kelly, undoubtedly deserves a top mention here, thrust into the team against ManUtd and he has played every game since, his performances have been composed, the way he has attacked down the wing and never given up has been commendable and he looks like a real asset to the club going forward and it will take some doing to knock him out of the starting 11. I think though, for me, January's star man has to be Raul Meireles. He has really come into his own this month under Dalglish and his goal against Wolves will take some beating and i suspect will be one of the goals of the season in the league and probably our outright goal of the season. His creativity gets more threatening by the day, his passing more accurate, he wants to be involved, everything is going through him now, he seems to be the hub of our attack feeding the others allowing them to find space, i think he will take his form into February and will continue to take the praise he deserves.

Another player who has surprised many this month is Christian Poulsen. A few weeks ago i maintained that i thought he was a good player, or rather to be more accurate i said he wasn't a bad player, and i said that i felt that he was just not suited to the English game. Kenny Dalglish thought has done something that many people would have thought impossible 4/5 weeks ago - he has been getting a good, composed and effective 60/70 mins out of Poulsen. His passing and movement against Wolves was up there with the best, the way he threaded the ball through to Meireles for the first, expertly placed and weighted with perfect vision, his physical display against Fulham was something i have never seen from him before - watch closely though, he is a bit naughty in his challenges especially when challenging in the air, he doesn't exactly have his eye on the ball, gets away with it though an it's good to watch!

Gerrard has looked short of form recently, he's missed three games through suspension but both before and after he didn't look anywhere near his best and that is something that he will have to address, but I'm sure he will.

The transfer window has just closed and at first it looked like it was going to be largely uneventful, but then it exploded into life in the final 3 days, we lost Ryan Babel - good potential but never delivered and i suspect he wont be missed by the masses but he left with his head high....

We also saw Paul Konchesky leave us on loan, good for him, good for us, less said about that the better. And of course we all suffered the betrayal of Fernando Torres - what he did for us will never be forgotten, but what he did to us will never be forgotten either and more importantly never be forgiven.

We say hello to two new faces who actually want to be here, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, our new number 7 and our new number 9, and I'm sure that you are all looking forward to seeing the best of them because i know i am!

That's it really, hopefully next month will be a better one than this month!

Feedback is as always appreciated and you can keep up with me and this blog HERE.

Dancing Past Wolves

The transformation of Liverpool Football Club under Kenny Dalglish has been nothing short of amazing.
Barely a month ago, Liverpool succumbed to a rather lifeless and embarrassing defeat to Wolves at Anfield, and lets not make any suggestions of it being 'just an off night', i was present, Wolves did little more than they did on Saturday, and yet where able to walk away with 3 points. That pretty much sums up how poor Liverpool were on that cold December night.

But one month on, and watching Liverpool play is a joy to behold.

Pass and move he said, pass - and - move, its the Liverpool way. Yet many in the media, the so called experts where quick to voice concerns over Kenny Dalglish's ability to instill this into the team and remarked that things had changed since the King's playing and managerial days at Anfield, with the underlying message seeming to be that his old philosophy would not work. Hope they where watching Sunday! Pass and move is, as has been said many times before, the 'fabric' of the game, why should this notion be any different to Liverpool FC. Ok so we have been used to slow build up from the back, passing backwards and sideways then back again just to move forwards over recent years, but in barely a month that has all changed for the good.

The Liverpool performance against Wolves was not perfect, at times there was a tendency to just sit back a bit, play a few hurried passes/clearances, BUT, it was a very accomplished and complete performance from the reds who where well worth the 3 points and who where by no means flattered by the scoreline. And the third goal sums up how far the team has come this month, 30 passes, yes 30! I'll say 30 because i don't think the ball to Torres could be described as a pass, but whether you say 30 or 31 its still more than the 2 or 3 that club has struggled to put together for some time.

In my last post after the Derby i addressed the negativity and criticism of Raul Meireles, and i said it was all rubbish, even the best make mistakes and i said then that his mistakes where down to being a little more confident than his team mates, many of whom have endured a long and hard 18months at the club, and i said that with everyone up for the fight and singing from the same song sheet, his effectiveness and creativity would gain him universal praise, rather than criticism. Told you so! He was immense in midfield, a real general leading by example and i think it will continue for some time, arguably our best buy for a considerable amount of time.

Fernando Torres looks like the fresh faced menace that terrorised the Premier League from 2007-2009 and that is down to the belief and confidence that Kenny Dalglish has given him, 3 goals in 4 games under the King and long may it continue. But it is the whole team, the much criticised Poulsen gave a good performance, Reina as always was superb and Martin Kelly looks in no danger of losing his starting place any time soon. This post would be a mile long if i had to praise each player for their contribution individually, so i'll have to just have to leave it there with some selected highlights! But it was a team performance and the team was superb.

So much has changed in the team this month and as its transfer window time it wouldn't be fair to ignore the possibilities. Charlie Adam is a decent midfielder, and £4m is fair price for his services considering Blackpool played £500k for his services, but LFC have alot of midfielders and this area of the team is not a priority, and with Keisuke Honda also being linked with a move to LFC for around £10m it comes down to a choice really and also money i suppose, but out of the two i would rather have Honda than Adam, and any suggestion from Holloway that it would take a two figure sum to land Adam is delusional, i cant see any team willing to pay more than £6m and the hard line stance of the manager will probably mean that Adam will go nowhere.

Luis Suarez, please please please! The way Liverpool are playing under Dalglish will suit Suarez down to the ground and i think he would really compliment the reds newly discovered style of play. It is a long time since a potential signing captured the imagination of the LFC fan base and i really hope that the deal goes through, it would be a crime to miss out on him.

The way LFC and NESV have operated in this transfer is refreshing, we are no longer being bullied over price and if the reports are true it is LFC that are doing all the bullying, i think it will be a long time before we are bullied into paying over the odds for a player. Consider Adam, i don't think the club will pay the two figure sum that Blackpool want, but in times gone by the club might have folded and just paid whatever the other club wanted. I also think contract terms and wages etc will now be more strict under the new ownership which will only help the club in moving forwards, we'll get real value for the money we pay.

I hope the last stretch of the window goes favourably for the reds and i look forwards with excitement to the future ahead.

The team are playing well, they were superb against Wolves and the future looks good, a first win under the King, Fulham to come, hopefully another 3 points too, but a performance like Saturday will go a long way to making those 3 points a reality!

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Take care folks!