Kenny Rocks Arsene

Dirk earns a deserved point....again!

It was a game where Liverpool defended, defended and defended says Arsene Wenger, the truth though is that it was a game where the wannabe Barcelona failed to convert their possession into goals.

Possession does not win you games, goals do - Barca have overwhelming amounts of possession in games, but they also have the goals to go with it, Arsenal do not. Their football may be attractive to watch at times but the reality is it is becoming far too tedious, predictable and the excuses afterwards - boring.

Liverpool are in a real transitional period there is no mistaking that, real changes are needed but the fight that Kenny Dalglish has instilled into the players since January is outstanding. Against Arsenal there were notable absentees, not fringe players but first team players. Teenagers stepped into the gaps and looked like naturals.

After a commanding performance against City at the start of the week an away game at Arsenal was perhaps not the best game to go in to but it wasn't all about defending as Wenger suggests. The starting 11 was not the first choice Liverpool 11, it was the best available, the injuries sustained disrupted the flow even further. It was a game about patience, concentration and discipline - without these Liverpool would have lost this game hands down - evidenced by one lapse that led to a penalty.

Liverpool lack width and pace, the whole world knows it, they know too that these are attributes that Arsenal have a plenty. Liverpool were never going to compete with Arsenal on their level, all they had to do was keep it cool and wait for the mistakes - mistakes that Arsenal are prone to give away. And in their search for the perfect goal they left space behind that a pacier team would have exploited - indeed their were times when Liverpool did break but could do nothing.

At the start of the season Arsenal got a lucky point at Anfield following on from a rare Pepe Reina mistake, at the Emirates Liverpool earned a deserved point and there is nothing anyone can say to deny that. Arsenal may have dominated possession but they had about as many decent chances of a goal as Liverpool did - and towards the end it was Liverpool who looked more likely to score as Arsenal became more impatient and left more space for the reds.

Every Liverpool player had a good game, and worked tirelessly to keep Arsenal at bay, but special mention must be given to the youngsters Flannigan and Robinson, the future of LFC? perhaps and on this showing it will be a good future, neither looked out of place, both played as players with far more experience than their young years should allow - just hope that Robinson lets Walcott out of his pocket before he goes home.

Lucas was immense as always, far often his contributions slip under the radar, he has been in all honesty probably Liverpool's best and most consistent player this season, and his performances see him as one of the best in England - he gets far less praise than he deserves.

Another player who often comes in for some criticism is Soto, but he came on in place of the flat out Carra and was like a brick wall, a quick glance down the twitter timeline an there was a whole host of negative and disparaging remarks immediately before his introduction but he was commanding, aware, quick to react, gave nothing and took everything in his challenges - was as if Carra had never left the pitch and the big Greek deserves big praise for this - not easy to come into a high profile game against unrelenting opposition and settle so quickly but he did.

Like i said all played well but had to give some mentions there.

Cant really argue too much with the penalties, didn't think there was too much intent from Spearing to bring the man down but that doesn't really matter much, there was contact in the box the man went down the ref really didn't have much choice. Now Arsene might moan but a considerable amount of time was wasted after the awarding of the pen, to the taking of the pen right through to the celebrations - the ref has to add this on.

And he did, and in that time Liverpool got a free kick, and there is a matter of seconds from Suarez striking the ball to Eboue bringing Lucas down - how fast does Wenger expect the ref to blow up?? as soon as the ball is kicked?? The referee didn't purposely set out to award a pen in the 100th minute.

Arsene Wenger has no one to blame but his own players - they went to pieces after their penalty, they got slop, they made rash challenges, they made 2 critical mistakes, the first to give away the free kick which could so easily have been a pen anyways, to Eboue bungling Lucas over - architects of their own downfall, didn't make their possession count and made mistakes - look closer to home Arsene.

What happened on the touch line is poor sportsmanship from Wenger, firstly to kick off at Kenny, feelings are charged up but when all is said and done its just a game and managers and players should have respect for each other - their is was no bad blood between the two before hand and during the game Kenny didn't do anything malicious to Wenger. Secondly there was a refusal to shake hands again poor from Wenger, words exchanged and Kenny told him what for and rightly so. I half expected Wenger to tell the press he didn't see the incident when they quizzed him on it - that's his usual line when he's in the wrong.

Next season the duels between these two clubs will be different, all indication is that Liverpool will strengthen, introduce some pace and width, and with a much more settled squad it will not be, as Arsene puts it, a case of Liverpool defending, defending and defending.

Arsenal however, don't seem to be going anywhere, Wengers stubbornness and (Barca Envy) will see them near again - just like this season - but not on top, a change is needed at the Emirates, they need to be more direct, they play good football but they lack belief especially when it counts and sometimes its better to just fire off the shots rather than walk the ball in, especially in the Premier League.

Fourth Too Far??

Can Liverpool Finish 4th this season?

In all honesty probably not. Last season was a poor season by the high standards we set before it, this season was always going to be a struggle as a result.

Before the season started most people would have said that our main objective was to get back in to the top 4, but no one realised back then what a struggle it would be to actually do that. Many saw last season as just a blip, something that could easily be corrected this year, but there were problems on the field and off it that not many people paid too much attention to.

When you replace a manager, it is usually because things aren't working out and the team is performing badly. Last season under Benitez Liverpool weren't as good as they could have been, they weren't as good when judged against the high standards that the team set in the previous seasons - it looked like we were on an upward curve and Premier League glory was a certainty last season. That never happened, things were bad, but they weren't catastrophic. OK we finished 7th, but we did also get to the Europa League semi finals. And last season there were signs of the competitiveness that would become glaringly apparent this season. Other clubs in the league were strengthening their squads - both with quality and depth - whilst we did not. There were 6/7 teams challenging for the top 4 places - it was tight. We finished 7th, we where minutes away from the Europa League final? And we got back into the competition this season. One truly bad season, and Rafa is gone.

Look at Villa this season, they failed to invest and build upon last season, they had to find a new manager after O'Neill jumped ship and they have struggled this season and the clubs owners have now had to spend money to help keep the club in the league - they are only 3 points above the drop. That highlights the importance of building on what you achieve - we did not build on what we achieved in the 2008/09 season and we struggled in the next.

The reality is that he was sacked to make the club look more attractive to potential buyers - it was well known that he was always at odds with the clubs hierarchy - but then again, weren't we all??

I always felt that replacing Rafa with Hodgson would be a step back - new manager, new ideas etc etc the rebuilding would have to start from scratch. The clubs problems off the field, which were intensifying at the time did not help, but Hodgson never really looked like a good choice. He had some money to spend, pretty much a full summer to work with the team, but he was always punching above his weight at the club.

The downward spiral continued into the new season, the Hicks and Gillet sideshow diverting most of the attention off the team, but once that sideshow ended all focus was on the team. The new owners stood by him but in the end they had to let Hodgson go - it really wasn't working out.

In steps Kenny Dalglish, and the team looks transformed. Viewed as relegation candidates in December by February we are seen as being in with a shout of 4th spot. The change is unbelievable - but ultimately i feel it is too little too late in our bid to return to Europe's elite competition. We have spent money and strengthened, we are on a great run, unbeaten in 6 games, but the rebuilding has only just got started.

Victory against Wigan would have kept hopes alive, and whilst there is still a faint hope, the prospect of Champions League football next season is unlikely. The two teams above Liverpool - Chelsea and Spurs - both have games in hand over us, if they were to both win these, they would both be on 50points, 11 points ahead of the reds having played the same number of games. And with 11 games left to play this season it would be extremely difficult to gatecrash the party so late on.

It is not impossible, after all, nothing really is. The maximum number of points that Liverpool can finish with is 72. Spurs and Chelsea can both finish with 83. So in order for us to finish above them both would have to drop 12 points whilst Liverpool would have to not only remain unbeaten, but win every single one of our last 11 games - now that really is a big ask.

Looking into it further does provide some optimism - SOME. Chelsea have to play ManUtd (twice), Spurs and ManCity, Everton would not be an easy game for them either. So there is 5 games that Chelsea could potentially lose, and it wouldn't really be much of a shock if they did. Spurs stand out games of the run in are ManCity, Chelsea and Liverpool, again fixtures that they could potentiality lose. Factor in some draws against clubs fighting for survival and there is a small chance.

Liverpool have games against ManUtd, ManCity, Arsenal and Spurs coming up - hate to say it, but they are games that we could potentially lose as well. Victory in those fixtures coupled with slip ups from the teams above us and no slip ups on our behalf and the possibility of a 4th place finish is still there - just unlikely.

This season i think we will just have to settle for a Europa League spot. We are still in that competition and we are definitely in with a shout of winning it too. But that is probably as good as it is going to get this season. And we will be well adjusted to the competition when we play in it next season.

This summer is vital in the clubs rebuilding process, all indications are that we are going to strengthen the squad in more areas than one and build up a good young side that can challenge for years to come. Kenny Dalglish is likely to be the manager to take us forward into this period, and with him in charge the team is undoubtedly in safe hands. Who knows what might have happened if he had got the job in the summer and not Roy Hodgson? Who knows what would have happened if Rafa had stayed in charge?? Both, arguably, would have done a better job than the man who did get the job.

Next season is the real challenge. It is our time to show the world what a strong and stable Liverpool Football Club can do. Not saying we will win the league or anything - wouldn't wanna get peoples hopes up - after all it is not our given right to win it, or so we're told. But we can definitely be competitive with the other top teams, we can definitely challenge in the League for a top 4 finish, we can definitely challenge in the domestic cups and in the Europa League - anything else would be a welcome and much deserved bonus.

We may well be on the verge of good times once again - the last 6 weeks in particular have been amazing considering what came before, but it is important that we remain realistic in our expectations. We all want Liverpool to be challenging for top honours on all fronts, we all expect Liverpool to win every game and to play the Liverpool way, but first we have to work hard to put ourselves in a position where we can 'realistically' achieve all this - and we are not far off, and it will only come with hard work, belief and determination.

A top 4 finish this season is as i said, unlikely. I do not believe that it was Kenny's main objective to break into the top 4 when he took over, to be honest i do not believe that it was an objective full stop. I believe his job was merely to stop the downward spiral, improve results, and obtain a respectable finish - probably ensure that we got into the Europa League next season. What he has done is give us renewed belief, he has taken us back to a time when we played good football, and there was nothing but smiles all around. He has us reminiscing over past glories and dreaming of future glories, the fact that we are talking about a top 4 finish full stop is testament to how far we have come in such a short space - not too long ago it was all about Liverpool's relegation fight, now even in the media the talk is about Liverpool's slim top 4 hopes.

We arrived at the party a bit too late for a place at Elite table, but our day will come again, soon. In the mean time we need to concentrate on finishing as high as we can and get behind the team all the way.

For me, i think that next season will be completely different to this season, i think we could well be back on the upward curve once again - no one will write us off so easily next season.

LFC TRANSFERS

The January transfer window is quite often a quiet affair for many clubs, including Liverpool. But that seems to have changed slightly!

So i want to just talk about the transfer window and some of the things that have stood out for me over the last few days really because lets face it, it was more like a 3-day transfer period than a month long window wasn't it.

Paul Konchesky - this will be brief. Why he was signed will baffle us for some time. When Hodgson arrived we had Insua and Aurelio, not the best Left backs in the world, but competent ones who knew the club, the players and the role they had to play. Hodgson decided though, in his infinite wisdom to loan one out and release the other, then the loan was off, then it was on again, then the player he released was resigned - was all a bit of an embarrassing joke really, oh and then we signed Konchesky. An average player at best, he never fit in, he never adapted to the team, he was never taken to the hearts of the supporters. Now it isn't like we didn't give him a chance, we did, it just wasn't working out and his mother did not help, towards the end even his old pal Roy wouldn't pick him and once he was gone the writing was on the wall for Paul - he won't be missed.

Another departure from the first team squad was that of Ryan Babel - something of a human enigma. He had the potential, he had the skill and he had plenty of faith placed in him, what he seemingly lacked however was the application. Every now and then he would produce a moment of brilliance which would stir up the question - why can't he do that all the time?? Only the player himself will know that for sure - but let's face it he went out on a high...

He also left with some dignity, after he was released from 'Twitter Jail' - don't ask - he had plenty of kind words for the club and the supporters which he had left behind, declaring us the best supporters out there, stating that he wishes us every luck for the future and that we get back to the top where we belong. And all this came from a player who was never really fully taken to by the supporters, we wanted it to work with him, but in the end it just wasn't and the move will do him good. His words though have ensured that should ever return to Anfield as an opponent he will receive a warm welcome from all - thanks Ryan.

The story of the outgoing players was only ever going to end with one man - Fernando Torres - the man who had it all and threw it away, the man who had one foot through the doorway to becoming a legend, the man who will now only ever be remembered primarily for what he did TO the club rather than what he did FOR the club. He has left in search of glory but at Chelsea the writing is already on the wall, ageing team, performances are poor, they are falling away and there are echoes of our own descent in 2009/2010 about them - at Chelsea i suspect he will not find the glory he craves. I wont say too much about him, i have done it already, if you want to read what i have to say on it then the post is called The Heartbreak Kid and you can select it from the column on the right. No kind words for us from him, makes the situation worse, no dignity, he left with his reputation in tatters, and right now, he is walking alone.

One thing i will say is aimed at those who took it upon themselves to burn the Liverpool shirts. Regardless of the name on the back of the shirt it should not happen. There is nothing more important than the badge on the front. Over the weekend and through to deadline day many people said that the club was bigger than any individual - a statement of fact - those who burned shirts for the cameras made a mockery of that statement and have insulted the club to the highest level. Look on the front of the shirt, there is a badge, a badge that symbolises where we are from, who we are, the values we hold, the anthem that unites us and on either side of all of this there are two flames to symbolise and remember those who we lost - regardless of the name on the back, the badge on the front is the most important thing and should not be disrespected.

One man who also suffered a little bit was Luis Suarez, his arrival overshadowed by the betrayal of a player who he had hoped to partner.

Luis Suarez, Liverpool's Number 7!!!

                                                   

I can't wait to see Luis pull on the famous red shirt and show us his best, he wants to be here, he is excited to be here and he is the kind of committed player that we need. On his website he left a message for his fans, thanking Ajax and their supporters for standing by him and for the help an support that they had given him and he wished them the best for the future - class. He then stated how happy he was to be at Liverpool, and how he looks forward to winning things and giving his best for the club, he has given a real masterclass in how to leave a club in a dignified and respectful manner, unlike someone else. His goal scoring record is superb and i don't think the will have any problems settling in and i think he could be in line for a debut goal, if he gets his chance I'm sure he will take it. Welcome to Liverpool Luis Suarez!

Next to join us was Andy Carroll our new number 9!!

                                                

Again, a player who wants to be here, a player who has thanked his former supporters - OK so he has been in a little bit of a spat with his former employers but anyone who thinks that Mike Ashley was ever going to say anything but yes to £35m is deluded. He says he is happy to be here and looks forward to showing his best. It would be so easy for a player so young as him to be cocky  about a £35m move, but he hasn't, he has maintained that it is his focus to get fit and ready to help the team, to play his part and to show everyone that he is worth it - he wants to earn that value. In my opinion i do not think he is worth the fee of £35m, his is a good young talent, but he is not proven at the very highest level, he has been great for Newcastle this season, but he does represent something of a gamble, one that i think will pay off though, after all what he could do for us over the next 5 and a half years could well be worth the £35m and more besides.Welcome to Liverpool Andy!!

Gonna finish addressing something that has bothered me a little bit, and that is the suggestion that our new owners NESV or FSG whichever but i prefer NESV are anything but committed to the club and are unwilling to put money into the club for transfers. RIDICULOUS.

People have pointed out that we have actually made a profit from the transfer window and that they have contributed nothing in terms of funds. But that argument is dead before it even gets going. The plan was never to sell in this window, the plan was to strengthen. Suarez was signed to complement Torres not to replace him, the plan was to bring Suarez in and that plan cost £22.8m, a fee that was agreed BEFORE the Torres saga erupted. Once it was clear that he was going to be leaving us the priority was a replacement and also to get the right price, we dug in, we demanded £50m in cold hard cash, no part exchange, no add ons, we wanted our fee, our valuation and their money. A replacement was needed though, and we had to act fast. Our new owners are committed to bringing in good young talent to build for the future success of the club, Andy Carroll represents this desire, we may well have had to pay over the odds but we had no choice given the circumstances - we risked being left with only one top striker, unproven and ineligible for Europe, now we have two top strikers who want to be here and one who CAN play in Europe which can only be a good thing for us.

It was never their intention to sell Torres, or to make a profit from the transfer window, but that is what has happened as a result of circumstance, and if we have made a profit this window then surely we have more to spend in the summer window which is only a good thing. Had we only brought in Suarez we would have a spending outlay of about £16/17m after taking into account the fee for Babel, no profit. It would have been easy for them to take the £50m for Torres and keep it, use it elsewhere, save it for summer, but they didn't do that, it went straight back into the playing squad.

Under Hicks and Gillet that money would have gone on interest payments, we would not have bought Suarez and we would probably by now be on the verge of administration or worse. There owners are committed, and I'm sure they will back us in the summer with more money for more players, the fact that we have made a profit this window means that there is more money to go round in the summer - not guaranteed but all the noise coming from the club AND Kenny Dalglish is that this is what will happen - expect a busy summer reds!!

Feedback is great so please leave some! check out the other posts (some are quite good) and you can keep up with them, me and more HERE.

take care folks!

ash

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.