About Me

I have been a Red since I was about 6 or 7. My boyhood hero was Kenny Dalglish and I have an autograph from him while he was still at Celtic. Thanks Gran! As such I gravitated towards the team he played for. So I have been Scottish-South African- Scoucer for about 30 years now! I am extremely passionate about our club, and have felt the need to start this blog in the face of the abject nature of our performaces under Benitez and the Hicks/Gillett ownership.

Sunday 9 September 2012

Gunned Down Again

I found it quite ironic last Sunday when a team that sold its crown jewel (RVP) had been widely criticised for letting him go and the quality of the replacements. Clearly the media had nothing to write about so as usual its either Liverpool or Arsenal bashing.

If you had watched any of Arsenal 1st few league game you would have seen, like us, they are creating chances and just needed a bit more composure to take them. With Podolski,Carzola and Giroud anyone with a brain would agree it was just a matter of time. Unfortunately that time arrived early on Sunday afternoon.

We were hopelessly outfought in every department. I haven't criticised Brendan  Rodgers' tactic so far but splitting up the midfield trio of Allen-Gerrard-Shelvey seemed odd especially when he was bringing in Sahin. A youngster from Real Madrid who hasn't kicked a ball in anger in over year. Needless to say the game passed him by and once we were 2-0 down did he bring on Shelvey. The young man immediately set about Arsenal with more vigour and purpose than the rest of the team. (Sterling aside). Sure Arsenal had taken their foot off the gas but he has 3 or 4 shots and did more than the other 3 combined.

We created almost nothing and got deservedly stuffed. We have shipped 8 goals in 3 games and with Sunderland and ManUre on the horizon I don't see many points there. So we will be bottom after 5 games and so 3 Managers in 2 and a bit years after parting company with Rafa we are far worse off than we have been since the mid-sixties when we we were languishing  in 2nd Division and constantly missing out on promotion (ala modern day Cardiff).

Steven Gerrard look totally disinterested, again....... He cant seem to pass 5 or 10 yards. He gave the ball away for the 1st goal when he was required to simply roll the ball into Surez's path on the edge of the Arsenal box,instead Podolski wins the ball and he and Cazorla tear us to pieces

Pepe Reina was again culpable for their 2nd, thats his 3rd clanger of the season sofar and we have only played 7 competitive matches!

As mentioned previously,we are threadbare.Only Chelski and Wigan have submitted similar size squad lists and thankfully we didn't let Pacheco go on loan in the end. Squad listed below with their homegrown status and there are 4 keepers in it and Lucas and Cole are injured!!!

1 Agger, Daniel Munthe No
2 Allen, Joseph Michael Yes

3 Assaidi, Ossama No

4 Carragher, James Lee Yes

5 Coates Nion, Sebastian No

6 Cole, Joseph John Yes

7 Marangon, Donieber Alexander No

8 Downing, Stewart Yes

9 Gerrard MBE, Steven George Yes

10 Gulacsi, Peter Yes

11 Henderson, Jordan Brian Yes

12 Johnson, Glen McLeod Cooper Yes

13 Jones, Bradley Yes

14 Sanchez Diaz, Jose Enrique No

15 Kelly, Martin Ronald Yes

16 Pezzini Leiva, Lucas No

17 Reina Paez, Jose Manuel No

18 Sahin, Nuri No

19 Skrtel, Martin No

20 Suarez Diaz, Luis Alberto No     

I can't see how the remainder of this bunch above plus the likes of Shelvey,Sterling,Flanaghan, Morgan and Borini are suppose to get us up the table at all.  

The Owners have seen fit to post an open letter in light of the outrage and despondency voiced by fans and media alike in the aftermath of  the deadline  day shenanigans and the abject surrender against Arsenal.  

They hold their hand up to admitting that it taking longer than expected to fix the mistakes of the past and indeed have compounded it by making some of their own. A clear reference to the appointment of Commolli and allowing and King Kenny to waste £140mill in 2 transfer windows.  

Unfortunately this has hamstrung Rodgers in what he can achieve this season. I seriously believe that Premiership survival is all we can hope for......  

I see almost no creativity in the above bunch and there isn't a goalscorer among them. But at least we now know that until we start to achieve success on the pitch, there wont be anymore money from the owners. So its self-funding and focusing on the youngsters already at the club and those we have brought in like Sahin.  

13 goals from Suarez last season wasn't good enough and from what we have seen so far he doesn't look like scoring even that many. Too many missed chances and he doesn't look for others in the box.No Bellamy,Rodriguez or Kuyt. That's roughly 20 goal there as well we need to replace. Henderson and Downing have dropped to subs which is again showing how overpriced and completely overrated they were.   

Rodgers is stuck with what he has until January and I would expect Henderson, Downing and Cole to go in that window.Hopefully we will see the sense of bringing Andy Carroll back by then.

As mentioned in my last post we have missed out heavily on some bargains which is slightly disappointing. I would have thought that Rodgers with his 180 page dossier would have had at least some knowledge of the like of Snodgrass, Michu,Rodellaga and Aruna Kone. All of whom would have strengthened our squad. I cant see how his preferred tactics can work with a squad so devoid of pace.Hopefully he realises he needs to modify things a bit. Everyone worked Swansea out for the most part in the 2nd half of last season so if all he is going to is exactly the same thing them we have no chance.  

Another long hard season of toil awaits us. No doubt we will rise to the occasion for some of the bigger games and continue to be clueless against the Wigan's of the League.

All we can hope for is that all our players return from the International break without injuries.

YNWA

Saturday 1 September 2012

Dealdine Day Dross - Part3

For Liverpool Football Club tranfer deadline day has become nothing but an unmitigated disaster since Fenway Sports took over the club. Its like watching The Blairwitch Project, alone in your caravan in the middle of nowhere.

Part-1 - January 2011. King Kenny and Commoli contrive not only to pass on £40mill and Sturridge to insist on £50mill. Why because it made good business sense to give £35mill of this windfall to Newcastle for their injured 6 foot 6 inch giant who had score a hat-trick against Liverpool in  the November League match.  Brilliant........

Part-2 - August 2011. Still armed wth some £15 from the Torres /Carroll thing rumours abound in March that we are looking to sign Enrique from Newcastle to solve our 6 year old leftback issue.IE we sold Riise for some reason and never really replaced him. See Warnock, Aurelio and Dossena (Another 8mill wasted).

So the season finishes and suddenly Charlie Adam,Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson are linked with the club. No real problem with the 1st 2. Adam would not be expensive and Downing solves another left sided problem. IE we dont have a winger. But things again start to get stranger. Some haggling over Adam and we get him for 8mill.  Initial offers of £12mill each to the other 2 are rebuffed.

So you would think that we would go and look elsewhere. After all we are LFC and can go get players anywhere and lots of clubs would take £12mill for any of their players. But no like the myopic sage at the Emirates we blindly plow ahead for 2 players who between them hadn't scored 5 goals in the 2010/20111 Premier League season. Result £20mill for each. Ashley Young a far better player than Downing goes to ManUre for £16mill????? Man City buy David Silva for £22.2mill we get Jordan Henderson for around the same????

While all this is going own we sell yet another player to Chelski in Raul Mierles because we decided to renage on gentleman's agreement between Hodgson and the player over a wage increase.(Player took a £20 cut to come to Liverpool). Then Kenny confirms in a press conference that Aquilani was our 'best player in pre-season' so naturally the next day he is loaned to AC Milan for the season!!! Next is Joe Cole is off to Lille as a wage refugee this finally allows us to sign Enrique.

Alarm bells should have been ringing already if e have send player out on loan just to make a gap in the wage bill what ridiculous salaries are we paying to players who finished 6th and spent most of the season not trying a leg and languishig in the bottom half of the table?

So we stumble through last season. Other than Enrique none of the otehr signings including a now fit Carroll really make any impact whatsoever.

Charlie Adam goes from running games at Blackpool and delivering set-pieces to drool over. To huffing and puffing aimlessly and suddenly can't beat the 1st man or wall with crosses, free-kicks or corners.

Stewart Downing proved what any of us with eyes and and brain knew all along. He cant beat an egg, cross a 'T' or pass water. He is so bad he has been usurped by a 17 year old and teh manager has told him he 'might' have future at leftback.

His Northeastern sidekick, Jordan Henderson, proved equally as ineffective and resembled a Duracell bunny with its head cut-off.

So we get rid to Kenny and Commoli and make the extremely brave decision to appoint Brendan Rodgers. A decision I fully support and still believe he is the right man.

He wasted no time sorting the wheat from the chaff. The ever reliable and loyal Dirk Kuyt lasted 3 days. Aurelio and, Maxi were soon to follow. Excitment started building would we actaully sig osme wingers and attacking players. During our pre-season tour romours abound about Dempsey and Ramirez.

Part 3 - August 2011. Rodgers decided he wants Joe Allen but he has a £15mill buy-out clause so surely we are not going to get burnt again. But no the money men throw the £15mill at it. I have o be honest I have actually been surprised by him and he looks decent, but £15mill???

So on Sunday we played a blinder against the Champions only for another defensive error to cost us all 3 points. Brendan Rodgers staes afterwards that 'the players here need help' and we are looking to sign a few more players. as we have not eve replaced the numbers that have gone out. So hopefully we would see a raft of newsignings but come Thursday nothing other than that Demspey is almost a cert.

So just beore the Hearts game news comes through that we are loaning Carroll to West Ham for exactly the same terms that were on the table 2 weeks before???  
On Friday it all starts to fall apart.

Charlie Adam is sold to Stoke. Spearing , Ecclestone,Pacheco and Wilson all leave.  So that's 6 out when the manager has already said we dont have enough! So who did we sign???? Thats right, not a single player!!! In fact Ian Ayres and Brendan Rogers left Melwood before 8pm!!!

More galling is the fact that we tried to haggle with Fulham over Dempsey. In the end he goes to Spurs for a mere £6mill. Are you seriously telling me that we did not have £6mill to spend on a player who can play in 3 positions and has consistently scored 10 or more goals almost every sesason he has been at Fulham??? Absolutely shocking.

I fully understand that the owners feel they wasted enough money last summer on duds and may have been reluctant to part ewith more cash and if Joe Allen was the 'marque' signing then why not sell Adam or Henderson sooner and at least give us a chance to bring Dempsey or someone else in?

It is completely unacceptable that we only have 1 misfiring strriker in the squad. On Thursday Suarez again had is clown feet and brain on. Do we really expect this guy to play 3 times a week from now until January with support from 17 year old (Sterling), a unproven 21 year old Italian (Borini) and young Adam Morgan.

Is that really going to propel us up the table?????

I look at all the team who finished above us and they are all stronger. I look at 3 or 4 of the teams below us (Fulham, Sunderland, Stoke, QPR, Swansea, WBA) and they are all stronger. I am honestly extremely concerned about where we are headed. You cannot go into a Premier League campaign with a squad this young and threadbare.

I cant see us finishing in the top half of the table unless Suarez learns to pass in box to others or suddenly starts to score every 2nd or 3rd chance he gets (at the moment its 1 in 10). I seriously believe that we are going to be involved in relegation battle..........

We lack quality, experience and depth. Unless Sahin and Assiadi are some kind of wonder kids who can get 15 goals each I can't see how we score.

I didnt think we could get worse than last season but really we have. Nothing to do with the Manager, I think he has agreed to sell players on the understanding others are coming in but nothing has come to fruition.

Its doing to be hard enough to bed in the new style without having any experienced players. Rodgers stystems relies on wide players with pace. We only have Sterling........ 

1) Lucas out for 4 months and we let Spearing go!
2) No replacement striker and we let Carroll go! 
3) No width or pace and we let Eccleston and Pacheco go!

If you made those sort of decisions on Champie Manager you would get the sack and relegated and thats just a game.

Look at the value that has been available this window:

Berbatov - £4mill. Michu - £2mill. Dempsey - £6mill. Hernandez - £5.5mill. Rodellega - free. Aruna Kone - £3mill.

The £12mill spent on Allen could have bought us Ramirez or Fletcher.........

We just dont seem to have a joined up approach to buying and selling. You only have to look at Everton and Spurs both of whom have strenthened their squad for a net profit in this window.......

I really fear for us we can only bring ina free agent, what money for an Anfield return for Michael Owen?????  I'd sign him tonight before someone else does........

I cant bring myself to type the usual ending to this post.......... As clearly we are walking alone into the abyss.......