Liverpool FC: the one-trick pony. Where are Owen & Keane when we need them?
It amazes me that after coming so close to winning the Premiership title last season everyone and his dog knew that if we were to go all the way this season we needed to strengthen the midfield, to replace Alonso, and buy a quality, established, striker to partner & support Torres. Everyone except Rafa and the rest of the Anfield management team that is.
Rafa apparently has filled the void in midfield with the signing of Aquilani. I say apparently as no one has seen him play yet beside the 20 minutes he got in the Carling Cup game against Arsenal. Now am I missing something here? If Aquilani was OK to come on for 20 minutes in that game why hasn't he been used since? Rafa your logic is mystifying. But let's give Benitez the benefit of the doubt on this one. Perhaps Aquilani's injuries were more serious than we thought and he does indeed prove to be a class player.
However, there can be no forgiveness on the striker issue.
In this department Liverpool are a one-trick pony and we are paying the price big time for not having the foresight to buy another decent striker. How can Liverpool go into the Premiership season knowing that if Torres gets injured (inevitable at some point) we have no one in the squad to fill his role? Blame it on lack of funds from the Hicks/Gillett duo if you wish, but we did have options coming into the season, particularly with Michael Owen being available on a free transfer. I know the arguments are that Owen is no longer the player he used to be, which I frankly don't believe to be true, but no one can tell me that N'Gog and Voronin are better forwards than Owen. I had it on good authority (a friend, of a friend, of a friend) that Owen would have leapt at the chance to return to Anfield and he called Carragher every day asking him to tell Rafa to call him. Rafa refused the offer.
Rafa's stubbornness also led to the departure of Robbie Keane. The lad wasn't given a chance to prove himself and again he would have been a far better option than those mentioned above, plus we lost millions of pounds within a few months. Terrible management.
So here we are languishing in 7th place in the Premiership, 12 points behind Chelsea and out of the Champions League. Should we really be surprised?
I think not.
Older/Newer
« Javier Mascherano | Latest Liverpool FC news from the Liverpool Echo »
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Liverpool FC: the one-trick pony. Where are Owen & Keane when we need them?. TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.liverpoolbanter.co.uk/cgi-bin/mt421/mt-tb.cgi/172504
10 Comments
Leave a comment
Keep up to date
Liverpool Twitter
Follow me on Twitter
Technorati
Blogs that link here
lots wrong with this, but i'll try not to miss anything:
Ngog has scored more than owen in almost half as many games in the prem (N'Gog: 6 games, 3 goals; Owen: 11 games, 2 goals), and more goals in all competitions in almost half as many games (N'Gog: 11 games, 5 goals; Owen: 19 games, 4 goals)....i guess statistics are included in the "no one" who can tell you what is turning out to be the truth.
as for robbie keane....he was given just as much chance as voronin was when he first arrived - they both made 28 appearances - and he conjured up one more goal than voronin (7 goals/? assists versus 6 goals/7 assists for voronin).
i'm not going to even address the comment that he was a far better option than voronin, when the stats say that he wasn't any better at all, but i will ask if you were pining as heartily for voronin to come back this summer, as he apparently "wasn't given a chance in the side" either?
i'm willing to wager (considerable amounts of cash, if you'd like) that you weren't, considering how disdainfully you refer to him now, especially after his season in germany (where, incidentally, he scored more in fewer games than owen - who you say again was a better option to bring into the team this year than voronin...despite the facts)
nevertheless, its quite some great achievement over andriy, that one goal....but you know what else he accomplished that voronin didn't? stropping every time he was brought off because he missed one sitter too many....or attracting ridiculous media attention when he got the "treatment" that his performances merited....or moaning about not being played in his preferred position - with no consideration to 1) the potential benefits of his "sacrifice" to the TEAM, or 2) his own poor form in that favored position and its detrimental effects on the team's progression.
i applaud you for putting your thoughts out there for others to read and (as i have done) possibly criticize, but at least look into the facts surrounding the opinions you are attributing to yourself.
five minutes of simple research revealed the numbers i've used....
are you seriously saying that you either are unable or cannot be bothered to put in five minutes of research before writing an article? because the lack of effort in that regard does you absolutely no credit.
ikhilioju you right, there’s a lot wrong with your comments.
I couldn't disagree with your analysis more and on every count. The research I needed for this article was very simple, knowing a quality player from a poor one. Are you seriously defending Voronin’s record at Liverpool? His record at Hertha Berlin is meaningless as he’s never produced the goods at Liverpool. As soon as we sell him the better. And then you compare Owen to N’Gog. We’re talking about a world class striker vs. a guy who so far has shown a lot of promise. I hope N’Gog does work out but as soon as we sign a quality striker he will be on the bench once more.
I couldn't disagree with your analysis more and on every count.
-----------------------
so, just to be clear, you wholly disagree with the following:
Prem:
- 3 goals in 6 games (N'Gog) > 2 goals in 11 games (Owen)
All comps:
- 5 goals in 11 games (N'Gog) > 4 goals in 19 games(Owen)
this is not 2000, mate, and a goal scored every 5 games is not world class by anyone's standards. i couldnt give a toss about what owen did a decade ago. all im concerned with is what he is doing now and what he can do in the future. there isnt anything to suggest that he will do anything more than N'Gog in the future, and he is certainly doing LESS than N'Gog right now, whether you agree with that or not.
and for the record, i - like you - do not think that voronin is good enough for our squad, because in the games he was given he did not produce sufficiently. however, i also think that keane wasn't good enough for our squad because in the same number of opportunities he produced almost the same results as voronin.
how can you honestly suggest that, with nearly identical output, one player is utter dross and the other world class?
you say you know a quality player from a poor one, yet your comments on voronin and keane do not reflect the realities of their time at liverpool....
if anything, keane should get more flak than voronin. after all, he's a boyhood red and knows the club and prem inside-out, has no concerns about adapting to the pace and brutality of english football, no concerns with his missus/children settling in....
Feeble comeback, Mr Ringstead.
ikhilioju is only using Voronin as a comparison to Keane, your first solution. And your challenge to his Owen-vs-N'Gog statistics is feeble, Not just because Owen's "world-class" status doesn't change the hard numbers, but because he hasn't been "world-class" for four years.
If you really disagree with his analysis on every count, you'd better deal with every count. For now it appears that your lack of research -- or maybe just lack of knowledge -- has been found out.
Fella’s, criticize all you like, it’s what this site is for, so fair do’s, but you’re both missing the point. The bottom line is Rafa failed to sign a quality striker(s) in the summer to support Torres and we’re paying for it (no research required) . We’re left with the likes of N’Gog and Voronin as options which, for a world class team supposed to be challenging for the Premiership title, is ridiculous (common knowledge). Neither of them are good enough to be considered regular first team members and if it wasn’t for Rafa’s stubbornness we would have a much stronger squad than we do right now. Retaining the likes of Keane and getting a proven player like Owen on a free transfer would have given Liverpool much greater striking options than we currently have. Keane wasn’t given a fair crack at Liverpool (common knowledge). He’d score good goals one match and be dropped the next. Crouch didn’t score for 19 games after he joined Liverpool and yet Rafa kept faith in him until he scored his first fluke goal.
So that’s my opinion pure and simple - research or no research.
if anyone's missed the point it is you:
you say rafa failed to bring in quality striker support, and suggest that owen and keane were solutions that should've been addressed, and at the same time write off N'gog and voronin....
what you have NOT SAID is how exactly voronin and n'gog are are not adequate striker support, when the facts read as such:
- a player you say could've made the difference (keane) has proven just as productive (or unproductive, if you ask me) as one who you say is not good enough (as supported by FACTS)....
- another player you say could've made the difference (owen) has proven LESS PRODUCTIVE, IN A TEAM PERFORMING FAR BETTER THAN US, AND HAVING SEEN NEARLY TWICE AS MANY GAME OPPORTUNITIES, as the other player you said was not good enough (again, supported by FACTS)....
if N'Gog's goals this year aren't good enough, how - with any semblance of logical thought - can you sit there and type out that rafa shouldve gotten a player who has scored less in twice the number of games, while playing for a better team?
just because he scored that goal against argentina?
you don't even consider the wages that keane and owen would be on - i'd be surprised if n'gog and voronin combined earn as much as either of them would've commanded here. and lets not forget: wage money takes away from transfer fees and renegotiations for players like reina, agger, and mascherano.
and to keep saying keane didn't get a fair cracck of the whip is the purest fallacy. he wasn't treated any differently from voronin - not good enough as you say - and showed his level to be VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL TO THE UKRANIAN.
where is your bias with keane/voronin coming from? you've yet to explain that, or have you "missed the point" that they played the same number of games and performed to the same level???
you call rafa stubborn, yet you fail to admit the clear and abundant weaknesses in your opinion.
if you simply listened to talk radio, or watched some pundit carry on about all of liverpool and rafa's failings, and decided to repeat those talking points on here without taking a moment to actually consider their salience, then be an adult and admit as much, because your refusal to either accept the plain facts of keane and owen's performance compared to n'gog and voronin - which is the crux of your argument - is bordering on embarassment....
Ngog has been called up for international duty by Cameroon coach and French coach think of him as a new Anelka....the lad got double nationality n is yet to chose which one he wnts to play for
Owen is no more wanted by England, the coach says that he is not good enough for England.......so how can he be good for Liverpool....
Ngog is better than Owen..........thats all.......
I agree...perhaps Owen wasnt the solution - although i don't think any Liverpool fan can say they weren't given a fright and expected the worse when they saw Owen racing in behind Carra during our game against scum this season - but Rafa definitely screwed up when he didn't sign a striker in the summer.
And Owen as a free transfer makes a lot of sense...I would rather see him coming on than Ngog or Voronin or have Kuyt leading the line...the stats may say that Ngog has scored more, but can any of you argue that Owen wouldn't have been able to put away the chances that came Ngog's way? He hasn't exactly scored spectacular goals - the majority have been tap ins!
Voronin is not even worthy of a comparison.
Owen isn't what he was - but he is still as good if not better than what we have as back up to Torres and would have given us another more experienced option. Plus I am sure Gerrard would have loved to have linked up with him again and we all know how well that worked in the past.
Regardless - if not Owen, then he should have signed someone...all our main competitors - whether for 1st or 6th place - have at least 2 quality and experienced strikers -
Scum - Berbatov, Rooney & Owen
Chelsea - Anelka, Drogba & Kalou,
Spurs - Crouch, Defoe, Keane & the russian.
City - Tevez, Cruz, Adebayor, Bellamy & Robinho
Arsenal - Bendtner, RVP, Walcott.
Villa - Agbonlahor, Heskey, Carew
From the 21 players listed above - is there a single one that any of you would choose Ngog, Voronin or Kuyt over? I think not...even Villa's strikers are preferable! Whats more painful is the fact that 5 of the above are former Liverpool players...what the hell was Houllier thinking letting Anelka slip away and opting for Diouf instead!?!?!
Hope is a bitch and i still believe that we will turn it around and end the season strongly...but Rafa screwed up believing he had the back up for Torres when he inevitably gets injured...just look at our attacking players at the end v Blackburn - Ngog, Kuyt, Zhar and Gerrard...hardly inspiring or threatening.
I just hope he rectifies this problem in January...and I really hope that Aquilani is worth the wait otherwise the failure to buy a striker in the summer will be even more troubling.
This seems to have gone 'off topic' slightly - Barry I don't think you used very good examples in Keane and Owen as you can see from the comments.
Regardless, the point is surely "why didn't Rafa sign quality backup to Torres".
Well, surely that's because A) he can't afford to and B) it's extremely difficult to actually find someone of quality who would be willing to sit on the bench for most of the season - assuming that the Gerrard-Torres partnership is Rafa's first choice, which certainly seems to be the case. We've been extremely unlucky with injuries, as it happens, so any purchase would have gotten a good run of games this season, but you're unlikely to sign a player who can only expect to play under such circumstances.
It irritates me that people criticise Rafa 'selling' Keane, Crouch, Bellamy etc. when the players clearly illustrated that they didn't have the right attitude and/or weren't willing to sit on the bench. Other teams keep players happy by paying them exorbitant wages, which we can't afford to do, but our biggest problem is that our two most undroppable players (when fit) occupy the front two spots.
The remaining options then, seem to be to pick up a cheap, young, unproven prospect (NGog), or an aging star (Van-Nist), neither of which can guarantee to be an able deputy to Torres.
I wonder, could anyone who criticises Rafa (ex-players, press etc.) for this sort of thing answer the following question? "You have £4-5m to spend on a quality striker, who must be willing to sit on the bench for (potentially) the vast majority of the season, who would you buy?"
This seems to have gone 'off topic' slightly - Barry I don't think you used very good examples in Keane and Owen as you can see from the comments.
Regardless, the point is surely "why didn't Rafa sign quality backup to Torres".
Well, surely that's because A) he can't afford to and B) it's extremely difficult to actually find someone of quality who would be willing to sit on the bench for most of the season - assuming that the Gerrard-Torres partnership is Rafa's first choice, which certainly seems to be the case. We've been extremely unlucky with injuries, as it happens, so any purchase would have gotten a good run of games this season, but you're unlikely to sign a player who can only expect to play under such circumstances.
It irritates me that people criticise Rafa 'selling' Keane, Crouch, Bellamy etc. when the players clearly illustrated that they didn't have the right attitude and/or weren't willing to sit on the bench. Other teams keep players happy by paying them exorbitant wages, which we can't afford to do, but our biggest problem is that our two most undroppable players (when fit) occupy the front two spots.
The remaining options then, seem to be to pick up a cheap, young, unproven prospect (NGog), or an aging star (Van-Nist), neither of which can guarantee to be an able deputy to Torres.
I wonder, could anyone who criticises Rafa (ex-players, press etc.) for this sort of thing answer the following question? "You have £4-5m to spend on a quality striker, who must be willing to sit on the bench for (potentially) the vast majority of the season, who would you buy?"