Two Games, Two Slightly Different Teams but the Lack of Committment is There for All to See
Liverpool has in the last four days played in two different games. The first was in Trabsnor in Turkey and the second took place this afternoon at Anfield. Several seasons ago both of the teams would have I suspect have been a walk over, but since then, the team for many reasons on and off the pitch has been in a steep decline.
We can have the usual arguments about whether the players are not good enough and whether there has been enough money in the transfer account for us to purchase the calibre of players that are needed to bring the squad up to date. These though will not help the fact that the players still seem to be unable to give their best for the club.
The team for Thursday's trip to Trabznor , saw several of the senior players left out, to enable them to rest for the West Brom game this afternoon. This of course left Roy to make up a squad that included several of the youngsters who have moved up from the academy. The addition of Joe Cole to the team though meant that they should have played a lot better than they did.
The Team picked for the game in Turkey was Reina, Johnson, Kelly, Kyriakos, Carragher, Aurelio, Lucas, Poulsen, Kuyt, Cole and Ngog.
Substitutes were: Gulacsi, Pacheco, Babel, Spearing, Shelvey, Skrtel and Eccleston,
It was as luck would have it, a very wet evening in Trabznor and the conditions were not as ideal as they should have been, but there was a football match to play, a match that would either see us progress further into the European cup or leave us to concentrate on the Premier League. The team came out to very little applause and singing from our supporters which was understandable as only 90 of them had made the trip overseas. Also the stadium was open to the elements so they were very wet. The club is believed to have paid for their rain wear to help make the experience a little better.
Liverpool in the first half appeared to be being held to ransom, Trabzonspor . They simply seemed unable to get any rhythm going and even their passing was a lot poorer than it should have been. Trabzonspor scored early in the first half and this meant that Liverpool had to find two goals at least to progress further on. We had Ngog on as the striker and as usual his nerves seemed to play a major part in his game and he was not picking up the ball. I know the team is bereft of a striker, but he really needs to serve some more time in the reserves. That and that is the only way that his game will ultimately improve. The look on Roy's face at the end of the half said it all. Another stern half time team talk was I suspect on its way.
The second half opened with Liverpool kicking off but again Trabzonspor scored quickly. This one though was ruled offside and Liverpool, who appeared to have woken up, had a period of possession where it looked as they might take something from it. Sadly though it was not to be and it was only after Pacheco came on that things began to look up. I am not saying that Aurelio was the wrong player to pick but the inclusion of Pacheco suddenly seemed to improve the field of play.
The game was edging towards the dreaded period of extra time when Glen Johnson picked up a ball and aimed at the goal. This was intercepted by a Trabzonsbor player, who sent it straight into the net. We were now on level terms, but this seemed to do the trick and the great workhorse of the team, Dirk Kuyt scored making the final score 2-1 to Liverpool.
It was not as I have said the greatest of games and to be honest there was hardly any mention of Joe Cole or Poulsen. Two players who should have done a lot better than they did.
The second game was our home tie with West Bromich Albion, a team that a couple of seasons ago we would have walked over and should have done so again. The senior players were now back in the squad and after having an extra couple of days rest, should have been firing on all cylinders, but what we the supporters witnessed on the pitch was an entirely different story.
The team was: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Skrtel, Poulsen, Lucas, Gerrard, Kuyt, Jovanovic and Torres.
Substitutes were: Jones, Pacheco, Babel,Spearing,Kyriakos and Martin Kelly.
Referee for the afternoon was Lee Palmer.
West Bromwich kicked off and Jamie immediately found himself embroiled in one of his trademark tackles but play continued and Liverpool seemed to be on the upper foot with a good period of passing play. This though did not last long and West Bromwich seemed to take over the game and was piling on all the pressure. Was this I wonder due to the fact that had been beaten by Chelsea and were determined to show that they had, in fact learnt a very hard lesson? Or was it that the winning mentality that had previously been installed in the Liverpool, had yet again gone missing?
There were certainly plenty of incidents in the first half that Lee Palmer appeared to either not see or was afraid to issue you cards for. Many of these appeared to centre on the shirt pulling by both teams. I expect that the one that should really have resulted in something being done was when Torres was pulled down. It was in the eyes of many people, supporters and the press alike, a penalty.
The half was edging towards its finish when West Bromwich appeared to panic but again Stevie, Torres, Glen and Jovanovic seemed unable to create the chances that would lead to the much needed goal. This was a game that as I have said, we should have been able to take control of from the beginning but it simply was not happening. When we did have the ball, it was not held for very long, or the players decided to take matters into their own hands. Jovanovic is one of these and having watched him play now, since his arrival, Roy really needs to install into him that he really needs to share the ball.
Liverpool kicked off knowing that they really needed to kick start their premiership campaign. They have drawn one and lost one and are languishing in the relegation zone of a fledgling premiership table which is totally unacceptable but will become the norm unless the players realise who they are playing for.
Although I suspect they had yet another talking too, it certainly did not seem to have any effect on the way the team played. Again Jovanovic got the ball and decided to keep it, thus preventing a move that could possibly have ended in a goal. He was also involved in a Rugby like tackle which Lee Palmer again choose to ignore, proving yet again that the more experienced referees should be in charge of the higher profile teams.
The team though were really just jogging along and I suspect waiting for the final whistle, when after a scare by West Bromwich, Reina threw the ball more or less to the other end of the pitch. This was picked up by Torres and after a couple of smart moves, the ball was in the net and Torres had opened his account for this season.
West Bromwich though were determined to fight back and continued to do so, right up until the final whistle even though the ref eventually woke up and James Morrison was sent off for an extremely bad tackle. The match though finished with Liverpool winning, albeit only by one goal.
Liverpool has finally got a win in the premiership under their belt, but when you have a closer look, there is still an awful lot of work for Roy to do. His pre season games gave us; I suspect a false sense of hope for the coming season. There still seems to be this 'I don't really want to be here' mentality amongst several of the players, Torres included. The look on his face yesterday certainly told a multitude of stories and I suspect I know what one of them was, but that is another story, for another time.
Hopefully once the internationals are over and the transfer window is closed, Roy can really get to work with the players and we can see an immediate improvement on the pitch, if not the return to the top four may be a long way off.
Older/Newer
« Latest LFC news from the Liverpool ECHO - Agger welcomes Konchesky, Torres back in groove, Meireles in dreamland | Latest LFC news from the Liverpool ECHO - Lucas' fight for future, John Aldridge column, Masch completes deal »
13 Comments
Latest Premier League video
Keep up to date
Liverpool Twitter
Follow me on Twitter
Technorati
Blogs that link here
I suppose in some respects you were right but many of these players had very little experience playing together.
The new manager and having to play in Turkey did not help, at the end of the day often the better team comes out on top even if they were out played.
I do believe they will get better as the season rolls on.
Good afternoon Daboy. I know in a lot of respects I am right but totally agree with you, when you say that many of the boys have no experience of playing together. But surely by now they should have began to be able read each others moves. I know having to play in Turkey on such an awful evening probably did not help matters, but every footballer knows that he is going to have to play in all weathers. I don't think having a new manager, should have made any difference, in fact I would have thought that the players would have been doing their best to impress him.
I really do hope you are right when you say they will improve as the season goes on. I made a decision at the start and when asked said I expected them to reach 3rd place in the league. I really hope that I am right, but already I am having doubts with the comment maybe not going through my brain when I think about the team.
Well, Faith, I think you need to become a bit better acquainted with "the men in black". The referee yesterday was, I believe, Lee Probert, not "Lee Palmer"!
I'd put it down to low morale than lack of commitment. We've just had the worst season in eons and we still have the worst owners a rival could dream of. I don't blame them for not playing free-flowing unhindered football.
But the positive from those two games was that we won them. In better times, we would have won them comfortably, but at least we got the results, which is all that counts in the end. Frankly, there are very few title-winning teams that got there by playing well all season. Arsenal's "invincibles", Chelsea perhaps once. The rest of the time they win because even when they're playing badly they still manage to get 3 points (whether by fluke, determination, whatever).
H&G; are my only big worry. Other than that, we're doing alright.
Hi Dennis,
Thank you for pointing out my mistake. I have written it down for future reference.
Faith
Good afternoon red2death. Maybe it is low morale that is contributing to the lack of commitment. Yes, we did have a very bad season last year,followed by a world cup that for some of the players was a complete waste of time, but the players are grown men and should know how to put these things behind them.
We still do have the worst owners in history and unfortunately I suspect that is going to remain the case until the end of the year. I know it must be very hard for the players to escape all the speculation surrounding the club, but they have to close their minds to it and do the job they are paid to do.
Yes, we did win the games and as you say it is the results that count in the end, but I would love to see the team with that yes we can beat you all attude about them, not the, lets watch the clock count down and it will all be over attitude that some of the them appear to have.
Arsenal and Chelease win a lot of their games because they appear to have the refs on their side most of the time. Neither team would be as good as they are, if the referees did their jobs properly.
Messrs Hicks and Gillett are major concern of mine and I suspect every Liverpool supporter in the world, but we are stuck with them until the business world works in the way it should. If there is a deal on the table, then hopefully as I said our horror may be over by the end of the year, if not I guess we are just going to have to pray that miracle happens.
Given the following, am not sure what one expected of the club this early on?!?!
1. Off-the-pitch soap opera on the ownership front.
2. New Gaffer in Hodgson still trying to put his stamp on the club/players.
3. Revolving door of said players that hasn't permitted said Gaffer to start same 11 for 2 consecutive games.
4. Torres still isn't 100%
5. Torres still can't do it all by himself up front.
I think as the season goes on, transfers done, ownership woes settled, Roy will have the players & time needed to actually enact some steady level of strategy week in/out.
Walk on...
Faith, haha actually I meant that Arsenal's "invincibles" and perhaps one Chelsea team were the ones that actually won the league by playing solidly, without significant luck or ref's decisions. The rest of them in recent memory (no prizes for guessing which team did it the most) have relied on a combination of above-average play and 'other' factors.
Well, I do hope that all our players remain committed. We know that at least for now they are, because if the likes of Gerrard or Torres ever wanted to leave, they'd have no lack of exit routes. They'd be justified in leaving too, because they were told that there'd be significant investment in team, and after so long nothing has happened. Same lie we were all told. So, if they're on the Anfield pitch, it's because they want to be. At least that's how I see it.
Hi Nashville Dennis,
Maybe I do expect too much from the team this early in the season, but a I belong to the army of supporters that have been around since Shanks day and it became the norm. The attitude of todays players is also something fairly new to us. In my younger days, they signed their contracts and they stayed put until it was deemed by the club that they needed to be moved on.
The off the pitch soap opera of the takeover should either have been shielded from the players or they should be kept in the loop where information is concerned. As I said in an earlier reply, they are grown men and should be able to cope with this in the background.
Roy as you say is still trying to put his mark on the club and I suspect is still finding it hard, but then are the players giving him the attention they should be?
Torres is not 100% fit and I suspect to be honest never will be again. We also have the international break which going by previous outings with the national team, means that he will probably be out of action until Christmas (fingers crossed it won't happen). Torres I agree cannot do it all by himself, but until Roy gets a new striker in, we have to rely on Ngog who is simply not good enough for the big stage, so he should be on a one man mission to prove all his critics wrong.
Hopefully as I have said we will see an improvement as the season goes on, if not then the team is in trouble. Maybe with 24 hours to go, we will see another face at Melwood and he will be the answer to all our prayers. Maybe we will have new owners, but that as I have said will not be before the end of the year. Maybe the lads will wake up and realise that the football club they play for, needs to be back where it belongs.
Uhhmmm. Ok. We played relatively ordinarily against trabznor, and im not sure how much football you have actually played in your life if any, but playing on what was praticlally a flooded pitch, one cannot expect a great display of football. Especially with a team that had several new players playing together for the first time. Sorry it aint going to happen.
As for the West Brom match, well, our biggest failing, as has been for many seasons now, is our lack of width. We do not have the ability to break the midfield down, as most of our play is thru the middle. Jova, although he has considerable talent, was almost playing as second striker, sometimes over the top of Torres. He could be a good backup for Torres, but Jova just seemed to be getting in the way! It wasnt until he was subbed that the play opened up and in the 30 remaining minutes Torres had 3 great chances to score, all coming from the wings. We need to sort this out as it will be another long year if Roy gets it wrong.
As for your attitude torwards Torres, i feel they are a little misguided. Just look at the massive pressure he is under, week in week out. The whole teams success rides on his shoulders. If i was Fernando, i would probalby be looking for a move to. A club as big as Liverpopol needs 3 possibly even 4 world class strikers. We have 1. And when he is injured, all the goals he strikes count for nada as his backup is Ngog, who couldnt score in a brothel with a fist full of fities. Like you said, he needs a good year or 2 in the reserves to lift is game.
I don't mean to berate your comments or belittle you, but like i said, some of them are a little misguided. You need to realise, especially in the case of Torres, who has been nothing but totally professional, that a player of his calibre deserves to be playing in a team that has other players of the same or of a similar calibre, and that is something that unfortunately is not available to him at Liverpool. I have been a Liverpool fan for over 30 years, and what i have witnessed, especially over the last 6 years, with Rafas anti football, and Dumb and Dumber at the helm, it is a total travisty what has happened to our beloved club. But that has never stopped me from being a loud and proud Liverpool supporter.... YNWA
Uhhmmm. Ok. We played relatively ordinarily against trabznor, and im not sure how much football you have actually played in your life if any, but playing on what was praticlally a flooded pitch, one cannot expect a great display of football. Especially with a team that had several new players playing together for the first time. Sorry it aint going to happen.
As for the West Brom match, well, our biggest failing, as has been for many seasons now, is our lack of width. We do not have the ability to break the midfield down, as most of our play is thru the middle. Jova, although he has considerable talent, was almost playing as second striker, sometimes over the top of Torres. He could be a good backup for Torres, but Jova just seemed to be getting in the way! It wasnt until he was subbed that the play opened up and in the 30 remaining minutes Torres had 3 great chances to score, all coming from the wings. We need to sort this out as it will be another long year if Roy gets it wrong.
As for your attitude torwards Torres, i feel they are a little misguided. Just look at the massive pressure he is under, week in week out. The whole teams success rides on his shoulders. If i was Fernando, i would probalby be looking for a move to. A club as big as Liverpopol needs 3 possibly even 4 world class strikers. We have 1. And when he is injured, all the goals he strikes count for nada as his backup is Ngog, who couldnt score in a brothel with a fist full of fities. Like you said, he needs a good year or 2 in the reserves to lift is game.
I don't mean to berate your comments or belittle you, but like i said, some of them are a little misguided. You need to realise, especially in the case of Torres, who has been nothing but totally professional, that a player of his calibre deserves to be playing in a team that has other players of the same or of a similar calibre, and that is something that unfortunately is not available to him at Liverpool. I have been a Liverpool fan for over 30 years, and what i have witnessed, especially over the last 6 years, with Rafas anti football, and Dumb and Dumber at the helm, it is a total travisty what has happened to our beloved club. But that has never stopped me from being a loud and proud Liverpool supporter.... YNWA
Good Evening KopthisMate,
i will answer your last paragraph first I think. I have supported the team since 1965 (45 years I believe) and have been through many highs and lows with them. But for the last few seasons my patience has, as I am sure yours has also been surely tested.
I do think that they could have played better in Turkey and yes I know the pitch was flooded, because I can recall thinking out load about whether or not they had the right studs in their boots. I know some of the players were playing together for the first time and that had to be taken into account, but it is up to those who have had a pre season - albeit a short one to show the way forward and it simply was not there.
I know we have a lack of width and I am sure that Roy is doing his best to rid us of that problem, but that again is something that I am sure if the players were playing properly they could compensate for. Jovanovic to me, is trying to hard - which is a problem that needs to be addressed. From what I have seen off him, once he has the ball, he simply does not want to let go, even if Torres or Stevie are in better scoring position.
I know Torres is under a lot a pressure - he is at the moment, our only striker and unless Roy has something up his sleeve, he will remain so until January. I know he is lacking match fitness but call it woman's intuition, call you what you like, but there is something on that young man's mind and I suspect he may well be wondering if by staying he has made the right choice. Yes, he does deserve to play with shall we say a high calibre of player but even if we get new owners before the next transfer window, after having to clear such a high level of debt and get the stadium (we can dream) of the ground, they are not going to spend countless millions on players just because they are a big name. As Manchester City are going to find out, very soon, putting a team of big names together, is not the solution. You need a team of players who are going to put their heart and sole into every game. That and only that is going to win you titles and competitions.
I too have witness the horror of Rafa's football and of course the owners. What we must all remember is that we are I hope towards the end of what can only be classed as a very dark period in the history of Liverpool Football Club. Rafa and his ridiculous team selections will soon be forgotten. We will have new owners installed and if the selection process and the investigations in to these are done properly, they will be people who understand the game of football and more importantly, what you and I as long standing Liverpool supporters feel about our beloved club. We need to be able to walk into Stanley Park and see the most modern of football stadiums, knowing that it is the place they call Anfield.
It will happen, we will get our beloved club back and when that time comes, for all my moaning, the world will know that Liverpool Football Club is back and determined to get back what you and I believe is ours by right.
You paint a gloomy picture. The game I watched (L'Pool vs WBA) yes was lacking in a bit of creativity which could be mistaken for a lack of commitment.
However, I did not see it that way. Give credit to WBA for packing their midfield and defence denying is little room to manoeuvre....we still lacking in a creative midfielder of the Alonso calibre and hopefully Raul will solve that problem.
Roy does have his work cut out in rebuilding a squad of the old, new and young and it is a matter of time before they start to 'gel', glimses of that was evident in the Arsenal game....Remember 'Rome' was not built in a day.
The likes of Chelsea, Man U may have come out firing on all cylinders, but the danger for them is in breaking down midway..history says it will happen. The fact that we're grinding out wins is indicative of the spirit to keep winning even at half-strength. YNWA !