A club earns support - It is never given for free
The abysmal state of affairs that surrounded Liverpool FC over the last few years - in particular the last few months - seemed to ebbing away with the arrival of the Messiah incarnate, John W Henry and his NESV group. The long and tortuous reign of arguably the worst owners in sporting history was finally over, there was light at the end of the tunnel, there was now hope where for so long there was none; at least that is what we were lead to believe. However what Liverpool fans have perhaps forgotten is that Liverpool FC is just that, a football club which at the end of the day exists to play football. It is in this crucial front that we have been found so lacking.
Make whatever excuses you want about the previous owners ruining our club, and there are many where Hicks and Gillet are concerned, however this should not hide the fact that our players and manager have been poor as well. Our football this season has been atrocious, the derby defeat was sadly inevitable and in the end we were lucky not to have conceded more than two. Our tactics were totally wrong and the play was, contrary to what Roy Hodgson says, League One level.
One of the main criticisms that was levelled at our previous manager Rafa Benitez was his propensity to play players out of position and not get the best out of them. He was roundly criticised for that and rightly so. However I am astounded that the press have not done the same for Roy despite the fact that he is playing several players out of position on a regular basis. Meireless was bought to play, in Hodgson's own words 'any of the three central positions' yet he spends most of his time on the right. Joe Cole, who admittedly has been poor, was bought to play the role behind the striker yet he has been pushed to the left despite the fact that he looked quite threatening playing just behind the striker in pre-season. Daniel Agger, who I feel is our best centre-back, has been forced to play cover at left-back far too often this season. One may argue that Hodgson did not have a choice but it is imperative that you're best players play in their best positions for the greatest possible benefit of the team. Pushing Agger out wide serves no purpose whatsoever. We leave ourselves horribly exposed in the centre and thus leak goals. Even today we saw Jamie Carragher playing as right back when the ever impressive Martin Kelly would have been a much better solution, with Jamie tucking in one and playing as a centre half. Despite all his endeavour and heart Jamie was not able to play one decent ball into the box, despite on a number of occasions having ample time to do so. Nor should he be expected to really. His job is to defend, not to create goals. As Rafa's reign showed, a square peg for round holes simply does not work at this level. Roy needs to learn and learn fast.
The manager also needs to be more attacking in his thinking. It is no good deciding to attack when the team is 2-0 down and the other team has already decided to shut up shop. It is no good springing into action when there are only 30-40 minutes left. Being attacking does not mean playing two strikers or three, as much as Liverpool fans may like to see that, we simply do not have the players to do so right now. When I say 'attacking' I mean that the team needs to be more forward thinking, the passing should go forward rather than side to side and then back again, as it did so often today. Roy has a real job on his hands and the sooner he realises and embraces his faults, the sooner the club can start to move forward. If however Roy remains stubborn in his belief and in his ways, then the club will remain in decline and the 'mutiny in the Kop' that many have commented on will gather pace and momentum.
By apportioning so much of the blame on the manager I do not in any way absolve the players one iota. They have, for a number of weeks now, been letting the manager and the fans down quite badly. There seems to be no cohesion in their play, they do not look motivated enough, they do not seem to be working as hard for each other as we are used to. There is the odd great tackle or the odd piece of covering for an out of position player, but the overall performance has been consistently poor. People have been quick to blame Fernando Torres, but I cannot help but laugh at that to be honest. Name me one clear cut chance that Nando has missed this season? Oh I'm sorry that would require him actually getting the ball in a decent position to score, wouldn't it! Our service up to him has simply been pathetic. No matter what team you are, if you are unable to provide you're centre forward with one clear cut opportunity in eight games then there is something wrong, and it has nothing to do with the centre-forward. Yes Nando has not looked as sharp, yes his confidence is low, but what have the other nine outfield players or Roy done to help him get to where we all know he should be. NOTHING! We leave him up there on his own, about 20 yards away from any other Liverpool player and ask him to feed off the long balls that the great distributors Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel provide! Can Nando put in a bit more effort? Yes. Can the other nine outfield players provide him with better service and help him improve his mental state of mind? Without a shadow of a doubt!
The disaster, and I do not use this word lightly, that Liverpool FC find themselves in is perhaps the greatest challenge that this famous club has had to face in the last forty to fifty years. How we as fans, players, management and owners respond will define us in the years to come. Can the owners help by funding the acquisition of a few quality players? Without doubt. However as Roy Hodgson and the players must surely realise, trust is something that is earned. One does not simply receive it for free. Unfortunately Roy Hodgson and his players have shown nothing in the last few weeks to merit the trust and financial backing of our new owners.
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very well said mate - however, we all know very well the reason that Hodgson is escaping the scathing criticism that he deserves.
After the continued calls for an Englishman to be given a chance at one of the big clubs, Hodgson is flopping his lines terribly in a manner that nobody could have expected
What planet is Roy on???, clueless,clueless, worst Liverpool manager ever, and that is saying something, after Souness!!!. Sack him NOW, before he takes us down.
yes roy must go i think kenny would have been a better choice and still stayed as he knew roy would mess up like blackburn after kenny lets get kenny in for the blackburn game as we canâÂÂt let hodgson have more cash in jan. and kenny needs to get us up the table to attract players to fight for a euro place not a dogfight at the bottom
I think the reason Kenny was told that he wasnt in the running for the job when Woy got it was the board knew that the new owners coming in would want to appoint their own manager and who better then King Kenny. Woy has a get out clause in his contract for 3 million and this was put in place to give the new owners an easy out.
I hate to intrude on private grief, but Liverpool has no divine right to be amongst the elite. Believe me, there have been several appalling club owners and there will be several more - anyone remember the Bhattis at Wolves or the Kumars at Birmingham? Wolves were the biggest club in England once...
You'll stay up by a mile under Woy or whoever else might come in. I just wouldn't bank on NESV being the white knight you think they are.
@Jay: Sadly I think you are right. The fact that he is English and a nice guy in general the critics seem to be giving him an extended honeymoon period.
@ Finnigan and Paul: Kenny could be good. I actually thought he should have become manager in the first placce. Roy has really made some stupid decisions. The one I did not mention the article wa sletting Aqua go on loan when we are crying out for some dynamism in midfield. However as I said in the article, the players also need to take a lot of the blame. Kenny could come in, but the players are the ones who need to up the ante!
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