The Curse of the Midweek Friendly
Yesterday Liverpool faced Wigan at Anfield and
people wondered if this would be the game that would burst the 'Kenny Effect'
bubble. Liverpool had been on a fantastic run since his return to the dugout
six weeks previously and his team selection for this game, had been affected by
the meaningless internationals that took place midweek.
With many of the players away on international duty, Kenny had said during his press conference on Thursday that only having one day to train with them was a major disadvantage to any manager. There was of course the added possibility of players returning injured. Stevie unfortunately had already picked up a knock during the Chelsea game and had withdrawn from the England squad, so it was extremely doubtful that he would play.
Kenny though did not give anything away and it not until the team was announced, that we knew Stevie and Daniel Agger were both out due to the earlier injuries. Was this going to be a blessing in disguise I wondered as Wigan have proved time and time again that they can be worthy opponents
It even
seemed that the weather in Liverpool was on our side, for the first time in
days the sun was shining as the game began.
This though throws up problems of its own as it bathes in Anfield Road
end in brilliant light and makes it very difficult for the goalie either save
or throw the ball towards his players.
Within minutes of the game starting, it was clear that things were not going to be as easy as they had been over the previous four. It was immediately obvious that several players were not as aware of the game as they should have been. Watching the team it looked as though they had reverted back to the days of Roy Hodgson. There simply was not fluency in their play with many balls going nowhere and I wondered if we would actually score during the game.
Wigan, who despite their league standing are a good team, were doing all they could to cause a major upset in Kenny's reign. They certainly were not afraid of making tackles and Luis Suarez seemed to be a marked man. If they could bring him down, they would, their captain who incidentally looked like the Lone Ranger due to his mask was the main perpetrator of this.
Liverpool under Kenny's stewardship were not going to give in easily and after twenty three minutes, the man of the moment, Meireles hit the back of the net with another thundering strike. At this point it looked as though three more points were in the bag, but as has become the norm with Liverpool, they either fold or make hard work of what should have been an easy task.
Somehow they managed to keep the lead up to half time and going by the look on Kenny's face during the game, I suspect they were given a good talking to. They came back onto the pitch as rumours of a player change began to surface. This did not happen immediately and the players began to look a little lost. The more they tried to get a rhythm going the more they seemed to be making mistakes. This of course can be put down to one of several things, boredom, tiredness, a lack of understanding of what Kenny wanted or illness.
Illness as it turned out was the factor that caused Kenny to substitute Meireles shortly after the start. Ngog came on in his place but had very little impact on the game. He was invisible for the rest of the game. Luis Suarez though showed why Kenny and John Henry had invested in him. He was as I have said pulled down many times but his football was fantastic and if fate had not been against us, the shots that hit the bar would have gone in.It was during the second half that Wigan showed their true worth by monopolising on the disarray in the Liverpool team and scored. The goal though as tv recordings have shown, should have be given as Offside. Unfortunately the referee for yesterday after was Kevin Friend, who appears to be more concerned about his own importance than that of the game. Some of his other decisions were strange to be honest. The Wigan captain had already had a yellow for bringing down Suarez and somehow got away with doing it again - another referee would have given a red, as it would have been his second yellow booking.
This seemed to wake Liverpool up and after Kenny had taken off Kuyt and replaced him with Jovanovic, things seemed to be on the up for a while. Despite all their effort though the game ended as a draw which in all fairness I think was the right result.
Like Kenny, I do believe that the midweek internationals took their toll on the players. I know several of them only had to travel to Europe but that can take a toll on your body, so the tiredness factor must come into play. Also it certainly does not give the manager and his coaching staff enough time to work on whatever system he intends to use. Illness - now that is a strange one, it appears that Meireles had a stomach bug which of course meant he was below his best. The bug itself can also I suspect be blamed for a lot of the malaise on the pitch because as we all know it can leave you devoid of energy for several days afterwards.
The season is not over and now that we have a two week break, Kennny has a chance to work with the players and they will bounce back.
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2 week break? What about the two games against Prague?