Liverpool - The Jeckyll And Hyde Team of The Premiership

It had been billed as a must win for QPR who had only won one game in the last sixteen and were expected to return to the first division at the end of this season.  Liverpool of course were still on the hunt for that hallowed fourth spot that would see them take part in the Champions League once again and on paper it was down as a win for them.

But as we know Liverpool has a terrible habit of resorting to the "I can't be bothered, it's only an ordinary game" syndrome very quickly and last night was no exception.

The game itself had started very brightly and Queens Park Rangers looked as though they were there for the taking.  Liverpool's passing was superb and how they never scored, is one of those questions that still need to be answered.  There were certainly enough chances and the score line by the time Howard Webb blew for half time, should have been at least 5-0.

It was not and there were already signs that Queens Park Rangers were beginning to find their feet in the game.  Suddenly our defence was beginning to open up a little and they were getting more and more of the play.  This led to Charlie Adam and Armad Traore going in for a nasty tackle,  that saw both of them being substituted at the beginning of the second half.

Now Charlie Adam is an enigma to himself. He was one of the players that joined the club last summer and his form to start with was very good, as was his love of picking up yellow cards.  Lately though he appears to be suffering a crisis of confidence and has been left on the bench, rightly so of course going by what we witnessed last night and although a yellow card was not issued, it was not that far away, as he had been spoken too several times by Howard Webb.

The second half began with Sebastian Coates (Martin Kelly had been taken off due his injury flaring up once again) and Jordan Henderson as part of the team set up.  Would they help in our quest for goals was the question on many supporter's lips.  

It took a while but again with Liverpool playing some wonderful passing play, Sebastian Coates picked up a ball and after a short period of acrobatics, his first goal for the club had found the back of the net.  A goal that should have been last night and this morning's talking point across all spectrums of the media and us the supporters, but of course it was not.

Why that was, is what is bothering us all this morning because Liverpool continued to play well and it was not long before Dirk ensured that the game was well on the way to being won.  Liverpool were now 2 up and should have ensured that twenty minutes later a further three points was added to their total.

But they did not and why they decided to yet again rest on their laurels only they can answer? 

Within minutes of Queens Park Rangers, Joey Barton being taken off they looked a different team. Suddenly their twelfth man was behind them and their style of play began to get better.  So much so that the threat of them scoring became very evident, so evident in fact that our defence decided it was time to go home.  This of course led to their first goal and an extremely strange substitution by Kenny.

Now, I have nothing against Kenny and whilst he is the Manager of Liverpool Football Club, I will back him to the hilt but I cannot understand why he took off Luis Suarez and replaced him with Andy Carroll. Yes Andy is tall and is expected to stop the high balls going into the goal, but unfortunately Andy is another of those players, who simply refuses to do what he is capable off and it is a gamble that misfired very quickly.

Queens Park Rangers seized their moment and with two further forays into our defence they found the back of the net a further two times to everyone's amazement.

Our defence which appears to work so well in cup games let us down once again and quite frankly it simply is not good enough.  Yes I know that Daniel Agger is missing, but that should not have made an iota of difference.  The players in the squad are trained (and I use that word loosely) to ensure that they can simply slot in when someone is missing.  It has worked in the midfield with Jay Spearing replacing the missing Lucas, and last night he was in fact man of the match.

The sudden change and the lack of concentration has now cost the club the treasured fourth spot - there will be no Champions League Football next season and yet again we may need to rely on the cup competitions.

Those competitions are the Carling Cup and the FA Cup and they are what the players seem to be concentrating solely on at the moment. 

e have already seen what playing well can do by winning the Carling Cup.  Although saying that it was won on penalties against a team that we should have walked over.  It was one of those games that under a premier league setting we could possibly have lost. Why, because the "I can't be bothered" would have surfaced once again.  This was a cup game though and suddenly several players found the form that they should have had all season.  You see they wanted a medal to show off to their friends.

That also happened last Sunday when we played Stoke in the quarter finals of the FA Cup.  We had eleven players on the pitch, eleven players that ensured the game was won.  Everyone played their hearts out because another medal was at stake and could be added to their collection.  That medal if won and the Carling cup one can quite frankly be thrown away because they do not deserve them.

I have never seen a Liverpool team with such duel personalities and it has to stop.  The players have to realize that every game must be played with the will to win.  It is no good winning some and then deciding that they cannot be bothered.  The Premier League is as important, if not more so than any competition and I include the Champions League in that. 

Have the players realized I wonder that Liverpool are now on a downward spiral because of their total disregard for Kenny and whatever they are taught in training.  If they haven't, then when we hit the relegation zone (and it will happen if things do not change), they had better have some very good excuses ready.

They are at this present time, letting Kenny and everyone at the club down as well as us the supporters.  They are not playing as Liverpool should play and it sets a further set of questions in motion. Questions that surround the scouting staff and in particular Damien Comolli, because if by doing his job, he keeps recommending players that are not suited to Liverpool Football Club. Then there are major problems ahead.

It is also becoming very apparent that there is something very wrong with the way the team is prepared for each game.  Now I have no idea where the blame lies here, because from what we have been led to believe it is a collective effort from several members of staff.

Kenny has always said that each game is different, and as much as I admire and respect Kenny perhaps that is part of the problem. Football is a game and each match needs to be treated the same with a few tweaks here and there according to who the opponents are.

Several people have said to me over the last 24 hours that perhaps it is now time to introduce some of the youngsters.  I would have agreed with that several weeks ago, but having watched the Next Gen game against Ajax, they are not as ready as we believed them to be.  Which of course is a shame because, if their introduction meant that several of the senior players wake up, then it would be worth the risk?

Because if they do not Liverpool Football Club will find itself facing a crisis situation once again and quite frankly that is something that it does not need or want.

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