As we enter the final run in at the end of the season, Liverpool find themselves in an all too familiar position. Effectively out of the title race by February, they are fighting with Everton to keep their place in the “Big 4”, in a footballing sense at least. The league cup campaign ended with a nothing performance at Chelsea, and the FA cup campaign ended with a humiliating defeat at home to the mighty Barnsley. Lets not forget that Liverpool also needed a replay to dispose of Luton and came from behind twice to overcome Havant and Waterlooville. There is however, a very realistic chance that the Champions league could yet provide Liverpool with a happy ending to this season.
I am writing this article now because if Liverpool do win the Champions league the truth may be dusted under the carpet. The fact is Liverpool need a LOT of work if they are to finally end the 19 year drought.
So what has been the problem? Boardroom soap operas haven’t helped at all, but football is played on grass and Liverpool simply haven’t been good enough. Injury to Daniel Agger cost Liverpool what was proving to be their best defender. Steve Finnan, Fabio Aurelio and Alvaro Arbeloa have been in and out of fitness, as have Jermaine Pennant and Harry Kewell. These injuries however are not good enough excuses for such a poor showing.
In this writers opinion the position Liverpool are in is down to one thing. There isn’t a referee’s vendetta against them, they aren’t injury plagued and there isn’t a shooter behind a grassy knoll. There is no conspiracy. They simply aren’t good enough.
But they should be.
Starting at the back, Jose Reina is as good as any keeper in the premiership at the minute. His clean sheet record speaks for itself. Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger (if fit) have the makings of a fantastic partnership, and the new signing Skrtel looks so far to be an able deputy. The full back positions are a little trickier. The formerly unmoveable Steve Finnan looks past his best, injuries and age seem to be catching up with a player who until last year was one of the most impressive and consistent defenders in the premiership. Arbeloa is an exciting prospect and I think he will go on to make the right back slot his own. The lef t hand side is in need of a complete overhaul. John Arne Riise is a shadow of his former self. Fabio Aurelio has shown glimpses of quality but nowhere near enough to warrant a regular place. Neither of the two are great when defending, and their attacking prowess, of which both are supposedly renowned for, has been almost non existent. This is an area that desperately needs new blood. The young and hugely exciting young Argentinean Insua, currently plying his trade in the reserve team, could be the answer to this problem.
Liverpool have excellent midfielders in the centre. Javier Mascherano has been a revelation this season and Lucas Leiva will go on to be a fantastic player for the club. There are still some question marks over Xabi Alonso however, though I believe that if he continues to play alongside Mascherano he will regularly get the space in which to play. This is when Alonso is at his best. Steven Gerrard is obviously quality and his loyalty, commitment and ability should not be questioned. One question mark that remains with Liverpool’s central midfield is what happens when Mascherano is missing? Lucas and Alonso have played together only a handful of times and haven’t looked anywhere near comfortable.
The attacking wide players in Liverpool’s squad is, in my opinion, another area where they let themselves down. Ryan Babel has been fantastic in the last few months, but other than him what have Liverpool got? They certainly don’t have the depth of talent Manchester Utd have, through Ryan Giggs, Nani, Anderson, and that other kid, I think they call him Ronaldo…Thomas Rosicky, and Alexander Hleb at Arsenal, and Florent Malouda, Shaun Wright- Philips and Joe Cole at Chelsea, would also all easily walk into Liverpool’s side. Yossi Bennayoun is a decent squad player, but is he Liverpool class? The question remains. Harry Kewell and Jermaine Pennant are simply not good enough. Nowhere near. Kewell should have been, but injuries really have ruined who should have been a fantastic Liverpool player.
The strikers role is one that again highlights Liverpool’s lack of quality depth. Fernando Torres is the most exciting number 9 have had in 7 years and could go on to score goals by the bagful. Rafa Benitez was criticised for resting Torres early in the season, but Wayne Rooney has been rested far more often this season. Why has Sir Alex not been criticised like Benitez has? Simple. Where Ferguson can bring in Carlos Tevez, Liverpool cannot. Benitez claimed he wanted to rest Torres so he was fit when the business end of the season set in. His recent form surely is a testament that Benitez was right. Unfortunately if you take away “El Nino” Liverpool woefully lack goals. Peter Crouch, whilst possibly unfortunate to be on the bench so often, doesn’t fit in the way Benitez likes his team to play. I do feel he is a useful squad player though. A plan B if you like. Voronin isn’t good enough and then there’s Dirk Kuyt. Kuyt is a player I, as a Liverpool fan, am very fond of. His workrate and commitment is appreciated and respected by team-mates and fans alike. He has been forced to perform in a thankless dogsbody role which has not brought out any of the talents he DOES possess. Despite these things I honestly believe he has to move on now, he simply hasn’t scored the goals he should. This possibly isn’t his fault though, and it will be a sad day if he was to leave because he is adored in Liverpool.
So there we have it. In Reina, Carragher, Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres, Liverpool have the spine of a team as good as any in Europe. In fact when on form Liverpool’s best 11 could compete with any team in the world. But the supporting cast needs a complete overhaul. Out must go Hyypia, Riise, Aurelio, Kewell, Pennant, Voronin and unfortunately probably Kuyt. In must come a quality left back, a midfielder with real creative brilliance. They need at least one, if not two quality wide players, ones with real pace who can run at players and frighten the lives out of them. They also need a striker who can take away some of the burden currently held by Torres.
Mangers are often judged on the players they bring in, however Benitez could possibly be criticised for players he has allowed out to leave Anfield. In Stephen Warnock, now at Blackburn, Liverpool had a strong defender with a vastly improving attacking game. He was also a committed homegrown talent, I’ve always believed that players give that little extra 1% when playing for their home team.
Creativity and brilliance has been shockingly absent from Liverpool this season, but a huge gap in the team could have been filled by a diminutive talent. Liverpool have unquestionably missed Luis Garcia. His flair, imagination, not forgetting his knack of scoring important goals, has simply not been replaced.
Us Liverpool fans should not kid ourselves. We aren’t one or two players away form the title, we are 5 or 6 away. Hopefully whoever is in charge upstairs will provide funds to get these players. This, like everything else at boardroom level is surrounded in doubt. Folks, please stay tuned for the next episode of LFC the soap opera!
I have a sneaky suspicion and no small amount of hope that one or two of these players might come from the reserve side. There is without doubt heaps of talent within the reserve ranks and we can only hope some of this will be nurtured.
The last question is the manager. Is Benitez the right man for the job? The Beatles once sang “Boy you’ve got to carry that weight” Benitez is carrying perhaps the biggest of footballing heavyweights on his back, he has a HUGE job still to do. In my opinion he has already greatly improved us, but can he finish the job?
There is a saying in the red half of Merseyside and it should be followed to the end.
In Rafa we trust.
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3 months ago
Sorry for the lenghty article. Unfortunately Liverpools problems cannot be summed up quickly!
3 months ago
Very well thought out Matt. Enjoyed the read and a very heartfelt honest article of the kind we don't see too often.
I know in Rafa you trust but has he not had the time to bring in these 5 or 6? After all half the players you want out, Benitez brought in. What are your thoughts Matt?
3 months ago
I think that nowadays people expect things far too quickly. Ferguson and Wenger were both given longer than Benitez has had before they saw any product for their graft. I think in general with Morientes being the prime exception the players he has bought as automatic choices have all been succesfull. His one great fault isnt his rotation its who he rotates. He has bought players with proven pedigrees no doubt, but this hasnt transferred into the English game. You have to admit thought the English game is almost completely different to any other league in the world. This has been 4 years now of Rafa and by now he should completely undertand our game. Next season is crucial. not just for Rafa but for Liverpool. UTD will make it 17 league titles this season i believe and our superiority in league titles is ver very important to us!
from 3 months ago
Yes it certainly is Matt. Thanks for your thoughts.
3 months ago
I think we are deluding ourselves Matt. Rafa has spent an absolute fortune in his short tenure, over US$300million! Only Torres has been worth the money. Under Rafa we'll remain forever a good Cup team. ManU look set to win the prem and possibly CL too and are only getting further ahead of us. Seriously I worry we'll miss out on 4th spot this year and the financial house of cards could crash around us, Rafa could leave (which would be OK except our Spanish armada would probably follow him to Spain) and Stevie G we'll have to cash in on Stevie G to Chelsea or ManU to stop us from doing a Leeds.
3 months ago
Scott, we are in a very different situation to the one Leeds were, they were heamorraging money and while our financial situation isnt great there are many many people in the background willing to step in. Both with DIC but also closer to home. I arent at all deluding myself. Ive said in my article we are a long way off and need at LEAST 5 players to compete. But we do have a good spine. To say Torres has been the only success is a bit harsh i think. Reina has kept more clean sheets then any other keeper in the last two years. Mascherano is an excellent signing, as are alonso Arbeloa, Babel and Lucas. No managers signings are always going to work. Dont forget that when you read about Ronaldo, Nani and Tevez as UTD that there was also Kleberson, Djemba Djemba, Veron, Forlan and Park Ji sung. We are still a way behind and i think that next season is it for Benitez its win or bust.
3 months ago
Kuyt works his socks off, and for that I appreciate the lad's efforts, but at the time he was bought mainly with scoring goals in mind, and on that level he has fallen well short of the mark. You also mentioned Morientes, he's another one. When Benetes buys a player who fails to live up to expectations, he is very reluctant to admit he has made a bad buy, and get shod of them. It makes me physically sick to speak well of the man, but Ferguson does not hesitate to get rid of his duffers. Benetes persists and persists, hoping they will come good in the end. What with all the extra wages every week, and the money we could have in the bank if we sold them, Rafa isn't helping the clubs cash flow situation much, never mind having to play top level football with 10 players and one duffer, or is it 9 plus 2, or 8 plus 3, ? ? ? ? - steve c.
3 months ago
Im not too sure about that. You claim Benitez keeps his duffers but in that case how can you explain Morientes, Josemi, Barragan, Pellegrino, Palletta, Nunez, Kromkamp, Bellamy and Gonzalez being sold very quickly after signing. The players he has kept have been Alonso and Reina from Spain who are both excellent players. Crouch and Pennant from England, Crouch is a good player, Pennant had an excellent first season capped by a man of the match award in the champions league final, but has struggled with injuries this year. The same goes with Aurelio. I dont yet know whether these players will be kept. I think Benitez gives players time to adapt and settle before making judgement,if they arent right he wields the axe, which he does quickly and ruthlessly. Please dont forget that if we are judging players after just one season Robert Pires, Thiery Henry and even Ronaldo would probably have been surplus to requirements.
3 months ago
Im not too sure about that. You claim Benitez keeps his duffers but in that case how can you explain Morientes, Josemi, Barragan, Pellegrino, Palletta, Nunez, Kromkamp, Bellamy and Gonzalez being sold very quickly after signing. The players he has kept have been Alonso and Reina from Spain who are both excellent players. Crouch and Pennant from England, Crouch is a good player, Pennant had an excellent first season capped by a man of the match award in the champions league final, but has struggled with injuries this year. The same goes with Aurelio. I dont yet know whether these players will be kept. I think Benitez gives players time to adapt and settle before making judgement,if they arent right he wields the axe, which he does quickly and ruthlessly. Please dont forget that if we are judging players after just one season Robert Pires, Thiery Henry and even Ronaldo would probably have been surplus to requirements.
3 months ago
The point I was trying to put accross was that Rafa, specifically with Kuyt and Morientes, persisted to give them a first team place week after week, which as they weren't living up to expectations, leaves you with a weakened side, Bear in mind if the likes of john Arne Riise doesn't have a good game, he doesn't get to linger in the first team too long. As for the likes of Henry and Ronaldo, they weren't instant world beaters I know, but they were far from being the huge dissapointments of the two afore mentioned players. You rattled off six or seven rejects who didn't stay much more than a season, - all I can say is, I had forgotten half of them, but it's scarey to think we bought that many dissappointing players in such a short time -- Maybe our talent scouts aren't doing that good a job, what do you think Matt ?
3 months ago
i dont think its the scouting. All of the players have done very good jobs in other leagues but the adaption to the English game has been too hard for them. I realy am puzzled with how i feel about kuyt. He had a decent goal return last year, this year hes not been played up front and hasnt been given the chance. He looks like hes lacking confidence in front of goal, but i honestly think he has done a good job for us on the right his workrate is phenomonal. You can help but respect and like him.
3 months ago
I really do like and respect Dirk, and I swear, if he weren,t on the pitch wearing the shirt, he'd probably be up in the kop chearing on the lads ! He truely loves the club, and that shows in his committmant on the field, BUT the number of "sitters" he has missed, especially when we really needed that odd goal to win games that we could only draw, and you know if we had those extra two points each time, we would be breathing down united's neck, or even leading in the prem. Just when I've decided in my own mind - yep he's got to go - he goes and gets a really important goal against arsenal, which leaves thinking - good old Dirk, thank god we've got him. No-one would be happier than me if started knocking in one or two goals every week, because he certainly gets the opportunities, but he does need to, to justify all the faith we have put in him. Here's hoping ...
3 months ago
I really do like and respect Dirk, and I swear, if he weren,t on the pitch wearing the shirt, he'd probably be up in the kop chearing on the lads ! He truely loves the club, and that shows in his committmant on the field, BUT the number of "sitters" he has missed, especially when we really needed that odd goal to win games that we could only draw, and you know if we had those extra two points each time, we would be breathing down united's neck, or even leading in the prem. Just when I've decided in my own mind - yep he's got to go - he goes and gets a really important goal against arsenal, which leaves thinking - good old Dirk, thank god we've got him. No-one would be happier than me if started knocking in one or two goals every week, because he certainly gets the opportunities, but he does need to, to justify all the faith we have put in him. Here's hoping ...
3 months ago
I really do like and respect Dirk, and I swear, if he weren,t on the pitch wearing the shirt, he'd probably be up in the kop chearing on the lads ! He truely loves the club, and that shows in his committmant on the field, BUT the number of "sitters" he has missed, especially when we really needed that odd goal to win games that we could only draw, and you know if we had those extra two points each time, we would be breathing down united's neck, or even leading in the prem. Just when I've decided in my own mind - yep he's got to go - he goes and gets a really important goal against arsenal, which leaves thinking - good old Dirk, thank god we've got him. No-one would be happier than me if started knocking in one or two goals every week, because he certainly gets the opportunities, but he does need to, to justify all the faith we have put in him. Here's hoping ...
3 months ago
I really do like and respect Dirk, and I swear, if he weren,t on the pitch wearing the shirt, he'd probably be up in the kop chearing on the lads ! He truely loves the club, and that shows in his committmant on the field, BUT the number of "sitters" he has missed, especially when we really needed that odd goal to win games that we could only draw, and you know if we had those extra two points each time, we would be breathing down united's neck, or even leading in the prem. Just when I've decided in my own mind - yep he's got to go - he goes and gets a really important goal against arsenal, which leaves thinking - good old Dirk, thank god we've got him. No-one would be happier than me if started knocking in one or two goals every week, because he certainly gets the opportunities, but he does need to, to justify all the faith we have put in him. Here's hoping ...
3 months ago
I really do like and respect Dirk, and I swear, if he weren,t on the pitch wearing the shirt, he'd probably be up in the kop chearing on the lads ! He truely loves the club, and that shows in his committmant on the field, BUT the number of "sitters" he has missed, especially when we really needed that odd goal to win games that we could only draw, and you know if we had those extra two points each time, we would be breathing down united's neck, or even leading in the prem. Just when I've decided in my own mind - yep he's got to go - he goes and gets a really important goal against arsenal, which leaves thinking - good old Dirk, thank god we've got him. No-one would be happier than me if started knocking in one or two goals every week, because he certainly gets the opportunities, but he does need to, to justify all the faith we have put in him. Here's hoping ...
3 months ago
haha you must realy love him, you said it four times! my computer does that to me too! I fhe finds his scoring boots again he must stay, if not then it sucks.
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