Bleacher Report - Articles by Jeff Gallagher

Analysis of Liverpool's Season

Jeff Gallagher — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:42:16 -0500

The start to Liverpool's campaign this year has been very impressive, even though we are yet to produce any 'real' quality football.

That excludes however the four or five games which are including matches against Man Utd, Everton and Chavski - to the delight of our supporters, especially ending with Chanvski's excellent unbeaten home record!

Our strengths remain from Pepe Reina to the forward line. The work rate and our commitment remains as industrious as it has ever been under Rafael Benitez.

We are at our strongest through the spine of the team, including a few of the most talented and formidable central midfield players in Europe presently.

In my opinion, our weaknesses stem from the fullback areas and possibly the right midfield berth.

In today's game any successful side possess physically adept fullbacks who have ability on the ball and show intelligence in advanced positions.

Presently, in Arbeloa, Dossena and Aurelio I feel there is not enough strength or pace to match other top sides' attacking prowess.

Regarding Alvaro Arbeloa, I think he is competent in possession and elegant going forward but lacks the pace and physical presence to succeed fully in the EPL and I feel the same applies to Fabio Aurelio.

As regards to Andrea Dossena, Rafa must have received some excellent scouting reports from Italy. I say this because I am sure he would not have seven million on him otherwise.

Keep in mind it does take time for an overseas player to settle down, learn the language and adapt to the new culture.

At the time of writing I'm in the middle of a night shift and we have just crashed out the Carling Cup in fine style.

Although I did not witness the debacle, I have seen from match reports, we well deserved to be eliminated. With Rafa admitting that serious defensive errors were the reason we went out and not the 10 changes that were made to the starting eleven.

Over the next month we have five EPL fixtures with two CL ties sandwiched in between. These are as follows: 15/11 - Bolton (A), 22/11 - Fulham (H), 26/11 - Olympique Marseille (H), 1/12 - West Ham (H), 6/12 - Blackburn Rovers (A), 9/12 PSV (A) and Hull City (H).

Every one of these fixtures are winnable, including the CL games. If we can take 12 or 13 points for the league games, then I'm sure we will sustain our current challenge and may even be clear at the summit of the EPL.

Finally, a quick assessment of our 'summer' purchases and those who have impressed and distressed in the RED shirt.

I've already touched on Andrea Dossena, in my opinion we should all try to be patient as he certainly has ability going forward although his defensive attributes are not up to scratch as of yet.

Diego Cavelieri

In the few outings he's had as our new number two, I must admit that he does not omit confidence, again the language barrier could be an issue and as we all know communication is an essential between a goalkeeper and his back four.

Albert Riera

I've already published my thoughts on Riera, but to sum up I think he is an excellent addition to our squad. He exhibits pure confidence, has ability on the ball and is always an option for us on the left flank. He is a player who has started his Liverpool career well and is only going to improve.

Robbie Keane

Although the goals have only started to flow, this has not affected his attitude. He is an excellent professional who's work ethic is a shining example to all, and I'm sure he will flourish under Rafa's guidance.

Dirk Kuyt

His work rate has been well documented over the last season or so but this year I've observed him playing with far more confidence and as a result of this, he has been finding the back of the net with some regularity. He has been an adequate reserve while Fernando has been injured but now should retain his right midfield berth.

My two disappointed players

Pennant

The two disappointments for me are Pennant and Yossi. For Jermnaine Pennant this has always been his last chance at a top club, but he just does not seem to realize this fact. This is a player with so much potential, but just does not show the desire or motivation to succeed at our beloved club.

I'd rather see El Zar bled into first team action than see a non-committed Pennant, at least the youngster would show passion and spirit which should be a basic requirement when you pull on that shirt.

Yossi

A gifted ball player at best, I feel so many games have passed him by this term and last with maybe the exception of the first half in Madrid and the West Brom game this season. Although he is a squad player at most but could be more, again if he shows the correct spirit and demands the ball more often, maybe then he could be the influential and creative force that we all saw at West Ham (Big fish in a small pond springs to mind!).

Thanks for reading,

YNWA

Is Jamie Carragher Still a First Choice Centre Half at Liverpool?

Jeff Gallagher — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:22:42 -0400

Jamie Carragher emerged onto the Liverpool first team scene at the tender age of 18 vs. Boro and scored on his full debut vs. Aston Villa at Anfield in 1998.

Since then, he has not looked back, making over 500 appearances for the club.

After relatively successful spells in centre midfield, right back, and left back he finally had his wishes full filled by Rafa when he played Carra at centre half, a position that he coveted so dearly.

Jamie has graced the centre back position with the utmost passion and dedication that will probably never be matched.

I feel Martin Skrtel has settled in really well since moving from Eastern European football in January. He slotted in well alongside JC with no problems at all, his debut vs. Havant aside.

Now, with the return of Daniel Agger to full fitness (a player whom, in my opinion, we missed so much last season) and the one year extension to Sami Hyypia's contract, the competition for places at the heart of Liverpool's defence has never been so intriguing.

I'm not the first person to state that JC's defensive attributes have been in doubt and I've heard JC state that himself on more than one occasion.

Has the time now come to give the Agger/Skrtel partnership a chance to shine and grow? If this does happen, will we then see more of Jamie at full back as we so often saw earlier in his career?

We often missed Agger's foraging runs forward and his passing ability last year. Skrtel has also shown that he is equally adept with the ball at his feet.

Maybe we will see Rafa rotate his defence, although I hope this is not the case as a solid defence as we all know is built on consistency, playing together regularly, and knowing each others' strengths and weaknesses.

There is also a possiblity that we play 5-3-2, 3-5-2 or even 3-4-3, that way including our three strongest centre backs. Especially with the purchases of the attacking full backs, the more I think wing backs may well be on Rafa's agenda (although I did stop trying to second guess Rafa a long long time ago).

Time will tell

YNWA

What Are the Benefits of FIFA's 6 + 5 Ruling?

Jeff Gallagher — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:34:02 -0400

The latest trend in EPL is that teams are splashing money to buy young kids under 17 years old, by which Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are extremely active on doing that.

Pros for landing these young kids is that they will eventually be considered as "original home-grown player" player of their current club should they sign their first full-time contract and play for two consecutive seasons for the same club afterwards.

This helps clubs to comply with UEFA's existing requirement of eight "home-grown" players (including at least four "original home-grown" players and another four "home-grown" players trained by other clubs in the same nation).

An example is Cesc Fabregas. We all know he is originally a young starlet in Barcelona, but he is now categorized as an "original home-grown" player of Arsenal by UEFA. We will see more of this should the 6+5 ruling pass.

It results as much less players are playing overseas because clubs need to retain their service. Once the equilibrium was reached (which should not last too long), everything is back to normal, but certainly clubs will invest more on youth system.

Its a big If, I personally cannot see it coming into force, don't think it would work, plus according to the EU, it's illegal anyway.

But should it happen, the Youth Teams would be used to bring players through to the first team, as it should really be done. Arsenal have a very good youth team (came in first last season), they also have excellent academies dotted around the SE, with the stars of the future. So really, yes it could happen that way, without much problem.

The "6+5 ruling," as well as risking alienating UEFA, was dealt a blow on May 8 when the European Parliament voted against the proposals.

EU lawmakers rejected the plan by 518 votes to 49. (Reuters)

I also feel that due to English teams' recent successes in Europe, the squad nationalities have been under the microscope.

Robbie Keane for Anfield?

Jeff Gallagher — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:53:41 -0400

Unfortunately it is well documented that our owners' financial input is severely debatable, mostly on a negative note if we are truly honest. It is sad really as Liverpool have never been a club to wash their 'dirty laundry' in public and definitely not allowing transfer targets to become known. Hence players' clubs driving up the value!

I must admit that I am a big admirer of Gareth Barry and I think Robbie Keane is just what Liverpool need at the moment, well in that last third anyway. I am the first to admit that I am not in the 'know' regarding whom we are trying to sign but as I stated above the lack of discretion in certain quarters has led to all & sundry aware of who our major targets appear to be.

After some players leaving for small fees this year and slight backing from the board it appears we may have the cash to bid for Robbie Keane but unless Xabi leaves for 14-16 million then we will not be signing Gareth Barry.

In my opinion Barry has done well for England recently and paired up well with Stevie in the middle of the park but I think we need Rafa to light a firework up Xabi's rear. By doing so it could help him get back to the player he was as on his day he is one of the finest passes of a ball in Europe.

If this miraculously happened then we would not need Gareth Barry and could concentrate all of our finances on strengthening our attacking options. From the above scenario we would then still have the four central midfielders we had last year, (Stevie, Javier, Xabi & Lucas) but also with young Plessis (not sure of spelling) knocking on the door.

Do we really need another midfielder in the middle of the park, albeit one who could improve the side but who could also hinder the progress of the some great talent we have coming through at the club?

For me personally, I would really like to see Robbie Keane at Anfield and if we surprise some people by visiting the money tree at the end of the road and bring in Gareth Barry as well then we cannot ask for any more as long as its a quality addition. Come on the Red men!