16th May2012

Assessing a Season Like This: Liverpool FC [Part 1: Performances]

by backofthenet

This was supposed to be the season for Liverpool FC. The season was eagerly anticipated following what looked like decent summer buys, and it looked set for exciting times for Liverpool.

However, everything hasn’t exactly gone to the script this season.

In this multiple part feature, I will be assessing many aspects of Liverpool FC, including financial, statistical, along with the state of the boardroom. But today, I will quite simply be talking about the team, the tactics and what went right and wrong with the chalkboard this long 2011/12 season.

This post is where I’ll be talking about the current state on the team – form, performances and the players who gel well with each other, along with a couple of transfer moves to make for Liverpool to strengthen their squad.

This year’s tactics were forced to be changed due to an unfortunate injury to Lucas Leiva. His injury has had an effect on the team an as a result of his injury, the Reds have done poorly in the months that have followed, but it would be wrong to blame poor form solely on missing Lucas throughout the second half of the season.

This year has seen Liverpool play mainly with a back 4 that started rocky, with them leaking goals in the pre-season, along with the opening stages of the season, but has only improved with time. This has resulted in Liverpool being the 3rd best team defensively in the Premier League this term. Injuries have hampered the defence this season, but it is the consistency in selection that has got Liverpool this great track record in terms of goals conceded this term.

Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel, Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique have done well this season, although much has been made of Enrique’s poor form of late. But this has been a solid defensive partnership, and coupled with arrivals of Martin Kelly and Sebastian Coates, this can be a defence to be reckoned with in this era of the Premier League.

Downing.... a poor signing so far.

And now off to the midfield. Perhaps the most overvalued bunch of midfielders in the country. Stewart Downing – 16 million pounds – repays this with 36 appearances, 0 goals and 0 assists. I’m pretty decent at Maths, and I am smart enough to recognise that he has had a horrible debut season for the reds. Apart from that one odd Wembley appearance against Cardiff City where he looked half able to get past the full-back, he’s been disappointing – especially for the fee that he came for – this season.

Steven Gerrard’s injuries meant that the squad have had to rotate, and I struggle to see why Maxi Rodriguez hasn’t played more this season. After those two games against Chelsea where he bagged winners earlier on, I thought he would becom a mainstay in the first XI. What happens? Dumped onto the bench and into the wilderness. I don’t get it sometimes, although I’m pretty sure there was some other reason keeping him from playing the games.

Jordan Henderson has already been covered by me here so go ahead and read that article.

Craig Bellamy’s transfer was a masterstroke, and he has proved to be a key player this campaign, although he, like Steven Gerrard, has had injury problems all season long. I classify him as a left winger, a better one than Stewart Downing this term for sure, and he has been instrumental in saving this less than decent 2011/12 campaign.

Jay Spearing has been decent, but in my opinion, that’s all he will ever be. He is not of the same caliber of Lucas, and won’t be for a while. I personally believe that despite all his passion and his effort, he just isn’t up to scratch – at least just yet – and shouldn’t be starting games for Liverpool. Especially games such as the FA Cup final.

Jonjo has been fantastic, and I think he’s got lots of potential right there, Charlie Adam has looked impressive while looking downright frustrating at the same time this season with his ‘Hollywood passes’.

Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll have had a very long season. For Luis, he was embroiled in that racism saga, and I hope we’ll see the last of this, and we see the Uruguayan at his best more next season. Luis has the ability to get past whole teams, but it has been his finishing, coupled with his indecision that often results in the loss of possession this term.

Andy Carroll has showed lots of signs of improvement. His goal against Chelsea was testament to that. He dummied John Terry, turned a couple of times in almost Suarez fashion, and then finished it off with a powerful shot that hit the roof of the net. He’s been winning everything of late (I won’t count the Swansea game because he didn’t have many proper balls to chase) and he’s quite simply rediscovered himself. Hoping he’ll have a quality season next year.

Category : General Opinion, Liverpool FC
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10th May2012

The State of Liverpool FC: Smells like Team Spirit

by backofthenet

As the season is racing towards the finishing line, Liverpool FC, and Andy Carroll in particular, look to finally have found their footing. Liverpool FC fans all over will certainly have reason to be excited for next season.

Haven’t really been doing much in terms of ‘State of Play’ articles lately, and I thought that the two Chelsea meetings really changed the mood around Anfield, so it gave me a good enough reason to return to write something apart from a draggy match report or ‘Top 3 Transfers of the Week”. Both of which can be read here:

Draggy Liverpool FC 4 Chelsea 1 Match Report
Top 3 Liverpool FC Transfer Rumours of the Week

I guess one thing I’ll have to say is to keep moving forward. We need to take these positive signs and translate them into results, into Champions League qualification, into cup wins. I am of the belief that this is a great season that we can build on. After all, we’ve returned to Europe (albeit the Europa League) and we’ve finished with a cup. As Steven Gerrard has said before, winning is still what football is almost always about (at least for the people who actually care about the game).

What I saw in those two matches was the start of a fresh new Liverpool FC side. A side that was eager to perhaps even reward the fans after a tumorous season. After all, goals haven’t come easy, especially at home. You guys might be interested in the stats beside this, as it says here that Liverpool FC have the 2nd most expensive home game price per point and most expensive cost per Liverpool goal at home.

Please note that this statistics are valid as of before the Chelsea game, although it is unlikely to have changed much. But it would be good to know that Liverpool FC have at least sorted out that defence, with the defence able to make an easy transition to next season, although my doubts will remain about Jose Enrique whom has lost the ball all too much over his past few games and it has been his mistakes on numerous occasions this season which have led to opponents knocking one past us.

And a sad end to the game against Chelsea, as Liverpool players made their traditional walk of honour to thank the fans. Maxi Rodriguez can safely be said to be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, and I must say that I still think that he’s an excellent player, and that I wish him success for the future. He was absolutely spectacular in that remarkable second half of the 2010/11 campaign, notching up 2 hat-tricks in succession.

Dirk Kuyt will be another one that will be missed. One who will never give up. One who will pop up at the right moments and score that winning goal. The Dutchman is a really hard worker, and I, too, wish him good luck for the future should he live in the summer.

But I think that Jordan Henderson’s finally ‘getting it’ and that he finally sorta understands what he really needs to do in his game. He’s been taking more risks and he’s been looking more and more impressive by the game. The Englishman just needs to work on carving out more oppourtunities for his teammates, because distribution – good, tracking back – good, so I think that’s still a part of his game that he needs to improve.

Jonjo Shelvey himself looks capable of cementing himself as a permanent fixture in that Liverpool FC Starting XI over the next few years, as his displays and his finish against Chelsea have been really good. Really liking what I’ve seen from him so far.

In the transfer window, I think midfield and reinforcements will be what we will be looking for. Perhaps an addition to the attacking lineup, and potentially a backup/competition for Jose Enrique would be good.

Category : General Opinion, Liverpool FC
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07th May2012

Jordan Henderson: Good but not Great

by backofthenet

If there’s one thing I have learnt about Jordan Henderson this season, it would have to be that Jordan Henderson is a good player. Not great by any means, but a good player.

He’s a player that perhaps stirs up the most debate in terms of his ability from this very inconsistent Liverpool side (perhaps with the exception of Andy Carroll, but I won’t talk about that now). Conclusions cannot be drawn following a season in Red for the now-ex English U21 captain, with performances that have as I would describe, not being above par, not below, but quite simply at par.

Question marks will still continue to be raised as next season comes along, with Henderson still not quite justifying his 15 million pound price tag. He looks like a very technically gifted player, but with all this technical ability, he is lacking in terms of mental strength. He himself sees this as a weakness in his game, as he has actually come out and said that he hasn’t been adventurous or quite simply inspirational enough on the ball park.

Sometimes I need to take more risks going forward. I definitely think I need to do that in games; look for the runners and give it quickly, those little balls through; create a chance for someone. At times I can be a little bit safe but I know with hard work and listening, I’ll get better.

Jordan Henderson told the LFC Magazine a few months back

A lot of Italian terminologies come about when describing football positions. From the libero to the tranquesta, the Italians have coined up quite a few, but I don’t think that there isn’t quite one for Henderson. The thing is, he has a bit of all the attributes of a central midfielder.

What I mean is that he has a bit of the attributes of being a defensive midfielder, box-to-box midfielder, playmaker and an attacking midfielder. He chases people down, he can pick out passes (although Liverpool fans would have certainly hoped that he could pick out any pass apart from a square pass) and he has the dribbling ability as well.

But, he doesn’t have a specific role that suits him best.

Henderson is the type of player who will get stuck in and he can win them balls with his game intelligence. He is a technically good, but quite simply, he is not spectacular. He is quite simply much like a B grade student in college. Practices all the challenges that would come his way, but he can’t quite piece the jigsaw puzzle together sometimes.

At 21, he has a lot of time. And quite frankly, I’m tired of Liverpool fans giving him the same stick that they gave good old Lucas Leiva in his first two years as a red. He’s turned out to be a classy central defensive midfielder and our season falling apart just at the turn of the New Year (about the time that the Brazilian got injured) is testament to how much this Liverpool side are missing him at the moment.

Give him time. Give him support. He could just be the best long term investment Liverpool have made by a long shot. He just so happens to be the defending champions in the 188BET Skills Challenge, beating Suarez, Coates, Shelvey, Skrtel and Stewart Downing. Although the crossbar challenge in both of the skills challenges perhaps give insight as to why Liverpool have hit the post so many times this season.

Category : General Opinion, Liverpool FC, Players
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27th Apr2012

4 Predictions for Norwich City vs Liverpool FC

by backofthenet

Liverpool FC take on Norwich City tomorrow with Liverpool FC coming in on the back of a loss to mid-table side West Bromwich, which will affect the mindset of Liverpool FC players ahead of this one.

1. Norwich City will Score First

Perhaps a bit more out there, but you know the drill with Liverpool this season. To find Liverpool with a 0-0 draw at half time against West Brom was almost a surprise, with Liverpool heading into the break in most home games a goal down. Liverpool also have the tenancy to have to have a goal to wake them up, before they step up a gear and try even harder to get that equalizer.

Liverpool FC will also remember the fact that they failed to score on the previous meeting between the two sides, with the Reds stopped by the woodwork on multiple occasions in that encounter.

2. Suarez and Carroll will Start, Suarez Will Score

Although there have been rumours flying around that Andy Carroll will be shipped out on loan next season, I personally don’t believe in any of it. Carroll is finally being given a run of games and he finally looks to have hit the ground running, with 2 goals in the past 3 games. Carroll needs to be given time to create that chemistry with the side, but I don’t think that the Englishman will manage to score this weekend.

Luis Suarez has been on form of late, creating lots of chances, albeit not finding the net on numerous occasions. I predict that he will be a scorer come the match at Norwich tomorrow afternoon.

3. Liverpool FC Will Control the Game…

You know the drill. Liverpool will keep the possession and press very high up the pitch, preventing Norwich City from seeing much of the ball or even getting those shots on our goal. Liverpool will keep to that very slow and almost unimaginative approach, which will see us passing the ball from one end of the pitch to another.

Back passes, square balls, and a generally frustrating game.

4. But Liverpool Will Drop Points

I hate to say this, but this is the case this season. The focus really is on next season, and I honestly believe that this is the time to slowly ease the likes of Raheem Sterling and Suso into the first team. Liverpool have been dropping too many valuable points this season, and I just get that feeling that this is yet another game which might see Liverpool dropping some points.

Agree? Disagree? Pen down your thoughts in the comments section below!

Category : General Opinion, Liverpool FC, Match Previews
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17th Apr2012

Luckily it’s Chelsea for the FA Cup Final

by backofthenet

Liverpool FC are in with a shout of winning their second piece of silverware this 2011/12 campaign. We’ll be taking on London giants Chelsea FC, who defeated Tottenham Hotspur to reach the final.

Chelsea over Tottenham Any Day

Personally, I thought that Tottenham were going to win against Chelsea. Simply because they have a far better and balanced side compared to Chelsea. I maintain that opinion following Chelsea’s demolition of Tottenham by a 5-1 scoreline at Wembley and I am almost thankful that we’re taking on the Blues instead of the Spurs in the cup final come Wembley day once more for the Reds.

It must also be remembered that Liverpool already have a formidable record against Chelsea this season. Thanks to goals from Maxi Rodriguez, we managed to defeat the London outfit on two occasions over a span of 9 days, even managing to knock out Chelsea en route to Carling Cup glory just a month or so back now. Comparatively, we were humbled and outplayed by Tottenham this season, losing 4-0 to the Spurs at White Hart Lane earlier on in the season. Although we redeemed ourselves with a 0-0 stalemate with the White Hart Lane outfit, I would still fancy Liverpool’s chances against Chelsea much more than Tottenham.

Liverpool, Cup Team?

The way I see things, it is either that the team and Kenny Dalglish place the cups really high on their list of priorities, especially compared to the league, or the other teams genuinely don’t care about any form of silverware this season, just concentrating on the league. The way I see things, given our form in the cups, we should definitely be able to challenge even Man City and Man United if you look at form in the cups alone.

It has to be remembered that we have an almost 100% win record (bar the 2-2 draw with Manchester City at Anfield in their Carling Cup meeting), and we have in the process of reaching these two finals beaten Chelsea, Manchester City and even our rivals Manchester United. I still think that the league is the priority (although I could be saying this for the mere reason that we have so many oppourtunities for silverware this season) and that Champions League qualification is of a much higher order than the cups. I really don’t care if we get knocked out in the 3rd round of the FA Cup against Stevenage as long as we manage to go through to the Champions League the following season.

The Champions League brings income, and more importantly, the bait to bring other top class players to Anfield with the lure of playing in one of the most illustrious, if not the most illustrious football knockout competition in the world.

So, what are your thoughts on all of the things mentioned above? Please do leave a comment and share this post :) .

Category : General Opinion, Liverpool FC
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12th Apr2012

TLF View: Comolli’s Departure and Our Goalkeeping Situation

by backofthenet

That wasn’t expected, was it? Comolli suddenly leaving, supposedly due to ‘family reasons’ and the board giving the Frenchman ‘mutual consent’ to leave the Anfield outfit.

Step in the right direction?

But the sacking also brings about much more questions than it does bring answers. For one, I am wondering if Kenny Dalglish is contemplating selling off his British flops in Downing, Henderson and Carroll this upcoming summer transfer window. I, in all honesty, do not believe a single word of this mutual consent. I believe that this decision was made purely because of the now ex-director of football’s inability to spend wisely in the transfer windows, with the likes of Downing, Henderson and Carroll commanding huge transfer fees, but offering little to show for those fees.

But all in all, Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli, did clash. Their theories were completely opposite. One based his signings purely on vibe, and the other based it on good, hard statistics and a good injury record. I still think that Comolli was simply made scapegoat for this big mess, as with Kenny Dalglish at the helm with 3 decades of being a servant to Liverpool FC, there could have only been one winner.

The timing of this move has also come at a peculiar time. Preparations for the Red’s FA Cup encounter with Everton will surely be disrupted by this, as owners will be looking to Kenny to provide a solution and get his players fired up for the game at Wembley come this weekend.

So now to our goalkeeping situation. By the looks of things, Brad Jones is almost 100% for starting at Wembley come Saturday. Peter Gulacsi has also been recalled to provide backup should things really go wrong against Everton.

From what I hear from reports, it also seems as if Liverpool have actually appealed the decision to send off Brazilian goalkeeper Alexander Doni in Liverpool’s mid-week encounter with Blackburn Rovers. To me, a waste of time, and Doni will simply be suspended for a further few games on the grounds of a failed appeal. Jones will start against Everton this weekend until something rather miraculous happens.

Category : General Opinion, Liverpool FC
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08th Apr2012

Liverpool FC 1 Aston Villa 1: Like A Win. Progress

by backofthenet

Yes. Many of you guys will rue the missed oppourtunities to take the win, but in my opinion, it was in many ways, like a win. I’ve talked about it recently performances towards the end of the season being key, and this was a display to be proud of.

Refereeing Comes into Focus

This game, unlike many others, is one that I actually think has been decided slightly by the referee. It was he who changed the balance of the game, as should Dirk Kuyt’s early oppourtunity have been (rightfully) adjudged to have past the goal line, the game could have had a completely different complexion to it. Liverpool wouldn’t have been chasing the game in that fashion and Aston Villa wouldn’t have defended in such fashion either.

There were a few penalty claims that I genuinely think that Liverpool FC should have been awarded. The referee had a clanger, although the Aston Villa being tripped up in the box could have really cost us, and as I said – another refereeing error – although I wouldn’t really complain about that right now. I’m just happy we’ve stopped the run of league defeats.

Recovery

One thing that I think Liverpool FC have been very poor at at recent weeks is recovery. Once the game swings in the other team’s favour, we panic. Our passes are less clinical, passages of our play are less fluid and we struggle to come back into the game. Today, I saw a different Liverpool FC side, a team that really wanted to win.

Questions will be asked as to why they couldn’t step up a gear earlier, as they certainly had more in their tank than Aston Villa, and I’m sure that should 10 minutes of additional time was played, I think that Liverpool would most definitely take all 3 points from today. The changes were good, the understanding was there and it showed me what I wanted to see. Partnerships, teamwork, and even a potential direction for next season, as to the type of football we’re going to play.

The Heroes and Zeroes

The section that almost provokes the most comments. I’ll just get straight to it.

In my opinion, the players who had a poor game include Jose Enrique and Jordan Henderson. They were two of the biggest flops for Liverpool on the day. For Enrique, I simply think that he lost the ball on too many occasions getting forward. Indecisive with his passing and ineffective with his dribbling. Daniel Agger’s entrance showed that the Villa right flank was a flank that could have been exploited, as he kept things more tidy. For Henderson, it was more of a case of things he didn’t do. Apart from one odd 50 yard pass that sticks in my head, the Englishman kept passing the ball waywards, and he really slowed down the pace of Liverpool breaks.

It was a very good performance, but there was only really one hero, and that’s Luis Suarez. First of all, he scored the equalizer. At this point in the season, that is the type of player Liverpool need: match winners, point snatchers. Second, he was a menace throughout, although I certainly think he should cut out that diving habit. Otherwise, he used the ball well and did his job.

You’ll Never Walk Alone JFT96

Category : General Opinion, Liverpool FC, Match Reports
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