This article is about 2-3 days late, but as they say, better late then never. And it does not make it any less readable, being a couple of days late.
After the game this thursday night, I had not just lost my voice(because of joy and fear) but also my faith in some players in Liverpool FC. I am not only very disappointed at many of them, I am also a bit ashamed that the world got to see the poor perfomences from some of the players.
Because the game against Sparta, at home, at Anfield, with a massive support, a great atmosphere, a great feeling, was their chance to show us, the supporters and Kenny Dalglish why they deserve to wear that beautiful red shirt millions of us have, hanging in our closets or on the wall, prodly showing of the only team we support.
Because it is Saturday, and most of us are either hung over, still drunk or have lost both their cellphones and keys, a short comment on every player on the pitch is the easiest and most comfortable thing for you to read …
Reina – He did what he had to do. A plus to his enourmse freekicks, to bad no one took adventage of them.
Kelly – The best player on the pitch in the first half. Too bad he had to be replaced. The lad is improving!
Kyrgiakos – Iron man or what? Blood and stiches couldn’t keep him off the pitch. As usual, the dominant one in the air, should probably have had a penalty in connection with a corner kick.
Agger – Did look strong and did some good things with the ball.
Wilson – Originally a central defender, but played as leftback. He is sucure, not very good, but not very bad either. Didin’t do what a leftback is suppose to do, that is, making offensive initiative, but the lad did the best he could.
Kuyt – Saved me, the team, all the ones in Anfield and all supporters in the world. He scored, and that’s the most important thing.
Poulsen – Where shall I begin? Is it even necessary for me to start enumerate every single thing he did wrong on the pitch? I could do a whole article about it. Was not good with the ball, and not without it either. Shame on you.
Leiva – Considering playing with a horrible player like Poulsen, he did a good game. But not more. Expects more from him nowadays.
Cole – He tried. At least he tried. Yes he did not score, but you can not argue with me, when I claim that you did see his potential – his fantastic techinique and speed with the ball. He lacks match tempo, but with that and self-confidence hopefully growing, maybe he can change the fact that he is a total flop.
Meireles – Had some good corner kicks and free kicks, did an okey match.
N’gog – I am ashamed that all the world’s football fans saw the player we choose to play as our top striker. I was speechless after the game and frankly, I hardly know where to start with the criticism. He missed too many shots, fired intp the empty air, took a ball from Cole, which certainly had been a goal, he did awful long shot and if that’s not ehough, he was terrible near the goal too. So, what is up with N’gog? Somebody answer me. My grandmum, who has a wooden leg, is 86 years old and haven’t played football a day in her life, would have scored at least 2 goals with N’gog chances.
Carragher – Felt good when Dalglish put Carra on the pitch, always feels secure when he is on. Did some ghastly passes though.
Skrtel – Didin’t play long enough.
Spearing – The fresh breeze Spearing. He did everything right. He wanted to go forward with the ball and outshone Poulsen. Next match Dalglish should choose Spearing instead of Poulsen, if he is faced with choosing between them.
And was I the only one, just waiting for Pacheco to come in? I just saw the time passing by, and still that scorer namned N’gog was on the pitch. Scorer in my ….
Although, he was not on the pitch, Gerarrds celebration of the goal has earned him a special line in this article. namely the last one. Because he did show us, as many times before, his feelings for the club. That he doesn’t just stand there, clapping his hands like a normal player would do, because instead, his reaction to the goal was similar to most of ours. He is such a good player, but more important, he is such a good human being. For Captain Fantastic, YNWA!
Follow me on twitter @Nezik_keshto
did i write this, because your fucking spot on word for word.m.o.t.m.kuyt yer but kyrgiakos was mine.
Hey Nezik nice article, though disagree with you on some points…
Disagree re your Reina comment.
He looked flappy on crosses, one punch he even missed completely. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Reina was terrible, but for me, he was below par.
Disagree re your Wilson comment “not very good”.
You cannot expect a central defender to bomb up and down the wing all of the match. KD obviously knew this, Wilson knew this, yet this was part of KD’s setup, and we didn’t concede a goal. Not great to watch, but hardly warrants a “not very good” when you don’t concede. Give the lad some credit.
I also sense from your article that you do not appreciate Dirk Kuyt, as you merely thank him for scoring a goal, less said the better. One could assume that if Ngog (or Poulsen or Wilson) had scored the winner, you probably would have wrote the same summary as with Kuyt perhaps??? Anyway, I cannot believe so-called fans who criticise Dirk. He is one of the better players in the squad technically, he runs forever for the team, can score goals with foot or head, can bring others into play through the middle or out wide right, makes intelligent runs that make space for others (e.g. Meireles) and doesn’t mind sticking his foot into challenges either, and all of this whilst spending 90% of his LFC career being played out of position for the cause, no questions asked. Plus, you can rely on this from him every match. I think you should have given your match winner the full respect he deserves.
P.S. Ngog? I think everyone agrees with you on this one.
N’gog – can’t understand why he is in the Liverpool squad to start with. Never was a striker, and never will be. He does not have the eye for goal nor the instinct for it, a pre-requisite for any top notch striker. His positioning sense in the box is poor.
Hey there! Thanks!
But you got me totally wrong. I’m one of the few people always defending Kuyt, Im almost tired of it!
I love that sort of players, their isnt much of those left, run all the time, doing “the shitty work”. He has also grown to be like gerarrd, he takes care of us in the bigger games, becoming one of the few in the squad that can do that!
hahahaha
;-) Thanks for reply. Yes, shouldn’t question an LFC fan for their love of our Dirk.
Alas, you still may have missed the point I made about him though.
Dirk isn’t all about “running all the time” and “doing the shitty work”, as chavs and manks will have you believe (and I hope they carry on believing this), but I digress.
Basically, in my opinion, Ngog shouldn’t even be on the bench and Dirk should be one of our main striking options with Suarez and Carroll and another youngster, perhaps Pacheco (as I’m sure you’ll agree)?
cheers
YNWA!
“Basically, in my opinion, Ngog shouldn’t even be on the bench and Dirk should be one of our main striking options with Suarez and Carroll and another youngster, perhaps Pacheco (as I’m sure you’ll agree)?”
I like Kuyt but we’ve already tried him as a striking option, and it wasn’t particularly good. Kuyt is useful because he’s multipurpose without being great at anything. The EPL rewards hard workers but to start believing that Kuyt is anything but a stop-gap is delusional. One proper wide player in the squad and his pitch time will deteriorate dramatically.
Would love to see Pacheco have a go. Signed the extension just last year and seemingly has not seen the pitch.
Cole was gassed for long stretches. Look, I understand he hasn’t had game time but what professional doesn’t not keep in shape? For gods sake Jova is terrible but he can run 90 mins no problem and barely gets time. Cole had no excuse to have hands on knees seemingly twenty minutes into the game. Inexcusable. Still has the skills * the 2 good moves in the end* but come on Joe, get on the treadmill a little and stay off of Fat Frank’s Pies. No more mash for you.
Meireles had a period around 65-75 mins where he all of the sudden took over the game. Some moments of genius. No one else on the field was capable of those moments so I think he was better than Ok. The cross to score was terrific.
Rafa rarely played him. Hodgson didn’t want to play him. I don’t know why the King isn’t playing him too.
Yes, I’m talking about Pacheco…it is all just amusing…one of the brightest young players in our team and he rarely gets a run…he can not only play as a centre forward but also as a right/left forward and also as a striker. I think that Kenny had planned to put him on for Cole who looked very tired but was forced to sub Agger because of the injury.
Ngog doesn’t deserve to be in our squad at all. He did score a good goal at Anfield against the Gunners but that’s all…he wants to be too clever in the box. He should just realize that he isn’t.
Pacheco highly deserves a run in the first team more. Kelly got it and is now our 1st choice RB. Wilson is not that far and Shelvey came on as a sub in almost every game since the King took over. I just want to see Pacheco play.
Hope Pacheco doesn’t get frustrated and search for more 1st team football somewhere else. We all know he’s much much better than NGog.
I think a few people need to step away from the merchandise & media hype & realize its a team game .
11 parts operating as one unit following the instruction of their guide , the manager , in our case Kenny .
Now some of the individual parts of the team unit aren’t as experienced , or technically gifted , tactically astute , or athletically gifted as another but all operate within the unit & all have defined roles to fulfill .
We as fans also have a role to fulfill , yes its important we buy into the hype , its the hype that fuels the money machine but its equally important we don’t get lost in the Hype .
It is still only a game after all , a professional game we all feel personally attached to but it isn’t life or death as Hillsborough so bluntly reminded us .
Perhaps it would do a lot of us good to get involved with a local amateur side at under age level , even if its just turning up at home games or training sessions & having a chat with the clubs staff to hear about thier problems & let them know they have your support because in the age of the millionaire player we have all forgot how to support & forgot what it is to be a supporter , we are that 12’th man that is supposed to lie through his teeth & argue from dawn until dusk that David N’Gog is without a doubt a better player than Drogba & there’s no way on earth we would swap him & we keep that up until the transfer window opens .
The 12’th man is supposed to intimidate the referee & lines men & howl abuse each & every time a decision goes against us .
The 12’th man is supposed to look at the oppositions best players & talk so much shit about them that a neutral would think we were either demented or have them mixed up with a reserve team player from Accrington Stanley , (who are they ? Exactly !)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgYP1d5nN2o
Its called gamesmanship & remember it is a game !
Beggars cant be choosers & until the transfer window opens again we have to make do with what we got .
We cant afford to be complaining about a player unless he is deliberately under performing like Torres did to engineer a transfer , I think the likes of Poulsen & N’Gog are trying their best they just aren’t as good as we hope for .
So we take our frustrations out not on our players we take it out on the referee or that dirty bastard Essian at Chelski or that useless cunt Pavlyuchenko at Spurs instead coz we dont want to harm the club with our negative energy , frustration & even hatred at being in a position we know in our hearts we are better than .
Kenny is back & no more are we in the wilderness with leaders we cant put our faith in , we have the ONLY man we can trust in charge now , the only man alive who has won the League for two different clubs as a manager & he is already working miracles with his match tactics to compensate for any lack of quality among the players .
Its time for us to listen to what he says & fall in behind him like he is reading from the Bible of Football because he is the King after all & has only just got in the door & has already got us on an unbeaten run that has the teams above us nervously dropping points .
Remember its a marathon not a sprint both over 90 minutes & a season & in our current position results , not displays , are important especially in the knock out stages of a major European competition .
We done well against Sparta .
We defended as a unit in a very intelligent & composed way & in attack we were assured in possession & had them under constant mental pressure from a barrage of free kicks in the final 3’rd & corners into the box which from one Kuyt who had an excellent game deservedly scored in the 85’th minute which was when all that mental pressure finally took its tool upon a very strong & proud Sparta side that gave their all for their fans .
Thats how it goes when top sides cancel each other out & make no mistake , Sparta are a top side capable of beating anyone on their day , I’d put them on a par with Sunderland or Chelsea .
So lets have no more complaints about our players quality until the transfer window opens because walls have ears & people including players have feelings & bad vibes can affect their game .
Things aren’t how we would like em right now but we aren’t on top of tha mountain so lets not make matters any worse eh ?
YNWA
You call yourselves “fans”? How many of you were at anfield on Thursday? I bet the writer wasn’t, great atmosphere? Give me a break, it was terrible! Surrounded by cockneys who did not know the words to any songs or chants. Don’t care where people come from as long as they get involved with supporting the team.
Real fans do not slag off their players, they support them. I saw this on Thursday with all these people moaning at ngog, cheering poulson off but not chanting or singing, just negative, negative, negative crap. You all should be ashamed of yourselves and go support Chelsea where already they are being negative towards Torres.
Ynwa
Hey nick, i want to be at anfield every week will u book me airlines tickets every week ? I will take care of match ticket ?!
@Nick
I agree with you 100% about the reaction to Poulsen’s substitution.
I disagree with you 100% about real fans.
If real fans are measured by their opportunities to get to watch their club at Anfield or otherwise, then LFC would be a club with very few real fans. I think it is very arrogant (and Chelsea-like) of you to disrespect so many Liverpool fans around the world, some of whom might have supported and followed our team longer than you, and probably before you was even a twitch in your old mans’ sack.
ynwa
I agree that in the modern world you cant judge a supporter by how often they turn up at a home game but I agree with Nicks sentiments that nobody is supporting who & what we have got now that we are needed & the chips are down .
We have too many fair weather fans & fashion victims who put themselves , their own idea of their image & players who they believe represent their image before the Club & that reflects badly upon us who support the club & only contributes to the difficult position we are in .
Man we have a 17 year old girl who has never spent so much as 1 hour in the rain on a mucky pitch at any level of the game let alone won every major trophy in club football as a player & managed some of the best players to ever set foot in England questioning Kenny Dalglish’s team selections & Tactics & a load of know nothing idiots posting in support of this idiocy .
If Kenny Dalglish , the only manager alive & one of only 3 men in the entire history of the game to have won the league with different clubs doesn’t command your respect ahead of some Teeny Bopper then you are a lost cause & a disgrace to our club .
Well Played Nick , but be careful with yer challenges , the foreign referee’s , Europe & all that .
It’s really unfortunate that people start getting personal with others on posts like these. The 17 year old didn’t know that she had to play football to be a fan of the most beautiful game in the world. People are bound to have an opinion and other people are bound to agree or disagree but since when did we cease to respect each other as individuals. The footballers wear a ‘RESPECT’ badge on the field in Europe. I really can’t understand why there’s utter lack of that here from some people.
I don’t think there’s any generally accepted code of conduct for fans and with internet fora all around us, the fans would sound their opinions here, there and everywhere. I’m sure people watching the game in a bar felt bad about Ngog and said so, similarly some of us on this forum felt bad about his performance and said so.
For people who live in Liverpool and get to watch the games at Anfield – guys, we’re foreigners and really respect you for the atmosphere you create on the ground. We respect you for how you welcome the players in the city. We’re all jealous of your good fortune but not in a negative way. I don’t want to boast about commercials or any other thing. I’m ok if you simply respect us back as fans, that’s about it. However, if you don’t it doesn’t make a world of difference.
Nezik, you do a bloody good job at writing these articles girl. I might not agree with everything you say, but then, that’s not a requisite to appreciate your writing. If only everyone else understood that before dumping tonnes of characters on the page…
So I should respect her for disrespecting Kenny ?
Kenny has earned his respect , what has she ever done except talk shit about a game she knows nothing about online ?
There is nothing personal in that coz I dont know the girl but I know she knows nothing about the game of football apart from repeating what the TV tells her & I know she has zero clue about her role as a SUPPORTER , here’s a hint for the both of you , the clue is in the name SUPPORTER .
You are supposed to publicly represent the Club with your Support !!
We are either behind Kenny or we aren’t there is no half measures & if you aren’t behind Kenny then you aren’t behind the club & if you aren’t behind the club then you deserve no acknowledgment let alone so called respect .
The time to publicly complain about our performances especially in a game we fucking won is at the end of the season not during it .
The time to publicly complain about our players is when the transfer window is open & we aren’t stuck with them .
If you dont like that then too bad , its not my fault the reality of being a Liverpool SUPPORTER does not fit in with your delusional idea of what it is to be a Liverpool SUPPORTER .
a. There was no disrespect to Kenny from what I read. All she said is that she would have liked to see Pacheco and so would have thousands of others. Nobody disrespects Kenny as far as I know.
b. Even if a fan questions one or two tactics, they are well within their rights to float their opinion.
Having played football previously or to have in-depth understanding about the game et. al is not a pre-requisite for being a fan and not a pre-requisite for being a contributor on this website. I’m sorry if that disappoints you. I’m sure with your stubborn sense of fan-ship and remarks, people would not actually mind if you don’t acknowledge them.
There has only been a few I have acknowledged but that aside your hypocrisy is astounding unless of course its stupidity ? in which case your foolishness is amusing
You post crying about a lack of respect & then about someones right to post an opinion but object to & insult me when I do exactly that .
So its clear you would like to discriminate to the point theres a law for one & a different law for another.
Your lack of credibility & or morality aside I can assure you my disgust at at fashion victims like you who have a passing interest in the game of football & affairs of Liverpool FC who maybe even genuinely believe themselves to be supporters is by no means a disappointment because I expected nothing better from your like .
I post repremands in the hope the more intelligent genuine fan can take on board the concept that we as supporters have to support , in good times & in bad , we must publicly fall in behind Kenny & parrot what he says in the press like he is reading from the Bible . That is our role if we publicly claim to support the club .
Yes we would all like to win every game & play fantastic football with the best players in the world , but in reality there will be times things dont go our way & we will have to grit our teeth , stand together & sing from the same hymn sheet .
This is one of those times .
Its clear that someone with your lack of morality who desires one law for himself & a different law for another will forever only be a mouthpiece spouting words which is why you have never had enough balls to play the game or learn its intricate in’s & outs .
That is not a disappointment , that is the burden those of us that can must bear for the greater good of humanity .
You’re welcome .
Good luck with the humanity part.. keep us posted, will ya?
It’s fine to have opinion. It’s okay to share it.
Just remember that we all in a big family named Liverpool Football Club.
Well, I think we’ll never find something like this on so-called big teams forum out there. You are just great,lads!!
YNWA!! from Bali-Indonesia