Archive for Alain’s Opinion
Muchas gracias, Rafa
 | By Alain Grimaitre · Comments |
Another shameful chapter by Hicks/Gillett and the board was written yesterday. And I pray it was the final one. I hope all those who wanted Rafa out rejoice now. Well done. Looking forward to hear their voices in half a year.
As for Rafa, I think it will take a while to realise how big our loss is. He’s a man of honour and was a great servant of our club. It was a privilege to have had a manager of his class at Anfield. Thank you Rafa for all those wonderful memories and moments, thanks for the fantastic european nights vs Real Madrid, Chelsea, Juventus, Barcelona, Arsenal, Olympiakos, Olympique Marseille or Benfica. Thanks for making us a force feared throughout Europe again. Thanks for turning Steven Gerrard into a worldclass player that was even hailed by Zidane as one of the very best footballers. Thanks for turning Carragher into one of Europe’s most respected Centre Backs. Thanks for bringing in worldclass players like Torres, Reina or Mascherano. Thanks for bringing back Robbie Fowler. Thanks for mounting a title challenge last year. Thanks for fighting for us, for the values and traditions of this club. Thanks for the demolition of Manchester Utd at Old Trafford and the derby doubles over Everton. Thanks for the FA Cup and thanks for the mother of all finals. You, Señor Rafael Benitez, are a true legend of Liverpool FC. And you will be missed at Anfield.
Best of luck for the future, I hope we will see you again at Anfield one day. You will doubtless get a fantastic reception because by then even the most stupid fan will have realised what you did for this club. Muchas gracias, Rafa, you made us dream.
Players Review and Rating 2009/2010
| By Alain Grimaitre · Comments |
Pepe Reina: By December it was clear that there was only one candidate for „Liverpools Player of the Season“. The best goalkeeper in the Premier League if not in Europe, a fantastic shot-stopper with a great presence in the box. A true leader and future Captain, one of the few players who seemed to care. Bought for only £ 6 Mio, his value today is priceless. Reina signing a new contract was one of the highlights in an otherwise apocalyptic season. Season Rating : 10/10.
Glen Johnson: An expensive signing that enjoyed a fantastic start into the season and helped breaking down teams that parked the bus in front of goal. But after scoring an own goal against Arsenal, his form dipped. Then he picked up an injury and struggled to find his early-season form again. Still has to improve defensively but I expect him to be a key player for Liverpool next season. Season Rating: 7/10.
Philipp Degen: I don’t think there are too many who would disagree that he is not Liverpool class. After being out injured most of last season, he never really managed to get a run in the team this season, even after Johnson’s injury. And when playing he defensively was woeful. Season Rating: 4/10.
Jamie Carragher: Contrary to Johnson, he had a nightmare start into the season. Was written off by many, even by some of our own supporters, but proved them wrong in the second half of the season. His no-nonsense style of play, his outstanding game reading and organisation skills in the defence often are belittled but it speaks volumes about Carras quality that a worldclass manager like Capello wants him in his team – Italians have an eye for great defenders. Season Rating: 7/10.
Daniel Agger: A wonderful modern defender that also scores goals. Can not only play the ball out of defense but also switch to Left Back and do a great job. Hasn’t reached his peak yet and will even get better over the next couple of seasons. His only problem is – as with so many Liverpool players – his injury record. Season Rating: 8/10.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos: Great value for few money. Not the most elegant defender but experienced, big, ruthless and strong in the air – more than you could expect from a Centre Back of his price range. Never complained when not playing and when needed didn’t let anyone down and even scored some goals. Season Rating: 7/10.
Martin Skrtel: Unlucky season that started with Carragher crashing into him in the opening game at White Hart Lane. Struggled with injuries and form and fell down the pecking order after some very average performances. Wouldn’t be surprising to see him leaving with the club needing money for transfers. Season Rating: 5/10.
Emiliano Insua: A mixed season. Considering his young age, he did a good job, he definitely has a lot of potential but has to improve the defensive aspect of his game. The longer the season, the more he became the weak link that was targetted by the opponents forwards. But he collected quite a few assist points and if he learns from his mistakes, he can become an important player for Liverpool. Season Rating : 6/10.
Fabio Aurelio: Very good Left Back with a fine technique but as every season struggled with injuries and probably is not up to the physical requirements of Premier League football. With his contract running out he is expected to leave but Liverpool won’t find it easy to find a quality replacement that doesn’t cost too much. Season Rating hardly possible due to all the injuries.
Javier Mascherano: Another slow-starter into the season but eventually found his form. A leader and tireless tackler, his contribution often is overseen but he definitely is a key player in midfield. If he only would stop discussing ref decisions. Could be used to generate transfer money with Barcelona and other teams interested but I hope he’ll still wear the Liverpool shirt next year. Season Rating: 8/10.
Lucas Leiva: Everybody’s favourite scapegoat – or so it seems. Hardly getting praise when playing well but first to be criticised when things go wrong. No, he’s not Xabi Alonso but certainly was one of the better Liverpool performers and improved a lot this season. Problem is he doesn’t score enough goals and sometimes seems surplus when playing teams that only come to Anfield to defend. Season Rating : 7/10.
Steven Gerrard: Doubtless his worst season since 2002/03. A shadow of the player he was in recent campaigns and never sent out the right signals as Captain. Also plagued by injuries but when fit played with few confidence and a lot of frustration. His surging runs, dangerous shots from outside the box, the leader mentality – all went AWOL for large parts of the season. Will be interesting to see how he does at the World Cup. Season Rating : 6/10.
Alberto Aquilani: Showed glimpses of his abilities but his transfer was the start of Liverpools implosion. When needing a back up striker so urgently, Rafa splashed his transfer kitty on a player with a horrific injury record that was sidelined for a good part of the season. In most of the games he played, he looked class and also created quite a few goals plus scoring a couple himself. But the question how a fully fit Aquilani fits into the team remains unanswered so it’s no wonder there are rumours of a possible sale back to Italy. Season Rating : potentially a 8/10 but as he was injured for so long, it can’t be more than 6/10.
Albert Riera: Sidelined for most of the season but not always because of injuries. His comments about the Manager were unacceptable, another spoilt football pro who is not fit to wear Liverpools colours. A pity because he seemed a promising player last season that could have solved our problems on the Left Wing. The only question now is: how much does Liverpool get for him? Season Rating : 1/10.
Yossi Benayoun: One of Liverpools most creative players. Can play different positions and scored quite a few goals too but wasn’t consistent enough as he also suffered from injuries. Another player that could leave Anfield. And another one that will be hard to replace with so few money available. Season Rating : 7/10.
Ryan Babel: Will he ever make the breakthrough at Liverpool? After another frustrating season this seems unlikely. Had some good games but never was consistent enough and therefore not an automatic starter. Sees himself more as a Striker than a Left Winger and while he definitely is talented, he fails to understand what is tactically expected from him. One of the top candidates to leave. Season Rating: 6/10.
Dirk Kuyt: If the class of a footballer would be defined by his workrate, Dirk Kuyt would be a world beater. Thankfully it takes more than hard work and stamina. Seems to be one of the first names on the teamsheet but it’s not so easy to see why. His first touch and vision are average at best and while not a classic goalgetter I rather see him as striker than on the right wing. To be fair, he also had some very good games but overall that’s not enough to be the automatic starter he is. Season Raing: 6/10.
Nabil El Zhar: Nothing special about the boy and I doubt there is much room for improvement, he simply is not good enough. In other words: he’s surplus to requirements. Season Rating: 4/10.
Maxi Rodriguez: Bargain of the Season. It took him only a few games to adapt to the Premier League but after that, he usually was one of the best performers and brought new life to our wing play. Great technique and also robust, just a shame he couldn’t play in the Europa League. I’m really looking forward to see more of him next season. Season Rating: 8/10.
Fernando Torres: When playing he improves Liverpools attack so dramatically it’s frightening. Frightening because without Torres we’re as dangerous as a burning match in the Monsoon. I’m still convinced that with him available, we’d have won the Europa League. I expect him to stay and score many more goals for Liverpool but unfortunately he never will be fit to play a whole season so a back up striker has to be top of the transfer priority list. Season Rating: 8/10, 9/10 if he had played more games.
David Ngog: Played a lot more than expected at the start of the season. As talented as he is, he can’t fill the Torres-gap. He can’t trouble experienced defenses but still managed to score some good goals. Needs to work on his movement and on the physical side of his game but remains a prospect for the future. Season Rating : 6/10.
Other players were either sold (Voronin, Dossena) or didn’t appear in enough games (Ayala, Pacheco, Kelly etc.) to get a rating.
Season Review – and reasons to be optimistic
| By Alain Grimaitre · Comments |
A season without many highlights finally is over. With a bit of luck, we could have won the Europa League but it simply wasn’t to be our year. In my opinion there were 5 factors that lead to that disappointing campaign:
1. The owner situation. It’s no coincidence the club hasn’t won anything since the two took over. I don’t think there‘s a single Liverpool fan who thinks the Americans did a good job at Liverpool. Well, apart from Rick Parry, of course. But I don’t want to waste any more words about Hicks/Gillett as we all know about.
2. The Players. Too many key players didn’t perform to their real potential for rather longer than shorter periods. I’m sure the players expected to go into the season with a better squad than last year, especially after finishing 2nd. But after realising that no money was available, the players seemed to be affected by that, the ongoing negative headlines about the club and the witchhunt against our manager. At times there was a lack of spirit, the team looked helpless and lost all confidence that was right there a few months before. Apart from Pepe Reina all players can and need to do a lot better next season.
3. Injuries. Yes, they happen to every team. But I don’t remember a worse season in terms of injuries. And of course it hurts a lot more when the squad is as thin as ours. Injuries to Gerrard, Johnson, Agger, Aurelio, Benayoun, Aquilani and especially Torres hit Liverpool very hard as there was simply not enough cover around. Torres missing such a large part of the season was deadly to all Liverpool ambitions.
4. The Manager. Just to make this clear: I support Rafa but think he made some mistakes. He has to take his fair share of blame. Signing Aquilani was a huge gamble that didn’t pay off (yet). After his transfer all money was spent so Rafa missed out on a much needed back up striker. His transfer record is better than people give him credit for, problem is: he wasn’t too lucky in the last two summers. Also him insisting on playing certain players, no matter how bad their form, was annoying and didn’t help the team. Having said that I still want Rafael Benitez leading Liverpool into the new season.
5. The last factor is the least important factor, sure, but it made a difficult season even harder. I would call it the X-factor. Or bad luck, a lot of it. Beachballs spring to mind but I also lost count on how many clear penalties Liverpool were denied this season. I can’t really remember another season where so many decisions went against the Reds. They say everything evens out over the course of a season. Well, Liverpool definitely proved that saying wrong.
All these points played their part in Liverpools script for the 2009/2010 season. Fact is Liverpool missed out on the Champions League and face an uncertain future. City will outspend the Reds this summer and so will Spurs and others as I don’t expect Liverpool to find a new owner in time to invest big for next season. But… I take our Chairman by the word and expect both Gerrard and Torres to stay. The same goes for Mascherano. With other key players such as Reina, Carragher, Johnson, Agger and Rodriguez, Liverpool have a very good core of experienced players that will also help to develop Lucas, Insua and Ngog. And let’s see how good a fully fit Aquilani is. I certainly don’t expect Torres-like signings but striker Milan Jovanovic is a smart transfer and with a bit of money available from players sales, Rafa hopefully can add two or three more players to the squad.
If Liverpool are a bit luckier with injuries, the Reds could actually play a very good season next year. Don’t let this season fool you, this team can do much better. With no CL pressure, the Europa League might be even a blessing in disguise in terms of our league form but also because the competition could be used to give young talents such as Pacheco, Kelly, Shelvey and others more experience. And with Jack Robinson making his debut at a younger age than Michael Owen, the boy is a bright prospect for the future. As I said, I hope Rafa Benitez stays, he deserves another season for many reasons and if that happens, I’m optimistic about Liverpool striking back next season.
Yes, this club is going through dark times but not everything is doom and gloom. It’s essential though that we all stand together in times like this, players, manager, supporters – the holy trinity, just like Bill Shankly once said. This club will never walk alone and not even our two owners will change that.
And people writing Liverpool now off, might be in for a surprise next season…
Where is actually David Moores?
| By Alain Grimaitre · Comments |
The transfer window is shut and another opportunity is missed to sign that back up Striker that we so urgently need. „Rien na va plus“, all we can do now is praying that our players stay injury-free for the remainder of the season. It could have been worse but thankfully Maxi Rodriguez was available on a (almost) free transfer. Even if it will take time for him to adapt to the English game, I’m glad Rafa signed him so we finally have an alternate for the right wing and other attacking positions. Andrej Voronin and Andrea Dossena both left and brought some money to the club, money that should have been invested but instead it went elsewhere – again! We could have signed either Adam Johnson or Victor Moses with that money, two of the best prospects in English football, but we missed out on both of them which is even more annoying considering the coming UEFA rules. Fact is: our squad continues to shrink. But it’s much more than that: it is the third consecutive transfer period where Liverpool (had to?) make a profit. From spenders to sellers. The worry is not that we cannot compete with the top clubs or that we cannot compete with the newly-rich Manchester City or Tottenham. Very worrying though is that we now get outspent by the likes of Birmingham, Wigan, Stoke or Sunderland. That is not polemic. That is tragic.
Under David Moores we always had money to spend and while it was not as much as United or Chelsea had available, I don’t remember a period where we had to sell to buy or couldn’t buy at all. When Moores sold Liverpool it was supposed to be for the good of the club. Well, in the meantime we all have found out that the contrary is the case: we are financially in troubles and – the Europa League aside – out of all competitions. A successful season at Liverpool FC is not defined by trophies anymore. A successful season now is a season where we manage to reduce our debts. And let’s face it: it still could get worse.
So how the hell could all this mess happen? We discussed a lot about the owners, about the players (who probably are also affected by ongoing rumours about the club’s state, player sales and change of manager), about Rafa’s transfers and tactics. But what I would like to know is: Where is actually former owner, Mr David Moores? I’d love to ask him a few questions, such as:
• What do you think about the current situation at your former club?
• What did make you believe that the Americans were right for Liverpool?
• How did you inform yourself about Hicks and Gillett?
• Were you advised by the wrong people or simply naive?
• What was Rick Parry’s exact role in the whole mess?
• Do you feel betrayed by Hicks and Gillett?
• How much money did you personally get for selling Liverpool FC?
• Do you feel at least partly responsible for the state the club is in now?
And most importantly:
• Is there anything you could do to help our club? If not, how do you feel about being remembered as the man who sold the club to two con men?
Of course, I know that David Moores is not fully responsible for what is happening at our beloved club and I am sure he originally had the best intentions. But as someone who was so close to the club for so many years, he must have many regrets by now. With all the powerful friends and connections a man like David Moores doubtless has, there must be a way to help the club out of this misery. Our former owner owes the club and the supporters something, at the very least some answers. Yes, I might sound desperate but these are desperate times and the club faces an uncertain future.
The January Transfer Window
| By Alain Grimaitre · Comments |
Some might say it was one of Liverpools most important weeks in recent history and who would disagree? Ending 2009 on such a high was the best that could happen and scoring the winner in the 93rd minute will boost the confidence of the team and bring back belief. Having seen too many false dawns, I am fully aware though that we cannot afford any slip ups in the next games. Reading in the FA Cup will be a key game in terms of keeping our dreams of silverware alive but for our league position a win over Tottenham is even more important. We ended the year on a high but to build on that we have to add a bit of quality to our squad in January. And not only because our direct opponents will do the same.
It used to be an exciting time but these days, transfer rumours rather depress than excite me. Given the financial circumstances, we have to make the best out of it. It was written somewhere that Rafa can use money from the sales of Babel, Dossena and Voronin. That sounds good… but: who will pay good money for these players? I remember Pennant last year, no one wanted to buy him so we had to loan him out. And to be honest, I can see the same happening now. In fact, I’d be glad if we could sell at least one of these players. So I think we will have to go for some loan deals. Having said that, free agent Goran Pandev might be a smart alternate even though he’s hardly played this season due to contract troubles. Out of question is Carlton Cole. He could be an interesting option in summer but paying money now (even if we had it) for an injured player would be plain silly. Heskey and Kenwyne Jones are also linked with us but I’m not sure about their quality. Another very interesting player is Napoli’s Marek Hamsik and while we can’t afford him now we should definitely take a closer look in summer.
The win yesterday did not make me change my opinion, quite in contrary: we need a proper winger. I admit that Dirk Kuyt is working hard but football is more than that, especially on his position. At the moment he just doesn’t offer enough. His first touch doesn’t help him and his decision-making is “unlucky” to say the least. Fact is: Our wing play is terrible and while it’s not only Kuyt, the Dutchman is so out of form that he needs more than just a one game rest. The problem is: we do not have any alternates on that position apart from Nabil El Zhar and I doubt he is the answer. Daniel Pacheco probably could fill the gap and I’d love to see him against Reading on that position but still I think we need to sign a winger. My choice would be Adam Johnson. Can play on the left and right, is English, affordable, has bags of potential and while not yet the finished article, surely good enough to play a few games to give Kuyt a much needed longer rest.
While we can forget about signing top players at this stage of the season, there are a few “bargains” available so my modest wish for the new year and the January transfer window is: one of the duo Pandev/Van Nistelrooy and Adam Johnson signing for Liverpool.
Are there any other (realistic) suggestions?
Happy New Year to all of you, may 2010 become a great year for Liverpool FC, YNWA.
Where are we heading?
| By Alain Grimaitre · Comments |
While all people around me seem to enjoy pre-Christmas time, I am not in the mood to join them. I am too worried about what is going on at our beloved Liverpool FC. I cannot remember a more terrible Christmas in terms of football but then I cannot remember a worse spell of luck either. Fact is: the refs really are not on our side, I’ve lost count on how many big decisions went against us. But unfortunately it is also a fact that our team from last season simply does not show up. At the moment it lacks quality in pretty much every department apart from the goalkeeping position. I do not dare to think where we would be if Pepe would have been injured this season… It’s obvious that apart from a few exceptions (Pepe, Torres, Ngog), none of our players are on the level that we expect from them. Steven Gerrard seems a different player from last season, no inspiration, hardly goals and his typical leader qualities fail to shine through. True, he was injured but still, we should expect more from our Captain. The defense, one of Europe’s best not so long ago, looks shaky and vulnerable at every set piece. In midfield Mascherano switches between monster performance and red cards while Lucas is trying his best to replace Xabi Alonso but (understandably) still lacks experience and class. The judgment on Aquilani is yet out because we still haven’t seen enough from him. Our wingers are quite simply awful with the exception of Benayoun and even he was in better form at the start of the season. I miss the passing skills and especially the spirit of the team that last year showed such an impressive “never say die”-attitude and came back from behind to win games. I wrote it a few weeks ago: what we need more than anything else is confidence and it hurts to see that we did not make a single step of progress in this matter.
Now we are at a decisive point of the season: title dreams are all over but our position is so serious that the next games still are all must-win games. We now are in a situation where we cannot afford to drop points at Villa Park because we move further and further away from 4th place with Villa being in great shape. Not to mention Tottenham and Manchester City. If we fail to beat Wolves, Villa, Reading in the FA Cup and Spurs, we are in deep troubles and I am not sure if there is enough time left to recover this season. Villa broke down towards the end of last season but I do not want to rely on this hope. And I do not have to explain what missing out on the CL would mean for Liverpool in terms of keeping and signing players.
The pressure on Rafa is rising but all he can do now is hoping that the players will respond. The players did all the talking, now they have to finally live up to their words. They all let us down so far and while I accept it becomes more and more difficult to win the title in England with so tough competition around, I cannot accept a team that does not show the right spirit and performs below par more often than not. Most of the players can play a lot better than they are doing which might be the result of a lack of confidence. But they have to understand that they can only win back their confidence by fighting their way back into games and showing commitment, not in front of a micro but on the pitch. We have to force the luck back on our side again. It takes players with character now but we doubtless have them in our side. Rafa has been loyal to his players, kept the faith with them – now it is about f****** time they pay him back!
Oh, and if Santa Clause is reading, my wish-list looks as follows:
1. New owners. We need to get rid of these cheats. I admit that it will take a miracle to see new owners coming in but hey, if not at Christmas when else is the time for miracles?
2. Back up Striker. I dream of Edin Dzeko but will modestly accept anything that is better than our current alternates that are either still too young, not clinical enough or simply not good enough.
3. Right Winger. Please, the current interpretation of that position drives me mad, give us an alternate.
Merry Christmas to all of you, YNWA!
