Not a question of bad luck!

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There is no bad luck to imprecate this time round. Swansea City earned a draw at Anfield with a stunning performance which quite frankly made the Reds look extremely ordinary, and which also re-emerged the ‘Newcomers’ Syndrome’ which we seem to fail to shrug off.

No beating about the bush here, our main problem this season is inconsistency. Swansea City out ran us, out passed us, and outclassed us! The confidence with which these newly promoted teams come to play at Anfield is astonishing. Their game plan always seems to work to perfection and as with when Norwich City introduced a second striker in the second half to come on an get the equalizer, Swansea City substituted an attacker for another with barely 12 minutes to go, showing that not only were they not holding for a draw, they were looking at the chance of snatching the three points, and nearly succeeded.

As always we started well. As always we sent our opposition into a panicky frenzy. As always we failed to capitalize (no need to add further….)! It was clear that Enrique was going to have a bad day with Nathan Dyer. Actually I think Jose had his worse game for the Reds so far. Dyer literally had a field day with him out there, especially in the second half when the Spaniard’s and Johnson’s fruitless forward forays left us precariously exposed.

Henderson! He started out on the right again where even the turf buds of Anfield know he is practically ineffective. I saw a lot of horizontal and back passing from him, but rarely did I see a pro-active forward pass. Later on in the half he switched sides with Downing and from that point on both flanks became stale from action! His substitution at half-time was timely.

Suarez did not have one of his best days, but he was still the best one out there in my view, together with Agger, Lucas and Reina were perhaps the only ones (in my view) that made the grade! I am of the opinion that Kenny should have brought off Downing and not Carroll. And why on earth was Bellamy playing on the right when he came on? Why Downing wasn’t moved to the right like in the first half to let Bellamy play where he is best is beyond me. Neither Downing nor Enrique had much joy with Rangel and perhaps Bellers could have done a bit better! And why is Maxi, who ended last season so brilliantly not being given a chance?

In the end we played a decent first 30 minutes and then we mustered a satisfactory last 10 minute effort. Apart from that we were dismal, created nothing worth noting and made John W Henry and Ms Pizzuti swear they will not attend another home game again!

Well done to Swansea City who came to a packed Anfield with the confidence and zest of a consummate Premier League side. Well done to them for having had enough belief to take an unlikely point from a match that Liverpool should have won but which in the end they risked losing. We need to do much better, we need to find consistency. These dropped points will come to haunt us come the end of the season, and quite honestly, we are also running out of excuses.

An article on the Club website was titled ‘Reds frustrated by Swans’, it ought to have been ‘Fans frustrated by Reds’! Don’t you think?

46 Comments

  1. It’s all about goals for us. I’ve heard lots of noise about our defence but we’ve conceded 10 in 11 games, including a skewed 4 at Spurs when down to 9 men. 14 scored in 11 games is the real issue. Suarez is a gem but wasteful in front of goal, a top notch goal scorer alongside him is what’s missing. Is Carroll that man? Not sure, but one striker and a quick wide man should be next in order for us to keep developing.

  2. All these should questions be directed at Kenny for that abysmal and pathetic.Kenny has been playing many players on favoritism not on merit,I am a bit disappointed in Kenny especially him that knew the supporters and what we the fans crave for.People say he’s come to turn things around yes he did turn it round last but season it’s a no for me considering the amount that was made available to him in the summer to buy I have a strong feeling if it was Roy Hodgson that had such financial opportunity maybe he would have done better

  3. Its high time kk stop being a hard head everyone knows that jordan cant play on the right but what does he do?

    What are the assistance doing on that bench helpin kk make mistakes week in n out. I am gutted with this british team policy no creative hope he releases that carra days are numbered.

    Bring back aquilini! Gerrad yes he is the best but injuries. Spearo should start ahead of adam he shows some determination. Hope he can bring andre ayew to anfield he can bang in a few we need.

    No more british kk

  4. From where I sit I would have brought Bellers on with kuyt for start of second half. Downing was poor and there were options that didn’t have to wait as long as they did. KK’s honeymoon is over. Time to earn a crust now. As it stands, we are cementing 6th place. I think spurs may pull away from us now. I would try Henderson where he is most happy and I would drop Adam and downing. Adam is too slow and we were overrun yesterday. Credit to the swans though, they deserved the win. We need kickstart our campaign of else it may be a cup campaign only.

  5. After attending the opening game of the season at anfield I commented that we aren’t clinical enough. We have to take all these chances created in the first 20/30 min we create most games. Because when we don’t the opposition forces their way back into the game and our heads drop, as we do not have a winning confidence at the moment . If the current starters cannot convert the chances, then other/new players must start. Agree, bring back aqualani, squad looking thin.

    1. Well, in essense we are coming out fast off the blocks and pinning back the opposition who on many occasions defence frantically. We are not materialising these chances giving our opposition time to settle in the game and take counter measures. This has happened on most of the games played in the Premier League this season (bar at Spurs were we actually did not turn up to play…so to speak).
      Guys you have to come to terms with the fact that AQUILANI IS NOT COMING BACK!

      1. In earnest, I would prefer to have Jonjo back.
        Its become a double twist though in the sense that we were stock piling midfielders at one point and now appear to be searching for creativity. Cole, Aquilani, Shelvey.
        A message to SG. Keep that ankle clean and make sure you finish the antibiotics!! We need you!! LOl!

  6. all respect to kenny.but like the guy above said, honeymoon period is over.all i ask for is right players in the right position.

  7. It is about taking chances and yes, Toni, I agree with you that we do come out of the blocks quickly in most games (the Spurs debacle aside), but we can go long periods without any creativity and attempts on goal. I dont want to detract from Swansea because I thought they were terrific but I am concerned as to how little we offered for lengthy periods.
    Bellamy is too good to warm benches. While Downing is in/out of games I think we should use Bellers a bit more. We have Maxi too as a second option.We have a squad with enought quality to be able to make changes to without compromising the overall quality too much but we are leaving too much to do at times. It takes 10 mins to get into a game as a sub so if someone is not performing or if changes are needed then 60 mins should be ample. Certainly for 2 subs and holding 1 back in case of injury. I would love to get the likes of Adam Johnson into the team. Quick, tricky player. Carroll needs better service in order to play to his strengths.
    The thing that is concerning me is that Spurs are now level on points with 2 games in hand and our next few fixtures are very tough. We have to try and win these games in order to stay in touch. I think the geordies will fall away, Manure are top 2, Chelski likely 3rd.Its hard to look beyond shitty though as becoming winners/purchasers of the 2011/12 PL title.

  8. How many goals has the great England winger – downing scored so far – he plays coward football – never takes responsibility. John Barnes would have got 10 by now. Downing will be sold A S A P and if Kenny cant find a useful right winger then he should look to go as well. People pay good money and deserve better than the “we were unlucky again ” nonsense – Stop hitting the woodwork – Goals are big enough.

  9. Imagine LFC were a red F1 Ferrari Racing Car, its really struggled with performance over the past three years or so, various mechanics have tried their hand (Benitez and Hodgson) the engine had seized because someone had drained all the oil (Hicks and Gillett) the tyres (players) were worn out and our main driver (Torres …rinse mouth) had forgotten how to drive, it looked as though all hope was lost. Then along comes a new mechanic King Kenny, a new engine is installed (Henry) and suddenly hope rises once again, then what happens Kenny goes out and buys a new Driver (Suarez) and four flat and punctured tyres (Henderson, Carroll, Adam and Downing). Question how many races do you think this car is going to win. The fact of the matter is that Kenny went and spent an absolute bloody fortunate on players that are and will always be mid table players, how can one honestly expect to finish in the top four (let alone top of the BPL) with a mid table team is quite beyond me and I am beginning to suspect that ManUre have cloned the real Kenny and planted the cloned Kenny in LFC in order to reduce us to the laughing stock of the league. As Cloned Kenny says this is “unacceptable” …well please remember Sir that this applies to you as well its simply “UNACCEPTABLE”. Liverpool Football Club is a global brand and at the end of the day its all about making money, what Kenny and many of the players are doing is making that Brand Name irrelevant. And Tonio I agree with you “Bad luck” has absolutely nothing to do with it, each week I watch as the same mistakes are made over and over again on the field, why are these not being corrected by Kenny and Clarke or do these players only meet on match day …….hhhmmmmm!!!

  10. We are so slow building up attacks by the time we have put a cross in teams like Swansea, Norwich etc have ten men in the box. We are falling behind and something has to change fast.

    Everton have lost 5 of the last 6 league games yet if they win there game in hand they are only 6 points behind us. We should be a mile away. If this form continues we can say goodbye to Europe.

  11. Well, ive said it before and i’ll say it again, the appointment of Kevin Keen/Steve Clarke was a poor decision by John Henry and his advisors, two terrible coaches who simply cannot improve players all round game. There doesnt seem to be no rhyme or reason the way we play, sometimes you cannot win with talent alone. In the 80’s Kenny had Moran/Evans with him and we saw some remarkable football.

  12. Sadly Legends rarely become legends twice.Liverpool need a younger more savvy coach. Swansea murdered us yet I still read ‘head in the sand’ quotes on the forums claiming we were unlucky

  13. We will improve when we pick players on form and not how much they cost!!!!!!, Bellamy, Maxi and Kuyt must play or we will continue to lose ground……………..Carroll is not and never will be good enough for LFC!!!!!

  14. When are the class kids gonna play, players like Sterling, Suso, Morgan and Silva all game changers…………..can they be worse than some of our so-called stars!!!!

  15. I think KD and the lads know that opportunities are dwindling now and I’m sure that KD knows that he needs to change things around a bit. The next 3 games ar pivotal but hopefully we can turn the tide again.

  16. I think Rafa should come back as joint manager,whats clarke doing? Is he meant for sitting alone or what? Cant they correct themself? Two scot lad! Thingr must change,fan are not happy Kkd

    1. Benitez had his chance, 6 years to be exact and people seem to forget how isinterested he was in his last season finishing 5th with boring negative football. Benitez went downhill when he sacked Pako Ayesteran who was a quality modern continental coach. With Pako there the first few years Benitez won a couple of trophies then Pako left and it all went sour. Bringing Benitez back would be a seriously big mistake now.

      1. Went sour after he left?? We finished second in his penultimate season!! Doh which is higher then we’ll finish this season…

        1. We won nothing in the last 4 years of Benitez, you moron, is this your idea of success? If no trophies is ‘sweet’ not ‘sour’ for you then good luck to you. Idiot.

        2. Bob Paisley – ‘i was there for the bad times too, we finished second once!’

          Bill Shankly – ‘first is first, second is nowhere!’

          Fans who ‘celebrate’ finishing second
          make me sick.

  17. These newly promoted sides are coming to Anfield knowing they can get a result, and that is exactly what they are doing.
    Imprecating luck because we hit the woodwork 11 times will not cut it. The ball has to go in the net. Our finishing is very approximate and the Club’s website shows us pictures of players smiling and fooling around at Melwood when they should be kept overtime to hone their skills.
    Kenny is a mentor, he is not a tactician. He has players he fancies and others he does not. Like all managers I guess. I just hope he proves me wrong.

  18. First of all i would like to see Rafa here again, he showed in the past his ability, a single bad season cannot cancel all the great seasons he did with us and with Valencia, it’s just that he’s a modern coach, Kenny is not, still i think Kenny is not bad but simply Rafa will be better…however, talking about yesterday and not only, the main and simply problem is that we bought middle level players this summer, nothing more nothing less, Adam is a good player but not at the level of Xabi or Fabregas, however i think he’s maybe our best acquire of the summer (after Bellamy…and i’m serious) cause Henderson is a talent but it’s clear that he’s not a wing, he can play on the right in a 4-3-3 midfield not in a 4-4-2. Downing, for me simply our worst acquire, frankly i’m not happy to have spend 20 milions for a player of 28 years old that has less talent and personality of Babel, no dribbles, no shots, no right passes and crosses=sell him until he’s still not old, last thing, Bellamy should start at his place

  19. We play da upcomng & inexperienced players & bench our best. Tot players earn their way to 1st eleven & nt som’ senseless favouritism. Despite Maxi’s sublime form at da end of last season he has never playd an EPL game this season. The most creative players have been frustrated out of the club. British players can only be better wen playd with DA BEST frm oda parts of the world like da spanish players who av playd and are stil playin with da Ronaldinhos, Figos, Ronaldos, Kakas and Messis of this world. All am sayin is let yr British policy be REALISTIC.

  20. I forget one thing, about Downing, when we bought him i was already dubious but someone i don’t remember told me here that he was the player who did most crosses in the last season, ok but, i prefer a player who does 3 right crosses out of 10 than a player who does 2 right out of 20…even Kuyt is better, i’m not exactly a fan of Dirk, i obviously think he’s a player who gaves 100% every game and i respect him a lot for this but i think that a more fast and technical player will be better for us in that position…however, i prefer Kuyt to Downing, when Kuyt plays i feel his presence, Downing is a ghost. Right now if we play with 4-2-2 (i think 4-3-3 is better for us however…) we should play with Bellamy and Kuyt wide, in the 4-3-3 with Lucas Adam and Gerrard/Henderson with Suarez Carrol and Bellamy in offence

  21. The only thing that kills me is that the Anfield Fortress Modjo is gone… people come to Anfield knowing they can pick up points! Its becoming sad!!! Luck has nothing to do with it! once, maybe twice… but not a whole bunch of games! YES! It should be ‘Fans frustrated by Reds’…

  22. After sunderland’s game i said kenny will continue to embarass us with his poor tactics or absence of it there of. I was called a fool on lfc forum. Now who is the fool. I was coach of my faculty at the university, so we know some of these things.

    If KK doesnot stop his promotion of nepotism and entitlement mentality, we wont get results and by Jan we will be btw 8th and 12th. this mentality is the reason africa is backward.

    Now gerrard and carra have a coach to encourage them with hands on shoulder but the results are still same. Now we see the value of rafa benitez

  23. Apparently Kenny said ‘Liverpool are making it hard for themselves!’ Seriously? Are we?
    I am just waiting for the article to be posted here with the usual ‘Ah, there are still so many games to play’, and ‘This is still a works in progress’, or ‘You don’t know it better than Kenny!’
    We played Norwich City and Swansea City (at home) and with what we spent for Carroll you’d probanly be close to buy all their starting 22 combined!
    Anfield has long not been a fortress, on the contrary, our enemy sees us as an easy conquest.

    1. Agreed.. the way we’re playing at the moment -gone are the Kings days, time to pack off to the bottom half of the league.

  24. Cheer up guys there is always next season or the one after, we seem to have become like the Wimbledon of old beating the top teams and shown up by the lesser ones.

      1. I know Tonio, & it really hurts , also it pisses me off when our own fans turn on each other. Thinking without better players there will be no CL, no CL no better, no attraction for better caliber. Would love to see Andy do well but is it ever going to happen.
        What happens when the “stupid one” comes knocking on the door trying to pinch Suarez for RM?
        All in all depressing, so I watched Roger Federer winning to cheer myself.I guess I am already hoping for us to find another Suarez in the January transfer.
        Take care, Sharde

        1. With Stevie not offering fitness guarantees and with our forwards firing so many blanks it is very possible we might need to go back on the market again. I hope we spend wisely and for the right players.

      2. Most of the times goal difference will tell you where in the table you should be and I guess it does not take a scientist to work out we need goal scorers, proven ones even from lower leagues and another Xabi (any ideas?)
        The return for the money we have spent is simply crazy.
        We now have to beat Chelsea & Man City!
        The quality is simply not there.
        Still the only consolation is that manure will not get no. 20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        1. I understrand where you are coming from friend but I would not count Man Utd out just yet. They always have a stronger second part of the season and Man City only need twp draws and they are immediatelu sucked back with the pack.

  25. These games get increasingly frustrating for me to watch, and leave me in a sour mood for days. I’m sorry, but anything less than 3 points against Norwich and Swansea at Anfield is a failure – and an utter embarrassment. I’m fed up with these lackluster displays and the lack of concentration or preparation, as best as I can tell. Kenny isn’t preparing them; the players aren’t focused. And yes, they simply fail to put teams away. Every time we hit the post, the other side is relieved and regroups.

    Being familiar with Werner and Henry as owners of the Boston Red Sox, I’m not inclined to think Kenny has a long rope. If we’re not in a Champions League spot, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new manager enters the picture. Kenny’s been given a *huge* amount of money to buy, and gotten pretty much all the players he wanted (maybe he would have preferred Ashley Young to Stewart Downing, but that aside). Newcastle sits third in the table after our generous gift of 35 million pounds, and are smiling all the way to the bank and up the table. Ridiculous.

    1. I personally think that Henry and Werner have targetted Champions League football for next season and anything below that will be considered a failure! In that eventuality, we will have to see who gets the fall.

  26. However i read about various things and it’s ok but the main problem is the quality of players, we simply have a mid-level rooster in midfield and in offence, we have great defence but no quality and speed where every top team have, right now we haveonly Suarez, the same thing when we had only Torres…hope the club realize that we need two good player to change our level, as i supposed this summer Downing is not what we need, at this point was better to keep Babel without spend 20milions, i hope that we’re going to buy two players of the level of this club, few names? Tevez (if not possible Adam Johnson) to play with Suarez (and maybe Carroll? i’ll still give him some time, he’s still pretty young) and try to bring back Xabi (i know it’s hard but…just wait, if Real Madrid doesn’t win even this year something will happen there and who knows)

    1. I respect your comment Ashfah but am afraid with regards to Lucas you do not know what the hell you are talking about.

  27. For now i think it’s better:

    Reina
    Johnson Carra Agger Enrique
    Gerrard Lucas Adam
    Bellamy Carroll Suarez

    For next year:

    Reina
    Johnson Carra Agger Enrique
    Gerrard Lucas Xabi
    Tevez Carroll Suarez

  28. liverpool should stop play up ball bcoz of carrol only. suarez is a player who dnt use to up ball, like wen u watch him in national tm, u will see hs best wit combination of folan or cavani. if carrol cannot adapt wit ground we should sell him or bench hm. my advice for lfc is dat we should try to sign good players like hazard,fanando llorente,tevez, cavani or lucas and try to bring acquilani back for creative purpose. by doing dat in january, liverpool wil become best in d world. failure to do dat we wil finish dispointly. gudluck

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