“THIS IS ANFIELD”-Not intimidating anymore?

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The return of the king to Anfield has brought back the memories of the golden years of Liverpool Football Club. Pictures of silverware being held aloft by Liverpool’s loved son are back in every fan’s eyes. The red men have reverted to the “Liverpool Way “, what they were best known for. We have dominated teams at Anfield, have the most miserly defence in the premier league. There is a renewed beacon of hope with the arrival of our new owners, The king and The Prince-Luis Suarez. Not long ago were we languishing at the bottom. There was an air of negativity around Anfield. The minnows-Blackpool, Wolves, WIgan came home and returned with a share of the spoils if not with everything. The Dark Age that saw us staring down the barrel has soon been forgotten.

One thing has not changed though. Anfield is just not a fortress any more. Sunderland showed the way to new boys Norwich, Swansea and the pathetic Blackburn, and it brings me to the title of this article. Despite the drastic developments at Liverpool in the last year, it seems to me that “This is Anfield” is not intimidatory anymore.

The great Liverpool sides won at home, drew away and that brought us our rich haul of silverware. The present is in stark contrast to what it was then. Liverpool could be excused for the fact that the team needed a couple of months to gel and develop an understanding, then there has been the misfortune of being denied by the woodwork, and shoddy refereeing. We are into the festive period now and there are simply no more excuses to cling onto. A poor return of 11 goals in 9 home games is unacceptable for a team with ambitions of champions league qualification. The stats are made to look worse when you consider that the teams in the relegation zone have scored more. In all these games, we have started with a high tempo, putting the opposition in the backfoot. The domination that seems to last until half time doesn’t seem to pay dividends though. Poor finishing have cost us more than 15 points. We have not maintained the same intensity throughout and that has given the opposition to get back into the game and take away valuable points.

The new acquisitions-Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam for all the opportunities given to them have flattered to deceive. Adam has faded away after a few promising performances in his partnership with Lucas Leiva. He has not had the same impact in the holding midfield role left vacant by the latter. He has been lumbering around, misplaced passes, slow movement, fantasy through balls that are not read by his team mates and aimless long shots describe his performances best. His trademark free kicks and precision corners are a thing of his Blackpool past. Far too inconsistent in the red shirt, he seems to have the infinite trust of Kenny, something I fail to understand considering his poor form in the last 4 games. If Andy Carroll doesn’t find a place in the starting XI due to poor form, so should Charlie Adam.

Stewart Downing reminds me of Ryan Babel( Not just because he wears the same number as the former Liverpool man did). His stats of zero goals and assists in 19 games don’t tell the entire story. The man has made numerous runs in either flanks but seldom has he beaten the full back to deliver a pin point cross. He has been a picture of inconsistency and flattered to deceive. Henley the 17 year old Blackburn fullback bossed the English international, condemning him to another unimpressive performance in a red shirt. However from time to time there have been flashes of what he is capable of. With a bit of time in the bench, hardwork in the training let’s hope he overcomes his dented confidence and starts repaying Liverpool the money they paid to land him.

Finally, I can’t help but accuse the new acquisitions of lacking the passion and desire that a Liverpool player must have. They have to work harder to prove that they have it in them or else they will end up in the list of baggage that LFC has carried for the last decade. It was the pride, passion and desire of Steven Gerrard, Carragher, Xabi Alonso, even Riise and Smicer that won us the Champions League at Istanbul, that won the game against Olympiakos, or the Fa cup final against West Ham-(doing the impossible). The present squad has more quality than it ever had in the last decade. But it seriously lacks those qualities that define Liverpool FC. Any amount of support and assurance from Kenny doesn’t convince me on this.

A word to our owners and Damien Camolli- Analytics, Sabermetrics, Money ball can evaluate effectively the quality, ability and potential of a player. But it does not measure the amount of pride, passion and desire he has.

These qualities have been conspicuous by their absence in the Anfield atmosphere. There were glum faces at Anfield on Monday. The performance did not inspire any cheers. As much as the fans need to get behind the players, the red men owe a performance of hard work, pride passion and desire to the fans.

Let us make Anfield an intimidating fortress again. There is not long before we move to newer pastures in search of long term success.

I reiterate my faith on our players and King Kenny. With a little more of hard work at Melwood we shall soon start watching the exciting display of the beautiful game that our club is known for.

T T Raghuveer
Follow me on twitter: @TweetTTR

23 Comments

  1. I have a feeling that the prolonged machinations of the FA regarding Suarez, then the loss of Lucas followed by the dodgy red card for Spearing have all contributed to the malaise at the club. We then get the 8 match sentence for Luis combined with the not unwarranted feeling the FA and match officials have had it in for us since the start of the season, it is hardly surprising there is a lack of confidence around the club as a whole.

    Maybe a couple of really good signings in the Jan window will shake us out of this air of despondency.

  2. I think we have taken “You Will Never Walk Alone” too far in that we seem to not have the temperament to leave our opposition behind. The draws are irritating, but the shift is evident. I am happy that the lads have a renewed sense of urgency in how they play. Charlie was coming right until Lucas had to check out and the switch has made him an even more obscure shadow. Maxi seems to be making a come back, but Downing and Hendo are also taking too long for me. We need to give Carroll more game time to get his form back. It was very clear early that him and Suarez on the same field did not make for the same approach as Suarez always clicked with Kuyt for me. Kuyt is also becoming a work horse with no results, a worrying thing for me.

    What I like about the team now, is that it is just that! A Team… When one star does not deliver, the next one steps up. You need more than one match winner in today’s squads and we have just that!

  3. We need to STOP making references to the past. Those glory days will NEVER come back. Wake up! That was our golden era, and era which put us on the world map, and it’s history!
    Anfield remains a historic venue and every players yearns to play there, whether it is a fortress or not! The atmosphere at Anfield is unique and that is one thing that has not changed.
    If you are 100% behind Kenny Dalglish then you should not criticise the new players that have come in this way! Not one single player was imposed on Dalglish. Each and every signing had his blessing, so if you are with him all the way, you need to endorse his decisions!
    Having said that, I personally think we may have bought better, especially with the money spent! I still think that the purchase of Andy Carroll, especially being held at ransom that way by Newcastle, was hasty!
    We are certainly better than last year from the ground up, but so far we have not seen the improvement we are all expecting.
    I would be happy with a CL position finish and we are still very much in the mix for that, because for those that think that we are not in the graces of the God’s, the teams in and around us are dropping points too! I would also love the added bonus of some silverware.
    From that to making Anfield a fortress again and making 7 new signings work to perfection……we will need more time, more fine tuning and more passion to achieve that!

  4. Not this season. Not the next one either. Maybe after that. But that’s what I have been telling myself over and over again. Nothing changes and I almost feel like giving up. Ya the fans are supposed to get behind their team but fans are also supposed to give players some stick when they crap on the pitch!
    And don’t tell me we are playing good football ’cause we are not! I haven’t seen a single swift counter, not once have we over-loaded the box in search of a goal and every attack is cutting inside from out wide. The central mid-fielder’s are too deep and no attacks from the middle of the pitch whatsoever. Such a predictable game!! How is any of that beautiful? The own goal against City and Stevie’s goal against united were absolute luck and still we bemoan that we have no luck. We have only 2 Center Forwards in the team, why??

    Half season over and wee are 6th. I didn’t expect to be on top but I did expect great commitment from the newly signed players. I see that only in Enrique and Bellamy and sometimes in Downing when he tries to cut in. Where is our Central Midfield when we attack? Why does Adam always play long ball or square passes or back passes and never a through ball down the middle?

    1. I’ve really enjoyed the football we are playing. its attacking an defensive minded as well. I won’t make any excuses or go down any big statements about anfield not being a though ground.

      I look for gradual improvements. I look for a clearly defined style of playing. I finally look for management of injuries. so far I have seen enough to think their going well. I wouldn’t go running with stories like this for web site hits….if you delete this story in a year from now. thenI will be right about its content. its lazy journalism

      1. U seem to lack ambition with respect to our club. A club like Liverpool can be away from europe’s elite for a few years due to ownership related issues. but its now sorted. We are on our way up. No doubts in that. no where have i said that in this article. But, time is not in our side. other clubs are forging their way up. City,spurs, and even the smaller clubs. and who knows which club would be taken over by another sugar daddy ? We need to start attracting the best talent, thats possible only if we get back to the champs league and fast. The only way of doing that is showing some urgency and desire and leave no stone unturned to get back to the top fast. the league is so tough that we could see ourselves propelling to even 2nd with a string of results going our way. We need the strong desire to win week in week out and that starts at our own den-Anfield! The fans remain the same. Its the same support that existed years back. All am saying is we need to take inspiration from our past considering that we are back to that old style of play under kenny. We need to make anfield a fortress again and not let minnows spoil our party. We have showed enough development and quality in our play to deserve a much higher position in the league table. What we have lacked is luck and the 3 characteristics that i have mentioned in the article to make our own luck rather than depend on referee decisions or plead to the goal to become larger.
        Pl tell me why you find this a piece of lazy journalism. I appreciate your views. YNWA

  5. We have not been intimidating at home for years! 2002 at least… Relegation teams now laugh at us at home and know that they ALWAYS have a chance to not only steal a point..but take all 3. And the return of Dalglish has done nothing to change that..when will fans stop living in the past!

    1. Never- is the answer to your question. Blind supporters will never question Dalglish’s tactics for he’s a legend. I too respect KK but I will criticize him whenever he’s being stupid. Oh but then I get such serious stick from these blind supporters I have half mind of supporting Swansea….

  6. Anfield is def not anything to be feared, lfc dont have any world class players to unlock teams, especially down the flanks and are still weak up front also. Been saying it for years and still proven right lfc needs alot more work and money. Man U will continue to dominate and city should be up there also with there millions.

    Forget the glory days, to many people live in the clouds, wake up its been over 20 years. Other fans laugh at us.

  7. So fucking negative ,we have played some great football and the only game we deserved to lose this season was at spurs. Team performance and chances created is brilliant virtually every game, ok so far we haven’t put enough away but it will come. You say downing hasn’t had any assists but this sometimes comes down to poor finishing as he has created a good number of chances that haven’t been taken. I am frustrated with results lately but not with how we have played. Come on red men I know you will start burying them chances soon ynwa

    1. i agree lad, weve been so so unlucky recently and every gamr the opposition keeper has played a blinder, there is a real hiding coming for a team soon, mark my words! jft96 YNWA

    2. Don’t tell me we are playing good football ’cause we are not! I haven’t seen a single swift counter, not once have we over-loaded the box in search of a goal and every attack is cutting inside from out wide. The central mid-fielder’s are too deep and no attacks from the middle of the pitch whatsoever. Such a predictable game!! How is any of that beautiful? The own goal against City and Stevie’s goal against united were absolute luck and still we bemoan that we have no luck. We have only 2 Center Forwards in the entire squad, why??

  8. Adam looks overweight to me. Slow and cumbersome. AC is a mystery and Downing can’t but a goal. On top of that KD leaves his substitutes far too long to make a huge impact. As for the atmosphere, well there is a new breed of fan now. All around the ground you see supercars parked and when you get your cup tickets you get turned out of your regular seat. There lays some of the problem, if ain’t a working man’s game anymore. Sadly

  9. It’s amazing that Adam and Downing are being criticized for trying when Henderson doesn’t even try. He just passes the ball to the nearest player, runs around like a headless chicken, often so badly positioned that our player have to pass around him, don’t ever make runs with the ball or enter the area. I mean, Adam has been 10 times better so far, even with his mistakes. Hendo is the most toothless player I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe when KK took Adam off and left Henderson on. Did he do one creative thing the whole game? A good pass, a dribble, a shot? The boy has some skill, but no heart. I’d rather have Spearing on than him.

    1. hey gays i was crying bkz liverpool draw again but i am nt will watch liverpool game i will prefer watch spurs game but when i watched spurs games and i remember liverpool games in seasson 2008 2009 strong teams and ataking playing clever boll ans scores 3 4 5 6 high scores but now i have no passions to watch liverpool football but i will still fans of liverpool u know my grand pa said he has a shirt for liverpool but he did not ware it bkz he told me if liverpool will win the title n then he will ware it but he was trust liverpool will win the title but now he tun 96 years old he dead but he shirts steel here but for me if liverpool will win the title one day i know its very hard for liverpool just an example if liverpool will win the title and then i will ware my grand pa shirt to make his sprite happy yull never walk alone

    2. I agree with you mate. And I feel like puking when they say that these players are still young. I mean look at Gareth Bale: thats what a promising young player is like. Henderson at best is an average mid-table team player. Nothing like Stevie G!!

      We absolutely lack a midfield player who can make runs into the box. Hendo ain’t the one with solutions to LFC’s problems at the moment!

  10. Hendo is good game, bad game at present and will learn from a fit SG. Downing is doing ok, just needs a goal. Adam has been disappointing with his set piece play and looks slow. I’m observing, not criticizing him. We are lacking midfield punch. Our stats don’t lie.

    1. u r rite bro its draw than lost we must b think liverpool is nt lost we r down by one nil but we r comeback but we r unlucky so we sould trust aware self we hope liverpool will progress bkz we r blood for liverpool we will trust them maybe they was drunk thats y they did not score more goals
      lol you never walk alone

  11. Despite all the negativity everybody is feeling, I dare to be different. Why? I honestly believe “This Is Anfield” sign does intimidate teams when they play here. How do I know? I noticed virtually all teams who came here except M.City, came to defend and all their fans, players and managers were celebrating when they got their ‘prized’ draw. What does that tell you? They were all afraid of Liverpool.

  12. So far we are still not good enough. Let’s do some MEAINGFUL purchase in January or the season is as good as over for us.

  13. The missing ingredient is love to make Lfc great again… And Lucas, Hendo and Charlie are forced to sit back both to cover for his absence this is how bad we miss him, Adam is unable to run forward out of fear of keeping back for exposed, none of the new signings are running the extra mile all game it comes in spurs… Having said that confidence is starting to fall short with all this commotion around club, and we still need quality not squad players, and we need a scouse superstar soon to take over from G

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