So much vitriol has been poured on the internet by the all-intelligent LFC fan over the past 18 hours or that it is not funny anymore. You can criticize a criticism-worthy performance all you like. I mean I am boiling from within but there are somethings that don’t make any sense at all.
Why would anyone start calling Kenny names or demand a sack all of a sudden? Well some games haven’t panned out well and some signings haven’t lived up to their potential but to be honest, they’ve not lived up to the expectations that we’ve had about them.
I’ve tried to be patient with the new players understanding that almost the entire front 5 or 6 are new and need to play for much longer together to be productive. But 6-7 months have been a fair wait and for them to have put in a performance like yesternight isn’t acceptable and they definitely should have done better.
Look guys, the signings haven’t turned out well that’s true but I should add ‘yet’ to be fair. Retrospective is a good thing but lets rewind a few months and go back to summer. What was the target then? A top-4 finish (I’m sure it is still the target and it is yet achievable). Do you need European players to take you there? May be but more importantly, and to be sure, you need performers who have done well in the Premier League. Who would you then buy from? PL clubs, obviously. Which clubs? Well some of the rivals we will not do business with so we go to clubs like Sunderland, Aston Villa, Newcastle. And we buy their star performers. Not just best, we buy the Player of the Years from these clubs. If you go back, you will make the same decision. It’s easy to say Aguero and Mata but remember you need them to be willing to come to you for you to sign them. They wanted fatter cheques and Champions League. Nor did Young and Jones want to come here. Nobody thought in the last windows that Ba would have been good.
The only players who have signed last year and have impressed are Jose Enrique and Luis Suarez.
The most blatant oversight I think was a Defensive MF cover when we had only one.
The other problem is that Kenny probably has to understand his MF better. Gerrard is wasted if he isn’t upfront servicing Carroll. Henderson on the wings is wasted as well like Raul Meireles was last year. Charlie Adam can only play in the hole. If we thought Aqua’s position in the team was threatened because of a certain Steven Gerrard who plays in the position Aqua plays in, then I don’t see any reason to prompt enrolling Adam. Kenny said last night that the players took this game lightly but to be honest I’ve felt that about LFC on a whole thru the season. In the bigger games they seem so well prepared and tactically stout but someone shuts shop against them and they forget how to form a move.
The other real problem that I’ve noted is the lack of strikers. Last January we had 3 – Torres, Babel and N’gog. Since then we’ve sold off all of them but only bought one out and out striker in Carroll. Suarez and Bellamy are more of wide players or secondary strikers.
Every good team has two players for each position and every good player can play in two positions. Both of these seem to be missing at LFC at the moment except for defense. And when defense has an off day like yesterday, we’re in trouble. I can’t see it not happening again.
As I’ve said, Kenny shouldn’t be immune from criticism in case of defeat if he gets credit for all the wins. But calling him names or demanding sack is over the top to be honest.
However, impatience is something we can do without. Manchester City couldn’t attract top players till this summer. They were transfered to the Sheikh in 2008. They played Europa in 2010-11 and even after 35 games of 2010-11 Premier League season they weren’t sure of Champions League qualification. I am not saying that we will take that long but just giving a parameter for comparison. If you want to compare Aguero to Carroll, and why did we not sign him, you also should then have the same patience levels.
YNWA