website at www.anfieldnews.com
The moment Kenny Dalglish returned to manage Liverpool he has made one thing clear that he will always back his players.
On many occasions he has went on the defensive when questions of criticism have been directed towards one of his players.
Dalglish stubbornly defended Suarez during a very difficult time when his handling of the affair came in for much criticism.
Dalglish has shown great loyalty and belief towards his signings as many have questioned their performances, Andy Carroll being the prime target for the media, as he has struggled to find the back of the net for Liverpool.
Dalglish has steered Liverpool to their first piece of silverware for 6 years, but since then Liverpool’s League form has suffered, losing 6 of their last 7 League games, in what is their worst run since 1953.
Dalglish has been receiving some serious criticism during this run of results that has seen Liverpool drop to 8th position in the League and no chance of qualifying for a Champions League place.
But Dalglish has continued to defend his players as the media’s vultures pick on his players.
Whatever you want to say about Dalglish and his team selections or tactics and especially his signings, you have to respect the way he defends his players from the media.
But now it is time for these players that Dalglish has backed to stand up and be counted as their manager suffers severe scrutiny about his future.
Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, Craig Bellamy and Jose Enrique along with Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez have all arrived since Dalglish returned for a second spell at Anfield.
But only Luis Suarez, Craig Bellamy and Jose Enrique have pass marks for their performances, the rest have been questioned about being good enough to play for Liverpool Football Club.
It is now time for these players to step up and prove that they are good enough to play at this club and prove their manager’s belief in them.
Dalglish picks the team but when the players cross the line they need to show that they are worthy of wearing that Red shirt and playing with pride.
In recent weeks not enough players have shown the pride or passion or quality to play for this club and yet Dalglish has still defended them.
With a FA Cup semi-final date against Everton due up, these players will need to prove themselves fast or risk losing a manager caused by their poor performances that have resulted in poor results.
The club’s American owners could be forced into a change of leadership if results don’t pick up fast and maybe Dalglish will need a FA Cup win to keep his job, who knows.
I think Dalglish is still the right man for the job and I hope the owners think that too. At a club like Liverpool when results have been so poor there are always alarm bells, but there can be no rash decisions based on a bad run of results.
Look at Ferguson with Manchester United, he was having a wretched start to his career at United but the owner showed faith and look how they have been rewarded, and Dalglish is the right man to take Liverpool forward.
But the players now have a point to prove.
A great and sound post – much better than the usual “kenny out” dross i’ve been seeing. Dalglish is the right man for the job .If the owners can’t see past the petulant media/fergie influenced “fanbase” that are deluded politicos such as Benitez etc. then I’m really worried.
I’ve just read that Kuyt gets 4million in wages a year – Dalglish had inherited a mess and will not take a season to fix it.
Maybe your opinions will change after Villa win or draw 0-0 at Anfield, don’t overestimate the spineless chokers and serial letdown merchants.
I personally refuse to back a manager who cant actually ‘manage’ and who thinks Carroll and Henderson are ‘good players’.
There is no such thing as instant success.
Look at City even with all the money they have and having bought almost 2 sets of good players for every position, they are still not champions.
So let’s be realistic.
There is no manager who can bring the success with the all rubbish we had for so many years.
We need to give time the the manager whoever the person is to do his job.
He will definetly make some errors to achieve the result we want.
YNWA
It has become fashionable to lambast Liverpool, and in particular KD, these days. Even the opinions amongst Reds fans are split right down the middle. On the one side, results and performances from certain individuals (notably the big-price recruits) had simply been unacceptable. On the other side is the plea for patience and to look at the bigger picture. So, where SHOULD the Reds go from here?
CASE FOR KD
Playing squad – progress has been made:
• Greater strength-in-depth (players such as Bellamy, Coates, Kelly, Henderson, Spearing & Kuyt on the bench against the previous much-maligned Krygiakos, Jovanovic, Konchesky, Poulsen, Voronin and N’gog)
• More youngsters are coming through (Kelly, Flanagan, Robinson, Shelvey & Sterling)
• Removal of deadwood and savings of £20 million in annual wages
Silverware: One in the bag, and possibly another
Playing Style: Liverpool’s trademark pass-and-move game is restored
Players’ Acquisition: The hefty prices are not KD’s fault (especially Carroll, Downing & Henderson); as they are negotiated by Ian Ayre and Damien Comolli. In the case of Carroll, his price was set by the owners at ‘Fernando Torres’s fees less £15 million’. Although KD has the final say, one inescapable fact is that ALL potential transactions would have to be reviewed by Comolli first. Some signings could well have been Comolli’s recommendation (players were paraded alongside him during their unveiling, when he was also quoted on the statistics -assists, crosses, etc – of these players). That surely implied that he was influential in the signing of those players).
Bad luck: & I don’t say this lightly (although it would be too much to blame it on Shanks the Anfield cat)!
• Injury (Lucas – out since Sept 2011), and major players such as Gerrard, Agger & Johnson had also missed significant chunk of the last 15 months.
• Referees’ decision: SAF may have argued that these things do even out itself over a course of a season, but it is not the case with Liverpool. The latest, against Newcastle, where Danny Simpson escaped a red card having stopped a goal-bound header on the line with the score evenly poised at 0-0.
• Woodwork and Man-of-the-match performances from opposition goalkeepers: On the last count, Liverpool would have been 23 points better off but for this phenomenon!
Potential: The likes of Downing, Carroll, Adam & Henderson could yet come good. They are not spectacular player, but neither are they mugs. Then there are the most promising bunch of youngsters to emerge since M Owen & co – M Kelly, J Flanagan, R Sterling, J Robinson, M Ngoo, A Morgan, A Wisdom, C Coady & Suso. There is also the very promising J Shelvey & S Coates.
CASE AGAINST KD
Players’ acquisition: Must take the blame for Henderson (often played out of position at right midfield) and Carroll (painfully unsuited to Liverpool’s playing style). If a player is bought “for the next 5 years & not 5 months”, then why the rush to pay way over the odds for an injured player in the January window – as in the case of Carroll?
Players’ Sale: Surely more could have been done to retain the excellent Raul Meireles. Replacing him with a Henderson is as bad a move as that of Rafa trying to sell Xabi Alonso to fund the ultimately failed acquisition of Gareth Barry.
Luis Suarez racism issue: ‘Poor’ handling has resulted in negative publicity on the club.
League results: The statistics are damning whichever way one looks at it – 6 defeats in last 7 matches, 5 wins out of 15 at Anfield, 36 goals (of which 4 were own goals) scored in 31 matches.
Team selection: Poor in many League matches – ie continued selection of Henderson at right midfield ahead of Bellamy or Maxi. Arguably poor man-management as well – ie dropping Carroll just when he was beginning to find his feet and linking well with Suarez & Gerrard.
CONCLUSION
In every area, with regard to the bigger picture, one can see reasons to feel optimistic, and yet nothing is quite working as it should; certainly in 2012. Privately, there could be an acknowledgement in Boston that aiming for the top four in KD’s first season might have been too ambitious – there was a gulf between Liverpool and the Champions League clubs. KD could only contend for three prizes when the campaign began, and may yet land two. Do that, and it would be impossible to question the merit of his first full season in charge.
Moving forward, the trio of Comolli, Dalglish & Clarke will be asked to provide details of how they intend to rectify the problems that have led to the alarming dip in form in the past few months. Their proposed solutions will be important, as Liverpool cannot go through another summer of mediocre signings.
defending players is one thing and defending players who dont deserve it is another. Henderson,Adam and Carroll don’t deserve to play but they do at the cost of Kuyt,Spearing and Maxi. They are being played by Dalglish just cuz he wants to prove he was right about his signings. What is deluding the team is now KD’s ego. He just refuses to admit the fact that he bought the wrong players at wrong prices! We will improve only when he finally admits his mistake and goes back to drawing board!
I agree it’s time for these players to step up to the plate, looking forward to seeing Doni and i have no worries about him at all.