It’s not how good we are, it’s how bad the rest of the league is

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Liverpool are sitting 10th in the Premier League, just 4 points off fourth place after recording back to back wins for the first time this season. Could this be a sign that things are coming together? I hope so but sadly I fear not.

The team has had more possession than many of their opponents this season and also created more chances but too often the players have been unable to convert them. A lack of clinical finishing has seen us squander chances and drop points. At 2-1 down on Sunday I thought this all too familiar story was going to be repeated. I sent texts to friends saying I was fed up with football and couldn’t bear to put myself through the pain any longer. But that didn’t stop me jumping about like a madman in celebration when we scored our second and third goals. Whilst I’m made up about yesterday’s result and I believe the next two games are definitely winnable – I still think we Liverpool fans should err on the side of caution. There have been one too many false dawns and although I would love to look forward to a rosy future I still have major concerns.

I can’t say with complete confidence that the team will take six points from the next two games, even though they are at home to Villa and Fulham.

I still think some players are carrying others and this is weighing them down.

Our lack of natural goal scorers is blatantly evident, as is the overall weakness of our squad.

And I’m still unconvinced about the club’s transfer funds and policy.

OK, maybe we’ll get three points against Villa but Fulham have caused us problems in previous seasons and if they catch us on one of our frequent off days they are more than capable of coming away from Anfield with at least a point.

Gerrard hasn’t had his best season so far and maybe, after winning so many games single-handedly over the years, he finally needs someone to lift the burden. He’s not getting any younger. Another player who looks like he is struggling, despite a good start to the season is Joe Allen. I know he’s young and playing slightly deeper than he would prefer but perhaps the pressure of playing at a club like Liverpool rather than Swansea is having an effect and he too could do with someone to take the pressure off. And yes, Sterling has been a great asset this year, but we need to remember his age and realize that at some point he will need a break.

Suarez has been in great form this season and his goals per game ratio is very good but he can’t do it on his own. The top teams have four strikers to choose from and that should be our aim.

Only time will tell about FSG’s intentions but I would like to see us go out and get Demba Ba. With the release clause in his contract and his knack of scoring he would be a great acquisition. I know it didn’t work out last time we bought a striker from Newcastle but I think he would work really well with Suarez and Sterling operating either side of him. But even if we were to buy him, that won’t happen till January and we need to think about now.

To be trailing United by 17 points so early in the season, not even half way through is unacceptable. Whilst they have a formidable forward line, their midfield isn’t the best and it certainly doesn’t compare to when they had Beckham, Scholes, Keane and Giggs. Yet annoyingly, everyone else seems to be giving them the league. That fact that City are six points behind them, despite such a strong squad, is amazing. And Chelsea too, who invested heavily in the summer and added real quality have slipped up. But after those three teams the rest of the pack seem so far behind. Arsenal aren’t much better off than us!

So although we now seem to have the Evertons and Tottenhams in our sights, I believe it says more about the quality of the league than our team. I know last season was probably the most exciting season for many neutrals but realistically it was a two horse race. In my opinion the Spanish League is much stronger and has been for the last few years.

Back to Liverpool, the good thing about yesterday was the spirit to come back after going behind. I have to admit I was surprised when we did and that is because there hasn’t been much to be confident about. Liverpool’s board really do need to invest in proven players during the coming transfer window as there are a lot of mixed emotions towards them at the moment and this positive investment would allay the fears of many supporters, including mine.

Of course there are positives too. We have some really talented young players – notably Sterling and Suso. And Andre Wisdom has looked very promising at right back. If I were Rodgers, I would have Carragher working very closely with him in every training session. In fact I think one of the best things the club could do is offer Carra a player/coach role so he doesn’t underestimate his importance to the club, despite not being a regular starter anymore.

The race for fourth place is wide open and it’s there for the taking if one team goes on a good run.

14 Comments

  1. Why compare us to united..we haven’t been championship material for the last 3yrs..don’t blame Fsg pls,,rodgers bought borini and allen.they only provided the cash..he caused our problem,the two players who came in haven’t improved our squad in any way…am not really confident for january,rodgers is a midtable coach,and would target mid table players

  2. The absolute weakest and worst Prem for many a year, you have long ball garbage like Man ure somehow top of the league by 6 points, Hoofers like everton and west brom up there, its a total joke.

  3. I think we’re seeing the offshoot of last season, which I thought was a good season. I think we need to take advantage of the way the season is panning out, it’s good for our team at the moment.

  4. What a pessimist! Tut tut tut…every sentence ending with a ‘but’ is ridiculous. All the LFC players be it Gerrard, Suarez, Allen, get paid to do their job and they’re doing a terrific job. The future is red coz if you look hard you will see that we have got many of the young players coming through who will provide us with end results and there won’t be any but’s at the end of every sentence.

  5. Sad article. Some Liverpool fans amaze me with their pessimism. When the team was doing badly, the team was bad. Now the team has picked up the league is bad. Sad

  6. blah..blah. whats up with all this negativity in this article. we just win two games in a row. have some faith man. we have being unlucky with our result so far thats. get behind our team and roar them up the table. no need to look at what if and what can happen in january. we have games to play until january and all that matter now is the players currently in the team. come on all you all. give our team some support and roar them on to 6 points in our next two home games. thats all that count at this point in time. enough with the gloom and doom.YNWA

  7. Too many buts, too much pessimism.

    I don’t think the rest of the league is bad at all! The teams are all playing to their strengths, and playing well. We’re seeing quite a lot of good matches, and the fact that the teams are so tightly packed together only means that the lower lying teams have stirred to life.

    About Liverpool. Stand behind the team, support them. It’s very much a work in progress. The cracks are noticeable to all who care to see. But as supporters, we need to cheer them on and hope that they do their best.

  8. I’m not sure why I read this article, other than pure curiousity. I think the majority of respondents have nailed it. Positivity people!
    I do think Ba would be the most likely target atm.

  9. cheer up!. . . at least we don’t have to watch Carroll, Adam, Downing and Gordon Henderson every week. Whitless and clueless players. We had our £100m to spend last season and we blew it!!
    I’m enjoying the youngsters who seem to be natural footballers and not academy robots. We ain’t gonna win the league and we won’t be relegated so just chill. . . every point is a bonus and after the depressing failure in the league last season it makes a pleasant change. Give us the 2 points the linesman took off us at Goodison and remember the ‘gift’ Skyrtel gave man city at anfield and with a bit more luck we could have been pleasantly surprised!
    A bit more fire power in the transfer window and I’ll be happy.

  10. Good article Pete,

    I do agree that many fans are counting their chickens a tad bit too early.

    However, I disagree with your assessment of Joe Allen. The lad has really tried in a position that is alien to him. He is no defensive midfielder. Having played there consistently since Lucas’ injury, his form has naturally dropped.

    Demba Ba for me, would be a massive mistake. Like Andy Carroll, Ba has to play in a team with a very direct approach (which is why Newcastle and West Ham suited him so well).
    Sturridge would be another mistake. Although pacy and with some skill, he too requires a more direct approach.

    Personally, I believe the best option would be someone like Walcott or Higuain. They both play football on the floor, and although Walcott is a “winger”, he’s scored nearly every goal for Arsenal inside the box (in my eyes, the sign of a striker, being played out of position).

  11. Cheers James.

    I agree guys that I could be a bit more positive. It’s just depressing seeing us sitting mid table and out of the cup we won last season. I didn’t expect us to challenge for the league this season although that’s a sign of how far we’ve fallen in the last three or four years and I just think that we shouldn’t start accepting the position we are in or get over excited after a couple of wins.

    The only reason we won so many leagues in the past is because managers like Shankly and Paisley wouldn’t settle for anything less. The league was our bread and butter, which means it was the minimum that the team were required to win. The day Liverpool supporters start measuring our team against the likes of Stoke or Swansea is a sad day. So of course I’m going to compare us to United and City because they’re at the top which is where I want Liverpool to get back to – even though I know it won’t happen overnight.

    YNWA

  12. Overall good post Peter…

    I will agree it tends to point out the negative, and not some of the positives. I see some of the positives as:

    – The fair amount of playing time for our younger players.
    – Our positive results to date in Europe.
    – And this one might seem strange, but with the need to play backs as wingers, wingers as backs, central mids as wingers etc…we see the need for improvement in the squad in January and beyond.

    Dont get me wrong, I’d love to win every game with a score line of 3-0, but thats not realistic. Lets see what BR has up his sleeve over the next 12 months, and if he is as astute as we hope, we will be competing for the League, and showing promise in the Champions League in 2013-2014 and beyond.

    YNWA…

  13. I believe we need a midfield game-changer. We have one in the form of Suarez, but he is playing too forward for any magic to happen in the middle. Lets say BR manages to bring a great poacher to our side, where would Suarez play then? Despite having a decent striker in Borini, BR still prefers Suarez to be the tip of the arrow.

    In my opinion, Suarez should be played nearer towards the middle. Yes, I know he has been dropping deep, but we need another player to be infront of him. BR’s idea of the two wingers cutting into the penalty area is good, but our wingers aren’t doing that often enough. Sterling is too small and inexperience. Enrique has alot of adapting too do from a left back. And Downing.

    Downing is a mystery. He has a good left foot, decent speed, decent skills, but he just doesn’t perform. He puts in several good crosses, but not often enough. He was outshone in every position. When he played left wing, Enrique was doing a better job while playing as left back. When Downing played at left back, obviously, Enrique was better. He was even outshone by Glen Johnson when he played on the right.

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