Liverpool v Utrecht

 

Gerrard's drive missed as squad members fail to take up Hodgson's invitation

15 December 2010

Inertia and lethargy seem to be the order of the day.  Liverpool seemed unable to get out of first gear against a Utrecht side that were poor to say the least and were not helped by Hodgson’s strange decision to play one of the very few creative forces at his disposal, Joe Cole, on the left where he was unable to dictate play.  Ryan Babel was left to plough a loan furrow up front, with very little support from Jovanovic and Eccleston.  Poulson was very disappointing, giving away possession on many occasions and not managing to impose himself on the game and it was asking a lot of the very inexperience Shelvey to dominate midfield.

It’s easy to blame the disjointed performance on the young elements in the side, but even with Eccleston, Wilson, Kelly and Shelvey starting  Liverpool paraded eight full internationals.  The worrying factor is that Hodgson still hasn’t eked out style of play which differs from Benitez where creativity is stifled inside a compact unit. If one takes a look at the Reserves earlier this season, it was built on pace and creativity with Eccleston, Amoo and Ince as the attacking force with Suso allowed to dictate the play with a supporting cast of two defensively minded midfielders in behind.

Jovanovic provided one of very few worthwhile attempts on goal in the fourteenth minute when he jinked past two defenders unleashing a ferocious long range drive which was tipped on to the bar by Utrecht goalkeeper Vorm. Only Babel shooting a cross goal and Cole having a shot blocked with goal at his mercy, providing the only serious attempts in the rest of the game which ended scoreless.

Joe Cole looks a shadow of the player he was at Chelsea and the real shame is that arguably the most talented English player of the last decade looks as though yet again he is playing under a manager who doesn’t know how to utilize his undoubted skill.  Cole looks as though he has lost a yard off the mark and where he is used to beat opposing defenders with a mesmeric drop of the shoulders he now seems to be going sideways or backwards and the effect is more dramatic with Hodgson playing him on the flanks with defensive responsibilities, almost as if cloning him into a Dirk Kuyt type of role.

The play stepped up a notch in patches with the creativity and sharpness of Pacheco, coming on to replace the strong running Eccleston with his more direct approached added to his natural guile.  But even his invention could not turn the tide of ineptitude and once again Hodgson was not able to make decisions to change the flow of a game. Dirk Kuyt’s introduction felt more like a chance for him to play against his countryman and for the Utrecht fans to pay homage to him rather than a chance for him to change the game.

Torres was pulled from the starting line-up after the medical team advised Hodgson that the risk was too great to take in what after all was a meaningless game, although Torres body language suggested he was far less than impressed.  Wilson had a very solid game, with Aurelio and Kelly providing the occasional pieces of cutting edge going forward, with Pacheco reminding us of his qualities in his cameo and gave us a reminder of the genius we would all like Joe Cole to return to when at full throttle.

One suspects that none of the starting eleven will start against a Fulham team still using Hodgson’s tried and tested formulae.  He could be fast running out of excuses if Liverpool does not gain the upper hand in match we expect to win and against team struggling to score since the long-term injury to Bobby Zamora.