A Week In The Life of LFC

By KP

12 March 2011

Last week’s results saw for the club losing the first leg against Braga and being knocked out of the FA Youth Cup by the arch enemy Man United.  Loses which on the face of it were unexpected with Liverpool being expected to get out of Portugal with at least a draw and with the very considerable hype surrounding Cody, Sterling and co being knocked out was certainly a shock.

In adversity we can certainly look to the future and yes any team will miss the influence and passion of Steven Gerrard, the staccato like performance of the first half certainly showed why Kenny Dalglish has had to drag the club up by its bootlaces in recent weeks and months.  Without his considered first choice eleven Liverpool lack dynamism, creativity and flair, and even against a Braga side who have a strong record at home, beating Arsenal at home in the Champions League earlier in the season, Liverpool with more positive intent could have held them comfortably and it was to the chagrin of the travelling support when Kyrgiakos lunged in with the Braga forward running away from goal given away a penalty which was dispatched with a aplomb.  As a season pro his decision to tackle at that juncture was disappointing, but points once again to his and the lack of pace in the Liverpool back-line as a whole.

That Liverpool went on to lose by that penalty goal was in the end more than we could have hoped for, but Andy Carroll’s performance showed that with his power, aerial threat and ability to hold the ball up Liverpool have a player with Luis Suarez in tandem and the purchase of creative wide players, midfielders and quicker defenders, will allow us in the future to develop a multi-faceted game.   The lack of creativity from front to back was certainly apparent in the second-half with Andy Carroll causing panic stations in the Braga defence with his aerial threat Liverpool proceeded to hit a string of long balls up to the striker – failing time and time again to get down the flanks to deliver balls for Carroll to run on too.  How Martin Kelly was sorely missed or the promotion of a youngster such as David Amoo or even Raheim Stirling would have provided options of the bench.

Stirling and his youth team colleagues lost out to Man United in the quarter finals of the FA Youth Cup, showing enough in defeat for those watching to see that Liverpool have a plethora of young players who could, with luck, be on the cusp of helping to move the club into a golden era.  That they lost the game was down to a loss of discipline and concentration after Liverpool’s second goal, more than anything Man Utd produced, but it will and should be a lesson well learned.  Sterling with all the hype surrounding will learn in time that even with all his talent he must work in tandem with his full-back Smith defensively.  Time and time again the left-back was left unprotected and at the mercy of Lauren Cole.  But, to be overly critical would be being harsh as the Youth Team and the Reserves have produced so many moments of brilliance this season that to choose one would be impossible.

Liverpool meet Braga in the 2^nd leg knowing that a loss may well resign them to a season without European football.  Would that be a catastrophe?   The club would definitely have to focus on returning to the top four by the close of next season, because the impact will be drastic in terms of its strategy in the transfer market with top players naturally wanting to play in the Champions League.  It may warrant a move for top English players and young up and coming European players, the strategy of which Comolli already has in place. 

Damien Comolli - Liverpool's Director of football (Image: The Guardian)

In fact, if there is no reason why a Liverpool team with the impetus of new top class imcumbents cannot challenge for the Premiership title with no European distraction leaving King Kenny to play his strongest team in the League.

By KP