Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Liverpool 1 Blackburn 1
If at the end of this season we fail to capture a Champions League position the excuses may fall on deaf ears. This season started as a reconnaissance mission with the hope of handing out a few bloody noses on the way. Eighteen games in and the realisation is that Chelsea and Arsenal are in transition and that Liverpool are not capitalising on the opportunities which should have taken us into the top four.
I received a text from dedlfc saying "working on the theory that if Liverpool had taken wins from the 12 points they had dropped at Anfield, they would be sat eight points clear in third place. But guess what? The reality is we didn't so we now sit in 6th place with Newcastle right behind us!"
This is what makes our current plight so galling because it should so easily have been different if we had grabbed our chances. Yesterday, Suarez and Carroll were culpable, missing chances galore and with Liverpool having 64.7% possession and completing 83% of our 550 pass attempts it was another bad day at the office. That Suarez has had 15% of the 244 chances Liverpool have created this season and is Liverpool's top scorer says a lot about our problems, but he is still the top creator in the team which shows how valuable he is in a side which goals are not easy to come by.
Liverpool scored one goal from 27 attempts against Blackburn which is poor to say the least, but unfortunately this is nothing new this season with just 21 goals.
Carroll needs a run in the side rather than the staccato run which Dalglish seems to have plotted for him so far because with Suarez probably about to go on a long-term ban we have got to get him not just scoring, but to actually be the physical specimen we saw terrorise defences at Newcastle for a time.
In a 30 minute cameo Gerrard showed just how he prompts the team like a conductor, going forward and taking the midfield with him and fashioning out a chance for Downing and whipping a glorious chance for Maxi with his first touch of the ball from a free-kick wide on the right. He is patently not fit as he lost the ball a few times in defensive areas, but the cut and thrust he gives the team also shows how the loss of Lucas has diminished Adam's role. He is sitting back and not being the creative force he has been and it was not surprising to see him make way for Gerrard.
With Liverpool so lacking in the goal department playing players in form would seem to be the way forward. Bellamy and Maxi are the goal scoring threats outside the Suarez and Carroll and hopefully if Gerrard can stay fit we can only hope that we can turn the corner soon with the premise of buying a striker early in the transfer window (which won't be easy) to ease the burden.
It would be a surprise if John W Henry doesn't release the purse strings for a striker given his post season comments "It's too early for us to talk about winning the league," said Henry.... "[But] our main goal is to qualify for the Champions League. If we don't, it would be a major disappointment."
Kop Post Man of The Match: Martin Skrtel – another commanding performance in the centre of defence.
* Figures from eplindex.com
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What annoys me is that some of our efforts on goal have been down to poor finishing. Might not be the best time to bring this up again but if Suarez was playing for Man U or Chelsea, I think he would have been dropped for the odd game. Hopefully Stevie G will help is in the goal scoring dept.
ReplyDeleteYet again Kop-post has summed everything perfectly we will miss the CL places if we continue to spurn so many chances and we will have no one but ourselves to blame.
ReplyDeleteIt is a situation that I feel we need to address in January - Carroll will be given his chance which I genuinely hope he grabs with both hands but I just feel he just doesn't suit our style of play - I desperately hope he can prove me wrong!
I would like to bring in a quality finisher such as Soldado from Valencia in January he deserves another chance at a top European name after not quite doing it at Real Madrid in the earlier stages of his career - we may not be in the CL for now but we will always be a big name that can lure top players. Perfect example was the capture of Suarez when he could have gone to a team in a better position.
The percentage of goals per shots needs to improve or we can kiss goodbye to any chance of 4th place or any chance of trophies in either the Carling Cup or FA Cup.
David - the symptons are that we cant score goals for toffee but can defend as if our lives depend on it. I think Agger did what he was told, quite rightly, and just reiterated the club line. Remember, kuytoften did that role. Its clearly not good enough to create lots of chances but not score. And as you said previously, our stays speaks volumes!
ReplyDeleteI would be happy for us to go and buy a striker and winger to add to the squad but I stongly believe that having around £85m worth of talent brought into the club in the last 12 months, all of whom played yesterday, we should have again won. Our midfielders must also score - some of the shots recently have been piss poor.
I want Carroll to stay in the side for at least the next three games, also In gerrards absence the other player who like Victor said, are in good form. Oh for a player like Bale!
I’ve said all along that we needed another striker, a different type of striker to Suarez and Carroll to change options if need be. Someone who can play on the last man and be a poacher, in the same way that Man U, Spurs and Manchester City have different types of striker (Defoe, Wellbeck, Hernadez, etc). Suarez is always going to be the kind of striker who scores goals in clutches and will probably always have a high ratio in terms chances to goals, in fact I saw a brilliant quote in Phil McNulty’s blog in which he said someone in the Press Box had described Suarez succinctly as follows, "Liverpool's ideas man rather than the one you want to deliver the finished product". It’s not just about Suarez and Carroll although as strikers they should be the chief protagonist, but top teams must have match winners as Gareth Bale showed yesterday against Norwich, Spurs don’t just really on striking output. Arsenal are in position where one man is scoring the majority of their goals and when he failed to do so against Wolves in a match they needed to win they failed. That’s why there is the big fan-fair with the return of Gerrard, because he creates and scores which is unfair for someone just coming back, but I guess it shows the position we are in. One of the biggest disappointments for Liverpool this season is the fact that Downing has no assists (not all his fault) and the fact that as an attacking midfielder he hasn’t got off the mark and that the tried and trusted fall back option of Dirk Kuyt hasn’t come off which leaves the cupboard virtually bare in terms of goal scoring and its why I said that Maxi and Bellamy (knee permitting) need to start more than not. Kenny is also obviously thinking about them age wise, but in Maxi’s case he is 30 not 35 and more than capable of starting. The Blackburn game was hard to take because Blackburn were poor, they created one chance which on another day they could have scored from and they’re only goal game from an own goal. Often mentioned is Liverpool being unlucky as they’ve hit the post 17 or so times. What it highlights is bad finishing, when Man City have hit the post almost half as much and as I have re-iterated time again to have the best defensive record in the league feels as owe we are throwing away an opportunity we may well be harder next season because Chelsea will spend and if Spurs get in the Champions League, they’ll consolidate their position not just because of the obvious, but to keep Bale and Modric happy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update. well said, we seem to have just a little bit missing, but am still hopeful, maybe now that Steven Gerrard is back, he might give us that cutting edge that we seem to be missing. Am still happy that we are playing very pleasing football, gives me hope that all is not lost.
ReplyDeleteBala
Suarez now suspended for improper conduct, his finger gesture against the Fulham fans.
ReplyDeleteBala, we need to start firing with players stepping up to the plate and opporetunities for others.
yes we had better, but I still see us having a pretty good season, our defence is rock solid, it's just the goals we need now and maybe Suarez suspension might just let us look for goals elsewhere. Maxi and Bellamy should start more games, I think Bellamy has the ability to get under the skin of other teams' defences. Anyway lets see how the next game goes fingers crossed. :)
ReplyDeleteBala
Suarez is making a bad name for himself, no need to make a rude gesture to the Fulham fans, he needs to be stronger than that.
ReplyDeleteRedAlert
Again - A wasteful opportunity and we suffered disappointment again at Anfield as held to a surprise 1-1 draw.
ReplyDeleteWhat will it take to break teams to a comfortable win.
I agree we are lacking in the goal department, and playing players in form would seem to be the way forward, likes of Bellamy and Maxi who are capable of scoring, but we still need another dimension another striker, different to who we have already.
Carroll will have a good run of games when Suarez be out for eight games, and this I hope he will show he desire and strength score goals.
Can’t stress how much we are missing SG.
With Dalglish already has said we will take things slowly and build on it, so no sudden panic, and this must come from top John W Henry too, no disappointment then.
Bala, I agree, we dont need to make more improvements, but just to bolster our front, we are no doubt getting the ball upfront, and hitting the right notes, but many times missing the beats, smashing the post and chances on chacoes, these holes need filling in big time, this is killing our wins. Suarez suspension will defently show we can score from other areas, yes Maxi and Bellamy should start more games, and with SG seems to be back in, we should have options.
ReplyDeleteRedAlert