Adam Morgan: Another One Bites The Dust

On the face of it the Liverpool production line is looking good.  Suso’s kicking on in Spain, Sterling has been on the fringes of the England squad and Ibe looks a star of the future.  So Melwood looks like a conveyor belt to stardom.

So what’s my problem? The problem, for me is we are still buying in so much young talent and yes the counter-argument to that is don’t all big teams?  The disappointment steps from Everton continually producing a line of skillful youngsters who go on to feature as part of their first team and in Barkley and Rodwell play for England.  These two standout because have technique as good as many of the top continental players and they came right through the Everton ranks.

It’s something that we’ve mentioned on here before, why aren’t we producing our very own Barkley’s, we have little problem producing defenders.  Okay, you might say needs must, in the sense that if Everton had the money then they would buy in talent and because they can’t it stands to reason they’ve backed their own judgement in bringing through local talent.

It’s far to easy to justify the argument for buying in talent, especially with a catchment area as big as ours and a club with a history of bringing through very gifted individuals.  Fowler, McMannaman and Gerrard are just a few of the local lads who’ve come through the ranks, but to me it’s unbelievable that we haven’t had another individual in the same vein for such as long time.

Adam Morgan scores a stunning goal

Coutinho and Sturridge excite us all, but the 19 year old Adam Morgan surely deserved a chance.  The Liverpool born youngster has been a prolific finisher for most of his Liverpool career and for me represents less of a leap of faith to becoming a goal scorer in the first team than Aspas who what ever he is, doesn't have the feel of a natural scorer.
 
Rodgers strategy sometimes leaves a lot to be desired with Borini out on loan, Samil Yesil only just returning from injury and with Michael Ngoo not even worthy, in the manager’s eyes anyway, of a place on the bench surely Morgan could have been the fourth striker until season ends, especially with the news that Daniel Sturridge may have sustained ankle ligament damage in training and as result a lengthy absence could be on the cards.

Adam Morgan

If your not the man, your your not the man and it’s better for him to succeed somewhere else rather than languish in the reserves, but one only hopes the opportunity which has afforded itself to him at Yeovil enables Morgan to flourish as he is as good a natural goal scorer as we’ve produced in the last decade.  He’s good enough and young enough to start again, but the free transfer suggest that Liverpool don’t feel he has developed enough to ever become a top striker with us.

Interestingly, Liverpool recently brought, back McMannaman and Fowler to work with the youngsters and Fowler’s admiration for Morgan has been well documented saying after Morgan had scored 18 goals in 16 games in the FA Premier Academy League Group C in the 2010-11 season, "as a finisher he is probably one of the best I’ve seen for a long, long time.”

Samil Yesil and especially Jerome Sinclair could be the heirs to the forward line, specifically Sinclair as he is seems more suited to the archetypal type of player that Brendan Rodgers likes, possessing pace, strength and skill allied to eye for goal.

It is quite possible that Brendan Rogers and the LFC hierarchy felt that changes needed to be made with our coaching structure with the  shock sackings of Rodolfo Borrell (Head of Academy Coaching) and Frank McParland (Academy Director) hint at some discord within the Liverpool set up.  Both have fantastic reputations and Melwood has vastly improved under their stewardship, but if there is one thing we’ve learned it’s that Liverpool will probably see this an in house decision and the comments on the official website do not suggest otherwise.

Ian Ayre said, “We would like to place on record our thanks to both Frank and Rodolfo for the dedication and professionalism they have brought to the academy.

“Under Frank’s leadership, the academy has produced a number of talented players who have progressed to first-team level.  He has left solid foundations for future success.

“Rodolfo is a man totally dedicated to the profession of coaching and developing young talent, and the club has benefited greatly from his experience and expertise.  The academy will now be focused on moving in a new direction aligned to the overall aspirations of Liverpool Football Club and its long-term success.

The underlying feels seems to be that while McParland and Borrell were successful, but Brendan Rodgers and the Liverpool board feel that their success was only relative in the scheme of things.

Neil Critchley, the former academy director at Crewe’s renowned academy which has produced Danny Murphy and Rob Jones amongst seems destined for Borrell’s position and will strengthen Rodgers hand as Borrell was inserted under Rafa Benitez tenure and McParland was promoted during the same period.

Whatever the internal politics, good luck Adam Morgan, a gifted individual who we hope pushes on and one day comes back and proves the club wrong, whether for someone else or comes home.

Everton 3 Liverpool 3 - Super sub Sturridge saves the day

With Arsenal due to play later in the day the opportunity was again there for the taking for Liverpool to go to the top of the table.

The 221st Merseyside derby was billed as a derby for the purists of two passing sides who had started the season well and had shown the potential to be contenders for the top four spots. With two managers with such similar philosophies on the game it was ironic that five of the goals came from set pieces.

Roberto Martinez encourages his Everton squad to play with freedom but he would not have been happy they afforded that luxury to Coutinho from Steven Gerrard's fifth-minute corner for us to take the lead.

Our dynamic captain Gerrard swung over his cross from the left, Suarez could not get the significant touch to direct it goalwards but got enough of the ball to send it to the little unmarked Brazilian magician Coutinho who smashed home a shot at the far post that James McCarthy on the line could not stop.

Our early goal silenced a raucous Everton crowd briefly but within three minutes they had regained their voice.

We have struggled to defend set pieces throughout the season so far and this continues to be a problem that needs to improve or it will ultimately decide whether we make the Champions League or not.

Ross Barkley somehow got to Leighton Baines' free-kick ahead of Martin Skrtel and diverted it to Mirallas who nipped in front of Gerrard to stab home.

That was the boost the home side needed and when Lukaku raced forward after Steven Pienaar had robbed Gerrard on halfway only the speed of goalkeeper Simon Mignolet coming off his line snuffed out the danger.

Despite arriving back late from international duty after a 7,000 mile trip back from Uruguay, Liverpool's Luis Suarez covered most of the pitch and to lose his strike partner to a dead leg just before the game must have been a blow to him but his performance leading the line was top quality again.

Fouled by McCarthy the striker picked himself up to curl a brilliant free-kick through the tiny gap left between the end of the wall and Pienaar.

Howard appeared to have it covered but some late spin saw it creep just inside the American's left-hand post to give us a 2-1 lead.

Everton responded again with Barkley, restored to the starting line-up, forcing Mignolet to tip behind for a corner with Mirallas firing wide after cutting in from the right.

The Belgian then sparked what could have been a pivotal moment when he clattered into Suarez's right knee as the pair challenged for the ball leaving his opponent in a heap on the floor.

Suarez may have a reputation for going down easily but this was one of those occasions when his pain looked genuine and the only excuse referee Phil Dowd could surely have had for just showing a yellow card was that he was unsighted.

While the Liverpool striker eventually lasted 90 minutes Baines did not and just after the break was substituted, presumably injured, for the first time in the league since 2008.

With Gareth Barry moving to left-back substitute Gerard Deulofeu, on loan from Barcelona, could have made himself an instant hero after outpacing our defence but mis-hit his shot and Mignolet saved.

Joe Allen, starting his first Premier League match since March, had a steady game and should have put the game to bed after Suarez's dribble fell to him with only Howard to beat but from 10 yards out inexplicably missed the target.

Our keeper Mignolet  was by far the busier and he denied Lukaku three times as Everton pushed for the equaliser.

However, from the last effort the Belgian international could only parry his compatriot's free-kick and when Mirallas crossed back in Lukaku seized on McCarthy's deflection to ram home.

The chances continued to come thick and fast with Howard producing a brilliant block to keep out Suarez's close-range header and Mignolet denying Deulofeu.

But there was no stopping Lukaku's powerful header from a corner - taken by Mirallas - eight minutes from time to turn the game on its head to give Everton a 3-2 lead.

That appeared to have settled it until Sturridge nodded home Gerrard's free-kick to ensure honours finished even to salvage a point for us at 3-3.

Prior to Sturridge's 89th-minute intervention it appeared Everton's Kevin Mirallas would be the man to remember as the home side twice came from behind.

The Belgium international may have been outdone by compatriot Romelu Lukaku, who scored twice in the second half, but he had a hand in all three goals.

However, the debate will rage as to whether he should have been on the pitch for the last two assists for a knee-high challenge on Luis Suarez which could - and probably should - have seen red.

Philippe Coutinho and Suarez had put the visitors ahead scoring either side of Mirallas' equaliser and although Lukaku appeared to have turned the result on its head Sturridge had the final say.

Positives - the never say die fighting spirit to get a draw when at 3-2 we looked like we had lost the game.

Negatives - We should have had the game sewn up if Joe Allen had the composure to slide home the simple chance he missed.

I had reservations that Agger & Skrtel couldn't handle the pace and power of Lukaku as they had both struggled last season whilst playing vs Lukaku when he was on loan at WBA and would have played Sakho instead of Skrtel as Sakho could match him for pace and strength.

Very disappointed that neither Agger or Skrtel stepped up to the responsibility of marking Lukaku at corners leaving this responsibility to Glen Johnson was not what I expected from our two main central defenders.

Man of the match - Mignolet showed again with his quick reactions in one on one situations why we took the gamble to buy him - he was extremely unlucky to concede three goals with his constant duel with Lukaku.

Match facts
EVERTON (4-3-3): Howard, Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines (Deulofeu 50mins )Barry,  McCarthy,  Pienaar  Barkley, Lukaku, Mirallas (Osman 88).

Subs  not used: Robles (GK), Heitinga, Jelavic, Deulofeu, Naismith, Osman, Stones
Booked: Distin, Miralles, Barkley
Scorers: Mirallas 8', Lukaku 72', 82'

LIVERPOOL (4-1-3-2): Mignolet, Johnson,  Skrtel, Agger,  Flanagan, Lucas (Sturridge 79mins): Gerrard,  Allen (Moses 67mins) Henderson, Coutinho, Suarez
Subs  not used: Jones (GK), Toure, Luis Alberto, Sakho, Sterling
Booked: Lucas, Allen, Suarez
Scorers: Coutinho 5', Suarez 19', Sturridge 89'

Is the top four a pipe dream? .

By Roger Bailey

Twenty-three points from 11 games and second in the Premiership.  More than we could have imagined at the start of the season.  Of the 2 loses we’ve suffered, I was more disappointed with the Arsenal loss because the formation and the personnel chosen in key positions made the midfield battle an uphill struggle from the start, whereas Southampton as they’ve gone on to prove are a thoroughly good side and deserved their victory.

The season so far lacks a dominant force or at least one that has shown it’s head above the parapet.  Man City have at times bared their teeth as with their demolition of Man United, but have since faltered to the make weights in the League away from home.  And frailties were shown up in the recent loss to Man United.

No question, Liverpool have the dominant striker in the Premiership in Suarez, already the League’s leading scorer after missing five games and with Daniel Sturridge in tandem we have a the strong possibility of mounting a decent challenge for a Champions League place and to do this as the manager freely admits the club needs to strengthen in January.

When supporters hear their manager admitting the team needs strengthening, instantaneously we think big money signings.  Unless lightening strikes twice (re Suarez), we are unlikely to make a big money signing in January, because as we all know the window tends not to throw up any real big names and should the remote possibility arise, with so many teams fighting for the top positions, those with spending power will want to make sure that the perceived closing of the gap stays wide open, particularly with the revenue stream likely to increase in the future with BT having made their play to take over the Champions League coverage and the markets in the US, Canada and the Caribbean about to renegotiate their deals with could quadruple club revenues.

I really believe that this has to be the season because failure to qualify will see us loose Suarez.  But, even more than that UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations are already looking like a misnomer with Paris St-Germain announcing an astonishing £200 million a year in a four year sponsorship deal with Qatar Tourism Authority, which the Telegraph reports is unbelievably backdated to 2012 which will be incrementally increased year on year to reach the said figure by 2016.  How do we compete after this season when both Manchester United and City have multi-million pound deals over the next ten years and will have to dig deep to keep PSG at bay let alone in overtake mode?

If we get to January still in contention, and there is no reason why we can’t, Brendan Rodgers deserves the trust and support of the Anfield faithful having brought in the resounding successes of Coutinho and Sturridge to what was I remember as many a raised eyebrow, to buy in enough quality to fight shoulder to shoulder with our competitors in the second half of the season.



Brendan Rodgers deserves time and our trust in the next transfer window

It would be lovely to think that we could buy a top class player, but we are not living in the rarefied atmosphere of the Manchester clubs and Chelsea, but what we do have at the moment is a truly world class player at the peak of his powers and that’s why if we can be in with a shout in January we’ll have something to bait the fish with.

Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique’s return couldn’t have come soon enough, but we still need a quality wide man and a ball playing midfield enforcer.  Hopefully, our scouts already have this in hand and the board strikes early in the window with the likes of Spurs hovering around to pilfer from our hard work.

The Liverpool back four is as good any in the League with Daniel Agger back in the fold, but this team cries out for at top class midfield to knit the team together. If Arsenal had the Liverpool forward line, we'd already be talking about the next Premiership champions.  If Liverpool had the Arsenal midfield, we'd be Champions, but if's doesn't get us there.

Will he provide Liverpool with the quality it needs for success

Additional components will create competition in the central  areas and enable Rodgers to use his captain as more of a strategic weapon. The last few weeks have shown a couple of injuries can put us on the back foot as a one dimentonal machine because of the lack of depth.

We maybe punching above our weight, but Sugar Ray Leonard moved up from Welterweight to Light Heavyweight, and if we do get in that quality we can still dream because this may well be the only season, for some time, where a club breaking into the ‘big four’ will be able to shout “I shook up the world” as Muhammed Ali once said.

Imperious Gerrard proves rumours of his footballing demise have been greatly exaggerated

Not for the first time in his Liverpool career Steven Gerrard was the premier performer with three assists and a delightful nutmeg and pass to change the direction of the attack which led to Luis Suarez first and our third goal.  Coming on the back of his lack lustre performance against Arsenal, the Liverpool captain proved the old maxim of form is temporary and class is permanent is just that.

It cannot be understated just how disappointing Fulham were, that being said Liverpool were impressive. Bouncing back from the disappointing loss, Rodgers’ side were determined from the onset based largely on a high pressing game.

Cheered on by the Anfield faithful which included actor Mike Myers of Austin Powers fame, Liverpool with the returning Daniel Agger paired together again with Martin Skrtel for first time since the victory over Man United, started brightly without threatening Maarten Stekelenburg’s goal in the first 20 minutes. 

After last week’s blind criticism it was no surprise to Steven Gerrard instigate the opening goal with his trade mark whipped in free-kick, which although glanced on by Suarez took more of a definitive deflection of Amborebieta to put us one-nil to the good.  Suarez like the goal scorer he his looked to claim the goal.

If he wasn’t disappointed with the first goal, Martin Jol would have been frustrated with the second.  Three minutes later from a corner delivered with pinpoint accuracy by the England captain, Martin Skrtel arrived unchallenged to flash home his header for his first goal since his scored against the same opponents last December.

The game was as good as killed off 10 minutes from half-time when Liverpool produced a captivating move involving 15 passes and rounded off with Gerrard’s flicked nutmeg through Berbatov, before reverse passing across to Henderson, who in turn produced a Gerrard type ball to put in Suarez to clinically shoot home.

 

Suarez does it again!

It could have been so much worse by half-time with the lively Coutinho seeing a fierce drive tipped over by Stekelenburg.

The second-half started much like the first with Liverpool completely dominant and it was only the Fulham keeper’s brilliance that kept Liverpool at bay in the opening minutes.  Fastening on to a Sturridge pass, Suarez shot was superbly blocked low down by Stekelenburg who was up smartly to save brilliantly from Sturridge close range after the England striker picked up Gerrard’s.

As the pressure mounted it was only a matter time and when the goal came it was typical in terms of the way the game had been played up until that point.  Kieran Richardson trying to work the ball out from left-back position was pressed by Henderson and then mugged by Gerrard who threaded through a pass to Suarez to unerringly drill home inside the near post, his eighth goal in 6 league games since his return from suspension.

Man of the Match:  Steven Gerrard – Proved that his reported demise was somewhat overstated.  He had a hand all 4 goals showing his superb delivery for the first two; his intricate skill and ability to change the whole direction of the attack following his pass and his perception in nipping in to deprive Kieran Richardson before delivering an inch perfect pass for Suarez to shoot home before.

Critical Eye:  Taking into account Fulham were not Arsenal and have something of a ‘soft underbelly’ away from home, we can only beat what was in front of us and was professional from first to last and it was good to see someone other than S.A.S. get on the score sheet.

The move back to four at the back, allowed Rodgers to facilitate the inclusion of Philippe Coutinho who had an excellent game following his cameo performance against Arsenal.  He brought a different dynamic and dimension to the attack with Henderson, Gerrard and Lucas working hard to allow the young Brazilian to flourish in his role in behind the front two.  His link up play with the front-two is a delight and he showed an eye for goal.  In addition, the return of Glen Johnson showed just how much Liverpool missed his runs and cover play against Arsenal.   It was also good to see late on the return of Jose Enrique who provides an added element to the attack.

Luis Suarez proved that what we all know that he is as clinical finisher as there is in the game.  But showed  just how much of a team player he is in the first half, when having lost the ball just outside the Fulham area to Scott Parker, chased back and when the Fulham midfielder’s loose pass failed to find is destination, it was Suarez who picked the ball up on the edge of his own area.

El Pistolero also showed his conviction to the cause by asking Uruguayan coach Oscar Tabarez to join up with the squad after the Fulham game.  Fortunately, the Uruguayan FA agreed to the request as they could have insisted he join the pre-requisite five days before under FIFA rules, particularly as they face a two-leg play-off against Jordan over the next week to qualify for the World Cup.

Given the amount of minutes Gerrard has played this season with his club as well as with England, it’s good to see that common sense prevailed, in Rodgers not just giving his captain a rest, but giving Joe Allen a decent run out.

This is a season when the predicted big three of the Manchester clubs and Chelsea are not light years ahead as in bygone seasons and Liverpool must capitalise and look to get themselves in a position to strengthen in January by making ourselves a viable option for any player of quality who becomes available during the window.

Team:  22 Mignolet, 2 Johnson, Cissokho (Jose Enrique – 61 mins), 8 Gerrard (Allen – 67 mins), 37 Skrtel, 5 Agger, 14 Henderson, 21 Lucas, 7 Suarez, 15 Sturridge (Moses – 76 mins), 10 Coutinho

Substitutes: 1, Jones, 3 Jose Enrique, 5 Luis Alberto, 12 Moses, 17 Sakho, 24 Allen, 31 Sterling

Referee: Michael Jones

Attendance: 44,768

Simply outclassed: Arsenal 2 Liverpool 0

With Newcastle beating Chelsea earlier in the day 2-0, the evening kick off between Arsenal and ourselves was to establish top spot in the league.

Arsenal had their influential defensive midfielder Flamini missing through injury and announced that Jack Wilshere was out through injury on the morning of the game.

Liverpool announced just before the game that Glen Johnson was out through illness which meant that surprisingly Jon Flanagan (who hadn't started a Premier League game for 18 months) had been deployed to play the right wing back role instead of Martin Kelly which was totally baffling to LFC fans.

The game started with us having a degree of control of midfield without creating a clear cut chance, with Arsenal's Rosicky shot turned away by Simon Mignolet before Jordan Henderson had Wojciech Szczesny at his mercy after hassling the ball away and going on a run from the half-way line only to scuff his shot wide. Arsenal then capitalised on our lack of creativity by taking the lead on 19 minutes when a quick break down the right found Bacary Sagna on the overlap. His cross was behind Olivier Giroud, but fell perfectly for Cazorla on the penalty spot. The Spaniard’s bullet header cannoned back off the post but he was first to the rebound and lashed a fine half-volley back past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

The concerns about our 3-5-2 formation being susceptible to decent wing play had finally come back to haunt us and we now had to react positively.

After all the pre-match optimism, it was like all the oxygen had just sucked out of the air; Jordan Henderson had the ball in the net after Sturridge rolled it across the face of goal for the midfielder to tap in, but Martin Atkinson ruled out what would have been the equalizer after adjudging that Luis Suarez’s free kick was taken too quickly after the Uruguayan had been fouled by Bacary Sagna.

Before the break, a pair of offside efforts saw Kolo Toure’s header well saved by Szczesny and a Sturridge effort go wide as we showed some intent, while at the other end Cazorla and Ramsey both tested Mignolet as the Gunners struck time and again with purpose. 

Brendan Rodgers has taken flack for being unwavering with his formation and a lack of substitutes, but we’d see both switched up when Cissokho — on a yellow card and being outmatched in every category by Sagna —was hauled off at half time in favour of Coutinho and a switch to a more traditional 4-4-2 looking to plug the holes Arsene Wenger’s side so expertly exploited.

The introduction of Coutinho slightly on the left gave us more of the ball again and his impact was immediate as he ghosted clear down the left, crossed to the far post but once again Henderson’s finishing was found wanting as he shot over the bar.

Arsenal were stirred into reacting again and twice Giroud should have increased the lead.

He intercepted a weak pass from Kolo Toure but opted for precision rather than power and achieved neither as the ball went wide. He then shot tamely after Cazorla set him up.

But on 59 minutes when Ozil fed Ramsey about 20 yards out the born-again Arsenal midfielder Ramsey produced a stunning strike as he waited for the bouncing ball to sit up before dispatching a dipping volley over Mignolet who had no chance.

With us now two-nil down we were desperately chasing the game bringing on another attacking player Moses for the disappointing Flanagan.

We kept pushing for a way back into the game and with Sturridge missing a headed chance and Suarez shooting wide late on when the better option would have been to pass the ball to his strike partner Sturridge for a tap-in.

We had been totally outclassed by an Arsenal side that now moved 5pts clear of the chasing pack, we were given a reality check defeat and have a lot of work to do before we reach the very top of the league.

Man of the match - Coutinho - came back into side to play 45 minutes in the second half, showed signs of rustiness but also showed how badly he has been missed.

Positives - Coutinho's return to the side and the fact we kept trying till the very end of the game.

Negatives - Our midfield again was very poor with both Lucas and Gerrard both having extremely bad games again.

We now have to face the fact that Lucas's two long term injuries have meant that he will not be the defensive midfielder we had hoped he would be and need to address this in January 2014. Better quality required for the bigger games.

The other fact we are going to have to start facing is that maybe Steven Gerrard's legs have finally gone. As he does not exude the constant energy and looks like he is struggling in games. I feel that Rodgers feels he has to stay on the pitch for 90 mins but with Gerrard getting older we need to try and save his legs rather than over-play him every week. We need to also target a midfielder that can drive the team forward which Gerrard sadly seems unable to do so.

Extremely disappointing day for all LFC fans.

ARSENAL: Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, (Vermaelen 78); Ramsey, Arteta, Rosicky (Monreal 72); Ozil, Cazorla ; (Jenkinson 84), Giroud 

Subs not used: Fabianski, Bendtner, Akpom, Hayden.

Yellow: Sagna, Jenkinson

Goals: Cazorla 19, Ramsey 59

LIVERPOOL: Mignolet; Toure, Skrtel, Sakho; Cissokho, (Coutinho 46,), Flanagan (Moses 68); Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson; Sturridge, Suarez.

Subs not used: Brad Jones,

Agger, Allen, Sterling, Kelly.

Yellow: Cissokho

Att: 60,042

Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)