Positive Signs, On And Off The Pitch
Let's be positive. After two very, very disappointing results that managed to successfully expose all of our flaws, it's difficult to be positive. And those flaws are glaring. But I'll come to that in a minute, because I want to start by talking about positive things. For starters, three players who have been injured for a long time: Coutinho, Sturridge and Origi all returned against West Ham. Two of these three are probably our two best players, and both of them showed in their return against West Ham exactly what they bring to the side. Sturridge is easily the most dangerous player in our side, whilst Coutinho is a marvellous little player who can see and execute some stunning passes, and now that he's finally started to add an end product to his game, he is hopefully going to be a tour de force for the rest of the season. The front three that Liverpool fans have been craving of Sturridge, Coutinho and Firmino, a mouth-watering combination if they all hit form, is suddenly looking very close. And Divock Origi is a really useful option to have available, he's a good young striker who will benefit from having a better supply, and he's already shown what he can do when paired with Sturridge.
And off the pitch, the club have relented in their stance over ticket prices. Regardless of whether you agree with the fans or not, I think that their victory over FSG is one that will stand as a striking one in the current football climate, where fans are increasingly unhappy with some of the more commercial aspects of the game, especially when there is so much more money in the game. Personally, I think that what FSG did today, writing an open letter to the fans explaining themselves, reiterating their commitment to the club, apologising and lowering almost all ticket prices was a really classy move. I think that it showed their commitment to the fans, and acting in a swift and timely manner was really the right way to react. Whether or not FSG were right to raise the prices is almost a secondary issue, I personally think that it's a bit of a joke given the football we're currently playing but that's just my opinion. What is clear, is that they listened. They noted that the fans were unhappy and they responded. They could easily have claimed the moral high ground and acted aloof, drawing this out for weeks, but instead they recognised that the best solution was to stand down and hopefully this will go a long way to earning back the fans respect.
But, there are of course negatives. And I can't really avoid them any longer, as much as I would like to. For starters, I'm glad that I was working when Ogbonna scored a 120th minute header to knock us out of the FA Cup, rather than sat in front of my laptop screaming bloody murder. Because that would have hurt. It's one thing to find out you're out the FA Cup, it's another to watch it happen seconds away from penalties. What I did have to sit through was a final ten minutes against Sunderland that was frankly a disgrace. An unacceptable, pathetic, disgrace.
The problem isn't our general play, although at times we can be a little lethargic in key areas. Our problem is that key individuals keep making big mistakes in both boxes. Some may say that it's unfair to single out individuals. I don't necessarily disagree with them, because we do win or lose as a team and certainly some of our issues are team issues. A lack of cohesive defending at set pieces is a team issue. A lack of height and power in our defence when Skrtel is injured (and Skrtel has been injured for so long) is a team issue. And the fact that our mentality is absolutely shocking when we come under pressure is a team issue. Against Sunderland, we folded. Against Watford, after conceding early, we folded. Against Leicester, we folded. This team is fragile mentally.
But, that said, stats don't always lie. And nor do individual performances. The simple truth is that there's no smoke without fire, so let's start highlighting some key individuals, starting with problem no.1 Simon Mignolet. Before last night's game at West Ham, Liverpool had conceded in 26 games this season and a staggering 21 of those have been from the first shot on target. What's more, Mignolet has directly made 9 mistakes leading to goals in the Premier League, costing Liverpool 15 points. And that's not even including the ones that maybe aren't totally his fault but that a better keeper would have saved (see last night's 120th minute winner). Now I like Mignolet, but the simple, painful truth is that he is far too error-ridden to be a top goalkeeper and unless he is replaced with someone like Butland or Ter Stegen in the summer (both difficult men to secure since our season is up in flames), Liverpool cannot finish in the top four.
Another man who has deservedly come under fire almost all season is Christian Benteke. The signs have been there all season. He doesn't fit the system, he doesn't fit the team and up until 2016 started, he was a conundrum. He'd score goals, but he'd cost the team goals. His lack of movement, energy and desire were a problem. And now, enter 2016 and he's not even scoring goals. And he's missing big chances, like he did last night. One on one with Randolph, he has to score. There are no excuses. Benteke is now 668 minutes without a goal for LFC. He's scored a total of one goal from open play in the EPL and he is absolutely devoid of confidence. I really, really like Firmino, especially as a false 9, but he can't do the job every single game, especially when he is lacking a natural goalscorer or support from midfield (Milner and Henderson aren't natural goal threats and Lallana is no Coutinho), and with Origi, Sturridge and Ings all out injured, Klopp has missed a threat up top. It's pretty tough to score goals when your best three strikers are injured and the only natural striker in your squad doesn't fit your system and can't seem to score for love nor money.
These are the two biggest problems, but there are other factors. Brendan Rodgers hit the nail on the head playing Alberto Moreno at LWB because he is defensively error-prone and has a woeful inability to track back, as well as being a poor decision maker. Lucas has a reputation that means referees are always looking to pull him up, we're struggling to get a solid centre back partnership together through injuries and frankly I'm still not sure what to make of Sakho, who looks like a top CB most of the time and occasionally looks like a clueless donkey. And Jordan Henderson is struggling to impose himself on our midfield and despite in my opinion being one of our best players, is horribly out of form. Adam Lallana is a hit and miss player.
But, all that said, we have the makings of a really good side. We have attacking fluidity, a steel in midfield if they can work together, some key individuals need to be changed and we need to bring in some more defensive strength, but if we can keep our team fit, we will fire. The painful truth is that we've been missing five or six big players minimum for large spells of the season and it's impossible to judge this side, or Klopp, until May 2017.
South Africa turn up to the party
Roooooooot. England's finest young player (if he can still be classed as a young player) put in another classy and dominant performance as he scored a fluent 125 from 113 balls to anchor England's innings. But when he fell, the wheels fell off a little bit in the last ten overs for England and what could have been a comfortable 350, or maybe more, ended up being 318-8. It's a sign of the current times that 318 is little more than a par score, and one that South Africa made mincemeat of, but the question of whether or not scoreboard pressure would have made a difference should England have made 380/400 is inconsequential, because South Africa were absolutely awesome. Their two openers, Quentin De Kock and Hashim Amla (who remains unquestionably not only one of the two or three standout individuals left in this South Africa side but still one of the world's best batsmen), did all of the heavy lifting, and set South Africa on course for an easy victory. It was an all round poor display from England's bowlers, with only Adil Rashid bowling well and securing good figures of 1-45. Any thoughts of a 5-0 whitewash are well and truly over, and this young England side still have a lot to learn.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Adam Johnson admits he groomed the underage girl. Wow.
- Peterborough took WBA to penalties. And blew it. Harsh.
- Bayliss has never seen uncapped Dawson play. Well then...
- No Broad is very interesting. Not sure how I feel.
- And no Pietersen...moving swiftly on.
No comments:
Post a Comment