Serious Thread: The Liverpool Situation

Feed Me

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Firstly, there are a feck load of threads to post little green smilies and generally take the piss out of our hilarious cousins in Merseyside, so can we keep this thread for serious debate please.

Okay.

We know that Rafa Benitez left them in a relative mess. A seventh place finish last season and a relatively weak squad. But nonetheless, isn't Hodgson massively underachieving given what he has at his disposal?

Given the weakness of the Chelsea bench on Monday, I'm sure they would have taken a Babel, Cole, Agger or Maxi to sit amongst their subs, for instance. When you're able to field a side containing Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Meireles, Gerrard and Torres, you shouldn't be a mere 3 points above the relegation zone come the New Year.

Watching the Wolves game yesterday, a few things screamed out at me:

- Lack of proactive substitutions - he wanted until the hour to make the first substitution despite it being abundantly clear the starting eleven weren't working well.

- Joe Cole - when your team is as bereft of ideas of his is, why is a player that has the potential to be the side's creative impulse sat amongst the subs and why has he played such a peripheral role? You may not rate him much, but he's worth a run in that Liverpool side.

- Raul Meireles on the right - he's been occasionally excellent of late from the middle of the park. He's clearly out of position on the flank.

- Fernando Torres - why not just get rid? He's been below his best for the best part of a year and a half now. That's too long to be living on a reputation. Dimi Berbatov has taken dogs abuse on these boards in the past and he's produced more than Torres has in the past season and a bit. He's still got resale value - why not cash in and begin to rebuild the side. He doesn't look as though he wants to be there.

- Their fans - I have sympathy with Hodgson in this regard because it's not productive for anyone within a football club to hear such levels of negativity from the terraces. And their voluble chants for "Dalglish!" are just bizarre - he's been out of club management for far too long. Even their messiah would have trouble polishing a turd.

- If Bolton, Sunderland, Blackpool, Blackburn and Stoke can all have gathered more points and occupy a higher league place than Liverpool, how can anyone at the club complain about the resources at their disposal? They could conceivably field the following team in their next match:

-----------Reina

Johnson Skrtel Agger Aurelio

-------Lucas Meireles

------Kuyt Gerrard Cole

-----------Torres

Why does the manager cop it when such big names players are a combination of below par and not arsed?
 
Who could reastically afford/need Torres at the moment apart from City? Bearing in mind that he wouldnt go to Utd or Madrid and you have to say Barca dont need him.

They would need to get atleast £40m to make it worth while getting rid, as this leaves them with only 1 striker in Ngog. So a lot of money would have to be spent thier, taking them back to square one.
 
You're spot on with the Torres situation. He's lived on his rep too long.
As for Woy - he.s certainly doesn't look as if he has a large section of his players with him but he hasn't helped himself with his public statements on some of his players

BRaBB
 
towcester_red said:
Who could reastically afford/need Torres at the moment apart from City? Bearing in mind that he wouldnt go to Utd or Madrid and you have to say Barca dont need him.

They would need to get atleast £40m to make it worth while getting rid, as this leaves them with only 1 striker in Ngog. So a lot of money would have to be spent thier, taking them back to square one.
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City would bite their hand off for Torres and would without a doubt be happy to pay the money. Arguably, Abramovich would be happy to ignore his austerity measures for Torres also...
 
i think you have a point with the idea of selling Torres. I'd add Stevie Me and Reina to that list. That should give Liverpool around 80 mil to rebuild thier squad. For these sort of monies they could add quality and desire (as imo some of Liverpool players dont looke botered any more)to all of their formations.
 
Of course he's underachieving. It's a fairly decent squad of players that should be no worse than 7th.

Thing is, it's so evident that Hogson is simply unable to get of the players what they're capable of. They don't seem to believe in his abilities as a manager. And it works the other way round. From the comments it seems as if Hogson feels this team isn't really 'his'. So it's a bit of a tug of war that's on. To be honest, personally, I don't think he's capable of managing a club of Liverpool's stature where the fans expect victory rather than being hard to beat, which he's rather good at.
 
Feed Me said:
Thanks for that mate.
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Well look, I think your paragraph is fairly spot on, ok? :)

If Pool had gotten a manager in who wasn't out of his depth I reckon they'd happily be challenging for a top 4 spot right now, but they didn't. It was obvious from the moment Hodgson was brought in that nobody thought he was in any way going to bring them back up to the top. It's far from being as weak a squad as some on here would have you believe. On their day they can still beat most PL teams, but they never seem to have a day anymore, unless Torres decides to rape us and Chelsea every now and again.
 
Feed Me said:
City would bite their hand off for Torres and would without a doubt be happy to pay the money. Arguably, Abramovich would be happy to ignore his austerity measures for Torres also...
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Maybe so, but a city side with dzeko, Tevez and Balotelli would not need Torres when they play with 1 up top. But that wouldnt stop them I guess.

My point is would the sale of Torres alone be enough to rejuvinate the whole squad? Bearing in mind his form would they get enough for him?

Gerrard wont move on now, his time for that has passed.

Maybe the sale of Reina would get them £20m but that leaves them needing a keeper and 2 strikers at least. So the bulk of the money spent would take them back to square one.
 
My tuppance worth;

Feed Me said:
- Lack of proactive substitutions - he wanted until the hour to make the first substitution despite it being abundantly clear the starting eleven weren't working well.
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Presumably he didn't really trust his subs or just wanted to give the side a chance to come good (he's pretty much tried everything he can now formation/line up wise)...but yeah, was surprised he left it so long, without at least changing the obviously faltering system. Bangerwrong


Feed Me said:
- Joe Cole - when your team is as bereft of ideas of his is, why is a player that has the potential to be the side's creative impulse sat amongst the subs and why has he played such a peripheral role? You may not rate him much, but he's worth a run in that Liverpool side.
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I hoestly don't think he is. Cole's always been a bit of a playground footballer even at the best of times. Nowadays he just looks like some flash kid who's hopelessly out of his depth. There's a reason Chelsea got rid and I don't think they'd take back even if they were offered money to do so.

Plus he's a bellend.

Feed Me said:
- Raul Meireles on the right - he's been occasionally excellent of late from the middle of the park. He's clearly out of position on the flank.
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Excellent is pushing it. Competent I reckon is closer to the mark. Agreed with the point though. Don't get why he was playing on the wing...especially not when Liverpool had decent and fit wide players sitting on the bench.

One thing I think about football in general, is that managers are nearly all guilty of doing spastic things, usually as a result of over estimating their own managerial significance on a game...though that still doesn't explain why so many of them fail at the basic concept of playing players in their actual positions. Pigeon man is far from the only guilty party really...Fergie did a similar thing with Rooney the night before.


Feed Me said:
- Fernando Torres - why not just get rid? He's been below his best for the best part of a year and a half now. That's too long to be living on a reputation. Dimi Berbatov has taken dogs abuse on these boards in the past and he's produced more than Torres has in the past season and a bit. He's still got resale value - why not cash in and begin to rebuild the side. He doesn't look as though he wants to be there.
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My guess is that the only reason he's still there, is because there's a very limited list of clubs he wants to play for, probably only Real or Barca (doubt he'd go to another English team, and the Italian league is rubbish), and you'd suspect neither of those actually need or want him. Basically they're stuck with a sulking Torres until he decides to grow up.

Feed Me said:
- Their fans - I have sympathy with Hodgson in this regard because it's not productive for anyone within a football club to hear such levels of negativity from the terraces. And their voluble chants for "Dalglish!" are just bizarre - he's been out of club management for far too long. Even their messiah would have trouble polishing a turd.
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Every time I start to have a bit of sympathy for them, they go and do something incredibly spastic (like the sarcastic cheering of the Konchesky substitution last night), and the moment of sorrow is instantly replaced with the entirely more satisfying "haha, you cnuts deserve this" feeling.

The Benitez cult thing is also quite scary. What a bunch of spastics.

Feed Me said:
- If Bolton, Sunderland, Blackpool, Blackburn and Stoke can all have gathered more points and occupy a higher league place than Liverpool, how can anyone at the club complain about the resources at their disposal? They could conceivably field the following team in their next match:

-----------Reina

Johnson Skrtel Agger Aurelio

-------Lucas Meireles

------Kuyt Gerrard Cole

-----------Torres

Why does the manager cop it when such big names players are a combination of below par and not arsed?
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I think a lot of those players are just overstated water carriers (at best), and that's the main problem. There isn't the quality there to dig them out of a rut. Only really Torres and Gerrard have it, and one of those is too busy acting like his hairstyle to be any use.

People have underestimated just how big a mess Hodgson has been left with. That's not to say he's doing a good job...it's been a bit of a disaster, and his negatism circus has become tiresome, but the route of the problem lies with a deceptively average squad.

If they fielded that line up against us I'd expect us to probably win comfortably. Even at Anfield.
 
The simple problem is that the back four is shite.

Carragher is no longer holding it together so it has become especially telling to everyone.
 
Roy, Roy, Roy. What are you doing? After Liverpool lost 1-0 to bottom of the table Wolves, the already unpopular (to put it mildly) Roy Hodgson decided to turn on the fans. "Since I came here the famous Anfield support has not really been there," said Roy, opening himself up for a whole world of pain. However, as there were 'Rafa come home' banners and chants of Kenny Dalglish's name, does he have a point
 
I still think they will finish 6th or 7th.The key will be the decision on Torres. Sell and bring in two players who will perform or get him playing anything like he can. It would be great if they are fighting relegation come March or April. I can't see it though.
 
I'm finding it really fecking difficult to feel any kind of sympathy for those twats.
I have a deep rooted hatred for that bunch of wankers and seeing them in this almighty mess warms my heart.

Just remember how they were in the 70's & 80's and enjoy their demise. I don't think there's any need for us to look at what is going wrong and why it's going wrong. To paraphrase a certain permed ex-messiah of theirs "I will tell you now, I would love it, love it if they went down"
 
The Scouse were in a bit of a mess when he took over, but that was mostly down to the uncertainty of the ownership situation, which has now been resolved. Benitez didn't leave matters on the pitch in all that great order either, the problem Hodgson has is that he spent a few bob in the summer, and what he brought in was unmitigated dross. Is Poulsen the worst player ever to play in the Premier League? Konchesky has been dire, what the feck has happened to Joe Cole? Meireles might be a decent player but he's not to grips with the league yet

His biggest problem is that his best two players, Gerrard and Torres, are shadows of themselves, maybe due to the number of injuries they've had this season

Hodgson is surely only another bad result or two from the sack
 
B Cantona said:
The Scouse were in a bit of a mess when he took over, but that was mostly down to the uncertainty of the ownership situation, which has now been resolved. Benitez didn't leave matters on the pitch in all that great order either, the problem Hodgson has is that he spent a few bob in the summer, and what he brought in was unmitigated dross. Is Poulsen the worst player ever to play in the Premier League? Konchesky has been dire, what the feck has happened to Joe Cole? Meireles might be a decent player but he's not to grips with the league yet

His biggest problem is that his best two players, Gerrard and Torres, are shadows of themselves, maybe due to the number of injuries they've had this season

Hodgson is surely only another bad result or two from the sack
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let's hope he's still in charge when they come to Old Trafford in the cup
 
Say what you want about them, it's still just not quite the same up the top without them at least trying to challenge for the title. It was always Liverpool I most looked forward to seeing us play, now it just seems like a crappy team we've to get out of the way.
 
Cina said:
Say what you want about them, it's still just not quite the same up the top without them at least trying to challenge for the title. It was always Liverpool I most looked forward to seeing us play, now it just seems like a crappy team we've to get out of the way.
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That's incorrect. No matter where they are in the league, it's always the most anticipated game of the season (along with City)
Has been for as long as I can remember. Even when we were shite, they always looked out for us.
 
Firstly :lol:

Feed Me said:
- Lack of proactive substitutions - he wanted until the hour to make the first substitution despite it being abundantly clear the starting eleven weren't working well.
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When was the last time Sir Alex Ferguson made an unforced substitution before the hour mark? Levelling that as a downer on woy is out of order really, all old school managers are the same in that respect.

- Joe Cole - when your team is as bereft of ideas of his is, why is a player that has the potential to be the side's creative impulse sat amongst the subs and why has he played such a peripheral role? You may not rate him much, but he's worth a run in that Liverpool side.
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He's been suspended/injured/fighting armed robbers constantly since signing, and has clearly lost that spark.

- Raul Meireles on the right - he's been occasionally excellent of late from the middle of the park. He's clearly out of position on the flank.
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And who would you play there? They went with 2 up top at home as he has been told to do time and time again, Gerrard plays central with Liverpool's player of the season so far (Lucas) so Meireles could only fit out wide, unless they went with a diamond.

- Fernando Torres - why not just get rid? He's been below his best for the best part of a year and a half now. That's too long to be living on a reputation. Dimi Berbatov has taken dogs abuse on these boards in the past and he's produced more than Torres has in the past season and a bit. He's still got resale value - why not cash in and begin to rebuild the side. He doesn't look as though he wants to be there.
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As has been said sell to who exactly?

City- have the money, are (in theory) direct competition
Chelsea- tightening the purse strings, got a working system already with 1 striker
Real- out of the question, Torres is an Atlético boy
Barca- really, and he'd get a game there?
Inter- no chance, not the money.
AC- already very top heavy.

- Their fans - I have sympathy with Hodgson in this regard because it's not productive for anyone within a football club to hear such levels of negativity from the terraces. And their voluble chants for "Dalglish!" are just bizarre - he's been out of club management for far too long. Even their messiah would have trouble polishing a turd.
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Please let Dalglish get the job :angel:

- If Bolton, Sunderland, Blackpool, Blackburn and Stoke can all have gathered more points and occupy a higher league place than Liverpool, how can anyone at the club complain about the resources at their disposal? They could conceivably field the following team in their next match:

-----------Reina

Johnson Skrtel Agger Aurelio

-------Lucas Meireles

------Kuyt Gerrard Cole

-----------Torres

Why does the manager cop it when such big names players are a combination of below par and not arsed?
Click to expand...

Do you know anything about expectation? Liverpool are a gigantic club, they should for the size of them be competing for every trophy available to them, can you say the same about Bolton et al?
 
Talking Vulture said:
That's incorrect. No matter where they are in the league, it's always the most anticipated game of the season (along with City)
Has been for as long as I can remember. Even when we were shite, they always looked out for us.
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We could debate all day whether it's incorrect or not, but I was talking about from a personal stand point.

I look forward to Arsenal and City names more now.
 
To some extent Liverpool from 1990 to date have been like Manchester United 1968-1993. They have not won a Championship/Premiership but have done very well in Cup competitions.
In between Busby and Ferguson....we had McGuinness, O'Farrell, Docherty, Sexton and Atkinson who did not deliver a title.
Liverpool with Evans, Houllier, Benitez and Hodgson are in the same situation.
It will probably take them five years to win a title and that means Gerrard will never win a title with Liverpool.
The impression I get is that all title winning squads have maybe eight class players and the rest are ok-ish.
But Liverpools squad looks as if theres just Reina, Torres (who is disappointing) and Gerrard and the rest look ok-ish or even journeymen preofessionals. Skrtl is no Vidic.
They are carrying too many players. And too many players look as if they want to be carried.
The big advantage at United is how long Fergie has been there.
Yes every United team carries players who are not top drawer (Brown, O'Shea) but the point is that Fergie would not tolerate a player who was comfortable at being carried week after week.

The Liverpool fans have an air of "entitlement". The "Liverpool Way" is the winning way. Like all football fans they are self-deluded.
Yet to some extent the best contribution on RAWK last night was from a fan who argued that they would be better off selling EVERYBODY including Gerrard (who is 31) and starting afresh. With the squad they have it will take five years to be competitive. Selling the entire squad would be risk free......its a fair point if a controversial one.

But whats wrong with Liverpool is just a manifestation of whats wrong with the Premiershi. A lack of consistency. Too many overpaid coaches and players. And too many journeymen on mega salaries. And too many not prepared to work for it.
To that extent United are lucky. We........and Arsenal and Tottenham (less so Chelsea) and definitely NOT Citeh have cornered the markt in world class players in Premiership, an element of consistency and club ethos and intolerance of mediocrity.
Thats what Liverpool need to re-capture.
Hodgson does not seem to be the man to start a revolution thats needed. And going back to the future with Dalglish is not sensible.
Martin O'Neill?
The best manager with Premiership experience currently not in management.
Lets face it...we would be happy to have him at Old Trafford.
He is like a Kevin Keegan.......except O'Neill has REAL talent.

Me? Im happy listening to angry scousers phoning FiveLive and reading their messageboards. Thats the Man United supporter in me. But the football fan inside me does see a team/club floundering around clueless. And it makes for a good discussion with sensible footy fans.
 
ridd_013LinusRoache.jpg
 
cina said:
Say what you want about them, it's still just not quite the same up the top without them at least trying to challenge for the title. It was always Liverpool I most looked forward to seeing us play, now it just seems like a crappy team we've to get out of the way.
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No chance. As much as we missed the derby matches, it was more fun watching City face Barnsley, Scunthorpe et al
 
Re selling Torres; I think they'd struggle to. As mentioned in the OP he's pretty much been shit for 18 months and hasn't looked even slightly interested on the pitch, and that's for the brief few periods when he's been available and not injured. I said in the summer when people were talking about us trying to buy him - he's a liability, and an expensive one at that. Why would any club (and I even include City and Chelsea here) want to spend the £40m he would likely command to have a sulky, shadow of his former self, extremely injury prone Fernando Torres take up one of their squad places? With places in the squad now limited he's beyond a luxury, and I don't see why anyone would want him.

I think his decision to sign for Liverpool might just be the worst he has made, and he has stagnated his own club career through doing so.
 
You don't sell Torres because people would openly question the clubs ambition and because his values decreased. He reminds me of Ruud in his final seasons here, and I think they need an overhaul. However Torres could easily recapture his best form at a club that 'excites him' or one he has confidence in so do you just give him away?

When you look at Babel, a player who's been there for seasons and yet has not progressed because he's not had games. So instantly your talking about a once valuable player being a turd who no one wants and they have too many turds

They've been overtaken by City/Spurs and maybe one or two others and it's a bad moment for the scousers
 
R_Nick said:
Re selling Torres; I think they'd struggle to. As mentioned in the OP he's pretty much been shit for 18 months and hasn't looked even slightly interested on the pitch, and that's for the brief few periods when he's been available and not injured. I said in the summer when people were talking about us trying to buy him - he's a liability, and an expensive one at that. Why would any club (and I even include City and Chelsea here) want to spend the £40m he would likely command to have a sulky, shadow of his former self, extremely injury prone Fernando Torres take up one of their squad places? With places in the squad now limited he's beyond a luxury, and I don't see why anyone would want him.

I think his decision to sign for Liverpool might just be the worst he has made, and he has stagnated his own club career through doing so.
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I agreee with your posr there Nick but on the Flip side we all know what he can do when firing on all cylinders. He probably knows that he is going to go soon which is whay he couldnt be arsed but he certainly needs to start playing again to put himself into the shop window if he wants to attract interest. But it reflects his professionalism and loyaltly or lack of it, if that is the case.

Based on previous form he is worth maybe 20 million but only after a thorough medical becasue there may be an underlying injury that is niggling.
He would be a good fit at United I think, him Rooney and Berb on form would be a lethal combo, never gonna happen though.

As for the situation in general, I think woy was brought in to steady the ship but I think he is actually compounding the problem with his style of management and his atrocious media interaction. They are in serious trouble and need to act soon on that. Hodgson does not have dressing room or the fans and its quite obvious. He is on borrowed time.

In fact if we give them a hiding next week in the cup that could be it for him.
 
Feed Me said:
We know that Rafa Benitez left them in a relative mess. A seventh place finish last season and a relatively weak squad. But nonetheless, isn't Hodgson massively underachieving given what he has at his disposal?
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Yes he is underachieving big time



First of all what no one seems to talk about is that his superman Steven Gerrard is past his best, no longer has the legs to drive this team out of its current state of mediocrity. Its abit like if we didn't handle Scholes very well and just made him the go to man in a very poor team and provided him with little defensive cover etc... he would get severely found out and made to look poor which is whats happening to Gerrard. The time has come for new players to step up and lead the team and for him to take a backseat role in the side, but such is their dearth of talent... this neccessity appears very unlikely to be met.

Given the weakness of the Chelsea bench on Monday, I'm sure they would have taken a Babel, Cole, Agger or Maxi to sit amongst their subs, for instance. When you're able to field a side containing Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Meireles, Gerrard and Torres, you shouldn't be a mere 3 points above the relegation zone come the New Year.
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He is a very negative manager, its like the owners of Liverpool thought.. that Rafa fella he was too attack minded and flamboyant, we need someone who'll restore order and discipline in the side. I mean Hello? Rafa was so precise and meticulous and look where it left him, little interpersonal skills to speak off and what the team of Liverpool needed was a fresh approach instead what they got was same old same old but a downgraded version.

Watching the Wolves game yesterday, a few things screamed out at me:

- Lack of proactive substitutions - he wanted until the hour to make the first substitution despite it being abundantly clear the starting eleven weren't working well.
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Basically explained in the passage above.

- Joe Cole - when your team is as bereft of ideas of his is, why is a player that has the potential to be the side's creative impulse sat amongst the subs and why has he played such a peripheral role? You may not rate him much, but he's worth a run in that Liverpool side.
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This is another decision which leaves one baffled, he seems intent on using Cole out wide despite him having zero pace whatsoever, average crossing ability and then he punishes him by leaving him out of the side for prolonged periods instead of playing him more centrally and allowing him to develop some match fitness. The few games in the Europa League where he had been allowed to play centrally he got assists and goals, so I can't see why Hodgeson hasn't persisted with him centrally even off the bench when they're chasing a win etc.

- Raul Meireles on the right - he's been occasionally excellent of late from the middle of the park. He's clearly out of position on the flank.
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This guys impressed me and I feel rather sorry for him having come into such a mediocre side. Again I don't see what he's doing out wide, how is he going to stretch opponents and take them down the line? He is not a natural winger by any stretch of the imagination, what he is though is a more than competent central midfielder and he should be utilised in that particular position...no where else.

- Fernando Torres - why not just get rid? He's been below his best for the best part of a year and a half now. That's too long to be living on a reputation. Dimi Berbatov has taken dogs abuse on these boards in the past and he's produced more than Torres has in the past season and a bit. He's still got resale value - why not cash in and begin to rebuild the side. He doesn't look as though he wants to be there.
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Torres is in a bad situation, he should've asked to leave this summer instead it looks very unlikely that there are any top teams willing to acquire his services. I think if he swallows some pride, Citeh and even Real Madrid could be calling and if I was Liverpool I'd do the decent thing and let him go.

Their fans - I have sympathy with Hodgson in this regard because it's not productive for anyone within a football club to hear such levels of negativity from the terraces. And their voluble chants for "Dalglish!" are just bizarre - he's been out of club management for far too long. Even their messiah would have trouble polishing a turd.
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Look if we had such a negative manager as Woy in charge and Eric Cantona was on the sidelines every match clearly itching to take charge.. and we'd gone through as much years of heartache as Liverpool, I think we'd all grab a tin of Sardines and wave them in the air to make a point.

If Bolton, Sunderland, Blackpool, Blackburn and Stoke can all have gathered more points and occupy a higher league place than Liverpool, how can anyone at the club complain about the resources at their disposal? They could conceivably field the following team in their next match:

-----------Reina

Johnson Skrtel Agger Aurelio

-------Lucas Meireles

------Kuyt Gerrard Cole

-----------Torres

Why does the manager cop it when such big names players are a combination of below par and not arsed?
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Thats not the right side to use once again. Little natural width, no pace.. you're basing that lineup on past reputations instead of what their attributes or lack there of are in the present.

Cole is ineffective on the left and Gerrard isn't the force he was in the hole unless he's surrounded by pace.

Reina
Johnson Skrtel Agger Aurelio
N'Gog Merieles Gerrard/Lucas Babel
Kuyt
Torres​
 
They could have any combination of midfield options, even Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets if they wanted, but Liverpool's dire back four would simply hoof it up to Torres. Carragher is the worst in this respect but it seems to have been contagious to the entire back four. No faffing around with the midfield is really going to change that.

Meireles has never been a right-winger, let alone a wide player. Gerrard is more of a winger than Meireles is. The Lucas-Meireles pairing has looked remotely useful in the recent past - but Woy decided it would be a good idea to play two players out of position by sticking Gerrard in the middle of the park and forcing Meireles out wide.

With two "wingers" always looking to cut inside (Kuyt as an inverted winger, and Meireles as a hapless wide player), you need your full-backs to overlap aggressively to provide the additional width. Not a bad idea, mind, seeing as how they have N'Gog and Torres who are both decent in the air and have pace to snap on to drilled crosses. Unfortunately, on one side was Paul Konchesky. In addition, Woy plays his team so deep Johnson is running 10 yards extra per attack - something which will inevitably tire him out.

A lot of the problems stem from a lack of width. Liverpool have no orthodox winger - the closest they have is Dirk Kuyt. The next closest is Ryan Babel! This isn't always a problem in itself but their full-backs can't be trusted to make up the additional width, meaning the team is compressed into the centre of the park gifting Wolves an easy time with their pressing game.

Aurélio will probably be starting the next game given Konchesky was subbed off - which will provide them with a bit more width, at least for 10 minutes before his hamstring gives way again. Agger needs to start the next game because he is at least capable of passing the ball shorter than 60 yards. Johnson of course starts. Gerrard needs to play in attacking midfield behind Torres and Meireles needs to play alongside Lucas. The rest of the team is messing around with crap and will look rubbish no matter what combination is picked. But Babel and Kuyt would be the best options - at least it worked for a while last season. As for the last centre-back, it really is crud upon crud - to the extent that Danny Wilson should seriously be considered for at least a bench role.
 
Feed Me said:
When you're able to field a side containing Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Meireles, Gerrard and Torres, you shouldn't be a mere 3 points above the relegation zone come the New Year.
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Reina- actually a very good keeper, can't say much bad about him
Johnson- not that good of a defender, decent going forward
Skrtel- for as menacing as he looks, he's actually not that good of a defender
Meireles- no idea
Gerrard- been on a pretty steep decline since the 08/09 season which was probably his best
Torres- months injured, maybe rushed back and doesn't look interested

If those are their 'star' players, it's really no wonder they are where they are. The team isn't good enough, not to mention they all look mentally shot.
 
B Cantona said:
The Scouse were in a bit of a mess when he took over, but that was mostly down to the uncertainty of the ownership situation, which has now been resolved. Benitez didn't leave matters on the pitch in all that great order either, the problem Hodgson has is that he spent a few bob in the summer, and what he brought in was unmitigated dross. Is Poulsen the worst player ever to play in the Premier League? Konchesky has been dire, what the feck has happened to Joe Cole? Meireles might be a decent player but he's not to grips with the league yet

His biggest problem is that his best two players, Gerrard and Torres, are shadows of themselves, maybe due to the number of injuries they've had this season

Hodgson is surely only another bad result or two from the sack
Click to expand...

This. Woy was left a pile of dross by Rafa and the club was in a state of flux. Woy spent the money that was made available to him on players that he would have bought for Fulham. Indeed one of them was a player he bought for Fulham. They're not good enough for Liverpool's aspirations.

Joe Cole has flattered to deceive for many years - he's managed to fail to impress a number of good managers including Mourinho and Capello. These guys see past the odd good game and don't rate him at the top level. It seems now that Hodgson now doesn't trust him to start either despite recruiting him expensively only a few months ago.

Woy is obviously getting crucified by the Anfield fans which is very unlike them but to an extent I can understand it. Why he took his best striker off last night and left the entirely disinterested Torres on the pitch defeats me and clearly annoyed the Scousers (no bad thing :D - sorry couldn't resist). Shouts of "Hodsgon for England!" are very amusing but probably less than helpful. The return of King Kenny would also be amusing and probably less than helpful.

I know the OP doesn't want me to enjoy this but I do, it's hysterical. Simply, Liverpool are shite and they know they are.
 
They are missing a Benyayoun badly... He really did the job for them for the past 2-3 seasons and was one of their best players... Cole has been injured and looks lost imo.
Kuyt... Well... I don't rate him much as a winger as he doesn't have any trickery in him...

I don't know, Gerrard has been injured... Lucas might have had a couple of good games as of late but he still is far from a top 4 MF...

Hope they get relegated... I prefer watching Blackpool.
 
Just seen this on Facebook:

"It's the fans fault now then?

Roy: THE FANS AREN'T BEHIND YOU BECAUSE YOUR TRACK RECORD IS POOR, YOUR TACTICS ARE NEGATIVE, YOUR SIGNINGS ARE SHITE, YOUR INTERVIEWS ARE CRINGEWORTHY AND YOUR FAMOUS MAN MANAGEMENT IS NON EXISTENT

Other than t...hat your doing great "

Is it just me or could that actually be describing Rafa? But he's still god in thier eyes despite making most of the same mistakes Hodgson now is.
 
Either the players don't like or trust him, or his way of doing things and his media comments have put them offside, but the biggest problem is no team spirit in the games I've seen.
 
Poor track record? I guess they're forgetting 2 uefa cup finals, that happens by fluke.

Negative tactics? Rafa?

Shite signings? Okay I'll give you Poulsen, the others are decent players.

Cringeworthy interviews? This is a facht meester feergusson

Man management? Who knows what goes on behind closed doors, since Ryan Babel's twitter (which was positive to woy) is our best source this is null and void.
 
Who is worse? Insua or Konchesky? Has Insua been sold or is he on loan?
 
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