Liverpool

Dirk Kuyt leaves Liverpool – June 3rd 2012

Dirk Kuyt has left Liverpool and moved to Turkish club Fenerbahce on a three-year deal.

When you think of Kuyt, you think of workrate – and he’s a very good example of a player who got the very most out of his ability, and seemed willing to contribute for his club regardless of where in the side he was used.

The trouble with working hard, is that sometimes it leads to fans overlooking quite how good a player is technically, as is the case with all dominant attributes. But give Kuyt a chance in the box, and more often that not he’d put it away.

Six years at Anfield, and a return of 71 goals in 276 appearances; a false economy considering how much else he contributed and how rarely he was used as an out-and-out forward. The kind of player that every club could use in their squad.

A disappointing reaction to Brendan Rodgers from Liverpool fans – May 31st 2012

This should be prefixed with the caveat that it’s the reaction of some Liverpool fans that has been disappointing, rather than all.

There seems to be some real snobbery at large here, and a common suggestion that Liverpool is too big a club to be managed with someone of Brendan Rodgers’ experience.

That’s a really lazy assumption, especially if you look at Rodgers body of work over the last couple of years. It’s also irritating to hear Mark Lawrenson weigh-in on the issue and describe the appointment as a ‘gamble’.

That’s incredibly patronising – and, anyway, isn’t any appointment a gamble? There’s really no such thing as a safe manager, because nobody can accurately second-guess what kind of results are going transpire from a new regime Are the fans with the disparaging attitude towards Rodgers some of the same group that predicted a renaissance under Kenny Dalglish? How did that work out?

If you scout around the mailboxes of some of the more prominent football websites out there, you’ll find some ludicrous comments from Liverpool fans – and actually some very childish remarks. Again, that’s not a reflection of the majority, because this is a club with a famously loyal fanbase, but it’s still a shame that a significant number seem to think that the club is ‘above’ Brendan Rodgers.

On what basis? Look at the table. This is a club that needs to start plotting a fresh course back to success, not continually measuring itself against the halcyon days of yesteryear. So with that in mind, what’s the harm in a fresh approach from a younger manager who will, at the least, get the team playing an attractive brand of football.

The trouble with Kenny Dalglish was that his past reputation clouded judgement over his present day success – and while there may have been a romantic feel to seeing him in the dugout, it did the club no good whatsoever. With Rodgers, no such distortion exists – there’s a refreshing clarity through which he’ll be judged. That’s a good thing, this is a football club in need of a new identity, and the Northern Irishman is worthy candidate to define it.

This is a good appointment, and his an air of freshness about it – but Rodgers can do without the snobbery that seems to have sprung up, because nobody will win if that’s allowed to linger.

Give him a chance.

Priorities for Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool – May 30th 2012

Move on the deadwood

Say what you want about Kenny Dalglish’s status at Liverpool, and his past achievements at the club, but his transfer policy has left the squad unbalanced and short on quality in key areas.

Step one at Anfield for Brendan Rodgers, is to have a few honest conversations with some of the more under-talented members of his first-team squad. Jay Spearing has no place in the starting line-up of a side of Liverpool’s history, nor does Charlie Adam, and nor – yet – does Jordan Henderson. The first two need to be moved on, while Henderson – although on thin ice with the club’s fans – is probably worth persevering with on the basis that he’ll suit Rodgers’ pass-first style.

Additionally, some of the cast-offs from Dalglish’s tenure have obviously grown disillusioned with life at the club; Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez need to be found new homes over the Summer, as their presence only serves to protract the negativity of the last couple of years.

Put some structure back into the midfield

Contrast Liverpool’s contemporary midfield with that of years gone past – it’s not a flattering comparison. Even in the last five years, it’s disintegrated from being a rigid core of the side to a flimsy afterthought propped-up by an ageing Steven Gerrard. Too often last season, that part of the team went missing, and Rodgers needs to spend the off-season giving it some definition and some purpose. Lucas Leiva will soon be fit again, and it’s worth trying to find a way to accommodate Alberto Aquilani in the side – Combine the Italian’s passing range with the destructive qualities of the Brazilian, and allow Gerrard the freedom to push forward in front of them. That’s a first-class trio of players, and a combination superior to anything at Old Trafford, White Hart Lane, St James’ Park or the Emirates.

Get Joe Cole on the phone

John Henry has had his fingers burnt by transfer market activity in the past, so it’s unlikely that he’s going to be willing or able to fund similarly aggressive spending in the near future. That being said, Liverpool are painfully short of attacking guile, or any imaginative creativity – so where is it going to come from?

The North of France?

Six goals and three assists doesn’t tell the story of how well Joe Cole has acquitted himself in Ligue 1 this season, and he’s surely worth another chance at Anfield. Remember, this is one of the most technically-gifted English players of his generation, he didn’t become a bad player overnight. Like Jordan Henderson, he’s another player who will benefit from Rodgers’ style of play – Cole was born to play football on the floor, and that’s exactly what the new manager will be asking of his players. Although the player himself will protest, he’s really not suited to playing in a central role – but that’s fine, because Liverpool have wide positions which need filling, and Cole can at least be a contributor out there.

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Roy Hodgson and his fondness for Liverpool players – May 22nd 2012

The Premier League Owl

Is Roy Hodgson just trying to appease Liverpool’s fans by loading the England squad with their players? Or maybe the FA has a quota that needs filling?

Can anybody come up with a better explanation for Steven Gerrard, Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, and Glen Johnson being named to the full squad, and for Jordan Henderson and Martin Kelly being on the back-up list?

Downing’s inclusion is akin to just taking twenty-two players, because we all know that he’ll offer nothing in Polkraine – just as he’s done every other time he’s worn an England shirt. It’s a selection that reeks of a lack of originality. Why select someone that quite clearly isn’t up to international standard?

Jordan Henderson’s presence on the reserve list is so ludicrous that it almost devalues the honour of being named to the squad. Never has a poorer season been rewarded with so much, because not only has the player disappointed in his first season at Liverpool, he’s been completely anonymous. At the moment, a sensible debate would be over whether Henderson is actually good enough for Premier League football, not the international equivalent. It’s laughable – this is a player that looked hopelessly out of his depth in the U21 European Championship last Summer, and hasn’t progressed at all since then. Come on Roy, do the maths.

And Martin Kelly? No, seriously, this is just a wind-up now, isn’t it? Kelly has made twenty-two Premier League appearances across three seasons, and he’s on the back-up list ahead of Micah Richards? How does that work?

Is Hodgson reading the table right? He does know that Liverpool finished eight this year, and that not one of the players he’s picked can be accused of having performed well this year? This is like a bad dream – the national side is being stock-piled with average dross, even more so than it needs to be.

Quite extraordinary.

On the plus side, at least there’s no cause for heightened optimism with England this time. Let’s get the family tree out and dig for some Irish heritage…

Reasons for and against…taking the Liverpool job – May 21st 2012

The Premier League Owl

So it seems that being manager at Liverpool isn’t quite as alluring an offer as it once was, with reports that Brendan Rodgers and Frank de Boer having turned down the chance to interview with John Henry.

So – usual format – the pluses and minuses of the job…

For…

Regardless of where they finished last season, this is still Liverpool, and still one of the most storied clubs in football. Kenny Dalglish hasn’t left a squad in disrepair, just one that requires a bit more luck and bit of a tweak in a few crucial positions.

The talent pool at Liverpool is still to be envied. In Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva, Jose Reina, and Martin Skrtel, the club have a very solid spine, and one that wouldn’t be out of place in the Top 6.

If a new manager wants to generate funds for a rebuild, then several players have a genuine resale value. Admittedly, losses may be incurred, but Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, Glen Johnson, Stewart Downing, and Charlie Adam would all interest other clubs if they were deemed surplus to requirements.

Alberto Aquilani is returning. English fans have a false impression of the Italian midfielder, and understandably so, he’s never come close to his best in the Premier League. That being said, he’s been a victim of circumstance in the sense that none of the managers that he’s played under have allowed him the opportunity to flourish in his natural role. As the conduit between Steven Gerrard and Lucas, Aquilani could surely be of value. Or at least more so than Jordan Henderson.

Against…

Liverpool’s decline has been poorly-timed, because it’s coincided with drastic improvements in teams who traditionally been their inferior. Newcastle, Tottenham, and obviously Manchester City have all progressed, and so not only do the Merseysiders have to reel those teams back in, but they’ve lost considerable ground on more traditional rivals like Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

John Henry has had his fingers burnt by Kenny Dalglish’s spending. As a result, there has to at least be a question mark over the extent to which he would back a new manager in the transfer market. Yes, as mentioned, there’s value in selling-off parts of the existing squad, but it’s hard to see how that will cover the full-cost of remodelling this squad.

Somewhere along the line, FSG also have to commit some funding to the long-promised new stadium. Whether the fans like or not, a project of that size will always trump squad improvement for importance – hence a situation could exist where some of the bigger names in this team have to be cashed-in.

Anybody thinking of applying for the job will surely have noticed the boom-bust effect Liverpool can have on a career. This is a club, it seems, where you either succeed or fail – there’s no middle-ground. Roy Hodgson will attest that, should things go badly for you, Anfield is not a very enjoyable place to be.

Liverpool as a proposition are in a awkward place. The club’s current standing domestically makes them unappealing to the elite names in European management, yet their reputation and history probably makes them too much of a step-up for developing managers and those still carving out a reputation for themselves.

This is a long-term job, because it could be as much as five years before Liverpool are even close to challenging at the top of the league again. Financial Fair Play will help them to an extent, because it will prevent their more monied rivals from stretching the talent gap that currently exists, but regardless, anyone wanting the manager’s seat at Anfield has to be prepared to commit themselves for the long-haul.

The King is dead. Long live the brand? – May 20th 2012

Over the last ten days, football has delighted us with some of the most remarkable moments sport has to offer. Recent events have invoked the strongest of our emotions be it the euphoria of Manchester City’s astoundingly tense title victory, the heartbreaking travesty of a referee dictated relegation for Bolton or the disappointing removal of a king from his Anfield throne. We have been invigorated by football’s most enthralling aspects, its unpredictability and versatility to entertain, but our experiences have equally been marred by the game’s most deplorable of features and I fear the latter holds greater consequence. The dismissal of Kenny Dalglish is truly a travesty of the highest order, emphasising both the rapidity with which the core values of football can be thrown aside and the more demoralising revelation that fans have accepted this cycle as rational.

The sport currently operates in a climate of contradiction peddled by club spokesmen and media outlets alike. You will often hear phrases akin to, “building for the future” or “a complete rebuilding of the squad is needed” yet the actions of these institutions and the fickleness of mind shown by observers who bandy around such comments, undermine their own claims. The core principle of a long-term plan is an acknowledgement that time will be given for the process to develop. The interim period between start and completion, may produce varying results not always positive, that must be taken in light of a greater purpose. Stability is a necessity and it is unfortunately the sparsest resource in European football. The current system allots time to managers and staff while their team is winning and they are shown the door when results turn. It is a childish, thoughtless, reaction, founded upon a need for instant gratification that flies in the face of the concepts they so sincerely preach. Their behaviour revolves around a black and white perception of success that is not applicable in reality with every rival team setting equal expectations. Not everyone can win the league in the same season.

With Kenny Dalglish, the whole situation is heart-achingly demoralising. It has reached the point at which fans were criticised for their defence of Dalglish on-account of being too sentimental! This is when my hope for the future of the sport begins to wane, for is not the whole game founded upon the principle of sentimentality? Do we not diligently support our team through thick ‘n’ thin based upon such ideals of comradeship, town heritage and sense of community? Do we not spoil our players in affection and praise until that inevitable moment of their shift to a rival only to swathe them in scorn and vitriol? Caretakers strolling in and deciding what is “best for the club” while claiming a deep-rooted affiliation simply through the command of riches few others can match, shall never understand the ‘Liver Bird’ spirit embodied by Dalglish.

Unflinching corporate logic was the tool used to assess and accordingly dismiss Kenny Dalglish from office. This same logic would have had us believe that the appointment of a manager previously fired for struggling to stave off relegation, could never lead a team to an FA Cup victory and a Champions League final. It would have assured us both Messi and Ronaldo would have scored from the penalty spot in their respective semi-finals and that Manchester City would not have overturned a two goal deficit in injury time to give us the greatest climax to a Premier League season in history. Football follows its own brand of surreal logic and all that we can ask for is that our support is reciprocated through the commitment of those who represent our club.

Liverpool FC has always prided itself in keeping its matters ‘in house’, providing time for its managers and supporting their position until it became truly untenable. Kenny Dalglish is a paragon of these values and for a time, there was serenity in watching ‘The Reds’ play, whether in victory or defeat, knowing that the club was in the hands of one of us. This is no longer the case and in a matter of days the club has had its most cherished features, those traits that separated it from many of the modern era, stripped away and exposed to the onslaught of sports capitalism. I wish every success upon the new manager whoever he may be and will follow those ‘Red Men’ as avidly as I ever have, but no matter what success may lie in our future it will never be as sweet as it would have been with our King.

Four reasons why Kenny Dalglish must be relieved of his duties at Liverpool – May 16th 2012

The Squad

As tired as the old expression is, it remains true: the table doesn’t lie. Take Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard out of this Liverpool squad, and it looks like the ninth best set of players in the country. Lucas Leiva was lost to injury, but the blame for everything else has to lie at Dalglish’s door. The midfield is painfully short of quality – illustrated by the frequent need to pick Jay Spearing – and there’s no width in the side.

This was a situation borne out of the manager’s transfer policy. Buy over-priced, under-talented British players who don’t have the quality or the personality to play for Liverpool, and what did you expect would happen?

A conundrum for John Henry: how can you commit the funds to a much-needed overhaul of the club, when you can’t really trust the manager to spend them?

Misguided Loyalties

Jordan Henderson made a staggering 37 appearances in the Premier League this season. That number is shocking for two reasons; firstly that a player of such obvious deficiency should be afforded such a role, and secondly, that having turned in one anonymous performance after the other, Henderson still wasn’t dropped.

You get the feeling that Dalglish kept playing Henderson – and Charlie Adam, and Andy Carroll – with the hope that at some point they’d justify their ludicrous price tags and his decision to meet them. Compare the output of those players with the production of the scandalously under-utilised Maxi Rodriguez, and you have a clear example of how a manager’s stubbornness can undermine his own team.

Poor Public Relations

Whether fairly or not, Dalglish is tied by association to the Luis Suarez mess. Of course, the manager himself had nothing to do with whatever occurred between Suarez and Patrice Evra in that Anfield penalty box, but his role in the aftermath made the situation far worse than it needed to be. What does it say when your American owners have to pressgang you into an apology which you’ve failed consistently to give. Yes, dressing room unity and showing support for your players is important, but not when it’s at the cost of being seen to tolerate the kind of behaviour that Suarez was accused of.

Dalglish is an agent of alienation for Liverpool. The fans love him, and rightly so because of his past, but he doesn’t half make Liverpool hard to like Fostering the belief that the world is against you may have some unifying merit to it, but it also brings an additional and heavy pressure to a club. The excuses, the surly and sarcastic interviews…a fresh approach is badly needed.

The legacy issue

It shouldn’t end like this. A club legend should never be dragged kicking and screaming out of the dressing room door. Dalglish is a proud man, with a deserved status on Merseyside, and every day that he stays as Liverpool manager is currently another stain on his legacy. The romanticism and goodwill can’t save him anymore, he’s out of touch with his approach and out of his depth in the contemporary game.

The preservation of dignity has not got to be an overriding factor in his decision-making process. He’s had a go, and it hasn’t worked – thank you and goodbye. Given that there’s no real suggestion that anything at Anfield is improving, why continue?

Yevhen Konoplyanka is worth a scouting trip for Liverpool – May 15th 2012

English commentators will curse the day this guy arrives in England – Yehven Konoplyanka is a bit of mouthful. But he’s also an incredibly talented player.

A major international tournament always shines some light on some talented, but unheard of players, and Konoplyanka could emerge from the European Championships as one of the hotter properties on the market. Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk will certainly hope so. 22 years-old, and already with 16 caps and 5 goals for his country, he’s a forward who’s gifted with the ball at his feet. England may very well find that out to their peril on the 19th June in Donetsk.

Most of you will remember the Ukraine from the last World Cup as being a dour, unambitious side – not so much this time round. Andriy Shevchenko is still there, but he’s surrounded by players like Andriy Yarmalenko and Oleg Husiev, who promise a lot of pace and trickery out wide.

If the Ukrainians perform, then it could very well make a star of someone like Konoplyanka – and he’s be a really good fit for a Liverpool-type side, a club who are looking for some creativity. The need for an attacking-midfielder is highlighted and circled on Kenny Dalglish’s shopping list this Summer, and he would do well to tune in to the Ukraine’s games during the Championships.

New Liverpool kit for 2012/13 – May 11th 2012

This is really nice.

Liverpool’s first kit under their new manufacturing agreement with Warrior is out, and it looks like a huge success.

Take that ADIDAS, this is a huge improvement on your weird collar design that made everybody look like they had no neck.

Ola Toivonen would be a coup for Liverpool – May 10th 2012

Big, Swedish and good on the ball, but that’s where the comparisons end with Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Ola Toivonen is reaching his prime, and is fast outgrowing the Eredivisie. The PSV forward is part of one of Dutch football’s most destructive trios alongside Dries Mertens and Zakaria Labyad.

Regardless of Andy Carroll rediscovering some of his form, there’s a nagging doubt of his ability to play with Luis Suarez. The two just don’t mesh as well as they should on paper.

If you consider that Toivonen would probably be available this Summer for under £10m, then the Swede would be worth a gamble for Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish. The upside? He’s just as comfortable playing in a withdrawn role as he is as forward. Think of him as a bigger, more skilful, and more physical version of Dirk Kuyt – sort of anyway, maybe the shock of blonde hair is clouding our judgement a bit.

The point remains though; Liverpool need a conduit between their midfield and their forward line, and this guy is perfect – and at 6ft3, he’s not going to have any trouble with the physicality of English football. At his asking price, he’s worth bringing in just as an option.

Liverpool reportedly pursuing Juventus winger – May 9th 2012

Ah, a name from the past. We’ve lost count of how many times Eljero Elia has been linked with a move to the Premier League; he’s ‘been on Liverpool’s radar’ at least half-a-dozen times now.

The Dutch winger may be the new owner of a Scudetto medal, but that seems to have done little to increase his desire to stay in Turin, and is now desperate to go pretty much anywhere else – here are his quotes from a Dutch newspaper that none of us can pronounce, let alone spell:

“I want to leave Juventus. I want to enjoy playing football again. I remained quiet all year and was always positive towards the club and the team, but I never got a chance to prove my worth.

I didn’t play much and consequently miss out on Euro 2012. It’s fair to say this season has been a failure. It’s really hurt me, but I’ve become stronger mentally.

I’m 25 now and I still have a long career ahead of me. I came from far, but I will have to start all over again.”

Some British media sources have picked this up and turned it into Liverpool-related news. Strictly speaking, it’s not really, but the logic is clear – the Merseyside club tried to sign the winger from Hamburg last Summer before he opted to go to Serie A, and now the presumption is that they’ll go back in for him.

Maybe. If they do he would bring a lot of width, and pace to burn – and let’s face it, anything that gets Stewart Downing out of the side is a good thing.

Cutting through the Andy Carroll ‘England’ hyperbole – May 7th 2012

This started on Twitter, and has spread through the more traditional media forms as the weekend’s gone on.

Half-an-hour of football is not the basis for England inclusion.

Like most people, we were pleased to see Andy Carroll have the impact that he did on Saturday; he’s tolerated a lot of abuse this season, and deserved his moment at Wembley on the big stage. Carroll is a throwback of a footballer, old-fashioned and uncomplicated – we like that about him, we wish him well.

But please, don’t make his cameo performance in the FA Cup final into something that it wasn’t. It was thirty minutes long, and while he scored and caused Chelsea all kind of problems, it was a moment in isolation – and Carroll needs to show that he can reproduce that kind of impact on a weekly basis.

If you were on Twitter late last night, you might even have heard Oliver Holt describe Saturday as a ‘rebirth’ for the targetman.

Christ.

The press have got to stop this boom-bust style reporting. It’s not accurate or realistic. Ultimately also, it’s not fair on the player – from Andy Carroll’s perspective, he’s either reading that he’s the worst player to ever wear a Liverpool shirt, or that he’s an English Christian Vieri.

Let’s have some perspective shall we?

Most of us want Carroll to succeed, because he could be so very effective for England. That being said, let’s not make the quantum leap between one afternoon in the FA Cup and being a world-beater. Let him develop as a player, let him grow, and let him work out the rough edges in his game that are holding him back.

Nobody is being negative, but let’s all just be a little bit more realistic.

Why losing at Wembley today would be a good thing for Liverpool – May 5th 2012

When Liverpool edged Cardiff out in the Carling Cup final, it was always going to take on more significance than it warranted. Here was some silverware, which in the absence of any real credibility, could be used as a shield for Kenny Dalglish to deflect criticism with. Without the Carling Cup, and without today’s FA Cup Final appearance, there would be no clouding the issue over what Dalglish has failed to do – point Liverpool in an upward direction.

English football needs a strong Liverpool, but victory at Wembley today may be an obstacle to that rather than a stepping-stone. Since his return to the club, Kenny Dalglish has won both of his fixtures against Chelsea – but given what has occurred in between those two games, what would another success over the London side prove? Or what would it be in aid of?

Sure, winning a trophy is nice – it’s a nice day out for the fans, and will draw the sting from a painful season. But it’s short term – it plasters over the cracks, and dulls a reality which needs to be faced. Liverpool have already qualified for Europe, winning another trophy would just give Dalglish a false economy to trade off.

The best thing that could happen to Liverpool today, in the long-run, would be for Chelsea to walk all over them.

There would be no come back from that. If all the frailties and deficiencies of this squad were laid bare in front of the nation, it would force a change of approach from Dalglish heading into next season – it would force him to abandon his belief that his side ‘are unlucky’, and accept that they are in fact just not good enough.

Losing would be very difficult to take today, but it really would be for the best. If Dalglish returns to Merseyside with the FA Cup, then that’s almost a vindication of the season – and that’s the complete reverse of the overhaul Liverpool need.

It’s not just a case of adding one or two players, and it hasn’t been a question of luck; Liverpool need to be completely remodelled if they’re even to be considered relevant again. Chelsea could go a long way to kick-starting that process.

Short-term losses for long-term gains…

Chelsea vs Liverpool (Carling Cup Final 2005) – May 4th 2012

Hands up if you preferred the Millenium Stadium to Wembley as a cup final venue?

With the roof closed, there was something really special and other-worldly about that atmosphere in Cardiff.

With Chelsea and Liverpool set to go head-to-head tomorrow for the FA Cup, let’s go back to 2005 and the last time these two met in a major final – and Jose Mourinho’s first final in English football.

This was a great game of football.

Liverpool to sign Rasmus Elm? – April 30th 2012

The Sun has been pretty bold here, leading their football coverage this morning with the claim that ‘LIVERPOOL have agreed an £8million fee for Swedish midfielder Rasmus Elm.’

Why do they always have the first word of the first paragraph in bold?

More relevantly, Liverpool have supposedly been ‘finalising plans for the 24-year-old’s summer switch to Merseyside on a five-year, £40,000-a-week deal’.

Off the top of our head, it’s hard to think of a foreign player who’s been linked with more English clubs than Elm, so if this is true, at least it would mark an end to the rumour-mongering.

Here’s what Kenny Dalglish might be buying…

Liverpool supposedly bidding for Gaston Ramirez – April 28th 2012

This comes courtesy of Italian TV station TMW and via The Metro – so add the required dosage of salt as you see fit.

Liverpool are apparently bidding for Bologna’s 21 year-old Uruguayan Gaston Ramirez – and that’s based on the following quotes from the player’s agent:

‘Bologna have received an offer near to 20million euros from an important club in the Premier League, Bologna will decide at the end of the season what they are going to do.’

Hmmm…

That’s pretty tenuous, even if Liverpool are the obvious candidate to be recruiting flair and creativity, given their obvious need to gouge Charlie Adam out of the first-team.

Six goals and four assists for Ramirez so far in Serie A this season – who doesn’t look like your typical South American playmaker at a physical 6ft. That’s a bonus though, because the usual ‘Pablo Aimar-style’ creative midfielder usually struggles against the more ‘industrious’ defending seen in England.

Beware the quotes from the agent, because that’s a popular trick to leverage interest from other clubs. Saying your client is the subject of interest from England is particularly effective too, given the affluent nature of the game over here.

Conspiracy theories to one side, here’s some video of Ramirez…

Loan Progress: Liverpool’s Alberto Aquilani – April 27th 2012

There are some rumours in the paper that AC Milan will not be looking to make Alberto Aquilani’s loan move permanent this Summer – if true, that’s a huge positive for Liverpool.

Aquilani has never been given a real chance at Anfield, and when he has played, he’s been expected to fill the huge void left in the midfield by Xabi Alonso’s departure – deeply unfair, they were never the same type of player.

What Kenny Dalglish lacks in his side is guile in the centre of the pitch, and that’s a commodity that neither Jordan Henderson or Charlie Adam can provide. Let Aquilani come back to England, give him a role that he’s comfortable with, and Liverpool might save themselves another massive outlay on an average English player this Summer – Aquilani was a blue-chip prospect when he was at Roma, and he’s worth far more than anybody believes him to be in England.

Twenty-one games, one goal, and six assists for a side of AC Milan’s calibre is quite significant, and only a fool would ignore what he could bring back to Liverpool. On that note, it’s a little disappointing to hear Dalglish’s comments about him this morning:

“If they (Milan) don’t activate the clause, he will be back here. At the end of the day if they don’t want him then he’ll come back here as he’s our player.

We’ve done everything right from our side so how they want to play it and what they want to do – that’s up to them. If they don’t want him, tell the boy you don’t want him. They will do what they have to do.

If they don’t trigger it or they don’t want him, it’s not a problem. I’ll be disappointed for the boy but he will come back here.”

That just sounds like Dalglish will find another buyer for the player if Milan don’t want him – that would be an error, this is a decent, decent footballer, and Liverpool would be crazy not to try to use his ability.

We’ll see how it plays out in the Summer – here are Aquilani’s best moments at AC Milan:

Liverpool: Keys to the Semi-Final – April 13th 2012

Play with width

Everton are most successful when they’re able to congest the pitch and bottle-up the attacking threat of their opposition, hence maintaining width and stretching the pitch is a key part of picking holes in their backline. Whoever Kenny Dalglish picks out wide, they must be encouraged not to simply cut back inside their full-backs – go wide, get to the byline, try to get in behind this defence.

Play Maxi Rodgriguez

Charlie Adam? No, come on – this is too big an occasion for him, and frankly he hasn’t done enough to warrant selection. Prior to the Liverpool going down to ten men on Tuesday night, Maxi performed really well, and showed an ingenuity from midfield that the club have lacked all year. Forgot the value of Adam’s set-pieces, because they’ve been exaggerated beyond their true worth – pick some guile.

Don’t give away free-kicks in around the box

Or, at least try not to. When a goalkeeper hasn’t played for a long time, as Brad Jones hasn’t, the aspect of his game that will suffer the most is his decision-making – and especially around high balls into his box. Look at the aerial threat posed by Everton – this is not a team that you want slinging balls in on you, certainly not with your third-choice goalkeeper between the sticks.

Play Craig Bellamy on the right of midfield

Dalglish almost certainly will prefer the underwhelming Stewart Downing, but that’s a mistake. Liverpool with Downing are a Liverpool that are easy to defend against – every time he gets the ball wide, every full-back in the country knows that he’s coming infield and onto his left-foot. Craig Bellamy, on the other hand, provides natural right-footed width, and pace that terrifies defenders. An awful lot of Everton’s attacking momentum comes from Leighton Baines too, so the extra threat represented by Bellamy could go a long way to keeping the Everton full-back inside his own half.

Start Andy Carroll with Luis Suarez

Carroll deserves to start after the way he performed against Blackburn, his all-round game was excellent. Plus, a good performance on a Wembley stage in a game of this magnitude? That’s the kind of situation that really jolt a player’s career into life. While his inclusion is clearly a decision based on his attacking merits, don’t underestimate his value at defensive set-pieces – Liverpool’s handling of which will be crucial tomorrow.

Damien Comolli leaves Liverpool; cue Mersey-wide celebration – April 12th 2012

This is a great day for Liverpool Football Club

Damien Comolli, the footballing Angel of Death, has been sacked. The club have announced that this agreement has been reached by ‘mutual consent’, which is a PR’d version of ‘Comolli has overseen the most flagrant misuse of club finances in recent years, and so we’ve turfed him out’. Family reasons? Bollocks – whatever helps him protect his reputation.

Another club, another abject failure.

I detest Comolli – not the man, but what he represents: another totally unnecessary background cash-leech, moving from club to club, spending money haphazardly and being rewarded handsomely for it. How did this guy ever get another job after the mess he created at Tottenham?

Ok, so it is a little bit about the man. The scowl, the pseudo-intellectual glasses. Tosser.

Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, David Bentley, Charlie Adam, Alan Hutton, Giovani Dos Santos, Adel Taarabt, Darren Bent, Gilberto… That’s an awful lot to answer for.

I’m convinced that Comolli doesn’t actually ‘scout’ anybody, because nobody who did any due-diligence could have such poor ratio of success-to-failure.

“Spend this much on that guy, I like the look of him, he was useful on Match Of The Day last night, he’s dynamite on Championship Manager.”

Maybe we’re finally getting to the stage where clubs are realising that this type of role is obsolete in a football, and that it creates far more problems than it solves?

Remember Arsene Wenger’s comments? “The day the club appoints a Director of Football will be the day before I leave.”

Yup, you better believe it.

Quick Thoughts: Liverpool beating Blackburn – April 11th 2012

How Liverpool needed that ahead of Saturday.

When Yakubu drilled in the equaliser from the penalty spot, anybody who’s watched Kenny Dalglish’s side over the last eight games will have feared the worst for them. But, credit where it’s due – that was a true demonstration of resilience.

A special mention for Andy Carroll, whose link-play was superb all the way through – his awareness and his touch were as good as they’ve been in a Liverpool shirt, and he practically gave a tutorial on how to play the solitary forward role. Excellent – and as well taken as his goal was, the most impressive aspect of it was that he put himself in a position to take it. That’s an under-appreciated value in Carroll; regardless of how many chances he misses, he still gets himself into threatening positions regardless of his level of confidence.

Brad Jones looked like a goalkeeper that hasn’t played for a long time. That’s not a criticism, because it’s unavoidable. If Jones had been playing week-in and week-out, he would catch the rebound from Yakubu’s charge-down above his head, and not palm it down. That’s one of the perils of being a bit part goalkeeper though: you need to play to have confidence. That the final outcome of this game was positive for Liverpool is hugely beneficial to his state of mind ahead of Everton on Saturday – his side won, they didn’t draw, and he’s not responsible for any loss of points.

How is Maxi Rodriguez on the periphery of such an under-performing midfield? Take his goals out of tonight’s game, and you still have a performance of greater purpose than anything Charlie Adam has turned in this year. Mystifying.

And on a similar note, if I’m Stewart Downing I’m having a few sleepless nights between now and Saturday. How anybody can say that he provides a greater attacking threat than Craig Bellamy is beyond me. Let me see Downing create Maxi’s opener by cutting back inside the full-back rather than burning him outside. Nope, not going to happen. Bellamy needs to start at Wembley.

Highlights are on the Facebook page…

Liverpool: Wide men to look at in the Summer – April 6th 2012

Yes, yes, I make this point almost daily now – but Liverpool do really need some width in their side. A genuine threat on either touchline stretches the pitch, and makes a side a lot harder to defend against – some trickery, some pace, and the ability to actually deliver a final ball. And an actual final ball, not the theoretical type that Stewart Downing is supposedly capable of.

Add those ingredients to Liverpool, and not only will mediocre opposing teams stop being able to bottle up their attacking threat so easily, but Andy Carroll’s transfer fee might stop being such a rich source of amusement in England.

So, some hypothetical candidates for Kenny Dalglish to look at and then discard before he spends twice as much on an inferior English alternative.

Ola John – FC Twente

Luciano Narsingh – Heerenveen

Junior Hoilett – Blackburn Rovers

Patrick Herrmann – Borussia Monchengladbach

Marko Marin – Werder Bremen

Oliver Holt versus The Truth – April 4th 2012

Good old Oliver Holt, he can always be relied upon to perk up a dreary day.

The conclusion at Liverpool, rightly, is that the Kenny Dalglish experiment hasn’t worked all that well, a lot of money has been spent on not very much, and the club is, at best, treading water.

Off the back of that, Holt launched himself into a reality versus nostalgia and sentiment tirade this morning. His logic seems to be that any dissenting voices against the second coming of Dalglish are really just footballing-heathens with no appreciation for the history of the game.

‘Football is increasingly polarised between those who think sentiment matters and those who think it is for wimps.

Some of us, for instance, think a stadium name is important, that it is an integral part of the history of a club and that it should not be sacrificed to commercialism.

Others think that is bunk and if renaming your ground The ­MoreMoney4Us Arena earns a few quid, that’s progress.

Some of us think that if a man gives a large portion of his life, and a larger portion of his soul, to a football club, it owes him ­something back.

Others think that is bunk, too.

They live for now. They live without patience. They demand that anything but instant success is met with summary retribution.

So there are plenty of people out there who think Kenny Dalglish is finished as Liverpool boss.

The club has lost six games out of the last seven, is eighth in the Premier League and in the midst of its worst run of form since 1953.

Even many Liverpool fans are saying Dalglish is past it, washed up, a relic of another era, out of touch and out of time.’

That’s all very touching, and how lovely it would be if the game was overflowing with loyalty and patience, but it’s just unrealistic.

It’s all very well for a journalist to say that Liverpool fans owe Dalglish more time to right the wrongs of this year, but that’s worryingly out of touch with what contemporary football is based on. It’s a business, it’s an industry, and winning is the only valuable commodity – believing anything else, whilst laudable, is just incorrect.

‘My view is coloured by sentiment but I feel no need to apologise for that.

I look at a 61-year old man and I see one of the greatest British footballers that ever lived.

I see someone who won ­European Cups for Liverpool and scored the sweetest of winners in the 1978 final at Wembley.

I look at the deepening lines on his face and I think of all the funerals he went to and the unswerving dignity he and his family showed in the aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster.

I see a man who has subjected himself to intense pressures for the sake of the club and driven himself to the edge of reason.

A man who shed tears of joy when Liverpool reached the final of the Carling Cup this season.

And a man who has continued to stand by players such as Andy Carroll, even when they have not deserved his support, even when they have repaid him with ­obscenities.’

Come on Oliver, you’re writing for the Mirror, not The Spectator.

The idea that Dalglish is ‘owed something’ by the fans is a flawed logic, the concept that the fans owe the game anything is similarly inaccurate. The fans facilitate the game, their demand for football has created what you see in front of you today – every mansion, every breast enhancement, every Ferrari…all taken from the wallet of the fan.

Should the Liverpool fans be grateful for the service Dalglish has given to their club as player and manager? Absolutely – eternally so. But do the same fans ‘owe’ him anything? Absolutely not, because they’ve paid for him to be at the club, just as they’re funding his current underwhelming spell as manager.

The fans are the audience, and they’re entitled to boo what’s on stage.

There’s no point in having another round of the ‘Money in football: Good or Bad?’ debate, because it’s over, the big business nature of the sport is here to stay now. Equally, you can’t castigate a set of fans for voicing displeasure over their team’s poor performance because you feel that they have an unpaid debt of gratitude to their manager.

It’s a Sunday morning mentality applied to the Premier League; Holt clearly would have it that for decades Dalglish has been driving the minibus, washing the shirts, and halving the oranges, and should therefore be excused a series of bad performances against some humourously-title pub teams.

Only, there are tens of thousands in the stands, millions watching at home, and God knows how much being made of the back of it.

Welcome to modern-day football, leave your sentiment at the door.

Taking a wrecking ball to Liverpool’s squad – April 3rd 2012

When ex-players turn their guns on you, it’s probably time to have a bit of a rethink. Rumours swirl about whether Kenny Dalglish will keep his job, or whether John Henry is sitting in the monster seats at Fenway Park scouring old issues of World Soccer for a potential replacement.

Let’s forget the management side, and look at the playing staff – who should be gone, and who can, realistically, be brought in.

Outs…

Charlie Adam

Yeah, it’s just not happening. It all seemed like quite a good idea; talismanic and slightly rotund Scottish playmaker comes to Anfield and reinvigorates an unimaginative side? Lovely. It turns out though, that Charlie is really just a Championship player with the turning circle of a Lancaster Bomber. And his set-pieces aren’t worth £10m, or anything close to that – because if they were, the next person wouldn’t be on this list…

Andy Carroll

It’s not that Carroll is a bad player, it’s just that little effort is being made to accommodate him or use his strengths. If this was a team that was built around a targetman, and had an abundance of width, then fine – but it isn’t, and the longer Carroll stays at Anfield, the longer his career will be in decline.

The obvious alternative is to bring in the kind of players that will provide service for Carroll, but that’s a very expensive and risky option given the ‘as yet unproven’ tag still dangling from the player’s ponytail.

Jordan Henderson

Ok, so he has ‘promise’. But only in the same way that most players will tend to get better with age, and Henderson really isn’t in any danger of waking up one day and discovering he’s turned into Javi Martinez.

If nobody’s quite ready to cut their losses on Henderson, then loan him out and let him learn a little more, because in his current state of development he’s of little use to anyone. All neat and tidy, no dynamism – I’ve lost count of the anonymous games he’s had this season. £16m? Really?

Jay Spearing

Tries very hard, and the cut of the Liverpool kit makes him look like he has no neck. Other than those novelties, Spearing’s bargaining power is minimal at Anfield.

This is an example of a player that wouldn’t be tolerated if he wasn’t ‘homegrown’. If Jay Spearing was Spanish, Argentine, Mexican or Italian, the howls of derision would be very audible every time he took to the pitch. Huffing and puffing, but blowing nothing down.

On the basis that Lucas Leiva will be fit sooner or later, surely Spearing has outgrown his usefulness.

Disagree with me? Ok, name one top ten team’s first eleven that Spearing would get into.

Ins…

Alberto Aquilani

“But he’s not Steven Gerrard or Xabi Alonso…”

No, but nor was he ever meant to be. If you watch Italian football, or have caught Milan in Europe this year, then you’ll know that Aquilani has been playing rather well – certainly putting in the kind of performances that would have made him an asset at Anfield.

Get him back, and keep him in England – an elegant passer of the ball with a high-level of creativity? Yup, that might be nice.

Iker Muniain

For all of these reasons.

Luuk De Jong

Twenty-five goals and ten assists in thirty-nine appearances for FC Twente’s forward. In an ideal world, this Summer would see someone brought in who would complement Luis Suarez and take some of the attacking burden away from him. That should be De Jong – a goalscorer with a passing guile that’s rare. Perfect – and he’s going to break the bank.

Sympathetic towards Andy Carroll – 2nd April 2012

Andy Carroll’s bilious reaction to being substituted and subsequent sulk straight down the tunnel wasn’t just about today, it was the product of his entire time at Liverpool.

Now that the hysteria over the amount of money Kenny Dalglish paid for the forward has died away, or at least has become less relevant, Carroll is almost becoming a figure of sympathy. A player burdened with a transfer fee he had no control over, and playing sparingly in a side that’s not set-up to accommodate him.

Plus of course, depending on which series of events around his transfer that you believe, this was a move that he never wanted anyway.

It’s really easy to laugh at his sometimes comical control, or to sneer at his ponytail, or the chances he misses, but looking at the situation objectively, he’s fed off scraps for a lot of his Liverpool career.

Even though it always annoys me, I tuned in this morning to Sky’s Sunday Supplement, which, if you’re not familiar with, consists of four sensationally self-important journalists debating the pertinent issues in the game. Carroll’s name invariably came up, and in response Paul Smith, the Mirror’s odiously smug Chief Sports Writer, reasoned that £35m for Carroll was ‘absurd’.

Of course it is. Guess what? I’m willing to bet that even Andy Carroll thought that sum of money was preposterous.

I actually feel quite sorry for him, which is something I never thought I’d say, because his move to Liverpool may well have ruined his career. A successful season in the Championship and a good six months in the Premier League is not the CV of someone ready to lead the line at Anfield.

Cast your mind back to the early days of the 2010/11 season, and his hat-trick against Villa at St James’ Park. There was something carefree about they way he played – he was raw, of course, but he fitted into that team. He was part of a unit and confident of his stature within the club – he wasn’t going out every week knowing that he had something to prove.

In every career, there’s always a point – if you’re ambitious – where a player has to step up a level to where he may not be initially comfortable. Fine, but it’s really, really important that moment occurs at the right time for the player. Obviously, that wasn’t the case for Andy Carroll. With their pupils bulging at the size of the offer made by Liverpool, Llambias and Ashley shunted him out of the door way to soon – as much as you may want to, you can’t really blame them, the football club was their responsibility and not the player. Regardless, it all fits the metaphor of a bird being pushed out of the nest before it’s ready to fly.

Andy Carroll may even have known that at the time.

This has all turned rather sour, because this has gone past the ‘let’s all laugh at Liverpool wasting their money’ stage, and is now just turning into the sad derailing of a promising career.

Michael Owen: Liverpool Goals – 26th March 2012

Ok, so forget that he’s now a Manchester United player – well, he’s a member of their squad at least – and remember how lethal pre-hamstring injury Michael Owen could be.

At his prime, one of the most natural and instinctive finishers that has ever played in the Premier League – and with a turn of pace that terrified just about every defender he played against.

The hat-trick against Newcastle at St James’ Park is in there somewhere, so enjoy…

Liverpool supposedly watching Matias Suarez – March 25th 2012

But he’s not English, overrated and overpriced, I hear you cry…

Well, those factors haven’t deterred the Mirror, who run all hot and heavy with the story that Damien Comolli is watching Anderlecht’s Matias Suarez.

Some interesting comments from the manager of the Belgian side, Herman van Holsbeeck:

“There are 15 top clubs prepared to pay the money we want for Suarez and the fee could be higher than the money we received from Chelsea for Romelu Lukaku last year. Matias could have gone to Russia in the winter and also Juventus, but his wife Magali did not want to go.

Do I think Suarez is worth more than Lukaku? Well, technically he is a better player.”

Anderlecht have confirmed that they’ve received enquiries from Liverpool and West Brom, in addition to a mystery English club. If Suarez’s wife wasn’t prepared to move to Turin, it’s somehow doubtful that she’ll jump at the chance to relocate to the Black Country.

There’s very little to suggest that this is anything more than a theory at the moment, or just an excuse to make clever quips about Liverpool having two forwards called Suarez, but Suarez wouldn’t be Comolli’s worst bit of busines – lengthy and distinguished as his list of transfer busts is.

Kenny Dalglish parodying himself after Liverpool’s defeat by Wigan – March 24th 2012

What do they say? Never go back.

Kenny Dalglish really does enjoy defending the indefensible. What the Scot is clearly oblivious too, is that there’s cultivating a ‘them versus us’ mentality, and then there’s just making yourself look really silly.

From the post-match interview after his side lost at home to Wigan today:

“It doesn’t matter how well or badly you play, you still need a wee bit of luck sometimes and there is no reason why the second goal should be chalked off for me.”

Yeah, you’re probably right there Kenny – the whole ‘quite deliberately using a hand to punch the ball over the goal-line’ issue is a bit of a grey area.

Dalglish is referring to the moment in the second-half when referee Lee Mason disallowed a Luis Suarez goal for handball. Honestly, I’ve reached my saturation point with this now – he tried to cheat Kenny, pretending not to know that is making you look really foolish.

With every press conference the hard luck stories get a little less credible, and with every surly response to a question it gets harder to have any sympathy.

Nobody wants to see a legend tarnishing their legacy, so it’s time for Dalglish to go – step aside with some dignity. An average team, stuffed full of average players incapable of beating even the most mundane opponent – this is Liverpool, not a Sunderland, an Everton, or a Newcastle.

The League Cup? An FA Cup semi-final? Both have a nice ring to them, but they represent nothing more than a distraction from the reality of the league.