Kenny, his players, disloyal fans, and being consistently 'unlucky'

I recall the evening of the 28^th August 2011, and the end of a rather challenging week for Arsene Wenger.  Following acrimonious departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, an injury ridden team low on confidence were beaten 8-2 by a rampant Manchester United. The response from some Arsenal fans was immediate – “sack Wenger!” “Wenger’s lost it!” “His stubbornness with transfers has cost us!” They were 17^th in the table at the end of that day.

Fast forward to 24^th March 2012 – 7 wins in a row, and a team strengthened somewhat at the last minute by deals for several good players on deadline day, culminating in yet another win over Villa to consolidate a healthy lead for 3^rd place in the table. The response? No comments to suggest Wenger was past it, or that the heavy defeat in August had finally forced his spending hand. No – instead, plaudits were abundant for the Frenchman. Strange - Wenger, while an excellent manager, is still stubborn, and make no mistake, it is too coincidental that his transfer activity picked up not long after the Old Trafford turf finished clearing his senses.

I bring this up because many Liverpool fans are being blamed for displaying the same fickle nature on a weekly basis (predominantly because the results seem to flow to each extreme 7 days at a time)!  Most of this centres around the sense that Kenny Dalglish is not to be criticised.

So let me qualify upfront – I adore Kenny. I’ll always credit him with assisting the club from a very bad low last season.  That was far worse than current times, no matter how much lower we sink in the table.  There were substantial doubts over Liverpool’s future competitiveness as a club, and he did much to restore pride and identity back to this team. Not to mention his actions as a player, and a manager the first time round. And more than his footballing contributions; just his actions to assist the 96 are worth indefinite respect and admiration, far more than we can provide.

But we always come back to the football. And as far as his current management, I can’t help but judge Kenny by the same simple yardstick that I judge Evans, Houllier, Rafa and Roy, in my life as a Liverpool fan - results. To give you an example, my position on Rafa has always been controversial in that while I certainly consider him an excellent tactical thinker, his teams did not bring in all the results we wanted. You can judge it was not his fault and blame resources (or lack thereof) available, but 4 trophies in 6 years with the best assembled Liverpool teams of the past 20 years (arguably) just wasn’t enough in my opinion. Ironically, Kenny is 1 cup final away from achieving half of Rafa’s trophy tally in just 18 months in the job.

It’s clear from Liverpool’s own version of “the Apprentice” a couple of weeks back (at least, as far as we know) that there are some interesting opinions as it relates to Kenny within the echelons of the club itself.

With the sacking of Comolli – and it looks very much like he was sacked, to a large extent – come varying theories about the reasons. The most common ones suggest Comolli was blamed for Liverpool’s recent spending spree, and specifically its rather unspectacular end result - poor performing players, contributing to a poor league performance.

I personally think that Comolli was likely told to favour British based signings over foreign ones. Perhaps his choice of British players was poor (although Liverpool did enter the race for Ashley Young and Phil Jones) and he also did some poor negotiating in terms of prices.

Yet, Kenny was quick to suggest in the media that the under-performing signings were his decision, not Comolli’s. So, rather ironic that it was Kenny who received the vote of confidence. If Kenny was responsible, then Comolli’s sacking still doesn’t vindicate Kenny. The players we signed aren’t good enough, that’s why the team is underperforming.  Or, as Kenny is pained to repeat (and duly did so after our defeat to West Brom), we’ve just been unlucky quite a few times.

Except 30 shots against the woodwork isn’t unlucky – a couple, yes, but not 30. To score only 40 goals in 34 matches is not unlucky either. Maybe your players are poor at shooting. Maybe you need a finishing coach. Maybe you need to change tactics to create easier-to-finish chances. Maybe all three.

In football, to be a success – you should be making your own luck.

Many are blaming the players for the slump, particularly the new signings. But is it really all their fault? 9 new players – Suarez being arguably our most technically gifted and clearly someone we need to retain. Coates and Doni barely play. Bellamy and Enrique have been largely good.

Charlie Adam wasn’t that overpriced, and has contributed several assists.  He hasn’t been overly effective – but he was played incorrectly in defensive midfield several times this season. Surely Kenny could have recognised he’s a square peg in a round hole? And why was he allowed to take so many set-pieces when his delivery was consistently poor? If he was ineffective – then he should have been dropped a couple of times. At least, that’s how it should work.

Same for Henderson, who has also been played out of position several times (especially on the wing) and while he was overpriced, has shown flashes of being a good player – but a squad player at best.

Whoever chose to scout Downing and pay so much for a winger who can’t beat his marker chose the wrong player – simple as that. If he’s not effective – he shouldn’t be playing either.

I don’t understand how we have spent a season nursing the confidence of Carroll, our overpriced #9, who I feel sympathy for since he didn’t choose his transfer fee. Instead, I would like to ask why we didn’t spend it on a proven #9 who can link up well with Suarez. Are we to believe that even Liverpool outside of Europe can’t find someone with less than a £35 million price tag who can already score the goals we need? The goalscorers are out there – buying the “latest English sensation” at the time was lazy. And Liverpool need one - badly.

We can blame the existing players as well, but Johnson, Kelly, Skrtel, Lucas, Maxi and Agger have played well – and in Maxi’s case, far too little. Reina, Kuyt, Gerrard, Spearing, and Carra haven’t been consistent – but only Reina and Spearing play often as it is. Gerrard is a shadow of his former self. Spearing may not be everyone’s favourite – but considering he’s had to “replace” Lucas, I think he’s played beyond himself.

While we're talking about Lucas - I also don’t want to undermine the his importance! If he was still fit, he would be our best player this season – and his presence in breaking up opposing attacking playmakers gives the rest of his teammates huge confidence to go forward.

Let’s also not forget the players who departed recently. Many were players that just aren’t the Liverpool standard.  But I am a loss to explain why Meireles, Aquilani, and to a lesser extent Joe Cole (all better than some of our signings) have been allowed to go – especially given all three have far more technical skills than most of the current crop. I for one would love to see Aquilani back – but I’m expecting him to be sold – a great pity.

Comolli claimed early into the season that the squad was complete – whether that was his feeling, or Kenny’s, or both – it was wrong. Clearly the signings weren’t enough, the departures were incorrect, and the existing team hasn’t been well managed tactically.

Is it really about players, though? Is it really about them not trying hard enough? Or do we need more matches where there have been dominant statistics in possession and shots (especially off target) to suggest they don’t care enough? There are very few fixtures that come to mind where their application was lacking – Spurs (0-4), Bolton(1-3), Sunderland (0-1)... not much more than that. Then I think of Manchester City (1-1), Arsenal (1-2), West Brom (0-1)... where this slightly above average squad worked very hard to little reward in those matches.

I’d say the current squad depth is better than it was under Benitez.  We have more options in certain positions, absolutely.  But our first choice team (bar our back 4) doesn’t hold up with any of the teams in the top 6. (Before someone suggests that we have a better first choice XI than Newcastle, go check the table – results don’t lie very well).

If the players aren’t good enough, or aren’t configured on the field correctly – both those elements lie squarely with the manager.

I think the tactical discussion is relevant for this.  I don’t buy the argument that Kenny is out of touch with the modern game – the team wouldn’t dominate possession the way it does in most matches if he didn’t understand some of the principles needed to compete. We also have a very good defensive unit, which often only concedes goals due to being forced out of position for attacking impetus, not because of a lack of defensive ability.

And Kenny has masterminded some outstanding tactical victories – the back to back wins against Chelsea in November and the Carling Cup semi-final win over Manchester City (both legs) come to mind as the recent demonstrations of that.

The table below illustrates Liverpool’s league record to date (midtable = Everton down to Stoke, relegation zone – Aston Villa down to Wolves):

Liverpool has taken 64% of available points in the relegation zone. 3 of their defeats have come here, but 2 of them by one goal. The 3 draws were down to our “bad luck”. 6 wins arguably come from Liverpool’s superior players – or some very poor opponents. Only once did Liverpool fail to score, away at Wigan.

Against midtable sides, Liverpool have secured a mere 36% of available points. Here is where Liverpool’s goalscoring issues are most evident. Their 4 defeats were all by 1 goal – and arguably only the Sunderland and Fulham games were deserved defeats where the opposition where demonstrably better (although at Fulham, we were down to 10 men for much of the game). Teams in midtable have generally displayed a determination to play for the point against Liverpool – and succeeded. So this is another case where the points dropped are down to “bad luck” – as opposed to our inability to create easy-to-convert chances when opposition “park the bus”. Liverpool failed to score in 6 fixtures here – 3 of them at Anfield.

Against the top 6, the record is weak. Not exactly supportive of the idea that the team needs “big matches” to perform.

But in cup matches, all this turns on its head.

One can argue there’s no point in parking the bus in a cup game unless you defend a lead. Liverpool did that admirably against Manchester City in the Carling Cup semifinal.  I think Liverpool’s form in the cups comes down to opposition being more adventurous – leading to gaps in defences – and Liverpool’s natural style of play creates great counterattacking chances in matches like these, but not when teams park the bus. Few teams play cup games to avoid / minimise defeat – but in the league, that is certainly a viable objective.  So we shouldn’t be surprised by West Brom putting 7 defenders in the 6 yard box. Liverpool, like the teams above them in the table, need to figure out ways of beating them.

True – the top 6 don’t play so negatively against Liverpool – but they are the top 6 for a reason – they have great players (most of them), so their quality invariably gets past an weaker Liverpool side. I’d argue only the home matches against Manchester City and Arsenal were “lucky” results for the visitors.

What’s the point? Tactics. Manchester United have made a point of learning how to get points against midtable and relegation threatened teams that park the bus.  It’s not just about the right players – it’s also about tactical application.

There are some easy places to start – Liverpool, in 34 league matches, have been the dominant team in possession in 24+ of those matches.  They’ve also attempted over 500 shots, hitting the target with far too few of those. They’ve attempted over 500 crosses. They’ve also received a massive stack of corners – the most in the league I’m sure – yet their goals from this source isn’t in double figures. All these statistics indicate a clear ability and consistency to take games to the opposition – but we’re not creating the right kinds of chances, nor do we have the right finishers. So ultimately, that’s why I think it becomes a case of looking at tactics as well as players. If the players we signed can’t execute the chosen tactics properly – then I would prefer Kenny to stop calling it luck – and call it what it really is – poor.

I’ll give Kenny the benefit of the doubt to an extent though – and time, because I do think we need to be prudent. Assuming FSG don’t have grand plans about the hierarchy in the summer (in terms of moving / removing Kenny), I think he wants that opportunity to finish what he started way back in the late 1980’s. We cannot underestimate how low the club was (and still could be) when he took over. I certainly don’t suspect people at the club are feeling comfortable after the dismissal of staff the other week, so we cannot be too presumptuous about the mood at the club.

And then of course we have the major positives. As much as people want to diminish our Carling Cup victory and our place in the FA Cup final, I see it as meaningful progress for Liverpool. The purpose of Liverpool Football Club is to win trophies. I do appreciate the importance of the Champions League (I wrote a blog some weeks back all about the money!). But I’m sure Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle – whoever finishes 3^rd and 4^th – will be very slow to order that open-top bus to celebrate qualifying. We’ve not qualified, and it is a pity, but I think the currency of the club is trophies, and for a while, we didn’t even get close to competing for silver on more than one front at most. 

If Kenny is introspective, and admits to himself that he’s made a few bad decisions, there is hope.  Even if we don’t win the FA Cup, I think it’s quite likely that Kenny will stay for at least one more year.

And if he does – let’s hope his tactics improve, his signings are better, and his players improve their quality on the pitch.

If not – let’s wish FSG courage, because removing Kenny from his post will be difficult for Liverpool fans to accept. And let’s hope if that is the case – that someone outstanding comes in.

The Importance of a New Stadium for Liverpool

Sobering times for Liverpool fans – a season ago, we were celebrating how Kenny Dalglish, with the mantle of Messiah, seemed to effortlessly restore us back to form, after Woy’s charges suffered 5 defeats in the last 8 league matches. But before you bring out the white robe and sandals for the King, even after the victory at Ewood Park this week, Liverpool’s run of 6 defeats in 9 is comparable to Hodgson’s record, which means for 2 seasons in a row, we’ve been talking – sacrilegiously – about the infamous 1954 season, the last time Liverpool were relegated (and 1 of only 3 occasions it has happened).

I myself am perplexed – and stubbornly trying to believe in Kenny and his squad, but I’m sure I’m not the first Liverpool fan who’s questioned the Anfield legend this season. There is a touch of irony about this – after all, it was Liverpool fans that (vehemently) made it clear they would have preferred Kenny to Woy a season ago from the start. Liverpool fans have got what they wanted… or so we thought, right? FSG were merely responding to the yearnings of fans that place their trust in the last man to take us to the promised land of 1^st place.

But perhaps FSG, in retrospect, showed naiveté – and this is not the only decision that I feel they’re lacking direction on.  Another sobering thought. It’s 18 MONTHS since October 2010, when FSG completed “the epic swindle” and purchased Liverpool Football Club from Hicks and Gillett. I emphasise the timeline, because it’s a long time to own a club and not outwardly deal with the elephant in its room.

I am, of course, talking about a new stadium. Anfield. Stanley Park. All three.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the logistical issues that may exist, from relevant council or local government approvals, complex deals to arrange building contractors, and all sorts of related things I know little about. To be honest, I’m sure most Liverpool fans will share my attitude that these issues, while important – pale in comparison to the significance of the delay, or lack of action.

Here’s the facts I care about:

A quick glance at Liverpool’s total revenues (check the Deloitte Money League reports for sources) illustrate a bleak picture. Liverpool’s ability to generate footballing revenue – whether fairly compared or not to clubs with large sources of readily available cash (wearing blue, mostly) – are dwarfed dramatically by England’s elite (and yes, I don’t like to describe Manchester United that way).  The graph above compared against other European powerhouses like Barcelona and Real Madrid makes for a worse image.

Why is this important? Simple. Footballing revenue ultimately empowers a club to purchase, employ, retain, reward (etc) its most critical asset – players. And in revenue terms, Liverpool doesn’t stack up well at all.  What is revealing about the graph above is not only where Liverpool ranks, it’s also the extensive growth of Manchester United, the growth of Spurs and City, and the plateau of Arsenal and Chelsea. Only Liverpool is heading in the wrong direction.

Clubs have 3 core sources of revenue – matchday (good old bums on seats), broadcasting (TV coverage – and typically, the more matches, and the more significant the matches, the more money), and lastly commercial (everything from shirt sales to sponsorship deals). 

So let’s consider a comparison – Liverpool to their original traditional rivals Arsenal and Manchester United (an appropriate comparison I feel, in the context that while Chelsea and Manchester City possess financial strength as well, much of it comes from some very wealthy owners who can afford to make extensive injections to progress those clubs very quickly in a short time - and let’s be honest, Hicks & Gillett were, and to a lesser extent, FSG, are not those types of owners).

Have a look at the next couple of graphs, comparing total, commercial, matchday and broadcasting revenues for the old “Big Three”:

I draw a few conclusions. A current gap of nearly £150 million in available financial muscle between us and our largest rivals isn’t going to help us beat them on the pitch in trophy counts.  The gap speaks to – for example – the ability to attract quality players.  Liverpool lost out in signing Phil Jones and Ashley Young (as examples) in the summer.  It could have been about Champions League football, or wages, or both.

Both Liverpool and Manchester United have doubled (just about) their commercial revenue between 2005-2011.  Liverpool’s recent sponsorship deals with Standard Chartered (£20 million per year) and Warrior Sports (£25 million per year) are comparable to Manchester United’s deals with Aon (£20 million per year) and Nike (£23 million per year).

It’s when you start looking at matchday revenue, and consequently broadcasting revenue, that Liverpool’s finances show critical cracks.  In 2006/07, Arsenal moved to the Emirates and 22,000 extra seats effectively permanently doubled their matchday revenue (check the table below for seating capacities in England).  2012/13 will be Manchester United’s 5^th year of enjoying £100 million from their stadium alone.  Liverpool’s matchday revenue has yet to break the £50 million mark in its recent history.  So while Anfield may be a special place – it’s going to take a great deal more singers in the Kop to bring the money that would be music to the club’s ears.

The interesting one is broadcasting revenue - ultimately driven by performance on the pitch to some extent.  English clubs don’t negotiate their own TV revenue deals (unlike Spain, for example), so Liverpool’s “big club” reputation (they haven’t performed like it) counts little in negotiating Premier League money. The major issue here is the consistent early exits in domestic cup competitions and the sabbatical from the Champions League.  Consider the performance of these clubs in their domestic and European competitions:

The results speak for themselves; Manchester United have displayed an uncanny consistency of getting into the final 4 in most competitions in recent years.  Arsenal seems to be a perennial quarterfinalist, while Liverpool is less consistent.  If you compare these performances to the broadcasting revenue, there are a couple of interesting observations. The broadcasting revenue gap between Liverpool and Arsenal is negligible, until 2011 – the first full season without the Champions League. Manchester United and Arsenal only failed to reach at least the quarter-finals across all 3 competitions on 17 occasions (combined) – Liverpool have failed to do so 14 times in the same period.

You also need to consider how this impacts matchday revenues as well, because of matches played at home in these competitions.  The Champions League especially, with its two-legged format, offers a double whammy of revenue, because a home game is always involved.

So it tells us something we already know – even though this season’s domestic cup success will (ironically) minimise the gap in Champions League TV revenue loss, it won’t be made up by much. Matchday revenues will also be undermined by our smaller stadium – although bizarrely, we played 1 home game in our Carling Cup run, and 4 home games in our FA Cup run.

Tellingly - Arsenal may have fewer trophies in the cabinet, but they have the right idea about the importance of the top 4. Manchester United’s broadcasting revenue this season will collapse dramatically due to early exists across the board (but they’ve had a decade to build up some fat to absorb this).

In fact, Manchester United’s performance, stadium size and commercial revenues across all fronts have configured the club’s revenues well enough to compete financially even if certain teams in blue do have access to other, “slicker”, sources. Clearly they’ve won the trophies anyway.

So conclusion time.  It’s a simple equation: bigger stadium = more money. More money = better players. Better players = better performance.  Better performance = more money.  More money = better players. And so on!

But it all starts with a stadium.

Which brings us to FSG again. 18 MONTHS. Given the reasons above – is it reasonable to expect that a year and a half has passed since they took ownership with no progress on the stadium issue? Have we all been taken in by the tepid romance of Kenny’s reign that we’ve failed to notice the huge problem that Anfield currently represents? What is FSG’s plan and intention? If they haven’t done anything yet – when will they do something? If this isn’t a priority, why isn’t it?

Because it stands to reason that I certainly don’t expect more £100 million transfer kitties for Kenny to spend. If the “traitors” amongst us are to be believed and we need to oust Kenny in favour of managers of Mourinho or Guardiola’s calibre, I ask you – do they not spend money with their clubs? With our goalscoring problem, wouldn’t it be nice to go after bench warmers like Dzeko or Defoe, or loaned superstars like Adebayor? I doubt we can afford them, let alone go after better.

Again – this is a long term road back to the top – and it starts with a stadium. Anfield. Stanley Park. Whatever it may be.

It begs the question – Hicks & Gillett didn’t give Rafa the full transfer kitty he wanted – but he got to spend money, no question.  FSG have done the same.

Do we have another set of overpromising owners?

John Henry.  Your move...

Sure, it's the Carling Cup... But is it progress...?

SURE, IT’S THE CARLING CUP … BUT IS IT PROGRESS…?

Celebrating the Carling Cup trophy after 6 years without a trophy?  Isn’t that like being single for 6 years and winning a date with Susan Boyle?

Not sure.  In any case, doesn’t Susan Boyle have a fair bit of money by now?  Regardless of her dating prospects – maybe she can buy us some additional players?

Enough sarcasm – I, for one, am ecstatic that Liverpool finally managed to get the 6 year old monkey off their back.  I’ll leave the Susan Boyle metaphor to the person who wrote that tweet in the first place. 

Of course, there was banter directed at Liverpool fans who dared to celebrate this occasion.  One Manchester United fan on my Twitter timeline pointed out that they won the same cup recently with a second string side – relatively true for 2010, not so true for 2009 (at least that’s what I wanted to say!).

What was interesting, though, was some Liverpool fans celebrating relatively passively, indicating a concern that despite this achievement, the league position of 7^th still suggested a lack of progress in the team from recent years.

So the question is – has the team progressed?

I argue yes – not extensively – but yes.  Is that because of Liverpool progressing too slowly, or the competition progressing faster?

A bit of both, I’d say.

Consider that, while many may be critical of the signings we made in the summer, especially Henderson, Downing and Adam, less must be made of their price tag and more must be made of the necessity Liverpool face in building a squad that can compete on all fronts.  Depth is key to winning titles, including (and especially) the league.

Our Carling Cup run is a prime example.  It reflects positively that Liverpool, in the process of navigating 7 matches to lifting the trophy, ended up using most of the current squad in reaching the last hurdle.  We used 1^st and 2^nd choice lineups throughout the competition, allowing a fair extent of our full squad to contribute.  And some of them really used the opportunity to shine.

When we lost Lucas against Chelsea, it created the opportunity for Jay Spearing to make an impact in the semi against Man City.  His brief performance (cut short by injury) in the first leg of that semi was critical to the attacking spell that defined our chances to win the semi – his covering of the dangerous Man City attacking midfield was excellent enough to allow Gerrard to spend most of that time in Man City’s final third.  His impact was missed in the league defeat to Bolton.

It’s one example, but it’s that kind of depth Liverpool have lacked in recent years.  We may not like comparisons to Man United, but they are appropriate given that is the team we need to overhaul, eventually.  I’ve collated the core squads of the two clubs for the past few years in the tables below – have a look at the squads over time – paying attention to depth, number of players, quality, and players who can be used in multiple positions.

Table 1 – Liverpool squads 2006-current

Table 2 – Manchester United 2006-current

When we ran the Red Devils close by 4 points in 2008-09 to the league title, our strikeforce was Torres, poorly supported by Kuyt, Babel, Keane, Ngog and El Zhar (not in effort, just in actual goalscoring output) – especially when compared to Tevez, Ronaldo, Rooney and Berbatov.  That title was lost because of a lack of goals in games we dominated, but drew – 2 goalless draws against Stoke City spring to mind – we still haven’t learn that lesson in the current season clearly.  And not just in that position - Henderson and Adam haven’t been altogether good at filling that role in Lucas or Spearing’s absence either. 

In fact, while the 2008-09 season may have been perceived as a better year for Liverpool compared to previous ones, when you consider Man United that  year won the Carling Cup, and were Champions League finalists and FA Cup semifinalists, finishing 2^nd , getting knocked out relatively early in the cups and beating them 4-1 at Old Trafford doesn’t seem all that impressive.

Squad quality and depth is not something Man United have suffered from down the years – if Rooney isn’t playing, there are still goals in Berbatov, Welbeck and Hernandez.  Creativity on the flanks comes from Nani, or Young, or Valencia, or even Ryan Giggs.  Defensive midfield has many options in Carrick, Anderson, or Fletcher. 

That’s not to say we aren’t improving, though.  In attacking midfield, if Downing plays poorly, Bellamy, Kuyt, Shelvey, Henderson and Maxi are all accessible and worthy replacements (and vice versa!).  Central midfield cover exists in the form of Gerrard, Henderson, Adam and Shelvey.  In defence, Johnson can cover for Enrique, and Kelly can cover for Johnson, with minimal concern of the quality of player replacing the other.  Carragher and Coates provide solid cover for Skrtel and Agger.  So we are slowly finding the formula.

Ultimately, Liverpool should be a team that competes and wins every tournament it plays in.  I’m too cynical to think of the Carling Cup as a springboard as others have described it, but for those who lifted silverware for the first time on the 26^th February 2012, I imagine it’s good for them to know what winning a trophy feels like – they need to get used to the pressure of a final – many more need to follow.

Down the years, Man United have always been flush in having 6-7 players in defence, midfield or attack of the same or similar quality.  Particularly since the departure of Alonso, Liverpool allowed the team to be too reliant on Gerrard and Torres – but the current squad doesn’t have the problem to the same extent.  I’m not going to say it’s ideal to have Lucas missing, but we did have navigated 3 Carling Cup and 3 FA Cup matches successfully without him.  Suarez hasn’t really scored many goals, so while he is a talented player, his absence in January was managed well – and let’s not forget that we only had Steven Gerrard back properly from late December.

Winning the Carling Cup has many other side advantages – even if we don’t finish 4^th, if we’re serious about the Champions League, the squad needs to get used to playing twice, three times a week.  I certainly doubt we’d go to the Champions League wanting to make up the numbers, but the current squad is still lacking to survive the rigours of European football in addition to domestic commitments.  The Europa League ironically could be a decent stepping stone for that process.

That’s why I think progress has been made – even though Spurs, Man United and Man City are well beyond catching in the current league table, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle are not – meaning that even with our inexperienced, slightly above average squad, we’re keeping pace with some teams that command greater depth than us.  And fair enough, maybe compared to previous years, a midfield of Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard, Riera and Benayoun is stronger than Henderson, Adam, Downing, Gerrard, Maxi, Lucas, Shelvey and Spearing – but with a couple of transfers, and some continuity – that midfield could be a key characteristic of a deep and strong Liverpool squad.

It will also be key to continue to involve the full extent of the squad in as many league matches as possible.  One of the things other sides do better than we do is rotate – to illustrate my case, we know our back 4 of Johnson, Skrtel, Agger and Enrique are outstanding – but do we have the same confidence in Kelly, Coates, Carragher and Flanagan?  Each of them has merit as good defenders, but they just haven’t played enough, which affects how well they will assimilate into the team when called upon.

So – lack of continuity and a couple of transfers aside – and in spite of strengthened competition (Manchester City and Tottenham in particular) – Liverpool have progressed reasonably well, and the team’s potential of 4^th place and 2 trophies illustrates that (after all, the last couple of years haven’t seen anywhere near that much).  But with other teams setting a heavy pace, Liverpool will be pressed to push on and grow their squad in both depth and talent.  We have a much better core and enough depth that the over-reliance on one or two players has decreased.  But the squad is still lean, and still needs a couple more injections of serious quality.  Hopefully Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli agree…

You'll Never Shake Alone

Football is not a sport – it is a language.  Universally appreciated and understood, able on occasion to divide, but more often than not, it can unify people, and their opinions, hearts and minds.  The beautiful game (as it’s often called) may have been witnessed in a frantic 90 minute spell between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on the 11^th February 2012 – but sadly football was the real loser on this day – not because of footballing reasons – but because of missed opportunities to rise above the spirit of sportsmanship so rarely witnessed on a pitch these days.

Let me position up-front – I am a Liverpool fan, since 1997, by choice (not for family traditions, or the sort).  I chose them out of coincidence, not because of history of tophies, or reputation.  No, I just liked the team.  And I did this not realising fully the implication of supporting a team a third of the way through a 20 year trophy drought (in comparison to previous decadence).  Oddly I support them in spite of success (or lack thereof).

Does this mean I blindly support Luis Suarez?  No.

In fact, I thought the ban was the right thing – I think it was complete stupidity on his part to use the word “negro / negrito” in conversation with a player (Evra) who had already pleaded (unsuccessfully) to be a victim of racial abuse on three prior occasions (February 2006, vs. Liverpool, April 2008 vs. Chelsea, unknown date vs. Senegal).  Liverpool were entitled to defend their player – but they should have been working behind the scenes to remove the “red mist” in everyone’s eyes and “get on with it”.

I had hopes that the pre-match handshake ritual for the match at Old Trafford would not dominate the headlines.  When the ritual was dispelled for Chelsea’s match with QPR in the FA Cup in January, I had hope of the same for this game, feeling that “prevention” was better than cure. 

Then Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish both professed in pre-match interviews their confidence of handshakes happening, and underlined the need for the match to be remembered and conducted in the right spirit.

So what went wrong during the handshakes?

Why did Suarez choose not to wait for a response to his initial offer of his hand from Evra?  Why did he not linger for Evra’s response (indeed, had he done, he might have been surprised to find his hand in the Frenchman’s in closure)?  Looking at the footage, one can see Evra is slow to raise his hand to Suarez – but he eventually does – perhaps Evra himself has a moment of doubt.  The conspiracy theorists argued Evra conspired the process to paint Suarez as the loser in the exchange, but I’m fairly sure no-one will have had any concerns to Suarez waiting a couple of seconds longer insisting a handshake.  In fact, had he done so and Evra refused – that would made all the difference to Suarez’s reputation (positively, of course). Suarez could have taken control of the situation.  Instead he yielded to it.

Almost immediately Ferdinand refuses Suarez’s hand – and while Rio maintains the reason as a loss of respect for Suarez, the act contributed by aggravating the whole situation (not to mention bringing Rio into the argument unnecessarily).  I don’t dispute Rio is entitled to have no respect for Suarez – but Rio should have responded the way Rooney chose to, by distancing himself entirely and leaving the situation between Evra and Suarez where it belonged.   

All this took away from a good match – where Manchester United tactically broke down Liverpool very well.  It took some time, but Liverpool’s obvious threat from the flanks (especially Glen Johnson) was slowly nullified by astute pressing from Valencia and Giggs, supported by the forward runs of Rafael and Evra in tow.  Eventually Liverpool were forced to build through the middle, something they aren’t very good at – allowing Giggs, Carrick and Scholes to draw more defenders in, creating gaps for Welbeck, Rooney and Valencia to exploit.  Liverpool forgot their 1^st half notes and switched off for both goals from Rooney – and while Liverpool’s consolation goal was fortuitous from a dubious free kick, there was little danger of Manchester United losing their lead.

And then immediately the ugly scenes reared their head again, as Evra, not dissimilar to Emmanuel Adebayor in 2009 against Arsenal, charged down the field to celebrate the win, first jumping in front of Suarez in delight, then to remonstrate with the Liverpool fans at the Stretford End.  Adebayor was fined £25,000 and received a 2 match ban for his similar incident, which was found by the FA to have the potential to cause a public incident² – and I wonder if Evra will find his way to similar punishment – but even if that is not the case, I immediately ask – what if Evra had celebrated with his teammates, with his fans, away from the lure of heightening tensions amongst crowds – would he not be perceived “the bigger man”?

It certainly was another flashpoint in a match, which I think the entire football world is happy to see the back of.  I don’t dispute many a fan’s disappointment with the Suarez issue when compared (perhaps inappropriately) to the violent conduct of Roy Keane (who admitted in his autobiography that he intended to cause Alf Inge Haland serious injury in a fixture in 2001) and Eric Cantona (who served a lengthy ban after assaulting a spectator, Matthew Simmons in 1995), and while I don’t condone these actions either and agree that they too, foster feelings of disrespect – I would like to tell the Liverpool fans who attempted in vain to raise these points to offer irony did so forgetting that their own player and their own club’s principles were more important.

The reason I say this is simple – we can all keep score of who said what, who did what, and who did – or didn’t – get away with it, but it is a sad indictment on the game we love.  We all have a responsibility here – we should judge our own actions by the same standards as we do our heroes on the field.

I adore football – and I love the team I support – and I am pleased that Liverpool confronted Suarez about his actions in this game, and compelled an apology from him.

I also think people need to accept that while the journey wasn’t perfect, the destination is finally being reached.  Was Suarez charged?  Yes.  Did he accept and serve his ban?  Yes.  Reluctantly?  Unfortunately, yes.  Thankfully, he has expressed remorse for his actions at Old Trafford, and I think that will make all the difference to his long term reputation on this key issue.  Sometimes people learn their lessons the hard way.

After all, as a Liverpool fan, I would rather lose plentifully to Manchester United, with a weakened team trying their best than a side that starts to compromise the values the game is meant to be founded upon just for the sake of one talented player.  Because no matter how talented Luis Suarez is – and he is quite – and regardless of his “history” (I highlight this because he is not the first, nor will he be the last “controversial” player) – Liverpool stands for something. 

I hope any fans who disagree with this realise if Luis Suarez (or any other player) decides that while playing for Liverpool to display a lack of sportsmanship and respect that undermines not only the principles of this club, but the very foundation of this beautiful game, perhaps he isn’t a fit for Liverpool. I recognise that this is a personal issue for Suarez, but he needed to avoid feeding the fire and prove himself the bigger man.

I have confidence in Suarez though, and I have little doubt that he can rebuild his reputation – his apology after the game, and Liverpool’s response have moved swiftly to ignite some hope and confidence that sanity can prevail.  He has immense talent, and I would love for him to unearth its full extent while residing at Anfield.  He has the choice to let his football do the talking.  For his sake – and to some extent, Liverpool’s – I really hope he does.

1 - Suarez FIFA Report 

2 - Adebayor Celebration Decision