From playing the best football on the planet to being the most lethargic, most pathetic looking side this season. So what has gone wrong? At the end of last season, upon securing Champions League spot (nevermind almost winning the league) BR acknowledged that the squad he has is very thin and that he will need more personnel to add more depth to the squad to ensure we have sufficient man power to go through league, league cup, fa cup and champions league next season. Hence the splurge; Lambert, Lallana, Can, Markovic, Moreno, Manquillo, Lovren. At that point none of these new signings were meant to replace any of the team. They are meant to add depth to an already established squad. Lovren in particular, was supposed to strengthen the defense, while Moreno and/or Manquillo to offer options at full backs to Johnson and Enrique. Can, Markovic and Lallana offer addition to an already established midfield of Gerrard, Allen, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling and to a lesser extent, Lucas. Lambert, on the other hand, was supposed to be a back-up striker in case any one of the SAS partnership got injured since Borini was deemed unreliable by BR. Then, suddenly there was the exit of Suarez. I have explained before here that the sale of Suarez is inevitable, it wasnt anyones fault, not BR, not FSG, not Ian Ayre, not Jamie Carragher, not SkySport, not Louis van Gaal. It was Suarez alone and had it been not this season, he will leave for Barcelona the next. So please shut the f~ up about why sell him or why this why that! What happened then was more important, suddenly, we were 65m pound richer (or 70, or whatever, depending on which report) but one striker short. It happened less than a couple of months before the new season and we were in need of a striker. In searching for a new striker we lined up a few options, because to use the word replacement is a bit inadequate. You cant replace Suarez, bottom line. What you can do is find someone who can link up well with Sturridge the way Suarez did. Almost everyone was considered, from Reus to Falcao to Costa. In the end, Loic Remy was the choice but then for some reason Zaf Iqbals team found out that Remy may have a heart attack during a game in the future and finally the deal was off. Remy went to Chelsea instead. In a frantic, we were still one striker short and for some inexplicable reason, we bought Mario Balotelli. Why? Because perhaps Milan was auctioning him off. Maybe to BR and FSG, 16m pound is cheap for a striker. Maybe they thought, if he fails, we only paid 16m for him, but if he succeeds, we have had a bargain. So it was a gamble. But somehow they failed to think that, if he does fail, then we only have Sturridge and how can we expect him to play the league, cup and champions league all by his own, when this is a guy who have a history of injuring himself quite often? Mistake no. 1 perhaps? Then new season starts, game against Southampton at home. We won but just. The performance was ok, but was never like the season previously. The missing of Suarez was evident. No slick passing, no fast paced moving, but worryingly, the defense doesnt look like improving. That was the sign. Next game was against City, the defending champion. Lost, but really we were not expected to win to be honest. It was a tough fixture so doesnt bother to analyze. Next up Spurs away, always a tricky match. Balo first start. The only good performance so far this season. Great movement, great goal by Moreno, as if it was played with the team from last season. But another sign, Balo doesnt look compatible and/or comfortable with the fast pace, slick passing game we are playing. And he doesnt look capable of being the lone striker. Another sign. Or was it mistake no. 2? Then comes the abject performance week in week out until the lost yesterday. Even the wins look embarrassing. So what is the problem? Sturridge injury maybe? If he can play would we be playing this badly? Hard to say. But was buying Balo a mistake? Wouldnt it be more sensible to buy Balo as back-up with another new striker instead since he was from the beginning, a gamble? Was Lambert purchase more of a romantic story of a boy returning to his childhood club as a mascot? But what about the midfield? How can a midfield team consisting of Gerrard, Lucas, Allen, Henderson, Sterling, Coutinho, Can, Markovic and Lallana play such an awful performance? Bedding in issue? But then when none of the new arrival play, the midfield still seems insipid. Was it really the issue of player integration? Or was it actually because of the link-up play between midfield and attack being not good enough (see Balo playing as lone striker above). Defense. What can be talked about defense? Lovren unable to adjust? Skrtel being Skrtel? Why let Agger leave? If you can see the partnership of Skrtel and Lovren still shipping goals every week and you think you cannot trust both Toure and Sakho, wouldnt it be nice to have Agger? The story of Aggers sale wasnt like Suarez. The sale could have been averted. Mistake no. 3. Goalkeeper. Mourinho bought Thibaut Courtois when he already has Petr Cech. So if one f~d up then he have a reliable replacement. Is Brad Guzan a reliable replacement? Again, Pepe Reina did not have to leave, His sale is also not like Suarez, it can be averted. Mistake no. 4. So what can be done? What remedy can be used to stop this rot? I really do not know, im not a football manager even though I wasted all my youth playing Football Manager (previously known as Championship Manager) since 1999. Every week each and every single columnists from every publications I read offer their opinions and suggestions how this Liverpool side can improve and every single one of them sounded logical than the other. Would it be too much for BRs ego to at least have a read on any of them and perhaps maybe apply them to his tactics and strategies seeing his own doesnt seem to work right now? Remember, Rafa Benitez had to leave Liverpool after he almost won the league in 2009 because he could not have the funds to improve the squad the season after. And this is the guy who won the Champions League with virtually unknown players (honestly, do you even know who Luis Garcia, Xabi Alonso and Antonio Nunez is before they came?). BR not only has the millions but he does not have the owners politics Rafa had to contend with in 2009/2010. I may still believe BR is a good manager, but just barely. *maaf tulis panjang2, sekadar melepaskan geram..
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 11:53:57 +0000
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