NEIL Atkinson hosts The Pink.
Rob Gutmann, Steve Graves, Mike Girling and Phil Blundell get into the issues around Liverpool’s defeat against Aston Villa.
Er, it doesn’t go brilliantly. Or it does from a point of view.
Direct Download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/theanfieldwrap/1030.mp3
… I’ve got nothing…
Whatever happened to Crazy Bob?
Go back and read everything I wrote about Henderson and Gerrard in September, October & November. Then listen to Neil on Henderson & Gerrard. Rodgers making mistakes and not learning from them eh?
Once again the manager is sort of criticised but not really with people biting their tongues. His actual name is said too few times. Why can someone just not say “he’s got this this and this badly wrong & he fucked this and this up because of this and this.” Instead what we get is “Im not quite sure why he’s done that”
He’s ended up with the same team that produced our worst start to a league in 50 years. And no one thinks to rip him a new arsehole?! For fuck sake.
Also the 2 minute conversation on Paul Lambert was inane & pathetic.
I know yeah, Lambert’s record at Anfield was great… And what? He played for Dortmund! Why didn’t anyone tell me? Answer me one thing: Is he mates with Klopp? Forget it, Lambert in! Rodgers out! Or something.
Any hopes of a 3rd place play off with Reading for the sake of some Thatcher needle with Middle England?
There is instability and indecision and it comes from the top.
Contracts, manager, nobody knows what’s happening, no general leadership. Balotelli played well today and was isolated, Sturridge has been out all season and yet at no point has the team been set up to get the best out of Balotelli and this is with Borini and Lambert not playing.
Nobody knows on or off the pitch what Gerrard is supposed to do. His position last year was clear, but with no Sturridge or Suarez what is his role this year, he is a leader without position and I think this puts others off there game.
The difference today was that Villa new how they were going to play and what each player was going to do, they were not great but they were not hesitant. Liverpool had no leadership and looked like 11 strangers,
Rob had it about right. This is our third ‘big game’ of the last month or so and we didn’t turn up. We froze and/or looked like we’d already played that morning. You can talk about formations and tactics all you want, but if the players aren’t at it, you’ll probably lose.
Glad someone picked up on the fouls thing. I noticed that in the stats and had to double-take. 5 fouls is fucking scandalous when you should be scrapping for your lives.
I didn’t Neil’s point on Henderson’s ineffectiveness didn’t make sense to me. Gerrard can’t be to blame for Henderson being totally anonymous when SG’s playing as part of a front three. That just doesn’t make sense. Trying to shore up the middle and get to grips with Villa’s runners is primarily down to Henderson and Allen in that first half hour and they singularly failed. And Gerrard wasn’t even part of the 11 when Henderson (and the rest of the midfield) went missing against Arsenal and Utd. None of which makes Henderson a bad player – he’s not – but he is responsible for his own performance.
I actually thought the defence of Henderson was highly amusing. I agree this has been his best season, but he’s nowhere near being a top player. Most of this mob were keen to point out how fundamental he has become to our tactics – we’ve been crap this season! Our stunning attacking football has gone. All we’re left with is a team that is defensively suspect and does not score enough goals. This bizarre affinity with Henderson that so many of our fans have make me cringe. When I hear LFC fans refer to Henderson as a “leader” or a “deserved captain”, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry in frustration.
And as someone pointed out, where was the serious discussion about the future of our manager? The man is 3 years into a job and has spent millions on players. Even if you think he should stay in the job, you must admit it is a discussion to be had.
It strikes me that too many of this TAW lot are too keen to be seen as “serious bloggers/experts” and are (un)knowingly “discussing” issues in a manner that secures plenty of RTs from “real journalists” and mouldable fans but is devoid of any substance or clear opinion.
Without Lucas, we are just a pretty shit team and have been for years. I don’t know what our win-rate has been, in games he has missed since he joined us, but I would be surprised if it is more than 40%. That’s genuine mid-table form.
Lucas essentially turns a mid-table outfit into Champions League contenders and he’s been probably the most underrated top-class player in World football, for several years now.
In all fairness, he’s too good to have wasted his best years with us. If he leaves, it will be for very little money and the press won’t devote too many column inches to the deal. The same journalists will still be harking back to Steven Gerrard’s glorious Liverpool career, ten years from now. Every time we play and lose, his name will come up as what is missing from the side.
What is infuriating is that it is likely that both Gerrard and Lucas will be gone in the summer and we will become a team that doesn’t win many games. The narrative will be that Liverpool are proving Steven Gerrard had been carrying a poor team and even some of our fans will buy into it.
It will be complete nonsense. We have coped just fine when he has been out of the side and Lucas is fit. For me, that is when we have played our best football. Even with his injury record, Lucas should be offered a long contract that conveys his importance to the club and his standing as a truly elite player. He should also be made club captain.
@Chris Mc, the comments about Lambert were a bit stupid, but the lads were drunk and pissed off having paid for an expensive trip to London and seen Liverpool fail to show up (again). I’m sure they would have edited that out, if they were able to. I’m grateful they managed to produce The Pink at all after that game. It must have been tempting to just not bother and to drown their sorrows in a bar!
I like Lucas, too, but he was part of our midfield that went AWOL against Arsenal. Just making the point that we’ve got too many problems that are not solved just by Lucas playing.
He wasn’t great against Man United either, but I think he can be forgiven in both matches to a certain extent as he was returning from injury – even though there was a long gap between the games.
Those two matches were also against top sides that were really coming into form. We are not going to win every game that Lucas plays in, but we win a lot more than we do without him. There are very few players in the game that have this kind of impact, particularly in his position.
I think you have to judge his contribution over several seasons, rather than just a couple of very tough games where he was forced to try and hit the ground running after a lay-off.
We simply cannot afford to let this player go. The chances of us finding a better replacement are slim and none (and Slim’s just left town!).
I agree with the broader sentiment, I just thought “Lucas essentially turns a mid-table outfit into Champions League contenders” was stretching it a bit. I think you need to make a few more adjustments to this current team for that to happen. For example, our major problem at the moment is scoring goals, and Lucas’s inclusion/exclusion from our midfield doesn’t change that equation one iota. And it’s not his job to score or even create goals, but without someone else doing it Lucas’ inclusion just means we draw some games we’d otherwise lose. I’m up for that, but it won’t be enough to turn us into contenders for jack.
I agree that we desperately need to score more goals. Not just to be more successful, but to remain marketable as a big club and to keep fans happy.
Lucas gets us points. Getting a draw in a game we would otherwise lose is not going to excite fans much. Given how much money we throw at trying to get 70-80+ points each season, in terms of transfer fees and wages, it may be no exaggeration to say that we pay over a million pounds for every point. Lucas also helps us win games we would otherwise have drawn. My flawless back-of-fag-packet maths calculates that Lucas could be worth 12-15 points a season, if he can stay fit (this does involve a leap of faith!).
The argument that we pay more than a million pounds for every league goal, is also just as valid (or just as ridiculous, depending on your point of view).
For me, we have two primary objectives for the summer. Keep Lucas and buy goals. If we sell Sterling and miraculously convince a top-class striker to join us and bang in 20+ league goals, in the next campaign, we give ourselves a chance of qualification.
If we fail, then it’s likely that we face an assault on three fronts in the Summer of 2016, with Henderson, Lucas and Coutinho all getting itchy feet. I’m assuming that Sterling will be at another club, next already season.
I was gutted to see he was injured yesterday as he looked fine against Newcastle on Monday night where I thought he looked to be getting up to speed again after two dodgy performances,
If he played at least our tackle count would have been trebled one of Grealish & Delph would be limping today if nothing else !
Villa wanted it more yesterday and that’s what sticks in the throat for me,
Lucas & Sakho should be Captain & vice as far as I’m concerned.
“Even with his injury record, Lucas should be offered a long contract that conveys his importance to the club and his standing as a truly elite player. He should also be made club captain”
Completely agree with this, was massively disappointed to see Henderson made VC – Lucas is ( for me ) The natural successor to SG – but as you say, he isnt well thought of in the press and a lot fans think the same but we’ll be sorry when he’s gone.
The problem is that BR is always looking to move someone before deciding they’re actually pretty vital to his plans – namely, Lucas and Skrtel. Either one of those players could have been named VC ahead of Henderson. It is Lucas, though, who is clearly the most obvious choice. Not only is he also vocal on the pitch and willing to stick his foot in, he understands his role much more clearly than Henderson appears to understand his. Relatively speaking, Lucas also performs at a higher and more consistent level than Henderson. So why is Henderson captain ahead of these other two long-serving players? Because BR was trying to flog them at the time.
BINGO!!
Hendo is one of the few players that doesn’t spent most of the season in the sick room. Skrtel would make a decent vice captain, ever present over several seasons. Lucas, for all his positives, remains very slow and a crock. We’re just revisionist when he comes to him being out (like many other players).
There is instability and indecision and it comes from the top.
Contracts, manager, nobody knows what’s happening, no general leadership. Balotelli played well today and was isolated, Sturridge has been out all season and yet at no point has the team been set up to get the best out of Balotelli and this is with Borini and Lambert not playing.
Nobody knows on or off the pitch what Gerrard is supposed to do. His position last year was clear, but with no Sturridge or Suarez what is his role this year, he is a leader without position and I think this puts others off there game.
The difference today was that Villa new how they were going to play and what each player was going to do, they were not great but they were not hesitant. Liverpool had no leadership and looked like 11 strangers,
I’m just at a loss in terms of what we’re trying to achieve on and off the pitch and whether we actually have a clear vision or direction on what we’re doing and how we’re gonna do it
This is reflected off the pitch with the transfers and also on the pitch with the tactics. We’ve been told about the Barca way, keeping the ball, death by football blah blah, then last season when we nearly won it, we played a direct Dortmund/Germany style football. Yet this season we’ve basically tried to be too defensive (and not being too good at it)
In transfers, we have emphasized value for money, getting the most outta every penny we spend. Yet we’ve overspent on players from midtable English clubs, which is the worst, most overrated overpaid and overpriced group of players possibly in European football, and subsequently have not improved much. Apart from the odd signings of Coutinho and Sturridge, we’ve actually been anything but wise with our cash
What we’ve been told on and off the pitch by the club and particularly by the manager have been very different from what we’re getting. The manager has said a lot of things and he has gone back on a lot of those things and change his mind later, in terms of philosophy, club expectations, etc.
200+ million in 3 seasons, he is as well backed as any Liverpool manager financially, possibly ever. Yet I see this squad and I don’t think it’s an improvement at all from when he took over it from Kenny, and Kenny won a cup with his.
If Rodgers cannot take us to where we wanna, then we need to find someone who has a clear vision on where we’re going as a club and exactly how we’re gonna achieve it, on and off the pitch. It’s not just a change of manager, but we desperately need a DoF, someone with a presence off the pitch who can guide this football vision. Coz atm I just don’t know what we’re gonna get on the pitch with Liverpool when we stride out, it could be anything
It’s pretty simple.
We have a know nothing owner, a know nothing CEO, a won nothing manager and caching staff, and a group of gutless won nothing group of players scouted by a group of achieved nothing scouts.
One of those elements need to change to a “winner”… cheapest option is the manager.
There isn’t a manager anywhere in Europe that’s taken more than 3 years at a club to win the league (where they’ve won it).
It’s time to go.
If Rodgers can’t muster a final burst on the league, even if it’s too late for CL, he’ll be gone. The question is: who will replace him? I can’t see any top manager wanting to work under FSG’s transfer bollocks.
This season has been terribly disappointing. Poor football, clueless tactics and an abject failure in Europe.
Tbh I think it’d be more than mustering a run now. John Henry probably already has done an internal inquest on who fucked up best part of 100 mil and who is responsible for the signings, if Rodgers is responsible for quite a few of them (and I suspect he is with the Soton ones), then it’s gonna be really difficult for Rodgers to convince Henry that he can fix this mess by giving him more money to buy more players
Those guys run a business, they’d know if it isn’t efficient or losing them money. They’ll just change to someone who they think would do a better job.
Troutbeck Red great shout mate! total indecision & confusion reigns at LFC from the incompetence of a non present UK chief executive and the nonsense to do with everything contractual. Picture the trades (such as Fitters, Chippies, Aparkies , and Brickies etc on the street corner chewing the fat about re what company pays the top and bottom rates and who has the best tradesman etc, and you start getting the picture of what a BAD! reputation we surely must be making for ourselves with Top Players when considering who they want as their next employers.
I will be astounded
Apologies, I hit the wrong button! As I was saying before I rudely cut myself off, I will be astounded if we manage to attract any Top Talent from here on especially when considering Stevie has virtually left the building??? and with the Lunatics who are now in control of this asylum continuing to adopt penny pinching tactics that do not belong at our history steeped Club, they continually force BR to choose , in the main, 2nd or even 3rd rate alternatives to his primary targets. It appears to me that IA is playing Russian roulette or bluff tactics with our better player’s contracts being allowed to run far to close to the wire in terms of the Club being in control of players and transfer valuations etc.
If we turn our attention to the Semi Final, I listened to the TAW boys and with the exception of the Paul Lambert rant by and large they were all spot on as usual and as I and everyone who has commented are unanimous in our views. I like the vast majority of true fans have been a supporter of Brendan HOWEVER, besides the collective total disseray and disjointed performance, the single most pointless decision which came atleast 20 mins too late and it sickened me to the core was his decision to throw on Lambert in the 90th minute. Can anyone tell me what the lad has done to deserve such humiliating treatment?? To me reading between the lines It smacks of Lambert’s signing not being the managers decision along with Mario and for all we know how many more? Where BR is beginning to lose the faith of his squad is his messing with formations for the hell of it. IMO It causes confusion and the players lose sight of what their individual role is in the team and collectively I didn’t see 1 player on that pitch with the burning desire or simply the belief to reach an FA CUP FINAL!! and together with the Man U and Arsenal games, that tells us there’s a serious storm brewing on the horizon.
Q : WHAT LEADER TO REPLACE GERARD IN THE SUMMER?
A : NOT HENDERSON
If it isn’t Lucas, I would rather the next captain was someone recruited to come in and take the job on, as none of the others are real leaders. Not even Skyrtal.
A World-Class striker that is getting towards the end of his playing days and probably someone we pay over the odds for, both in terms of the fee and wages.
Someone like Ibrahimovic, who’s head might be turned with a lucrative offer that means he would still be under contract at 36-37.
It’s obviously not without risk, but we would be getting someone in that we could present to the rest of the squad as being their new leader, on the basis that he is a winner at the highest level and the best player in the squad.
I don’t think any of the squad could have a legitimate complaint, except for perhaps Lucas who generally doesn’t go in for grandstanding or brinksmanship and who just wants to see better players in the team.
Signing a guy of that quality may be a pipe-dream, even at his age, but it probably needs to be that sort of player at a similar point in his career.