Our worst run since 1953, are Liverpool in crisis?
No, I don't believe we are. The players aren't performing, but can we really blame that on the manager? The public are saying that he bought unwisely, but lets look at these 'bad buys':
-Charlie Adam, one of the premier league players of the year last season, bought for around £5m.
-Jordan Henderson, Sunderland's player of the year, and a promising England youth international.
-Stewart Downing, experienced Premier League player, arguably the best crosser of the ball in England.
-Jose Enrique, £6m, what more can you say? Brilliant this season.
-Craig Bellamy, impact player of the season in England.
I hardly see any bad buys on paper there. Sure, some of them have failed to perform, maybe the pressure of such a big club has gotten to them, but as we have seen with Lucas, some players need a while to get used to it. The unfortunate injury to Lucas is also a major factor in this seasons failings. Our holding midfielder's injury forced a reshuffle in the squad. Adam was forced to play in the holding midfield role, working with an unfit Steven Gerrard. Adam can only play in that position to spray passes around the pitch, but defensively he is not up to much. Gerrard, the dynamic player we know and love, can't possibly make these tackles. Playing Adam out of position caused a loss of confidence, and form. This spread throughout the team. Henderson was also being played out of position. Our season wasn't helped by our misfortune in front of goal. After failing to score, the team did not have confidence in each other, and let their form slip. Suarez's stupidity (although I support him, he did not handle it well) heaped pressure on the team.
The big positive from this term was our defence. Agger and Skrtel's partnership works brilliantly, and is complimented with our attacking full-backs. In this respect, Dalglish has gotten it spot on, however, it is sad to see the decline of Carragher. A wonderful servant to the club, it is a shame to see him causing trouble in our defence. I believe that he needs to retire, perhaps into a coaching role, where he can help the team move forward.
On the whole, Dalglish deserves at least one more season. His signings will grow in stature, and with a full season expected from Luis Suarez, we will do well. The Carling Cup is an improvement already, and hopefully Carroll will get more game time before the end of the season, because that's the only thing which will help.
On the plus side, 4 more points and we're guaranteed premier league football next season!
YNWA
