Bretc » Tue May 08, 2012 9:35 am wrote:Kenny is a legend, no doubt about that. He will forever be respected for what he has done for the club, regardless of whether he is the right man to bring us success or not. But that does not mean he is untouchable, that does not mean we can’t criticize him when he made mistakes. Liverpool will always be bigger than any player or personnel, including King Kenny and I believe he will be the 1st to admit that. If he has made a mistake, then he has made a mistake but what is more important to us fans is the progress of the club as a whole. Have we made progress off field? Yes, judging by the healthier financial outlook and marketing strategy. Have we made progress on the field? To be honest, that must be a resounding NO, whichever way you look at it. We played wonderful football last season when Kenny took over but what happened this season? Yes, some may blame it on the crossbar, goalpost, the refereeing decisions, the Suarez’s ban but at the end of the day, is the squad good enough for 4th spot? I would say, NO!
With last season’s squad, we were just 2-3 key players away from having a Champs League team. We could have bought a class striker, central midfielder and winger with the Torres’ money and FSG’s investments. Instead, we (Kenny and/or Comolli) chose to buy the following British “talents” at premium prices.
1) Andy Carroll’s 35M was a joke. With that kind of money, I can buy 2 class strikers with PROVEN records and not just potential. To be fair, Carroll’s performances have picked up coincidentally after the Newcastle debacle. He is still not a prolific striker yet but he is improving. However, a 35M striker he is not!
2) Downing’s 20M was another transfer failure. He was brought in for his pace and to provide inch-perfect crosses for Carroll. But what did we get in terms of assists? I think I can count it on 1 hand. To make it worse, I believe Mata was on sale as well for around the same price or thereabouts but Kenny and/or Comolli stubbornly insisted with their nationalistic spirit of Buy-British policy. Juan Mata was the star player of Valencia, immensely talented and most importantly does not hide. Disappointing is an understatement I would say.
3) Then we bought another “potential” for 16M in Jordan Henderson, the England U-21 captain. Great opta stats according to Comolli but sad to say, opta stats do not display a player’s courage, mental strength and guts! If there is such a statistical tool, I’m sure Henderson will be at the wrong end of the scale. Granted he is young but look at the likes of Wilshere, Ramsey, Phil Jones, even our own Spearing and Shelvey. I’m stunned to learn that Henderson is England U-21 captain! I dread to imagine the standard of the England national team 5 years down the road. Never have I seen a player who is so scared to try anything other than make a simple pass. Yes I know Spearing made mistakes and he is not as talented but I admire his guts for not giving up and not shirking responsibility. At least he tries but Henderson? Which is worse – Never make a mistake or Learn from a mistake? If you dun dare to make mistakes, then you will never ever have the chance to learn and you will never ever have the chance to improve. Everyone makes mistakes, so unless Henderson starts showing more guts and tries his best, he will never make it. Not just at Liverpool but in life.
4) Charlie Adam – I believe his nationality won Kenny over. I hope I’m wrong but that seems to be the case cos this guy is slow, I mean real slow not just in terms of physical speed but mental speed as well. I hate it when some people compare him with Alonso. I mean, c’mon! Alonso is a world-class player with an immense footballing brain that is capable of controlling the whole match! He knows when to make the short simple pass and when to make those Hollywood type pass. Most importantly, he keeps the whole team flowing and ticking. Adam? He is like the football version of the American football quarterback who stands around statically, look up for a while and IF nobody tackles him, make those Hollywood long pass which I would say is below even his own standard at Blackpool. We sold Meireles and loaned Aquilani for a Scottish quarterback? Pathetic! But luckily it was only what 8M?
The above signings were Kenny’s 1st and gravest mistake (Kenny admitted the players were his choice). We wasted almost 80M on so-called British “talents” and then trying to play pass-n-move football. These players either pass-n-don’t move or move-n-don’t pass. The pass-n-move players were either shipped out or on the bench – 2nd mistake Kenny made. The 3rd mistake Kenny made was playing Suarez as the main striker. Suarez was not made to be a main striker; he is more suited to play behind the main striker. And that brings me to Kenny’s 4th mistake – Failure to buy another striker in Jan when Carroll was not performing. And I’m not going to go into Kenny’s tactical errors and substitutions. Of cos there were other factors like Lucas’ injury which to me is a critical factor for our poor performance. Spearing tried his heart out but sad to say, he is and will never be good enough. Our midfield was sometimes overwhelmed without Lucas and I hope to see us sign a much better midfielder this summer to replace the British trash of last summer. Then there is the blame on hitting the crossbar, goalpost etc but I always believe in the saying that good teams make their own luck. We just do not have a good team now.
So my conclusion – Kenny’s performances should be criticized but he must be treated with respect. So for the good of Liverpool’s future, FSG should consider moving him up to an ambassador’s role and hire a capable, modern manager with a good eye for talent. Short term pain, long term gain.
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