Liverpool FC Forum

[stmichael]

Neale Graham, This is anfield 23.3.05

As I'm sure you are aware the media over the past few days  have understandably been making a lot out of our current striking crisis (not for the first time this season) for the upcoming game with Bolton on April 2. We had a similar problem earlier on in the season aswell. I was at the Riverside to watch us play Middlesbrough and we had Kewell and Garcia filling in inadequately as emergency strikers. At the current time however, as much as it hurts me to say it, surely the biggest crisis is the continued presence of Milan Baros in our starting line-up.

After years of constantly playing second fiddle to Emile Heskey as Michael Owen’s lackey, he finally got his chance to lead the line when Madrid came calling for Michael Owen in the summer. On the back of a terrific, goal-filled Euro 2004, it looked like fantastic news for everyone concerned with the club. Baros’ stock was high across Europe and his confidence equally soaring. But with Djibril Cisse also staking a claim to be Rafael Benitez’s first pick, and with Luis Garcia playing in a withdrawn role in his early Anfield days, Baros was not given unqualified support. Eight underwhelming months later and the Czech dervish has done little to enhance the reputation his absence from the Liverpool team until August had built.

Sure, he’s our top scorer this season with 13 and he has had his injury problems but I don’t think it’s a question of the jury being out; the verdict is: not good enough. Sunday’s derby showed Baros at his frustrating worst, and not just with the petulant and reckless dismissal. It was his inability to do what Liverpool fans took for granted when Owen was around - finish one-on-ones. Give the man time and he hasn’t a clue. From the moment he made his debut, the dye has been cast on Baros’ style. He came on for Heskey in the Nou Camp bore draw as a raw 20-year-old, as daunting a prospect as there is, and looked the sharp and eager runner we have come to know. The feature of his play that night that has stuck with me these past three years, was, in a rare moment of attacking intent from Liverpool, him running with the ball diagonally across the pitch, with me urging him to shoot. He didn’t. It was blind alley/headless chicken time - classic Baros. A year later, the great Italian defender Paolo Maldini said he was ran ragged by Baros in a pre-season game two years ago. I stress pre-season.

Anyway, I never thought I would say it but perhaps Gerard Houllier was right to pick Heskey over Baros for so long. On the evidence of this season, both are erratic finishers but at least the freshly recalled England international could hold the ball up. How many occasions have we seen Baros charge head-down into a tackle? Most of the time, the defender just has to stand there and let Baros run into him. It is as predictable as it is irritating. Perhaps Benitez has asked him to try to stretch defences by pulling wide and running the flanks - but even the boss must be pulling his hair out when Baros gets dispossessed for the umpteenth time.

His pace is also a fallacy. He is not slow by any means, but nor is he the lightning quick striker some would have you believe. What pace he does possess seems to be about his only attribute. He certainly isn’t a thinking footballer and it’s his almost total lack of awareness that undermines any good work he does manage. It could be his lack of a football brain that has prevented him from forging a successful partnership with anyone at the club. He was too similar to Owen without being as good, was not going to get a run in the team alongside Heskey with Owen around, found finding Cisse difficult when paired together and he and Morientes seldom seem to pass to one another. After dropping him from the Carling Cup final in favour of a barely fit Harry Kewell, clearly Benitez is no big fan of the dud Czech either. And when he did come on at the Millennium Stadium, he squandered the sort of chance a top-line striker ought to have buried, which would have won Liverpool the trophy.

Despite all this, I still think we could secure a sizeable transfer fee for Baros. Given we paid just over £3m for him, a £7m profit does not seem out of the question and would be most welcome at a time when we are going to need all the cash we can get. Baros has proved, to me at least, that the demands of the Premiership are beyond him and, like the similarly hit-and-miss Diego Forlan before him, he could thrive on a move to the Primera Liga. He is only 23, obviously talented and has proved that he can score goals as well as provide a threat to defences who have yet to wise up to his direct running, even if his repertoire beyond that is limited. But we need a better goalscorer than Milan Baros - Yakubu has been mentioned, and he is good, although there is a touch of the Baros' about him. And perhaps his departure will mark the first time in God knows how long that a player has left Liverpool for more money than was paid for him.

As for our injury problems, it cannot be just bad luck that has caused the worst casualty list in years. Ill-fortune obviously plays a part but there has to be other factors involved. Benitez’s training methods have to be called into question. It is known that the players are being worked harder this season to build up their fitness, often with double sessions. There ought to be no problem with that level of exertion but perhaps it is the cause of general fatigue that weakened the players and made them more susceptible to injuries. It is not implausible.

[woof woof !]

As for our injury problems, it cannot be just bad luck that has caused the worst casualty list in years. Ill-fortune obviously plays a part but there has to be other factors involved. Benitez’s training methods have to be called into question. It is known that the players are being worked harder this season to build up their fitness, often with double sessions. There ought to be no problem with that level of exertion but perhaps it is the cause of general fatigue that weakened the players and made them more susceptible to injuries. It is not implausible.

This is not the first season where the team has not been hit by crucial injuries .

nice post , where'd you "find" it St Mick ?   

[The_Rock]

Where did u get that mick ?


Baros is seriously off-form at the moment. So it is easy to criticise him now. 1st gerrard. Now it looks like baros.

Do you seriously think heskey can do a better job than baros 

[Ciggy]

I read this today on another forum think it was on this is anfield

[A.B.]

Holy ******! StMick actually gave credit to the person that originally wrote it !!! [note, look at top of the page] it's a bloody miracle! And it only took him 12,000 times to finaly starting sourcing his stuff.......

I disagree about Rafa's new training methods being the reason why we've had so many injuries. I doubt that the training sessions caused Cisse's leg break,Alonso's ankle break, Gerrard twisting his foot at Old Shi1tford turf, Kewell's constant injuries[which he has had since last season] and so on.

We've had injury crisis last season but not as big as this however the "new training methods" can't possibly be the reason to all this.

[7_Kewell]

cisse- broken leg
Alson - Broken ankle

bad luck not training

[stmichael]

cisse- broken leg
Alson - Broken ankle

bad luck not training

i'm not referring to the broken bones. i was referring to the likes of baros, garcia and morientes who have suffered muscle strains merely from running during games. that can't be right.

[7_Kewell]

i'm not referring to the broken bones. i was referring to the likes of baros, garcia and morientes who have suffered muscle strains merely from running during games. that can't be right.

rafa knows his stuff and i imagine the changes he's made have increased strain on the players...but remember that garcia and morientes haven't played many full seasons.

Garcia was a bit player at Barca and morientes spent half of the Spanish season on the bench so i think its bad luck rather than bad managment....but agree with your point and i'm sure the changes going on behind the scenes will address it.

[A.B.]

i'm not referring to the broken bones. i was referring to the likes of baros, garcia and morientes who have suffered muscle strains merely from running during games. that can't be right.

Muscle strains, the most common injury in football. That's nothing new.

[stmichael]

Muscle strains, the most common injury in football. That's nothing new.

it's certain nothing new in the modern game AB. i just think the attitude and the application of the modern footballer is not what it should be in the majority of cases. a lot of players don't look after themselves in the right way. carra has been our only ever present all season.

we have players dropping like flies with niggling injuries. but look at someone like frank lampard. i think he's played something like 130 premiership games in a row. similar for john terry. you just couldn't comprehend any of our players doing anything like that.

[Ciggy]

It seems maybe the studs on there boots , the turf   slight turns and over streching and they are out for weeks? somethings not right, maybe our players where so unfit?
Morientes just turned on sunday thats him out for 3 weeks, Hamann seemed to over stretch his leg ligament damage, its just a situation no one can control at the moment, and lets hope we never see a season like this one ever again.

[Leonmc0708]

cisse- broken leg
Alson - Broken ankle

bad luck not training

i'm not referring to the broken bones. i was referring to the likes of baros, garcia and morientes who have suffered muscle strains merely from running during games. that can't be right.

WRONG, you are not refering to anything as it was someone else who wrote it.

Starting to beleive yourself ?

[zarababe]

... oh my goodness Leone.. stop it.. and ure signiture is still outta order.. I'm surprised the Klinks ain't made u change it yet...