Liverpool FC Forum

[Ciggy]

Dominic King: Pathetic Reds hit a 51-year low

THIN RED LINE: Manager Roy Hodgson prepares his players for a penalty shoot-out – only the second Liverpool have lost in a senior first team match in the history of the club.

PATHETIC. Absolutely pathetic. The abomination of a story that is the modern day Liverpool Football Club has reached its most depressing low.

Worcester City in 1959 is widely regarded as the most cataclysmic result in Liverpool’s 118-year history but last night 22,577 hardy souls saw Northampton Town achieve a result that must rank alongside it.

How the once mighty have fallen.

Never mind the fact there was late drama.

Ignore that Liver- pool mounted a frantic push to save themselves in the second period of extra time and their proud penalty shoot-out record has taken an unexpected battering.

There is only one fact that matters today: Liverpool have been knocked out of the Carling Cup by a side from League Two after a performance that was shameful in so many ways.

Results such as these plunge clubs into a crisis.

Roy Hodgson took a gamble last night by making 11 changes to the side that had been beaten 3-2 by Manchester United on Sunday, but it backfired spectacularly.

As a result, the disaffected natives are becoming even more restless with their lot.

Normally when Tom Hicks and George Gillett were up to their antics or there was trouble and strife in the boardroom, you could depend on Liverpool to pull out big results and big performances, but now the only thing that follows the Reds is embarrassment.

“We have been here for a very long time and the club will be here for a very long time,” said Managing Director Christian Purslow in his much publicised interview yesterday.

“Our raison d’etre hasn’t changed. We exist as a football club to win trophies. That’s never going to change.”

Yes it is.

When a club gets sucked into a maelstrom such as the one Liverpool have inhabited for the past 12 months, things start to change dramatically and there is no doubt whatsoever that their rivals will have surveyed this result and howled with laughter.

But there are more ramifications.

Losing in such a bitter way impacts on spirit around the training ground; imagine how Jamie Carragher, Dirk Kuyt, Pepe Reina, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres et al felt watching this, knowing another route to silverware has just been wrenched away.

You get the picture. This was Liverpool’s big chance of winning something this season.

A number of rivals for the pot they have lifted a record seven times all fell at the first hurdle and for them to do the same is careless beyond words.

Among the many hot topics that were posted on Liverpool’s official website yesterday, the title of one story leapt off the screen – “Does this cup matter?”

It may be the done thing to poke fun at the Carling Cup, but every Red answer should have been “absolutely”.

It had all started so routinely.

With just eight minutes having elapsed, Daniel Agger rolled the most inviting of balls through Northampton’s defence for Milan Jovanovic to scamper on to and the Serbian forward duly applied the finish that was demanded.

Having given an interview to a television station in Denmark when he stated that he would not sacrifice his principles, here was Agger providing proof of what a talented footballer he is – it was the kind of pass some midfielders at the club could not think of making.

Sadly it was the only flash of quality Liverpool mustered in an opening 45 minutes that was just not good enough; laboured and lethargic – you will have read those words once or twice already this season – they never fashioned another chance to test Northampton keeper Chris Dunn.

Just read that again.

A Premier League side – one of the greatest names in football history – failed to put any kind of pressure on a club whose most recent piece of silverware was the Fourth Division title in 1987 – there can be no bigger indictment.

Full credit to Northampton. Determined, disciplined and knowing they had a stage to make themselves heroes, Ian Sampson’s men gave everything they had and more; for that reason, they absolutely deserved to draw level just before the hour.

Billy McKay was the man who sent the 5,000 visiting supporters into raptures, hooking the ball past Brad Jones from eight yards, but it was utterly shocking for Liverpool to concede – that the defence was undone by a simple chipped ball into the area defied belief.

Then again, most of what was produced – or should that be what wasn’t produced? – defied belief. Other than the goal, Liverpool did not have one single shot on target in normal time and the failure to impose themselves as an attacking force was incomprehensible.

The more Liverpool staggered, the more it became apparent they were in grave danger of being jettisoned from the competition and they were fortunate that the killer blow did not arrive in injury time when Northampton mounted another attack. It proved only to be a temporary reprieve.

Within eight minutes of extra time getting underway, the Cobblers had got the second goal which they had been threatening, Michael Jacobs sweeping the ball past Martin Kelly with Jones stranded.

Though Ngog got them back into it, heading in via a Kyrgiakos flick on, it was impossible to escape the feeling that Liverpool had got away with it.

But their luck ran out after Kelly had made an astonishing goaline clearance from Nathaniel Wedderburn in the penalty shoot-out.

Don’t single Nathan Eccleston out for censure for missing the crucial kick – at least he had the courage to step up and take one. The blame must be shared around from top to bottom. Something, after all, is rotten in the state of Anfield.

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpo....7328102

[bigmick]

On a slightly more positive note, Roy has made a couple mof purchases since his arrival which IMHO improve the first team, all of them. I don't think many would dispute that Mereiles is going to be a good player, it certainly appears so. He's Roys biggest buy by far at 11.5 million quid, but the signs of him being somewhere near worth it are very good I think.

Konchesky didn't play well at Man Utd, but did well at Birmingham. He is though better than Insua IMHO, although he must do better than in his last match.

Poulsen is a better player than Lucas IMHO. I know many don't agree at this stage, but my guess is they will over time.

Cole is obviously a first team player and provides something we didn't have previously.


Unfortunately we've lost Insua, Benayoun, Riera and Masherano out of the first team squad, the latter of which was obviously a good player. I must confess I liked Riera too, but my feeling is that we have gained more than we have lost.

The sad thing about last night is apart from the goalkeeper, Roy signed NONE of the players. That it's still means he gets all the stick while his predecessor gets nothing but praise makes it a harsh world, but that's the one we live in.

[Ciggy]

Cant believe people are blaming Rafa for our results 

[jacdaniel]

Cant believe people are blaming Rafa for our results 

And praising Ged for his achievements   

[bigmick]

Cant believe people are blaming Rafa for our results 

Neither can I Lynds, who is by the way?

[lakes10]

Cant believe people are blaming Rafa for our results 

not for the results, but for the mess the mess the team is in. its still 96% of his team that roy has to pick from and use.

the club is full of players that should never have come here, what was it, 72 players that rafa took to the club in the end? and what we got from it is what we saw last night....SH1T.

[Ciggy]

Cant believe people are blaming Rafa for our results 

not for the results, but for the mess the mess the team is in. its still 96% of his team that roy has to pick from and use.

the club is full of players that should never have come here, what was it, 72 players that rafa took to the club in the end? and what we got from it is what we saw last night....SH1T.

Better than anything he had to work with at Fulham so your arguement fails.

[Greavesie]

Jaysus Lakes we were in the sh!t before Rafa left, you're posts above suggest Roy's hands are tied but Rafa was working in the exact same circumstances. It's been done to death but christ some people seem to cut some slack for Roy but none for Rafa, I dont get it

This was always going to happen, no matter who is in charge. Cant you see where the problem has always lay?

[bigmick]

I don't blame Rafa for any results, certainly not for the result last night. The managers job is the same as it's always been, to organise and motivate the players to a level which is greater than the sum of its parts. Clearly our manager didn't do that last night, otherwise we would have won the match. Equally, clearly Rafa didn't do it last season or we wouldn't have lost 19 times and finished 7th.

So the result is nothing to do with Rafa, nothing whatsoever. The fact that the squad is weak however is a different matter entirely. That much is obvious.

[jacdaniel]

If i was manager of Fulham... and i got offered the Liverpool job with players like Torres, Gerrard, Carragher and Reina id be delighted.   

The team Rafa inherited from Ged was far worse than this team.  And he went and won the Champions league.

So by some people's mentality, we blame Rafa if Roys team loses.

BUT... if we win the FA Cup/Europa League and/or get 4th, will you praise Rafa or Roy?

[Redangel]

No matter who signed them , they should have been capable of beating Northampton.
Plus we should have had a better bench. Roy gambled and lost. We cannot afford to gamble , we no longer have that luxury.

[Greavesie]

The team Rafa inherited from Ged was far worse than this team.  And he went and won the Champions league.

dont forget that was Ged's team tho

[maguskwt]

Cant believe people are blaming Rafa for our results 

me too cig, "he left us in shitty situation" lol... Makes me laugh really... How then did we break our premier league record two times and challenged for the title first time in 19 years? I tell you the hatred for rafa on this forum is pathetic. Ciggy, even you thought it was time to change but you wouldn't be so pathetic as to blame the previous manager just so you could give a pathetic excuse for the current one. Our decline started when our owners decided to stop funding the manager... And that was the reason we finished 7 th... But this lot on here thinks changing the manager would make all the difference... Well they will find out they've got what they deserved...

[jacdaniel]

The current squad is capable of so much more.  Its the tactics or lack thereof that aren't working.
All we seem to do is sit deep and make sure the strikers are well and truly isolated.  We don't try to control the game, pass the ball or create anything.  We give teams far too much respect. 

Apparently we only had one shot on target last night in normal time.  Thats shocking regardless of who the opposition is.  Torres hasn't suddenly become a bad player... he is just isolated.

We really should of signed Crouch if we wanted to play like this.  After the game Roy said that he was happier with the fighting mentality we showed in the final 15 mins.  What?  When we were pumping the ball up towards the Greek?

And i see Roy has blasted the players for the performance.  What about his own performance?  He just sat there with his head in his hands praying for a miracle i guess.

Roy needs to drastically change the tactics in order to bring out the best of our players.  If he can't, we need to find someone who can.

[tubby]

Cant believe people are blaming Rafa for our results 

And praising Ged for his achievements   

Well you know what that means right, every time we win a game we just praise Rafa. They are mostly his players right?