As we all know the start to our domestic season has been a bit below our expectations and desire!
Here are our first 6 results
Sheffield UTD 1 Liverpool 1
Liverpool 2 W Ham 1
Everton 3 Liverpool 0
Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0
Liverpool 2 Newcastle 0
Liverpool 3 Spurs 0
Bolton 2 Liverpool 0
Thats 10 points from a possible 21 and only 1 point taken away from home.
Where are we going wrong and how do we fix it?
Firstly i think Raffa needs to decide exactly what he wants from our captain.There is a problem in midfield in that we have 2 quality c/m in Sissoko and Alonso.Our manager obviously wants to play them both but at what cost?We have players for the right(where Gerrard played last season) !Pennant seems to be given the nod there.So Gerrard is put on the left flank at times and basically i feel this has a huge impact on his game.Hes a naturally right footed player hence he needs to gain an extra yard to beat a man to get the ball on to his best foot at times..hes loosing to many balls.
Is Gerrard happy?
Is Raffa asking too much,even from one of the best in world football?
In saying that if Raffa wants to accomodate both Sissoko and Alonso in their natural positions(maybe the only positions) they can play...is it time to try another formation and stick with it for a while?
Maybe a 4-5-1 something like this.
Reina
Finnan Agger Carragher Riise
Pennant Alonso Sissoko Gonzalez
Gerrard
Kuyt
To me it would make sense,yes there are quality players on the bench but its up to them to impress in training and the reserves and to fight fot their right to wear a first team shirt.
Which brings me to my next point!
Does a system of rotation give players a license to slack perhaps?Form does not seem to matter,players are picked to suit their opponents.
To me Raffa seems to have equal faith in nearly all of his squad(not a bad thing).He seems to measure up our opposition with precision and almost hand pick every player to counter their opponent on the pitch.Or to say it easier,he changes our style to suit who we play!To me this is wrong.LFC should play like LFC every time and let our opponents worry about matching and beating us.I just feel that Raffa shows other managers and teams too much respect at times and that we are good enough to play our own game our way....give the opposition a problem in beating us.
Bellamy was picked today ahead of Crouch as Benitez felt his pace would cause Bolton(not the fastest team) problems!This was a bad decision.
Crouch is in form and on fire,Bellamy is the opposite.What do players need to do to get on the team?
Just a simple question:
Do you think Reina is a better,more reliable goalkeeper than Dudek?
I really dont feel there is a lot wrong and its natural that after signing a few quality players that we are gonna take a while to gel.But the bottom line is that the more Raffa tinkers the longer it will take!
Players should be rewarded for consistant quality performances by a consistant run of games.I really feel for Peter Crouch after all his hard work and performances.He must be feeling deflated and thinking what more he actually has to do to get on the team if we stick with 4-4-2
So basically Raffa needs to wake up a bit and see that all this rotation and changing is not working,its confusing the players and the fans and its not getting results.
Lets hope Raffa is man enough and honest enough with himself to admit that he has made a mistake.
Its time to pick the best formation and best 11 and be LFC home and away.Get a bit of passion and play our game how we want to play.We are capable of getting results if we want them enough.
WE DONT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT WHO WE ARE PLAYING..THEY SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT HOW WE ARE GONNA PLAY.
We are LFC after all
