by ivor_the_injun » Sat Feb 02, 2008 12:28 am
I was with you JBG until that last paragraph. To decry the lack of quality at the club on a par with times past, and then to advocate the appointment of Mourinho is a real contradiction. I've always been proud of the Liverpool way of conducting ourselves in public, and I'd be embarrassed to have a "personality" manager like Maureen spouting nonsense in post-match interviews.
For me there's a real absence of square pegs into square holes at the club these days. The point's been made about Kuyt not being played as an off-the-last-man striker, but for me the lack of consistent width is still killing us. Everyone agrees that Riise has had a shocking season, but to date he's made 17 league appearances, more even than Mascherano (15). Many of these appearances have been at left mid, where his policy seems to me to be to run straight at his man with the ball. That's a tactic that will find you out in league 1, and for an apparently top 4 side to be happy to put a guy out that's that limited in a position where the team we're looking to overhaul have an abundance of options, all better than our best option, is nothing short of stupidity.
I accept how thin we've been at times at central defence, but I can't sit here and tell you that I wouldn't have rather we'd just given Jack Hobbs the chance to step up, and used the 6 mill we paid for Skrtel on a left winger that can beat a man and cross a ball. There are plenty of them out there, some admittedly more average than others, but if Benitez seriously thinks that 6 mill can't buy a player more suited to left wing than Riise or - even worse - Kuyt, then he's simply wrong.
Kewell is still the best we have, but I've been sad to see how ineffectual he's been at times. I really hoped to see a real explosion from him out there now his fitness has returned, but he's getting worse with every game if anything, and my confidence in him has dipped so low that I swapped him out of my fantasy football league team earlier today. Maybe it would help if he was played week in, week out, but it doesn't look like happening, and right now he looks every inch a Portsmouth or West Ham player-in-waiting. I don't know the ins and outs of his contract situation, but I can't see another one coming at LFC, and I'm starting to resign myself to the idea that he'll leave on a free transfer.
The right is less clear cut, as I do rate both Pennant and Benayoun. Pennant I think still has a lot to offer, while I think Benayoun would be better employed playing off Torres as opposed to a wide man. You do look at both though, then look at Giggs, even at his advanced age, and wonder if either are up to the job in hand. They're good, but they're not better than what our rivals have. Obviously the calls for Gerrard to get the f*ck out there remain, and I can't really argue with them.
I know this is all a bit negative, but all told I do think Rafa is still the man to make us kick on. I sincerely hope he acknowledges that the wide areas are still weak, and if funds do become available in summer, I can see two good signings there making the world of difference. One things for sure though, his gamble on Kuyt having a wonderful second season just hasn't come off, and he really needs to get rid and find another goalscorer. A long term injury to Torres, and frankly we're f*cked.
I mean i see peoples mouth movin in the stands aswell as the kop or am i seeing thing now . Nah i dont think so 
poor result and even bigger 
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