As the game came to a disastrous conclusion, the calls were “these Liverpool fans will just have to be patient with Brendan Rogers.” Patience is waiting for my six week old son to start walking and talking, not watching one of the most illustrious teams in England spiral into episodes of Dream Team. Three games into a new season in which players on this team, notably captain Steven Gerrard, believe this team is capable of competing for a premiere league championship and The Reds have captured one point and find them self securely cemented at the bottom of the table.
The schedule could not have set up much better to start the year with a very winnable away fixture at relegation contender West Brom, than two home games versus Man City and Arsenal to announce to the league that the team was serious about contending. Mixed into that bag was a very easy Europa Cup draw against Hearts that provided a wonderful platform for the team to congeal into a new system and on paper all things looked so positive. What is it again we are supposed to be patient for? Are we Liverpool and contenders, or are we something else?
Thank God the international break is here because two hours after a crushing defeat to Arsenal there is nothing in the first five important games of the year that offer any reasonable supporter of this club an expectation greater than a seventh place finish with a real possibility of sliding even further into mid-table nothingness.
Lets start with the positives, and there are two and only two. One, Liverpool survived Hearts and remains in the Europa League competition. Two, Joe Allen is magnificent and can be a stalwart of this squad as he bosses the midfield with an ease and delicacy that is delightful to watch.
There are no other positives, period. If this squad did not have Liverpool on the patch and some of the renowned names of players on the back of jerseys, if they were simply computer generated images watched with numbers, after three league game there is no neutral fan in the world who would dare utter the words championship contenders, top four or five premier league finishers, or even a quality side that plays attractive football. This team is not in transition, this time is in turmoil and it is lost and they seem more confused on the field than their fans or any casual spectators are at the comings and goings of the club behind the scenes.
Did anyone see Andy Carroll this weekend? He was fantastic and dominated the entire match until his injury and West Ham looked amazing against Fulham, a fellow club walking in a dark and scary forest of doubt and direction. Did Liverpool have a striker today, was there anyone in the box for the few chances the team moved forward enough to get a sniff at goal? I know that Spain is good enough to play without a striker, but the Reds are nowhere near good enough, creative enough, or cohesive enough to score without a direct plan.
There is too much blame to even start. I do believe you have to start with the players on the field. Captain Steven Gerrard is not anywhere close to the player he once was and his inability to stay healthy and in the lineup is one of the paramount reasons why Liverpool are presently in the situation they are in. For years he has been the focus of the team and everything was built around his exceptional skill, vision and leadership. Trying to fill the void for his absences has hampered any development in actually producing a consistent style of play in which all members of the team are comfortable with and understand there roles. Liverpool is three teams, one in which Stevie G. is part of, one when he is hurt, and a third when he is coming back from an injury and working himself back into the lineup. One can say whatever one wants about the current talent level of the club, but Gerrard has been the boss and the focus for years and his wishes are the teams direction. Torres, Alonso, Mascherano, Kuyt, Keane, Risse, Carroll have all left to play different styles and the only one that remains is Gerrard. Something has to be said for that.
As a player, Gerrard made a terrible mistake today that led to Arsenal’s first goal and he never made an impression on the game. He is the one far to willing to comment on his legacy and how Liverpool is the team he can win a championship with and this is the team that can compete for such an honor. Is he the one to lead this team today, does he have the skill at this point in his career, will he be here all year healthy and pushing the team forward? I love my Champions League Final number eight jersey, but Steven Gerrard is a support player now, not a star.
Does Liverpool have a star? Is it Suarez or Reina? Luis Suarez is a magician with as much talent as anyone in the Premiereship but where is his mind most of a game? Floating around, from left to right, forward and back, he is redefining the free role. The only thing he is offering the supporters is free time to grab another beer as he flops around the field whining and rolling around. Sadly, the league has not had as dramatic a flopper and a diver since the teenager Ronaldo was booed and jeered before every touch as the crowd waited for the theatrics. Luis is sadly more established for his antics and his social beliefs than any consistent performances that lead to stardom. Pepe Reina let in a howler of a goal today that effectively killed off the match and after years of action in the Premier League still has not figured out how to consistently attack the aerial threat.
We cannot talk about the new coach in relation to all of the players on the squad, but it is not to early to discuss some of his personnel decisions. Joe Allen is great, enough said and if it was not for this signing there would be no hope for this squad. Fabio Borini is lost. I am not sure what position he plays, what his strengths are, what his role is on the team, but I do know he has missed a few sitters and by the time he was finally subbed out this afternoon he looked like he wanted to collect his belongings and go home. Nuri Sahin made his debut today and nobody knew because he didn’t do anything.Ousamma Assaidi has yet to find the field although there are two wing position wide open for any sort of a spark and source of attack.
Some may question the attack on the wingers with everyone seemingly talking about Raheem Sterling. I am not forgetting, he is just not that impressive. He is on a stage he does not belong and doing the best he can, but he is not a winger for a championship calibre team or even a top half finisher. He is at least two years away form any sort of consistent, steady contribution to a top club. He is a one trick pony in the image of Walcott and Lennon, but is nowhere near as explosive, only has one real move from the wing (the same move every other winger has, to cut it in on his stronger right foot and fire away) and is totally susceptible to any attack the opponents spring from their right wing with his only possible defense to foul. One day he may be great, but unless you are succumbing to a year of mid-table mediocrity this is not year for him to feature.
How about the rest of the team? Lucas is hurt, again and there is no answer to fill his critical role. Jose Enrique is coming back from an injury and have never been the answer and is really just a stop gap to an answer for a position that the Reds have ignored for two or three years now. Martin Skrtel is a beast but mistakes like he made against Man City on the biggest stage continue to haunt both him and the team and keep him for any serious consideration for one of the elite defenders in the league. Does Daniel Agger really want to play for Liverpool? I don’t think so and I think he has more to prove to his team mates and new manager than anyone. Glen Johnson played, that is the good news, that he is healthy right now, also good news, that he is not even close to the flamboyant attacking wing back he was when Liverpool first purchased him and seemingly not to terribly concerned to play any differently, well, that is the bad news and the apparent fact.
Is there any depth, any hope for someone to challenge for a spot and invigorate this team. There is a lot of investment and contracts tied up in Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson, and Joe Cole. Three big names and no return on investment. There is nothing else there, Martin Kelly, teenagers years away from anything.
Long gone are the days in which teams are afraid of Liverpool are even travelling to Anfield. Everyone knows the eleven players that Liverpool are going to field are not better, or not that much better than they are and the belief amongst the Reds is so low at the present (the fans as well as the players) that defeats are being grasped from the jaws of victory. Sadly, Reds fans should not be patient with the new manager, unless patience is a two or three year plan with a complete overhaul of the current squad and a few years of mediocrity, but simply get used to this. The tipping point passed a few years ago and it will be quite awhile before the precipice is even encountered again to believe in greatness.
