Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 5:36 pm  

QPR then Wigan

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 5:46 pm  

100% Wire wrote:

QPR then Wigan

worst run in 50 years apparently

#progress

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 6:37 pm  

Too much supporter power at Anfield.....Got rid of Hodgson before he even had a chance to do even half a job - Whatever his many supporters might claim, Benitez had left a bit of a mess at the club, and were on a downward path. Even the very best would have struggled to stop the initial slump that Hodgson suffered. The fans quickly used Hodgson as a convenient scapegoat when things were going badly, despite it being obvious that the players weren't pulling their weight or were even upto the job.

Now Dalglish is leading them on a similarly mediocre path, despite spending vast amounts more than Hodgson ever got the chance to. However, this time, the manager has the fortune of being a legend from a time when things were all good in the Liverpool empire, and the fans blindly follow all things Kenny, despite it being apparent to many that the man isn't the right one for the job in hand. Past emotional ties make it difficult for the fans to turn against this particular manager, which leaves the board in a very difficult position where they are lumbered with the wrong manager.

I don't think Dalglish is a bad manager, he just isn't upto this job anymore....Liverpool should have moved heaven and earth for Martin ONeill, or simply allowed Hodgson more time to do a job, which was impossible to do in the 4 or 5 months he got. Liverpool fans try to claim that Hodgson had them doomed for relegation, but this is just a far flung piece of rubbish which fitted their agenda, which was to bring the King back to his throne.

The funny thing is, the cups have been a saving grace, which as been probably Dalglish's smartest piece of management, which was to target something that nobody else makes a concern of, until you reach the final 2 or 3 stages of the competition....It is only this consolation which has helped to mask, what has been another season of simply treading water Premier League-wise.

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:19 pm  

Liverpool are a joke. Spend circa 50 million on a new strike force.

Problem? struggling to score goals.

But it's been a successful season! They aren't bothered about champions league (remember gerrard's comments a few weeks ago). They scraped a win, on penalties, against championship side cardiff in the carling cup!!

If they are lucky, they may be able to grind out a scrappy draw and win the FA cup on penalties. The glory days are back, all hail king kenny!

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:21 pm  

I see Liverpool's vile cheating racist was upto his usual tricks today! quite clearly using his hand to force the ball over the line then running off celebrating like he had won the world cup.

Then his manager having his own deluded outcome on the goal “It doesn’t matter how well or badly you play, you still need a wee bit of luck sometimes and there is no reason why the second goal should be chalked off for me.”

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:24 pm  

Looks like a draw for city at stoke.

Not a bad result in normal circumstances, but in this situation, in the midst of a title run in, the full 3 points was needed.

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:25 pm  

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

Too much supporter power at Anfield.....Got rid of Hodgson before he even had a chance to do even half a job - Whatever his many supporters might claim, Benitez had left a bit of a mess at the club, and were on a downward path.

Hodgson was never wanted by Liverpool fans, he was never wanted and it wasn't just that. His football was woeful, literally, our full backs were pinned back, our midfield was inept and he tried to turn Torres into Zamora. You can't expect an entire fan base to take to a manager that they never wanted, a manager who was clearly leagues behind Benitez and a man who seemed to carry a spade with him into every press conference. Benitez never left the mess, the Americans left the mess as they desperately tried to hang on to the club. Mascherano didn't leave because he'd fell out with Benitez, he left because the club's owners/board were constantly telling him the club would invest and compete at the top, it was all they could say to stop him from going Barca, but when Roy inherited an unhappy Mascherano, an unhappy Reina and an unhappy Torres, it was down to the previous ownership, not Rafa.

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

Even the very best would have struggled to stop the initial slump that Hodgson suffered. The fans quickly used Hodgson as a convenient scapegoat when things were going badly, despite it being obvious that the players weren't pulling their weight or were even upto the job.

Fans weren't using him as an excuse for things going badly, fans were annoyed because it was rammed down our throats by the media that Roy's a good bloke who would steady the ship. All we were told was that Roy would steady the ship, lay the foundations and get the maximum out of the very little we had. It never happened, we became a bottom half side and the frustration that was there before Roy left persisted into his very short reign. Fans knew Rafa would have done a better job, fans knew Kenny Dalglish didn't want Roy at the club, instead believing he could do a just as good job, but all of this was conveniently ignored then and still is now.

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

Now Dalglish is leading them on a similarly mediocre path, despite spending vast amounts more than Hodgson ever got the chance to. However, this time, the manager has the fortune of being a legend from a time when things were all good in the Liverpool empire, and the fans blindly follow all things Kenny, despite it being apparent to many that the man isn't the right one for the job in hand. Past emotional ties make it difficult for the fans to turn against this particular manager, which leaves the board in a very difficult position where they are lumbered with the wrong manager.

Kenny Dalglish has earned the chance for fans to be patient with him. If there's one man alive that is deserving of patience from our fans, it's Kenny Dalglish. Whether you like him, rate him or whatever is irrelevant, the reason our fans are so patient and blindly follow him is because he's won titles with us, as a player and a coach, he carried the city through Hillsborough - and continues to do great work alongside his family - and he gets us playing the right way. For me, it isn't so plain to see that Dalglish isn't the right man for the job. We've played some exceptional football this season, we've played some top quality stuff but we've been down on our luck and we've lacked a little composure. I've said before, if our side had played poorly under Dalglish all season, I'd concede that he isn't up to it, but we have played well so many times, our results haven't matched our performances which can be the nature of the game at times.

I've said before, the biggest point of concern for all Liverpool fans is Kenny's activity in the transfer market. There's a lot of confusion as to whose role it is, when Comolli came, the impression was that it was he that would sign the players, but I actually think it's a joint effort. Kenny obviously wanted homegrown players, Comolli obviously had some players he liked (Downing being a player he tried to sign at Spurs on a few occasions). Our signings have been mostly poor, Suarez is an excellent player but too much has been asked of him considering the short period he's been here. Coates looks a good player but we probably won't see him fulfill the price tag for a couple of seasons. Bellamy was an excellent signing on a free and Enrique has been steady, if not slightly frustrating at left back. But that's where it stops, Adam has proven he's no more than a £7m player, he has ability, but doesn't have the brain or body to truly push on to our expected level. Downing, similarly, was a baffling signing. A player that's shown flashes of ability throughout his career at every level, but has never been truly productive or consistent. Jordan Henderson, again, a baffling signing, I said at the time he reminds me a little of the Jenas signing at Spurs by Comolli, an average English player who has loads of potential. Lastly, there's Carroll, probably one of the poorest signings in the history of the sport, especially when you consider fee.

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

I don't think Dalglish is a bad manager, he just isn't upto this job anymore....Liverpool should have moved heaven and earth for Martin ONeill, or simply allowed Hodgson more time to do a job, which was impossible to do in the 4 or 5 months he got. Liverpool fans try to claim that Hodgson had them doomed for relegation, but this is just a far flung piece of rubbish which fitted their agenda, which was to bring the King back to his throne.

Give it a rest, they're average managers. Much like signings, if Liverpool were to get somebody other than Dalglish, it should have been somebody from Europe, somebody worthy of the big bucks, like Jurgen Klopp.

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

The funny thing is, the cups have been a saving grace, which as been probably Dalglish's smartest piece of management, which was to target something that nobody else makes a concern of, until you reach the final 2 or 3 stages of the competition....It is only this consolation which has helped to mask, what has been another season of simply treading water Premier League-wise.

Kenny is fortunate that we've done well in the cups, but that just highlights what kind of manager he is. He takes pride in every competition we play in, he wants us to win everything and he made the best point himself the other day, we've played better in the league than we have in the cups, but look at the difference.

Dalglish will always divide opinion between Liverpool fans and others, nobody can deny the results in the league have been poor, but I think people would be much more concerned if the team hadn't performed all season. Our form since the start of the year (2012) has been abysmal, but I still think Kenny deserves at least another season to try and get more from the players. We've struggled for results, lacked consistency and had a few injuries here and there, but morale is fairly high and we have played well in the games, for those reasons, I don't think we should get rid just yet. And yes, if it was any other manager, we probably would ask for him to be out, but he's a club icon that does things the right way, if you don't get it, fine.

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:29 pm  

Touchy, are we?

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:37 pm  

100% Wire wrote:

Touchy, are we?

Me? Nah, considering the results we've had lately, losing at home to Wigan feels like run of the mill. I actually watched the game and it was one of our poorer efforts this season, Henderson was abysmal, Kuyt too and Gerrard forced it too much to the point where he was spent in a half. Downing was wasteful and provided little end product, as always. The full backs were poor and Carragher again looked past it. Suarez was lively up until his disallowed goal (I didn't see it clearly on the stream, it was a pretty poor stream, it looked like he jumped at it and it hit his arm, but, I'll watch a replay later), his goal was class but those around him simply didn't elevate to his level when needed.

The goals we conceded were poor. The penalty was silly by Skrtel, you don't see penalties for them very often but it was the correct call.

It was all very underwhelming from a fan's perspective, Dalglish said the players were tired, which I can accept to a degree, but we really didn't perform.

Re: The Football Chat (cont) : Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:11 pm  

Ol' toad face Garth Crooks sounded absolutely gutted on Football Focus that Liverpool didn't pick up the 3 points today. Mind you he's from a time when Liverpool were all conquering and cleaned up in every competition they played in so think its finally sunk in with him that Liverpool just aren't the team they were and don't have a god given right to be playing Champions League football and finishing as part of the so called "big 4" like they did a few years ago.

Things won't change much if King Kenny moved on, the team really needs sorting out. The team is above average and IMO a 6th-10th placed team in the league. Just much better teams in the league ATM!