Liverpool Laments

It's been a while since I last blogged here.

To be honest, there hasn't been much to cheer about since the season started. Which does kind of make me the classic fair-weathered fan.

Not that I contend to be such - I shall claim depression and despondence for my general lack of activity (someone up there knows there's an element of truth to it).

But it's Christmas - Merry Christmas - and as the halfway point draws close, I think it's time to give a review of the season so far - as unsparkling as it may be.

But it has to be done.

Accusations and counter-accusations fly thick and fast over our failures to perform, and miracle cures come just as quickly, as armchair critics would have us believe (but then I'm one myself).

Sack Rafa - the panacea for our current ills. No, no, no - we owe him an allegiance - in Rafa we trust.

Now I'm no expert.

(And perhaps that ought to be the clearest call for me to shut up; but then everyone is entitled to an opinion, and this is MY blog - so by SHANKLY I shall give it, so help me BOB).

But that being said, I shall be as constructive and objective as I can - so judge me on that....


Rafa Out?

First off, let's get this out of the way: we praised Rafa for bringing us the closest to the title since we last claimed it.

So this season, he too, must answer for our lacklustre performances. He's the manager - he has a responsibility.

That said, his responsibility is to do his job - not to quit in a huff, nor to give excuses, nor to lay blame on others (that's for internal evaluation).

Just - his - job.

But if we have to get into nitpicking - and there are plenty of nitpickers out there - then we need to sieve a little (actually a lot) deeper.

Did we really give Rafa credit for last season? Many feel his rant at Fergie cost us the title - even as his leadership brought us to second.

Credit rarely ever falls to just one person. It's a team effort. We got lucky. We over performed....

By the same reckoning, one cannot apportion sole blame on one person - certainly not when we're nitpicking (though ultimately the manager has to take responsibility).

And remember, we're playing with largely the same team as last season.

So what gives? Did the gaffer lose his marbles? Seriously?

(Though I do wonder if he's gotten comfy with his fat new contract - could have fooled me there).

Obviously there's more to it than meets the eye.

I like it when people say we over performed last season - whereas this season we're playing at our real level.

Rubbish!

How can anyone credit luck and over achievement one season then say it's all Rafa's fault the next?

So we over performed did we? By what exactly?

I'll tell you by what - by an Alonso to be exact.

There's no point denying that Alonso's exit has hurt us - it has.

People point the finger at Rafa, but somehow conveniently forget that our player of last season only truly came good one season AFTER Rafa had considered selling him.

Just as we over performed last season, we too must have under performed in the current one. And how did we under perform?

By an Aquilani actually, give or take a Torres, and a fully motivated Gerrard.

People wonder why Aquilani (I do too) has thus far failed to substantially make the field despite his apparent 'full' recovery.

One theory that has been bandied about is that we would have to pay more should the Italian prodigy play more in the first half of the season.

If that were true, wouldn't that be an indication of how financially strapped we truly are?

I love it even more when people say that Rafa is not the man to lead Liverpool to the title. So who is? Roy Evans? Gerard Houllier? Or Graeme Souness?

The fact is that Liverpool have not won the league in two decades and it is unfair to suggest that we deserve the title just by virtue of being Liverpool - especially a Liverpool of the last decade....

What we need is to build on baby steps - like Mourinho did on Ranieri, as Rafa is doing on Houllier.

But is it perhaps time for a change?

No one can argue that we need a change.

The funny thing is that it is indeed likely that a new manager could improve our position. So long as we get a decent one - one that the players respect - the players tend to pick themselves up and play better ie. play to their true potential.

The problem with Rafa though is that while he is tactically astute, among many other strengths, one that is not on his repertoire is motivational skill.

And that is precisely what is needed at this juncture - someone who can motivate the players to play above themselves, to give them the confidence they badly need.

I read a local paper that ran the stats (I'm not from the UK and it was NOT Tomkins); the conclusion is that while managerial change precipitates a temporary improvement in form, the main problems remain, and the said new manager generally does not perform any better than his predecessor.

Which brings us to a catch-22.

Whoever replaces Rafa may indeed provide a boost, but it may not necessarily fully get us out of the rut (or into Champions League football).

But with the lack of funds, our new boss is unlikely to do any better than what Rafa has done in the past few years (and mind you, he has done very well).

So what then can we do?

The answer, as a fan, is quite simple: back your club, players and manager all the way. Roar yourself hoarse at the games. Make the 12th man count like it did in Istanbul.

As to the change in management, let the board decide.


The Root of the Problem

But there is a problem at Liverpool.

It is not simply about the confidence - though we do need a huge shot of it.

The problem I suspect - is in the players' FITNESS.

Everyone can see that our players are not playing to their true level. We know they have the talent - but somehow they have failed to impose themselves physically.

Something is wrong.

Pre-season already rang the alarm bells. As early as then our lack of fitness had been cited for our pre-season losses.

Things have not since improved.

Fitness is a critical aspect of a team's success. I remember in the days of Pako Ayesteran, Liverpool had one of the fittest teams in the Premier League.

Indeed, the team's fitness had been responsible for the way Liverpool had finished strongly for the past few seasons.

Though Pako has left, the team did manage to maintain its fitness levels with only the slightest hitch.

Not so this season. Everything I have seen thus far seems to suggest a squad that is not fully fit.

Playing well for the first 15 minutes of either half only to fade away in the final moments. Scoring early goals but conceding late ones.

This has been the EXACT opposite of past seasons when we could concede early and still storm back to a strong finish.

Anyone will recognise that it's harder to score early in a game when all players are still fresh and focused. It is the endgame that is crucial - and having fitter players make all the difference.

Of course people will point to injuries as strong reasons for our current plight. I do not disagree.

But fitness does play a part even here. It's a vicious circle.

If you're not fit, you find yourself lagging behind opponents, then you over-exert yourself - thus increasing your susceptability to injury. Then you spend the season playing catch-up to regain your fitness.

In the past we could afford more recovery time for injured players because the squad could cope better. Now is increasingly no longer the case - we have to take risks.

It may all boil down to the team's fitness and training.

Then again I may be wrong. But if fitness is really the problem, then I fear we may not even enjoy our now traditional season end finishes.

Is there a solution?

Our players - devoid of confidence - are currently rampaging like wild horses. Charging from the get-go only to tire in the later stages is simply suicide.

Seize control of the game. Focus on passing the ball around when we have possession.

When Alonso was around, we could perhaps afford that luxury higher up the pitch.

But I also saw often how the defence used to stroke the ball leisurely around in previous seasons. Yet I am seeing less of that this season.

Revert to that. In Agger we have a player who can bring the ball out of defence when the time is right.

Unfortunately in our current situation, we may need to play the waiting game, to seize just the right moment to give a concerted attack.

Forget Champions League for now. Focus on keeping the clean sheet.

It may not win us games - but then there's no point scoring one only to let in two later.

The players need to pace themselves to last the game.


Squad Positioning

Though I am only speculating, I feel reasonably confident that the team's current fitness level plays a part in our failures this season.

In that respect, and also due to injuries, Rafa has had to resort to chopping and changing the squad.

Again armchair critics seem to think they know who should or should not be fielded.

Woe betide Rafa should he have the balls to defy opinion - even if he and his staff are the ones who face the squad day-in day-out, and know the players and their form best.

Our left side is clearly at its weakest, with Riera, Babel and Aurelio all doing their turn at the treatment table.

So it should come as no surprise when Dossena takes the field - yet we have fans slapping their heads and giving up on Rafa.

I for one do not completely disagree - even if we had lost to Portsmouth - and both goals came from the left.

People lament Dossena's defensive frailties, yet lambast Rafa for fielding an attack-minded leftback in LEFT MIDFIELD, while in the same breath wonder if Glen Johnson ought to play as a right-winger.

Yet what I saw against Portsmouth was indeed an attacking Dossena making runs down the left flank.

Of course the point was whether we should have played Benayoun from the beginning instead. But I certainly do not mind having our supersub raring to go in the second half.

In honesty, my only grouse was that Benayoun ought to be played on the right, where I felt he was most effective last season.

I mean, give the gaffer a break. He wouldn't have played someone he knows fans do not like unless he had his reasons. And it's not like he favors Dossena either, though that could be said of Kuyt or Aurelio.

Dossena was simply an option, as is everyone else.

What was exceedingly clear to me was that we lost to Portsmouth, and Arsenal for that matter, because we simply faded away from a bright start.

That would have had very little to do with who plays where. It was the TEAM that failed as a WHOLE, regardless of individual errors.


Thereafter

We need to get behind the team.

Forget the goal of reaching top 4 (that is incidental), and focus on solving the root of the problem.
In my own humble diagnosis, I singled out fitness and training. The team needs to keep a clear head and play to its strengths - and limitations.

We need to recognise that while a new manager may turn things around - it may not be enough to achieve a top 4 spot, which would defeat the entire purpose, since the problem of insufficient funds remain blatantly relevant.

So by all means, stretch our wafer thin finances further. Sack the manager if you think that would truly help.

I for one think it wouldn't.