More of the same please Roy.

When a man is digging his way through the Earth, then he will eventually fall out the other side.
This is what I told myself after Liverpool’s most recent abhorrent performance. Sure, it’s simplistic, but the meaning is clear.
Liverpool are on a hiding to nothing this season, after last season’s nightmare, everything was up in the air. To my dismay, Rafa went first and not the board.
Despite the potentially good work Chris Purslow did in removing the Americans (eventually), he hired Roy Hodgson.

Now, I like Roy, many people do. He seems like a ‘nice’ guy, which is probably a label he detests, however, his tameness in his methods is justification for the tag.
The Rafa years, aka ‘The Champions League Years’ if you wish, seem like a golden age at the moment. Liverpool may have whimpered on occasion, but I had always thought that when the chips were down, we had teeth.
Now we’re just all gummy and frail, a sad state of affairs.If euthanasia were legal in this country, I’d have taken us to the clinic a long time a go.

The next decision for the board, we all know, will be the managers job. Roy isn’t their guy, in fact, he’s know ones guy except for Purslow’s and Hicks, and what relevance do they have any more?
As ever with Liverpool, it’s all about the next step, and after a fresh start off the pitch, it will inevitably a fresh start on it that’s needed.
NESV appear to be clever people, they want to win the fans over just as much as Roy does. I think now is the time were the fans will have the most influence. The board will be keen to get a thumbs up from the faithful, keen to know that when they start spending more time back in America, that things in ol’ Blighty are going well.
They must know that the fans are not in favour of Hodgson, most people don’t detest him, they just don’t want him.
Sure Roy, go off and do well somewhere else, we really wish you the best, but your time here is ticking.

Chanting Dalglish’s name, may have been disrespectful to Mr. Hodgson, but some would argue that his team were disrespectful to the fans in the game against Stoke.
The players, we know, are mostly quality players. Okay, there’s no Mascherano or Aquilani or Insua, but Hodgson stepped into a team with World Cup winners and Champions League winners and just generally, a team of winners.
The quality is there, but he’s just not inspiring them. The war of words Rafa was so fond of, while ridiculed by some, often stoked the players.
They’d go out on to the pitch determined to shove someones comment back down their throat.
In time more and more people will realise we were punching dramatically above our weight, but I looked forward to the next game.
This season, I feel like I’m going to some unwanted school disco. Oh how awkward and cringe-worthy it inevitably is going to be.
If the league wasn’t so competitive this year, with these kind of performances we’d be cut adrift in the bottom half. Luckily we’re still in touching distance of Europe.

However, this is the point of my babble:
Do we need Europe this year?
In the long run, I’m quite happy to allow Roy to battle on to the end of the season. Because if he does, then we’re bound to finish maybe 8th or 7th again? Then NESV get all summer to make the right choice.
The right manager may already be at a club, I’m looking at you Quique, and be unwilling to move until the summer.
That’s part of the reason why I think NESV are reluctant to say ‘we’ll spend in January’. They want to wait and see. While it pains me to wait and see, I think in the grand scheme of things, sticking with Hodgson will be acceptable, until the end of the season. Let him dig his own way to the bottom of the pit, then just let him fall out the other side.

To those who shout for Dalglish, I think appointing the King is dangerous territory. I feel almost foolish whenever I get all excited about the prospect of having him in the dug out, I feel... almost like a Newcastle fan... anyway, the draw backs of having Kenny back.
Say we get him to the end of the season and we finish a respectable 5th, then were do we go? Does he get the job full time? What if it doesn’t work out? Such is our affection for the man that it could be heart breaking to see him sacked the next season. Because, lets be real here, he’s been out of the game for a decade. That’s a huge disadvantage.
There’s more to it than ‘knowing the players’, it’s about your contacts and your philosophies, your training methods and what people you have around you.
After 10 years doing the after dinner circuit and meeting and greeting various suits, it might be too much for him to step back onto the field and make things work.
He’s like a first love that nostalgia helps you to always remember fondly, you want it back but you know deep down that you shouldn’t.

Forget consolidation, Liverpool need to innovate.
We need a manager with an eye to the future, who’s fresh and could offer us 10 years and build a dynasty.
I don’t care if he’s foreign, English, or a dog. If he’s got the skills, the ambition, and the methods, then please let’s snap him up.
If it takes to the summer to get our guy, then so be it. But quick fixes are not what we need now.

Liverpool FC. Into the deep.

After a brief International break in which Liverpool’s players did well (sorry, but not you Pepé) we’re instantly back to the grind of league football. This brings with it the every day stresses and arguments that it always does. Did Hodgson get his tactics right? Why did he play Lucas? Why on Earth did he take Torres off at 70 minutes! All stuff we’ve heard before.

The most depressing thing for me in the past week however, was Hodgson’s admission of the dire straits in the board room. I hate to go down this route once more because everybody’s heard it before in countless blogs, but we were lied too this summer and the evidence of Liverpool’s downscaling is there for all to see.

A stat circulated last week that in the last 3 years Liverpool made a £50m profit from recouped transfers. £110m in players leaving and £60m on new recruits, those numbers should be seen as the chalk on the board, in plain sight.

The financial figures also make it even more miraculous as to how we mounted such a title challenge in the 08/09 season. Unfortunately they bring a stark realism to our finish last year. We are, until further (banking notice) a club in decline.

For the season at least, we have maintained a competitive squad. It seems that a fair bit of begging and false promises were spun to Torres and Gerrard in the summer to ensure they were on board. Would it be morally right to praise the gall of Chris Purslow in convincing the two to stay over the summer? Or was he actually believing what he was spouting to us and them?

The next key date in our controversial recent history will be the refinancing deadline. RBS seem to hold some leverage over the Yanks but who knows what deals are brokered behind closed doors. I would be both foolish and out of my depth to comment on such matters. When it comes to Liverpool FC, the number one gossip club in Britain, conjecture achieves only disappointment.

On the pitch, our squad seems to be reinforced with grit. Poulsen and Meireles, between them would make a decent midfield for any team, but in comparison to the midfield of last years top 4 we may come up slightly lacking. The fact Arsenal held on to Fabregas this year is only of detriment to everyone else in the league.

Joe Cole arrived to much fanfare but his long term productivity to the team is still in doubt. In all his years in the premiership he’s never been considered among the top awards, making Gerrard’s earlier claim of him being favourite for the Player of the Year award seem a little ambitious. Although, I would happily be proved wrong on this case. I just wonder how well Cole will fit with Torres, with all the evidence hinting that Hodgson promised Cole that ‘role in the hole’.

A week away lies Manchester Utd, this will be a true test of Hodgson’s dreadful away record. I hope that Liverpool fans can see that despite the signing of Cole, we’re looking at a team designed and drilled to stop other teams. We were always tough, but if Benitez and Houllier are left and right wing, Hodgson definitely walks the line towards Houllier’s style of play.

Our main weapon in recent times was our possession. Once Xabi left, that began to drop. I don’t believe Mascherano will be missed as much as some may think, his job was a simple one and although he was very good at it, we should be a team that dominates possession rather than having to sit back and break it up.

Ideally I would be curious to see Meireles and Gerrard link up, in the same way Gerrard and Barry played together for England, but I think Roy will be concerned about the midfield being vacated.

So what says you Liverpool fan? What concerns you most about this season? And please don’t tell me Lucas and Ngog. Both have been nothing but committed to Liverpool since they arrived and never hid, for that I commend them in the face of undeserved criticism.

Although we may be a club in decline presently, we must still have no limits to our ambition. A wise man once said “To be pleased with ones limits is a wretched state”, nothing is truer to a Liverpool fans heart.

Adios,

Chris

The Hodgson bubble bursts early, but it could be a good thing.

On Tuesday night I watched on with many others as a poor Liverpool team got brushed aside by a poor Man City team. Of course, levels won’t be at their required rate just yet but what’s certain is Man City will improve with each passing week, where Liverpool go, that’s a question for Roy Hodgson.

Before the match, Andy Gray and Richard Keys did their best Statler and Waldorf impressions by mocking Rafa Benitez before a ball had been kicked. Thinly veiled swipes at his 4-5-1 tactics and marking philosophies were cringeworthy enough. It occurs to me that it didn’t occur to them that should Joe Cole have been fit, Liverpool would’ve lined up 4-5-1. Nevermind the fact that City scored from a corner, and when Andy Gray was asked why man marking went wrong, he simply replied ‘well it happens’. Thanks Andy, your insight was outstanding, shit does indeed happen no matter what marking system you play.

The game itself was no spectacle from a reds point of view and I won’t dwell too long, I don’t want to provoke some unwanted shudders while you read. Hodgson quite simply got his tactics all wrong, his record of 4 away league wins in 2 seasons could be understood with his line up. Starting a crunch game away with 4 strikers on the pitch is only going to lead to trouble.

The prerogative for any team like us is to build on small things. A series of early defeats could be very damaging come the usual winter fixture pile up. While the loss to City was unsurprising for most, enjoyable for some and deflating for the rest, again the most worrying for me was the tactics. Lucas, while a player I like and admire, cannot hold the midfield against Barry, Milner and Toure.

Back in Muppets studio, Gray found the vocabulary to praise Hodgson for his bravery in playing 4-4-2, again reminding us that a manager like Rafa would not have done this. Well, our outnumbered midfield and wingless strikers were food and drink for a combative midfield trio in sky blue. Gerrard played in his ‘best position’ though, which was well worth the defeat.

It seems that a spot of contradiction was being served at Sky Towers, their dynamic duo in the same breath called for Gerrard to play central midfield, while drooling over the fact Gerrard and Torres could potentially be back among the goals together. Hmm, I’m sure when Gerrard and Torres were firing on all cylinders, Stevie wasn’t playing central midfield. Forget that though, this is the wonderful world of media! In HD, Yeah!

The repercussions from this defeat are not that great, in a way, I was relieved we got a reality check early on. The goal posts can be shifted so to speak, and as a club we could do a good job out of the ‘lime light’ of the fight for 1st with the new ‘Big 3’.

With Mascherano proving to be as unprofessional as he is fiery on the pitch, we must concentrate on getting our house in order off the pitch before things improve on it. On this topic, I don’t understand why the player was allowed back to training at all. His behavior has been despicable and if he truly did refuse to play, breaking his contractual obligation in the process, Liverpool should be free to dock him wages for his remaining time at the club.

The change in manager has proved to us only, thus far, that the more things change the more they stay the same. Let’s hope this ‘secret but not so secret’ bid comes through and we can attain some certainty in our future.

Our fixture list has not been kind, a win against West Brom and then Birmingham is important if we are to have any confidence enough to go to Old Trafford and then potentially on to the rest of the season.

So, the question falls to ‘Mr Roy’. Everybody expects us to take it to the likes of West Brom, especially at Anfield. The match should be a given, but will Hodgson be able to bring the big away results we need to reach the tables summit? I hope so, and I don’t doubt that he will learn fast.

At the City game the away fans were chanting Rafa’s name, I can’t see this as helpful to Hodgson’s cause (although I did raise a smile in acknowledgment), but it does raise the question, are these the same idiots who were calling for his name last year? Who knows, but Hodgson will need our full support from here on in, not to mention a lot of patience.

Liverpool FC - The building blocks that could lead to a title?

With the season bearing down on us like some starved beast ready to gobble up all our attention, it’s worth a moment of calm in your day to stop and consider the journey we have come on in the last few years.

Within a decade, we’ve rode our luck in 5 major cup final triumphs and seen hope and promise fade away into almost regular disappoint in the form of the Premier League. The statisticians will tell you that besides ‘that season’, otherwise known as last season, we’ve made decent progress, which is true.

That decent progress though, has been sabotaged by some other team who have the audacity to jump ahead of us in the queue for the league title. Greedy teams like Man United and Chelsea have decided that since Arsenal’s last triumph in 2004, nobody else can have the title unless you’re prepared to spend massive amounts. Enter Man City, in an almost carbon copy of what Chelsea did 7 years ago, they’re buying all the top available talent from around the world.

From what I can see, they’ve bought pretty well and effectively. They will obviously be the new kids on the block next season and will have to deal with a lot of pressure, which may or may not be to their undoing. Behind City, United and Chelsea though, we have the slow and steady group; Tottenham, Arsenal and of course Liverpool.

We three teams have been able to spend pretty well, but only if we sell 1st, which means while the three respective managers are busy plate-spinning, teams who aren’t selling are winning the league. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that the biggest spenders with the highest wages win the league every year. That philosophy of course doesn’t count for cup competitions because anything can happen, but for a 38 game season, you basically get what you pay for (competent management permitting).

Liverpool have gradually been creeping up on the big guns for years now with all the subtlety of an Elephant. Constantly talked about and hyped about, we’ve failed to deliver what the press say the fans deserve. A league title. Whether or not we ‘deserve’ one or not is for more debate. One thing that is clear though, the expectation will never change.

Through the 90’s til now, Liverpool fans have felt like there’s a party going on on the top floor but we’re not invited, we’ve tried everything but just can’t get in. We went French, we went Spanish, now we’re going English. Of course, nationality doesn’t mean anything as long as you can speak the language, what counts is the gradual evolution of the team into a squad and then into a club.

Houllier’s team was average at best, and with that team we achieved many average things. A penalty shoot out win against Birmingham City, an improbable turn around against Arsenal and a flukey golden goal against Alaves ensured Houllier went away with his head held high. He did leave us a few gems in the form of Sami Hyyppia and Didi Hamman, so give credit where it’s due.

Off the pitch though, Houllier’s legacy was in the academy rejuvenation. Apparently he was shocked at the standard of facilities Liverpool had (which would be later echoed by Rafa Benitez being shocked at the standard of players at said facilities). The work was completed and Liverpool had their brilliant new academy, but we had no-one to put in it. All those bright young English starlets were yet to be picked up and the FA still hadn’t put together a grass-roots plan to right the wrongs.

The answer it seemed came from abroad. Youth players were snapped up with vigour, a whole host of young French players came to fill the academy and reserves but it seems someone was at fault. Our slightly above average team was now unbalanced as it was supported by a below average reserve squad.

As we know now (silly old us) squads and rotation, yes rotation, are vital to any league triumph. Liverpool’s team simply couldn’t sustain a strong title charge so despite a few enjoyable wins over United, we fell away time after time, reaching a peak of 82 points and a second place to United.

With the fans beginning to lose all hope, the board acted, Houllier was sent packing and a new man was brought in. Enter Rafael Benitez.

When Rafa came he was greeted as a conquering hero, he had just broken up the duopoly of Spain with Valencia, twice in three seasons. The spaniard had also replicated Houllier in winning the UEFA Cup. In this guy, we thought we had the answer.

I won’t dwell on it, because we all know what happened, but Liverpool won the Champions League. This diverted our attention away from another terrible season in which we finished below a progressing Everton side. Nobody blamed Rafa of course, because we all knew it was Houllier’s fault. In that season, Rafa had introduced us to a few Spanish players who divided fan opinion, in Alonso and Garcia he had two great buys, but in Josemi and Nunez, he had handed the ammunition to the future firing squad.

Away from 1st team matters Rafa had set a priority in galvanising the youth set up. With the new facilities, Liverpool rearranged their scouting department and scoured the world, instead of Africa and France, for new talent. Millions were spent on youth players to kick start our academy, with which we’re only now beginning to see bear fruit.

On 1st team matters, Rafa encouraged us on the pitch. In 2005/2006 Liverpool were promising, hope it seems, had returned. Despite the press’ love affair with some Portuguese fella in London, they did afford some attention to Liverpool, if only to compare him to the big spending Chelsea. The endless comparisons and Fergie v Wenger v Mourinho v Benitez stats on Sky Sports News were driving some kopites to despair. Why were Liverpool suddenly branded one of the big boys when we had no right to be so?

This labeling proved a heavy burden in seasons to come as the clamour and hunger for domestic bragging rights grew with what appeared to be every passing month. Rafa continually tried to convince us that we were not ready and 2005 was a huge over achievement, but many wouldn’t listen. In what turned out to be a stroke of genius in 2007, Rafa signed a Spaniard by the name of Fernando Torres. For all his playing down of expectations on the club, Rafa couldn’t curb the wave of expectation that came with Torres’ goal exploits.

At the time of his signing, not many were keen on him since Eto’o and Villa were favoured instead (it would take a brave man to admit that now though). His incredible goal ratio set the bar high for us though and with a new cult hero, the fans started to ask the questions once more, where is this damned title?

Back to the reserves, and Rafa had gradually built up a strong team and decent squad. If you want an inkling into the skill of the scouting department, you should have a look at the price difference from the signings Rafa sold to when he bought them. Profit was the name of the game, which encouraged two new owners to splash out on our old club and promise us that our dreams would come true!

I won’t dwell on the two owners because we’ve probably heard enough, this article is about retrospect on the pitch not politics off it. Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes, money!
No thanks to a shameful display of arrogance at the press conference, George Gillett promised us signings, anyone we wanted. Benitez however, was being told a different thing all together in the boardroom.

A tug o’ war was going on in the boardroom and over the last 3 years of Rafa’s reign, the waters were muddied at Anfield. As soon as the media became a weapon in the struggle for both sides, things started to go badly. The fans became polarised as stories came out against Benitez and the board alike. Many didn’t like Rafa, but they hated the board more.

On the pitch, Liverpool managed to take the premiership by surprise in 2008/2009. Favourites for the league at one point and racking up some famous wins against Madrid and Man United all seemed to be going well. At this point though the wheels were turning and rumours of Rafa leaving started to appear more and more. Despite finishing the season extremely strongly, it wasn’t enough to overhaul United and we spent another summer picking up the pieces.

One piece never got picked up though, and that was Xabi Alonso. His exit caused a right stir and many fans accused Benitez of wasting talent despite the move being instigated by Alonso (although the damage was done the previous year, which was the year Alonso didn’t play so well). Anyway, the following season proved to be a disaster, the great team/decent squad thing was pushed too far by injuries and Liverpool never got any kind of rhythm going. A 7th place and UEFA cup semi-final was a bit too ‘2003’ for most people and so off went Rafa to Milan.

Now, present day and if you haven’t noticed a few similarities in the last 2 regimes, you should start to see them now. Blind optimism gradually eradicates caution when a new manager strolls in. An easy win and decent performance from Joe Cole later and we’re talking ourselves up again. I fear, history may repeat itself.

The only difference I can see now, is that, as one of those ‘slowly but surely’ teams we’ve actually created a very strong foundation to build upon. The last 2 managers have certainly played their part. Houllier laid the foundation and Benitez built the house, all Roy needs to do is decorate the thing and off we go! Right?

Well, one obstacle to our slow yet steady progress would’ve been the American duo at the top. As luck would have it, Liverpool ‘need’ to be taken over, and are just about ready to be so. This, coinciding with a new manager allows a unique opportunity to re-evaluate our position. Whereas once I would’ve preached about caution, it’s now difficult to do that without knowing the intentions of any new owner clearly. I doubt that any takeover can influence transfers in this window, so ignoring the off-field events I will try to focus on the football as it stands.

Liverpool have found themselves at a cross roads it seems. In Roy Hodgson they have someone who can make the fans happy, but who’s record at the very top is sketchy at best. However, with such a strong team and burgeoning youth set up, great strides forward are now possible.

While many of us still nurse the wounds of last season, it is worth bearing in mind that this is still the basic set up that scored 86 points 2 years ago and set the league alight with goals. Chelsea and Man United have chosen to stick with their hand this summer, meaning Liverpool have a chance to make that 5 place gap shrink to none.

In a way, riding behind the pressure of new boys City could help us sneak our way back into contention and dare we dream it, is a title on the horizon? Although, I’m sure I’ve heard all this talk before... ah yes, every season in the last 10 years!

This is why, in finishing on a positive, I think it’s good to remind ourselves of the ups and downs we’ve faced in the last decade and how often things seem to repeat themselves. We need to break out of our mould, this is clear, but we must also remember our history lest we are doomed to repeat it.

By Chris Severs

Liverpool FC get ready to administer preparation H.

A new wave of optimism is sweeping the streets of Liverpool, Nando is staying, and Kenny Huang looks like a spot on fella! Hooray! From what I can tell though, everybody has a sense of reservation about the whole thing. As usual with Liverpool FC, it’s impossible to anticipate what kind of mood you’ll be in by the next week, reds fans, welcome to the world of bipolar.

While some fans have been foaming at the mouth at the thought of Cole becoming the player he always should’ve been and Roy Hodgson playing the way ‘we should be playing’, the majority of fans are treating this whole revolution like someone who’s been burned on one too many 1st dates. A mistrust’y mist hangs around Anfield at the moment and I for one don’t blame anyone for it.

‘The gruesome past’ has been confined to history, despite it being only 3 years ago, and it’s hard to avert your eyes from the bright light from the East which promises so much! The over-riding feeling is one of an anxious wait. We were swept up in the glee of the dollar in 2007 as those brave new custodians swaggered and boasted in front of the camera.

Now, we’re battered, bruised, divided but not quite conquered. Somehow the fans kept their heads (mostly) and we can look to the future. Martin Broughton seems to have delivered on his promise, although I still recall DIC being hours away from a takeover and look how that left us. I’m going to declare myself ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the whole thing, but I’m already thinking of football matters.

If this nice Chinaman swoops in with a week or so to go before the transfer window shuts, should we expect a transfer flurry? I’m not so sure. We have to remember that although Mr Huang won Philanthropist of the Year in 2009, he’s a businessman, not an oil rich Sheik. His main aim, and which I fully understand, will be securing the stadium construction. A new stadium would be key to any potential deal because that is the revenue maker. The lure of sponsorships and corporate boxes is very tempting to a man of astute business intelligence.

As a businessman, I think we’d be in good hands off the pitch. As a footballer, I think there will be no squad overhaul so it isn’t worth fantasizing about. If it wasn’t for that devilish nemesis of ours, ‘the injury’, we’d have a fantastic 1st team, this is still the core of the squad that finished 2nd two years ago, if not with added flair. If Hodgson gets them playing well together, which would require great man-management (which he seems to have in abundance) then we could have an exciting season.

From what I hear, Maynor Figueroa is the next signing, and that would be a decent appointment indeed. Surely all we need is an experienced back-up for Torres, but they’re few and far between, maybe Mr Kuyt can stake a claim?

I have no doubt that we can dispatch any team at Anfield, but when it comes to playing away from home, I hope Roy can give a better showing for Liverpool than he did for Fulham. They had a shameful away record under his tenure, but that all seems to have been forgotten! Who cares anyway?

The season is only around the corner and I can’t wait to see regular football again, it’s not as though I’m ‘expecting’ anything, not a lot of Scousers are, but I’ve missed all the talking points. We may have to have our hard hat on though because there’ll be an even bigger focus on Liverpool over the next month than we’re used to, and that means regular bombardments of horrendous punditry.

Liverpool have been the club on everyones lips for ages, whether as victims of mockery, jealousy or adoration. The slanted London media love to stick the boot in whenever possible, but with their number 1 target Rafa leaving, and the darling Roy in, it will be interesting to see how we’re portrayed. The potential of a new ‘accepted’ owner will of course quieten things down and I also wonder what the future holds for those relying on protests for publicity.

Will the protest groups and SOS retreat to their corners? I hope so. I also hope Chris Purslow will stay out of the limelight. He’s been far too prominent in the last year or so and I don’t like to think of myself as too old-school but when it comes to football, the only thing that should be in the press is the football itself. No comments from some board member, no tip offs, inside scoops, no ex-players spewing bile to gutter-press papers. Just pure and simple football, the way the great man wanted it.

Two weeks to go then and all to play for, on and off the pitch. I expect, should Huang take over, a barrage of information about the guy that will simultaneously worry and relieve, accompanied by a bucket-load of Liverpool-Chinese puns in which I invite comments below to pre-empt the headlines.

It’s no understatement to say the current ownership has been the equivalent of severe hemorrhoids on the backside of the club, so bring out Kenny Huang to take the pain away. Once they leave us (for good), it will be a welcome relief to be able to sit in peace and watch football the way it was intended to be watched; in an over-priced, uncomfortable seat, in the rain, listening to morons all around shouting rubbish at both teams...

Ahh, the beautiful game!

By Chris Severs

Liverpool FC and the trouble with the kids today.

There has always been a clamour for young talent in football. Even when it isn’t there, and over the last 6 years I’ve seen no greater demand for it than at Liverpool.

Since Fergie landed the title with his ‘kids’ back in the 90’s, everybody wants a bit of that action. Liverpool haven’t produced a ‘star’ player since Gerrard 10 years ago, and that’s been a thorn in the side of many a fan.

The battle lines were drawn whenever it was deemed unacceptable to pick Johnny Foreigner over ‘one of our boys’. An example last season was Lucas Leiva being picked ahead of Jay Spearing. I don’t claim to be an expert, I simply observe, but from what I observed last season, Jay Spearing isn’t in the same class as Lucas, as hard as that is for some people to get into their skulls.

The demand for young English talent comes from... well, I don’t know where it comes from but it’s everywhere and it’s relentless. The solution has yet to be found, over the last 10 years various clubs have produced batches of promising starlets. Crystal Palace, Man City and Everton have all contributed to the next helping of hype. Remember all the fuss over Micah Richards? What about Walcott? Don’t forget Michael Johnson either! I wonder whether Jack Rodwell will fall into their category. Even as a Liverpool fan, it is interesting to be able to see a young players career develop.

In Houllier’s era, Liverpool imported a lot of French youngsters, Florent Sinama Pongolle being the greatest success. Besides him, none of them impressed despite the promise. Then came Rafa, and using Houllier’s rejuvenated facilities, he began to overhaul the youth system which ruffled a few feathers. Major ins and outs were afoot and some well known names were disgarded.

Since the Spanish inquisition started 6 years ago, Liverpool signed player after player as they scoured the Earth looking for talent. Some young players were deemed good enough to get a tasted of Premiership football; Lucas, Ngog and Insua were the notable ones. Despite their youth and promise, many felt aggrieved that the English lads were not getting a chance. Spearing, Guthrie and Hobbs were often talking points.

Out of the three above examples, only Spearing remains, and in my opinion, I wouldn’t be sad if he was moved on. This isn’t a grudge against Spearing, I genuinely hope he has a long career at a high level. For me, however, he just hasn’t got it, and sadly this is a theme running through a lot of our English young talent, and foreign too for that matter.

Pub talk is usually a source of amusement to me but over the last season I noticed a lot of it was criticism of Rafa’s reluctance to play the young English boys, and especially so when young imports have been selected ahead of the English. Following Rafa’s dismissal, I heard a lot of chatter about the future, naturally, but a lot of it was how Roy Hodgson would play the Brits. Personally, I think this type of philosophy is outdated in todays game and I’m not sure if it would pay dividends in the Premiership.

Barcelona are the only team I think who have had regular success with true homegrown talent, but they should rightly be seen as unique. It may just be me, and i hope it’s not, but football is an international game and therefore I favour Liverpool and it’s academy thinking internationally. England is a small pool to pick from and it’s league is the most demanding in the world, the sums just don’t add up.

I suspect that Roy Hodgson will give all the young players a chance, and everyone will have a clean slate. Giving Lucas the captains armband in pre-season was a brave decision following the 3 years of criticism directed at him. I will be very interested to see how many young players the manager chooses to play, especially in the Carling Cup (or whatever it may be called this season) where he has history of playing ‘weakened’ sides.

On a side note, it is a shame really, that the only player we have at the u19 Championships happening at the moment is Pacheco. Despite his promising performances, our Academy should have more representatives there.

My point, should I waver from it in my rambling, is the expectancy and misguided philosophy that British is best. British hasn’t been best since 1966 and I don’t think that’s going to change soon. The English are still teaching the kids to play with passion and fight, whereas the rest of the leading nations are teaching their kids to play with technique and guile. The revamp can’t start at Liverpool, it needs to start earlier than that.

The kids we have at the moment are all very promising, but the likelihood is 95% of them won’t have the honour of playing 1st class football at Anfield. Of that 5%, the amount Brits that will get the chance is very low indeed. I just hope that should Hodgson be reluctant to throw Spearing, Kelly or Darby in the mix, then he shouldn’t be judged on that fact.

If two experienced and dedicated managers follow similar patterns with our youth, will the calls for one type of youth player (British) stop? Or will we continue to complain that they aren’t given a chance?

The very argument that players are being denied the chance to play due to a managers stubbornness is generally idiotic and ignorant. Do we really think that a player who shines in training regularly wouldn’t be used in this cut-throat game? The value and demand of such players would almost force the manager to showcase such talents, whether it be for a financial reward or footballing reward. I think it’s simply a touch of anxiety from fans who want to see the new Gerrard or the new Fowler. The game moves fast though, and even since Gerrard came onto the scene as a raw holding midfielder, everything has changed.

Change is hard to take for the traditionalists, especially those who recall the all-conquering British teams of the 70’s and 80’s. Things aren’t like they used to be though, any issues Liverpool have with new talent won’t be solved by simply throwing British players into the mix.

Just a thought...

Chris Severs

The Liverpool fans are starving? Then let them eat cake.

So Liverpool have signed Joe Cole eh? Great signing it seems, good work Roy Hodgson and what a shrewd piece of business by Mr Purslow... Actually, all sarcasm dropped, it’s refreshing to see Liverpool act swiftly in a transfer deal for once; Cole and Jovanovic on a free transfer isn’t bad business for the middle of July.

As usual though, you won’t be surprised to hear I have a concern. By winning the race to sign Cole, we will no doubt see his face and shirt everywhere. The press have been calling it a ‘Marquee’ signing, but I just hope that it’s not a distraction. The distraction being the real issue of squad depth.

Everybody agreed only a week ago that our squad was lacking. After the sales of Insua and Benayoun, not to mention Aurelio leaving too, our squad is still lacking. Now, I’m not complaining, because it’s still early days and I expect a bit more business. It does frustrate me however, that already some fans have started fantasizing about a dream-team frontline firing us to glory. The chances of that happening, remain low.

Cole is an incredibly gifted player, this much is true, but he’s not the messiah (nor is he a very silly boy), he is merely a cog in the machine. To win the league, every cog needs to turn like the others, and so Cole will need time as anyone would, to bed in and find his true role in the team.

Those expecting party tricks are sure to be delighted, but I expect results. I will admit that I’ve never been an avid follower of Cole, Match of the Day and televised games are my only real reference points, but it would be interesting to hear from some knowledgeable Chelsea fans how much they think they’ll miss him. After-all, he couldn’t get a game in their Championship winning team, which prompted his move.

I will of course give Cole my full backing, as will every Red fan, but at the moment, I still see this deal with some suspicion. I still want (but do not expect) significant investment this summer. I will feel underwhelmed if another £15 million is not spent on strengthening the squad. Danny Wilson, at £5m looks to be a risky piece of business, but if Rafa and Roy both saw fit to acquire him then I will go a long with that.

At the start of the summer most people expected about £15 million (net) to be spent, but with Insua and ‘Benanoon’ (with a nod to David Pleat) leaving to the tune of £10m, would I be wrong in assuming that would more than cover Cole’s signing on fee and the bulk of any future wage? The question should now be asked, now what? We find ourselves a senior player down (3 out 2 in), and the rest of the summer to right it. We need two proven left backs, as well as decent cover at right back.

I’m not trying to play Football Manager here, but I would expect the majority of our net transfer outlay to be put into the fullback areas. One high profile left back is essential, if Liverpool FC cannot fill this position adequately this summer I won’t be the only one asking questions of the board.

Whether it would be silly to think or not, I would assume the board are not foolish enough to think they can distract the fans with a shiny new centrepiece in Cole while the walls around it rot. I won’t speculate on what left backs we should get, I will leave that to you dear reader, because I only write this article as a reminder of the real health problems at Liverpool.

Getting back to the playing staff, I would desperately love some real experience to be brought in as cover or 1st choice. However, I know, as with all summers, Liverpool get linked with everyone and anyone so it’s impossible to see through the fog of rumour to what’s really going on.

I read yesterday that Alex Ferguson thinks his team don’t need strengthening, I disagree, but I think that the option to splash the cash may no longer be his. Chelsea don’t seem to be rejuvenating their aging squad and Arsenal may have to contend without Fabregas, or at the least with a sulking Spaniard. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I presume the title will be fought out between Chelsea and Man City, but if both teams were to go through a sluggish patch throughout the season, Liverpool (dare I say it) could pounce.

Any title challenge will require a bit of piece from the media, with Roy on board hopefully they won’t be as vicious and rabid as they were with Rafa. I don’t wish to put words in the mouth of the press, but i worry that there may be some on Fleet Street who feel aggrieved two of London’s finest, in the entertainer Cole and the gentleman Hodgson, have upped sticks and gone to LIverpool. With that in mind, I expect some vitriolic swipes at the men in Red this season.

This is all conjecture of course, and the chances of guessing anything right in football require the help of an octopus who put every single pundit in his place at the World Cup. It just goes to show how simple the game is, and how complicated it has become because of the idiots.

So while we all grab our surf boards and try and ride this wave of positivity as long as we can, the real issues bubble just under the surface. The takeover, the future, and the strength of the squad are all major areas of concern. While the Cole transfer is a shining light, as fans let us be careful not to get caught in the glare of it and let the board put their feet up thinking a day eating cake is worth more than a week eating bread.

By Chris Severs