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I’ve restrained from the general flood of early season football musings as many others were fighting for reading space and also because I wanted to see something definitive to write about first, and lo, I have seen the very mixed bag of fortunes that have befallen Liverpool FC so far and so as a first blog of the season, here are a few early observations…
First, the obvious – still no Gerrard, a short glimpse of Glen Johnson and a slightly longer view of Daniel Agger, who on the whole, had been on good form and looking like his old self until his injury jinx caught up with him again – hopefully, this will be a short-term absence this time around and nothing at all yet of the very promising Martin Kelly. That said, it’s the absence of the true creative input of Steven Gerrard we’re missing, especially in view of the departed Raul Meireles – more of which later.
So – the new boys, starting with the two additions of last season’s halfway mark. Luis Suarez, to general acclaim, is very likely to go on to be a genuine Kop legend – his start has been exceptional in any sense – he brings fire, creativity and guile in the final third and an eye for goal – sadly, he’s had to make most of his own chances so far this season, has been doubled and even trebled up on and generally kicked off the park, generating a flash (righteously, given the appalling refereeing) of that infamously seen Ajax temper in the God awful game against Spurs last Sunday. Unquestionably though, the lad has got ‘it’.
Andy Carroll, the far more expensive of the two in January, is struggling – with his fitness, his form and in my opinion the understanding that at Liverpool, you need to do what you did for your previous club – but a lot better. I desperately want Carroll to succeed, but wonder if he has the legendary ‘game intelligence’, knowing where and when to be, having the vision and touch to lay-off (my partner in crime insists he has ‘the first touch of a rapist’), shoot, run, feint at that optimum point when it really hurts the opposition…I suspect he does not, however, and although he’s ran himself ragged in the playing time he’s had thus far, it’s largely been to little purpose and often in the wrong place at the wrong time. Compare his off the ball nouse and use of open-space or diversionary running to that of Dirk Kuyt, and you’ll know what I mean. Too often Stewart Downing, Jose Enrique, Henderson or others have played a dangerous ball into the box, only for Carroll to be precisely where the ball isn’t and looking confused and nonplussed. Carroll may yet come good, but he is taking his time thanks in part to his earlier injury problems – that excuse is now running low..
Someone who can’t claim the same is Charlie Adam. I’ll come clean – I never understood why we wanted him – I don’t see what he brings to the party that we hadn’t already got and frankly got better of. Steven Gerrard is no spring chicken, but is not dead yet – Adam would be a poor substitute long or short-term. Raul Meireles was a far smarter and quicker player who read the game better and was good at putting the ball in the net when the chance arose, and not so often from the spot as with Adam (we’re not short of fine penalty takers – Kuyt would be my first choice).Adam has had a few fine moments to give him his due, but he is no midfield creative force or general, being too slow, overly deliberate, losing the ball too often, he can’t tackle sufficiently well, doesn’t see chances open up quickly enough and his best long passes so far have almost all been backward to Pepe Reina. More than Carroll, Adam causes me concern in that I think he’s currently more or less as good as he gets – and it’s not good enough. When pundits compare him favourably to Xabi Alonso – derisive laughter just doesn’t cut it – are they blind? His sending off against Spurs was the nadir of a so far lacklustre time at Anfield for the Scot.
Jordan Henderson is still a kid, and so has time on his side – he has some nice touches, some good vision and some pace when required – however, he needs to step it up quickly. Often he has been invisible for long periods, his passing wayward or worse – obvious. I do see as yet unfulfilled promise in Henderson, and I think although he looks out of his depth somewhat now (Jay Spearing‘s bit parts have highlighted the advantage of being trained in the Liverpool style, the big club ethos by comparison) I do feel he should be good for us as the season goes on.
José Enrique has in most people’s opinion (including mine) been little short of outstanding – he has settled in beautifully and showed how a marriage of skill, effort and intelligence is the way forward for a club of our standing and intentions/pretensions. he has shown a dynamic approach in both his attacking and defensive play, occasionally linking wonderfully with Suarez, Henderson, Downing and Kuyt in turns – the fact he and Pepe can speak the same language can’t be a hindrance either. He was one of the steals of the summer.
Stewart Downing has thus far acquitted himself with some aplomb – he’s worked hard, made some excellent runs, passes, crosses and should have had a goal or two for his efforts – his tackling back has been reminiscent of the old ‘defending from the front’ Anfield philosophy of yore. I admit I was unsure of him coming – yet he has shown he has what it takes to be at a big club and his attitude has been so very positive. The only downside to Downing so far is that like Henderson, he can go missing – not as often or for as long, but still more than a player with his potential impact should but that could be simply early teething problems though, and his general performance makes it a far lesser concern than with his co-signee Henderson.
Alexander Doni of course, is not going too get to many chances to threaten Pepe Reina’s goal-line hegemony, but should the need arise, the sometime Brazilian international is a solid keeper and more than capable in a none Pegguy Arphexad stylee – I’m quite than happy with him as a back up.
This takes us to the last of the major new boys, Sebastián Coates. This kid (for he still is one in my white-templed view) is a real player and may yet be THE bargain of the summer with hindsight a season or two from now. His awful baptism of shite at Spurs shows he won’t hide, he’ll always play his football and be an intimidating presence in our back four in future years once he’s settled – this is undoubtedly in my mind, the man who will eventually bench Jamie Carragher‘s career.
We should also of course, acknowledge the return of the prodigal Welsh son, Craig Bellamy – genuinely a Liverpool fan, and one who will play himself out utterly for the club – whether that will be good enough, we can’t say – but for me, he remains a likely very effective addition to the squad if needed.
The last critique has to go with the man himself, ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish. The season thus far has been a mixed bag – some fine performances (Arsenal, Bolton) a good performance for no result (Stoke) a half a performance (Sunderland) and a fairly terrible one (Spurs). Now – we could say with some reason, that the international break came at precisely the wrong time for us, but then, so could almost everyone else, and no-one came back crocked so it won’t really wash. The cohesion we appeared to have in the first to games has been partially and sometimes wholly absent in the last two – in short, not nearly good enough, break or no break – though its early days, and we really are bedding in half a new team and with a key player or two missing. Nonetheless, Kenny’s tactics and positional choices against Spurs, despite the poor refereeing and the denouement of being down to 9 men were – I hesitate to say it, but I must – poor. The King has to take that on the chin. I like Martin Škrtel, an honest, hard-working CB who gives it a good go every time and had been rather good already in earlier games, especially in showing a remarkable knack for getting forward that had hitherto been almost absent in his game. However, he’s no right back and putting him up against the admittedly wildly over-rated but still at times very good and very quick Gareth Bale was and let’s be fair, an epic fail – a disaster waiting to happen, and happen it did. I doubt we’ll see that kind of error again. Kenny Dalglish is symbolic of everything that sums up why Liverpool fans are Liverpool fans, quick learner he is but infallible he isn’t. Like many, I would have worked a bit to keep Meireles – now, I know we don’t always know the real circumstances behind a player leaving, but for me, with what he offered he was far too good to let go at this stage, and it’s frankly all a bit baffling amongst the positive movement of sub-standard players out of the club that one of his quality should slip through our fingers to a major rival for the second time in half a season.
So finally, at times very good, but not yet great, not yet consistent and a few question marks hanging over some key new players – oddly all British, which in the press’ clamour to extol the virtues of paying daft money for English players is rendered bizarre when you consider that apart from Stewart Downing, it’s our new legion of ‘Foreign Johnnies’ who have settled quicker, better and frankly been by far the better players and more professional – could it be they even understand the nature of the club and fans better? Do they all have considerably better and more refined quantities of skill, ability, vision, fitness and that enigmatic ‘game intelligence’? One thing is certain – it makes any policy of ‘buying British’ and paying over the odds to do so a questionable aim – and thankfully one Damien Comolli says with ‘it’s the player that matters, not the passport’ we are not adhering to, despite the media’s fondest hopes and propaganda.
I have hope – I remember how awful it was last year under the execrable Roy Hodgson (an English media darling) during the dying throes of Gillett and Hicks and this year under Kenny Dalglish (who never gets the same slack as Hodgson or that bacon-faced prat up the East Lancs Road) and the thus far excellent FSG are a world apart in the emotional, quality and vision stakes. I don’t want to keep looking back though, the past is prologue – I want to look forward and we can and must do better. The return of a fit Steven Gerrard will ease that process, and Charlie Adam in particular must watch and learn, and do it quickly.
In between indulging himself having swimming pools filled with nubile girls for his pleasure, Mao once said that ‘even the longest journey begins with a single step’. We have taken that step and more – but the road will have some unpleasant bumps in it, don’t forget that.
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