As the curtain draws on the 2009-10 season, many clubs have made it exciting to watch. There was one team which could have had a say in the Championship, Champions League and the Europa League also, but could make nothing of it. iSporter Pulasta Dhar tries to reason why Liverpool fell behind the pack….
Liverpool are easily one of the most supported and most illustrious clubs in Europe. Feared in the relative past, they are no longer a threat to any prominent club in Europe. This was proved by how Atletico Madrid beat them in extra time! The way they have played sometimes this season has been ridiculous. There are many reasons why Liverpool lost out and below are the 10 most prominent ones:
1) Tactics: Liverpool have been too cautious in their approach to games. It is one of the most famous sayings in football that ‘Attack is the best Defense’ and Liverpool fast need to learn. The 4-5-1 has clearly not suited them
2) Defensive minded midfielders: their main playmakers are all defensive minded. I am talking about Mascherano and Lucas. Lucas, for one, is the worst player playing for such a top club. All he can do is tackle and these days, a modern midfielder needs more traits.
3) Over-reliance: Torres and Gerrard are the only players who can make something tick for Liverpool. Worn out and burnt out, these two have not had much of a chance to play together. A club like Liverpool is expected to have at least two top class forwards and Liverpool have just one.
4) Transfer Policy: Who sells Robbie Keane within a few months? Absolutely atrocious decision. And if finances are what people are complaining about, what about the loss they made on his sale? How could they afford selling him when they had only one other striker to rely on? If you do not want to use Degen and Dossena, then why buy them in the first place?
5) Starting 11: they bought Aquilani for 20 million pounds, and how many games did he play? The guy was a regular on the bench and it must be so frustrating. The situation could have been different if the team was winning and doing well, but when they are not, then you need to experiment and play your most expensive purchase of the season. Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun should have been played more. Where was Rieira?
6) Leaky back 4: The center backs are really good, but the full backs do not know how to defend. Glen Johnson is top class, but he was always way up the pitch when Liverpool conceded, and Emilio Insua has the same problem.
7) Conservative Management: Rafa Benitez is so conservative in his approach to football management that he makes Jose Mourinho look like a Chinese dad forcing his daughter to wear those shoes which keep their feet nice and small. A different approach is required when the current one is not working and change is another name of football. Making notes while watching your team sink is not the only solution.
8) Off-field problems: you might think otherwise, but off-field problems do affect the performance on the field. Liverpool have basically no money to spare and two owners who’d rather stay in America and watch baseball than invest in football. Or is it soccer?
9) Belief: The belief that the players had in Anfield and in themselves has diminished over the past year. It is no longer a feared arena and teams come, get bantered around a little and then Diego Forlan scores. Also, they play well for 15 minutes out of the whole 90. If they score in that time, then good for them and if they don’t, they’re bound to concede.
10) Lack of Creativity: Players like Craig Bellamy, Harry Kewell (though he is nothing any more) and Robbie Keane should never have left. Bottom line. Nobody other than Gerrard and Aquilani has an ounce of creativity in them. Another player who should not have left was Xabi Alonso. And if they sold him for 30 Million, they should have got someone better.
11) Youth set-up: The youth set-up is downright bad. Who was the last player who created and succeeded and was from the academy? Michael Owen? If you can’t create players, buy the youngsters. We hope Raheem Sterling and Jonjo Shelvey (recent young intelligent purchases) get somewhere in the starting line-up. And we hope they’re better than N’Gog.
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