LFC Players and Manager are responsible for poor showing

Following yesterday's joke of a display against a spirited Bolton side, Kenny Dalglish voiced his anger at the attitude of the players and their lack of desire for the club and respect for their opponents. That's all well and good but is that it? Does the buck stop squarely with the players? Surely Dalglish and his staff have a responsibility here also.

Dalglish was correct, the players were poor and the supporters and the club deserve and expect much more than they're currently getting. Excuses about cup games etc are simply not good enough. I believe most Liverpool supporters will agree that of the 11 players that started the match yesterday, only TWO are players that you could without question say are really and truly committed to playing for Liverpool Football Club in my opinion, Steven Gerrard and Craig Bellamy. The likes of Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel. So so. Good players but with average attitude. That's part of the reason why the team is performing so poorly. Most of those who take to the field in a red jersey don't really give a toss to the club. Yes they have a certain pride to be playing for such an illustrious club, yes they're proud to be playing in the Premiership but, for me, that's about it.

There is no desire from this team. With the exception of the two players I've mentioned, none of the other starters have it. On the bench Jamie Carragher, Dirk Kuyt, Martin Kelly and Jonjo Shelvey qualify. The others, I'd personally get rid of as soon as possible and take any financial loss that comes with it. The likes of Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson are nothing but a joke. Maxi Rodriguez is a good player but I'm not sure if he'd insist on staying if one of the mainland Europe majors came in for him, and being 31, he's probably here to see out the remaining couple of years on his contract and return to South America. The honeymoon period is over. They should be aware of what is expected of them on the pitch and be able to carry out the Manager's instructions. They should be familiar with the team's system of play. This unfortunately does not appear to be the case.

The absence of Luis Suarez has shown just how shallow the depth in this Liverpool squad is and anybody that disagrees with this must be either blind or a supporter of another club. Liverpool have been relying on thirty-somethings to have any sort of impact this season and it simply isn't good enough. If Liverpool wish to fulfil their aspirations of European football next season they need more experienced players, with desire and pride. I'm not going to say "You win nothing with kids" but said kids need to be good enough in order to stand a chance. If not, then those aspirations have to be tempered somewhat and based more on reality than romantic expectation founded on days gone by.

Why exactly are these not-quite-upto-it youngsters and wannabes at the club? Well look no further than the management. They didn't simply waltz into Melwood and announce themselves as part of the "set-up". John W. Henry didn't buy them so that only leaves Dalglish and his (literally) silent partner Damien Comolli. Of all of the transfers these two have made, only Bellamy, Suarez and Enrique have had any real impact. The rest have done nothing but make empty promises and big each other up in the press. Nonsense. Carroll recently said Gerrard will help him get his form back... Well...? Where is this form? Not seen it yet! The talk in the press is all lip-service. Mention of consistency, being more clinical etc etc. That drivel is no good in the papers. It needs to be shown on the pitch. Dalglish can no longer defend them. He has to either take responsibility for making poor signings or go himself.

It burns me to say that because I adored Dalglish as a player. Fantastic he was, and part of the heritage of the club but that's where it stops. Dalglish had a winning team the first time round as Manager but this lot are far, far removed. Nowhere near in terms of attitude, desire, or even ability. It's time for Dalglish to get rid of a few players before they also become dead wood. Carroll for sure should go in the summer. Same goes for Downing and Henderson. I don't see why Dalglish puts so much faith in Henderson and sends Shelvey out on load. It should be the other way round!

Dalglish must look to bring in some alternatives. Transfers are always a matter of hit and miss I believe. A very difficult task, granted. However having said that, the manager has to accept his misses, get rid of them and try again. Otherwise, those same players will be responsible for his inevitable departure. This is crucial for Dalglish. Talk is all well and good but I want to see what he does with certain players at the end of the season. The team needs more players that identify with the club in some way that makes them perform. 

I said, to great ridicule at the beginning of this season that Liverpool would struggle to make the Champions League and I stand by that. There's been nothing to make me change my mind. Not poor refereeing decisions, not hitting the post 216 times, not bad luck. None of these things make any difference. Liverpool FC have to start making their own luck and not excuses. Dalglish knows this and I think he'd better get this through to his players before he becomes their next victim. The players have to step up, or he steps down.

By Ben Green

Follow me on Twitter @Koptimes

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Comments

[njee]

bralliant article everything written is spot on kd has got some dicision to make cos there are some player in the club that dont know nothing about lfc what it stands for cos we could have make top 4 easy this season if we had the right players

[Raj LPC Penang]

Just bring 3 top class player King Kenny... We want Stevie to wil EPL title with Liverpool before he retire...

[Mennard]

Someone once said Kenny is too old for the job, I think he was right, many people want to equate Kenny with Alex but the difference is Alex grew old managing while Kenny was at home. I do not think that Kenny has the ability to take Liverpool to top 4 , if the amount of money that was given to Kenny was given to any other manager the team would be in top 4. Stats are showing that we scored the least goals even with a player like Suarez in the team, we do not have a prayer who scored 6 league goals, no one has scored 3 times in a single game, all these shows the inability of the manager to read a game and come up with an effective strategy. Why is it the prayers who are purchased by Liverpool need to long to adpat , these prayers are not bad players but they need a able manager. Watching the match against Bolton I noticed that the players are even frustrated by the manager's inability. Take notice that when he came ,the players had a lot of faith in him and they were transformed and started to perform better , working hard, believing that he will make them champions next season, but after working with him they realised that the man , no matter how much they respect him, is devoid of the ability. The thing why most supporters have hope in him is the paradox of the crowd, everyone is thinking, if most supporters think he is able, he is able, as individuals they know that we need a better manager to succeed. However because most people trust the judgment of the crowd to be better that personal judgment, most of us come up with many reasons to justify that Kenny is good. The good thing is that although it takes a while for the crowd to realise that they are hearding in the wrong direction, eventually they will come to a point that they will accept that things are wrong. Liverpool can buy two top strikers, 2 top midfielders , and 2 to defenders we will still fail to be champions because to be a champions you have to have an able manager. Man city proved it that top player without a top manager will only come close but never win it and now because of increasing competition a manager who is good strategically is now a pre-requesite of top 4 finishing. I think if Kenny resign before long it will be best for Liverpool, you are all allowed to disagree with me but time will prove one side right and another wrong. Kenny will never be a champion again, he is no way past his time.

[ArmchairLFCfan]

After the LFC-Bolton match, only a few post match comments made any sense. One is from Daglish when he mentioned the need to respect your opponents. The other was posted by a fan who mentioned that LFC should take a leaf from Man. City and Real Madrid's experience ie. strengthen your defence before going forward. As fans, we should take part of the blame for LFC's failure to hit the net. We've egged LFC to go on a scoring spree and criticised the players for not winning matches 'cos of their poor scoring form. In this match, I think the players tried too hard and were too focused on pleasing the fans and the manager that they let their guard down. A costly lesson has been learned. Let the management and the players do their job and we do ours as fans by cheering them on. This will probably be my last comment. LFC YNWA.