Three things a Liverpool fan wants this Christmas
As we approach the Christmas period, it’s fair to say that 2010 has not been kind to Liverpool fans. We had a mediocre 2009-10 season; Rafa Benitez was sacked which, for a large number of Reds fans, was the years lowest point. Then the announcement of Roy Hodgson as his replacement was greeted, largely, with bemusement. The second half of 2010 has staggered from pillar to post, like a middle-aged drunk trying to find his way home in the dark. In plainest terms: the year can’t end soon enough. So, as 2011 steam-rolls toward us, here are a few things I’m hoping the club – belatedly, in some cases – gets for Christmas.
New Manager – I welcome all criticism for this, as I have been loud and open in my opinion of Roy from the start; writing a number of articles in the past 4-5 months surrounding his performance, methods and suitability for the job. In contrast, I have equally given praise where it’s due. We were asked to judge him after 10 games, he’s had nearly 30. An overall record of 12 wins; 7 draws and 8 defeats is incredibly average and can’t mask a league record of 6 wins; 4 draws and 7 defeats. By comparison, our league form is – to quote Tom Werner – ‘unacceptable’. Call me a typical fan; call it a knee-jerk reaction but the man has to go.
Players – Paul Konchesky anyone? Christian Poulsen? Brad Jones?? (I know – who?). Apart from the re-signing of Fabio Aurelio and the great form of Raul Meireles, we have had a dearth of good signings this year. While the jury will remain out on Joe Cole for some time, there are a number of players and positions that need to be addressed and we can only hope that Santa (or perhaps, John Henry) sends a few crackers our way in January. If he has any plans to start reform in the playing squad he should start at left back. My initial anger at the signing of such a low-quality player has since been replaced by pity. I now actually feel sorry for Konchesky, in the same way you had to feel for Djimi Traore; it isn’t his fault he’s out of his depth, he didn’t sign himself and he doesn’t pick himself every week. He just happens to vaguely resemble a deer in headlights. As such (and unless Aurelio suddenly finds some kind of miracle injury cure), we first need a new left back.
Second, we need goalkeeping cover. After the odd game in ‘unimportant’ early-season games, Brad Jones has clearly been found out – he’s tosh. The fact that Reina has played in pretty much every league, cup and European game this season says a lot. We let a perfectly good back up go in Cavalieri – for buttons – and used those buttons to pay for Jones. They often say you get what you pay for and unfortunately we paid far too much for a below average keeper. This needs to be addressed; Pepe needs at least the illusion of competition.
Finally, in terms of players, we need better attacking options. They should come in the form of an actual, real-life wide player, not a converted forward or ‘left-midfielder’; somebody who can actually take a man on and provide proper width. (As I have done already, I’ll avoid speculation and suggestions as to who this could be, as without prior knowledge of the transfer budget there’s no way of knowing which bracket we’re working in.) Along with a wide-player, we desperately need an experienced, proven striker; one who can contribute an extra 12-15 goals per season and who can bear the brunt of being the attacking focal point in Torres‘ absence. Because as good as Ngog is becoming, he is not ready for that responsibility yet. And besides: we need more options from the bench!
New Stadium/Refurbishment – This is the least important in the short-term but our future relies on it. While we don’t necessarily need any news on it right now, if the end of the year/start of 2011 was to bring some definitive news regarding what the plan was, Reds fans could rest easy in the knowledge that plans were at least being made up. If however, there were dates, plans, time-frames and more that would just be the icing on the cake.
There are other issues, I’m sure, for Liverpool and its fans at the moment but I would hazard a guess that these 3 are foremost in 99% of fans minds and as we head toward next year, we can only hope that we will start to get answers to certain questions and solutions to these problems. Roll on 2011.
Written By David Tryer at the excellent Live4Liverpool website