It's been a tough few weeks, with injuries to key players, not the easiest games, and as always, the press right on our back but i'm optimistic going into this game.
In the last four games, other than the poor performances, there's been something missing. We're still taking more than one attempt to clear the ball when it gets put in our box, we're not creating enough chances and not taking the ones we do. The only consistent performer has been Yossi Benayoun ( and Reina can only pull off so many saves when he's exposed so much).
Once again, injuries put Torres and Gerrard out when they're hitting top form so when that happens, you need other players to step up and make a name for themselves and prove the idiot pundits wrong that we're not a "2 man team" .
But it just seems that the way(since last season) the team play has depended on Gerrard or Alonso to be at the center of an attack and now that Xabi's gone, with Gerrard injured, not many players know how to fill his shoes.
As i say
Reina has been at his usual best lately but with the amount of chances the opposition has been getting (not to mention novelty balls getting in the way) he's bound to find it hard to keep clean sheets. I'm still convinced
Carragher's still got it and that he's just finding it hard to cope with when the defenders around him are making mistakes too,
Skrtel has had minor injuries, for me
Insua, although i really liked him last season, just doesn't quite have it, age and experience will benefit him in the coming season(s) though.
Glen Johnson has probably been our best player this season along with Yossi, he's getting forward and i'm sure could fill in at right mid from time to time because he's so good at keeping possession and beating his man to put in a cross. And from what i saw the other night,
Martin Kelly doesn't look a bad replacement for him
For me the big problem is the midfield of late.
Mascherano has gone off the boil lately. He used to be able to just sit off the midfield infront of the defence and break up the other team's attack but without Gerrard and Xabi, It's like he feels he has to be more attacking instead which is leaving him out of his natural and very effective position. I've said enough about
Benayoun, doing his job really well, creating chances, taking them, and keeping possession. Dare i say sometimes he even looks like a great replacement for Stevie. Listen to the footy phone ins on 96.7 and the "
fans" will still all blame
Lucas for a defeat and poor team effort but in my view, he's doing his job. He's not a great goalscorer for an attacking midfielder but the problem with him and Masch in the middle is that to me, it looks more like Javier wants to attack when we're up against it whilst Lucas sits back and keeps possesion. It should be the other way round but Lucas still lacks the confidence to get more involved in attacks thanks to the boo boys at EVERY game
. Given time and confidence he'll settle into the team nicely. I can already see a massive improvement in his gameplay since last season when i wasn't so sure on him.
The left wing remains a problem. Whether it be
Aurelio or
Riera playing there, we don't creat enough chance from that side of the field. I haven't been a fan of Riera for a while now, he just seems to only play for 60 minutes (if he's on his game) and then drift off and become a certain substitute. I'm not really sure where Aurelio's best position is but i'd probably have to say he's our best current LB. I've always been a huge admirer of
Dirk Kuyt but now I'm starting to think he has to be played off Torres while Gerrard fills Alonso's gap. Of course that depends on what affect new boy
Alberto Aquilani has. Kuyt still looks like one of the key players in every game and still deserves to be one of the first names on the team sheet, even if he has a had a few off games letely. It goes without saying that it's so bloody annoying for
Torres to get ANOTHER injury when he's in fine form. 6 goals in 4 games was it? The only worry about
Gerrard and el nino is ever injuries for me. Now you've got players like
Ngog,
Babel and
Vorinin who'd all like to be able to say they can fill Torres' boots whenever he should be sidelined, but none of them have. They've all had the chances this season and you just know theyll have more of them and i'm just begging for one of them to step up and make a name for themself when key players are out.
Of course, what better game to go and do that than Sunday against the mancs.
Sorry for rabbiting on about individual squad assessments in a topic about the weekend's game but i assure you it's all coming together for my say on that.
A win against the mancs is looking like a must right now and would close the gap to 4 points. Imagine the difference that would make. A win over them with an injury stricken side, and closing the gap from they expect to be 10 points come sunday afternoon, to 4 points would be a major boost. Wouldn't half give Rafa a smile aswell
We can hope Rooney's injured but obviously even with a broken spine he'd still be raring to go in this one so i think those rumours are just typical Fergie, to try and get our hopes up until he announces that he's starting like 10 minutes before kick off. Hopefully he starts him, not fully fit, and he's easy to deal with.
Anyway, assuming that Gerrard and Torres may both not even be fit enough for the bench, here's the team i'd start on sunday against Man U.
Reina
Johnson Carragher Agger Aurelio
Mascherano
Babel Lucas Benayoun
Kuyt
NgogHopefully Gerrard will be fit (forgot to mention that's if Johnson's fit) and maybe Torres may make the bench. Even if Aquilani is fit, he's nowhere near ready to make his debut in a game of this importance. So probably Riera, Insua, Vorinin Spearing etc on the bench.
Hopefully i'll be making anohter starting XI on sunday morning when Stevie and nando are passed fit but at the moment, that's what i see happening.
Come on you redmen and....
*****IN RAFA WE TRUST*****
