Okay, this may give me the opportunity to really think about the past season. So here it goes.
The season of 2008-09 ended with every supporter full of optimism. We had just achieved a point’s tally (86) that in any other season would have won us the league. We had played well consistently and even in games we didn't play well, we managed to grind out results. So it is fair to say that the majority of Liverpool fans believed we would at least give a good push for the title. Some say that after a good season, it is what your club do off the pitch that determines your following season. For me, this is where we let down.
I am not going to criticise Rafas signings because, unlike many, i actually feel they added a lot to the club, however, some more than others. I will begin by talking about the players who left. In the summer of 2009, the club sold Adam Hamill, Jack Hobbs, Paul Anderson, Sebastian Leto and Jermaine Pennant. No one can blame the club for letting these players go although I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Hobbs, Anderson and Hamill in the first team. However, we sold 3 players that summer who, if i am honest, would be if not in the first XI week and week out, but at least on the bench. They are Sami Hyppia, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa. Alonso leaving has been very much publicised over the season that has just passed so I will try not to dwell on it too much. I respect that the club in many ways had to give into player pressure (i.e. he wanted home for various reasons) but it is clear to see we missed him last season but I will get onto that in a bit. For me, the sales of both Hyppia in Arbeloa have often been overlooked as maybe, their positions have determined that their work may go unnoticed. But, Hyppia wanted a 2 year contract and the club only wanted to give him a 1 year contract. I mean, for goodness sake, for a man who was so loyal to the club, who was a fantastic captain, a great leader and had bags of experience and could offer you something in the season ahead, on and off the pitch, you would think the club would give him 2 years. Similar to Alonso, Arbeloa had his reason for wanting to join Real Madrid. But, i still think we were paid buttons for a player who you always knew what you were going to get from them. Anyway, that is all in the past and now it was the clubs job to find suitable replacements for Rafa.
The fist signing brought in was Glen Johnson. The argument used against his signing was that we paid far too much for him. Whilst this may be the case, for a player who is English and in the England squad, you have to expect to pay this much. We also signed Aaron King from Rushden & Diamonds & Chris Mavinga, who is progressing well in the reserves. In order to replace Xabi, we signed Aquilani from Roma for £20m. He is a player who has a proven injury record. I am not using that against him as i think he is a quality player and has a lot to offer the club in the years ahead. We also brought in Kyrgiakos from AEK Athens. To be honest, i think i can talk for many fans when I say that even I was questioning Rafa’s transfer dealings. I mean, I looked at him and though "jez, we are getting a Rangers reject to replace Sami". However, more on his performances latter. It is clear to me that Rafas transfer dealings prove that he felt we had the squad to be able to compete at the highest level i.e. His signings, in many ways, were like-for-like players.
I will now go into our squads performances throughout the season. First up, the ever honest Pepe Reina. A great man, a great leader and i for one am sure he will be a future captain. I think it is safe to say, without Pepe, would be scared as to where we would have finished this season. He kept us in games that, in truth, we deserved to get hammered. He was definitely my player of the season. I think a lot of credit should go to both Pepe, for his hard work, and our coaching staff who seem to spend a lot of time with the GKs in helping them to progress.
Next up is Johnson. As said before, we did pay too much for him but you ahve to expect that kind of money for an English starting place Right-back. At times, he filled in a LB when needed and looked great going forward. I was very excited by this signing. I have always admired the old AC Milan teams that included the attacking full-backs. At times he did look suspect at the back but i am sure with experience with working with Rafa and his coaches + Capello, these errors will soon be fixed. Infact, we began to see evidence of that towards the end of the season. Unfortunately, his season was broken up by the amount of injured. We also had Degen who, and i don't usually get this way about one of our players (even Dossena
) but he is F***ing sh*t. An awful awful player. We also had Carra fill in there in a number of occasions when Glen was out.
In central-defence, we had Carra, Agger, Skrtel and Soti. Unfortunately, Skrtel had to miss an awful lot of the season with a horrific injury. Carra looked suspect at times, with some even questioning his ability. For me, it was never an issue though. Agger played quite well throughout the season- solid without being spectacular. He also filled in at LB and did very very well. Soti, for me, was the surprise of the season. I couldn't believe we had signed him but now, i am calling it a piece of genius on Rafas & his scout’s behalf. First few games he seemed to take a while to get sued to the speed of the game but thankfully after then he was solid throughout the remainder of the season. At LB, Insua just looked very inexperienced at times but i am not worried about him as I think he will eventually progress to the next level. Agger did a good solid job their when called upon. Aurelio, unfortunately, didn't have a great end to his Anfield career with 2 bad injuries. But I wish him the best of luck. He did look solid when he played. In defence, overall, I am saddened by the fact that both Hobbs & Darby didn't get an opportunity. I praise Rafa for trying Ayala and he did look a good player when called upon but he seemed to disappear in the second half of the season.
I midfield, we had Masch, Lucas, Aquilani and Gerrard. I know a lot of people are talking about Lucas and I am not saying he is a fantastic player but I really think he came on leaps and bounds this season and his consistency improved. It seems that you either love him or love to hate him. Hopefully we will see more developments from him next season. Masch was his good reliable self- as always. The one game that annoyed me about Masch was the Pompey game when he got sent-off but apart from that, he had a good season. Hope he stays next season. Aquilani has caused a few murmurs among fans and the media. He did have a pretty strong injury record and we did pay a lot of money for him. Despite not having a consistent run in the team (due to team selections and injuries)i liked what i saw of him. He is def like Alonso but not as good as the good man. But, I am confident with a run in the team, his performances will improve and he will become more consistent. Gerrard played a more attacking role than Lucas & Masch and didn't have a great season. Looked uninterested at times but at times he showed glimpses of what we have come to expect of him. I wonder whether we do sometimes expect too much of him though, because of his performances over the years. In terms of the centre of midfield, I think I am correct in saying that Yossi played their maybe once all season. I, personally, would have liked to have seen him play their a bit more often as, at the end of the day, that is his original position. He is not a winger. Plus, it would have given us someone a bit more creative than Lucas. Similarly, I would have liked to have seen a bit of Spearing but instead, he was loaned out too Leicester of the second half of the season.
On the wings, we had Babel, Riera, Yossi, Maxi and occasionally Gerrard. Riera went hay-wire in the middle season and royally ducked up his Liverpool career. Again, we saw major developments in Babel’s game but he still remains inconsistent and at times frustrating to watch. Whether we will be watching him in a Reds shirt for much longer is a different matter. Yossi was used quite a lot this season and showed glimpses of his old self. But, at times, he did a bit too much with the ball and gave it away easily. I still love the guy though, and i think he is the most technically gifted player in our team. Maxi took a while to settle in England, which is understandable considering he hadn’t played for Atletico in a long time + he had moved to a new country with a new team and style of game. But, I think he was quite possibly the find of the season, although Soti wasn’t far behind him. He linked well with El Nino and seemed to be tactically very aware. Hope this continues into next season though.
Upfront, for me, is where we are let down the most. I am not putting blame on Nando. He gave his all for the club when he was fit. But, we have a big problem....he needs a strike partner. When i look around the Premier League, especially Citeh, what I wouldn’t do for some of the strikers at other clubs e.g. Pavlyunchenko. At the end of the day, Ngog is still very young. I think he has the potential to be a very good player but he is not ready to step into the dirt world of the Premiership on a week-to-week basis. At times, some games have been calling out for Pacheco to come on but it rarely happened. We need goals. Therefore we need a striker. Not just one that can fill in when Nando I injured but one that can possibly play up top with El Nino or challenge him for his position.
And now I get onto the manager. A great great man who doesn’t get the respect he deserves. But, and I know it’s not going to happen, he needs to open up a wee bit. One of the things Joe Cole said about Ancheloti is that he lets the Chelski players a certain amount of freedom. Rafa’s players seem to have to stick to his tactics or they are off the pitch. This saps all the fun out of the game for the player. If some players had that freedom, namely Aquilani, Yossi, Gerrard, Torres, Maxi and Babel, who knows what we could achieve. I respect that some players need to stick to tactics but if you had one or two of them playing of the top of their heads, we may see a different outcome. Other than that, some of his decisions, e.g. taking Torres of against Birmingham, came into question. However, we have started to see him become a bit more consistent with team selection and putting players in on merit and not simply because he fancied a change. I hope he stays, i really do. He is the man to take us forward. But, his thinking needs to alter somewhat. If that happens, just maybe we might win the Premiership.
This summer is vital, we don’t have much money but we have to make do with what we have. Players will leave e.g. Riera, but who comes in is vital. We need proven players, no matter what age, who can come in & do the job. I fully trust the current regime to do that successfully.
