Author: Ben Moss
Posted on:18 October 2010 - 08:57
Liverpool legend
Alan Hansen has criticised former Anfield supremo Rafa Benitez suggesting Roy Hodgson has inherited a playing staff with too many average players that go missing at vital moments.Languishing in 19th position in the Premier League following their humbling defeat to their bitter Merseyside rivals Everton,
Hansen believes the squad rely on “four or five exceptional” players, but once those aforementioned fall below their best, there is no one capable of stepping up. Hansen believes the club’s malaise has been on the cards for some time, suggesting the squad is very similar to the one that finished second to Manchester United two years ago, but that now there is a collective lack of confidence which is threatening to cost Roy Hodgson his job at Anfield.
Hansen told the Telegraph: “Though he (Gerrard) has played better than all of his outfield team-mates this season, he can no longer drag the club along by the force of his own will.
“And yet there is nobody among the squad at Hodgson’s disposal prepared to stand up and offer something extra, something different, when they stand on the edge of the abyss.
“There are too many players who look good when things are going well, but seem resigned to being poor when everything is not so perfect.
“That has been coming for a long time.
“Hodgson inherited a squad with too many average players and four or five exceptional ones, but for so long had they been used to looking to the real top two that, when they are a shadow of their former selves, there is nobody to step into the breach.
“This is largely the same Liverpool side who finished second just two years ago. True, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano have left the club, but the overwhelming majority of players were there when Real Madrid and Manchester United were beaten comprehensively in successive games.
“They still have internationals in every position, whether it is Joe Cole, who has been a regular in the England set-up for years, or Dirk Kuyt, who played in the World Cup final for Holland, while they have added Raul Meireles, who was exceptional for Portugal in South Africa.
“But the difference between then and now is in their confidence as a collective unit.
“Imagine going into the dressing room two years ago, when Torres and Gerrard were at their best, brimming with certainty that, while you had to play well, those two would do more than enough to win the game for you.
“Now, you would look around and see Torres a million miles from his best, leaving Gerrard alone to make the difference.
“It is up to others to step up to the plate. They have not done that for so long that you wonder who is capable of doing so.
“It is to Hodgson that the task of turning that around falls, and how he goes about it is something only he can answer.
“That is how he earns his corn. But what Liverpool need more than anything is to throw caution aside against Blackburn on Sunday and produce a performance to show the world that they are not finished.
“Not only that, but a performance to prove to themselves that they cannot possibly be as bad as they currently are.”
http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/45379/Hansen_Hodgson_inherited_a_squad_with_too_many_average_players.aspx?Is there any such team in the premiership filled with world class players for every position?
How many teams in the premiership have a first 11 that is clearly better than our first 11?
The same team that held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, with ten men and a error of an equalizer. We have the crop of players that can play much better than they are right now.
Our current position does not reflect our true abilities.
There is simply no synergy in the team effort, there is the lack of confidence; Add to this, a tactically shallow manager and you have 19th position.
3 or 4 seasons ago, we went 11 straight games without a single win; and we still came third or fourth. So all is not lost.
However, the lack of confidence I see in the squad was there before this season started; BUT it just goes to further confirm how far RH is out of his depths as he has been unable to do anything about it.
Rafa's last season's showing was poor amidst claims that he'd lost the dressing room; So the british press, often merciless, when dealing with Rafa, will always blame Rafa and not Hodgson for the current state of the team.
