Post-match criticism, without intros:
1. We started the game with a weird group of players:
a. Johnson on the left; he didn't look comfortable through the game and was merely a shadow of himself.
Solution: Agger at LB, Soto/Wilson at CB, Glen at RM is a better formation.
b. The Midfield partnership of Poulsen, Lucas & Mereiles was disastrous; they looked like strangers and fell prey to Blackpool's relatively strong midfield.
Solution: "Reduce the stupidity" rule (stupidity = poulsen). We could've played 4-4-2 then we wouldn't play Poulsen. Or playing Kuyt in the hole in a 4-5-1 formation with Babel on the wing, Lucas and Raul will take CDM roles.
2. Performance:
I believe the players showed determination to get a result. The performance was poor because some players just don't deserve to play in a Liverpool shirt. To mention a few: Poulsen (heads the list as always
), Jovanovic (if you don't know when to pass and you don't know when to shoot then why the F**k are you playing?!), Shelvey (after few years maybe but now never, if he is above Pacheco in the youth picking order then we are in real trouble). I do agree that Kuyt was out of sorts but this happens to all players at times. Kelly showed exactly why he should usurp the RB position from Glen.
3. Manager's Intervention: Substitutions.
Substitutions are meant to help you correct mistakes, switch from offensive to defensive and vice versa, and get players with fresh blood to replace those who are a bit tired. Let's take a look at them:
a. 76m: Kuyt out, Shelvey in: Kuyt played better than Jova of course and we all know he can play the whole game becuase his stamina is really high. At the time when everybody was waiting for Poulsen to be taken out and N'gog or Babel to come in and add strength to our attack, Shelvey was a shock sub. Not to mention that a losing team should never wait till the 76th minute to make a substitution.
b. 85m: Poulsen out, N'gog in: very late to make any effect to the game. It was sad to see Maxi and Babel left on the bench when we most needed them.
Verdict: Sorry King Kenny, but you clearly could've done more. With the right subs we could've salvaged a draw at least.