Players attitudes

Who or what to blame seems common place in here at present.

Blame FSG, blame Brendan Rodgers, blame the crowd, blame Joe Cole blame Downing and Henderson, blame not having Lucas.

One thing not getting blamed is the team as a group. I sat watching last night trying to put my finger on what this team is and as lacked over the last few years. Then we scored and it hit me. These boys when we scored lifted there effort lifted there approach. They had more to give but only gave it when with 10 minutes to go they scored and decided they'd try and fight to stay inthe cup, to fight for the shirt.

With certain exceptions over the years this has been common, in my opinion.

Players pull on that shirt should be, no, have to be, prepared to go out and give it there maximum no natter the game the tournament the opposition or what position the individual is put in. You could count on hand if you were honest the players who you know could give no more in a game, things might not work out for them, but they give there all.

Did we chase down nad hassle enough without the ball yesterday? Did we keep possesion enough rather then hit a hollywood pass? Several times that happenned, though the dog in the street knows what the boss wants, is that tactical disipline or simply disipline letting us down?

Do we work hard enough to support our team mates getting forward? No would be the anser in my eyes. Swansea broke for there 2nd goal 3 men together, options, we rarely see that and if we do we rarely get anything from it, wrong option taken.

So step back from blaming owners managers individuas and systems for a while and take a long hard look at the players representing this club and ask are they giving there maximum to be the best they can be? Is just pulling on the shirt enough for too many rather then put it on and then go and be the best they can to give that shirt what it deserves?

No matter how good or how limited players are if they work there arse off all the time they will achieve. For our undoubted talented bunch of players I dont see enough passion or heart out there at present

You've got a point Brian, I think some of it is down to belief, both in your own individual talent and your team-mates. You will surely of been in a team where you don't think the other players are good enough, this can drag your own level down simply because of your lack of faith in your team-mates and I believe there is some of that in the group. I've seen Gerrard intentionally not pass to Henderson on many an occasion and simply seek out Suarez and I do believe this is down to belief that as much as Henderson is a good lad, he's not a game changer and shouldn't be handed responsibility.

There's of course confidence that comes into this and with so many changes and incidents recently our lads are jaded and in some cases damaged good. The likes of Gerrard is hard to change his mindset to be permanently positive when you've got through so many knocks so it's definitely a task that is under Rodger's remit. How well you manage expectation along with belief is a tough one, because we all know we're gonna taste defeat more than we'd like this season due to circumstance and squad strength.

So as much as I believe the lads should go out there fighting tooth and nail, pressing in all areas of the pitch and have unshakable belief that when he goes, his team-mate will back him up, I can see there is fragmentation amongst the squad when it comes the fringe players. This is why we moan so much about squad depth because as much as we lack faith in understudies so do the first teamers and I don't think any amount of coaching will change the perception of reality when you see a lad like Joe Cole being carried the entire first half and why I believe players such as him are more the cause and the quicker we remove them from the squad the better belief will be.

Watching the game last night, I thought.. "one of those games when we just won't score". Despite actually getting one, the way we were going about looked like we weren't bothered.

The team was a bit of a mix-match, but even so, I would play with more desire for my 5-a-side team. Brendan said they were slow. It was apparent to everyone, and I think it goes back to what he said a few weeks back when he called the performance "lazy". The attitude really does affect the performance, and the attitude is not right.

Sometimes they look like they just don't care.. and that is disturbing.

Without going into depth, there is a management theory (not football) regarding what are termed "enablers and disablers" which is also the subject of psychology research into workplace practices and how it relates to success.

Quite simply the two terms are more or less exactly what they say, and at the moment we have too many "disablers" like cole, and not enough "enablers" like Suarez, Gerrard etc

This is not to say that "disablers" are always a bad thing, but a key component of this character type is resistance to change and I think that is what we are seeing.
It is not a conscious process to resist change, but it is manifested by a persons (or players in this case) ability to adapt, and in some cases their level of intelligence related to their job.
By that I mean that a player with good game intelligence and a positive personality will adapt much more quickly than a player with less game intelligence and a less positive personality.

This is why Rafa was always banging on about attitude, mentality, frame of mind etc. He knows just how important it is, and I think BR is the same but is trying to get the best out of his players by using psychological tools until he can bring in exactly the kind of players he wants.
Joe Allen is a very good example of the type of player BR wants as far as mindset goes, and he will have players like that in every position given time and resources. Sterling is a good example of a young player being moulded by a manager, and the psychology used by BR has been impressive, with the exception of extreme "disablers" who are unwilling or unable to adapt.

Once we see the back of certain players, and BR gets the players he wants we will see huge improvements throughout the team and the squad, because despite what anyone says, extreme "disablers" nearly always drag others down as well.

Take a look at gillingham fc last year they were sh*t. This year they brought in a new manager every one thought this guy was crazy, he come in and changed the culture in no time at all. His mantra is fitness fitness fitness. And he has the players meet at the pool at 7 am, regular tests on players body fat, blood pressure the whole nine yards.even drug tests. No one gauranteed a place in the line up. Players for example who drink to much or dont buy into the programme are shipped out on loan. And the manager will partake in all fitness workouts. He buys all the players a meal every so often but no drinks every week. And gillingham are running away with league two this year. 

Wednesday was strange, because the so called fringe players have all been doing very well in the europa & league cup.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/picturegalleries/9650676/Expensive-failures-where-Liverpool-axe-could-fall.html?frame=2386615

Check out Downing as an example.

Cole another one.

Attitude is a strange one for me, i dont think the majority of our players lack the right attitude, it may at times play a small part in it but for me there are other things that add to it..

Confidence plays a massive part in football, and in any aspect of life for that matter, now i dont mean arrogance i mean the confidence in your own ability and not having a fear of failure. Ill harp back to last season where i still belive that the majority of this squad are struggling with that confidence, the first third of the season last year we played some great stuff but could nt put the thing in the back of the net, i remember commenting on it a number of times, that "oh someone will get a spanking soon and then we will go on a run" to.. "If somebody doesnt get a spanking soon then this is going to get in their heads, that the goals are being a struggle to come by" And i firmly belive it did and still is, people talk about a certain player being a "confidence player" well they all are, to one extreme or another, the further forward they go the more that confidence seems to factor but personally id put Pepe's form down to his confidence too, the things he did naturally he is over thinking about, the same with Suarez when he goes through 1 on 1, the goal probably looks alot smaller and in his head he is thinking "what if i miss" rather than thinking nothing and putting it away as he probably does for fun in training. Carroll last season, was in the side and missed some easy chances early on in the season, had he taken them then who knows...

Put it to your own life, confidence plays a big part, i play alot of golf nowadays, there is a hole (11) its tight, out of bounds both side for the first 225 yards... Now if im not confident in my driver at that moment ill often lay up around 180 to keep it in play, if my confidence is flowing with it ill drive it beyond that no worries..

Take chatting someone up, mainly people dont do it because they are affraid of what will happen... What if she says no..

It goes on... So why not think that a footballer in front of 30,000-80,000 people wont suffer from bouts of lack of confidence, they may not be fully aware of it until that split second happens, they may go missing and not show for a pass, but is that lack of effort or confidence?

We are all human and we all suffer from the same issues, humans will always look for an excuse, so for me the manager coming out and saying repeatedly that the squad is light and thin and weak is allowing players an excuse.. "Well if the gaffer says so it must be true"
Think back to when you played, at whatever level, if your best player wasnt available, the daft sh*t lad had to play... Subconciously it gave you an excuse if you didnt win...
The manager in my opinion shouldnt make that public, should pass that to his bosses but publically tell the world that his players are good enough to win any game.. Dont give them an excuse or a reason to doubt themselves..



Fear factor or confidence plays a massive part of this game, look at us in the 60s-80s, we had games won before we stepped on the pitch, to an extent we did in europe for a couple of seasons under Rafa... Look at Utd now, Chelsea when they went all those games unbeaten at home.... It goes on, Barca now...  Teams fear them before stepping on the pitch with them, subconciously wonder what if anything they can here..... Confidence..



We all know football well enough to know you dont have to run round like an idiot to be "putting effort in" but they need to be fully in control of thier emotions and their confidence to maybe look like they are..

Look at our form at Anfield currently...

Tough one, but I think it is the right attributes that are lacking rather than the right attitudes.

I'm sure we have one or two though who soon forget about the position of the club when their wage comes at the end of the month.

Look at our form at Anfield currently...

... aint no fortress at the moment.

... aint no fortress at the moment.

That's my point...

The longer runs go on like that the more it gets in their heads.. It's not a lack of effort for me it's a lack of belief and confidence

That's my point...

The longer runs go on like that the more it gets in their heads.. It's not a lack of effort for me it's a lack of belief and confidence

You've got a very good point there PD, players like Hendo and Downing are scared to try things as they know the crowd will get on their backs if they cock things up, years ago this didn't happen as much, we oozed confidence as a team, yes, we made mistakes, but the crowd were much more forgiving in those days, shame, but that's the way it is these days, fans want instant success, and they want it yesterday 

A "winning mentality" is important in football and that comes with game intelligence and being hardworking, and in football terms I'd simply translate "hardworking" into aggression - non-stop running in marking, attacking, defending etc. Take for instance Sahin and Alonso, I'm in no way targeting Sahin on purpose just as an example. Both have got game intelligence and very strong technically, maybe Sahin is not at the level of Alonso at the moment, I'm sure in time to come he will be so.

The difference between the two at the moment is in their aggression. Alonso runs non-stop and would rugby tackle another player if he needs to, to prevent the ball from going pass him and we can see that in La Liga now and during his later years with us. How did he become such a beast?  In his first year with us he was feeble in his tackles and players went past him as if he was invisible. Due to his sluggish marking and weak tackling he caused us to concede a few goals. Rafa was mad and was like giving him a few verbal wallopings during half time and fulltime, I don't speak Spanish but I could imagine what Rafa was telling Alonso and I saw a vast improvement in Alonso after that and the ball don't get passed him easily. His aggression and tackling is just one level below that of Masch at the moment, I'd simply put it.

In essence, what I'm trying to say here is some people are born with better game intelligence/more skillful and/or more hardworking than others with that "never say die attitude" and in football we need both, Suarez and Stevie springs to mind. I'm sure the players that we now have would have some degree of game intelligence and skills, otherwise they wouldn't be here in the first place. That leaves us to develop them into one with a "never say die attitude" to win games.

Take for instance Craig Johnston, he was one of the smallest around but one of the quickest and most aggressive and I believe not too many players back then fancy playing against him. he kept buzzing for 90 mins and won't give anyone an easy time and Sterling and Kuyt is the nearest that I compare to.  We look at Kuyt we are more or less looking at Johnston. A footballer either has that natural aggression and winning mentality in them or they don't, if they don't it's the managers job to develop them in that area and I'm sure BR is doing that at the moment. In Wisdom and Sterling I can see see that already, either coached by BR or their natural ability that doesn't matter.

I can't find a better reason why BR played Henderson out of position except to force him to build up his confidence. In the game he has to come up 1 against 1 and he can't start knocking the ball left, right and back, such a move will help Henderson a great deal in building up his confidence. I could be wrong though. I didn't watch the full match so I can't say how well or worse Henderson has performed.

When BR said .... "we're slow" in the game against Swansea, could he be implying that we have not been aggressive enough and allowed Swansea to trample all over us. Of course he could not openly say we've not been aggressive.

It would be useful to now look at potential players that we are going to sign whether they have that natural winning mentality and aggression on the pitch, apart from their technical abilities that would make BR's job a little easier. I saw many critics on Enrique, ok he has his own weaknesses that he needs to rectify but he has this non-stop running and tackling in him which is more important, instead of some who don't run that extra mile or put in that extra few tackles. If I'm BR I'd take a gamble to convert him into a winger, he took the ball passed defenders a few times already and put in some useful crosses into the box and not to mention dribbling all the way into the box. Not too long ago, we saw Suarez created a goal or two out of nowhere, simply boils down to aggression and never stop running.

Sorry for being so ranty.

Take charge of the dressing room brendan Change the mantra fitness fitness fitness, no favourites. If your extremely fit can pay off in so many ways.

You've got a very good point there PD, players like Hendo and Downing are scared to try things as they know the crowd will get on their backs if they cock things up, years ago this didn't happen as much, we oozed confidence as a team, yes, we made mistakes, but the crowd were much more forgiving in those days, shame, but that's the way it is these days, fans want instant success, and they want it yesterday 

Cas I don't think our fans were more forgiving in days gone by,a good footballer was always shown appreciation just as the crowd would let a player who was crap know he was not up to the required standard expected.

Cas I don't think our fans were more forgiving in days gone by,a good footballer was always shown appreciation just as the crowd would let a player who was crap know he was not up to the required standard expected.

What I mean Billy is that fans were a lot more understanding in those days, people were more patient, and of course there was no where near as much money involved like there is today, that, to me is what had spoiled the game today 

I think a few players over the last few years have shown the wrong attitude. I am not convinced that every player put in 100% every game in Rafa's last season. I think a few players took their eye off the ball in the league under Kenny last season when chasing the cups, especially once qualification for the CL started to look doubtful.

As others have said confidence is very important, but when players are struggling the least we should expect is they give 100% effort.

One other thing I think affects players is the lack of atmosphere at some games. When we play the big sides and really get behind the team I think it does help players find that extra yard, put in that extra 10% effort etc. but for some of the lesser games Anfield seems so quiet you can hear someone fart at the opposite side of the pitch.  So I suppose we have to shoulder some of the blame too.

What I mean Billy is that fans were a lot more understanding in those days, people were more patient, and of course there was no where near as much money involved like there is today, that, to me is what had spoiled the game today 

Cas I totally agree with you about money ruining the game,the cost of going to a match is out of all proportion to what it should be.Tommy Trinder has got a lot to answer to for makiny Johnnie Haynes the first 100 quid a week footballer in England.

Cas I totally agree with you about money ruining the game,the cost of going to a match is out of all proportion to what it should be.Tommy Trinder has got a lot to answer to for makiny Johnnie Haynes the first 100 quid a week footballer in England.

Bill Nicholson tried to keep the lid on in 1961, at £99,999. 00  for Jimmy Greaves.
It wasn't to last.