The aftermath

After many a hour reflecting on the game yesterday (no not Newcastle v Bolton) it seems that my summary would be an echo of the summary of our season so far:

Dudek: A clbutt act. Many have ripped into him this season but I have never seen Kirkland make the kind of match saving saves that he made against Chelsea or even Bayer. He is the best keeper we have on our books and considering the shortage of quality keepers on the transfer lists at the moment we could do a lot worse. Imagine if we had a Lehmann or a Carrol in goal. Or even an Almunia or Howard. *shudders*

Hyypia: A quality, experienced CB but that isn't enough these days. He played a good game as our manager would put it but nowhere near his best. Alas, we will never see him at his best again and it is time to move on. No, Pellegrino is not the answer. We need pace at the back. We have done so for a long time and we still do. This wasn't so evident in yesterdays game but it is still a fact.

Carragher: I have said it many a time and I am sure I will say it many ore times. He should be our captain. The rock of the team and it is hard to fault him all season.

Troare: Most improved player of the season without a doubt. It was a close call between him and Riise but when you think of the Troare under Houllier then that clinches the award. A good tackler and he gets forward when he can. Positionally naive a bit still but that is getting better every game that I see.

Finnan: I think the term squad player is the most appropriate for him but considering the alternative is Josemi, I am thankful. Didn't do much wrong but then again he hasn't done much right either. Anonymously consistent is not always a good thing but I think this is more to do with the RM player in front of him rather than himself. In general I think our back line excelled yesterday considering they had to defend for almost the whole match yesterday.

Riise: A good goal and played well over all. He has showed more commitment than most this season and has immense potential. He could so easily be one of the best left-footed players, equally at home as a LB and as a LM. Complements Troare perfectly IMO but he does seem frustrated to me about all the attention on Gerrard.

Hamman: The most underrated player on our books. He goes about his job quietly and calmly and he is very effective at what he does. He isn't paid to score goals or be one of the flair players but he is paid to stop them and he does that with typical German efficiency. I won't say much because I am itching to get into rant mode.

Garcia: Finally I can vent off some steam. KEEP HOLD OF THE f***ING BALL! The amount of times he lost possession is unreal. Whether it was his wayward pbutting, taking too long on the ball or just simply trying to go past a player and leaving the ball behind. We all know he has a hell of a lot of flair and he likes to try the spectacular but it's pointless having those skills if you can't keep the ball. The lad tried hard but yesterday is not the first time that he has been found guilty. It became apparent after his first game and glaringly so by his third. He can't hold onto the ball. This wouldn't be so bad if he was playing as RM but when you are the link man between the lone striker and the midfield it is an essential quality. He was the reason that we had to spend so much of the game defending frantically. Every time the defence came under pressure and we survived the ball inevitably fell to him as he was the link man to the striker and more often then not he gave the ball away which meant we were on the back foot again. It would be bearable if this was a few times in the game, but this was the regular pattern of events. So much talent at his disposal but it is let down by a simple failing of giving the ball away regularly.

Kewell: Is it true that Kewell supports Liverpool? You would think that simple fact alone would provide some motivation for him. In early stages of a game he tries hard but he gives up way too quickly. At least I hope he gives up because the alternative is that he is just not capable. What hurts the most though is that because of him Baros had to sit on the bench. What I would have given to see Baros as the point man and Morientes as the support yesterday. I would bet my mortgage we would have scored more than 1 goal during the 90 minutes with that combination. I hope that was Kewells' last chance for us and he gets shipped off soon. I would really appreciate it if I didn't see him play for us again. I have always tried to defend him citing his 'injuries' or lack of confidence as an excuse but I have taken the rose-tinted spectacles off and I stand corrected. f*** him.

Gerrard: Which brings me neatly onto our illustrious captain. As many others have said many a time, no-one is bigger than the team. Beckham wasn't bigger than the Mancs (read the Scum) and Gerrard is likewise. What pisses me off is that he is a scouser through and through. He is the captain for the club that he has supported all his life and he still wants more. When I think of Maldini I think of an AC legend. He could have left in their leaner days but he stayed. Same with Baresi. On a different perspective someone like Giggs who knows he will never win a trophy for his country would never play with any less pbuttion for them, when he does actually play. What I see from Gerrard this season is an indifference and arrogance that is detrimental to us. It comes as no surprise to me that we win more games without him than with. Last season I would have been genuinely surprised but not now. It also doesn't help when the media hype him up so much. He could have been the best midfielder in the world and maybe he still can but he isn't at the moment. I remember the player that he was in the first few seasons with us, nay, I still remember the player he was for us last season but I don't see that same player on the pitch these days. His tackling is sporadic at best. His pbutting is not as accurate as before. No longer can he whip out an inch perfect pbutt from 50 yards anymore. He needs 2-3 attempts at it nowadays and he still tends to over or under hit it. His drive and determination? Recently his head is the first one to drop when things don't go well. As far as I'm concerned I hope he goes. I wish we could get £30 million for him but I am a realist. More like £10 million and a player. If he goes to Chelsea then we will get a Joe Cole or Scott Parker in return. If he goes to Real then we will have a Solari on our books next season. Either way I too am indifferent. Long live Alonso. An Alonso-Gerrard partnership in the middle of the park would be a dream but then I remember vividly dreaming of a fully-fit Fowler and an on-form Owen partnership. Unfortunately I woke up.

Morientes-Baros: I am going to clump these two together because what I have to say applies to both of them (and this post is getting long and I can sense attention spans waning). Nice touches, capable and hard-working. The flaw is that we NEED 2 strikers. When a Premiership defence comes up against a lone striker, especially a quality defence like Chelsea the will eat a lone striker for breakfast without even breaking a sweat. The only way that a lone striker system works is if you have midfielders who can support them well. Chelsea can do it because they have Robben and if not then they have Duff. Both are very attack minded and love to get forward at every opportunity. Arsenal can do it with Henry because they have Pires and even Reyes who is a striker really anyway. Hell, even the scum (Scumchester not Scumerton) can do it with the likes of Scholes, Giggs or Ronaldo. The point is you have to capable midfielders to support the lone man upfront. Hell even Palace get it right with Routledge supporting Johnson. We, on the other hand, have an abundance of defensive minded midfielders. Riise is still a left-back at for Kewell and Garcia, well I have already highlighted their deficiencies. If there is one thing that has become blatantly obvious to me this season it is the fact that we need 2 strikers on the pitch. When we have the undoubted qualities of Baros and Morientes then that just makes the decision easier. Cisse next season should make that even more easier. If that means that Kewell or Garcia miss out then so be it. Personally I vote for Kewell to be the one warming the bench (preferably back at Leeds).

Benitez: No comment. Yet.