Liverpool teetering...

afternoon roaders!

nothing 3 weeks, then 2 come along in five days. That's better than the transport service in my home village.....

The weekend saw the red half of Liverpool lose their third game in 5 matches. Liverpool have the grand total of 2 points out of 15. Its horrendous. What's worse they are currently perched on the precipiece of the abyss (The Championship) and only Reading and Southampton are lower than they. Pepe Reina has seen his net bulge ten times already this season and have only scored four in response. Lets take a look at their results:

WEST BROM 3-0 LIVERPOOL

LIVERPOOL 2-2 MAN CITY

LIVERPOOL 0-2 ARSENAL

SUNDERLAND 1-1 LIVERPOOL

LIVERPOOL 1-2 MAN UTD

Now looking at these results you wouldn't say that was a nightmare scenario. They played superbly against Man City at Anfield, only for Skrtel to single-handedly present Carlos Tevez with a late goal gift wrapped, that denied Liverpool the three points, which would have been completely merited. They were dominated by Arsenal's midfield though and although they were the better side against Man United on sunday, they still, nonetheless, lost. 

If we look further ahead, that means that having played both Manchester clubs and Arsenal at home, they will have to play all three of those later on this season, away. The only sight worse than Liverpool's current league position, will be to look at the away record. In short, it is horrific.

Liverpool's malaise, one could argue, is as a direct consequence of King Kenny's frivolous and exhuberant spending on frankly average players. (Downing, 20m, Suarez, 24m, Jose Enrique, 7m). Yes, Carroll is a good player, but at Liverpool, it is simply an improbability, given the players he has in support of him, or rather the lack thereof. But then again, it is not like they haven't spent quite a bit of money over the summer. Joe Allen was bought for a extortionate price tag of 15m from Swansea. Allen is a good player but no player  from the Welsh side, bar possibly Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale, is worth even 10m.    

Liverpool's main strike signing is Fabio Borini. signed from Roma for 10.5m (what!). Considering Roma signed him from Chelsea for 7m euros - aside from the fact he is now an international for Italy (albeit a bench warmer)- this some pretty shoddy business, for a guy who was a flop at Stamford Bridge and Swansea. He is quick and seems skillful enough, but no more than a Sterling or a Suso - sitting in the Liverpool talent pool already - and who for my money, are better than Borini. It really is Extraordinary. 

Liverpool are crying out for a striker. Luiz Suarez is a fantastically gifted player. Not just at diving though, but he is so so profligate,that it frequently comes back to haunt The Reds. If only he converted half the chances that he made Liverpool would perhaps, be in the polar opposite league position of third from top and not bottom. That makes the Borini signing even more staggering. They needed a clinical striker. 

Clint Dempsey would not necessarily have been that, but Liverpool would have bought a goalscorer with one of the best conversions rates IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE in recent years. But they missed out him. How I am still perplexed. On deadline day, Villa came in with a £7m bid, which was accepted by Fulham, but understandably, Dempsey was more than reluctant to join, as he was seemingly destined for Liverpool. Every man and his dog expected a bid from Liverpool; and it came but at only £3m, 

Hold on a minute. Haven't Liverpool got a billionaire owner who owns the Fenway Sports Group, who owns the Boston Red Sox? No?......Surely hes got £7m in his 'Purse' alone?.....So instead, Tottenham come in with an offer of £5m pounds and that is accepted at 10pm. REALLY?...

It seems that Liverpool have less money than JJB Sports. But it is symptomatic of the poor recent history of Liverpool FC's, not just transfer policy, but business as a whole.

So how bad is their position exactly? Liverpool's next six fixtures are thus: 

Norwich away

Stoke home

Reading home

Everton away

Newcastle home

Chelsea away

It is quite conceivable, that Liverpool lose to Norwich, Everton, and Chelsea, the away games. However Stoke have proved to be a thorn in the side to many teams. Reading are the sort of team that would frustrate them. Newcastle have oodles of goal potential and defend well. If Liverpool got 9 points from these results it would be a total result. But I have my doubts they would even win one. Reading is almost a guarantee surely.

I think now, the biggest concern would be with the news that Daniel Agger could miss a large chunk of the season. Liverpool are a good defensive unit with Agger. He is a constant threat when in the oppositions half. But without him they are pretty horrible. Skrtel has a great understanding with him. With Martin Kelly out for the season with cruciate ligament damage also, Liverpool are in a potentially very serious situation. But could they go down?

Surely Not.

One of two things will happen; Brendan Rogers will be sacked; Liverpool will drop to the Championship. If this happens, (unthinkable I know) John Henry will take his ball and leave. Liverpool will be left with a mountainous pile of debt and with their sponsors, Standard Chartered in a precarious financial position, Liverpool could become the next Leeds United. 

Quite a thought...that.....   

    

The Seeds Of Hope....and Despair

afternoon roaders.

you can follow me on twitter: @the91stneil


hope you like the new site and layout. comments as always welcome.


this post I am going to focus on the bottom half of the table and look at the teams who are at the moment propping up the table and who are the likely candidates to go down this season. And right now, it is quite fascinating....


VILLA:

Having started the season the worst of all twenty EPL teams - certainly aesthetically - Aston Villa fans must have felt so out of place, it would have been akin to turning up dressed as Robin at an all-Batman convention. The opening two games produced two defeats to West Ham 1 nil at the Boleyn Ground - albeit tight - but a more worrying 3 1 defeat to a powerful and confident Everton side. But perhaps the worries were unfounded. Certainly against a tough and dominant Newcastle side at St James' Park, they played far far better than in their previous two games and at times deserved to win the game. Nonetheless a point on Tyneside is nothing to be sniffed at.

In hindsight we shouldnt be surprised at the Villains curious and at times baffling start to the season. 4 points from 12 is nothing to shout about certainly, but this a Paul Lambert side we are talking about. Last season, when he was managing Norwich City in their return to the top flight, Norwich garnered only 2 points from 12 from the opening 4 games. They then went on a two record two wins in a row and after that - aside from a close defeat to Man Utd at Old Trafford - the next loss was against Aston Villa in November. Norwich went on to finish twelfth. Paul Lambert is clearly a manager who knows what he is doing, its just takes a while for his sides to get into their stride and considering he only took charge during the summer, there is much room for optimism.

In stark contrast to the opening two games Villa began to pass the ball around nicely and whilst they may not have the most Hollywood of squads they can indeed gel well. Last season at times Ciaran Clark produced some superb form and as he was deployed for the most part in central midfield, by the then Villa manager, Gerard Houllier before his untimely health scare. He was allowed freedom to express himself on the ball notching up 3 goals including a double versus Arsenal and one against Chelsea. Under Lambert, Clark has been deployed in both midfield and also in defence, scoring one last against Newcastle in their 1 1 draw.

Clark links up superbly with the enigma that is Steven Ireland and their new Aussie attacking midfielder, Brett Holman. Christian Benteke who signed on deadline day also has opened up his account with a confident finish late in the game last weekend to confirm the 3 points for Villa. Then they still have the out of sorts Darren Bent and the injury nagged Gabby Agbonlahor. They have the tools.

Lambert has proven he has the nouse for the Premier League. If Aston Villa continue to progress as a team, they should have no problems in surviving.


91ST PREDICTION: MID TABLE


SOUTHAMPTON:

At this stage I am concerned for the Saints. True they have played both Manchester clubs, one home, one away and Arsenal away, but they have also lost to Wigan at St Marys'. hmmmm....its a tricky one. The cold hard facts are they have conceded 14 goals in 4 games are rock bottom with no points and goal difference of minus 9. They have scored 2 against both Manchester clubs, but the only other goal has come on the back of a 6 1 annihilation by the Gunners last weekend. For me, I don't think they have a problem in scoring goals. From what I have seen, their achilles heel lies in their inability to keep the ball in the first 3rd of the pitch; it certainly led to United snatching all three points from a seemingly strong position at 2 1 up.

Up top the Saints have a very potent combination in Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert; the two chief reasons they are in the PL in the first case. Guly do Prado is also present but questions will now be asked of him after his drink drive charge. Elsewhere the goal threats are likely to come from £13m Gaston Ramirez from Bologna, which was something of a coup for the club, and the fledging James Ward-Prowse and veteran Jason Puncheon. As we have seen in the past, teams dont need big names, they just need players to gel.


The defence is my area of concern. Hooiveld, Fonte, Fox and Clyne, as a back line, do not fill me with optimism. Danny Fox, formerly of Burnley, so with PL experience is more of a attacking outlet. Nathaniel Clyne is quick but as any Palace fan will atest, he is no top-drawer defender. Too often already this campaign, the wide areas for Southampton have been barren landscapes, not dissimilar to the Kalahari desert (indeed the defence may have been backpacking over there). These gaps need to be plugged. Hooiveld has the aerial presence to trouble defenders at set pieces, but Jose Fonte - though relatively stocky - is too lightweight in his current form.

Southampton are a side I will look forward to seeing play, especially at home. there passing and movement is fluid and they are a exciting team to watch. However at the moment, against more experienced players and teams, they may have real problems in preventing goals from leaking. This could change. But...


91ST PREDICTION: RELEGATION


READING:


This is a tough call. Having only played 3 games due to their game at Sunderland being postponed, it is hard to say much about the Royals, without it being knee-jerk. They have one more point than the Saints, having played Chelsea away, drawing with Stoke and losing 3 1 to Spurs on Sunday. The showing against Chelsea was impressive though. Conceding an early Frank Lampard penalty, Reading responded with a powerful Pogrebnyak header and a sumptuous Danny Guthrie free kick to take the lead at the European champions. Yes, they went on to lose 4 2, but for 20 mins, they had the Blues in real strife.



Reading's squad has a real mix of the old and new about it. Veterans Jason Roberts and the evergreen Ian Harte continue to add to their PL appearances stats. Its likely the goals will come from £5m Fulham signing, Pavel Pogrebnyak, who scored 6 goals for the Cottagers, including a home debut hat-trick and has shown he has the potential to be prolific. Elsewhere, the goal threat is likely to come with the experienced Danny Guthrie, who has the ability to put the ball on a dime from set pieces and Adam Le Fondre who remains a real threat from the bench.

At the back Alex Pearce and Kaspars Gorkss have combined into a good unit - certainly in the Championship - and could be a good duo for the more physical sides as Stoke and Wigan. The aforementioned Ian Harte, now 35, remains the stalwart left back for the Berkshire side and whose experience cannot be argued. However, at times he can be found wanting be pacy wingers, as Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard have exhibited.


For me, the key ingredient of the Reading side will be Garath McCleary. Signed from Nottm Forest in the summer, he is the lynchpin of much of Reading's play. Only 25, McClearys crossing ability is there for all to see and his final ball is very good. with such a tall figure as Pogrebnyak as the target man, Reading could get much joy from his industry. Expect this man to get quite a few assists this seasons.

Tough season ahead for Reading but in Brian McDermott they have a guy who is able to compete


91ST PREDICTION: 16,17th





QPR:

So having thrown money at almost anything that moved in the last month of the transfer window, millionaire owner Tony Fernandes has assured that the West-Londoners wont see a repeat of their last day relegation scrap. Right? Well potentially not Mark Hughes has proved to be a manager that - currently - cannot handle the egos associated with multi-millionaires and the wealth that they bring to the table. Much like happened to him at Man City that saw him sacked. But further than that the players he has under his wing, don't seem to gel particularly well. 


QPR have brought in, Stephane Mbia from Marseille who is a good midfielder and will hold the ball well aswell as deflecting it. Ryan Nelsen from Spurs, is the main defensive signing. But although he does score from set pieces regularly, his defensive ability has began to creak like a old vauxhall; reliable but whose oil needs changing weekly. They brought Andy Johnson in from Fulham after his contract expired but he is now out of the picture having picked up an injury against Chelsea at the weekend. But in Zamora, Cisse and Mackie they have goals. But how many?




More importantly can they keep the goals out? In Julio Cesar, they have former Brazilian number 1 between the sticks; Cesar is a great shot stopper and is a intimidating presence. More often than not, he will be the difference between a point and not. those points could be crucial.

The big factors for QPR will be in their other two major signings, Junior Hoilett and Esteban Granero. Hoilett was a revelation at a sinking ship in Blackburn Rovers. He is pacy and dynamic and arguably the most skillful canadian to ever grace these shores. Hoilett will be given free reign over the midfield and will create all sorts of openings. In the first two games he was deployed as such but after disappointing displays he was dropped for the next two. Where he features now, time will tell.

Granero signed from Madrid on transfer deadline day for £5m. Having been on the books in the Spanish capital for 5 years, having had a loan spell at Getafe (folllowed by a full year there) he returned to the Bernabeu but failed to hold down a place. No surprise there. There is also no doubt about his obvious talent and QPR could well have got themselves a bargain.





91ST PREDICTION:  18th and RELEGATION


LIVERPOOL:

Surely not?.....well lets be honest. Currently there are very few teams with worse cohesion and team work than Liverpool. we shall see.


If I was a fan, I'd be worried....


Those are the four I have focused on and we are four down, thirty four to go. Much can change. but it will likely between these teams


Southampton
Reading
Qpr
Norwich
Villa

more to come on this throughout the season.

Wengers Transfer Policy.....Diabys Returns

Greetings, roaders!


The Summer was busier than expected so I had (reluctantly) decided to put the blog on hiatus.

BUT

The return of our beloved Premier League has swung yours truly back into action once again. Huzzah

After 3 matchdays, now we are well back into the swing of things, only for the pesky international break to interfere. gah! oh well, we can but hope that break applies to a certain Dutchman whilst on duty for Holland.

no malice of forethought of course. alas......


The transfer window slammed shut on Friday night and certain clubs that should have been desperate to add to their ranks were conspicuous by their absence. Notably Arsenal and Liverpool. We shall focus on the latter later.

Arsenal have had one of their most successful - at least on paper - summer windows in recent memory. Having already snared Lu-lu-lu-Lukas Podolski before the season finished, Wenger swooped for Giroud and Santi Cazorla. Cazorla, might I add for an absolute pittance. Malaga's loss was hugely Arsenal's gain and for just £11.9m also, due to the fire sale taking place in both southern Spain and a certain Kuwaiti billionaires mansion. (perhaps literally) . Arsene you say? ;)


However after then selling a certain dutchman, who shall not be named, (ever again) and the rather overrated Song, combined with missing out after Nuri Sahin, following Arsenal's unwillingness to be held to ransom by Jose and co. (rightly so in my mind), the consensus was that the Gunners were a man or two light. Cue transfer window deadline day; much expected, but as usual much disappointment. There were rumblings of a loan deal for Chelsea's Michael Essien, but Di Matteo, rather wisely would not allow it.


So 11pm struck and no deals. Oh.

I, as an impressionable young man, started to panic; How could we not replace one of our starting 11? make that two of said 11. I was raging, albeit quietly. Arsenal still have a pleasantly strong squad, now that elements of the deadwood are disappearing, however I felt that we were still too light in the centre of midfield ; Ramsey is too easily bossed off the ball and is prone to sloppyness, certainly at the moment; Wilshere is a while away from full match fitness, Eastmond is crap, Frimpong is out, as is Rosicky and Diaby is well injury prone TO SAY THE LEAST. Other options are to play the Ox or Coquelin centrally, but both are still learning.


Prior to the window closing he had said he will bring in one or two quality players. But as the windows began to ease shut, that statement began to look hazy, at best.

On the eve of Aug 30, Wenger was heard to say;

“We are active but we don’t want to bring average players in. I am relaxed…if we find a top, top, top player we will do it. We are working hard.”

This is what I have an issue with. Who is a top, top quality player?

* Eden Hazard? 32m. 6 assists and 1 goal in his first three games for Chelsea.
* A certain dutchman.
* Radamel Falcao who is prolific for Atletico Madrid, but who has a £50m buy-out clause.


just a few there, but the top, top players will cost an absolute bomb and chances are you will only be able to have one of these 'toys' if your owner happens to be a Russian or Qatari gazillionaire. Arsenal have Stan Kronke. Yes........


But thats not really my issue with Wenger's statement. You don't necessarily need 'top,top' players. Teams just need a certain jeu-ne-sei-quoi to add to the mix. Take for example, Tottenham. Perennial door-knockers to the top 4 places, but unable to break into the top 3 or even challenge for the title. last summer, 'Arry added Scott Parker to their ranks on Deadlne day. Parker is not a world class player, nor top, top. He is however a very good player, and works like a trojan. He is like the christmas present that keeps giving.



When Parker was installed into Spurs' midfield, everything seemed to click; Adebayor, Bale, Modric, Walker. He only added a small amount but that amount was the final ingredient, that for the majority of last season made the Lily Whites real title contenders. To the point I was scared. Of course I take no joy in the fact that the wheels on the Spurs bus fell off, but the point remains that that 5'7 of Scotty Parker made Spurs a force. There are plenty more examples out there.

So it has been a lovely surprise that one Abou Vassiriki Diaby, has started the season much like Tomas Rosicky did last season. bouncing about, passing like a maestro and generally dominating the oppositions midfield. There are currently no signs of his injury problems that have plagued him so often of late.

Yet......

At times yesterday, there were glimpses of Patrick Vieira, as we all know that Diaby could be and more. Jack Wilshere's timeline for recovery is unclear. He is due back in a month but there are bound to be setbacks. All long-term injury sufferers after a year out hit a wall. Especially Arsenal players. So it is more key than ever that Diaby stays as fit as possible. Already for me, he should be used in league games only. He should be wrapped in cotton wool. There is no doubt in my mind that if Diaby stays fit, the absence of Alex Song will not be felt and Arsenal will be a force.