The Liverpool Way - First Team

What a difference a week makes. Not even a week, six days in fact. From the sublime (Olympiakos), to the ridiculous (Everton), to... well I don't even know what to call this fucking shambles.

I'm angry about this, for a lot of reasons. So much so that it's hard to know what to address first.

I'll start with Rafa. There is no report on here for the derby game, because originally my cousin Tom was going to do it, but then I said I would. However, I've been mad busy and never got around to writing it. When I finally had the time to do it I just didn't have the motivation.

Sitting through it was bad enough, and I knew I'd have to write about it in the fanzine so to be honest I just couldn't face doing a report on here as well. Besides, who would have even wanted to read it? All it would have been was a big long moan about Rafa's awful team selection, tactics and substitutions.

No, far better to just leave that report and let the Portsmouth game get all the weekends frustrations out of our systems. Well guess what, this report is mainly going to be a moan about Rafa's selction, tactics and substitutions.

Let me start by saying that I find it impossible not to like Rafa. He doesn't make excuses, doesn't bullshit and his track record is such that he MUST know what he is doing.

I realise that the job he took on was a massive one, and that it hasn't been helped by injuries, refereeing decisions and the fact that we don't have a goalkeeper capable of keeping a clean sheet.

I accept that he hasn't had anything like the money he needs to make the improvements we all know we need, and I love the fact that he has given younger players a chance.

But can somebody please explain to me WHAT THE FUCK DOES HE SEE IN JOSEMI? Every single game this guy is getting exposed. Even when he only comes on for the last couple of minutes he looks like he's going to cost us.

Yesterday afternoon I watched the tape of the Olympiakos game for the first time. On the night I didn't realise exactly how close Josemi came to costing us that game, but watching the video I was staggered at his incompetance.

A sliced clearance which could have gone anywhere, and then a stupid free kick conceded on the edge of the box really could have ruined one of the most memorable nights in years. Luckily nothing came of it, but on another day...

I also noticed that after that game Rafa went over to him and looked like he was giving him an almighty bollocking. He wasn't celebrating the win like everyone else, he was on Josemi's case, pointing to the corner where he had fouled Rivaldo.

I don't speak Spanish, and even if I did I don't lipread too well so I don't know what the conversation was about, but I'd hope it went something like this "What the hell have I told you about giving stupid freekicks away near the box. You almost cost us the game numbnuts."

Yet for reasons known only to himself, Benitez chose to start with him in the derby, with predictable results. Kirky took the blame for the goal (rightly so), but what of the part Josemi played in it?

What of the fact he got ripped to pieces by Kevin Fucking Kilbane!!! Kilbane joins an unillustrious list of shit wingers who've raped Josemi, which includes Henrik Pedersen, Brett Emerton, Julian Gray and Joonas Kolkka amongst others.

When he came onto the field last night, my heart sank. Bad things happen when he's around, and to me it was an act of stupidity sending him on when we were protecting a 1-0 lead.

After a promising start, this guy has now become the worst player I think I have ever seen in a red shirt. I'm not going to resort to some of the name calling I've seen on the forum, as he always tries and I have no doubt about his commitment. I actually feel a bit sorry for the lad, as I do Nunez who also looks nowhere near good enough.

If a player gives 100%, he'll get no abuse from me. But the fact remains Josemi is an absolute liability and should not be allowed anywhere the first team.

Never before can I remember seeing a player who you absolutely know is such a weak link that opposing teams specifically target him. Abel Xavier was bad, but was like Stevie Nicol when compared to our man from Malaga.

At the start of the season he was being dubbed 'El Carra' by Rafa apparently. What an insult that has turned out to be to JC.

As I said, bad things happen when Josemi is around, but he can't help being shit and it's not him I'm angry with.

The blame has to go with the manager who a) bought him, and b) continues to pick him. Thank Christ he's suspended at the weekend.

Of course, it wasn't just Josemi's fault that we threw away two points against Pompey. Dudek was at fault more than anyone. Just what he was doing I have no idea, but it served only to highlight that we have a major, major weakness in goal.

Kirkland has been terrible of late, but what a lot of people don't know is that his back has been giving him a lot of discomfort for a few weeks. He probably should have rested it, but having missed so many games already in his career he didn't want to let it beat him and he played on.

He should have had a rest and put his feet up, because he hasn't made a save of note since Blackburn away. That may or may not be due to his back injury, but either way it just proves we can't rely on him.

Unfortunately we can't trust Dudek either. The only keeper we have on the books who doesn't make regular costly mistakes is Paul Harrison, but I just don't think there's any chance of him getting a game.

Personally I think the lad deserves a chance. Why persist with Dudek when he keeps making costly errors? Could 'Arro' be any worse? The only way to find out is to throw him in. What's the worst that could happen? He could make a mistake and cost us a goal, which is happening all the time time with the other keepers anyway.

I wanted Dudek back in, as his Carling Cup performances meant he deserved a shot at proving himself again. But that error last night was absolutely dreadful, and proved that we can't count on him.

All the talk is how we need a striker, but a keeper would be top of my January shopping list, as this is getting beyond a joke now. For months I've been saying how teams are only needing one or two chances to score against us, and it's now getting ridiculous.

Carragher and Hyypia are playing as well as any defensive pair in the land, yet how many clean sheets are we getting? Restricting teams to one or two shots a game is pretty damned good, yet those one or two shots are resulting in goals and are costing us points.

Carragher again was absolutely fantastic against Pompey. Not only was he solid defensively, but he was bringing the ball out of defence and doing the job which the midfielders weren't.

The sooner he gets the captains armband the better, as he's ten times the man who currently has that honour.

I don't care how good a player Gerrard is, as a man he leaves a lot to be desired. After his antics in the summer many were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But as soon as he opened his mouth in the press conference ahead of the Olympiakos game, he may as well have handed in a transfer request there and then, because that's where it will inevitably lead to now.

He alientated so many people, including team-mates by the way, and the situation has become very serious. It's no longer about Liverpool FC, it's the Steven Gerrard media circus.

No-one is talking about our results or performances, it's always about him. Why? Because he's made it about him.

His goal 'celebration' last night made me sick to my stomach. I've read comments from good reds who find it impossible to celebrate any goal he scores now because of how he's treated the fans.

I hadn't reached that point, and was still fairly ambivolent towards him. I was as happy as anyone when he opened the scoring last night, but then I saw him pointing at himself as he ran to the crowd.

Then he ran along in front of the Paddock with his finger to his lip, clearly having a go at some fan or fans who I can only assume had given him some stick.

I don't know what it was all about, but it certainly stopped my celebrations in their tracks, as I just stood looking at him in disgust. I've since seen it on TV, and he was shouting, "I'm the man, I'm the man"

Well 'Stevie', you ain't the man, you're just a fucking big head who thinks he's bigger than the club. Newsflash, you ain't bigger than the club, no-one is or ever will be. If you want to throw away what you could have here (legendary status in your hometown, and the chance to go down in history as the greatest ever player at the club you profess to be a 'fan' of), then it's your loss.

It's an unreal situation. Surely never before have we had a player who is so good, yet who is geuinely hated by a lot of fans. I don't hate him yet, but I know plenty of people who do.

The situation we're in now is a lot like Beckham with England, or when Rooney was at Everton. You don't read any article on Liverpool these days without mention of Gerrard and his 'uncertain future' or can we 'hold onto him'.

I'm past caring now. We'll all still be here supporting the team long after he's gone, and we'll get over him in no time.

"But where would we be without him?" is the question many fans ask. No doubt it's the same question many blues were asking when the prospect of selling Rooney came up.

They haven't done too badly, because they are now a team who don't rely on the brilliance of one star player.

Our over-reliance on Gerrard is a problem, and it's one which isn't being helped by Benitez' team selections. The team he picked at Godison was totally, utterly, completely wrong. That's not hindsight, as everyone I know felt that way as soon as they saw the line up.

I also felt he got the team wrong last night. Playing one up front with Gerrard behind is fine when you're playing Arsenal, but this was a Pompey team who came for a point and had even settled for a 1-0 defeat until we basically invited them to come and attack us in the last couple of minutes.

Baros isn't anywhere as sharp as he was before his injury, and needed someone else up there with him. Why do we need Hamann in games like this? It's like having ten men sometimes with Didi. He's a spare part in this type of match.

Mellor should have started, as the lad scores goals and provides a focal point to build our attacks from. He's also a penalty box presence, which we never had against Pompey.

In the first half Baros, Gerrard, Nunez and Kewell were all running around like headless chickens, trying to run with the ball and generally not getting anywhere.

There was no penalty box presence, and when the ball was coming in from wide there was never anyone there. The game was crying out for Mellor, who was warming up for the entire second half.

He was about to be introudced just before we scored, but once we went in front Benitez changed his mind. Flo replaced the inneffective Baros, and then Josemi came on for Nunez.

Nunez, already dubbed 'Cheyrounez' by a mate of mine, struggled badly. No-one was on his back, but there was just a general air of sympathy around the ground as everything he tried to do went wrong. It's early days, but he doesn't look anywhere good enough sadly.

He brings nothing to the side that Partridge couldn't. However, at least his presence on the field wasn't harmful. He was out of harms way on the wing, and Finnan was looking solid behind him. Once Josemi came on. Finnan had to go into midfield and suddenly the right hand side of our defence opened up.

Taylor had already tested Dudek after being given too much space by Josemi, before his mis-hit cross forced Dudek into that error and Lua Lua had a tap in.

Benitez brought this on himself, and it isn't the first time he's made baffling decisions. Away from home his selections and substitutions have cost us a lot of points, and now we've lost two home points unnecessarily.

We've had some great performances this year which suggest that the good times could be on the way back. Then we get totally inept displays like the last two and it all looks doom and gloom again. It's hard to know what the real Liverpool is, but then maybe that's because the manager is making too many unnecessary changes.

Rafa won't get too much stick because he's a new guy with a great track record and he's still in the 'honeymoon' period. But he needs to start learning from his mistakes fast, because we're eleven points behind Everton and no longer have a game in hand.

That's the real worry we should have, not whether or not our ego maniac captain is going to spit his dummy and join all the other spoiled brat prima-donnas at Chelsea.

Team: Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore; Nunez (Josemi), Hamann, Alonso, Kewell; Gerrard, Baros (Sinama-Pongolle):

Agree or disagree? Email me at dave@liverpoolway.co.uk

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