Video: Kenny Dalglish Post-Bolton Interview

All I could think about was the 3-2 loss to boro a couple years back. Ugh. Shit shit shit. Hopefully will represent the season's nadir. I do disagree w/ those that think we don't have the components for a top four side.

I have nothing else to add - Redtrev's "certainties and truths" pretty much put into words what I would try to say were I not pretending the match never happened (except for a couple f'ing delicious balls by Carroll - those that didn't require more than a touch or two, at least). That on the same day my alma mater managed to get sh-t on by inferior opposition and lose on a last second three pointer at least highlighted the reason why I can afford to invest too much only in one team: Pool. 

I begin this week a beaten man, but hopefully Wednesday will change that. See y'all then. YNWA.

Bad game, but I'm not really worried about losing this game. After all its only one point less than a draw, and we've seen plenty of those, no?

Ouch.

The bookmakers make Liverpool favourite to beat Citeh on Wednesday??????

Just watched City Spurs match. First goal David Silva first timed a through ball to Nasri. Both recognized the opening. Goal. Carroll is unlikely to see that opening and lacks the quickness to get there. Suarez would but we have only the captain in our midfield who could feed a pass like that. Hendo did a few times, but not on a consistent basis. May be we can get Ian Rush back to partner Suarez.... 

Examine a few certainties and truths with me.

1) Gerrard and Adam as a central two was never going to cope as neither is disciplined enough to hold. Chaz can't tackle or track. Stevie was invariably even further forward when Bolton attacked. Either man looks good in the role alongside a certain Lucas Leiva. This call was Kenny's. 

2) Most were still content that with Hendo and Maxi tucking in, there would be adequate cover and a potent attacking impetus. There was neither. This is down to the players.

3) Most were chuffed to see Bellers effectively partnering Andy. A blind man could see how good the former was and only the exceedingly myopic would have missed the 3 or 4 excellent through-balls or flick-ons Carroll sent the way of the neckless wonder. With better midfield play and more normal service from Jonno and Enrique, this partnership might have done more. Again, down to the players.

4) Andy looks slow and immobile. His touch is heavy. He showed ability as a target man when he had Bellers running beyond him and may be suffering with a confidence deficit to compliment his homesickness. He was Kenny's choice but The King's been badly let down by our no. 9. 'Blame' shared.

5) This was an exceedingly rare poor outing by our defence. Yes, they were missing a shield in front of them but positionally, on all 3 goals, questions could be asked. Enrique, in particular, had a 'mare. 

6) None of this will matter if you're a knee-jerk reactionary squawking about how Dalglish is a dinosaur or a shouty hater that wants Adam and Downing flayed at dawn. 

It ain't pretty, it's a work-in-progress. For the record, if anyone is in a position to talk about being worthy of wearing the shirt, it's Kenny Dalglish. People wittering about hypocrisy should have a word with themselves. This wasn't a Hodge deflection by throwing the players under the bus, this was a man who IS LFC feeling hurt by the lack of passion shown by some of those HE'S invited to be part of his revolution. He's right. And before the indignant ripostes, he's also, patently, been wrong.

I've had a word with myself, but I haven't changed my mind. I'm of the opinion that a lack of a passion was not the main cause of our defeat yesterday, far from it. Gerrard and Adam together in midfield was suicide, and it set the tone for the whole game. Blame Dalglish.

The defense was under fire from the get-go, so of course they'll concede goals, when neither Gerrard or Adam are helping out adequately.  Carroll had a couple of good moments, true, but he was far from great, and certainly not of the quality we expect. But that's not Dalglish's fault. It's unlikely he was given any say as caretaker manager over the transfer. The blame there lies with Comolli. A lack of passion was not the main reason for Liverpool's loss yesterday. Dalglish was the one who failed to prepare, not the players. He set the formation, he set the tactics, and he told the players what to do. 
Owen Coyle simply prepared his side better. Dalglish should've held his hand up, blaming the players was not the right thing to do. This was as bad as anything Hodgson said to the media about the players. It was an absolute roasting.When Roy said it, it was an absolute shitstorm. Don't get me wrong, Dalglish would have every right to roast the players if it was about passion, but i'm sorry, I don't agree, lack of passion was not the cause of Saturday's flogging. 

Listen man, the enlightened likes of yourself are not the focus of my ire. As a regular contributor on here, I know where you're coming from on all things LFC and I appreciate your take on things. So first off, no offence meant to you or any other LFCOffside brethren/sistren...

I wasn't suggesting Kenny only had the right to criticise the lack of passion. I'm saying he also has the right to say if they've been shite. He does. And he did. And some were.

We can argue that the side was set-up wrong (and if you read what I said, you'll see you and I agree that it really was) but that same system has worked before and to be fair you can do all the prep in the world but if the players don't perform, then your tactics and plans are pointless. 

Even allowing that a midfield two of Chaz and Stevie was lunacy, they should, as two international central midfielders, have done better surely. As should their midfield partners.

Do you reckon Clarkey didn't do his defensive drills and stress the importance of the two central midfielders in the system? Do you think there was less attention paid to Enrique this week and that's why he had a stinker? 'Course you don't. We have to believe that the management team had a plan. That it was the wrong one seems clear to you and I now. That they should shoulder their share of the blame for that is equally clear.

But what we saw on Saturday evening was a travesty in terms of the commitment and application of the majority. Only Pepe, Agger and Bellers did themselves any justice.

You can lead a horse to water....but you can't make him track midfield overlapping runs.

Likewise, no offense was meant to you. The keyboard has a nasty habit of taking an aggressive tone. 

I can definitely see where you're coming from. Even if the set up was wrong the players should have been able to cope against Bolton. They're all internationals at the back bar Enrique, although he should be. I think Dalglish's emotions got the best of him and had he had his time back he might not have been quite so harsh on them. 

Anyway, let's move on, hopefully we can get some good results in the cup and build on them in the league. 

After a series of
results, like wot we've just had, and a worrying and an increasing list of
performance and strategy issues all "thinking" fans find themselves submerging
into a pit trying to wrestle with the real reasons and applying logic and
intelligence to their irrational emotional responses. And, may I say, there is
no where finer than right here to under go such a cathartic
process.

So finally to my
point and the conclusion which I have emerged with (at least for today). I don't
think you're going to like it, but I hope that the logical and rational part of
you finally comes through and can at least see what I mean.

In summary, we are
now, today, in reality, the 5 or 6th best team in the league. We aren't actually
under performing in a wide angle, taking a step back, type way. Yes certain
players (most) had a mare on Saturday. But why? Well I believe all football
players are pretty much the same - they are, on their day capable of greatness.
We've all (most) drilled in a 30 yard effort, or pulled off an amazing tackle
or dribbled past a player with ease - but for most of us its a once or twice a
season phenomenon when everything goes right which is to be thoroughly enjoyed
when it happens.

Good players, and I
mean professional players, can do these things but much more frequently
and  truly great players can do these things a lot more often again, and some
things that only they can do. But it is not uncommon for great players to not
look great, or to have quiet games, or barren spells but, obviously, this
happens less to you the better you are.

So...It just so
happened that our players (who make up, probably, the 5th best squad in the
league) unfortunately all had a bad spell at the same time, statistically it
happens. But over the season these things tend to even themselves out and we'll
probably all play well nest week. But without a raft of new players with time to
settle in I think we may possibly have to start considering life as an also ran.
I hate it, how far we've fallen, but that's where I am, at least for
today.

Thanks for reading.

Wow. That cut 'n' paste made your post seem like an epic poem...

Damn sorry 'bout that it does look a mess

We are miles away from been a top 4 side. As was predicted Downing, Carroll, Adam and Henderson are all proving not good enough for Liverpool. We will take a huge financial hit on these players trying to offload them from the club but that is a better option than the alternative of putting them in the team and hoping that somehow they can rise above the mediocrity that they have displayed for the vast majority of their careers. None of these players are top 4 players and can you ever imagine a title winning team including any of these players?
 
We need to buy players (not now in the summer please) to replace these four. The match against Bolton showed just how much we miss Lucas and Suarez. For the rest of the season I would like to see youngsters like Kelly, Spearing, Coady and maybe even Sterling get a few run outs. I hate to say it but Top 4 looks out of the question with the current playing staff.
 
Now King Kenny has made mistakes, but those calling for his head are been unfair. I would be very interested to know who is calling the shots with regards to transfers. King Kenny is our greatest ever player and has had great success with us previously as a manager. I'm sure that privately he would admit to mistakes in player acquisitions but remember he has spent large parts of the season without our 3 most influential outfield players (Suarez, Lucas, Gerrard).
 
Those who criticize King Kenny forget where we were just over 12 months ago under Hodge Podge. The performance that we saw at Bolton we were seeing every single bloody week under Hodgson. King Kenny deserves time to turn things around. After all the fantastic times he has given us as a player (and yes as a manager) surely we owe him that much? Sure, If we get to the end of the season and things are still this bad I'm sure King Kenny will quietly leave with dignity. But to have Pool fans screaming he should be sacked now is really not on.
 
The problem could be FSG. The American business model for Premier League ownership appears to be splash out early then tighten the purse strings, look at Sunderland and Villa where this has happened. Even those c#### Gilette and Hicks spent big on Torres and Babel before they started to milk the club and it was only the genious of Rafa that kept us competitive. Now I have been impressed with FSG so far but this summer will be a real test of just how willing they are to back the club.
 
Now the next big step will be just what is the team for the game against Citeh.......

As you said ,previously Was a good player & manager, but can you still believe this right now? It was history...now the situation is totally different.

Yes i'm still sticking with King Kenny. I'm the first to admit that he has made some bad mistakes (CHAD signings) but this man is a Liverpool legend and deserves time to get this club back to where it belongs.

Hopefully you are right, and hopefully KD will fix the mess fast

i totally agree with all of you mates. i am fully behind king kenny, the performance against bolton was very embarrassing for me to watch. as a liverpool fan living in china, i waited till midnight all excited to watch a match that I was more than certain liverpool could win. turned out to be a disappointment. i don't usually like pointing fingers at our own players, but the one player who stood out was charlie adam. even in the last couple of game he had been failing to replicate his form at blackpool. this lad is one that needs the limelight and he is just not worthy to play in liverpool. everytime i watch him with the ball, he passes straight into the opponent and gives them a chance for a counterattack. in a modern game, the central midfield is the key. it dictates the whole game and charlie adam, who can't defend nor create chances, is letting us all down. sorry to say this, but i am losing my patience with him. he causes a leak in our defense, makes stupid fouls, and can't create a chance. sorry guys, YNWA

You don't have to apologize to us. We all hate him.

I find it hilarious that Dalglish says they won't be at the football club for much longer if they play like that. He and Comolli are the one's who brought them here, and he's the one who continues to pick them, and he's the one who picks the tactics, formations etc, etc! 

Real classy diverting the blame away from himself and straight onto the players. But I thought that wasn't the Liverpool way? Hypocrisy to the extreme!!!

How do know he was talking about players he brought in?

Good point, we don't. But the defense was already here and they certainly aren't to blame. They've been the best thing all season. Gerrard didn't do anything wrong. Maxi had his first bad game in a year. That leaves Comolli and Dalglish's signings. 

Not knowing a great deal about him when we Carroll, I said that he would be a monster if he had could use his physique like Drogba. It seems we've got more of a Shearer, which in the 90's was a beast of a player when each team set up 442 against each other.

Tactics have moved on and Carroll is not as mobile as Drogba. He's not as quick as Drogba and he doesn't look as hungry as Drogba (was).

Kenny's systems prefers to have a man up front who can hold the ball up and bring the midfield into play.  I have hardly seen any midfield support for Carroll either.

So for me, he's a traditional english target man expected without the team in place behind him to get the best from him (albeit a one dimensional footballing approach)

If he was ever expected to be a dynamic lone forward, then that has been a very expensive mistake.

Unless Kenny truly thinks he's going to see a massive turnaround in AC's performances, then he's shortly going to have to admit that he purchase was a gamble that didn't pay off and that he got it wrong.

Havng AC in the team pretty much determines that you have to have a support striker with him which effectively decides your formation for you.

We also know that and Adam/Gerrard CM pairing in that formation is folly.

We need a dramatic turnaround in AC's performances or dramatic tactical changes to stop this faltering season.

Someone else may have the stats on this, but don't we usually play 4231 or at least 3 CM's when we play the big teams? And our record against the big teams is pretty good?

Do we always play 442/4222 against the smaller teams? Where have we dropped points this season - majority of them are at teams "we should beat".

If anyone has the stats to back that up I'd be impressed.

You'd have to go back and check each match report, but of course, yes, we usually have played with 2 strikers against smaller teams.

Kenny knew he'd need a better midfield to play with both Carroll and Suarez up top but he didn't believe in Spearing, Meireles, Maxi, Kuyt, or Aquilani so he bought three new midfielders in the summer. We may now have to buy at those same positions again.

Anyway Carroll is staying for a while, and he could still be decent if the midfield improves. It's just too bad we spent almost 50m in the summer without even getting one solid starter out of it.

I've got nothing to say except I'm frustrated with the lack of motivation to take advantage of others slip up, EVERY FUCKING TIME. It's like the players are settled for that 7th place. Kenny need to do some hairdryer treatment soon, and I believe the way he talked post-match Bolton is the first step to that.

that fourth spot is BEGGING to be taken by a team with some initiative. It really is disappointing to see Chelsea and Arsenal keep slipping up only for us to turn in even shittier performances and not take our chances. There is an air of complacency with this team that will unfortunately probably cost us champions league football

Problem yesterday was that there was no clear holding midfielder. Why not the same tactics as against QPR at Anfield?  Henderson the screen and Adam in front of him?  Worked very well back in December when we limited QPR to one chance all game and were without Spearing.  
Kenny is right to ask whether the players underestimated Bolton but couldn't the same be said for the manager as well?  Didn't anybody watch footage of Mark Davies before the game who is always capable of good runs? 

The problem with the signings of Adam/Henderson and Downing is we were lulled into looking at their stats and seeing players who would create a lot of chances for Carroll and other strikers.  Without Suarez were are reliant on aimless crosses every game.

Time for Dalglish and Clarke to go back to the drawing board.  

One thing that I do give Kenny 100% responsibility on is making players feel fully secure of their place in the starting XI, sometimes to the detriment of the team. Kuyt was top scorer last season but he's seen less than 90 minutes total this season. Downing and Adam haven't a single hurdle to waltzing straight in and Henderson has been shunted out wide at the expense of Kuyt for no real good reason.

To the "tactical dinosaur" crowd, this "tactical dinosaur" is the same man who 6 months ago dragged us from 12th to 6th with title-challenging form throughout the second half of the season with 8 clean sheets along the way. Sheath your weapons and have a little faith. Yeah, he's made a few mistakes but I still have faith in him to bring us round.

To the "tactical dinosaur" crowd, this "tactical dinosaur" is the same man who 6 months ago dragged us from 12th to 6th with title-challenging form throughout the second half of the season with 8 clean sheets along the way.

lest we forget. well said.

Italics? What the hell? HOW??

It's html -- just use tags.

http://docs.disqus.com/help/19...

Adam Anyone Else

thank you master
Edit: It works fuck yeah

Now I feel smart to too. Sorry, had to try it.

Emphasized. Cool.

Shit, I tried ctrl+I lol

Hahaha exactly...some of us are disgus wizards. Half the time I can't even get the comments to load...

Or spell disqus correctly for that matter...

Two things that just do my head in:

I love how everyone notices the problems with team selection AFTER the game is lost.  When the lineup for Bolton was announced, twitter was a-flutter with excitement about how it was an attacking lineup, and our strongest available lineup, etc etc.  Everyone was especially happy about the return of Maxi (who some people - for whatever reason - seem convinced is the second coming of Maradona).
I also love that people talk about "Kenny's signings", like no one has heard of Damien Comolli.

Agree with your points, but I think it's unfair to criticize Maxi. He was unreal last season, and for whatever reason he was dropped completely this season. He's waited patiently for his chances, and yesterday was the first time he's failed to deliver when called upon.  

Of course everyone was happy with the return of Maxi. He's been scoring goals for us, which other lads cannot do.

I think there's elements of truth to both of your points. At least in the case of yesterday, though, the lineup was the strongest available but the tactics were poor. Putting Henderson wide right with Gerrard and Adam as the central pairing couldn't have gone worse, and the fact is that we knew that both of those choices weren't very good prior to kickoff. We'd hoped it was possibly Henderson and Adam deeper with Gerrard more advanced, giving Liverpool three in the middle and a chance at winning the midfield battle. As it turned out Bolton's midfield completely overran Liverpool's, who were as ineffective as we've seen them all year.

I'm not trying to absolve Comolli of blame, but doesn't Kenny have final say? The players were definitely not forced on him. And Maxi might seem Maradonaesque when compared to Downing and has definitely looked more capable of scoring than many other players. But the sad part is that the lineup was the strongest available.

Henderson yesterday managed to get 44/58 (76%) passes successful.
Gerrard managed 38/51 (75%).
Adam?He got 22/40 (55%!!!!)

To give further contrast, Wolves' Nenad Milijas - a player also in his prime who also played for a side that lost and conceded 3 goals yesterday, and a player who is almost certainly not of the required standard to play for Liverpool - completed 30/44 passes (68%).

I think it's fairly clear who the weak link in our midfield is.

I guess the stats do tell part of a story.  Basically, every time Adam gets the ball, there's a 45% chance the Liverpool possession ends there.  

The rest of those passes had better be bloody good Alonso-quality through balls to justify his continued existence.

Adam's through balls? Hmmmm, they are hail mary passes. His good passes are mostly sideway to rid of the ball. I dont know what Dalglish sees in him as he has no presence on the pitch, never mind dominance

And there's 100% chance he will raise his hand whenever he did wrong. Fuck, so annoying.

Yeah, I know. I used to do that when, in my callow youth, I was an outfield player. Then, one day, a team mate said, "That's not enough!" I got the message, became a goalkeeper, quite good for a while too.
Given Scotland's unfortunate rep for keepers, perhaps Charlie has a future there?

Believe me..I did that too. Perhaps a sign of incompetent footballer?lol

oh man that look like a man lost to me......so sad the game has past him by.......still love you kenny but you have to go

1 word RAFA

I know this seems crazy coming off the two games we all have just seen, but I feel like this maybe exactly what this team needed. A humiliating loss, with KD getting into them. Big matches coming up to get excited for, and Luis's return to start off another late season run... fucking optimism 

amen

January 21, the day when Kenny Dalglish started to show signs of straining under the weight of his own incompetence. 

You're a great man, Kenny. Please drop Adam and hand over all player scouting and signing to someone who knows what they're doing, so you can just focus on what you do best. That's the best way to help the club.

He already did, his names Damien Comolli. And he fucked up big time.

Right on.

Not asking for a complete team overhaul or for Kenny to step down.  That'd be impulsive, and to be honest we do have decent personnel and a more than decent manager.

But more than the results, it's the attitude.  It's indifference on the pitch like what we've just seen that got Hodgson sacked.  And we should have no problems holding Dalglish to that same standard.  As much as the players aren't doing justice to the shirt, it's also Kenny's job to coordinate and inspire them.  Of course the difference is that Kenny has nothing left to prove - he's a done it all before, with multiple sets of players.  We know he's a good leader, a good manager, certainly knows first hand what it takes to be a player worthy of the shirt.  Whereas Adam, Downing, Carroll, Hendo have achieved squat in their careers and are complete newbies at being part of a club the size of Liverpool FC.  If they're not Liverpool standard and Kenny can't get them there, of course it's a shared responsibility, but we know which of those parties should give way.

Well Ed, I think that your last two posts summed it up pretty well.

The same cannot be said about some of the comments I on the previous article. Harshly criticizing some of the players who do not realize how privileged they are to wear the LFC jersey..I am fully there. Questioning some of Dalglish's tactical choices or transfer startegy... absolutely..no one can be exempt of questioning in these tricky times... But asking for his head...wtf?!?

This is not Chelsea FC or Man City... we do not fire managers mid-season because of a run of bad results, some disastrous performances and what looks like 2 big transfer fuck-ups (Carroll & Downing... anybody already putting Henderson in the same category has not been following football for long or seriously enough...). This only happens when the man in charge insults the philosiphy this club was (re)built on and cannot get the team out of a relegation fight (Woy anyone?).

Dalglish made mistakes and will make some more but remains the most qualified person to take us through the end of the season (and then we can always reasses the situation with a cool head). Importantly, he understand inside out how the club works and would never take the supportes for idiots.

Finally, as much as I am pissed of with yesterday's match, I cannot wait to be at Anfield next Wednesday (which is going to cost me...and i am not only talking about cash only here). I love trophies and winning big, but I love LFC above all (although more trophies and even small wins would help.....)

What is it going to cost you beyond money?

Essentialy taking time off work in a really bad period... and yeah, bits of my soul maybe, depending how the match goes...:)

Hmm..his soul?

A soul...chicken. ;-)

The amount of fans that are calling for his head are unbelievable..yes he made mistakes, but calling for his head? Shocking. I cannot believe they are Liverpool supporters. Like someone mentioned before (I forgot who), those fans calling his head must be hypocrite who had done the same when Rafa was in charge before, and are now calling him back. Hypocrisy at its best.

Well, for me, Rafa is more suitable to be LFC manager than KD... We really need a manager like Rafa, tactical minded manager to create magic...I can tell you if LFC still rely on KD, LFC in top 4 will not happening this season.To be honest, I like KD too, but he just can't make it this season, half of the season gone but we are still stuck in7th place. Is that acceptable for you?

i want rafa back but only after kd retires!

The one positive from a performance so abysmal, is the fact that Kenny now has a really Compelling reason to make the kinds of changes that he has to make, and for me the fact that he alludes to those changes means that he is at the point where he has seen enough.

Well if Arsenal fire Arsene this summer, we could have a world-class replacement for Kenny!

Just kidding. Sort of. With respect to the press conference, Kenny hit the nail on the head. I don't know if you can blame him for trusting his players or giving them time to gel. For his signings to be successful, he needed to give them game time. Now that he has seen that they aren't showing the goods, he seems to be losing patience.

As sgtpanbash says so elequently, we should get some academy talent out on the field to show the new signings what Liverpool pride is.

I would love to unreservedly cheer on Dalglish's statements, as I've done before whenever he's decided to drop some truth bombs on the media. But I can't quite do it here. Is he wrong about the players? No, and it needed to be said. But I also just keep coming back to the fact that the players aren't the only ones at fault for what's been happening.

Charlie Adam didn't sign himself for Liverpool. Stewart Downing didn't decide he was worth 20 million. And Charlie Adam's not the one deciding that the best way to win a match is to put himself, Gerrard, and Henderson in the same midfield. There have been mistakes made, in tactics, transfer strategy, and yes, PR, and you have to look to the top for that. Obviously I'm not demanding Dalglish's head on a platter. That's just silly. But I do hope this leads to Dalglish and his staff taking a hard look at the squad, and how they can be best utilized, and what it'll really take for Liverpool to recover from this wretched lack of form.

I remember Paul Tomkins doing a piece that essentially laid out that the top football managers get it transfers right about 50% of the time.

So when we look at CHAD, I ask the following questions:

Is there nothing in AC's game that might hint at a better player who's just overawed with the move, the price tag, the expectation?

Is Adam worth 8m as a squad player (although whilst underwhelming from a fans perspective who want us signing CL quality players) he's actually not a bad signing to have in the squad but circumstances have meant him play a whole load more games than perhaps anticipated. 

 Is Downing just having a bad time of it and again, whilst not a sexy name on our team sheet, he's a proven EPL performer for 6/7 years and there really is no reason for this dip in form.

Henderson. Has the kid not shown glimpses of a good player? He's still only what 20/21? How many CM's boss the midfield at that age?

Of course, the answer could be that they're all flops and knowing our luck will be sold at a loss and go on to form effective careers elsewhere.
 

Agreed. I find this statement resonates most with Andy Carroll. Before he signed for Liverpool, earlier that day and such, there were some delays because he didn't want to leave his boyhood club, and we all understood that and we were okay with that. That is better reason not to leave than any (Fabregas, you just loved Barcelona so much that you left, right?). 

But Liverpool wanted Andy Carroll, and they were willing to throw around some silly money to bring him in. Besides those few games at the start when the going was easy, such as his debut against Mancs and goals against Citeh, he's simply worked hard on the pitch, but to no effect. And every game, his face is branded with a tattoo saying "I didn't want to come here for 35million". The fans have put that price tag around his neck every time he plays. We've now stunted his growth as a player because of it. Carroll's fault? Hardly. Stewart Downing is another story, whereas he simply has a cheesy-ass sticker that says "ha ha ha ha ha, nah nah nah nah nah nah''.

Charlie Adam, I still think was a reasonable buy for the price, it's just the extent of how he's been used that's the problem. So ya, that points the finger once again to Kenny and co. But Dalglish is no idiot, I have a hard time believing that we, with our groin dongs and livers, found out some master secrets to unlocking every one of these shitzer teams. But then again, like Noel said, we did mention that Charlie Adam and Gerrard in the midfield together would be disasterous...last Summer. 

Stewart Downing also wasn't good for 0 assists and 0 goals per season. Kuyt has always been good for a few goals per season. Kenny also didn't decide to screw up Lucas' knee or tell Suarez to be racist. Charlie Adam looked good (better?) with the world class players that were around him. Now that they're gone, we can't decide that the lack of steel in the midfield or guile up front is down to his team choice.

I agree that there were more qualified wingers to buy than Stewart Downing, but for the price Charlie Adam passes as a successful signing with flying colors. We're not a Champions League club, we will not get Champions League players.

Every manager gets credit for a winning side, and they also have to take responsibility for their own signings and results. This is what happens when you tie your fate to the wrong players.

Charlie Adam is shit and more suitable for cleaning the toilets at Anfield than playing football. His manager was relegated last season, and his manager is feeling the heat this season because of his poor performances.

Uh, where did I say that everything was Kenny's fault? What I said was that Kenny's made mistakes as well, and he has. And once Lucas was gone for the season, I think it WAS fairly obvious that Charlie would struggle, especially without a defensively-minded player next to him to cover up his shortcomings. And while we're not in the Champions' League, I think you can argue we could have gotten more value for our money than going after Stewart Downing.

I'm not putting everything on Kenny's head, or saying he needs to go, I'm saying that he's made mistakes.

Wait, there were people who thought it was harsh? Sounds like he's speaking honestly to everything we witnessed as viewers plus behind-the-scenes stuff only he and the team could possibly know.

Also, does it speak to how poorly others at the top of the table are doing that we can play so poorly, so regularly and still be within fighting chance of fourth?

Despite the huge point totals at the top, the league is very competitive from 4th place all the way down. But unless something drastic changes, a 6-point gap is a gigantic mountain for us to climb. We haven't won more than two matches in a row all season(!).

Suarez coming back fresh and doing his best Van Persie impression might do it, so I've got my fingers crossed.

I never underestimate the possibility of Chelsea and/or Arsenal both spiralling into oblivion, so I remain hopeful. :)

Well said Kenny bring back Kelly and GIVE A FEW OF THE YOUNG LADS A RUN OUT COULDN'T BE ANY WORSE .Morgan Suso Coady and Stirling.Henderson and Adam look very slow.

and what happens when your expectations of those youngsters are not matched? Are you going to throw them under the bus just like you've done about Hendo and Adam?

It needed to be said. Now the actions must match the words. First thing that needs to be done is removing the axis of incompetence (Carroll, Downing, Adam and Henderson).