EPL News: Liverpool - What's Happening at Anfield?
To say these are troubling times for the Anfield faithful would be a major understatement. With only 6 points in their opening 6 games, sitting in 16th place in the Barclay’s Premier League table, being knocked
out of the Carling Cup on their first hurdle by the likes of Northampton, their star striker Fernando Torres looking a shadow of his former lethal self, among the off-field financial and ownership issues; now isn’t the best of times for a fan of Liverpool
Football Club to boast about it. But then one has to ask the question: Is it too soon to be pressing the panic button for the Reds?
Liverpool have had a slow start to the new season managing only one win and two draws, losing the other two matches. On paper may seem as cause for concern, but if you analyse the run things aren’t as hopeless as they may seem. The
Reds, after going down to ten men against the Gunners still managed a draw. The Mascherano saga took the headlines after the defeat to Manchester City, and win against West Brom and a draw at St. Andrew’s Stadium where Birmingham are virtually unbeatable,
followed by a spirited display against the Red Devils away from home. It was a tough set of fixtures that although the reds didn’t pass with flying colours, could’ve done a lot worse in.
Roy Hodgson is still assembling his team and implementing his system at Liverpool and that will take time. The players need to gel and the new signings need time to settle in. 4 out of the starting 11 against Manchester United were
new signings, with Raul Meireles making his full debut. Joe Cole was also missing during a majority of the run with many of the Liverpool faithful hoping he can lift some of the burden on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Paul Konchesky has been brought
in to fill the void at left back and Christian Poulsen is an adequate replacement for Mascherano, while Jovanovic adds some physical presence to the Red’s attack. Liverpool are still finding their feet, and the second half against Manchester United shows what
the team is capable of.
Another concern is in the form of talismanic striker Fernando Torres, who seems a shadow of his lethal self. People seem to forget his long term injury and the fact that he joined training later than most due to his involvement in
Spain’s triumph at the World Cup. He is not fully fit and with fitness comes sharpness and that edge that Torres possesses. That will come with time and its still early days in the Barclays Premier League.
Liverpool’s main focus this season has to be finishing in the top 4, so in that sense losing out to Northampton in the Carling cup may be a blessing in disguise, though convincing the Red’s fans may not be that easy. It’s one less
distraction for the club, but then again every club desire to win trophies so in that respect it is a disappointment, but not the end of Liverpool’s season.
Yet the main problem Liverpool needs to deal with are the off-field issues which have had a hand in Liverpool’s on field problems. George Gillet and Tom Hicks are looking for new owners for the Red’s who can get them out of the debt
they are in, as well as be able to build the proposed new stadium; Stanley Park. However, they also want to make a profit in doing so and thus, potential investors are being put off. One bad season is just a bad season and can easily be forgotten if the next
one goes well, but the financial and ownership issues need to be addressed, as they will have a long term effect on the club and should be the board’s major priority.
In the end, however, one can go back to the old cliché of ‘trophies are won in May’ and not five games into the season. Liverpool are still finding their feet and once all the pieces are together will look to move forward. They have
that chance now in the next 5 games starting at Sunderland on the weekend and will look to go into in the international break with maximum points and that could provide them the platform for the rest of the reason.
Liverpool anthem talks about ‘walking through the storm’, and that’s just what they need to do.
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