FA Premiership
Wednesday 30th January 2008 @ 7.45pm
Upton Park
An injury time winner from the penalty spot handed Liverpool their 3rd Premiership defeat of the season and brought the curtain down on one of the most miserable January’s in the club’s entire history.
The game was heading to be Liverpool’s fifth consecutive league draw, but credit to West Ham – they deserved the three points.
Liverpool’s millionaires are now in a state of continuous under-performance. The players lack heart, the players lack desire, there is no cutting edge and with a couple of exceptions many of the players, simply, are not fit to wear the shirt.
A team built upon the foundations of success, ambassador’s of English football’s most glittering prizes, but these men are not cut from Liverpool cloth. Benitez can take his fair share of criticism – continuing to play Dirk Kuyt who is playing so badly he would struggle to get in Liverpool’s talented Youth Cup winning side, is one of the most perplexing decisions of them all.
Some of the performances in recent weeks have been a disgrace to every single Liverpool supporter around the world who demands determination in anybody who wears the Liverbird on their shirt.
The game itself? It could quite easily be summed up by all the factors that were wrong in the first half against Havant. Lack of drive, lack of aggression, lack of passing ability. Liverpool failed to create a decent chance worthy of note in 90 minutes of football and when West Ham made a late breakaway Jamie Carragher gave away yet another penalty which Mark Noble put past Reina.
The ‘resting’ of players was supposed to be providing benefit to Liverpool as we approached the end of the season. Unfortunately not only has any chance of winning the title disappeared but the reds are playing worse than at any stage this season and now lie a massive 17 points off the top of the league.
Benitez’ comments of ‘We now need to think about the next game‘ are slowly starting to wear thin.
Post Match Reaction
Rafa Benitez:
“We had chances but couldn’t take them.
“We started really well and in the second half we had a lot of possession and to lose following a counter attack in the final minute is disappointing.
“For them to score from a penalty so late on was terrible. We now need to think about the next game.”
Alan Curbishley (West Ham boss)
“It’s tremendous – if you’re going to get a penalty and score then it’s a great time to do it.
“Week in and week out we’ve put in a lot of effort – the squad have a fantastic attitude and full credit goes to them.
“We’ve lost three games in the last 16 and that’s gone unnoticed.”
Team News
Liverpool: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Aurelio, Benayoun (Babel 72), Gerrard, Alonso, Kewell (Lucas 61), Torres, Kuyt.
Subs Not Used: Itandje, Crouch, Skrtel.
Booked: Aurelio, Torres, Alonso.
West Ham: Green, Neill, Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney, Ljungberg, Noble, Mullins, Bowyer (Ashton 58), Boa Morte (Etherington 59), Cole (Spector 81).
Subs Not Used: Wright, Solano.
Goals: Noble 90 pen.
Att: 34,977
Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).
Ref: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).
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It was Rafa who signed the likes of the awful Voronin,Aurelio,can’t pass Sissoko and Kuyt so should rightfully be held responsible for this!.He won the champions league with Houllier’s side but domestically he’s come no closer to the to big three then the Frenchman ever did.Okay the owners suck but Rafa is constantly trying to deflect the attention on them as a means to escape his own inability.For F sake i’d much prefer King Kenny back in the Anfield hotseat then watching Rafa’s negative and boring football that would put anyone to sleep!
Just because certain fans want Rafa out doesn’t mean they don’t love the club so those suggesting this should get over it!.I want our current manager and the owners out but will continue supporting LFC ’til my last breath!
Its quite obvious as a ‘supporter’ you should SUPPORT our team! Its easy to sing when your winning! What counts more is when you support your team when they need it most and that time is now! You can blame whoever you want but in actual fact this will do nothing but make us out to be glory hunting supporters, dont we leave this to the likes of chelsea and the mancs! We are known all over the world for our support and this is how it should be! We sing ‘you’ll never walk alone’ does this mean nothing to you so called supporters who no longer want to put on the shirt what a pathetic excuse of a supporter that is!
Its quite obvious that yes we are going through a really bad patch but things can only get better and i believe they will! I know the league is what we want but that was never certain at the begining of the season. We WILL qualify for the CL and we are still in the F.A cup and CL there is no reason we cant turn it around and win both! Just have a little bit of faith.
YNWA
This is truly a storm that we are in. Many of us are waiting for it to blow over as we hold our heads up high amidst all the ridicule. We will see many supporters jump ship to other clubs as I witnessed a couple of years ago at my place of work when Houllier was still involved. I walked on with Pool to be a proud supporter when we lifted the Champions League, and will be a proud supporter when our time comes… In the mean time, I’ll keep holding my head high and pray…. ha ha ha …
Do not worry Liverpool fans. OUr time will come. We will grow stronger when we come out of this.
Come on Liverpool . I have been waiting for years to see you lift the crown you much deserve. It will come.
Benitez must take the blame, if he can not motivate the team to perform with desire then he is at fault. His tinkering is unsettling players and his idea of a world class player is off the mark ie Veronin, Kuyt, Kewell. When you look at the top 3 teams in the PL they are hungry aggressive and determined, qualities honed from watching the great Liverpool teams and striving to be better than them. Benitez is lacking this drive and all the technical and scientific mumbo jumbo does not replace ability skill and passion, all players want to play rotation is a demotivator and playing well and winning is the greatest motivator of all.
Message to all those crying above. It seems its not only the yanks who do not know what it means and how to support our great club. Its not the players who have no class, passion or will to do well for our club its you lot. Check out the meaning of support, THROUGH THICK AND THIN, HIGHS AND LOWS. If you can’t support properly, take your shirts, money, veiws and lack of loyalty and shove were the sun don’t shine we’ll be better of without you. As for rafa and the boys heads up you’ll never walk alone with the true reds behind you.
I think rafa has lost control of the team, none of the players look bothered until the end of the week when they get paid, the squad is full of players who dont look interested, such as kuyt (wtf is with him), voroin, kewell, Itanje, even alonso doesnt seem right,Riise they have no passion or belief in them a disgrace to the club, they dont understand how people would die to put on the red shirt, i dont beleive rafa is gettin the players hyped up for the game. at first i thought it was a bad spell but it gone on for to long.
Dirk Kuyt continually starts up front but can’t score we had a perfectly good striker in Cisse and played him out on the right why don’t we do the same with Kuyt. Its not like he doesn’t put 100% in every game he is just not a natural finisher. This squad rotation system hasn’t work for Benitez in the last 2 seasons why would it work this season???? We need to get back to basics again and start from there because I have noticed that in the last few games we can’t string passes together. Is this another side effect of the rotation system? Most probably.
We are all complaining about the take-over by the americans and thats affecting the players games. These guys are getting paid more a week than most of us do in a year. They should be able to focus on football and not whats happening else where.
I am really sick of excuse after excuse we have never been that type of club so why start now, leave that to utd or chelsea to do. We are better than them and we need to get out of this slump and back to our best.
I’m a red now and i’ll be a red forever, “WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH A STORM” and all that.
YNWA
West ham didnt deserve to win!
The ref had a fiver on them and was more than generous to them Had the penalty decision been down the other end we wouldnt have got it.
However what a load of shite and Rafa must take the blame.
As fans we must stick at it and the glory hunters can go an f o
We as fans must stay strong, as managers and players will come and go.
We need better men at the top to be more ruthless and get rid of Rafa.
Since Paco left we have gone down hill?
Lets get a win against Sunderland ? and things wont look so bad that is until our next defeat!
Cumon u
MIGHTY REDS MY HOME TOWN TEAM
This is the team that Raffa half built,and until the seasons end we should stay with the team.I still blame Hicks for a lot of the unrest both on and off the pitch.Hicks has never backed Raffa in terms of real money Raffa for the most part had to sell players to bye others which is how it was last summer although a lot of opinions differ.
As for playing Kuyt last night I was dumbfounded when I saw his name on the team sheet after Saturday I really thought that Crouchie would have played up front but after watching the game I don’t think it would have made any difference as the team looked lost and they played without spirit,leaderless.I still think we have the right man in Raffa but he needs the total support of the board with getting in the right players and no more duds like kuyt and Voronin…..
Well done Darren and robbie two guys who know what it means to be a Liverpool supporter ( through the wind and rain ) to all these muppets wanting Benitez to go have you for one minute though who is going to replace him ??? Moriniho who, if you look closley you will see bought the sucsess Chelski has had with the bottomless pit of money from the ruski and the yanks may have cash but their not in his league. so who ??? anybody else coming in will put this wonderful club back at least five years , and then what will happen ? its time some of the so called expert supporters realised there is no formular for instant sucsess , patients is the key , that coupled with the attitude of never stop believing .
Ynwa
Red till i die
I am sick and tired of Rafa continually selecting Dirk “headless chicken” Kuyt ahead of Peter Crouch. He should be the first name put on the transfer list next season. This is not the Liverpool I grew up watching and loved so much.
Gone are the days when we played teams completely of the park with our slick passing game. The players now look completely out of depth, like a bunch of 12 yr olds being pitted against seasoned pros.
Unless something is done soon i don’t see this team even managing to qualify for the EUFA cup. Rafa has completely lost the plot of late with his selections.
We are and only will be good for the cup competitions as long as Rafa is still in charge. I am starting to really doubt if he has what it takes to make this team serious title contenders in the future.
IM SORRY BUT RAFA MUST GO WITH A COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF THE PLAYERS THAT JUST CAN’T CUT IT.
kongkong,you said everything i wanted to say..
they really are pushing our support to the limits.
well , after todsay game, what else need to say , i1m speechless,my heart bleeding , Rafa for our own sake just leave the club , please…
Losing is not option! Seasons after seasons! Years after years! Nights after nights! Same all story.. Same all results.. Stayed up! and Up! Sometime we need drastic changes to get drastic results! We playing just the get results! Our trio; the lights of Gerrard,Alonso,and Torres is wanted by everybody are capable of performing decent game play.. You can’t see the lights unless you been in the dark! It doesn’t matter the cat is black or white,as long as it can catch the rat!
stop wearing the shirts? When times are good, they dont need your support. Only when times are bad. Wear the shirt with pride, not because you are happy with the state of things, but because you support.
Think it is time for both the yanks and rafa to go.
Bring in DIC and their billio0ns amd dare I say it Jose Mourinho as manager. Kuyt,kewell,arnariise,have to go too.
Babbel has to be given time on the field to get better. Either let him or crouchie play up front with torres. these guys are not getting enough time to play together and work up a partnership.
At last an editorial that is not written with Rose colored glasses. Anyone that has watched Liverpool over the last month has to be deluded to think Rafa has what it takes…I would love to know what these players do at training as it looks like Momo has been managing the passing skills with the team…And as for Kuyt, well I can only say that he is the best defensive player the oppostion has when he plays for Liverpool……. lets get real here, a team is built on quality players and “motivation: of good players that make them better and thsi has been the history of great Liverpool managers and Rafa dosnt fit the bill… As for his rotation well i am sure I am not alone when saying that he is making us a laughing stock with his repeated statement “players need to be fit for the 2nd half of the season” To do what Rafa, fight for 4th place? In closing I can only say with utmost dissapointment that having been a supporter of this club for over 30 years, I do not enjoy watching Liverpool even play anymore due to how terrible we look as a team..
do us all a favor and sod off then!!!! kongkong! you dont just stop supporting because were having a bad spell. A True suporter does what the word stands for,suport. Suport your Team through thick and thin. The Reds will rise to top again.Go kongkong go support another sport and team, you poor excuse for a piss pot!
Liverpool’s performances are a joke. I have cancelled my cable subscription this morning. There are too many players in the team who should not wear the Liverpool shirt, they are simply a disgrace. I have supported Liverpool from 1983 and I’m sorry I have had enough of this park football team pretending to be Liverpool. By the end of the season Liverpool will be at least 30 points behind the winner.
My heart beaks more and more each day. This is not the Liverpool I grew up watching and Loved so much this is just a pale insignificant fake. No hear no passion let alone pride. As far as I am concerned Benitez must go and so must the deadwood like Kuyt, Vornin and Kewell. Play Crouch upfront with Torres and play Babel as well. Why does Benitez tinker so much and why does he leave till the last to try to sign players we so desperately need. I am in mourning for my club a that made me believe I was not a dreamer in 1974 when my love affair started. I worry will we make to the 4th spot this year or will the Blue Shite beat us to it ?
Heaven forbid and God Help Us.
I agree. Benitez needs to stop tinkering so much & play 11 players that perform & drop those that arent. Throw Kuyt into the reserves for a start & give Crouch a go. They maybe fresh & fit but there is a complete lack of cohesion, they are playing like strangers atm.
Negative football,bad signings bad management,dont allow the furore surrounding the American owners to take the spotlight away from the one man who is really at fault…the manager himself,Rafa Benitez.We are steadily getting worse,it’s time for him to go.how long is it going to take?We are slowly dying on our feet and Rafa has no idea how to fix things.Are the powers that be going to wait until the end of the season? it may be too late by then,a top four place?We will be lucky to finish in the top six.
I am a Gooner, but looking at your team selection and performance one thing stands out above all. The attacking pertnership is key, and Torres and Kuyt is not one I would choose as “natural”. Torres needs support from a “half striker” type like a Zola or a Bergkamp with the abiltiy to passs ball through eye of needle., or needs to link with a guy who can hold the ball up physically and provide a simple lay off for him to run onto.
For me Torres has to be the first choice starter, a player who has all making of being a “great”. I would pair him with either Benayoun who can provide the killer pass, or Crouch who can provide the simple lay off.
If neither was fit then Voronin could run and make space for Torres to run into from slightly deeper.
Kuyt can work with Crouch to distract defenders, but only if Gerrard makes a point of playing further forward and having plenty of shots to use that situation to your advantage.
I will always be grateful to Benitez for getting us to 2 CL finals, but I honestly believe that the win in Istanbul was more down to Gerrard and Dudek than Benitez’s team selection and/or tactics. I don’t doubt his achievement in getting us to the 2 finals but this was down to successful stifling tactics in big, one-off cup games against big clubs.
After 4 years, this has not been enough to get us even close to what most of us really want, the EPL. I think his defensive, safe style of play won’t ever do it and I’m not convinced yet that he can build the type of confidently aggressive, swaggering, attacking team that is required.
My reasoning for this is partly the tactics and partly his buys in the attacking 3rd of the pitch. Give him his due, he has made some great buys in defence and defensive midfield, e.g. Alonso, Reina, Maschareno and Agger.
But his purchases of attacking players have been patchy to say the least. If we can’t even challenge for 3rd place after spending £20+ mil on Torres, 11 mil for Babel and 4 mill on Benayoun (that’s almost 40 million just this year alone on our front line), then we are in deep doo-doos. This is not even taking into account the money spent in previous years on Morientes (6 mill), Bellamy (6.5 mill), Kuyt (10 mill) and Crouch (7 mill). Other cheaper Benitez attacking buys/freebies: Gonzales, Leto and Voronin.
All in all that’s about 70 million pounds worth of attacking talent and 10 players of which the only successes are, in my opinion, Torres and Babel. Thats a lot of money to spend on a forward line that can only score 2 goals against West Ham, Middlesborough, Wigan (with Titus Bramble in defence ffs!) and Man City.
I would give him to the end of the season and for my confidence to be restored in him enough to give him another season, I would want to see a big improvement in the team’s league performance, never mind the cups.
It’s an absolute disgrace that excuse for a striker called dirk kuyt is still getting games. He just runs round like a headless chicken, his first touch is probably the worst in the Premiership and as for getting goals I’d have better chance myself and I’m 17 stone. He seems to have a phobia of the area round the goals that we supporters call the penalty box where he is supposed to earn his money because he is never in there, I cant remember the last time he scored. It says a lot about our great manager that he is constantly being picked, does he not see what the rest of us are seeing and he leaving our top scorer from last season on the bench Peter Crouch?. Every time peter and fernando play together either one scores and we play well.
Msg to Mr Benitez; what ever peter has done would you please make up and put it behind you. Play our two best strikers peter and fernando and we might get something out of this season yet. If not for yourself do it for all liverpool supporters all over the world suffering because we are sick of hearing your excuse
WE MUST NOW LOOK TO THE NEXT GAME.
The state of Liverpool’s football has made me want to quit supporting this sport forever. I think I’ll cancel my cable subscription, stop buying club shirts ( wearing them has become a joke nowadays ) and last of all save my endless sleepless nights staying up to watch games in the middle of the night.
Thank God!!!