Is there reason to panic ?
There is no doubt that our away form is a cause for worry at the moment, but before we enter a Spanish Inquisition we should step a back and look at the results from last season.
If we played at Arsenal, Bolton, Chelsea, Everton and Manchester United at the start of last season our away form would be up for discussion again. From those five games last season we took 4 points from the 15 available and still ended up with 82 points. Those 4 points could be easily caught up if we get a better result at places like Middlesbrough (0-0 last time), Charlton (0-2) and Fulham (0-2). We face Middlesbrough on Saturday and Charlton in a few weeks, so the chance to turn things around is only around the corner.
Everyone under the sun has an opinion about what is going on a Anfield at the moment. Everything is under the microscope, Gerrard not playing in central midfield, rotation and tiredness seem to be the main topics.
I am a great believer in playing the players in their best position, and Gerrard’s best position is in central midfield. Last season he did play a lot of games on the right and it worked, but what worked last season doesn’t necessarily work this season. The injury to Sissoko is a massive blow but there is no-one better at the club to play in the centre than Steven Gerrard. We have the likes of Pennant and Garcia who can operate wide right, so why not use them there?
Rafa is a great believer in rotation, it’s not a favourite of mine but his rotation policies in his first two seasons gave us the European Cup and the FA Cups at the end of long campaigns, and if Rafa put some more silverware in the cabinet at the end of this season, would rotation still be a problem - I don’t think so.
It has also been mentioned that our players look tired, jaded and lack commitment. A lot of criticism has been aimed at two players - Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, which is disgraceful in my view. Both players have only had a couple of weeks break in 18 months. When EUFA forced us to play in the Champions League qualifiers last season, we kicked off on 13th July. Training started a few weeks before that date and our season started when most Premiership teams were still brushing the dirt off their boots. When the season finished Jamie and Steven then went to Germany for the World Cup when ideally they should have been putting their feet up on a sun-drenched beach. They only had a few weeks break after Germany before returning to Melwood once more.
I still find it embarrassing that Liverpool fans feel the need to berate Carragher and Gerrard, they must have very short memories indeed. Both players have been the cornerstones of this club for years and if any criticism can be laid at their feet it’s that they have not yet reached the high standards they have achieved in the past.
This time last year Jamie was being touted by those same fans as the best partner for John Terry in the England side, and rightly so.
Before this season started, Rafa had improved the squad with players like Pennant and Bellamy, Aurelio and Gonzalez arrived from Spain and then Kuyt became a late edition. Kuyt has firmly become a favourite with the fans already but the jury is still out on the other four. Aurelio and Gonzalez do need time to adjust to a new country and the pace of the English game, and only time will tell if they successfully make the adjustment.
On the plus side though, we are through to the last 8 of the Carling Cup with the chance to get revenge on Arsenal in December, we have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League with two games spare. We have only dropped two points at home in the Premiership in six games.
It is our away form that is letting us down badly, but as mentioned at the start we didn’t fair to well at those places last season, and we still ended up with the biggest haul of points since the Premiership started.
Rafa has the perfect opportunity on Saturday at Middlesbrough to get things right. So is there reason to panic ? Not yet, Rafa is a brilliant manager and like everyone can make mistakes, but he will turn it around with the support of the board, players and the fans.
