The Soccer Blog: Newcastle 3, Liverpool 1: Objectively Not Good

Saturday, 11 December 2010

Newcastle 3, Liverpool 1: Objectively Not Good

By: Ed | December 11th, 2010
kuytgoal

Liverpool take a few steps backwards and have another vintage Hodgson away display.

As I used to do, this will be a placeholder until I have time to get back in front of a computer later on. Errands, snowstorm, pregnant wife making outlandish demands, etc.

Right now all I’m left with is thinking that, unfortunately, we can’t be completely surprised by this. Yes, Newcastle were in plenty of trouble leading into the match, and it looked like it was sitting up for Liverpool to turn things around away from Anfield.

But, as it became increasingly clear that Liverpool getting points today was unlikely, that Dion Fanning quote from last week got stuck on repeat:

“Hodgson, as he repeatedly reminds people, may be one of the game’s most respected figures, but when he walks through the front door of a football club, he is also a walking, talking three points for the home side. All that is left is to choose the wine. They spend a lot of time talking abut wine.”

So, self-fulfilling prophecy, or just a shit performance across the board? Which takes nothing away from Newcastle, of course, who were more than able to exert themselves on the match and came away with a well-deserved three points. Which, incidentally, draws them level on points with Liverpool. Sweet.

The match started well enough, and the equalizer was fortunate, but you got the feeling that something was just not right today. Outside of the Lucas and Raul Meireles pairing, which continued to be Liverpool’s strongest asset, there was no execution and a general malaise that seemed to settle in as the match progressed. We saw Fernando Torres struggle, Dirk Kuyt continue to have some bumps in the road back to full match fitness, and Martin Skrtel have one of his worst matches in a Liverpool shirt.

That makes it hard to tell if the matter in which Liverpool lost is just another line on the horror show that is Roy Hodgson’s away vita, or if it was down to a collection of poor individual performances. We’ve struggled with that quite a bit this season around the blog, and today seemed to be a bit of a shift in the opposite direction–poor peformances by the players that made it difficult to tell what, if anything, could have gone right tactically.

I’ll be back later on this evening, likely after drinking heavily, so entertain yourselves in the comments section until then.

Hope you’re able to enjoy what’s left of the day despite the bad taste that we’re left with.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Matchday: Liverpool v. NewcastleLiverpool 3, West Ham 0: Better For NowMatchday: Liverpool v. StokeLiverpool 2, Blackburn 1: Better As a Relative ConceptUPDATED–Manchester United 3, Liverpool 2: Not Quite Enough

Category: Match Recaps, Miscellaneous, Premier League

Tags: Match Recaps, Miscellaneous, Premier League
« Matchday: Liverpool v. Newcastle | Home | GalahadThreepwoodI am more convinced than ever that Roy needs to go. It's not just the tactics anymore. This team is suffering from a "general malaise" (couldn't have put it better, Ed), and it all starts with Roy. For better or worse, the writing is on the wall now. We need a new manager and a fresh approach to turn things around. I just wish we could somehow convince John Henry of that.AkshayeI have become an alcoholic and if roy doesnt get sacked soon, ill be lookin at rehab! maybe they wont have television there n i wont have to watch this pathetic mess that has become of the club i love!
And even though todays performance was due to the players making individual blunders,( i mean Torres should be hanged to death for missing that 1 on 1), hodgson somehow managed to steal the show by making no subsitutions whatsoever till like the 85th minute!
I know maxi is gettin a few goals here n der bt its high time u stop playin him for 80+ mins! He isnt the same anymor and gettin a few goals here n der doesnt negate the fact that hes wasting 1 position in our starting 11 for most of the game!
And looking forward to next week, im happy to see that gerrard and agger are coming back, but that would mean Raul shifting to the right again with gerrard lucas in the middle! I mean come on! Meireles has played in the centre all his life, somebody tell roy theres a reason hes played der n not on the right!
I feel like rambling on n on about how agger wont get starts even when fit, n how we'll end up signin some mediocre player fr 15 mil in january, but i feel like throwing up right now, partly because of the alcohol n partly cos i jus saw carolls last goal when nobody closed him down!
It breaks me to see this happen to LiverpoolBillFor all Hodgsons moaning it's the team he selected including the players He bought, who by the way are rubbish, Moreles cant pass and Koncheski cant defend. The owners have got to get rid of him now, not after Christmas, the man is an idiot, instead of making the decisions he stands there rubbing his face like a simpleton.Red2deathDidn't manage to catch this one. But I've seen a Hodgson display before. Same old?

All I want for Christmas is a decent manager... a decent manager... a decent manager...
All I want for Christmas is a decent manager, so I don't have to watch my team dragged down.ParmanovaI have been a liverpool fan for more than 30 years and this is the worst period I have ever known. I thought last season was bad, Rafa had clearly (in my opinion) lost the dressing room and his time was up ! Yes all the turmoil this year along with injuries etc has not helped Roy. Although I am sure he is a good man, an intelligent man, in some ways maybe the Board felt a steady eddie was what we needed. But I disagree, in the same way the team need some class, some real footballers who aren't afraid of the ball and dont set foot on the pitch worried about the opposition first !! We also need a Manager who is a winner, with a winning mentality. I am sorry but that is not, has never been and never will be Roy H !! Do Liverppol fans, players, the board, the owners really look at Roy and think yes this is the man that can take on Chelsea, Man U Arsenal over the next several years ?? challenge for the Prem and Champs league? Never in a million years !! And if he is not the long term answer (he clearly hasnt proved to be the short term answer either) even though its not the Liverpool way and we are not Newcastle.. but we have to change NOW. Roy cannot be trusted to buy in January. He does not know how to build a winning team. There is a saying, if you want to know how to make a million, go ask a milionaire ! If you want to win, go get a winner.. not Roy Hodgson ! If we cant get or dont want a Frank Rijkard, or Guus Hiddink.. my tip.. Get King Kenny to take the helm for a few years.. and slowly groom Carra or Stevie to do what King Kenny himself did all those years ago and built possibly one of the best teams I have ever had the pleasure to watch !Redsmail15 away wins in 6 years as a Premiership manager, most of them in the one season where Fulham just missed relegation. Its a clear indicator that he was never the man for the job in the first place. How long until our owners realise that we cannot survive on home wins alone with a negative goal difference. Sorry Roy. Some of the players aren't helping you but then you have signed the worst left back in the Premiership. Indeed Meireles aside, your signings have been pants. Time to go gracefully.King KennyTorres was just soo poor. Roy needed the balls to take him off at H/T and give Babel another run with Ngog (who I thought looked bright). Meireles and Lucas played too far apart today, but Torres was dire, only Skrtel's last 30 minutes ran him close.Eddiethe problem currently lies that although we can beat anyone at home, and we seem to put away our chances. We dont have the same "killer instinct" away from home, we are not ruthless enough, nor is our execution of the final ball good enough. The performances away from home have improved from earlier in the season (long ball hoofs), but we seem to be playing comfortably, without having a drive to score an early goal.

Again lucas and meireles were our main strenght. However, Skrtel and Kyrgiakos/ konchesky were dissapointing along with maxi and kuyt. Torres still looks out of form, and should have scored easily. Had he scored that chance, we would have been winning 2-1 and i believe we would have held on to a victory. nonetheless we have not got some one inform besides torres and gerrard that can pull a rabbit out of a hat. Hopefully January would provide that. But lets be honest, a club the size and stature of us should not be relying on january to rescue our season. And a club of our stature should not have won just 2 away games for the 2010 calender year. Our away form is woeful, and that essentially counters any good performances we may produce home. Roy said the away form needs to improve, however he hasnt justified his statement with results, and in order for us to ever achieve atleast top4, this issue needs to drastically change.

We are currently 8 points behind chelsea who are fourth, with a game in hand. Can anyone please convince me that top4 is still possible?JohnI will say it now, and say it again until the ending of the world. This game was lost tactically. Yes, poor performances, dire even, from Fernando "Whiff" Torres, Martin "Lookout" Skrtel, and an amazing disappearing act by Lucas from minute 60 onwards, but that does not excuse the manager setting his team up to fail. The blame firmly rests on his shoulders.

Also, is Fernando Torres just done for? I really don't rate him much anymore.

I hate the things that this team does. When they do manage a result it brings me no joy, because I know it will only hurt worse when we cant manage jackshit the next week.

YNWATehorigialcharlieActually we are above you now on goal differencedoubleRoy was too busy rubbing his face to make any substitutions and tactical changes...LSWe have had the rare benefit today of a pool side without carra and stevie, the latter of whom loves to turn the game and torture us towards a pool victory. That I think was the difference between us winning and you losing, as overall both teams were pretty terrible for the most part. Just one of those games, I'd say, if I didn't distrust woy's abilities to control a top team. Fulham yes, pool nee chance. Unlucky lads, Howay the toon!Simoni like how "pregnant wife making outlandish statements" is in the same list as "snowstorm" and "etc". but substantively agree re all points.RedLiverBirdFCLiverpool's up and down vacillation reminds me of masturbation but masturbation is so much more fun....blog comments powered by Disqus