Liverpool FC Forum

[RedAnt]

I think it's important. Very important. Poor morale can override great strategies and tactics. It can make great players look sh1t and poor players look great.
I've always liked the Championship/football manager series but was always annoyed by how much emphasis was put on morale. How my awesomely depresses team would get owned by happy clapping cr*ppy teams. But with the way this season is going I'm starting to understand why the game designers put so much importance on it.

There's many reasons that our morale could be so low this year:

*departure of Suarez
*failure to remove dead wood
* decisions to play dead wood whilst overlooking the reserves and academy

Just to name three. Thoughts?

[fivecups]

I think it's important. Very important. Poor morale can override great strategies and tactics. It can make great players look sh1t and poor players look great.
I've always liked the Championship/football manager series but was always annoyed by how much emphasis was put on morale. How my awesomely depresses team would get owned by happy clapping cr*ppy teams. But with the way this season is going I'm starting to understand why the game designers put so much importance on it.

There's many reasons that our morale could be so low this year:

*departure of Suarez
*failure to remove dead wood
* decisions to play dead wood whilst overlooking the reserves and academy

Just to name three. Thoughts?

I agree. Morale, confidence, momentum matter. The same players who were immense last year now look ordinary. Thankfully, momentum can change.

[Reg]

I'd like to think that men earning 100 thou a week have the maturity to rise above these issues and work for the common purpose.

[Doeboy]

The team needs a lift. It needs someone to pull off a bit of magic/score a cracking goal just to rejuvenate everyone on the pitch and the fans. Putting the results to one side, there is very little to get  excited about with the way we are playing. It is drab and dire. Just need that spark and I'm sure morale around the whole place will lift. Can't wait till Sturridge is back as he has that ability to pull of something special. Play two up front if we have to but lets give it a real go in games. Personally speaking, in Sturridge, Lallana, Sterling and Coutinho, we have enough there to give us good exciting football. Once Sturridge is back, these four should form the core of our attack and we can use Balotelli in a two when needed and slowly ease Markovic in, taking the any pressure off the lad.

[RedAnt]

I think building team spirit is vital. Less rotation and a focus on keeping clean sheets first and foremost might be a good beginning.
I'd consider giving Flanno (back yet?) a go. I know he's never going to be world class, but he's a passionate, aggressive and could maybe lift the team and fans. And on that note I'd maybe look to promote one or two from the academy.

[RedAnt]

The team needs a lift. It needs someone to pull off a bit of magic/score a cracking goal just to rejuvenate everyone on the pitch and the fans. Putting the results to one side, there is very little to get  excited about with the way we are playing. It is drab and dire. Just need that spark and I'm sure morale around the whole place will lift. Can't wait till Sturridge is back as he has that ability to pull of something special. Play two up front if we have to but lets give it a real go in games. Personally speaking, in Sturridge, Lallana, Sterling and Coutinho, we have enough there to give us good exciting football. Once Sturridge is back, these four should form the core of our attack and we can use Balotelli in a two when needed and slowly ease Markovic in, taking the any pressure off the lad.

Sturridge's return should lift morale. So far as I can see it's only positive to come in the near future.
Beating Madrid tonight would of course give some self belief to the players, and continuing against the Chavs.
This is Liverpool, after all, and we shouldn't be huge underdogs to anyone. But that's how things stand at the moment and maybe it'll work in our favour.
I've never felt quite so in despair for our club though. There's so much to do and I'm not convinced BR has a plan to get us going again. But as I've repeatedly said, right now we need to lift morale. It's the only hope we have for the short term.

[Stu the Red]

People don't understand the effects Luis had on morale clearly, going into a game with a player like that is a massive lift, you already have a goal and an assist. You know that it's just a matter of time before you're a goal up, or you know if you go down you have a leader who will work and inevitably bring you back into a game. Selling Luis Suarez is the most idiotic thing this club could have ever done. Bringing in players to match his ambition would have been  the right thing to do.

Unfortunately we have a manager who isn't able or willing or good enough to do this

[kazza]

People don't understand the effects Luis had on morale clearly, going into a game with a player like that is a massive lift, you already have a goal and an assist. You know that it's just a matter of time before you're a goal up, or you know if you go down you have a leader who will work and inevitably bring you back into a game. Selling Luis Suarez is the most idiotic thing this club could have ever done. Bringing in players to match his ambition would have been  the right thing to do.

Unfortunately we have a manager who isn't able or willing or good enough to do this

Yes because it is so easy, that is why everyone is doing it.

Luis wanted to leave, simple as that. If YOU were manager Stu you would not have been able to change his mind, especially since his wife wanted to move back there and she had such a hold on him he moved across the world chasing her. I don't think you respect the impact that had. There was nothing that anyone was going to do. We also bid more than Arsenal for Sanchez and bid last year for Costa before he had his stellar season for Atletico Madrid and both chose London clubs ( no doubt their wives had a huge say).

My only issue with your point of view is that you make it so simple. I would bet it is far easier to find fault than to actually create something. If it was so easy as you say , everyone would be doing it. Our manager is 40 and no doubt learning but to me he seems smart enough to find a way. He will however need the fans support and some luck. It is not a level playing field Stu and to win the Prem or CL would be an extraordinary effort not something to take for granted because we dominated football thirty years ago. Money is everything in football now despite the fact you marginalise that fact and we do not have that much of it.

Last night Madrid had ONE player that equalled the value of our complete team, that is the reality.

[Stu the Red]

Its simple and not all about money, its about being smart and being sensible. The goalposts have moved, but the game hasn't changed...

[kazza]

Its simple and not all about money, its about being smart and being sensible. The goalposts have moved, but the game hasn't changed...

But it has though, it is full of mercenaries now more than ever before....and all they care about is who pays more. Since we are not one of those mega rich teams we have to shop in the up and coming store and those have always been and will always be a gamble. For every ten up and coming players you will be lucky to get three top players. Some managers are better than others at spotting them but given enough time the ratio stays the same.

Anyway best of luck Stu and I hope all goes well

[Stu the Red]

Its could be going better kazza to be fair mate... in footy terms and "other things".

I have to ask Kazza, do you not think targets like Begovic are achievable? There are better players playing for lesser clubs that have moved too and from lesser clubs, we also need to improvise and use our imagination with transfers, sometimes we need to take players like Barry on a free transfer for a couple of years and release players like Lucas, then use the money raised on other players.

Had we sold Lucas, Aspas and Borini, as well as Illori and Alberto, we could have probably afforded Song, Barry and Remy...just buy selling players who aren't in first team plans. Then there are the likes of Kadehira who is available for little more than the likes of Can, who if you can keep fit is a top class midfielder, these are the types of gambles we need to be looking at due to the moved goalposts.

[kazza]

Its could be going better kazza to be fair mate... in footy terms and "other things".

I have to ask Kazza, do you not think targets like Begovic are achievable? There are better players playing for lesser clubs that have moved too and from lesser clubs, we also need to improvise and use our imagination with transfers, sometimes we need to take players like Barry on a free transfer for a couple of years and release players like Lucas, then use the money raised on other players.

Had we sold Lucas, Aspas and Borini, as well as Illori and Alberto, we could have probably afforded Song, Barry and Remy...just buy selling players who aren't in first team plans. Then there are the likes of Kadehira who is available for little more than the likes of Can, who if you can keep fit is a top class midfielder, these are the types of gambles we need to be looking at due to the moved goalposts.

I also agreed that Begovic would be better than what we have so no arguments from me. I did read somewhere an article about five players that have lost form since last year and Begovic was one ( along with Gerrard). Apparently he is not doing so well this year and let in a lot of poor goals but in all honesty I have not watched him this year. Remy was a strange situation as they agreed a deal only for him to fail his medical so something strange happened behind the scenes that we are not aware of and will have to trust the judgement of the club on that one. Barry would have helped but if you remember he turned us down ( twice) before so maybe some bad blood there. Khadira will not come to us I bet you, he will want to live in London. Personally I think we have to break the bank for Reus as he will certainly make us better, again will he want to come  to us when teams like Chelsea and Arsenal come sniffing I'm not sure, I hope we can get him.

By the way you notice how Falcao seems to have lost his way and it looks like Utd will not take up the option to buy, just shows you that even very good players struggle in the prem. There are no certainties even with the world class players. Suarez and Costa are basically thugs that can play, those are the ones that seem to thrive in the prem but there are not so many of those players around. Di Maria has worked out but after a bright start he seems to have faded slightly but we'll see at the end of the season how good that buy was.

Generally I agree with you but feel it is not as straight forward as you say.

I hope things improve on the " other things" because let's face it, that is all that is important. It is your fighting spirit that is going to do it Stu but no doubt that spirit takes a real beating when you are in pain. Still I would bet you are too feisty to not give it your all. It certainly cannot be easy though and I wish you a speedy recovery.

[LFC1990]

Morale is probably the second most important thing on a football pitch behind obvious talent.

Last season when we went on that long winning run that was a combination of a fantastic striker in Suarez and the trust every player had in their team mate to do their job.

Morale is lacking this year as the likes of Gerrard Sterling Sturridge etc would have seen Suarez who scored 31 goals for us in the league last year, Not one player in Liverpool history of the Pl has come close to that, leave the club.

Although I will reserve judgment on Mario until he has played a few with Sturridge its looking at that he was the wrong buy for our system.

On to players bought and Khediera in particular Kheidera is 27 years old Can in 20 FSG has their transfer plans which includes not spending much money on players above a certain age. Whether its the right philosophy I am not sure

[RedAnt]

A few nice examples recently of how to further destroy morale. Not going into detail right now, but I'm not surprised our team plays like a bunch of depressed strangers.