by zarababe » Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:48 pm
Fair article ...
[url=http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/david-maddock/David-Maddock-s-Liverpool-column-Forget-the-upcoming-Manchester-United-game-THIS-is-the-we
ek-that-will-define-the-Reds-season-article802333.html]http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion....33.html[/url]
Forget the upcoming United game - THIS is the week that will define Liverpool's season
By David Maddock
Published 11:29 21/09/11
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In many ways, this is a week that can define Liverpool’s season.
On the surface, that may appear a rather strange assertion, given they have a rather important engagement with runaway Premier League leaders Manchester United on the horizon.
The point is though, we know how the Reds respond against the likes of the Champions. We know they have the quality and pride to produce a performance in that one-off game, because they’ve always done that.
What we don’t yet know, is if this current Liverpool incarnation, has the mental strength to emerge through a week like this one unscathed.
Let’s face it, in recent years, they haven’t. The inherent weakness in the squads produced by Gerard Houllier and then Rafa Benitez (and I don’t even have to mention Roy Hodgson at this point, do I!), was the inability to consistently perform in the more mundane encounters.
There was always a suspicion both managers were wary of stronger characters in their squads, which helped in the imposition of discipline, but not when it came to the mental strength required throughout a league campaign.
Kenny Dalglish’s arrival has heralded a new way of thinking at Anfield, and this season, after his first summer of transfer dealing, the weeding out of some of the weaker characters offered genuine hope for the season, which was backed up by impressive early results.
Defeat at Stoke and then Tottenham though, has tempered that early optimism somewhat, and raised again the annual question of Liverpool’s character.
In defence of Dalglish, the reverse at the Britannia Stadium was light years away from the defeats Liverpool have suffered there in recent years. They dominated Stoke instead of being afraid of them, and were desperately uinlucky to lose.
There is no planet on which defeat at Spurs, though, could ever be described as unlucky. Depressing yes, dismal yes, and worrying. But not unlucky.
It was a defeat that raised too many painful memories of recent seasons, because it was one where a wounded Liverpool again had weaknesses ruthlessly exposed.
So, on that back of that experience – and the fear that not all of the problems of the past have disappeared - it is perhaps fair to suggest this week could be a defining one.
The Carling Cup has been Liverpool’s Achilles’ heel for some time, and it is best not to dwell on it. Brighton though, offers the sort of test that they have often failed in the past.
And Wolves at the weekend will also tell us much. It is a game they would expect to win, one the fans will demand they win after two painful league defeats.
But history has shown it is a game in which the old Liverpool, the one with the suspect character, often toiled in, in which they often lacked the mental strength and creative instinct to dominate and put away.
For what it’s worth, I still believe this is a very different Liverpool, even after that terrible display at Spurs. Remember how bad they have been in the past few years, remember the depths to which they plunged under successive managers.
It is easy to forget how low they slumped, and how far they were given to travel. So a fix won’t happen overnight, and it will take time for even a gnarled old football man like Dalglish to overturn things, and introduce the right mentality.
There are signs he is beginning to do that, and this week will tell us a lot more about his progress.
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THE BRENDAN REVOLUTION IS UPON US !
KING KENNY.. Always LEGEND !
RAFA.. MADE THE PEOPLE HAPPY !
Miss YOU Phil-Drummer - RIP YNWA
I've had a word.
