Norwich vs Liverpool- Our Season has Started

On Saturday 29th September, Liverpool played Norwich at Carrow Road. They played exceptionally well, and won 5-2, with Luis Suarez scoring a hat-trick. The other scorers were Nuri Sahin and Steven Gerrard.

It was a well deserved victory for Liverpool. Luis Suarez played phenomenally, getting three goals and an assist. However, it wasn’t just an individual effort. The team were passing and keeping possession well, and apart from Skrtel’s error that gifted Grant Holt a goal they defended very well. The ease with which Liverpool were scoring goals is very encouraging, as finishing and chance conversion were huge problems for us last season.

Although fans can take heart from this victory, a lot of people are still questioning why it took so long for us to get our first win. To me, the answer seems obvious! To adapt to a new manager is hard for any club, especially when he brings with him a brand new style of play. In our first few games, the tiki-taka way of playing that Rodgers likes so much wasn’t quite working for Liverpool, and they couldn’t play to their full potential. Now, however, the players have been able to fully adjust to this more technical style of play, and are a much better team because of it. This is where our season begins. If Liverpool are able to maintain this level of play, they may stand a chance of turning around our bad start and challenging for a top four spot.

The main problem with this is our striker’s reliability. So far I have not been impressed with Borini, and Suarez seems to either be inspired or useless. On his day, he will terrorise defences and score with apparent ease, yet he sometimes plays extremely poorly and seems unable to shoot properly. The fact remains that if Liverpool want to stand a chance of once again becoming title challengers in seasons to come, they will need to become more consistent.

Obviously the win against Norwich was extremely encouraging, but I think the key now is to stay calm. Liverpool played extremely well, but they need to maintain this level of form. If they play with such assurance and confidence against Stoke next week, I think they should win easily, and if they continue like this for the rest of the season, then maybe, just maybe, we could be set for a long-overdue return to the top 4.

FSG- The Actual Situation

Since Brendan Rodgers took over and announced that he had been provided with very limited funds, fans of LFC have started asking questions about club owners FSG (Fenway Sports Group). However, most fans were prepared to accept that FSG were putting all they could into the club, but the money simply wasn’t there. It seems this is not the case. One of the owners of FSG, who also own MLB team Boston Red Sox, recently boasted of how the Red Sox are one of the biggest spenders in baseball. This caused outrage to fans of LFC, and it does raise questions as to where FSG’s commitments lie.

On the face of it, it does seem like FSG are effectively giving up on Liverpool to focus all their efforts on the Red Sox. However, on closer inspection, Liverpool and Boston are pretty much in the same boat. Both clubs are getting rid of a lot of players in an attempt to lower wage costs (Red Sox star Adrian Gonzalez is just one of the big name departures), both are suffering dips in form, and both are trying to return to former glory. FSG are approaching both situations in pretty similar ways. Although Fenway Sports Group are indeed making more funds available to the Red Sox, they are not simply ‘doing a Man City’. The funds are being spent extremely shrewdly, with a large focus on free agents. Simply pumping a club with money and saying ‘buy who you like’ leads to a disjointed team and ultimately a waste of funds, and that is not the FSG way.

Also, due mainly to the rather large issue of Andy Carroll’s departure and distinct lack of replacement, it is easy to forget that Liverpool’s transfer window was not a complete failure. Everyone is focusing on the fact that Carroll shouldn’t have gone (which is absolutely true, see my views on the matter here: http://www.liverpoolfcfanscorner.com/1/post/2012/08/carroll-loaned-out-a-good-decision.html), but forgetting that we made some good signings. Joe Allen looks set to be a great purchase, Borini has already earned himself a place in the starting 11, and new signing Nuri Sahin from Real Madrid showed promising signs against Arsenal. FSG cannot be accused of providing no funds, seeing as Borini cost £11million and Allen cost £15million. Although it is nowhere near as much as teams such as Chelsea, Man United and Man City, Liverpool are still the 5^th biggest spenders in the summer transfer window. Personally I don’t think that gives us much to complain about.

Overall, I think people are being a little harsh on FSG. They may be providing the Red Sox with more funds, but they are handling the spending of both these prestigious sports clubs in very similar ways. Also, Liverpool fans should not lose perspective, as FSG provided enough money to make LFC the 5^th biggest Premier League spenders this transfer window. They may have made some mistakes, but Liverpool fans need to get behind them. With a bit of luck, FSG will be able to turn the fortunes of both the Red Sox and the reds.