Lay off Luis Suarez!

Fact: Except for Liverpool fans, nobody likes Luis Suarez. Indeed, even some LFC fans are turning against him. Ever since the Suarez-Evra racism issue, the press have picked on him, labelling him as a liar and a cheat. I have largely been trying to ignore this anti-Suarez campaign, but when it got to the point that our number 7 striker was being labelled by someone on this very website as such a cheat that he deserved to be sold, I decided I had to act! On that note, here is my defence of Luis Suarez.

Firstly, I’m going to talk about the racism issue. I must make it clear that I am not defending what Luis Suarez did, and certainly am not defending racism. However, I do have a problem with the FA’s inconsistency. At the time of the Suarez-Evra issue, I thought that Suarez should just take his punishment, and although I was frustrated that we’d lost our best striker for eight games, I didn’t feel that the punishment was particularly unjust. However, after the verdict was given on the recent John Terry racism issue, I was outraged! The cases are almost identical, and yet for some reason Terry got half the ban, just four games! To me, this seems like clear evidence that the anti-Suarez media campaign has spread to the FA. It is disgraceful that the organisation representing all of English Football can show such bias and unfairness.

The other main issue people have with Luis Suarez is his supposed diving. Again, I am not trying to pretend that Suarez is entirely innocent in this matter. Suarez does often exaggerate the extent of fouls, and also occasionally goes down under no contact whatsoever. This is against the rules, and therefore should not be overlooked. These rules are applied to Suarez, and that I have no problem with. However, what about Gareth Bale’s blatant diving in recent matches for Tottenham and Wales? I’m also pretty sure chest-stamping isn’t allowed, but Robert Huth got away with that one! Where is the consistency? Referees have an expectation that Suarez will cheat, because the media are constantly telling us he does, not focusing on all the other cheating that goes on the Premier League. Because they expect this of him, they judge him more harshly than other players. In fact it has got to the point where the media has given Suarez such a bad reputation that even when he is fouled, the referees overlook it. This is absolutely unacceptable, and is one of the main reasons why Liverpool have made a less than satisfactory start to the season.

In conclusion, although Suarez may well deserve the punishments given to him for racism and diving, so do many players. Luis Suarez has become the scapegoat for all cheaters in the Premier League, which is totally unfair on him and on Liverpool.

Carroll Loaned Out- A Bad Decision?

Liverpool have been very active in the transfer window this year, and the latest player to be part of this is Andy Carroll, who has gone on a season-long loan to West Ham United. West Ham have the option to buy Carroll after this loan spell, but there is no obligation on them to do so.

Firstly, I must start by giving the reasons Rodgers has given for loaning out Carroll. He says that he does not fit into his tiki-taka style of football, and Liverpool cannot afford to have a £35 million striker on the bench. Also, Carroll did not have a good season at LFC last year, which resulted in many people believing he simply does not fit in at the club.

However, I disagree. If you are signed for a prestigious club like Liverpool for a club record fee, and are being bought as a replacement for Fernando Torres, you are bound to feel a lot of pressure. Unfortunately, this pressure got to Carroll at the start of the season, and he simply didn’t perform. Near the end of the season though, there were signs that Carroll was returning to his old form. He put in some great performances, the most notable being the FA cup final against Chelsea. To me, loaning him out at a time when he seems to be returning to form is not a great move.

On the other hand, it is true that with our current squad it is fairly hard for Carroll to get regular first team action. Rodgers is right in saying that Andy will benefit from more playing time, and if Rodgers refuses to give him that at Liverpool then a loan is a good option. If Carroll does return to Liverpool at the end of his loan spell I think he will be a much improved player. In fact, if that happens, I think Rodgers will have done quite a successful deal. However, what bothers me is the fact that West Ham have been given an option to buy. If, like I expect he will, Carroll continues getting better throughout his time at West Ham, they are certain to want to buy him permanently. Although this will aid Liverpool financially, we will have lost a great striker. I think we would have been better off offering West Ham a simple, straightforward loan that meant we automatically got Carroll back for next season.

Now we come to what I believe is the key point. Although the ‘tiki-taka’ style is very good on paper, sometimes it goes wrong. This was demonstrated at Man City, where mostly we played this system very well, but just one slip from Skrtel left us level again and in need of a goal to win the match. Carroll came on as a substitute, and very nearly scored (he was denied only by Jack Rodwell’s off-the-line clearance). I think that by getting rid of Carroll, we lost our plan B. By relying purely on a smooth, passing game, Rodgers is leaving very little room for error.

Overall, I believe loaning out Carroll was a bad idea. It puts a lot more pressure on the team to master Rodgers’ preferred style of play quickly, as now the team have no back-up. Carroll was a good option for Liverpool, as he allowed them to vary their play a little, and occasionally play a long ball up the pitch. Now they have lost this option, and with it lost a player who was just returning to form. I may be wrong, but I think this is a big mistake.

Suarez’s Role in LFC

Striker Luis Suarez has returned to Liverpool, after Uruguay crashed out of the Olympics in the group stages following a defeat by Great Britain. Liverpool have had to play all their pre-season games and their recent Europa League qualifier without him, but how will his return affect the team?

Last season, Luis Suarez picked up an 8-match ban for supposedly racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra. This was extremely unfortunate, and meant that Suarez was unable to contribute fully to Liverpool’s campaign last season. However, in most of the games he did play, he performed extremely well and provided the injection of skill and finesse the team needed. In my opinion Andy Carroll is extremely good, but he needs someone more technically advanced to work with, and on the rare occasions he and Suarez got their partnership working well, they were deadly. In the pre-season campaign, Liverpool have been playing well and showing a lot of encouraging signs, but they have been lacking any clinical finishing and fluid play in the opposition half. I believe Suarez’s return will bring this, and with it bring goals.

Technically, Suarez demonstrated how accomplished he is on many occasions last season. My particular favourite moment was his lob from 40 yards against Norwich, which was simply sublime. He is probably the best player in terms of technical ability in the entire Liverpool squad. However, a team cannot succeed when it is built around just one person. It may be a cliché, but if Suarez is going to be used to his full potential, Brendan Rodgers must make sure he builds a strong chemistry between Suarez and the rest of the team. If he manages to do this, Suarez will be a massive asset, and create and take chances by combining with the rest of the team, rather than having to rely solely on his individual skill.

In conclusion, if Rodgers can unlock Suarez’s full potential, he will play a vital role in the team for the coming season. He is an amazing talent on his own, but if he gels with the rest of the team under Rodgers like he never quite managed to do under Dalglish, Suarez may just be able to fire LFC into a top 4 spot in 2012/13. I especially hope the club decide to keep Andy Carroll, as I think there is massive potential in the Suarez-Carroll-Borini partnership that may just be unlocked if they are given regular games together.

What impact would Carroll leaving have on LFC?

Andy Carroll. The cause of much debate between Liverpool fans. He was widely criticised for his performances in the first part of the 2011/12 season, but seemed to return to some of his old form by the end of the campaign. Now there is only one question being asked by supporters; should he stay or should he go?

The most obvious impact Carroll leaving would have on the club is the financial one. They signed him from Newcastle for £35million, and now are holding out for an offer of £20million. If this offer were to be met, Liverpool would be making a loss of 15 million pounds, which would be awful for the club. £15million is no small sum of money, and should not just be being squandered because Brendan Rodgers doesn’t think Carroll fits into his plans. However, there is an argument that LFC should just try to cut their losses now, as Andy Carroll is no benefit to the club if his woeful form from early last season returns.

Another point I think is key in the Carroll debate is the very recent signing of Fabio Borini. His preferred position is the wide striker role, and a wide striker needs a danger man to aim at. Someone with a big physical presence, who on his day can terrorise defences. In short, someone like Andy Carroll. If these two strikers can create a good partnership, it will do amazing things for LFC. In my view, Borini’s chances of doing well at the club will be seriously hindered if Carroll is sold.

Finally, and possibly most importantly, I think it is simply unfair to sell Carroll now. He hit form at the end of last season, was by far our best player in the FA cup final, and had just started to fit in at the club. To sell him now would be stupid, as it would get rid of a good player who is constantly improving, and would also be harsh on Carroll at a personal level, as his end of season form should be being recognised by the club.

Overall, I think selling Andy Carroll would be a huge mistake. There are no real financial benefits, it could have a knock-on effect on our exciting new signing Fabio Borini, but most importantly we would be losing a great player.