By Dominic King
Last updated at 2:56 PM on 23rd December 2011
Follow Dom on Twitter...
Keep track of all the latest
updates from our Merseyside football reporter here
Now for something completely different: amid the rancour has raged all week after the sanctioning of Luis Suarez, it has been easy to forget Liverpool have pressing football issues to deal with.
The most pertinent, inevitably, concerns Suarez. Much has been said and written about the punishment he received after being found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra and that has led to the spotlight being dragged away from the more mundane matter of Liverpool's play.
Kenny Dalglish has steadfastly defended Suarez throughout this episode and called for the club's supporters to "not let him walk alone" on Twitter but, equally, it is a message Liverpool's manager could impart to his players.
Banned: Liverpool are set to lose Luis Suarez for eight games
Suarez is widely recognised as Liverpool's main attacking threat but it is impossible to escape the conclusion that he has not been given enough assistance in the first half of this campaign. A worrying lack of goals, after all, is threatening the club's ambitions.
Look at the evidence. Liverpool are only averaging a goal per game in the Barclays Premier League since October 1 and the fact they have let so many teams off the hook in recent months means they have allowed Arsenal to sneak back up on the rails in the race for a Champions League spot.
Had Liverpool been able to boast a striker in the form of Robin van Persie – what a double act he and Suarez would be – they would almost certainly be challenging Manchester United and Manchester City at the top of the table.
Struggling: Andy Carroll has failed to find form this season
But, as it stands, they are going to be in for a fraught battle between now and May if they continue in the same profligate manner and there are already grave concerns among supporters about who will step in for Suarez if/when he has to serve his ban.
Is this squad ruthless enough? Many observers would say 'no' and use the games in the past week as evidence. At Aston Villa last Sunday, there could have been no arguments had Liverpool finished with a winning margin of five, six or seven goals.
So superior were they to Villa, there was a spell when it appeared Liverpool would score every time they poured forward but they were forced to settle for a 2-0 success. At Wigan, meanwhile, Charlie Adam's missed penalty changed the course of a game his side had bossed.
Paying the penalty: Charlie Adam missed from the spot against Wigan
It has been a recurring theme. Manchester United should have been down and out before Javier Hernandez's leveller. Fulham were let off the hook. Manchester City, Swansea and Norwich all had their goalkeepers to thank for escaping Anfield with a point. Cursing bad luck only goes so far.
'We would love the boys to get the rewards that their outstanding build up play deserves,' said Dalglish. 'There have been a few outstanding goalkeeper displays against us and we've hit the post a few times but we will keep going.'
They need to. That own goals (three) occupies second place behind Suarez (five) in Liverpool's Premier League scoring charts speaks volumes and unless others start to share the burden, Dalglish may be left with no alternative but to revisit the situation in January.
Still, there is a belief in the squad that sooner rather than later everything will fall into place.
'When you are playing and winning, nobody cares who is scoring the goals,' said Glen Johnson. 'But the more people that are scoring, the better it will be. We can't rely on certain players. But if we keep creating chances, it doesn't matter who is up front because one day we will put them away.'
Until that day arrives, however, questions will persist. Liverpool need goals – from someone else other than Suarez.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario