 |
| GUEST COLUMN : DAVID FAIRCLOUGH |
FAIRCLOUGH'S NEW YEAR REVIEW
David Fairclough
09 January 2008
|
|
Though many would have expected the Reds to advance past Luton without too many problems at least we can console ourselves with the fact that our chances of making a first ever visit to the new Wembley are still very much alive.
|
A draw was probably the best outcome for the cash-strapped Hatters but that has to be where our generosity stops.
At Luton the Reds looked badly out of sorts, though had Ryan Babel's early effort gone in things might have been far more comfortable. Instead the League One side hung in and began to grow in strength and confidence.
The hosts lowly league position provides something of a false impression, as that is largely down to the 10 point deduction suffered as a result of administration.
Indeed, Kevin Blackwell's side are not relegation material by any means and it wasn't long before they settled down and began to show their true character.
The Reds looked rocky at times but I was never really worried we would be coming home with our tails between our legs. Once we got our noses in front courtesy of Peter Crouch's goal, we should have set us on the way to a win.
But just like two years ago, they hit back, though this time there was more than a touch of good fortune about their equaliser. Having said that I think they deserved that bit of luck.
With a home draw in the fourth round to look forward to for the winners, the Reds have all the incentive they need to progress and build towards a strong cup run.
Despite desperately wanting to remain confident about our title challenge, our hopes of lifting the Premier League in spring were blown way off track with the chill winds of New Year. A season which began with so much promise has failed to maintain the momentum many of us expected to see.
Without wanting to give up the ghost, it will be hard to see us make up all the ground on Arsenal and Man Utd, though we could still leapfrog Chelsea. At the moment our main target should be to try and catch Manchester City, who continue to defy everyone and remain the surprise package of the season.
The Christmas period is notorious in helping to direct the destiny of the season's prizes, but this year it looks like January may play a major part in the shake up due to a number of clubs losing players to the African Nations Cup.
Both Chelsea and Arsenal look like being affected, and the Gunners will certainly miss the influence of Kolo Toure at the back even though they look to be well covered in all other positions. I'm a big fan of the Ivory Coast defender and neither Djourou nor Senderos look capable of filling his shoes.
Chelsea could suffer most of all though, with the loss of Didier Drogba and Michael Essien. They may well be looking to cover the striker's loss with the signing of Anelka from Bolton, but for me, the Frenchman remains the great enigma and I wonder if he can provide the presence and work rate Drogba brings to the table.
As well as the injury problems, Chelsea will suffer the loss of the drive of Michael Essien, who will be another hard act to cover. Though they scrambled through the first leg of the Carling Cup semi final with Everton they are currently lacking the strength of previous seasons.
The Reds thankfully are unaffected by the African tournament and just need to concentrate on getting things back on the rails and putting their own house in order. Going into the festive period four games in twelve days the Reds had the chance to put themselves into an strong position but two draws against Man City and Wigan were disappointing.
What a difference two goals could have made, one in each of those two games would have put a completely different complexion on things, but instead the Reds failed where it matters most - in front of goal. The domination they enjoyed against City, particularly in the second half, was incredible against a side unbeaten at home. But the fact remained they were unable to complete the job.
Having been at the game it was frustrating to watch and I felt it was definitely two points lost.
The New Year visit of Wigan also had us once again watching the same shortcomings. Steve Bruce certainly knows how to frustrate us and somehow walked away with another point, in a match were only a win was ever going to be good enough.
It seems that Liverpool are this season's draw specialists, tough to beat, but a team now far too reliant on the powers of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Despite just two defeats in the League so far, I'm afraid the Reds have fallen short of the standard needed to look like contenders, no championship can be won on a foundation of draws.
The summer additions were vital and after the signing of Torres it was widely thought Rafa might have added a vital and much needed strength to his squad. El Nino has been a dazzling success but I think the need for more quality is pretty obvious and the Reds are still short of a few more additions capable of adding potency to our challenge.
Until the Reds have someone else capable of taking some off the goal scoring burden from Torres we will still look a little short of real title contenders. Steven Gerrard's goals from midfield should be the icing on the cake, he shouldn't have to shoulder the responsibility of weighing in with twenty goals - that should be a striker's obligation.
Let's hope for a kick start this weekend with the trip to Middlesbrough, though we've not found the Riverside Stadium the easiest place to visit, with only two wins to show from our last eleven visits.
Certainly the Reds will have to recapture the killer instinct in front of goal, and hopefully two successive goalless draws on this ground surely indicates that our luck has got to change.
Middlesbrough are having a tough time this season near the foot of the table and scoring goals is very much their biggest problem.
Hopefully our lack of power will be rediscovered in time to record our seventh away win of the campaign.
|
|
|
|
