Brendan Rodgers feels the heat after latest pitiful performance
Liverpool 1 Carlisle United 1 (aet; 1-1 after 90min; Liverpool win 3-2 on penalties)
[article=Tony Barrett in the Times]Embarrassment in victory is rare in competitive sport but Liverpool achieved that unwanted and unlikely combination at Anfield last night. If needing a penalty shoot-out to defeat Carlisle United, of Sky Bet League Two, highlighted their slump in form, the resentment that another pitiful performance provoked among their own fans will only fuel speculation about the future of Brendan Rodgers.
A day that began with Liverpool having to deny claims of an approach to Carlo Ancelotti ended with an ignominious night in which the home team were booed on three separate occasions by the Anfield crowd, a wholly unprecedented occurrence. Liverpool may have eventually seen off Carlisle’s brave resistance but the cost to their manager’s reputation and his chances of retaining his position is unlikely to be insignificant.
Had it not been for Adam Bogdan’s heroics during the shoot-out — Liverpool’s back-up goalkeeper made three saves from Danny Grainger, Luke Joyce and Bastien Héry — Rodgers’s position might already be untenable. An exit from the Capital One Cup at the hands of a team stationed 65 places below them would have been unthinkable and any relief that Rodgers felt will be tempered by the realisation that the difficulties Liverpool endured have placed him under mounting pressure.
The statistics are damning. Liverpool had 47 shots spread over 120 minutes and scored only one goal, courtesy of Danny Ings in the first half of normal time. In their last 21 games, Liverpool have scored more than once on just three occasions, an indication of how badly their attacking game has broken down. For their part, Carlisle made only two fouls in the entire duration of the tie, relying on organisation, heart and no little technique to earn themselves the penalty shoot-out.
For Ancelotti, a three-time Champions League winning manager, the temptation must have been to wonder what he had done to deserve being linked with a club in such a poor state. Whatever the push factors that seem to be forcing Rodgers out of Anfield, the pull factors needed to entice a top class replacement are harder to identify. Liverpool have problems and they appear too entrenched and too severe for a change in management to prompt a sudden upturn in form and fortune, although that theory could be put to the test unless Rodgers finds the solution himself.
A promising start which culminated in Ings opening the scoring with a header from Adam Lallana’s cross, soon gave way to the kind of problems which continue to hamper Liverpool as they look to emerge from a slump that dates back to March. Chief among them is how easily they concede, as demonstrated when their defence melted away in the face of two forward passes from Carlisle, a move that culminated in Derek Asamoah equalising.
Before and after Asamoah’s goal, Liverpool adopted a shoot-on-sight policy, that succeeded only in raising questions about both the quality of their players and the kind of shooting practice drills they are employing in training. A staggering total of shots rained in on Mark Gillespie’s goal and yet the Carlisle goalkeeper was beaten only once prior to the penalty shoot-out.
“We’ve been asking the players to step forward and take a wee bit more responsibility to take the shot on and we had that tonight,” Gary McAllister, Liverpool’s first team coach, said. “We just didn’t worry the keeper enough.”
That weakness could have proven fatal had Carlisle made more of the limited chances they created, particularly towards the end of normal time when Liverpool were particularly troubled by their delivery from wide areas, but with comparatively meagre resources, the visitors were entitled to lack proficiency in front of goal.
Having offered such stout resistance and performed at a level high above expectation, Carlisle’s worthiness of a shock that would have counted among the biggest in English cup competition should not be underestimated,regardless of Liverpool’s dominance of territory, possession and chances. By allowing their opponents the ball and numerous shooting opportunities from distance, Carlisle got Liverpool to play into their hands. Rarely has a team been so inefficient when in absolute control.
When extra time came to an end, the moral victory already belonged to Carlisle but their three misses from the spot cost them what would have been the most momentous win in their history. Although Gillespie saved twice, from Philippe Coutinho and Lallana, he was outdone by Bogdan and Liverpool progressed by virtue of the proficiency of James Milner, Emre Can and Ings from 12 yards. That it came down to such a high stakes lottery meant that Liverpool could not even claim to have spared their own blushes. What preceded it was far too disturbing for that.[/article]
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/article4566247.ece
Liverpool 1 Carlisle United 1 (aet; 1-1 after 90min; Liverpool win 3-2 on penalties)
[article=Tony Barrett in the Times]Embarrassment in victory is rare in competitive sport but Liverpool achieved that unwanted and unlikely combination at Anfield last night. If needing a penalty shoot-out to defeat Carlisle United, of Sky Bet League Two, highlighted their slump in form, the resentment that another pitiful performance provoked among their own fans will only fuel speculation about the future of Brendan Rodgers.
A day that began with Liverpool having to deny claims of an approach to Carlo Ancelotti ended with an ignominious night in which the home team were booed on three separate occasions by the Anfield crowd, a wholly unprecedented occurrence. Liverpool may have eventually seen off Carlisle’s brave resistance but the cost to their manager’s reputation and his chances of retaining his position is unlikely to be insignificant.
Had it not been for Adam Bogdan’s heroics during the shoot-out — Liverpool’s back-up goalkeeper made three saves from Danny Grainger, Luke Joyce and Bastien Héry — Rodgers’s position might already be untenable. An exit from the Capital One Cup at the hands of a team stationed 65 places below them would have been unthinkable and any relief that Rodgers felt will be tempered by the realisation that the difficulties Liverpool endured have placed him under mounting pressure.
The statistics are damning. Liverpool had 47 shots spread over 120 minutes and scored only one goal, courtesy of Danny Ings in the first half of normal time. In their last 21 games, Liverpool have scored more than once on just three occasions, an indication of how badly their attacking game has broken down. For their part, Carlisle made only two fouls in the entire duration of the tie, relying on organisation, heart and no little technique to earn themselves the penalty shoot-out.
For Ancelotti, a three-time Champions League winning manager, the temptation must have been to wonder what he had done to deserve being linked with a club in such a poor state. Whatever the push factors that seem to be forcing Rodgers out of Anfield, the pull factors needed to entice a top class replacement are harder to identify. Liverpool have problems and they appear too entrenched and too severe for a change in management to prompt a sudden upturn in form and fortune, although that theory could be put to the test unless Rodgers finds the solution himself.
A promising start which culminated in Ings opening the scoring with a header from Adam Lallana’s cross, soon gave way to the kind of problems which continue to hamper Liverpool as they look to emerge from a slump that dates back to March. Chief among them is how easily they concede, as demonstrated when their defence melted away in the face of two forward passes from Carlisle, a move that culminated in Derek Asamoah equalising.
Before and after Asamoah’s goal, Liverpool adopted a shoot-on-sight policy, that succeeded only in raising questions about both the quality of their players and the kind of shooting practice drills they are employing in training. A staggering total of shots rained in on Mark Gillespie’s goal and yet the Carlisle goalkeeper was beaten only once prior to the penalty shoot-out.
“We’ve been asking the players to step forward and take a wee bit more responsibility to take the shot on and we had that tonight,” Gary McAllister, Liverpool’s first team coach, said. “We just didn’t worry the keeper enough.”
That weakness could have proven fatal had Carlisle made more of the limited chances they created, particularly towards the end of normal time when Liverpool were particularly troubled by their delivery from wide areas, but with comparatively meagre resources, the visitors were entitled to lack proficiency in front of goal.
Having offered such stout resistance and performed at a level high above expectation, Carlisle’s worthiness of a shock that would have counted among the biggest in English cup competition should not be underestimated,regardless of Liverpool’s dominance of territory, possession and chances. By allowing their opponents the ball and numerous shooting opportunities from distance, Carlisle got Liverpool to play into their hands. Rarely has a team been so inefficient when in absolute control.
When extra time came to an end, the moral victory already belonged to Carlisle but their three misses from the spot cost them what would have been the most momentous win in their history. Although Gillespie saved twice, from Philippe Coutinho and Lallana, he was outdone by Bogdan and Liverpool progressed by virtue of the proficiency of James Milner, Emre Can and Ings from 12 yards. That it came down to such a high stakes lottery meant that Liverpool could not even claim to have spared their own blushes. What preceded it was far too disturbing for that.[/article]
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/article4566247.ece
