Player Profile - John Barnes

   

                         

John Barnes was born in Jamaica on the 7th of November 1963 and moved to Liverpool from Watford for a transfer fee of £900,000 on the 9th June 1987 in my opinion one of the best signings made by the then manager Kenny Dalglish, forming one of the most formidable attacking line ups the club has ever seen, with Beardsley, Aldridge, Rush and Houghton.  Barnes made his Liverpool debut on 15th August against Arsenal at Highbury setting up a goal in a 2-1 win, he scored his first goal a month later on the 12th September in a 2-0 win over Oxford United at Anfield.

In his first season Barnes and Liverpool lifted the championship trophy and we're only denied a double as they lost the FA Cup final due to some very strange refereeing and a missed penalty, despite these achievements it is probably his performance on the clubs Cup Final song, the Anfield Wrap that he is best remembered for, all round a fabulous first season.  He was voted PFA Player of the year and won rave reviews from everybody with Bobby Robson claiming he was as good as George Best at his peak.

Barnes would win another title and two FA Cups whilst at Liverpool but many felt that due to the European ban following Hysel Barnes and his team missed out on further glory in Europe, they were certainly good enough to challenge the very best.

During his time at Liverpool Barnes suffered at the hands of racists and it is a testament to the man that he always handled his with grace and dignity generally making opposing fans eat their words with his performances on the pitch.  The Everton Chairman at the time Philips Carter disowned a section of their own fans following them abusing Barnes during the Derby.

Following the Hillsborough disaster Barnes along with the manager Kenny Dalglish at his team mate's attended many funerals and visited the injured in hospital even pulling out of an England game in order to fulfil these duties for which we all owe a debt of gratitude.

In 1992 Barnes picked up a severe achilles injury not only forcing him out of that seasons FA Cup final but causing him problems with his acceleration, he was never the same player again.  He played in for Liverpool in a deeper midfield position that after a poor start he did master but we never again sawn him gliding through opposition defences.

On 13 August 1997 and after 10 years and 407 games for Liverpool Barnes was given a free transfer joining Newcastle United.  A true Liverpool legend and a player who I am delighted to say I saw play and was one of the best I have ever seen.

@lfclumo 

Clean Sheets

At last some, well two clean sheets and doesn't it feel good.  Two wins against Sunderland and Villa, two good performances away from home and two weeks where finally we don't have to listen to people telling us how terrible we are at the back and how poor our goalkeeper is.  We have shown a steady improvement all over the pitch with the fluidity returning to our game but now even at the back we look more solid, more composed.  Even Mignolet seems more commanding, yesterday against Villa he seemed to dominate his box, taking control at corners and when the ball was crossed into our box. Twice he was even accused of good distribution by commentators huge steps forward from where we were only a few weeks ago.  But for me the biggest improvement seems to have come in the back three with support form Lucas in the middle and our wing backs.  Sakho has been immense and i think is now a big player in our defence bringing not only natural talent and strength but also the leadership we have been looking for allowing Skrtel to regain his confidence and form resulting in a fabulous performance against Villa and on the other side of the defence the very young, very inexperienced Can but he appears to be the answer to our problems providing the ability on the ball we have been looking for along with all the physical attributes you need, he is still learning but is doing it very quickly.  Game by game we are seeing huge improvements and again yesterday at Villa very very good taking Benteke out of the game when many felt that Can was the weak link and there to be bullied.

This new formation appears to have given Lucas a new lease of life he did appear to be on his way out of the club but with nobody else able to play the defensive midfield role, or Rodgers version of it, he has become a vital cog in our machine and once again we are all starting to see what he is capable of.  The stats bear out what we are seeing with our own eyes, yes he has lost a yard of pace but it is not effecting his game he is one of the best in this role.  When compared to the media darling, Matic of Chelsea, the figures show that Lucas compares favourably with interceptions, tackles won, headers won and passes completed showing what a key if under valued player he is.  Rodgers recently told us he is not going and I hope this is true he is once again proving everybody wrong.

In the wing back roles we have Moreno and Markovic both excellent going forward, in the case of Markovic already one of the best attacking threats in our team and who will undoubtably go on on be a world class attacking talent, but can they defend.  Moreno is a full back by trade on despite one or two mistakes whilst settling in in I have no worries that once he learns the wing back position and develops the awareness required to know when to attack and when to stay back he will provide an excellent defensive contribution.  Markovic on the other hand was seen as to week, not interested in the defensive side, would be up for it on a wet and windy weekend say in Sunderland but what we have seen is a player prepared to work, prepared to put is foot in and who is certainly up for a challenge and who has defended well from both wing back positions and he has done all this whilst still providing a very high level of attacking threat and whilst showing an incredible level of technical ability, still young but Markovic like Can can be anything he wants to be.

Our defence has shown a huge improvement recently, some of it down to the formation, some of it undoubtably down to the whole team but most of it down to the players in the defence and we are now playing a very young back five all with plenty of time to grow and develop.  Of the five Sakho, Can, Moreno and Markovic are all very young with only Skrtel older and more experienced.  I still feel we need a top class keeper but hopefully with these players this will not be the last of the clean sheets.   

The Sakho Myth

  Liverpool signed Sakho from Paris St German in September 2013 for a fee of 15 million pounds.  Sakho was already at the age of 23 a full international and highly rated on a world level and had captained his home town club Paris on many occasions.  He was well known as a leader and for his physical attributes mainly his strength but he is certainly no slouch and can show a turn of pace when he needs to.  His strength was certainly noted by his new manager as Brendan Rodgers described him as "a beast" following him breaking records in training during strength tests indeed it was reported that he actually broke machines not just records.

               

        

His first season with Liverpool was OK he did well and settled in showing quality especially for a player who is so young, he does have lots of experience but is still young especially for a centre half, I think sometimes we forget and it is probably a testament to his talent that everybody regularly forgets how young he is.

Now for the myth, towards the end of the season, through the summer and at the start of this season I was constantly been told by commentators, so called experts, the press and even our own supporters that Sakho couldn't pass and was terrible on the ball, this is the myth, it's simply not true, he looks awkward, gangly even but he can and does pass the ball well.  It seems to me that this is again a case of people simply listening and repeating what an idiot commentator says who doesn't watch the player properly, to many people just repeat what they hear rather than forming their own opinion and actually watching.  Sakho can and does pass the ball very well especially for a defender, he does play the ball forward, not just the easy cross field ball he can play short or long and he is accurate even when under pressure.  He is not perfect, nobody is, he has made occasional mistakes, there has been the occasion mis-placed pass but not enough to be classed as a problem in fact the opposite I think his passing is one of his strengths.

Now normally this would not be a problem, we are all used to commentators and journalists talking site and being lazy just reporting what they have heard others say rather than putting in any work, but in this case it seemed to gather momentum and then seemed to become a fact, Sakho can't pass.  This caused Liverpool to waste around £20 million pounds on Lovren whom plays as a left sided defender, Sakho's position, we probably did need cover, but twenty million pounds suggested replacement, twenty million pounds to solve a problem that didn't exist.  Of course Lovren was picked, Sakho was dropped and we saw over the first half of the season what a defender who can't pass looks like time and again, game after game he presented the ball to the opposition.  Lovren is not near the ability of Sakho in any attribute he is weaker, slower, worse in the air, worse positional, less of a leader, weaker in the tackle, less of a threat going forward, more prone to individual errors and definitely, without a doubt worse at passing the football.

When Lovren was injured and Sakho regained his place in the team recently, again we had to listen to commentators telling us he couldn't pass and this was a weakness whilst I was watching him play back heels, telling forward passes, pinging Gerrard like cross field diagonals all with perfect accuracy, again he does look awkward but his passing is almost always accurate, in the same game Gerrard mis placed easy ish passes five times leading to chances for the opposition and one directly to a goal whilst we were told how he is the best player on the ball in the squad and should be the first name on the team sheet because of his passing ability. Please don't just repeat the same old rubbish say what you see not what you think you will see. It is a myth that Sakho can't pass and it has cost him and the club hugely  that people believe it.

@lfclumo

Why Gerrard Is So Special

   I have been supporting Liverpool for years, my whole life and I have seen many players both playing for Liverpool and against us and in all that time I have never seen anybody that I would swap for Steven Gerrard.  He is possibly not the best player Messi and Ronaldo and even Suarez would have an argument about that but he is up there, certainly in the top ten, but the reason I wouldn't swap him is what he has done for our club that I doubt anybody else could have.  He has been at the very front when we have won things he has scored the goals he has changed the games, think back its almost always Gerrard.  That goal against Olympiakos, that strike in the cup final against West Ham, Istanbul and on and on.  But its not just the finals and the big games although he has got his share against United and Everton think back its always Gerrard he has been a constant through the years from the early days clearing the ball off the line against Everton to last seasons title challenge and his "we go again" speech we have had a player we will never see the likes of again, playing at the highest level game after game, season after season.

Throughout this time Gerrard has won praise and has been classed as one of the best players in the game but he has achieved all of this in, at times, poor Liverpool teams, he has not always played alongside Alonso, Suarez and Torres at times it has been Adam, Downing and Diouf and he has still dragged our club to wins and trophies we couldn't have expected, time and time again he has pushed the team forward almost single handedly winning games and in my opinion there is nobody else in world football who has consistently done this.  There have been other one club men, some of them very good players but none http://goldenskyliverpool.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/the-holiday-period.html have produced this level over so long dragging their clubs with them at times kicking and screaming and this is why I would never have swapped him the best player for Liverpool without question.

I find it hard to think of watching Liverpool without Gerrard in the team but we all knew there would be a time when we had to go without him and perhaps now is that time.  I am delighted he has said that he will never sign for a team in direct competition to Liverpool I cant imagine what it would be like seeing hime line up against us or even worse score at the Kop end for one of our competitors, we should have known he wouldn't he's not Lampard, but it was nice to hear anyway.  Perhaps the time has come, Gerrard's style does not suit a player who is getting on in years and he is finding it difficult to adapt, I hate seeing him face criticism, especially from our own fans, he can still hold his own in the premier league but this is not enough Gerrard never just held his own he stands out head and shoulders above everybody else and thats how I want to remember him.  So go, enjoy your time in America, go with our thanks and admiration, but remember us and when you are finished playing come back and drag us forward again.  There will always be a place at Liverpool for steven Gerrard. YNWA

@lfclumo

The Holiday Period

The holiday period is a busy time for any club and normally I look forward to it, lots of football and usually a few wins but this time I was dreading it, we have been in terrible form, terrible results and terrible performances from both the team and individuals, poor up front, poor in midfield and poor at the back and the manager seemed to have little idea as to what to do about it.  Then came the Manchester United game and two big changes we dropped Mignolet for Jones and changed formation.  The position with goalkeepers is difficult they are both not good enough we have all watched Mignolet get worse and worse as his confidence has been eroded  but Jones appears to have hands made of smoke and is totally unable to stop a shot and in my opinion this was a huge factor in us loosing this game yes we had had our normal defensive issues but the new formation appeared to be suiting us we created enough chances to win the game but on this occasion couldn't find the finish and with Sterling looking good playing through the middle providing plenty of movement things for the first time in a while looked promising.

More good attacking football against Bournmouth with a couple of goals from the impressive Sterling and a superb performance from Markovic along with a better defensive performance led by Sakho and more encouragement with only the keeper again looking a problem.

Arsenal next and more encouragement not the win we wanted as Jones again waved a couple into the net but for me another good performance and we were getting better every game encouraging at least, followed by a win away at Burnley not a stunning performance but three difficult points and a goal from a moment of absolute magic from Coutinho and another finish from Sterling.

Next up were Swansea and the performance we had been waiting for a big win and a ninety minute performance with the team producing something like the type of football we played last season, the new formation appears by now to be suiting the vast majority of our players and everybody appeared to have found some kind of form especially the front three of Coutinho, Sterling and Lallana who are now looking very impressive.  Still worries at the back but better than it had been Mignolet back in goal and still looking very nervous but going forward we looked great and the result was never in doubt, a comfortable win and moving up the table.

Finally I started to feel a little confident that things were going the right way and then on New Years day cam Leicester, bottom of the table Leicester, at home and although we were not playing great we strolled into a two nil lead thanks to two penalties from Gerrard and a half time I was happy we would then gone on and get the points but then came the worst most disgraceful performance I have seen from a Liverpool team for years, they gave the fans nothing and they let themselves the supporters and the manager down, very poor in every department and not good enough, we were close to getting back into the fight and then threw it away.  I hope that somebody has let the players how bad they were and have left them in no doubt that this is not acceptable.

We have to move on and start again the formations and form we have been showing  are better and i hope we can get back to this and get thte performances that we we the supporters deserve

@lfclumo