The change should, in my opinion, be made immediately. It, of course, goes against the grain for anybody connected with Liverpool Football Club to be even thinking of changing the Manager at any time let alone in mid-season such as the likes of Spurs, Leicester, Wolves et al. It's cruel but it must be done otherwise I feel that Houllier will spend, when the transfer window opens in January, what I believe to be a very limited budget on the sort of second rate players, mainly foreigners, we already have at the club who whilst doing their best (I think) are clearly not good enough for the standards required of this Football Club. We would also be stuck for a couple of years maybe with two or three new dummies on monstrous wages to add to the many we already have. Changing the Manager now would mean that the new incumbent could buy the players HE wants, get rid of the players HE doesn’t want and weed out the deadwood. There is plenty of that at the club at the moment.
I'm not having a go at foreign players in particular but a lot of Houllier's disastrous signings have been those born nowhere near the British Isles. The one that frustrates us most of all of course is Smicer. He came with a massive reputation and we have seen in flashes that he has definitely got it. Flashes though over five seasons is not enough. Vlad does it on a regular basis for his national side so why not for us? Hyppia, Dudek, Henchoz, Hamman and Kewell have all been great signings. More than counteracting that though is the total waste of time, space, money, energy and skin that are Diouff, Traore, Biscan, Cheyrou, Diomede, Diao and Ferri. Need I go on? Ferri? Yes, Ferri - remember him? Two sub appearances. That was money well spent wasn't it?
How we could do with a bit of good old Scottish skill and grit in the team! Unfortunately the likes of Dalglish, Souness, Hansen, Stevenson, Law, Baxter, Bremner, Lochead, Gilzean and Mackay no longer seem to be coming out of Scotland
Houllier is so stubborn that even if he does stay after January he will probably not spend the money, preferring to believe in his own deluded mind that everything is okay, with the idea of saving it to strengthen the team in the summer. That would be disastrous thinking on his part because when we finish in around about eight place, which is a slightly higher position than our performances have merited this season so far, then surely Mr. Moores, like most of the fans, will cry enough at the end of the season anyway. That, by then, will be too late as the jewels in our wobbly crown, Owen and Gerrard, may well have decided also that enough is enough and get off to roam far greater, more successful, pastures. I have never thought that until now, preferring to believe that nobody of the stature of those two players will leave our club until I see them with another club’s shirt on, but am now genuinely fearful that we might indeed be watching these two great players' last season at Liverpool Football Club.
Who is to blame – the players or the Manager? A bit of both I think. Certainly players who we know can do it and do so on a regular basis for their countries have vastly under-performed while wearing the Liverbird on their chest. It doesn’t help though when up to half-a-dozen of those players per game are played out of position. Prime example: Heskey left-wing, Smicer lone striker at Newcastle. That decision alone finally convinced me that the man had lost his marbles.
Houllier clearly no longer has the capabilities to get the players in his charge to perform. His tactical naivete and stubbornness are clear for all to see. Can anybody tell me how a tactical plan that involves two centre-halves (I know one of them is a donkey but it’s not his fault the Manager picks him there) and a holding player in front sees the said holding player left as the last man when the opposition break away from our corner and score? Let’s get someone in now and breathe a bit of life back into the club as Gerard himself did when he took sole charge.
I am genuinely concerned that should Ged stay, and let’s not forget, whatever we think of him as a Manager, he is a good man, it will be injurious to his health. The man just does not look well at all. I would hate for the decision to be taken out of his hands by the sort of life-threatening illness he suffered a couple of years ago. At worst, obviously, all this could kill him. Let’s hope a decision is taken by either him or the Board that will ensure anything like that doesn’t happen.
Who do we replace Ged with? Nobody has the perfect answer. I certainly hope that it isn’t, but feel it probably will be, Phil Thompson. I know Phil loves the club as much as any fan but if we think Houllier is negative then Thommo is worse. Remember the latter half of his tenure as temporary Manager during Ged’s illness? I do! We were boring to the brink of narcolepsy. People were slagging him off and calling for his head during a 1-1 draw at Highbury.
We have four players at the club that Ged could have built a team around but has summarily failed to do so; Owen, Gerrard, Kewell and Kirkland. Somebody else must be given the chance, indeed will probably be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect, to do that.
Let’s not cry injuries either. All clubs have injuries; some just manage to overcome them, probably because they have top-class replacements, better than others. Moaning about injuries is not the Liverpool way, but clearly lots of things are not being done the Liverpool way at the moment, so let’s just get on with it. Let’s be honest too – do we think the performance against Southampton would have been any better if Owen and Kewell had been playing? I certainly don’t! There just seems to be a general malaise now in the club that even fielding our strongest team in every match would probably not yield an improvement.
Please don’t hit me with charges of treachery or faithlessness. I love Liverpool Football Club with a will and a passion. It is THE major thing in my life. Being honest and telling it how I feel it is cannot, I feel, be called treachery or faithlessness under any circumstances. I have supported Houllier with a blind faith while he has been under fire for the past twelve months. The Evo eyes have now opened to how it really is. No longer can I use my usual line of, "Oh, two or three wins strung together will see an entirely different picture and everything and everybody will be happy again" because I just can’t see us doing anything like that at the moment. I have to be honest and admit that, at the moment, we are, at best, just another mediocre, mid-table team who might snatch the odd win now and again. It’s not good enough for LFC and I hold the Manager to be the one individual most to blame for this current state.
It breaks my heart to write this piece as I want to remember Ged for the good times not the mainly stultifying rubbish we’ve had to put up with for the past twelve months and more. Sometimes though a spade has to be called a spade. It would be best for all concerned with this Football Club we love so much should Ged do the decent thing and make a dignified exit now before the inevitable ignominy of dismissal.