Winners and Losers

[aws]

Why does our squad (which on paper looks at least the equal of any squad in England) consistently underperform in the League?In my view,there are two possible answers:

1.The manager is not getting the best out of them either tactically or in terms of motivation

2.There are too many players who do not have the grit and determination to be winners

I don't want another GH debate on this thread because we have those ten times a week so can we just discuss mental toughness because I'm starting to think that we just don't seem to have that certain something which enables the Mancs and the Arse to turn a bad display into 3 points or to field some pretty ropey second-stringers and get away with it.

So forget all about skill and form - who are the winners in our squad?And who is likely to go missing when the chips are down.Here's my categories:

 

Winners - Carra,Henchoz,Sami,Didi,Gerrard,Owen.

 

Losers - Biscan,Traore,H*****,Smicer,Cheyrou.

 

Too early to judge - Baros,Kewell,Diouf,Diao,Gems,Finnan,Kirkland.

 

Can't make up my mind - Murphy,Riise,Dudek.

 

I'm not saying that a successful team can't have one or two losers in it because ability can sometimes outweigh attitude but I do think you need to consistently field at least 8 winners on the pitch if you're going to challenge for the title.Have we got enough?

[johno]

I think that you can't not take into account skill and ability looking at the points you've raised m8. Not if were looking at who can get us 3 points when the chips are down.

 

A player can have all the heart in the world for his club, but in the end if he aint got what it takes to turn it arround then we should look for some1 who can.

 

(on saying that I'm a two faced shit cos' I'd rather have some1 how played with passion for the club and shirt than a player with massive ability who is here only for the £££):blush:

[Christian]

Methinks that Mr Kewell, despite his undoubted skill, tends to go AWOL when the chips are down.

[Paul]

That hatred of losing and the sheer determination to avoid it is definitely absent from too many of our players. Some of them just don't have the heart to play in English football, let alone for Liverpool. However, if we ever get to put out our first choice team this season, there's a great mix of grit and flair. We just can't seem to get them all on the pitch together, at the same time.