Premier League Underperformers

This blog was inspired by two pieces of news from the footballing world today, Gerrard's admission that Liverpool just haven't been good enough this season and Owen's comments about how, unsurprisingly, morale is low at Newcastle. For years these two big teams have constantly under performed despite changing owners, changing managers and big transfer budgets.

Let's start by looking at Liverpool. Despite being one of the 'big four' Liverpool are a team in crisis right now. Players should not be affected by the off-field antics but it is clear that they always are. For the supporters and the board to be in such open conflict, for the board to so publicly undermine the manager with their admitted (failed) approach for Jurgen Klinsmann, for senior players such as Gerrard and Carragher to speak out, something is clearly wrong with the club from top to bottom.

For all of Liverpool's short comings they have an awful lot to offer the Premier league. Gerrard on his day is the best midfielder in the league and Torres is one of the most dangerous strikers, whilst in Carragher and Reina they have two solid defensive players . Managers and pundits always talk about the importance of having a strong spine and undoubtedly Liverpool have a strong spine, but it is the players around the spine that are letting Liverpool down this season. Players like Kewell, Kuyt, Veronin just do not cut the mustard as far as challenging for the title goes.

For Liverpool to seriously challenge next season they will need two new wingers along with a new striker to play alongside Torres. I rate Crouch highly, but Benitez clearly does not. Benitez also needs to make the Premier league his priority, as I am sure it is with the fans, rather than dropping points against so called lesser teams by resting players for Champions league games.

On top of this Gillett and Hicks need to come out and either sack Rafa and bring in their own man or publicly state that they are 100% behind him.

Meanwhile, further north, things look even less cheery. Football fans across the country have their fingers crossed hoping to hear 'Keegan Out' from the Toon army before the end of the season. The funny thing in Newcastle is that most fans seem, currently, to be completely behind the owner and the manager (which for a team in turmoil, is almost unheard of.)

Newcastle's problem lies simply in their inability to choose a manager and stick with them. In 11 years they have had 11 different managers (albeit four of those were only caretaker managers, for various lengths of time) and one only needs to look at Arsenal and Manchester United to see the success that consistency can bring.

Admittedly Allardyce's win record of 33% was not good enough for a team of Newcastle's size, but he was in charge for less than eight months and only had 24 games in that time! When he joined the club he stated that it would be a three to five year transition period while he turned the team into 'his own' (read, purchase 8 foot tall monsters and borderline pension age set piece takers). Of course part of the problem here is that shortly after joining Newcastle the club was sold to Ashley and where the manager is 'not the Chairman's man' the danger of the old Spanish archer (el bow) will always linger.

Traditionally, now, part of the Newcastle circus is their clown act (also, sometimes ironically, called their defence). How a team who have changed manager so often in the past eleven years can have such a consistently bad record at purchasing defenders is beyond me; Bramble and Boumsong are the undoubted highlights but the list of tried and failed centre back partnerships is almost as long as their list of recent managers.

Newcastle have the basis of a decent squad, not a squad that can compete for a Champions league place but certainly a squad who could, indeed should, be fighting to get into the UEFA cup. However until they decide upon their man (and who better than Keegan given his status up there) and accept that success will be a long process and not instantaneous they will continue to achieve nothing. They should be too good to go down this season, but football is a strange old game.