Rafa shuffles his pack then shuffles uncomfortably in his seat as he watches his side huff and puff but fail to blow the Hammers house down. Another disappointment for the Anfield faithful and fantasy investors in Liverpool’s attacking players. Here’s the notes….
Just when we thought we could rest easy with Rafa, he goes and throws us a curveball or two with his team selection. Almost as if to spite those who accused him of dropping the rotation policy, he went and benched Mascherano and more significantly, Agger, for tonight’s game. Benayoun and Hyypia came in. Kuyt and Keane were partnered up front in the absence of Torres. Dossena came in for the injured Aurellio at left back.
The decision to drop Agger to the bench mystifies me. Last weekend against Fulham, Liverpool were facing a Champions League game in midweek which Hyypia could not have played in as he is out of the European squad – and yet he started with Agger. This week, with no Champions League game looming, he decides to go with Hyypia and that’s with the pace of Bellamy on the pitch. Unless there were some minor doubts over Agger’s fitness or perhaps some illness, this was a very very strange decision that proves that Rafa still has an unpredictable streak in him.
That could spell trouble for Agger owners. He is considerably cheaper than the rest of the Liverpool defence but with Skrtel suggesting that he is due to make a return in a fortnight, it looks as though the Dane will be under increased threat from two fronts in the weeks ahead. Not what we need as we enter the busy Christmas programme. Presumably we’ll see Agger restored against Blackburn at the weekend. After that however, there has to be doubt over the wisdom of keeping him in. The trip to Arsenal in gameweek 18 could be the time to consider your options.
The Agger issue aside, Liverpool were hugely disappointing here. Breaking teams down at Anfield is clearly a major problem for them. Further analysis of recent Premiership results show 4 goals in the last 4 home games – 3 of those goals came against West Brom however. The stats show Liverpool dominance but in truth they had few clear cut chances – indeed, West Ham had opportunities to win this.
Defensively there were points all round. Liverpool moved on to 10 clean sheets for the season, with this their third consecutive shut-out. The same could be said for the Hammers, who, from out of nowhere, have suddenly emerged as a decent budget option for defenders. There fixtures aren’t great over the next 5 but it will certainly be interesting to see how Chelsea cope with them at the Bridge in fortnight given Scolari’s side current struggle in home games. In the FPL, where saves make points – Green looks a decent keeper option in the mid-price bracket although they’ll be transfer speculation surrounding his future come January given West Ham’s financial plight. I’ve just added him to my monthly picks accordingly.
As for Liverpool – they desperately need Torres fit to ignite them for home games. With Hull and Bolton next at Anfield and a trip to Arsenal coming up, Rafa will be a little edgy going into the Christmas period. Kuyt owners will also be fidgety but should hold on for the trip to a vulnerable Blackburn next time out. Keane owners meanwhile, saw their man subbed again around the hour mark, and they’ll be finding it very hard to keep the faith, even with Torres still absent.