United fixture encapsulates Liverpool season

It was the sort of match that, had the score line been different, maybe you could actually feel good about.  Liverpool had the best of the chances throughout the game.  They had a decent amount of possession.  They linked together reasonably well in the midfield.  Raheem Sterling gave the Manchester United defense fits with his pace.  Mario Balotelli created a few chances as well.

Alas, as Reds' fans know, potential positivity is where it all ends.  Yes, they created the chances but as has been the case all season long, they cannot finish them.  Raheem Sterling had so many chances it is almost laughable that Liverpool could not score.  Mario Balotelli, of course coupled with his usual malaise and complaints, also had several great opportunities that just would not go in either by lack of luck or good goalkeeping.  The bottom line was, no matter who was on the end of the ball, there is just no killer instinct in this side right now.  It wasn't just offensively that the club struggled either.

Though a back three will always leave space at the back, it really wasn't the formation that led to the goals against.  The way this side have played the last few matches and really the season as a whole, there really isn't a starting XI that will appease everyone.  Even saying that, the starting XI against United had flashes of brilliance and good team play.  However, it again just raises too many questions.

I won't argue completely against a back three, since there have been several times I thought it might be a good formation.  Personally, I would've chosen Toure over Johnson to begin and perhaps either Manquillo or Moreno instead of Allen.  And then there is the inclusion of Allen.  I know little of the man.  I'm sure he is fully committed to doing his best to bring results to his club.  Yet, the constant inclusion of Joe Allen at this point leans more toward managerial favoritism rather than anything the "Welsh Xavi" has actually produced on the pitch.  Normally he is nonexistant, only knowing he played by looking at the stat sheet.  On this day, he was directly responsible for the opening goal getting beaten through the legs and not getting back in front of Valencia.

The inclusion of Brad Jones in goal did not help matters either.  Jones was not responsible for any of the goals and, most likely, Simon Mingolet would not have stopped any of the three goals.  However, even if you understand the message that Brendan Rodgers was trying to send - hockey fans will get it more than most - this still was probably not the match to attempt it.  A huge rivalry, coupled with a purely attacking minded formation is just not the place to switch keepers and put in a man who has played one competitive fixture.

Support, from the people, for Rodgers will certainly continue to dwindle.  Even his most staunch supporters have little to say to back his decisions.  It is a sad day when the best a proud club such as Liverpool can muster is a faint glimmer of having the higher number of chances.  Unfortunately, that is what people need to cling to.

Brendan Rodgers will most likely last through the season and rightly so.  I will write up an article on the benefits of keeping him weighed versus the ideas of why he should be gone soon.  However, the truth is that no matter how much you argue that his decisions are infuriating, the players shoulder just as much of the blame and I do not believe that a mid-season managerial change will yield any different results.

Liverpool have put themselves in a position where they have loads of talent, but it is young, unproven potential talent.  They had a plan to bring in a certain type of player, but despite the necessity to plan for the future, in today's game you simply cannot win the league with only young talent.  You have to have players who have that hard gained experience and, outside of Steven Gerrard, this team just does not have it.  They don't have it on the pitch or on the bench.  Perhaps they are gaining it this season.

The club still needs to make some sort of change in the transfer window.  There are so many needs, I will leave the specifics of who they should bring in up to the reader.  Another defender is much needed, as is a striker.  The players to match those needs and being available in January might be difficult to find.  And while there really are no moral victories, the players have to take the positives from their play out of the Manchester United match.  Fans can whine and moan and complain all they want and they should.  Their club is not producing points.  However, the players have no confidence at all.  A 3-0 defeat will not help that, but there were glimmers of hope and the players have to find a way to open those rays of glimmering light into full beams.

The one other thing that supporters can hold onto, even if in vein, is that only seven points separate Liverpool and fourth place.  Southhampton have fallen back to the pack and Newcastle have cooled.  So, in terms of the big names, only Arsenal is above the Reds.  It's a long road to hoe, but the team has to find a way.  Continued disappointment will only breed more disappointment.  It's up to someone at Anfield to break the mold.  As ever, all we can do is Walk On.