Roy Hodgson’s soccer is blunt, and he is one of the only people in Liverpool management that knows anything about the game. That’s what we’re led to believe by Daniel Agger and Rafa Benitez, with player and former coach teaming up for unofficial Blast Liverpool Day.
Rafa Benitez, Daniel Agger Liverpool Comments Won’t Make Me Listen To More Janelle Monae
Agger, a Danish international defender, has been unexpectedly supplanted in Liverpool’s defense by the renewed health of Martin Skrtel, the surprise acquisition of Paul Konchesky, and Jamie Carragher’s status as a sacred cow. While Agger started this season at left back and spent last season as Benitez’s preferred choice to Skrtel, now the young Dane finds himself second choice, though according to the 25-year-old, that status owes as much to his style as his relative quality.
Per today’s edition of The Fiver from The Guardian:
Daniel Agger has not likened his role at Liverpool under Roy Hodgson to that of a cannon. "I'm a footballer who keeps the ball on the floor. I'm here to play, not to unload," he boomed to Danish TV, before telling Liverpool TV today that "the media in Denmark [and daily tea-time football emails – Fiver Ed] don't have much to write about".
So perhaps Agger’s zeal isn’t fitting of unofficial Blast Liverpool Day, where backing-off manager-undermining comments is frowned upon. At the same time, he isn’t taking his comments back, something which will win points with the judges.
Roy Hodgson’s tactics have been rather blunt, especially as it concerns building play from the back. At the same time, this is a problem that predates Hodgson, according to many, thus the harping on the loss of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid last year. That line of thought holds that the link in front of the back no longer exists; thus, long balls are more prevalent, and Liverpool hasn’t been as good.
Perhaps Steven Gerrard playing deeper in the formation could mitigate this. And perhaps that’s why Agger’s frustrated with the continued unloading.
But if Hodgson has an approach - a philosophy of the game - that’s more than the rest of the management at Anfield, according to recently departed manager Rafa Benitez.
From the same Fiver:
In non-surprising news of the day, Rafa Benitez has had a pop at Liverpool suits for knowing nowt about football. "You couldn't talk about soccer with them," he said before boring Inter's president Massimo Moratti with the virtues of zonal marking.
And that’s where the fun in today’s Liverpool bashing ends. When a current players say something, my interest is piqued. When Benitez gets involved, I’m reminded of the trite nature of it all. I give in to ennui, turn black and white, let the beach’s wind become my life’s soundtrack as I ponder my black turtleneck. And death.
Though he obviously has a relevant, unique, and entertainingly embittered perspective, Rafa Benitez deriding Liverpool seems like my parents awkwardly recommending Janelle Monae. They’re trying too hard. The subject is dated, and this all seems vaguely like something they shouldn’t be talking about.
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