Liverpool turned in a limp showing ahead of the FA Cup Final, losing another home game 1-0.
Looking solely at last night’s 1-0 loss to Fulham, it would be easy to lay the blame on the manager after making wholesale changes to the side which beat Norwich.
Out went Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez and Pepe Reina and in came Andy Carroll, Alex Doni and Seb Coates, and this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Even so, with the FA Cup Final on Saturday, Dalglish was right to ring the changes.
Key players need to stay fresh, and you can imagine the furore if Gerrard or Suarez picked up an injury which ruled them out of the final, so Dalglish was right not to take the risk.
The players on the other hand who did start, should be ashamed of their performances.
At stake was a potential place in the FA Cup starting line-up or bench. A standout showing last night could have swayed the selection, with Jonjo Shelvey commenting as such prior to the game.
Nothing Shelvey attempted came off last night, so he can probably forget a cup final start, and questions will remain over Andy Carroll.
Carroll had seven efforts on goal, but failed to find the net, in a night no doubt hugely frustrating for him especially in light of strike partner Luis Suarez’s hat-trick on the weekend,
His manager would have been hoping for a big reaction from him, but didn’t get one. Did he play himself out of a Wembley start?
In his favour are his semi-final winner, and Chelsea potentially having to play Jose Bosingwa at centre-back, which Carroll’s height can exploit, not to mention Dalglish’s determination for Suarez and Carroll to succeed together.
Nevertheless Suarez blossomed at Carrow Road without him, with Craig Bellamy joining the attack from the wing, and Dalglish may be tempted to stick with the more fluid 4-2-3-1 style which allowed Steven Gerrard to play more further forward.
What do you think, should Carroll start against Chelsea? Did last night change anything?
image: © dannymol
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