Wigan Win At Anfield

I'll say one thing for Kenny, you won't find another man that cares as much...
Liverpool were beaten once again in the league on Saturday after Wigan put two past Reds keeper Pepe Reina. A penalty and a goal from Caldwell gave Wigan a much needed three points as Martinez tries to steer his side away from the drop.

Dalglish introduced young John Flanagan to the line up and it was Luis Suarez alone up front but with some support from Dirk Kuyt on the wing.

A fairly unconvincing first half from Liverpool left them struggling for ideas. Some half chances didn't really supply fans with much hope at Anfield although a shot from Stewart Downing that went wide to the right of goal was nearly enough to change things.

Shortly after though, Liverpool found themselves in trouble. A challenge from Martin Skrtel in the box left referee Lee Mason with an easy decision. Skrtel's foot was far too high and he caught Victor Moses in the face.

Shaun Maloney had to wait a while to take the penalty due to treatment for Moses but the nerves didn't get to him as he put a confident spot kick past Pepe Reina.

Towards the end of the second half Liverpool forced Al Habsi into some saves but the attempts weren't enough to find the Reds an equaliser. In all honesty the first half performance didn't reflect what you would expect from a Liverpool side.

The second half saw Andy Carroll immediately introduced as the Reds tried to find a goal and get a foot hold. It was the other man up front though who finally put Liverpool on the score sheet.

Luis Suarez found the back of the net just after a minute into the first half. A nice assist from Steven Gerrard and a lovely finish allowed the Uruguayan to celebrate with his team mates. Of course, there was still a long way to go yet.

It's a shame really that Liverpool gave away such a silly penalty but in fairness Wigan still looked the more favourable to score for most of the game and certainly in the second half.

Just 7 minutes after Liverpool's equaliser Luis Suarez found himself in the box again. The ball was in the back of the net but unfortunately the number 7 was penalised for a hand ball from the Steven Gerrard free kick and i think it's fair to say there were no complaints there.

Just after the hour mark Wigan made things ten times worse for the already faltering Liverpool side. A close range shot from Caldwell after being left in too much space in my opinion allowed him to slip the ball into goal and put his side ahead.

Wigan deserved this and this was the worrying thing. This was Wigan, a side battling to stay up and yes you could argue that this perhaps makes them more dangerous but there was no fight from Liverpool, no passion. It's horrible to watch and whilst i disagree with crowds booing their own players i can see why they were doing it. The players can't take all of the blame, of course not, but they certainly aren't showing anything to support their cause at the moment.

Late in the second half Dalglish introduced both Shelvey and Sterling and it was refreshing to see the youngsters because they were the ones who ignited the play. What these two may lack in experience they make up for in heart and they certainly did their best to find a winner for the Reds yesterday it was just a shame they were thrown into a poor situation.

Nearly 7 minutes extra time still wasn't enough for Liverpool as they desperately searched for an equaliser. It always worries me how much you are striving for an equaliser, especially against a side like Wigan. We would have given anything for a draw yesterday, 1 point, at home. It's just not good enough.

Once again post match there are always a variety of views on Twitter. Some in my opinion are extreme like the calling for Kenny's head. My stance at the moment is that of course he needs to take the blame, not all of it, but some and of course saying the players were tired is a ridiculous and poor excuse but I'd like to think, back in the dressing room, Dalglish gave the lads a kick up the arse.

The majority of his signings i agree are not working but that is something that can hopefully be resolved. At this stage in the season where we're already in Europa League next season, we're already too far from 4th and we've won a cup and are in with a chance of another one i seriously do not see the benefit of sacking the manager. It wouldn't matter if it was Dalglish or Souness, i just personally think things need to be looked at in the summer but until then keep Kenny where he is.

If in the summer he can adjust the side to a point where i feel confident in our chances then fair enough but i think it's important that we analyse his tenure as we would anyones. I love King Kenny as much as the next person but just because he's royalty at the club, he shouldn't be able to escape criticism and I'm sure if you asked him, he'd appreciate your honesty rather than sucking up to him.

Next up for the Reds is Newcastle and i for one am not feeling very confident at all but then i suppose it would be the perfect game to pull out a top performance. Here's hoping there's a massive turnaround by next Sunday because i can't be doing with a terrible performance on April Fool's day.