Liverpool v Bolton Player Ratings

First of all, sorry I am very late on these. It was a busy weekend. I wish I hadn't watched though. That was a more disjointed performance than a Sunday pub league. I just don't get it. They all looked like this was their first game together. So much for 4th. Now the question is, if we can't get 4th, do we want a Europa spot? I'm really not sure. I really want to see Gerrard and Bellamy playing off each other just as Rafa did with Gerrard and Torres.

On another note, Kevin Friend has reaffirmed my feelings that he is one of the most clueless referees in the EPL with a number of just odd decisions. I wish had laid $10 down on Bolton winning by two. That was likely quite a nice payout.

The awful ratings after the jump:

STARTERS:

Reina - 6 - Nothing he could do for the goals. His defense was awful in front of him and he pulled out a fantastic save on Petrov (I think) off a free kick.

Johnson - 5 - If he isn't supporting the attack, then we have nothing. That was clearly evident today as he did not get forward at all. When he did, it broke down very quickly.

Agger - 5 - Partly at fault for the third goal. Did hit the woodwork, who seems to be playing in defense where ever Liverpool go. Woodwork must have an exemption to be traded outside the transfer window.

Skrtel - 5 - At fault for the first as he just flat out failed to track the run. That left Hendo trying to play catch up. To be fair, it was poor from the midfield to allow the whole thing to happen. Everyone in the back seemed at fault for the second.

Enrique - 5 - A very shaky first half that almost saw him gift a few to Bolton. He also struggled in defense, almost as if he had slept through his alarm or something. See Johnson for the rest.

Maxi - 4 - Very poor game from Maxi, poor touches, poor shots and poor decisions.

Henderson - 6 - He worked hard, and had a few good touches. He still isn't there, but does seem to be developing, albeit very slowly. This was a Kuyt-like performance from him.

Adam - 4 - Very very poor. A 4 might be a bit generous. He was constantly fouling, his passes were off, he was routinely in a bad position to support the player with the ball. This was just a very bad game for him and probably his worst in a red shirt. I hope to God that he has now got it out of the way although I'm not convinced of that.

Gerrard - 6 - Worked his socks off and was left frustrated by poor interlinking play with his teammates. He has a few beautiful passes that didn't come off and made some great runs. He did everything a man can do to try to get his team going, but this Liverpool side was having none of it.

Bellamy - 7 - Very well taken goal from a great flick by Carroll. He was the only constant thorn in Bolton's side, as evidenced by Reo-Coker's recent comments. He hustled on both sides of the pitch, but it was all for not. Let's just hope his knees hold up because I think we are going to need him.

Carroll - 5 - Overall, poor. Sure, the flick to Bellamy was a thing of beauty, but footy is a 90 minute affair. He is still not using his size to shield the ball and once beaten to a 50/50, he gives up. He went absent for much of the second half. It can be argued that he didn't get much service and that is a fair point, but after watching this game I'm beginning to wonder if he has trouble judging crosses. There were way too many that he simply just ran under. One particularly that I remember was a long looping cross from Hendo in the first where he found him self a good 5-7 yards from where he needed to be, but made no effort to track backwards and challenge for it. His touch also seems to nearly always cause the ball to pop up, making link up plays and one-twos very difficult. Again though, he cannot be put up top alone. Kenny, do you hear me? Please stop doing that.

SUBS:

Downing - 5 - Added nothing.

Kuyt - 5 - Added a few offsides to the stats column. Other than that, added nothing.