Dalglish laments toothless Liverpool’s poor showing
Reds five points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea
“I think the missed penalty kick upset him a little bit. But Welbeck did fantastic and it is a good partnership.”
The Rooney penalty error came after official Peter Walton pointed to the spot following a blatant push by Bolton defender Zat Knight on Welbeck.
However, a case could — and was made by Ferguson — that Knight should have been red carded, instead of shown yellow, for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
“I think it was a sendi ng off,” said Ferguson. “All these inconsistencies from referees, they should be getting more direction from the very top.
Make it clear
“Mike Riley [ manager of the Professional Game Match Off i ci al s Board] should be coming out and saying, ‘This is not allowed, it should be a sending off for two-footed tackles off the ground’.
“He should be making it clear to the referees that it is not acceptable if they change their minds. These are the incidents that confuse everyone.”
Bolton manager Owen Coyle confirmed that his centre- half Gary Cahill has completed a medical at Chelsea, where he is moving for £7 million (Dh39.4 million).
Coyle remained upbeat about his side’s chances o f avo i di ng r e l e gat i o n, with a move for USA international defender Tim Ream al l but complete. “We ne e d t o h e l p t h e squad we’ve got and I ’d l ove to get a few players in,” said Coyle
“But I’ve got to tell you, if we don’t get anybody in, the group we have are good enough to stay in the Premier League.
“My young players are getting better week by week. David Ngog, Adam Bgodan, Mark Davies continue to get better and stand us in good stead for the second half of the season.” Liverpool (AFP) Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish believes that a lack of imagination is the reason for his team’s miserable home run.
The Reds are unbeaten in the Premier League at Anfield but have drawn seven of their home games, managing just four victories.
It is a spell of form that has undermined their push for a Champions League place and they are f ive points adrift of fourthplaced Chelsea following a goalless home draw with Stoke City.
What is even more frustrating for Liverpool supporters is the fact that, other than Manchester United a n d Manches t e r Ci t y, points have been dropped against Sunderland, Norwich, Swansea and Blackburn, who would all be expected to be beaten with ease at Anfield.
It was the first time they have been held at home since Luis Suarez was given an eight-match suspension for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.
Problem areas
But with just 14 goals from 11 home Premier League matches, it is clear where Dalglish’s problems lie.
The Liverpool manager, who faces a trip to struggling Bolton next weekend, did not make excuses for his team and he said: “They came for a point and got a point and the responsibility is on us to be more imaginative to try to break them down.
“We didn’t manage to do it and the couple of opportunities that we did have, we didn’t take and in a game like that you’ve got to take your opportunities... it’s our responsibility and on the day we weren’t good enough.”