Moses under pressure to perform

Victor Moses

Liverpool midfielder Victor Moses is under pressure to step up his game when the Reds visit Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday for a league encounter.

The on-loan Chelsea player has come under criticism with regard to his role in the team with pundits describing him as undedicated and without knowledge of football.

The Nigeria player got more lashing last week when his error gifted Hull City their first goal in a game Liverpool were to lose 3-1.

Moses once described himself as an intuitive player that follows the game plan from the coach.

“It’s all instinctive when the ball comes to me. If there’s space I will move towards goal. I always want to attack and put defenders on the back foot,” he once said on the club’s website.

“You have to find a way to influence the game wherever you are playing, but you also need to be aware of the team’s tactical plan. The first aim is to do the job the manager is asking you to do.”

But the statement drew more attacks from his critics, who have called on him to take command of his role in the team and prove his worth.

In his column for the Liverpool Daily Post on Sunday, Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson explained why Moses was struggling at Anfield. He wrote, “I was disappointed (in him). The problem with Victor Moses is he doesn’t know the game, he doesn’t know about football. At least that’s what I pick up from watching him. He plays by intuition rather than knowing what his role in the team is.”

Jamie Carragher, another Reds hero, said of Moses after the Hull City defeat, “This is the reason why he doesn’t play. He’s not responsible enough with the ball in his own half of the pitch. You can’t make decisions like that as a wide player.

That’s why wide players notoriously end up out of the team.”

With injuries ruling out Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson, Moses is in the spotlight to man the midfield help Liverpool overcome their opponents in London.

In spite of the criticisms, manager Brendan Rodgers rated Moses highly when he described him as talented.

He said, “Victor is a talent and is happy to be in the squad, he wants to improve and I communicate regularly with him. He has never said a bad word about Liverpool since he’s been here.”