Brendan Rodgers cried off having picked up a Christmas flu bug as did no2 goalkeeper Brad Jones and your author, all possibly taking a bite from the same turkey.
Still smarting from the humiliating loss to Stoke, Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson returned to the starting line-up for Shelvey and Lucas. Gerrard and Allen started at the base of the midfield with Henderson given the marauding role.
The opening minutes set the tone for the rest of the match. Luis Suarez, the games standout player, was found in acres of space and allowed to run yards before producing a powerful shot comfortably palmed away by Cesar out to Allen who mis-kicked his volley with the chance of his first Liverpool goal there for the taking.
We wouldn’t have to wait too long to turn our superiority into goals. Henderson, utilising the space and lack of pressure passed to Suarez in a central position 10 yards outside the area where he easily ghosted by Clint Hill and guided the ball into the corner of the net past Caesar.
Minutes later Liverpool scored again and to say it was easy would be a perfect description. Suarez with a flick header out wide to Downing, scooted by to pick up the return before continuing down the byline before his low cross was brilliantly defended by Onuoha with a sliding tackle. Unfortunately for Onuoha, the ball went straight back to the perpetual motion Uruguayan, who passed the ball left-footed into the unguarded net.
Liverpool were now so rampant the midfield must have felt it was deja vu and QPR’s West London neighbours Fulham were again on the receiving end. Johnson on the end of Skrtel’s glorious long ball inside the full-back should’ve signed off on the match, but scuffed his shot allowing Nelson to clear in front of the goal. Gerrard then whipped over a devastating cross from the right which was met on the move by Agger heading down into the corner of the net. to seal the match.
A comedy of errors saw the ball squirm to an onrushing Gerrard, after Suarez had caused more havoc, but the Liverpool captain may hindsight have wished he’d smashed the ball home rather than guide the ball home as his shot was easily blocked.
The second-half was always going to be different with QPR looking to salvage some pride replacing the ineffective Cisse with Derry to bolster the defence and pressing further forward to stop Liverpool building from the back with impunity. It didn’t stop Sterling cutting in from the left to feed Suarez who rode the defender to produce a left footed shot which Cesar did well to touch over.
Jordan Henderson missed a glaring opportunity from a short Downing corner , clipping over on the run under very little pressure.
Apart from Taarabt who was whole hearted throughout the match QPR had very little to offer being reduced to speculative shots from long range.
Kop-Post Man of The Match: Luis Suarez - Head and shoulders above any player on the pitch. Was the cutting edge and the creativity (joint second with David Silva in creating changes in the league. Both goals were typical Suarez. The first, brought about through his brilliance and the second, through his never say die attitude.
It’s to his credit that he gives the impression of loving the game even though he’s plainly carrying the Liverpool team and one can only hope that he is repaid with backup through the next two transfer windows. Assistant manager Colin Pascoe said, "Luis Suarez is superb. He's a maverick. He creates chances for himself, finishes them and is a great lad.
Comment: QPR. as were there West London neighbours Fulham, were poor in the extreme, but you can only beat wants in front of you and that we did. Liverpool were ruthless as they needed to be having the game sown up in the first-hour and showing character to bounce back in an away match having been taking apart by Stoke so completely only a week earlier.
Critical eye: Although manfully up for the job, Joe Allen struggled to contain Taarabt and one wonders whether physically he can cope or will it be a case of getting used to the style he’s been asked to play. As I’ve said previously, I think he is a technically gifted player, but whether he has the mindset to play a more attacking role when Lucas is on the pitch is open to debate. He seems often to fluff his lines when his found in the last third of the pitch and not wanting to be to critical in his first season, one feels he hasn’t shown enough which suggests that he will be one of the leaders of this team in the future.
Manager’s Comment: "That's probably the best we have played for a long time with the display in the first half. The way we took our chances was pleasing.
"It was great result from the lads and the way we performed in the first half secured the win. We were disappointed with the defeat by Stoke on Boxing Day and the response from the players was terrific."
Team: 23 Reina, 2 Johnson, 3 Enrique (Suso, - 71 min), Agger, 37 Skrtel, 8 Gerrard, 19 Downing, 14 Henderson ( Lucas 64 min) 24 Allen - 7(Carragher - 83 min), 7 Suarez, 31 Sterling
Subs: 42 Gulacsi , 23 Carragher, 16 Coates, 21 Lucas, 33 Shelvey, 11 Assaidi, 30 Suso
Ref: Taylor
Att: 18,304
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
No more mince pies for LFC as Xmas ends badly with poor defeat Stoke 3 LFC 1
With both sides being given the time off for Xmas we would have expected a tight but tough game and it started with a Xmas cracker bang after 32 seconds with a long ball over the top to Suarez causing Shawcross to pull him down for our first penalty of the season. Gerrard duly dispatched into the net with cool precision.
The early goal should have been savoured but we had two major defensive lapses with Skrtel slipping and allowing Walters to put away the equaliser after 4 mins and then poor marking from a corner allowing Kenwynne Jones to give Stoke the lead after 12 mins.
The confidence drained out of Liverpool's game and Etherington shot from the edge of the box excellently tipped over by Reina nearly made it 3-1.
A very good run by Downing was then cut back to Gerrard who hit the ball just wide, a minute later Suarez had a quick counter attack supported by Downing which Suarez again wasted when he hit it well over the bar.
Suarez then slipped on the wet surface but still got a shot off which was well saved by the impressive Begovic.
The last ten minutes of the first half went by without much further action apart from Reina averting a quick counter attack by Stoke.
HT analysis - The performance of Shelvey in particular was very poor as he was expected to assist Gerrard in supporting Suarez but kept losing the ball and ultimately his composure.
Not for the first time this season we had conceded goals due to poor concentration and a lack of defensive cover at the posts for set pieces.
At half time Suso was substituted for Sterling and this almost made immediate impact when he laid a perfect ball for Suarez who again knocked the chance wide.
With us missing this chance Stoke produced another attack from a throw in which this time Walters chested down and smashed past Reina on the half volley for a 3-1 lead.
We rarely looked like getting back into the game apart from the tireless running of Suarez and the non stop effort of Gerrard. Gerrard producing a rasping shot that Begovic pushed away comfortably.
With the game sliding away Rodgers tried to salvage things but to no avail and we continue to be without a win at our bogey ground in five visits since they were promoted.
Man of the match - Steven Gerrard - showed the required desire but the quality was not produced alongside him so he therefore tried to carry our team again in vain!
Negatives :-
The tactics by Rodgers again failed us with us not picking three central defenders to combat the aerial bombardment we were asking for trouble and the lack of putting players on the posts at set pieces cost us dearly with the Kenwynne Jones goal in particular.
Downing reverted to his usual poor form after his man of the match performance in the previous game and that's everyone problem with him - he is very inconsistent unable to string two very good games together which is very disappointing.
Downing encapsulates our team with us not being able to string more than two wins together.
Suarez should not play as the main striker when the expected transfer of Sturridge goes through as expected in January because he misses too many chances which ultimately costs us points and ultimately games.
The passing the ball along the back is not a tactic that bodes well with me especially when you as losing a game 3-1 we need to produce nicer passing higher up the field and not just in our own final third where one slip up could cost us a goal.
It is one philosophy that Rodgers and I will never agree on.
Disappointing result which means that Stoke now leapfrog us into 8th and we move back to mid table 10th which frankly is not good enough.
The early goal should have been savoured but we had two major defensive lapses with Skrtel slipping and allowing Walters to put away the equaliser after 4 mins and then poor marking from a corner allowing Kenwynne Jones to give Stoke the lead after 12 mins.
The confidence drained out of Liverpool's game and Etherington shot from the edge of the box excellently tipped over by Reina nearly made it 3-1.
A very good run by Downing was then cut back to Gerrard who hit the ball just wide, a minute later Suarez had a quick counter attack supported by Downing which Suarez again wasted when he hit it well over the bar.
Suarez then slipped on the wet surface but still got a shot off which was well saved by the impressive Begovic.
The last ten minutes of the first half went by without much further action apart from Reina averting a quick counter attack by Stoke.
HT analysis - The performance of Shelvey in particular was very poor as he was expected to assist Gerrard in supporting Suarez but kept losing the ball and ultimately his composure.
Not for the first time this season we had conceded goals due to poor concentration and a lack of defensive cover at the posts for set pieces.
At half time Suso was substituted for Sterling and this almost made immediate impact when he laid a perfect ball for Suarez who again knocked the chance wide.
With us missing this chance Stoke produced another attack from a throw in which this time Walters chested down and smashed past Reina on the half volley for a 3-1 lead.
We rarely looked like getting back into the game apart from the tireless running of Suarez and the non stop effort of Gerrard. Gerrard producing a rasping shot that Begovic pushed away comfortably.
With the game sliding away Rodgers tried to salvage things but to no avail and we continue to be without a win at our bogey ground in five visits since they were promoted.
Man of the match - Steven Gerrard - showed the required desire but the quality was not produced alongside him so he therefore tried to carry our team again in vain!
Negatives :-
The tactics by Rodgers again failed us with us not picking three central defenders to combat the aerial bombardment we were asking for trouble and the lack of putting players on the posts at set pieces cost us dearly with the Kenwynne Jones goal in particular.
Downing reverted to his usual poor form after his man of the match performance in the previous game and that's everyone problem with him - he is very inconsistent unable to string two very good games together which is very disappointing.
Downing encapsulates our team with us not being able to string more than two wins together.
Suarez should not play as the main striker when the expected transfer of Sturridge goes through as expected in January because he misses too many chances which ultimately costs us points and ultimately games.
The passing the ball along the back is not a tactic that bodes well with me especially when you as losing a game 3-1 we need to produce nicer passing higher up the field and not just in our own final third where one slip up could cost us a goal.
It is one philosophy that Rodgers and I will never agree on.
Disappointing result which means that Stoke now leapfrog us into 8th and we move back to mid table 10th which frankly is not good enough.
Sunday, 23 December 2012
Downing Finally Steps Up
The emotional strains of the Justice Collective’s ‘He ain't heavy he’s my brother’ resonated around the ground pre kick-off on a week which saw the single sell 14,000 more than X Factor’s winner James Arthur’s Impossible and looking likely to be the Christmas no.1. The week finally saw the Hillsborough inquest verdicts quashed in the High Court.
Following the disappointing loss to Aston Villa, Raheem Sterling with the ink still drying on his new contract, joined Joe Allen, whose recent under whelming performances warranted an earlier stint on the bench, in being rested. Suso and Enrique, back after injury, returned to the starting line-up with Stewart Downing promoted from left-back to right-wing.
As is now our trademark, we controlled the play as if the ball belonged to us. What distinguished this game from the others was an early goal. Gerrard as he did all game sent an excellent pass out to the flanks, Downing drove outside the fullback delivered a low cross to Shelvey’s whose flick was blocked. Gerrard’s corner was brought down expertly by the unmarked Skrtel in the area, who thumped home a stunning volley high into the net past Schwarzer.
Fulham were all at sea, with the Liverpool midfield champing at the bit to rectify last weeks submissive display. The absence of Ruiz, Sidwell and Diarra left Fulham bereft of any intensity and their display must vye for the most insepid of the season. Downing was now warming to the occasion and unleashed a stunning angled drive which flashed past the post.
As usual chances came and went. Gerrard’s scissor volley from Suarez cut-back deflected off Hangeland into the path of Suarez who played the ball across the face of goal invitingly for Agger who inexplicably slid in to knock the ball over bar from barely two yards out. Richardson struck Fulham’s first real shot in anger from 20 yards which Reina saved in unorthodox fashioned with his legs as the ball swerved back at him.
Stewart Downing enjoying his most productive Premiership game in a Liverpool shirt produced the pass of the match, playing a beautifully stunned reverse ball from just outside the area to pick out Gerrard’s surging run for him to dispatch like the captain of old.
We could so easily have scored four or five before half-time. Suso, put through from a glorious Suarez pass shanked a shot wide and Suarez tried to out fox Schwarzer at his near post, but the Fulham keeper saved low down.
Rodallega replaced Kacaniklic for the second-half with Berbatov moving into the hole behind the Columbian striker. Within a minute of the restart Suarez should have ended the game as a spectical, as he screwed a half volley wide of the post. The Anfield crowd didn’t have to wait long for closure. Downing picking the ball up on the right darted in, with old Anfield faithful Jon Arne Riise freewheeling backwards as if on skates, cut in on his favoured left foot to smash his shot past Schwarzer’s desperate dive.
As was the idiosyncratic nature of Fulham’s play, they improved after our third goal looking decidedly more balanced and more of a threat from midfield and in attack testing Reina twice on the hour, with Liverpool easing up with the game all but won. Downing fired back with a swerving angled drive from 25 yards which had the Kop faithful off their feet looking to celebrate another goal from the seemingly rejuvenated winger.
Strangley Sterling and Joe Allen came on for Suso (who produced a fine performance) and Shelvey. Gerrard again roaring into the area almost squeezed a shot past Schwarzer. Suarez linking delightfully with Gerrard went on a jinking run going past three Fulham defenders despite loosing his balance almost toe poking the ball under the onrushing Schwarzer.
Jamie Carragher replaced Lucas for his obligatory final few minutes under Rodgers.
The final few minute of injury time saw a short corner from Gerrard to Enrique. The Spaniard scooted along the by-line to cut back for Suarez to tap home from close range for a comprehensive victory to move us into 8th place.
Kop-Post Man of The Match: Stewart Downing - was as positive in a Liverpool shirt as he has ever been. He showed a willingness to attack the full-back both outside and inside which was good to see and his stunning pass for Gerrard’s goal was the moment of the match as it was about vision and the delicacy of touch to deliver a pass to pick out the captain in full flow. Let’s hope he can continue his form and build into a level of consistency worthy of place in the team especially against more difficult opposition. But not to be churlish, he was excellent today and great to see him get on the score sheet and get his first Premiership assist for the club.
Comment: Excellent performance to bounce back from the catastrophic result against Villa. Gerrard was magnificent in the centre controlling the tempo of the game with some spectacular long and short range passes. Added to that with his goal and defensive work he could so easily have been the man of the match.
The whole arena joining in applause for Justice For the ‘96’ on the 20th minute mark was a proud moment for the game.
Critical Eye: With the game well and truly won with 20 minutes to go these are the types of games where having Adam Morgan on the bench to gain some vital experience is a must. It’s disappointing that a player with potential is not being giving the chance to gain the experience in a position where we have been sadly lacking all season.
Manager’s Comment: He told reporters: "I thought he [Downing] was brilliant today in every aspect of the game.
"He’s in his late 20s, an England international a few years ago and he wasn’t playing so we spoke about how he could get into the team and if he wasn’t playing then we would’ve looked at it in January.
"I think his reaction from that moment - like it has been for Jose Enrique and one or two of the others - has been outstanding. His goal today was a fantastic strike.
"His pass for Steven’s goal was superb so if he keeps playing like that he’ll be going nowhere."
He added: "Last week we disappointed [but] this week [has] been our first week we’ve been able to work right the way through from Saturday to Saturday.
"And you could see the reaction of the players. Their pressing was outstanding and the quality of their football and goals was brilliant, so it was a great three points for us and terrific performance."
Rodgers also expressed satisfaction with the season so far and looked ahead to a packed festive schedule in which he believes the Reds can kick on.
He continued: "We know the [holiday games] be tough games but our only focus is the next game.
"Obviously Stoke will be difficult but over this period there are four games in quick succession so we’ll recover the players well and make sure our focus is right because it’s a great opportunity to pick up points and keep moving forward."
Team: 23 Reina, 2 Johnson, 3 Enrique, Agger, 37 Skrtel, 8 Gerrard, 19 Downing, 21 Lucas, (Carragher - 83 min), Shelvey (Allen - 74 min), 7 Suarez, 30 Suso (Sterling - 71 min)
Subs: 1 Jones, 23 Carragher 23, 47 Wisdom, 4 Sahin, 14 Henderson, 24 Allen, 31 Sterling
Ref: Mark Clattenberg
Att: 44,570
Following the disappointing loss to Aston Villa, Raheem Sterling with the ink still drying on his new contract, joined Joe Allen, whose recent under whelming performances warranted an earlier stint on the bench, in being rested. Suso and Enrique, back after injury, returned to the starting line-up with Stewart Downing promoted from left-back to right-wing.
As is now our trademark, we controlled the play as if the ball belonged to us. What distinguished this game from the others was an early goal. Gerrard as he did all game sent an excellent pass out to the flanks, Downing drove outside the fullback delivered a low cross to Shelvey’s whose flick was blocked. Gerrard’s corner was brought down expertly by the unmarked Skrtel in the area, who thumped home a stunning volley high into the net past Schwarzer.
Fulham were all at sea, with the Liverpool midfield champing at the bit to rectify last weeks submissive display. The absence of Ruiz, Sidwell and Diarra left Fulham bereft of any intensity and their display must vye for the most insepid of the season. Downing was now warming to the occasion and unleashed a stunning angled drive which flashed past the post.
As usual chances came and went. Gerrard’s scissor volley from Suarez cut-back deflected off Hangeland into the path of Suarez who played the ball across the face of goal invitingly for Agger who inexplicably slid in to knock the ball over bar from barely two yards out. Richardson struck Fulham’s first real shot in anger from 20 yards which Reina saved in unorthodox fashioned with his legs as the ball swerved back at him.
Stewart Downing enjoying his most productive Premiership game in a Liverpool shirt produced the pass of the match, playing a beautifully stunned reverse ball from just outside the area to pick out Gerrard’s surging run for him to dispatch like the captain of old.
We could so easily have scored four or five before half-time. Suso, put through from a glorious Suarez pass shanked a shot wide and Suarez tried to out fox Schwarzer at his near post, but the Fulham keeper saved low down.
Rodallega replaced Kacaniklic for the second-half with Berbatov moving into the hole behind the Columbian striker. Within a minute of the restart Suarez should have ended the game as a spectical, as he screwed a half volley wide of the post. The Anfield crowd didn’t have to wait long for closure. Downing picking the ball up on the right darted in, with old Anfield faithful Jon Arne Riise freewheeling backwards as if on skates, cut in on his favoured left foot to smash his shot past Schwarzer’s desperate dive.
As was the idiosyncratic nature of Fulham’s play, they improved after our third goal looking decidedly more balanced and more of a threat from midfield and in attack testing Reina twice on the hour, with Liverpool easing up with the game all but won. Downing fired back with a swerving angled drive from 25 yards which had the Kop faithful off their feet looking to celebrate another goal from the seemingly rejuvenated winger.
Strangley Sterling and Joe Allen came on for Suso (who produced a fine performance) and Shelvey. Gerrard again roaring into the area almost squeezed a shot past Schwarzer. Suarez linking delightfully with Gerrard went on a jinking run going past three Fulham defenders despite loosing his balance almost toe poking the ball under the onrushing Schwarzer.
Jamie Carragher replaced Lucas for his obligatory final few minutes under Rodgers.
The final few minute of injury time saw a short corner from Gerrard to Enrique. The Spaniard scooted along the by-line to cut back for Suarez to tap home from close range for a comprehensive victory to move us into 8th place.
Kop-Post Man of The Match: Stewart Downing - was as positive in a Liverpool shirt as he has ever been. He showed a willingness to attack the full-back both outside and inside which was good to see and his stunning pass for Gerrard’s goal was the moment of the match as it was about vision and the delicacy of touch to deliver a pass to pick out the captain in full flow. Let’s hope he can continue his form and build into a level of consistency worthy of place in the team especially against more difficult opposition. But not to be churlish, he was excellent today and great to see him get on the score sheet and get his first Premiership assist for the club.
Comment: Excellent performance to bounce back from the catastrophic result against Villa. Gerrard was magnificent in the centre controlling the tempo of the game with some spectacular long and short range passes. Added to that with his goal and defensive work he could so easily have been the man of the match.
The whole arena joining in applause for Justice For the ‘96’ on the 20th minute mark was a proud moment for the game.
Critical Eye: With the game well and truly won with 20 minutes to go these are the types of games where having Adam Morgan on the bench to gain some vital experience is a must. It’s disappointing that a player with potential is not being giving the chance to gain the experience in a position where we have been sadly lacking all season.
Manager’s Comment: He told reporters: "I thought he [Downing] was brilliant today in every aspect of the game.
"He’s in his late 20s, an England international a few years ago and he wasn’t playing so we spoke about how he could get into the team and if he wasn’t playing then we would’ve looked at it in January.
"I think his reaction from that moment - like it has been for Jose Enrique and one or two of the others - has been outstanding. His goal today was a fantastic strike.
"His pass for Steven’s goal was superb so if he keeps playing like that he’ll be going nowhere."
He added: "Last week we disappointed [but] this week [has] been our first week we’ve been able to work right the way through from Saturday to Saturday.
"And you could see the reaction of the players. Their pressing was outstanding and the quality of their football and goals was brilliant, so it was a great three points for us and terrific performance."
Rodgers also expressed satisfaction with the season so far and looked ahead to a packed festive schedule in which he believes the Reds can kick on.
He continued: "We know the [holiday games] be tough games but our only focus is the next game.
"Obviously Stoke will be difficult but over this period there are four games in quick succession so we’ll recover the players well and make sure our focus is right because it’s a great opportunity to pick up points and keep moving forward."
Team: 23 Reina, 2 Johnson, 3 Enrique, Agger, 37 Skrtel, 8 Gerrard, 19 Downing, 21 Lucas, (Carragher - 83 min), Shelvey (Allen - 74 min), 7 Suarez, 30 Suso (Sterling - 71 min)
Subs: 1 Jones, 23 Carragher 23, 47 Wisdom, 4 Sahin, 14 Henderson, 24 Allen, 31 Sterling
Ref: Mark Clattenberg
Att: 44,570
Sunday, 16 December 2012
Benteke double gives reality to false dawn LFC 1 Villa 3
The pre match discussion revolved around our manager now thinking after our recent upturn in positive results that we should realistically aim for higher than fourth spot.
With the run of games lined up it was thought that we could get maybe 10 out of a possible 12 points but as a LFC fan knows we should always take things one game of a time.
With Villa playing an inexperienced side and the return of our best player Suarez it was felt by many that this would be a comfortable day which would continue building the momentum towards the target top 4.
As has been the pattern for most of our games this season we started brightly with the intent to score an early goal with Jonjo Shelvey and Raheem Sterling both denied by good pieces of late Villa defending.
Before the game speculation was also rife that Stewart Downing would be allowed to leave in January and he received a cool reception from the travelling fans against his former club. He took a speculative long shot from outside the area that went just wide.
The whole problem with us this season, even coming off the back of knocking 3 passed West Ham, has been the fact that we do not score enough goals when we are on top of teams and this game was another case in point. Aston Villa sucker punched us into conceding the first goal with both Johnson and Allen not closing the striker Benteke down and allowing him to take a shot from almost 25 yards, the low shot hitting the post low to Reina's right and surprisingly ending up in the net for the undeserved lead to Villa.
The returning Luis Suarez powered a shot into the side netting as we sought an instant reply, while Villa striker Weimann almost capitalising on a poor back pass from Glen Johnson only to find the roof of the net with his subsequent lob.
We didn't heed the warning with Villa taking a shocking 0-2 lead from an intricate passing move with Benteke and Weimann slicing our defence open like a tin of sardines with both Agger and Allen again at fault for not tracking the runs and Weimann putting the ball easily past Reina.
Even at 0-2 down at half time one still felt that it was possible to turn the game around with a second half onslaught as Man Utd had done earlier in the season, the next goal would dictate how the rest of the game would go.
Joe Cole surprisingly replaced Jonjo Shelvey at half time and for the first five minutes of the second half we threatened to get a goal back through a couple of efforts from Suarez and Downing and an incident where Agger was wrestled to the ground by Villa defender Ciaran Clark but ref Swarbrick waved away the vociferous protests and our wait for a penalty continues this season.
The game was effectively ended as a spectacle with Aston Villa counter-attacking after sloppy play by Allen again gave Benteke the chance to intercept, but the big Belgian should never have been allowed to stroll past Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger, before passing the ball into the net, without any sort of a challenge. With us now 0-3 down we were in danger of having our worst home defeat since the Premiership started but got a late consolation goal from our captain Gerrard after some decent work by Johnson.
Man of the match: Steven Gerrard- kept going despite the fact he was let down by his fellow midfielders especially today.
Negatives: Brendan Rodgers and his lineup choices.
Yes, Jonjo Shelvey was good on the left of the front three against Southampton and played well in the False 9 role at West Ham. But that doesn't mean it's going to consistently work. We all know he's better in midfield.
Why was Henderson sat behind Joe Allen when he came on? He's been part of every pertinent thing Liverpool have done recently. But we know why, and it's because Allen is Rodgers's pet poodle. Even though Allen has been clearly flagging and it's clear that he doesn’t give you anything more in an advanced position than Henderson or Shelvey, Allen had a major hand in all three goals against us vs Villa. How much clearer does it have to be he needs a rest? If the fear is that Lucas can't make 90 minutes yet, you're still making a sub anyway. So why can't Allen be that sub?
Lucas had a poor game but has a viable excuse for now as he has been out for a long time. Joe Cole was the first sub on -- and why it was for Shelvey and not Allen or someone else -- this totally infuriates me. I might not have predicted that Cole would give away the third goal that would end things, but I wasn't wholly shocked either.
Is Suso injured or has upset Rodgers as since being hauled off early once, his whole season is null and void now?
Speaking of others who need a break, last weeks' through ball for Cole earned him a temporary reprieve, but Raheem Sterling can duck no more. Clearly buckling under the weight of all that's being asked of him plus the contract speculation. His final ball still has a long way to go despite him being unlucky with several shots hitting the woodwork.
Reina again showed why I feel he has stagnated at Liverpool - he does not have a player challenging him to push up his standard of keeping, that is to the detriment of his game and the team.
With the run of games lined up it was thought that we could get maybe 10 out of a possible 12 points but as a LFC fan knows we should always take things one game of a time.
With Villa playing an inexperienced side and the return of our best player Suarez it was felt by many that this would be a comfortable day which would continue building the momentum towards the target top 4.
As has been the pattern for most of our games this season we started brightly with the intent to score an early goal with Jonjo Shelvey and Raheem Sterling both denied by good pieces of late Villa defending.
Before the game speculation was also rife that Stewart Downing would be allowed to leave in January and he received a cool reception from the travelling fans against his former club. He took a speculative long shot from outside the area that went just wide.
The whole problem with us this season, even coming off the back of knocking 3 passed West Ham, has been the fact that we do not score enough goals when we are on top of teams and this game was another case in point. Aston Villa sucker punched us into conceding the first goal with both Johnson and Allen not closing the striker Benteke down and allowing him to take a shot from almost 25 yards, the low shot hitting the post low to Reina's right and surprisingly ending up in the net for the undeserved lead to Villa.
The returning Luis Suarez powered a shot into the side netting as we sought an instant reply, while Villa striker Weimann almost capitalising on a poor back pass from Glen Johnson only to find the roof of the net with his subsequent lob.
We didn't heed the warning with Villa taking a shocking 0-2 lead from an intricate passing move with Benteke and Weimann slicing our defence open like a tin of sardines with both Agger and Allen again at fault for not tracking the runs and Weimann putting the ball easily past Reina.
Even at 0-2 down at half time one still felt that it was possible to turn the game around with a second half onslaught as Man Utd had done earlier in the season, the next goal would dictate how the rest of the game would go.
Joe Cole surprisingly replaced Jonjo Shelvey at half time and for the first five minutes of the second half we threatened to get a goal back through a couple of efforts from Suarez and Downing and an incident where Agger was wrestled to the ground by Villa defender Ciaran Clark but ref Swarbrick waved away the vociferous protests and our wait for a penalty continues this season.
The game was effectively ended as a spectacle with Aston Villa counter-attacking after sloppy play by Allen again gave Benteke the chance to intercept, but the big Belgian should never have been allowed to stroll past Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger, before passing the ball into the net, without any sort of a challenge. With us now 0-3 down we were in danger of having our worst home defeat since the Premiership started but got a late consolation goal from our captain Gerrard after some decent work by Johnson.
Man of the match: Steven Gerrard- kept going despite the fact he was let down by his fellow midfielders especially today.
Negatives: Brendan Rodgers and his lineup choices.
Yes, Jonjo Shelvey was good on the left of the front three against Southampton and played well in the False 9 role at West Ham. But that doesn't mean it's going to consistently work. We all know he's better in midfield.
Why was Henderson sat behind Joe Allen when he came on? He's been part of every pertinent thing Liverpool have done recently. But we know why, and it's because Allen is Rodgers's pet poodle. Even though Allen has been clearly flagging and it's clear that he doesn’t give you anything more in an advanced position than Henderson or Shelvey, Allen had a major hand in all three goals against us vs Villa. How much clearer does it have to be he needs a rest? If the fear is that Lucas can't make 90 minutes yet, you're still making a sub anyway. So why can't Allen be that sub?
Lucas had a poor game but has a viable excuse for now as he has been out for a long time. Joe Cole was the first sub on -- and why it was for Shelvey and not Allen or someone else -- this totally infuriates me. I might not have predicted that Cole would give away the third goal that would end things, but I wasn't wholly shocked either.
Is Suso injured or has upset Rodgers as since being hauled off early once, his whole season is null and void now?
Speaking of others who need a break, last weeks' through ball for Cole earned him a temporary reprieve, but Raheem Sterling can duck no more. Clearly buckling under the weight of all that's being asked of him plus the contract speculation. His final ball still has a long way to go despite him being unlucky with several shots hitting the woodwork.
Reina again showed why I feel he has stagnated at Liverpool - he does not have a player challenging him to push up his standard of keeping, that is to the detriment of his game and the team.
Sunday, 9 December 2012
Liverpool Cubs Show Heart of Lions
Returning to the capital without the services of Luis Suarez, Brendan Rodgers went loaded with midfielders with Shelvey in the attack zone leading the line in the modern parlance of a 'false no 9' and Downing, the only change from the home league win against Southampton getting a rare start. Adam Morgan after impressing in representative games for the club at all levels gained a well deserved spot on the bench alongside Suso and after his impressive goal winning appearance against Udinese, Jordan Henderson must have counted himself unlucky.
West Ham without the services of Liverpool's Andy Carroll, still out injured, but were captained by Liverpool born Kevin Nolan. Mohamed Diame's return the starting line-up after he dominant performance in the second-half meant Lucas, Allen and Gerrard were going to receive a stiff test against a combative opponent. Diame had the first strike of any note which deflected off Carlton Cole and just past the post with Pepe Reina wrong footed.
Glen Johnson whose form has been imperious this season broke the deadlock in magnificent style. Picking the ball on the right from a Gerrard pass, with West Ham defenders backing off as he cut in, the defender unleashed a tremendous 20 yard drive into the top corner past the flailing Jaaskelainen. Minutes later in should have been two, with Johnson the tormentor slicing through from the right and playing the ball across to Sterling whose whipped shot failed to hit the target.
West Ham began to ramp up with the pressure with long balls aimed at Carlton Cole pinning Liverpool back with Skrtel and Agger defending heroically at the back and Diame's power running causing carnage in the Liverpool midfield. Liverpool suffered a blow with Jose Enrique having to be substituted surprisingly with Joe Cole coming on and Stewart Downing moving into the left back position. Liverpool were missing Suarez ability to take pressure off by making something out of nothing and acting as the first defender and came as know surprise when, if slightly unfortunate, Allen in charging down Diame's shot was adjudged to have handballed. Noble dispatched the penalty.
West Ham's increasing pressure and physicality was posing questions which Liverpool were finding difficult to answer. Having not brought a centre-half with two on the bench Liverpool paid the price with Gerrard heading an own goal from Matt Jarvis cross. A sweeping moving down the left sent Downing
The opening 15 minutes of the second-half was more of the same with Diame running the show, Jarvis rediscovering his old Wolves form and Carlton Cole doing a serious impression of Didier Drogba giving the Liverpool backline a serious working over. Increasingly, West Ham dominance stifled Liverpool's passing and Suarez ability to get something out of nothing showed how bereft Liverpool can look without their talisman. A low cross from Downing, dummied by Joe Cole through to Sterling was tipped over by Jaaskelainen was one of the very few adventures forward. Minutes later, from a lovely whipped crossed from Downing, Shelvey headed wide with very little pressure.
Against the run of play Joe Cole scored a stunning equaliser. A superb move ended with a Raheem Sterling one-two with Shelvey and pass through to Cole who smashed the ball home into the far corner with a left foot drive. Jordan Henderson's subsitution and the injury to Diame gave Liverpool the stimulus we needed. Henderson roared down the right and delivered a sumptuous near post ball which Collins, under pressure from Shelvey was unluckly to poke in for an own goal. Rodgers, knowing the erial threat replaced Allen with Coates.
When the shock of five minutes injury-time subsided, Liverpool should have a penalty with Jonjo Shelvey showing his learnt a thing or two from Luis Suarez slaloming through the defence, to be brought down by Reid, which the referee deemed as good tackle. We controlled the game through the 5 minutes injury time and in the end performed manfully to get over the physicality of a determined West Ham team.
Man of The Match: Glen Johnson - A superb performance by the England right. Was Liverpool's main threat in attack and was so potent looked like a fully fledged right winger, cutting in with a vengeance.
Comment: Liverpool withstood West Ham's physical barrage and in the end came out the stronger, with no small thanks to Jordan Henderson who gave the midfield the drive and power it had lacked once Diame began to threaten. Raheem Sterling thoughtful play was there for all to see. He was stifled for a good part of the game, but came more into the game in the last quarter, releasing the ball earlier and it was his key pass which set Joe Cole free to equalise. Jonjo Shelvey performed with the heart of lion showing he has the right stuff and came close to being our Man of the Match.
Happy 18th Birthday Raheem Sterling
Michael Owen's pronouncement that he played too many games early on to the detriment of his later career has the warning bells ringing for Liverpool's modern day prodigy Raheem Sterling.
Owen enjoyed a prolific start to his Liverpool and England career. Enjoying a World Cup and a treble winning season before he was 22 catapulting him to the top of the game. But injuries had already begun to blight the his career. Who'll ever forget his crawling off the pitch in the 2006 World Cup with a debilitating knee injury. Was it over compensation in building up his leg muscles? We'll never know.
But lessons can be learnt. Raheem Sterling has started 22 out of 26 games and like Owen was in his day, is not just effective, but quite simply one of Liverpool's best players. Does that mean Rodgers has to play him in every game or should he ration his games with a view to the future?
Owen enjoyed a prolific start to his Liverpool and England career. Enjoying a World Cup and a treble winning season before he was 22 catapulting him to the top of the game. But injuries had already begun to blight the his career. Who'll ever forget his crawling off the pitch in the 2006 World Cup with a debilitating knee injury. Was it over compensation in building up his leg muscles? We'll never know.
The former England star says "It is my genuine opinion I have become injury prone due to overplaying at a young age," he said. "In my case, I certainly feel like I played too much too soon.
Young players will always want to play due to natural exuberance. But take Ryan Giggs who has suffered with suspect hamstrings throughout his career, Ferguson's man management throughout has given him longevity. Giggs is still a member of United's squad in 2012 in his fortieth year, but by the time Owen approached his 24 birthday he had played over 300 games for Liverpool and England, where Giggs had played just 112. Owen said, "My body made me pay for pushing it to the limit too often. My hamstring snapped in two and it was at that point (March 1999 at Elland Road) that my ability to perform unimpeded was finished."
 |
| Raheem Sterling 18 today |
But lessons can be learnt. Raheem Sterling has started 22 out of 26 games and like Owen was in his day, is not just effective, but quite simply one of Liverpool's best players. Does that mean Rodgers has to play him in every game or should he ration his games with a view to the future?
At the moment the club is in a quandary. The foolhardy dealings in the last transfer market has forced the manager's hand. While it has shown that Liverpool has prodigious talent coming through the ranks with Suso, Wisdom, Sterling and the potentially brilliant Jordan Ibe champing at the bit, the lack of depth as only highlighted the need to bolster the first team.
Sterling is now a firm favourite with the Anfield faithful, but the reliance on the youngster is fraut with danger with a player only just turned 18. That's why it's so important to hear Brendan Rodgers sitting down with Sterling, not just in his contract negotiations, but with the aim to prolong his longevity in the game.
Sterling is now a firm favourite with the Anfield faithful, but the reliance on the youngster is fraut with danger with a player only just turned 18. That's why it's so important to hear Brendan Rodgers sitting down with Sterling, not just in his contract negotiations, but with the aim to prolong his longevity in the game.
“I’ve talked at length to Raheem and gone through what I’d call the core elements of his development.
“First and foremost, there’s the commitment from us as a club to him, and, likewise, from him to us. “Then, after that, we’ve talked about the plan and the development, going forwards over this period of time.
“It’s then his responsibility to deliver. Because he’ll have all the tools here at Liverpool Football Club – one of the top football clubs in the world – in order to progress. But that is the responsibility of the player. "
“So there’s a plan in place for him – there’s a commitment there – and he’s a real good kid.
“It’s quite low profile, really. We just want to make sure it’s right for him and he feels it, and I believe he does. I will get it done sooner or later.”
“It’s quite low profile, really. We just want to make sure it’s right for him and he feels it, and I believe he does. I will get it done sooner or later.”
Rodgers sees it as important to be there for his young players offering the experience and guidance of his 22 years in the game.
Michael Owen says he now cringes at his quote made while Gerard Houllier was attempted to rest him, he said at the time, "'I will rest when I'm 40.' Owen with all the experience and knowledge of a champion striker should, at almost 33 years of age, be moving into the last throes of a career with movement and guile intact terrifying defences. That he can barely string two games together is a warning in how to look after young talent.
Raheem Sterling is much converted around the league. On his 18th birthday today, if he wants to know about longevity in the game he only need speak to his club captain whose early years were blighted by injury and Jamie Carragher who has always been meticulous in his preparation and has never taken the gift of being a professional footballer for granted and according to Brendan Rodgers neither does Sterling.
Raheem Sterling is much converted around the league. On his 18th birthday today, if he wants to know about longevity in the game he only need speak to his club captain whose early years were blighted by injury and Jamie Carragher who has always been meticulous in his preparation and has never taken the gift of being a professional footballer for granted and according to Brendan Rodgers neither does Sterling.
Friday, 7 December 2012
Henderson goal helps us top group !! Udinese 0 Liverpool 1
Match report by David Douglas (dedlfc)
With our inspirational captain left behind in Liverpool due to illness and in preparation for Sunday's league game vs West Ham.
The onus turned to some the peripheral midfielders to take heed of Rodgers request last week to step up to the plate and provide goals for the team.
The game started with a worrying mid-air collision with Skrtel thankfully recovering well and being able to play the whole game.
Another collision caused a bloody nose to Sahin after 8 mins which he eventually came off for Shelvey after 11 mins.
Poor concentration by Allen gave Udinese an early chance to counter attack which fortunately came to nothing.
The first real chance fell to Udinese from a cross which the Udinese striker Ranegie headed just wide with Reina struggling to get there.
Udinese talented Fabrini lunged dangerously at Shelvey and was lucky to stay on the pitch picking up the match's first yellow card.
Perrera"s produced a classy chip which Reina confidently touched over.
The big moment of the match ocurred when a corner was laid back by Suso to be drilled home by Henderson. Suso's awareness throughout the game was excellent.
The confidence they had nearly generated a second decisive goal with a very intricate move which led to a disallowed goal for Glen Johnson after 26 minutes.
The first half in general was controlled very well by a midfield of Allen and Henderson dovetailing well together.
Suso then had a great chance to make it 2-0 when he failed to convert a headed chance. The ultra talented Spaniard then played in Suarez who smashed his shot wildly wide when he had an opportunity to find a better placed team mate, but that is the unpredictability of Suarez.
We again nearly sealed the game with an overhead kick by Suarez which was tipped over by our former keeper Padelli on the stroke of half-time. Suarez & Padelli had to be kept apart from one another after a dispute when leaving the field for half-time.
Early in the second half Suarez set-up another golden chance for Suso to wrap up the game but cut across his shot with his weaker foot.
Shortly afterwards Enrique's cross was volleyed by Henderson and in turn tipped over by Padelli - the dazzling feet of Suarez then contrived to make a chance for himself which was again tipped over by Padelli who was having a great game against his former employers.
Suso was then taken off for Sterling after 70 mins greeted with a rapturous round of applause.
The only thing missing from Suso's game is the confidence that a goal will bring as he had another very encouraging game constantly being an attacking threat and extremely comfortable on the ball.
Shortly after coming on Sterling completed a smart turn which tricked defender Pasquale into fouling him causing the Udinese defender to receive a second yellow card.
Udinese's dangerman Di Natale was brought on with 5 mins left to try and snatch a late equaliser which would knock us out of Europe for the rest of the season
Luckily for us his first touch happened to be the last kick of the game and he uncharacteristically hit the ball over.
That moment was when the football gods looked down on us and transpired to give us a defining moment of our season and put us through to the next round.
Man of the match - Jordan Henderson
The much maligned player for a change showed the Anfield faithful the potential that he could like Lucas before him prove everyone wrong and become a vital player - with selfless running and an excellent work rate, pushing on and beyond Suarez to provide an option.
Negatives - As always the chances not being taken such as the couple of chances that Suso didn't convert which on another day could have conspired to knocked us out of Europe.
Positives - Defensively we now have 4 clean sheets out of the last 6 games which has shown a return to the stability and assurance with Carragher and Skrtel particularly impressing in this game with their defensive awareness and positioning.
We are through and won another game without Suarez being the match winner, as stated by Rodgers other players need to step up and its good to see the manager's request has been answered positively - lets hope it continues against West Ham on Sunday with Suarez suspended for the game.
Team - Reina, Johnson, Enrique, Carragher, Skrtel, Henderson, Sahin, Allen, Suso, Downing, Suarez
Subs - Jones, Cole, Coates, Sterling, Shelvey, Assaidi, Wisdom
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Agger Heads Liverpool To Victory
Daniel Agger's headed winner just before half-time was nothing less than Liverpool deserved having controlled possession and missed a host of chances to have put the game beyond doubt. The win gave the home team our first back to back to win since September 2011 and provided a strong filip following the midweek defeat at Spurs.
Lucas Leiva returning to the fold since injuring himself in the pre-match warm up against Man City back in September, provided the licence for Shelvey to provide support to Suarez. That Steven Gerrard had probably his most influential passing game of the season was down in no small part to the calming influence of Lucas in the holding role and it’s a great tribute to the Brazilian's resilience that he was substituted two minutes from time.
Brendan Rodgers said “I thought he was excellent. He’s come so far in training, I felt I needed to get him into the games,” added Rodgers.
“He’s another piece to what we’re trying to do here and you seen the difference he makes when he’s in the team.
“He offers the team great stability and he can deal with the ball, which is important.
“My plan was to give him 60-65 minutes, but he was comfortable and it was probably only in the last 10 minutes that he started to tire, which is when I took him off.
“It was a very, very good performance for him and it’s great to see him back playing.”
The opening skirmishes saw Kirby born Rickie Lambert flash a shot past the post. Liverpool through the excellent Glen Johnson went close with a near post flick following Suarez cross. Liverpool's led by Gerrard, Suarez, Shelvey and the excellent Johnson psythed through the Southampton rearguard action at will.
As is the way these days the lack of potency infront of goal causes tension throughout the Anfiled faithfull. Jonjo Shelvey and Luis Suarez had shots saved by keeper Paulo Gazzaniga. Shlevey again, put through by a dainty Gerrard ball, unleashed a rasping angled drive reminiscent of Gerrard in his heyday which smashed against the far post.
It seemed Liverpool's possession would not be rewarded particularly when Suarez free-kick struck the crossbar, though this time Johnson picked up the rebound and cutting outside crossed a little behind Agger who athletically produced a powerful swivel header into the top corner of the net.
The one-way traffic continued in the second-half with Enrique screwing a toe poke just wide and had a fierce drive well saved by Gazzaniga, by far Southampton's busiest player. On another day Suarez could have added to his so far prolific season, he missed yet another golden chance, shooting wide when it seemed easier to score.
Southampton unlike Spurs in midweek were reduced to speculative potshots from distance and never looked like being able to peg back Agger's goal. But as with too many games this season the lack of a killer instinct upfront keeps opponents in the game when they should be well and truly buried.
Liverpool's resolve will be sorely tested against West Ham, without Suarez who picked up a fifth yellow card of the season for a needless handball.
Kop-Post Man of The Match: Steven Gerrard - Produced a master-class of passing, probing and keeping the game flowing. Some of his passes inside the full-back were a delight and in having Lucas back to add assurance to the Liverpool midfield we just may see Gerrard adding to his personal scoring column.
Comment: Excellent to see Lucas Leiva back with his understated, but effective play. It will be interesting to see how Joe Allen is deployed in the future, especially as it was he and not the returning Brazilian who was substituted with twenty minutes to go.
Brendan Rodgers: "The game should have been put to bed well before it was.
"No matter how much you dominate the game, if it's still only 1-0 going into the final 10 minutes it can always offer you a bit of a challenge where you have to defend.
"There's no question we should have been out of sight, but the most important thing is it was a terrific performance and another win at Anfield. We continue with another three points and moving up the league."
Team: 25 Reina; 2 Johnson; 3 Jose Enrique; 5 Agger; 37 Skrtel; 8 Gerrard; 21 Lucas (Carragher - 88'); 24 Allen (Henderson - 69'); 31 Sterling; 33 Shelvey; 7 Suarez
Substitutes: 1 Jones; 23 Carragher; 47 Wisdom; 4 Sahin; 14 Henderson; 19 Downing; 30 Suso
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)