Hitting the post twice, a missed penalty and a miss-kick four yards out with nothing but grass between the player and the net says it all. Hitting the wood work twenty-one times this season and six missed penalties suggest this is proof positive there is a lack of cutting edge in front of goal. We’ll take a more considered look behind our inability in front of the ‘onion bag’ later.
Liverpool were out of the traps like the proverbial greyhound with two corners in the opening minutes with Suarez and Kuyt and the midfield pressing high up the pitch. Even so, Arsenal showed just how dangerous they could be on the break when Walcott’s snap volley from a sharp angle had Reina pulling off a brilliant right handed diving save. Two moves within minutes highlighted Liverpool’s problems this season, first Henderson in a great position from a Suarez pass, admittedly not a great one, failed to to show the composure to either make space for himself for a shot or play in a colleague in a better position. Second, after being put through by Kuyt, Downing failed to show the aggression to ward off Sagna’s last ditch tackle.
By now we were overwhelmingly the dominant force with Suarez looking back to his best and his understanding with Kuyt posing a threat to Arsenal at every turn. Spearing holding the midfield in a studious fashion allowing Adam to be a threat further up the pitch. The indomitable duo of Suarez and Kuyt linked in the area with one-two which put the Uruguyan through to turn Koscielny to be brought down by Szczesny. Kuyt, having pulled rank over Adam, had his penalty saved and the resultant rebound which was again brilliantly saved by the Arsenal keeper.
Five minutes was all it took for Liverpool to finally to take the lead with Spearing delivering an inch perfect pass to Kuyt in the inside channel who in turn played the ball out to Henderson free-wheeling down the right, the ex-Mackem knocked in unremarkable ball into the area which Koscielny inexplicably sliced into his own goal, but it was no more than the exerted pressure deserved. The pressure continued with Liverpool on ocassions tearing Arsenal apart. Adam marauding up field (yes, I said Adam), before finding Kuyt who in turn found Henderson. The Liverpool midfielder went for precision rather than power allowing Szczesny to push away the shot, leaving Suarez to slam the rebound against the post from an acute angle.
Koscielny's own goal put's Liverpool on front
Arsenal were soon level with Robin van Persie heading home from a glorious cross from Sagna. He left the Liverpool vice-captain trailing in his wake and not even able to get in a challenge and Carragher’s demeanour suggested he knew he was at fault, but he is too great a defender for the club to denigrate, if only to say that we have Coates with younger legs and of international experience ready to fill the breach in Daniel Agger’s enforced absence.
Suarez produced a piece of world class dribbling when slaloming through, as if he coming down the piste at Lillehammer, passing four Arsenal defenders before squeezing off an early shot which was well saved. Charlie Adam then found himself out on the left and produced the type of clipped cross which we want to see consistently from Downing - Kuyt, intelligently ran across from the right to expertly nick the ball with the outside of his boot against the post, the 21st we’ve struck the woodwork time this season, the one table Liverpool club are running away with this season.
The game’s flow changed irrevocably minutes after interval after Arteta’s unfortunate injury. The play seemed to flat-line with only a few skirmishes until Adam produced a stunning reverse ball finding Kuyt in acres of space, who played a sumptuous cross which Kelly inexplicably missed with the net beckoning from 4 yards. Liverpool’s dominance was almost total, so much so that it was hard to recognise that Benayoun had actually been a part of this match following his substitution. Downing after been played through on the left by Enrique reached the by-line only to play the cross into the waiting arms of the Arsenal keeper with Suarez rushing into an almost certain tap in had it been a cut back a few a yards further. Charlie Adam’s not for the first time this season with Kuyt to the left and Henderson clean through on the right chose to ignore his better position colleagues, thus throwing away a great chance.
Dalglish seemed caught in a quandary in failing to recognise the obvious problem of his side’s inability to take chances and the need to win the match. Bellamy as has been proven this season is the club’s best finisher and as such to be brought on at such a late stage was neglectful and wasteful. Robin van Persie went on to win the game with a last ditch side-footed shows the difference a top-class finisher will have and is something which may cost us dear in the pursuit of a Champions League Place.
An in depth look at the table of top Premier League scorers tells a sorry tale or woe with Craig Bellamy and Luis Suarez languishing joint 29th with 6 goals respectively:
| Premier League 2011-2012 - Top Scorers |
| Position | Player | Goals | Team |
| 1 | Robin van Persia | 25 | Arsenal |
| 2 | Wayne Rooney | 17 | Man UT |
| 3 | Sergio Auger | 16 | Man City |
| 3 | Djembe Ba | 16 | Newcastle United |
| 5 | Edin Dzeko | 13 | Man City |
| 5 | Yakubu Aiyegbeni | 13 | Blackburn |
| 7 | Emmanuel Adebayor | 11 | Tottenham Hotspurs |
| 7 | Mario Balotelli | 11 | Man City |
| 9 | Frank Lampard | 10 | Chelsea |
| 9 | Danny Graham | 10 | Swansea |
| 9 | Grant Holt | 10 | Norwich City |
| 9 | Clint Dempsey | 10 | Fulham |
| 9 | Steven Fletcher | 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 14 | Daniel Sturridge | 10 | Chelsea |
| 14 | Gareth Bale | 9 | Tottenham Hotspurs |
| 14 | Darren Bent | 9 | Aston Villa |
| 14 | Peter Odemwingie | 9 | West Bromwich Albion |
| 18 | Jermain Defoe | 8 | Tottenham Hotspurs |
| 18 | Heidar Helguson | 8 | Queen Park Rangers |
| 18 | Steve Morison | 8 | Norwich City |
| 18 | Javier Hernandez | 8 | Manchester United |
| 22 | Anthony Pilkington | 7 | Norwich City |
| 22 | Peter Crouch | 7 | Stoke City |
| 22 | Ivan Klasnic | 7 | Bolton Wanderers |
| 22 | Bobby Zamora | 7 | Queens Park Rangers |
| 22 | Dimitar Berbatov | 7 | Manchester United |
| 22 | Rafael van der Vaart | 7 | Tottenham Hotspurs |
| 22 | Scott Sinclair | 7 | Swansea City |
| 29 | Shane Long | 6 | West Bomwich |
| 29 | Craig Bellamy | 6 | Liverpool |
| 29 | Danny Welbeck | 6 | Manchester United |
| 29 | Nani | 6 | Manchester United |
| 29 | Luis Suarez | 6 | Liverpool |
Norwich and West Bromwich Albion are now just four points behind us in 9th and 10th places respectively - Norwich have three players Holt (10 goals), Steve Morison (8) and Andy Pilkington (7) - West Bromwich Albion have Peter Odemwingie (9) and Shane Long (6) above Bellamy and Suarez which adds empirical data to the factual positions of why these teams are only four points behind Liverpool and why we are lagging behind the top six teams. The obvious thought is that Liverpool owe the very fact of even being in with a shout of fighting for a Champions League place to the solidity of our defence.
Man City and United have multiple scorers in the top forty of Premiership goal scorers and it keeps them ahead even when their defences are not on top. Yesterday, we dominated a top four side, but our defence was unable to get us out of jail this time. As magnificent as Luis Suarez is, he failed to score once again and as creative and immense as Liverpool were, in front of goal we fell short not for the first time this season and it is the missing ingredient in terms of being the enabler to make the transition into a top four position.
One hopes that Damian Comolli’s recent statement’s is not taken too literally, he said
''It is early days. We will probably make some adjustments in the summer but nothing that we've done before,''
''We signed nine players since Kenny came back so there will be a few adjustments but nothing massive.
''We have done the hard work and now it is a question of making some adjustments in certain positions.
''Kenny has said it several times that we have a very competitive squad and all positions are covered by two or three players, quality players, and we have a lot of young players coming through as well.''
Let’s hope the adjustments Comolli mentions are quality additions able to help the club step up to another level or else another false dawn could be on the horizon.
Where the League is concerned, being 10 points behind Arsenal one hopes that Dalglish will blood some of the club’s much vaunted youngsters over the remainder of the season and with that in mind it was interesting and pleasing to see Raheem Sterling involved in the pre-match warm-up.
Raheem Sterling involved pre-match (Daily Mail)
Kop-Post Man of the Match: Luis Suarez – back to his stunning best leaving defenders trailing in his wake, but unfortunately on the loosing side with his and the team’s failure to capitalise in great positions
Again, it just showed what we are missing someone like RVP, world class and a quality striker makes all the difference.
ReplyDeleteLFC scored 26 goals and his scored 25 goals alone.
I thought we started off well and should have been three up, but it’s the same old thing poor performance in from of the goal.
We need to get a quality striker in, Andy Carroll is not doing it for LFC, and I don’t think he will, time is not the answer.
We brought him in for scoring goals, simply as that, not running around the pitch trying to look busy.
Very disappointed we did npt take this chance.
I was absolutely gutted yesterday and to concede in time added on.
DeleteThis has been the story of our season, play well, miss chances and lose the game. So many points dropped due to our inability to convert
chances.
At least we played well if that is any consolation.
..Well that was a bit depressing wasn’t it? We played so well and came away with nothing, story of our season to be honest. The football has been some of the best I’ve seen from a Liverpool side but we can’t stick the ball in the net. My Champions league hopes are gone because we are not currently a team that’s capable of clawing back a 10 point deficit over 12 games.
DeleteIt’s disappointing because this year we had a real chance with Chelsea imploding and Arsenal being fairly mediocre. Any sort of consistency would have got us 4th but have continually dropped points in games we should have won comfortably.
Boo hoo the dream is over for another year. Just hope now that we can keep the squad together and build on it in the Summer. Camolli recently said that it wouldn’t be a big Summer in terms of transfer activity. If we get nothing else we desperately need a striker, maybe even two.
agree
Deletewith likes of Chelsea and Arsenal not playing to standard and dropping points, we should have been capable of picking up points and winning games, but our lack of scoring and killing games off, seems to be the weakness in the team.
We can build on what we got, and become more stronger because our football is much better but desperately need of a striker.
RedAlert
I agree Baz. I went to watch Fulham yesterday - their finishing was exceptional. The new striker has scored five goals this since he joined in January - off five chances!
DeleteI never expected to get in the top 4 because there are better teams than us.... The fact we won a trophy is quite a result in my book!!
DeleteStill have a great chance of the FA Cup, which aint bad considering our club has become a complete joke outfit this season off the field.
Just read that we are now 1 point better off than we were at this stage last year. That’s pretty poor given the money we’ve spent. I think we would all agree that we were expecting more this season, A cup in the cabinet is nice but our league form has been abysmal – 5 points from our last 21 is bottom of the table stuff, I wonder how poorly we have to finish for FSG to start thinking about new management options?
ReplyDeleteBarry, I know Abramovich is a little trigger happy but Chelsea are in a better league position than we are, in the Champions League, FA Cup and still their manager gets the bullet. I doubt any owner will be able to put up with those sorts of results for too long. A lot of the management sackings recently appear to have come sooner than expected – e.g. Mick McCarthy, Neil Warnock, etc. Expectations from owners and fans alike seems to have gone up a notch. When I hear stuff about not buying any more players, it seems to suggest that we believe we can just carry on as we are.
DeleteLike crawling through the desert and finding water when you haven't won anything anything in 6 years a Carling Cup win is huge. But one wonders if this was anyone else, but Dalglish, with WBA, Norwich, and Stoke breathing down our necks whether our current plight would be seen as unacceptable?
DeleteYes, we played well, but when you have a striker (Suarez) who looks like a world beater on the ball, but doesn't score goals and the player who has shown himself to be most assured in front of goal at the club coming of the bench with hardly anytime left in the game, questions have got to be asked. I've tried to give Henderson the benefit of the doubt, because he is often played out of position, but after this amount of time you look for something that says to you "yeah, might be playing out of position, but he shows that little bit of verve in attack or power in defensive situations that when he finally gets in his rightful position he'll knock the door down". But right now I just can't see it. I was listening to a journalist talking about him yesterday and he mentioned a conversation he was having with coach, who said "Henderson is the type of player that get's managers sacked. He's not good enough in attack and falls short in defence."
I'm not disappointed because like everyone else, I've seen this too many times this season. Barry's correct, we do need a striker, but we've been saying this from the start of the season. Even Newcastle has four strikers at their disposal and I said at the start of the season we needed a poacher just to offer something different. Also, with having to look this up, must have the most unproductive midfield in the Premiership. Watched the Man U game yesterday, hoping forlornly that Spurs would step up to the plate - Man U were played off the park in the first half and a section of the second with Welbeck hardly getting a kick. But once again someone else steps up, Ashley Young. We don't have match winners, pure and simple. Arsenal have one, he got two chances and that's all he needed.
Comolli and Dalglish's statements about the transfer market came on the back of the euphoria of winning the Carling Cup and the fact that Liverpool's transfer policy is now based on players coming through the ranks and buying in young players. We've spent millions on young players and with 13 games to go it would be sensible if we started putting some of these on the bench. For instance, Sterling was in the pre-match warm-up, surely a place on the bench would be more helpful at this stage, especially when right now we don't have a winger capable of beating a full-back let alone crossing the ball into dangerous areas (Downing!) and Henderson receives the ball in critical areas numerous times, but his end product is so indecisive on the right or even centrally, that can't help but one wonder what he is showing in training that makes him so invaluable or is it Kenny going into defence mode?
And Jamie Carragher, his reaction said it all after the first goal... he didn't even get in a challenge... imagine Jamie Carragher not getting in a challenge!
With the amount of money spent in the summer in reality we should have made a better effort to get 4th place
ReplyDeleteDalglish has bought Charlie Adam who ultimately failed at his last big club Glasgow Rangers to make the step up and has for me so far shown he should be an impact player or game changer rather than a regular starter-that is all he has proven to us this season
Henderson we overspent on a player who is not ready for this level for maybe another 2-3 seasons
Carroll - there has been glimpses in games of what he potentially could offer the team but not enough for the price we paid for him.
Downing - at the start of the season and the last couple of games he showed us why we bought him but in between he has been very poor- a poorer version of Ashley Young and to get where we want to be a more consistent level is expected from him.
To sum up our league performances I would just like to say it is simply not acceptable to be so far behind Chelsea who are 5th(currently 7 pts behind) when they have had a terrible season.
We have fared better in the cups but long term we have to look to be more competitive in the league to do this we need to look at where we have struggled- i.e not clinical enough (we desperately need a clinical goalscorer- Soldado fits the bill for me) we need more creativity and goals from midfield(Adam, Downing and co) have not helped take the pressure off the strikers by chipping in with a minimum of 8-10 goals each) until this is addressed we will never compete for titles on a regular basis.
The Arsenal game again showed us no amount of corners won or possession matters- all that is important is having players capable of that cold hearted finish ala Van Persie- two shots two goals! Until we purchase such a player like Soldado we will have no chance of 4th place!
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
Agree.
DeleteFigure probably £84m for Dalglish and co to spend, that should have guaranteed top 3 by signing proper players who showed plenty of passion!
RedAlert
It is not just about passion - its about better quality of players - we have obtained 5 points from the last 21 points which as Baz has just said is relegation form - not the form of a squad of players that has been put together spending over £100m - I know it takes time for a squad to gel but they have been together almost a whole season and the home form alone shows that they are just not good enough.
DeleteI am sure the £20m spent on Henderson could have been used more wisely on a striker that could get us another 10-15 goals to get us closer to where we wanted to be at the start of the season - purchasing Henderson alone has been a major disaster to our aspirations to getting back into the Champions League.
When it comes to football if you look some of teams like WBA, Stoke, Everton, and Fulham, these teams do not have to spend a lot of money to get a lot from their players. When I see this, I am unhappy because those teams play with more heart and Liverpool play as if they are from the first division. This is BS.
DeleteMerv
If all the attacking talent we have in the first team have misfired why haven't we tried a youth player like Adam Morgan or Raheem Sterling?
DeleteIf we really wanted to get that 4th place we would have taken a gamble in January and get a striker that can finish the chances instead of relying on players that have proven to be 7 points worse than a Chelsea side that is very poor.
If we lose all our young talent like mercurial Suso and the pace of Raheem Sterling then we only have ourselves to blame - don't think we have tried anything different to stop the slump in points - if Dirk Kuyt or Downing are not providing goals from the wings bring in a Toni Silva, a Suso, a Morgan or a Sterling - don't just rest on your laurels you need to go for it and have young fresh talent on the bench to be the shock elements but we just stick with the same players week in week out with no change in emphasis.
Since Saturdays defeat both Gerrard and Henderson have come out and said that we can still get 4th. Gerrard says that we can't drop many more pints well 1 win and 2 draws in our last 7 league games which included a 3-1 thumping at the hands of the mighty Bolton Wanderers and being held to a draw at Anfield by Stoke should tell him that the chances are points will indeed be dropped. Also, has he not got a strange sense of déjà vu about having to claw back hefty deficits at this stage of the season, surely experience tells him that it just isn't going to happen, we were in exactly the same position and spouting the same nonsense this time last season. I'm bloody sick of hearing it. Sometimes I wonder what planet these guys live on.
ReplyDeleteBaz, we'd better start stepping it up quick smart. Unless we win the FA Cup or finish at least 5th our season starts two weeks (August 2) before the big guns!
DeleteI totally agree - like Arsenal thinking they are gonna win 5-0 tonight - it is an impossible dream.
DeleteWe have dropped too many points especially at home to say that we can now go on a run good enough to first bring back the deficit then get past all the other teams.
Sorry I may sound rude but Henderson needs to focus on producing as an individual for the team first on a regular basis rather than spouting off statements.
It very obvious we cannot finish fourth, I do not care what the players are saying. They are the same ones that fail us.
DeleteSame team, differnt manager.... same team, same results
ReplyDeleteWBA old manager different team better results.
ReplyDeleteMerv
And when Rafa wins the Champions Lge with Chelski :-)
ReplyDeleteThen Roman will be happy to get what he has long been waiting for. Maybe he will win that bet at last.
ReplyDeleteMerv
Guys - we have to see this season as a very big disappointment on the league front we have not had European football so have no excuses on why we didn't put up a better effort in the league - at the beginning of the season we complained about missing chances and that it would come good further into the season - well it hasn't and someone has to be held responsible for that - my main gripe as earlier is that we haven't tried to do something different to change things.
DeleteI am not sure why we can't lay the blame on the door of KD. We are entertainers and not winners.
DeleteHitting the bar or post or creating chances do not give you points, goals do. The way SG has been shooting in recent time is worrying.
We are winners because we won the Carling Cup but we expect and should have higher expectations every year not just settle for competing for 4th place.
DeleteThe players brought in by Comolli and Dalglish have not been good enough and if we do not address this in the summer with better players we will not get anywhere near 4th place next year.
Questions have to start being asked –our league record is not good enough and needs to be a whole lot better nextseason from the start or we may be in the same situation as quite a few otherclubs come January 2013 and requiring a new manager to change things
The demented ramblings of a multi-millionaire
ReplyDeleteHere's the ramblings of a deluded man for those who want a laugh, so far
this season we have 39 points from a possible 78 but fear not all of a
sudden we're going to become invincible.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted they cannot afford to drop
any more points if they want to keep alive their slim hopes of finishing
in the top four.
Saturday's defeat to Arsenal has left the Reds trailing the Gunners by
ten points in the race for fourth spot and a place in next season's UEFA
Champions League.
Gerrard, who missed the Arsenal game through injury, has rallied his
team-mates not to give up on fourth place and fight until the end of the
season.
"We still have plenty of points to play for in the league, but it means
we can't afford to drop too many more points between now and the middle
of May if we want to get back into the top four"
"A few weeks ago, people were writing off Arsenal's season, but their
recent performances show how foolish that is. That's what we need to do
now," Gerrard told the Daily Mirror.
"We still have plenty of points to play for in the league, but it means
we can't afford to drop too many more points between now and the middle
of May if we want to get back into the top four.
"Competition for the [fourth] Champions League spot is very tough, but
we still have to play most of the teams around us, and defeating those
sides will still play a major part in deciding where we finish".
Seems like Jamie has been on the same smelling salts as Gerrard and Henderson!
ReplyDeleteLiverpool's Jamie Carragher says he is not ready to retire yet*
Liverpool vice-captain has not been first-choice this season
* 'I want to win more before the end of my career'
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 6 March 2012 12.40 GMT Article history
Jamie Carragher said the Carling Cup victory made him realise that he wants to win more trophies before he hangs up his boots.
The Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has said that losing his place in the starting line-up this season has given him a new appreciation of his career and a desire to continue playing.
The 34-year-old, who has lost his regular starting place due to the excellence of Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger in central defence, is keen to add more winners' medals to the Carling Cup the club lifted last month. Last weekend's defeat to Arsenal was only his second Premier League start of 2012, having previously been restricted largely to cup competitions.
"I can't lie, it has been difficult at times," said Carragher, who is likely to get more opportunities in the first team in the coming weeks due to Agger having broken a rib. "But I've said it loads of times in interviews: you have to be respectful to the manager and the other
players.
"Privately at times I'm frustrated but that's because I'm a footballer, I want to play and I'm passionate - I wouldn't be here in the first place otherwise. But I realise this happens to everyone at a certainage. It also reminds me what I've done.
"I've played for Liverpool's first-team pretty much every week for 16 years. When you do it every week, it slips your mind a little but when you play the odd game against Oldham or Brighton at Anfield in the cups and you leave the pitch knowing you've won well and done all right yourself, it's a great feeling. So it sinks in more when you're not playing."
Carragher may have only a few years left at the top but he is keen to add to the tally of 11 trophies he has won at Anfield, especially after having to wait six years for the latest one.
"There was a time when I thought we weren't going to get to another
final," he said. "I want to win more before the end of my career. That's
why I'm desperate for the FA Cup and to play in Europe again.
"At the moment we're definitely in the Europa League and I know people knock it but I'd love to reach the final of that competition. I've been to three in Europe so far. To have four in your career would be a fantastic achievement. At the end of a career you're desperate more than ever for medals, grabbing as much as you can as you go."
Delusional footballers like Carragher need to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/#!/theliverpoolway
ReplyDeleteCheck ou liverpool way twitter updates of reserves derby game today - it appears training in hitting the post and missing chances has been instituted at all levels of the club!