Liverpool Come To The Party Far Too Late

Being a supporter can sometime skew the opinion one has of a match particularly in a Cup Final. Passion is raised to such a level that rose tinted glasses seemed on be on the faces of mine and all the fans around me.

In the cold light of day, sitting down and reflecting with a dispassionate view of the game, one could see that we didn’t perform until Andy Carroll came on to produce what one hopes was a pivotal turning point in his Liverpool career.

Yesterday, we were patently second best for an hour. The midfield struggled with the movement and running power of their Chelsea counterparts. This was the match, where Henderson and Spearing were found wanting, unable to live with the intricate skills of Mata, who ran the first hour in a fashion which would’ve made his country man Xavi proud. Steven Gerrard dropped back to try to stem the flow such was Chelsea’s dominance, which left Suarez with a lack of support and Liverpool unable to get Craig Bellamy into the game.

In football possession is nine tenths of the law and Mata showed what can be done be probing and delivering telling passes. In contrast, Spearing and Henderson gave the ball away incessantly, and it was their mistakes which led to both goals. It took to long for Dalglish too plug the gap in front of Enrique who was finding it almost impossible to stop the marauding Ramirez. His defending on the first goal was negligible as he was found wanting both physically and for pace. Reina, in what he freely he admits has not been a stellar season personally, may be disappointed with his part in Chelsea’s first goal.

Steven Gerrard unable to turn the tide this time

All being said, Liverpool’s game began in the 55th minute with the introduction of Andy Carroll. He played as a man possessed leading from the front and giving Terry and Ivanovic as torrid a forty minutes as they’ve probably experienced. It was not a performance of a tall striker waiting for ball to be delivered to him, it was the performance of a no.9 leading the line and being the focal point which gave Suarez a chance to come into the game and Gerrard to start running the game from centre midfield with Spearing leaving for Carroll.

Seven minutes after his arrival Carroll produced a moment of sublime skill from the Luis Suarez book of brilliance. The ball broke to him following a skirmish in the box, he produced the dexterity and intricacy of footwork to leave Terry floundering before unleashing a ferocious angled drive past Petr Cech. The rallying cry seemed to come from Carroll whose battery was fully charged. He touched was assured. One moment will live in the memory when he controlled a difficult ball high in the air on the left with a magnificent chest trap to bring the ball under control and lay it off, almost in one movement.

Dalglish substitutions this season have been mostly ineffectual. This was yet another game when Jordan Henderson’s performance was poor to say the least. His indecisiveness and his inability to stamp himself on the game, makes one wonder what the manager and Steve Clarke are seeing that none of are not. With the game there for the taking Dalglish chose to keep him on and take of Bellamy, admittedly who was not having his finest game, but as we all know possesses the ability to change the game in a flash. Henderson is given licence to roam and his attempts on goal were like his all-round player that of a player who needs to be either shipped out or have his confidence rebuilt. As said, in the last blog, the manager’s faith in Henderson and also Downing may cost him his position. The latter who received enough ball to bring havoc to Bosingwa, not a right-back renowned for his defensive capabilities, failed ignominiously.

He chose to ignore the claims of Maxi, who if he’s proved nothing else this season, has showed he has an unhealthy regard for finding the back of the net, especially against Chelsea. In my book is criminal for a team where match winners are not exactly its strong point. This season Dalglish has often seen dominance as an excuse not to make substitutions and something he has to forego next season. He worries too much about the opposition, instead of using the advantages Liverpool has in its squad. Why do we constantly line-up with two holding midfielders as we did yesterday, instead of starting with Andy Carroll and has this held back the strikers progression who has showed encouraging signs over the last few months only to be shown the bench time and time again?

The ‘Big Man’ almost sent Liverpool fans into raptures on the 82nd minute, when he powered a header from a Luis Suarez cross seemingly in to equalise. Unfortunately, Cech pulled off a miraculous save with the ball seemingly still over the line. I sent a text out to David, watching from home, for confirmation as the referee waved away Suarez and Carroll’s appeals. Unfortunately, the resultant reply meant we couldn’t even claim the moral high ground. Chelsea may feel that it goes someway to wiping out the Luis Garcia goal in the Champion’s League semi-final in 2005. Me, I just saw it as another kick in the teeth this season.

A win would’ve been more than welcomed by us all, but it was not to be. It would have masked a feeble season in the league, which would could end up even worse by its close.

Joint Man of the Match: Andy Carroll – Exploded on the scene like a player with a point to prove. He was quite simply immense and was unlucky not the send the match into extra-time. His play on the floor and the air is what all Liverpool supporters have waited to see since his expensive signing. Liverpool Crowd - Lifted the players and almost succeeded with a never say die act of support. YNWA.

Critical eye: The disappointment was it took almost an hour to galvanise a response which is simply not good enough. Once again Dalglish played two holding midfield. They were found wanting, which had the added impact, of affecting not just Gerrard who had to come back to add support, but left Suarez with very little support.

Jordan Henderson: Is patently not a wide-man, but the jury is out as to whether he has the ability to be the dynamic midfielder Liverpool are looking for. Yesterday, he appeared indecisive and panic stricken in possession and lost the ball cheaply which against top class teams will often be punished. In defence, he seemed unable to cope with the top class pass and move nature of Chelsea. Henderson had at least three attempts on goal, but his confidence seems to have hit rock bottom and may need rebuilding in the early rounds of the Europa next season. Drawing comparisons is difficult matter, but Fulham’s Pajtim Kasami who I watched recently at Anfield, makes one wonder how Liverpool have let another youngster escape from their youth team (Tom Ince springs to mind), who seems technically better equipped than either Spearing than Henderson.

Jay Spearing: He has manfully tried to fill the void, in the absence of Lucas, but like Henderson was so out of his depth he was in danger of drowning. It has been noticeable recently, that he will often go for the ‘Hollywood pass’ through the ‘eye of a needle’ which is cut out, when a simple ball in the order of the day. He tried to track Mata and Lampard, yesterday with his cohort but couldn’t live with his talents on display. He may have to go back to being a squad player with the expectant new incumbents and the look for more power and drive in the centre, but given his whole hearted displays will hopefully be kept on.

The dip in form by Enrique in the second-half of the season was bourn out by his ineffectual defensive display yesterday. His failure to get in even a shoulder challenge in Ramirez was disappointing, in addition Reina appeared to be beaten by a saveable shot. Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel all had strong games on a day where protection from the midfield was not there. Glen Johnson was standout attacking player wise in the first-half which says a lot for him.

Liverpool’s game plan suffered because of Chelsea’s dominance in midfield which had the adverse effect of Gerrard being sacrificing himself to play a more deeper role. He controlled the tempo in the last half hour from the middle, interspersed with some glorious cross field balls. Liverpool were not able to get Suarez and Bellamy into the game as much as we would have liked, with Suarez only becoming a major force once Carroll entered the fray. Downing was once again disappointing. His failings in not attacking the full-back and not getting in enough quality crosses summed up his season.

Dalglish: He appeared, as he has the season, unable to change the game once it appeared to be going away from him until with Liverpool 2-0 he was left with little choice. Spearing and Henderson’s inability cope in the centre should have been rectified at half-time and the continuation of Chelsea’s dominance led to the second goal with Lampard turning Spearing to supply the pass into Drogba.

Questions should be asked about leaving Maxi on the bench. Twice the season he has managed to escape the clutches of the Chelsea midfield to ghost in on goal to dispatch chances.

All season, even at home, his first move seems to be defensive in setting up with two defensive midfielders, particularly when we start with one striker, which leads to a lack of goal scoring players on the field. His constant backing of Jordan Henderson smacks in the face of picking players in form. The player is often picked above colleagues with louder claims for a starting place, especially that of Jonjo Shelvey who in the last few weeks combined a defensive bent with his natural attacking flare.

The lack of midfield creativity, pace and power in the engine room of the midfield, can only be pointed at the manager, inability to buy the correct players and also to bring through younger players. As Paul Lambert stated recently, “If you don’t give someone the opportunity, then how do you know?”