The imminent arrival of Brazilian attacking midfielder Coutinho was expected to be celebrated with an important win vs an average Oldham side that hadn't won the six home games in a row.
Prior to Sunday's game we had played Oldham four times in the FA Cup and won on each occasion, but the gulf in class didn't show as the giant Matt Smith gave the hosts a shock lead in only the second minute, meeting Youssuf M'Changama's cross to unleash an unstoppable header which Skrtel tried in vain to clear from going over the line.
We hit back on 17 minutes with our first chance of the game as our sorcerer and captain for this game Suarez eased his way into the Oldham penalty area and slotted the ball comfortably past our former keeper Dean Bouzanis.
The simplicity with which we scored didn't bode well for the hosts and Suarez seemed to have grabbed a second after 23 minutes but his header was ruled offside.
Sterling, (now LFC's youngest ever player in the FA Cup seemed to be rattled from an earlier booking) was then denied by Bouzanis from inside the box, but there seemed to be a distinct lack of urgency about our team- and we duly paid the price just before half-time.
Robbie Simpson had been a constant thorn in our side but it was goalscorer Smith who once again made the difference. First, the towering forward had another header denied by a fingertip save from Brad Jones before he doubled his tally on the stroke of half-time, pouncing on a loose ball after Jones went from hero to villain by spilling a straightforward cross and costing us dearly.
At 2-1 down at halftime we went on the attack straight after the break and crafted an opportunity straight away, but the player that Rodgers had bought in the summer as a clinical striker Fabio Borini failed his lines with an easy chance which he sent high over the bar. The chance missed was the vital moment of the game as Oldham wasted no time in capitalising as Wabara met a looping cross from substitute Carl Winchester to grab the game's fourth goal, sending a looping header into the far corner.
Steven Gerrard and Stewart Downing were introduced by Brendan Rodgers on 55 minutes in an attempt to salvage the situation, but apart from Gerrard pulling the strings, we offered little incisiveness as the hosts defended for their lives.
But we persisted and pulled a goal back through a deflected strike from Allen on 80 minutes.
A frantic finish ensued, with Gerrard hitting the crossbar from long-distance with a looping shot but the League One minnows held on to secure a famous cup victory and end our hopes of reclaiming the trophy for the first time since 2006.
Kop-post man of the match - Steven Gerrard - Our captain marvel came on and showed the required character for games such as this. Rodgers should have started with Gerrard secured the win and then taken him off because in the short space of time he was on the pitch, he was the outstanding talent and deserved to claim the late equaliser but as unlucky on this particular day.
Negatives - I understand why Rodgers played Coates vs the giant Matt Smith but Coates positional sense was found wanting on nearly every occasion and Coates couldn't handle him and had a torrid
afternoon, so therefore I would have played Jamie Carragher who always seems to perform well in these sort of games where you need to battle first for the right to play your natural game.
afternoon, so therefore I would have played Jamie Carragher who always seems to perform well in these sort of games where you need to battle first for the right to play your natural game.
The current spokesman for LFC in between games has been Stewart Downing and I strongly believe that unless you are the captain you should let your performances on the pitch do the talking by being seen and not heard. Stewart Downing, in my opinion, performs once every ten games and again when he came on didn't attempt once to go to the bye-line to make a difference to the side. He is too inconsistent to be a regular in the side and I hope that Coutinho when he signs will get a proper run in the side replacing Downing.
Rodgers decision to play Borini has ultimately cost us a place in the next round as he missed the vital chance to get us back into the game at 2-2 and he again looks like he is too lightweight for this level.
There are no positives to losing in the FA Cup against a side that is two divisions below us and with us only having the Euro league and league table respectability to play for, it is a very depressing day especially when you think back to 12 months ago when we were through to a Carling Cup final and the 5th round of the FA Cup.
So what about us now? With us out of the FA Cup we now focus on the league?
In 2011/12, after 23 games, we were fifth with 38 points, having won 10 games, drawn eight and lost five. Of those 10 wins, an impressive six came away from home, with only four at Anfield.
After 23 games this campaign, we are seventh, having accumulated four points less than the same stage last year, one less win with nine, one draw less with seven, and, crucially, two more losses, with seven. Though we have improved on our home record with six home wins compared to four, our away record is clearly inferior, with only three wins away from home compared to six.
Once again, the supposed improvement upon last season is hard to see - in fact, we have regressed as far as the table is concerned. Even if we consider our superior home record compared to last year's, it means little considering we have won less games in total. A home win doesn't mean more points than an away win, after all.
The big games
This time last season, we had taken maximum points from Arsenal away, winning 2-0, and Chelsea away, winning 2-1. We had also managed to draw 1-1 with Manchester United and Manchester City at Anfield. All in, that's eight vital points from the strongest teams in the league, including an away win over the eventual winners of the Champions League.
This season is much less impressive. We have managed to take a point from Manchester City at home (2-2) and Chelsea away (1-1), but were beaten 2-1 by Manchester United at Anfield and 2-0 by Arsenal at home. That's only two points in comparison to eight.
In fact, we have yet to beat a team from above us in the league all season under Brendan Rodgers for me that is highly embarrassing for a side aspiring to end up in the top 4 of this league.
LFC team vs Oldham: Jones, Wisdom, Coates, Skrtel, Robinson, Allen, Henderson, Sterling, Borini, Sturridge, Suarez
Subs:- Gulacsi, Carragher, Shelvey, Lucas, Downing, Gerrard, Suso
Subs:- Gulacsi, Carragher, Shelvey, Lucas, Downing, Gerrard, Suso
Att - 10,295
Congratulations to Oldham Athletic, they hadn’t won a league game since December 8, but they came in with the right attitude and a game plan which unsettled us and in the end our defiencies unravelled before our eyes. They continually pumped high balls into the area and our inability not just to detail with the aerial threat, but the physical threat posed by Smith left us looking ramshackled and threadbare at the back. Everyone knows Coates is shakey under the high ball, but he’s not going to improve playing the odd game and I think after this his Liverpool career may have reached its nemeth. Skrtel failed to assert his seniority and shoulder responsibility and guide Coates through as Jamie Carragher and one wonders why with Coates struggling why with the experience Carragher on the bench the manager failed to act?
ReplyDeleteI’ve stated previously my belief that we have too many players of a similar type, namely technicians. Steven Gerrard’s appearance only made light of Joe Allen’s inability to dictate play even more glaring. We know he’s not a power player, but his passing lacks a clinical edge and in the engine room where Liverpool really needed a presence they failed ignominiously to stop Oldham’s momentum until Gerrard entered the fray (although Jones’s mistake didn’t help). For me, Allen’s deflected goal doesn’t take away the fact that he was off the pace for most of the game and at the moment is behind of his colleagues. Jonjo Shelvey showed the type of mettle that we needed. Once again Downing’s final ball was suspect with his propensity to hit low driven balls which are invariably are cut out by the first defender leaving his attackers nothing to attack.
It’s no coincidence that we struggle against Stoke et al and it’s something I think Brendan Rodgers needs to address. We are a very small team, but more than that we lack presence and stature and seem under threat from set pieces tossed into the box. We need to be able to have players in the squad who enable us to revert to a different type of play should the need arise. Barcelona can get away with it because they have some of the greatest players in history and they don’t just keep the ball they have the ammunition to demolish teams in many areas with a goal scoring machine scoring goals at will.
On the subject off Robinson letting fly verbally at Suarez after going for glory instead of doing the simple thing and looking for the club’s premier marksman I agree with dedlfc that he showed a huge lack of respect and one can only hope he learns from it, as he didn’t have a particular impressive game which makes it all the more worse. Andre Wisdom is a huge prospect and his future will probably be at centre-half, but whether he adds anything to Liverpool in attacking sense is open to question.
Given that we haven’t beaten a top team this season with Arsenal and Man City our next two featured games Rodgers knows that we must perform if our season isn’t to unravel. We have a chance because Arsenal like us are a footballing side and where City are concerned we stand a chance with our top eleven on the pitch which at the moment for me doesn’t include Joe Allen.
Gerrard is still head and shoulders above any Liverpool midfielder and Brendan Rodgers must be worried that he doesn’t have another top class player in that area. He has had money to spend, but as yet not looked to the Diame’s of the world, who I should add is a very good footballer, to give us that power we lack in the engine room we so patently need.