After the sheer awfulness of the performance in the equivalent league game this was undeniably encouraging, especially a first half display that was dominant. It's hard to name negatives when you've beaten the league leaders away, but again it was disappointing not to score more goals in that first half and one raises the eyebrows slightly at such a blatantly defensive second half, although I guess you could say it worked and it certainly did its job. It must also be mentioned that Man City were absolutely dire throughout but you can only do your own job.
Player ratings:
Reina - 6
Virtually nothing to do but dependable as ever
Kelly - 7
The most underrated young player in the Premiership? Another excellent display
Johnson - 7
Unusually defensively sound as well as good going forward although lucky to escape punishment for a two footed tackle
Agger - 7
Coped well with any threats
Skrtel - 6
A very occasional lapse but by and large a good show
Henderson - 6
Solid if unspectacular
Downing - 6
Still lacking a crucial creativity
Gerrard - 8
Immense, god we've missed him!
Spearing - 7
Did well until his injury
Bellamy - 7
Another lively game, what a nightmare to play against
Carroll - 6
Not his worst game this season and to be fair was heavily isolated in the second half
Subs:
Adam - 7
Lively and combative
Jose Enrique - 8
Excellent defensive work
Carragher - 7
I've always quite liked Carra as a defensive midfielder and he really added some solidity when he came on
Man City:
Hart - 7
Richards - 6
Lescott - 5
Savic - 4
Clichy - 6
Milner - 6
Johnson - 5
Barry - 5
De Jong - 6
Aguero - 5
Balotelli - 3
Subs:
Nasri - 5
Dzeko - 5
Kolarov - 5
Wednesday 11 January 2012
The return of the best
There's often a hysterical reaction, one way or another, to a club re-signing an old legend. As a Liverpool fan I remember the return of Robbie Fowler was greeted with such unadulterated joy by many fans who believed he would return fully to his former greatness as well as derision by fans of other clubs who gleefully taunted Liverpool for looking to the past and signing a 'has-been'. To be fair, the answer was probably somewhere between the two as Fowler's return was very much a positive thing with flashes of his old magic but he never looked like being the 'old' Fowler.
I mention this because two surprising returns have happened this week, the most staggering of which is the coming out of retirement of Paul Scholes before Man United's game against City on Sunday. Scholes was unquestionably a superb player in his time, but I think most would acknowledge that that time had gone a reasonable time before his 'retirement' at the end of last season so to bring him back aged 37 for a few months, when he's been out of the game for eight months seems a little baffling. Of course he can't be judged on one game, but he looked very rusty indeed against City and I can't see the move being much of a success.
As for the other significant return, he of course made quite a considerable impact in his first outing back. Thierry Henry, his handball against Ireland aside, is in my opinion one of the most difficult players to dislike I've ever come across. Of course he is ridiculously cool in the Will Smith kind of way, he is a player with a big heart and I defy anyone (apart from Leeds fans) not to feel a certain happiness to see him score in an Arsenal shirt again. But of course first and foremost, he is quite possibly the greatest player ever to grace the Premiership. In the opinion of this writer, he is undoubtedly the best. He brought the term 'fantasy football' to mind in his first spell at Arsenal; Kanu was around at a similar time who I always found fabulously entertaining for trying outrageous, cheeky trickery even if it was not exactly successful every time. The outrageous thing with Henry was this stuff actually worked! He was quite simply on another planet and he had absolutely everything as a player, a sheer phenomenon and he scored goals that no other player could come close to. To see him back is great, time will tell what kind of impact he'll really have in this brief return, but nothing can ever take away his status as one of the all time greats.
I mention this because two surprising returns have happened this week, the most staggering of which is the coming out of retirement of Paul Scholes before Man United's game against City on Sunday. Scholes was unquestionably a superb player in his time, but I think most would acknowledge that that time had gone a reasonable time before his 'retirement' at the end of last season so to bring him back aged 37 for a few months, when he's been out of the game for eight months seems a little baffling. Of course he can't be judged on one game, but he looked very rusty indeed against City and I can't see the move being much of a success.
As for the other significant return, he of course made quite a considerable impact in his first outing back. Thierry Henry, his handball against Ireland aside, is in my opinion one of the most difficult players to dislike I've ever come across. Of course he is ridiculously cool in the Will Smith kind of way, he is a player with a big heart and I defy anyone (apart from Leeds fans) not to feel a certain happiness to see him score in an Arsenal shirt again. But of course first and foremost, he is quite possibly the greatest player ever to grace the Premiership. In the opinion of this writer, he is undoubtedly the best. He brought the term 'fantasy football' to mind in his first spell at Arsenal; Kanu was around at a similar time who I always found fabulously entertaining for trying outrageous, cheeky trickery even if it was not exactly successful every time. The outrageous thing with Henry was this stuff actually worked! He was quite simply on another planet and he had absolutely everything as a player, a sheer phenomenon and he scored goals that no other player could come close to. To see him back is great, time will tell what kind of impact he'll really have in this brief return, but nothing can ever take away his status as one of the all time greats.
Tuesday 3 January 2012
The Luiz Suarez Affair
Ok then I guess I'd better comment on 'that' situation. I have to say I find myself questioning my club and manager's (legend though he is) conduct. I think it was naive in the extreme to blindly defend Suarez on such a serious allegation whilst openly admitting that he didn't know the details of the incident and I think a 'no comment' approach, which Kenny is normally very good at, perhaps would have been wiser. I also wonder whether it was wise for all the players to wear the Suarez t-shirts in support of him - as I say this is a serious allegation and all of them had no idea whether he'd done it or not. I suppose you could argue that they were sticking up for their colleague and saying if he said he didn't do it, he didn't...but I think it was a bit unwise.
As for the incident itself, do I feel he should have been punished? Unfortunately yes. He admitted that he said what he said and in this day and age, quite rightly, you can't. Was it harsh? Maybe but I think any proven racist remark has got to be treated very seriously. I do think though that a seperate question needs to be asked which is 'is Suarez a racist?' I really don't think he is and I do think that social context has got to be taken into consideration. Suarez comes from a background where it is commonplace to address someone in that way and I do think he deserves credit for owning up to what he said and being helpful during his hearing. I'm not saying this means he doesn't deserve his punishment, but I do think it's different from John Terry for example. If the latter is proved to have said what he allegedly said, the same allowances cannot be made.
As for the incident itself, do I feel he should have been punished? Unfortunately yes. He admitted that he said what he said and in this day and age, quite rightly, you can't. Was it harsh? Maybe but I think any proven racist remark has got to be treated very seriously. I do think though that a seperate question needs to be asked which is 'is Suarez a racist?' I really don't think he is and I do think that social context has got to be taken into consideration. Suarez comes from a background where it is commonplace to address someone in that way and I do think he deserves credit for owning up to what he said and being helpful during his hearing. I'm not saying this means he doesn't deserve his punishment, but I do think it's different from John Terry for example. If the latter is proved to have said what he allegedly said, the same allowances cannot be made.
The most underrated manager in the league?
You'd have thought that a record of two successive promotions with a club in serious trouble, taking a mid-table second tier side to mid-table Premiership finishes and two trophies, reaching a European final with a Scottish club and winning titles and taking a club from near relegation to successive 6th place finishes would ensure you quite a reputation as a manager. Yet somehow Martin O'Neill seems under appreciated.
Still, his loss is Sunderland's gain - they are already reaping the rewards of the O'Neill effect which has been felt at every club he's ever managed. As a Liverpool fan I wanted O'Neill when Houllier left and while Rafa confirmed himself as an outstanding manager, I still wonder what may have happened under his stewardship. What staggers me is how shockingly underappreciated he was by Aston Villa fans - they finished 6th in successive seasons with virtually no money after being nearly relegated several times...and where are they now?...
But as I say his loss is Sunderland's gain. Look out Premiership.
Still, his loss is Sunderland's gain - they are already reaping the rewards of the O'Neill effect which has been felt at every club he's ever managed. As a Liverpool fan I wanted O'Neill when Houllier left and while Rafa confirmed himself as an outstanding manager, I still wonder what may have happened under his stewardship. What staggers me is how shockingly underappreciated he was by Aston Villa fans - they finished 6th in successive seasons with virtually no money after being nearly relegated several times...and where are they now?...
But as I say his loss is Sunderland's gain. Look out Premiership.
Creative forces needed?
Well since my last blog, Liverpool have had a mixed set of results but for me there's a decidedly worrying theme that runs through nearly all the games - lots of chances, not enough goals. Suarez is now absent for a considerable period (I'll go into all that in the next entry) and of course Gerrard is only just coming back to fitness and without them I worry about who is going to make something special happen. Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll frankly convince me less by the day and given I thought they were lousy signings in the first place that says quite a lot. Maxi has never really convinced me that he's anything other than an ok squad player and for all Dirk Kuyt's stirling merits, he's never going to be the man to provide something out of the ordinary. Charlie Adam has had his moments, but I'm not sure they're enough.
I don't want to sound unduly negative. It's great that we seem to dominate most games we play (tonight against Man City being a quite emphatic exception) and I very much like our playing style under the King, but we've been so dependent on Suarez for magic moments and even he is not the most reliable finisher at all. He'd be great alongside a proper goalscorer...but we don't have one of them.
We have the best defensive record in the league and I guess you can't really complain too much about that. Despite his howler tonight, I believe Reina to be the finest keeper in the division while Agger and Skrtel have flourished this year while Enrique has been an excellent signing. I still have major doubts about Johnson defensively despite his exciting attacking play and would like to see Kelly become the first choice right back. I also remain concerned about our suspect marking at corners but I can't really lay any great claim to why that is..it's just a personal feeling when I watch us.
Anyway let's have an update on the games:
Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool (Carling Cup)
This was an excellent and efficient performance against an admittedly poor Chelsea. Craig Bellamy once again proved why he's arguably the bargain of the summer but it was disappointing to see the loss of Lucas to injury and the continued uselessness of Andy Carroll.
Fulham 1-0 Liverpool (League)
A thoroughly disappointing result and a good example of my above concerns although to be fair they did hit the woodwork a good few times, so this one could perhaps be termed unlucky more than anything. The sending off of Spearing was frankly ludicrous though.
Liverpool 1-0 QPR (League)
Just about got the three points but again a good example of our problem this season. All the possession and a lot of corners etc but struggled to force the keeper into too many saves. Maxi was poor in front of goal as was Kuyt.
Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool (League)
A confident and efficient performance although again, it was disappointing not to score more and it's worth noting that both goals came from poorly defended set pieces although I'm pleased that we did make something of these situations. Villa were seriously dire.
Wigan 0-0 Liverpool (League)
I managed to watch this one live! I kind of wish I hadn't...Liverpool had control of the game until the missed penalty but they really struggled afterwards and I felt Wigan deserved their point. All in all it was disappointing stuff.
Ratings:
Reina - 6
Not much to do but as ever he did it well
Johnson - 6
Good going forward, unconvincing in defence. Doesn't sound like him...
Enrique - 6
Solid
Agger - 7
Played well and created some good moves
Skrtel - 6
Mostly ok with the odd dodgy moment
Maxi - 5
Ineffective and I was relieved to see him brought off
Henderson - 6
Worked hard but provided little
Downing - 4
Really poor and uncreative
Adam - 5
Not his best display and a poor penalty
Suarez - 7
Moments of menace but not his best
Kuyt - 5
Far from his best form at the moment
Subs:
Bellamy - 6
Injected some energy but created little
Shelvey - 5
Did he play?
Carroll - 5
Not much time to make an impact...he didn't.
Liverpool 1-1 Blackburn
Another disappointing home display that should have been won.
Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle
Steven Gerrard reminded us why he is such an important player. A great goal, great energy and creation and good deliveries for Carroll. He reminded us why he's not very good...
Man City 3-0 Liverpool
We were shocking.
I don't want to sound unduly negative. It's great that we seem to dominate most games we play (tonight against Man City being a quite emphatic exception) and I very much like our playing style under the King, but we've been so dependent on Suarez for magic moments and even he is not the most reliable finisher at all. He'd be great alongside a proper goalscorer...but we don't have one of them.
We have the best defensive record in the league and I guess you can't really complain too much about that. Despite his howler tonight, I believe Reina to be the finest keeper in the division while Agger and Skrtel have flourished this year while Enrique has been an excellent signing. I still have major doubts about Johnson defensively despite his exciting attacking play and would like to see Kelly become the first choice right back. I also remain concerned about our suspect marking at corners but I can't really lay any great claim to why that is..it's just a personal feeling when I watch us.
Anyway let's have an update on the games:
Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool (Carling Cup)
This was an excellent and efficient performance against an admittedly poor Chelsea. Craig Bellamy once again proved why he's arguably the bargain of the summer but it was disappointing to see the loss of Lucas to injury and the continued uselessness of Andy Carroll.
Fulham 1-0 Liverpool (League)
A thoroughly disappointing result and a good example of my above concerns although to be fair they did hit the woodwork a good few times, so this one could perhaps be termed unlucky more than anything. The sending off of Spearing was frankly ludicrous though.
Liverpool 1-0 QPR (League)
Just about got the three points but again a good example of our problem this season. All the possession and a lot of corners etc but struggled to force the keeper into too many saves. Maxi was poor in front of goal as was Kuyt.
Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool (League)
A confident and efficient performance although again, it was disappointing not to score more and it's worth noting that both goals came from poorly defended set pieces although I'm pleased that we did make something of these situations. Villa were seriously dire.
Wigan 0-0 Liverpool (League)
I managed to watch this one live! I kind of wish I hadn't...Liverpool had control of the game until the missed penalty but they really struggled afterwards and I felt Wigan deserved their point. All in all it was disappointing stuff.
Ratings:
Reina - 6
Not much to do but as ever he did it well
Johnson - 6
Good going forward, unconvincing in defence. Doesn't sound like him...
Enrique - 6
Solid
Agger - 7
Played well and created some good moves
Skrtel - 6
Mostly ok with the odd dodgy moment
Maxi - 5
Ineffective and I was relieved to see him brought off
Henderson - 6
Worked hard but provided little
Downing - 4
Really poor and uncreative
Adam - 5
Not his best display and a poor penalty
Suarez - 7
Moments of menace but not his best
Kuyt - 5
Far from his best form at the moment
Subs:
Bellamy - 6
Injected some energy but created little
Shelvey - 5
Did he play?
Carroll - 5
Not much time to make an impact...he didn't.
Liverpool 1-1 Blackburn
Another disappointing home display that should have been won.
Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle
Steven Gerrard reminded us why he is such an important player. A great goal, great energy and creation and good deliveries for Carroll. He reminded us why he's not very good...
Man City 3-0 Liverpool
We were shocking.
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