All the talk was about the thrilling 3-3 draw between Chelsea and Manchester United. The Red
Devils' powers of recovery were once again apparent when they had looked down and out following a
four-minute blitz by Chelsea.
Everyone remarked that only Manchester United is capable of coming back and clinching a draw from
the jaws of defeat.
We have seen how Liverpool suffered this season without any pace and creativity from midfield.
Dalglish's preferred midfield foursome of Downing, Adam, Gerrard and Lucas will pass the ball to
death but neither is comfortable to run with the ball.
Against teams that park the bus, especially teams that come to Anfield, the lack of
unpredictability in the Liverpool play has caused the mighty Reds dearly.
Fernando Torres at his best, was an absolute terror. Just ask Nemanja Vidic. Or even the whole
Manchester United team for that matter. There is no fluke that El Nino became the fastest Liverpool
player to reach the 50-goal mark. His searing speed, excellent touch and great dribbling skills
made him a Kop hero as soon as he arrived at Anfield.
After nine matches away, El Pistolero was back in the Liverpool line up. The Uruguayan had been
watching in the stands as the mighty Reds gained excellent results against Manchester City and
Manchester United without him. Suarez came on as a substitute and could not inspire Liverpool
against a weakened Spurs team.
Newcastle started this season strongly, confounding critics and pundits in the process. When Andy
Carroll left for better pastures with Liverpool, everyone predicted the end of the road for
Newcastle. Alan Pardew had his detractors and now he is actually being considered to be Capello's
successor as England manager.
Liverpool huffed and puffed once more but came up against another excellent goalkeeping display. A
feat that Mark Bunn probably will and could not repeat even if he tried. The journeyman goalkeeper
showed far better reflexes than Paul Robinson have had this season to deny Andy Carroll a
confidence-boosting goal.
The Christmas fixtures brought about a change in team line ups. Clubs which could afford to rest
key players relied on their bench to tide them over this hectic time. This meant first team starts
for a trio of Premier League superstars who have somewhat faded from this season's football action.
Joe Cole was the flagship signing of the ill-fated Roy Hodgson era, and he was a Rafa signing that
Hodgson inherited. For me, like Bellamy, Cole was not given chances to impress at Anfield. It was
also unfortunate that he got sent off in his very first game for Liverpool against Arsenal.
Liverpool have been terribly unlucky this season in front of goal. This fact all Liverpool fans
know. 17 shots against the woodwork and four saved penalties testify to the Reds' dominant and yet
strange lack of goals. Also Luis Suarez is the Premiership striker with the most number of
attempted shots to goal (75) but only scored five goals.
Liverpool have taken more points off Aston Villa than any other team in the Premiership, 68 points
to be exact. Villa have let in seven goals through opposition setpieces prior to their match
against the mighty Reds. And so, it was inevitable that Liverpool would get three points against
the toothless Villans and that the goals came from corners meant that Liverpool exploited Villa's
weakness.
Leroy Lita had the chance to cover himself with glory against Villa last week. After superbly
turning the Villa defender, he dragged his shot just wide of the post. That sums up Swansea's
problem in their first Premiership season. This lack of a cutting edge may eventually drag the
Swans back into a relegation dogfight.
Other than against Bolton, Liverpool played their best football of the season against an
out-of-sorts Manchester City last weekend. Due to their physical exertions in the Champions League,
the Citizens looked short of match fitness and were sluggish against the mighty Reds. But that does
not take away a great performance by Liverpool at Anfield.
This season has been special for many reasons, one of which is the chance to watch Manchester City
emulate the great Arsenal "Invincibles" and get through the season undefeated. The second reason
has been the insane results, the 8-2 Red Devils win over the Gooners being the highlight. The third
reason and focus of this article is how some Premiership players have embraced the "Big Hair".
Daniel Sturridge scored yet again in front of AVB at The Bridge against Liverpool last weekend.
What more does he HAVE to do to earn a permanent place in Chelsea frontline? AVB has so far
persisted with both Torres and Drogba while only allowing Sturridge to shine as an impact
substitute or on the right of a front three.
Liverpool employed speed merchants against Chelsea last weekend, with Johnson, Bellamy, Maxi and
Suarez all starting against the Blue Champions. It turned out to be shrewd decision by Dalglish and
his coaching team as the Reds pressed high up the pitch, robbing Chelsea players of time and space
to move the ball.