Carroll celebrates with Bellamy and Henderson...Liverpool put
three past a lacklustre Wolves side yesterday at a freezing cold Molineux. Andy Carroll got himself
on the score sheet whilst Wolves struggled to find a goalscorer at all. The win moved Liverpool
into 5th in the table.
Wolves had less worries than originally thought injury wise as Frimpong ended up being able to
start in midfield for McCarthy's side.
In our last poll, we asked whether the club needed to sign a striker, winger, attacking
midfielder, or holding midfielder in the transfer window to shore up one of the areas of weakness
that had become apparent over the course of the 2011-12 season. An overwhelming majority of nearly
70% said that what the club needed more than anything was a striker, while 17% said winger, 8% said
attacking midfielder, and only 5% said holding midfielder.
February kicks off for Liverpool on Monday, with Spurs set to visit Anfield in the first match
of another important month. Liverpool will look to carry their momentum from the domestic cup
triumphs and a comfortable 3-0 win at Wolves into the match, which hopefully signals a turnaround
from a disappointing league stretch to open 2012 that had seen them winless until the final day of
January.
Liverpool can't continue their hot streak and end up with their eighth home draw of the
campaign, failing to take advantage of a Spurs side that were lacking in both personnel and intent.
With the success of the past few weeks creating a healthy dose of optimism this one's got to be
chalked up as a disappointment, and worrying in that Liverpool yet again failed to capitalize in a
match that mostly looked like theirs for the taking.
::: FistedAway welcomes a guest post from Elliott,
editor of the rather lovely
Futfanatico :::
The path from the cusp of destruction to redemption has been a long one for Liverpool FC fans.
Bad apple Americans owners. The departure of Rafael Benitez. The exodus of star players like Xabi
Alonso.
It may not have been a man of the match-calibre performance, as those honours would have to have
gone to one of the defenders—and probably either Glen Johnson or Martin Skrtel. And he likely
didn't even have as good a game as his previous two against Wolverhampton and Manchester United.
Regardless of that, however, after nearly a full calendar year filled almost entirely by futility
as he struggled first with fitness and then with fitting in, it's understandable that on the back
of three strong showings on the bounce people would be eager to look for any upside they can find
in the 2012 edition of Andy Carroll.
Liverpool travel to Manchester and Old Trafford to face United for the second time in two weeks
in a match that, depending on your resting heart rate, is either mildly exciting or something
that's possibly life threatening. There's as much to cover off the pitch as there is on, but for
everyone's sanity we'll try to just do the football.
Back to action for Liverpool as they host Brighton in the 5th round of the FA Cup tomorrow at
Anfield. It's a chance for the hosts to rebound after the disappointing display last Saturday at
Old Trafford, as well as to continue their excellent form in domestic cup competition. Brighton
come to town after narrowly progressing in each of the past two rounds, and just a few points away
from playoff contention in the Championship after a terrific start to 2012.
Liverpool 6: Skrtel 5′, Bridcutt og 44′ 71′, Carroll 57′, Dunk og 74′, Suarez
84′Brighton 1: LuaLua 17′
Liverpool cruise to an easy victory at Anfield, forcing Brighton into three own goals and
getting one apiece from Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez, and Martin Skrtel.
Gerrard never gives up...Liverpool secured their place in the
quarter finals of the FA Cup on Sunday after beating Brighton 6-1 at Anfield. Stoke were drawn out
of the hat for Liverpool and the Reds will once again be at home as they look to close down on
Wembley for a second time this season.
The scoreline in yesterday's win over Brighton may have been a bit flattering, with Liam
Bridcutt and Lewis Dunk accounting for as many Liverpool goals as the actual Liverpool players did.
But Dunk's aside, Liverpool did all the work to force the ball into the net, and at times it looked
as though they couldn't stop scoring, which seemed a foreign concept after so many
frustrating draws at Anfield throughout the season.
* By pressing play on the video, you've agreed with the English FA rules and...
With only a couple of days separating us from Sunday's League Cup final, we've wound down the
recaps of Liverpool's seven victories last to arrive was the 2003 win over United, but be sure to
track back a bit and take a look at how Liverpool's become the most successful club in the
competition's history.
Video by @faidefors via the LFCSwedishBranch YouTube channel.
Round 2 August 24, 2011
Exeter City 1: Nardiello (pen.) 80′
Liverpool 3: Suarez 23′, Maxi 55′, Carroll 58′
Round 3 September 21, 2011
Brighton 1: Barnes (pen.
Liverpool make their long-awaited Wembley return tomorrow, squaring off with Cardiff City in the
final of the League Cup. It's Liverpool's first cup final in nearly five years, and their first
chance at a League Cup trophy since 2005, when they fell to Chelsea 3-2 at the Millenium
Stadium.
Winning the League Cup was good, but what have you done for us lately? I mean, it was over
almost two whole days ago, and if Liverpool lose to Arsenal in the league or Stoke in the FA Cup
it'll end up little more than silver lining for one big, dark cloud. So sure, winning was nice and
all. But you can't go on living in the past forever.
