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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Once again, Liverpool flattered to deceive. At Anfield, against a Swansea that does not travel
well, the mighty Reds laboured to a disappointing draw. An out-of-sorts Liverpool performance was
made worse because of a superb goalkeeping display by the Swans' Michel Vorm. His two saves from
Suarez highlighted his sterling performance.
Luis Suarez never has a bad game. A body of perpetual motion, the Uruguayan's movement and
elusiveness remain Liverpool's most dangerous attacking threat. El Pistolero's immensely positive
contribution in games are often tinged with slight regrets. He does not score as many goals as he
should have, considering the amount of chances he creates game in game out.
I don't know what Sir Alex Ferguson was thinking, but he showed no respect for Liverpool by
fielding an understrength lineup. No Nani, no Rooney, no Hernandez and no Anderson. By playing two
defensive midfielders in Fletcher and Jones, Liverpool should and could have done a lot better than
just a draw.
My buddy, Ed and I continued our almost weekly dissection of Liverpool's weekend performance after
a friendly game of indoor futsal. Now Ed is a guy with a rather thought provoking mind. While we
were both thrilled that "The Beast" Andy Carroll opened his Premier League account this season with
a brilliant derby goal, he remarked how Dirk Kuyt's excellent run and "dummy" duck created the room
for Carroll to rifle the ball past Tim Howard.
Finally Kenny Dalglish have Steven Gerrard back and in time for Derby day! Couple that with the
excellent showing of Andy Carroll against Wolves and the Reds are looking capable of beating
Everton this Saturday. The right back position is now solid once more with Martin Kelly back from
injury and though Carragher and Skrtel are still weak links in central defence, Everton's lack of
bite upfront will suit Liverpool as they sought to make it back-to-back wins.
International matches are proving a bona-fide bane to Liverpool. It has been so since the Benitez
days. Charlie Adam came back from Scotland international duty with a slight injury concern. That
clearly hampered his performance at the Britannia last weekend. Even the hardworking Dirk Kuyt
looked very lethargic and contributed little at Stoke.
With over £110m spent over the summer and more to come, Liverpool impressively outplayed Bolton at
Anfield over the weekend. As a true measure of Liverpool's stylish performance, Kevin Davies was
substituted in that match. Liverpool completely subdued the Trotters' captain and talisman!
The Premier League has just kicked off and so Damon and Damian take a look at their respective
team's chances. Here is Damon looking ahead to his team's Liverpool's 2011-12 season. There is a
transcript below, while explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) can be found at
the foot of the post, while other key phrases (in blue) and links (in red) also have meanings
explained.
It has been a season of two halves, definitely for Liverpool fans. The first half was full of
woeful, embarassing and most times, disjointed performances. The second half of the season was
packed with joyful, eventful, spirited and without a doubt, title-contender performances.
Liverpool over the autumn and winter period of this season had a manager, Roy Hodgson who clearly
was ill-fitted considering the traditions and pedigree of the historical club.
Prior to the match against Liverpool, Arsenal had a run up as difficult as is conceivably possible.
Liverpool, Spurs, Bolton and Manchester United are a very tough set of fixtures for any aspiring
title contenders. For a team as fragile as Arsenal, this looks a very daunting task. And their
crucial title run-in crashed against Liverpool.
It was Liverpool's best season since the start of the Premier League. A season which saw Liverpool
scored the most goals and lost the least games but yet could not win the Premiership title.
But the Reds under Rafa Benitez gave us some wonderful moments with last minute winners and high
scoring games.
Andy Carroll finally proved his worth to Liverpool against Manchester City on Monday night. In his
fourth full game for the Reds, the giant Geordie scored two brilliant goals underlining his
potential and ability as a big-game player. The goals showcased Carroll's talents and strengths, a
lethally accurate left foot and superb heading ability.
His former coaches think 16-year old wonderkid Raheem Sterling development as a footballer is at
the same level as Wayne Rooney at the same age. Raheem has been likened to Arsenal's Theo Walcott
but it is said Sterling is even better than Walcott. A fast, pacey attacking midfield player who
can "pass, shoot, head, score goals, tackle, defend" according to his Steve Gallen of QPR.
Wigan had scored only ten goals away from home prior to Saturday and faced a daunting task of
scoring against a Liverpool defence which had kept four clean sheets in a row. Hugo Rodallega
ensured points were shared at DW Stadium back in November and Latics boss, Martinez was hoping for
a similar result.
Liverpool ended the January transfer window positively, selling at £56m and buying at £57.6m.
King Kenny had already brought back the feel good factor and now the wins are starting to come.
Beating Chelsea was beyond my wildest dreams and so it looked like even to Dalglish.
The team he put out had a slightly cautious look to it, the Liverpool management team deciding that
the Reds should play a counter attacking game.
As soon as the game at Molineux ended, Sammy Lee walked over to Kenny Dalglish, congratulated him
and then whispered, "You're Back!". This win surely must kick start Liverpool's season. The Reds
now look very comfortable as a team, attacking and defending as a unit. For that unifying factor,
Kenny Dalglish deserve praise.
Ryan Babel signed for Liverpool from Ajax and immediately made an explosive impact in his first
season. His 10 goals in 49 appearances for the Reds earned him the adulation of the Liverpool fans.
He was named the Liverpool Young Player of The Season in 2007-08.
He had a bit of everything as do all Dutch players.
Wow, even after a frustrating game against Manchester United and Berbatov proving that he is as
opportunistic as strikers come, nothing brought me more pleasure than seeing Kenny Dalglish back in
the dug-out once more. After some 20 years, it is a surreal experience even if it was on
television.
The noose around Roy Hodgson's neck was tightening last Saturday as soon as Bolton's Kevin Davies
scored a simple goal just before halftime at Anfield. Luckily for him, Steven Gerrard would not let
Liverpool suffer a third successive defeat.
The Liverpool captain turned in his best performance this season and literally pulled Liverpool
across the winning line.
