RODGERS CONFIRMED AS NEW LIVERPOOL MANAGER

source: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1083203/liverpool-close-on-rodgers-after-compensation-agreed-with-swansea?cc=3436

Today i read that is all but a done deal to bring Swansea's Brendon Rodgers to Anfield on a 3 year contract.. As it states in that article it is expected that Rodgers will be unveiled as Liverpool manager at 10 on Friday.

I will reserve comment on the appointment until it is absolutely set in stone.

Walk On,
Stu

DECISION BY FRIDAY..... ?

Source: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1081630/liverpool-to-reveal-new-manager-on-friday?cc=3436

Reports on the web are saying that Liverpool FC will officially announce our new manager on Friday the 1st of June.

Rodgers, Martinez, AVB, or Rafa? who will it be?

Usually i don't pay a lot of notice on what the papers or football sites say but this can not be ignored. If we are to believe the rumors it looks like the powers that be at Liverpool have made up there mind and more importantly have made an offer to the wood-be candidate.

Martinez and Rodgers are heavy favorites to take the job with Martinez being the most likely to be the man come Friday.

I for one don't particularity like either of them as candidates for the most important job in football simply due to their combined lack of experience, although i do like how Rodgers get's his team to play attacking, flowing football the same can't be said for Martinez. From what i have seen of Wigan under his stewardship they play a very rigid counter attacking style of football, something that didn't work under Kenny, so why would it work with Martinez?

My pick for the job, Come back Rafa!

Also, my pick for the job; Rafa Benitez has been strangely quiet on the matter. Hopefully this is a good sign that he is deliberately flying under the radar to avoid any anti Rafa media that might thwart his application.

I like Rafa and i never thought he should of been sacked when he was. I would openly welcome Rafa back to the club to continue from where he left off. He loves Liverpool and we love him, he is a proven winner and knows how to get the best out of his players what ever the price tag.


What happened to AVB? Villas-Boas was one of the main contenders yet we haven't heard a peep out of him, or Liverpool on the matter. Although not my number one choice i think that AVB would be a better fit for us over Martinez or Rodgers. AVB wasn;t given time to grow and make Chelsea his team, this is something he will have the opportunity to do with us.

My heart wants Rafa but my head is telling me that Martinez is the most likely person to take the job.

Who ever takes over i will support them 100% i for one am nervous about the whole thing and can't wait to get the right man in the job so we can start planning for 2012/13.

Walk On,
Stu

pics: soccernet.com, liverpoolfc.tv

WHAT OFF SEASON?

Hi all,

I am pleased to announce that From the Kop is back and ready for season 2012/13. After a short hiatus i have returned to offer my opinion on all things Liverpool.

So... what's changed?

Firstly the look, FTK is now sleeker and more refined than ever before with clear and easy to navigate pages.

PODCASTS: as the new season rolls around i will be offering podcast as a new and FREE feature. At the moment i am looking at doing monthly Podcasts and I'll see how i go from there.

With Liverpool's increasing fixture list next season with our involvement in the Europa League i will try and get my match reviews up asap, but with real life commitments and Morphy's law this is always subject to change.

FACEBOOK: You will notice that we have a Facebook page now too, it's lonely and needs your likes! So click on the link on the right hand side and like our page! The facebook page will be used as a portal for my posts, and i want to encourage mature Liverpool based discussions. It will take some time to build up an community but all good things come to those who wait!

That's pretty much it for now. I will be posting more regularly than last year and offering more off the pitch opinion posts, as well as my usual predictions and match reviews.

Walk On,
Stu
From The Kop

HIATUS

From the Kop is taking a hiatus until further notice.

PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL V EVERTON | EPL

PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL 1 : 0 EVERTON

On Tuesday night our mighty reds play Everton at Anfield in the 217th Mersey-side derby. With the dust hardly settled on the Sunderland game our boys will have to put it behind them quickly to make sure they give their all in this all important derby game. 

Everton haven't lost in the league since the 11th of January which was away to Tottenham. They recently beat Chelsea, Man City and Tottenham at home so they will be no pushovers on Tuesday night. 

Overall i think we can nick it, 1-0. We'll have to be at our best though, and i have full confidence that our lads can put the woeful performance at Sunderland behind them and get the 3 points. This game is being held on a Tuesday night after we reached the Carling Cup final this game was moved. This is our game in hand. Although history dictates that we aren't great with out games in hand i still think we can win. 

COME ON YOU REDS!

reaction: Sunderland 1 Liverpool 0 | epl

FLAT LIVERPOOL FALL TO BLACK CATS

Saturday saw Liverpool take on Sunderland at the stadium of light in the Barclay's English premier league. If you read my preview you would see that i was looking for a dominant Liverpool performance and sadly it was far from that yesterday.

In a game of few chances a flat and lifeless Liverpool watched the game pass them by in another "Bolton" esq performance. I can not hide my disappointment that our team did not show up at all and fully deserved to lose that game. For once i disagree with Kenny's post match comments stating that we didn't deserve to lose. It was another woe performance in my books and it really showed the lack of depth we have in the squad to be out played by Sunderland with Gerrard, Downing, Agger and Johnson.

Ok, the goal had some element of luck to it and Pepe can't be blamed for it, but i though our defense was ball watching, when i thought that they could of followed the ball in after seeing bounce of the post and then off Pepe. In this game you create your own luck, Sunderland made us play their game as far as tempo goes and dominated the middle of the park giving Suarez Bellamy and Kuyt nothing to feed off.

Everyone should be held accountable for that passionless, tired performance and after what happened at Bolton it really saddens me to see our Liverpool play like that again.

It's lack of depth, and performances like this that is the reason we won't be playing Champions' League football next season. I never thought we were ready for it anyway, and results like this weekends show exactly why.

YNWA

pic: safc.co.uk

prediction: Sunderland v Liverpool | epl

PREDICTION: SUNDERLAND 0 : LIVERPOOL 3

On Saturday we travel to the Stadium of Light to play Sunderland. On paper this game looks like the 3 points should easily go to us, but football isn't played on paper. This game has the potential for Liverpool to let loose and show the rest of the league we a building momentum towards top 4. The Black Cats are coming of a 1-1 draw with local rivals Newcastle, where as we have to bounce back from the 2-1 loss to Arsenal. 

This game has all the makings of a Liverpool cruise, but we said that about the Bolton game and look what happened. I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll do well and score 3 goals without to much trouble 3-0 to 'pool! 

YNWA! 

Reaction: Liverpool 1 Arsenal 2 | EPL

RVP IS DOUBLE TROUBLE AS GUNNERS STEAL 3 POINTS AT ANFIELD

RVP is there any stopping him?

Liverpool came crashing down to earth yesterday as the were shown exactly how to find the net against a lucky, but efficient Arsenal side.

Our lads started brightly enough keeping possession well in the Arsenal half with Downing and Suarez causing the Gunners lots of headaches. It wasn't long before we had some action as Suarez was fouled by the Arsenal keeper and a penalty given. On second viewing i thought it was a pen, but a soft one. Szczęsny redeemed himself magnificently though saving the follow up spot kick from Kuyt and then denying him again as Dirk looked to plant home the rebound. A match winning double save from the Arsenal glove man.

Szczęsny the hero after a huge double save

A few minutes later, Henderson (who i thought had a great game) broke down the right wing leaving Gibbs for dead, a low hard cross came in that Arsenals center back Koscielny couldn't deal with slicing the ball back past Szczęsny 1-0! 'pool and good value for the lead.

Hendo Celebrates with his team mates after assisting in the opening goal

After the goal the play went on much the same, Suarez hit the bar 5minutes later and up till the 31st minute i thought that we did any excellent job of disrupting Arsenal's fluid passing game. They were little threat, and only a lack on concentration on our part gave them a way back into the game. Arsenal played an attack down our left side, Sagna took the ball forward and without Enrique clossing him down he whipped a great cross in for Van Persie to head past Reina at his near post. 1-1! Carragher was out muscled by RVP and without really ever breaking a sweat in our defense we found ourselves level. 1-1.

RVP Heads Arsenal level

After the goal we continued to dominate, create chances and make Arsenal look weak in defense.  Just before the half time whistle Kuyt had an excellent chance to send us ahead but his shot could only kiss Szczęsny's right hand post before being cleaned up. half time.


The second half pretty much took on the same pattern as the first. We did well keeping Arsenal quiet yet we couldn't quite find the winning goal ourselves. There was a massive 8 minutes of added time due to Arteta being stretchered of after an accidental collision with Henderson.  We dominated the game without really trouble Szczęsny to much, and i though we deserved to win it. Arsenal had other ideas and deep into stoppage time the sucker punch came when Song lofted a long ball to RVP who on a tight angle slammed the ball pass Reina again at his near post 2-1 Arsenal. The ultimate blow and i was pretty upset at the manner of the goal. To dominate so much and not finish Arsenal off has really been the story of the season for us, particularly at home.

Kenny threw Carroll on in a despite attempted to try and save a point but it wasn't to be and full time came with nothing but a whimper from our Liverpool lads.

Arsenal will take this, 3 points.

These are the days that you think, well it wasn't our night. Hitting the bar twice and missing a penalty should of seen us 4-1 up at half time, instead we walk away from this game with nothing, what can you say?
well i think we need to look at the positives. Hendo and Downing both had strong games, we out played them 95% of the time, and that's something to take from the game.

Reina needs to work on his near post positioning a bit, and our strikers still need to work on finding the net!

Overall i thought it was a game Arsenal stole from us, We didn't deserve lose this one yet here we are.
we now must look onto the away game at Sunderland and right the wrongs of yesterday afternoon.

FTK Mom: Szczęsny

 He had a great game for Arsenal in goal, and that double save sealed the deal. it should of been 4-1 at half time and thanks to his heroics they went on to win the game.








pics: liverpoolfc.tv, aresnal.com

prediction: Liverpool v Arsenal | EPL:

PREDICTION LIVERPOOL 2 : 2 ARSENAL
 
The Gunners visit Anfield on Saturday in the lunchtime kick off game. After our heroics in the Carling Cup Final and Arsenal's wonder performance in the north London derby i think we might be in for a cracking game.

Sadly news has come in that Stevie G is injured for the game, after only playing 32 minutes for England on Wednesday. Agger is also out with s fractured rib so i would probably pick carra as his replacement and we might see Henderson sit in the middle with Adam, Downing and Kuyt on the wings and Bellamy up front with Suarez.

With our tendency to draw games at home this season and nullifying the threat of Van Persie will be important in getting something out of the game  Also we must track the runs from deep by Walcott, give him time and space on the ball and he can tare any team apart.

I think there's goals in this, and with our current form at home a 2-2 result is on the cards.

YNWA

Reacton: Liverpool 2 Cardiff City 2 (3-2pens) | Carling Cup Final

The Boys in full celebration mode

LIVERPOOL BEAT CARDIFF IN SHOOTOUT DRAMA AT WEMBLEY

Another proud day in the history of our beloved Liverpool Football Club as we lift the League Cup Trophy for the 8th time making us the most successful club to win this tournament in it's history.

Stevie G Lifts Liverpool's 1st trophy in 5 years!

First and foremost i must express my deepest respect and admiration for Cardiff City, they gave us one hell of a game, never gave up and in my opinion didn't deserve to lose. Penalty shoot outs to decide games has always been a bit of a thorn in my side, i think it's a terrible way to decide games, but it's the only system we've got right now.




The game itself was tightly contested. Johnson had a chance to get Liverpool 1 up after just 3 minutes when his curling shot from outside the area hit the post. Apart from that early chance that's all we really offered going forward. Suarez looked a little over whelmed by the occasion, and Carroll wasn't getting any supply from out midfielders despite Downing perhaps having his best game in a red shirt. 20 minutes had passed when Cardiff took a surprise lead. A great counter attacking move saw Liverpool's defense at odds and Cardiff's Mason found enough space in the box to rifle a shot past Reina to make it 1-0 to Cardiff.  After the goal the pattern of the game remained the same. Liverpool possession countered by heroic Cardiff defending.

The second half was much the same, and getting frustrating predictable for my tastes, the slow build up play that ended up with Downing making forward runs with the ball to cross it into the box was easy for the Cardiff Defense to deal with. The equalizer eventually came after a penalty box melee saw the loose ball pounced on by Martin Skrtel who made no mistake from about 8 yards out 1-1 and game on! But it wasn't the cutting edge final stages of a game i was expecting. Bellamy was subbed on and had very little impact, but at no fault of his as 90% of our attacks game from the right hand side where Downing bossed it. It wasn't long before Liverpool looked out of ideas and full time came. 1-1

Extra time would really sort the men from the boys, as the two tiring teams looked to push on and win the game. It wasn't long before Liverpool took the lead when Kuyt burst into the box smashing his shot through the legs of the Cardiff keeper 2-1 pool! That looked to be it, as both teams tired. Cardiff were dropping like flies with cramp, but some how, and from some where they found that extra something to force penalties. Cardiff won a corner that wasn't cleared properly by Liverpool and it some how the ball was bundled over the line and in dramatic fashion Cardiff were level!! 2-2

There was little to no time left to get a winner and the game finished 2-2. My hat goes off to Cardiff, a heroic performance, especially in extra time when they all were dead on their feet to come back like that and force penalties really displayed how much character and determination that club has for success and i know they are welcome in the Premier :League any day!.

Stevie Consoles cousin Anthony

We all know how the penalties panned out with Stevie's cousin Anthony missing the crucial last kick to hand Liverpool the trophy

The Mighty Reds Dart of in celebration as Anthony Gerrard send his penalty wide

Overall i am really pleased that we won the Carling Cup, but in true Liverpool fashion we did it the hard way. Cardiff were worthy opponents and truly deserve all the plaudits for giving us a cracking game. This trophy can only catapult Liverpool on to further success, with Stoke in the FA Cup coming a 2nd Wembley final isn't so far fetched!

I'm so proud of the team for putting in 150% and bringing home the Cup!

YNWA

Special: Carling Cup Final Preview

This Sunday Liverpool face championship promotion contenders Cardiff City in the Carling Cup final. This is Liverpool's first major final since out 2006 FA Cup win of West Ham. In this post i will go through each teams road to Wembley, key players and where i think the game will be won or lost

LIVERPOOL FC

THE ROAD TO WEMBLEY 

Round 2: Exeter City 3:1(a)

Round 3: Brighton 2:1 (a)

Round 4: Stoke City 2:1 (a)

Round 5: Chelsea 2:0 (a)

Semi Final: Manchester City 1:0 (a)

Semi Final: Manchester City 2:2 (h) 3:2 on agg. 

As you can see from our road to the final we beat some pretty good teams to get there.The 2-1 win at Stoke, the 2-0 win at Chelsea and of course the 3-2 aggregate win over Manchester City. These games we a great example of our teams ability to perform under pressure, with the 1-0 win over Man City on their own turf being a particular highlight.

KEY PLAYERS:

8. Steven Gerrard

Undoubtedly the most important and influential player at the club, Captain Fantastic is Liverpool Football Club, his passion, class and attitude flow through the team like a shot of adrenaline. A key performer in most of our big games Stevie has proven time and time again that he is one of worlds best midfielders Stevie's vision for success is what this club is built on and he is constantly our go to man if we need that little extra to win the game.  Given that free attacking role he will prove to be a handful for Cardiff and i wouldn't be surprised if he scores on Sunday. Fighting fit and in form Cardiff will need tp be at their best to stop Stevie G from lifting the League Cup.



7. Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez has been great for Liverpool on the pitch since King Kenny signed him 2 January's ago. Suarez's pace, creativity, aggression and winning mentality is exactly what we need up front. With off the field dramas now behind him Luis can focus on his football. This will be his first English final and a perfect chance to prove himself on the big stage. Cardiff will need some kind of game plan to keep Luis quiet, even then i can't see how he won't be involved in some aspect and he could provide that spark upfront that's needed in final games.



39. Craig Bellamy

Craig has undoubtedly been the signing of the season coming for free from money bags Man City. Craig has been outstanding in his second spell at our club, and without his knee problems he would of been an unstoppable force for us. Reading the news today (4 days before the game) it looks as if Craig is fit and ready for the final and i would like to see him start in stead of Downing. Bellamy's pace, range of passing, aggression, tackling and crossing have all be a sight to see. With an eye for goal and a relentless amount of energy i think Craig will be a key player for us come sunday. He also is playing agains one of his former teams and players ussually step up for games like that add that there's a major trophy to win to can only inspire Craig to produce the form that has him touted as Liverpool's player of the season so far.

5. Daniel Agger/37. Martin Skrtel

Agger and Skrtel are like peas and carrots now. After a shaky start as the go to center back pairing Agger and Skrtel have matured into their partnership and are both better defenders because of it. Their recent form has been the key to many of Liverpools wins in recent times. With Skrtel's aerial threat from set pieces, his hard tackling and concentration levels i can't see why he can't have a positive influence on Sundays game. Partnered with Agger who is in the form of his life at the moment  they will need to be at the top of their game too keep the likes of Kenny Miller and Peter Whittingham at bay. If Skrtel and Agger play well we will cruise through this game. LINE UP: Here is how i think we will line up on Sunday.   My Prediction for how we'll start on Sunday; Graphic courtesy of Football Manager 2012  TACTICAL ANALYSIS: Liverpool must keep Kenny Miller and Peter Whitingham quiet through out the entire game. These two players are their biggest threat to us bringing home the cup. I think we should play our natural game, use Bellamy's pace on the left wing to get behind the Cardiff defense. Use Gerrard to link up with Carroll and Suarez as a "front 3" when in possession. Defend tightly and press them as much as we can, with out quality all over the park i am confident we can beat them! CARDIFF CITY  The Road to Wembley: Round 1: 1-3 (a)Cardiff (AET) Round 2: 5-3 (h)Huddersfield Round 3: 2p-2 (h)Leicester Round 4:  1-0 (h)Burnley Round 5: 2-0 (h)Blackburn Semi final (Leg 1):  1-0 (a)Crystal Palace Semi final (Leg 2):  1p-0 (h)Crystal Palace Cardiff run to the cup final hasn't been easy, beating teams like Palace, Blackburn and Leicester with the Leicester and Palace games going to penalties. In the league they are sitting in a playoff spot after a poor month of form only winning 1 from 4.     Will their poor away form translate to a cup final? i doubt it. Cast as underdogs Cardiff will have nothing to lose and Liverpool should be ready for them to throw everything at us. KEY PLAYERS: 9. Kenny Miller Kenny Miller has had a good season for Cardiff. scoring 10 goals in 29 appearances, 1 of those in the League Cup. Kenny is one of those players that on his day can be a real handful. He can create chances out of nothing, and feeding his team mates. He can draw defenders out and provide space for midfielders to exploit. For me if we keep Kenny quiet we are 50% of the way to wining the final.
7. Peter Whittingham  Peter has had an outstanding time at Cardiff leading all the key stats this season with 10 goals and 10 assists Peter will be key to shutting down Cardiff on Sunday. I don't know much about the player to be honest, but if you lead the club stats in the attacking areas you are going to be a threat.  Depending on who Dalglish picks on sunday either Henderson or Adam will need to watch Peter closely and make sure that he is not allow any time on the ball. He looks like Cardiff's string puller, and we cant' let that happen CONCLUSION: In football there's no guarantee's. Our beloved Liverpool might be favorites going into this game but we need to play well in every aspect of the game to lift the trophy on Sunday. Cardiff have nothing to lose, and will go all out to best us. If we play our game with a high tempo and lethal finishing we can win. We have to watch our defending from set pieces, corners specifically as i think that's Cardiff's best chance of scoring against us.  I predict a 2-1 Liverpool win, with Suarez and Gerrard the scorers. I will be cheering my guts out for the lads on sunday, and i hope that you do to!  Thank you for reading my Preview!  You'll Never Walk Alone pics: liverpoolfc.tv, cardifafc.co.uk. wikipedia,

Reaction: Liverpool 6 Brighton 1

I Didn't see the game on the weekend, only listened to it on the radio so i can't give an accurate reaction report like i usually do.

However i can tell you how i felt about the game, and FINALLY we trounce some one!. 6-1 although flattered us in the end i thought we played Brighton off the park and duly deserved to progress into the next round. Gerrard, Carroll, Adam, Skrtel, Suarez and Carra were all outstanding and the result couldn't have come at a better time.

YNWA

Prediction: Liverpool v Brighton | The Fa Cup

PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL 4 BRIGHTON 1

Sunday we play host to Brighton in the FA Cup 5th Round tie. The FA Cup is famous for producing giant killers, weaker teams that can produce the goods against more fancied opponents. Sorry Brighton fans but i can't see you beating us this time around. We last played Brighton in the Carling Cup at their ground and won 2-1.

This is a prediction post, not analysis  so i will leave it there,

Come on you reds!

Luis Issues Official Apology

 Luis Suarez: I'm sorry

 

"I have spoken with the manager since the game at Old Trafford and I realise I got things wrong.

"I've not only let him down, but also the Club and what it stands for and I'm sorry. I made a mistake and I regret what happened.

"I should have shaken Patrice Evra's hand before the game and I want to apologise for my actions.

"I would like to put this whole issue behind me and concentrate on playing football."

Reaction: Mancester Utd 2 Liverpool 1

MANICS TO GOOD FOR WHIMPERING 'POOL

Sadly this game will be remembered for all the wrong reason. Just to put it aside in my reaction post i don't really blame Suarez for not shaking Evra's hand, and Evra really showed how much of a tosser he can be by celebrating the win in front of Suarez. Really Evra, grow up!

Gerrard battles with Jones

On to the football! Kenny set out a team that was designed to counter attack stacking the midfield and relying on our full backs to provide balls forward. A well and good in theroy and seemed to really frustrate united in the 1st half.

The 1st half was played at a good tempo until Liverpool got the ball. with out much options going forward we would pass the ball sideways a lot of the time giving Man U plenty of time to get men behind the ball nullifying our "counter Attacking"  tactics.

Overall i thought that we performed well in the 1st half, not giving Man U much time or space to play their passing game but at the same time we offered nothing going forward.


Whatever was said by Ferguson at half time worked as Man U came out and totally ripped us to shreds. With only 1 minute on the clock Man U went in front as they upped the tempo, wining a corner. Again our weakness from corners was exposed as Henderson flicked the ball on into the path of Rooney who slammed the ball past Reina  1-0 United.

It wasn't long before United doubled their lead, with some nice passing Rooney found himself 12 yards out near the penalty spot his shot going through the legs of Reina, 2-0 United, we were stunned. To be 2-0 down after only 4 mins of the second half was not what we wanted to see.

Rooney makes it 2-0

Once we went 2 down i thought the Kenny didn't act fast enough to change things. Having 1 striker 5 midfielders was not the way to move forward to try and get a goal back. Eventually Kenny reacted though bringing on Carroll, Bellamy. These subs improved our presences in the final 1/3 but they offered little in threat going forward. Even with all the attacking changes our passing wasn't urgent enough often passing the ball back and sideways while United got men behind the ball, and once they were set up they were hard to break down.

The  team looked beat, from about the hour mark and had no answers to Man U's play. There was one shining piece of play that saw Suarez score from a Craig Bellamy free kick  with about 12 minutes to go but that was it. Even after the goal the lads didn't seem to fire up enough to push on and get an equalizer. This was disappointing to see considering the performances of the last fortnight. The game fizzled out and United take the points.

I was pretty disappointed that Liverpool didn't put out a team to win a game, more to draw. Spearing although tackled well his passing was pretty poor. Having Gerrard, Henderson, Spearing rotating in the middle holding role, giving Suarez absolutely no support.

Let's put this game behind us and focus on our cup match against Brighton, and then the league cup final against Cardiff!

FTK MoM: Glen Johnson

 Glen played well. he was pacy, defended well and showed more passion for the game then any other red. My MoM








YNWA

Prediction: Manchester United 0 Liverpool 0

Saturday lunch time we play Manchester Utd in the league. The last time will we see them this season and with what has happened on and off the pitch this will be a fiery game.

Suarez returns to face Man U and Evra for the 1st time since his 9 match ban for racially abusing the defender expired. This game has enough riding on it without the undertones of all the off the pitch drama. I think we'll go there and try and shut the manic's out, any kind of win will do, my heart see's a Liverpool win, but with a fired up united at home my head says a draw.

COME ON YOU REDS!

Reaction: Liverpool 0 Tottenham 0

HOME IS WHERE THE DRAW IS

Gerrard tussles with Parker

Tonight saw Tottenham come to Anfield in the league. This game was always going to be close even i thought there where goals in it, but it wasn't to be as Tottenham came for a draw, and got one.

In what was an arm wrestle both sides simply cancelled each other out, even with Liverpool's dominance of possession we couldn't make any of it count in the final third as a solid Tottenham defense lead by :Ledley King was to good for our misfiring attack.

The 1st half started off pretty slowly, with Liverpool's short and patient passing game couldn't find a way through Tottenham. There was very little to write about on the first half as it was simply slow, dull and lifeless. Predictable passing game from both teams really insured that there would be no cutting edge in the game. At times i though that we started our attacks from to deep giving Tottenham plenty of time to set up and take care of any possible threat we would cause.

Suarez, back in action!

The second half started with a little more urgency as Tottenham continued to let us boss possession out side their penalty area. We didn't mix it up enough in my opinion and get numbers in the box when the ball was wide, often Kelly and Johnson had no one but Carroll to cross too and it was no fault of Carroll's that any ball he headed on was not picked up by a red shirt. The hour mark saw the introduction of Suarez who almost undone Tottenham with his first touch. Luis added a much needed spark to the game, increasing our tempo as we probed Tottenham for the 1st goal. The best chance of the game came for Andy Carroll who had his shot from 11 yards out fly over the bar.


That being said Tottenham nearly nicked it late on as Bale ran behind our defense and 1 on 1 with Reina place his shot right at Reina who was perfectly positioned to divert it clear.

Overall i was happy with the effort and performance of the players, they all put in and you can't ask much more than that. Our home form is a serious worry now and must improve fast.

FTK MoM:  None, the team played well as a whole tonight but i can't pick out any individual performance that stood out to me. Same applies for Tottenham, they all played well to get the point they came for.