Review: Liverpool 3 Newcastle 1

Stevie celebrates his goal in our 3-1 win

REDS TURN OVER TOON WITH BELLAMY BRACE

Tonight saw a much improved performance from our lads as they turned another possible draw into a comfortable win. I'm happy my prediction was off and taking 3 points in the last game of the year bodes well for a successful 2012.

The game started brightly with lots of pace and temp, We bossed possession and really imposed our game on Newcastle. Newcastle clogged the midfield and got men behind the ball when ever possible making it hard to break them down. This also blunted them going forward as they offered nothing as an attacking force.

With what had to be Newcastle's first meaningful push forward a Liverpool clearance thundered into Vuckic's face cause him to rush off the field for treatment, the ball was picked up by Newcastle and a seemingly distracted Liverpool defense saw the ball innocuously find the back of the net thanks to a shot by Ba that was slightly deflected off Agger's shoulder. 1-0 Newcastle.

Reina left on the floor as Newcastle take the lead.

We responded magnificently though and went straight on the front foot, and with only 5 mins gone since Newcastle took the lead we were level. Craig Bellamy scored from about 14 yards out as he found space in the box to find the bottom right corner. 1-1!

Bellamy wheels away after bring 'pool back to level terms.

The game continued along the same pattern for the rest of the half, we dominated the ball with out threatening to much and Newcastle sat back. Carroll was starved of service yet again and didn't really seem to link well at all with any of the Liverpool attacking players. Half Time came and it was 1-1

The second half started off much the same as the first one ended, lots of Liverpool possession without much cutting edge. Newcastle were defending well, closing down the space quickly and forcing us to use our wide men to get the ball into threatening areas.

Then a game changing moment happened. On the hour mark Steven Gerrard was subbed on and Adam was taken off. Adam had a good game, he is defiantly a better player when he's not playing in that holding midfield role and he should be pleased with his contribution.

With Stevie G on the field we looked like another team. All of a sudden Carroll was getting service, and defense splitting balls where being played all over the park. Carroll nearly scored when a Stevie g cross found Carroll's head only for it to hit the cross bar. Shortly after that we did take the lead when Daniel Agger won a free kick outside the area. Craig Bellamy took on the responsibility and he curled his shot past the Newcastle keeper Krul who must of been unsighted by the on running Carroll. 2-1 'pool!

Bellamy Curls his free kick past an unsighted Krul 2-1 Liverpool!

Shortly after we took the lead Newcastle had a chance to equalize when Demba Ba found himself 1 on 1 with Agger, he then delightfully chipped the on coming Reina and the ball looked goal bound until a heroic effort from Skrtel saw him clear the ball off the line, a fantastic piece of defending that saw us go on to win us the game.

Not only was it a morale boost for everyone to see Stevie G back and playing well he went on to score! with one of his typical driving runs into the box down the left he looked to find Carroll, but he was well marked and before the ball found the byline Stevie drilled the ball through the legs of the Newcastle keeper. 3-1 'pool and Stevie is back!

Stevie G scores from a tight angle to finish off Newcastle

At 3-1 Newcastle were beaten and never looked like coming back into it. Liverpool saw the game out easily with Andy Carroll almost netting number 4 when a sloppy Newcastle back pass left keeper Krul playing his clearance against Carroll only for it rebound well away from him and into the path of Downing who hit a hopeful shot from 40+ yards out that sailed over the bar,

3-1 was the final score, a much more confident and lethal Liverpool performance. I'm happy with the result and how well the lads applied themselves against a difficult Newcastle side.

FTK MoM: Jay Spearing

It would of been easy to pick Bellamy as the MoM tonight but i went with the unsung performance of Jay Spearing. I thought that Jay was fantastic tonight in that holding midfield role, breaking down Newcastle's passing game, pressing the midfield so they had little to no time on the ball, and spraying attacking passes out to our wingers with exceptional accuracy. Players like Jay often do allot of the work with none of the plaudits, that stops today, well done Jay!


pics courtesy of liverpoolfc.tv

FROM THE KOP IN 2012

What would you like to see added to my Liverpool blog in 2012? more general football opinion? transfer rumors? other features? have your say in the comments below!

Happy New Year from FTK!

Prediction: Liverpool v Newcastle

Tomorrow Newcastle visit Anfield and they will be keen to turn around their slump in form since being beaten after that amazing unbeaten run at the start of the season. Taking into consideration how we are playing at the moment at home (an the fact Suarez has been banned for 1 match) i can't look beyond another draw. Will Carroll start against his old club and finally find some form? can we keep Demba Ba quiet?

This fixture has a rich history of producing some thrilling games, but this time i think there will be to few shots gone wide to warrant a goal feast.

Prediction: Liverpool 1 Newcastle 1
I'm going to back Carroll to get our goal, late in the second half.

Review: Liverpool 1 Blackburn 1

SCRAPPY 'POOL STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME DOGGED ROVERS.

Yet another example of how we have struggled in front of goal this season. With bottom of the pile Blackburn Rovers visiting this game should of been an easy 3 points for us. But football isn't about "should of's" or "might of been'"s the bottom line about our Boxing day clash with Blackburn was that we weren't simply good enough.

Anfield was flat all game, i haven't seen or heard Anfield this quiet in a long time and i think this reflected the fans feelings on quickly we are getting fed up of dropping points against visibly weaker teams. That one of the beauties of the premier league though, there's no such thing as an easy game.

The 1st half was scrappy, and it took about 20 minutes before Liverpool had a meaningful attempt on goal. Shouts for a penalty where waved away after the Rovers keeper brought down Suarez near the 6 yard box only to have the assistants flag raised for offside seconds earlier.

This set the tone for the 1st half, scrappy slow and predictable as attack after Liverpool attack was easily dealt with by the Blackburn defense.

For all our dominance and possession it was Rovers that took the lead just on half time when they one a corner, which was whipped in to the near post only to have Charlie Adam deflect it off his ankle and sail past Pepe. 1 attempt on goal for rovers and they were 1 up,. Set pieces undoing us yet again.

Adam own goal makes it 1-0 Rovers at Half time.

The 2nd half was better from 'pool. There seemed to be allot more urgency to our play. Maxi who was pretty lost all game other than linking up with Suarez a few times came to life. and really drove Liverpool on. It looked like the attacking plan was very simple, get the ball wide and hit in early crosses, this was the mandate for the rest of the game with both wingers Maxi/Bellamy, Downing being very involved in the build up play.

It wasn't long before we found ourselves level. a Corner that was only partially cleared by rovers was delightfully crossed back in by Skrtel to the far post where an unmarked Maxi nodded it in from 6 yards out to make it 1-1.

The Lads celebrate leveling the game up

Once the goal went in it was all Liverpool again, Suarez was particularly active without really being a threat, Carroll was..... well Carroll. Henderson drifted in and out of the game, and i though that Adam playing the holding midfield role again was not having is best of days.

On a positive note it was great to see Stevie G back on the field for us. His mere presence lifted the team and with his range of passing, creativity and influence he really added to the Liverpool team.This lifted the Anfield faithful too who had otherwise been very quiet all game.

For all of our possession and attempts on goal we never looked like getting that winner. Carroll came close in added time but a fantastic save from the rovers keeper meant the game ended 1-1. A good result for rovers who proved that even if your own fans don't back you any more you can still gut it out and earn a point and one of the biggest places to play professional football.

Frustration and disappointment sum up how i feel about today's result. another team we should of beat and didn't and this need to improve if we are too challenge for a European spot this year.

FTK MoM: Jose Enrique

For me, Jose was our best player out their today. He made lots of excellent runs going forward, wanted the ball and was strong at the back when tested. In a sub par Liverpool performance Jose was my man of the match.






pics: liverpoolfc.tv

Prediction: Liverpool v Blackburn

Rovers visit us on boxing day in what has to be a must not lose game for them. They are bottom of the league at Christmas which usually means relegation come may.  With the Fans wanting the manager Steve Kean out, and the team playing like amateurs i can only see thing get worse for them on Monday.

This could be the game were Liverpool finally let loose in front of goal, here's hoping! 

Result: Liverpool 4 Blackburn 0

Review: Wigan 0 Liverpool 0

WASTEFUL LIVERPOOL LUCKY TO GET POINT AT THE DW

Do i sound like a broken record yet? another game with more points dropped. This is a frustrating state of affairs and i hope that it gets resolved soon.

On a positive note, the lads shown here above during the warm up are seen showing their support for 'Pool front man Luis with T-shirts and a smile, great to see!


Now the game; i thought for at least 30mins of the first half we were the better team. creating all sorts of headaches for the Wigan defense without adding the killer touch.  For some reason it seemed like the team wanted to walk the ball into the net instead of creating space in the box for shots on goal. We did test the Wigan keeper a few times but he was on form and we found it hard to get any sort of serious pressure on him.

Maxi leaves the wigan player for dead

For all our first half domination we couldn't take the lead and as the half went on Wigan started to break on the counter causing us some grief. As half time approached 0-0 was the score and a fair reflection on how well Wigan kept us out.


For all of Wigan's competitive play i thought we were poor, more so in the second half as we seemed to run out of ideas. Both Downing and Maxi played bit parts for the whole game not being that influential. Adam and Henderson worked hard in the middle of the park, and Suarez had one of his off nights it seemed like nothing could go right for him with the ball at his feet and was quite ineffectual. Maybe this was a result of the news frenzy surrounding is 8 match ban he received yesterday. 

Wigan really did well to stick to their game plan, and made it hard for us to break them down yet they still posed a threat going forward once they won the ball. Our slow short passing game was perfect for Wigan to get 9 men behind the ball, for which they would explode into attack when Liverpool lost possession. 

Handball, Liverpool's chance to take the lead in the 2nd half

Mid way through the second half a hopeful ball into the box found Suarez attempt a bicycle kick shot on goal only for a Wigan defender's out  stretched hand to get in the way and a penalty was awarded.
Charlie Adam stepped up to take it, his shot was hit well and hard to the keeper's left hand side and the Wigan keeper made a great save to deny us the 1st goal of the game.

To be honest, looking at our record from set pieces, and penalties specifically i wasn't confidant we'd score. Before Adam stepped up we were 1 of 4 with 4 different takers and true to form this penalty save made it 1/5.

After that we seemed to lose a little energy and drive, and Wigan appeared to be galvanized by it pushing on to give us lots to worry about for the rest of the game. Even with Bellamy, Maxi and Carroll being subbed on we still played the same predictable style, slow and wide thanks to the wall of blue shirts we couldn't get past.

After about the 75 minute mark there wasn't allot to shout about. Both teams created half chances but nothing definitive enough to win the game and 0-0 it ended.

On reflection of the game i think that we played pretty poorly with Downing, Maxi, Suarez and Kuyt being particularly disappointing. Credit to Wigan though, they played the game their way and forced us to try and break them down, which we failed to do. 0-0 is probably the right result, but we really should be beating teams like Wigan if we want a European spot.

FTK MoM: Ali Al Habsi (Wigan)

I have chosen Al Hasbi as the FTK MoM because i thought he was the best player on the pitch for the 90 minutes. Apart from the penalty save Al Hasbi made some crucial stops in the first half, his distribution was good and overall i though he had a great game.





pics: liverpoolfc.tv, wiganathletic.co.uk

Prediction: Wigan v Liverpool

Wigan will be no pushovers tomorrow night as we travel to the DW Stadium. On a high from their draw with Chelsea on the weekend which they deserved a point from they will be looking to best us on their home ground.

Prediction: Wigan 1 Liverpool 1 (downing)

it will be a tough game, and i think a 1-1 draw is on the cards. 

bring on the silly season!

Suarez Gets 8 Match Ban After Inquest

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/999502/liverpool-slam-fa-over-luis-suarez-racism-verdict?cc=3436

This is no short than a miss carriage of justice, how the disciplinary board can take one players word over another is beyond me. I feel that should this ban stick our chances of top 6 are gone.

Like my fellow Liverpudlians i am outraged that Luis has been found guilty of such a callous thing like racial abuse. Liverpool players aren't like that, never have been and never will be and i stand with the club in backing Luis' innocence in the matter.  With people baffled by the decision i am at a loss of words in describing my anger over this.

That being said, why isn't Evra banned? is this another notch in the man utd belt where the EPL and FA look the other way?  it sure feels that way... or are the FA looking for a scape goat to show the rest of the leagues whos the boss? who knows, but it's just not on.

source: espnsoccernet.com
pic: espnsoccertnet.com

Review: Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 2

'POOL EASE PAST FLAT VILLA

Yesterday's game against Villa was another solid away performance. 2 goals and a clean sheet, great result!

The 1st 10 mins was all Liverpool, Villa hadn't shown up and this was the theme for the majority of the game.  Villa being restricted to counter attacking chances a with Villa's best chance of the game coming after 9 minutes when a hopeful ball into the box found Heskey unmarked, his header failing to trouble Reina.

With Liverpool's next attack with Downing down the right, we win a corner. Downing himself takes the corner that was nicely drifted into the 8 yard area and with some sloppy Villa defending Craig Bellamy found himself with the ball with a quick and simple tap in Liverpool were 1-0 up.

Bellamy makes it 1-0!

Only 4 mins had past when a dominate 'Pool went 2 up. Creative play down the left saw Liverpool win another corner. Goal scorer Bellamy turned provider as he drilled in the corner into the 6 yard box, meeting Skrtel's head after he made a great cross the box run and he flicked it past the Villa keeper. 2-0!

Skrtel rises unmarked to head past the Villa keeper. 2-0!

We were good value for our 2-0 lead simply out playing Villa in every aspect. Restricting the home team to sloppy passing and aimless counter attacks. It seemed like without their key players Abgonlahor and Bent they weren't much of a team. 

The game really went flat after about 30mins, as we dominated. Maybe if the Villa fans got behind their team instead of booing Downing all game they might have got a response from them.

In the second half Liverpool started much as they did against QPR creating a chance just a minute in with an unmarked Agger missing his header.  The bright start to the second half continued when Suarez cleverly opened up the villa defense only to hit the frame of the goal.

Liverpool continued to dominate the game, keeping the ball well and constantly forcing Villa into mistakes. Suarez almost made it 3  with another clever piece of play found his shot hitting the bar again. Unlucky! as i though although Suarez had a quiet game by his standards his endeavour and skillfulness deserved a goal.

Liverpool choked the life out of the game and the last 20 minutes was played at a training park pace. With the game won Suarez was replaced by Carrol, Shelvey with Carragher and Bellamy came off for Kuyt.

Shelvey's first appearance from the start was solid, although not really tested by the villa midfield he had a good game.

Liverpool celebrate the second goal in a dominant away performance

Overall, we were clearly the better team, and the score line reflects this. Another 3 points away from home is vital in the Christmas period. Note worthy performances came from Adam as the holding midfielder, he didn't light up the park with awe inspiring play but you could tell he was given a job and did it well.  Skrtel was fantastic again at the back with Agger another great game by them even if they were hardly tested it's games like this that test your patience and concentration.

FTK MoM: Craig Bellamy

Craig was outstanding today. 1 goal and 1 assist really cemented how well he played. Lively, creative and clinical he was involved in everything good about our attacking play. Craig was our best player today and clearly deserves FTK's man of the match award.





pics: liverpoolfc.tv

Prediction: Aston Villa v Liverpoool - EPL

My Team Sheet:

SCORE: 1-0 to Liverpool (Maxi)

Opinion: 6 Reasons We Are 6th After 15 Games

In no particular order here are my 6 reasons we currently sit in 6th place after 15 games have been played.

1. Home Form

13 points from a possible 21 at Anfield isn't anything to write home about, but we aren't losing either. Not killing off teams has cost us at home with 5 of our 7 games finishing in a draw. If we want to improve wining our home games is a must.



2. No Cutting Edge But Hard To Break Down
 

 Liverpool have the lowest Goals for total in the top 7, but we also have the lowest goals against total in the top 7. what does all this mean? boring, boring Liverpool? i don't think so. As stated above we have just failed to finish off teams from a wining position for all our good points we need to start adding to the F tally.  I would like to see more goals coming from our Forwards, although we typically play with 1 main striker and one deeper "link"type forward. At the moment Carroll and Suarez aren't doing this. Kuyt is trying but is so use to playing out wide now re skilling his game might prove difficult.  Only Maxi has shown any real understanding of Suarez and should probably be starting more games than Kuyt if Kenny sticks with Suarez up front. Carroll hasn't blossomed yet simply cause of time, more on that later

Things look quiet pleasing in the GA column though only conceding 13 goals from 15 games is a testament to how hard our defenders have been working. That 4-0 thumping at the hands of Tottenham has proven to be a wake up call and everyone at the club has improved immensely in this area.  Special praise goes to Martin Skrtel, he's really turn his form around since that game and his relationship with Carra, Agger, Johnson, Kelly and Enrique. Agger staying fit has been important too especially with Carra out with injury.
  
3. Steven Gerrard

Do we miss our beloved Stevie G? i think so, at least I think we do. Stevie is one of those players that comes along only once in a lifetime that lives and breathes the club he plays for, any club would miss that. 

Making only 1 appearance from the start for Liverpool all season thanks to an infected groin muscle Stevie has been missed as the talisman, the to lift the team and to create or score goals when we really need it.

When you hear the name Gerrard you hear Liverpool Football Club, this on it's own is indispensable. I hope Stevie all the best with his recovery and hope to see him back on the pitch for us very soon!


4. Luis Suarez

 Luis has been the best addition to the squad since we signed Sami Hyypia all those years ago. This fiery little Uruguayan has been top of the class this season causing every one he plays against headaches.  If you have read my match reports you will see how many times he's won my MoM vote.

I picked him as one of the reasons we are sixth because with out his play on or off the ball we'd be lucky to score at all.  As our leading scorer on 5 goals in the league this season he is one of the reasons we are 6th. with out his goals we'd be in the bottom half of the league.

 

5.  Set Pieces

 I don't know if this is deliberate or not but set pieces both attacking and defending seem like an after thought for Kenny's men.

Attacking:
We have been very ineffective from attacking set plays, especially corners yet we have players like Adam that are suppose to be the best hitters of a dead ball in the country yet he can't hit a barn door with a banjo at the moment.  Our corners seem thoughtless and predictable and when you are low on goals like we are when need to squeeze every once out of every opportunity we get. Free kicks have had a little more imagination to them but often the result is the same. This needs to improve if were are to challenge for top 4 or even Europa league this season.

Defending:
Defending set pieces has been a little suspect too and i put this down to a lack of communication in defense and the wrong players marking the wrong players. There's no way a player like Dirk Kuyt should be given the marking job on the opposing teams tallest player. This has since been fixed which is good to see. Also Pepe Reina isn't totally blames here, although i consider him to be the best goalkeeper in the world right now he still has things in his game he can strengthen Those being  coming for crosses and corners and more command from of his area in a free kick situation. Improve these and he'll be unstoppable!

should our set piece play continue to be like it is i can see us only being around top 6, with Christmas around the corner it's going to be tough.

 6. Depth - A Work in Progress

King Kenny said it himself, this squad is a work in progress. With only 31 available players and at least half a dozen of them very little premier league experience the squad is thin.

Kenny will have to buy in January to cover Lucas' injury as well as another striker, and at least another left back if we hope to get back into Europe this season.

It's not all doom and gloom though as i think that the staff at Liverpool have done a great job getting the results we have with the squad we have, but i fear if we get a couple more injuries we might struggle.




















Overall i think that being 6th after 15 games is a good reflection on how we have played. As frustrating as it is to not beat Norwich, Swansea, Man u and Sunderland we aren't losing too and being hard to beat can be a habit a habit I'd like to see flourish as long as we can find a balance and playing wining football at the other end.

Pics: liverpoolfc.tv, espnsoccernet.com

Cup Draws!

Liverpool will play Oldham Athletic at Anfield in the 3rd round of the FA Cup

Liverpool will Play Manchester City in the Semi Final of the League Cup. The game is played over 2 legs, the 1st leg being at the city of Manchester Stadium!

The RedMenTV - Liverpool Fan Youtube Channel

Every Liverpool fan should get onto this site. Liverpool fans talk Liverpool FC, what more could you want?

thanks to Russell Beard for putting me onto this Youtube Channel

Review: Liverpool 1 Queens Park Rangers 0

BLUNT REDS BEAT HOOPS

I'm pleased i was close with my prediction of a 2-1 pool win, and the performance of the lads on the day.

We could of easily been 3-0 up within 20mins as we pummeled the QPR defense, with the QPR keeper being in particularly good form. I thought we passed the ball well, making lots of runs and creating quite a number chances. We were unlucky to go into the break still at 0-0 as i thought we dominated the game with Suarez, Downing and Skrtel having particularly good games,

Suarez rises unmarked 7 yards out to head Liverpool's winner

Not 90 seconds had past in the second half when continued Liverpool pressure saw us win another corner, Adam lifted the corner in for it be headed back to him by the 1st defender he floated the ball back in and a napping QPR defense saw an unmarked Suarez saunter in and head into the bottom left hand corner.  1-0 pool!

Adam and Suarez celebrate the goal

For all our attacking play we couldn't find that second goal, and with 20mins to play QPR changed their tactics bringing on a second striker after playing most of the game with only 1. This changed the balance of the game as QPR tried to find the equalizer Liverpool only saw 12% of the ball.

Time ran out and Liverpool take the 3 points, over the course of the 90 mins we were the better team and fully deserved to win, but we still a little goal shy which has, and will cost us in games against tougher teams.

FTK MoM: Luis Suarez

Luis was top of the class again. QPR couldn't handle him,
He was a real threat and was great value for his goal. creative,
energetic, skillful and lethal. perfect combination





Pics: Liverpoolfc.tv

Prediction: Liverpool v QPR

Instead of doing in depth posts about the opposition due to time restraints i have decided to do a quick prediction post for each game.


Prediction: Liverpool 2 QPR 1

I think we'll end our draw based hoodoo this weekend when QPR this weekend, even though they have a knack of being hard to beat i think we are playing well enough to get the 3 points with goals from Suarez and Carroll (if he plays)

Pics: liverpoolfc.tv

Review: Fulham 1 Liverpool 0

REFEREE COSTS 'POOL POINTS AS SPEARING SEE'S RED

Tonight's game at Fulham was a competitive game, until Jay Spearing unfairly saw a red card for winning the ball.

I'm not one to piss and moan about bad tackles, studs up and all that but the decision to send Jay off for wining the ball is absolutely ridiculous. I've got to get this off my chest before reviewing the game as a whole.

Jay and Jose's reaction says it all...

Jay simply slid in and WON THE BALL fully clearing it out to the center of the field and only the continuation of the slide saw him make contact with his studs on the unlucky Fulham player's ankle. The intent was simply to win the ball, that was all and to send him off for that just goes to show you how much tackling will be made extinct from the game if competitive challenges like that are deemed dangerous even if the player has no control over his momentum after the ball is gone. All the replays show it, at any speed. it was a great piece of competitive play punished by the referee.

Jay's momentum takes him onto Dempsey as he wins the ball for us

I hope Liverpool decide to appeal the card so that Jay doesn't get suspended, and I'm sure they will.

OK, now that i have stated my opinion about the sending off i can move on. I thought that we edged it in the first half, hitting the bar once from a Henderson shot from outside the box. Although Fulham also had their chances we looked more likely to actually convert ours. Suarez was a handful again, which was fantastic to see, his vision, talent and energy was there for all to see and was by far the best player on the field again.

In the second half we looked great we really took the game to Fulham pressuring them in their own 18 yard box. Winning plenty of corners and really testing fulham in a period of play up until the Spearing sending off. With all our pressure and chances i thought we were particularly wasteful not really testing the Fulham keeper despite having plenty of shots on goal. Some credit must got the the Fulham defence who worked really hard to get bodies in the way of any potential threat we caused.

Predictably after the sending off Fulham took control of the game bossing the midfield and creating plenty of chances themselves. Carroll was sacrificed for Kuyt as was Bellamy for Downing. Again Carroll had a quiet game, but without allot of service. He started brightly enough but quickly faded in and out of the game.  Craig had a great game i thought and was only subbed to help sure up our midfield to try and win a point.

It wasn't to be as late on as a hopeful shot from Risse saw Reina fumble the ball in front of him only to have Dempsey pounce and score from 3 yards out and that was the game. To our credit we never gave up and nearly equalized through a Suarez free kick which he slipped while taking causing the ball to sail wide.

Pepe spills the ball into the path of the oncoming Dempsey

It's games like this that make me sad, a game we didn't deserve to lose but because of one moment by one man the complete out come of the game is changed.  It's games like this that make me loath football, despise it but also love it more..strange i know!

FTK MoM: Luis Suarez

Although he hasn't scored in 6 games Luis continues to wow me with his passion for the game. His ability to manipulate the ball (and players) is out of this world and this was all on show again tonight at Fulham. He is our star player right now and he can only get better!



pics: liverpoolfc.tv, skysports.com

Goal of the Month: November

Glen Johnson v Chelsea

I picked this goal for GOTM because i like the way Glen tore through the Chelsea defense leaving them all flat on their ass. It was a great run down the right and into the middle and a classic finish on his left foot!

Unfortunately this was the best quality one i could find

Review: Chelsea 0 Liverpool 2

2 Times The Charm As Liverpool Reach Semi Finals Of The League Cup

Maxi sends us 1 up and runs off to celebrate with Craig

If we play like that, can we play Chelsea every week? I was very happy with the result and performance of the squad players in tonight's League Cup Quarter Final against Chelsea.

I Thought the 1st half was more of a chess match, and both teams really cancelled each other out with very few goal scoring chances. With the even flow of the game i though we edged it and was pretty happy with how it was all going, sure we should of been 1 up with the Carroll penalty being saved but i think that was all a reflection of how the 1st half paned out, happy to be 0-0 but unlucky to not to be 1-0 in front.

Chelsea came out more motivated and determined in the second half and really dominated the game for 10-15mins  without really troubling us too much in the box. This is were we countered and a lovely ball from Henderson to Bellamy and then a defense splitting cross from Bellamy giving Maxi a tap in, much like how Maxi scored a week ago! 1-0 to us!

Kelly thunders a header past the Chelsea keeper to make it 2-0!

The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Chelsea and as Chelsea boss AVB was about to make changes a Liverpool corner drilled to the far post saw an unmarked Martin Kelly rise up and head past the Chelsea keeper to make it 2-0, and in a blink of an eye we looked unstoppable!

Once the 2nd went in you could see we were just happy with what we have, Lucas, Bellamy and Henderson all had great games, and it was a fantastic performance from everyone on the pitch.  it's not all sunshine and roses though as Lucas who has been doing a great job filling in for Stevie G came off with what looked to be a serious knee injury, let's hope that's not the case he has finally been playing well and to get injured now would be a great blow for him, and us.

Overall it was a well rounded performance, not many teams can make Chelsea look rubbish twice on the bounce, and we did. Coates, Kelly played well, as did Adam when subbed on and Spearing did a great job again as the ball wining midfielder.

A great win , i am hopeful and confident that we can go all the way this year!

FTK MoM: Craig Bellamy

Craig was outstanding tonight, full of enthusiasm, creativity, energy and passion. He was involved in everything good about our attacking play creating both goals and generally being a nuisance for Chelsea






pics: liverpoolfc.tv

Review: Liverpool 1 v Manchester City 1

Reds Unlucky Not To Take 3 Points At Anfield

This was the "ultimate" test for us, undefeated league leaders at anfield could we win? would be be competitive? the answer is yes!

We were by far the better team through out the 90mins today. i thought we passed the ball well, quickly and accurately. We created plenty of chances, especially late on and if it wasn't for the heroic efforts of city keeper Joe Hart we would of been the 1st team to beat Man City in the league this season.

But again there were weaknesses in our game that has, and will cost us points this season if not worked on. Set pieces, especially corners quick and high into the box have made us come undone time after time, and again Man City exploited this. With their only real threat on our goal they score, a drilled in corner deflecting off Kompany's shoulder into the net saw us go behind, undeservedly.

The lads responded magnificently though and with 2 mins we were level when Adam found him self with aches of space out side the box a hopeful drive at goal took a wicked deflection wrong footing Joe Hart and nestling in the back of the net to make it 1-1

Ex Toffeman Lescott helps us out making it 1-1!

The 2nd half was more competitive for all it's lack of goal mouth action it was quick and entertaining. We really enforced our game on man city and i thought that the back 4 did a great job keeping the City All Stars quiet.

Once Mario Ballotelli  was subbed on and then sent off i had to laugh, what a moron what a Jekyll and Hide type player, what a nightmare! luckily for us his sending off was the catalyst to more domination but without out the killer touch.

I that that Carroll was lively when he came on for Kuyt almost winning the game for us if it wasn't for the heroic save from Hart.

Overall even though i feel we should of won the game i am happy with a point. i'm also happy with the performance and effort of the boys, a job well done!

On a side note i thought that it was a very nice gesture to hold a minutes silence for Gary Speed and Brad Jones' sun Luka. Luka Lost his battle with leukemia late last week and Gary Speed took his own life in the early hours  of Sunday morning. I would like to extend my greatest condolences to both families in this tough time and know that they will never walk alone.

Liverpool pay their respects to the Jones and Speed families

FTK MoM: Glen Johnson

Glen was terrific all night. He showed us how he can defend as a right back, and how he can attack as an extra winger. He was lively, energetic and outstanding all game.