I understand a few of you are dissapointed to say the least following our first game ending in a draw, but theres been a buzz around Anfield over the summer and I'm sure none of us want it removed just after one game. We started off well with some very good one touch passing. The penalty won by Luis Suarez following his half-way line dash was off the mark but it was only a few minutes into the game and everything looked in order anyway. Suarez made up for the miss by slotting home a neat header after Charlie Adam took a free-kick which Suarez had won. The game looked good, we were comfortable with the ball, got men in the right position when we were off it and were moving the ball around nicely. We had a few chances which could have ended better but generally the feel was that Liverpool were in control. Jose Enrique didn't seem to making the runs on the left hand side but this solidified the defence further, allowing Lucas and Adam to move forward without having to worry about the defence. All was well until the whistle blew and everyone took a break. A pizza and a pot noodle welcomed the second half as I got ready for the second half with much anticipation. Slowly I realised something was wrong. The player's passing seemed to be less accurate and less players were moving about. Downing was nowhere to be seen and Suarez didn't get enough of the ball either. Sunderland were in possesion and we seemed to press in a panic rather than in good time and with the right amount of aggression. We conceded and looked fairly vulnerable for the rest of the game. We moved players up in the final quarter of the game but for some reason we decided to hit the ball upfield via a hoofball style. What went wrong? The changes of Suarez for Meireles seemed to have made it worse without a tricky/unpredictable player in the attacking third although Dirk Kuyt did his best to liven up the right hand side. I firmly believe the problem was in the passing, or shall I say lack of. We had a great first half when we were comfortable and composed on the ball as we passed it around giving every one their fair shares of touches, the second half players didn't look to get in the right positions to make the passing possibly. We let the Sunderland players take charge and pressed with no real composure which led to a start-stop style. We failed to get the team linking up with one another which resulted in Sunderland having more time on the ball which enabled them to find the space which resulted in the goal. However this is the first game of the season and we did manage to wrap up a point. The positives we can take range from Charlie Adam looking incredibly dangerous with his long variety in his passing and Downing one of the players to watch this season following his quick nifty passing and encouraging dribbles. Its a long time since we had a winger like Downing and after the performance he put out in the first half it was thoroughly entertaining. Overall I feel although it was dissapointing to only come away with a point we managed to still grind out at least 45 minutes of team co-ordinated play with a team which started with seven players who hadn't played for Liverpool this time last year. It's only one game and we showed some promise and I hope everyone can understand we musn't let this cause a negative atmosphere amongst our supporters. We have to accept that we managed a point and move onto the next game. Let's move our focus to the Newcastle vs Arsenal game and get some pointers for the game against Arsenal next week. Chin up lads! Lil Jatt
Good analysis mate. I haven't seen the game but from what i've read and heard, your analysis seems spot on. At the end of the day, it's only one game. We've got 37 more games to put in better performances and pick up more points. If we can put in our first-half performance in the second half of games, we should do well this season. EDIT: I'll try and give a better reaction to your analysis once i've seen the highlights.
A good analysis Jatt I must admit i am disappointed - not just with the result but with the second half performance. Shocking at best. First half we were brilliant and should of wrapped it up, god knows how Sunderland didn't end up with 10 men. We were sharp and it all looked very promising. Could of and should of been 3-0 at 45 mins. Then the second half. ****ing embarrassment to be honest - no one could string a pass together, fitness levels were poor. No-one looked like they were going to make the difference, it was just very average. Brown absolutely dominated Carroll, who seriously should be impressing by now. Look i agree it's only the first game and i am still very much optimistic - however, why Kenny chose Flanno and Henderson ahead of Kelly and Kuyt is beyond me. Surely with a new squad we need our experienced players to help pull the team together? I like Flanno but today he had a shocker, we could of lost to be honest due to one of his mistakes. We seriously need to beat Arsenal next week - if we do then today's result wont seem too bad.
In fairness your analysis is pretty much spot on although I think Suarez had tired and our performance as a whole had dropped off before the substitution. Enrique looked cautious to go forward probably due to being so new to the team and Downing who was superb first half drifted inside far too much second half and went from being one of the best players on the park first half to being pretty anonymous second. Carroll again failed to impress me much although in his defence we left him far too isolated up front after the break but his performances need to start improving if we are to see any success this year. Charlie Adam deserves credit for putting a decent shift in and again Flanagan came in and looked like a really good prospect for the future. I think the decision not to send off Richardson was probably the key because had we been playing 10 men for 80 odd minutes there's no way we wouldn't have taken three points. Overall though more positives than negatives but still a lot of hard work to do to get this team looking top four but we all know Kenny isn't afraid of hard work so as Lil Jatt says...chin up lads
Kelly must have had something wrong and I feel hendo played due to it being Sunderland. I expect Kuyt in and probably Kelly in. The ball watching by Flano for that goal was astounding! Good goal though, but have a look over your shoulder man!
I know Flanagan was guilty of a couple of mistakes but he's only young playing a bloody tough position and he was pretty solid the rest of the game so lets not be too critical of the young 'uns. Agree that it was a surprise to see him in ahead of Kelly especially as he was on the bench but I have no doubt John Flanagan has a big future ahead of him at Liverpool so lets not be too harsh so early in his career
Yeah very true. But why if Kelly was clearly fit didn't he start ahead of Flanno? After all Kelly is a better player. Flanno will definitely come good though and be a future star.
He is very promising, but a very costly mistake. I would have preferred Kelly in there but again, something must have been array for him not to play. Just not sure why he did not try to put a head on that is all.
Another idiotic post by the 2nd biggest idiot on our board, congratulations. Keep this up and you may take over from Wakka as being the biggest **** on Not606
First game of the season and the doubters are already panicking. No wonder the players wilt under pressure when the nail biting from the fans starts midway through the first game. Give it a few games before judging the players, when their fitness levels and understanding of each other improves. I predict good times ahead, but am realistic as of now.
welcome to the site Raffles. Couldn't agree more to your post to be honest And to the Sunderland fans that replied to my comment - good on you and seriously all the best for the future
Yeah I think Kelly is probably better but he has made mistakes as well and whilst I agree that he should've dealt with it, it was still a bloody good finish from Larsson which obviously makes the mistake seem a hundred times worse but I thought on the whole he looked pretty solid again especially as Sunderland targeted him quite a bit. Kelly was in the Echo during the week saying because Johno wasn't fit he thinks he'll play so I just wonder if Kenny was sending him a little message to say don't get too comfy yet son
Thanks and agreed. First game, dissapointing but we have to move on quickly. One thing about your post which is something we all feel, the result wasn't the thing we're dissapointed with as supporters, its the second half performance and I'm sure KK echo'ed our feelings in the dressing room after the game. KK did make a few decisions that proved unpopular with a fair few of the supporters, young Flanagan wasn't a player I expected to be playing for most of the season let alone starting the first game. The Kuyt one was a big one. A player that puts so much into their game and hasn't dissapointed, left out. Maybe even if he wasn't playing, another experienced player should have. I immediantely think of Maxi, a fantastic player in my opinion and shown he can do it in the back end of the last season. A result next week is vital to our team morale, if we lose we'll no doubt be on the backfoot in the league, and if we draw it could be as dissapointing as today. Agreed. In all fairness I wouldn't have played Suarez. Yes he might have looked sharp in training but playing him today gave a feeling that we needed to play him, I don't want us all relying on him like we did with Gerrard and Torres. Charlie Adam was above and beyond my expectations. He showed a great range of abilities, tackling, shooting and of course his passing. I guess Flano is learning and we all have to cut him some slack because he really is quite young. I hope he gets a chance but not in such a highly anticipated game such as the first game of the season. Overall, glad to have positive replies and happy to see you all agree it was the performance we're upset with not the result. We can move onto the next game and hopefully get ourselves a good run from there
Ya , top finish man. Those two will be massive for us down the road, just wanted 3 points today though and we should have killed the game off, not all on Flanagan.
I agree with Skylarker. The game was one of two halfs,the first half was energetic and we were up for the fight, for the life of me I cannot understand why Suarez took the penalty which was a penalty and a specialist penalty taker(Charlie Adam) didn't. However, the referee made the correct decision to not send Richardson off. However the referee made one howler there was nothing wrong whatsoever with Andy Carrolls goal. There was no infringement on Anton Ferdinand. 8/10 times they are given. Then again I thought the referee was fussy. Wes Brown was winning frees for fouls that even Howard Webb at Old Trafford wouldn't give as fouls. He spent more time dry humping the grass than Nani normally does. As for the second half, the fitness and energy seemed to have been drained out of the side. Charlie Adam whose incisive passing in the first half lacked energy. Jordan Henderson also went flat. Suarez who is a slow burner looked a bit jaded second half. Downing disappeared for a spell too. Andy Carroll for the whole 90 minutes wasn't at the races. I believe Kenny needs to sit down and have a word with him and just say ''Someone of your strength and size should not be bullied by defenders, you should be the one doing the bullying'' With the lack of energy, came the lack of invention and the passes began to stray. It became very sloppy. If we don't for 90 minutes against Arsenal who are the keep ball specialists, we'll get killed. We've a good chance of winning if we perform as well as we did first half. Overall it was a mixed bag in a game, we really should have won.
Well what did we learn from today? (1) 4 debutantes is too many to put on the pitch all at the same time. When they were pumped with adrenalin it worked but ehn the 'hard miles' needed to be run in the 2nd half, you need that team understanding to help you cope. (2) When you have the advantage running with you, it is vital to capitalise. 1-0 at HT always meant that there was a chance for Sunderland in the 2nd. (3) That Flannigan will be a decent FB but that kelly has the edge of him at the present. (4) That Suarez is not the super-athlete that he thinks he is. (5) That the defensive pattern was far better than any of the pre-season showed. I particularly like tha 'pack' defending in the 1st Half. (6) That Miraeles is not a creative midfielder. (7) That Aqua was needed in the 2nd half to play balls in and around the area 10 yeards outside of their box. (8) That when we are expeiencing a 2nd half like that had today , Adam must move 10 yeards further up the pitch. (9) That we need a 3rd striker (10) that there's planty to build on for the rest of the season
I agree, it was a goal and I think Sky or someone else said earlier that when a defender shirt pulls or knocks a striker about in the box its not a penalty, vice versa and even the slightest results in a free kick.
Yes a very disappointing result.i heard the 1st half on the radio and we were very much on top and really should have been 3 up.I managed to see the 2nd half on the internet and,as most have commentated,it looked like one our performances under Hodgson. But no need to panic it was always going to take a while to bed in the new players although I thought Adam,Downing and Enrique did well.Henderson looked out of it but the big worry is Caroll who was just bossed by Wes Brown (of all people).He needs to use his size and strength more(Mind when he did the useless ref Dowd penalised him) I think Kenny got it wrong at right back and Kuyt should have been playing.Think Maxi and Aqua should have been on bench. However,very early so lets keep the faith after all we still have stevie g to come back. One final thing..great finish by Larsson!!
