A very close game whilst 11v11- was disappointed to not see Aqua man... was also disappointed seeing Suarez on the bench as without either player (or Gerrard) we looked to be without creativity. Adam needs to stop being Alonso and scoring from distance... Alonso only did it when the keeper was off his line or unprepared... Adam gives the ball away too frequently by trying it too frequently... not at all disappointed with him overall though. I was hesitant if he could make the step up from orange pool to red pool- but he has been brilliant the first two games. Kelly was much better than Flanny! Very close game- Arsenal was very good considering their squad problems... I think they'll be up in the top 4 come seasons end (or there abouts) - the 3 points against them will be critical come the end of the season. Frim-fram ping-pong was pretty impressive for Arsenal- I don't think he ever did anything malicious- but some of his tackling was quite reckless- definately deserved a red overall for the sheer number of bad challenges- I think as he matures he will be imense for Arsenal- he seems to have a lot of passion and drive. As a Liverpool fan I was glad to see us get the numerical advantage (and it was only that and the introduction of Suarez that changed it from an even game to one in which we were better). As a human with some empathy- I was quite sad to see him leave... I was enjoying watching him play. That should have been off-side for the first goal... but I'll take it.
Enrique really impressed me, a few good runs, linked well with Downing and Kuyt,and can see him doing the same with Suarez Never gave Walcott a sniff
I was a bit indifferent about todays game. Some poor choices by Dalglish again (in my worthless opinion), Henderson just doesn't seem to offer much to the team, whereas one of last years best players, Meireles, really should have started. It was understandable for Suarez to be on the bench, as he was lacking fitness the previous week. On the other hand Enrique looks to be quite a player and Kelly is far superior to the even younger Flanagan, however I still feel Johnson's ability going forward is missed at times. Downing with Enrique is the most impressive of the new signings to me, but he is much more effective down the left where he can use his pace and his prefered foot. Our central midfield is worrying me, I felt that Arsenal dominated us there today, Lucas gets the job done normally, but he was a little off today. Watching Adam though, just makes me miss Gerrard. Don't get me wrong his balls are good (apart from a few set pieces earlier on), but he seems to lack the energy in the middle and lack of driving forward. Upfront was also a problem for me, Carroll looks far more effective when with Suarez, but alone and with Kuyt it is all too much of the same and for most of today we completely lacked a cutting edge when we had the ball in dangerous areas. We just looked a bit confused with what to do with ourselves! Having criticised a fair bit, we were solid today which was good and never looked like we would concede, just not too much sustained pressure when we were on top. They were there for the taking and I seriously believe we could have and maybe should have won that 4-0, instead we got one lucky goal and a nicely worked one thanks to Meireles!
I disagree about the decision to play Henderson over Meireles. Last week he looked poor when he came on and his appearance today came at just the right time.
Arsenal vs Liverpool...My analysis...Get in there you ****ing beauties Not our greatest performance today and at 0-0 I was thinking it could have been a real missed opportunity but job done. Slightly weird team selection but at the end of the day having Luis and Raul coming off the bench could've swung that match even if it was still 11 vs 11. Thought Henderson was poor first half but really improved second and just a few glimpses of what he's all about, Carroll needs a goal and was very good in spells but pretty damn bad in spells, Adam seems to be settling in pretty well and Enrique was really solid (how many times did Walcott get to the byline? Not many). Back four looks solid now and for me Johnson will be hard pushed to keep Kelly out much longer coz he was solid again. Mention for Reina as well for two great saves 3 massive points for us that today and a big confidence boost hopefully. I'm happy for a week at least
We must rememberthat we are still integrating as a team.At times the passing and movement was excellent and its only natural that at times that passing and movement isn't as good as it should be .However,if we are getting points during this time then thats great.All of the new signings have added something to the team (Henderson not as much...yet) and from what I have seen Adam looks to be doing a great job.Lucas will improve over the next few weeks as his sharpness returns. As for Gerrard what team wouldn't miss him and it will be good to have him back but we can win without him and when he is back he will be,hopefully,100% fit ,something we haven't seen for some time. It's fantastic we have players on the bench like Suarez and Mereilles who can come on and win a match for us..when did that last happen? Performances will improve as the team gels,lets see where we are in 10 games time.
Jaffacop- I agree about Henderson and Carroll: Henderson seems "stable". He seems to be fairly anonymous...he doesn't do much of note- neither mistakes nor brilliant moves. He does however link up and play good passes. - he wasn't the most inspired of choices. As for Carroll... yeah, he's good in the air... so I hear from many- but he is easy to nullify out of the game though... mark him closely so he doesn't have much chance to strike and he has zero impact on the game. You need someone tricky like Suarez on the field in order to force the defence to give him room. Carroll doesn't appear able to make his own room. Carroll as a lone striker is ineffective.
Good point kph. If the team that started managed to hold on to a 0-0 at Arsenal, including Henderson who at the moment is just linking passes and is around if we need a good pass. This is something we lacked previously, players like Downing, Henderson and Charlie Adam who can play a quick pass but when needed can unleash a long pass upfield on the counter attack. Ontop of that to bring Suarez on Meireles into the game who gave us that boost in energy it was like a dream to see players come off the bench and make a difference. I guess my point is we CAN leave them on the bench because players like Henderson can meanwhile play and do what Meireles would of done but the point isn't that he lacks the 'spectacular' feeling, that very point is that he is a simple guy, passes when needs to and plays it well. Just stringing a few passes whilst Meireles is ready to burst onto the scene and do the same job, with the energy boost. And who other than Luis Suarez would he have wanted to tuck them in? I can only think of Dirk Kuyt (Who is almost impossible to leave out of the starting line up) and Maxi Rodriguez on our team that have that perfect poach style that can get them accurate anywhere in the box. Not to mention the fact that we still play passes via the midfielders in the box instead of just shooting, waiting for the defence to actually carve open and forcing the keeper to run our players down, only for a nifty pass for the striker to hit the ball into an empty net. Anyone remember this against Wolves in January? This made none other than Fernando Torres score a goal, who assisted it again..?
I agree with Jatt's and Milk's comments on Henderson. Great passer but can improve on other areas. Just wrote a thread on him, I can only see this team improve as they gel. The more games we win the more the team can enjoy themselves and bond a great relationship.
My analysis: at odds of 13-1 I wish I'd bet more than £2 on a 2-0 scoreline. But there you go; I'm not normally a gambler. I also chucked £3 on a Liverpool win at 3-1 so all in all £35 wasn't bad for my first bet of the season. Cheers Arsene for not signing anyone.
