Article: Sunderland 0 Liverpool 2 - Match Reaction

I agree about Carroll - he's got class but he's yet to find his form, it may take him until the beginning of next season to truly find his feet again in my opinion. It's been a big season for him - coming into the EPL, going for 35m to the most successful club in English football and asked to become the target man for the first team. It's enough pressure to make anyone falter but I believe given a little time he'll be scoring ~30 goals a season for us.

I just hope he can get some more training with the ball on the ground, I don't want to see him turn out to be the type of attacker who will get 10 heads on the ball a game but 1 dribble. I want him to be utilised as a striker first and foremost and a set piece target man secondly.

 

Good solid win for you guys and one that was thoroughly deserved. King Kenny going to be in charge next season???

 

I sincerely hope so!

 

20 points now from a possible 30 since Kenny Dalglish took the helm in January. When you consider that includes a defeat at Blackpool and a home draw with Wigan, two games that if we were to play again would almost certainly result in six points in my opinion, it’s a pretty impressive turnaround in fortunes and clearly Kenny has done enough to earn himself a permanent contract and the opportunity to address the obvious flaws the squad has.

This was a fairly routine victory, we didn’t have to play particularly well to get it but we did enough and defensively we were excellent. Sunderland barely gave us any problems, and by the end Asamoah Gyan had resorted to diving all over the place in the vain hope of getting something from a referee the Mackems were convinced had it in for them. Did they have a point? I’d say no, but then I would, wouldn’t I? Had we been on the end of some of those decisions I wouldn’t have been happy, I can’t deny that.

Sunderland claim the game turned on the award of the pen. I guess it did, but let’s not get carried away here, it’s not as though they were all over us and we were on the back foot. We’d had the better chances up to that point, and although technically it wasn’t a penalty, morally it was as it was a cynical foul. Mensah showed a surprising lack of intelligence (yeah I know, sorry!) and he paid the price for it. He thought he’d commit the foul outside the box, pick up his inevitable booking and then take his chances we don’t score the free-kick. It was cynical, and it backfired. He didn’t go for the ball, he deliberately brought down Spearing and he was always running the risk of it being a pen as these things happen so quickly and a player’s momentum always carries him well into the box, which can influence the officials’ judgement.

The ref correctly said free-kick at first, but when our lads urged him to look at the linesman who was signalling penalty, he did and changed his mind. Steve Bruce was predictably unhappy: “The referee was 10 yards away, gives a free-kick and stands there and gives a free-kick for at least 20 seconds and then obviously the linesman’s jumped in from 80 yards away and gives a decision which obviously is wrong. Now I’m all for getting the decision right and if that decision had been right then you’ve got no question to it, but to give the decision from 80 yards away when the referee is 10 [away] when the referee’s first reaction was it was outside is not good.” 80 yards away???? Kinell, I wouldn’t want to play golf with him, and not just because my golfball might get sucked in to his gravitational pull and start orbiting his head. “Howay did ya see that 800 yard drive there man? Shame a missed tha putt, but we’ll just have ta pick worselves up like” I can’t stand people who exaggerate just to try and prove a point, if I’ve said it once I must have said it a billion times.

Compare and contrast his attitude to this decision with that of the beach ball incident last year. “They have got it on telly with the guy who threw it on and it’s got Liverpool crests all over it. What a shame.” He also said “these things happen in football” So, on the penalty incident I’ll say “Yes, you can see on telly that it was a yard outside the box and should never have been a penalty. What a shame. These things happen though, don’t they Brucie?”

I actually don’t usually mind Bruce too much, but he was quick to defend the officials for not knowing the rules after beach ball gate, so how about extending similar understanding to Kevin Friend and his linesman this time? It’s easy to say it’s no pen when you’re watching slow motion replays, but I thought it was a pen when I first saw it, and I’m sure a lot of other people did too. The initial tackle was a yard outside the box, but it looks to me on the replays that it was not the first lunge that brought Spearing down, it was the trailing leg that caught Jay’s heel a fraction outside the box. Still an incorrect decision, but a lot closer than people are saying. As for the referee going with the linesman’s judgement, it has nothing to do with distance to the incident, it’s about angles and the linesman was in line with it and said it was inside. A referee should always go with that, he’d be irresponsible not to. It’d be like over ruling an offside flag. If the linesman’s wrong, then it’s on him, not the referee.

Mr Friend further angered Sunderland with other decisions, notably awarding a free-kick on the edge of the box after he’d played the advantage when Carroll had been hacked down. Meireles was clean through and should have scored, but he blazed a shot over and Sunderland were livid when the ref then pulled it back for the free-kick. I believe the official was within his rights to do that, but I don’t believe it was the fair thing to do and I’d have been angry at that too. Meireles wasted the advantage, and we shouldn’t have been given a second crack at it in my opinion.

He later sent off Mensah for a professional foul on Suarez. Difficult one that, by the letter of the law it was correct, but it does seem a little harsh when you look at it. He did bring Suarez down, and he did have a grab at him so I guess it was deliberate, but Suarez was clever in making sure he got across the front of Mensah and it would have been very difficult for the defender NOT to have brought him down. A straight red seems a bit severe, whereas if it had been a second yellow I don’t think there could have been room for any complaint, although I’m sure Bruce would have found some.

There were a lot of strange decisions from Mr Friend, including a throw in that was awarded to us when it looked like the ball clearly came off Carragher. The Sunderland fans went nuts at that one, but then they were appealing for anything and everything at that stage. The amount of ‘handball’ claims from the Mackem crowd would have been a world record for a single ninety minute game had it not been for the existence of a lil’ old wooden shack just off County Road. The worst decision he made was to award a free-kick against Ngog when Henderson appeared to be tackled by the invisible man (no, I’m not talking about the one currently wearing the number nine shirt at Chelsea). Amazingly bad decision that one, even if it meant nothing to the outcome of the game.

 

When it comes to luck with refereeing decisions, we’ve had far more bad than good this year, so if we were on the right end in this fixture then it’s about bloody time. We also had some fortune in terms of injuries, as Sunderland had three players leave the field hurt which didn’t help their cause at all. The Black Cats are on a bit of a bad run at the moment, and it showed in their performance as they were unable to test Reina at any stage of the game. They were especially poor up front, perhaps understandably as they can no longer call on the services of last season’s match winner, and they’ve lost Darren Bent too of course.

Our back four played very well, with the fit again Agger continuing his impressive recent run as a lucky charm. I read a stat on twitter today saying in Agger’s last six games we’ve won them all and not conceded a goal in any of them. Wrap him in cotton wool Kenny. Actually best not, knowing his luck he’ll develop an allergic reaction to it and miss the next three games.

Welbeck was well shacked by Carragher, and on the other flank Johnson was untroubled by whoever it was who was playing right wing for them, some French fella I’d never heard of. In midfield we bossed it too, with Spearing particularly impressive at both ends of the pitch. There’s no point me saying too much about Jay, as I’m probably his biggest fan and therefore I’m biased, but even those who doubt him would surely concede he played very well in this game.

He won the penalty out of nothing as it was a bad ball by Lucas that went straight to Mensah, but Speo put him under pressure and capitalised on the mistake. That penalty doesn’t happen if he doesn’t a) make the initial run beyond the forwards, and b) chase a seemingly lost cause. He also produced the pass of the match to play in Suarez in, only for him to be denied by a terrific low save by the keeper and in the second half he almost got on the scoresheet himself with a blistering left foot shot from 20 yards that was acrobatically turned way by the keeper. He’s developing nicely, and just needs games now to show whether he is good enough or not. Kenny clearly likes him, and he will surely get more opportunities before the season is out to show if he deserves a place in the squad next season.

I thought he was man of the match, but Sky went for Suarez, no doubt heavily influenced by his fantastic strike for the second goal. He’s just electric any time he has the ball at his feet in the box, and even when it looks like there is no option for him he just does something that you didn’t think possible. The goals he made for Johnson and Kuyt and this one he scored himself are perfect examples of it. On all of those occasions, when he collected the ball there looked like no danger. A bit of magic later and it’s in the net. We’d still be in Europe had he been available against Braga, I’ve got no doubt about that. He gives us so much more of a cutting edge to our game and he’s settled in quicker than probably anyone had anticipated.

It’s been more difficult for fellow new boy Andy Carroll, who has to sit it out and watch as Suarez hit the ground running. They started together for the first time at the Stadium of Light, and the end result was very encouraging. A comfortable win, a goal for Suarez and only a goal-line clearance preventing Carroll getting on the scoresheet too. The partnership showed encouraging flashes, but there were also moments where you could see they are still trying to get to know one another’s strengths.

One such example came in the first half when Suarez broke forward through the centre and Carroll made a run across him out to the left. To me it looked like Carroll was just trying to make space for his partner by taking a defender out of the middle but Suarez played him the ball. Carroll didn’t seem to be expecting it, and the move slowed down as he had to hold it up and wait for support, which arrived from the ever willing Spearing but the move broke down.

Suarez wasn’t happy about it, he wanted an earlier pass, but really he would have been better going on his own rather than playing it to Carroll in that position. The big fella is not going to dribble past his man and playing the ball to him there was only ever going to slow the attack down. That’s the kind of thing that they will work out the more they play together, and there was far more good than bad from them. I can’t wait to see them team up again, but unfortunately that’s not happening any time soon as we have yet another international break this weekend. Might not be a bad thing on this occasion, as Suarez limped off late on with what looked like a groin pull. Unfortunately Carroll has been selected by Capello. Let’s just he Carroll isn’t treated the way Gerrard usually is.

Final word on the travelling Kop. Came across loud and clear on the telly, with the Suarez song in particular sounding fantastic. “Where’s your famous beach ball now” was good too, although I texted that to my Mackem mate only to be reminded “that was your ****ing beach ball”. Technically he’s right of course, in the same way that Jovanovic is ‘our player’, ie belonging to us but being more use to the opposition.

 

So we didn't win the triple crown or the grand slam, but won the championship.

That's really **** isn't it.

 

Firstly James 8,Brilliant analysis.
Secoindly it wasn't a pen,but what goes around comes around.
Sunderland had no shots on target.Reina wasn't tested.Liverpool won it with a piece of sublime brilliance from Luis Suarez.

 

I never thought Dalglish would have anything like the effect he has. Still don't think he's the man to take Liverpool forward though.

 

Its down to good managment,thats how simple it is.The players have said that there is nothing complicated about it.