What a day. The Reds continued their climb up the Premier League table with a win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for only the third time in the last 21 visits. The game was billed as the chance for Fernando Torres to make his debut against the club which he left for better opportunities to win trophies, and "fulfill his destiny" of scoring against them. Instead, Kenny Dalglish's men played a blinder, showing Nando and his team what it means to have heart, determination, and how to work for the cause. Liverpool showed more defiance, playing three central defenders at the back and a willingness to get more players forward in support.
The stark contrast between the team now and under Roy Hodgson can be seen in the effort and work rate that the team is putting in. Not just in the attacking elements with wing-backs pushing on, but in the tackling back of our forward players. It's now four consecutive clean sheets and with Stoke and Chelsea managing just two attempts on target between them in 180 minutes, it's clear that there is now fight in the team.
Since the beginning of the season Liverpool had become soft. Up front there had not been a problem getting the ball in the net but no other team had dropped more points from a leading position the the Reds. At the end of today's game Liverpool were running down the clock by pressing Chelsea in their own half right down by the corner flag. In the halcyon days of the 1980's Liverpool were famous for their passing game, but their most telling tactic was defending from the front. Today's formation of three at the back gave the Reds five players in midfield, two of them proper defenders. The ability to press high up the pitch meant that Chelsea Boswinga awith their three attackers in diamond formation had no width with which to provide the ball into the box. nd Ashley Cole couldn't get forward to provide an out ball from the central midfield. Of the three Chelsea midfielders only Lampard would be recognised as a creative player, and with Gerrard and Lucas able to snuff out his influence, Chelsea were unable to find a telling pass. On the one occasion that Drogba did manage to feed Torres, his chance was blocked by a last ditch effort by Carragher before Reina had to make a save. Chelsea's one effort on target was a near post shot from Drogba easily blocked by Reina and that with just ten minutes remaining.
The game was won of course, by Raul Meireles' fourth goal in five games and most fans would do well to remember that he is a player brought to Anfield by Roy Hodgson. The Portuguese has however, shown much greater form since the arrival of the new manager, and the freedom he's been given to play upfront has meant that the more accomplished Gerrard has been able to play from a deeper position and control more of the action, helping to break down oppostion moves as much as creating opportunities. All this was achieved with new signing Luis Suarez remaining on the bench and fresh for his first start next week against Wigan, when Liverpool will be looking for a fifth consecutive league win for the first time since the end of the 08/09 season, when we finished second in the league.
Now on to the big event of the day - the Pittsburgh Steelers bringing home the Vince Lombardi trophy to extend their record to SEVEN times.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
The Morning After Deadline Day
Well, it's been a good 24 hours since the "transfer window slammed shut" as the pundits like to say. Mostly I've seen Liverpool fans split down the middle. Some showing their disappointment at Torres and burning their shirts and the rest looking at the realism (or lack thereof with the sums involved) in the transfers.
I share Kenny's long-term view - no one is bigger than the club. And I have to say I am excited about the what the future holds. Don't forget, our owners were willing to splash more than £20m on Suarez before the Torres/Carroll transfers came to light. We basically broke even in the window! So we've got at least that much and probably a lot more sitting waiting on Messers Commoli and Dalglish to pick the right player or players worthy or the red shirt when the summer comes.
As for Torres, it's a bittersweet farewell. Liverpool's record signing at the time produced a record-breaking first season at Anfield: 33 goals in 46 appearances; 24 in 33 league games; 1st player in 12 years to score 20 league goals in a season; 1st player in 62 years to score successive hat-tricks at home; 1st player to score in 8 successive home league games; most goals in a debut season by a Liverpool player for 61 years and the most ever in a debut season by a foreigner in the Premier League despite playing in only 33 of our 38 games that season. He started only 41 out of a possible 59 games with a further 9 on the bench. By comparison, Ryan Babel had 49 and Dirk Kuyt 48 appearances that season. It was a truly remarkable year. It was also the most games he'd play in a season for Liverpool. He was rested by Rafa for games as a result of his fitness/injury levels, a recurring theme throughout his time at Liverpool particularly when internationals came along. His returns of 17 & 22 goals the following two seasons came from just 38 & 32 games respectively, and while they represent his eye for the goal, the club played 55 & 56 games in those years. He played in approximately 70% of the clubs games during his time.
That only highlighted the true problem at Anfield. When Torres wasn't there, who was? For me, having two great strikers means that we now have a strike force, rather than a striker. We will no longer have to have N'gog or Kuyt ploughing a lone furrow up front. And the thought of more re-inforcements to come can only make things better. We may have weakened the first team by replacing Torres with the one of the two new strikers, but we've strengthened the squad, and as the teams above us have showed, it's the only way we can finish at the top of the league. We have had such little investment in the team since the time of Houillier that it's astounding that we've achieved so much.
It all points to a brighter future - the owners we need, the manager we want and players who want to be here.
I share Kenny's long-term view - no one is bigger than the club. And I have to say I am excited about the what the future holds. Don't forget, our owners were willing to splash more than £20m on Suarez before the Torres/Carroll transfers came to light. We basically broke even in the window! So we've got at least that much and probably a lot more sitting waiting on Messers Commoli and Dalglish to pick the right player or players worthy or the red shirt when the summer comes.
As for Torres, it's a bittersweet farewell. Liverpool's record signing at the time produced a record-breaking first season at Anfield: 33 goals in 46 appearances; 24 in 33 league games; 1st player in 12 years to score 20 league goals in a season; 1st player in 62 years to score successive hat-tricks at home; 1st player to score in 8 successive home league games; most goals in a debut season by a Liverpool player for 61 years and the most ever in a debut season by a foreigner in the Premier League despite playing in only 33 of our 38 games that season. He started only 41 out of a possible 59 games with a further 9 on the bench. By comparison, Ryan Babel had 49 and Dirk Kuyt 48 appearances that season. It was a truly remarkable year. It was also the most games he'd play in a season for Liverpool. He was rested by Rafa for games as a result of his fitness/injury levels, a recurring theme throughout his time at Liverpool particularly when internationals came along. His returns of 17 & 22 goals the following two seasons came from just 38 & 32 games respectively, and while they represent his eye for the goal, the club played 55 & 56 games in those years. He played in approximately 70% of the clubs games during his time.
That only highlighted the true problem at Anfield. When Torres wasn't there, who was? For me, having two great strikers means that we now have a strike force, rather than a striker. We will no longer have to have N'gog or Kuyt ploughing a lone furrow up front. And the thought of more re-inforcements to come can only make things better. We may have weakened the first team by replacing Torres with the one of the two new strikers, but we've strengthened the squad, and as the teams above us have showed, it's the only way we can finish at the top of the league. We have had such little investment in the team since the time of Houillier that it's astounding that we've achieved so much.
It all points to a brighter future - the owners we need, the manager we want and players who want to be here.
Monday, 31 January 2011
Transfers
As I sit here tonight - Transfer Deadline Day - I'm a mix of emotions. Torres going, Suarez signed and Carroll due in. Followers of the Reds probably know that this started on Thursday/Friday of last week with Chelsea making a bid for Nando. His transfer request was just the delaying ploy from Liverpool to see if he could be quickly replaced. I believe that had Andy Carroll not wanted to come, that Torres would never have been allowed to leave, no matter what the offer. But it is what it is.
I'm not too disappointed with what we've got today - two strikers instead of one for a net spend of just under £8m. I can live with that. Torres hasn't wanted to be at Anfield since the summer and his performances, attitude and body language have shown that. For me, it's just been bad timing. He came to win trophies and that clearly hasn't happened. However, I won't miss the international breaks where he always seemed to come back injured. He'll have competition for his place at Chelsea and play in a very different system, but I guess we'll find that out when we go to the Bridge next Sunday. I can only wish him well and thank him for his time here and remind myself of the times that Liverpool had success in replacing their best players and continued to win.
I'm not too disappointed with what we've got today - two strikers instead of one for a net spend of just under £8m. I can live with that. Torres hasn't wanted to be at Anfield since the summer and his performances, attitude and body language have shown that. For me, it's just been bad timing. He came to win trophies and that clearly hasn't happened. However, I won't miss the international breaks where he always seemed to come back injured. He'll have competition for his place at Chelsea and play in a very different system, but I guess we'll find that out when we go to the Bridge next Sunday. I can only wish him well and thank him for his time here and remind myself of the times that Liverpool had success in replacing their best players and continued to win.
A New Start
Well this is all new to me. Never blogged before. Sure I have Facebook and Twitter but it's hardly the same. And I post on forums of the football page I visit for the latest stories and ask questions of the baseball reporter but this page is all me.
I'm Tim, 34 currently and I'm a fan of Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox. I follow American Football & Ice Hockey as well, along with Cricket & Rugby and almost every other sport worth watching but those are the main two.
I've been following Liverpool for a while now. My first football memory was sitting in a poolside bar in Cyprus, May 1986 watching Ian Rush helping Liverpool to the League & FA Cup double by sinking the Toffees at Wembley. My dad is a Blue but me and my brother turned out as Reds. I think that game probably had a lot to with it. Kids are glory hunters - they don't like to follow a loser. Since then, I've followed Liverpool through the glory days of the 80's and the years we weren't allowed in Europe, sitting in the car listening to the commentry from Hillsborough on that day in '89, followed not long after by Michael Thomas at Anfield. The reign of Souness, and the fall of the empire built on Shankley's efforts. In recent years, Houillier's Hat-Trick Heroes and that night in Istanbul. I even made it all the way to Athens for the disappointing replay. Rafa's rant, Woy's woeful wegime, and right up the this month - January 2011 - and the Return of the King.
Baseball on the other hand is more recent to me. I saw my first game at Fenway Park, Boston, in 1993. A rain affected win over the Blue Jays. I just remember sitting in the balmy Boston night and marvelling at the colours and sounds of the game. It was another six years before I'd get back into the game and become a true member of the Red Sox nation. And boy, what a time to join - two World Series later and it's a great time to be Sox fan.
I'm Tim, 34 currently and I'm a fan of Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox. I follow American Football & Ice Hockey as well, along with Cricket & Rugby and almost every other sport worth watching but those are the main two.
I've been following Liverpool for a while now. My first football memory was sitting in a poolside bar in Cyprus, May 1986 watching Ian Rush helping Liverpool to the League & FA Cup double by sinking the Toffees at Wembley. My dad is a Blue but me and my brother turned out as Reds. I think that game probably had a lot to with it. Kids are glory hunters - they don't like to follow a loser. Since then, I've followed Liverpool through the glory days of the 80's and the years we weren't allowed in Europe, sitting in the car listening to the commentry from Hillsborough on that day in '89, followed not long after by Michael Thomas at Anfield. The reign of Souness, and the fall of the empire built on Shankley's efforts. In recent years, Houillier's Hat-Trick Heroes and that night in Istanbul. I even made it all the way to Athens for the disappointing replay. Rafa's rant, Woy's woeful wegime, and right up the this month - January 2011 - and the Return of the King.
Baseball on the other hand is more recent to me. I saw my first game at Fenway Park, Boston, in 1993. A rain affected win over the Blue Jays. I just remember sitting in the balmy Boston night and marvelling at the colours and sounds of the game. It was another six years before I'd get back into the game and become a true member of the Red Sox nation. And boy, what a time to join - two World Series later and it's a great time to be Sox fan.
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