A point gained..?

Yesterday’s game at Ewood Park should have brought some reward and it did! We now sit 1 point closer to the top of the table, we have completed our sixth game without defeat and we kept our third clean sheet in a row! Sadly, these are the only positives we can take from the game.

Our first half performance was very poor. Thankfully Blackburn were not much better. The second half was marginally Liverpool’s but still we could find no breakthrough! This is a problem of old and should have been addressed by now.

From his team selection, Rafa looked to have settled for the draw before kick off. We should have had the kwality to trouble Rovers but in his 500th appearance for the club Steven Gerrard could not inspire the players around him to the win we so sorely need. Unbeaten runs coupled with clean sheets build confidence. While the football was not pretty, yesterday’s game scored points in both of those coloumns.

It is easy to say but we really need Torres back. Was Kuyt the right choice to lead the line against Rovers? Possibly, but to have made the most of his selection we were relying on Stevie G. getting up in support and past Kuyt. Unfortunately, our captain is struggling be it with fitness, form or a combination of both. Ngog did make a difference when he came on for Riera and would have put us ahead had it not been for a slight deflection taking Glen Johnson’s cross onto his shin rather than his boot. But you get the feeling that had el Nino been fit and playing, shin or not that ball would have finished up in the net.

Our result in combination with Arsenal, Villa and Man City all winning means we have slipped to seventh, but just 2 points behind Tottenham in fourth. Just a week after beating the Bitters, we find ourselves in the position of having to cheer for our recently conquered neighbours! So from 4 pm to 6 pm today, I will be mentally in the Glwadys Street End on the dark side of Stanley Park, urging the Bitter Blues on to win against Spurs!

COYB (for today only!)

Julian