For the seventh successive league game a draw between Birmingham and Liverpool. It would have been a different story if Pepe Reina haven’t made some outstanding first half saves, especially the one low down from Cameron Jerome, but the longer the game went on, the more inevitable was the final result. Birmingham was so solid at home, and Liverpool lacked of creativity and … player’s form. I won’t judge any particular player because the whole team didn’t shine. Did he?
When I first saw the line-up, saw that Stevie was going to play up front with Fernando like in good old days, I felt a prickle. It has to be a big match, I thought … Yes, I was a little bit naïve, but this was the optimist in me.
But Birmingham was too solid for us, they were truly impressive. The blue-whites defended very compact, didn’t leave much gaps, and kept our skipper away from Torres; Stevie tried, and tried, but he lacked space to pass the ball through.
As for our Number 9: he had one good challenge on the goal, but in overall still was a shadow of himself. He appeared rusty and tardy, made many unusual mistakes, and seemed … I do not know … He still isn’t there, but he isn’t the one to blame. Today’s tabloids are full of critics against him. Oh come on! The whole team (except Pepe, but I’ll get back to him later) didn’t knock my socks off. Why blame only one single player? Yeah, yeah, because he’s the star, he’s the striker bla, bla, bla … Bollocks. The one to blame is Vicente del Bosque. Why on earth did he take Torres to Argentina? Was there a reason? I do not see any. Let me know, if you know the answer, please.
There are more than one man running on the pitch, and yesterday they underperformed. Where was Maxi? HE was really disappointing, slightly nervous, and nearly invisible. Lucas & Poulsen? Hmm … They had some good moments, but in overall … pfffff … Christian Poulsen is too slow; he needs to learn the “”English”, fast way of playing football very quickly. Paul Konchesky had a decent, solid debut; I liked what I saw. Raul Meireles played too short to be judged, but he didn’t look bad; made one serious challenge. I’d love to see more. Jovanovic? As for me, he had a good game. A lot of running … yeah, OK. With no visible result, but he was trying hard, and was everywhere, wasn’t he?
We definitely missed Dirk Kuyt, and his energy. The match once again showed how dependent we are on single players, and Roy hasn’t really got much of a choice to replace, and combine, has he? Luckily Joe Cole is coming back for the next league game on Sunday, and I hope we will get something to cheer about.
Now, now! I didn’t forget Pepe Reina, our shining star yesterday. And I do not mean he’s bald head in the English sun, but he’s performance. World class savings, solid as rock; yesterday I had a feeling that nothing will hit him for six. Did he redeem himself for his recent blunders? I think he did. And how he did! Thank you Pepe. Keep up performing like this, and we will love even more!
In conclusion, the performance was far, far away from good; it was worth this one mingy point wasn’t it? For sure, it has been everything else than a boring game: We’ve seen a plenty of action, lots of pressure, brilliant blue-white defending, and magnificent goalkeeping made in Spain. If only the result hadn’t been that disappointing …
-Amanda