Match Review : Napoli 0 – Liverpool 0

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*My fellow REDS,

Another below-par performance, rewarded with a point.. more from the
wastefulness of the home side.
Still a happy point for the traveling REDS to take back to Anfield !!

Review below.. courtesy of the webmaster of the LSCM
*
http://www.lscm.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=235&catid=47&Itemid=41
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And pics below.. courtesy of getty images..
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http://www.lscm.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=234&catid=43&Itemid=83
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Regards,
Boo Soon Yew*

We feared the worst.. we never expected a win, we dreaded a trashing.. in
the end, we will be grateful for the draw and the point that comes with it.

Now with the roller-coaster events of the past 2 weeks that had gripped REDS
worldwide.. from events leading to our 15th Oct deadline with RBS, the
spectre of the 9-point deduction, the joy of knowing our new owners.. right
till the tumultuous court proceedings.. and all culminated into a derby game
that would have capped off the week nicely.

Sadly or thankfully.. reality sank in as we realized we are still woeful on
the pitch.. and we all know that there can only be one solution. A new owner
has gradually put up a new board.. and we can only ask for a swift
installation of a new manager.

Roy had a win-win situation. By leaving Torres & Gerrard at home, he is
saying to the press.. “look I’ve got an excuse why we didn’t win”. By
leaving Meireles & Lucas at home, he is hinting.. “look Napoli, come & get
us.. it’s gonna be a raw midfield to face you”. And by leaving Joe Cole on
the bench on match day, he is blaring.. “I definitely don’t intend to win
the game !!”

So like “lambs to the slaughter”, Roy sent out Jonjo Shelvy to play just
behind Ngog. Spearing partnered Poulsen in the heart of midfield. Jovanovic
and Babel operated from the wings. In defence Reina had Kelly, Carra, Skrtel
and Konchesky.

True enough, our play lacked any penetration as Napoli dictated play from
the opening whistle. But then again, over-anxiety or possibly
over-confidence got into the home side as they found difficulty creating a
chance to trouble Reina.

We were to see the usual loose passes from our Red Men.. no more
lamentations as this is all part & parcel of Roy’s game-plan we have come to
grudgingly chew on. We had to wait till the 32nd minute for our first shot
at goal, a Jonjo Shelvy effort easily gathered by the keeper. The press will
surely applaud Roy for granting the teenage Jonjo his first start. Other
than that, there was really nothing much to shout about.. not because Jonjo
is poor.. but all because he was not playing in his position of strength
which is in the heart of midfield to win tackles.

Oh and speaking of tackles.. it was all a contained effort, bodies behind
the ball, standing and blocking and avoiding rash challenges. Were we paying
a wee bit too much respect to them ??

In the end, the really noteworthy effort from a RED MAN was to save us at
the goal-line and from an impending defeat. A corner kick was not dealt with
and the ball somehow looped over a bemused Reina who had Konchesky to thank
for clearing the ball !!

The second half was littered with bad mistakes by our Red Men.. yet we were
grateful they went unpunished with an equally wasteful Napoli side. A
flashing header by their top striker Cavani was all they could show. We
worry though about Carragher who didn’t appear in the second half, his place
taken by Kyrgiakos.

In fact, Babel and later Ngog had chances to give Roy something to gloat
about. A superb move allowed Jovanovic to release Babel on the left of the
box. Babel chose to guide the ball to the far corner only to let the
outstrectched leg of the keeper block it. Joe Cole came on for Babel who was
probably “punished” for missing that chance to prolong Roy’s Liverpool
lifespan. Soon after, it was Ngog with a brilliant turn to send away a
left-shooted.. only to be blocked by the gluteal muscles of a Napoli
defender !!

The game was to taper off to a frustrating point for the home side and
fans.. but a happy one for the travelling REDS to bring back to Anfield.

In retrospect, we were pleased to see Aurelio come off the bench after a
prolonged absence. We are glad to see Jovanovic taking the initiative at
times. We also clearly see Cole’s best position is playing behind the
striker.

Results-wise, we are happy as it extends our interest in this competition,
one that we basically have the ONLY hope of winning this season.

Performance-wise, it was below-average.. the sparks were too few and far..
and outweighed by the negatives. We still need a man to guide and lead our
players. It has not worked so far in 8 Premier League games & 7 Europa
League Group games & qualifiers. We await the spark.. from somewhere.. the
golden sky must surely beckon.. ynwa !!

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6 Comments

  1. It’s true we were not brilliant, but considering the inexperience of the team we fielded I thought we did well. We must give the players credit for this. The team is not playing fluently or with confidence. The majority of our shots seem to come from outside the area. This must be the fault of the manager. Having said that, I don’t think Hodgson is unaware of this. I think the fans are too hard on him under the circumstances. I believe he will be given more time and I believe we will start to play better and then everything will change. It is my prediction.

  2. I personally want to see this attackers lineup Babel-Jova-Jonjo-Ngog have more chances to play. Let’s wish we can go further in the competition. Especially Ngog, he’s been taking the big step ahead this season. Would love to see him start together with Torres. He can play the Crouch’s post play at the very front and let Torres take a free position so he will get chances to play with the ball more (without every defenders all over him). Speaking of Crouch, do miss him a lot.

  3. Sack the manager because he leads the team to a clean-sheet draw (nearly a win) away to a very tough club, leaving Liverpool top of their Europa group? Some Red you are. Whichever way the wind blows, huh?

  4. I have to agree with Ek’s comment about Babel; why hasn’t Roy been giving him chances? Hopefully he hears the clamouring for more aggressive play.

  5. Yes the team was inexperienced and we got a 0-0 but doesn’t mean Roy acts like a complete loon thinking we’ve just won the cup by saying we proved everyone wrong. That performance hasn’t changed anyones opinion of him we still want him to leave, he has a small club mentality it would have been a great result for Fulham to come away with a 0-0 but not for LFC. Roys already on borrowed time i don’t know why the minority of people can’t see that this guy is a lost cause, his tactics, man management, laxidasical approach, having a big smile on his face after the Everton game then saying we where unlucky to lose. There are people wanting the team to lose or draw to Blackburn so he gets sacked thats how bad its got we’ve had enough of these bad performances, you can say what you want about Rafa he had a plan and a plan B n C which Roys too demented to have, besides the Kop has already said who they want and they speak for us all when they say on your bike Roy.

    Roy can say “I will never resign” all he wants, its probably because if he gets sacked hed get a years wages and wont if he jumps ship. Roys Taxi awaits him come Sunday evening – Monday morning, jog on old timer……YNWA

  6. more playing time for jonjo and most likely pacheco will give me a broken hearted fan some confidence seeing our youngest playing well.yesterday jonjo and spearing was brilliant on the pitch.

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