Much, much better!

Posted by

It’s never pleasant to wake up to a nauseating hangover, but today, Sunday 28th August 2011, I’m pleased to deal with one, fruit of the sensational, mind-blowing, sofa stuck ass-numbing display of the Reds at Anfield.

This is not a match report, I believe we already have someone on this website that does those brilliantly. This is a sigh of relief, the aftermath of a game in which the Reds annihilated Bolton from the word go. There was no contest, the Reds were relentless, inventive, fast, and presented themselves with Suarez, Kuyt, Henderson and Downing all ready and waiting to have a crack at goal. We had multiple options throughout the 90 minutes and while their goal was a glitch in an otherwise supreme performance, the end result of 3-1 gives little credit to the massive game the Reds played.

A touch of controversy! I was not surprised and perhaps a bit relieved not to see Carroll in the starting line-up. I say that with responsibility on the grounds that I wanted us to test the alternative, and we passed the test with flying colours. The initial 4-2-3-1 formation perhaps disguised the intention to attack ‘en masse’; in fact Bolton never had a chance to get in the game such was the tempo and the evident enthusiasm shown by all the players playing in Red. Because at the end of the day each player perhaps deserves special mention, but if the Reds maintain this mentality on and off the pitch then we will give everyone a run for their money.

Contrary to the other games, the absence of Carroll gave the opposition no fixed reference points. Suarez picked the ball from across the attacking front, while Downing and Henderson made themselves available attacking the empty spaces beckoning for incisive passing from the likes of Lucas and Adam, not to mention the tireless shift put in by Kuyt. The back four oozed confidence throughout the 90 minutes (yes we suffered Bolton’s goal in the 91st+), and Reina was alert and concentrated the few times his abilities were called upon. In the end we were entertainingly wasteful as this could have well been a whitewash!

With possibly our last summer transfer window signing Sebastian Coates in the stands, the Reds now have two away games on the trot facing Stoke City and Tottenham. We are making waves but now we need to make a statement to the other Clubs in the Premier League that the Reds ‘are back in business’.

A final point of controversy: what happens when and if Steven Gerrard gets fit again? Food for thought……..!

33 Comments

  1. good result and good performance. keeps the adam and hendo haters quiet for a while, they both are getting better game after game.
    glad to see us top of the table fathdr than where we were last year, but still along way to go.

    1. Chris, I think the issue here was that Downing and Enrique made such an immediate impact that they were kind of overshadowing Adam and Henderson. I also think that the way we played yesterday suites the team in general, therefore everyone upped his shift and both Henderson and Adam shone, culminating in both of them scoring two fantastic strikes.

  2. it is indeed a what if…when stevie is fit again. if he is going to go anywhere it will either be out on the right challenging for hendo’s spot, or alongside charlie…but how can you pull lucas out of the side. he has been solid so far…i woulsnt like to be kenny when the time comes.
    i dont think pace is an issue if he goes out on the right, hd @layed there against utd at anfield last year and played awsome. that side is between hendo an stevie i feel, kuyt an suarez play really well as a front two, i reallt like carrol, and what many of the haters dont realize is just because he is not scoring he is causing a head ache for cb’s. kuyt and suarez are just seem to be of one mind and so dirk should be used in more of a forward role.

    your thoughts?

    1. I personally feel Stevie should be given the task to link our midfield with our attack. That is where he is most effective. Given the choice, I would keep Lucas in front of the back four hands down.

      1. Absolutely! StevieG will play in the middle of a 4-2-3-1 formation alternating with AC/LS as the 1 and LS/DK/JH on right of the 3 ! Lots of options, great to see.

      2. Who would you then drop to the bench?

        Downing would obviousely keep his place on the wing, with Lucas and Stevie in the middle. With 2 up front, that leaves just 1 midfield slot unless we play the solitary striker.

  3. Stoke & Spurs away after an international break is a nightmare, but one im sure we will cope with. I think if we get another 7 points from 9 in the next three games, our position in the table wouldn’t have altered too much. Confidence is indeed oozing. Great game yesterday. As for Stevie? I think its a brilliant position to be in that were scratching our heads as to where he would come in. One year ago the performances rested on his shoulders, now we have a team. A real team. Can’t wait for him to be back fit, but there’s nothing guarenteeing a starting XI place surely? YNWA

    1. Hi Curtis. Personally I don’t see a fit Gerrard sitting on the bench. Won’t happen and perhaps it shouldn’t happen. In yesterday’s game I personally would have seen him taking Kuyt’s place, unless the dutchman is drafted to the right replacing Henderson. It’s always a tough call but as I said a fit Gerrard will always be playing, same applies for Carra!

  4. Morning Tonio, I can definately agree with you, its always been difficult to see Stevie out of the side & your probably right if there’s any position Kenny has shown he will tinker with in the first 4 games, its the right midfield. I sense Hendo will be slowly but carefully managed this season. Curious to know how people are feeling about us defensively? For me having Agger back in there gives us great balance and we seem much more solid than people would speculate. YNWA

    1. Hi Curtis! I firmly believe Hendo was drafted in as a long term replacement for Kuyt. Agger, I’ve always claimed, is the only centre back we have that is able to come out of defence with the ball. If he remains fit, he will be an important asset for the team. With Sebastian Coates’ arrival, we can say that the we have a solid quartet of polivalent centre backs! Obviously the capture of Enrique has healed out left back position woes, and hopefully Johnson will be back sooner rather than later. We definitely have more depth this season!

    2. defensively wd are alot more solid than we have been in a while, alot of that credit does go to the big dane. introduction of jose on the left is also a breath of fresh air. agger has had some injuries of late tho which hampers a statistic i read that we conceed less with im on the field.
      i feel i should shoot myself for saying this,and in no way want this to be taken negatively, but if their is any weakness in our back four it would be carra…
      now before i get shouted at,carra is arguably thd best cb we have ever had. his expieriance is invaluable to the young and new players, i think its just that time will catch up with him sooner or later. dont get me wrong,if he is fit he should play. perhaps this is the thinking behind coates signing.

      1. The signings will give the team a good 5 year cycle and by the end of it possibly both Carra and Stevie would have hung up their boots. The signings make even more sense when you look at them from this perspective. This Coates will be a colossus for our defence!

  5. Henderson proved himself be a good prospect, stevie in the making. Downing just proving to efficient on the left giving opponents a hard time. To be honest i doubt downing signing but her just brilliant, at the time we were heavily linked with juan mata, our next john barnes. Enrique just just does the job good player, he deserve a national team call up.
    Like to agree with the writer on carrol, i was happy to see him on the bench for maybe two reasons. I think he is too slow for the pass and move play. The other reason is that when he is in the game we play too much of him. The lad is good striker different from suarez, but lets face it lads he needs time to improve and be a little bit lively to match the pace.
    Lucas has been great along with adam in deep mid.
    Little talk about skatel i think he did a wonderful job at the right back coming from injury. Carra he made 1 mistake which i think he deserves the blame he is gettin considering the command they put at the back with the great pepe reina, yes he is not getting any younger but he has been a great servant. Suarez just cant get enough of him. Hope the two spanish gaints don’t come after him. Don’t you also think we owe ajax another 20 to 30 million. Man of the match jordan henderson, suarez played better i know so did lucas.

    Steven i think was worried about his jersey from the look of it. Thou i prefer him ahead of adam.

  6. Don’t tell Meireless Gerrad johnson were out. Kk is building any army. We need another striker for back.
    If you not a liverpudilian you have every reason to bd afraid

    1. i think come the end of the season Suarez’s contract should be reviewed and a high release clause should be impose on him.As much as i would love Stevie i m a bit skeptical about his fitness but lets see time will tell,if Stevie is 100% fit then he would play in the hole i mean behind striker maybe with suarez or in a diamond of 3 setting

  7. Tonio,

    Completely agree with what you write about Carroll, and what a shame. It just looks like he needs an additional 15-20 % before he’ll be able to help the Liverpool squad for real.

    Furthermore Adam looks at times slow and losing some cheap possession, but he defiantly knows how to strike a ball.

    My dream scenario would be that Liverpool sign Afellay (or similar) for the wing, then when Cap. Fantastic is back we would be extremely versatile. We could play with Gerrard behind Suarez, two out-an-out wingers in Downing and Afellay, with 4 good choices for 2 CM, Lucas, Adam, Henderson, and Raul. When needing to go more offensive throw Kuyt alongside Suarez as they last and this season seem to link really well together. Carroll could be play against weaker opponents when we expect heavy possession. Many of the players can play in different position, which aids the versatility. Kuyt or Henderson on Right Wing, Suarez behind Carroll ETC.

    1. Personally, I would use Kuyt as a back up striker because he is more versatile and there seems to be very good feeling with Suarez! I too would have preferred to have another out and out winger in the Downing mould because Stewart is already creating defences some very serious damage with his deep incursions.

      1. Exactly, therefore really don’t hope Liverpool decide to sign someone like Bellamy or Doyle as backup striker but an dynamic pacey winger.

  8. stevie G will surely fill in the position behind the striker, which we all know that he has been bombing in those goals from that postion a couple years back.

    1. Hope you are right. I fear his absolute best bombing days are over but nevertheless his sheer presence will do wonders for the team.

  9. Here is a bold prediction i’m going to make because I am still over optimistic after that performance. If Steven Gerrard comes back and regains the form of 08/09 and Agger and Suarez have no major injury problems, we will win the league THIS year. I know big call and KK will take it a game at a time. Don’t get me wrong I’d be insanely happy with top four finish. Just think how beautiful we played without Miereles, Gerrard, Or Glen Johnson. Its good to be a RED, YNWA.

  10. It would be nice if Arsenal beat the Trafford Hoofers today, but they will probably have the bulk of possession, make and spurn countless chances, and then against the run of play man hoof will launch one up for wonky hair to scramble in a lucky deflected one, probably offside aswell like but obviously the Hoofers are allowed to be offside especially at Old Scaffold.

    1. agreed. Hendo was a tad slow in finding suarez a couple of times in the 2nd half, which left the Uruguayan rather frustrated. He’s gotta improve on his awareness.

  11. When Steven Gerrard returns, it’s going to be a hard time for Kenny. He will either stick to the winning formula, which is a midfield of Downing, Adam, Lucas, Henderson, Kuyt or forcefully put Captain Marvel back into the starting 11 which could jeopardise the team’s balance and rhythm.
    Gerrard is already 30, he has not much years left in him. The current five are still relatively young, barring Kuyt. We should be looking to build for the future, let’s start using Gerrard as that impact player rather than our engine room like we’ve done for the past 8 years.
    As a final note, Gerrard can be a very good player to have on the bench.

  12. I can’t see stevie play along side charlie or hendo, but he can play on lucas’ role. It might depend on opponent, charlie is a little bit slow and weak body balance. For attacking style, better keep hendo than charlie. But I am sure kenny will use 4-4-2 again as primary weapon. Kenny, clark, and keen know the best.
    Ynwa

  13. Nice Article with imminent Stevie return to full fitness KK would have a headache of selecttion many Many managers seems to like this kind of selection headache..i would prefer Stevie playing in the hole either behind suarez or caroll,i would prefer Henderson on the right as he’s got pace and drops deep into the midfield to give our midfield balance,Adam and Lucas are forming formidable partnership just like the days of (ALonso and Mascherano)..Nevertheless kk might have to make bold selection depending on how players perform in training sessions prior to matchday..i believe many teams in the premier league now are watching out for us as we are making our way back to where we belong

  14. Very happy indeed to see Liverpool at the top of the table and off to a good start. If we can keep Suarez fit for the entire campaign, Carrol can find his form and Gerrard can come back at his very best, I think we can just about win the premiership. A run at it and a top 4 finish would be enough to keep me happy, but we can still Dream of more…

  15. Redmek and Redmen are right, it is s straight swap Gerrard for Henderson. The lad has been doing well and will fill everyone with confidence after these few games but he is there for the long haul and to learn from Gerrard. You don’t put the club’s best player and captain on the bench. Gerrard goes in his place but gradually to gain game fitness.
    Carrol is also there to develop and he has also done well. I hope he won’t be affected be the criticism as he is still young and needs to add more to his game. WE must support him. He has to learn too. Imagine if he gets the stick Lucas did, will he be able to cope. KK will be protecting him from the idiots who want instant results.
    As for Kuyt. He is a great unselfish player to have at the club whether he plays or not you don’t hear him complain. Also you don’t waste a player who can do everything from striker, winger and defending from the front. Remember, he was permanently in the Dutch squad that made the World Cup final, providing an excellent foil for the players around him. An very intelligent player and will always be in the first 15 wether on the field or not.
    YNWA

  16. I think Gerrard (when fit) will play with Adam in the middle of the park. Right midfield/wing will be between Hendo & Kuyt. Left midfield/wing will definitely be Downing’s. Centre-forward is of course Suarez with Carroll as back-up. There, sorted. :D

Comments are closed