Liverpool FC Forum

[Bad Bob]

You know, this was a bit of a strange match for me.  We were in complete control from the opening whistle, despite being the visitors.  We got an early-ish goal that set us on our way and we had loads of possession.  But, IMHO, we were far from convincing in the first half.  Our midfield was a mess and we couldn't seem to make good use of the ball.  Sissoko was the obvious culprit early on, with plenty of slack passes, but he wasn't alone.  It really was a strange half.

That said, we really stepped it up a few gears in the second half and found our rhythm.  Of course, the early second goal helped tremendously, as did a very, very poor Newcastle team, who simply sat back and let us play.  But, we started clicking nicely nonetheless.  In the end, we were worthy runaway winners and could easily have had more goals to show for our dominance.  So, at the end of the day, I have absolutely no complaints...even if I'm in no hurry to see us line up like that again.

A couple of things stood out for me in this match, though.

1) Torres is the business.  Sure, he missed a hatful of chances but he created those chances to begin with and he did so with some truly sublime touches.  Add to that the fact that the lad is prepared to create for others, put in the graft that is required and can take a kicking and you can just tell that we have an absolute gem on our hands.  I'm sure some people will be worried by what they saw from him today but not me--he didn't have luck on his side today but he's demonstrated, again, that he can take us to another level when on the pitch.

2) Gerrard is back to near his very best.  Another goal (what a hit, son! ;D ) today to take him to six on the season (and, most of those have come in the last few weeks)...putting him just behind Torres in the team tally.  Add to that a dominant performance in a more or less free role and it seems to suggest that, as long as he has others to cover behind him, he can really stamp his authority on games like these going forward.

3) Babel's starting to look the part.  His goal was taken ever so well but it was his mazy run to start the move that impressed me.  He's got the pace, directness and tenacity to skip by defenders when running the flank or cutting inside.  He's also got a nice deft touch when playing in teammates--such as Gerrard today. And, he showed the awareness to get in position to receive the return ball and put it away first time.  And, he made it all look so simple, which is what perhaps excites most.  I definitely think he looks more of a threat on the right, as well.

4) Kewell brings another dimension to the side.  Yes, he's lost a lot of pace and, no, he'll probably never be fully 'free' on the pitch anymore, given the injuries he's had and the mental barriers that comes with that history.  But, he's still got the guile and intelligence to play a big part for us.  Look how dangerous we looked on the counter at times in the first half--all because we got the ball to Harry early and he picked out the run of Torres with a well placed pass.  He's also a really crafty player when he's on the ball around the edge of the area and Torres, Gerrard, Babel and others will only benefit from the kinds of passes he can deliver and the kind of space he can create.


So, I think there were many, many positives to ultimately take away from today's game.  Let's hope that we can now kick on from the disappointments of the last month and from the unsettling press releases of the past few days.

[mungi]

good game considering i thought martins and viduka would cause our defence all sorts of trouble. looked good on the counter with harry picking out torres time and time again. torres should of put a couple off his chances away but looked great. momo confidence look shot and lucas has impressed. babel looked good when he came on but needs to cross more. stevie g whhat a goal son. bring on porto

[Sabre]

I kind of agree with your feelings of the first minutes. The doubts are dispelled when you realise that you got 3 points away where as Super Ferguson's Manchester United lost in Bolton. But it's fair to say we were not playing well until the first goal. In these minutes of the game I was thinking to my self that if we lost we would have a hot talk about rotation here, as there seemed to be a lot of changes.

The first two goals reached from set pieces situations, and despite comfortable because the opposition lost the ball with ease, we were not very accurate, especially Kuyt (who otherwise made a lot of work) and Sissoko. I did like though that we did not hurry as much as other days (despite being unaccurate) which was a good sign. Lucas was correct and tidy distributing the ball, although he was not too tested defensively.

It was a bit confusing those first minutes, we seemed to forget about the right wing, then Kewell switched sides and attacked from the right wing. Good minutes for him.

I agree on Torres, he had some good touches and a great pass backwards to Kewell, but let's be honest, he should have scored a couple, especially in that latter chance of the first half with Given out of the box.

In conclussion, the result, which could have been bigger, was more this time to the poor opposition than our merits, but hey, we were there to accept the gift. 3 points away is always a good thing. The "crisis" of football seems over, we are not in a blip any more, and I think we can be optimistic.

[account deleted by request]

I think you are being a little harsh with your opening paragraph Bob, I thought we competed well, won the right to play our football and then took over the game. Smith, Butt and later Barton are no "pussies" when it comes to putting their foot in, and we more than matched them.

Usually when we are only 1 -0 up and have missed a few good chances I start to worry(panic   )today I never worried at all. I thought we had them in our pocket from first to last.

I thought Kewell again showed what we have been missing , Gerrard was outstanding and Hyypia and Carra solid at the back.

In fact the only Newcastle player who worried me in the slightest was Geremi who for a while seemed to have more time and space than was good for us. I thought Sissoko and Kuyt were unduly criticised today, they worked hard and actually created a few chances for a change.

Torres just had one of those days, if his first chance had gone in he would probably have gone on to score a hatrick, as it was he still had a great game in my opinion. The Newcastle defenders looked like they were going to have a heart attack every time he got the ball, which made room for the likes of Gerrard and Babel.

Great win made much easier by a p!ss poor Newcastle side. I was chatting with a Newcastle fan the other night who said they were a very very poor side and I must agree with him.

[Bad Bob]

I think you are being a little harsh with your opening paragraph Bob, I thought we competed well, won the right to play our football and then took over the game. Smith, Butt and later Barton are no "pussies" when it comes to putting their foot in, and we more than matched them.

I'm maybe being a little harsh, mate, but I really didn't like the way we lined up today and I thought we were all over the shop in the first 20 minutes.  Thankfully, Newcastle were even more disjointed than us and their formation did them no favours either.  Basically, it looked to me like we were playing a loose 4-3-3, with Kewell and Kuyt supporting Torres, while Gerrard, Lucas and Momo had more or less fluid roles in beyond.  What that seemed to produce, besides a fair amount of slack passing at first, was far too much of Momo on the ball in the final third...with the inevitable results.  What it also did was expose our right flank horribly, as Stevie was playing through the centre-left a fair bit and Momo was left to tidy up out wide.  If Newcastle had had the wherewithall to exploit our lack of balance, we might have had a more challenging afternoon.

As it was, however, we got the goals that demoralized the Geordies and ended the contest.  And, to be fair, Sissoko grew into the game and stopped being the kind of liability that might have cost us dearly against a better organized and spirited side.  Basically, what I'm saying is that I think just about any team and formation today would have seen off that Newcastle side but that I don't want to see any Big Mick style 'let's stick with it cos it worked' ( ) notions against Porto.

[112-1077774096]

i don't think we ever were in a blip, we were the victims of poor management decisons. the last few weeks we have been allowed to play football and we can see the difference this has brought in the performances and the results.

today was a good day, we looked good, momo looked out of his depth and its surely time to move the guy on, torres showed just how good he is despite his missed chances, gerrard ran the show. i am happy

[babu]

i am happy

[112-1077774096]

i am not that happy mate, maybe this happy

[Ciggy]

And to think we have Agger, Pennant, benayoun, and Alonso all to come back 
We have a fuckin brilliant team now Im made up. 

[Owzat]

momo looked out of his depth and its surely time to move the guy on

If ever we could have got £10m for Sissoko we should have sold him, fortunately we played well enough and Newcastle badly enough that it only took 10 men to beat them comfortably. Newcastle were poor, their manager is a joke.

torres showed just how good he is despite his missed chances,

They weren't glaring misses, one shot hit Given's upper arm/shoulder, another hit the post and I think the others were fractionally wide. Normally Crouch. Voronin or Kuyt miss by more in ONE shot than the combined margin of all Torres' shots. Most fans would call Torres 'unlucky'

[Ciggy]

Ok Sissoko had a bit of a mare in the first half but I just think he is a confidence player and his confidence is shot to pieces at the thought of being dropped for Mascherano.

The second half he came on leaps and bounds and was enjoying himself played well with Lucas and Gerrard was superb in his free roll.

Only player that was on that pitch yesterday allbeit for ten minutes who's days look numbered is Riise.

[112-1077774096]

momo looked out of his depth and its surely time to move the guy on

If ever we could have got £10m for Sissoko we should have sold him, fortunately we played well enough and Newcastle badly enough that it only took 10 men to beat them comfortably. Newcastle were poor, their manager is a joke.

torres showed just how good he is despite his missed chances,

They weren't glaring misses, one shot hit Given's upper arm/shoulder, another hit the post and I think the others were fractionally wide. Normally Crouch. Voronin or Kuyt miss by more in ONE shot than the combined margin of all Torres' shots. Most fans would call Torres 'unlucky'

i never said they were glaring misses mate, i think torres is a class act, but they were chances and they were missed, on another day they would have gone in

[The Manhattan Project]

According to the BBC, Michael Owen strained his finger last night while pressing the red button on his Sky remote.

He will be out of action for 6-8 weeks.

[Toffeehater]

According to the BBC, Michael Owen strained his finger last night while pressing the red button on his Sky remote.

He will be out of action for 6-8 weeks.

[Toffeehater]

Firstly really proud of the lads especially gerrard whom despite england nt qualifying put in the best performance this season by far . scoring a brilliant hit and creating the other 2.. the margin for victory could have been greater if torres had taken those chances , i feel he should have scored the one with a first time effort instead of trying to round the keeper ..

Babel gave us that extra pace when he came on and had great awarness in receiving gerrard's pass from the 1-2 . good goal from him and also it was nice of kuyt to score after such a barren spell .. Kewell was a confirmed starter due to the internationals and did well , although lacked the pace that he once had..

The midfield was abit of a shocker , lucas and momo ?? 2 def mids?? why did rafa need 2 DM and both with similar styles , but an average performance from momo and a btr performance by lucas ..

Newcastle were poor but we were solid i fell if we can get a good rhythm from here on , we can beat manu and push for the title .. Bring on Porto