by Sabre » Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:55 pm
Well I'll use this thread as a relaxed opinion, now I'm more calm.
Many things to say, excuse me the rant.
Liverpool
Rafa has reasons to be angry. I think it's common knowledge that when you have one man more since in 23, what you hae to do is make the pitch wider and have patience. We lacked patience, it seems we were 0-1. I cannot understand that. Even when we were 1-0 we were hurrying too much. Alonso was given 20 minutes to give the game composure, he also seemed in a hurry.
Birmingham
Proffesional team. They were valiant, they knew to play with 10 men, they worked hard, and they got their prize.
Agger
Positively surprised. He didn't seem young nor unexperienced, nor impressed by Anfield
Our strikers
The anxiety that LFC has to score (when they have not reason to) affects them. Fowler got poor service because that unnecesary anxiety or hurry. While this mistake also affected Crouch and Morientes, both were quite bad in the first half, they seemed anxious and badly needed to score. And that lead to mistakes. On the second half though Morientes did a better job. In the goal he had the good thinking to do the pass to the correct place, backwards. Good header pass to Luis Garcia too. Wasted. Crouch had a grey day. He should know better, he has to be patient to score. On first half there was a pathetic encounter of Morientes and Crouch for the same ball. That can't happen.
Riise
Few mistakes. Good attacking help. Good game
Kewell
Excellent first half, he recovered some good balls, excellent attitude. In second half he was good until he dissapeared. Bloody DoE, in min 70 with Kewell tired, Gonzalez would have done havoc.
Alonso
The task was simple. 20 minutes to give composure to the game. Failed to do that. And you lot know that I'm an Alonso admirer. In the OG a big mistake, you cannot do a pass goalwards. I can understand some OG that hit you the ball and can't help it. But that was a mistake, and that's why he was ashamed, and that's why he lost a ball shortly afterwards.
I don't think he's depressed, I think he's just angry. Don't worry, he'll stand up and we'll keep the excellent Xabi he's used to be. Come on Xabi!! OSTIA!
Hamman
Nobody will mention him, but at some moments of the game he seemed the only bloody man that seemed to realise we were playing with one man more
The Ref
Ok, you can be valiant and show a red card, that's nice. But that doesn't mean you have to compensate the other team afterwards:
* Gerrard suffered a "dangerous play" situation, the defender elevated the leg TOO high .
* Luis Garcia was fouled by Lazaridis when he was heading to the one on one to the keeper
* Too much Birmingham stick, but I cannot blame them for that, I had done the same if the ref allowed me.
That's my rant, excuse me for it.
Come on reds!
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Drummerphil, never forgotten.