LAST Saturday’s 2-1 win over Wolves at Anfield was the proverbial mixed bag – a game with its fair share of both positives and negatives.
I went to the match with my brother, in what was probably the first game we’ve attended together in two years. We both had fairly high expectations, as since the drubbing against Spurs the Reds had produced a strong response against Brighton in the League Cup.
However, when the final whistle blew, moments after Andy Carroll squandered one last chance to open his account for the season; we both felt a little bit deflated – an odd sensation to experience in victory.
Discussing the action later over an Egyptian Molokhia curry at Kimos restaurant in Mount Pleasant , it was obvious to both of us that the positives had outweighed the negatives. Liverpool had won, and ultimately that is the only thing that matters. Football is a results game and we fulfilled our primary objective – obtaining three points.
Yet the performance, while a vast improvement on the previous weekend’s showing against Spurs, was still not a patch on the home wins Kenny oversaw last term.
Given their strong showing down on the south coast, many had expected at least two from the trio of Dirk Kuyt, Craig Bellamy and Maxi Rodriguez to be included in the side. But the team sheet produced by the King showed virtually the same side that had struggled so badly at White Hart Lane
Defensive errors characterised our start to the game, as Skrtel, Charlie Adam and Jamie Carragher all offered Wolves the chance to take the lead.
Fortunately Wolves did not have the quality within their ranks to oblige, and even more fortuitously we in turn opened the scoring, when a Charlie Adam shot took a huge deflection off Roger Johnson and landed in the visitor’s net. Replays later revealed that Andy Carroll had fouled Johnson in the build-up, but for the first time in weeks, Lady Luck granted us a break.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest positive for the Reds was once again our diminutive yet dazzling Uruguayan. It was the first time my brother had witnessed the force of nature that is Luis Suarez in the flesh, and he along with every other man, woman and child in the Kop voiced their approval when Luis made a mockery of the Wolves defence. A piece of skill when he back-heeled the ball past the dumbfounded Johnson and almost provided Stewart Downing with the chance to double our advantage was worth the admission fee alone.
Doubling our advantage is exactly what Suarez did a short while later, collecting a lovely lofted ball from Luis Enrique (who impresses me more with every passing game) before tearing towards goal and turning the Wolves backline inside out. From our vantage point at the back of the Kop it looked like Suarez had made life difficult for himself by not shooting initially, but that is what the little magician excels at – making the arduous appear oh-so-simple. His finish was ruthless, and the second half now appeared little more than an opportunity for the Reds to rack up our ‘goals for’ column.
Whatever words the typically dour Wolves manager Mick McCarthy summoned at half time - a stirring Churchillian battle cry no doubt - certainly worked wonders after the break.
In the first half Wolves had seemed to find it too easy to outmanoeuvre our central pairing of Lucas Leiva and Adam, an issue that I have touched upon before. Lucas seems to sit so deep in order to provide the protection Charlie does not offer, and our Scotsman again faded in a game as it approached the hour mark.
Before this occurred Wolves reduced the deficit, as our fleeting luck departed us as quickly as it had arrived. Enrique cleared a Karl Henry cross but it bounced to Stephen Hunt, who set up substitute Steven Fletcher for a chance he finished with aplomb.
We responded with an immediate onslaught – led by our best performers on the day. Downing fed Suarez who had a shot saved from short range by Wayne Hennessey, then Downing found Andy Carroll with a fine ball at the back post.
Sadly, Andy’s header was wayward, and when it smashed against the post it was all the more frustrating because this game was a vast improvement from him, in terms of movement, application and his hold-up and link-up play.
He seems to often take up deeper positions than Suarez, rather than what I would have expected, which would be Luis dropping deep behind the targetman. I’d like to see Andy push further forward, or alternate more often, as the benefit of playing Luis on the shoulder is clear with his pace.
Downing then wasted a great chance, choosing to shoot when others were perhaps better placed to score, but by now we were not in control of the game.
Having spent the majority of the last five or six years watching Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool, and sides that especially at home controlled the midfield as a matter of course, it is concerning to see us surrender so much ground in the middle of the park as we drop deeper and deeper, a fault that springs from the defence as much as Lucas and Adam. What worries me is that this was not the case last year, when Jay Spearing and Lucas formed a very effective partnership, yet Spearing has mainly been a spectator this year.
Our other problem area in recent weeks has been the right wing, with Jordan Henderson really appearing to flounder out of position on the flank. You could have been forgiven for wondering if he was still on the pitch when he was replaced by Kuyt, and the reaction he is getting from some fans is not what the young lad needs. I’d like to see him taken out of the firing line, and used more sparingly in a central role.
Moving away from the negatives, surely there is no greater positive than the return of Steven Gerrard. He looked every inch the player we need, although we did not get to see the mouthwatering prospect of him combining with Luis, as it was our number 7 who he replaced. Suarez was not happy, but I like that about him, as he always wants to give more to his appreciative audience.
Gerrard looked like the beast of old, striding forward at every opportunity, as if determined to cast aside any doubts of him being affected by a lingering injury.
But even the man whose magnificent career has seemed like one long, real life Roy of the Rovers tale could not help seal the victory, and the closing exchanges were a lot more nervous than they should have been.
Thankfully all those fears proved redundant, and now that the dust has settled, it’s perhaps easier to see the game for what it was: a decent win against decent opposition. Wolves are a tough side, who have proved resilient when facing big teams, and following an abject loss at home, they were not likely to roll over.
The counterpoint is that once again if we had taken our early chances (like against Brighton) the score could easily have been 4-1, not 2-1. We must be more clinical, and with far better opposition and trickier ties in both the league and cup to come this month, we must raise our game.
Let's hope the positives continue to outweigh the negatives.
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