Wasted opportunities

WASTEFUL finishing and brittle defending has characterised much of Liverpool’s season so far – especially the last two games.

Five vital league points had already been squandered at home against Sunderland and away at Stoke due to a combination of the above, and the narrow victory over Wolves would have been a far more relaxed affair if several glorious chances had been converted.

Before the Everton and Manchester United games many Reds including myself speculated that four points would be a good haul, and that is what we achieved, largely thanks to a fortuitous red card decision at Goodison Park.

At the time I thought the draw against United was a frustrating but satisfactory result against the reigning champions, who set out to snatch a point with a very negative game plan and a team packed pull of defensive players.

Alex Ferguson brought three top quality performers off the bench in Wayne Rooney, Nani and Javier Hernandez to try and change the game after we took the lead, one of whom scored his team’s equaliser, and then United rode their luck as we spurned four clear chances to extend our winning run against them at Anfield.

Our impressive second half performance and domination of proceedings was of course some consolation in the immediate aftermath of the contest.  

But in the wake of their humiliating 6-1 thrashing at home to Manchester City on Sunday, I’m sure I wasn’t the only Liverpool fan thinking about why in hindsight we failed to defeat a team that were there for the taking.

United’s goal from their solitary chance of note was clearly the result of poor defending from both Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel, Carragher allowing Danny Wellbeck to win the first header and flick on Nani’s corner and Martin completely losing Hernandez, who made a trademark clever run and nodded in the one opportunity he had. What we would give for a ruthless finisher of his ability and promise at this point in time.

At the opposite end Luis Suarez missed an excellent first half opportunity, and in the final 10 minutes Stewart Downing created two great chances, with crosses to both Dirk Kuyt and Jordan Henderson, the former which Dirk stretched for, producing a good save from David de Gea, and the latter that really had to be put away by our otherwise impressive substitute, but was sent sailing over the bar.

In between de Gea made another impressive stop from a long-range Henderson effort, and a goalmouth melee which saw Rooney out jump Suarez to win an initial header eventually fell to Skrtel (which is rarely a good thing) and predictably ended up in the Kop.

I found myself wondering after the game what would have been the outcome if our aerial behemoth Andy Carroll (yes, the £35million man, to get that out the way) had taken the place of either little Luis or Jordan. Surely he would have stood a far better chance of finishing those chances late on? I’m pretty sure he would have out jumped Rooney at least. Yet despite much-improved performances from Andy against Wolves and Everton and a goal in the derby, he sat unused on the bench.

It was an omission that I presumed was mainly tactical as we had decided to play three in midfield, and one that I thought was perhaps still justified, as we controlled this zone of the pitch and even late on kept creating clear openings.

However, on Saturday against Norwich with Lucas Leiva suspended I was shocked not to see Andy back in the starting line-up. It seemed the perfect opportunity for him to get 90 minutes under his belt.

The game was similar to so many already this season. When the halftime whistle blew a scoreline of 4-0 would not have flattered us, such was our superiority, but we went in just 1-0 ahead thanks to a late deflected Craig Bellamy strike.

Bellamy was very impressive, linking well with Suarez and using his scintillating pace to penetrate their defence. And he showed more out there in one match than perhaps Downing has so far this term. After all, Downing is yet to produce either a goal or assist since his near £20m summer move, and while he has struck a crossbar and produced crosses that should have been buried, he does not look like a direct goal threat. He was disappointing on the right, and seems to currently be ahead of Maxi Rodriguez in the pecking order on reputation alone.

Dirk Kuyt laboured to little effect, having one of those days when he works harder and harder as a result of every poor final ball or touch, and then makes even more mistakes. It was hard to see why he was selected ahead of Carroll, and why Carroll did not replace him shortly after the break.

It is true that we were producing some mesmerising football, yet while Steven Gerrard and Charlie Adam both provided creativity in the first 45 minutes, the man who deserved nearly all the credit was again Luis Suarez.

The Uruguayan’s approach play is a thing of beauty, with his skill, control and ability to evade tackles and create chances from out of nothing testament to his unquestionable individual brilliance. He also possesses great vision, and tries and succeeds in doing things you would think he has no right to attempt. Until it is time to pull the trigger, he is possibly the best attacking player I have ever seen in a Red shirt.

Unfortunately, if we have learned one thing watching Luis this season, it is that he is either enduring a prolonged period of misfortune in front of goal, or that in fact despite all his positive attributes, he is not the clinical finisher we desperately need. I know he was prolific in Holland, and of course he will create and score a lot of goals. But he seems to miss a lot of chances - chances you would expect him to tuck away. I can recount many already this season, in more games than not, and we increasingly look reliant on him having a good day in front of goal to clinch victory, because few other players are proving to be a consistent goal threat.

This may sound harsh – after all he hit the woodwork twice against Norwich, and he creates the vast majority of his opportunities himself. But I read he had 11 shots on goal, and surely a player of his calibre should hit the net at least once or twice and make the keeper work more often. In this respect he is more akin to an erratic Rooney-type forward than a Hernandez - or indeed in his Liverpool days, Fernando Torres.

The obvious solution is to partner Luis with a top goalscorer, which is what Kenny suggested Andy Carroll had the potential to become, but again, he is not getting enough time on the pitch to develop his game with us. And when he did come on, and was handed the sort of headed chance I mentioned earlier, he too fluffed his lines. Last season Andy was prolific for Newcastle, scoring 11 league goals in just 19 league games for a newly promoted side. We need to find a way to get him back to that kind of form.

Harking back to our other flaw, we are now in the curious position after years of relative strength at centre back and weakness at fullback, of finding ourselves looking deficient at our defensive core and impressive out wide.

With Daniel Agger again absent Martin and Jamie did not convince with or without the ball, particularly in aerial duels, in contrast to Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson, although both fullbacks were culpable to some extent in Norwich’s goal. Enrique allowed the cross and Glen looking unlikely to win the header before Pepe Reina decided it was up to him to deal with it. Sadly even the usually unflappable Spaniard has begun to get the jitters, with an uncharacteristic mistake at White Hart Lane several weeks back followed up by a catastrophic attempt to punch clear the cross that led to Grant Holt’s headed equaliser. 

After the goal the lack of a combative central midfielder became very apparent, with perhaps Stevie yet to find full match fitness and Charlie Adam joining our captain in giving the Norwich midfield far too much time on the ball. With nobody to break up play and provide a calming influence, both resorted to audacious passing attempts, and when we did regain possession we started hitting it long. The fluid football seen earlier in the game gave way to a frantic approach during a spell that could have seen us concede yet again but for the acrobatics of Pepe. More chances went begging late on, and we recorded a disappointing third home draw out of just five games at Anfield.  

   

With our perennial bogey team Stoke City away in the Carling Cup next on the agenda, and then a trip to meet the unapologetic architect of our turgid start to last season, Roy Hodgson, and his West Bromwich Albion side on Saturday, we really need two victories. Firstly to boost morale, and secondly and more importantly to further our quest for silverware and Champions League qualification. Arsenal have now recorded back to back league wins and Spurs continue to look like the team most likely to clinch that coveted fourth spot having put their early season woes behind them.

I hope that to begin with we give Carroll an opportunity in both games, and try to solve our attacking riddle, as for now we may have to wait for a solution in central defence to emerge. If we cannot keep goals out, we must score more and ensure that we do not pay the price for defensive lapses.

This squad has so much potential, but as we approach the end of October, our team and style of play looks no more set in stone than it did on the opening day in August.

Raining Bottles

STANDING in the sweltering concourse beneath the Lower Bullens stand on Saturday, my Evertonian friend kindly offered to buy me a drink.

Gladly accepting a cold bottle of coke (and a rapidly melting Mars bar) I was surprised to find that plastic bottles complete with their caps are served at Goodison, rather than the paper cups dished out at most football grounds.

Turning to my long-suffering companion, I remarked that our neighbours must not share other club’s concerns regarding health and safety, or bottles being thrown by fans. He merely shrugged and laughed, and we made our way up to the old wooden seats at the back of the historic stand.

Something tells me plastic bottles will not be served when Everton host Liverpool next year.

The 90 minutes that followed had everything we have come to expect from the Merseyside derby: controversy, cheating, red and yellow cards, bad refereeing, passion, hatred and the obligatory vile chants. All of which was peppered by the aforementioned bottles raining down on the pitch whenever a Liverpool player ventured too near the blue hordes.

With Kenny Dalglish making just one obvious change in reinstalling our derby talisman Dirk Kuyt on the right hand side at the expense of Jordan Henderson, the Reds lined up with largely the same team that narrowly beat Wolves a week previously.

In the opening exchanges Everton looked the more dominant side, roared on by the ferocious home support and driven by an impressive midfield axis of Marouane Fellaini and Jack Rodwell.

Liverpool struggled to settle into any kind of rhythm, and it was against the run of play when Phil Jagielka's mistake gifted a chance to Kuyt. Controlling the ball with far more skill than his detractors suggest he possesses, Dirk then found Luis Suarez with an accurate cross, but Suarez headed tamely into Tim Howard’s arms from close range.

Everton launched an immediate counter attack, and arguably the best header of a ball in English football, Tim Cahill, nearly made it 1-0. Thankfully the Reds were saved by Pepe Reina, who tipped the Australian’s effort over the bar.

Everton seemed to grow in confidence, so much so that the ageing centre half Sylvain Distin was next to trouble our defence, twisting past Jose Enrique and going close.

Sitting in the home end when your team is playing away is never a pleasant experience, especially across Stanley Park, but it’s hard to turn down the offer of a ticket for one of the biggest games of the season. At this stage the blues around me were buoyed by their impressive start to the contest, and the smattering of red shirts dotted among the home support didn’t seem too much of a problem. It is the ‘friendly derby’, after all.

Predictably the atmosphere was set to change - from one of early optimism to one of seething rage. And the change in mood was brought about by every Everton fan’s favourite hobbyhorse – perceived injustice.

To be fair, in this case, they had an utterly valid point. The instant dismissal of Rodwell for a clean tackle on Suarez was one of the most baffling decisions you will ever see – the judgment of a man who has surely never played the game at any competitive level.

Whether Suarez was genuinely hurt by the follow through of Rodwell’s knee I don’t know, but his apparent histrionics and the complaints of Lucas Leiva may have helped Martin Atkinson make up his mind. Rodwell got the ball and in doing so made a tackle with the minimum level of commitment and aggression we demand from our players in a derby game, but Mr Atkinson brandished a red card.

From that point on as many people have observed, the game was effectively over as a contest. We may have defeated Everton with 10 men on more than one occasion in recent years, but such is the financial disparity and gulf in quality between the playing staff of the two clubs, it shouldn't really be a level playing field even when its 11 v 11. With 10 men Everton had little chance.

Saying that, they continued to work very hard, and while they surrendered territory and possession, they didn’t surrender the game. The Reds in contrast did not seem able to summon the energy to make our numerical advantage count, nor find the crispness in our passing to open up a resolute Everton defence.

Suarez was clever in winning a penalty from Jagielka, who should have known better than to make such a rash challenge and clip him just inside the box. Presumably he escaped a booking because Mr Atkinson was wary of incensing David Moyes further, and presumably that was the only reason one of the worst players in Premiership football, Tony Hibbert, escaped a yellow card for a lunge on Charlie Adam that was by far the worst foul of the day.

Previously when Dirk Kuyt stepped up to take a penalty the result had always been the same – a goal to Liverpool. But I have to admit I didn’t fancy him on this occasion, facing Tim Howard once again with the American surely having picked up a tip or two from the three penalties Kuyt has dispatched past him already in Merseyside derbies. By the law of averages I suppose even the ice-cool Dutchman was due to miss one eventually, and it was a cracking save by Howard. The penalty wasn’t struck hard enough nor cleanly enough, but it was towards the corner, and was far from a bad effort. I’d bet on Dirk tucking his next one away.

Charlie Adam then produced his first meaningful contribution of the initial 45 minutes, a delightful shot that soared past Howard’s flailing arm and crashed against the crossbar. As the half time whistle blew I started to wonder if it was going to be one of those days, and despite the odds being stacked in our favour, I can’t say that I was happy with things as they stood at the interval.

Perhaps sitting with blues riddled my brain and I am being overly negative – I’m quite willing to accept that I absorbed the overwhelming negativity that surrounded me through osmosis! But I was disappointed with the way the second half began, and it seemed obvious to me that Steven Gerrard was needed as a substitute for Adam, and Craig Bellamy’s pace should also be called upon. Carroll did go close twice with well-directed and powerful headers, and we had no real problems defensively, but we still weren’t dominating play and hadn’t forced a clear chance in open play.

The double change Kenny made shortly after the hour was the one the game was crying out for – with Stevie predictably replacing Adam and an ineffectual Stewart Downing making way for Bellamy. We immediately looked brighter, and the sight of Gerrard urging us forward really is enough by itself to give every Red a lift.

Bellamy’s direct approach reaped dividends, with Everton looking scared of his blistering pace. He played in Enrique, again a standout performer, and when he crossed Kuyt showed a lovely bit of awareness to duck out of the way. Carroll made a little bit of room for himself and powered home the goal we had been craving.

Running towards our stand, he clearly enjoyed shoving the ‘what a waste of money’ chants down the Everton fan’s throats. The response to his goading was predictable - the blue support erupted and a lot of bottles and coins were thrown in his direction.

I chose to sit on my hands, relishing in the head rush of the goal and that strange sensation of restrained excitement flowing through my veins. But one jubilant Red in front of me leapt for joy, and things quickly turned ugly, with half a stand trying to get at him, ‘murderers’ chants breaking out more loudly than before, and a couple of lads spitting in his direction until he was escorted out by police.

While I would be livid, I wouldn’t personally react in that way to an Everton fan celebrating wildly in the Kop. But I have little sympathy for the offender – you’re in the home end, so as far as I'm concerned you show some respect or accept the consequences.    

I briefly lost focus on what was happening on the pitch, perhaps distracted by the sight of one Red in front of me covering up his Suarez shirt by hastily donning a thick jumper... despite it being the hottest day of the year, and the Lower Bullens stand now morphing into one big, angry mass of sweat.

While I wondered whether the stewards would actually do something to try and stop the bottles flying around, we scored our second goal. Suarez’s strike was a result of comical defending, Distin and Leighton Baines so panicked by his presence that they somehow combined to hand him the ball just yards from Howard’s net. Luis doesn't let an opportunity like that pass him by. 

As Suarez celebrated in front of the Gwladys Street faithful even more bottles came his way, an assault which continued when Bellamy took a corner, when Kuyt went behind the goal to collect the ball and when Luis lined up to take another set piece on the opposite flank. The sight of all three showing no fear was a joy to behold, and it really would have been the icing on the cake if Gerrard had lashed home a chance he hit from distance.

In the end it was Suarez and Kuyt who almost provided the final insult. Suarez complained about the objects being thrown in his direction as he took a corner and then suddenly chipped the ball to Dirk, catching the Everton defenders unaware. It was wonderfully sly, yet when Kuyt flicked the ball with the outside of his boot it sadly struck the post. Carroll may well have profited from the rebound if he had followed the move and made a run into the box, but it didn’t really matter – the game was already won.

Watching our players celebrate at the end I yearned to be in with the away support, and following thousands of frustrated Evertonians as they trudged out of the ground I thanked my lucky stars for the thousandth time that I was not born into a blue family. Once a year I’m content to sit among them, but I don’t think I could ever belong to that tribe.

I can’t throw a plastic bottle that far for starters!