Changing perceptions

A LITTLE over a fortnight ago a friend of mine, a sports writer and Manchester United fan, commented on Facebook about the nominees for the MBNA Northwest Football Awards 2011.

Stating that he was ‘laughing so much it hurts’, the journalist in question poured scorn on the notion that Liverpool’s defensive midfielder, Lucas Leiva, was among the candidates, and not David Silva or Wayne Rooney.

In terms of the quality of those two top players being overlooked by the judges, he certainly had a point. And in fairness, he later conceded that Lucas would probably be our best player against Chelsea (while questioning the Brazilian’s usefulness against inferior opposition we are expected to routinely beat at home, something many Reds have done in the past.)

Nevertheless, I was somewhat puzzled by his dismissal of Liverpool’s player of the year in 2010/11, and couldn’t help but remark on the irony that his beloved Manchester United would be a much better team if they could sign Lucas, as they sorely lack a player of his ilk and have done since Owen Hargreaves’ brief playing days at Old Trafford. 

This was all too apparent when Manchester City crushed the champions 6-1, running roughshod over their impoverished, bedraggled midfield last month. Thankfully at Anfield on Sunday there was to be no repeat of that devastating display. What we did see instead was the MBNA Northwest Football Awards’ Barclays Premier League Player of the Year collect the post-match champagne for an imperious performance at the heart of Liverpool’s midfield (replicating his showing at Stamford Bridge a week earlier), after keeping the aforementioned Mr Silva quiet and the heralded Yaya Toure trapped firmly in his proverbial pocket.

Make no mistake; Lucas was nothing short of sensational. The statistics are there for all to see: 13 out of 16 challenges won on the ground, four out of four headers won, seven successful tackles in seven attempts, seven interceptions, and crucially, a 92 per cent pass completion rate. 

Yes, his role is not one that lends itself too readily to highlight reels, as he collects the ball from the back four and initiates attacks, keeps the ball moving quickly by playing simple passes to team mates, always makes himself available for a return pass, shuts down opposition moves by tracking runners, wins headers and 50/50 ground challenges and nicks back possession through intelligent anticipation. Defensive midfielders are not expected to be creators supreme, nor feature highly in top scorer's or top assist maker's charts. But two moments in the second half were worthy of inclusion in any compilation package, as can be seen here, with thanks to the tremendous editing skills of MilanKakaBaros. 

The first sees the human steam train that is Toure charge upfield, only to find Lucas inconceivably resistant in his path. Lucas outmuscled his opponent, a man that dwarfs him in size, leveraged his body between him and the ball, won it back cleanly and in one motion, as he was still regaining his feet, sent a pass forward and Liverpool on their way to goal once more. Toure looked so baffled by the whole affair that he could do only one thing – hold out his hands and whine at the referee.

The second sequence sees Lucas facing our goal, collecting a wayward pass from Glen Johnson with Edin Dzeko in pursuit. He turns, finds a little room, and plays a shot pass to Jordan Henderson, before accelerating past Silva and asking for a return ball. Henderson picks out a different target, Luis Suarez, but Lucas maintains his run, and receives an instantly flicked pass from Suarez instead. The ball is chipped, and needs to be controlled with a deft touch, something Lucas illustrates immediately, driving towards the box. On the edge of the area he fed the Uruguayan, whose resultant effort was saved superbly by Joe Hart. 

It would have been a worthy winner of any game, and one for which Suarez, not Lucas, would have been acclaimed. But that is Lucas Leiva’s remit – he is a player in masterful command of his position, who gives the Suarez, Silva and Rooney’s of this world the platform to shine.

Of course, Lucas was far from our only outstanding performer in what was a very promising day for the Reds against probably the best side in the Premiership. Manchester City have blown aside nearly all domestic obstacles this season, dropping only two points before Sunday at Fulham, yet at Anfield they found themselves hanging on for a draw and scraping a point, even before they were reduced to ten men.

It didn’t look that way at the start, the slick interchange of passes between Silva, Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero threatening to cut us wide open on more than one occasion. This City side is thrilling in attack, and very pleasing on the eye. Fortunately when they did break through Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel were quick to obstruct their route to goal and with Dzeko on the bench and Aguero struggling for goals as of late, City didn’t actually test Pepe Reina in the opening stages.

When their goal did come it was from an unlikely source – Vincent Kompany’s shoulder. Silva swung in a cross, Charlie Adam on the front post perhaps advanced further than he should have done and subsequently could not win the ball, and Dirk Kuyt and Johnson failed to prevent Kompany escaping their attention and rising high to deflect the ball into the top corner.

City's joy was short-lived, and I think how quickly we responded changed the course of the game. Kenny Dalglish had dropped Maxi Rodriguez in favour of Stewart Downing, and with Craig Bellamy omitted on compassionate grounds following the desperately sad death of his national team boss, Gary Speed, Jordan Henderson had been reinstated in the side.

The three-man midfield Henderson formed with Lucas and Adam gave Adam the scope to play further forward than he had at Chelsea, a role he took to with relish. Just two minutes after we conceded the Scot shot from distance, the ball took a wicked deflection of Joleon Lescott (who contrary to recent reports still looks like a weak link in the City defence to me) and we were level.

From that point on, while City occasionally troubled our goal, Liverpool were the better team. We pinned back their galloping fullbacks, Micah Richards finding himself in unfamiliar defensive territory thanks to Jose Enrique’s power and pace, and we began to test their resolve. Sadly, Joe Hart was in stunning form, and he showed the kind of steely determination between the posts that wins you titles. The first of many great saves he made with his feet, after Dirk, unable to elude Clichy, pulled back a pass to Adam who attempted to sidefoot a second into the bottom left hand corner. 

Reina made a smart near post save before the break from Aguero, but it was his opposite number who was called into action more frequently in the second half. He wasn’t troubled when Dirk headed poorly down and wide from a Stewart Downing cross, but then he tipped a mishit Downing effort spectacularly over the bar, and went on to make the aforementioned save from Suarez.

In the meantime we were presented with the gift of the latest act of stupidity from Mario Balotelli, a man who amuses me endlessly with his unique combination of God-given football talent, appreciation of fireworks and darts and a brain so small it must rattle within his skull. First Super Mario pulled back Johnson for a professional foul and cast-iron yellow card, then, when any other professional footballer would surely be aware that he was treading a thin line with the referee Martin Atkinson, he clearly led with his arm in an aerial challenge with Skrtel.

It was not an elbow, and not a straight red card offence, but it was a yellow, and with the added help of Martin cynically clutching his head and face, that is what it received. Roberto Mancini has indicated that Liverpool players surrounded the referee in a bid to get Balotelli sent off, but in fact it was his players, led by Kompany who got under Atkinson's nose. I did spot Adam however doing his best elbow impression, just in case the referee couldn’t make up his mind. The bottom line is Balotelli was reckless and foolish, and he has no sympathy from me whatsoever. I felt the same way when Adam lunged into a tackle minutes after a booking at White Hart Lane and earned himself an early shower.    

With City now pinned back and us pouring forward, I was concerned we would be susceptible to a counter attack. Yet when it came, thanks to a powerful run from Dzeko who fed Silva, Reina showed just why he is the finest ‘sweeper keeper’ in football today. He raced to the edge of his box, jockeyed Silva and delayed his decision, forcing him wide until Silva shot tamely at our goal, where three Liverpool players had then assembled.

It seemed like a late, glorious winner was moments away, but Hart was not willing to concede again. In stoppage time he produced a great save from an Andy Carroll header, the big man on as a substitute for Dirk, and then, when the ball fell to Suarez, parried his low drive as well. The rebound came to Downing, who once again failed to show the composure or quality we need from him. Instead of laying it back to the unmarked Carroll, he lashed the ball high over the bar. It marked another below par performance from the winger, who again could be seen arguing with Jose Enrique on the left flank.

However, it seems to me that this Liverpool team is now really starting to gel, as the new players with the exception of Downing (and last year’s big buy Andy Carroll) have settled well, and are growing into their stature as Liverpool players with each performance. Adam looks very much the part after his early difficulties, and despite the over-the-top criticism in some quarters, Henderson looks like a very good young player to me. He was impressive again, and following a great cameo against Chelsea, he used the ball well, showed good movement and grew into the game in the second half. 

I am delighted to say that we look like a good side again, a team that passes the ball incisively and with confidence, a team that can come from behind and responds to setbacks in a positive manner, and a team that shows the bravery and belief to push for maximum points no matter who the opposition or circumstances. The obvious concern is our lack of goals, because if Suarez is going through a barren spell as he is at present, it is hard to see who will step up to the plate. But the team as a whole is playing good football, we are defensively solid and we are creating enough chances.

Looking to tonight’s game against Chelsea I would hope for more of the same approach that worked so well in the league, yet a slightly adapted frontline with Carroll as the spearhead. Bellamy should return along with Maxi, and at the opposite end Jamie Carragher will be back in defence for the first time in a month. We haven’t missed Jamie since he has been out of the side, which has been testament to the form of Skrtel and Agger, but I still think he has a lot to give. 

I would expect Martin Kelly to play and Jay Spearing, but beyond that I can’t see many youngsters featuring, and I think Kenny has some difficult decisions to make. With two games in 48 hours we will have to field some tired legs, and at present it’s hard to see how we can omit any of our four spine players – Reina, Agger, Lucas and Suarez – and maintain our strength. 

Not long ago the thought of a Liverpool spine without Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher would be incomprehensible. But as Lucas Leiva could tell you, things can change very quickly in football.

Bad Karma

EARLIER this season I was forced to miss our 3-1 home win over Bolton Wanderers.

As a man of limited means I don’t get to many away games, but I attend nearly all our home matches in both league and cup. However, on this occasion, the choice was taken out of my hands.

Because of the rescheduling of the fixture by inconsiderate TV bosses, the encounter now clashed with an important family occasion, my girlfriend’s sister’s 21st birthday party. Being the dutiful boyfriend, I therefore found myself watching the game at their parents’ house.

I’m a believer in karma, of good deeds being rewarded, and thankfully my sacrifice did not go unnoticed. We strolled to victory, and the circumstances could not have been sweeter.

Midway through the game a confident young man walked into the room, and introduced himself as one of the birthday girl’s university friends. This forthright gentleman was a Londoner, and a Tottenham fan, and his first comment after glancing at the action took me by surprise.

“Charlie Adam is so overrated – he’s so average.”

I said I thought he was a good player, but before I had the chance to defend our new Scottish midfielder at length, Mr Adam placed the ball on the corner spot, took a swing of his cultured left foot, and whipped a cross onto Martin Skrtel’s head. 2-0. Exactly a minute later Dirk Kuyt played in the man from Dundee, who obliged by unleashing a low right-footed shot that nestled in the corner of the net.

3-0 to Liverpool. 1-0 to me.

My smile was now as wide as the Mersey, and my newfound friend slightly less cocksure. But the next day things got even better. Sitting down to watch his cherished Spurs face Manchester City at White Hart Lane, what unfolded before us was nothing short of a football lesson. And it was Harry Redknapp’s side who found themselves sat in the corner wearing the dunce’s hat.

City were mesmerising, Dzeko, Aguero, Nasri and Silva’s link-up play a joy to behold, and the 5-1 scoreline flattered Spurs. I gave my new pal a handshake and wished him a safe journey home. I’m pretty sure I was still laughing by the time he got off his train back at Euston.

Sadly, all of this gloating has been a preamble to an obvious riposte – and a dose of bad karma brought about by crowing in victory.

Shorn of the misfiring Peter Crouch, and with a motivated Emmanuel Adebayor in his place, Spurs recorded an impressive 2-0 win away at Wolves last week. The Tottenham side Liverpool faced yesterday was a team transformed, and it was us who were shown how it should be done.

Looking at the two line-ups and judging the opening exchanges, it was clear how far they had come in just three weeks. Luka Modrić is no longer the subdued figure angling for a transfer, and once again looks like one of the finest footballers in the country. Alongside him was the man who officially holds that title, the reigning PFA Footballer of the Year, Scott Parker. Guile allied with grit.

Niko Kranjčar, so ruthlessly exposed when asked to play centrally against City, was back on the right wing, with the pace of Gareth Bale a constant threat on the opposite flank. Their 4-4-2 spearheaded by Adebayor and Jermaine Defore looked extremely dangerous.

We shaped up in a 4-3-3 formation - the first of many mistakes made by Kenny, in what was surely the worst performance of his second spell at Anfield. That isn’t a slight on the King, because even the great managers get it wrong on occasion. This was one of those occasions.

Firstly, any Red seeing Martin Skrtel at right back, set to face Gareth Bale, must have shuddered. I like Martin, and think he can do a job as a squad player, but for me he is rash, physically weak despite looking so imposing, and should be fourth in line out of our central defenders as the season progresses.

When it comes to the right back position, he shouldn’t even be considered. But to be fair to Kenny, the absence of both our first and second choice players in that position through injury, Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly, didn’t leave him with many options. I’d have preferred to see Jamie Carragher, a fullback who became a centre half, out there if necessary, or the other right back in the squad, the youngster Jon Flanagan, selected. Perhaps following a shaky performance from him against Sunderland on the opening day, Kenny didn’t feel he was ready to face the Welsh winger.

Whatever the reasoning, Skrtel was the choice, and surely ahead of him therefore must have been Dirk Kuyt, tasked to double up on Bale and provide industry and commitment to protect our weak link. Instead we got a player who increasingly looks like a central midfield prospect, Jordan Henderson, tucking in on the right where he is not comfortable, and he was largely anonymous.

On the left hand side Jose Enrique had an okay game compared to most, but again he was left exposed by the man ahead of him. Which brings us back around to Charlie Adam.

I was delighted when we signed Charlie, as I saw him as a player with great vision, a lovely range of accurate passes both short and long, and deadly set pieces. I thought he would give us another dimension, and increase our goal threat, because he set up and scored so many goals for Blackpool last year.

What has become more apparent however since watching him up close week in, week out is his defensive frailty, his lack of mobility, his over ambition or reliance on picking the perfect long pass (which can lead to him conceding possession cheaply) and his dirty streak. He makes bad tackles, and occasionally nasty tackles, often when stretching for a ball he has lost or when trying to recover ground when caught out of position.

Admittedly things were already going very badly, as Spurs had flown out of the traps and Modrić scored a sensational goal. Then the sight we all dread came to fruition once more, with the brittle Agger leaving the field injured. What followed was a very short spell in which we started to settle, and I hoped we could ease our way back into the game. Only for Adam to make life ten times harder.

The referee appeared to have decided to issue a booking for every foul, at least every foul committed by a Liverpool player. I think we made eight fouls and received six bookings, Spurs 10 in return for only one yellow card. But possibly the first Adam tussle aside, which I think could have seen him escape with an early warning, the referee was not at fault, and he should not be blamed for this defeat. Spurs were superior in every department, and our fouls were stupid and reckless.

Adam may not have meant to hurt Parker, but he shouldn’t be lunging at a player like that when on his last warning. When he caught Parker’s leg it was the closest he got to him all afternoon.

I feel we need to consider resting Adam when away at places like Spurs, as he’s a player who will shine against dross at Anfield and help unlock the door against teams that park the bus, but doesn't seem suited to a battle away from home. 

I would much rather have seen a Lucas and Spearing combination yesterday, which worked to great effect last year against some illustrious opponents, or even a pairing of Lucas and Henderson. Spearing’s tenacity was missed, and it puzzles me that players like him, Maxi and Dirk, who shone so brightly last season under Kenny, are sat on the bench, when those ahead of them are hardly pulling up trees. 

Skrtel’s red card came at a time when I was beginning to think we could ride out the storm and nick something. Down to nine men, the floodgates opened. Skrtel was again perhaps unlucky with his first booking, but the second yellow was never in doubt. Enrique was then turned by Jermaine Defoe for Tottenham’s second, and the match as a contest was over. But in reality it had been from the start, with even Lucas chasing shadows in the middle, Downing isolated, Suarez frothing at the mouth and in danger of receiving a red himself, and Andy Carroll looking so out of sorts it was painful to watch.

I can see the reasoning behind dropping Andy when others are performing well and he is not, but on the other hand he is supposed to be the future, the player we are set to build our attack around under Kenny. Dirk is not the future at 31, so much as I prefer him with Suarez and think they link up well, I believe we should give the 22-year-old the nod for a run of games, and try and play him into form. I think it would be good for him to know that if he misses a chance or two, or struggles for sharpness, that he will still be in the side the following weekend. He needs to get back to the rampaging beast we saw at Newcastle, instead of this timid, lumbering giant, and confidence is key.  

The goals that followed once Skrtel needlessly kicked Bale only served to underline how poor we had been and how impressive Spurs were on the day, the peerless Modrić head and shoulders above the rest. All day long the gap between our defence and midfield formed a massive chasm, and Modrić revelled in the free space he had between the lines.

It seems Jamie is dragging our defence back nearer and nearer to Pepe Reina’s net with every passing game. If we are to improve defensively we must push our backline higher up the pitch, but that is not in the best interests of the man organising our back four on the field, due to his diminishing pace. It was hard to gain much of an impression of Coates given the circumstances, but I really hope before long we see him partner Agger, flanked by Johnson or Kelly and Enrique, and the whole defensive line advance 10 yards. At least. 

 

Between now and next Saturday against Wolves, I’m praying Steven Gerrard makes his return, to bring some much needed leadership, presence, attacking impetus, and above all, quality. But with such a lengthy layoff, there is no guarantee he will hit the ground running. It will be interesting to see where he fits into the team. Ideally Kelly will return at right back, Coates keep his place alongside Carragher if Agger is unfit, and one of Adam or Henderson make way for Gerrard to play as a central attacking midfielder ahead of Lucas and the partner of Kenny’s choosing. I’d like to see an attacking three of Downing, Stevie and Suarez supporting Carroll, and maybe get a glimpse for the first time at the attacking quartet Kenny has in mind.

Before I finish I’ll say this - we must remember that following such a heavy defeat, our worst in eight years, all is not lost. We are not as bad as Sunday indicated, nor as good as the routine dismissal of Bolton suggested. We are a work in progress, and it’s evident that us, Arsenal and Spurs, the probable contenders for fourth place, all look capable of dropping silly points and switching from Jekyl to Hyde at the drop of a hat.

All of which brings this rather depressing second post to a conclusion. I should clarify that – it has been depressing for me and other Reds, no doubt. But if he reads it, it will probably be a source of great amusement for a certain cheeky chap from north London. Mr David Domb - I believe that is 1-1 sir!