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View from the Kop

A Welcome Surprise from Roy at White Hart Lane

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As I watched Liverpool’s match at White Hart Lane yesterday, I was frankly surprised by the ambition and fight that the Reds displayed against a very good Spurs team. Although some of Tottenham’s first half performance could be said to be a hangover from playing midweek against Werder Bremen, while Liverpool had an entire week to prepare for the Sunday match, there was clear switch in approach from the Reds which we haven’t seen from Roy’s team in away games this season. Hodgson admitted before the game about Liverpool’s poor away record this campaign:

“The away form has been bad for a long time. We’ve had one good victory and a couple of reasonable draws but I’m afraid in this league away victories are hard to come by.”

Considering that Liverpool had only won two away league games all year, and combined with Roy’s own very poor away record in his time with Fulham, the omens didn’t bode well that the performance against Spurs would be any better than those against Everton or Stoke. The first positive indication came when Liverpool’s starting eleven was announced. I, and other writers, on this site were making the case for Roy to start two up front, and go like for like with Spurs, to give the London club a run for their money in the attacking stakes. Considering the defensive and negative displays that have littered Liverpool’s away performances this season, I wasn’t holding my breath though that Roy would change to a more attacking approach.

The inclusion of Ngog, alongside Torres from the start however showed that Roy and the team would be facing the game in a positive, attacking intent, and it was clear from the first whistle that the Reds wanted to win the game, rather than settle for a draw. Before the match, Roy had stated a draw wouldn’t have satisfied either team, and he backed up his words with a team looking to put Spurs on the back foot. In the first half, they did just that, as shots from Rodriguez and Meireles, a goal from Martin Skrtel and excellent chances for Maxi and Torres to put the game out of sight, showed that if Liverpool play positively, they have a team good enough to trouble the best teams in the Premier League, even away from home.

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6 comments

  • Jay Wright says:

    Positive – Hodgson sent out the team with much more attacking intent from the beginning
    Negative – Hodgson was content to have his team sink back and allow Tottenham to dominate the second half, and did nothing to try to take any attacking initiative back

    Positive – the league is still pretty tight so it’s still easy to climb places quickly
    Negative – the top 5 are stretching away from us, and the gap may be insurmountable by the time a manager with some real ambition (hopefully Riijkaard) is brought in

    Positive – Maxi & Kuyt must be close to losing their positions on the wings
    Negative – Those positions will just be rotated with other unsuitable candidates in Cole, Meireles & Aurelio, with Babel & Jovanovich neither even being viewed as options upfront or out wide

  • Mike says:

    Spot on. Just the way I feel about it.

  • kenny says:

    I have been a Liverpool fan for 33 years and remember when the club had genuine world class players like Hansen, Souness, Dalglish and Rush. It is ridiculous that Carragher, Gerrard and Torres are labelled as world class. These 3 are holding the club back. Liverpool could have got 70 million for Torres and Gerrard in the summer but were afraid to sell them because the fans were whining so much. Even Darren Bent has scored more goals than Torres this season. If Torres is so brilliant how come he rarely scores for Spain? He is never going to get back the lightning pace that he once had and he knows it. He has no left foot and rarely scores a headed goal. The team has played better football in the last 2 games without Gerrard.

  • tahir says:

    Sorry to hear about Roy again and again.I am feeling sick with that crapulous fellow at the helm.he is no liverpool quality the fans duely expects after so many years in the wilderness.I will feel proud as liverpool fan again after the IDAMISSIBLE TACTICIAN leaves our club before we start playing championship football.Remember He has won just twice away this calender year.HOW absurd that is.I am feeling disgusted just now and as if my intestine is coming out of my mouth.Someone relieve me of that clown WOY urgently please.HELP!!!!!

  • tahir says:

    It’ll be a cracking game of football. No doubt we’ll find ourselves on TV again,” he added. “We seem to be on TV every week, so I better get my makeup ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    What a silly comment from an average manager.I hope this guy leave my club now.

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