IT’S been an eventful couple of weeks for Liverpool FC since the 4-0 victory at Anfield against Fulham. Players have been scattered across the globe reporting for international duty – in Luis Suarez’s case pretty much a trip around the world to ensure his Uruguay could book their tickets to Brazil next summer – meaning the usual debate of club versus country has been back in the frame.
Not every game was as meaningful as the four play-off games though. This time it was Daniel Sturridge’s turn to feel the dilemma of trying to please both his national team coach and club manager: by playing the whole friendly game for England against Germany while having some fitness issues, something he probably felt he had to in order to convince Roy Hodgson about who should be England’s number nine, he effectively ruled himself out of Liverpool’s next game.
I bet Sturridge regretted the ninety minutes at Wembley when Brendan Rodgers revealed the team for the Merseyside derby.
Because there was the case of a Merseyside derby. My word was there a derby. Joe Allen, where art thou? At Melwood practicing the old side foot finish? All he had to do was to make one of his usual passes. Pass it into the corner, Joe. He could probably have done it blindfolded nine times out of ten. There, it had to be said one last time just to get it out of the system once and for all.
It’s not the Allen miss I’ll remember most from this derby though. First of all it was a truly magnificent and spectacular game of football; an amazing spectacle that must have been epic to watch for the neutrals out there. Goals galore, great individual performances and moments of brilliance, horror tackles and a non-existing midfield; in terms of entertainment I can’t think of a better derby. A proper feast of a football match.
There’s been something cagey about these matches in recent years, but this time there were two teams going for the win – which I think we can say hasn’t always been the case with David Moyes in the opposite dugout. Now though, with Roberto Martinez there times seem to be different, with two football romantics and idealists in charge of the two Merseyside clubs; both of whom are students of the game, who know how they want to play the game and probably have swapped notes on more than one occasion. Looking at it from the outside it feels like it’s about football now, whereas with the former Everton boss it felt as if it was about not losing face. I honestly can’t wait for the next one. 5-3 Liverpool, you saw it here first.
However, now it’s back to what seems to be bread and butter for this LFC team: the games against the bottom half clubs. That’s where they do their business these days and that’s where they lay down the foundations for the point tally – which to me is completely logical. There are more teams who are worse than Liverpool than there are better teams – ergo should the team be set up to first and foremost handle the former types of teams.
For many years this was something Liverpool struggled with: a good result against a top team could often be sandwiched in between two disappointing results, and both Gerard Houllier and Rafael Benitez struggled to crack this particular code. Both managers enjoyed good results against what back then was considered the rest of the top four, but their failure to consistently beat the bottom half and mid-table teams was the main reason why neither could take the club all the way to the league title.
Given the increased number of competitors for a top four spot now, and also the general increase of quality in the league, it seems like a good idea to do what Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool are doing – namely focusing on getting those wins against the lesser teams and then grab whatever possible from the big games. Beating the bottom ten home and away would give Liverpool a sixty point platform to build on. That’s how Manchester United win their titles. Just mentioning it…
Food for thought, in light of recent events: Why aren’t great passers necessarily great penalty takers or finishers? Why isn’t Xabi Alonso the best penalty taker in the world? Think about it…
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back to business sturridge should play with suarez he would be top goal scorer couz suarez an do all the dirty work then finishes those balls,sas partnership if played will take us top 2,my worry is lucas and gerrard there should be solid ,coutiinho our little magician if paled behind strikers i tell u sas will full supply of clean balls
I hate all this fuss cos remove Suarez and we are a mid table team, Lucas is not liverpool material to support our ageing captain.
the problem with joe is that he does better when passing backwards, guess he was unfortunate to be facing the goal when it happened.
why aint great passers necessarily great penalty takers …..? david beckham, zenedine zedane, steven gerrard, luis figo, jay jay okocha, etc to mention but a few; are all superb penalty takers.
why isnt alonso the best penalty taker in the world? seerrrriiiiooooouuuuuusss………….y? (yawn) history wld always have it that people like stevie and zizou still exist?