Monthly Archives: October 2014

Liverpool Steal One at Loftus Road

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For the first fixture in arguably the most critical run of matches for Liverpool this calendar year, the Reds steal a desperate and undeserved 3-2 victory away against bottom-dwellers Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.

The Reds began in remarkably lackluster fashion, looking very much like a side struggling to find their form and showing the wear of playing with increasing desperation. In truth, Liverpool needed all the luck they could gather to win with all the frenzied action happening from the 90th minute and stoppage time with three goals inside four minutes.

To their credit, Queens Park Rangers established themselves early. In the third minute, the Hoops created the first chance of the game when Bobby Zamora held off Dejan Lovren at the top of the penalty area, chesting a ball to an onrushing Charlie Austin who overhit the shot high into the stands. Then seconds later, Rangers sent a long diagonal free kick that Zamora headed into the area from the right side.

While neither chance prevailed, QPR’s tactics were clear. They would control possession for most of the first half, targeting Jose Enrique on Liverpool’s defensive left side, threatening with ariel service, and controlling the match. In combination with Liverpool’s poor play, these were early themes that would characterize the entire match. Looking up from the bottom of the table inspired far more fight in the home side.

Rangers would create three genuinely strong chances to the Reds one near opportunity in the first half.

Nine minutes in Charlie Austin benefitted from poor Reds defensive passing, as the ball ricocheting around the final third, fell to him freely breaking behind and into the box where Simon Mignolet stood strong, stopping the initial shot but giving a rebound, which a falling Austin could not finish.

In the 28th minute Leroy Fer ripped a clearcut chance off the crossbar, overhitting a cutback cross from Zamora who had broke into the area again on the right with pace and strength.

Six minutes later, poor defensive passing helped Fer hit the crossbar again, this time from a header, which touched off a mad scramble in front of the Reds net. With Mignolet caught off the line, Austin and Sandro collided on the line and Glen Johnson was able to steward the ball out of danger.

Only in the dying minutes of the first half did Liverpool nearly snatch one, when Mario Balotelli threaded a ball to Steven Gerrard, who plowed forward into center of the area, finding a half yard to shoot, and bending one just outside the far right post. It was by far the best chance of the half for the Reds.

The second half began all square and scoreless, much as the first, with Liverpool chock full of errant touches and unlucky bounces, while QPR looked to press every advantage for an opener.

Two minutes into the half, Liveprool again failed to clear defensively and Sandro drove a wicked, low drive across the face of the goal from the right, forcing Mignolet into a strong, stretched save.

It took nearly two thirds of the game before Liverpool looked like they were even in the match. They began to string together some brighter sequences of play, before QPR’s Sandro had to be treated a subsequently substituted by Armand Traore.

In the 61st minute, Baloteli missed an absolute sitter from fortunate run of play. Raheem Sterling penetrated, looking for Balotelli, when Adam Lallana became recipient of a deflection and shot. The rebound landed right in front of Balotelli five yards from the frame where he missed very, very badly, in Torres-like fashion. It was one of many signs that the Italian is feeling the pressure and not perceiving it as much a privilege. He looked more jaded in the match than any he has played in red.

In an attempt to try and take control of the game, Brendan Rodgers sent Philippe Coutinho and Joe Allen on for Lallana and Emre Can respectively. Both were immediately lively, with Coutinho threading passes that threatened to give the Reds and attacking advantage. Sterling too seemed to respond, finding another gear and some graft to begin opening up QPR’s defense.

Sterling’s pace and intelligence would be rewarded after he was fouled just outside the box on the right and quickly restarted play to Johnson. Benefitting from a QPR side that was completely switched off, Johnson drilled a low and hard cross into the box which a slowly recovering Richard Dunn deflected in for an own goal.

The goal seemed to breathe even more life into the Reds, who started to find a bit more pace and punch in their attack.

Then in the 85th minute Traore would preview what was to come, pouncing on a ball floating in the Reds’ defensive third from a series of weak headers, he found Mignolet equal to the task for another strong save.

No less than two minutes later, in what seemed a near repeated sequence of poor clearance headers, QPR’s substitute  Eduardo Vargas had a ball fall to him inside the six-yard box that couldn’t be missed, as he smashed home the equalizer.

Yet the Reds countered with a mad break, started by Sterling, who found a surging Gerrard, in turn, who slipped the ball to Coutinho on the left of the area. Coutinho darted centrally, beating two and got a favorable deflection on his shot that spun into the side of the net.

It looked like the winner.

However, moments into stoppage time Liverpool conceded another corner, which served only to highlight just how poor their defense had been in the air and on set plays. None other than Vargas beat every Red to the near post to flick a header home and equalize again.

Within seconds of the restart, Liverpool nearly found another winner from a desperate rush forward, but Balotelli could not find the net with his near post flick.

Then in the 94th minute, Liverpool mounted another break. This time Coutinho released Sterling, streaking behind the defense and looking to cross to Balotelli, but Steven Caulker reached out in-stride and knocked in an own goal in the dying seconds. Liverpool received another most fortunate gift.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Still, Lady Luck is a fickle female and while she seemed to reward the visiting side, certainly Mario Balotelli has only received scorn. This was a match the Reds should have lost, potentially triggering the entire campaign coming off the rails, but, they escaped with three points and moved five rungs up the table.

Just how fortunate they were cannot be dismissed as they prepare to face European giants and defending Champions League winners Real Madrid midweek.

No shortage of questions can be posed to Brendan Rodgers, but to be fifth in the Premier League after playing as poorly as they have for so long, with all the contributing factors, has to be taken as some measure of encouragement.

Nevertheless, answers cannot come soon enough. Nearly every player was looking to give Balotelli his first goal, almost to devastating effect. The sooner he and Lambert break ducks and Sturridge returns cannot come soon enough for a team scrambling to stave off a crisis.

Sterling Caught Between Club and Country

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Originally published on LFCOnline.com website.

Gary Lineker is right. Alan Shearer is wrong. It is as simple as that.

Caught in the middle of the club and country debate, Raheem Sterling has become the latest casualty of the tired dilemma.

While one ex-England striker decries the workingman’s lament and scoffs at a nineteen year-old being tired, another recognizes that teenagers are still young, moody, and developing.

Truth, Raheem Sterling is barely still a boy in what is very much a man’s world.

It should be remembered that in less than a year since Sterling’s meteoric rise towards fulfilling his potential, he couldn’t keep his own personal life out the press. It threatened to derail his fledgling career. Everyone saw the talent, but the kid was struggling, both on the pitch and in court.

With help, he clearly sorted himself out and embarked on a sensational run of form that has marked him as one of the best young players in Europe, if not the world.

Unfortunately, his star has shown so brightly in the last few months, he has arguably become the most talismanic player on the pitch for both club and country — a heavy burden for any nineteen year-old, let alone one only recently righted from the trappings of too much too soon.

Yet again, Sterling finds himself in the dailies for all the wrong reasons, only this time wrongly faulted.

England manager Roy Hodgson has played Sterling as the pawn in his ongoing row with Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers, benevolently suggesting Only this time Hodgson might well have mislaid his hands on the wrong piece, mistaking his most valuable for the least.

Hodgson’s decision to reveal his conversation with the Sterling makes the player look bad to some, but makes Hodgson look only more the fool. Worse still, to hang a player out publicly (all the more unseemly as an act of praise), question the training methods of the club, and engage in this farcical back-and-forth with Rodgers makes the case against himself only stronger.

To question any high profile club willing to invest millions into their players, in an effort to maximize performance over the course of a campaign with the understanding that international duty may be included, is embarrassing, despite anyone that might support Hodgson.

Players of Sterling’s age and quality are by definition different and should be treated differently as well. Clubs can never be thrilled with the risk of releasing their prized assets, but they generally do so and with very little recourse at that.

While the debate rages on a multiple fronts, there has been no shortage of comments highlighting Hodgson’s folly.

Renowned Dutch conditioning expert and recent Wales assistant Raymond Verheijen even scoffed at Hodgson’s antiquated ignorance on facts, as well as remarking how the requirements of a still growing body differ those of a fully matured man.

While Rodgers might currently see the at the prospects of sending any of his players to St. Georges Park, he must be having quite the laugh at Hodgson. In fact, look for Rodgers to fiercely protect Sterling but also add a quip or two to invite further Hodgson stupidity in Liverpool’s upcoming press conference. It is unlikely, Hodgson will be able to avoid the bait.

Fresh off a fine World Cup, like it or not, European club football has eclipsed the international game, in terms of consequence. The money alone has made that a fact. Rupert Murdoch would not continually pursue the pipe dream of a super league were that not the case.

Plus a simple truth has endured for over a decade. If a national side does not possess any quality players from one of the top twelve or so European clubs, that national side is no good. Denying this is pure vanity.

International football continues to be important, but its power has waned in deference to the power of money and annual club contests that generate it. In the process, club versus country has been rendered a falsity.

Rather than tangling with a manager at one of those resurgent giants of European club football, at the expense of his brightest young talent, Hodgson would be wise to take a more cooperative stance. Should he continue to show his clownish colors, Hodgson may just find a number of players more often unfit for international duty. Surely, Sterling will think twice before the next call.

Reds Overcome Referee and Baggies for Needed Win

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Originally published on LFCOnline.com website.

Calling Liverpool’s home fixture with West Bromwich Albion a must-win match might have been overstatement, but not much of one. The Reds, clearly struggling with injuries and form of late, notched a much needed 2-1 victory at Anfield.

From the opening moments, Liverpool looked like they recognized the urgency required to find their form. There was more movement, quicker touches, and defensive pressure from the start. Better still, Philippe Coutinho started showing hints of his enormous creative capacity with his best performance of the season yet. Adam Lallana continued playing himself into increasingly better form, also looking to be a link-up man and creative threat.

In the 7th minute, the first solid sequence of play included Alberto Moreno playing a quick pass to Lallana, who found Jordan Henderson centrally, just outside penalty area, in the arc, where he was quickly fouled. Steven Gerrard’s free kick would not lead to anything, but the quick passing, attacking intent was clearly visible.

Five minutes later, the Reds yielded their first corner to West Brom, making for an early defensive test. On the ensuing corner, Simon Mignolet raced off his line to palm the ball away high and wide. While he might have been able to haul it down, his commitment was obvious and the ball was cleared from danger. Mignolet would produce another near copy of the play in the 20th minute.

Getting his first start, Rickie Lambert looked lively and fit, providing good lateral movement up front and making himself available for more through balls from the midfield. In fact, Lambert nearly notched his first goal as a Red, when Martin Skrtel played a long, vertical ball, beating the entire Baggie side, to the diagonally running striker. With an exquisite first touch, Lambert slid behind the defense and into the penalty area, right of goal, firing a shot, only to be denied by a strong save from Ben Foster.

After the first half-hour, Liverpool continued to miss that needed bit of quality in the final third. Errant touches and uncertainty still held back an attack that was showing signs of life. Again, the Reds seemed to be playing a man down, at times, with Raheem Sterling looking as though a much needed break is in order. Sterling’s touch troubled him often, and West Brom made certain to close him down early and often. To his credit he played through the difficulty and managed to make the best of what was clearly an off day.

West Brom began to cause problems as the first half waned. In the 35th minute Baggie’s striker Saido Berahino unleashed a stinging shot that forced a Mignolet save.

Later, in the 42nd minute Sébastien Pocognoli worked downfield to cross the ball into the dangerous Berahino. Neither Skrtel nor Dejan Lovren got a head on the cross, each seeming to wait for the other to take command. It was a scene that would be repeated a few times throughout the match.

Even Stéphane Sessegnon tried to get in on the action, sending a dipping shot from 20 yards, in the 44th minute, for a workmanlike save from Mignolet.

Then, just before half-time, Adam Lallana showcased the class Reds fans have been waiting to see. In a run of play that he would start and finish, Lallana drew three West Brom Defenders, just outside the area on the left, before working a one-two with Henderson to break through and scythe one into the far-side netting. The combination of silky skill by Lallana and a nifty behind-the-leg flick from Henderson opened West Brom up with the kind of creative, lightning strike Reds fans have been craving.

At the beginning of the second half, it was clear Liverpool were eager to press their advantage. Finding their rhythm, the Merseysiders again moved the ball with multiple sequences of one-touch passing, ratcheting up the speed of play and pushing forward.

In the 47th minute, Henderson again, would find himself dangerously open at the top of the box, this time receiving a Gerrard pass, although a poor touch would lead to nothing.

In the 55th minute, Liverpool’s suspect defense would be revealed when when Lovren chopped down Berahino on edge of area. Despite being clearly outside the area, referee Michale Oliver pointed to spot. It was a bad call but a panicked decision by Lovren. Berahino buried the equalizer for West Brom.

The Reds, however, rallied. Five minutes later Sterling surged toward the endline before being taken down by Craig Gardner for what should have been an obvious penalty, but Sterling’s instant recovery  led to a drop pass to Henderson, again at the top of the box. This time Henderson coolly side-footed a shot through the crowd and into the far side of net for the go-ahead goal.

With a one goal advantage, Liverpool looked to finish off the game. Substitutions Mario Balotelli for Lambert and Glen Johnson for Javier Manquillo helped freshen the home side for a strong stretch of play. In fact, in the 76th minute Balotelli would release Sterling with a brilliant through ball, that any other day would have ended the affair. However, a heavy touch from Sterling would send the ball directly into Foster’s hands.

Even though West Brom remained in the match until the end, Liverpool earned their first league victory since their away win at Spurs in August.

Another international break looms with terrible timing for Liverpool still searching for league form. However, this was precisely the kind match that Liverpool must grind out to stay in the mix at the top of the table. Most encouraging for the Redmen was a rediscovered approach to the game. the steady rise of Lallana, redeeming performance from Coutinho, and surging presence of Henderson all point toward better results as injured players begin to return. This team might not be last year’s team, but they look like they may be playing their way through a bad run of form. How things look two weeks from now may be the best indicator, but Liverpool importantly secured all three points today.