Remember the posters that said today is the first day of the rest of your life. Well not quite so for the Gunners, but thats the kind of new hope Liverpool expected. Especially when a non-scouse-ready-to-pick-at-anything mate of yours calls you up after Bolton’s second goal ,to enjoy and indulge in his pre-mature moment of glory, not knowing what Liverpool’s Deus Ex machina has yet to offer.
And as the story of the day goes Liverpool claim their 3 points. Not the most convincing of fashions, but one a bit remeniscent of last year. When you score 2 goals against Liverpool, you better find a way in for the third one. Ask City,Wigan,Portsmouth last year.
From a Liverpool perspective things would have been expected to go much smoother. Their woeful record of defending in set-pieces still seems to be the source of amusement for some dimwits. But like UFO,comets and Force India podiums this is merely a passing thing. Of all the six or seven goals that were let in from set pieces only one of them had a case against Zonal Marking. Zonal Marking has worked and will continue to be so. Period.
Liverpool made hard work for the victory. Going down twice and coming back to seal the win. Now many cocky pundits criticized Rafa for signing Glen Johnson for a right back for an inflated price, rather than putting some money on the wings.With 4 games gone, thankfully there’s not any of those bullshit around. Glen Johnson has added a new dimension to the right back position, more than what Maicon and Sergio Ramos had done with their teams. Make no mistake, his goal was a piece of skill Messi would have been proud of. Cutting in from the right and driving low with his left foot. Also he has kept his feet grounded when it comes to defensive duties. Heck, everyone wants to have Glen the man in their Fantasy League. What more needs to be said.
The real pressing concern from the game though is not about defending the corners, rather converting the ones on the other end. The team has been wasteful in taking corners and the delivery at times is shambolic(As honest a scouser could get). But critics seem to be dead settled in picking up with the style of play, because the pass master is not there any more. Now for all those mancs and fans of the london clubs who thinks Liverpool are no good without Alonso, judging by the way things have gone so far, Think again.
Last season Liverpool started off with a 1-0 win against Sunderland. Yeah Keano and Torres combo sucked big time and the game was quite similar to what Liverpool are playing now, with the only difference between the two teams being a moment of brilliance from El Nino. Next game was Middlesborough. After going down, Carra equalised. Yes Jamie Carragher having scored a goal in his debut and since then scored more goals for the opponents than his club, managed to get a deflected shot in. The Winner of course came from a Stevie G rocket, 93rd minute. Then came Villa who proved to be as much a thorn they are, niggling out a 0-0 draw. Yeah that’s how Liverpool started last year and for the uninitiated ones, Alonso played all those games.
And it was not until the North-west derby against United, that Liverpool started finding some real form to put a title Challenge. The Games so far are no different. Take Bolton. Liverpool were not in any sort of rhythm in the final third and kept lacking the finishing that was required to kill the game off. This although maintaining a fair amount of possession only means lack of match fitness or less confidence for the forwards. But there was noticeable difference when Bolton went one man down(Yeah, who said Lucas cant replace Alonso). More than giving a man to man advantage, Liverpool suddenly seemed to have found some much required confidence. And quite quickly thanks to that Placebo effect Kuyt and Torres combined beautifully to set up a Liverpool second. And at 2-2 with 7 minutes to go. Step up Stevie G and, mother of gods, what a stunning goal it was. Job done.
So the point is, anyone who is writing off Liverpool’s chances just because Alonso left is doing so at his own peril. A couple of years ago we were a one man team. Last year we were all Gerrard and Torres. And Suddenly since Alonso left, they say we are nothing without him. The truth is we have won and lost as a team, not just by anyone. Now I am not the biggest fan of Lucas, but we have won games without Alonso. For the mancs who say that Liverpool are shit with Lucas, remember March the 14th?
“Remember the posters that said today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Well not quite so for the Gunners, but thats the kind of new hope Liverpool expected. Especially when a non-scouse-ready-to-pick-at-anything mate of yours calls you up after Bolton’s second goal ,to enjoy and indulge in his pre-mature moment of glory, not knowing what Liverpool’s Deus Ex machina has yet to offer.
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