As always though, it is important to not be blinded by the scoreline and think of the whole performance rather than just the scoreline. That is after all the whole point of this feature.
NEGATIVES:
The first half performance: I think when Joe Cole forced the Steaua defender into a poor back pass and then brilliantly finished past the undecided keeper a lot of fans would have expected the shackles to come off this Liverpool team and for us to take the game to them from there, unfortunately that did not happen. We sat back, conceded possession and invited pressure, in the same way we have done in most of our games so far. This eventually lead to their goal which, although it was cancelled out in the end, could have been more damaging had we been playing against a better caliber of opposition.
The Pace of our Central Defenders: Although this was a second choice defensive partnership (In fainess to Agger, he is only second choice at the moment due to him helping out at left back earlier in the season) they seemed to suffer from a problem which also afflicts our first choice central pair, in that none of the four has particularly good pace, this offers very little recovery when an attacker manages to get in behind, this was apparent twice with Kyriagos in particular, once for their goal and once when a striker had freedom in the 6 yard box (only for Reina to save his shot, and for him to be ruled offside anyway). This is probably another reason why Roy is instructing the players not to press the opposition, for fear of them being caught out of position and being unable to get back.
Lack of Creativity: This point has come up in almost in almost every “Positives and Negatives” article so far, but unfortunately it can’t be ignored. The result was fantastic, and to score 4 goals in a game is no mean feat, but the goals (apart from goal number 4) did not come about from great through balls, tricks or invention at all really.
Think back on it:
1st goal scored from a poor back pass.
2nd goal scored from the Penalty spot after a pull in the box when defending a corner.
3rd goal a tackle leads the ball to Lucas who smashes home from 25/30 yards (excellent stike, who says he offers nothing going forward?)
In fairness the 4th goal came from decent attacking play with a few players involved before the ball fell nicely for Ngog to finish very well. I still feel we will need more than this to get a result on Sunday but hopefully a full strength will bring some greater invention.
POSITIVES:
The second half performance: Having felt deflated and frustrated at half time, I was expecting more of the same from the second half but I was pleasantly surprised to see us improve greatly. Our passing was better and more often forwards, rather than backwards. Our movement was better in showing for the ball and I felt we gave the opposition less time and space on the ball. Surely Roy deserves credit here for inspiring the team at half-time.
The “weakened” team: Some stand out performances from a few players. David Ngog took his goals very well and I still fail to understand the stick he gets, he’s not the finished article but he is a great prospect and is always improving, he gets a ridiculous amount of goals for someone so young! Martin Kelly, this kid really does look class, I have yet to see him look out of his depth in any performance, if he needed to start in the Premier League I would not be worried. Ryan Babel gave us a different option when attacking, he did get caught in possession once or twice but that’s to be expected from a player who is trying to beat people, I feel a big performance is on its way as he continues to improve. Lucas what a goal! Pacheco really looks comfortable, not ready just yet but a few more cameo’s will do him good, we need more of this type of direct attack minded player.
The “Stars”: A number of players who had not been in the side consistently for one reason or another but who performed well. Meireles, I really like the look of him, great movement and distribution. He runs all day and is willing to pop at goal. Maxi looked a little rusty (only to be expected) but a couple of nice runs and good passing meant a good nights work. Joe Cole, what a great finish! He seems to be settling in well, although he is still too inclined to try play the ball first time rather than taking control of it at times. I think he is looking good but so far only against lesser teams, if he gets the nod on Sunday we should get a decent idea of where he is!
The scoreline: Leaving aside how the goals were scored, the simple fact of winning 4-1 in Europe just before playing Man Utd in Old Trafford can only be good for confidence, confidence I feel has been lacking in our play so far this season. I hope we can get a result on Sunday and put it this way, I am more confident today than I was this time yesterday.
No comments:
Post a Comment