Liverpool Fans

The King takes his Throne. Long live the King.

Liverpool v Birmingham: Player ratings

A fantastic game for the Reds full of pace, movement, and power that was made all the brighter by the play of our two young fullbacks. Of course they weren’t perfect but they more than held their own and did the Academy proud. The fluid passing and distinct lack of long balls force me once again to wonder if the absence of Carroll isn’t a good thing. With Maxi’s fantastic play and ability to slot into a pass and move scheme seamlessly, I would be hard pressed to overlook him in the future. 

And now the ratings:

Key:

1 - Waste of space. We would have done better with 10 men than have him on the pitch.

2 - Not his best night. Maybe didn’t ruin the game for us but certainly didn’t help.

3 - Average. Neither was bad nor great or do anything of note.

4 - Played a key part in the game - added punch, pace, passing, assists or even goals.

5 - Man of the Match

Any subs who were on for less than 30 minutes will probably not get a rating (NR) unless they prove themselves particularly important or impotent.

Reina - Really not bothered that much. He held onto a few tough shots that were very necessary and dealt with the arial stuff well enough. Rating: 3

Flanagan - I really liked his willingness to push the game forward which we haven’t seen him do much yet. His passing on the ground was solid although his longer stuff a bit wayward. The only thing our new fullback can’t provide is the attacking prowess which may mean we still need to dip into the transfer market. Rating: 3

Carra - Solid and pretty amazing to come back so soon after that impressive collision at the Emirates. Rating: 3

Skrtel - Another solid outing and he gave as good as he got. He has proved himself along with Jamie as our most reliable defender. His distribution was even good today. Rating: 4

Robinson - Played very well for his first start. Was understandably timid in attack but for the most part held his own. Had a few gaffes and missed assignments which are to be expected. His distribution was impressive, plus he kind of looks like a Beatle. Rating: 3

Maxi - Hands down the best player on the pitch. Movement, passing and finishing were great and he did a very good job helping Robinson defensively. Makes one wonder were he has been over the last month. Rating: 5

Lucas - Another good solid defensive game. Controlled the tempo well; linking defense to attack. He and Spearing seem to be starting to gel and he really has made me a believer. Rating: 4

Spearing - I really like his passing and he did a good job for the most part defensively. He did miss a few more passes and was caught out of position a few times but always hustled to make up for it. Rating: 3

Miereles - Seemed to spend most of his time in the middle instead of out wide with this game and was much  more influential, I thought. Did a good job linking play and provides that forward midfield pressure. Rating: 3

Kuyt - Played solid as the target man. I think as his age starts to affect his already slow speed, his ability to link, move and hold up the ball will make him more effective as a target man. He did all the little things well and helped keep the play fluid. His ball retention is remarkable at times. Rating: 3

Suarez - Did really really well and was unlucky not to get a goal himself - he probably deserved it. His willingness to take on defenders and ability to skip by them is a joy to watch. Rating: 4

Subs

Shelvey - Played a bit out of position and did ok. Picked up another silly yellow card and I have to say his last two outings have shown his age a bit. Rating: NR

Cole - Came on to score and did a fair job. His lack of celebration suggests his discontent with this season but truthfully he can only blame himself for his average performances so far. Rating: NR

Ngog - Anonymous again. Rating: NR-

GSW

Liverpool v Arsenal: Player ratings

As I stated in my prior post, this game was always going to be a challenge. LFC has on the whole a pretty poor record against Arsenal over the last few years and in fact has never won at the Emirates. Things went from bad to worse when Aurelio left on 21 minutes and Liverpool retooled with what may be the youngest, most inexperienced pair of fullbacks in at least the top two tiers of English football. While both Flanagan and Robinson responded very, very well, without any offensive thrust from our wing backs (who we depend on for width when we play with two inverted wingers) we were never likely to score. However, the lads responded and put in a defensive effort that was a sight to watch. Lucas and Spearing ran and ran and ran and the two fullbacks played it safe and simple and were never out of control. A draw from this game was a magnificent result and in the end felt more like a victory. The sight of King Kenny slagging off Wenger at the end only made it all the sweeter. 

And now the ratings: 

Key: 

1 - Waste of space. We would have done better with 10 men than have him on the pitch.

2 - Not his best night. Maybe didn’t ruin the game for us but certainly didn’t help.

3 - Average. Neither was bad nor great or do anything of note. 

4 - Played a key part in the game - added punch, pace, passing, assists or even goals. 

5 - Man of the Match 

Any subs who were on for less than 30 minutes will probably not get a rating (NR) unless they prove themselves particularly important or impotent.

Reina - Made a few poor judgements in the first half, the most telling where he missed a corner that Szczeny smashed off the cross bar. He made up for it in the second half with an instinctual save from van Persie on a one-on-one in the box as well as a host of other really good interventions. Rating: 4

Flanagan - Another really accomplished outing. He has a cool head and you could see he was desperately trying to play football and not just smash it long. Played it safe and only made a few runs forward. He didn’t have much to do in the first half but was busier in the second with Arshavin and did a fine job. Rating: 4

Carra - Came out on 62 minutes after being knocked cold in a collision with Flanagan. Before that he had marshaled the defense well and made a few solid interceptions. I will be hard pressed to give anyone on the back line less than a 4 for this game. Rating: 4

Skrtel - Solid in the air and on the ground. Was harshly given a yellow card for a fair challenge in the first half, he still played aggressively and intelligently. Rating: 4

Aurelio - Didn’t have much chance to shine but looked in trouble from the off with Walcott’s pace. His substitution may have been a blessing in disguise. I do wonder if LFC can claim the prize for the most consistently injured fullbacks in modern history between Aurelio, Degen, and Johnson. Rating: NR

Robinson - Liverpool’s youngest player in history came in for his second game for Aurelio. Was burned once for pace by Walcott right after he came in but that was the last time. Did a great job from then on out, completely playing Walcott out of the game. Had a few rookie mistakes but I just can’t count those against him. Rating: 4

Miereles - Worked very hard and did his piece to protect his fullback. He is pretty hamstrung IMO by playing wide and its hard to fault him for that. He just can’t influence the game there like he can in the middle. Rating: 3

Spearing - A very good performance. I really love his early passing and his range and forward passing are getting better with every game. His defense and work rate were outstanding in this game and he wins co-Man of the Match with his midfield partner Lucas. I can’t blame him for a marginal penalty call. Rating: 5

Lucas - Probably the best player for LFC. Held the ball, kept it simple, completed his passes and was very strong defensively. He was always there on either side to back up the young fullbacks and won a lot of tackles. Rating: 5

Kuyt - A good game from him. His passing and hold up play was really solid and I don’t think it was coincidence that we looked more threatening up front when Carroll was removed. He linked a lot better with the wide players, Suarez, and the midfield. He had nerves of steel with the PK. Rating: 4

Suarez - Pretty anonymous in the first half, he came alive in the second. If he had just had his shooting boots on he could have had 2. He came back to defend well also. His decision making on the ball in the first half was a bit suspect and the chemistry with Carroll didn’t seem to materialize today. Rating: 3

Carroll - Not his best game. LFC’s need to sit deep and the lack of wide service had something to do with that for sure, but his link up with Suarez was missing as well. Lets hope he isn’t injured. Rating: 3

Subs

Kyrgiakos - I have to admit I was terrified at the thought of Arsenal’s twinkle toed front line against the lumbering Greek but he deputized well. Rating: 3

Shelvey - Showed good and bad. His tackle to earn the yellow card was absolutely ridiculous and he had a few really bad give-aways at the end. He is still a work in progress. Rating: NR

Coach

Kenny - A great performance from the manager. Joked with Robinson to steal the tension, calmed Flanagan after the Carragher incident, and told Wenger were to put his whining. I think I may have fallen in love with him after this game. 

GSW

They got our number?

Thinking about this upcoming game with Arsenal I was trying to remember how many wins we’ve had against them over the last few years. All I could remember was Crouch’s hat-trick and beating them in the CL tie although we didn’t really win either game. I went back and counted from the 06/07 season and found that we are 2-7-6. That’s just 2 wins out of 15 tries. The gunners sure seem to have our number. Or maybe they just had Rafa’s number? With our new strike pair and the fact that we seem to be invincible against top opposition, we may be ok. Now if we could only beat the relegation fodder. Regardless it should be a fascination encounter. 

GSW