Poor Finishing Finishes Liverpool: Manchester United 3 - Liverpool 0

David Dea Pictured Behind HisTrusty Defenders
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Our resident Liverpool correspondent, Scott, is going to have a hard time getting over this one: 

It was the stuff of nightmares.  You do so many things right but still lose, and emphatically at that.  When Liverpool visited Old Trafford they brought an attacking intention that had the home side pinned back at the beginning.  Even when things got a bit more even with the flow of the game, there were still large stretches when it was the visiting Reds who created the more and better chances.  Unfortunately, as with every recipe, when one ingredient is left out it can wreak havoc with the final result.  In this case, Liverpool left out the finishing, especially Raheem Sterling who was ubiquitous on the day but pathetic in terms of billowing the net.

Yes, Manchester United looked good at times and they are clearly a team in ascent as they cobble their newcomers into a functioning team, something Liverpool is still working on.  But on the balance of the game, I would say Liverpool were the better side.  They just couldn’t finish.  Of course, that was not United’s problem as Philippe Coutinho let Wayne Rooney trot right by him to slot home just seconds after Sterling used David De Gea for target practice for the first of many times.  Sure the Spaniard is big but the goal is a lot bigger and it’s not like he is magnetic (is he?).  Mata then scores a goal that should have been disallowed due to offsides (in fairness to the refs, it was really hard to see the brush of Robin Van Persie’s hair even in slow motion) and what should have been a 2-0 advantage to Liverpool was, instead, a frustrating reversed scoreline.

Softies: Ed on Spurs

The title says it all:

Spurs lived up to their reputation of being soft Wednesday against a Chelsea side that completely overmatched them.  But fortunately there was more to it than that.

First, Aaron Lennon was rewarded with a starting spot for a good performance DEFENSIVELY against Everton, and started the game with a terrific move and cross to wonder boy Harry Kane, but then screwed up the easiest rule of defense --  “Stay with the runner!” – and was responsible for the first goal by Eden Hazard on a simple wall pass.  

Let me just be clear about the stay with the runner rule: there are few wall passes around people in the BPL – maybe two or three a game – because players are trained to do that.  But let’s be more clear:  I trained my U9 team to do that and would have pulled a U9 player that messed that up.  It’s brain farts like this that keep Lennon from being the consistent impact player he should be, and that keep him largely an off the bench player.  He was eventually pulled by the coach, and I expect to see him on the bench again in the weeks to come, subbing in only when Spurs are desperate for an offensive spark or a fast player that can play the counter.

Second, Vladimir Chiriches is awful, at best a second division player.  Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, even Kyle Naughton, when are you coming back?  Chiriches isn’t merely a poor center back – his natural position – but an even worse right back.  It’s not just his defense that is poor; he also gives up the ball in possession regularly.  The matchup against Eden Hazard must have been hysterical to the Special One, especially when he saw that Aaron Lennon is the midfielder above him.  It’s possible to criticize Pochettino for this – Chadli should have started the game both for his brawn and defensive abilities.  Not to mention he does happen to be a top scorer for Spurs right now.  But again, the lack of defensive personnel due to injury and players he did not bring in is the biggest problem Spurs have right now, and not something the manager can be properly blamed for.

Mortality and Hope: Liverpool 1 - Stoke City 0

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Scott has some thoughts on this weekend's performance and more:

It was ugly. It was frustrating. It was close. And it was hard. But, in the end, thanks to Glen Johnson's brave header, Liverpool finally prevailed in the league. Many are pointing only to how hard it was. And still others, like correspondent Ed, are focusing solely on how poorly the Reds are playing of late. Ed and his ilk may, indeed, be right to do so because, let's face it, Liverpool have been simply awful over the last several games, and not much better before then.

 

But what I saw in this game, after what I hope and pray was the bottom of Liverpool football during a first half that saw nary a shot on goal, was the faintest glimmer of hope. Sure, Johnson's staple-stitch inducing header (for which, no doubt, he will receive a Purple Star) finally garnered 3 points. But more important to me was the 4 or 5 occasions in the second half when Liverpool produced legitimately dangerous passing combinations in and around the penalty area that showed they have not completely forgotten how to play attacking football in the forward third. May it be a harbinger of similar style….

 

o I think Gerrard's time as a starter is rapidly coming to an end. Quite frankly, his mobility is starting to remind me of what I see playing on Monday nights with Ed and the others of our generation. There comes a point when leadership can no longer overcome an aging body. Giving Emre Can an extended run of games seems to make sense. Stevie, you will always be our favorite talisman but the time is drawing near for us all to accept your mortality.

 

o Kolo Toure is proving himself once again. If he just keeps it simple and avoids the occasional aneurism, he can help our defensive efforts.

 

Great Dane!: Thoughts on Spurs and More

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Ed has thoughts on Spurs and more:

Spurs finally won.  More than that, they played at a pace that made them look like they wanted to win.  Granted, they picked up that pace after a somewhat fortunate red card sent Hull to ten men, but hey, they got it done.

 

For the first time in some time, Danish star Christian Eriksen finally had a good game.  His goal was terrific as was his creativity in the middle of the field.  Eriksen is a number 10 and dies not play wide to the same effect.  The modern game requires speed wide, and he doesn't have much of it.  

 

Which of course brings up the question -- where does Lamela play when Eriksen is central?  Well it turns out he played in pretty much the same position as Erikson.  Weird but on this day effective.

 

Another note is Harry Kane.  Kane is certainly not a top Striker -- he's big but not that big, average on the ball, and a good but not great shooter.  But...he's playing better now than any other striker Spurs have, meaning, of course he's scoring goals.  A brilliant commentator brought this point up not long ago in a blog piece titled "Your Only as Good as Your Front Two."  Spurs finally have someone who is putting the ball in the back of the net.  If that continues it will make all the difference.

 

Some additional thoughts from around the league:

 

-- Manchester United won this week against a better Arsenal side in typical Arsenal fashion.  Now United are in the top four.  Wow they don't seem to have played even remotely good enough this year to deserve that placement.

 

Was it All Just a Dream?

In which Scott asks the question all Liverpool fans have on their mind:

Did we really finish second last year?  Was that really Liverpool who nearly won the title were it not for a certain slip?  And, even if so, was that really just the first slip in this huge slide to mid-table, and then below?

 

After an Adam Lallana to Rickie Lambert connection gave Liverpool a dream start to the game last weekend, it was more of the season’s usual fare: sloppy defending and meek attacking.  Sure we can move the ball from the back to the tip of the forward third.  But then we seem to have no idea how to penetrate from there, aside from the odd dribble from Raheem Sterling (although not this past weekend) and Philippe Coutinho.  It is infuriating to watch such impotency.  And the defense not only lacks the disciplined organization that is required, but also is fraught with individual miscues and poor decisions

 

Liverpool is a team in disarray and in full downward spiral.  Normally, I can always see the light at the end of the tunnel, even if I can’t find the positives in a game.  Now, however, I don’t even know where to start.  Not only have they lacked the quality to win, it seems their belief in their ability to win has been throttled out of them.  The recently much-maligned Brendan Rodgers has much to repair, even beyond the porous defense and toothless offense.