Stevie G is Tired: Ruminations on the FA and League Cups

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...from Correspondent Ed:

The League Cup and the FA Cup have taught us some lessons.  First, the difference between the top tier of English football and the middle tiers isn't that much.  Part of this is the higher level of play in the lower leagues than in the past.  Part is also that the premier league teams just aren't that good.  And of course there's that difference between teams that want it more and teams that don't. It's amazing how far hustling will get you.

 

But again, let's not diminish the abilities of some of these lower level teams.  Bradford City at times looked phenomenal against Chelsea-- consider their last goal, patience in a tight spot, a terrific run, and clean finish.  And so did Middlesbrough.  Dare we also say Cambridge?  Well maybe not, but they did seem to reveal the overall weakness of the fourth place team in the league.

 

And what if that pesky Liverpool team? Well, they looked pretty good at times against Chelsea in the league cup, even for a team without a striker.  Had that team included Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, would it have even been close?

 

And what of MLS bound Stevie G.?  Did he look old?  Did he look slow?  Well, in my opinion he looked the smartest man on the pitch, making great passes and runs out of an unfamiliar right forward position.  On defense, he effectively closed down Nemanja Matic on several occasions.  Consider also Steven Gerrard's replacement at the holding position, Lucas Leiva.  Lucas was certainly all over the field but his reckless tackles gave him one yellow and could easily have had him tossed out with a second yellow at least three times thereafter.

 

And Now for Something Even More Boring-er

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In which Correspondent Ed questions whether Red Devils' bossman Louis Van Gaal knows what he is doing:

What happened to Manchester United?  My son can still watch them but I sure can’t.  How did a team with Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Radamel Falcao, and Juan Mata become so ugly?  The best part of any United game these days is watching David De Gea save them from losing to teams like, say, QPR, by launching himself all over the pitch.  No really, that IS fun.

So is Louis Van Gaal the problem?   Is his system so inflexible that it’s taking the joy out of United even though it’s resulting in wins?

According to the press, LVG has commented (or at least tried to comment — someone needs to send him a Rosetta Stone asap) that the team scores more from a 4-4-2 than his chosen 3-5-2, but that the team also doesn’t set up well in the former.  I think he means that the defense isn’t too good, and that they don’t have a good enough midfield.  I could have told him that before they dropped a ton of jingle on that loan deal for Falcao.  But I also think that the 3-5-2 doesn’t help on either side of the ball.  Is that okay to say?  I mean, this isn’t David Moyes we are talking about.  LVG may just be beyond criticism.

Stamford Bridge is Falling Down?

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Correspondent Scott may not be so happy by this time next week:

Liverpool thoroughly outplayed Chelsea in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final leg at Anfield.  Unfortunately, of their 19 shots (6 on target), they only converted one, largely due to the heroic efforts of Thibault Courtois.  Meanwhile, a lackluster Chelsea squad managed only two shots with only one of those on target.  Yet, theirs being a penalty, the final score ended even and sets the stage for a must-score situation for the Reds in the return fixture.  Scotland Yard needs to investigate this most outrageous of stolen victories.

 

I can happily write that reports of Liverpool’s demise this season were premature.  They may not consistently keep this form through the end of the season but they are winning games and dominating top competition.  With a more settled back three of Can, Skrtl and Sakho, a re-found Lucas, the surging Moreno and Markovic, the sparingly used Gerrard, the workhorse Henderson, the shifty Coutinho and the speedy Sterling, Liverpool gave the visiting Blues much more than they could handle.  They attacked, they pressed and they eventually starting picking the locks on Chelsea’s defense.  Were it not for an unfortunate error by Emre Can who then overcommitted and bundled Eden Hazard, it would be the Reds now in pole position.

 

Kandy Kaned, Glovers and Stevie G.

Ed is still in the holiday mood:

Spurs are usually a team on decline in the festive season.  Too many games for too thin a squad.  But not this year.  After a scoreless draw against Manchester United (we’ll take it against that payroll), Harry Kane went big and busted up Chelsea for Spurs best win in the BPL perhaps . . . ever?

The emergence of Kane has dramatically changed Spurs.  With 17 goals in about as many games in all competitions, Spurs seem finally to have found their striker.  His emergence from the Spurs own academy makes it even sweeter.  One might be tempted to say that the team is finally catching on to Mauricio Pochettino’s direction — and I’d say there is something to that — but correlation is not equal to causation and it still remains difficult to tell.  Recall that the same was said of Brendan Rodgers brilliance when he had Suarez and Sturridge, but now that they’re gone the press would say he can’t get anything right.

Kane is not merely scoring, but he’s playing the target man especially welll, and he’s also taking the space aggressively with the dribble like few strikers I’ve seen in the league.  Kane isn’t that fast, but he’s fast enough and clever enough to use leverage and positioning to keep him in front of defenders.  He’s a pleasure to watch operate and will most certainly be called up for England in the future.

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I should note my sorrow at the loss of the Yeovil Town Glovers at the hands of a somewhat fortunate Manchester United.  The Glovers gave 110%, and for most if not all of the match made me wonder why players like Rooney and Falcao were paid so much more than some of the players on the mid-third division team.

The FA Cup is a great competition, but at no time is it greater than the third round when premier league clubs have to play at tiny grounds throughout the country.  It’s simply a pleasure to see top tier players go against what appear to be true club teams on un-pampered (and sometimes awful) grounds.  There’s simply nothing more fun than watching Eden Hazard kick a ball into a tree behind the goal, or Steven Gerrard put one into a busy road next to the pitch.

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Wait, did I mention Stevie G?  His departure from Liverpool will, I suspect, mark the

Liverpool's Luck, Stevie G's Decision, And a Truly Tragic Departure

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Scott with his weekly musings:

Where to begin?  Well, I suppose I could start with the shocking news that Liverpool's luck lasted all of another 45 minutes after the Swansea game.  An unearned penalty and then an earned one, both converted by Stevie G., dictated the 2-0 scoreline at halftime.  But then the Reds conspired against themselves as they continued to play half-assed at best, allowing the last place team in the league look like the better side.  After conceding in rapid succession, they did manage a foray or two forward, but even then they managed to thwart themselves, literally shooting into each other on two separate occasions.  With several other teams dropping points, being two goals up at halftime seemed like a great way to start the new year.  But instead of being only 5 points out of 4th place, Liverpool now sit 7 points out and Champions League football next year, while still possible, seems to be fading away.  Can this all change so quickly with the return of Daniel Sturridge?  We'll know the answer to that as well as find out how the Englishman can handle pressure, hopefully within weeks.  I still have my rose colored glasses on but one lens is definitely cracked.

Just a few hours ago I had to deliver the news of Stevie G's season-end departure to my children.  Never knowing a Liverpool side without the Legend, they are still unable to comprehend a future without him.  But after I allayed their fears of a transfer to another EPL team, I was able to offer hope in the form of the conventional wisdom that says Gerrard will end up in MLS.  Not having a South Florida team, nor any tremendous pull to the league until now, they are now excited about being able to cheer an American club at some point.

As I have written before, Gerrard's influence in games has been waning and the consistent quality has not been there.  Some will point to his flashes of brilliance or his willingness to play out of position.  But, for me, with where this team is headed, it was always going to be a struggle to fit Gerrard in.  Maybe it was a coincidence that we played so well against Swansea without him and so poorly against Leicester with him.  But at the very least it is a talking point about how accommodations must be made to insert him in the lineup now.  He is still a tremendously talented player with physical attributes to spare and, of course, Brendan could make it work by limiting his games and his role so that those flashes of brilliance are the norm instead of infrequent sightings during a 90 minute shift.  But aging gracefully has never been the forte of the best of competitors.  And given that Gerrard is one of the best there has ever been, I salute his decision to move on rather than cling on. You'll Never Walk Alone, Stevie G!

You Make Your Own Luck

Scott's rose-tinged spectacles are fully polished up for this entry:

With 2014 behind Liverpool, a brighter 2015 awaits. Glimpses of the quality football to come have been seen over the past 4 games against Manchester United (I'm still scratching my head over that loss), Bournemouth (a deserved Capital One Cup victory), Burnley (a scrappy win over an under-valued club) and Swansea (with more than just a bit of luck).

Yes, there is still quite a way to go and the champagne I crack tonight will be solely to ring in the new year and not to toast Liverpool's completed turnaround. But with several players beginning to click and Brendan Rodgers finally finding a formation that seems to best utilize the talent available, it may not be long before another bottle is uncorked.

As ridiculous as it seems, in addition to the 2 quality goals against Swansea, the two lucky ones also boost my hopes. We all know that the best teams get "lucky" more than others and, in my estimation, shared by many, that luck is the product of a self-belief and confidence that manifests itself in the fortuitous block of a goalie's clearance or a generous own-goal. The best teams just KNOW they are going to win and play hard expecting that result, completing that self-fulfilling prophesy when that same expectant effort shakes a goal loose from the opposition. For too long this season, Liverpool have been playing scared, waiting for the other shoe to drop in the form of another crossbar rattled on one side before a mistake on the other leads to a depressingly familiar billowing of net. But at Anfield recently the roles were reversed and may it be a sign of things to come.

Helping, the “luck” along are several players who seem to be getting traction in the side as they gel with their teammates.  Adam Lallana was a revelation against Swansea and is beginning to look like the confident, dangerous player that pillaged so many defenses for the Saints.  His vision, control, work-rate and finishing (OK, maybe not the left footer he skied over the crossbar) were excellent.  Add to that the on-again off-again Philippe Coutinho, who flipped the on switch again, and you have a dangerously offensive midfield.  The Brazilian’s mazy runs repeatedly put defenders on their heels as he breaks forward to shoot or distribute.