Saturday, September 29, 2007

Yossi to the rescue

That was close, and it shouldn't have been. Wigan aren't very good but we made hard work of it. But maybe it's time to look at the table and saw we picked up another 3 points on the road (10 from 12) and we still have a game in hand. We're not playing great, but like Utd, we're getting the wins. If we can keep this up for the next few weeks until Xabi and Dagger return I'll be happy enough.



We did create a lot of chances but didn't put any away. Nando had a good chance in the first half after he was put through on Kirkland. Our former keep did well in coming out early and saved well. The rebound came off Torres and went narrowly wide. Gerrard had a few shots and Kirkland made a few more saves.

It was looking like the game was headed for a third successive premier league draw when Yossi stuck his oar in. His turn and dribble reminded me of Bergkamp against Newcastle a few years ago. Yossi's goal wasn't quite of that quality but was hugely impressive nonetheless. He has a fantastic ability to drift effortlessly past defenders and the ball control skills to embarrass even the toughest of opponents. He's a joy to watch and is pushing hard for a starting place after his goals here and against Reading in midweek.

Wigan pushed us hard until the final whistle and had a few chances. They will complain that they didn't get the rub of the green or any favourable decisions from the Ref. Maybe we're cashing in our Karma from the Chelsea match. Our defence wasn't what it usually is. Riise didn't have a great match. With Sami in for Agger, we are sitting deeper to compensate for his lack of pace. Added to that is the problem that our distribution out of defence is worse and Sami doesn't carry the ball out the way Dagger does. We miss the kid and the sooner he comes back the better.

Champions league returns this week and Marseilles visit Anfield on Wed night. Given the law of the Ex, expect to see Cisse have a stormer and score a few. In reality, I don't think that they're up to much and are doing shit in Ligue 1. They recently changed their manager so it might be good time to play them.

Gerardo Bruna - remember that name. He's a 16 year old Argentine player that we've signed from Real Madrid. They were expecting great things from him and were angry at losing him. He's already been dubbed "the new Messi" (is the old one old?). Not placing any pressure on him then.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chief I can only assume that no article has been written on last night as you're still trying to comprehend how bad the pool were. Or maybe, and far less dramatically, you're busy. Either way, it was awful.

Only glad I didn't get to see the lot of it but am I right in thinking that Momo, bless him, and Dirk, bless him too, will just never make it at the club? A lot of energy but no inspiration. Of course, they're just the tip of the iceberg but those two just stand out to me at the moment.

Mal said...

Hi JJ. I'll get a post done if I have time tonight, if not then it'll be tomorrow. I did see the game last night and it was dismal. Momo was atrocious. As bad a performance from a senior Liverpool player as I can remember in the last few years. Dirk didn't start and did ok when he came on. I reckon that he's the best option alongside Torres from the evidence so far this year.

Anonymous said...

Do you not think his first touch has been lacking all season? Dirk's that is. I know he's recieving a lot of long balls but generally his second touch is lunging at a defender after some bad control.

I think the best combo seen this year was torres and voronin in the blunderland game.

Mal said...

Kuyt's touch is a thing of mystery. Somedays it's sublime but other days it's appaling. I don't understand how that's the case but it's there to see.

I've been impressed with him and Torres as a partnership. The Derby game was really impressive and Dirks workrate and movement seems to complement Nandos pace and finishing.