The Media Reports thread (LFC 2 Inter 0)

[Randy Marsh]

I think it would be interesting to see how the different journos report tonights victory. Will the usual gutter press fire us down, will the shit bags writing for the shit rags recognise the achievment? Or will we get the credit we deserve.

Il start with Henry Winter in the Telegraph, one of the few journos i actually enjoy reading. Always balanced and always with a good word to say about our club.

Feel free to add more reports as they go online.

Liverpool late show breaks down 10-man Inter By Henry Winter at Anfield Last Updated: 12:21am GMT 20/02/2008 Liverpool (0) 2 Inter Milan (0) 0 Embarrassed by Barnsley, castigated in all quarters and kept at bay for so long last night by the vaunted champions of Italy, Liverpool dug deep to conjure up a magnificent display here, scoring twice late on through Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard. And to think that Fabio Capello harbours doubts about Gerrard. In front of the England coach, Liverpool's captain drove his team forward again and again, showing the determination to stay in the Champions League. Even before Marco Materazzi's excessive hounding of Fernando Torres brought deserved expulsion, everyone at Anfield had known this was a night for strong men withstanding everything Inter threw up at them. Capello, formerly of AC Milan, endured a stream of derogatory comments from visiting tifosi as he entered Anfield, even chants of "you've sold your soul". Soon it was the turn of Inter's players to display their spikier side, testing Liverpool's resolve with a series of late challenges. Torres, the spearhead of Liverpool's 4-2-3-1 approach, was the main target of the clattering classes from San Siro. Dejan Stankovic was first to poleaxe Liverpool's pacey striker. Then came that tall assassin called Materazzi, a noted defensive bulwark, but too prone to the dark arts to elicit any admiration. Ask Zinedine Zidane, wound up to breaking point in the World Cup final. Ask Torres, twice caught early on by the former Evertonian. Inter seemed determined to leave Torres as black-and-blue as their famous shirts. The Spaniard picked himself up each time, nodded when the Belgian referee, Frank de Bleeckere, cautioned Materazzi for one early catching of his heels and got on with his attacking work. Stirred up by the support rolling down from the Kop, driven by a desire to read some positive headlines, Liverpool tore into Roberto Mancini's men. Rafa Benitez's tactics relied on Javier Mascherano and Lucas patrolling deep midfield. Mascherano, again outstanding, swiftly confirmed his class with some crucial interceptions, notably an immaculate dispossession of Zlatan Ibrahimovic after 20 minutes. Another tackle, on fellow Argentinian Javier Zanetti, had Liverpool fans on their feet, saluting a master at work. Apart from one eye-catching break from Mascherano, Liverpool's forward momentum flowed through Gerrard, driving through the middle, and particularly Ryan Babel, a vibrant force down the left. If not quite John Barnes of 1987-88 vintage, Babel certainly carried a quick threat, testing the considerable full-back talents of Maicon to the limit. The first half was dominated by Babel, Mascherano and company. During a hugely promising opening, Liverpool screamed for a penalty when Ivan Cordoba appeared to handle. Jamie Carragher almost went hoarse in beseeching the referee. Then Gerrard curled over a corner which Sami Hyypia, having escaped Materazzi, headed goalwards. Julio Cesar palmed the danger over, almost apologetically. Still, Italian cynicism continued to stain the game. Stankovic's studs attempted some tattoo work on Gerrard's ankle. Then Materazzi, having lost Torres, stretched out his left hand to tug back the Spaniard. Torres carried on for a stride or two and then fell. Down, too, went Materazzi's hopes of influencing the game any further. Benitez, enraged, leapt to his feet, waggling two fingers. The referee did not need the Spaniard's grasp of maths. Out came a second yellow, eventually the red, and Materazzi departed slowly from the field, his every step followed by a chorus of abuse. Advantage Liverpool. With Inter's most commanding defender gone, the situation cried out for Peter Crouch. John Aldridge, who knows a thing or two about posing an attacking threat at Anfield, kept shouting into his Radio City microphone that Benitez must introduce Crouch. Such sentiments were widespread. As the Kop chanted "attack, attack, attack", Inter seemed there for the taking. Gerrard charged forward, and squared a ball into the six-yard box. Sadly, neither Torres nor Kuyt read their captain's intentions. With Anfield craving an extra dimension, the first change actually came from Mancini, who hooked Julio Cruz, threw on Patrick Vieira and tried to batten the hatches in 4-4-1 formation. Still Liverpool hammered against the Italian back-door. Still Inter held firm. A ricochet off Kuyt sent the ball fortuitously through for Torres. He raced clear, outstripping Inter's defence, and then that right boot came down, powering into the ball, sending it angling across Julio Cesar. The goalkeeper superbly stretched out a hand and deflected the ball to safety. Still Liverpool pushed hard. Kuyt crossed and Hyypia headed over. Moments later, on the hour, Liverpool supporters were seething with rage. Gerrard turned Vieira in the Inter area, cleverly lifting the ball over the former Arsenal enforcer. Vieira flung up both hands and clearly stopped the ball from progressing. Liverpool awaited the inevitable award of a penalty but, to mass bemusement, the referee signalled only a corner. As incensed as the fans, Benitez decided to ring the changes. First came Crouch. Then Jermaine Pennant. Serie A's finest continued to defend with impressive resilience. But the dam had to break. When the excellent Steve Finnan combined with Pennant on the right, the cross from the English winger carried through to Kuyt. The Dutchman, hitherto so ordinary, responded magnificently, driving the ball down and past Julio Cesar. There was more, gloriously so. As the clock ticked towards full time, Gerrard took a pass from Pennant 20 yards out, nudged the ball forward twice and then sent it flying into Inter's net.

Liverpool late show breaks down 10-man Inter - Football News - Telegraph

[bipjohn]

Ive just seen some knobhead on SSN, dont know who he was...but he had a terible suit on going through media reports.

he then commented 2 goals in the last 5 minutes mask what wasnt a very good performance against 10 men...



I cant belive these people get paid for their opinon....

we were very good against 11 and when the bs was sent off it didnt change, they had every player behind the ball.

it was a very good peformance by us....which could/should have been more than 2-0.

[Brownie]

What's all this about Capello having doubts about Gerrard malarkey?

[Sangria]

Originally Posted by Brownie What's all this about Capello having doubts about Gerrard malarkey?

Strange way to have doubts giving him the captains armband.

[coop]

Anyone see that Mick Dennis i think it was on SSN this morning making out as if we were wank and got two lucky goals to win the match and keep Rafa in a job.

I may be biased but last night i saw us dominate the Italian Champions and one of the favourites to win the Champs League. We played them off the park for the full 90 minutes and if you consider we were denied a clear penalty and their keeper pulled off a great save to deny Torres the scoreline could have been more.

I could understand if this guy was from The S*n or one of the other Red Top shites but he was from The Express which is supposedly a decent paper.

What a wanker he is.

[Bob Spunkmouse]

Originally Posted by coop Anyone see that Mick Dennis i think it was on SSN this morning making out as if we were wank and got two lucky goals to win the match and keep Rafa in a job. I may be biased but last night i saw us dominate the Italian Champions and one of the favourites to win the Champs League. We played them off the park for the full 90 minutes and if you consider we were denied a clear penalty and their keeper pulled off a great save to deny Torres the scoreline could have been more. I could understand if this guy was from The S*n or one of the other Red Top shites but he was from The Express which is supposedly a decent paper. What a wanker he is.

he's a stuttering tool. Whenever i see him on their doing the paper review, it seems like he cant put a fluent sentence together. The fact that he was proud to be wearing a polar neck with his suit sums up all you might need to know about the man, in my opinon.

[Carradona]

Capello got some amount of stick from the Inter fans when he walked up the Main Stand car park last night. He was accompanied by Brian Barwick, how unfortunate.

[Dicko]

From The Times
February 20, 2008
Rafael Benitez too slow to grasp the initiative after Inter’s off night
Tony Cascarino: Analysis
Took their time, didn’t they? Make no mistake, this is a great result against an excellent side, and yet I feel almost disappointed. Liverpool won the match but they could have sealed the whole tie already. A two-goal advantage is more than anyone could have expected before kick-off; after the way the game panned out, it seems like the bare minimum.

Rafael BenÍtez’s side were so dominant. They left it late, but then so did the manager. When the opposition have a player sent off, you’ve got to act like a predator. BenÍtez? He pondered.

What happened when Inter Milan were reduced to ten men by Marco Materazzi’s sending-off? Liverpool started playing keep-ball. That’s the opposite of what needed to be done. When the numbers were equal early on, Liverpool were trying to do things quickly, they were trying to play long balls. With a man advantage they slowed the game down and passed it short. It played into Inter’s hands.

Inter are the best team in Serie A but too often in this country we overrate Italian football. It’s not the dominant force it was: the Barclays Premier League has overtaken it. But it’s still the case that if you get your tactics wrong, Italian sides punish you. And there’s an example close to home for BenÍtez to chew on: last season’s Champions League final. AC Milan were outplayed, but Liverpool’s 4-5-1 formation didn’t allow them to capitalise.

Turn the game into a chess match and Italian sides couldn’t be happier. Especially when they are only looking for a goalless draw, as Inter were from the moment Materazzi was sent off. With ten men and mindful of the home leg to come, they turned pragmatic.

So it was up to Liverpool to win the game after Inter decided they would do everything possible to avoid losing it. But BenÍtez is naturally cautious, so he waited too long before making his substitutions.

A defensive manager such as BenÍtez is not comfortable when the first leg is at home. He is afraid to gamble because there is another 90 minutes still to play; he’s worried about taking a risk when it isn’t absolutely necessary.

BenÍtez is much happier setting tactics when he’s certain what needs to be done, such as against Barcelona last season, when Liverpool were excellent in the Nou Camp and defensive at home in the second leg. So it took him until after the hour yesterday to bring on Peter Crouch. Too long and not enough. There is no point introducing Crouch unless he gets service, yet BenÍtez waited until there was less than 20 minutes to go before he added Jermaine Pennant. Both men should have been on together – at half-time. Instead, early in the second period, we had Lucas Leiva pointlessly sliding the ball sideways just in front of the back four.

Was BenÍtez worried about being caught on the counter-attack? You can’t think like that in a situation such as last night’s. You’ve got to believe: if we can get that first goal, another one or two might follow. You’ve got to think, we need a lead to take to the San Siro. You’ve got to figure that a goalless draw at home against a team that’s been down to ten men is a bad result.

Yet it was not until midway through the second half that Liverpool finally began to exert enough pressure. Even BenÍtez had to accept that an Inter side with only Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front – and even then he was deep – weren’t going to score. At last, balls were pumped into the box, bypassing Inter’s massed midfield bank.

When Liverpool went direct, with Crouch and Fernando Torres up front, they looked a threat. They stopped overplaying, they started to be dangerous and they got their reward. That’s a lesson BenÍtez would do well to absorb for the league campaign.

Proof if any were needed just what a thankless job the England manager's is. How can anyone make changes in this country when so many ex players in the press are totally clueless and bereft of any notion of the need for new ideas.

Good luck Capello you'll need it.

[Randy Marsh]

That shite times article just sums it up for me, and is the whole reason i made the thread. Despite a fantastic result, you STILL get gobshites giving us no credit, finding any excuse to slate the manager. It makes me laugh, do they think that with materazzi off, we then had a free goal to aim at, a devine right to score 5 goals? He is hardly going to start changing things after 30mins, you sweaty ballbag! We were playing well, there was no need to change it. He made his subs at the right time and finally, against a team that defended like their lives depended on it, we got our rewards. Tit.

[Lofts]

every journos is a cunt, we got beat by barnsley at the weekend, to come out and piss all over inter, didnt think they had a chance was amazing. well made up about the result

[Scouse Missionary]

The two wankers in the Express make out as though it was all pure luck as well.

Cascarino feels 'almost disappointed?' Yeh, like we give a fuck what you think or feel you tool.

[Bob Spunkmouse]

Originally Posted by Dicko From The Times February 20, 2008 Rafael Benitez too slow to grasp the initiative after Inter’s off night Tony Cascarino: Analysis Took their time, didn’t they? Make no mistake, this is a great result against an excellent side, and yet I feel almost disappointed. Liverpool won the match but they could have sealed the whole tie already. A two-goal advantage is more than anyone could have expected before kick-off; after the way the game panned out, it seems like the bare minimum. Rafael BenÍtez’s side were so dominant. They left it late, but then so did the manager. When the opposition have a player sent off, you’ve got to act like a predator. BenÍtez? He pondered. What happened when Inter Milan were reduced to ten men by Marco Materazzi’s sending-off? Liverpool started playing keep-ball. That’s the opposite of what needed to be done. When the numbers were equal early on, Liverpool were trying to do things quickly, they were trying to play long balls. With a man advantage they slowed the game down and passed it short. It played into Inter’s hands. Inter are the best team in Serie A but too often in this country we overrate Italian football. It’s not the dominant force it was: the Barclays Premier League has overtaken it. But it’s still the case that if you get your tactics wrong, Italian sides punish you. And there’s an example close to home for BenÍtez to chew on: last season’s Champions League final. AC Milan were outplayed, but Liverpool’s 4-5-1 formation didn’t allow them to capitalise. Turn the game into a chess match and Italian sides couldn’t be happier. Especially when they are only looking for a goalless draw, as Inter were from the moment Materazzi was sent off. With ten men and mindful of the home leg to come, they turned pragmatic. So it was up to Liverpool to win the game after Inter decided they would do everything possible to avoid losing it. But BenÍtez is naturally cautious, so he waited too long before making his substitutions. A defensive manager such as BenÍtez is not comfortable when the first leg is at home. He is afraid to gamble because there is another 90 minutes still to play; he’s worried about taking a risk when it isn’t absolutely necessary. BenÍtez is much happier setting tactics when he’s certain what needs to be done, such as against Barcelona last season, when Liverpool were excellent in the Nou Camp and defensive at home in the second leg. So it took him until after the hour yesterday to bring on Peter Crouch. Too long and not enough. There is no point introducing Crouch unless he gets service, yet BenÍtez waited until there was less than 20 minutes to go before he added Jermaine Pennant. Both men should have been on together – at half-time. Instead, early in the second period, we had Lucas Leiva pointlessly sliding the ball sideways just in front of the back four. Was BenÍtez worried about being caught on the counter-attack? You can’t think like that in a situation such as last night’s. You’ve got to believe: if we can get that first goal, another one or two might follow. You’ve got to think, we need a lead to take to the San Siro. You’ve got to figure that a goalless draw at home against a team that’s been down to ten men is a bad result. Yet it was not until midway through the second half that Liverpool finally began to exert enough pressure. Even BenÍtez had to accept that an Inter side with only Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front – and even then he was deep – weren’t going to score. At last, balls were pumped into the box, bypassing Inter’s massed midfield bank. When Liverpool went direct, with Crouch and Fernando Torres up front, they looked a threat. They stopped overplaying, they started to be dangerous and they got their reward. That’s a lesson BenÍtez would do well to absorb for the league campaign. Proof if any were needed just what a thankless job the England manager's is. How can anyone make changes in this country when so many ex players in the press are totally clueless and bereft of any notion of the need for new ideas. Good luck Capello you'll need it.

so basically he had written that with 10 minutes left and was forced to change it a little after we won. knobhead.

[EVO VIP BUNKER]

Originally Posted by coop Anyone see that Mick Dennis i think it was on SSN this morning making out as if we were wank and got two lucky goals to win the match and keep Rafa in a job. I may be biased but last night i saw us dominate the Italian Champions and one of the favourites to win the Champs League. We played them off the park for the full 90 minutes and if you consider we were denied a clear penalty and their keeper pulled off a great save to deny Torres the scoreline could have been more. I could understand if this guy was from The S*n or one of the other Red Top shites but he was from The Express which is supposedly a decent paper. What a wanker he is.

Was seething over me cornies watchin that!

Mind you i get wound up watchin the paper review on SSN most mornings to be honest, as Mr spunkhose points out why is it they all stutter like fuck and you find yourself, er, erm, err, finishing their sentences for, er, erm, them!!!!!

[RedinSweden]

Originally Posted by Bob Spunkmouse so basically he had written that with 10 minutes left and was forced to change it a little after we won. knobhead.

I reread it with that in mind and that is EXACTLY what happened. I'm sorry, but that article is bollocks.