Man United (H) 01/09/2013

[Mathewbet1]

What a win, what a win. As mentioned shanks would be enjoying this one. All heros to a man. With special mentions for Skrtel and Henderson .

[Gav]

Here's what gets me: Hodgson has previously been to Anfield in his capacity as England manager without incident. That suggests that there's no issue with him, so to lose it so badly and assume it's some sort of petty snub speaks ill of the man, his temperament and the quality of football journalism in this country.

 

What a ludicrous sense of entitlement he must have to behave in such a way.

 

Supposedly he ,or whatever FA minnion normally does it,didnt inform the club he was coming ,so there was no seats available in the directors box ,or in the chairmans lounge,so they hurredly found room for him next to the scouts...bit odd he didnt get into the lounge though...of course winter being the prick he is is trying to stir shit and make a mountain out of it

[James Dean]

Samuel L. Jackson ‏@SamuelLJackson 2m

 

Big Ups Liverpool FC!!!

[Gym Beglin]

We were great first half.

Second half both teams were poor.

[xerxes]

of course winter being the prick he is is trying to stir shit and make a mountain out of it

 

Winter is amongst the best informed of all the journos, very close to KK, Digger and Stevie G.

 

It does seem that it was an FA lackey cock-up, but it is still classless on the club's part.

[Gav]

Winter is amongst the best informed of all the journos, very close to KK, Digger and Stevie G.

 

It does seem that it was an FA lackey cock-up, but it is still classless on the club's part.

 

Of course it is ,what the club should have done is fucked off whoever else was in the directors box for the doddery aul cunt ...

 

I couldn't give a shit who winters is close to,he's shit stirring.I was following his twatter updates as it happened ,he could easily have brought the screw up by the fa lackey to light,instead he chose to have a petty dig and make out like LFC barred him entry to the ground.He made more updates referring to Woy and Woys anger then he did about the game

[Delmar]

I think Henderson would be more effective in the role. He needs to learn more about positioning, but there's no doubting his energy.

 

3 matches with Lucas as DM. 0 goals conceded. I think that's as effective as it gets.

[clangers]

I know it's meaningless at this stage of the season but I keep looking at the league table this evening. It's been a long time.

[FrenchEyeGlass]

Winter is amongst the best informed of all the journos, very close to KK, Digger and Stevie G.

 

It does seem that it was an FA lackey cock-up, but it is still classless on the club's part.

 

How the fuck was it classless when he didn't tell us he was coming? Are we supposed to fucking guess?

[Red Bird]

Winter is amongst the best informed of all the journos, very close to KK, Digger and Stevie G.

 

It does seem that it was an FA lackey cock-up, but it is still classless on the club's part.

 

maybe, but English journalists are amazingly defensive when it come to Hodgson, almost to the point of disinformation. I don't know why, but they just are.

[stringvest]

perhaps, just perhaps, because if you piss the FA off, your career as football journalist is over.

[stringvest]

3 matches with Lucas as DM. 0 goals conceded. I think that's as effective as it gets.

 

So next time we concede a goal, it's Lucas's fault?

[DooooodekNo5]

[Captain]

So next time we concede a goal, it's Lucas's fault?

 

Of course not. Then it's the managers fault. For getting rid of Pepe as he obviously would have saved it.

 

Do keep up.

[andrew78]

When Suarez comes back think we will have enough creativity a goal scoring midfielder or winger please! And we would win the league (with no injuries)!!

 

That's the thing people twine about our so called marquee attacking signing,even I forgot he is still to come back that will do us till next summer ,defense needed to be sorted

[xerxes]

Of course not. Then it's the managers fault. For getting rid of Pepe as he obviously would have saved it.

 

Do keep up.

 

Pepe who?

 

The Mignolet call has been a shrewd one.

[index1000]

Great win today, nice to see us defend corners and set pieces. Tale of 3 so far,

3 wins

3 goals

3 clean sheets and today 3 arseoles Winter, Hodgeson and xeres

[xerxes]

3 arseoles Winter, Hodgeson and xeres

 

I enjoyed that!:P

[Lario]

Fuck-in-A.

[Newport]

Weird game. We scored early, they had a lot of the ball but I can barely remember Mignolet making more than a few saves. The four at the back had a brilliant game.

[stringvest]

The more today's result sinks in, the better it feels. I shall be sharing a meeting room with two mancs tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to it immensely.

[thompsonsnose]

Been out cricketing today.

Superb result and by the sounds of it, effort.

 

Trebles all round!!

Spurs lost too.

A grand day.

[Delmar]

So next time we concede a goal, it's Lucas's fault?

 

In your mind it will be...

[Guest LFD]

There were no surprises with the team selection really. My fears were Skrtel dealing with Van Persie and he did a really good job. It is a sad situation with Skrtel because had Welbeck scored from that chance in the first half which Johnson superbly blocked, but he skipped round Skrtel beforehand the daggers probably would have been out for him. But we win and instead he is raved. Skrtel is a good defender, very good one at times and it is sad that a lot of our fans judge a few of our players on a game by game basis. Had he struggled today it wouldn’t have made him a bad defender and just because he is arguably the man of the match doesn’t mean he is now top class. He’s had a lot of criticism this summer and I was delighted for him to ram a lot of those comments down some of those people’s throats. I think he is a better defender than Agger, he’s not as good on the ball (although he is not poor in that regard), but I think he is a better defender personally, that is not to say Agger is bad. Agger was fairly solid in this match, a poor decision in the first half when he went to ground gambling to get a ball which set Van Persie away and I don’t think he was right to try and play Van Persie offside at the end. But we got away with those two moments and other than that Agger did well. On another day we really could have lost this. As good as the result is, United created very little and they still could have got a draw.

 

Just goes to show when we were criticise Rodgers and the team at the beginning of last season that possession didn’t win us games, match winners do and being solid defensively and that is what we have been so far this season and most of last season after January, bar the odd blip. United won the league last season not because they had the most possession or were the most pleasing side to watch but because they were the best side in both penalty areas and this season we are looking one of the best sides in the league in both penalty areas despite not controlling matches with loads of possession.

 

A big credit has to go to Rodgers for being pragmatic and changing this. I also think he deserves recognition for realising we had to improve the defense, especially against physical strikers and at set plays and we’ve gone from looking vulnerable defensively to now having the best defense in the league, thus far albeit early days.

 

Another thing that is pleasing is we’ve actually had a tough start. We’ve played the Champions, Villa away who have started the season well and our bogey team Stoke, who are 5th in the league despite that loss to us.

 

We’ve praised United and other title winning sides over the years of winning ugly and grinding out wins even when they are not at their best. I think that is exactly what we have done in the last two games. One of our best match winner in Coutinho has actually been quiet in both games, I actually thought he was awful today on the ball by his standards. Nothing came off for him in possession, he was weak and his tracking back was not good enough at times. Enrique did very well coping with not only the wide player but also the overlapping Valencia, as he got little protection at times. Can’t fault Coutinho for his work rate, but this was probably his worst performance for us and had that been a J Cole or Jovanovic out there doing that performance they would be slated. Luckily this shows us he is human, a reminder he is still a young player and has some developing still to go.

 

Aspas was also not very good really. He huffed and puffed, again I couldn’t fault the effort, but nothing came off for him and he was another who looked weak. Sturridge was the only attacking player out of those three who did manage to hold up the ball and even then he was often isolated. Suarez will make a massive difference at doing this when he comes back, one of his underrated attributes is his ability to hold up and fight for the ball.

 

I thought the rest of the midfield worked brilliantly together, but no surprise really as Lucas, Gerrard and Henderson has always worked together, I can’t remember many (if any) poor games in the last year with those three in combo. They all did their roles perfectly. I do think Lucas has turned into a different type of ball winner than he was before he had that injury. Before that he would track players more and wait for the right time to tackle or intercept. Remember sky doing a feature on him marking Silva out of the game against Man City and he didn’t give him a sniff. But now he is less mobile and fit, IMO and he has adapted his game. Now he seems more aggressive (not that he wasn’t aggressive before) and presses instantly, he rushes players and almost gambles by doing this. Against most players it works, as they aren’t skilful enough to get out of the way and he wins the ball. But if the gamble is mistimed then he can get beaten and then he is out of the game and the attacking player can run at our defence. Although having said all that, that didn’t happen much today, his pressing was well timed and effective most of the time as a result.

 

Gerrard was his usual self. Was nice seeing him having a go at Van Persie and it has to be said he has been really disciplined this season defensively, another player who had many doubts about that area of his game in the summer from some fans. Lucas and Gerrard both deserve a lot of credit for the protection they are giving the centre backs this season and it is a very effective combo so far.

 

But for me, Henderson was the man of the match. That might not surprise people as I do rate him highly, but that was arguably his best game for us (and he has had many IMO). He’s becoming an important player, as he does help with the leg work and defensive duties for the rest of the midfield. But not only that Henderson and the obvious pressing he does, he was the best player in possession on the pitch. Even Gerrard was at times losing his composure the odd time in the second half with the odd long ball up the field. Not Henderson though, his use of the ball was fantastic and he was the one player in the team who did nearly always keep the ball (Johnson was another to be fair). He kept it simple, but it was effect and just what was needed in the situation. He’s always had the talent, I actually think he always had the right mentality – he was just a scapegoat in an underperforming side. But surely no one can question his mentality after watching the last year, any of those doubts must have been put to bed.

 

As I said Johnson was very solid defensively and if he didn’t go off injured he would have been right up there with Henderson and Skrtel for man of the match for me. Was also nice to see Mignolet make the saves that were asked about him and I thought his kicking and dealing with crosses was a lot better today than against Stoke. He’s becoming more confident.

 

I thought before this game that this match should be seen as a bonus. If the worst case scenario occurred and we lost, we’d still be averaging 2 points per game and that should be our target IMO, as that will get us 76 points which should be enough for top four. Now winning it has put us clearly above that target and that is good as we will probably have a blip and might need that cushion later in in the league.

 

But you have to say there really is a good team atmosphere and unity at the moment. The side look extremely settled, well coached and everyone clearly knows their role and what is expected of them. We have a real cohesion and I think that is due to the stability we have had compared to some other teams with new managers and lots of transfer changes to their sides who look more disjointed.

 

I just hope when we do have a blip our fans won’t overreact or boo the side off the field and just realise we are clearly progressing under Rodgers. Everything might not always go to plan, things might not progress as quickly as we’d all want at times but the plan does seem to be working. Wins like today will give us a real boost in confidence and hopefully help us get that winning mentality which we need to build up over time. But there is a positive vibe, I’m sure Suarez must be impressed watching on the sidelines and maybe he could be a catalyst when he comes back from his ban to help us make these matches more comfortable as Sturridge is going to need some help soon scoring goals, you would have thought. We’re getting some momentum and I think it is exciting, certainly don’t see many teams to fear in this league.

[kalasoma]

maybe, but English journalists are amazingly defensive when it come to Hodgson, almost to the point of disinformation. I don't know why, but they just are.

 

James Pearce ‏@JamesPearceEcho 23m

 

Not sure why Hodgson was so crushed about the seat he was given. It's where previous England bosses have sat at Anfield.