Liverpool 2 Arsenal 2 - "Some thoughts" by Paul Natton

[tlw content]

1. A point was the least we deserved. We absolutely dominated that game from start to finish and how Arsenal managed to ever be in the lead is beyond me. I thought we'd been poor this season, but they were awful. Now I know why some of their natives are so restless: it's not just the trophy drought; they're actually not very good either. I don't think I've ever seen a Wenger team sit as deep as they did in the first half. Maybe they've been so scarred by what happened in this fixture last season they felt they had no choice.

 

2. Michael Oliver is yet another referee out of his depth in the big matches. What possible justification can he have for allowing Flamini to stay on the pitch not once, but twice? The early wild tackle through the back of Coutinho was a straight red and the one on Lallana later on was at least a yellow, but no - Oliver declines to follow the laws of the game and allows him to continue. It's not right this level of officiating and referees should be publicly accountable for their errors.

 

3. Our basics of pace, aggression, pressing and attack are back and it's about time too. We are nothing without them and Rodgers clearly feels the same way. Long may it continue too because the atmosphere was noticeably better at Anfield even when losing deep into the second half. People can bemoan a lack of support all they like, but the bottom line is that we'll support a losing side if it gives its all; a tepid, slow, lackadaisical performance is something else though and I'd say people are quite right to be intolerant of paying fifty or sixty quid for much of what we've endured this season. Yesterday was a different matter though and it felt good to be roused by our aggression and tempo again. People can debate systems all they like, but it's the style of play that's more important for me rather than the shape.

 

4. Clearly systems aren't irrelevant though and this 343 is working (to a point) right now. I must admit, I fully expected us to be vulnerable down the flanks but that did not prove to be the case except when they hit us on the break for their second. Despite the errors for the goals, I thought the centre halves all played well and the shape gave us numbers in the middle and in attack too, as well as allowing Coutinho and Lallana to play between the lines where they're both dangerous. If Sturridge can come in and play as the focus of this set up with Sterling moving out to the flank and Henderson dropping back to the middle then this could be a very productive team shape.

 

5. Markovic is not a heartless fanny after all. I'm not getting carried away yet, but he looks like he could well be a player as he showed pace, skill and direct running here in spades, linking well with almost everyone around him. Nice one.

 

6. Jones is worse than Mignolet and a new keeper is the number one priority now Rodgers has publicly condemned the Belgian and the full paucity of the Aussie has been exposed for all to see. More faith in their custodian might reinvigorate our defenders too.

 

7. Fair play to Skrtel for fighting on after those stitches and then grabbing the equaliser deep into injury time. That was a massive goal for us in terms of mentality and confidence and if he'd not been on the pitch to score it, I think we'd have lost as no-one else in the squad attacks the ball like that from a corner.

 

8. Top four is going to be very tough this season but having seen these and The Mancs up close recently, I know that no one is nailed on bar the top two. So, if this mini-Renaissance can be developed and sustained then we just might do it. However, even if we don't, we have to stick to our guns and play the same style of football because, regardless of what people say about results being the only thing that matters, we need something to cheer about and this fast, attacking stuff is something we can all get behind.

 

9. Roll on Burnley, Swansea and Leicester. Nine points from nine are what I'm looking for now to show me that this team is finally finding its feet and the CL next season is not the pipe dream it appeared until recently. Come on you Reds!!!

 

Paul Natton

@OxtonSoulBoy

 

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[Dr. J]

One thing about Oliver. He let Skrtel get bandaged and wrapped on the field, time that should have spent with him off the pitch. When he came off, he was on again immediately.

 

That saved us a draw.

[mattyq]

Good article, Paul...enjoyed it

Disagree on top 4 being a possibility, though

More chance of a squeasant being discovered up George Osborne's arse

[UnwelcomeinPeru]

I'd add 

 

10. Professional midfield players have to hit the target when they shoot from inside the box. Is that too much to expect? Bring the opposition keeper into the game. Head, knee and foot in line, strike. Is that being too demanding? Markovic, Lucas and Coutinho all guilty. You don't expect a goal from each of those chances but you expect the keeper to have to do something.

 

4 in spades. He looks terrified of the ball. The second was well hit but at him. He nearly cost us the game with the 'save' in the last minute that almost became an assist. 

[JermainePennant]

8. Top four is going to be very tough this season but having seen these and The Mancs up close recently, I know that no one is nailed on bar the top two. So, if this mini-Renaissance can be developed and sustained then we just might do it. However, even if we don't, we have to stick to our guns and play the same style of football because, regardless of what people say about results being the only thing that matters, we need something to cheer about and this fast, attacking stuff is something we can all get behind.

 

 

 

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Good post and I agree with all your points.

 

I personally think fourth is going to be very difficult as we would have to go on a similar run to  the end of last season so the main thing Im looking for is us getting back to playing the style of football from last season which we have shown lately and get the new players bedded in and adapted to this style.

[markcd]

agree with all of that except the idea of a "mini-rennaissance" OK - we haven't looked quite as shite in the last 3 games, but we've W1 D1 L1 scored 5 and conceded 6.

[ratcatcher]

Too soon to be writing off top 4 although it is going to be difficult. Thought we would have been well worth the 3 points.

 

Sanchez went down in installments for their freekick but yet again, our defending was utter shite, Sakho jumps into toure and takes him out then skrtel fails to get any sort of jump at the ball.

[Frank Dacey]

I've always thought Michael Oliver was a good ref but he seems to be feeling the strain this season. He and Clattenburg appear to be regarded as the 2 top refs and get the majority of the big games and maybe it's proving too much for him. But if not those two, then who? Atkinson? Dowd? I thought Anthony Taylor was looking good last season but had a terrible game when we played Chelsea. The rest are far, far worse and it's a consistent surprise that the standard of this supposedly 'elite' group isn't being more closely examined.

As to the game I was disappointed to draw. I wouldn't say that we were better than the 5-1 in February but Arsenal were worse yesterday. When you see the state of them and the Mancs we really should have 6 points and not 1 from our last 2 games.

[Russ Atmosphere]

I dare say Arsenal fans look at our current mediocrity and shed a tear they didn't get three points.

 

Dowd has been the only ref who is consistently any good in the Premier league. I don't mind Clattenburg but he has some awful displays and anyway, that hair weave thing.

[mike23]

Michael Oliver seemed to do what so many of the referees do these days where they are incredibly lenient early on as they don't want to end up in a position of having to send someone off early on and being accused of ruining the game. Then towards the end of the game they suddenly decide to start following the laws of the game to the letter and waving cards about for every mildly bad challenge.

 

It was absolutely ridiculous that Mertesacker wasn't booked for that challenge on the edge of the box just because it was in the first minute and then of course Flamini should have been off. Then late on he of course sends Borini off and books other players for lesser challenges and they were probably the right decisions by the letter of the law but you can't just suddenly change how you referee a game midway through. If it's a bookable challenge or worth a red card then it shouldn't matter whether it occurs in the first minute or last.

 

It doesn't help that you get a lot of commentators and ex players who seem to think it's good refereeing and commend them for using 'common sense'.

[mouse1989]

We are 9/1 to finish in the top 4. I'm tempted

[Russ Atmosphere]

Allardyce always sends his yard-dogs out to cripple the opponent's flair player in the first five minutes. A red card challenge gets a yellow early-on strangely.

[razor]

Excellent as ever, Paul.  The over-riding tone of positivity cheered me up, too.

[sir roger]

To be fair to Oliver ( God that sticks in my throat ) he was on the wrong side of the 2nd Flamini incident & the blame is on the gimpy Wayne Bridge-alike liner on our side ( the Kemlyn ) who had a perfect view of the elbow & shit himself & ran the other way to avoid getting involved.

 

We weren't perfect by any means yesterday but every player put a shift in & I would have not been in a critical mode even if the equalizer hadn't happened.

 

Speaking to people today it seemed to have the feel of one of those games were a lot depended on whether you were at the game, as the lads who weren't were more analytical and more critical of the errors, whereas the ones who were there tended to have got into the more aggressive vibe of the performance and crowd & seemed happier.

[aws]

Oliver ducks the big decisions. Webb school of refereeing.

[an tha]

You have missed the biggest and most important point and that is we didn't win... Now I realise we have been shite nearly all season and something is better than nothing and all that but there seems to be an almost triumphant air about people about our performances against these and the Mancs - from which we got a solitary point...yes we played better than we have done but the fact is we failed to win either game and however 'well' we played still aren't doing enough and in fact came very close to losing this game on the back of getting beat heavily by the mancs.

 

You can talk about 'the positives' all you want, but a team who need wins badly failing to win yet again especially in a game they were the better side in is yet another bitter blow in a season full of them.

 

Unless of course our expectations have become so lowered we are happy to take anything resembling a half decent performance or result that is.

[Paul]

Of course expectations have been lowered. Have you not been watching this season?

[xerxes]

Last season we were a top six side with title winning forwards, now we are just a top six side.

 

I share the OP's positivity, we have a LC semi to look forward to, and a rare trip to the new wembley beyond that, a soft FA Cup draw,an EL campaign with a CL prize and a second half of the season with Sturridge.

 

I have doubts about Brendan, but he, and the team, have shown an ability to put up a fight recently. Here's hoping...

[an tha]

Of course expectations have been lowered. Have you you not been watching this season?

Each to their own and all that, but for me whilst yes I can see an improvement in our attacking intent and our cohesion as a team I just find it very bitters like to be almost triumphant about the fact that we aren't winning but we are playing better.

 

Ultimately this is still a side that can't win football matches on anything like a regular basis, that is rotten defensively and lacks firepower - all this after spending an absolute fortune in the summer.

 

I think it is totally fair to expect better than what we have seen including Sunday. Hopefully this upturn of sorts that we are seeing in performances or at least in certain areas of the side (let's face it we have let in 5 goals in our last two league games) will translate to improved results. It should do really unless we really are rotten, we'll find out over the rest of the season, but I don't buy into lowered expectations just because the season has been unacceptable so far and we have underperformed, we should be much better than this - or is it a case of because we have been shite all season we should just expect to continue being shite, despite our very expensively assembled squad.

[TheFridge]

an tha knows.

[Paul]

Each to their own and all that, but for me whilst yes I can see an improvement in our attacking intent and our cohesion as a team I just find it very bitters like to be almost triumphant about the fact that we aren't winning but we are playing better.

 

Ultimately this is still a side that can't win football matches on anything like a regular basis, that is rotten defensively and lacks firepower - all this after spending an absolute fortune in the summer.

 

I think it is totally fair to expect better than what we have seen including Sunday. Hopefully this upturn of sorts that we are seeing in performances or at least in certain areas of the side (let's face it we have let in 5 goals in our last two league games) will translate to improved results. It should do really unless we really are rotten, we'll find out over the rest of the season, but I don't buy into lowered expectations just because the season has been unacceptable so far and we have underperformed, we should be much better than this - or is it a case of because we have been shite all season we should just expect to continue being shite, despite our very expensively assembled squad.

Bitters like? Triumphant? I think you're imagining stuff there mate.

[G Richards]

You have to take the positives and Paul's article was spot on. Of course we're still below where we want to be, and we all know we didn't win against Arsenal. However, when set against the turgid dross we've been playing all season, I'll take it. For now. 

 

If we carry on like that we can beat a lot of teams even without a proper striker. Hopefully the next three games will see us pick up a healthy points haul and climb the table. 

 

Add Sturridge and/or another striker to the team that has created loads of chances in the last two league games and I expect to see us challenge for top four. It will be a tall order, but I still only see two teams out of our reach in this league. 

[ngogswilly]

Think history has shown all too often over the past 10-15 years once you have a start as bad as ours very rarely does a team rally it enough to turn things around. 

 

Been saying for ages ago we'd definitely find form and theres some small inklings of evidence were on the cusp of playing well again. 

 

We could end up being the exception and really turn this around in a big way and make the top 4 but can't help but think its unlikely. 

 

People will find all sorts of positives but personally I can't help but just feel utterly fucked off we'll probably find form soon but we're already playing a huge game of catch up. 

[stringvest]

You need to write this season off mate.  Rodgers and the club have fucked up badly and there's no getting away from it.  

[dennis tooth]

Who will score the goals to power this revival?

 

How will we keep them out with mingo love wren and brad 30k?