Showing posts with label Liverpool FC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liverpool FC. Show all posts

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Anthony McIntyre ⚽Which defeat to write about was the only decision to be made on tonight's piece.


Initially, I felt I'd blog the usual post-match summary of the Drogheda game up in Sligo which I attended with my friend Alfie. The Drogs put up a spirited fight but went down 3-1 to a much rejuvenated Sligo who have had quite the success against Louth opposition in recent weeks.  On the return journey to Dublin my daughter rang and asked if I would like to join her and her boyfriend in Cusack's on the North Strand Road for a Patrick's Day drink. Normally I find Patrick's Day too rowdy and tend not to go out on the swally.  But as Liverpool were playing Manchester United in the FA Cup I told her I'd head over to her from Connolly Station and watch the second half of the game.

So that was what decided tonight's post. The fate of the Drogs will have to wait until later in the week. 

The bar was full with a mixture of Patrick's Day revellers, swollen by the presence of Manchester United and Liverpool fans.  It was twenty minutes before my daughter managed to find a stool for me to plant myself on, one that swivelled. Most comfortable bar stool I have sat on in yonks. Liverpool were 2-1 up as they emerged for the second half. For most of it they seemed the better side but a failure to clear their lines allowed Manchester United to draw level, sending the game into extra time. Each set of supporters cheered when their team scored but there was no in-your-face bragging rights. Two woeful blunders in extra time allowed the Manchester men to steal a march on Liverpool by emulating the Scousers' penchant for scoring late winners. Now Liverpool are out of the cup. The quadruple has gone but I never seriously considered it as a realistic prospect. Still to lose a game they should comfortably have won left a bad taste in the mouth made no less acrid by Guinness and Jameson.

When the game was 3-3 courtesy of a careless pass from a weary Darwin Nunez I had flashbacks to the 1990 semi final in the same competition which saw Liverpool knocked out, going down 4-3 to Crystal Palace. And so it turned out. Harvey Elliot who came on as a sub and put the Merseyside men in front in extra time blundered after a corner kick, leading to a quick United counter attack which sealed Liverpool's fate. 

It is disappointing that Klopp will leave his post at the season's end without this trophy under his belt but ten Hag needed the victory more than the German. This victory gives him some breathing space. 

While it was a game for Liverpool to win there can be no churlishness shown towards United who did what they had to do and never gave up. The Liverpool boss summed it up:

Our decision making was not great. You have to accept the result. They deserve to go to the next round. It was a period in the second half when we should have finished it but we didn't and we know they could come back.

On the train journey home a Dundalk woman sat in the seat beside me. She had been on the beer in Dublin for Patrick's Day and told me all abut it! The one consolation was that she didn't like sport so both of us were spared a inquest-cum-rant on Liverpool's misfortune. Worse ways, I guess, to conclude a disappointing sporting weekend. 

Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Blunderpool

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Anthony McIntyre ⚽ I went to The Pheasant thinking a bird of a different kind, the Liver bird, would fail to fly.


Or, if it managed to get off the ground, its sojourn in the sky would be short lived, it would certainly be out of the running for any of the Masters of the Air awards, to borrow from the title of the gripping World War 2 drama we are currently watching.

I was uncertain if I even wanted to go to the pub, considering that watching it from home would be as good an option, and the debit card would be considerably less debited on completion of the game. A path I seemed more settled on once I had rang Paddy and he was for stretching out on the settee with a few cans. Still, that all changed as the persuasion from my son grew in intensity and achieved the outcome he wanted - me paying for the drinks!

After telling him to set up a pint of Guinness for me, I strolled down. In the absence of Paddy I was in the company of three teenagers, one of them an Arsenal supporter. Wasn't hard to work out what result he was hoping for. 

What a game. Each time the Reds leave the pitch it is like watching the return of the squadrons from Masters of the Air, fewer faces available for the next foray. With a squad seriously depleted due to injury, Jurgen Klopp has, in his final season in charge, again worked his magic. The team that faced Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday was not the one that turned up at the Emirates last month to be mowed down by the Gunners. This was the team that came out onto the turf of Wembley determined to go down fighting but preferably not down at all. As it proved to be the old Status Quo 70s hit Down Down was not going to echo around Anfield after this one on Sunday. 

After something of a less than assured start, Liverpool upped a gear and really took it to City, particularly in the second half. As a match commentator said it is rare to see the Etihad men so hemmed in. Intense soccer, far from the flat and pedestrian performances so often served up in the EPL, with Liverpool being no exception. But as my son observes, this Klopp side always manages to raise its game to the level of its opponents. Against City, the altitude to be reached was always going to be in the stratosphere yet Klopp turned out a side that not only got there but had the stamina to remain and for much of the game could gaze down on their opponents.

That said, it was never one way traffic or a cruise for the home side.  Pep Guardiola's team hugely contributed to one of the best games of soccer in the EPL this season. City could have snatched it in the closing minutes when a shot rebounded off the post. Liverpool too could claim to have been denied a penalty well into time added on, which if awarded would have seemed harsh. 

I left the Pheasant and the three teenagers behind, feeling that a draw was a fair result. Liverpool are now in three horse race as the home straight beckons, the fences ahead to be either jumped or fallen at. With Aintree so close to Anfield, those who believe in astrology, see the symbolic gallop of the Klopp steeplechaser picking up pace. The jury of astronomers is still out. 

Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Flight Of The Liver Bird

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Peter Anderson ⚽ I think this is going to be Liverpool's season. 

Klopp leaving and City playing sub-standard football have coalesced to me being firmly convinced that the Mighty Reds will take the league. I wouldn't be surprised if they blagged the FA cup or Europa Cup too. Sunday's stunning victory with a much depleted squad showed the desire and the unity behind Klopp's leadership. Many of their injured players will start coming back in the coming weeks making selection a bit easier, while they have growing well of young talent pushing for minutes.

City are in a bit of a trough this season and just can't get going.

Clean sheets are hard to come by and they seem inable to put teams to the sword like they did last season. The victory at Bournemouth being a case in point. City scored first for a change, and kept a clean sheet for a change, but couldn't get the second to make things more comfortable. In the end they held on for a hard fought victory, but this is not sustainable in a title race. A seemingly disinterested Haaland got subbed off after 75 mins, while KdB was only capable of 10 minutes due to hamstring niggles. Next month City face Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton. I just can't see 12 points from that run, 6 or 7 at best. March is a mouthwatering prospect for the viewer.

Will all three teams still be in the running come April?

Arsenal would appear to be the biggest fly in the red ointment for Klopp. They have got some momentum and are blowing teams away, but it is hard to forget that they have blew up in the last 2 seasons chasing the final UCL spot and then the league title. They have Jesus, Tomiyasu, Partey and Timbre set to return soon. Is that enough to maintain their run of form? Big doubts remain.

I just can't shake the feeling that it is une fin d'cycle at Liverpool with Klopp leaving, a new stadium refurb and probably the sale of Salah while they can still command a decent payday. It seems that they are in a determined push for silverware before the German bids farewell. And they got their hands on the first silverware of the season last Sunday. I can imagine how jubilant the dressing room was after that game finished and how that will drive the desire for Premiership glory. At this moment they sit top of the table, it is theirs to lose.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Liverpool's To Lose

Anthony McIntyre ⚽ Not long in the door from The Thatch in Drogheda where we watched the Carabao Cup final.


While not exactly three sheets to the wind, enough was supped to make it anything but a sober experience. I definitely would not pass a breathalyzer. But anybody who would want to pass one on cup final day must lead a mundane existence.

What we call our cup final squad - myself, my son Ronan, Paddy and his son Jason - met in the pub which serves up a great Guinness. I started on it but switched to Jack to celebrate the win by Liverpool.

As cup finals go it was a riveting game. I got a text from my sister close to the finish saying how edgy she was. The paradox at the heart of it was that while Liverpool deserved to win, Chelsea did not deserve to lose. My joy at Liverpool's victory was tempered by my sympathy for Chelsea. I thought of my friend Aine Fox, and the Quiller Steve R. My memory took me back to the H Blocks where Tommy Loughlin was a Chelsea stalwart.

Yet it was theirs to win. They had a goal disallowed, hit the post, should have scored when it seemed harder to miss, yet for some inexplicable reason failed to come out in extra time when it appeared Liverpool might not have the legs for another thirty minutes.

Pre-match, I didn't give Liverpool a snowball's chance in hell. In their last three cup finals they failed to manage a single goal in open play, relying on penalties to win two of them. It looked as if it was heading that way today. I had told Paddy that if it went to spot kicks after a scoreless draw I would not watch them. While a soccer solution to the draw problem it seems to devalue the beautiful game. One or two in the course of a match is fine but to have a competition decided by one sucks. I would have opted for a Chelsea victory rather than see it go to penalties.

As Tsimikas was about to take his corner deep into extra time I told my son to hold on until the penalties before getting another round. But lightening struck Chelsea and silver fell from the skies into the lap of Liverpool, courtesy of a well placed header by the captain Virgil Van Dijk.

It could all so easily have been a different outcome. Liverpool stepped out on the Wembley turf seriously under strength, but left with arms strong enough to hold aloft the trophy. With so many key players out injured their lineup looked like a chessboard where one side only had pawns. A sure silverware opportunity for the London side. With all the forwards out those who stepped into a makeshift team did the business, and pawns were promoted to queens. Even with Gravenberch substituted after a heavy tackle the tactical choice by Klopp of pushing Bradley up front and placing Gomes in the Tyrone man's vacated spot at the back prevented the equilibrium going out of the team like air from a deflated balloon.


In the end the deflation was Chelsea's. Their fans in the bar were gutted but one of them agreed to take a photo of the four of us. The spirit of soccer as it should be.

Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Carabao

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Anthony McIntyre ⚽ What a huge disappointment.


A bottle of Jack Daniels from Les might have dulled the ache, but only temporarily.

But Liverpool fans are so used to it by this stage. The 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United last season immediately followed by a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth illustrated the feast to famine nature of the team. The midweek 4-1 routing of Chelsea seemed to herald that the transformation of Klopp's side was complete. Now it's back to Roy Hodgson days. 

I have always said to my son that he will have the honour, if he calls it that, to dispose of my ashes in the Mersey when the time comes so that he can think of me figuratively listening to the Anfield roar. If they continue to play like they did on Sunday, there will be little for fans to roar about, more an emittance of a collective groan.

The five of us from the union gathered in the Tolka House to watch the game. Shelley arrived late but she didn't miss much. Kitted out from head to foot in Liverpool regalia, I felt like the skunk at the wedding feast after the match. There was this sense of being stared at by everybody in the bar wondering who the fool was - much as if I was naked. Even the booze and the banter failed to firewall me to the extent required.


Four words can sum up this performance - Horrible, hopeless, hapless, hideous. A headline could as readily have been lifted from the great Laurent Binet novel HHhH.

Allison who always gives me palpitations as he moves to play out from his goal line was responsible for the second and third goals. Although he later said he should have just cleared it, Virgil Van Dijk rightly left responsibility to the keeper to clear. The big Brazilian behaved as if he had a glimpse of Jesus as he ran out from his line and rushed to embrace him missing the ball as he proclaimed Hallelujah, leaving Martinelli a tap in that even Darwin Núñez could not possibly have hit the woodwork with. The Flying Dutchman  most likely referred to Allison as something less kind than 'holy goalie' in the dressing room after the game. The second howler came when Allison seemed to be auditioning for the role of the Mersey tunnel - his legs so wide apart a ferry could have sailed through.

Paddy-Anthony-Andrew-Les

Roy Keane was right in his view that Liverpool defended like a pub team. Konate was stretched to the limit covering for those in front of him, particularly Gravenberch, and walked the plank after a second yellow card.  The midfield failed to create a single chance for Diogo Joto throughout the match. For a short while in the second half there was a sense that some of the Klopp half time magic was begining to show until Allison met Jesus. 

The title now seems Manchester City's to lose. Few would bet against them making it four in a row. They just need to win ever game and draw against Liverpool. If Klopp's men win every game and draw against Pep's side, the title still goes to Manchester. The safe money has to be on City steadying the ship for the home strait. There is small consolation in Liverpool running City to the wire just to become runner up. Anfield fans deserve better than to be nothing other than a pace setter for the Etihad side. 

Jurgen Klopp has been a great coach but no matter how skilful his artistry, carving from rotten wood does not produce an enduring sculpture. Style rarely compensates for stamina. 

Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.


Style Over Stamina

Peter Anderson ⚽ Gary Neville called Sunday's big match "the start of the title race."

And it certainly felt like it. Liverpool travelled to Arsenal knowing that a win would see them 8 points clear of the Gunners. This would effectively reduce the title race to a two-horsed variety, as only City could challenge Liverpool.

It was a must-win for Arsenal and they got the three points reasonably comfortably following a shit show from Liverpool's captain. Last season, Virgil Van Dijk had a poor campaign by his standards, but so far this one he has been back to his outstanding best. But that all changed on Sunday as he was at fault for all three of Arsenal's goals.

He was caught out of position for the first, failed to deal with a long ball for the second and, most bizarrely, he failed to close down and block the shot for the third. With Salah and Szoboszlai injured, a poor match from their iconic captain was not what the doctor ordered.

It was always going to be a battle for midfield domination and Arsenal won that one easily. Jones, MacAllister and Gravenberch were no match for Odegaard, Big Deccy and the excellent Jorginho.

While Arsenal were the better team and deserved the three points, Klopp will not panic. He has been here before with Dortmund and Liverpool. This was only their second league defeat of the campaign.

They are still top of the league and their next three league games are against Burnley, Brentford and Forest. An ideal run to get the juggernaut back on the road. The crucial period could be the middle of March. City travel to Liverpool and then host Arsenal 2 weeks later.

After the City game, Liverpool go to Goodison. Twists and turns await.

As for Arsenal, the doubts still remain. They aren't playing as well as last season and the lack of a 20 goal striker is a major cause for concern. The way they bottled last season's title charge is fresh in the memory and I think they are the least likely of the three to take the title.

Arguably, the biggest winners on Sunday were City. If City win their two games in hand, they will be top of the league. The big question is whether or not they can go on yet another end-of-season winning streak like they have done on so many previous seasons. With Klopp leaving at the end of the season and City facing possible relegation next season for "crimes" against the footballing establishment, both sets of players are facing an "end of an era" scenario. 

So, which set of players possess the most motivation? Will Liverpool falter, or will City suffer from "win fatigue" given last season's heroics? It is going to be fascinating, no doubt. And I am glad that, for now, Arsenal are still in the reckoning.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Virgil Van Dick

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