Liverpool 2-2 Cardiff City. Liverpool Win Carling Cup in PK’s.

Drama, Drama, Drama. I could write an entire post using the word drama. What is the point of winning trophies if losing is never a possibility anyways? Liverpool do it the fun way I guess, unless you were at risk of a heart attack. Then you probably didn’t like the match. O well, Liverpool get to pick up the Mickey Mouse trophy and rub it into the rest of the world who really doesn’t care, but that’s only because they weren’t the people lifting the cup.

Liverpool almost started electrically. Cardiff came at Liverpool early, and Steven Gerrard picked up the cleared cross. He ran down the pitch on a counter and knocked it to Stewart Downing. Downing hit it to Glen Johnson who tries to curl the ball in. The damn post got in the way and Liverpool couldn’t have the dream start.

Liverpool kept their pressure on Cardiff, but it was Cardiff who struck first. Kevin McNaughton brought the ball down the right and passed to Kenny Miller. Miller slid in a nice pass to Joe Mason who caught Daniel Agger out of position and slotted past Pepe Reina in the 19′.

The rest of the half finished with Liverpool taking the most chances.

Liverpool’s pressure finally paid off in the 60′. The corner kick was flicked on by Andy Carroll to Luis Suarez at point blank. He tried to make sure it beat the keeper, it did, but not the post. The ball bounced right to Martin Skrtel who controlled and poked in to equalize.

Liverpool continued to pressure Cardiff to try and get the victory. After several chances, Cardiff closed  90 minutes with the better chances through Miller. His clever run was awarded with a nice pass through the lazy Liverpool defense, but he hit the half-volley wide. Reina’s head probably would’ve blew up open if Miller finished.

The full-time whistle rang and it was time for extra time.

With a heart attack a terrible possibility, I sat on the edge of my seat and prayed that extra time would go ok. The first 15 minutes was quite poor, with the drama being saved for the the second 15 minutes.

Dirk Kuyt made the first impact of extra time in the 108′. His pass to Suarez was blocked right back to him. So he took his luck with a shot. He fell off balance and fired his shot right past the keeper. Cue celebrations.

Celebrations were short lived. Cardiff fought back resiliently to equalize in the 118′, two minutes from time. A third corner, after a Kuyt clearance off the line on the second corner, brought sunken Liverpool heads and Turner poked the ball over the line for Cardiff to equalize.

Penalties, because nothing comes easy if you’re Liverpool. Liverpool shot first.

Gerrard lasered his kick to the same way he has every the past several kicks, to the keepers right. Keeper got down very well and saved.

Miller missed. 0-0.

Adam skied his so badly bomb threats rang in from the House of Commons after some unknown object was spotted miles over London. It was that bad.

Cowie scored his kick to put Cardiff up 1-0 after two kicks.

Kuyt stepped up and confidently put his away and Gestede missed.

Downing scored, then Wittingham scored. 2-2 after four.

Johnson scores. One of the most news worthy stories of the evening happened when Anthony Gerrard, cousin to our very own Steven, stepped up for the equalizing penalty. He pushed it wide, and despite how hard Cardiff worked, the lost 3-2 in penalties.

Although a great win for Liverpool, Cardiff deserves a bunch of praise for their willingness to fight.

The man of the match has to be given to Downing. He owned the left side, dribbling down and firing in crosses. No one got on the end of them really, but he was an outstanding performer.

Henderson and Carroll, not so much. Their performances are forgettable.

It’s a great win for momentum, and hopefully they can carry it through to Arsenal on the weekend at Anfield.

 

Liverpool vs. Cardiff City. Carling Cup Final at Wembley.

Liverpool travel to the new Wembley for the first time. They’re also going for their first trophy in 6 years. It could only be a good day for the occasion at least. Cardiff City are a championship team, which means Liverpool are heavy favorites. People have learned though that that’s not always a gimmie. Arsenal lost the Carling Cup final last year against Birmingham City, we can’t forget that. But other than that, the occasion should be enough to celebrate, as Steven Gerrard is looking to redeem the own-goal he scored to give the Carling Cup to Chelsea in 2005.

Who will start for Liverpool?

Reina
Johnson–Skrtel–Agger–Enrique
Adam
Henderson–Gerrard
Bellamy–Carroll–Suarez

Pepe Reina will undoubtedly be between the posts for Liverpool. The back line will be hard to decide because Jami Carragher could easily get a start. Sentimentally, or due to Daniel Agger’s recent knock on his back. Martin Skrtel should easily be in the middle of the defense with Jose Enrique filling out at left-back.

The midfield could be hard to decide. Jay Spearing might fit into the line-up, but I think Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard will fill up the midfield and should be able to keep a championship side at bay. Steven Gerrard is looking to lead the Reds out against his cousin, Anthony Gerrard, in their first professional meet-up ever.

The attack is going to be the toughest to decide for Liverpool. I say Craig Bellamy gets a start, but so should Luis Suarez. Who has earned that third spot though? If Liverpool go with a two-man midfield, then Stewart Downing could even fit in since he plays his best against championship sides. Bellamy can fit on either flank, but so can Dirk Kuyt who could also start. Andy Carroll has had wonderful form lately and should see a start, but who knows if Kenny Dalglish will see it that way.

How can Liverpool win?

The main for Liverpool is to not think it’s already in the bag and get complacent. If Liverpool get complacent, they could easily be destroyed by Cardiff who will not want to lose after making it this far. Liverpool are going to have to finish off their chances that they create through Adam and Suarez.

The midfield will have to exert it’s dominance and not be scared to get forward if there is three men in the midfield. The attack is going to have to actually get in the box and keep the ball on the ground as much as possible so everyone can score. Look for Gerrard to have a big game, maybe even score one. Suarez is going to have to contain himself since he’s his own worst enemy. Carroll can’t get star-struck and Bellamy will be focused and ready to run straight at his old teammates.

On a side note, this is what football is all about. This is what being a Liverpool fan is all about. Winning trophy’s is everyone’s dream. We’re finally at that point and everyone is excited. Be loud, be happy, because at the end of the day, we’re all Liverpool fans and that’s what brings us together. Win or lose.

Liverpool 6-1 Brighton. FA Cup.

Brighton score four goals and still only leave Anfield with one goal. The story of the night for Brighton was disaster, but Liverpool pretty much deserved the six goals (three own goals).

Steward Downing started off the pressure in the 4′. The 5′ brought a corner for Liverpool. Apparently Brighton missed the corner against Manchester United after Andy Carroll was heavily marked in the box and Daniel Agger easily headed home while everyone was focused on Carroll. Well, same thing happened here. Brighton focused on Carroll and Martin Skrtel met Steven Gerrard’s corner and finished into the back of the net in a fashion that was very similar to the corner he scored against Aston Villa.

Kazenga LuaLua equalized in the 17′ through a free kick that was drawn by a Jordan Henderson foul. LuaLua drilled a 25 yard kick past the oncoming wall and Pepe Reina to score a remarkable equalizer.

Liverpool took the lead right before half-time off of a corner again. The corner was punched by the Brighton keeper, then Luis Suarez dribbled and created space for a poke, but it was deflected to Glen Johnson’s head and he headed it towards goal. It was cleared off the line, but didn’t make it any farther than Liam Bridcutt who was standing too close to the clearance and was red-faced as he scored an own goal.

In the 57′, Downing got his first assist of the year. Downing sent a low cross into the box and Carroll got on the end of it with his left foot and thundered past the keeper and into the net. That gives Downing one goal and one assist all year, both in the FA Cup.

Bridcutt was left red-faced again in the 71′ as he was just in the wrong position at the wrong time again. Gerrard fashioned a chance for himself that he saw saved, but only across the goal as Bridcutt was in the way to deflect it into his own goal again.

Bridcutt’s two own goals were just bad luck, but the third own goal by Brighton will have the manager pulling his hair out. Lewis Dunk scored a humorous goal trying to control Suarez’s cross. Dunk chested it down, then tried to control it with his knee so he could clear it. He had plenty of time, but his knee was sent the wrong way and the ball bounced into the net. I guess Dunk gets props for almost keeping it out of the net, but it was still a ridiculous own goal.

Dirk Kuyt was subbed on and brought down in the box to give Liverpool a penalty. Suarez took the ensuing penalty, but it was disgracefully shot to the keepers left in a very save-able position.

Suarez redeemed himself though when Jose Enrique’s cross met Carroll who headed it across goal to a wide open Suarez who finished the scoring for Liverpool.

Overall it was a strong performance by Liverpool that warranted six goals, even if three were own goals. Performances all around were strong. Downing put in probably his best shift as a red and Carroll was a game changer every time the ball was in the box. Suarez was a threat at times, but he also lost possession several times.

The midfield was strong, with Gerrard doing really well going forward and Henderson almost scoring off of a Gerrard shot gone array. Charlie Adam was given man of the match by the Guardian and it was extremely warranted. He had a very strong performance also.

The defense was solid and the LuaLua goal was just a great goal. Jamie Carragher came in for Agger who was left out of the squad. Johnson and Enrique made starts on their side and Reina started in net.

My man of the match is probably Carroll despite Downing being an outstanding performer. Carroll’s goal and his play in general was very strong. He is either on good form or starting to look like a good, strong striker. He made a very good argument for his inclusion at Wembley next week.

Liverpool are in action next Sunday at Wembley for the Carling Cup final, their first trip to the new stadium. Again, might not be any midweek posts due to lots of stress with school. Liverpool also play Stoke City at Anfield for the FA Cup quarter final.

Liverpool vs. Brighton. FA Cup.

Apologies for how busy my life is. Lack of match thoughts and anything during the week have been attributed to a project and too many assignments.

But that’s not important, we are in the fifth round of the FA Cup against Championship side Brighton. If that name seems familiar, it’s because we’ve already played them this year in the Carling Cup. We won 2-1 away at Brighton. This time we have them at Anfield and they can’t be happy to have us again.

With Maxi back from injury (who knew he was injured?), along with both Jack Robinson and John Flanagan, we could play some good youth players, but I don’t think we will. Lucas is our only long-term injury at this point, as Fabio Aurelio seems to be healthy (obviously due to lack of match time or the forces of some deity keeping his body together for the time being).

On to the fun…

Who starts for Liverpool?

Reina
Kelly–Skrtel–Agger–Enrique
Spearing–Henderson
Kuyt–Downing
Carroll–Suarez

Pepe Reina will probably not be displaced as keeper. We could possibly see a back line shake up with Martin Kelly being thrown for match experience he has easily earned.  Glen Johnson easily holds the position but we have lots of depth at the position with Kelly and Flanagan behind Johnson.   Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger will probably get a start, but don’t be surprised if Jamie Carragher and/or Sebastian Coates gets a start for some match time and fitness. Jose Enrique will probably start at left-back unless they want to save him for whatever reason.

Since fatigue shouldn’t be too much of a concern, the midfield is questionable. Kenny Dalglish has said that this match will be how players can earn a spot next Sunday in the Carling Cup final. I wouldn’t be surprised if he played some players who are on the fringe of the starting XI, but have played in and out of it throughout the year. Jay Spearing should get a start as a defensive midfielder who does whatever he wants since that’s what he really does. Jordan Henderson could get a start in an advanced position, but I really do see Steven Gerrard getting the start even though I don’t have him listed.

The amount of attackers is going to depend how many midfielders there are. If Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez start up top, then there will probably only be two midfielders (remember last time this happened? Most notably against Bolton). If Dalglish really means players can earn and lose spots for the final next week then we could see Stewart Downing and Dirk Kuyt on each side of the strikers.  I would not be surprised to see Craig Bellamy in the XI though.

You heard it here first though. Joao Carlos Teixeira will be on the bench and make his Liverpool debut. Will it happen? No, but I like rumors.

How can Liverpool win?

Exerting Liverpool’s quality is going to be the key thing. Liverpool are expected to control possession and have a fair number of chances. Again, finishing them is the problem. If Liverpool can get two goals, then I see no reason why they shouldn’t win. But again, finishing chances is going to be the biggest thing for the crew up against a Brighton team that are no pushovers.

Manchester United vs. Liverpool Preview.

Acrobats, elephants and Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra, what a circus! Pt. 3 of the year and the first one at Old Trafford. Nothing will be held back at Old Trafford as it’s Suarez’s second game back from the Evra fiasco, and the first to Old Trafford. With Liverpool’s ticket allocation cut short, Manc’s will be screaming abuse for the entirety of the match. We can only hope this match is more about the football as opposed to what happens in the seats.

Who will start for Liverpool?

Reina
Kelly–Skrtel–Agger–Johnson
Spearing–Adam
Kuyt–Gerrard–Bellamy
Suarez

Unpredictable team. Pepe Reina will easily be in goal. Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger should renew their defensive partnership while throwing in Jamie Carragher somewhere is also a possibility. With Enrique not starting against United in the FA Cup and being injured last week, I could easily see the same line-up in defense as we saw against Tottenham. This will be the key as Wayne Rooney, the most hated player on Merseyside, will most likely start for United.

Midfield will be unpredictable with Charlie Adam playing holding mid against Tottenham (read blog on it here). I would like to see Jordan Henderson over Adam in midfield, but Kenny Dalglish seems to favor Adam. Jay Spearing should make a start, but possibly Carragher, as both are raised through the Liverpool ranks. Steven Gerrard will easily see a start, and if Henderson doesn’t start, then in a more advanced role to play behind a second striker.

The attack will also be unpredictable. Andy Carroll has seen his form rise quite a bit. Craig Bellamy has been phenomenal lately and Dirk Kuyt is the big-game man. Kuyt and Suarez partnered together at Anfield last year embarrassing United’s defense through Kuyt’s hat-trick and Suarez’s dribbling. Suarez could see a start as Dalglish would love him in the team. Don’t be surprised to see a partnership between Carroll and Suarez up top with Bellamy in the mix somehow with Kuyt coming on late.

How can Liverpool win?

Liverpool are going to have to play responsible, but take their chances. Liverpool will also have to control the midfield as much as they can because Rooney is a huge threat. Liverpool’s finishing this year has been poor, but a little bit better while Suarez was gone. Hopefully he can spur some more chances in the box and give Liverpool more chances to score. Bellamy has been wonderful this year in terms of performances and hopefully him teamed up with Suarez can be absolutely lethal.

In terms of the derby, the home team has had more possession in the past four years. This means Liverpool will have to play responsible with the ball and look to attack on the counter. If Carroll and Suarez play, it could lead to those two harassing United’s back-line into making a mistake or two. If it’s Bellamy and Suarez, their speed are going to be a lot for the United back-line to handle. Either way, Liverpool are going to have to play strong.

Prediction

For the hell of it.

1-1. Rooney and Bellamy.

 

The match is on at 7:45 EST on ESPN2/ESPN3

Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham.

The same old, same old. Liverpool dominate and end up with a lame draw. Will this tragedy ever end? I doubt it. We still have plenty games left to mess up, so don’t get too optimistic. Just kidding I hope. With Old Trafford this weekend in what will be a soap opera of Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra.

In other news, as soon as I can get my webcam working, I’m going to start doing video posts. I never see them anywhere, so I think I’m going to start doing videos of posts instead of typing them out. It will be an evolution from really bad to hopefully not as bad, but I should be able to get it over time. I might not make the longest posts until I get my camera to work as I have a busy life.

As you may know, Liverpool played Tottenham yesterday and had a very strong display that was trying to make up for last time the two teams played and Tottenham won 4-0 at  White Hart Lane with Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel both getting red cards.

This time around, no red cards were issued. Tottenham appeared to play for three points due to several injuries and the absence of ‘Arry Redknapp after technical difficulties with his plane kept him in London. The early exchanges were Liverpool trying not to concede early by keeping the ball.

Liverpool’s best chances came through Andy Carroll, who had a chance for a goal or two, and fumbling around and hitting wide. Jay Spearing almost caught a break, but his shot just went wide.

Tottenham’s best chance came through Gareth Bale after he was sent through on Pepe Reina, 1-on-1. Reina made the same and Daniel Agger made a clearance on the make-up efforts after the save.

Overall, it was a good performance from most players. Reina was solid in goal, making sure nothing got past him. The defense was solid with Glen Johnson on the left and Martin Kelly on the right after Jose Enrique picked up a hamstring tweak. Johnson is again proving why he is the starter at right back, keeping Kelly on the bench in general. Kelly wasn’t as solid as he was when he shut down Ryan Giggs with no problems. Skrtel was also the man of the match. He destroyed Bale a couple times, physically along with how you’re supposed to in soccer.

The midfield was packed into midfield to stop the terrifying play of Luka Modric and Bale. It worked quite well as Liverpool controlled the match. Adam was quite good defensively but hardly provided anything going forward while Gerrard proved one of the biggest offensive threats for Liverpool.

In attack, Carroll, Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy created their chances (yet again), but failed to finish them (yet again). No one’s perfect, but they played strong and you can’t fault them for much (except for the whole not scoring thing). Bellamy and Kuyt had a lot to do with the shutting down of Bale and Modric in midfield. They both had chances throughout the match, but couldn’t finish them.

Suarez and Stewart Downing came in for Kuyt and Bellamy respectively. Suarez was a nuisance to the Tottenhma back-line, but wasn’t enough as he failed to score despite a free header that he somehow sent straight to the American keeper Brad Fiedel.

That’s all for today. My goal is a Jordan Henderson post in the next week. Should hopefully be a good post.

Comment away if you want, follow me on Twitter, the fun stuff. Thank you for reading.

Liverpool vs. Tottenham.

Liverpool come off a win at Wolves with a break and some momentum leading up to facing Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. The return fixture will hopefully be a tad bit better than the match in September at White Hart Lane where Liverpool were completely demolished everywhere on the pitch. The match looks bright, but Tottenham are still trying to make a title run and won’t go down without a fight.

Who will start for Liverpool?

Reina
Johnson–Skrtel–Agger–Enrique
Spearing–Gerrard
Henderson
Kuyt–Bellamy
Carroll

Reina is in net unless he picks up a magical knock overnight. Skrtel and Agger should man the middle against a Spurs side that could be missing Emmanuel Adebayor and Rafael van der Vaart. Enrique will probably be on the left and Johnson on the right, but don’t be surprised if Kelly is included.

The midfield should include the likes of Spearing, Gerrard and Henderson. Adam is also a choice. Spearing will probably play in the holding position while Gerrard is between Henderson and Spearing, but Henderson will probably be more advanced.

The attack is going to be the toughest thing to decide. With Suarez back after his suspension, he is available to be chosen. But is he? Carroll is coming off a man of the match performance while Bellamy has been Liverpool’s best player this past month and Kuyt is reaching his hot streak. These three could keep Suarez on the sideline, especially if he is deemed as not being totally match fit. This attack isn’t a bad choice either. I think I can almost guarentee a Kuyt inclusion because of his work-rate against the speed Tottenham have in midfield and the wings.

How can Liverpool win?

Liverpool are going to have to stop Tottenham’s big name players. With Adebayor, Walker, van der Vaart, Lennon and Defoe all being doubtful, Liverpool have every chance to pounce on this opportunity. Modric is easily one of the best midfielders in the league now and Gareth Bale has been on stunning form all year, this leaves no easy task for Liverpool. Spearing could man-mark Modric out of the match, but Bale’s new roaming role has been too strong for too many teams. Liverpool have been solid on defense all year and if Adebayor, van der Vaart, Lennon and Defoe are gone, then we have every right to win the match.

Wolves 0-3 Liverpool

Liverpool collect three points as they outplay the relegation-threatened Wolverhampton. The three goals will also be good as it seems our three forwards were fighting for a spot once Luis Suarez comes back.

The match started out pretty bland with Liverpool looking like normal against poor teams, but Wolves looked just as bad aside from a couple chances. Liverpool had the better chances, but couldn’t just seem to put them away. Dirk Kuyt had a chance in the third minute and Charlie Adam could have easily drawn a penalty if the ref had called it.

The second half, thankfully, had much more action from a Liverpool perspective. With a first half that was very unconvincing, the Reds put it away quickly in the second to sure the victory. The three-man midfield dominated Wolves in the second half once Jay Spearing stopped running all over the pitch.

Adam made his best contribution in the 52′ when he received a quick throw-in from Craig Bellamy. Adam sent in a perfect cross to Andy Carroll who beat his man and poked home, easy enough, Liverpool 1, Wolves 0.

Nine minutes later, Spearing sprayed the ball to Bellamy on the left flank. Bellamy dribbled towards goal and Wolves’ defense backed up like he was some kind of zombie running at them. Bellamy got the hint and fired to the keeper’s left side. Lady Luck intervened and the ball went into the back of the net despite the keeper getting a hand on it (and should have saved it).

Kuyt scored in the 78′. Jose Enrique easily beat out Emmanuel Frimpong (remember him from Arsenal this year?) and sent the ball through the air to Kuyt. Kuyt sent it to Adam who dribbled in and returned the favor at the last second so Kuyt could score low and from a tight angle.

With three second half goals, Liverpool will be content. But what changed in the second half?

Besides finishing chances, the midfield was different in the second half. Adam was still an airhead bumpercar, but Spearing’s positioning was better in the second half. He tends to start chasing the ball all over the field, but in the second half, he went more lateral and ran flank to flank, clogging up the middle and not letting Wolves through to attack. Jordan Henderson was again a champion in the midfield and should continue to shine as long as he’s healthy.

Liverpool’s defense was solid, with Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel putting in another tough shift. Jamie Carragher came on at the end. Enrique made the pass that led to Kuyt’s goal and was solid in defense and in possession. Glen Johnson made the anticipated start and was solid, making a couple good break-ups.

The midfield was important through the match. The first half was a little shaky with Wolves creating a couple chances. The second half was solid. Spearing, Henderson and Adam combined to be a good partnership while Steven Gerrard was off with a knock.

Liverpool’s attack will walk away content with each of the three scoring a goal. Carroll was my man of the match. Every time I looked he was running around and trying to get the ball back. He dribbled at times, closed down well and finally got a goal. Bellamy did everything we needed. His speed and dribbling were a constant threat to the Wolves defense that couldn’t handle Liverpool’s strikers. Kuyt again was solid and ran everywhere on the pitch for the better of the time.

Overall, it was a solid performance that we have every right to be happy over. 3-0 and three points is something we can take on a day when Manchester City lose and Chelsea draw (should have lost).

The NextGen squad lost 1-0 and White Hart Lane to Tottenham. It was a strong performance from the U19 squad but they just couldn’t find the back of the net. That’s the end of their run as they only have domestic matches to worry about now.

Hopefully I will be able to post something this weekend. We will see as I am very busy. The next match is on Monday against Tottenham at Anfield.

 

Now lets all laugh about how short Spearing is.