No more slips

After two great cup games we are back to the league, visiting Wolves.  As King Kenny said we will be battling on 3 ends, so we need to put up a performance and prevent any slips.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Skrtel
Agger
Enrique
Spearing
Kuyt
Gerrard
Henderson
Downing
Bellamy

Result 2:0

Match Report 120128 vs Manchester United: Superb win

2:1 and this is a win we fully deserved.  Despite not getting much possession, we still managed to control the game and have more chances.  At the end King Kenny's change of tactics were spot on and super Kuyt scored again at the dying minutes to send us to the 5th round.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Have a great ball that contributed to the winning goal.
Kelly: 7 Superb defending.
Skrtel: 8 A rock at the back.
Agger: 7.5 Scored a superb header.
Enrique: 7 A good game in general.
Carragher: 6.5 Played out of decision and was slightly ineffective.
Downing: 7 A good game.
Gerrard: 7A nicely taken corner to assist the first goal.
Henderson: 7 A solid game.
Maxi: 6.5 Slightly ineffective.
Carroll: 7 Getting better with a nice assist.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 8 Came on for the winning goal.
Adam: 7 A good game in general.
Bellamy: 7.5 Provided us with more attacking options.

King Kenny: 7.5 Would be very happy about the victory, and he needs to make sure we play at the same level from now on.

Manchester United: 6.5 That's fate.

Man of the Match: Skrtel.  A superb defender.

Big game

After reaching the League Cup Final another big Cup game comes up, and could it be bigger?  Although we have the home court advantage this is still a tough game for us.  But the fans will be backing us, and we will try our best to beat them.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Skrtel
Agger
Enrique
Adam
Gerrard

Kuyt
Henderson
Downing
Bellamy

Result 2:0

Match Report 120125 vs Manchester City: We are off to Wem-be-lee!

2:2 and it is enough for us to reach the League Cup Final, and a visit to the new Wembley for the very first time.  We controlled the game well but City was so strong that they took the league twice.  But we shown our never say die spirit and come back twice to earn us a valuable draw, and over the two legs, we really deserve the victory.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Could not do too much about the two goals conceded.
Johnson: 7.5 Brilliant runs and provided the crucial one-two for the Bellamy goal.
Skrtel: 7 A rock in the defense.
Agger: 7 Solid at the back.
Enrique: 7 A nice run.
Adam: 6.5 Could do better.
Gerrard: 7.5 Cool penalty taken.
Kuyt: 7 Worked tirelessly for the team.
Henderson: 7.5 Felt assured with Gerrard at his back.
Downing: 7 A good performance.
Bellamy: 8.5 His work rate is fascinating.

Substitutions:
Kelly/Carroll: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

King Kenny: 7 Would be delighted about how the team responded to his criticism.  Now we need to play more consistent with such as high level.

Manchester City: 6.5 Over two legs they did not play well, and the absence of players are crucial. 

Man of the Match: Bellamy.  Other players should take note.

Finish the job

With a slim league in the first league, we will visit Wembley if we come home unbeaten.  City may have their mind on the league, but still, they have a big team and whoever play will be tough to beat.  But we are at Anfield and the fans will guide us through.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Enrique
Agger
Kuyt
Gerrard
Henderson
Bellamy
Carroll

Result 2:0

Match Report 120121 at Bolton Wanderers: Disgrace

1:3 and this is a real disgrace, not just for the result but more for the attitude of the players.  Are the players really have the eyes on the coming two cup games?  If this is so, it is really wrong.  This is not the Liverpool attitude.  And whoever play like this should not wear the famous red jersey.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Helpless for all 3 goals conceded.
Johnson: 6 Poor defending.
Skrtel: 5.5 Guilty on the first goal.
Agger: 5.5 Hit the bar.
Enrique: 5.5 Not much contribution.
Henderson: 6 Good passing in general.
Gerrard: 6 Could not raise the team.
Adam: 5 Shocking.
Maxi: 5.5 Poor game.
Bellamy: 7.5 The only player who is willing to fight.
Carroll: 5.5 A nice assist but we expect more from him.

Substitutions:
Downing: 5.5 A quiet game.
Kuyt: 5.5 Unable to help.

King Kenny: 5 Would be really disappointed on the attitude of the players, but can he do anything?

Bolton Wanderers: 7 Really deserve the victory, no complain.

Man of the Match: Bellamy.   Other players should follow his attitude.

Score some goals

Our problem of scoring is become a bigger problem, and we need to sort it out very soon.  Bolton will be fighting for their survival, and they will not be losing without a fight, so we need to find some ways to score goals.

My Team Prediction:

Reina

Johnson

Skrtel

Agger

Enrique

Spearing

Downing

Gerrard

Henderson

Bellamy

Carroll

Result 2:0

Match Report 120114 vs Stoke City: No creativity

0:0 and needless to say, this is a very disappointed result.  We simply had no creativity and we don't deserve to win the game.  And if we play like this, there will be no hope for a top 4 finish.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not really bothered.
Skrtel: 7.5 Did well and go forward very often.
Carragher 6.5 Not a good game for his high standard.
Coates: 6.5 A bit shaky but in general OK.
Johnson: 6.5 Did OK as a wing back.
Adam: 6.5 Should work harder.
Gerrard: 6.5 Still struggling.
Enrique: 6.5 Soild performance.
Henderson: 6.5 Not much contribution.
Downing: 6 Disappointment.
Kuyt: 6.5 Disappointed performance.

Substitutions:
Carroll: 6.5 Not taking his chances.
Bellamy 6.5 Not effective.

King Kenny: 6 Probably the worst performance under his regime.

Stoke City: 6.5 Responded well to our 3-4-2-1 setup.

Man of the Match: Skrtel.  Getting better and better.

Solid defending required

No doubt Stoke will be playing physically, so our defense need to stand tall again.  Stoke may not be good travellers, but our defense needs to be as solid as in the City game.  And we also need to find someone to score as well.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Skrtel
Agger
Enrique
Adam
Kuyt
Gerrard
Henderson
Downing
Carroll

Result 2:0

Match Report 120111 at Manchester City: Advantage Liverpool

1:0 and we can return home with a slim advantage in the league cup, and it is a major step for us to go to new Wembley for the first time.  We started the match well and got the lead through the superb penalty taken by Stevie G.  City was in control for the second hard, but we defended solidly and at the end the lead is well justified.

Players Rating:
Reina: 8 Made amendments with a few fine saves.
Kelly: 6.5 Solid in general apart from a dangerous miss pass.
Skrtel: 7.5 Defended well.
Agger: 7.5 Earned the crucial penalty.
Johnson: 7.5 Solid no matter where he was asked to play.
Spearing: 7 Solid but was injured early on.
Downing: 7 Solid in general.
Gerrard: 7.5 Shown the boys how a penalty should be scored.
Henderson: 7.5 Everywhere on the pitch.
Bellamy 6.5 Had a quiet game.
Carroll: 6.5 No supply to him apart from an early pass by Downing.

Substitutions:
Adam: 6.5 Sit very deep to protect the back.
Enrique: 7 Solid defending.
Carragher: 7 Provided another extra shield to the defense.

King Kenny: 7 Although the lineup was a bit strange, at the end it was justified.

Manchester City: 6 Got hit by all the missing players and hope they will pick up quickly, apart from the League Cup game.

Man of the Match: Reina.  Solid defending once again.

Round 2

It is round two of our City game, and this is a big game for us if we want to go to Wembley.  City are without at least 3 key players but they are still very strong and we need to have a solid defense if we want to go back to Anfield with an advantage.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Skrtel
Agger
Enrique
Spearing
Kuyt
Gerrard
Henderson
Bellamy
Carroll

Result 2:0

Match Report 110106 vs Oldham Athletic: A 5-star performance

5:1 and it was nice to see us scoring a lot of goals.  Although Oldham is a lower division team they certain did well and even took a shock lead.  Although there are many off the field incidents, yet this is a good performance by the team.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 No chance for that superb goal conceded.
Kelly: 7 Another solid performance.
Carragher: 7 Solid in defending despite a bit slow.
Coates: 6 Was shocked by the physical strength of Oldham players.
Aurelio: 7 A decent performance.
Spearing: 7 Solid in the middle.
Kuyt: 7 Worked hard as usual.
Gerrard: 7.5 Scored a good penalty.
Shelvey: 7.5 Scored one and created one.
Maxi: 7 A solid game.
Bellamy: 8 Constantly at threat.

Substitutions:
Flanagan: 8 Two nice assists.
Downing: 7.5 Finally opened his scoring account.
Carroll: 7.5 First Anfield goal of the season.

King Kenny: 7.5 Would be delighted about the performance in general.

Oldham Athletic: 7 A decent game.

Man of the Match: Bellamy.  Would be crucial in this period when Suarez is suspended.

Take it seriously

No matter what people say, FA Cup is still an important Cup for us and we will treat it seriously, especially there is no European football.  Oldham will play it like a Final and so it is up to us to perform well if we want to have a good Cup run in it.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Kelly
Carragher
Coates
Robinson
Downing
Shelvey
Henderson
Maxi
Kuyt
Carroll

Result 2:0

Match Report 120103 at Manchester City: Reality check

0:3 and to be honest, we did not play particular poor but just too predictive.  With Gerrard, Bellamy and Maxi not starting King Kenny may quietly didn't want to win this game.  Nevertheless we should be better prepared next week when we visit City again.

Players Rating:
Reina: 5.5 Made two mistakes.
Johnson: 6 Solid performance
Skrtel: 6 Was unfortunate to concede the penalty, which was a dive.
Agger: 6.5 Soild in defending and willing to go up.
Enrique: 6 Solid performance but still poor in shooting.
Spearing: 6 Good passing but not doing enough without ball.
Kuyt: 6 A below par performance from the Dutchman.
Adam: 5.5 Another poor game.
Henderson: 6 Had a superb passing before we conceded the goal but then fade out.
Downing: 5.5 Still poor in finishing.
Carroll: 5.5 No service provided and played poorly.

Substitutions:
Gerrard: 6.5 Could not inspire the team.
Bellamy: 6.5 Solid performance.
Maxi: 6 Not enough time to impress.

King Kenny: 6.5  Need to improve the team a lot for the coming games.

Manchester City: 7.5 Ruthless and should win the league if they play like this week in, week out.

Man of the Match: Agger.  But in general whole team were not doing well.

Tough games ahead

January is a busy month and tonight will be the first of the 3 games we will play Manchester City.  City was not playing well recently and pressure is on them to improve, and so we will face a real test.  But with Gerrard coming back we will have a strong squad to choose from.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Skrtel
Agger
Enrique
Spearing
GerrardHenderson
Downing
Suarez
Carroll

Result 2:0

2011/12 Mid Term Report

The season 2011/12 was a season in change.  We have many new faces but still some of them are yet to gel with the team.  We also have key players injury and can yet to field our strongest squad.  Suarez had been good and bad - he's amazing in creating chances but his finishing is often poor, and he had many off the field controversies.  But we are still fighting on 3 fronts, and the best case scenario will see us win both domestic Cups and finish in top 4.

Departmental Comments:
Goalkeeper
Reina is ever present in the whole calendar 2011.  In this season he had 8 clean sheets in 23 games, and only conceded 18 goals.

Defender
Agger and Skrtel had formed a solid foundation and Carragher cannot get a game.  Johnson had been good after his injury past is gone, and Enrique had been one of the best performer so far.  The new kids are also knocking the door, with Kelly, Robinson, Flanagan and Coates waiting to be first team regular.

Midfielder
Midfield had been so so this year.  Lucas was the star player but unfortunately he is now injured and may miss the remaining season.  From the new boys Adam was doing well but not consistent, but Henderson and Downing had yet to convince the Anfield fans.  Young kids such as Shelvey and Spearing will get games and they will grow a lot this season, especially now that Gerrard is back.

Attacker
The lack of goal is a real problem that King Kenny need to address.  Suarez has been very exciting but his finishing really let us down.  Carroll had yet to pick up his form for us, but fortunately Bellamy had performed well and is another bargain.

Player Rating (Games played, Minutes played, Goal scored/conceded, Assists/cleansheets, MoM, Rating)
Goalkeepers
Doni: 23 unused substitute
Reina: 23G 2070M 18GC 8CS 1.5MoM 7.04




Defenders
Agger: 17G 1377M 0GS 0A 0.5MoM 7.14
Aurelio: 1 unused substitute
Carragher: 13G 1042M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.74
Coates: 4G 333M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.68
Enrique: 20G 1800M 0GS 2A 2.5MoM 7.15
Flanagan: 3G 184M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.50
Johnson: 12G 999M 1GS 0A 0.5MoM 7.08
Kelly: 8G 656M 1GS 0A 0.5MoM 7.11
Robinson: 2G 180M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.00
Skrtel: 20G 1600M 2GS 1A 1MoM 7.06
Wilson: 1G 90M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.00


Midfielders
Adam: 21G 1670M 2GS 5A 1.5MoM 6.96
Downing: 20G 1530M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.79
Gerrard: 7G 279M 2GS 0A 2MoM 7.07
Henderson: 22G 1569M 1GS 2A 0MoM 6.82
Kuyt: 19G 1062M 1GS 3A 0MoM 7.08
Lucas: 15G 1295M 0GS 1A 1.5MoM 7.17
Maxi: 9G 673M 4GS 1A 0MoM 7.19
Meireles: 3G 54M 0GS 1A 0MoM 7.04
Shelvey: 4G 118M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.22
Spearing: 7G 542M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.05

Attackers:
Bellamy: 16G 681M 5GS 4A 2.5MoM 7.48
Carroll: 20G 1176M 3GS 0A 0MoM 6.65
Ngog: 1 unused substitute
Suarez: 21G 1683M 8GS 5A 9MoM 7.41

Players of 1st half season (Minimum 1,242 mins (60%) or above):
(1) Suarez 7.41
(2) Lucas 7.17
(3) Enrique 7.15
(4) Agger 7.14
(5) Skrtel 7.06
(6) Reina 7.04
(7) Adam 6.96
(8) Henderson 6.82
(9) Downing 6.79

With 9 players played more than 16% of the time, we can see how King Kenny would like a steady team.  Apart from Suarez who is impressive in the attack, the top players from 2nd to 6th place are all defensive mind.  This shows how strong our defense is, but it also highlighted how much we need to improve in the attack.  Of course, Bellamy and Maxi had played very well as well with 5 and 4 goals respectively, despite not playing enough minutes.

Team: 7.03. This is a good improve from the last two years, mainly due to Suarez and the defense.  But we still need to improve the scoring and win more games.

2H Prediction:
League:
1st-5th place teams (Manchester City A, Manchester United A, Tottenham Hotspur H, Chelsea H, Arsenal H) 3W2D we did reasonably well against the top teams this season.
6th-10th place teams (Newcastle United A, Stoke City H, Norwich City A, Everton H) 2W2D These are teams that we should beat but inconsistency may mean we will fall apart...
11th-15th place teams (Swansea City A, Aston Villa H, Fulham H, West Bromwich Albion H, Sunderland A) 4W1D Again these are team we should beat especially at home.
16th-20th place teams (Wolverhampton Wanderers A, Queen's Park Rangers A, Wigan Athletic H, Blackburn Rovers A, Bolton Wanderers A) 4W1D  We need be more merciless and beat the bottom teams.

Total for 2H 13W6D 45 points
Total for the season 79 points

This is very optimistic but we probably need at least 75 points for top 4 spot.

League Cup:  Manchester City is awaitng and if we beat them we have a fairly good chance to win it.

FA Cup:  Oldham in 3rd round should be a good draw, but after that, we need some luck.

December Month Report

3W2D1L and we are still in 6th place, but only 3 points behind 4th place team with 1 game in hand.  The month started badly with a defeat away at Fulham.  After that we responded well with 2 consecutive victories.  Unfortunately the problem of scoring was haunting us, with two consecutive draws going into the festive season.  Fortunately we responded well and we ended the year with a convincing victory vs Newcastle.

Players of the month: (1) Suarez 7.27 (2) Skrtel 7.25 (3) Reina/Agger/Enrique 7.08.  Suarez had done everything except for scoring.  Skrtel had been a rock at the defense and also scored 1 and created another during the month.  And Reina/Agger/Enrique also did very well in the defense with 3 clean sheets kept in the month.  And once again, Bellamy had been superb with 3 goals and an assist despite not getting enough minutes.

January prediction:
1/3 Manchester City (a)  A tough start to the new year and we need to be careful.
1/6 Oldham Athletic (h) We need to try very hard in the FA Cup and go to Wembley again.
1/11 Manchester City (a) League Cup semi and we have City again.
1/14 Stoke City (h) We were unlucky to lose at Stoke so it is time for us to get one back.
1/21 Bolton Wanderers (a) Bolton is at bottom but we still need to perform well to avoid another disappointment.
1/25 Manchester City (h) A win and we can go to Wembley.
1/28 FA Cup 4th Round Proper (tba) Whoever our opponent will be, we will be ready for the challenge.
1/31 Wolverhampton (a) Wolves have some revival recently so we need to be very careful.

Match Report 111230 vs Newcastle United: A nice finish to a turbulent year

3:1 and it was a nice finish to such a turbulent year.  From the beginning we controlled the game well, but then an unlucky own goal saw us behind.  But Bellamy was superb once again and scored two in return.  At the end, our superb captain came on and scored another superb goal and wrap up the year.  This is a win we truly deserve, and hopefully it will changed our luck from now on.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not much to do throughout the game.
Johnson: 7 A good performance.
Skrtel: 7 Solid defending.
Agger: 7 Unlucky to concede an own goal.
Enrique: 7 Solid as usual.
Spearing: 7.5 A good performance in protecting the back 4.
Downing: 7 Good but not impressive.
Henderson: 7 Quiet in 1H but was raised by the presence of Gerrard.
Adam: 7 A nice assist.
Bellamy: 7.5 Scored two brilliant goals.
Carroll: 6.5 Need the service from Gerrard to raise his game.

Substitutions:
Gerrard: 8 Simply amazing.
Kuyt: 7 Not enough time to impress.

King Kenny: 7.5 Would be very delighted about how the team react.

Newcastle United: 6.5 Faded a lot after a superb start of the season.

Man of the match: Gerrard.  Just 31 minutes and he earned another MoM.