Liverpool 1, Norwich City 1: Wasted Chances

By: Noel | October 22nd, 2011

Liverpool 1 Bellamy 45′+
Norwich City 1 Holt 60′

From the moment the teamsheet was released, with eight attacking players plus Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel set to run out at Anfield against Premier League newcomers Norwich City, the match seemed fated to go one of two ways. Norwich was always likely to get their share of chances on the counter—and perhaps even a couple of goals from it—but if things had gone according to Kenny Dalglish’s plan it wouldn’t have much mattered with all the attacking firepower Liverpool sent onto the pitch. But of course that would have meant Liverpool figuring out how to finish, and aside from the debacle against Tottenham in September when absolutely everything that could go wrong did, a lack of clinical finishing had been by far Liverpool’s biggest problem in the early going.

Nobody, then, will point to Norwich as the match when Liverpool’s attackers remembered where the back of the net was, as aside from a deflected goal by Craig Bellamy to end the first half it would be more of the same for the home side: More possession, more slick passing, more chances, and more missed chances.

*

Liverpool started out in the increasingly familiar 4231/4222 hybrid, Stewart Downing and Craig Bellamy on the flanks with Kuyt just off Suarez in attack and Steven Gerrard nominally anchoring midfield alongside Charlie Adam. The reds lacked much of a midfield base from the opening, a massive gulf between defence and midfield forming early and only getting worse as the match progressed and the club failed to capitalise on its chances, yet that hardly would have mattered against a Norwich side that seemed overmatched in the early going if they had only been able to finish.

In the opening minutes, Skrtel redirected an Adam corner off the crossbar. Then Suarez beat his man with a gorgeous turn only to ruin the move with a not so gorgeous miss. Minutes later, Suarez would break clear on Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy again, only for the keeper to pull off the first of a handful of fantastic saves that added to Liverpool’s woes in front of goal: When you’re having trouble finding the back of the net, the last thing you need is a goalkeeper having the match of his life stopping any shots you do manage to put on target. It signalled the start of an increasingly frustrating half for Suarez, too, who could have easily had two or three goals on another day and also had to deal with an official in Peter Walton who seemed to have his mind set on punishing the Liverpool striker after a week of talk from Alex Ferguson and Manchester United about the player’s tendency to go down easily.

Suarez might have a tendency to embellish at times, but there were at least a half dozen incidents in the first half that would have seen fouls called had they been against any other player in the Premier League. Walton may not have been the cause of Liverpool’s struggles in front of goal, and he certainly wasn’t why the club drew the sort of match it needs to win if it hopes to secure a Champions League berth, but that doesn’t excuse an official who appeared set on satisfying an incensed press instead of trying to call a match fairly.

When Bellamy did score his deflected goal, though, none of that seemed to matter: The poor officiating, the struggles at finishing, or the ever-widening gap between defence and midfield that had begun to make it seem as though it was only a matter of time before Norwich capitalised on the break. Liverpool would still need to sort out their midfield to assist an at times shaky defence or sort out their finishing in front of goal in the second half for all three points to seem anything like secure, but after a frustrating forty-five minutes all that really mattered was the lead.

*

The second, however, would see more of the same: More Liverpool futility in and around the eighteen yard box to go along with a defence that looked ripe for Norwich to tear apart on the break. And in the end they would do just that, with Grant Holt beating a tangle of Pepe Reina, Jamie Carragher, and Glen Johnson to a cross and heading home the equaliser off a quick Norwich break. The immediate fault for the goal lies with Reina, who should have managed a more authoritative clearance effort, but the entire break came about because of Liverpool’s disorganised midfield and that massive gap between it and the defence, with Charlie Adam particularly culpable after he was caught in possession.

Adam had time on the ball and an open man nearby in Luis Suarez, but instead of laying it off he took a needless extra touch, allowing Norwich to steal the ball away. With both Gerrard and Adam deep in the Norwich end, a quick pass to Anthony Pilkington sent Norwich charging at an isolated Liverpool defence once again, leading to the telling cross and the ensuing comedy pileup of Liverpool’s defenders and goalkeeper as the equaliser skipped into the goal.

With Liverpool seeming shocked by the leveler in a game they should really have been up four or five in, they then began to fall apart, loosing even that toothless fluidity they had previously had in possession and allowing Norwich multiple chances to take the lead. Things became even more bleak for the home side as Steven Gerrard began to visibly tire, while Charlie Adam continued to amble back defensively as he had been doing from early in the first half, at times leading to the rather bizarre sight of Craig Bellamy straining to drop behind Liverpool’s two increasingly immobile central midfielders to help cover the back four when Norwich attacked.

Dalglish would try to change things up by introducing Jordan Henderson with just over twenty minutes remaining, likely choosing to replace Craig Bellamy because of the role he played in the mid-week friendly against Rangers. Without Bellamy’s energy, however, Liverpool only appeared to become more disjointed until Andy Carroll came on late for a misfiring Stuart Downing. A last throw of the dice meant Daniel Agger for Dirk Kuyt on ninety minutes, with a change to three at the back coming as a result.

*

The four final minutes of injury time would encapsulate Liverpool’s frustrating day in attack, with Carroll working space for a free header that he then sent just wide of the net before Norwich’s keeper would once again pull off a brilliant save of a Suarez shot seconds before Peter Walton signaled the end of the match. And so, in the end, it was a depressingly familiar result in front of goal with the addition of an increasingly frustrating incoherency in midfield while Liverpool’s story of the season remains largely the same: Great in possession much of the time but soft in defence and unable to finish.

Perhaps on another day Liverpool would have racked up five goals. Certainly looking at the teamsheet before hand that’s what every fan would have hoped. With this Liverpool side, however, that seems to have become a somewhat familiar refrain.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: Match Recaps, Miscellaneous, Premier League

« Matchday: Liverpool v. Norwich City | Home | Video: Luis Suarez v. Norwich »

lfc80uk

Same story different game. I am going to keep it short and sweet. The amount of points we have dropped this season all stemming from poor finishing. And with Chelsea losing yesterday, and Spurs winning, the chance to capitalize on that has now gone. Stoke, Sunderland, Man Utd and now Norwich, are all games which could and should have been won had the players been more clinical in front of goal. Which would be 27 points and top of the league. But if & buts won't help! Its just frustrating to think what potentially could have been.

The pattern has to change, or we sign a new 'fox in the box' type striker in January. Still it was good to see the chances being created. And from what I have saw from yesterdays game, the team are moving in the right direction as an attacking force. We just need to put the ball in the back of the net.

Anyway... Rant over, bring on Stoke on Wednesday!
Luis Suarez dentist

Carroll is out of the team, Henderson as well. Surely not long before Downing and Adam join them. The buy British policy has been a disaster as suspected. Can anyone name a British player purchased by the club that has been a success since the days of Barnes and Beardsley?The only British players who have been a success are home grown scousers like Gerrard, Fowler, Carra and McManaman.

Still the scum been hit for 6 has cheered me up!
Thomas Hoppe

Your opinions are worse than your dental work. And that is appalling
Purify_the_body

The dentist is mostly correct. Consider:

- Our play has improved with Carroll on the bench and Henderson as a sub in the middle rather than a starter on the right.
- Adam is slow, being played out of position when in a 2-man MF, and has cost us points multiple times, including yesterday.
- Downing has yet to develop a comfort zone with his teammates. I am hoping he will, but he has been hot and cold and if the dentist prefers Maxi, well, there's ample proof that Maxi links with Suarez better than anyone we have and is great at finishing simply.
- The British signings for us have been poor so far. Adam has been a downgrade from Spearing defensively, Carroll has 1 league goal (same as N'Gog at this point last year) and has looked terrible, Henderson has been wasteful on offense (ManU and Stoke) and poor on defense, and Downing can't seem to get the final ball/pass right. Not to say they can't improve, but to say they've been a disaster is a respectable position.

I think the point about never having a British signing success since Barnes is a bit over the top (in my opinion Bellers is a great signing), but honestly we do play better football with Carroll and JH on the bench and Adam has been a serious liability -- the exception being the ManU game when he was played in a 3-man MF. To be fair to Adam, he is pretty good in a 3-man MF and it is Kenny's fault that he is being played out of position.
Thomas Hoppe

Are we playing that much better with Kuyt over Carroll in the starting lineup? Kuyt has done very little this season. He scored a late goal against a Championship side in the Carling Cup but what else. His movement is usually fairly strong but when was the last time he did something impressive. Jordan Henderson is 21 and about 10 matches into his Liverpool career so it is pointless to think his place on the bench means much of anything. I agree about Adam though. I think his lack of mobility and endurance is the squad's biggest problem at the moment, especially with Gerrard taking set pieces. Downing is a bit of a let down at the moment as he is 27 and should have had the easiest transition. Yet he seems to be a bit lost when we overload the left side with Enrique and Suarez and when he plays on the right he takes awkward angles when he attacks the goal. It is still too early to criticize the summer transfers as it may take till December to really come together.
redrk

o thank u city thank u very much i was very upset but u made my day...looking forward to kicking ur asses at anfield...
Latortillablanca

pfff. dem boys... if balotelli's gonna be playing like that; well, might be lookin at the new invincibles...
redrk

but they r gonna lose at anfield...how will they be invincibles???
Scrottytoohotty

Holy Crap 6-1 to Man City, and the All Blacks won this is possibly the greatest night ever
Suarez from the car park...

I watched the game over again and there were several times when the extra pass would have made all the difference in the box or made for a better chance near the edge of the box.
It's a subtle adjustment but more and more this is the difference we need in our play.All the talk about players, formations, positions, benches is neither here nor there. KK has got the team creating like there's no tomorrow. We really have to stand back and understand that, while people are still complaining about expenditure/british players/champs league attraction. To put it another way and say it again, with all the head down discussion over whether players are good enough or playing with the right partners in the right way (which I'm as guilty of as anyone), we're creating enough chances to put away several goals every game. Arsenal were criticised for trying to walk the ball into the net, we could do with simply an extra final pass on many of those plays. Needs to happen. Will produce results.
Latortillablanca

extra kudos for bringin urself to re-watch a disappointing result... sure ur not on henry's payroll?
Avinash Joshi

I am surprised dalglish is not getting much more flak for his subs. I mean bellamy was one thing that looked like scoring and we put in henderson for him? And why agger for kyut in the last minutes? So that the full backs can attack? wtf? Sholdn't someone like maxi be brought in who is fresh and can attack?
Latortillablanca

im ok with the two subs u mention (agger was an emergency striker, remember), but i totally agree with the general sentiment. carroll on for downing, i have a big gripe with, because who was going to deliver the balls in the box for the big lug to chase?
Guest

Surprised you didn't start with Carrol up there. I know Suarez is probably a better footballer but still. Anyway despite the draw you are still on course for a 4th-6th finish alongside my team Spurs. Hope you all cheer us on today against the chicken farmers :)
redrk

four man midfield with gerrard and adam in the middle...r u kidding me kenny?its so obvious playing four man midfield with adam and gerrard in the middle is sucidal.adam is so slow and not good defensivly,gerrard has played one full game.there was a huge gap btw defense and midfield.from the start there were signs that we would struggle in the midfield.kenny has got it absolutely wrong.he should have played spearing as defensive midfielder.it was a basic tactical mistake which cost us yet another easy points.
We are so poor at finishing our chances that maxi seems to be the best finisher in our team,no disrespect to maxi he takes his chances well but our strikers should be doing the job,we have spent a big part of 100mill on attacking players so they should score given the chances.
we play so fluent football at times with so much speed.its so pleasing to the eye but its a shame that we cant put the ball in the net which is the most important thing.
Our defense.well enough said...gary cahill in january...and maybe a striker too.
Purify_the_body

If we buy anyone in January, it should be an athletic MF to replace Adam. Unfortunately, Kenny seems to love him more than the club and we may just leak goals the entire season before Kenny faces reality.
PDubz18

Actually Gerrard and Adam looked splendid today. They connected together more than Adam and Lucas have all season. Kenny needs to work on Adam and Lucas linking up to break pressure instead of having long balls up to the forwards.

The finishing will come as the squad keeps gelling; if we had not created so many then I might be worried. We have a lot of potential, it just requires a little bit of motivating by KK and some more organization on defense.
redrk

yup they connected really well...the thing is 4 man midfield will always struggle against 5 man midfield as they get tired...we were outrun at times in the second half...we needed someone to provide steve and adam some cover...with adam being slow we have to play 5 man midfield...as we saw in united game it worked pretty well and m sick of our defensive mistakes...i dont when they r gonna stop making these silly mistakes which have already cost us alot of points.
Purify_the_body

Bit unlucky, however, since we were also "unlucky" against Sunderland, Stoke, and Man Utd I am starting to wonder. We should easily have at least 20 pts right now, wtf...
Travis Artz

Sorry, but all this talk of Suarez not being a finisher is not true. In 2009-10 Suarez scores 35 goals in 33 games and 49 in all competitions. In the 2011 Copa America he scored 4 goals and was the player of the tournament.

Its normal for a player to hit a string of bad luck. Look at how pathetic Torres has seemed over the last year... but we all know he's one of the best strikers in the game and it looks like he's slowly getting out of his rut after all.

Maxi is not the answer. Before Maxi's first hat trick I can remember at least 3 wide open nets that he completely missed. I can't remember the team Liverpool was playing but I remember Maxi hitting the crossbar with a wide open net staring him in the face from 5 yards out. Besides that, he had 10 goals in 35 matches last season but 6 of those came in 2 games when he got his 2 hat tricks. He's a 31 year old reliable sub, not the answer to Liverpool's finishing problems.

Sorry to preach to the choir but this team needs more time. Not to just gel as a team but to mature more as players in the Prem League. Look at the following and you'll see how the struggling players stand out against the veterans:

Suarez - 24 yrs, first full season in the prem league. first full season at Liverpool.
Carroll - 22 yrs, third true season in the prem league. (he had some appearances when he was 17, but only a handful.) first full season at Liverpool.
Henderson - 21 yrs, second season in prem league. first full season at Liverpool.
Downing - 27 yrs, seven seasons in prem league first season with Liverpool.
Adam - 25 yrs, two seasons in prem league. first season with Liverpool.
Enrique - 25 yrs, three seasons in prem league. first season with Liverpool.
Lucas - 24 yrs, five seasons in prem league. remember how atrocious his first two seasons were?
Kuyt - 31 yrs, sixth season in prem league. already playing to his full potential.
Gerrard - 31 yrs, thirteen seasons in prem league. only a couple games with 'new look' Liverpool.

I'm getting tired of looking this stuff up but you get the point I'm trying to make. This is a young team full of potential but lacking in experience. Now Man United is also filled with young players with plenty of potential but their coach, core players, system and style of play hasn't changed in years. Whereas, Liverpool are still experimenting with new formations, roles, tactics, etc.

Yes, its frustrating to watch them stumble around, waste opportunities and make mistakes but given the fact that Liverpool has been mediocre at best this year, let's not forget they are in fifth place! Imagine how good they will be when they are in sync. Keep your perspective, this team is going in the right direction.
Latortillablanca

nice
take. this whole 'maxi-is-a-savior' nonsense needs to stop. he's a
serviceable squad player, always has been, even when he was captain at
atleti it was cuz of attitude and professionalism, not because he was
this dynamic playmaker that always created goals...

we do have enough experience though, that shudn't be a problem... just
really, really, really frustrating after man u to come up with this
result - we needed full points from this run of bottom feeder fixtures,
and it doesnt look anything like we'll be getting it. although we may
have 150 shots at goal...
KC

That is true. Your post made me calm down a bit. But seriously, out of 20 something chances not one went in. That's pretty bad. To think positively, at least we created 20 something chances. But at the end of the day, its the not the chances that count but the goals. And the way Liverpool fell apart at the end is just scary because against a stronger team, we would have been punished like crazy.

I'm pretty noob at football but I think one type of player KK really needs to buy in January is a poacher/finisher. As awesome as Suarez is, often a lot of the balls that he shoots and doesn't go in could be poached by someone who could be on the same wavelength as him. I would say Kuyt could do the job but they haven't linked as well as they did at the end of last season imo.
ShedYourYellow

Talk about a heartbreaker, this match. Especially that last shot from Suarez.

But hey, who needs to win matches when we have the best midfielder to grace this earth, Charlie Adam, playing in a red shirt?

Missed Lucas. A lot.
Purify_the_body

It's a very simple choice: you can play Adam in a 3-man MF behind one striker, or he can go to the bench and you can have 2 strikers.
But for some reason, though, Kenny has this idea Adam can defend, tackle, and maintain positional discipline in a 2-man setup. It's crazy.
JPR

My next drink of Chivas will be to King Charlie. 3 cheers for the new King.
ShedYourYellow

All 'round the fields of Anfield Road, where once we watched the King Charlie play (and could he play!)
Nasty

I'm happy Liverpool got a draw. It keeps that fight for 4th spot more exciting.
redrk

by exciting u mean out of reach?
Suarez from the car park...

Well, something better change! we're creating too much to be languishing down in effectively 6th place. Kenny's got it basically right.

We all say um, ah about this player or that and why is he playing there, and why haven't I got a yacht and all the rest of it, but the chances are there to be taken.

I think the guys infront of goal have to pass it across to a fellow red occasionally rather than smack it. The slight difference will change the outcome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

'nuff said.
Andy

What does Maxi have to do to get a game? Acquire British citizenship?
Set1771

John Ruddy sweetheart. Declan Rudd is our backup. A bit confusing, but considering he had the "game" of his life you could at least learn his name.
Noel

Sweetheart? "Game"? Now I'm all kinds of mixed up and turned around. Thanks for the correction, though.
ShedYourYellow

I think you're being seduced, "sweetheart."
Suarez from the car park...

seems like KK really doesn't see a future for Maxi - he's not a winger or a dribbler and he's 31. Must be heading out this season. Shame, I think he's the perfect squad player as he has intelligence and great experience.
JPR

Come on now. We all Love Maxi. Surely KK can find him useful. He IS a fucking scorer!!!! We can always use those!
GerrardsBoxingCoach

I'm a little surprised to see people coming down on Suarez after today's match. Obviously, we'd all have liked his finishing to have been better on the day, but I felt some of the chances he missed were a lot more difficult than he made them appear to be-- in other words, I thought he was coming close in extremely difficult circumstances, circumstances in which a lesser player wouldn't even have had a sniff of goal.

The big shocker to me is that Stewart Downing stayed on the pitch for 80 minutes. I'm not interested in criticizing him as a player or as a signing. A player's value to a club isn't predicated on his performance in one match. Downing's performance today, however, I thought was pretty bad. I actually thought he was getting himself into good positions and integrating well into the attacking unit, but his passing-- both through the air and on the ground-- just seemed off almost throughout (one very good cross to Kuyt notwithstanding). I didn't think his effort was lacking and I didn't think he was making bad decisions, he just seemed to be having a bad day. If he'd gotten the hook for Maxi at the half-hour mark, I don't think it would have been too soon, and I think that that particular change could have been made without disrupting all the things we were doing well.

For all that the big improvement to the squad is supposed to be our new strength in depth, I feel like we aren't using it. I'll concede I haven't looked at stats on this, but my impression has been that we've been using most of our subs only very late in matches, even when the scoreline isn't in our favor. Obviously today we looked sharp through the early stages of the match, but that doesn't mean we couldn't have improved on what we were doing-- and I thought the frequency with which Downing was losing possession was one area in which we could have improved.

Also, Maxi's shown a knack for cleaning up when chances are being created, whereas I don't really think that's Downing's strong point. Seemed like an obvious switch to me.
Redarmy

You are absolutely right, we're not using our depth. For some reason KK seems reluctant to use his bench. very confusing substitutions, for the fans as well as for the players. How do you take off Bellamy, Kuyt and Downing, the whole link between midfield and suarez and disrupting the offensive flow? Clearly KK doesnt take off players because of their performance. It seemed obvious to me to take off Adam, he did nothing to justify 90 min, same with Gerrard, who is clearly not yet the player we're used to, regardless of that freekick against ManU. Same with Glen Johnson, who was anonymous at best...
Latortillablanca

downing put in a 2-3 absolute peaches that shud've been tucked away... its not all of it, obviously, but i honestly think some of it has to do with carroll not being in there, we dont really have an aerial presence in attack. kuyt does well on his day, but the type of balls downing was putting up (once for bellamy, once for kuyt, once for suarez) were floated in, and needed a strong, Aldridge header to redirect them on target. Bellamy and suarez in particular barely got any juice on em and the balls floated 2 feeble feet forward. Hard to imagine carroll not puttin more power into those shots given the exact same opportunities...
Guest

In 2005-06, Pepe Reina had 20 clean sheets in 33 appearances for Liverpool. The club conceded only 25 goals in 38 matches, a defensive record second only to champion Chelsea and good enough for a third place finish in the EPL (82 points).

The next year, Reina had 19 clean sheets in 35 appearances, leading to yet another excellent defensive record: 27 goals conceded in 38 matches, another third-place finish in the league, and an appearance in the Champions League final (7 clean sheets in 14 European matches for Reina).

'07-'08? 28 goals conceded, 18 CS in 38 matches, 24 CS in 52 matches in all competitions, Champions League semi-final. '08-'09? Second-place finish, 27 league goals conceded, Champions League quarters on the strength of 25 clean sheets in 51 total matches for Reina.

Then we get to the fall from grace: only 31 clean sheets in the 76 league matches the past two seasons, good enough for just 7th and 6th place finishes, and 35 and 44 goals conceded in the two seasons, respectively. And this season: two clean sheets in games where our opponent went down a man, and at least a goal conceded in every other league and Carling Cup match.

I understand that correlation /= causation, but there seems to be a correlation between keeping clean sheets in around 50% of your matches, giving up >30 goals in league play, and finishing in the top four. We can talk all we want about chance generation or lack of finishing, but the surest way to not lose points is to keep the ball out of your own damn net. That's not being done right now.

On a perhaps disconnected note, I miss seeing these guys on the pitch together.
JPR

Is this anything like that old saw in baseball that pitching wins championships?

Have to say that I am now on my 3rd bottle of Chimay Grand Reserve after that disappointing point today, getting ready to go make a big ass fire in my firepit, and your picture made me smile. Maxi, Raul, wee Jay and Lucas. Missed those fuckers today too!
Guest

Dammit, you just added another Belgian ale to my "want to drink" list. Bastard.
JPR

You WILL like it, scumbag. All Chimays are fabulous. Noel don't sensor my comment
Guest

Some American-brewed Belgian ales in the Northeast that you might be interested in, since I'm under the impression you're in the area:

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre-had this, it's pretty darn good.

Stoudt's Triple-haven't had this (yet) but I've heard wonderful things.
JPR

OK then, Mr. Lucas. I think I've had Stoudt's triple, but I'll make a note along with Dogfish. I have now finished the three botles of Chimay Grand Reserve and am now onto Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stoudt. So, Yea!
Noel

I've been known to preach the virtues of La Fin du Monde, aka the best Belgian not from Belgium, so I suppose I can let it pass.
JPR

You "can let it pass"? Piss off bucko!!! La Fin du Monde? I'm writing it down now.
Suarez from the car park...

can we call you stato?
Guest

Believe it or not, jonny, I hate numbers. Loathe them. My interest has always been history, and I took the lowest amount of quantitative credits I needed to graduate from college. My interest is purely in historical precedent. The clean sheets and defensive records of the First Rafalution, listed in my above comment, are a precedent that hasn't been met by Hodgson, Dalglish, and, to some extent, Rafa himself in the '09-'10 campaign.

Is this club meeting offensive expectations? Certainly not. But we'd all be remiss if we failed to notice a glaringly sub-par defensive record. Wins against Sunderland, United, and Norwich all converted to draws because of second-half equalizers. Six lost points. Gosh, 21 points is much nicer than 15...
Suarez from the car park...

lol. Stato it is then.
JPR

Historical perspective is always helpful and puts a unique light on things. I also wouldn't mind at all Kenny starting a new tradition here at Liverpool. One Nil to the Liverpool! Might be possible too. Reina, Jonno/Kelly, Carra/Kelly/Coates, DAgger, Enrique, Lucas/LUCAS. And I still miss Raul.
Guest

In 2005-06, Pepe Reina had 20 clean sheets in 33 appearances for Liverpool. The club conceded only 25 goals in 38 matches, a defensive record second only to champion Chelsea and good enough for a third place finish in the EPL (82 points).
dsm9412

Same old story, I suppose. I want to think that creating more chances will eventually result in more goals, but this has been going on forever now.

I guess something that is really frustrating to me is that I'm sure that the injury-riddled group that finished up the end of last year (Flanagan / Carragher / Skrtel / Robinson / Meireles / Lucas / Kuyt / Carroll / Maxi / Suarez or something to that effect) wouldn't be doing as good or better than the squad that has seen such significant investment. Many of the buys have been quite promising, like Bellamy, Enrique, and Downing (though not at either's best today), but the contrast between the Lucas/Meireles and Gerrard/Adam central midfield pairings could not be more stark.

Perhaps this was part of the strategy, but the back line looked especially vulnerable today. Any explanation for why Kelly didn't even make the team/Agger didn't come on until the final minutes?
Suarez from the car park...

yes, the midfield remains unconvincing, but it's not the problem. Is there a team this weekend that'll create as much as we did and not put more than 1 away?

I think it's teething pains, it is a new team and some things just take time.

At the end we had more in the box and it looked a lot more dangerous. That's what the midfield has to give us, the pressure and organisation to beable to get bodies in the box. But it might just be the players not following in the way Maxi seems to beable to do.

Not sure what Hendo did when he came on.
ynwa

liverpool should have scored 6 or 7 goals today, it just is going to have to go down as "one of those days". However we have dropped silly points this season coming at sunderland, stoke, man utd and now norwich, all games that we should have got 3 points. As the season progresses and the team start to gel and mature more i expect us to go and finish the job in games such as these, and also lets just hope for better luck along the way. Looking at the bigger picture we can see the potential of how well our team can play when on form in terms of creating chances and attacking with pace which if we continue will lead to better results. lets not get to disheartened but look foward to the next game.
Red2death

Wish I could share your optimism wholeheartedly. I do share it, but with some doubts. Yes we dominated, created chances, and just couldn't finish. But that's been the story of Liverpool for way too long now. For years, back to Rafa and Houllier's time, it's been the case that we're just short of some finishing (with the exception of 6 months of Roy nightmare, when we short of a whole lot more than that).

At some point you have to examine the system and figure that something is wrong. Perhaps it's not just persistent bad luck/form that'll come good by the law of averages. We need quality up front, and we need creativity, and we need smart composed experienced players that create even higher quality chances.

Sometimes it's great that a Torres or Suarez or Gerrard can provide that extra class and convert a half chance into a goal. But if you look at title-winning teams, they do put away half chances from flair players that simply can, but they also create really unspectacular tap-ins from simple, smart play. The type that Skrtel can score with his ass because it was laid off to him from 2 yards out. Or the type that even if Adam takes one of his wild swipes at it and doesn't catch it cleanly at all, it still goes in because it was that easy to score.

I hope I'm wrong.
Suarez from the car park...

It's a knack and we need to find it.
Red2death

Unless I've got you mistaken, I was talking about quite the opposite. Teams and players get in the knack of scoring sometimes, and sometimes they're just out of it like we are right now. That's fine and honestly unpreventable.

But we do need to manufacture consistent chances (as a team) that can be put away whether or not the player in question has his scoring boots on. For example with Barca, there are times when they just sit back and watch Messi work his magic, if he's on form give him 3 defenders and an inch and he'll make it a goal. But in addition, they'll also very consistently create clear cut chances that anyone could put away, that not only 08/09 Torres could score, but also 11/12 Torres. And that's a team effort, regardless of whether strikers happen to be in the knack of scoring at that moment or not.

The way we've been for far too long is unstoppable when we're in our groove and unremarkable when we're not. That's just too many points dropped over the course of a season to challenge for anything seriously. We can't depend on finding a knack because form is temporary. (Yea, no prizes for guessing what we need instead... =p)
Latortillablanca

there were three clear passes on in the box that suarez spurned to have a shot, one of em was for gerrard when he cuda walked it in the net. at barca, those passes are never spurned in favor of a shot. also, the type of goals suarez is trying to score are wunderkind goals, carroll in the game, he scores/creates with his physicality simpler opportunities. i rly feel carroll cuda done sommat yesserday given more than 10 min...
Suarez from the car park...

agree completely. I watched the game over again and there were several times when the extra pass would have made all the difference in the box and made for a better chance near the edge of the box.

It's a subtle adjustment but more and more this is the difference we need in our play.

All the talk about players, formations, positions, benches is neither here nor there. KK has got the team creating like there's no tomorrow.

We really have to stand back and understand that while people are still complaining about expenditure/british players/champs league attraction.

To put it another way and say it again, with all the head down discussion over whether players are good enough or playing with the right partners in the right way (which I'm as guilty of as anyone), we're creating enough chances to put away several goals every game.
Arsenal were criticised for trying to walk the ball into the net, we could do with simply an extra final pass on many of those plays.

Needs to happen. Will produce results.
Sandro

Playing great football which results in a 1 all draw at home, the question has to be asked are we the new Arsenal? And by new arsenal I mean the old Arsenal since the new one has managed to drop its average age even further and isn't especially good at football. Oh fuck the new Arsenal might be within 2 points of us by weeks end.... depressing

Also I love Andy Carroll and will support him while he continues to wear the #9 shirt, but I wanted to kill him/Suarez to bite him when he missed that chance at the end..
Joel

I was always told that if I don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. In keeping with that, I have a few brief comments on the game:

1) Suarez is pretty good at making chances.
2) Downing and Gerrard are pretty good at crossing.
alex_snow2

3) The referee is pretty good at making an imaginary point inspired by SAF to Suarez...
redrk

1.lucas is the most important player for liverpool.

2.luis suarez is not a good finisher.he should have already atleast 10 or 11 goals for this season.should have scored a hatrick against norwich with the chances he had.

3.it was torture to watch liverpool last season.i dont think much has changed the only difference was we didnt use to create anything at all now we create alot but cant score easiest of them.

4.right now 4th place seems to be a long shot.

5.bench is not that strong either.

6.was ref on the pitch at all?

7.pepe didnt expect a mistake from you.

8.when we hit the bar couple pf times inside 15 mins and missed those chances i think we all knew in the back of our mind how its gonna end.

9.i think steve's groin is going back to treatment table.he was struggling at the end.still put in two great crosses and luis and andy fucked them up.

fernando i m missing you so much...
GerrardsBoxingCoach

Nando isn't exactly innocent of failing to finish chances, and Suarez was doing things for us today-- tracking back, hassling defenders, holding off challenges-- that Torres certainly wasn't doing with any conviction for us when he left. His first two seasons were a joy to watch, but I can't say I miss him.

Granted, yeah, he'd be producing more for us than Carroll is now, but Torres wanted out and Carroll wanted in-- and we turned a nice profit in making the switch. Also, whereas Carroll has a significant upside (that may or may not develop), I think it's doubtful Torres will improve much on the player he is today.

Lord knows I agree it's easy to get nostalgic for him. That goal he scored against Blackburn after bringing down Carra's hoof was still the best I've ever seen live (maybe second best-- I think I saw Maxi's goal for Argentina against Mexico live). But stay strong, redrk-- it's better now that he's gone.
redrk

i aint saying i would have nando for suarez i just wanted them both in the team...both of them have fantastic movement which would have ripped any defense in the world.the thing is nando is a top top finisher.if he had been in the team we would easily have been sitting on the third spot.the chances we r missing nando would have put them with ease.imagine if he was on the bench instead of andy....
yes he put in the transfer request so did luka modric...so anyone who will put in the transfer request we will let him go?i dont think it can work this way.you have to keep hold your best players and then add quality...
JPR

Woa, woa boys. Can anyone honestly say they would rather have Nando now than Suarez? Did you guys see the sitter he missed against United? Suarez routinely creates chances from nothing, Nando was not as good at that. Luis has a more complete game. Fuck Nando. The upside of Carroll WILL come good!

And, yea Suarez has to become a better finisher. And he has to make better decisions. He had Stevie wide open on the six and went for a wasted shot. The longer he goes in a game without a goal, the higher certainty he will decide to shoot, even when the layoff is 100% to score. But, he does create chances from nothing.

I may be 100% wrong on all points as I am now on to Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout after 3 bottles of Chimay Grand Reserve.
Red2death

Mm. Let's keep in mind Nando's replacement is actually Carroll, not Suarez. The Suarez deal was already on the cards before Torres announced he was leaving. The idea behind signing Luis was for a Torres-Suarez partnership. Now that would have been nice...
JPR

So, we still have $22 mil pounds available for another striker? Add a wee $13 mil pounds and we can have Aguero.

I know what your're thinking. As soon as we finish 4th, anyway.
Purify_the_body

You forgot to add in the difference between Carroll's 75k/week and Aguero's 200k/week.
Latortillablanca

ya that might've been nice, but the suarez-carroll partnership has had, what, one game and a couple substitute minutes together? hardly enough to make any judgement on...
Red2death

Kudos on the beer though. The Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout - Chimay Grand Reserve partnership is also nice...
JPR

Torres-Suarez. Chimay Grand Reserve-Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout(now onto Chivas 21 Yr. old royal salute scotch). Ed-Noel. Suarez-Carroll? Dalglish-Clarke. Henry-Werner. Ferguson-Evra-24 siblings? Lucas-Spearing. Here's to fucking parnerships - I mean partnerships.

"Let's keep in mind Nando's replacement is actually Carroll, not Suarez"? Details, details, can we please dispense with the details. And GerrardsBoxingCoach initiated the Suarez-Torres via-a-vis. But, really, the Chivas makes that detail completely irrelevent!
Nasty

I miss torres too, that talented boy/girl. He is a genuinely talented player, and not a pretender like Mr.Carrol.
Latortillablanca

pfff, that's some haterish nonsense right there, bud...
kenny

These are the kind of teams Maxi likes to score hat-tricks against.
DJ-Chutfield

Amen.
Latortillablanca

i dunno bout all that...
JPR

Blanca? Blanca. Blanca! Quick. Call the FA. Sir Alex Ferguson was just abused at Old Trafford by some guy named Mancini in front of 70,000 people. I'm sure somebody must have seen something. The poor guy was almost in tears on the way off the field. Balotelli? Yea, I'm thinkin it "must have been him", too. He's like that. It might have been Dzeko also, though. He was laughing, too.
Latortillablanca

that's one of those games that sets back ur season. say what u will about us dropping points, but the devils tucked their tales and ducked their heads... and there was still 30 minutes to play!!!!

disgraceful really, id be surprised if nani, anderson, ferdinand and smalling all didn't leave the dressing room with shiners... ur paid to do a job, that was pathetic. and we all loved it!!!!

course, we gotta play dem boys in blue... yeesh...
JPR

Listen. There are very few things I am sure of in LIFE. There is one thing I am absolutely positive of. Evra, Ferdinand and Jonny Evans and the rest are about to receive a master class in being abused. If Luis is being investigated, Ferguson should receive a 10 year prison sentence for what he is about to do and probably has already done.

Evans may never play again. Evra should move back to France today. Ferdinand didn't even compete. Unprofessional, embarrassing, disgraceful, NO HEART!!!! Only Rooney was a fighter. One of the best, most enjoyable 45 minutes of football I have seen-that 2nd half. Ferguson may have to be hospitalized.

And now Chelsea are down 1- nil to QPR at the half and down 2 men. AVB is taking it in stride. Any way you look at it, it's a good day for Liverpool and KK.
alex_snow2

3 Reasons why Norwich scored their goal, Reina's mistake aside as you've mentioned it already:1) Adam making the fatal error of trying to hold on to the ball for too long inside the centre circle, then looking for a free kick which would never come following his tumble against Utd last week - Peter Walton not giving a penalty later of Barnett's challenge made that much clear.
2) No Lucas or Spearing - there was a horrifically large space between where the ball was lost in midfield and the defensive line due to a lack of a holding midfielder. This gave Wes Hoolahan about 4 years to get the ball, control it, turn, look up and see Pilkington free on the Norwich right, and give him the ball, leading too...
3) Poor defending by Enrique. He generally had a shocking afternoon, and his failure to mark Holt a few minutes later despite Skrtely clearly telling him to while the ball was still on the wing nearly led to a second for Norwich and would have done were it not for a strong glove from Reina and a good clearance by Skrtel. He should have been marking Pilkington orginally and was naive in staying narrow, then made very little effort to close Pilkington down, merely jogging towards him then turning his back to the ball and flinging a reluctant leg out. This was not nearly enough, the cross went in, Reina missed it and the rest is history.
Conclusion? That goal was laughably preventable.
Suarez from the car park...

agree muchly. A spearing would have been good, then let Gerrard and Adam in front go ahead. didn't think they looked good together, both trying to do the same thing.

Gerrard always used to be infront of Alonso as an immediate outlet. They were never side by side as Adam and Gerrard were today.

But that still isn't the problem. Finishing is. And that means you have to have more bodies in the box. Simple as.
Noel

The game as a whole, and their goal in particular, was a textbook example of why you should have a holding midfielder even against supposedly weaker sides. Just hope it's a lesson learned.
DJ-Chutfield

Indeed. I'm not sure what it is that Kenny can do to turn massive possession and a mammoth number of shots on-target shots into goals. But he needs to do something. Today was just not Suarez's day. It feels slightly bizarre saying that as he was the best player on the pitch and has had more shots on target than any other player in the Premier League thus far (according to whatever commentators I was listening to on my stream), but that's just how high he's set the bar for himself. Had he taken just a few of the many chances he created, the game would have been done and dusted in the opening 30 minutes. He's an absolutely amazing player and it seems any day where he doesn't score 3 goals and set up a further 10 is a bad day at the office.

Speaking of Suarez, I have never been a HUGE fan of Carroll and I'm sure he can become a decent player with time and proper service and yadda yadda yadda, but I really do think it's about time Maxi gets a run out. It's pretty unfair that he hasn't had a single Premier League minute this season after the manner in which he closed out last season and demonstrated what a great, instant understanding we has with wee Luis. Another pass-and-move, Latino heart-throb of a striker in January would hardly go amiss either. It's time to put this finish hex behind us and remind everyone just what it means to fuck with Liverpool FC.
GalahadThreepwood

Agree with you 100% on Maxi. I have a feeling he would have buried a couple of chances today and run us out to an easy win. Don't understand why Kenny routinely leaves him out of the starting 11.

I'm starting to think there's more to Suarez's difficulties in front of goal than bad luck, too. He is a brilliant, brilliant player--love him to death--but he lacks that killer finishing touch. Not saying he can't develop it, but right now it's not there, or at least not there consistently. And until it is there, he's going to have days like today.

As for Carroll, not sure what exactly is wrong, but something's off. He has good moments (loved his goal in the game against Everton), but in general has been underwhelming for me. I know, he needs time to gel, more service, etc., but right now I would start Maxi over him any day of the week.
redrk

suarez tries to score from impossible angles,where a cutback can do the job...
Red2death

Suarez remains an enigma. I'd say he was guilty on numerous occasions today of just being too selfish, choosing the snap shot when a simple roll across the six-yard box would be enough for the easiest of Sheringham-style tap-ins. Yes, when faced with only the keeper I'd still back Suarez to score from any angle. But perhaps he needs to just spend that bit of extra time working with his teammates, so that he'll know instinctively when there's a free Kuyt, or an onrushing Gerrard that would make the chance a 100% banker rather than a 40% shoot-and-hope. Statistically they'll both count as a shot on goal, but there's a big difference in terms of team result.

Then again to be fair to him, the chances he wasted were often those of his own creation. If not for him, they wouldn't have existed at all.

Have to agree on Maxi too.
Suarez from the car park...

totally agree. Def worth a try. Look for the pass across, we would have had 4 or 5 today.
Hopefully the game reviews will flag that up.

Wish we hadn't bought Adam. I reckon he unbalances the midfield. We would have had Spearing in there and he would have been fine.
JPR

We need to think "out of the box". Maybe wee Henry could just send a $6 mil pound check to wee Jay's parents. Then they would both receive equal consideration for that CDM spot.