Liverpool 3, Newcastle 1: Here He Comes to Save the Day

By: Noel | December 30th, 2011

Liverpool 3 Bellamy 29′, Bellamy 67′, Gerrard 78′
Newcastle 0 Agger (og) 25′

The first Friday night league game in England in over twenty years hardly started well for Liverpool, following the pattern set by matches against Blackburn, Wigan, and Fulham in recent weeks. But just when it seemed as though another poor result at Anfield was inevitable, a pair of pivotal moments in the second half alongside a well-taken Craig Bellamy brace means Liverpool instead head into 2012 on a high after managing their first two-goal victory at Anfield since August.

With Luis Suarez serving his one game ban for giving Fulham fans the finger and talk of Steven Gerrard perhaps being fit enough to start, the match seemed set to be a blueprint for the immediate future—for both good and ill. In the end, Gerrard’s involvement would have to wait until the second half, though despite the cheer that rang out for Andy Carroll when his name was announced before the match, the striker tasked with replacing Suarez up front for Liverpool could only manage to convince observers that he remains very much a work in progress. In some ways, his night may have even represented a regression, a largely forgettable ninety minutes filled with embarrassingly heavy touches, poor movement, and missed opportunities.

Especially in the first half, Carroll showed that nearly a year after arriving at the club he remains no closer to answering questions as to how he fits into the side, with the worst moments coming off a pair of Stewart Downing runs on the right. On both occasions Downing, in an especially lively mood, was shown room to the inside by a shaky Ryan Taylor. And on both occasions he took that space and drove towards goal. Which led to him quite nearly running straight into Andy Carroll on the edge of the penalty area, the big striker seeming completely lost when Liverpool’s wide-man chose to head inside instead of driving to the byline to whip in a cross.

It was the kind of basic movement and interplay one would expect any striker in the Premier League to be able to manage. If one were looking to be kind, both Carroll’s static play and that it at times seemed as though he must have flubber stuffed in his boots might be excused as a combination of dipping confidence and that it was a hugely important match against his former club. His most embarrassing moment of the night might even support the idea, when in the second half he made a brilliant headed goal line clearance from a corner—the only problem was that it was a Liverpool corner and he seemed to have momentarily forgotten that he didn’t play for Newcastle any more. Still, even if one were to accept such reasoning, it can hardly be encouraging for Carroll, the coaching staff, or the fans who hope that the still young and unfinished player can come good at Liverpool.

Carroll, though, at least has time on his side, while the same cannot be said for Charlie Adam, who had his fourth poor game in a row for Liverpool. More encouraging was the play of Jay Spearing alongside him, as the young Liverpudlian not only unsurprisingly outperformed Adam in Liverpool’s end but also with the ball at his feet, keeping possession ticking over and changing things up with the occasional flashy ball over the top. In the meantime, Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson also continued their strong play in the fullback positions, interchanging well with the more advanced Bellamy and Downing to good effect, with Johnson posing more of a direct attacking threat and Enrique whipping in crosses in the forward third while dominating any Newcastle attacker who came near him in defence.

Also putting in another strong display were Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, even if it seems likely that Newcastle’s goal early in the first half will go down as an Agger own goal after Liverpool’s centre back pairing failed to mark either Demba Ba or Yohan Cabaye especially well during one of visiting side’s few offensive forays. Still, the duo more than made up for any early miscues, with Agger rampaging forward and cutting through Newcastle’s lines at will while Skrtel once again made a case for being one of the top defenders in the Premier League this season.

*

A well taken strike by Craig Bellamy when the ball fell to him on the edge of the area would see Liverpool go into the half level, but not until after Lee Probert took the unusual step of adding three minutes of stoppage time almost entirely for time wasting by Newcastle’s Tim Krul, who appeared to think he was facing Brazil in the final minutes of a scoreless draw. On the whole, though, it had been another game of missed chances, possession without end product, and a pair of shockingly bad performances from two players who have been given a chance to make an impression in recent weeks.

And while the second half would start calmly enough, with Liverpool again controlling much of the action without it ever seeming as though they would take the lead, two moments would soon chance the game in Liverpool’s favour. The first came on 59 minutes, when a clearly under-performing Charlie Adam found himself hooked before the match was two-thirds done and Steven Gerrard came on for thirty minute cameo. It would hardly be a quiet one, with the captain’s off-the-bench impact matching his second half display against Napoli in last season’s Europa League group stages.

Immediately, Liverpool’s flagging squad was filled with life, players swarming to the ball and passes flying just that little bit faster while the Anfield crowd instantly doubled their volume in the background. Gerrard’s first moment of brilliance would come five minutes after his introduction, with a ball over the top dropped perfectly on Andy Carroll’s left toe. The striker was clear on goal with room to either compose himself for a shot or to hammer a first-touch volley, but instead the ball bounced off his foot as though it had hit a steel stanchion and rolled on to Krul.

Gerrard’s second moment of brilliance wouldn’t rely on anybody else’s finishing, though Jay Spearing’s well spotted pass to an advanced Jordan Henderson and then Henderson slipping Gerrard past rumoured Liverpool target Cheick Tiote both deserve credit in the buildup. With Gerrard then in on Krul and quickly running out of pitch to the left of goal, the captain slipped it left-footed underneath the Newcastle ‘keeper from no more than two yards out to secure his spot on many man of the match lists despite only playing for a third of it.

Between Gerrard’s two special moments were Liverpool’s two other game winners. First was Craig Bellamy’s literal game winning goal off a free kick in the 67th minute, with the fiery Welsh striker motioning Liverpool’s captain away so that he could drive the ball past Krul from 25 yards out. However, alongside Bellamy’s two strikes and Gerrard’s two sublime moments of individual skill—and perhaps as individually important as the captain’s introduction after 59 minutes—was Martin Skrtel’s unbelievable goal line clearance in the 71st minute after only he and Demba Ba of all the players on the pitch recognised that there was the possibility for a goal from a nearly impossible angle.

With Ba’s attempt heading towards goal with no one in sight to stop it, the Slovakian defender came charging back at full tilt and knocked the ball out of danger at a point when either a Ba goal or an own goal seemed the only possible outcomes. More often than not it is individual moments that win games, and though it won’t show up on any score sheet, Skrtel’s moment deserves at least as much praise as any goal that will be scored this season. And alongside those moments by Bellamy and Skrtel it was the return of Gerrard, too, with the captain adding his own brand of brilliance to the mix at a time when Liverpool seemed yet again destined to fall just short of putting all the pieces together at Anfield, to which Liverpool owes a rare home victory and the chance to head into 2012 with their heads held just a little bit higher.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: Match Recaps, Premier League

« Matchday: Liverpool v. Newcastle | Home | A Year on the Liverpool Offside: Banding Together and Moving Forward »

nezi

gerrard has an auror about him that makes everyone around him start
playing good football... the man can deliver a true world class quality
game winning pass. He has a strikers composure infront of goal, a
defenders tenacity when defending, a playmakers ability when in the
midfeild.. the complete footballer. Players like gerrard, sneijder,
xavi, are very rare.
Jose Enrique's Bicep

So I just saw a stat somewhere that against Newcastle, Charlie Adam attempted 35 passes, of which only 1 was a successful forwards pass.
Crackz79

gerard is your complete player..he can dicatate play,amazing vision,good defensive skills and also a good finisher...he does the basic things well where others in the team are struggling to finish off chances being presented to them ..i think gerard back is good for the team .it would help take the pressure and expectations off suarez..

a midfield run by spearing and gerard...wingers maxi / bellamy and downing...attack with suarez with jonjo just playing off him..perfection..

if carrol wants to play he has to become a 6 yard finisher..no use hulking around the edge of the box and giving the 2 central defenders an easy time shackling you..he needs to run in from different directions attacking the goal and pouncing on any loose ball that presents itself ..he caused immediate panic when during the free kick for the 2nd goal by bellamy he ran back into the box causing the opposing defender to panic and run back also to keep an eye on him ...in the end it caused panic and the ball went in..thats what he has to refashion himself to do if he is going to make it...we dont need him to dribble or defend...just put pressure on the opposing defence and knock the loose balls in..the rest would be done by our world class midfield.....

till the next game...YNWA..
Suarez from the car park...

Jeez. just seen the reports on Suarez' charge. The newspapers will have produced the most meaty stuff, but if true it doesn't look good.

Infact if it's correct I'm amazed he only got 8 games - not enough for repeated racist language.

The report seems to be a bit inconsistent and I wonder if Suarez should have kept his mouth shut. What were his lawyers like I wonder - not as good as manure's perhaps.

Not pleasant reading anyhow.
Suarez from the car park...

Well, Downing had better start learning a thing or two about crossing / deliveries from Gerrard. He needs to stop shooting, as all the full backs do, and start concentrating on deliveries into the box, nice and early.

It's amazing that Gerrard has done those almost his whole career but noone has tried to copy them, and they are always dangerous.

I reckon Carroll was just shocked at the quality of Gerrard's crosses. Fluffed his lines a bit, but once he's anticipating these we could see some results. Never going to be prolific though.

I was amazed at how poor Newcastle were. How did they stay in the top 4 so long?

Well, Chelski well and truly fluffing their lines, Arsenal totally dependent upon RVP but take on 4th and threatening to haul in Spurs!

What I don't like is that Arsenal and Chelski both have considerably easier February ties than us. In my mind Feb will be the critical month in terms of who's protecting position and who's chasing. A nice out to the year, but boy do we have a tough couple of months now.

Happy new year everyone. Stay safe.
justin

At Liverpool, we always like to make things a little harder for ourselves when we come up against supposed 'easier' games.

Therefore, on that aspect, I'm probably not too worried that we have a little tougher run up than other teams in Feb. More often than not, we bring it.

There are times when this mentality sucks though, when you just wish they'd beat the shit out of the bottom team and have the last 20-30 mins as a kick-a-round.
Suarez from the car park...

Have the last 20-30 mins as a kick Adam around. Might get him moving.
df

great results for us today and kinda similar to our results against the same teams...
CharlieAdamsBuckteeth

ugh this suarez thing is gonna get even uglier, fast
fastrail

wow..perfect week...new year...liverpool winning...chelsea and man utd losing..at home mind you...and thats again villa and blackburn lol...tottenham drawing...arsenal is the only team that manage to win...damn robin van persie
Suarez from the car park...

the manure fans have been all over liverpool blogs this week after that draw with Blackburn, so Kean's victory over the corrosive fergie is especially sweet.

have to be pleased for RVP for outscoring Henry in 2011. He deserves recognition for that - it's some record. Didn't beat Shearer's record which is really saying something about Shearer.

But almost a perfect week, if only QPR had held off Arsenal.
Marque Pierre Sondergaard

Might I remind you, fellow Reds, how incredibly fortunately we are to have a player like Steven Gerrard. They don't make players like him anymore: The massive talent, who is proud to play for the same local club for the rest of his life - when he could be cashing insane paychecks anywhere else. I can only really think of Totti from Roma in the same category (and then of course all the boys from Barcelona!).

To compare Adams with Gerrard week in and week out is unfair, as Gerrard is just in that completely other class: world beater.

It is hard not to dream and think of if all our first choice players were fit and ready to play. My goodness, we'd make the ground shake!
Ryan

He needs to retire from England damnit. I hope he'll retire after the Euros. If these injuries stop, I don't see any reason why he can't be an asset to Liverpool until he's 35. He's always had more power and stamina than Lampard, and somehow he's still playing at 33.

It's true that Gerrard makes the team a lot better, but it's not true that we can't win those Blackburn games without him. We had a little somebody named Meireles last season instead of Adam during all those 3+ rampages. I'm not blaming the club for not getting a replacement, it was deadline day stuff. But if they somehow thought that Adam was to be Meireles' replacement...ugh. SO I guess what I mean is we can't win those games with Adam. Or reliably win those games. The season so far has shown that.

Remember those days in the summer where the running joke was to make fun of Liverpool for having a huge midfield? Remember when those jokes stopped after we played November with 5, almost 6 less of those central midfielders? Good times.
sixer

Stevie Fucking G... no other words are necessary. Great way to head into the new year. Speaking of the new year we need 2 to 3 signings thats all. We MUST sign hazard. the guy is pure class. Maybe M'Vila and a finisher. Could you imagine

--------- Reina---------
Johnny Agg Skrt Enrique
Stevie M'Vila
Downing Hazard
Bella/Carroll Suarez

With Downing interchangeable with Maxi and Kuyt and Hendo. IF we could get this unit on the field at the same time, 4th place is ours and look out 3rd place
PDubz18

It's best to just forget about Hazard, his situation is like the Juan Mata chronicles times a million...
Luis Suarez dentist

Fantastic to see our captain back and what a brilliant cameo it was. Skrtel and Dagger were brilliant again and Bellamy was very good as well.

As always it was the usual suspects who were poor (Downing, Adam and Carroll).

How on Earth is Downing starting ahead of Kuyt and Maxi!!!!?

In ten minutes Gerrard contributed more quality than Downing has in half a season!
PDubz18

Lol Downing had a good game, get off his crank.
RedKen

Though he (thankfully) would never do it, I think that Stevie is actually the one who deserves to wear the underarmour with the message "Why Always Me?". Great job by the reds, tho. Three cheers for Skrtel!

On a comical note, I was watching the game with my 10 year old son. He remarked, "Why is his name Downing when all he does is shoot Up?"
Rizwan

lol because of his performance
Suarez from the car park...

and to the wrong side of the goal.
purify_the_body

lol!!
Ryan

Carroll needs to have one 90 minute game with Gerrard the whole time. If he can't score then..we're in trouble.

Boy, poor Adam. It must suck being subbed off and having everything work out. He probably can't help but be sad about that. It's not like it's not possible for him to get that good of a reception from the crowd, he first has to put in a performance worthy of it, which hasn't happened the past few weeks. I'm sure Anfield would love him if he gave the team what it needed.

I'm not worried one bit with Henderson on the ball. He hasn't done anything spectacular with it, besides those smooth one touch through balls. But you know nothing bad is going to happen when he has it. He's safe.

And again. Carroll. His positioning is..awful. Ya, he makes a nice link up Messi-style with the midfield, it goes out wide to Enrique...he crosses...and Carroll is clear outside the box. What the hell man? We all knew what was supposed to happen. link up, lay off, sprint, look, head, goal. He stopped at the lay off.

I don't quite understand this whole "taking it easy" on Gerrard thing. He had a bunch of infections, it's not like he tore his knee open or whatever. With the amount of patience we've had just getting him on the field from his real injury, some freak injury is going to have to come up out of nowhere again. And I don't think that's gonna happen, he's been using protection and such.

haha, weird idea. Kenny should start Adam and let him play the first 20 minutes of every game, when we are all grrrgrrgrrpasspassshoot (until of course, we score on ourselves). Then after the team gets bored in 20 minutes, Gerrard plays the rest of the game.
Neb

For me, and I am guessing the majority of Liverpool fans, tonight was all about what a truly great player Gerrard is...he has been the one thing missing from this team all year, and when you think about how hard Liverpool have tried to find a replacement for him and thus far failed to find, it merely emphasises how great he really is. There was a lot of talk about how great Carroll looked when Gerrard was the one providing the ammunition, but that can be said of all the players once Gerrard came on, and it almost goes to prove the point that Torres for all his talent and goal scoring ability has thus far not managed to come close to the player he once was without Gerrard.
Antonio

Gerrard is simply awesome. With a reliable CDM playing along side, he can provide the attacking kill. The question is how long can his last, not to get injury again.
Adam is a subsitute quality only.
Comparing Carroll and Henderson, I believe given more game, Carroll will soon deliver, of course with S.Gerrard playing. However Henderson still very raw, and his contribution to games were very limited.
Also, I thought Downing will come good soon, it was excited to watch whenever he roam forward, the finishing third though still come short.
The Defensive line is very good, and too bad Carra will have to realise this and accept the fact he might only appear on Cup game.

Well done.
justin

It was some way to end 2011 huh.

Doesn't anyone feel the distinct difference in Carroll's play when Gerrard came on though? How is it that it seems like only Gerrard seems to know the kind of ball service to deliver that Carroll can attack properly? He was a significantly larger threat when Gerrard started to whip in those early crosses.

As for Adam, I'd like to support the fella but even his supposed "technical ball skill" on dead ball situations is not meriting him any credit. For all his goal-scoring set pieces for blackpool, his delivery for us this season has been honest shit. Bellers simply has to take the set pieces when he's on field.

Great to end the year on a win, really hoping that it's the lift off the boys need to conquer that mini 4th place.

Oh, and Skrtel's game-saving goal line clearance was absolutely heroic. Much more so than John Terry's no? Got to say I was really impressed with Ba's touch there though, I'd given up on the ball staying out of the goal with Reina beaten.

Daggers run's are magic. Perplexing sometimes when our defenders are a greater threat than the midfielders or strikers though.
Suarez from the car park...

Adam I think only scored 4 goals that weren't penalties. Not great for an attacking midfielder.

Didn't play a defensive role and isn't very mobile, even his passing stats were not great (Nate, Ed, Noel all wrote about it).
All that was known before the summer and should have near written him off as a transfer target, as you MIGHT double his goal tally in a better team, at best. i.e. 8 goals. Think Kenny thought he might be a Molby I guess.

Carroll is a similar situation. Look at his Newcastle goals, eliminate the easy ones where the defence were just statues or away with the fairies and he doesn't have such an impressive record. Along with a distinct lack of mobility then at over £20m that should never have gone ahead. Shane Long would have made more sense for gods sake and I'm an Odemwingie fan too. Strong, quick and hits the net.

There's always options though it sent a message that we weren't a selling club, and that's a bigger deal than most will remember.

'Arry has a great squad, mostly purchased by Arnesen and Comolli but he seemed to be very interested in Adam and Carroll. Shame he didn't get them, but it says something about his player choices and the credit he's getting.
Marque Pierre Sondergaard

Skrtel... My goodness. How he reached that ball is beyond me. Heroic only begins to describe it. Our back 4 are the heroes of the campaign so far. They are the reason we are within reach of the mini 4 spot. Not the likes of Suarez to be honest.
Suarez from the car park...

AVB hasn't learned that wins start from the back.
purify_the_body

Gerrard's delivery is amazing, as was Barton's when he was at Newcastle. Different class.

Still, even Gerrard couldn't fix Carroll's first touch, eh? That's as easy a chance as you can get.
justin

It's easy to focus on that poor touch there, has to be agree it was poor, but the poor bloke's not having any confidence there so no surprise either. I'd really be glad that he was even found in that position to have that opportunity to get to that ball.

At one point, Carroll was even on the left-wing crossing a ball in when he should've been on the receiving end in the box.

If more of such service is available to Carroll when he's on field, I wouldn't worry too much about him getting a goal or two when he finally does. He's a young lad and that drastic difference in his attacking play when finally getting those kind of balls are significant and can only get better.

Newcastle were lucky to remain with 11 men though. Cabaye and Coloccini should've seen straight reds.
Geoff Twentyman

It may be that this 8 games makes or breaks AC's LFC career and whatever we've all posted about him over the last year won't really matter. He'll either prove us right or wrong, or he won't!
Suarez from the car park...

He'll get some goals for sure, but if you look at his Newcastle record where they weren't easy (defence like statues), I don't think he'll ever be prolific. Just like Adam (4 goals that weren't penalties) they won't add enough.

However they may become decent squad players if we get a couple more v good signings.
justin

They're probably never going to be world-beaters but more like good functioning cogs if you provide them with a good support base.

Flair and guile have always been attributes missing from LFC squads in recent years or even longer, probably since the days of Barnes and Macca left.

Would be nice if we could add on in that aspect with the current transfer window or in the summer.
Andy

God I've missed Stevie. So inspirational
Alan P

It was a great end to the game and I have to agree with almost
everything in the article. I think there are two fairly big talking
points missing though, first is Carroll coming within inches of scoring
by hitting the cross bar, again, and the second is the red card Cabeye
should have gotten. Andy was very unlucky in that instance although as
mentioned his touch from Gerard's through ball before that was abysmal,
even I'd be embarassed by that one, it seemed like he was unsure of what
to do and in the end neither controlled it nor shot.

While I thought Cabeye's studs down the shin of Spearing was absolutely
shocking and hopefully he'll get a ban retrospectively as the ref took
no action at the time, I think he realised something bad had happened
but because he didn't see it or get any help from his assistants he
decided to err on the side of caution and not produce the red.

And speaking of the ref, I thought he had an excellent game by allowing
the game to flow as much as possible and I really liked the fact he
tried to give both teams the advantage after a foul but when it didn't
materialise he stopped play for the free kick.

Something I've noticed this season and especially in recent games is the
lack of players making runs into the box. Several times in this game,
at least till $tevie came on, Downing or someone else got to the byeline
but when the ball was pulled back or crossed in there was no-one in the
box. This is a far cry from the end of last season when Maxi, Meireles,
Kuyt and Suarez consistently attacked as a unit and tore teams to
shreds, albeit with Lucas and Spearing creating a very strong defensive
shield behind them. It was a very fluid team back then and of course
Lucas is a massive, massive loss while I also think Charlie Adams needs a
little rest seeing as he hasn't had a good game since City and Chelsea.

Why Meireles was sold is still a mystery to me because I think he's an
excellent player with a few good years ahead of him. At the time of the
transfer I thought we should have insisted in getting Sturridge in a
swap deal but of course it wasn't to be. Maybe Kenny felt he owed
Chelsea a favour after taking them for 50M for Fernando?

Anyway, a good end to the year, a struggling City up next and the transfer window opening on Sunday so onwards and upwards......
purify_the_body

Adam was very good vs QPR -- merely a quibble, however, since I agree with you his last several games have been shocking. It was a relief to see him head to the sidelines as we sputtered along towards another draw.

Meireles probably wouldn't have been sold if he hadn't made such a stink about the new owners having to keep some promise about a new contract he said was made by the previous owners. Giving the finger to Kenny, them, or whoever it was in the Arsenal game didn't help, either. But these things happen. Money is often the reason a player transfers, and Meireles got the raise he wanted.
Marque Pierre Sondergaard

Meireles was a loss for sure. I honestly think he left for the same reason Torres did: Believing that Chelski with their deep coffers would be winning big trophies and what not. Who doesn't want a piece of that? Footballers know very well that their career only last so long, and if they have talent, well they got to manage that to get the most from it in the short time frame they have.
Suarez from the car park...

no doubt. This was his last big payday given his age, and we could have kept him if we upped his wages which wasn't unreasonable in this mad football world.

I think FSG decided he was surplus to strategy given that age so were happy to collect money for him (presumably with Comolli and KK's consent).

It wasn't his fault that we didn't buy good replacements.

The slight concern is that every player hitting 28 will either be critical (eg Lucas), useful as squad players (not too expensive) or will be sold in favour of a younger man.

FSG are going to want managers to keep the age of the team down.
AustinRed

It was almost comical, the quality Stevie showed tonight. He's spent the past 3 months watching 4 or 5 potentially prolific goalscorers repeated miss the mark, and the casual, confident manner he put that one away was as if to say, "Come on, guys, this really isn't that hard."
Suarez from the car park...

Do you think the shot was Suarez influenced? Impossible angle, through the legs.
He's the kind of giant football brain that would quickly pick up on other world class players' styles.
KC

Stevie G is incredible. Here's to hoping for a tip top dong condition (well general health) for 2012 :D

I can't get over that goalline clearance by Skrtel it was EPIC. I was ready to give up cause it was going in for sure and then suddenly BAM no cheering and I was like WHAT??? SKRTEL GOT TO IT??? Seriously Agger and Skrtel completely neutralised Ba and considering that Newcastle's top goalscorer pretty much only got one shot tonight is all due to Skagger's brilliance. I wanna get a Skagger shirt because I love them both. I love the whole Liverpool defense which is funny because I usually like the flashier players, the ones that score goals but being a LFC fan has made me really appreciate the art of defending.

I still have faith in Carroll he's suffering from confidence issues and that's no surprise. If only that woodwork shot just went a little more to the goal like every other woodwork shot. Its interesting that out of all the players in the team, its Gerrard that manages to utilize Carroll the best. He's like a baseball bat. Anyone can use him to swing at him but it takes a talented player to swing it at the ball and score a home run.

That being said, I'm drooling at the thought of Suarez and Gerrard playing together :))

I feel that whilst Henderson deserves some of the criticism people say about him, I can see him improving and he's miles better than when he was in the beginning. At least now he doesn't disappear for the whole game and he's not a liability. Plus he keeps possession rolling even though passes aren't always forward passing and he makes intelligent passes in the final third ie. the assist. He's still young he has time to become even better.

Spearing was great this game but I'm scared for him because he puts himself into every challenge 120 percent, one day he really is going to hurt himself badly. What he also did really was passing and its a little depressing that I thought his passing was better than Adam's.

Downing still hasn't got any assists or goals but I feel like he's clicking in with the squad and been playing well. I think his goal and assist tally will rise in 2012. One of his long range shots will dip at the right moment and go in.

That's all I can think of right at this moment lots of happy thoughts in my mind but what a great way to start the last day of the year :D We were doing everything right all we needed was one player :)
Momo

And what about the refs,they seem always blind when our players are harshly fouled. Bellamy went off the pitch with sweat,tears and blood in his face(what a brave and committed player) but was given nothing when he was caught by Coloccini inside the box.

Cabaye after a harsh and dangerous foul on Spearing was spared while he should've been sent off. Double standards me thinks.And there are still people who think we must give due respect to the FA. Bµ*=à%?t
Wacken_Munich_Anfield

"being a LFC fan has made me really appreciate the art of defending"... the same here... :)
purify_the_body

Yeah, who do you think played such a lovely one-touch return pass to Gerrard as he ran through on goal? Henderson, of course. He's not a flashy player but he is quite good.

And Downing, I'm sorry but we were just laughing our asses off at him when he tried that 40-yd shot at the end. He's just so awful at shooting and crossing, you have to laugh or you will cry. There were so many breaks and he somehow always finds a way to screw it up, it's crazy...
nezi

totaly agree, downing is a good footballer but its just not clicking for him right now... he should start coming on n the last 10-15 min of the game other wise we will continue to draw more and more games.

two people i dont want to start the man city game, andy and downing... but knowing kenny dalglish they will both start that game
Geoff Twentyman

Does the decision to start Adam, but to bring on Gerrard indicate that Adam was bought as a squad player rather than the nailed on starter he has become in the captains absence.

Real world class signings are now whats needed to complement and in time replace the likes of Gerrard, Carra, Bellamy and Kuyt!
purify_the_body

We were wondering the same thing as he came off. The prospect of Adam being demoted is exciting.

And you know Carra and Kuyt are pretty much done, right? It's been a relief to see Carra go to the bench after his shaky play this season, but I have been grieving the loss of Kuyt now for weeks. He's such a legend, a great guy, a stalwart for us for years, the dorky sidekick to our world class players...and I wouldn't blame him one bit if he looked to transfer in the summer. Kenny just doesn't seem to rate him. He will be 32 in July.
Marque Pierre Sondergaard

You name our world class players without mentioning Reina and Skagger?
Geoff Twentyman

...yep and add Maxi to that list - 31 next birthday and whilst you know he's a quality player, he just lacks that extra yard of pace.

Stevie's the man we've got to replace well though. If we don't get a quality player in to give us the extra something, then that will be concerning.

Stevie---Lucas
----Hendo----

looks nicely balanced.

Back up of

Spearo---Adam
-----Maxi-----

isn't too Xabi either.
Suarez from the car park...

I think that's what's behind the transfers and game selections over the older reliable guys this season, that did a great job for us last season.

Got to get the new boys settled in to see what has to be done this summer (or even January).

Most of the seniors will only have 1 year left on their contracts if any, and I think FSG will only extend where we really need the senior cover and haven't got new recruits in mind - and then only by 1 year (except Gerrard who has a longer contract).

Also, these guys are at the age where an injury can be frequent or career ending.

The last conspiracy I wonder about is that we've bought players who won't necessarily mind being squad players in that they will get better football prospects here than anywhere else they might beable to go to.

So if we do buy a couple of excellent players, or don't get ECL footy, they won't just want to automatically leave.
Marque Pierre Sondergaard

Henderson is young and enjoys the benefits learning the game from the master Gerrard. Henderson keeps improving and never looks lost for what to do with the ball. I could see him becoming a reasonably solid, if not world class, long term replacement for Gerrard.
Suarez from the car park...

Gerrard is irreplaceable.

It is the way of football that you never seem to beable to replace one player with another the same kind (central defence aside).New players have to create the system that works for them and hopefully with FSG we will have some excellent recruits that can create a new midfield for us eventually. Gerrard will eventually leave Lucas who has developed so well, holding the fort and whoever else raises their game.

Hendo could do it, though he doesn't possess the attacking boldness/aggression yet. At some point he has to decide if he's going to take responsibility and lead. If he doesn't I wonder if he'll really be anything more than a squad player, if a talented one.

We will need a strong attacking midfielder to replace Gerrard, but it'll be very tough to find someone as skilled as Gerrard. Shame Joe Cole flunked it too.

that was Hendo's 100th league game btw - at 21!! It's impressive but also a concern that he doesn't drive forwards yet like a Wilshere / Ramsey / Jones.
ayoslime

skrtel's clearance was insane....one of the best defensive plays i've ever witnessed
brother jon

beautifully written.(maybe even better than most of the 1st half).
only thing missing...
L-I-V
E-R-P
double O, L
LIVERPOOL FC!
tony

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC!!!! I live on memories and he just brings them back. Time to start him. Time to look forward. Damnit.

C.H.A.D. blanked for the entire months of November & December. I am no stats freak but CHAD has 5 goals so far this season including Carling Cups. Thes 5 goals were against WBA, Everton, & Bolton. OUCH! OUCH! Do the math.

I am afraid the King lives in the past like me. But then he had company of Clements, Souness, Rush, Kennedy. Those guys were good. Today, only the captain measures up to them.
purify_the_body

Any chance of changing it to C.A.D.? Because I like Henderson's contribution. I don't think he'll ever be a star, but he looks on track to be a good supporting character for years to come. Pass and move, he can do it!~
tony

LOL, in time it will be just A....
brother jon

i feel you, but pepe, lucas, suarez, bellamy, agger, j ricky, and skrtel '11 measure up. and Coates will too. we're not that far off.
momo

Noel,your last two paragraphs are brilliant! In a few words you spotted the mood of the night and captured so well the climax of the game as well.

As for Adam it is time for KD to stop the anti-merit policy and bench the latter for a while.As for Henderson,I'm wondering whether he's a coward or just a little girl.Imo he shouldn't be a starter until he gets a grip and learns to close down any opposition's player on his first gesture.So far he never sticks his legs as if he was told to only shadow the other players and just keep up when they run at our backline.

And if it were up to me Johnson would be benched in home games at the benefit of Kelly who is a better crosser, the latter would provide more ammunition if we are willing to play at the strengths and power of ACDC (Andy chilled device Carroll).

In away games though,Johnsqon is better when he uses small spaces offered to him to run at defenders and cause havoc in the box of the opposition of the day.
Marque Pierre Sondergaard

You gotta hand it to Kenny. He knows he inherited a shaky side - not like when he took over managing the likes of Souness, Rush etc.

He never criticises players in public. He never expresses nothing but praise for individuals. He desperately tries to buy his team time. So they can relax, grow confident and start to play to their full potential.

We as fans are impatient. I am sure Kenny as an out and out winner and glory days Red is even more so. But it is to his credit that he outwardly appear to be very patient with his squad, despite its failings. Believe you me, I am sure he is even more aware of all the mistakes than we are. But he knows that once you start a culture of fear, where players immediately gets punished in terms of playing time, well... fear takes over and confidence is a thing of the past altogether.
purify_the_body

Henderson's not a coward, but he is not a hard player like Spearing and you shouldn't expect him to be. His game is clever touches, emphasis on possession, overall work rate, forward runs from midfield, and one-touch football. For only 21 years old and forced to cover for Lucas, he is doing really great right now.
Marque Pierre Sondergaard

Amen.

Give Henderson some slack. He is kid and asked to be making contributions big enough to carry the team - and not just any old team, but the Reds. In time he will. He keeps improving.
Lis

Little girls can be fierce as hell.
Moevawda

gerrard-magnificent
we played pretty well without suarez....
Hendrahenhen

raise LFC
Nbusa

What a way to end 2011... gets me more excited to be a LFC fan in 2012.