Liverpool 6, Malaysia XI 3: Wrapping Up the Asian Tour

By: Ed | July 16th, 2011

Liverpool 6: Adam 27′, Ngog 68′ 69′, Maxi 76′ 90′, Kuyt 94′
Malaysia XI 3: Rahim 40′, Mohd Sali 79′ 80′

Charlie Adam gets his first goal in Liverpool shirt, David Ngog and Maxi get two a piece, and Liverpool wrap up their Asian tour with a victory in front of 80,000 fans at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lampur. Preseason tours are as much about getting the squad up and running as they are about extending a hand to supporters across the globe, and you’d have to say that Liverpool were a success on both fronts.

Full disclosure: I was unable to catch the match live due to a faulty internet connection and alcohol-induced apathy—around an hour before match time I realized nothing was loading and my internet connection was gone, so I’ve spent most of the morning watching the highlights that are available and forming some half-cooked thoughts about where things go from here.

nate at Oh You Beauty did see the match, and typically has the best recaps around (which you probably already know), so go check that out after you’re done slumming it here.

For those in a similar spot, or if you just chose to sleep like any normal person, the highlights:

Some thoughts from what I’ve been able to see:

* The starting eleven was a few names away from being one that could have finished last season; only Conor Coady and Charlie Adam didn’t get first-team minutes last season, with the former only making the bench in a few senior squad matches and the latter, you know, not on the team. Good to see Raul Meireles back in action as well, and from the few clips I saw it looked like he gained in confidence as the half progressed. The news about his injury was a bit of a surprise, so a tentative beginning could be excused.

Outside of Charlie Adam’s well-taken penalty, though, it looked like Liverpool were sorely lacking for ideas in the first half, which PDubz outlined in the comments of the matchday thread:

“First half was awful and frighteningly reminiscent of Roy Hodgson’s sides. On the other side of the coin, Carroll being in the side wasn’t the problem.”

* The second half saw Liverpool score five of their six goals and wholesale changes, with Emiliano Insua making his Liverpool return. We couldn’t have been more against his departure last summer, and even though it’s preseason etc. etc., he turned in a quality display at left back. What that means for him and the club is still unclear, but with Damien Comolli announcing that the club had done “most” of the business they wanted to, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see him stay.

It’s easy to forget that he’s still relatively young and, despite his struggles in the second half of the 2009-2010 season, he was a solid contributor. “Mostly reliable” probably isn’t going to cut it in a side that wants to challenge for the Premier League title, but Insua’s also not a teenager, and likely wouldn’t be in a position (yet) where he’d be forced into action that he’s not ready for on a daily basis. And with Fabio Aurelio or Glen Johnson as the frontline left back (assuming four at the back, which may or may not be a concrete assumption), as well as Jack Robinson working his way through the ranks, I think Insua would have a chance to make an impact.

* Only two preseason matches gone and already folks are banging the “he’s not physical enough for English football” drum about Alberto Aquilani, who was classy and composed every time I caught a glimpse of him. Apparently classy and composed aren’t enough, though, and Aquilani’s unsuited to the Premier League and can’t get stuck in and tackle like a ginger kamikaze.

When he got consistent time towards the end of the 2009-2010 season, we saw him excel as one of Liverpool’s most impactful creative forces. Unfortunately those performances weren’t enough to convince those who had already pronounced him to be the biggest bust of the season, and his loan move to Juventus looked to be a natural fit for a player who was deemed too soft for the only acceptable brand of football on Earth. But in reality, I think he’s more than capable of being a tremendous creative presence in Liverpool’s midfield as long as he’s given a chance.

And a couple from Noel, who thankfully responded to a “I didn’t see shit” plea:

* Flanagan and Robinson had trouble getting forward, showing the potential problem of relying heavily on young kids who can look great one match and poor the next, which is fine if they’re filling in occasionally but tends to end quite badly if they have to be in week in and week out for whatever reason, as a couple of bad displays will tend to snowball.

* Joe Cole was awful—if his cross in China was about putting him in the shop window, today was about torching the shop. He was everything fans know and hate: more selfish and indecisive than Neymar and winded after ten minutes. Adam was surprisingly one of the few bright spots of a first half that saw the ball in the air far too much as last season’s, “Hey, Carroll’s in the lineup, let’s send it to his head!” malady returned.

* In the second Aquilani absolutely bossed midfield in possession, though he got help from Shelvey excelling in the “keep things ticking over” role. Unfortunately, neither had a great deal of steel defensively, which put most of the burden of assisting a shaky center back pair and two fullbacks who actually were getting forward to Poulsen. Which lead to excitement and goals but only exemplifies how important a strong DM and CB pairing is if you’re going to get width trough attacking fullbacks/wingbacks.

* As for those fullbacks, they at least did the job they were supposed to do—provide width. In particular Insua linking up with Aquilani as he bulled down the left, setting up a pair in the process and even providing a goal threat at times, made it look like Liverpool might not need Downing to solve their left-wing problem. It’s hard to blame either him or Kelly for the goals scored against, but the tough reality was that their attacking intent simply wasn’t compatible with the DM/CB combination.

So that’s that—Liverpool return to England ahead of their trip to Hull for the third match of their preseason preparations. Ideally they’ll be boosted by the additions of those who missed out on the Asian tour (Jordan Henderson, Doni, Stewart Downing, Glen Johnson, etc.), and it’s likely we’ll see more action off the pitch in the coming days as well.

If anything, we can celebrate a feel-good trip for the club and its supporters, and the fact that we’re less than a month away from watching Liverpool play Premier League football.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: Team News

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Noddy

Aquilani Will be fantastic for us if he remains at the club (hopefully) and injury free, which seems more likely these days.
I would like a left back, we seem to have plenty of players for the position but none that I would like to see have to play too many matches on the trot(too young or made of balsa wood)
i have to admit that Carrol hasn't inspired but I am confident he will, Friendly matches in searing heat are not the best place to judge, and as somebody pointed out, he made and scored one in the previous match, so one goal and one assist, not awful and miles to go before we sleep.

I am worried about our defence, hope Agger can give us more games than in previous seasons, all the other choices are solid but unremarkable.

I am pleased on the whole with our work in the transfer market, too many people these days seem to get wrapped up in the wankfest that is the newspapers these days, so my opinion, no apart from Carrol (special circumstances) we have not paid too much, not that anyone outside of the clubs involved actually knows what we paid and we have filled our left midfield at long last, gained a world class player in Saurez, an awesome prospect in Carrol (22 years of age remember) A dead ball specialist in Adam and an up and coming Stevie G clone in Henderson.

On top of that we have Meireles,(What else has the Hodgson done for us) the return of Aquaman and Insua(Fuck you Hodgson and Purslow, Ah that's better) and a host of exciting young players who we have only recently seen under Kenny

Tell me people, What's not to like?
Gryffin

According to Le Parisien, Liverpool have agreed a fee with Lyon for left back Aly Cissokho.
Gerrards Boxing Coach

I'm terrified by the thought that the Aquilani-can't-handle-the-Premier-League's-physicality camp might win. I mean, I guess they just dick around and half-ass it over in Italy, eh? Not like in England, where men are men, tackles are crunching, and technically-proficient players who make good decisions somehow aren't cut out for the "pace of the game." Even John Barnes, doing the commentary, kept repeating that whole "pace of the game in England" mantra. Makes me sad. One-touch passing is, by its nature, "pacy," right? So a one-touch player should succeed, right?

My attitude on the defensive lapses is about like ChrisLFC's. I think those magic words "Pepe Reina" would stop at least some of the leaks, and a CB-pairing with experience playing alongside each other (Agger/Carra, Skrtel/Carra) would correct for a lot of the rest. Also, we didn't have Lucas breaking up play in front of the back four. I don't think the six goals we've conceded are too much of a worry.
Martin Badger

Carragher was a great player but how old is he now? Has he got another season left? Very doubtful. Skrtel has never been anything other than mediocre, like most of fat face's signings. Agger is crap in the air and injured all the time so can virtually be discounted. If we don't buy someone fast we are going to ship one hell of a lot of goals.
Gerrards Boxing Coach

I don't know that I can say how much more doubtful it is that Carra doesn't have another season left this year as compared to last. Of course it's somewhat more likely that he doesn't perform at the level we want-- every year that passes brings a 30-something-footballer closer to retirement-- but I wouldn't be prepared to say that it's actually probable that he can't give us another good season. I think we could probably improve on Skrtel (or maybe Skrtel could improve on Skrtel, which would be even better), but I wouldn't pretend to be knowledgeable enough about the intricacies of defending to rag on him too hard. We didn't really leak THAT badly last year, and maybe if we'd have had better attacking play our defense wouldn't have been exposed as much. As for Agger, I don't think you should be discounting any player who's plied his trade with us with commitment for several seasons. Also, I think "crap in the air" is an overstatement if not just completely inaccurate. He's never stood out to me, anyway, as being egregiously bad. I dunno-- maybe you've watched him specifically and are super-qualified to comment on his abilities, but as a humble pleb who usually just watches the match once and tries to pay attention to everyone at the same time, I can't say he's struck me as being dismal.

Also, and redtrev73 pointed this out but it's worth repeating: "Fat face"? Really? Rafa managed us for six seasons, took us to two Champions League finals and won one, won an FA Cup, and would have brought us a 19th league title if not for the capitulations of Tottenham and Aston Villa against United at the end of the season, and that's not even mentioning the class with which he conducted himself off the touchline. He warrants better treatment than being called "fat face" from our own supporters.
redtrev73

Have a bit of respect chief. You don't deride a walking LFC legend and our best defender, like Carra and a top-man/champions league winner, like Rafa in such a way if you're a proper Redman. There was a time we were famous for our knowledge and respect. I pine after those days. Now every "fan" with a keyboard thinks they can unload their uninformed bile on the rest of us. The best thing about this site is that the vast majority are passionate and knowledgeable. Let's not bring down the tone, eh? Question the lad's ability by all means and critique all of Benitez's signings if you wish but le's maintain the dignity that Dalglish has restored to the best club in the world.
Sue

Carroll was awful, yet again. Too slow, no ball control, zero first touch, and lack of effort. We weren't hoofing the ball to him this time, so what's his excuse now? He's playing worse than non-league players (yes, I've seen many non-league games), he has no first touch at the moment. Was he hung over? Tired form too many local girls entertaining him at night? I really hope he gets a grip before the season starts. And please sort that bloody hair out! The man has me really worried. Forget the price, he's just not showing anything to justify a starting position.

Aquaman was great, probably too good for the PL with his instant passing and through balls. It'll be very interesting to see him, Suarez and Raul on the pitch at the same time. The opposition would never get a look at the ball!

Hansen was woeful in goal. Not that he's likely to get a proper start in a real game. Why keep him around?

I was very impressed with Flano when he was on. How does a kid exhibit such calm composure? His skills and reading of the game put legend Carra to shame at times.

Their 3 goals were all gifts. The first was the ref giving a free kick from Adams protecting himself (a great free kick mind you), the second was the awful Hansen fluffing a ball going nowhere directly into the path of their single player in the to to tap in, and their 3rd looked massively offside.

Arsenal got 37,000 for their game, 85,000 for ours. Not bad, especially considering how poor the country is.
redtrev73

Jeeeeez, you are a little ray of sunshine aren't you?! In the last game Carroll scored one and set one up in the 45 he played. He was quiet yesterday sure, but lets not rush to scream reactionary tabloid headlines at the kid. Hansen is down the pecking order anyway but it seems a little extreme to kick the lad out of the club because he drops a clanger in a pre-season kick-about! Thank god Flanno and Aqua tickled your fancy Sue, you were in danger of sounding a touch negative!!
Melatonin78

the country is poor? what does that has to do with attendance to the stadium? it just justifies that there are more liverpool fans in Malaysia, compared to arsenal. sheesh.
WetCelery

What does Carroll's hair have to do with anything? Keep you're bigotry to yourself. Also, maybe stop trying to say he's justified all of your fears in a meaningless pre-season game. Calm down, are you some kind of sensationalist journalist?

Agree with you on Aqua though :)
Martin Badger

How does bigotry relate to hair? I knew Carroll was overpriced and useless right from the off - Newcastle absolutely took us to the cleaners. Can't blame them at all - imagine someone offered thirty-five million for N'gog. I agree the game was meaningless - so why play it? Why waste time and effort, tire players out and risk injuries playing all these stupid friendlies every year? If only some manager would have the balls and the sense to cancel them.
McrRed

Somebody's cranky...Mr Grizzle needs a nap?
Geza

Spot on on Carroll - I felt like someone should kick his ass big time at half time... the lack of effort annoys me the most, who does he think he is?
Martin Badger

He's a very ordinary player who thinks he's important because a ludicrous figure was paid for him. I have a twenty euro bet - unfortunately my bets have to be for modest amounts - he doesn't make double figures this season.
redtrev73

Nice one. Betting AGAINST your own player. Classy. And pre-season friendlies are not....ah, what's the point...I am almost annoyed by this nonsense but there's just too much to be positive about and too many reasons to have hope so....as Mcr Red says, take a nap or even better, take a minute before you make the kind of observation best appreciated on a manc blog....
@SouthAfricanRed

I only watched the second half, but Aqua was pure class..

Poulsen (and I hate player bashing) was absolutely horrendous, seems like he is playing with an elephant on his back.

Martin Kelly was rather rusty I thought. But that boy is dynamite and I can't wait to see him again in competitive action.

Kuyt was his tireless self and added some much needed energy.

I always find Shelvey a bit ungainly, and a little slow on the ball.

All I hope is that there is no substance to the rumour that Meireles might be sold..
ChrisLFC

Mildly to, not very, concerned about the defensive lapses...but most of all from these two matches, I'm excited about our squad's depth. Add all our new/missing pieces, subtract the expected departures, and I like how we're set up to start the season. Not sure how realistic it is, but keeping Aqua and Insua would seem to make us a better team...but we'll have to see how that shakes out. Really hoping to see Henderson and Downing against Hull.