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A Course Correction

Jan 22nd, 2022 by

It was inevitable that the sparkling run of form – in the early months of the winter — that helped Arsenal to rapidly propel forward towards the (once quotidian, now hallowed) comfort of planet Champions League – lest I am misunderstood, I am not claiming that we should or must attain a top four spot at the end of the season, just that the distant glimpse of that tantalizing possibility had started to make itself visible — is not going to go on smoothly until the end of the season. Even the most starry-eyed optimists among the fanbase would have expected a veering off course sooner or later before the season ends. Stalling of the engine (room), some random powerful asteroid carrying ill omens of injuries and illness dragging the spaceship Arsenal away from its chartered course. 

Following the unfortunate home loss to Manchester City – in a true Arsenal fashion a loss which is all the more memorable because how impressively well our youngsters played against one of the best teams in Europe – we dropped out of the two domestic cup competitions in quick succession. Whereas the loss to Liverpool – following an event of such an extraordinary low probability that the SETI institute (“Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence”) has been pondering if they should move their headquarters on the Merseyside – in the League Cup semifinal was somewhat expected despite the valiant heroics of the first leg, the third-round loss to an efficient Championship side in the FA “Arsenal” Cup was disheartening. 

Mikel Arteta had started his best available eleven – the squad still considerably depleted by senior players unavailable for one reason or another – in the second leg of that League Cup semi at home, but it was abundantly clear that many of these players are still recovering from injury or illness, or just very tired. Our options from the bench were so limited that Thomas Partey – disappointed as his country Ghana had exited in the league stages of African Cup of Nations – a few hours after arriving in London following a 10-hour flight came on heroically to instill some experience and quality in the midfield to help turn the match around. The tired challenge that led to his second yellow was the price we have to pay this weekend, but we cannot really criticize either him or Mikel for trying their best with limited options. 

Our opposition this weekend is Burnley, a team that is to football what a drunken guest full of vaguely chauvinistic opinions is to an evening soiree. You cannot ignore them, they make you uncomfortable, you wish they were not there, but as they behave just within the limits of the acceptable you gallantly try your best to make the evening successful. 

Last time this season we had met them away at the Turf Moor our evening was made successful by a perfect freekick by Ødegaard, who has since then established himself as a key player in our attack, demonstrating his exquisite technical abilities and remarkable vision and awareness.  Martin and Martinelli were two of our better players in our loss against Liverpool on Thursday, and I hope both are fit enough to start the match and play to their best abilities. 

Barring any unfortunate injuries or illness since Thursday, most of the team select themselves. Forced by the lack of options in the central midfield Mikel had set the team up in a 4-3-3 formation on Thursday with Ødegaard and Emile Smith-Rowe accompanying Sambi Lokonga. Against a team that is as adept at collective high pressing as Liverpool this didn’t really work out well, and even though Sambi had some impressive moments this was too early in his promising career to carry that responsibility without an experienced head next to him in a double pivot. Given Partey’s one-match back this would probably be the area that would give Mikel most to think about before Sunday’s game. If Chambers is available my preference would be Sambi & Chambers in the middle and ESR dropping to the bench (and then to score his customary goal coming on as a substitute, of course). If Chambers is not available we can play Holding – his weakness of lack of pace is not going to be exposed by Burnley, whereas his nous, experience and aerial qualities would come in handy – next to Gabriel and White in the center of the midfield. Assuming Chambers would remain unavailable my starting eleven would be

Ramsdale 

Tomiyasu – Holding – Gabriel – Tierney 

White – Lokonga 

Saka – Ødegaard – Martinelli  

Lacazette

To carry on the flight for the European spots – and maybe even the Champions League spot, there are still a lot of games left in the season and with a few judicious reinforcements in the January window I think such an achievement is not beyond the realms of possibility – we must win this match, and given the newfound bond between the players and the fans at home, I am hopeful that the energy feedback loop (paraphrasing Mikel) will give the players the necessary push to overcome what would be a difficult opposition, irrespective of their current league position. 

I am not a betting man, but if I were a 2-0 win in favor of the Arsenal would be the result that I would feel most confident about. 

Happy viewing everyone!   

Posted in Match Preview | 75 Drinks »

Jota proves too sharp for an undercooked Arsenal

Jan 20th, 2022 by

A double by Diogo Jota helped Liverpool to an ultimately comfortable victory in the Carabao Cup semi-final. Our disappointment was compounded by a sending-off for Thomas Partey who managed no more than fifteen minutes on the pitch after returning from Africa. There was a noticeable difference in class between the sides especially as the game wore on and Arsenal struggled to wrest any control away from Liverpool hampered clearly by the lack of match fitness of several players.

After feverish speculation about our team selection, Arteta must have been pleased he could put out a strong looking starting XI. Most of our casualties returned and Partey was able to take his place on the bench after beginning the day in Africa! He really needn’t have bothered! Liverpool were able to field a strong team although they had key absentees away in AFCON.

The early atmosphere was crackling like a good semi-final should be with Ødegaard playing deeper and centrally and taking the eye with intelligent prompting. Arsenal began the better with Martinelli causing regular problems for TAA on Liverpool’s right and after nine minutes Lacazette curled a subtle free kick from the edge of the box against the bar with the help of a slight but important touch from Kellegher in the Liverpool goal.  

Liverpool had been quite subdued but forced the ball home through Matip after a far post corner was headed on but the Liverpool centre back was clearly offside. It was a temporary reprieve as in their first attack of any real note Jota stepped inside a tentative Tomayisu and scuffed a shot past a couple of Arsenal defenders. It was enough to wrongfoot Ramsdale and it dribbled into the centre of the goal. It did not reflect particularly well on our keeper. 

Arsenal 0 Liverpool 1 – Jota (19 mins) 

Goals change the rhythm of most games and whereas Arsenal had looked the more lively side, the goal gave Liverpool assurance and confidence and they assumed control of the game without creating much of note. Suddenly, the fragility and inexperience of our central midfield became increasingly obvious, Saka found it hard to get into the match in any meaningful way and Lacazette became increasingly marooned upfront. Lokonga almost lost the ball on the edge of the area. Martinelli worked incredibly hard and almost got past VVD and Fabinho but the Brazilian stuck out a toe to push the ball away. We weren’t coherent in our attacking play in the last fifteen minutes of the half. The crowd became subdued and Liverpool eased their way to half-time. Atkinson, traditionally no friend of Arsenal, booked Lacazette for a fairly innocuous challenge. We were not made aware of unusual betting activity just before the interval! Arsenal badly missed the sort of midfield drive that Partey supplied against Manchester City. How long would Arteta wait to use him?

Half-time: Arsenal 0 Liverpool 1 

Arsenal needed to show personality and commitment and an early ball over the top from Lokonga to Lacazette deserved a better finish than Lacazette supplied as he blazed over. Jota then skinned White very easily and set up Gordon for an easy chance which the youngster snatched at and also blazed over. Liverpool were now in a comfortable rhythm and Arsenal needed to find more dynamism and physical impact. They looked disappointingly lightweight and one or two of the team, notably Tomiyasu looked well short of match fitness.

Konate hit the post with a header from a corner and Ramsdale’s fine block from the rebound was unnecessary as Henderson was offside. We then just survived a great run and cross from TAA. It was hard to see what options Arsenal had to alter the flow of the game. 

A fine run from Martinelli saw Kelleher touch over his cross shot and this prompted Arteta to take off ESR for Partey and swap Nketiah for Lacazette. Our need for a more incisive leader of the attack was very clear tonight. Could Eddie continue his fine scoring run in the Carabao Cup?

Liverpool continued to pour forward and Robertson just turned the ball wide before Jota notched a second after it was initially disallowed for offside. Ramsdale again could not impose himself but he was badly exposed by the through ball and Jota, who caused huge problems for our central defenders, latched onto the long ball from TAA  to all but confirm Liverpool’s place at Wembley.

Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2 – Jota (77)

The admirable Martinelli went close immediately afterwards but this Arsenal team was undercooked with several players looking short of full fitness and they lacked the drive and power needed to trouble Liverpool. Had we had to play the NLD with the resources we had last week it was unlikely to have ended well. Atkinson continued to give very petty yellow cards out and decided an innocuous trip by Partey merited a card. It proved very significant a few minutes later when a poorly timed challenge saw him receive a second yellow and negate the impact of his return from Cameroon. Our red card agony continues although the jobsworth Atkinson really didn’t need to give the first yellow.

Liverpool closed the game out with very few problems and move on to Wembley. What they might have achieved with Mane and Salah on the pitch doesn’t bear thinking about.

Losing any semi-final is disappointing but this competition is not our priority and of more concern is the effect of cumulative injuries on our rhythm and drive. If Arteta didn’t realise that we need midfield and attacking reinforcements before (and he clearly does) this game would have underlined the need to bolster the squad. Only Martinelli made much impact. He ran his heart out but we were very much second-best tonight after a very encouraging start to the game. We have a seventeen day gap after the Burnley match and we must hope we can gather our resources to get past Burnley on Sunday. Let us hope this does not dampen the enthusiasm of our fans who showed great support but were understandably discouraged by tonight’s events.

Would things have been any different if we had played on the original date?  It’s difficult to know but the suspicion that chicanery took place to alter the date is hard to avoid. But I very much doubt that we could have prevailed even if that original game had been played. Liverpool are currently a much better team. 

Patience is very necessary for our fans. Fourth place is the very clear target for us this season. Let us hope we can marshal and improve our resources to give it a real go – and stop the haemorrhage of resources from needless red cards. 

Final score Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2 

Posted in Match Report | 27 Drinks »

Fearless

Jan 19th, 2022 by

Throughout Pink Floyd’s song “Fearless”, from their album “Meddle”, is woven a recording of Liverpool’s Kop singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. I’ve always thought it odd to be there: Roger Waters and David Gilmour are huge Arsenal fans. Right, let us listen to the song in a different way, not as (somehow) a paean to Liverpool.

You Say the Hill’s Too Steep to Climb

Consider the events of the past three weeks. Liverpool’s false positive Covid tests led to the first leg of our Carabao Cup semifinal tie being postponed until tomorrow at the Grove (20 January, 7:45 pm GMT). We were beaten soundly by Nottingham Forest, ending our FA Cup run before we’d really begun. Then we played the putative first leg of the semifinal at Anfield last Thursday. We held on for a 0-0 draw, showing grit and determination with 10 men for the last 70 minutes of the game after Xhaka’s inability earned him a red card. And Sunday’s league game with the Hampstead Woad Wearers was postponed on request from Arsenal. Since the first leg postponement Liverpool have continued their winning ways, beating Shrewsbury in the FA Cup before the draw at Anfield. They beat Brentford 3-0 in the league on Sunday.

So which team is heading into tomorrow’s game with less fear?

The Idiot Faced the Crowd, Smiling

Arsenal comes into tomorrow’s game potentially still missing a raft of players. Thomas Partey won’t make it back from Ghana’s AFCON exit in time for the game. Auba is still out of favor, and now has left AFCON with Covid-related heart lesions. Pépé and Mo’Neny are still involved with Ivory Coast and Egypt at the tournament. While Ødegaard should return from his Covid absence, Tomiyasu, Saka, Cedric, Smith-Rowe, and Chambers are all recovering from knocks. No announcement has yet been made about who will pass their final fitness tests and be available for selection. Xhaka is suspended, and we no longer can call on Kolasinac (now a Marseille player), AMN (on loan at Roma), Balogun (loaned to Middlesborough), or Marí (heading to Udinese on loan).

Until we know which of our injured players are returning this leaves us with a really skeletal squad. Are we going to involve the really young kids? It could be something like this, from who we have available:

Leno

White — Holding — Gabriel — Tierney

Lokonga — Mø

Laca — Patino — Martinelli

Nketiah

Of course, this leaves us with a bench of Ramsdale, Tavares, and…and… They are the only known remaining first team players available. Maybe we’ll see Osei-Tutu and/or Rekik in support of the defense? M’Hand for the midfield? We’ve recalled Azeez and John-Jules from loans, but are they ready to be on our bench? That would be 7 subs, covering most of the necessary positions…but wow, you can see through it it’s so thin. A very steep hill to climb, indeed.

Who’s the Fool, Who Wears the Crown?

In second place in the League, in the Champions League knockout stage, in the FA Cup: Liverpool have had much success this season. They beat us badly in the league at Anfield two short months ago. Arsenal has a threadbare squad. All the signs and portents point towards a Liverpool victory.

Herr Klopp, he of the 40 false positives (still waiting for all the names, Jurgen!), will not be able to select Phillips, Elliott, Origi, or Thiago due to injury. Mane, Salah, and Keíta all remain at AFCON. Oxlade-Chamberlin is a doubt after Sunday’s Brentford game, where he rolled an ankle. They can still field a comfortable squad:

Kelleher

TAA — Matip — Van Dijk — Robertson

Henderson — Fabinho — Jones

Minamino — Firmino — Jota

They’ll have a solid bench of Alisson, Konaté, Gomez, Tsimikas, Milner, Williams, Gordon, and Morton, at least.

I daresay Klopp will be frowning on the touchline, but that’s his usual state, isn’t it?

Every Day is the Right Day

It’s going to be a tough game for us to win. Unless we get folks back from injury it’ll take even more grit and determination with 11 than we showed with 10 last week to get a result. Liverpool is favored by the bookies to win, but a 2-2 draw at full plus extra time will get you 15s. If you want to back the Arsenal to win, you can get 11s for 1-0, and a tasty 23/1 for a 2-0 victory. If our defense can keep another clean sheet, either of those scorelines could be winners.

The Sound of the Faces in the Crowd

I want to close this with a comment about how magnificent our away fans were at Anfield. They outsung the home supporters, and lifted and supported our players as they ground out the 10-man draw.

For the Arsenal fans who are making their way the game, make it a right day. As has been reported here in prior posts and comments, the unity among our supporters is strong this year. We can expect the home support tomorrow to be loud, proud, and generate the right kind of energy to lift and support our boys again and again throughout the game. Give them everything you can, everything they deserve. Let’s hope by the end of Thursday evening we’re all singing about Wemberley, having climbed that hill in our own way.

COYG!

Posted in Match Preview | 69 Drinks »

Derby scratched due to Arsenal player shortage + Wherefore Arsenal and the Spuds?

Jan 16th, 2022 by

Today’s much-discussed Derby postponement came in the form of the Premier League announcement as follows:

“With Arsenal having fewer than the required number of players available for the match (13 outfield players and one goalkeeper), the Board accepted the club’s application.

The decision is a result of a combination of COVID-19, existing and recent injuries and players on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. All clubs are able to apply for a postponement if COVID-19 infections are a factor in their request.”

************************************************************************

Since I had nearly finished my preview before we found out today’s game is not going to be played, I thought to turn this piece into my random impressions of where the two clubs’ seasons seem to be going at the moment, so here goes my non-preview.

The ‘holics pound

First things first: My prediction would have been Spurs 0, Arsenal 13.

Unfortunately it may be difficult to find the bookmakers who will accept such a bet at this point but it could well be worth a punt.

The Arsenal

The Gunners’ excellent run of five straight wins leading up to the end of 2021 was interrupted in the first two matches of 2022 despite an excellent performance in the loss to Manchester City. The dreadful Cup exit at Nottingham Forest was another story.  But after Granit Xhaka’s 25th minute dismissal at Liverpool a heroic rearguard action by the 10-man Gunners prevented a third consecutive defeat in the 0-0 draw in the Carabao Cup first leg.  Just the sort of result a coach would have wanted to build on going into the Derby, if the depleted Gunners had had enough players available for it. Over a longer stretch, the Gunners compiled an impressive league record of 11-2-3 in the games bookended by their two defeats to Manchester City on August 28 and January 1. One of those wins came in September when they beat Spurs 3-1 at the Emirates.

But if Sunday’s game had been played and the Gunners had lost it (double portion of pie in the sky), they would have been surpassed in the table by their North London rivals, who also enjoy the advantage of two matches in hand due to Covid-related postponements. Little wonder that Spurs fans threw a fit when the game was postponed, but rules are rules, apparently. 

Some of Arsenal’s unavailable players include AFCON absentees (Partey, Elneny, Auba), loaned players (AMN), suspension (Xhaka) and Covid (Ødegaard).  No, Xhaka’s suspension was not a factor in the League’s decision to call it off; but yes, our dependably undependable midfielder would have been unavailable for this critical match because he was sent off in our last game.  With Auba and Laca growing older, and the AFCON midfield absences, Arsenal have known for a long time that January signings would be desirable if not absolutely essential, so what’s happening, Mikel?

In his press conference before the Forest game, Arteta said: “Obviously we are going to move, and we are going to look for options, because we are very short.” But as James McNicholas wrote in The Athletic after Arsenal’s underwhelming performance at Nottingham, transfer window additions now feel more like a necessity than a bonus.

The Odious Opposition

Spurs have been quite solid at home this season with 7 wins in 10 league outings, drawing with Liverpool and losing only to Chelsea and Manchester United (both losses under Nuno Espírito Santo). Son Heung-min has been a major reason for their good form but a calf injury rules him out until the end of January. Son has been Spurs’ most dangerous attacker with 8 goals, or double the tally of Harry Kane, who used to be notorious for scoring most of his goals in the season’s second half. After Citeh snatched their unlikely victory at the Emirates on January 1st came the unwelcome news of a Spurs late goal that gave them their fifth win in eight unbeaten league matches since September 2 when Antonio Conte took the reins from the beleaguered Nuno Espírito Santo. Over the last 11 days Spurs played two Carabao Cup semifinal legs against Chelsea, losing 0-2 away before going out with a rather meek 0-1 at home. Between the legs Spurs overcame League One relegation candidates Morecambe in the FA Cup.  Press reports say Spurs home support booed their players off at halftime in consecutive matches, and at fulltime after the second Chelsea tie. No doubt, the Gunners would have enjoyed driving an even deeper wedge between them and their supporters with that 13 goal pasting.

The week ahead

But with the Derby called off for now, the Gunners must turn their attention to the second chapter of their Carabao Cup semifinal against Liverpool on Thursday evening, and a home league fixture against Burnley on Sunday.  Hopefully we will see some player reinforcements arriving soon, others recovering from what ails them, and the rest of the league will nick a few points off the odious opposition.

Cheers, ‘holics, and enjoy your Sunday.

Posted in Waffle | 71 Drinks »

All For One, And One For All. Except Granit, Obviously.

Jan 13th, 2022 by

We got out of Anfield with a nil-nil draw and so many positives that I am going to enjoy writing about them.

But first, let’s just dive into Granit Xhaka’s performance and get it out of the way.

I do not like the guy, and anyone who has read anything I’ve written before will know that. Yet, before the game, even I said that I hoped he was available to start. My reasoning for this was that I thought it sensible to play two professional central midfielders in central midfield against Liverpool.

Of course, our erstwhile captain (Mr. Burns style shudder) only managed twenty-four minutes of passing dangerously back to Ramsdale whilst under little pressure himself, and charging upfield to ‘press’ the Liverpool centre-backs, in a way that had Sambi Lokonga wishing for the positional experience of Charlie Patino next to him, before he delivered his coup de grace and got a thoroughly deserved red.

Pool played a long ball over the top, Xhaka kicked out ludicrously at Jota, catching him in the belly, and got as clear a red card as you will see. The guy has no head for the occasion – he has to use up one bottle of shampoo at home before his wife lets him open a new one; she knows he can’t handle making the decision if both are open at the same time.

The only issue was whether Michael Oliver gave his red for dangerous play or denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. I believe he went with the latter, which carries a lighter suspension, although whether that’s a good thing for us or not, I honestly could not say.

Xhaka is an idiot who does stupid things that damage our club and I hope he leaves soon so I do not have to watch him hurt our team anymore. If I were a Spurs fan I would want Granit Xhaka to stay at Arsenal forever. What more can I say?

Nothing.

Right. That’s it. Moving on. Nothing to see here.

Every other human being associated with Arsenal tonight was an absolute hero.

First up, a shout out to our amazing away support.

Our very own CER had made the journey up to Scouseland for this one, and I am sure I was not alone in imagining the gut shot he, and many others, must have felt when we went down to 10 men with over an hour still to play.

Yet, the away fans were magnificent. They did the entire club proud tonight, and the lads on the pitch knew that our fans were right there with them.

Those same lads on the pitch sure as hell gave them something to cheer about. The performances we saw today were stellar. They played their hearts out for the shirt, the club and for their manager. Whatever we see from the outside, inside that squad they all give it everything they have and they back Arteta to the hilt.

None more exemplified this than Callum Chambers, who was thrown in after ten minutes and an injury to Cedric (I can’t have been alone in feeling this might have been a good thing for us?) and played a blinder for 80 minutes. I don’t see what more he could have done – it was a wonderful effort from a player who has been on the fringes of things but showed up big time when it mattered.

After The Moron had left the pitch, we restructured; Eddie had to be hooked and Rob Holding came on as we went to a strange 5-1-2-1 formation. It was a back five, with Sambi in front. And then Saka and Gabi on the wings with Laca up top. Holding anchored the back three and, fortunately, has recaptured and locked up his evil twin, who played the Forest game at the weekend, in the attic at Holding Towers.

The odd formation was fluid enough for one of the defenders to step into midfield occasionally, or the wingers to track runners across the pitch. At times, as Liverpool tried to apply the pressure their dominance of possession begged for, we had Laca about 5 yards outside our box as the furthest man forwards and every other man and his dog lined up in, err, dogged defence of our box.

A lot of this one was not a pretty watch. Even before the Leaden One xhakploded on us, we looked nervy. Ramsdale had an unusually off-colour night, mixing some good things with some poor decision-making that we have not seen much of from him. As a 23-year-old keeper playing in a big game trying to deal with a series of dodgy back passes he has my sympathy, but he contributed to an opening twenty minutes where we never really settled.

White got a touch to prevent a Firminho chance, but it nearly went past Ramsdale for an own goal. In the first fifteen minutes Liverpool had four corners, and only stout defending prevented them from making their fast start count. We had one good run and cross from KT but were struggling to get forward in the opening stages.

After we streamlined our formation on 24 minutes there was a predictable spell of Pool pressure. On 40 minutes the stat came up on the TV that we had had 11% possession in the preceding 15 minutes. I don’t remember seeing a team get 10% or less over five minutes, let alone fifteen. We could not get our collective foot on the ball (you gotta love that turn of phrase! I mean, imagine if we had a collective arsehole. Oh, wait…)

However, pressure was not being converted into chances, as our forward lads buzzed about chasing everything, and our defenders showed admirable positioning and communication. Liverpool probably should have gone wide more often, as we did a good job crowding them out as they tried to play intricate central balls, but hey, for Gooners, it was kinda nice to see another team fail to make the dream ball through the middle as bodies kept getting in the way.

Out of nowhere, we had the better of the last five minutes of the first half. Saka had a few moments where he just looked like making something happen. He got through into good spaces a couple of times, won a corner from nothing, and managed to get close enough to the captain, leader and absolute superstar Lacazette that a few things nearly came off for them.

At half time neither team had registered a shot on target. And only one team was happy about that.

The Liverpool fans are generally excellent, yet even they were subdued as it became clear that this Arsenal side were digging in, mounting a rearguard action, and might not be so easy to turn over as previous incarnations had proved. When Saka ran through and had a shot blocked a couple of minutes into the second half, I’ll bet there were a few hearts in mouths.

Saka caught Matip a little late on the hour, but Michael Oliver did nothing. He ignored quite a lot of fouls, but none of them were particularly dangerous, and he was consistently myopic; I’d rather have a consistently poor ref than one whose inconsistency costs one team but not the other.

We settled into a gentle time-wasting rhythm. We took time out of the game without over-stepping the mark and getting any cards for it. Again, it cannot just have been me that was damn glad to see that Arteta has managed to bring the sort of Dark Arts know-how that marks out the nice teams from the bloody-minded ones?

I would rather we were covered in guts and gore, intellectually speaking, of course.

In the 68th minute, Minamino flashed a great ball across goal that, in all likelihood, Salah or Mane would have tapped in. But they weren’t playing, so they didn’t, and there is not a small enough violin in existence for me to play my Concerto For a Missed Liverpool Chance.

Four minutes later Lacazette fed Saka as he burst through the middle, and a heavy first touch meant he was reaching to hit the shot but Alisson still did well to get out fast and smother the chance.

I thought Liverpool’s subs on 75 mins were a bit odd – Ox, Gomez and Neco Williams coming on for Fabinho, Matip and the man who Jamie Carragher is only legally allowed to refer to as “Trent”. However, five minutes later Saka went down, and although he did a wonderful job of continuing for another two minutes before going down again (all good time-wasting) he was subbed for Nuno Tavares, who got on to the pitch at the third time of stripping off his kit.

Now, I am thrilled that Nuno got right back into the action, and that there appear to be no issues between him and the manager, but he did have a difficult spell as Neco Williams got forward well and put a few crosses in the box.

In the last five minutes Liverpool seemed to wake up. Lacazette had given everything he had; only Gabriel Martinelli was still chasing lost causes like St. Jude on amphetamines. Ramsdale made a couple of punches that screamed of a goalie trying to be dominant but just not quite at the races; Ben White with a good clearance after one of them was booted straight back into the box past the keeper as he made a valiant diving effort to recover from his own weak punch.

The let off that we thought we might need came two minutes into extra time. After Ramsdale tried to claim a cross but was blocked by his own defenders, the ball fell to Minamino about 8 yards out. He should have scored but he skied it. This observer reckons we thoroughly deserved that break.

The game ended honours even. We could not have asked for more.

As this is already a long report for me, I won’t give you chapter and verse on each individual player. They were all brilliant. Ben White got MOTM but you could have picked any of them. They did not have the greatest quality, and they were up against a great team who made it hard. But they showed so much character. They worked their balls off. And there were a surprising number of situations that nearly broke for us. We did not create many clear cut chances but don’t let that fool you; our counter attacking had some teeth, even with ten men.

The travelling faithful responded wonderfully to the effort the players put in. They buoyed them up, and, at times, shouted down all of Anfield. That’s proper support.

After the difficult game against Forest, we needed a performance tonight. And, although a scoreless draw might not be a classic result to demonstrate a performance (and leaving aside the daft actions of one daft man) we could not have asked anything more from everyone in that stadium tonight.

Victoria Concordia Crescit

Posted in Match Report | 111 Drinks »

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