Observer match report

[Andythered]

Gonzalez shows Jenas how it's done

 

Paul Wilson at Anfield

Sunday September 24, 2006

The Observer

 

 

Spurs must have felt like kicking themselves all the way back to London after yet another fiasco in front of goal. Being Spurs, though, they would undoubtedly have missed the target. Two home wins in the space of four days might look like a Liverpool recovery, but despite a flattering scoreline Rafa Benitez's side are still playing a long way below their best. They looked nothing like title aspirants for a good hour of this game, when their visitors outpassed them in midfield and set up a succession of clear scoring chances."

 

Comment: Funny how we managed to have more possesion and more shots than spurs if they dominated us for an hour. But why base reports on factual analysis eh?

 

 

Liverpool could have had no complaints had they been two goals down when Mark Gonzalez broke the deadlock after 63 minutes, but it is easy to see why Spurs have gone seven hours without scoring. Their finishing is absolutely diabolical. Gonzalez should never have had the chance to put Liverpool in front. His team should have been restarting from the centre spot after a superb counter-attack by Jermain Defoe and Edgar Davids carved Liverpool open down the left and the latter's low cross past Jose Reina left an open goal at the mercy of Jermaine Jenas, yet, despite running 60 yards to support the break and get in position, the midfielder turned the ball the wrong side of the post. Liverpool came down the field and scored 38 seconds later, leaving Spurs empty-handed once again and regretting what might have been.

Two down? What planet is he on. The second chance was a sitter but two. Crosses nearly connecting are two a penny. We also had chances

 

That list was quite a long one. Ledley King set the tone in the first half by rising unchallenged to Danny Murphy's free-kick, only to miss his header when any sort of contact would have had Reina in trouble. Twice more Murphy, excellent on his Anfield return, came within a whisker of playing in first Robbie Keane then Defoe. Ten minutes from half time an exquisite pass from Keane set Jenas free on the right, where he promptly wasted a good opportunity by blazing first time into the Kop. It was not quite as culpable a miss as what followed, though if Spurs continue to treat good positions and good possession in such a cavalier fashion they will stay closer to the bottom four than the top.

 

Liverpool supporters spent much of the game fretting that the Spurs malaise might be contagious, though in their case the reason for a blank scoreline was that chances were simply not being created. The closest they came to scoring in the first half was when Pascal Chimbonda unintentionally touched a Gonzalez corner on to his own post, then saw Jenas clear Momo Sissoko's follow-up shot.

 

Erm, two chances mentioned here. Obviously dont count if they are Liverpool ones.

 

Craig Bellamy did bring a save from Paul Robinson right on the stroke of the interval, otherwise the first half would have passed without a shot on target. The same player narrowly failed to get on the end of Dirk Kuyt's cross from the right early in the second half, though one could not help thinking the move might have been more productive had the roles been reversed. Bellamy and Kuyt crashing into each other when Gonzalez returned the ball from the left did little to instil confidence in the home front pairing and by the time Steven Gerrard began hoisting crosses towards Bellamy's head one could only wonder what Liverpool had been practising in training.

 

Oh, so that is 4 chances. I thought Spurs bossed the game?

 

Then came the match-turning moment, and although it appeared Bellamy had missed a great chance when he turned Gerrard's cross against a post from close range, Gonzalez was on hand to snaffle the rebound. That goal changed everything. Gaps appeared as Spurs began to chase the game and Liverpool duly stepped into them. Kuyt delighted the Kop with an emphatic finish after skilfully collecting Luis Garcia's through ball, taking advantage of the fact that the Spurs defence had stopped on the assumption that Gerrard would be flagged for offside, and John Arne Riise put the final gloss on proceedings with a spectacular goal from almost 30 yards in the final minute.

 

The crowd had been urging Xabi Alonso to shoot every time he touched the ball - in all probability a few more bets had been placed on the back of his midweek success from his own half against Newcastle - but Riise is the club's original long-shot expert and Michael Dawson should have known better than to back off him.

 

Kuyt summed up the game best, if somewhat idiosyncratically. 'They missed an open goal then we scored, and that's not so funny for Spurs,' the Dutch striker said. The managers did not disagree. 'They had their chances but once we scored we had a lot more possibilities and our tempo was better,' Benitez said. Martin Jol looked for a moment as though he might not say anything at all when reminded of Jenas's miss. Finally he sighed and admitted the game could have been very different with better finishing. 'We had three half-chances and one or two very big chances,' he said through clenched teeth. 'It was exactly the same as Manchester United.'

[Guest Barne's Rap]

I know!! What game was he watching?!! I wasn't worried for a second, we were always in control. The guradian used to be my favourite read but they are fast becoming as bad as the tabloids - they are always among the first to start with the crouch stick insect jokes and the website is becoming so sarcastic you need to be a total moron to write for them.

[Guest roger]

The match turning moment was the Jenas miss. Not our goal the other end...

[Falconhoof]

There was never a match turning moment because we were always in control.

 

Match turning moment ? Makes it sound like Spurs had us penned back in our own half until Jenas missed and then we were roused into life.

That was their only real chance of the game, Reina had not a single save to make.

[Gomez]

The closest they came to scoring in the first half was when Pascal Chimbonda unintentionally touched a Gonzalez corner on to his own post,

 

Funny way of saying Liverpool were denied a penalty from one fo the most blatant handballs you'll see.

 

 

There was never a match turning moment because we were always in control.

True, a spurs fan mate of mine had texted me just as we scored saying Liverpool had really turned it on second half and it was only a matter of time before we scored.

 

Jenas' miss is a convienent incident to say the match turned on, but it is simply not true.

[Maldini]

Our second half was the most dominant I've seen use since we battered West Brom away a while back

[hideNseek]

P Wilson...............prick of the year title again me thinks?

[fyds]

There was never a match turning moment because we were always in control.

 

Match turning moment ? Makes it sound like Spurs had us penned back in our own half until Jenas missed and then we were roused into life.

That was their only real chance of the game, Reina had not a single save to make.

Spot on. They always gave the impression of playing at their near best while we looked comfortable in second gear. You look at this Liverpool side and you can see there is so much more yet to come once the gelling is complete and each others games are better read. Thought Speedy has a fine game and jeez, can he whip in a cross from nowhere and nothing!

[JRC]

Thanks for that. I stopped buying The Observer because of the cr*p written by Wilson and Will Buckley, but had been thinking about relenting. Wilson is without doubt the worst Football corrrespondent writing; completely clueless (not just wrt Liverpool).

 

The Sindy again tomorrow, then....

[Cunny]

I have never read a good word about us from this c***.

 

http://football.guardian.co.uk/Observer_Ma...1879650,00.html

 

Gonzalez shows Jenas how it's done

 

Paul Wilson at Anfield

Sunday September 24, 2006

The Observer

 

 

Spurs must have felt like kicking themselves all the way back to London after yet another fiasco in front of goal. Being Spurs, though, they would undoubtedly have missed the target.

Two home wins in the space of four days might look like a Liverpool recovery, but despite a flattering scoreline Rafa Benitez's side are still playing a long way below their best. They looked nothing like title aspirants for a good hour of this game, when their visitors outpassed them in midfield and set up a succession of clear scoring chances.

 

Liverpool could have had no complaints had they been two goals down when Mark Gonzalez broke the deadlock after 63 minutes, but it is easy to see why Spurs have gone seven hours without scoring. Their finishing is absolutely diabolical. Gonzalez should never have had the chance to put Liverpool in front. His team should have been restarting from the centre spot after a superb counter-attack by Jermain Defoe and Edgar Davids carved Liverpool open down the left and the latter's low cross past Jose Reina left an open goal at the mercy of Jermaine Jenas, yet, despite running 60 yards to support the break and get in position, the midfielder turned the ball the wrong side of the post. Liverpool came down the field and scored 38 seconds later, leaving Spurs empty-handed once again and regretting what might have been.

That list was quite a long one. Ledley King set the tone in the first half by rising unchallenged to Danny Murphy's free-kick, only to miss his header when any sort of contact would have had Reina in trouble. Twice more Murphy, excellent on his Anfield return, came within a whisker of playing in first Robbie Keane then Defoe. Ten minutes from half time an exquisite pass from Keane set Jenas free on the right, where he promptly wasted a good opportunity by blazing first time into the Kop. It was not quite as culpable a miss as what followed, though if Spurs continue to treat good positions and good possession in such a cavalier fashion they will stay closer to the bottom four than the top.

 

Liverpool supporters spent much of the game fretting that the Spurs malaise might be contagious, though in their case the reason for a blank scoreline was that chances were simply not being created. The closest they came to scoring in the first half was when Pascal Chimbonda unintentionally touched a Gonzalez corner on to his own post, then saw Jenas clear Momo Sissoko's follow-up shot.

 

Craig Bellamy did bring a save from Paul Robinson right on the stroke of the interval, otherwise the first half would have passed without a shot on target. The same player narrowly failed to get on the end of Dirk Kuyt's cross from the right early in the second half, though one could not help thinking the move might have been more productive had the roles been reversed. Bellamy and Kuyt crashing into each other when Gonzalez returned the ball from the left did little to instil confidence in the home front pairing and by the time Steven Gerrard began hoisting crosses towards Bellamy's head one could only wonder what Liverpool had been practising in training.

 

Then came the match-turning moment, and although it appeared Bellamy had missed a great chance when he turned Gerrard's cross against a post from close range, Gonzalez was on hand to snaffle the rebound. That goal changed everything. Gaps appeared as Spurs began to chase the game and Liverpool duly stepped into them. Kuyt delighted the Kop with an emphatic finish after skilfully collecting Luis Garcia's through ball, taking advantage of the fact that the Spurs defence had stopped on the assumption that Gerrard would be flagged for offside, and John Arne Riise put the final gloss on proceedings with a spectacular goal from almost 30 yards in the final minute.

 

The crowd had been urging Xabi Alonso to shoot every time he touched the ball - in all probability a few more bets had been placed on the back of his midweek success from his own half against Newcastle - but Riise is the club's original long-shot expert and Michael Dawson should have known better than to back off him.

 

Kuyt summed up the game best, if somewhat idiosyncratically. 'They missed an open goal then we scored, and that's not so funny for Spurs,' the Dutch striker said. The managers did not disagree. 'They had their chances but once we scored we had a lot more possibilities and our tempo was better,' Benitez said. Martin Jol looked for a moment as though he might not say anything at all when reminded of Jenas's miss. Finally he sighed and admitted the game could have been very different with better finishing. 'We had three half-chances and one or two very big chances,' he said

[abc]

I missed the 1st half, but having just watched the 2nd half again, apart from that Davids/Jenas chance, we were all over them. The 2nd half performance was so emphatic I'd say it alone deserved at least 2 goals. The rocket from Riise was just the cherry on the cake.

[Ombudsam]

That report is sh*t

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

the match stats associated with that report back-up Spurs' dominance:

 

Corners:

Liverpool 7

Tottenham 0

 

Goal Attempts:

Liverpool 17

Tottenham 7

 

On Target:

Liverpool 6

Tottenham 1

[Gerry]

haha Was going to post something about this myself. Wilson, yet again, shows he really has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to us. The "succession of chances" (i.e. two) and "Liverpool could have had no complaints had they been two goals down" comments are just plain ridiculous. It's as if he genuinely ignores every good thing we do, and simply concentrates on any chances the opposition creates. What I can't fathom though, is given that there are ten frigging games every week, more often that not this pillock is chosen to write our game review. My heart sinks when I open the paper and see his name against our game, because I know it's going to wind me up.

[The Invisible Man]

I have to say that when I read it this morning I also wondered what game he had been watching. A very poor report.

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

haha Was going to post something about this myself. Wilson, yet again, shows he really has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to us. The "succession of chances" (i.e. two) and "Liverpool could have had no complaints had they been two goals down" comments are just plain ridiculous. It's as if he genuinely ignores every good thing we do, and simply concentrates on any chances the opposition creates. What I can't fathom though, is given that there are ten frigging games every week, more often that not this pillock is chosen to write our game review. My heart sinks when I open the paper and see his name against our game, because I know it's going to wind me up.

it's even funnier thinking we could have been 2 down & they had 1 shot on target in the whole game. I can't even remember what that was either

[Benitez]

it's even funnier thinking we could have been 2 down & they had 1 shot on target in the whole game. I can't even remember what that was either

 

 

that one shot on target, didn't actually get that near the goal, it was that shot from Tainio that was blocked by D.Agger.

[timbos goals]

Alan Shearer also made a similar point to this Wilson idiot on MOTD. Utter crap. As if the second half of the game had never taken place. It's why I posted this long diatribe earlier in another thread. My point is the drivel is so widespread now. You can point to scores of examples of media tossers with an apparent agenda against us - or our Spanish manager.

 

EARLIER POST [response to Red Marauder]

 

QUOTE(RedMarauder @ Sep 24 2006, 11:36)

 

Spurs did not deserve anything from this game over the whole match, only at half time. QUOTE

 

 

Absolutely. And the above synopsis would seem to sum up how most Reds fans saw the game. Yet not one media summation seems able to grasp this as being the essence of what happened.

 

Most I've caught hold of have Spurs as wallowing in self-pity on their return to the Smoke, licking their wounds, rueing a defeat that should really have been a victory had it not been for the profligacy of King and Jenas.

 

I mean surely anyone who actually watched the entire game could see - reflecting on the action over 90 minutes - that the first half had been merely a 'feeling each other out' prelude to the main action after half time when the better side ended up simply brushing aside its opponent.

 

Rather like a top class boxer faced with a game, yet ultimately overstretched and outclassed opponent. Starting slowly, perhaps a bit vulnerable but apart from the odd lapse never really troubled for the first half of the fight. Sure there'd been a few moments when a decent blow had been landed but nowhere near enough to alter the eventual outcome of the contest.

 

Maybe the media just don't want to regard us in such terms. A top class side?

 

Contrast it with the general pro Everton/Chelsea media concensuses following their victories over us a few weeks ago. Okay so in neither fixture were we ever at the top of our game. Yet in both games we as the away side created far more opportunites. Yet the prevailing media conclusion went against us, particularly after the Goodison debacle.

 

Not one report I read on both games had us rueing our luck, even though our bad luck and missed opportunities outscored Spurs equivalent by around ten to one.

 

It's becoming more and more puzzling how the media can keep getting it so wrong. How their apparent need to discredit Liverpool seems to override what you'd think would be their professional duty to provide their readers/viewers with a true representation of a sporting contest.

 

I can only conclude it has to be some sort of pre-agenda. I mean, we've rarely ever had great press in say the way United have always had one or Chelsea are now. But nowadays even our own local radio can't seem to warm to anything in any Red's performances. Whilst in contrast they salivate over the merest Blue achievement.

 

Chris Bascombe and James Lawton seem to be the sole voices of any reasonable representation of games involving us.

 

I mean, yesterday, once the second half started, Liverpool just kept stepping up their game and cranking the screw on an increasingly bedraggled Spurs outfit. Frankly, we became so much better than them it made me squirm a bit in embarrassment for Martin Jol - who I like a lot.

 

Apart from Finnan's two lapses in that same counter attack [probably induced by tiredness after his intensive run of games] we simply blew Spurs away. It looked as if they just couldn't rise to the challenge in the second half but as a few round me said, some of our legwork was relentless so maybe we actually deserve a modicum of credit. Momo and Xabi in particular were giant performers in that second half.

 

I wonder if the entire thing stems from a xenophobia?

 

I never caught John Keith's Radio Merseyside phone in last night but I guarantee that every comment uttered by him and his oppo Alan Jackson will have been barbed in some demeaning way, laced with a patronising sneer towards Rafa. I understand Radio City is not much better either.

 

Look how out of hand the rotation criticism has gotten lately. Scarcely a word about the absolutely horrendous away fixture/international tiredness/early kick-off nightmares with which we've been faced, which induced Rafa to implement the rotation.

 

Now people can say it's oversensitive. They can say maybe we're not playing well enough to earn the bouquets. Perhaps to an extent they may be right. The point is, though, the balance went out of this a long time ago. As I said earlier, we've never really got our just desserts in the media but lately, the unfairness of it all has become completely ridiculous.

 

So what can we do about it all?

 

Well I'll start the ball rolling. I'm going for a bevvy

 

[surf]

Apparently Murphy was the best man in midfied as well:

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story...and&cc=5901

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

the bbc's a bit more balanced, but Jol isn't

 

Liverpool struck three times after the break to seal an impressive victory.

 

But Spurs were left to regret an astonishing miss from Jermaine Jenas seconds before Mark Gonzalez gave Liverpool a 63rd-minute lead.

 

Jenas somehow missed from a matter of inches from Edgar Davids' cross, and Spurs were punished when Gonzalez scored after Craig Bellamy hit a post.

 

Dirk Kuyt slammed home the second after 73 minutes and John Arne Riise hit a spectacular third in the dying seconds.

...

Xabi Alonso, whose 60-yard strike stunned Newcastle in midweek, tried his luck from closer range after 12 minutes, firing a low shot just wide through a packed penalty area.

 

But it was Spurs who should have gone ahead 13 minutes later when Ledley King somehow failed to get a touch to Danny Murphy's free-kick only six yards out with the goal at his mercy.

 

Liverpool came even closer when Gonzalez's corner deflected off Pascal Chimbonda onto an upright with Paul Robinson beaten.

 

The home side had penalty appeals turned down on the stroke of half-time when King appeared to handle and then haul down Bellamy as he raced into the area.

 

But referee Howard Webb got the decision correct as King had timed his tackle to perfection.

 

Liverpool carried all the momentum after the break, forcing Jol into a change after 61 minutes, sending on Davids for Teemu Tainio.

 

And the move should have paid swift dividends as the Dutch veteran raced down the left flank and set up Jenas inside the six-yard box, but he somehow slid the ball wide when it was easier to score.

 

Liverpool made Spurs pay heavily for Jenas' shocking miss, taking the lead within seconds.

 

Steven Gerrard's cross found Bellamy right in front of goal, and even though he managed to conjure up a miss every bit as bad as Jenas by hitting a post, the rebound fell kindly for Gonzalez to beat Robinson from an angle.

 

And Spurs' afternoon got even worse as Liverpool doubled their advantage with 17 minutes left.

 

Substitute Luis Garcia, on for Bellamy, threaded a pass through to Kuyt who provided a powerful finish as Spurs waited for an offside flag that was never going to come thanks to dreadful positioning by Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

 

Liverpool were in the ascendancy, and just to confirm this was not going to be Spurs' afternoon, Riise fired a trademark thunderbolt past Robinson in the dying seconds.

 

Jol:

 

"We had two or three opportunities before Jermaine Jenas missed a good chance.

"We deserved something from the game but it is about putting our chances away and we failed to do that.

 

"Overall we did a good job because our midfield especially played well but we have to keep our spirit high and we must make it happen."

 

No - they got exactly what they deserved. Nothing

[timbos goals]

Apparently Murphy was the best man in midfied as well:

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story...and&cc=5901

 

Jeez. It gets worse. And the plot thickens. How can those words not be agenda led.

 

To be fair Danny did have a decent first half and he did make two excellent slide rulers.

 

But both were obvious passes as say distinct from Xabi's to Finnan the other night which was far more cunning and how can a gilt edged chance actually warrant the word 'chance' let alone 'gilt edged' if it doesn't actually materialise into a chance?

 

The whole point is though the 90 in 90 minutes means just that and for the last 45 of the 90 Danny was just brushed aside by far superior footballers.

 

It seems we've reached a nadir in media coverage. It's never been good but now it is just deplorable.

[floyd]

The press coverage has always been biased towards the southern teams and the Mancs.

Tony Book, old Man City captain, mentions in his book, how City were coming home from an away win in a European away game, City being the only British side left in any European competition, and all the press had coverage on their back pages was something trivial regarding Man Utd.

Tony Book is a man who seriously hates Man Utd.

[timbos goals]

The press coverage has always been biased towards the southern teams and the Mancs.

Tony Book, old Man City captain, mentions in his book, how City were coming home from an away win in a European away game, City being the only British side left in any European competition, and all the press had coverage on their back pages was something trivial regarding Man Utd.

Tony Book is a man who seriously hates Man Utd.

 

Exactly as I said in that main post, though Tony Book only had to put up with it when they won a single league, the odd cup and Euro honour. For us Reds it was a constant thorn in our side over 30 odd years of begrudged triumphs at home and abroad.

 

My point is that it's suddenly taken a real nose-dive. Now, it seems it's not so much Southern or Man U bias but a real discrediting agenda against Liverpool. Jeez, the few mentioned on here are the tip of a huge iceberg of pure bilge, often vitriolic. It's NEVER been as bad as it is now.

[floyd]

Exactly as I said in that main post, though Tony Book only had to put up with it when they won a single league, the odd cup and Euro honour. For us Reds it was a constant thorn in our side over 30 odd years of begrudged triumphs at home and abroad.

 

My point is that it's suddenly taken a real nose-dive. Now, it seems it's not so much Southern or Man U bias but a real discrediting agenda against Liverpool. Jeez, the few mentioned on here are the tip of a huge iceberg of pure bilge, often vitriolic. It's NEVER been as bad as it is now.

As one of those "lucky" people to watch and LISTEN to the Barcodes game on the net, courtesy of Setanta, and Brian fvckin Marwood. I whole-heartedly agree.

Edited September 24, 2006 by floyd

[timbos goals]

As one of those "lucky" people to watch and LISTEN to the Barcodes game on the net, courtesy of Setanta, and Brian fvckin Marwood. I whole-heartedly agree.

 

You'll think I'm being disagreeable here [i'm not I assure you] but I'd taped the Sky highlights and watched them expecting a real display of bias by Marwood after reading the angry comments of many posters along the lines of what you've said.

 

Strangely, enough given the gist of what I've posted, I never found his comments as bad as I expected. Considering how much better we were, he was certainly leaning a fair bit towards Newcastle but I didn't detect a real agenda against us. His stuff on their 'pens' was plain daft but overall I didn't find I was getting angered by most of his comments.

 

Which brings me to another commentator, though.

 

Ian Darke in the Chelsea game. Now he is one who seemed to have a real agenda to talk us down and Chelsea up. Nothing as nasty as some but if you take his interpretation of the Agger goal line clearance as just one illustration. If he mentioned it once as a close shave he mentioned it half a dozen times. Yet, the ref had clearly blown up so it was nothing of the sort. It was dead, buried, redundant. A dead fvckin parrot. Contrast Kuyt's shuddering smack against the bar. He hardly gave it the time of day. Scarcely a mention.

 

QED for me regarding agendas.