Liverpool FC Forum

by **stmichael** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 1:37 pm

first of all i was at the game last night and was disappointed by the attendance which could only of been about 35,000. the atmosphere was also very quiet during the game. i know a lot of fans are apprehensive about what our players are going to do on the pitch but on saturday for gods sake make some noise and get behind the team. we have by no means turned the corner after this result, although we did show a degree of urgency which has been missing in recent weeks. there were some positive signs though and thess are generally the points i noted during the game.

1. how on earth have we failed to beat pompey in three previous games this season? on last nights showing they're doomed. i've been going to anfield for 15 years and in that time i've never seen an opposing team give us as much time and space as they did in the first half especially. we could have had six if it wasn't for hislop.

2. people who ever doubted michael owen's coommitment to liverpool football club should have seen the guys workrate last night. it was phenomenal. i still think we should keep him at all costs. form is temporary, class is permanent, and owen showed last night that he has class in abundance.

i also noted that it seems to be the case that michael owen plays his best football for liverpool when emile heskey is in the side. the same with england. i'm not a heskey fan but owen plays better with a foil alongside him. baros is a class act but hasn't really been given a run in the team to form a decent link with owen. i mean why was he dropped to the bench last night?

3. i also thought the midfield worked better as a unit. stevie g has been doing everything in recent weeks but last night i thought he got great support from the other midfield players. infact gerrard had one of his quietest, least influential games for some time. mainly because murphy had his best game since the turn of the year, kewell looked dangerous, and hamann was given the license to go over the half way line and play higher up the pitch. his goal was some strike to.

4. oh yeah and the sight of seeing igor del piero with a sublime turn, dribble and shot was hilarious.

so what i would call a decent night's work. more of the same saturday please. however there are much harder games to come and we will be made to work a lot harder than we were last night. did you see the same things i saw in the game or do you disagree?

by **115-1073096938** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 11:40 pm

I think last nite portsmouth were flattered by the scoreline.

It wasn't that they played badly at all. It was that we were simply the far better side and for once shown it.

Owen controlled the game from upfront and worked harder than i've seen him do for a long time as you correctly said, i agree Stevie was quiet by his standards recently but theres nothing wrong with that. He was still had a monster of a game.

Hamann was very good, Riise looked like he had a point to prove and played well even tho there was still one or two hoofs but in general i thought it was a superb performance.

by **XSD** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 11:46 pm

The best improvement:
A sense of urgency, always getting the ball upfield.
As opposed to just passing the ball around in their own half for the whole game going forward slowly once or twice.

by **The_Rock** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 2:50 pm

We could have beaten portsmouth by 5 or 6 goals.

It lookss like liverpool have finally turned the corner. If we beat wolves, that will give us the confidence to beat Marseille. If we beat Marseiile, i can see us going the whole season unbeaten.......

by **stmichael** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 2:54 pm

WAIT. hang on a minute. go the rest of the season unbeaten? how can u say that? we still have to go to man u and arsenal for gods sake. we haven't turned a corner at all. the next three league games are ones we SHOULD win. then we go to highbury which is a real test. people need to be realistic. i'm not even that confident of beating marseille.

by **115-1073096938** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 3:17 pm

I think if we can beat wolves, then marsielle we have the quality to go unbeaten till the end of the season and that might give us the confidence to do so.

Arsenal aren't going to stay unbeaten forever. If i remember rightly last season if it wasn't for the diving evertonian s##t we'd have probably done em at highbury. To be honest i can see us getting at least 1 point at arsenal and i honestly think we are good enough to beat united at old trafford. They aren't the games that worry me though.

Charlton at home worry's me more. I think if we can get some sort of run going now and hopefully do well in the uefa cup it will stand us in good stead for next season. We certainly have enough class.

Its a question of confidence and consistency. It would be nice if we could find it again.

by **stmichael** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 3:25 pm

i know we've got the ability, i just haven't seen it applied consistently. i don't think we'll lose at highbury cos our record down there is very good. infact we've taken more points off arsenal than any other premiership team. we're also capable of winning at old trafford with their dodgy defence this season. we normally finish the season strongly and hopefully this year will be no exception. certain players are playing for their futures.

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