The view from Anfield

Walking up Walbreck Rd to get to the ground the wind is really gusting and I am thinking to myself that this is not going to be a day to pump high balls up to the forwards as it is really blowing. Inside the ground and to be fair Anfield is reasonably well protected as a ground on windy days, but the wind is gusting strongly from the Anny Road end straight down to the Kop. So let’s see who is warming up as you can tell immediately who is playing and who will be on the subs bench. The first thing that strikes me is that Harry Kewell is no where to be seen. So he is not even on the bench. You start thinking well, what happened there? Has Raffa finally despaired of having someone who won’t work for the team in his side?

So the line up is Reina, Finnan, Carra, Sami and John Arne at left back. (Been a while since he started with him there) Xabi , Momo , Stevie and Luis in midfield with Djibril and Morientes up front. This seems another re-shuffled line up after our last 2 poor showings.

The match kicks off and the hammers are on the attack and have a good chance saved inside the first three minutes. This acts as a wake up call to the Reds and we go on the attack and we stayed on the attack until the final whistle! Gone is the uncertainty of the last two games. The back four are assured and playing the ball with authority between themselves and midfield. After two wasteful long balls we get the ball down and play it short. Pass and move with Xabi dominating the midfield and just about everything is played through him, Stevie G is out on the right then he swaps with Garcia and he is on the left. Good movement from all our players and we are knocking the ball about all over the park with complete control of the match. Momo is covering every blade of grass giving the Hammers captain Rio Coker no time to get into and influence the play. Morientes is actually putting his foot in and letting the opposition defence feel his physical presence and is working tirelessy. Cisse is always a threat with his pace although has wasted 2 or 3 good opportunities when played in by Morientes.

The Xabi goal was only a matter of time as we are in complete and utter control of this match. It wouldn’t have mattered who we were playing we would have been in control. The quality of our play is really that good. Xabi’s shot was curling and dipping wickedly and although there were 2 defenders and the keeper on the line. One of the defenders managed to get near enough to slightly deflect it into the net. Great goal from Xabi. We are creating chance after chance and this is great football to watch. This is a Liverpool master class. Shaki Hislop pulls off some fine saves for the Hammers and the one against Garcia is really top drawer whenjust about veryone else thought he had scored. Cisse and Morientes are beginning to tire and Raffa decides to take Cisse off which he does not look too happy about. Why me and not Morientes his expression says? The answer is that Morientes has outworked Cisse in every department. Morientes is replaced shortly afterwards and goes off to a standing ovation form the whole of the ground. This is what we have been waiting for from this player.

Zenden caps off a fine day for the Reds who manage to kill off their opponents when he races through and completes a fine finish off the post giving Hislop no chance. Bolo has his first goal and class finish it was too.


2-0 but this does not reflect the total domination of our play.

Conclusions;

May we see some more windy days at Anfield if it means we get the ball down and play like this.

Is this our best line up? Will Raffa change a winning side next time out?

I read some of the match reports in the Sunday papers from the sports journalists supposedly at this match. What comes across from these reports is just how fashionable it has become to knock our team and the way we play. These guys must have been at a different match from the one I saw because this was by far our best performance of the season. OK our forwards didn’t score a hatful of goals but if we keep playing like this the rest of the Prem had better take notice.

We really were that good!

Thanks George, always a pleasure to read your vision of the game.

Hi Jean Luc

I think that what shocked me most was when I read the match reports in the press about this match. I have noticed for some time the negative press we have been getting. I think it started last year when nobody gave us a chance of winning the CL. I don't know if you remember there was a time when Arsenal and Man U were still in the competition and I would watch reports on Uk sports channels with the experts spending 45 minutes discussing each teams chances in the competition. They would spend 43 minutes talking about everyone else and then spend 2 minutes writing us off as no hopers at the end of the programme. The sports press in the UK papers were the same. I think they never forgave us for making them all look so foolish when we won it and they had to eat their words.

This season has been no different. The sports press has given us no chance in the CL this season and take delight in ridiculing both our players and manager whenever they can.

Having witnessed this match though and then seen reports in the press which were so blatantly critical of what was a superb display of highly technical football played at the highest level I had to ask myself just what is going on with the sports press.

I note that Alan Pardew the Hammers manager has come out and said that we were the best side he has faced this season. On the evidence of this display he is right we were truly awesome. What remains to be seen is can we stay at this level consistently?
Still we have taken the stick when we have played badly we deserve the credit when we get it right.

Yes, I was surprised that, this season, despite of our success in CL, the papers in UK and everywhere in Europe just don't give us a single chance to win the trophy again. And it's the same about the PL (well, in this case, they are probably right).
And it seems that the press is waiting for a crisis in Anfield. I think they are still thinking that Istanbul was a lucky win.
In fact, LFC disturbs a lot of people with this come back.

I guess the problem JLB is that so many so called experts were proved so badly wrong when we won the CL. Everyone of them to a man said we would not progress from the group stage, then we would not beat Juventus then we had no chance against Chelsea. No chance at all in the final.

I do not think I have ever witnessed so many football "experts" get it so badly wrong. So I guess it should be no surprise that this same group of people are now trying to say we were lucky to win it. We as fans all know however you cannot win a competiton that needs 2 matches in each round to knock out your opponents by luck. you might get lucky in one of the rounds but not all of them. I think if i was a professional football "expert" I too would be embarrassed if it had been me who made these comments. They have continued this season in the vain hope that eventually their prognosis would be proved correct.

However they are still being proved wrong!

I have stated my views here often and often been criticised for them.We are doing better this season in both the Prem and the CL and if Raffa can succeed in getting the players he wants to strenghten the team in January, then some of these experts will again have egg all over their faces.

And I'm sure we'll do better next season. Some of the kids we have signed seem to be very good, and could play some games with the first eleven in 2006, like Antwi or Barragan.

Week after week, Rafa is building his team. And you can't do that in 6 months or even 1 season, you need 2 or 3 seasons.

I haven't given up hope for this season JLB, we are an improved team on last season. with the exception of the Fulaham result we are far more consistent than we were last season and if some of our player can find their form along with a couple of additions I have seen enough this season to feel confident about