Results tagged “kuyt” from Liverpool Echo - Another Red Letter Day
FIGHT, passion and commitment.
That's the first way to battle out of a crisis of confidence that is seeping through Anfield at present.
When signs of footballing quality are in short supply, one of the initial things fans demand from their players is effort.
And to be fair to the Reds, last night, they gave us that in spades.
A LITTLE late this, I know, but reporting duties have kept me chocca of late.
Still, a retrospective look at the Derby, with more time to ponder, is sometimes preferrable to kneejerk reactions to performances, n'est pas?
Or, 'No?'as Rafa would put it.
I digress.
First off, isn't that winning feeling great?
I'd forgotten what three points was...
YOU don't win anything with poor players.
It's as simple as that.
I ALWAYS have a sense of gloom when we get ready to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
It's never been a happy hunting round for us, and Liverpool performances at their place often follow that samey path of lots of endeavour, but ultimately, a lack of real class that is necessary to topple the strongest squad in the Premiership.
BECOMING easy this playing at home lark isn't it?
Aston Villa aside, our three Premiership games at Anfield have so far finished 4-0, 4-0 and 6-1.
It's widely acknowledged that drawing games at home to mediocre mid-table sides cost us the title last year.
Now, on current evidence, that troublesome Achilles Heel seems to have been well and truly addressed.
SOMETIMES you feel a blog posted after one Liverpool match, could easily be copied and pasted for an entirely different Reds game and it would still be applicable.
Sloppy defenders being saved their blushes by Liverpool's two talismanic frontmen.
Question is, when are we going to learn from all of this?
So, another mediocre Premiership side put to the sword at Anfield.
It was these sorts of games that Liverpool struggled with last season, and which ultimately, cost us the title.
PLAYING away at a rejuvenated Tottenham side on the first day of the season was never the ideal start.
But the way Liverpool limply surrendered to a 2-1 defeat, raising a miriad of questions just 90 minutes into the new campaign, has left question marks aplenty about the nine months ahead.
All kinds of flaky rumours sprouting up today about Frenchman Frank Ribery possibly moving to Anfield.
Does, an article posted by www.goal.com add weight to a speculative story? It seems to have been generated by a welter of people lumping a tenner on the winger joining Liverpool, prompting Skybet to slash the odds on Frank playing in front of the Kop.
I THOUGHT we would have a disinterested air for this game, the league title having been sown up the previous day by United drawing with Arsenal.
But all thoughts of any Liverpool apathy was dispelled by the sight of Carragher and Arbeloa coming to blows in front of baying Albion fans.
What a difference a couple of weeks makes.
Last weekend's drubbing of Man Utd was seen by many as a sweet postscript to a league campaign of so many what-might-have-beens.
Fast forward seven days, a Fulham win over the Mancs here, a routing of Villa by a rampant Liverpool there, and suddenly the title race is back in the mix.
It's a song we could have hardly imagined we'd have been singing at Old Trafford.
But we were.
Man United were mauled in their own backyard.
THERE were two emotions uppermost in my mind moments after having watched Liverpool snatch an improbable victory from the jaws of defeat at Portsmouth.
Elation that we had managed to secure three crucial points in such dramatic, kamikaze circumstances.
But frustration and anger that loyal fans were being forced to try and understand the inexplicability of one of the most baffling Liverpool starting elevens, and its resulting formation, in years.
AS the clock ticked down towards 90 minutes on early Sunday evening, the knives were being sharpened to further puncture Liverpool's faltering title challenge.
But three mad-cap minutes changed all of that and breathed vital new life into the pursuit of Man Utd's at the top of the table.
AND so to Goodison as for the second time in a week we couldn't find a way to beat a much-depleted but battling Everton side.
No two games could have more perfectly summed up Liverpool's currentl failings in a season that still promises to deliver so much.
CAN WE play every game away from home please?
The relief was palpable at Saturday teatime after Liverpool finally notched up three points in a Premiership game to reaffirm our title credentials.
And after two consecutive, nervy and error-strewn performances at home to Fulham and West Ham, I'm bet the players were glad to get away from the frustrated Anfield arena for a weekend.
Still, it still wasn't exactly vintage Reds was it?
DROPPING two points at home to Stoke could be considered unfortunate.
Repeating the feat at home to Fulham would be viewed as worrying. Doing the same against West Ham, and failing to score again into the bargain, is tantamount to a criminal offence.
If we fail to notch up number 19 this season, it's these matches that'll show us where we let it wastefully slip away.
IT'S OFFICIAL. Liverpool are in a bad spell at the moment.
Thankfully, that bad spell is twinned with a professionalism and ability to get results which is just about keeping us on track.
There's no doubt, however, that the unjustified loss to Spurs in the league did more mental damage than we imagined.
OUT with the amateurs, in with the professionals.
After Wednesday nights dire showing, the proper employees at our club showed how to control and win a game of football.
What could have been an arkward trip up the M62 ended up a fairly comfortable afternoon for the first teamers.
WITHIN seconds of the final whistle last night, my mobile phone was bleeping incessantly with text messages form irate football fans.
"You jammy gets!", screamed one. "That's just sick!"
Another message that was fired through bodly declared: "That penalty was a joke. Lucky, lucky, lucky, Liverpool!"
The first missive was from a Blue, the second a Red, I can inform you.
Maybe it was natural of me to go onto the defensive, but my instant reaction was to rebuff both statements as being wide of the mark.
I still stand by that view in the cold light of day this morning.
