Topic: Round Table Blackburn Rovers 2 - 3 Liverpool

[Hinesy]

wow, get in, fuck, blimey, oh no, eh? fuck again, ha ha, easy lad, fuck.... whooooo


That's my summary of a bonkers game. More later.

[royhendo]

Mentalism.

Many positives and a reminder that football is amazing.

The weekend is massive.

[Barney_Rubble]

bump

[iamrobk]

One thing I don't really get is people complaining about the refs decisions.  No ref is ever going to be perfect, but I can't see anything really wrong with what he did yesterday.  Feel free to disagree and explain why, if you want.

[kkjellquist]

Thought any GK would have got a red for the first PK, and he was fair on the second as he was going away from goal.  There was a few too many yellows, but oh well.

Man it feels good to feel good after a game and get 3 pts...almost forgot what it was like!

[stevied]

get in you big long haired no.9

[skooma]

One thing I don't really get is people complaining about the refs decisions.  No ref is ever going to be perfect, but I can't see anything really wrong with what he did yesterday.  Feel free to disagree and explain why, if you want.

I agree. If anything the ref seemed to favor our side for a time. He just let Flanno off with a warning when a second yellow could have been given.

As for Flanagan like I said in the old thread, I know he'll never make that kind of mistake again. I wish he would have these oh shit learning experiences in training or on loan but if he's the sort of player we hope he is he will learn from it.

That's also why I said I don't mind if the team lose league matches for the rest of the season if the team involves lots of youth and fringe players. At this point the team has nothing to gain from the league this season so I feel it's best to 1.) Save energy and player wear for the cup 2.) Use the remaining match minutes to their fullest potential by giving players valuable top flight match experience. Don't me wrong, I love it when the team wins. I just think the benefits of playing youth and maybe not winning outweigh playing senior players and possibly winning but winning worthless matches.

Really chuffed for Carroll. I hope that builds his confidence and gets him to be the player we all know he can be.

[skooma]

Its got to a point where I'm not really sure what a keeper should do in those situations now, just let the bloke run up and score? Strikers are almost running into keepers now to get the pen. I agree the ref had no choice.

92nd minute winners are so sweet!

It is kind of silly to say red cards are for "impeding a scoring chance". That's literally the job description of a goalkeeper!

[Jellies]

It is kind of silly to say red cards are for "impeding a scoring chance". That's literally the job description of a goalkeeper!

Illegally impeding a scoring chance

[Kashinoda]

In Premier League terms this game on paper meant nothing, experimental squad with plenty of first team players out. Midweek evening kickoff against a team scrapping for relegation when we have little to fight for.

I tell you what though, when Carroll put that winner away it felt like Kuyt scoring that last minute winner against United in the FA Cup. There was something about last nights performance that hadn't been in our team for quite some time, as the game entered the final quarter you could sense we would get something, so did Kenny and the players. Fantastic way to head into the semi final, maybe a bit too early to say this dark patch is behind us but the future looks fucking bright.

As for the game its self, when we started it felt like it was going to be like our visit to Fulham last year... not because Maxi scored but because we started the game on the front foot and pressing hard. Something we've done too little too late since the Arsenal game. Going down to 10 men killed our shape but gave certain players like Henderson a chance to show what they're about, he's proved he can be more versatile than people give him credit for.

Felt Bellamy should have come off for Kuyt in the second half as he was looking jaded and becoming very wasteful, other than that everyone put in a fantastic shift.

[Red_Isle_Chap]

There's not really much you can say about that, i've just been watching the 40 min LFCtv highlights again and i'm exhausted despite knowing what was going to happen!

Massive, massive credit to the 10 lads who were out there after Doni got sent off, and the subs. My sympathy goes out to Doni who looks devastated, but it really wasn't his fault. Clumsy? yeah a little, but then it's only his second ever start for us. Sympathy for Flanno who'd had a shocker and i'm sure has apologised to Doni for the poor backpass. But, other than that, I thought the lads were a massive, massive credit to the club and the brilliant travelling fans.

The first goal was classic. Andy takes it down, protects it in our own 18 yard box, gives it to Skrtel who biffs it what, 70 yards, pretty much inch perfect for Bellamy who then dissects Blackburn like they were a chelsea defense with a glorious ball to Maxi who i'm sure we'd all like to have seen more of this season.

Second goal, the Dunn was stitched up like a kipper by Jonjo who drives at the heart of the blackburn defense, scuffs his shot a bit, andy can't get there but the ball pops up to maxi for a clinical left foot finish. It's 2-0, it's only about 18 mins gone, woooo we're the shit!

Then the sending off. Then that penalty. Let's be honest, it's one of the worst ever, or at least this season, but fuck it, i was so made up for Brad with that save, in fact so much so that i'll let him off the other whoopsie moment for the second penalty. Their second goal it was a soft free kick for a handball from bellamy who should know better, to be fair, brilliant ball from dunn, shocking marking form us and easy as for the fat purple aki.

The less said about their second the better. Jones takes too long to clear, his yakubu's fat arse and then instead of catching it, he palms it down and takes yukubu out. I can only think that it must have been the rain...or something. Anyhow I was delighted that it was only a yellow as this season reds have been given for far less, another shit peno from fatty but still it goes in. Oh dear, we don't deserve this shit and when does the season end?

Then the lads dug oh so fucking deep. That winner is one of those moments. Kinda felt like a massive, massive release to me. Thought Andy deserved it too, as he had a really good game despite being very isolted.

MOTM - Jordan "fuck me i'll never stop running" Henderson for me. Busted about 100 guts playing at right back and really put himself about for the team like a fucking boss.

Get.The.Fuck.In.

Bet the bitters are shitting themselves now

[Geppvindh's]

Martin Skrtel. I love him. Was a real captain last night.

[B0151?]

"Bet the bitters are shitting themselves now"

The one's I know aren't. But I prefer it that way. Makes when we twat them all the more sweeter

[the_red_pill]

I think this game was a perfect response to Kenny Dalglish's critics. Brilliant! Just brilliant!
Had we not had a keeper sent off, I'd wager we would've battered this lot last night anyway.

It had nothing to do with the win, but how we won. This shows Dalglish can turn it around in the midst of despair and discouragement and that against opposition that we would struggle against a lot of the time.

I think we might've just seen the start of us building a winning mentality.

[micksmith]

A lot of critics out there in the media saying Doni was careless to get sent off but he literally couldnt do anything more than what he did really. The back-pass from Flanagan is silly and by the time their striker is in our box, Doni has already sprinted from his line to boot the ball out. Now when you've got a striker in front of you and the ball practically underneath you as a keeper, what else can you do other than hit the deck and try and collect it?

Doni cannot guarantee Yakubu is going to do the smart thing and try and knock it round him and he doesn't want to get mugged off either by letting the striker walk it in. He was unlucky and powerless.

It sounds harsh and really cruel to a young lad but I'm glad it was Flanagan who was subbed off for Brad Jones. I know he's very young still and full of potential but incidents like that cannot be ignored by the management and I think he was doing Flanagan as well as the rest of the team a favour by subbing him off.

[Garcepticon]

I very much wonder if Carroll has done enough to force a start against Everton on Saturday - he could really push on after a performance like that. I know we say that every time, but it seems the bench doesn't do much for his confidence, so being benched for a Semi Final after an awesome shift would be disheartening.

The performance was strange, we looked really uncomfortable in possession - Maxi and Johnson invariably passed backwards and that was no good for maintaining possession in their half. We would pass back to the centre backs, and then out to the right but the lack of a ball down the line meant that Flanno and Henderson always had trouble finding an outball from the RB position. The problem was especially pronounced when Doni got sent off, but before that the right side of our team was non existent anyway. I had no idea who was meant to be playing on the right side of midfield and I don't think the players did either throughout the whole game. Bellamy never really was available for the full back for the majority of the game.

Someone said in the post match thread that Maxi just lurks at the back post - it surely can't be impossible for Downing to pick that up off Maxi, it would add so much to his game if he hit the back post like Maxi does, he certainly has the pace to keep up with a counter attack and provide that option.

We showed awesome spirit, perfect warm up to the semi final.

Kenny's post match demeanour really encapsulates Liverpool's lack of nous with the media. I'm not sure Kenny's manner helps the club at all, the media are not all c*nts, and frankly we could do with some good press because friends in the media helps you advance an agenda. For example, how do you think the United players have felt being told by the media that they will win games in the last ten minutes - i'm sure that will help create that belief and Ferguson will have worked hard to manufacture that image and narrative.

Kenny goes into a post match interview, and I'd argue that his manner affects us twofold, first it makes us appear unappealing to neutrals and as a result our fan base may not grow at the same rate that it would if we had an affable manner when communicating with the media. Secondly,  he makes us no friends in the media and as a result they are far happier to write a smear story about us, you can say that we don't care, but perceptions matter - as we learned with Suarez - and it cannot hurt to have perceptions on our side.

[twistedthoughts]

Feels great to have a last minute winner at last. Doni did not bring him down he couldn't get out of his way but still a red card and the yak fell like he had just been shot......Well done Andy Carroll never gave up right to the end......

[Qcase1977]

Would agree really. Think Carroll played well and then when it went 2-2 he looked absolutely unplayable. delighted he got the winner.

It was a red. Sadly. Not Donis fault bad ball from Flanno. But think Flanno won't do that again.

Jonjo was pure class. He looks like a real prospect.

[the_red_pill]

I don't know, Garcepticon..
I don't know about Dalglish's pressies or post-match interviews affecting our appeal that much. I don't agree, really.

People in other parts of the world- our own as well don't really listen to post-match interviews or pressers and they couldn't really give 2 shoots about how we're portrayed in the media. We've always been negatively portrayed, yet "our fanbase have grown" steadily.

About the only thing that people will notice and that will "grow our fanbase" even more, is success. I mean I live in Africa and the Evra-thing hasn't really had any affect- as far as I'm aware of, on how we've been perceived. And I should now, since I know a lot of reds- most black and we all love Luis just as much as the rest of LFC supporters.

As far as I'm aware, it's the name Liverpool FC, the history and the success that's always been the pulling-factor when it comes to our fanbase. I've got people biting their nails off each match and watching us lose game-after-game, but still they gather in groups, with a "Braai"(BBQ), brandy/whiskey/malts accompanying them whenever a match is played. Last night was one such match where we were a +60-strong group of reds and there was no evidence of these guys giving up on their "support". Shirts were ordered and plans were made for the next community project, the next get-together, the next travel package etc... even before the match kicked off.

[Alf Garnett!]

The team showed real spirit when the game went to 2-2,the desire & attitude was spot on-which is encouraging,especially being a man down.

Shelvey,Coates,Skrtel,Maxi & Carroll stood out with good contributions from Henderson,Bellamy & the returning Johnson out of position.

Young Flannagan is learning every game,he is raw at this level-i like the kid,he'll be alright i'm sure.

Overall,a good performance & i'm sure Kenny may to rethink his team selection for saturday.

[helmboy_nige]

Weird weird game.  You almost can't draw anything in terms of tactical knowledge or form from a game in which you are reduced to 10 men with two thirds still to play.

We were dominant and comfortable.  Cruising.  Penalty and sending off was just one of those things.  Doni had to go and I hope he picks himself up and realises these things happen.  Same for Flanno.  He had a poor and short game, but he'll learn from the mistake.

Can't be happier for Brad Jones.  To save the pen (you could see how much it meant to him) with his first touch, then to make a pretty clumsy mess-up for the second pen, only to have it all saved from an unlikely source (Carroll)... well you couldn't write a script like that.

Jonjo and Hendo were superb and showed incredible character.  Maxi and Bellamy together just works and shows what we will miss in the summer if the rumours are to be believed.  The defenders are to be feared.  I would genuinely shit myself if I bumped into Skrtel and Agger in a dark alley and didn't see their faces.  Pschos both of them and I love them for it.

Onwards and upwards.  The semi will be 'interesting'.

[BCCC]

I've never seen a side try to beat itself and fail so dramatically.

[The G in Gerrard]

Martin Skrtel. I love him. Was a real captain last night.

Who was Captain last night? Been meaning to say this, he was immense in his support of other players and his general play.

[the_red_pill]

I've never seen a side try to beat itself and fail so dramatically.

We're quite good, eh?
We can't even lose to LFC

[tamadic]

I agree. If anything the ref seemed to favor our side for a time. He just let Flanno off with a warning when a second yellow could have been given.

As for Flanagan like I said in the old thread, I know he'll never make that kind of mistake again. I wish he would have these oh shit learning experiences in training or on loan but if he's the sort of player we hope he is he will learn from it.

That's also why I said I don't mind if the team lose league matches for the rest of the season if the team involves lots of youth and fringe players. At this point the team has nothing to gain from the league this season so I feel it's best to 1.) Save energy and player wear for the cup 2.) Use the remaining match minutes to their fullest potential by giving players valuable top flight match experience. Don't me wrong, I love it when the team wins. I just think the benefits of playing youth and maybe not winning outweigh playing senior players and possibly winning but winning worthless matches.

Really chuffed for Carroll. I hope that builds his confidence and gets him to be the player we all know he can be.

Your points are very logical and I agree with them totally.
But, same to me, I forgot that Kenny has his job to keep.
Even though he wins us the FA Cup, keeps losing the remaining league games (by playing mostly youth) look very bad to the owners.
Of course, you can argue playing Carra instead of Coates also lost tons of game, but, as usual, managers tend to be conservative...
They lean towards playing experience players.

[abs-ibs]

Just one thing that has soured the experience of last night was Steve Kean saying that Skrtel was fouling Hanley when Carroll scored the winner.

1. Hanley was all over Skrtel and they tumbled, so Skrtel pushed him down a bit for being a twat.

2. With all the bloody fouls that Hanley committed on Carroll, he was lucky to be on the pitch. Maybe bias on my side but he did foul Carroll a fair bit.

Other than that and Flanno's back pass it was an awesome match, and the rest of the squad can now catch up with them in fighting spirit on sat. Everyone stood up and was counted last night and no one was to be found wanting.

If anything Spearing was probably the player who was not absolutely outstanding, yet he worked his socks off started a few attacks and was just a general nuisance of himself. All the plaudits are going to Henderson, Bellamy, Coates, Maxi, Skrtel and Shelvey and rightly too.

But everyone deserves praise as that was one of the more exciting matches I've watched of ours this year, and that wasn't because of the football we played but the grit and intensity that we played with.

[Tony19:6]

Who was that big pony-tailed lad up front looking like a proper No 9.

Seeing Kenny mime that header was priceless 

[Motty]

Who was Captain last night? Been meaning to say this, he was immense in his support of other players and his general play.

Skrtel was captain last night

[peelyon]

I think that game pretty much had everything in it, including post game interviews.

One thing stuck / sticks out for me.  How happy were the players, staff about 3 "meaningless" points.  They acted like it was a cup final etc.

More than anything that proves we need to keep the faith.  Players and staff wouldnt react if theyre was the meltdown that the media seem to think we have.

Gutted for Doni, he looked like he was in bits.  Pleased for Jones, just hate the quiff!!!

Like I mentioned in the post game thread.  I would take a 3-2 win that was comedy value than a 4-0 win like the bitters for preparation for Saturday.

[stevied]

i actually went cold when Brad Jones gave away the pen all i could think of was Saturday, all in all a great team performance, good energy, good passing, saw that stats earlier for Andy Carroll and backed up what i thought he had one of his best games for the club, Agger and Skertl have to play together at Wembley, Maxi deserves a place in the squad or even starting, i think we shall see the usual suspects on Saturday but please flood the bench with positive subs, not 4 defenders, travelling Kop were superb when the winner went in we could have been at home great noise

[CPH Red]

I've never seen a side try to beat itself and fail so dramatically.

[john_mac]

Its always a nice place to win is Blackburn, especially when you see the grid on Noel Brotherston.

[Mutton Geoff]

I know it is hindsight now but i did put on twatter that Kenny should have taken Flanagan off after the second tackle, to save him seeing Red in the end he created the reason for Doni to see red, ironic yes!

[ChaChaMooMoo]

What I really dont understand is that why cant they put up a fight, like this, every week?

The players were running their asses off. Is it because they had to stake claim in the future fixtures? Or was it because the team looked more balanced with them on the field?

No Suarez, Downing, Gerrard, Enrique. Instead Bellamy, Maxi, Shelvey, Coates.

[jaykop]

You all have to remember they were all fighting for a 1st team spot on saturday the thing i want to see is will they still fight for the team after the FA cup .......

[BCCC]

I know it is hindsight now but i did put on twatter that Kenny should have taken Flanagan off after the second tackle, to save him seeing Red in the end he created the reason for Doni to see red, ironic yes!

Yep it wasn't his night Geoff. If Flanno had been on his game we might have won at a canter but the lad will learn he's got great potential.

[AJL]

wow, get in, fuck, blimey, oh no, eh? fuck again, ha ha, easy lad, fuck.... whooooo


That's my summary of a bonkers game. More later.

That was a better match report than the Echo, perfectly summed up !!   

[Qcase1977]

Yep it wasn't his night Geoff. If Flanno had been on his game we might have won at a canter but the lad will learn he's got great potential.

Defo. He looks pure quality in my opinion and will really learn from last night. We have a multitude of right backs at the moment.

[Mutton Geoff]

Defo. He looks pure quality in my opinion and will really learn from last night. We have a multitude of right backs at the moment.

we had a few Wing backs on the bench which is why Kenny should have pulled him in my opinion, Enrique on, Glen back on the right sorted!

[Corkboy]

This game was as important for who didn't play as who did. I had a mean little voice in my head telling me Gerrard and Carragher and Suarez would be looking on and shaking their heads so it was particularly lovely to get three points from an unlikely situation.

I really like Shelvey, he has a suave yet sharp quality to his play and unnatural confidence. He was screaming at Maxi at one point to track back, and then thought nothing of letting fly from 35 yards on his weaker foot (all the while ignoring Bellamy in a much better position but anyway). He was also the guy who tried more than anyone to dictate the game, to try to take the heat out of it and buy some breathing space for his mates.

Also, Henderson was done once or twice by the same full back who was doing Flanagan, but he still got up and down the pitch like a mad bastard and exhibited some rather effective wing play too.

I thought our manager's interview afterwards was ill judged. I hope someone tells him. There's a time for that sort of thing and it isn't after a win dealing with fairly innocuous questions.

But Lordy, don't good things happen when Dan Agger is on the pitch?