Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur - Match Report

So here's what I got from that game....

Tottenham Hotspur are definitely a side who will be challenging for top 4 this season and looked good in the first half. Liverpool really didn't get going until 20 mintues into the game. Jordan Henderson's chance looked to be the Merseyside teams way back into the game but Henderson unfortunately fluffed his lines. Then it fell to Luis Suarez who was on target and would of had another league goal if it wasn't for Kyle Walker's goal line clearance.

Liverpool came out in the second half knowing they needed to get back into this, and they really did try. It was all Liverpool in the second half as they pushed and pushed to get a share of the points. It all looked like it was back on after a Steven Gerrard attempt in the box was turned into the back of his own net by a very distraught looking Gareth Bale. Liverpool continued to bombard the Tottenham goal and half of the pitch right up until the final whistle but yet again it was not to be. 

Liverpool fans should not be too disheartened - I know that's easy to say, but there were improvements all over the pitch for the reds, great passing and a great sense of fight and spirit to come back. Its just going to take a little longer to re-build us than we were hoping that's all.

Pepe Reina 5/10 - Still needs to work on quite a lot of things, I'm not impressed with him and think he could of saved at least the first Tottenham goal.

Steven Gerrard 6/10 - I love him but WTF? He was just not on it tonight at all and if I'm honest he hasn't been all season. He was a little sloppy, looked lacklustre and that's not what we need in our midfield.

Joe Allen 5/10 - Does he do anything other than foul people and give away free kicks? That's 2 against Swansea at the weekend and 2 tonight against Tottenham! I mean I like him but he needs to sort it, I'm just glad Lucas should be back soon.

Daniel Agger 10/10 - Amazing as usual! :)

Martin Skrtel 8/10 - 1 mistake throughout the whole game but was otherwise fairly solid.

Glen Johnson 6/10 - I don't get what happened with him tonight. No effort defensively, just wanted to take the ball up and not pass it and was extremely sloppy. Definitely not the Glen I'm used to seeing this season.

Stewart Downing 8/10 - 1 mistake which lead to first goal of Tottenham's but overall he had a better game than he did against Swansea (which I still didn't think was bad), is improving defensively and going forward. Put in some good crosses, made some good passes and is finally realising how to use those legs of his!!! lol plus he didn't back-pass as much tonight :) is also working well with the rest of the defence and Enrique.

Jose Enrique 8/10 - good attacking, looked a little bit weak when moved back to defence and some of his decision making wasn't up to the mark but overall another good, not great, performance from Jose who is looking better when attacking than ever!

Jordan Henderson 6/10 - great energy, good vision when passing to team-mates but there was something missing tonight. He definitely didn't foul Dempsey but he still missed a vital opportunity to give us the goal we needed and fouled in the box when we could of had a chance. Not his best game tonight, but not his worst either.

Raheem Sterling 7-8/10 - I like him, he has fight, but he didn't turn up to the game properly untill the second half - which isn't good enough, even though he's only 17 he has been playing with the first team long enough now to know that a slow start can finish you off! Saying that, when he did get going in the second half he was good, great tricky-ness, great passing and he got at Tottenham.

Luis Suarez 9/10 - wasn't his usual self but he was still amazing which is what we need. Was tricky, constantly giving Tottenham grief and was always trying to do his best and score. But he definitely needs another striker/goalscorer to help him.

SUBS

Jonjo Shelvey 8/10 - I always smile when I see Jonjo coming on because I know he can score and always gives 110%, the only problem for me is sometimes his passion can get the best of him and he can foul/get angry.

Oussama Assaidi 7/10 - I like him and think he needs more game time but he really didn't get going tonight and made a few sloppy errors but that's just down to not having enough experience in the Premier League.

Best moment of the game for me has to be Gareth Bale's own goal, which bounced in straight off his face and he didn't have a clue what had happened. 

MOTM for me was Daniel Agger - Solid as usual, great attacking vision and absolutely fearless! JUst what we need :) 

Liverpool v Wigan 17.11.12 - Pre match preview

Premier League 
Saturday 17th November 2012
Pre match preview

Liverpool FC v Wigan Athletic

With last weekends draw to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge being seen as a success, especially with Liverpool's habit of having lots of possession, nice football but not converting chances and Chelsea's calibre of footballers - Liverpool FC really need to get a win against Wigan at Anfield and begin to climb the Premier League table. 

As mentioned above, Liverpool's problem is not the possession or the quality of the football being played its just their conversion rate. Luis Suarez is the top scorer in the league at the moment but even he doesn't take all his chances and therefore can't carry the team all of the time. If Suarez and co can be more clinical this Saturday then the goals with flow gaining them the 3 points they so desperately need.

Wigan are a team who seem to do the same thing every season - begin the campaign looking dangerous, have a serious slump in results that then put them in the end of season relegation battle and then they pull some fantastic performances out of the bag to survive and see another season in the Premier League. 

That isn't to say that Wigan aren't to be taken seriously - because we have seen first hand that with the calibre of players they have, they are able to hurt teams and win games. 

Throughout the match, every player will have to battle to help their side in a fixture that has thrown up some surprises over the last few seasons - none more than Wigan's 2-1 near the end of last season.


Key Players and battles to watch out for:

Ali AL Habsi v Brad Jones ... Both of these goalkeepers have proved that they are some of the best in the Premier League at the moment but who will come out on top come the final whistle? Ali Al Habsi is famous for making some of the most fantastic saves you will see come the weekend but sometimes his defenders cause him to seem a little weary and with Luis Suarez troubling Wigan's defence that could cause Habsi some problems. Since Brad Jones has come in for the injured Pepe Reina, he has done fantastically well, not conceding many goals, making phenomenal saves and saving Liverpool on several occassions - he really is staking his claim on the Liverpool goal.

Verdict: Brad Jones will edge this one.

Wigan defenders v Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling ... This is going to be one of the key areas to watch during this game. With Suarez and Sterling being in the form they are, and if Liverpool keep possession and give the ball to these two wizards as much as they can then the Wigan defence will have a torrid time. I don't think they will get a break during the game as Liverpool will be constantly at them.

Verdict: Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling should win this battle.

Liverpool defenders v Arouna Kone and Jordi Gomez ... These two will be Wigan's go too men. Both extremely talented, on form and dangerous on their day and if Wigan get momentum and play well they could punish us.

Verdict: Liverpool's defence and goalkeeper will have to watch these two to keep them at bay.

Probable team selection for Liverpool FC:

LFC - Jones, Skrtel, Agger, Wisdom, Johnson, Gerrard, Allen, Sahin, Sterling, Suso, Suarez. (Subs: Gulasci, Carragher, Downing, Assaidi, Henderson, Coates, Cole)

Liverpool v Manchester City 25.1.12 Carling Cup Semi Second leg

I was lucky enough to be able to get good seats for the second leg of this semi final against Manchester City - to see us go through to the final!

Liverpool v Brighton 19.2.12

Pictures from the FA Cup game at Anfield v Brighton and Hove Albion.

Sorry for the blurriness :( taken on a broken blackberry!

Premier League predictions 17/18/19 November 2012

With a full Premier League fixture list this weekend, here are my predictions for each game.

Saturday 17th November:

Liverpool 3 - 1 Wigan ... Liverpool are struggling to get wins in the league this season but Wigan haven't been much better. Yes, this fixture last season was lacklustre at best from the Merseyside club, but with Suarez and co on fairly good form and playing fantastic football hopefully it will be Kopites smiling come the final whistle.

Manchester City 1 - 0 Aston Villa ... Yes, Aston Villa did manage to knock the reigning league champions out of the Capital One Cup but I think if City play well enough, keep tight at the back and use super sub Edin Dzeko then they could get one step closer to their red rivals.

Newcastle 2 - 0 Swansea ... Swansea's form has been shaky at best this season but Newcastle seem to be on a good run at the moment and with players like Ben Arfa, Cisse and Ba - I think Newcastle will be taking the 3 points here.

QPR 1 - 2 Southampton ... I think this game will finally be one were Southampton can take control and get the 3 points. I do think QPR will put up a lot of fight and cause a few worries but at the end of the day I just don't think they have anything to take the points from Southampton looking at the season so far.

Reading 0 - 3 Everton ... Lately Everton have a habit of going 1-0 down and coming back to take the game, but here at struggling Reading I don't think they will have to come from behind and a comfortable win is coming their way.

West Brom 2 - 3 Chelsea ... Given Chelsea's up and down form and habit of giving away goals mixed with West Brom's feisty and impressive start to the season, I think that this will definitely be the game to watch and the one with the most goals this weekend. But I do expect Chelsea just to edge it.

Arsenal 2 - 2 Tottenham ... I think that Arsenal will take the lead, but as with last weeks game against Fulham, I do think that they will give away their lead to Tottenham - ultimately leading to them only getting one point from this tough game.

Norwich 1 - 0 Manchester United ... Although Manchester United are undoubtedly good and do have a habit of coming back, Norwich have a the habit of being fantastic when it comes to playing the top teams. I think Norwich may just clinch it here.

Sunday 18th November:

Fulham 3 - 1 Sunderland ... Even though Sunderland are tough opponents, Fulham have been on a great run and will no doubt take a lot of confidence from their fantastic draw against Arsenal last weekend. I believe Fulham will take the 3 points here with Berbatov getting on the score sheet.

Monday 19th November: 

West Ham 0 - 0 Stoke ... I think this is going to be one of them games were both sides have very little in the way of chances. Stoke are extremely stubborn and let very little slip through their defence and at the moment are not offering too much up front. West Ham have the fire power but with Stoke having the defence they do, will have a difficult time breaking it down.

Liverpool v Bolton 27.8.11

Here are some pictures from one of the home games I went to last season...Bolton Wanderers.

Sorry...

So sorry I haven't posted anything since the first Capital One Cup games last week - have been doing overtime in work and haven't had too much time ( was also a little miffed by Liverpool going out lol :P).

But I will be back this weekend with a preview of the Liverpool v Wigan game and predictions for all of the Premier League games!

I'm also going the Liverpool game so will try and get some good pictures for the blog :) 

Additionally, I will be doing pieces on certain Liverpool footballers over the next few weeks - looking into their strengths, weaknesses and if they have what it takes to be with Liverpool for the long-haul.