The Kopite View

Liverpool’s Twelfth Man Could Be Key In Title Run-In

Liverpool’s are still rated as outsiders to win this season’s Premiership title with Manchester City and Chelsea rated ahead of them by the nation’s bookmakers. But Liverpool’s impressive form now has them rated as title contenders but with this new ‘tag’ comes a new pressure that the Reds are not familiar with.

Brendan Rodgers has Liverpool playing with an exciting brand of football that has lit up the Premiership with goals galore spearheaded by deadly duo Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, but with only seven games to go and in the thick of the title race will the pressure tell on Liverpool’s free-flowing football ?

Wednesday night’s win over Sunderland was a game that the Reds were expected to win but for long periods in the first half the relegation threatened strugglers frustrated Rodgers’ men and you could sense the supporters frustration as the half wore on, Gerrard and Sturridge’s goals relieved the pressure for a while but the last 15 minutes were very nervy after Sunderland pulled a goal back.

The crowd got anxious but although you could feel the anxiety in the crowd they also lifted Liverpool over the finishing line as they chanted and sang to lift their favourites because they knew they were under severe pressure by a stubborn Sunderland side.

I feel the Liverpool supporters will play a big part over the next seven games and their influence could be an important factor in the Reds’ title chances. The reception before the Sunderland match was unbelievable as supporters lined the streets with flags waving and singing as the Liverpool bus drove into Anfield and this support is unrivalled and when these supporters sense glory they can create an atmosphere which is like having an extra man on the park and right now Liverpool supporters sense glory.

Will their be glory round the fields of Anfield Road ?

Gerrard Is A Man On A Mission

Liverpool are right in the mix of a Premiership title battle in one of the most competitive title races in years with Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and the surprise package of the season, Brendan Rodgers’ team fighting for English football’s top prize.

Rodger’s men look like going the distance which has surprised many people, especially after being toppled from the top of the league at Christmas after suffering away defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea in the space of a week.

But Liverpool have shown their title credentials with a tremendous run of form that has seen them win their last seven league games.

There has been a collection of factors that has contributed to Liverpool’s impressive form, like Brendan Rodgers management style, the goal scoring exploits of Suarez and Sturridge, but in recent weeks, Steven Gerrard has been inspirational.

It seems ludicrous to think back to the start of the season when some supporters were calling for the Liverpool captain to be dropped and saying he was past his best, but along with a clever move by Rodgers who switched Gerrard to a deeper midfield role, and the England captain’s desire, Gerrard has been inspirational in recent weeks similar to his younger days in a Red shirt.

But Gerrard looks as if he’s on a personal conquest to achieve a lifelong ambition which he feels he can finally get by winning the Premiership this season. In recent weeks he has scored so many important goals and he came to the rescue again last night against a stubborn Sunderland team.

It’s not just Gerrard’s goals, it’s his determination to drive his team on, that clash against United’s Fellaini where he left the Belgian in a heap with a bloodied face showed how much he wants this title and in the games that remain Gerrard will take some stopping because he can smell the Premiership trophy.

                                            No Return For Reina

On – loan Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina can leave this summer for as little as £4 million due to a clause in his contract. The Reds’ manager has made it clear that he does not want Reina to return to Anfield once his loan spell with Napoli is over at the end of the season.

Reina will return to Merseyside in the summer to tie up loose ends but Liverpool will not get more than £5 million for the Spain goalkeeper, who still has two years left on his contract with the Anfield club.

Reina claimed on Monday that Rodgers hadn’t ruled out a return to Liverpool, but the Liverpool manager said last month:

‘He’s already written his (goodbye) letter hasn’t he ? I was surprised at the letter when you are a loan player. Pepe made it very clear when he went to Napoli he was looking to move.’

Personally I’m disappointed to see Reina go as I still see him as a top class goalkeeper, although his form did take a dip in his last couple of seasons at Anfield.

Reina’s replacement Simon Mignolet has been tremendous this season and he has won Liverpool a number of points with some key saves during the season.

Reina has been a great servant to Liverpool but he tried to manufacture a move away from Anfield, possibly with the hope of going to Barcelona, but a move fell through and Rodgers had to make a move for new goalkeeper with Reina looking for a move.

Reina had to settle for a loan spell away from the club because there was no way that Liverpool were going to keep two top class goalkeepers at the club and now with Reina’s loan spell up at the end of the season a permanent move would be best for both the player and Liverpool.

Another Big Win For Reds

Liverpool ended another hoodoo with a win at St Marys that moved the Reds up to second place in the Premiership. The men from Anfield won for the first time in eleven years at Southampton. A first half goal from Luis Suarez highlighted the good start that the Reds made to the start of the match before the hosts put their visitors under intense pressure for the remainder of the half.

But Liverpool produced a professional performance in the second half as they took the sting out of Southampton’s threat highlighted by Brendan Rodgers’ inspired substitution where he replaced Coutinho with Sterling who promptly put the ball in the net for the Reds’ second goal with his first touch of the game after only being on the field for 80 seconds.

A tremendous performance was capped off by a last minute penalty converted by Steven Gerrard after Suarez had been fouled in the box.

Liverpool overcame a big hurdle by beating Southampton and this hurdle is one of many that they have been clearing this season as the Reds improvement is exciting the supporters for the first time in many years as they are starting to believe that there is a realistic chance of winning the league this season.

Brendan Rodgers is keeping the lid on things superbly as he appreciates the fact that the fans are starting to dream and his attitude is just what Liverpool need as he maintains that his team will just take one game at a time.

Rodgers is saying all the right things and he has installed a great belief, confidence and work ethic that has improved Liverpool to new heights this season. Top four is priority but although Rodgers and his team are keeping their feet on the ground, it is hard for supporters not to dream.

Why Liverpool Supporters Hate Howard Webb

Liverpool supporters were once again left cursing another ‘big’ decision that referee Howard Webb got wrong as Liverpool were dumped out of the FA Cup by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Webb has a history of upsetting the Anfield faithful with his officiating of Liverpool games and his latest performance has enraged the Liverpool supporters more than ever.

Webb decided not to award Liverpool their second penalty of the match when Suarez was upended in the Arsenal penalty box by Oxlade-Chamberlain, and his decision not to give Liverpool a second penalty robbed the Reds of an equaliser resulting in Liverpool exiting the FA Cup.

In December Webb failed to award Liverpool a penalty at Stamford Bridge when Eto’o kicked Suarez in the penalty box.

In the past five years Liverpool have lost 14 of the last 22 games he has officiated, winning just six.

Obviously you can’t blame a referee for every defeat and like Liverpool’s defeat to Arsenal Liverpool did have enough chances to win the game but unfortunately they proved wasteful with the usually prolific Daniel Sturridge the main culprit.

But although Liverpool missed numerous chances to win the game, the supporters endured added frustration with many of Webb’s decisions going against Liverpool. In the first half Webb booked three Liverpool players while Arsenal were allowed to get away with some rough treatment in their more physical approach to the game with only two players getting booked.

How Podolski never received a yellow card was the one of the biggest mysteries of the match as he committed numerous fouls including the foul on Suarez that resulted in Liverpool’s penalty.

The only grumble that Arsenal may have had was whether Gerrard should have been sent off for lunging challenge that many people thought should have earned the Liverpool captain a second yellow card.

It’s about time that Webb’s performances have been called into question and earned criticism from many quarters and not just from Liverpool supporters. Webb has been playing on his reputation for far too long and if he is too arrogant to have a look at his own performances then the FA should because he is getting too many ‘big’ decisions wrong.

Carragher Says “The FA Need to Revive The FA Cup”

Liverpool Legend Jamie Carragher says the FA Cup needs to be freshened up to bring back the glory of the FA Cup. Carragher reckons that Replays are a waste of time and put unnecessary strain on players.

Semi-final clashes must be played at a neutral venue with Wembley saved for the showpiece.

The Champions League, Premier League and League Cup have evolved over the last 20 years – the FA Cup hasn’t.

Carragher explained how the FA Cup used to stimulate great excitement during his childhood and that from the first week in January he dreamt of his boyhood favourites “Everton” lifting the cup.

His two FA Cup successes during his glittering career with Liverpool are very special to Carragher but he feels that clubs don’t put the competition top of their list of priorities as the money in the game has made league position top priority.

Carragher is right with his comments about the FA Cup, the competition is way down the list of priorities with clubs and supporters alike with the money involved in a team’s league position holding more importance.

It would be better if the FA Cup ties were a one-off tie with the match going to extra-time and penalties to decide the outcome instead of ties going to replays which hit supporters in the pocket in this tough financial climate we find ourselves in.

Semi- finals being played at Wembley is just the FA trying to play as many games as possible at their “new Wembley” and make as much money from it as possible.

But the day of the FA Cup final has to be changed and make it the last game of the domestic season to put all the focus and attention on the competition’s showpiece.

In recent years there has been league fixtures coinciding with the FA Cup final and this should never happen.

The FA needs to have a serious think about their famous competition and not just be content with it surviving on its history.

Hopefully Carragher’s comments about the FA Cup are heard by the FA because it is so sad to see it devalued in these modern times.

Liverpool 4-0 Fuham Match Report

Liverpool recorded their 250th Premier League home win as they destroyed a struggling Fulham side to bounce back from their disappointment from the previous week’s defeat at Arsenal. An own goal from Amorebieta started the scoring before a Skrtel header and a brace from Suarez as the Reds ran out comfortable winners.

The Team

Danie Agger and the fit-again Glen Johnson and Coutinho returned to the Liverpool side as Rodgers made a few tactical changes as well as changes to his personnel for the visit of Fulham. Mignolet started in goal behind a back four including Johnson, Cissokho, Agger and Skrtel, with a midfield of Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson and Coutinho with Sturridge and Suarez the front two strikers.

The Match

Liverpool started the match with a high-tempo and put their visitors on the back foot, Agger fired over the bar before Coutinho sent a shot wide all inside the first five minutes.

Next a superb move involving Coutinho, Gerrard and Suarez almost set-up Sturridge but Stekelenburg managed to intercept the danger.

The Reds’ onslaught was relentless, but Fulham did try to counter and Kasami had a shot blocked before Mignolet saved from Berbatov.

Liverpool took the lead moments later when a Gerrard free-kick was met by the head of Suarez before deflecting off the unlucky Amorebieta and into the net.

Three minutes later Liverpool were celebrating again when a Gerrard corner kick was powerfully headed into the net by Martin Skrtel.

Liverpool continued to pour forward and Coutinho thought he had scored on the half-hour mark only to see his brilliant volley spectacularly saved by Stekelenburg.

A minute later the Brazilian’s drilled effort was also saved before a superb move was ended with Sturridge firing just over the bar with the outside of his foot.

Liverpool continued to dominate and it was no surprise when they added a third goal when Henderson played a neat through ball to Suarez to slide the ball past his former Ajax team-mate Stekelenburg.

Liverpool ended the first half with stats of 16 attempts on goal and 70 per cent of possession.

Liverpool started the second half the way they started the first and they almost added a fourth when Suarez and Sturridge had efforts between them in the space of seconds in some pinball action in the Fulham penalty box before Suarez eventually fired over from close range with the goal at his mercy.

Moments later Sturridge worked some space inside the Fulham area but his clipped effort went wide.

The fourth goal finally came in the 54th minute when Gerrard played in Suarez and the Uruguayan added to his goal tally with 8 for the season.

Suarez was intent on getting a hat-trick and he even tried to shoot from the half-way line but his effort sailed wide.

Then Suarez sent a curling 25-yard effort over before Rodgers rang the changes by replacing Gerrard and Sturridge with Allen and Moses.

Liverpool continued to press for more goals but had to settle for four which was enough to claim second place in the league table.

Summary

A terrific performance from Liverpool with a hunger and desire that was impressive against a struggling Fulham side. Liverpool never stepped off the gas or gave Fulham a chance to come back into the game.

The players are looking really confident just now and everybody wants the ball as they played some sublime passing moves throughout the afternoon.

Gerrard orchestrated from the middle of the park and Jordan Henderson was superb again as he covered every blade of grass. Coutinho showed what’s been missing in recent weeks as he proved to be a constant menace to the Fulham defence just like Suarez as they couldn’t cope with the striker’s movement and skill.

Probably the best performance of the season from the Reds but there will be much tougher games ahead starting with the short trip to Goodison next.