The Kopite View

Is Diving Worse Than Stamping ?

What a stupid question, of course it isn’t, but the nation’s media seems to think otherwise as every newspaper has headlined Suarez’s dive for a penalty, rather than headline Stoke’s Robert Huth’s stamp on Luis Suarez.

Diving is part of football now, and every team has players that do it to gain a free-kick or a penalty. But Liverpool’s Luis Suarez seems to be the only player to gain headlines for his diving antics. There is no doubt Suarez goes to ground easily, but doesn’t Nani, Ashley Young or Gareth Bale, to mention a few, without the headlines Suarez receives.

The attention Suarez receives for his diving is becoming a “witch hunt”, which manager Brendan Rodgers described, and understandably so, when after witnessing an afternoon of thuggery towards his star striker, all the attention is on his man’s diving.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis made strong comments after Sunday’s match about Suarez’s dive and called for the FA to suspend him, without mention of his team’s physical approach to Suarez in particular.

Pulis is not the first manager to target Saurez, and it is becoming a common theme for opposing managers to criticise Suarez for his theatrics and this will and is already having an effect on the protection Suarez receives from referees, last weekend’s penalty appeal against Norwich being a prime example of things not going the Uruguayan’s way.

Diving should be punished in football, but not for one player and not for others which the media seem to be highlighting . Fines are useless as these players have so much money, and I don’t think suspending players will work too well either, but to take points off teams will maybe work and sort out the hypocritical managers who don’t mind their own players diving but vent their frustration when opposition players dive.

But after the events of the Liverpool versus Stoke match on Sunday, the main topic should be about the Stoke tactics and especially the blatant stamp on Suarez by Stoke defender Robert Huth, who could have seriously injured Suarez. Amazingly Huth escaped punishment for his actions and also the headlines as diving is the more serious offence which grabbed the headlines.

Diving is part of football that nobody likes but it is not and never will be as serious as seriously injuring an opponent, so Huth’s actions should have been headlined more than Suarez’s dive and he should have been punished.

The media in this country need to focus on the nasty challenges that could end a footballer’s career, rather than focus on a “witch hunt” on a player who does what most players do.

Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City Match Report

Liverpool still looking for their first home win in the league this season faced a Stoke side who managed a scoreless draw at Anfield last season and would be a tough opponent for the hosts. Liverpool go into the fixture encouraged with their impressive away win at Norwich last week and with hopes of building on that performance against Stoke.

The Team

Brendan Rodgers stuck with the same team that beat Norwich last week, so youngsters Wisdom, Suso and Sterling kept their place in the team. Sahin, Allen and Gerrard formed the middle of Liverpool’s midfield with Skrtel and Agger pairing in central defence.

The Match

An early scare after minutes of the first-half threatened to hand Stoke their first Anfield goal since 1983. Nuri Sahin under-hit an attempted pass to Martin Skrtel after Pepe Reina caught him unawares with a short goal-kick. Former Reds midfielder Charlie Adam seized possession but after a frenzied period of last-ditch defending, the ball was hooked to safety.

Then Suarez danced along the goal-line before setting-up Sahin but his goal bound effort was blocked.

Liverpool were struggling to get their passing game going as Stoke were applying great pressure, some of it too physical, typified by Huth appearing to stamp on Suarez in one incident.

Whelan whipped an inviting free-kick across the blindside of a retreating Reds defence but Skrtel was strong and alert to scramble the ball clear as Peter Crouch stood poised to turn it home at the far post.

Gerrard swerved a shot towards Begovic’s left but the ‘keeper flung himself low to parry. Trickery from Suso on the edge of the box saw him dink the ball over the Stoke back-four and Daniel Agger was inches away from turning the ball home.

Sterling, consumed in dogfight for possession with his marker Geoff Cameron, managed to wriggle free of the tall Stoke full-back and feed Suarez, who found Gerrard but the skipper dragged wide.

After the interval Liverpool  upped the tempo and started to pass the ball better and hem Stoke in their own half.

On 51 minutes Gerrard split the Stoke defence wide open. Head raised, the skipper watched Johnson stampede forward before clipping a perfectly-weighted pass into his path. The full-black blazed over the crossbar.

Suarez let the ball roll across his body before embarking on a mazy run through the heart of the Stoke defence. But with a trail of floored defenders in his wake and the whole of Anfield on its feet, poised to explode in celebration, the Uruguayan sliced the ball wide of the Kop net.

Then Agger made a great run forward but his cross evaded everyone until it came to Sterling who shot against the outside of the post.

Liverpool huffed and puffed against a resolute Stoke defence and Skrtel hit the post in the closing minutes with a poked effort from a corner as the Reds were left frustrated by Stoke’s spoiling tactics.

Summary

Liverpool started poorly and struggled to find their passing game in the first half. Better in the second half but never created enough chances. Referee Mason was very lenient towards Stoke as they seemed intent on stopping Liverpool any way they could. Suarez got some severe treatment with very little protection from Mason. Very disappointing result for Liverpool and the lack of striking options came back to haunt Liverpool.

Liverpool 2-3 Udinese Match Report

Liverpool were hoping to build on their good win against Young Boys and strengthen their position in their tough Europa League Group against Udinese at Anfield. Udinese would pose a tough test for Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers’ youngsters.

                             The Team

Rodgers made a few changes from the side that defeated Norwich at the weekend with a mix of youth and experience. Reina, Allen,  Johnson, Carragher and Downing added the experience alongside Robinson, Coates, Shelvey, Henderson, Assaidi and Borini.

                            The Match

In the first eight minutes the Udinese goal had been threatened by Oussama Assaidi following a dart into the box; Shelvey with a shot from range; and Coates with a header that he should have directed beyond Zeljko Brkic.

Both sides pressed hard, and that made for a lively opening, with Udinese clearly not arriving at Anfield to sit back. On 14 minutes Pepe Reina had to be at his very best to stop a Medhi Benatia header breaching the Kop goal. His low, reflex save was one for the scrapbook.

Liverpool deservedly took the lead in the 23^rd minute when Shelvey headed into the Udinese net from a Downing cross, sending the Kop wild with delight.

As the half progressed, Udinese found themselves increasingly starved of possession, but within 30 seconds of the restart the scores were level as the visitors played Liverpool at their own game. Udinese weaved the ball beautifully through the home defence and when half-time substitute Andrea Lazzari’s cross came in, Di Natale had timed his run perfectly to finish beyond Reina from 12 yards.

Liverpool’s response wasn’t emphatic. On 61 minutes Downing drove himself into the box and tried a one-two with Fabio Borini. The final pass got caught underneath the Englishman’s feet. Seconds later Henderson had a low shot blocked.

Rodgers decided to act, replacing Assaidi and Henderson with Gerrard and Suarez for the final 25 minutes.

The lively Downing looked to instigate another opportunity with a run down the left, outpacing his man only to be comically grappled to the floor. A red card wouldn’t have been unwarranted. Instead Giampiero Pinzi received a yellow and was swiftly substituted.

Suarez collected possession from the resulting free-kick, directing a shot goalwards only to see it blocked by Shelvey.

Then, in two crazy minutes, the Reds were ambushed. First on 70 minutes when the otherwise superb Coates headed a Udinese free-kick past his own goalkeeper, then when Pasquale thumped beyond Reina from outside the box. Anfield was hushed.

Liverpool looked dead and buried, but Suarez directed a brilliant free-kick into the top corner to make it 3-2 and breathe new life into Liverpool.

Moments later Suarez had a header saved from close range and Sterling went close on a couple of occasions but for all Liverpool’s efforts they were left frustrated as the match ended 3-2 in favour of the visitors.

                                 Summary

A disappointing result to a pulsating performance from a team blended with youth and experience. The first half saw some tremendous Liverpool possession but only a 1-0 lead to show for their efforts. The second half Liverpool were stunned right at the start and lost their way for about 20 minutes and also lost the game in that time. The response was pleasing after falling behind 3-1 and Liverpool were unlucky not to take a point from the game as they pressured the Udinese goal. For me Coates is improving in every game, I thought he was outstanding and even his own goal can’t take the gloss off his performance. Poor result but plenty of positives to take from the game.

just a video reminding us of why we love Suarez so much.

Liverpool’s Young Talent

There looks a wealth of talent coming through at Anfield right now as Liverpool start to reap the rewards of their Academy that was former manager Rafa Benitez’s vision for the future.

Youngsters getting a chance to breakthrough at first team level has always been very tough as top clubs have spending power to improve their team, but at Liverpool times have changed and money is tighter and with a new young manager in Brendan Rodgers it looks like the young talent will be given a chance to play for Liverpool’s first team.

Already this season we have saw many youngsters play in the first team. Sterling, Suso, Morgan, Yesil, Robinson, Pacheco and Andre Wisdom have all stepped up to the plate and showed they are more than capable of playing at first team level and proving that if you are good enough age is not a factor.

The impressive thing is the way everyone is playing,  the veterans, the youngsters, everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet written by Brendan Rodgers and his pass and move style of play.

The introduction of the younger players has excited everybody connected to Liverpool Football Club, but nobody is getting carried away, after all, it is hard to break into the team but is far tougher staying in it with all the competition that is there for places and more importantly how difficult it is to play consistently at that level week in week out.

Experienced players like Gerrard and Carragher who have come through the youth teams to become legends of the club will no doubt remind the younger players of how tough it is and they will be there to keep their feet on the ground if they get too carried away or put an arm around their shoulder if things get tough. But Gerrard and Carragher will be invaluable to the youngsters’ progression, every bit as much as Brendan Rodgers will be.

Raheem Sterling is the one that has really caught the eye so far this season and he is being rewarded with a run in the first team which is impressive and encouraging for others, especially as he is keeping out big money signing Stewart Downing. Recently Andre Wisdom has come into the side after the unfortunate injury to Martin Kelly, and he has looked very impressive too.

The crop of young players coming through will also encourage the even younger ones at the Academy that if they are good enough they will get their chance and the club could save a lot of money too, by not having to go out and spend mega money on players to improve the team.

Liverpool have endured a very tough start to the season with a new manager with new ideas and a tough fixture list to start the season too, but now things start to be looking up, maybe this season is a transitional one but it could be a very important one with so many youngsters stepping up to the first team and gaining invaluable experience.

Liverpool supporters have the knowledge and experience to know that the young talent must be given time and Liverpool will be rewarded, that I am sure.

Unfair Treatment Of Suarez

Last Saturday Luis Suarez produced another magnificent performance highlighted by scoring 3 terrific goals against Norwich City.

Luis Suarez is a very talented player but he also has a history of controversy, since his time in Holland with Ajax where he bit an opponent to his charge of “racist abuse” towards Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, which resulted in the Uruguayan being banned for 8 games.

Suarez also has an unfortunate reputation as a “diver” for going to ground too easily under challenges from opponents, and this reputation is really going against the Liverpool striker.

During last Saturday’s match at Norwich Suarez was blatantly bundled to the ground in the penalty area by a Norwich defender, it looked like one of the easiest penalty decisions a referee would ever need to make, but amazingly the referee Mike Jones never awarded the penalty.

The week before against Manchester United Suarez was brought down by United defender Johnny Evans in the penalty box, but again Suarez never got the decision. It is becoming a common theme for Suarez not getting decisions from referees and this is leading to his frustration that invariably leads to him receiving a yellow card for dissent.

Other manager’s comments have not helped Suarez as they have highlighted his “diving” antics. Sir Alex Ferguson being one of those managers that showed distaste to Suarez’s tactics and would have hoped his comments would be noted by Premiership referees.  It is obvious that referees have taken note of Sir Alex’s and other manager’s comments.

“Diving” is an unsavoury part of football, but the fact is everybody does it. British players are every bit to blame for doing it as is foreign players and it has just become part of football whether we like it or not.

But no player in England is being victimised for their style of play more than Luis Suarez. Suarez is no angel and he does make the most when challenged, and can exaggerate a bit. But a foul is a foul and a referee has to give one when it is one. But Luis Suarez does not seem to be getting decisions even when they look blatant fouls and it looks like Suarez’s reputation is playing a big part in the referee’s decision.

No matter what reputation a player has a referee has to look at the incident and make his decision on what he saw and not who he saw involved in the incident.

Suarez deserves fair treatment from officials and right now that is not happening and Suarez and Liverpool are the ones suffering which is disgraceful by the referees in this country.

Norwich City 2-5 Liverpool Match Report

Liverpool went to Carrow Road in desperate need of a victory as they still searched for their first league win of the season. Liverpool received an encouraging midweek boost when they beat West Brom in the Capital One Cup with Brendan Rodgers fielding a very young side, and it would be interesting to see what team he would pick after so many good performances midweek.

The Team

Brendan Rodgers brought back many of his regulars for the visit to Norwich, with Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Gerrard, Suarez and Joe Allen coming back into the side. Brendan Rodgers gave a reward to youngsters Suso and Wisdom for their performances midweek and also to two goal hero Sahin, Raheem Sterling was also included in the team as he is quickly becoming a regular.

The Match

Liverpool took the lead before many supporters had took their seat for the match when crisp passing sent the ball skimming back and forth across the Carrow Road surface, pulling the opposition apart and carving holes in their formation.

Then the killer ball from Raheem Sterling, who collected play from Joe Allen and pivoted into space before sliding the ball into Johnson, who poked into Sahin.

Turner came across to dispossess him but the ball ricocheted into the path of Suarez, who cut inside before arrowing the ball back across the face of goal and into the bottom corner of John Ruddy’s net.

It was the perfect start for Liverpool and their confidence grew with Liverpool dominating possession for long periods.

Then in the 22^nd minute Suarez was bundled to the ground by Leon Barnett in the penalty but referee Mike Jones waved away Liverpool’s appeals.

Norwich threatened when Simeon Jackson lashed the ball over the bar with a left-footed volley after Steve Morison nodded it back into his path.

Suso then fed Suarez, who clipped a superb pass into the path of Gerrard. The skipper met the ball with his head but Ruddy was out well to push his effort away.

Suarez was sent through on goal once more but he side-footed wide when he really should have slotted. However, seconds later the Uruguayan stole play from Michael Turner, nutmegged him and then sent the ball curling past Ruddy with a fine right-footed effort.

It was no more than Liverpool deserved with their domination of the first half.

Norwich almost pulled a goal back at the start of the second half but Snodgrass deflected his effort over the bar.

At the other end, the Reds responded in style. Suarez slalomed down the right and at the second time of asking, slipped a pass into Sahin, who rolled the ball home from yards out.

Minutes later, Suarez got his hat-trick.

Sterling started the move that finished with Sahin slotting the ball into the Uruguayan, who took a touch to compose himself before calmly curling past Ruddy.

Norwich just couldn’t handle Suarez and Liverpool’s confident passing play and it looked to be a matter of how many for the visitors.

But Norwich did manage to pull one back on the hour-mark, Reina beat a Russell Martin effort out into the path of Morison, who fired into the bottom corner to make it 4-1.

But Liverpool were not finished yet and Gerrard made it five when his deflected effort beat Ruddy after a good run down the right by Sterling, although Norwich pulled a second goal back through substitute Grant Holt to end the scoring.

Summary

It was great to see Brendan Rodgers reward Suso, Sahin and give Andre Wisdom his league debut for their midweek performances. Liverpool got a great start to the match with the early goal but their passing and confidence throughout the game was impressive. Suarez was unplayable and proved how clinical he can be in front of goal. Great to see Liverpool win their first league win and this will only bring more confidence. So many good performances, but what does Suarez have to do to get a penalty, unbelievable stone waller waved away again. Disappointing to lose two poor goals but can’t take away from an impressive away win by Liverpool and to score five goals in the process is tremendous and hopefully Liverpool can build on this.

West Brom 1-2 Liverpool Match Report

Liverpool travelled to the Hawthorns for a very tricky tie as they try to defend the trophy they won last season. Liverpool would be looking for a bit of revenge after being humbled 3-0 on the opening day of the season by the hosts. West Brom have made a good start to the season, whereas Liverpool are still looking for their first league win after losing at home to Manchester United on Sunday.

The Team

Brendan Rodgers made 11 changes to the team that lost to Manchester United, as his main priority is the league. But his changes made way for many of Liverpool’s youngsters to receive an opportunity to impress. Jamie Carragher and Stewart Downing gave experience to a very youthful side which included Wisdom, Coates and Robinson alongside Carragher in defence in front of Brad Jones who replaced Reina. Sahin partnered Henderson in the middle of midfield with Assaidi on the left and Downing down the right flank, Pacheco supporting Yesil upfront.

The Match

Liverpool were stunned in the first couple of minutes when Liam Ridgewell floated a pass into the heart of the Reds’ penalty area and Jones rushed out to intercept; however, the ‘keeper spilled the ball into the feet of Tamas, who fired into the empty net behind.

Moments later Romelu Lukaku went close to doubling their advantage. The Belgian darted past Jamie Carragher but the veteran Liverpool defender made amends for his momentary lapse in concentration by hurling himself in front of the striker’s attempted finish.

Lukaku was causing Liverpool’s defence all sorts of problems as the visitors tried to stay in the game and in 7 minutes he cut the ball back to Rosenberg , his low powerful effort was well saved by Jones.

Assaidi made Liverpool’s first real chance when he darted down the left flank before crossing towards Foster’s near post but the arriving Yesil just failed to connect.

The attack seemed to galvanise the visitors as they started to come into the game. The away fans, packed into the stand behind Jones’s goal, played their part as they chanted ‘One Brendan Rodgers’ in a passionate show of support for the manager and, within a minute, Sahin had fired past Foster to level proceedings.
Stewart Downing found Andre Wisdom out on the right wing and the young full-back showed composure when he rolled the ball to Sahin, who took a touch before smashing home from 30 yards. Foster should have dealt with the effort but the Reds were not complaining.

A tempestuous minute of play, just prior to the interval, saw Wisdom flick a powerful free-kick yards wide of his own goal before Jack Robinson hooked the ball to safety and the Reds broke. Assaidi fed Yesil, who was visibly caught as he attempted to break free of the West Brom defence but the young striker remained on his feet allowing Jonas Olsson to dispossess him.

Liverpool started the second half brightly and were looking a threat going forward. The Reds started brightly after the interval. First Daniel Pacheco and Yesil exchanged passes on the edge of the West Brom box but Yassine El Ghanassy poked the ball clear as the Spaniard shaped to shoot.
Then Assaidi crossed deep towards the back post, Billy Jones ducked out of the cross but the loose ball caught Downing by surprise as he arrived at the far post to nod home.

Then Yesil spun and fired at Foster from range, the ball bobbled between the stopper’s legs before bouncing over the crossbar.

Sahin was influencing the play from the middle of midfield as Liverpool looked for a winner, West Brom’s attacks were rare as Liverpool’s youngsters continued to impress.

Pacheco went close with two efforts. First he twirled past a marker after bringing the ball down with a delicate touch before looping a shot over Foster and onto the crossbar. Then he fired low and hard at the ‘keeper, who managed to push his goal-bound effort wide.
Sahin whipped a tantalising pass in behind a back-tracking West Brom defence and Sebastian Coates barged his way to the front of the pack to divert the ball towards goal but Foster was there once more.
With 10 minutes of normal time remaining, 16-year-old Jerome Sinclair became the youngest-ever Liverpool player when he replaced Yesil and Suso came on in place of Pacheco.
And within seconds Suso unlocked the West Brom back four sliding a pass into Assaidi who squared play for Sahin to tap home.
Liverpool held out for the remaining minutes as West Brom tried to stay in the Cup. A tremendous win for Brendan Rodgers and his young side as they now look forward to a home tie against Rodgers’s old side Swansea in the next round.

The Summary

11 changes from Sunday’s team and worries of a squad that lacks depth, after this performance against West Brom many people will take on a different view of Brendan Rodgers’ squad. After falling behind so early many teams with so many youngsters could have crumbled, but this Liverpool team showed great character to respond in the way they did and fully deserved the victory. Jamie Carragher martialled the younger players brilliantly from the back, who played some very good stuff, with great passing moves with a high tempo on winning the ball back. Sahin was instrumental in midfield and capped of a great performance with his two goals. Yesil looked very sharp up front with Pacheco supporting him and Assaidi was a box of tricks as he looked to run at defenders whenever he received the ball. Every player was superb in a terrific team performance that must give everyone connected with Liverpool so much encouragement in this difficult start to the season.

Respect To Munich And The 96

Yesterday’s match at Anfield was a very emotional occasion as it was Liverpool’s first home game since the release of the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report being released. With Liverpool playing against bitter rivals Manchester United put the whole occasion under intense scrutiny as to how everyone would behave.

For many years sections of both supports have chanted about each other’s tragedies, and in the lead up to this fixture, both managers called upon the supporters to end this sick activity. Sir Alex Ferguson in particular was very intent on ending the vile chanting as he issued letters to Manchester United supporters going to the match about their conduct.

Manchester United Football Club made a tremendous gesture with the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton gifting Liverpool’s legendary striker Ian Rush a bouquet with 96 red roses. Both teams warmed up with track suit tops on with the number 96 on their backs. Then team captains Ryan Giggs and Steven Gerrard released 96 balloons into the sky prior to kick-off. Then supporters in sections of the crowd held up red and white leaflets portraying simple poignant messages :” the truth”,” justice” and “96”. The handshakes between both teams before the match was also scrutinised, focusing on Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez whose recent history has not been friendly to say the least, headlined by their “racism row” which resulted in Suarez receiving a lengthy 8 match ban, followed by Suarez’s refusal to shake Evra’s hand prior to kick-off last time both teams met.

But respectfully both players shook hands on this occasion and set the tone for the afternoon ahead where the football and respectfulness of both clubs and supporters took the headlines. United won the match 2-1 but for once the result felt secondary to the occasion that was marked with great respect from two great rival football clubs.

Reports suggested that a couple of Liverpool supporters made aeroplane gestures after the match where United supporters retaliated with chants of “Always the victims” and “Murderers”. But a couple of “Morons” should not be allowed publicity to overshadow a tremendously honoured respectful occasion which both sets of clubs and supporters deserve great credit for.

The authorities should deal with this very small element of idiots harshly and ban them from ever entering a football ground again, and the media must stop encouraging these idiots by giving them headline news which they thrive on.

Hopefully this example of respect by Liverpool and Manchester United will end the “tragic” chanting as both clubs and supporters have shown that they can be respectful rivals. To both Manchester United and Liverpool, to the tragic souls who lost their lives in Munich and to the 96 who died at Hillsborough :

You’ll Never Walk Alone