Liverpool vs Tottenham | 6th Feb | 20.00 GMT|

Ohhh for a change! what bench strength tonight :O . . .

But what is confusing is why play Johnson in LB when Aurelio is fit

D4yw41k3r wrote:Ekotto will play i guess
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/02/01/2880105/tottenhams-benoit-assou-ekotto-escapes-punishment-for-tackle

Hmmph, He got lucky with that one.. Horrible challenge.

Fahim89 wrote:But what is confusing is why play Johnson in LB when Aurelio is fit

Wont risk an unfit Aurelio against the pace of Spurs.

#THFC
starting XI: Friedel, Bale,
Dawson, King, Walker,
Assou-Ekotto, Parker,
Livermore, Modric,
Kranjcar, Adebayor.

Nishank wrote:

Fahim89 wrote:But what is confusing is why play Johnson in LB when Aurelio is fit

Wont risk an unfit Aurelio against the pace of Spurs.

Unfit! when was the last time he was fit? :O

One of those few games where you'll be happy with the performance, but not the result.

Yes, a draw is a fair result, but it feels underwhelming considering we played so well and dominating the ultra attacking spurs.

I'm happy with everyone today despite some wasteful tendencies.

Point is, we are still 7th and one point behind Arsenal, not much gained here but I'm happy to see Kenny is playing a more fluid formation.

His tactics were absolutely spot on today. Sadly, some of our players' decisions were not.

I'll give my full thoughts and assessments tomorrow.

My motm was either Kelly or Gerrard.

I only managed to watch 55 mins (before doozing off). I think we played well but our main (and perhaps only) problem remains, creating goal scoring chances.

Even Adam was good. May be I'm too naive but at this rate we are not going to make it to top-four.

If we don't make the top four, it's been nothing but our fault. The amount of games we've dominated / been the better side but not taking our chances has made this season frustrating.

I'm likely how Carroll has been playing lately.....Exactly why we brought him to do, only needs to improve his precision and he'll be rejuvenated.

^ He needs to practice his right foot and needs to stop arguing with officials.

As you’d expect from a side nipping at the heels of the top two, Spurs pressed high in the opening minutes, with Liverpool content to soak up the pressure and look for space on the counter. The hosts gradually took the match over, though, as Gerrard got forward, mostly on the right, in search of finding a crack in a crowded final third.
Carroll continued his confident play as the lone man up top, holding up play and retaining possession on a number of Liverpool forays forward, but too often their possession fizzled, with crosses regularly cleared and the final ball remaining elusive. Two set pieces gave Liverpool a glimmer of hope—first drawn by Johnson on the edge of the area, and later with Parker earning a yellow for his tackle on Gerrard, but neither effort made it past the wall.
Spurs saw more of the ball as the half died down, looking to nick a goal before the break with an extended spell of possession. Liverpool’s defense gave little ground, however, and Johnson’s arrowed shot just before the whistle, saved easily by Friedel, signaled the end of an entertaining but ultimately fruitless first half of football.
There weren’t any significant changes at the half, with both sides more than a little sloppy. And the most significant incident of the opening fifteen minutes had little to do with the football, as Agger reacted strongly to aBale dive down Liverpool’s left. The resulting scrum saw the Welshman booked for shoving Agger and Bellamy as the peacemaker, and a quick Spurs attack followed that saw Bale fluff a right-footed volley after a brief scramble in the Liverpool area.
The introduction of Suarez brought new life to the match, and the Uruguayan’s first invovlement came immediately as he dispossessed Assou-Ekotto on the near side, working an opening for Gerrard to cross. As the narrative demanded, he was also immediately involved in controversy, getting booked for a volley of Parker’s abdomen and bringing the match to an abrupt halt
Another booking for Liverpool would follow, this time for Skrtel after a slightly high challenge on Bale in which he won the ball but also got a snag of the winger’s knee. From there the match only provided two chances, one at either end—one for Bale on the break that Reina got down to save, and one for Suarez from a Gerrard free kick that the recently-returned forward headed straight to Friedel under pressure from King. The match limped to a close, Spurs happy to close down shop, and Liverpool once again unable to find any sort of final product.

I suppose on the Spurs end of things they’ll be happy—it became clear as the second half wore on that they were only interested in a point, and with Liverpool struggling so frequently to finish their chances, they saw the match out fairly comfortably. And given how under-strength they were, it was a decent enough display, particularly from Walker and, for his work in the first half alone, the impressive Parker.
But you can’t help but be disappointed in Liverpool, who had a chance to maintain momentum and kick-start an important month with a big victory. They weren’t entirely terrible, with a few bright spots individually, but as a whole they were uninspiring and ineffective. After a promising run of play early in the first half and immediately after the introduction of Suarez in the second, it seemed like things would be turning in Liverpool’s favor. As has so often been the case at Anfield, though, it was all for naught, and they’re left to wonder about what might have been.
Their success in defense continued despite the shake-up, with Johnson standing out on the left and Skrtel the best on the night were it not for Johnson. The rest were good but not great—Gerrard had a number of nearly moments, deft touches, and decent crosses, Spearing was good defensively but erratic going forward, and Adam was a non-factor, providing little going forward while proving somewhat serviceable defensively.
Same story for Carroll, who was exactly what you’d ask for in a hold-up man, but had little support, was wasteful in front of goal, and once again found himself working to get on the end of a number of poorly-placed crosses. Kuyt and Bellamy were active but lacking in influence, and while Suarez lifted Anfield with his introduction and proved a pest at times, he couldn’t find the finish when Liverpool needed it most. Barely worth mentioning is the substitute appearance of Downing—a tired Bellamy would have been preferred, and it’s a continuation of the worrying slide that we’ve seen for most of the season.
For a match that was so heavily anticipated, this one’s certainly a letdown. We had hoped for a performance that signaled Liverpool’s intent, one that would close the gap on fourth and keep pace with the rest of the challengers ahead of Saturday’s trip to Manchester. Instead we got a mostly familiar package and a disappointing result, left wanting for more yet again.

Yet personally I feel this coverage on our lack of scoring is actually taking away from how well Liverpool actually defend. As mentioned, Kenny's tactics were absolutely spot on. Sadly, some of the players, like Kuyt for example, were not.

Plus we need to stop crossing when the pressure increases to score.
But at least the buildup to the weekend won’t be a complete circus. Right?

For me the most important point to be noted is the aggression of the Midfield cause Carroll laid off many balls held off defenders but there weren't any other Liverpool player to grasp those opportunities . . no. of players in the box at times is just ZERO . . . something that is slowly turning into a habit

Fahim89 wrote:For me the most important point to be noted is the aggression of the Midfield cause Carroll laid off many balls held off defenders but there weren't any other Liverpool player to grasp those opportunities . . no. of players in the box at times is just ZERO . . . something that is slowly turning into a habit

Carroll was impressive yesterday. He's finally doing the job we bought him to do. Even more encouraging was to see him on the pitch WITH Suarez. True, he did waste a chance with the half-volley he sent into the stands, but it was far from the worst thing that we saw yesterday. Carroll did well against Dawson and King, drew the attention of the defense when we pushed forward and even his touch looked much better (far from the awkward, staggering and flailing we've seen in his earlier performances). However, Fahim called it; there was no one to make the most of his work as a target man. Here's hoping Suarez's return can change this.

Three points were there for the taking, but a draw wasn't an unfair outcome.
Let's see how we'll do against United on Saturday.