Liverpool vs. Tottenham Post-match discussion

I think Liverpool could have won the match, but considering our recent form against Tottenham, and the 4-0 loss at White Hart Lane means that a draw is a fairly decent result for us, not what we needed, but Tottenham have been in good form this year, so we can't expect to beat them.

Some really promising performances from some Liverpool players, Andy Carroll really impressed me, he held the ball up better than he has all year, had some neat control. It's just disappointing the chances aren't really falling for him often enough. I was really, really impressed by Glen Johnson, I think if that match was to choose who should be right back between Kyle Walker and Glen Johnson, surely Johnson should get it, he was playing at left back today, and performed excellently, attacking and defending he had the better of Kyle Walker. He also coped well when Gareth Bale decided he might get more luck down the right hand side.

The biggest disappointment for Liverpool is Dirk Kuyt, I'm utterly unconvinced by him. He may have got the two goals recently, but of every player in our side, it's Kuyt I fear getting the ball. He played well defensively, but once he was taken off, with Bale's form today, Kuyt didn't seem needed. Attacking wise, he doesn't offer us enough, he's not a crosser, and his passing wasn't particularly good either. I feel bad criticising him as he is such a hard worker and such a good servant to the club, but at the end of the day, I think Kuyt was the weak link in our side today. Suarez played alright when he came on, but it was obvious he hadn't played for a while.

Tottenham surely must feel a little concerned after that performance? Gareth Bale really struggled, he just couldn't offer anything. I haven't watched much Tottenham this year, but all throughout the match I had a feeling Spurs were trying to develop him into the Leo Messi role, the false number 9 where he moves about the front line, but it doesn't suit his style, Bale is clearly an old-fashioned winger, who is best when bombing down the wings. Adebayor was also disappointing, although he got zero support. They missed the pace of Lennon, as their counter attacks just lacked any real bite. Modric didn't look comfortable playing in the space Van Der Vaart normally does. Scott Parker was very good for Spurs though and is definitely their "Makelele."

All in all, neither side can be too disappointed by the result. Tottenham didn't look their best in the match, and were perhaps lucky not to have lost the match. Liverpool have managed to improve on their recent form against Tottenham, and a lot of encouraging form from some players.

My ratings by player:

Liverpool

J Reina 6
Didn't really have much to do all match, but when called upon performed well. Did well in the late Bale chance.

M Kelly 7
Not troubled by Bale or Kranjar all match, got down the right flank as well.
M Skrtel 6
Not really called upon much, some good tackling, and coped easily with Adebayor.
D Agger 6
Again, like Skrtel, not troubled. Competent when having to do things.
G Johnson 8
Really good performance from Glen Johnson, coped with everything thrown at him, and got forward well.

J Spearing 6
Did everything he needed to defensively, a few wayward passes was slightly worrying. Looks good cover for Lucas.
C Adam 6
Weren't a lot of silly passes or stupid long shots, some nice passes as well.
D Kuyt 5
Managed to keep Bale quiet with Kelly, but didn't really enough going forward.
S Gerrard 6
Lacked the final ball needed to break down a tough Spurs defence.
C Bellamy 6
Unusually quiet game for Bellamy, couldn't quite get through the defence.

A Carroll 7
Good game for Carroll to continue his improvement in play recently. Controlled everything chucked at him, created chances.

Subs:
Luis Suarez 6
Probably should have scored the chance, was obvious he hadn't played for a while. Some encouraging play.
S Downing 6
Tried his best, but didn't really offer anything different. Spurs defence had been hard to break down all game though.

Tottenham Hotspur

B Friedel 7
Made some good saves, and never looked troubled throughout the game.

K Walker 6
Didn't look quite as impressive going forward, although at the back he did alright after a few scares.
M Dawson 7
Good performance from Dawson, he made sure Carroll never got through. Early tackle saved Spurs.
L King 6
Competent performance, not really tested enough by Liverpool.
B Assou-Ekotto 6
A few odd passes, but all in all an okay performance. Not really given any worries by Dirk Kuyt though.

J Livermore 6
Competent from the youngster, with S Parker next to him, he looked confident.
S Parker 8 *MAN OF THE MATCH*
Really good game for S Parker, who managed to nullify S Gerrard, and covered the defence expertly.
N Krancjar 6
Didn't offer enough pace to counter-attacks, good on the ball though.
L Modric 6
Never really looked comfortable playing so high up the pitch and not able to dictate the pace of the game.
G Bale 5
Perhaps a harsh rating, but he performed well below expectations and failed to put away the best chance of the game. Disappointing.

E Adebayor 6
Will be disappointed by the level of support from his midfield, and then got taken off. Isolated up front.

Subs:
L Saha 6
Suffered from the same problem as Adebayor, so never got into the game enough.
D Rose 6
No time to influence game, as Spurs dug their heels in.

I thought Carroll had a good game , enjoyed the battle between Bellamy and Walker but i would have to agree Crimey Scott Parker was excellent tonight he was just everywherealways in the way of an attack breaking up the play ....mores the shame .
Didn't like the Bale dive and reaction other refs would have sent him off for raising his hands .

Thought Suarez was going to win for us at the end but he was a little rusty .
2 more points dropped at home but a good over all performance against a team 3rd in the league .

Spurs were missing a few and it showed. They were happy to get a draw. I thought Spearing was Liverpool's weak link. The amount of times he gave the ball away was way too many. I still think Liverpool would be favourites to get the 4th spot as the other 3 don't convince me at all.

Some really promising performances from some Liverpool players, Andy Carroll really impressed me, he held the ball up better than he has all year, had some neat control. It's just disappointing the chances aren't really falling for him often enough.

Excuse me? He had GLORIOUS chances last night, at least 3, and fluffed all of them.

Also, Dirk Kuyt is a fantastic player and has been for years at Liverpool. He his one of the only players who generally create chances, makes runs, presses the ball etc.

He also scores more then then Caroll.

Parker indeed was man of the match, and i agree with the rest of your article. But not with the section i highlighted.

Walker and Johnson for England..........

No It has to be Micah Richards everytime....disgrace...

Liverpool lack quality in the final third.......Carroll is just another poor man's Crouch...you need to get rid...

Van de Voort and Lenon were sorely missed last night....livermore and Krancjar just didn't fill the void...

chance missed for Liverpool in a disappointing season..

d260005p wrote:Some really promising performances from some Liverpool players, Andy Carroll really impressed me, he held the ball up better than he has all year, had some neat control. It's just disappointing the chances aren't really falling for him often enough.

Excuse me? He had GLORIOUS chances last night, at least 3, and fluffed all of them.

Also, Dirk Kuyt is a fantastic player and has been for years at Liverpool. He his one of the only players who generally create chances, makes runs, presses the ball etc.

He also scores more then then Caroll.

Parker indeed was man of the match, and i agree with the rest of your article. But not with the section i highlighted.

Carroll had the best chance of the match and couldn't even hit the target. He is supposed to be a striker so it doesn't really matter how well he holds the ball up if he doesn't score or create a goal for another player.
Parker was by far the best player last night and if it hadn't been for Spurs having a weakened team they would probably have won.
Liverpool need someone who can score at least 15 goals a season if they want to finish in the top 4.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Walker and Johnson for England..........

No It has to be Micah Richards everytime....disgrace...

Liverpool lack quality in the final third.......Carroll is just another poor man's Crouch...you need to get rid...

Van de Voort and Lenon were sorely missed last night....livermore and Krancjar just didn't fill the void...

chance missed for Liverpool in a disappointing season..

Walker and Johnson both had great games yesterday. Richards does have the pyshcal attributes but does seem to make some strange decisions. Capello does have his reasons!

I agree Liverpool need to find an out and out finisher but Carroll played well yesterday. Put himself about, charged down the ball and won a fair few headers (considering he was being marked by Dawson who is very underrated) and created a few chances. Carroll is a different to Crouch. Carroll wins far more headers whereas Crouch must be the only person who when he jumps for a header he is smaller then his actual height! Crouch does have better first touch the Carroll but Carroll is still green and will come good.

Krancjar and Livermore both had good games, the ball Krancjar put through for Bale was inch perfect.

Didn't know Van der Voort played for Spurs good darts player though

Why hasnt anyone mentioned Suarez kicking Parker? Only saw clips off the game but seen that and what he was swinging at was beyond me surely another ban coming?

marty2086 wrote:Why hasnt anyone mentioned Suarez kicking Parker? Only saw clips off the game but seen that and what he was swinging at was beyond me surely another ban coming?

Nope cos the ref gave him a yellow card and it was dealt with on the pitch, therefore the FA can't do anything. Nice try though

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

marty2086 wrote:Why hasnt anyone mentioned Suarez kicking Parker? Only saw clips off the game but seen that and what he was swinging at was beyond me surely another ban coming?

Nope cos the ref gave him a yellow card and it was dealt with on the pitch, therefore the FA can't do anything. Nice try though

He must have one hell of a kick on him for Parker to go down so hard clutching his stomach and rolling around so much just imagine if he had pulled his foot back properly and really kicked him , Parker would of ended up in the net

d260005p wrote:Some really promising performances from some Liverpool players, Andy Carroll really impressed me, he held the ball up better than he has all year, had some neat control. It's just disappointing the chances aren't really falling for him often enough.

Excuse me? He had GLORIOUS chances last night, at least 3, and fluffed all of them.

Also, Dirk Kuyt is a fantastic player and has been for years at Liverpool. He his one of the only players who generally create chances, makes runs, presses the ball etc.

He also scores more then then Caroll.

Parker indeed was man of the match, and i agree with the rest of your article. But not with the section i highlighted.

I think you're letting the history of Dirk Kuyt cloud your vision. I have supported him for years, and argued that he offered a lot when others would say he was poor, but this year he has been a real weak link. Last night was no different, I was worried every time he got the ball when we attacked as he just didn't do anything with it.

I also think, you have to view Carroll in the context of the rest of his performances for Liverpool, and last night was another good one. I don't think he had any particularly clear-cut chances, the half volley was a very difficult one to take, especially on his weaker foot and Dawson blocking the way. Other than that chance I can't think of any other obvious chances. Suarez had the best chance for Liverpool with his header.

I am in the minority i know but i think Andy Carroll is finally begining to believe in himself as a Liverpool player , he has started to put himself about in games more , he is chasing down the ball when we dont have the ball and he is winning headers for flick ons which gave us some promising chances . Yes you would expect all this from a 35 million player and more but he is getting there . Like i have said before Carroll didnt set his few Newcastle did and they got as much as possible , did we pay over the odds YES but just get over it . We got 50million for Torres who has scored less goals then Andy so on that basis were 15 mill better off and have a player with more goals .

Carroll was never imo going to be our 20-30 goal a season man im thinking more around the 10-15 mark and him setting up more for others , we need a goal scorer who i dont know. A player from abroad may not settle and a player already here would be hard to get from which ever club .

The game was pretty poor, says a lot when a cat on the pitch in the first half was one of the highlights.

Crimey wrote:
I think you're letting the history of Dirk Kuyt cloud your vision. I have supported him for years, and argued that he offered a lot when others would say he was poor, but this year he has been a real weak link. Last night was no different, I was worried every time he got the ball when we attacked as he just didn't do anything with it.

I also think, you have to view Carroll in the context of the rest of his performances for Liverpool, and last night was another good one. I don't think he had any particularly clear-cut chances, the half volley was a very difficult one to take, especially on his weaker foot and Dawson blocking the way. Other than that chance I can't think of any other obvious chances. Suarez had the best chance for Liverpool with his header.

Carroll was in a lot of space and could have taken another touch instead of blazing the ball over the bar so I'd say that was a much better chance than Suarez's header.
As for Kuyt he gives everything for Liverpool and I thought he had a much better game than Spearing last night.