隨風:有冇人可以講下對曼聯場波表現點？
去左旅行睇唔到[表情]
(2012-09-25 05:07) 
* Some people reported that some Manchester United fans were singing 'Where's your famous Munich song?', some claimed that was actually 'Where's your famous atmosphere?', some said a minority disrupted the Hillsborough tribute, others claimed that it went peacefully. Some will argue the United fans were being disrespectful by singing through the rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone', others will say that Liverpool fans should not have booed Patrice Evra because of the Luis Suarez affair. I wasn't at Anfield, so cannot and will not judge. Hell, even some people who were there probably can't judge accurately. And, in the fine spirit of Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that. After all, there was plenty of football to discuss.
* If there is such a thing as an undeserved win, then United gained just that at Anfield. Until the last 15 minutes or so, Liverpool were very much the superior side, particularly in the first half when Liverpool had a whopping 63% possession, had eight shots to United's three and generally played them off the park. And then the sending-off happened.* Add Jonjo Shelvey to Vincent Kompany (and plenty of others) to the pile of players sent off not quite so much for putting another player at risk of serious harm, but being so stupid they deserved a dismissal. Perhaps one can explain Shelvey needlessly launching himself into the air at Jonny Evans by the over-excitement of youth, but it's not much of an excuse. Why even give the referee a reason to take out the red card? Evans wasn't much better, and it was only because Shelvey's challenge was a bit more reckless that he didn't get a red card too, which upon viewing several replays, it was clear that he deserved.
However, you can hardly blame Mark Halsey for not issuing two reds - so stupid was Shelvey's lunge that it was easy to miss the two-footer from Evans. Indeed, Halsey deserves a certain amount of credit for correctly dismissing Shelvey in a game he surely would've been desperately hoping to go quietly without any further controversy.
* And the same applies to United's penalty. After looking at dozens of replays, I'm still not sure whether it really was a foul by Glen Johnson on Antonio Valencia (a bit of a push in the back, perhaps?), but from Halsey's position it looked as plain as day. People have to stop judging referees on what they see on television, and more on what the men in the middle can reasonably be expected to see. For all the kvetching that will no doubt fill the Mailbox over the next day or so, from a neutral point of view Halsey had a pretty good game. The only big decision he clearly and from the first view got wrong was Liverpool's claim for a penalty when Evans fouled Luis Suarez in the area. Of course, Ref365 will cover this in more depth, so wait for his column later in the week for more.
* Plenty have already pointed out that Suarez didn't help himself when he flung his head back after that foul, possibly contributing to Halsey's failure to give the penalty, but there was another example of this a little later in the game. When Robin van Persie fouled Suso and was booked, Suarez was on the edge of the penalty area as the ball broke to the left. Instead of staying where he was and providing an attacking option, the Uruguayan ran towards the referee to remonstrate over the foul (which was nowhere near as bad as Evans/Shelvey's challenges, before you start). Inevitably, a cross then came in to a United-filled penalty area, with nary a Suarez in sight.
* It's difficult to assess this Liverpool performance in the context of the rest of their season. On the one hand, they can draw comfort from a good showing in which they largely dominated a superior team. In the early stages their movement up front was rapid and impressive, and they kept possession in a way that suggests Brendan Rodgers' 'philosophy' is getting through. On the other hand, how often can they be subjectively viewed as the better team but not win the game? There are signs of improvement there for Liverpool, but how long should they wait before getting worried that those signs aren't developing into real, tangible improvement in the form of points and wins and goals? Not now, perhaps, but they need a win as soon as possible.
* As for United...well, this is what they do, isn't it? That they can be less-than-impressive but still beat their fiercest rivals is one of the reasons they have been so very successful for the past 20 years.
* In the early parts of the game, it was clear that Liverpool had planned to direct much of their attacks down their right wing, targeting the diminishing Patrice Evra. Raheem Sterling was having a fair bit of joy with his pace and directness, while Luis Suarez started nominally in the middle and often pulled out to the right rather than his usual left. In many it was a shame that the sending-off denied them a chance to pursue this line.
* One of the main reasons for Liverpool's dominance of possession in the first half was the anonymity of United's midfield. Perhaps Ferguson wanted Ryan Giggs' experience on the pitch for such a game, but a central midfield involving him and one other did not work, and predictably enough too. His pass completion was actually an impressive 90%, but he only attempted 41 passes throughout the game - by way of comparison, Michael Carrick played 60, Joe Allen 65 and Steven Gerrard 55. You had to feel a bit sorry for Carrick, and one wonders exactly what Tom Cleverley did wrong to be omitted. A combination of the introduction of Paul Scholes and United's extra man tipped things more towards their favour in the second half.
* This was why Jordan Henderson was introduced by Rodgers. Liverpool started the second half with a 4-4-1 formation, presumably in the hope that Allen and Gerrard could continue to control possession, allowing Suso and Sterling to attack from wide positions. As United gained more control of the ball, Rodgers had to try something - as it turned out it didn't work, but the logic was there.
* Fabio Borini was probably removed at half-time as a tactical move following the sending-off, but there were yet more signs that he probably isn't quite good enough. One moment in the first half, when Luis Suarez thredded a perfect through ball past the United defence, summed his time at Liverpool so far up quite nicely - Borini let the ball bounce off him, moving him too wide to take advantage of Suarez's skill and vision, and the chance was lost. Of course, it is too early to write him off completely, but the signs are not good. It has been the source of much consternation that Liverpool only have two senior recognised strikers in their squad, but surely it should be of greater concern that Borini is one of them.
* United's defending was a worry, and was perfectly illustrated by Gerrard's goal. The Liverpool captain was allowed a ludicrous amount of space to pick his spot, partly due to a failure of Ryan Giggs to properly track then stay with his man, then Rio Ferdinand and Evans to close him down. Both United centre-backs were suffering through injury at various stages, and Liverpool will be frustrated that their lack of numbers prevented them from taking advantage.
* Does that answer the question of who Ferguson's first-choice goalkeeper is? If so, you have to feel a little sorry for David de Gea, dropped after one ropey game against Fulham, and not recalled after making a string of terrific stops in the Champions League against Galatasaray.
* A quick note for other managers. Having gone 2-1 up in an away game in which your team has not been particularly impressive, many managers would have opted for the negative option and shut out the game, possibly by removing a striker for a defender or midfielder, and packed the midfield. Ferguson brought on Danny Welbeck for Rafael. There's more than one way to close out a win.
* Stewart Downing didn't even make the bench for Liverpool. With the departures of Andy Carroll and Charlie Adam, plus the relegation of Jose Enrique to the bench following the disappearance of his form, that's more or less a clean sweep of the Great Transfer Bungle Of 2011. Say what you like about Rodgers, he's being decisive in this respect.
* Ryan Giggs is comfortably old enough to be the father to three of the Liverpool midfield that started the second half. Especially if he was of Raheem Sterling's potency as a young man, which after recent revelations, wouldn't be a massive surprise.
Nick Miller
