By LFC Vancouver member Keith Perkins, 02 March 2006

Match number forty seven, with at least thirteen (hopefully many more, let’s say twenty or so) still to go. After the tough tests of Arse-nil at home in the Premier League, followed by Man Ure in the FA Cup, and then followed a few days later with a trip to Portugal for a Champions League match, it’s no surprise that physical and mental fatigue are starting to creep in. This week’s league fixture, at home to Manchester City, should have been a straightforward match where the Reds come out and finish them off easily. After all, we’re looking at the Champions of Europe in third place, at home to Manchester City in tenth place – fourteen points behind. Not only that, Man City have not scored away from home so far this year while Liverpool have not conceded a goal at Anfield since the 4 – 1 loss to Chel$ki in early October, and in fact those are the only goals scored against us at home so far this season (not counting Alonso’s own goal on the first of last month).

But (and there’s always a “but” isn’t there?), some pundits were actually saying that we could lose this one, or Man City were in with a chance at a point at least. The simple reasoning was that we are clearly seen to be suffering from fatigue, and so now is the time to go for the jugular and nick a goal or two to beat us. Not only that, but Stuart Pearce is a clever strategist as well as being a great motivator, and will have studied our recent form. It’s obvious to any observer that we have definite vulnerabilities. The first one that comes to mind has to be the tendency to give up goals late in a match from a set piece. Just look at our most recent losses to Man Ure and Benfica, where we conceded a header from a free kick in the last few minutes of a match. That shows not only how vulnerable we are on set pieces but also how the mental fatigue is having an effect on the players’ concentration. If that wasn’t worrying enough, then how about this: we haven’t been able to score more than one goal in a League match at Anfield since Boxing Day (2-0 over Newcastle). So the scene is set for an upset if (and there’s always an “if” isn’t there?) City can come out flying and score first, then we will find it hard to get a goal back, and even if we do they go home with a point. Or, if they hold us off long enough, then just maybe they can sneak in from a set piece late in the match and either win it with one goal, or salvage a point if they are going to be coming from behind. Still not too worried? How about this: Carragher is out with a one game suspension (fifth yellow card against Man Ure), Sissoko is out with a long term eye injury, Garcia has a knee problem and won’t be starting, and God is ineligible to play against his old mates due to a “gentlemen’s agreement” between the two clubs. Cisse hasn’t scored since December 28th, Morientes hasn’t scored since …you tell me, I can’t remember, was it Middlesbrough on December 10th?, and Crouch has only one so far this year (against Man Ure in the FA Cup). All of this was enough to have me worrying about this match. The odds were starting to be stacked against us; could we overcome them? Sometimes it’s best to take a potentially negative situation and turn it into a positive. That’s exactly what transpired in this match. Fist of all, with Man Ure busy for the day in Cardiff in the Mickey Mouse Cup, we had a chance to be tied for second place if we could pick up all three points. It was also an opportunity to put Stevie G back in the middle, with Kromkamp trying out on the right side of midfield in his place. Then Agger slots in beside Hyypia, to take up Jamie’s spot. Otherwise the squad is as usual with Crouch and Morientes up front, and Riise and Finnan as left and right backs respectively. That turned out to be a highly effective formation. Both Kromkamp and Agger had a few minor mis-steps early on, but both of them went on to prove themselves worthy. One commentator mentioned his surprise at the selection of Finnan and Kromkamp, saying that it would make more sense to reverse their positions. All I can say to that is it’s easy to see why he’s doing commentary and Rafa is managing the side (actually, I can’t imagine Rafa doing commentary either).

This was another game of two halves with the Reds flying in the first half, hardly letting City out of their end. We were passing well and controlling the play, as we usually see at home, but we just didn’t have that final move into the box and into a scoring position. Then, when we did get the chances, they were going anywhere but on target. If Fowler had been playing, he might have been able to get into a poaching position and have more success. But, he wasn’t there, so it didn’t happen this time. An unexpected breakthrough came about when Stevie G picked up the ball in the middle and played a perfect pass out to the left wing, nicely weighted for Kewell to run onto. Kewell’s pace was enough to leave Danny Mills well behind and give enough time to get the ball under control, pick the spot, and place it into the far side of the goal beyond David “calamity” James. One-nothing after forty minutes; that’ll do for a half time score. We should be able to come out in the second half and really finish them off.

But, the second half didn’t go as expected. Joey Barton was sent off for a second yellow card, and so it looked as though if we played it right, we should easily be able to score two or three more before the end of this one. That’s what you would expect, but that’s not how City saw it. For them it was a case of throw caution to the wind and go for it. They came close on a couple of occasions, including a wicked volley from Trevor Sinclair, forcing Reina to make an acrobatic save that should be all over next week’s highlight reels. I didn’t know he could move that fast - up to now he hasn’t had to!

One after another chance went astray. Crouch should have had two or three and then was surprisingly taken off, instead of Morientes who hadn’t looked even close to scoring. Hyypia, Riise, Gerrard, all had chances that just didn’t quite make it. Even though I’m not one to obsess over statistics, a look at the numbers tells the story of this match: 14 shots (against City’s 5) with 7 on target, 5 of them blocked. 12 corners (to City’s 2), 2 offsides, and 62% possession. On the physical side of the match we had 5 fouls to their 16, with no cards for us but a double yellow (equalling red) for Barton. That should be a beauty and the beast scenario with the roles being obvious. But, the actual result was another frustrating match where we only finished 1-0 winners instead of a two or three goal margin. But, as many players and managers will say, “At the end of the day, the most important statistic is three points.” If you want to add something to that, then we can be pleased with another solid defensive performance giving us yet another clean sheet.

There was no midweek match for us this week, which should be a huge relief, but several Reds were involved in midweek international friendlies, with a last chance for national team managers to finalise their squads for Germany 2006, which is now under 100 days away. The most important thing in these matches, as far as I’m concerned, is to avoid injury. There are only a few places not yet decided on some squads, and so for some it’s a chance to prove their worth at the international level. Peter Crouch is one of those, and he showed his value in England’s 2-1 win over Uruguay. Sven Gormless Eriksson didn’t see fit to put him into the mix until the 65th minute. Jamie Carragher (who should be an automatic choice at the back) spotted Cole up the left wing and passed the ball up to him on the left flank, who then in turn crossed the ball high into the box for Crouch to head home for the equaliser after playing less than ten minutes since coming on. Stevie G has nothing to prove to anybody, and is already an automatic selection. He was subbed off at half time, which was really half a game more than he needed at this stage. But, at least none of the Reds involved in the midweek internationals were injured. We have to be grateful for that as we still have a lot of crucial matches to come, and the odd injury here and there could damage our chances.

The first of these crucial matches is coming up this Saturday when we host Charlton (Sportsnet, 9:30 am). That may not sound so crucial but we have to look at every Premier League match from now until the end of the season as possibly making the difference between 2nd place with its automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League, and 3rd or 4th place with the extra round needed to qualify. If we can finish the season with a string of good results, we might be able to take that second place and save ourselves a couple of early competitive matches which come shortly after the World Cup. Charlton will be no pushover, especially when we remember that they beat us only a few weeks ago at The Valley. We can’t afford to relax yet.

If that wasn’t enough to get the nerves on edge, then three days after that we have a really big match, at home to Benfica in the second leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League (TSN tape delay). They got the better of us in Lisbon with a late goal, but as with the Man Ure FA Cup match, this will be our night. The similarities are eerie. In both cases we gave away a late goal, headed in from a free kick. That one goal in each case was not deserved on the run of play. Both cases may have been heading (no pun intended) for a 0-0 draw, but that’s sometimes what can happen, especially with the increasing fatigue as I mentioned. After that loss to Man Ure, we wanted a chance to show that we were the better team, and we got our wish in the FA Cup match a few weeks later. We have the same situation now with Benfica. I would say that we were the better side on the night in the first leg, but we lost. The second leg this coming Wednesday is our chance to show that we really are the best and that we are not just “lucky” to be Champions of Europe, but deserving of that title. We need a good performance from everybody and I’m sure we’ll see another special European night at Anfield. I expect that Stevie G. will be starting this one, Carragher is back from his one game suspension, Fowler will be rested and ready, Garcia will be fit and available after his run out for Spain this week, and Crouch must have boosted his confidence with his midweek performance (that’s two vital headers at Anfield recently).

We have to get the maximum out of everyone on the night - that good old 110% effort if we want to be playing any more Champions League matches this season. I’m confident that we’ll see exactly that, and we’ll be celebrating on Wednesday night. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

We here at LFC Vancouver are gearing up for some happenings next season when we will reveal sponsors and other such things. If you can help or can suggest anything for events or sponsors, drop us a line.

P Gill

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