Ricardo's report v Liverpool

[ricardo 7,397]

It was a soggy old stroll up to CR on a day that felt more like Novenber than late April. Ricardo was totally nonplussed by a line up that seemed to be picked straight out of a Tombola machine. With only Moro up front it was no surprise that the opening minutes were devoid of goalmouth action. Both teams were content to play across the back and it was a rare event for either goalie to be called into action. The only incident of any note in the first 20 minutes was seeing PL chuck his water bottle down in disgust when Drury had to limp off and be replaced by Martin.Ricardo has never been a fan of this sterile approach to the game and with the recent brittleness of the City defence it was a case of waiting for an accident to happen. The inevitable happened when Fox mis-controlled and was robbed by Gerrard who slipped Suarez in on the left. The little man made no mistake with an angled shot into the far top corner. With City still in shock Gerrard met Downing''s cut back only for a City defender to deflect the goal bound shot for a corner. Worse was soon to follow however when Naughton left Ward high and dry with a short back pass. Suarez managed to nip in and ride Ward''s desperate tackle and make 10 yards down the right before unleashing a low drive that went in off the far post.Well, so far so suicidal. The final 20 minutes of the half were played out in a very subdued atmosphere asCity had managed to summon up a total of zero shots for the entire half. The halftime whistle came as a relief to Ricardo who still fails to understand the logic of playing one up front and a tight midfield when we have such a brittle defence.The second half began in a much more energetic style and with Vaughan replacing Fox City were soon on the front foot. Several corner were earned and at last Liverpool were called upon to do a bit of defending. The pace of the game increased and flowed from end to end at last and we were given reason to hope when Bennett finally drew a save out of Reina with a powerful 30 yarder that was superbly saved. At the other end Liverpool had several great chances to wrap it up. Shelvey headed against the bar then missed an open goal while Downing brought a fine save out of Ruddy at the expense of a corner. Suarez was a real handful and finding space at every attack although some of his antics annoyed the Barclay end and cries of "Suarez Suarez you''re a cnut" were not entirely without foundation.Bennett was having a fine game for City and from one cross Vaughan headed narrowly wide of the left post. Then Johnson did the same on the right. The longer the game went on without Liverpool getting a third the more you felt that a City comeback was just possible. Holty came on for Moro as City continued to attack and with about 10 minutes left Vaughan oh so nearly scored when he volleyed in a cross that Carrahger blocked brilliantly. Within seconds the ball was switched forward and Suarez tricked Ward on the halfway line and almost in one movement chipped Ruddy from about 45 yards. The little South American may indeed be a "Cnut" but if so he is a brilliant "Cnut" because although all three goals were of stunning quality that third was up there with the best that I have ever seen at CR in 58 seasons.So it''s MoM Bennett for me, with good contributions from Johnson and Naughton (despite his poor back pass for the second goal) and special mention for Vaughan who is starting to look sharp.Ricardo was hoping for mathematical safety today but hopefully it will only be delayed until tomorrow when QPR fail to beat Chelsea. Three of the bottom five are picking up points at an alarming rate and with City''s superior goal difference fast disappearing down the Swanee the last thing we need is to be sweating on getting something from the last game. A few games ago we were looking at a possible top ten finish, now 14th or 15th is looking more realistic.

[blahblahblah 2]

Excellent assessment as always Ricardo.

"So it''s MoM Bennett for me, with good contributions from Johnson and Naughton (despite his poor back pass for the second goal) and special mention for Vaughan who is starting to look sharp."

Bennett and Vaughan were indeed the bright points in an otherwise disappointing game - I''m quite looking forward to seeing what Vaughan is capable of after a decent pre-season.

The mistakes leading almost immediately to goals reminded me of games from the previous Premiership campaign. Is it my imagination, or are being punished less frequently for errors this season than 7 years ago ? Maybe we''re making fewer mistakes - although not today.

[YankeeCanary 0]

A couple of comments Ricardo from my observation on the big screen.

A telling moment for me, which I find reflects what is going on with the team currently, came early on when the ball was played forward to Morison as he approached the Liverpool third. Admittedly, the pass was a couple of yards wide of him but, if his attitude was right, he still would have been first to the ball easily ( and would have been earlier this season ). He simply stood there, put his arms up in the air to his colleague to indicate his displeasure that the pass was not directly to him. Don''t misunderstand me, I''m not attempting to pin undue responsibility on him, I''m simply saying that this is the attitude that has been more prevalent in too many players in recent games. We know we don''t have the talent of many other clubs but we did very well this season by playing with attitude and great desire. Without it, I''m afraid, we are getting what we are seeing. 

 

The second comment relates to Naughton''s poor back pass to Ward. No excusing Naughton although many similar mistakes were made in our own end today, but any central defender worth his salt wins that ball or takes the man down in attempting to. Ward''s effort was atrocious. 

[Theres only one Martin Peters! 0]

For me this was the most disappointing game since 1-7 to Colchester. Biggest problem we have now is lack of confidence some players have after loadsofmoney proved that world class players cost a lot of money and on their day and when they are up for it (as they have been twice this season home and away) can tear you to shreds if you are too attacking and open, as we were that day. But it was a thrilling game and we came out of it with some deserved praise.

Lambert as always learns from past disappointments, however, the more cautious approach in the first half backfired because of defensive errors and the inability of the team to make the formation work.

Tha main reason for this is that 2 of our 4 best centre backs are out injured (Whitbred & Ayala) and our best centre back this season, Russell Martin is playing at R Back because we do not have enough full backs.

So what to do, play Cafu at C Back with Ryan Bennett and Francombe at R Back (if fit), we must start with Holt and Vaughan at home to Villa & with Hoolahan for Vaughan at Arsenal. Simples (if only)!

PS Tin hat time, am I the only one who thought the Barclay gave the lovely people from Liverpool an easy afternoon, I seem to remember some lovely songs about cats in dustbins making nourishing meals.