Tough loss, gents. I was pulling for you too. If it makes you feel any better, you really gave this one away. Pires goal was classic but came after a terrible give-away.
I hate to admit it, but I said before the game that if we couldn't beat an Arsenal side without Viera and playing at home, we were not going to threaten for the first couple of spots in the Premiership. I think that makes the loss even more disappointing, the fact we're already 9 points off the pace and lucky to even be that close.
You guys are class. Tough game not to win. I was overcome with envy the whole first half. That's the way AFC used to play.
Smicer was moving off the ball exceptionally well, and had some very good penetrating runs which led to chances - occasionally requiring an excellent play by Campbell to stop Owen from having a chance . He kept Toure occupied for most of his time on the field, which opened up a lot of space for Kewell. We seemed to take more outside shots in the first half than usual, and it was because of the attention given to Smicer. Le Tallec's positioning was weak and, apart from his near-equalizer, was invisible for much of the 50 minutes he was out there. Pires' goal was coming. Arsenal had grabbed control of the game by that point and were playing very well in the second half. BTW, the official score lists Arsenal's first goal as an own goal by Sami, not Edu.
Were you typing this while giggling hysterically? I have been thrilled with our attacking play all year. However, why must Sami turn into a AYSO defender every time we get more than 10 shots in? If our central defense was even close to being as solid this year as in recent history, we would have taken full points from our last 6 on the trot. Why must we only be successful at one end of the pitch or the other? (And don't give me any "formation" business - our backline tactics look nearly unchanged from last year, and while I haven't seen the Arsenal match yet, most of our goals against this year have come on errors or gaffes, not because of an overly aggressive midfield.)
Hyypia is not the player that he was two seasons ago. Whether this is due to his age or an unknown mental problem (a crisis in confidence or perhaps a loss of focus as somebody suggested) is anyone's guess, but it's hard to deny that he no longer delivers good performances consistently for Liverpool. I would like to think that he is simply off-form, but as he has been more or less off-form for the past twelve months, he has not been very effective for his team. Maybe Hyypia has lost the ability to utilize his strengths in the same way that Heskey did some time ago, though of course this is mere speculation. (Yes, I also realize that Hyypia has not been nearly as inconsistent or ineffective as long as Heskey has.) As for the rest of the defense, Biscan is not yet a great defender (if, indeed, he ever will be), and Riise and Finnan never were. The latter two are, of course, good players, but they are not great *defenders* in the strictest sense of the word. Therefore what Liverpool have is a defense that consists of a centerback who is a shadow of his former self, a midfielder recently converted to defense as his partner, and two fullbacks whose talents are more geared toward attack than defense. It's not surprising that they don't add up to a back four that rivals the defense of the Italian national team.
Christ, what a terrible day, and it's only 1:30...first Liverpool and then my Giants are eliminated by the mother*#*#*#*#ing Florida Marlins. I'm off to the pub.
No, I was truly annoyed with Arsenal's inability to get out of its own end the first half. I'm also giving you people your due props. LFC played well. I'm not going to patronize and say they deserved to win because clear opportunities to put away the Arsenal were wasted. But I was impressed by the quality of play from your lot.
Let's play a game - the anti GH people can look through his quotes given from the 50+ interviews and statements etc he gives every week and pick holes in things they don't like, and then they can say GH isn't good enough to be our manager...