Articles
Daily Post report
THEY came protesting for change. But what they got instead was the same old story.
An evening when Liverpool supporters made clear their anger at the club’s American owners could not fully distract from the harsh reality that something else is remiss at Anfield.
On the first opportunity to prove everything is at least fine on the field, only substitute Peter Crouch’s late equaliser prevented Liverpool from falling to a third and most embarrassing Premier League defeat of the season.
With rumours of an imminent takeover bid from Dubai, the Anfield crowd remonstrated throughout against the tenure of Tom Hicks and George Gillett and the duo’s treatment of Rafael Benitez.
Yet the Spaniard himself admits the ideal way to relieve the constant pressure on his position is by winning games. And, when it comes to the Premier League, Benitez’s team are proving his own worst enemy.
The manager must take his share of the blame for that. But while claiming afterwards that he didn’t know whether the off-field events are affecting his players, the facts are indisputable.
Since the Spaniard made public the ‘misunderstanding’ between himself and the club’s owners after hearing of their discussions with Jurgen Klinsmann, Liverpool have won only four of 10 league games and dropped 14 points out of 30.
That is why this morning they find themselves in fifth place behind neighbours Everton after a fourth successive Premier League draw.
Liverpool’s game in hand means their top-four destiny remains in their own hands, but those extra points are no given in the current climate.
Admittedly, a draw was the least Benitez’s side deserved last night from a lively encounter in which they were again left to rue their profligacy.
Crouch’s late strike, his first Premier League goal since his hat-trick against Arsenal last March, ensured they didn’t suffer the ignominy of being surpassed by Villa in the table.
Liverpool had taken the lead in the 19th minute when Yossi Benayoun prodded the ball home with the aid of Villa defender Martin Laursen.
But two goals in three second-half minutes turned the game on its head. An acrobatic volley from Villa substitute Marlon Harewood and an unfortunate own goal by Fabio Aurelio are the kind of strikes a team concedes when they are as troubled as Liverpool are at the moment.
Villa’s first originated from a foul by Alvaro Arbeloa, who, clearly struggling with an injury, then compounded his error by not properly marking Harewood at the set-piece.
But why hadn’t the Spaniard been immediately replaced? And why was Crouch only given the final 10 minutes to make his mark?
Anfield has offered anything but home comforts this season. Four wins from 11 games is nowhere near good enough for a team whose top-flight aspirations are seemingly being downsized with each passing week.
Never mind external distractions; too many of Liverpool’s players are suffering from a chronic lack of confidence. Dirk Kuyt cannot buy a goal at the moment, while Harry Kewell seems to have suffered one injury too many.
The watching Roberto Mancini, coach of Liverpool’s next Champions League opponents Inter Milan, will have not been overly perturbed by last night’s evidence.
Benitez made six changes from the team that thrashed Luton Town in the FA Cup six days earlier. Villa’s plans, meanwhile, were hit by an injury to skipper Gareth Barry, while Stuart Taylor was in goal with Scott Carson ineligible under the terms of his season-long loan from Anfield.
The game was almost incidental during the first 15 minutes as Liverpool’s supporters made clear their displeasure at the club’s American owners.
A mistake by Aurelio created the only goalmouth incident of note during that period, Craig Gardner robbing the left-back and advancing into the area before dragging his shot harmlessly wide.
On a chilly evening, Liverpool took their time to warm up in attack, Fernando Torres striking into the arms of Taylor with one ambitious chip.
But a diving challenge by Olof Mellberg to block Kewell’s goalbound effort sparked a spate of pressure from which Liverpool forged ahead on 19 minutes.
With Liverpool maintaining possession around the Villa area, Jamie Carragher played across to Steven Gerrard, who fed the ball in to Kuyt on the edge of the area. The Dutchman turned away from his marker and found Benayoun, the Israeli then cutting inside Curtis Davies and prodding home beyond Taylor with the help of Laursen’s outstretched boot.
Laursen had put through his own net when the teams met at Villa Park on the opening day of the season, and would ultimately play a part in all four goals last night.
No Liverpool player was alert to attack a dangerous low cross from Kuyt before Aurelio sliced the striker’s lay-off well wide from 25 yards, but otherwise the home side were kept at arm’s length.
Villa were well organised but rarely threatened during a scrappy first half, although Sami Hyypia had to alert to take the ball off Gabriel Agbonlahor’s toes from John Carew’s flick-on shortly before the break.
Perhaps it was the presence of new signing Martin Skrtel on the bench – the Slovakian making his debut as a second-half substitute – but Hyypia was immense against the considerable pace and power of the Villa forwards.
Liverpool warranted their half-time advantage and set about sealing the game after the restart. Curtis Davies almost turned a Kewell cross into his own net, while Kuyt mis-controlled and then blasted well wide when unmarked from Gerrard’s pass.
Torres was denied by Taylor after some trickery had made space inside the area, the goalkeeper parried a 20-yard Kewell drive and, from the same attack, Torres then struck narrowly over.
But as is the way for Liverpool at the moment, having dominated the second half they somehow fell behind after conceding two goals in three minutes.
Arbeloa was already struggling with injury when he earned a booking after needlessly upending Stilian Petrov near the halfway line on 69 minutes. The Villa man then picked himself up and launched a free-kick deep into the area which, after being nodded on by Laursen, was expertly volleyed in by Harewood. It was the substitute’s first touch.
Things went from bad to worse moments later when, from another Villa free-kick, this time from the right by Ashley Young, Laursen won another header and Mellberg’s attempted cross struck Aurelio at the near post and looped over the helpless Pepe Reina.
Agbonlahor then somehow managed to waste a three-on-one Villa break, and that proved costly as Liverpool equalised with two minutes remaining.
Laursen missed his attempted headed clearance from a deep free-kick by Aurelio and the ball bounced off Carragher before falling kindly for substitute Crouch to rattle home to the relief of the home crowd.
Relief, however, is in short supply for Benitez right now – something the Spaniard realises much change very soon.
LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina; Arbeloa (Skrtel 70), Hyypia, Carragher, Aurelio; Benayoun (Crouch 80), Gerrard, Mascherano, Kewell (Babel 74); Kuyt, Torres. Subs: Itandje, Alonso.
BOOKINGS: Arbeloa and Mascherano (both fouls).
ASTON VILLA (4-4-2): Taylor; Mellberg, Laursen, Davies, Bouma; Gardner (Harewood 66), Petrov, Reo-Coker, Young; Agbonlahor, Carew (Knight 90). Subs: Sorensen, Cahill, Osbourne.
BOOKING: Laursen (foul).
REFEREE: Mark Clattenburg.
ATT: 42,590.
NEXT GAME: Liverpool v Havant and Waterlooville, FA Cup fourth round, Saturday 3pm
Copyright - Daily Post
An evening when Liverpool supporters made clear their anger at the club’s American owners could not fully distract from the harsh reality that something else is remiss at Anfield.
On the first opportunity to prove everything is at least fine on the field, only substitute Peter Crouch’s late equaliser prevented Liverpool from falling to a third and most embarrassing Premier League defeat of the season.
With rumours of an imminent takeover bid from Dubai, the Anfield crowd remonstrated throughout against the tenure of Tom Hicks and George Gillett and the duo’s treatment of Rafael Benitez.
Yet the Spaniard himself admits the ideal way to relieve the constant pressure on his position is by winning games. And, when it comes to the Premier League, Benitez’s team are proving his own worst enemy.
The manager must take his share of the blame for that. But while claiming afterwards that he didn’t know whether the off-field events are affecting his players, the facts are indisputable.
Since the Spaniard made public the ‘misunderstanding’ between himself and the club’s owners after hearing of their discussions with Jurgen Klinsmann, Liverpool have won only four of 10 league games and dropped 14 points out of 30.
That is why this morning they find themselves in fifth place behind neighbours Everton after a fourth successive Premier League draw.
Liverpool’s game in hand means their top-four destiny remains in their own hands, but those extra points are no given in the current climate.
Admittedly, a draw was the least Benitez’s side deserved last night from a lively encounter in which they were again left to rue their profligacy.
Crouch’s late strike, his first Premier League goal since his hat-trick against Arsenal last March, ensured they didn’t suffer the ignominy of being surpassed by Villa in the table.
Liverpool had taken the lead in the 19th minute when Yossi Benayoun prodded the ball home with the aid of Villa defender Martin Laursen.
But two goals in three second-half minutes turned the game on its head. An acrobatic volley from Villa substitute Marlon Harewood and an unfortunate own goal by Fabio Aurelio are the kind of strikes a team concedes when they are as troubled as Liverpool are at the moment.
Villa’s first originated from a foul by Alvaro Arbeloa, who, clearly struggling with an injury, then compounded his error by not properly marking Harewood at the set-piece.
But why hadn’t the Spaniard been immediately replaced? And why was Crouch only given the final 10 minutes to make his mark?
Anfield has offered anything but home comforts this season. Four wins from 11 games is nowhere near good enough for a team whose top-flight aspirations are seemingly being downsized with each passing week.
Never mind external distractions; too many of Liverpool’s players are suffering from a chronic lack of confidence. Dirk Kuyt cannot buy a goal at the moment, while Harry Kewell seems to have suffered one injury too many.
The watching Roberto Mancini, coach of Liverpool’s next Champions League opponents Inter Milan, will have not been overly perturbed by last night’s evidence.
Benitez made six changes from the team that thrashed Luton Town in the FA Cup six days earlier. Villa’s plans, meanwhile, were hit by an injury to skipper Gareth Barry, while Stuart Taylor was in goal with Scott Carson ineligible under the terms of his season-long loan from Anfield.
The game was almost incidental during the first 15 minutes as Liverpool’s supporters made clear their displeasure at the club’s American owners.
A mistake by Aurelio created the only goalmouth incident of note during that period, Craig Gardner robbing the left-back and advancing into the area before dragging his shot harmlessly wide.
On a chilly evening, Liverpool took their time to warm up in attack, Fernando Torres striking into the arms of Taylor with one ambitious chip.
But a diving challenge by Olof Mellberg to block Kewell’s goalbound effort sparked a spate of pressure from which Liverpool forged ahead on 19 minutes.
With Liverpool maintaining possession around the Villa area, Jamie Carragher played across to Steven Gerrard, who fed the ball in to Kuyt on the edge of the area. The Dutchman turned away from his marker and found Benayoun, the Israeli then cutting inside Curtis Davies and prodding home beyond Taylor with the help of Laursen’s outstretched boot.
Laursen had put through his own net when the teams met at Villa Park on the opening day of the season, and would ultimately play a part in all four goals last night.
No Liverpool player was alert to attack a dangerous low cross from Kuyt before Aurelio sliced the striker’s lay-off well wide from 25 yards, but otherwise the home side were kept at arm’s length.
Villa were well organised but rarely threatened during a scrappy first half, although Sami Hyypia had to alert to take the ball off Gabriel Agbonlahor’s toes from John Carew’s flick-on shortly before the break.
Perhaps it was the presence of new signing Martin Skrtel on the bench – the Slovakian making his debut as a second-half substitute – but Hyypia was immense against the considerable pace and power of the Villa forwards.
Liverpool warranted their half-time advantage and set about sealing the game after the restart. Curtis Davies almost turned a Kewell cross into his own net, while Kuyt mis-controlled and then blasted well wide when unmarked from Gerrard’s pass.
Torres was denied by Taylor after some trickery had made space inside the area, the goalkeeper parried a 20-yard Kewell drive and, from the same attack, Torres then struck narrowly over.
But as is the way for Liverpool at the moment, having dominated the second half they somehow fell behind after conceding two goals in three minutes.
Arbeloa was already struggling with injury when he earned a booking after needlessly upending Stilian Petrov near the halfway line on 69 minutes. The Villa man then picked himself up and launched a free-kick deep into the area which, after being nodded on by Laursen, was expertly volleyed in by Harewood. It was the substitute’s first touch.
Things went from bad to worse moments later when, from another Villa free-kick, this time from the right by Ashley Young, Laursen won another header and Mellberg’s attempted cross struck Aurelio at the near post and looped over the helpless Pepe Reina.
Agbonlahor then somehow managed to waste a three-on-one Villa break, and that proved costly as Liverpool equalised with two minutes remaining.
Laursen missed his attempted headed clearance from a deep free-kick by Aurelio and the ball bounced off Carragher before falling kindly for substitute Crouch to rattle home to the relief of the home crowd.
Relief, however, is in short supply for Benitez right now – something the Spaniard realises much change very soon.
LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina; Arbeloa (Skrtel 70), Hyypia, Carragher, Aurelio; Benayoun (Crouch 80), Gerrard, Mascherano, Kewell (Babel 74); Kuyt, Torres. Subs: Itandje, Alonso.
BOOKINGS: Arbeloa and Mascherano (both fouls).
ASTON VILLA (4-4-2): Taylor; Mellberg, Laursen, Davies, Bouma; Gardner (Harewood 66), Petrov, Reo-Coker, Young; Agbonlahor, Carew (Knight 90). Subs: Sorensen, Cahill, Osbourne.
BOOKING: Laursen (foul).
REFEREE: Mark Clattenburg.
ATT: 42,590.
NEXT GAME: Liverpool v Havant and Waterlooville, FA Cup fourth round, Saturday 3pm
Copyright - Daily Post
