Articles
Shock for the Blues
January 31, 1955. The Liverpool Echo
Ranger’s Notes.
The Starting Point
Valiant Defenders
Paid Rich Dividends
Eglington Starved
Liddell was Brilliant
Everton’s Best
Still A Mystery
But the most mystifying thing about it all was that there was a lowly Second Division side which had not won an away match of any description for close on a year, and only six out of the last 50 or more, making one of the leading First Division teams look so ordinary. As I said at the start football’s a funny game. You never know what to expect. But that is all to the good. It is what keeps us on tenterhooks for nearly nine months of the year. Nobody would have it otherwise. Before I end let me extend the warmest congratulations to both sets of players on a game fought out with the same splendid sportsmanship that has characterized all the post-war “derby” matches. Bar a view accidental trips there was hardly a foul –incidentally I forgot to mention that Everton got two offside “goals” –and Referee Arthur Ellis had one of his easiest jobs for a long time. This was as it should be and as I trust it will always remain. Everton will live to have another go at the Cup twelve months hence. Liverpool go on to round five with the warmest wishes of the lads, they conquered and everybody, no matter what his club allegiance can look back on this game in the happy knowledge that nothing was done to blot the copybook of his team’s sporting reputation. It was good also to see that the officials retained the idea of the teams coming out side by side.
Copyright - Liverpool Post and Mercury - Transcribed by http://www.
Liverpool Emphasized Truth Of Hackneyed Soccer Dictum
The hackneyed and hoary did dictum that football’s a funny game and you never can tell what will happen next has been borne out again, and I sit today on the stool of penitence, hanging my head in shame before the onslaught of every loyal Liverpidlian. The old (or should it be new?) Unpredictable’s proved that their former ability to achieve the apparently impossible has not completely deserted them. I think the most outstanding feature of the Goodison game was the way in which the Liverpool defence dovetailed one with the other until Everton must have almost despaired of getting a clean unimpeded view of Rudham’s charge. For the first 15 minutes or so though never as dominant and fluent in combination as they can be Everton looked slightly the better balanced side, and their followers were confident that as time went on they would succeed in wearing down the opposition. But it didn’t work out that way. Like a boxer weighting up a strange adversary, Liverpool in the early stages had been feeling their way and testing the opposition. Then, having found that extra speed to the ball and quicker tackling they could cut through Everton’s ideas, they proceeded to put some of their own into operation.
Liddell’s goal at the 18th minute was the starting point of Everton’s downfall and another example of the Scot’s opportunism. Liddell is terribly difficult to dispossess once he has the ball at his feet, a bit of room in which to work and a reasonably clear sight of the goal ahead. Liverpool’s second goal eleven minutes later was not so good in some respects, for two players tried without success to make proper contact before it was rather fortuitous stabbed out to A’Court to add the appropriate finishing touch. Before half-time Everton began to look dispirited and rather jaded. Their early sparkle had completely left them, but they have shown such fighting spirit in so many games this last couple of years that their supporters though obviously downcast at the trend of events had by no means given up hope. That hope flared up even more strongly when Hughes was injured after only seven minutes in the second half and had to hand over his post to Twentyman, with Liddell at left half. Though Hughes had a certain amount of nuisance value Liverpool were clearly handicapped in attack by the enforced reshuffle, though certainly not weakened as far as defence was concerned.
It was in attack that they felt the absence of Liddell, now doing valiant work along with Twentyman, in steaming Everton’s raids. For long spells in the second half the Blues really got down to business, even though never in the convincing manner that we have come to expect from them. They kept the Liverpool rearguard at full stretch yet never gave Rudham enough to do to provide him with an opportunity to distinguish himself. Time and again the Everton attack was like a gang of recruits in the hands of an inexperienced lance-corporal –full of bustle and effort but lacking somebody to lick them into proper shape and keep them in step. They passed and re-passed with short balls until they go into a tangled web of their own weaving and when they did shoot their finishing at times was puerile. This was one of the worst exhibitions that I have seen from them this season. There have been many occasions when they have carved out openings almost with the ease of shelling peas. There have been other games when their shooting has been powerful, accurate and frequent. On Saturday they failed on all these counts –and not so much because they were not trying desperately hard, but because they found themselves up against a defensive “iron curtain” that left hardly the semblance of a loophole.
Despite the handicap of “carrying” the unfit Hughes Liverpool always looked more dangerous when they were on the attack. The Anfielders motto seemed to be never to make two moves when one would suffice, and to gain the maximum ground in the quickest time by the longest possible passes combined with accuracy. It paid them rich dividends. Jackson, who had a splendid day against the uncertain Rankin, had a share in the last two goals –scored by Evans at the 57th and 75th minute –as well as the first. One was when O’Neill parried but could not hold a tremendous Jackson shot and the last, which sealed the issue beyond all possible doubt, was a peach of a centre which left Evans with a comparatively easy task for a man who can head the ball with his sure touch. Any impartial observer who has watched both sides regularly this season and had attempted a pre-match weighting up to the occupants of corresponding positions in each team would undoubtedly on striding a balance have cast his vote in Everton’s favour. Weighting them up at the end of the game would have led to a vastly different conclusion. Rudham, though he had one or two shaky moments, and has not the agility of O’Neill compared well with his Everton counter-part. Moore was Everton’s best defender, yet he had not much in hand over Lambert by the end of the game.
In the early stages Lambert found Eglington could beat him for speed as most folk anticipated but for some unknown reason Everton did not bring the Irishman into the game anything like as much as they might have done, which was one of several errors in the Blues’ tactics. The starving of Eglington was particularly notable in the second half. But don’t read into this that Lambert had a disappointing day. Nothing of the kind. He was a vital cog in the Anfield defence, and by intelligent positioning and interception allied to understanding with his colleagues he efficiently countered the possible danger from Everton’s left flank. At wing half Liverpool were more dominant than Everton for both Farrell and Lello were below their usual form. Twentyman had a splendid game, so did Saunders in slightly lesser key. Twentyman never seems to hurry; indeed he appeals almost lethargic at times; but he was always where he was needed cool and collected, and displaying that intuition which makes such a tremendous difference. So far as the centre halves go Hughes fared better in the first half against Hickson than Jones did against Liddell, and when Evans went in the middle and Hughes on the left wing half way through the second portion Jones again found that he could not keep the Liverpool man completely subdued.
As for the forward lines, Liverpool were far more go-ahead and direct than Everton. They never forgot that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and whenever possible they took it, whereas the Blues too often lost themselves in devious roundabout routes that gave the visiting defence time either to consolidate or regroup its forces. Liddell was the outstanding Liverpool success. He played a captain part when the Skipper was crocked. With indomitable pluck and magnificent ability this lion hearted player inspired his colleagues y precept and example to reach heights which have long been absent. As left-half he was just as good as he was at centre forward on the wing or as an auxiliary back, I really believe that if ever such an impossible thing happened as that his ten colleagues should go on strike and leave the field Liddell would carry on the fight the opposition single-handed. But in singing Liddell put for the bouquet do not let it be thought that I am under estimating the contribution of the others. Anderson as against Blackburn had a splendid game and I do not think I have seen Evans play better.
Having given Liverpool their full due, let me add that praise was also earned by several Evertonians. First by Moore, who was the only defender to look anything like his normal self apart from O’Neill, whom I thought had no chance worth speaking of with any of the goals. Potts worked tremendously hard and Eglington would have had a much better outing had he been given more of the ball. Hickson comported himself in the finest possible manner, and was obviously content to some extent to don a mantic of self-effacement in the home off being able to carve our openings for others. That he was not as successful in this as usual was due largely to the speed with which Liverpool tackled and intercepted. They were invariably first to the ball and the side which achieve that can make the best of opposing intentions go adrift. One could go on for a long time on all the various aspects of the game, but there are limits to space even for a “Liverton” encounter. This game will long be remembered by all Liverpool followers as one of the finest displays the Anfield club has ever put up.
But the most mystifying thing about it all was that there was a lowly Second Division side which had not won an away match of any description for close on a year, and only six out of the last 50 or more, making one of the leading First Division teams look so ordinary. As I said at the start football’s a funny game. You never know what to expect. But that is all to the good. It is what keeps us on tenterhooks for nearly nine months of the year. Nobody would have it otherwise. Before I end let me extend the warmest congratulations to both sets of players on a game fought out with the same splendid sportsmanship that has characterized all the post-war “derby” matches. Bar a view accidental trips there was hardly a foul –incidentally I forgot to mention that Everton got two offside “goals” –and Referee Arthur Ellis had one of his easiest jobs for a long time. This was as it should be and as I trust it will always remain. Everton will live to have another go at the Cup twelve months hence. Liverpool go on to round five with the warmest wishes of the lads, they conquered and everybody, no matter what his club allegiance can look back on this game in the happy knowledge that nothing was done to blot the copybook of his team’s sporting reputation. It was good also to see that the officials retained the idea of the teams coming out side by side.
Copyright - Liverpool Post and Mercury - Transcribed by http://www.
