Times, They Are a Changing
While Arsenal are becoming the new us, we are slowly becoming the new Arsenal.
I'm not sure exactly how many games we've won this season by a 1-0 scoreline but George Graham must watch us sometimes and wonder whether he can sue for some kind of "copyright infringement". After all, it's not as if he's got the bungs coming in anymore, he's got to make money somehow. Still, our second 1-0 win in a row and the second time that God has been the decisive factor. George would be proud.
When Rafa signed Robbie, I wasn't entirely sure why. Sure, he's Liverpool's greatest player of the last 10 years but as he proved at Leeds and Man City, he's not the same player anymore and while I was excited and stunned he'd returned, I was sure that it was more of a way to motivate the existing strikers we had rather than for him to play regularly. Of course, I know Jack Shit (lovely fella) and I've been proved wrong. And on the basis of the games against Blackburn and Bolton, he really does need to stay next season.
YES, we have Mark "Need a less obvious nickname than Speedy" Gonzalez coming and he has the pace that Robbie doesn't but at the same time, Robbie can also do the simple things so well. One of the greatest criticisms of The Streetmap is that he has a tendency to put too much power behind the ball and not think so much about where the ball is actually going. Robbie's goal against Bolton is a good example. Yes, to a certain degree he did mishit it (to quote Sam Allardyce) but he also placed it superbly, leaving Jaaskelianen no chance. Now having watched the two Youtube videos blogged previously, it's clear Mr Gonzalez can place a ball far better than The Streetmap can but you still need a player who can get into the positions when all that is require is a simple tap-in. Which again is something that God has always been good at, getting into the right places at the right time.
If the last two games have proved anything, it's that we are far stronger defensively than we were last season and that Robbie, in many respects, still has the talent to make a difference. The two goals have been vastly different in their nature and in those two games he's proved just what an intelligent footballer he still is. He's done the job asked of him perfectly and if he can do that again against West Ham, Villa and Pompey, I'd be amazed if he wasn't given a new contract.
Of course, Robbie scoring has meant that we really don't have to talk about the performance against Blackburn which, to be fair, wasn't one of our strongest of the season. Should the goal have stood? You're really asking the wrong person frankly, but even I would admit that some kind of higher power was working for us when that decision was given. And that was really it. The Streetmap should have scored towards the end of the half when Xabi "The Quarterback" Alonso superbly put him through but it was not to be, for reasons I mentioned above. If he stays at the club next season (and I hope he does) he could do with taking some lessons off his international colleague Mr. Henry, who is arguably one of the best in the world in the art of placing a football, in particular past a goalkeeper.
But like most things to do with Liverpool these days, no-one is entirely sure what's going to happen next. Whatever rabbit Rafa pulls out the hat next, it'll be a resounding success, of that you CAN be assured.
I'm not sure exactly how many games we've won this season by a 1-0 scoreline but George Graham must watch us sometimes and wonder whether he can sue for some kind of "copyright infringement". After all, it's not as if he's got the bungs coming in anymore, he's got to make money somehow. Still, our second 1-0 win in a row and the second time that God has been the decisive factor. George would be proud.
When Rafa signed Robbie, I wasn't entirely sure why. Sure, he's Liverpool's greatest player of the last 10 years but as he proved at Leeds and Man City, he's not the same player anymore and while I was excited and stunned he'd returned, I was sure that it was more of a way to motivate the existing strikers we had rather than for him to play regularly. Of course, I know Jack Shit (lovely fella) and I've been proved wrong. And on the basis of the games against Blackburn and Bolton, he really does need to stay next season.
YES, we have Mark "Need a less obvious nickname than Speedy" Gonzalez coming and he has the pace that Robbie doesn't but at the same time, Robbie can also do the simple things so well. One of the greatest criticisms of The Streetmap is that he has a tendency to put too much power behind the ball and not think so much about where the ball is actually going. Robbie's goal against Bolton is a good example. Yes, to a certain degree he did mishit it (to quote Sam Allardyce) but he also placed it superbly, leaving Jaaskelianen no chance. Now having watched the two Youtube videos blogged previously, it's clear Mr Gonzalez can place a ball far better than The Streetmap can but you still need a player who can get into the positions when all that is require is a simple tap-in. Which again is something that God has always been good at, getting into the right places at the right time.
If the last two games have proved anything, it's that we are far stronger defensively than we were last season and that Robbie, in many respects, still has the talent to make a difference. The two goals have been vastly different in their nature and in those two games he's proved just what an intelligent footballer he still is. He's done the job asked of him perfectly and if he can do that again against West Ham, Villa and Pompey, I'd be amazed if he wasn't given a new contract.
Of course, Robbie scoring has meant that we really don't have to talk about the performance against Blackburn which, to be fair, wasn't one of our strongest of the season. Should the goal have stood? You're really asking the wrong person frankly, but even I would admit that some kind of higher power was working for us when that decision was given. And that was really it. The Streetmap should have scored towards the end of the half when Xabi "The Quarterback" Alonso superbly put him through but it was not to be, for reasons I mentioned above. If he stays at the club next season (and I hope he does) he could do with taking some lessons off his international colleague Mr. Henry, who is arguably one of the best in the world in the art of placing a football, in particular past a goalkeeper.
But like most things to do with Liverpool these days, no-one is entirely sure what's going to happen next. Whatever rabbit Rafa pulls out the hat next, it'll be a resounding success, of that you CAN be assured.
posted by The Smiling Assassin at
12:51 am
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