Good morning fight fans.
There was a point in the game, just before half time when I let my mind wander and ask why this Liverpool side were having rings run around them. My mind came up with a few simple suggestions.
First up, we were first to virtually every ball. And when we weren’t we didn’t sit back off them – we tackled and it has to be said won the bulk of those challenges. Of equal importance was our ability to retain possession. I’m no stat man but I only noted one or two occasions where duff passes crept in. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Pathe News Boy.
The absence of Azza and Pete also played an enormous part in matters. Lennon’s form every season is up and down like bloggers blood pressure and for every run that ends in him skipping his way into a brick wall or crossing to no one there is always a counter attack from the other lot.
3MP’s absence has been as refreshing as a lottery win. The days of hoofing it to Tall Circus Man who was pretty bloody awful at heading the ball are over. The days of opposition players walking up behind him, holding their face and pretending they were elbowed by the boy who was born with his limbs stuck on backwards are equally over.
The Europa tactic appears vindicated. Certainly we looked spritely enough and Stoke’s walloping at Sunderland certainly says, ‘Something went horribly wrong’ rather than, ‘unlucky.’ That said, just as the game vs Liverpool was a thing of beauty; the match against the Greeks was not.
Dalglish needs to watch himself. He’s rapidly wandering into Aunty Wenger territory with his conspiracy theory that the MIBs have got it in for him. The reality is that he needs to keep backward thugs like Charlie Adam in check and practice winning and then retaining possession.
In the slow mo replay of Adam’s vicious assault on Scott Parker you can see his eye-line rise up from ball to man just prior to his studs plunging into our man.
Brad
Spotted in a local shop trying on wigs and false nails for a laugh in the 2nd half. At full time he was seen hiding a Chick King box in his glove bag.
A&E
Looked Accomplished & Elegant with every touch. He must revel in days like these. Calm under pressure, cunning going forward.
Walker
Increasingly looking the part, lots to learn then who hasn’t? He appears thankfully mature for his years.
King
Didn’t put a foot wrong and the brown paper & string held up in the heat. Nobody enjoys the whole, ‘will he, won’t he play?’ routine, but that’s showbiz.
Kaboul
Always benefits hugely from having Ledders with him. His performances with Dawson are not so neat and contained.
Krankie
A discreetly brilliant performance. I’m not convince Arry either understands or appreciates him but I’d like to watch him blossom at The Lane.
Modders
No like Second Hand Fridges. All the ‘why can’t he bloomin’ well do that for us’ merchants after his recent Croatian goal can come out from down the back of the sofa ooh in another day or two.
Parker
Pathe News Boy is what we have been missing for about 20 years. Delightfully no nonsense, British bulldog stuff from start to finish.
Bale
Some extraordinary touches and some less extraordinary ones. Still an absolute motoring monster. Needs a goal.
Adebayor
Another day another masterclass in being a supremely talented and intelligent Premiership striker. Can we buy this one, please? Can we? Can we?
Defoe
Clearly benefiting from the ‘Ade Effect’ that said my aunt Dolly would up her strike rate palying in the same team as him
VdV
All the good stuff with none of the wasted chances stuff. A bit out of position but this was a substitution. Great sub to have, eh?
Why would Modric want to go to Chelsea? By the time January comes we’ll be above them in the table and Terry and Lampard will offer to take a wage cut to play for us so they can be assured of Champions League football next year!
Wishful thinking on your part as Chelsea were just plain unlucky if truth be told. Torres looked brilliant. He was mobile, tenacious and very hungry. Someones going to cop it from them soon and I hope it’s not us. Same as the Goons, they should’ve won and up-front looked pretty sharp,and if we allow them space and time in the middle to settle, we’ll be in for a rough afternoon. One game does not a season make and that applies to us, them and whoever, it’s only 4-5 games in.
Ozpur–wishful thinking!! Chlsea were good yesterday and the score did not reflect the game. They need to tighten their defence but attacking thy lookeed class, and with Torres and Sturridge we should not underate them.
Great performance. One to be really proud of. Complete different team as to the one that played Man Shitty.
3MP would missed ALL of Adeybayors chances and made that stupid face to camera ” Ooh I wish I was good ”
Got to keep Ade fit or find a plan B. Pav needs to be the white Ade. Triffric !!!
How on earth can William Hill make Liverpool 33-1 to win the title and us 80-1?
Get on the 80-1 then, worth an each way at those oods
Or Odds even
at 1/3 odds 1,2?
Not really worth it now, is it? Besides, there’s 100/1 available elsewhere.
It’s not the odds. I just find it insulting that we do not at least have parity with them at least. But a 47 point differential. It didn’t look like that yesterday.
I thought it was 1-3 for each way bet?
Arguably all we did in one game was beat a 9 man team 3-0, after beating an 11 man team 1-0 early in the game, and “draw 0-0” whilst they had 10 men.
Fulham beat our 11 men 1-0, then racked up another 3 goals against our 10 men in the FA Cup in January. And I don’t think Fulham fans would be arguing that after a 4-0 home victory in one game (whilst taking advantage of playing against fewer personnel) that they should be considered a team on a par with us, and I don’t think Tottenham fans would accept it as so either.
We got our win, and we played well – and we rightly should have won once we’d got the one man advantage, let alone two. But people seem to be getting carried away with how we stroked the ball about with our 10 outfielders against their 9, then 8, like the entire match was played evenly. We did a job, efficiently against our opponents who fell behind then shot themselves in the foot, not unlike us in the FA Cup. We made our extra numbers count, and wore them down.
I loved it, but let’s get a few more results (11 v 11) before we start getting too carried away. :daumen:
Essexian, those days are long gone for the Prem.
We’re 100-1 for good reason, you’ll never see a bookie on a bike
Liverpool’s odds are lean, they should be at least 125-1.
The gulf between ourselves and manure, cheatski and citeh has widened due to their ambitions to actually win the PL/CL, they went out & spent big on quality players whilst we signed a class player on loan for a season, a veteran goalie and a veteran ball winner.
I enjoyed yesterday but Liverpool looked a shambles. Our result last week whilst a good win is put into perspective after QPR smashed them on Saturday.
We look a better team without the freak and if everyone important stays fit we’ll surprise a few people again this season.
I am starting to really like stoke, do you think they’d be interested in J****?
I agree 100%. I’ve seen enough false dawns to last through the next lifetime. But even if Liverpool had won on Sunday are they really 47 bookies points better than us?
BoyC,
33/1 represents 2.94% of the total market percentage.
80/1 represents 1.24% of the total market percentage.
The difference really isn’t that great in the overall book.
William Hill have Man U to win the Prem at 4/6, representing 60% of the book percentage, Man City at 5/2 represent 28.57% of the book percentage, Chelsea at 11/2 represent 15.38% of the book percentage, and Arsenal at 40/1 represent 2.44% of their book’s percentage.
The bookies percentage on the first six totals around 110.5%. The first three in the betting, (of whom it is extremely likely two of which will be 1st and 2nd come season’s end) represent just under 104% of the win book percentage.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs combined account for around 6.5% of the total percentage taking this to around 110.5%, and the bookies are just lining their own pockets taking their supporters’ money (and any of the other “rag” teams) on a miracle happening. The place terms of 1/3 of the odds to finish in the first two represents little risk to them, and they certainly won’t be scared to lay any of them each way at the prices. For starters, the win part of the bet to them on these teams will be free money. So this leaves them effectively laying 11/2 (11/1 the place plus the losing “1” from the win part) Liverpool, Arsenal at just over 13/2, and Spurs just over 13/1 to finish in the Top 2.
At top prices elsewhere Liverpool (50/1) to place in the Top 2 – on the same each way terms and basis outlined above that the win part “risk” is very likely lost before you’ve started – works it out at just over 8/1, compared to Spurs (100/1) at just over 16/1.
The difference therefore between these implied odds of 8/1 and 16/1 really isn’t so great on the place part of the bet, which almost certainly is the only part that will matter.
I’m all for miracles happening, such as us winning the league, or even finishing runner up, but I won’t be investing in this market this season at the odds above, cos I really do think it’s pie in the sky stuff.
Thanks, you have just shown me why my visits to bookies are limited to The Derby and The Grand National.
kevin bond is on radio 5,if you want ot listen to what he has to say