We are 'young'

My last post was on the 27^th September, a day after we defeated West Brom in a Cup tie. A 2-1 away win with Nuri Sahin scored a brace.

A lot has happened since then where the team only had 2 losses. Against Udinese in the Europa tie and against Swansea in the Capital One Cup tie. Basically we after the West Brom win our records showed 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses. I’d say for a team that’s under construction it is a reasonable record.

In the league however, we are at 12^th placing. Having played 10 games, 2 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses, scoring 13 goals which I think it’s not bad at all. We know that Liverpool do not have a proven striker. We might be in a worst position but having said that we are actually scoring 1.3 goals a game which I think Brendan Rodgers is doing a fantastic job.

The 3 paragraphs above was writer last week but I never managed to complete it. This time around I have decided not to delete it but instead I will continue with yesterday’s Europa League fixture against Young Boys at Anfield.

Brendan Rodgers fielded a strong team while Gerrard, Suarez, Sterling & Joe Allen started from the bench. At the back Reina was between the sticks while Wisdom, Skrtel and old guard Carra was among the 4 defenders started that also included Downing on the left. Sahin anchored the midfield with Assaidi and Hendo while Joe Cole and Suso was upfront, joined by Shelvey as the false no. 9.

I honestly felt it was a good team and it’s obvious that the gaffer wanted to win this. Well, we already know the outcome of this game. I just want to highlight some of the things that I find it worth talking about.

I have to admit that I was not entirely happy when I saw Joe Cole’s name in the starting line-up. He has not been able to give a good account for himself so far so I was worried. Young Boys started aggressively where they instantly came attacking Pepe’s goal right from the kick-off.

Once they boys got a grip on the game with Suso running the show then my nerve started to fade away. I liked what I saw in Suso and I think he has improved tremendously. 1 player that actually deserved a goal last night was Suso. Young Boys, credit to them too, never stopped trying but none of them really troubled Reina.

Another player that caught my eye was Nuri Sahin. I thought he played brilliantly. From what I saw he was actually being deployed into a role that Joe Allen has been occupying since we lost Lucas. Sitting just in-front of the back four as a cover and supporting Suso and Assaidi by letting them roam freely orchestrating the offensive move.

While Suso and Sahin caught my eyes early in the game, Shelvey obviously needed more time. But once he was into the groove then our attacking move became more dangerous. He became alive after his beautiful flick found Suso only to see that his shot was slightly off the mark.

The rest is … well history.

Another shout out will be to Hendo. He started the game playing in midfield and later was ask to take Wisdom’s place when he was forced to leave the field due to an injury. The only critic that I might give to him was his positioning at times can be woeful. Young Boys’s 1st goal was avoidable. Hendo’s knew when the ball passed his head he was in trouble. But he was too far and obviously it turned out to be the equalizer.

Overall I was happy with his contribution. I believe he can be an asset to the team because he showed his versatility. He’s still young and under the right tutelage he can become a better player. He’s already the captain of England’s U-21 and he can be Liverpool’s future star.

7 undefeated games in the league and can still qualify for the knock-out stages in the Europa League; I feel if we keep giving our support to Brendan and the team, I believe cum May we can have a great summer. 2-2 draw was actually disappointing considering we took the lead twice but take nothing away from Young Boys. They actually beat Udinese in Italy. That tells us how good they are.

But our young boys will in time do us proud.