Are you over it yet? No? Good, because neither am I, or maybe I’ve just not ‘accidentally’ bumped into enough scousers to have fully expressed my smugness just yet. The only thing I’ve had by way of comeback is “do you think I’d have rung you if we’d have won?”, which was easily dismissed with a “no, but I didn’t telly you that I’d get them to go easy when they got to three”. A missed opportunity of course, because I should have pointed out that I hadn’t realised he meant three corners.
Of course, last night’s win wasn’t that easy, Latics won because they put the hard work in where as Liverpool didn’t, cared where as Liverpool didn’t and took nothing for granted where as Liverpool, erm, did. In attitude, as well as ability, the visitors showed themselves as a side with only one world class player.
Steveee Geee? Forget about it, I used to think of him as the English Roy Keane but Keane would never accepted a performance like this from his team, even more so a performance like this from himself. Gerrard was repeatedly shown up by Diame and McCarthy and the signs of frustration were apparent well before his eightieth minute booking.
It wasn’t just England’s latest captain that misfired, despite some early rays of light and a decent amount of second half huffing and puffing. Their only player who looked dangerous was Torres and he couldn’t manage to craft a decent enough chance on his own. If he’d bagged one of the half chances that he did get, then who knows what would have happened, but he didn’t so we’ll leave it there.
Why were Liverpool so bad? Well they looked like they didn’t have a plan, but I suspect that it was more to do with their plan not including Latics coming at them from the start, full of energy and a growing confidence and ultimately closing them out of the game. Their manager talked last week about showing Latics respect, I think Stevie and his boys would struggle to look you in the eye if they tried to tell you that they thought they needed to do more than just turn up at the DW and go home with three points.
Enough about them, because it’s wrong for us not to savour a victory like this, beating “big four” sides isn’t quite passé yet and, as with Chelsea, the manner of victory was something to be even more proud of. This was the vindication that Bobby’s tactics needed and a timely reminder that when the team pulls together they can make the system work. Yes there was a lot of defending done but Latics attacked brightly both through patient build up, in the first half, and on the counter in the second.
This was so consummate a team performance that the only player you could really excluded from the man of the match reckoning is Chris Kirkland, but he had a relatively easy night, so he’ll perhaps not be bothered. Caldwell and Bramble lead from the back, both full backs ran the lines tirelessly; Diame and McCarthy bossed the centre of the park, whilst Scharner made a nuisance of himself. N’Zogbia and Rodallega provided a constant threat from out wide and Moreno never got out of Jamie Carragher’s face.
Of course they got the drop of luck that they’ve been missing, not only in finding Torres without his shooting boots, but in Kuyt’s perfectly measured pass to put Boyce in for his assist, in Carragher’s decision to vacate the space for Rodallega to run into. The finish wasn’t the cleanest either, but none of that stops us taking a goal that we richly deserved and in some ways it’s more satisfying that we finally caught a break.
There has been much talk about this being a confidence building result, in reality the performance should give us even more heart. The sort of teamwork that was on show here, the overbearing attitude being one of not want to let your team mates down has not always been apparent this season and as Paul Scharner pointed out over the weekend that attitude is nigh on a necessity if you’re going to avoid a relegation fight.
It’s one thing to say it and another for it to happen, but if Latics can take that sort of attitude, application and confidence into the next few games, if they can keep focussed and not get too carried away with a big victory then the coming weeks are looking a lot brighter. In the space of ninety minutes, the fans will have gone from relying on games against Burnley, Hull and Portsmouth to wondering what we can get from Villa, City or even Arsenal.
Increased expectations can be a problem, but we’ve seen too much this season to allow ourselves the thought that, by this time next week, we could be sitting fairly pretty, all but out of the fight. We’re still in recovery, we still need to take each game as it comes, but we need to make sure that we take them like this one but that’s how simple it would be to make all this season’s problems disappear.
Oh, and scousers, apparently you’ve never won on a Monday when you’ve been managed by Rafa, but at the same time Latics have never lost when they’ve played on a Monday night after the mini Perm has been to football ‘training’ in his away shirt. It might have been his first but when things aren’t going your way you have to take cold comfort where you can find it. Blame it all on ESPN, that’ll work.
Good article in some respects but in others? Don’t talk rubbish – we KNEW you’d do the usual ‘in yer face’ getting at us and pathetic niggling – foul, foul, foul crap that little sides ALWAYS do against the bigger sides – What we didn’t bank on was our manager converting a man tougher than ALL of your midfield who would have snapped Mcarthy AND Boyce in two with the first challenges IF put in his right position (Mascherano) into our right-back and leaving our REAL right-back onto the bench. As to ‘accidentally’ bumping into us coming out of the game? It’s probably just as well you didn’t accidentally bump into me or any of my group who went as you’d probably have an ahem ‘accidental’ visit to the dentists now for teeth replacements such was our mood the other night!!!
In all seriousness though – Regarding the game – you may think that only Torres looked dangerous for us but I could have sworn Aquilani set up a second half bombardment of the sort Alonso ALWAYS used to for us and you couldn’t get NEAR him never mind take the ball from him as he was class, ran the game and showed EXACTLY what we were missing in the middle when he came on; Babel also had your backline at sixes and sevens EVERY time he ran at them whilst Johnson pinned down your ENTIRE right side on his own after coming on – which just goes to show the team and tactics we ENDED with are the ones we should have started with since Kuyt, Lucas, Gerrard and Insua were ALL worse than useless for us.
Aquilani in particular showed just WHY we’ve gone to pot this season as his passing is EXACTLY like Alonso’s; Said passing, which is of course THE missing link and the main reason WHY our team in the 4-2-3-1 formation that worked so well last season has just died on it’s feet this time out. So WHY Aquilani’s still on the bench rather than integrated into the team, partnering Mascherano in the middle for us as he damn well SHOULD have been (according to Rafa’s plan) is a mystery to me; I agree with you though that Gerrard was utterly diabolical and maybe now you KNOW why he’s not played in central midfield anymore for Liverpool OR England as displays like THAT tend to happen when he does go there now.
But to the game? We started with the wrong side and were outplayed after 10 mins – Despite looking awful and playing worse Torres STILL could have had 4 goals IF he had his shooting boots on – in that sense you were VERY lucky as he had 3 very good and 1 good chances and missed the lot. You looked good with N’Zogbia, Boyce, Mcarthy and Diame although your defence was STILL for all it’s hanging on admirably enough of a mess to give Torres THREE gilt-edged chances (volleyed against the post in the first half, fired over from point blank range and sidefooted wide from VERY close in the second) all of which he missed along with another more difficult one that went begging as well from a header.
It was just one of those nights – on another night he’d have had a hat-trick and Rodallega would have had but a consolation but on Monday? Your number came up – ours didn’t (again) and you took the win so well done. Wigan Football Club deserve all the wins they can get and I certainly prefer them to that Clog merchant Allardyce’s lot as they TRY and play football unlike Blackburn who set out to injure, hack and hoof and treat goals/good play as a lucky bonus which is pathetic.
As to our club? you want to know what was wrong with Liverpool in your article? 2 words THE OWNERS – YOUR owner articulated it VERY well – they’ve ‘sucked the heart out of’ our club and they HAVE – things won’t change on OR off the pitch until they are GONE – Because of them – we’ve NEVER seen what Rafa’ would have been like with the SAME amount of money EVERY season that the other Top 4 get regularly from half-decent owners – we’ve NEVER seen what he’d be like if he could BUILD a squad up instead of having to sell our best to fund the privilege of those w*nkers owning us and we’ve NEVER seen how he would have spent the rest of the Alonso money last season to reinforce our team PROPERLY as he would of done – he bought one player, had plans for more and then?
He was left with nothing as they spent ALL the money remaining in our transfer pot on debt – just as they’ve done for FOUR transfer windows now and it shows in the teams lack of heart, the managers refusal to fight TO hard for Fourth Place and the fans increasing refusal to go to our games now (empty seats are becoming common at Anfield and unsold tickets away from it for our games). It will stay that way until either our owners are ousted or someone does the decent thing and hires a hitman to ahem ‘remove’ them if you know what I mean.
I await the day we get our club back – it will be the day those who took it are thrown OUT of our club – until then? You’ll probably see more of what happened on Monday to Liverpool – A LOT more. Enjoy your victory – you deserved it – It’s just a shame our team didn’t bother trying – didn’t even WANT to; We all know why as well – even your owner knows why – although most of our former players are to cowardly to say it compared to him at the moment and THAT hurts most of all.
Here’s to the day we get our heart back at Anfield – It’ll be worth celebrating then as it will mean the twin horrors are GONE from us – I’ll celebrate ONLY then and NOT before though, as nothing’s worth celebrating until that day and God, do we REALLY need it to come soon. Well done for Monday Wigan – you’re on the up now – Shame I can’t say the same for my club………………………
One other thing – your VERY correct that we DON’T like Monday Night Games!!! In fact, we HATE them and our record in them going back a decade now without a win is TRULY Abysmal. Wonder when said record will FINALLY left – We’ve Portsmouth at Anfield NEXT Monday so will never have a better chance. Here’s hoping we actually turn up this time………………………..
Wow, the depth of feeling, I might steal your comment and publish it as an article (properly credited of course).
BTW, the bumping I was talking about was the banter, with mates, at work type. I know better than to cross a football fan straight after a defeat like that. I’ve been on the opposite end of enough of them.
Feel free to publish with appropriate crediting my friend – I apologise re the bumping remarks – I was just VERY bloody angry when I wrote that bit – but I stand by the rest of it. ALL of it.