Liverpool Vs. Tottenham Hotspur: Instant Reaction
by Kevin McCauley on Feb 6, 2012 10:04 PM GMT
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I'll have a more detailed report in the morning, but due to the timing of this one, it's not going to be as instant as usual. For those who don't know, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur drew 0-0 at Anfield on Monday in a wild, physical and somewhat dirty game. Both teams engaged in quite a bit of dirty tackling and simulation, with Liverpool doing more of the dirty tackling and Tottenham doing more of the simulating. It looked much more like a Championship or MLS encounter than a game between two teams fighting for Champions League.
Scott Parker was my man of the match for his numerous spectacular blocked shots, with Michael Dawson and Ledley King close behind for their strong performance in the center of defense. Once again, Niko Kranjcar was surprisingly effective. Jake Livermore was neither good nor bad, while Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Kyle Walker were their usual selves -- flashes of brilliance and occasional insane rushes of blood to the head.
Luka Modric was brilliant in the first half and a little shaky in the second. Both Emmanuel Adebayor and Gareth Bale were disappointing. With Rafael van der Vaart and Jermain Defoe out, they need to get themselves into positions to score. They didn't do so very often, and fluffed their chances when they did.
This is not to be overly critical of Bale and Ade. The service to them was mediocre and Liverpool's defense played very well. Playing at Anfield is always tough and the side performed well enough to get a draw. Though the performance was not the best, a point away to Liverpool is a decent result.
We'll have some real analysis tomorrow. This serves as your post-match thread. Please keep "F--K BALE" and "LOL LUIS SUAREZ IS A RACIST" commentary to a minimum. Respectful game discussion and light-hearted jokes, please.
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I wanted to comment on your comment from the other thread but then it closed :cP
I don’t think you can call this a “dream result.” While a draw at Anfield isn’t the end of the world and is a decent result I feel like y’all could’ve done better. Didn’t you beat them earlier this season?
Official troll of WAGNH
by Sabrina Dessipe on Feb 6, 2012 10:09 PM GMT up reply actions
Trololololololol!
Yes, but to be fair, they did have 9 men…
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How is this trolling?
I said something nice about SPURS!
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by Sabrina Dessipe on Feb 6, 2012 10:10 PM GMT up reply actions
Liverpool have zero home losses this season
SB Nation's World Soccer Editor, manager of Cartilage Free Captain, contributor to Acme Packing Company.
by Kevin McCauley on Feb 6, 2012 10:10 PM GMT up reply actions
And we had pace to spare
Throw Lennon and Defoe in that game and I think it would have played out different.
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
A lot easier to defend him when we don't have anyone else who can punish you with their pace
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
Really none?
Well then…GRREAT RESULT!
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by Sabrina Dessipe on Feb 6, 2012 10:11 PM GMT up reply actions
Agreed, especially when a large portion of the match Spurs looked plenty happy to defend and take a point. I’m disappointed. It’s not the end of the world, though, and the point was a fair result.
Trust me, if we’d relinquished that defensive wall for a second, Suarez would have made us look foolish
by Edward_Francis on Feb 6, 2012 10:12 PM GMT up reply actions
Opta
8.5% – Liverpool have the lowest chance conversion rate in the Premier League this season.
Also Suarez is pretty wasteful in front of goal.
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by Sabrina Dessipe on Feb 6, 2012 11:03 PM GMT up reply actions
The defense was pretty frickin' solid, though.
I mean, Pool had their chances, but the back line was immense tonight, I thought.
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Plus Parker
He cleaned up a lot of balls when fullbacks got beat
Suns & Spurs (not San Antonio) fan.
Lennon, Defoe, Sandro, VDV, Kaboul
All out. How would Arsenal have fared missing 5 players that good?
Trust me, we could not have done better.
End o’story, let’s move on.
by Edward_Francis on Feb 6, 2012 10:13 PM GMT up reply actions
Um ok
I still wouldn’t call a nil nil draw a “dream result” whatevs
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by Sabrina Dessipe on Feb 6, 2012 10:29 PM GMT up reply actions
Which scum?
I’ve noticed lot’s of teams go by that name…
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by Sabrina Dessipe on Feb 6, 2012 10:33 PM GMT up reply actions
Haha, it's what every supporter calls their nearest rivals
I assume WNY refers to Arsenal. Actually can’t wait for the Pool-Arsenal game at Anfield, should be a great one.
SB Nation's World Soccer Editor, manager of Cartilage Free Captain, contributor to Acme Packing Company.
by Kevin McCauley on Feb 6, 2012 10:36 PM GMT up reply actions
Last time Frimpong got sent off
can’t happen this time. Should be a better game.
I’ve always called Spurs Spurs and Chelsea Chelsea :cP maybe I’m just not clever enough
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by Sabrina Dessipe on Feb 6, 2012 10:40 PM GMT up reply actions
Again, I was out, but what happened here?
Is that an eye gouge?
by The Sleeper's Sleep on Feb 6, 2012 10:08 PM GMT reply actions
Didn't see that live
SB Nation's World Soccer Editor, manager of Cartilage Free Captain, contributor to Acme Packing Company.
by Kevin McCauley on Feb 6, 2012 10:08 PM GMT up reply actions
Didn't catch that at all earlier
"I wear tinted visor not to trick other players, but so hot girls in stands don't see me looking at them" - Alex Ovechkin
No dude.
Suarez is just trying to spin him. It’s Anfield’s Intro to Ballroom Dancing class. These things happen.
"Check it out Scott, see how much better it is when you're not walking alone?"
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
Not a gouge
Just the way the photo is. He’s just got his hand on his face.
by Edward_Francis on Feb 6, 2012 10:19 PM GMT up reply actions
"Playing at Anfield is always tough"
Given the comedy of errors that has consumed that team since the end of the Benitez era, it can be easy to forget this.
Ed’s right about this. We took points from Anfield and seem to have escaped a dirty, dirty game with no major injuries.
I’m okay with this.
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
Injury comment is key
This game was NASTY. These teams were beating the living tar out of each other. No one got hurt. We didn’t lose. Well done.
SB Nation's World Soccer Editor, manager of Cartilage Free Captain, contributor to Acme Packing Company.
by Kevin McCauley on Feb 6, 2012 10:09 PM GMT up reply actions
I honestly hope Parker is ok
A striker kicked him in the chest!
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
Liverpool, away, missing all those guys, with THAT bench
A point is fantastic (and more than a bit lucky).
Also, 4 points and 4-0 on aggregate from Liverpool on the season is great. Replicate that against some of the other top 7 teams and baby, you’ve got a stew going!
Luis Suarez is a racist BUT ALSO got away with some absurd stuff.
I still don’t understand on what planet that kick can be a mere caution. Isn’t that exactly the kind of thing that must be prevented and punished to the max?
Yeah, I'm gonna want to watch that on MOTD later.
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All cheap jokes aside
Suarez is a dirty, dirty player. Can anyone else think of a striker who is involved in this much crap this often?
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
Rooney?
Tottenham Hotspurs, Penn State, and Winthrop are the only things that made me cry in my adult life.
by Tottenham Makes Me Cry on Feb 6, 2012 10:12 PM GMT up reply actions
Rooney hasn't been booked all season
@WayneRooney
For everyone saying about my aggression i aint had 1 yellow card in premier league this season.
"I wear tinted visor not to trick other players, but so hot girls in stands don't see me looking at them" - Alex Ovechkin
See, Rooney makes more sense
Something goes against him, he gets pissed and lashes out. Suarez is always involved in nasty, malicious crap.
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
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To both above, Rooney and Balotelli never bit a guy
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by Kevin McCauley on Feb 6, 2012 10:14 PM GMT up reply actions
Rooney and Balotelli stomp though
Tottenham Hotspurs, Penn State, and Winthrop are the only things that made me cry in my adult life.
by Tottenham Makes Me Cry on Feb 6, 2012 10:15 PM GMT up reply actions
Touché.
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yeah, but again
they seem to lash out. Suarez seems to just do it.
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
Yeah that one was surprising
"I wear tinted visor not to trick other players, but so hot girls in stands don't see me looking at them" - Alex Ovechkin
Yeah,
Scola is a douche (I think he should have been ejected for clearly chucking the ball as hard as he could straight at Love’s nuts), but that stomp can never happen. I love K. Love, but that was really unacceptable.
Oh but also
that wasn’t really a head stomp. Looked like a chest stomp to me. Still unacceptable, but not quite as heinous as a head stomp.
Scola, a douche?
First I’ve heard that one, seriously.
My thoughts are like Brian Cushing on the field: Everywhere.
And it's not just that.
If you watch him off the ball throughout the game, you’ll see him flop, hit people on picks, all that stuff. It’s, like, nothing that John Stockton didn’t do, but it’s pretty lame IMO.
Balotelli is only 21. He will
"I wear tinted visor not to trick other players, but so hot girls in stands don't see me looking at them" - Alex Ovechkin
Look, the Parker head stomp was inexcusable,
but Balotelli doesn’t strike me as malicious. Neither does Rooney.
by The Sleeper's Sleep on Feb 6, 2012 10:17 PM GMT up reply actions
I have.
Balotelli’s bathroom won’t listen.
by The Sleeper's Sleep on Feb 6, 2012 10:23 PM GMT up reply actions
Guarda, Sala da bagno, il capo Parker stomp era imperdonabile, ma Balotelli non mi sembrano dannosi. Nemmeno Rooney.
by The Sleeper's Sleep on Feb 6, 2012 10:28 PM GMT up reply actions
I dunno. I'm an Inter fan too. I've seen Balotelli do some borderline malicious things
If he’s not full on malicious, he’s toeing that line way too closely.
"I wear tinted visor not to trick other players, but so hot girls in stands don't see me looking at them" - Alex Ovechkin
Not trying to defend Suarez, but looking at it from a different angle
He plays like the “Bill Lambeer (sic)” part of a team. He gets someone on the opposing team pissed off and lashing out at him causing said player to get kicked off. Not right at all, but it serves a purpose for Suarez’s team. Refereeing games in the DC area, I’m told by many coaches and other referees to watch “such and such” off the ball antics because they are trying to get other ppl thrown out. It’s a strategy that is creeping into the game, just like diving
Tottenham Hotspurs, Penn State, and Winthrop are the only things that made me cry in my adult life.
by Tottenham Makes Me Cry on Feb 6, 2012 10:22 PM GMT up reply actions
But that's way worse to me
than a dude getting pissed and making a rash challenge. Suarez isn’t pissed and making a mistake, he’s going out to hurt someone on purpose.
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
Greatest Bill Lambier fact?
He was one of the original Sleezestacks on Land of the Lost.
I’m not joking.
One of the good Romans.
Wow.
After that last, unholy row,
I never, ever play, basketball now.
It joins a list of things I'll miss like fencing foils and lovely girls I'll never kiss.
by vivanloshoyas on Feb 7, 2012 3:04 AM GMT up reply actions
Another thought for the day: it's not hard to see why Parker bears the brunt of people lashing out so much
He’s the most aggravating player to face in the world: hard but fair. He’ll make you feel his challenges but is on the right side of the law nearly every time.
No wonder everyone’s always trying to smash his face in day in day out.
by Edward_Francis on Feb 6, 2012 10:19 PM GMT reply actions 2 recs
Yeah definitely
He’s such a classic defensive midfield grinder. Just gets stuck in, does a job and plays hard yet within the laws of the game more often than not. It’s brilliant.
Suns & Spurs (not San Antonio) fan.
You know what's awesome
He has the perfect look for that type of player. Not only does he play like he’s from the 50s, he looks like he’s from the 50s.
SB Nation's World Soccer Editor, manager of Cartilage Free Captain, contributor to Acme Packing Company.
by Kevin McCauley on Feb 6, 2012 10:21 PM GMT up reply actions
Its shocking how much he looks like the dudes from the double team
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
Are you referring to Jean Claud Van Damme and Dennis Rodman?
Because I don’t see it.
by brett rainbow on Feb 6, 2012 10:34 PM GMT up reply actions
Haha..
JVD and Rodman = Parker and Defoe. I can see it. Parker could probably drop kick someone better than JVD, too.
Looking back to the summer
I feel dumb for not being more excited about Parker. I’m trying to think of another steal like this, in any sport, and I can’t do it. We got him for peanuts. Warren Moon is probably the best example. Drew Brees signed a big contract, but honestly, he was worth three times that.
dear bale
Why u r no finish? I want to hear goooooal for you while in la sur de merica.
by bill blake on Feb 6, 2012 10:52 PM GMT via mobile reply actions
How is Ledley King so good?
He can’t run, he can’t jump, he can barely walk. And yet he is ALWAYS right in the way of the ball. If there’s a smarter defender at positioning in the game I can’t think of who it would be.
Dawson was my MTM though. He spent the entire game with his head in Carroll’s ear, and blocked a few himself.
It really is sad, that the second gif reminded me of Bale…
by CrestOfAWave on Feb 6, 2012 11:56 PM GMT up reply actions 1 recs
New Wheeler?
Am I’m the only one wondering where this week’s WDR is? I saw Uncle Menno mentioned it in this morning’s comments but I’ve yet to see it. I’ve been waitling with baited breath since Friday for the errrr, Dream team’s latest podcast…
by spursfan99 on Feb 6, 2012 11:26 PM GMT via mobile reply actions
They actually posted it this morning but must have taken it down sometime during the day. I saw there were a couple complaints about audio quality so maybe that was why. It’s in iTunes though so I’m going to listen to it tonight.
Thanks. I thought I checked there too but will go back to download.
by spursfan99 on Feb 7, 2012 12:24 AM GMT via mobile up reply actions
Did CFC really explode because of a draw away to Liverpool?
Great performance by a lot of our team today. I was so proud.
Refs calls them as they sees them
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by Sabrina Dessipe on Feb 6, 2012 11:51 PM GMT up reply actions
He's the most cheatingest player according to refs
then again RvP got one for simulation that was totally undeserved
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by Sabrina Dessipe on Feb 6, 2012 11:55 PM GMT up reply actions
Considering you have to be really fucking blatant to get a simulation card
I doubt it was undeserved.
Author and Contributor at Cartilage Free Captain
by Nick Petrilli on Feb 7, 2012 12:35 AM GMT up reply actions
Deserved
but considering how he got ten shades of shit kicked out of him last season, its easy to understand why.
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
Author at FourFiveTwo
Yeah, yeah, yeah
But Spurs AS A TEAM are still leading the Fair Play league. We’re the cleanest club out there, and have been for a while now.
Every team, every player pushes his luck now and then.
Also, I think Bale simulates to attract attention to very real attacks that he suffers all match long with no ref attention.
Leading the fair play league ≠cleanest.
Cards are not the only measure of clean or dirty play.
Managing Editor, OnceAMetro.com
by Ben Schneider on Feb 7, 2012 12:43 AM GMT up reply actions
Cards are imperfect
But over the course of a season they tell a more accurate story. Chelsea and Blackeye Rovers are bottom, that sounds pretty accurate to me.
What measure do you prefer?
City and United
both only managed draws at Anfield, so this result is pretty good considering. It’s a shame, because Bale should have buried that late chance to give us the three points. I’m worried because we just started our brutal run of fixtures and this looked one of the more winnable matches in that stretch. We MUST take 3 points from Newcastle at WHL next week because Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal (all away matches I believe) are coming up fast.
Lennon and VdV would have drastically changed our strategy going forward tonight, but we would have also been much more likely to concede.
Kyle Walker
I actually thought he had a very good game defensively. On the other hand, when going forward, he continued to get his pocket picked by Glen Johnson
Thought it was a mixed bag
He got beat a bit defensively, but he’s so quick he was able to fix his mistakes, as it were. At one point someone dribbled around him, but he was able to turn around and regain possession before they took two steps. He’s come lightyears defensively since the United game to start the season.
O's, Ravens, and Spurs
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Yeah I think you're right
He is able to minimize the damage with his pace. I remember the sequence you’re referring to. I think it was Bellamy who got behind him and he was able to recover. I think that margin for error will make him a better player than BAE in the near future, if not already.
Perhaps...but he'll never have the BAEFRO!
My thoughts are like Brian Cushing on the field: Everywhere.
I was a little upset that Weezus intentionally hit the ground
And at his reaction to the yellow card. I really don’t like that, and I’m not going to give him a pass, but I think of this more as an outlier than his character. He was frustrated and unfortunately let that get the best of him at that moment. It’s one of the few mistakes that I’ve seen him commit from a character standpoint. I’ll watch him a little more closely, but I don’t think we’ll see that much moaning in the future.
My thoughts are like Brian Cushing on the field: Everywhere.
I thought Niko
Was awesome last night. That ball for Bale was a peach. The amount of running and great tackles Scotty P, Livermore and he put in where all seriously impressive. Parker stood out defensively in the last 15 mins when we were really under the cosh but up to that point the 3 of them where outstanding. They certainly outperformed our ‘star’ players in Modric, Bale and Adebayor.
Plus Niko and Walker totally shut down their left side of Johnson and Bellamy – two players I thought would pose serious threats.
What I keep forgetting when watching players like Walker and Livermore is that this is their first season in a Spurs shirt. I find it made to think that Walker is such an established first team player already that Corluka was loaned to Germany. I try to think of comparative young defenders coming through in the last couple of seasons for any team (bearing in mind, the peak age for defenders tend to be late 20’s) who have established themselves so quickly. There’s a strong chance he’ll play at the Euros too. And Livermore just seems to get more calm and composed with every game he plays. Doesn’t waste the ball – last night he looked like he’d been playing in the Premier League for years. Super impressed with these two this season, regardless what else happens.
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