RAWK Round Table Liverpool 1-0 Stoke.

Posted by Hinesy on August 17, 2013, 03:10:25 pm

According to BT Sports, the last time Stoke won at Anfield, the hit tv show of the day was Dixon of Dock Green. Well, it would have been criminal if Stoke had nicked even a draw today (don't even go there with Kop/Cop) as Liverpool won their first game of the season at home for a long long time. Perhaps when Owen scored 2 against West Ham I think, 12 years ago!

Anyway, thoughts as we once again take our places round the round table and muse on the start of yet another red dawn. False hopes or genuine optimism?
For me Lapso Apso, our new attack dog, looked fab, keen, enthusiastic, already showing the start of a good relationship with Sturridge and some lovely turns and moves. He still looks like a 12 yr old with a knife, but I liked him. We were fluid going forward but once more, as ever, there are questions:
Do we know what to do in the box? For the first time, Stoke, still being a physical team (they towered over us) couldn't keep us out of the penalty box and that pleased me. Its been a long long time since we unlocked parked bus defences and we have perhaps started to do that.
But have we changed that much? It looked like a lot of games from last season, plenty of possession, chances and good football but failing to finalise. If all that happens is that we now start to win 1-0 instead of drawing 0-0 I don't care.

Filet Mignon in goal. Does he fillet or leave a gap where Pepe was? Started nervously but boy what a confidence booster that penalty save was, and perhaps more so, the follow up save off his hip. Looked slightly unsure when the ball came into the box, but shot stopping was excellent.

Hughes cannily I noticed, played two players pressing all the time on us at the back. Every manager knows we're going to try and play it out from defence, and we nearly got caught with two Stoke players chasing every ball, but luck/skill was on our side today.

So deja vu? Or definite progress?

View Comments | Post Comment

More