something in the air

[Herbie von Smalls]

while watching the match online this afternoon, before we scored our third goal, i was gripped by a feeling that hasn't visited me since the days when we were winning the league title regularly.

 

i can't put my finger on what it was exactly, but i suspect it was a combination of the sense of purpose plus the composure and flow of our play, the almost tangible resignation of the opposition, and the will of the crowd responding to and helping to shape our dominance. it all just felt so familiar.

 

we've won convincingly under Rafa before, the crowd's played its part in lifting our team too, while opposition teams have also looked overwhelmed. there was still something special about the chemistry of those three elements which marked out today as something special.

 

i'm loath to say i expect us to win the title this season as a result of what we did today, but i certainly hope this is the milestone that marks the beginning of our road to another championship.

 

whether we finish top of the league or not, it's great to experience that aura again after so long.

[_00_deathscar]

I thought that was just Baldrick..?

[Ragnor the Horn]

[Ed the Wool]

while watching the match online this afternoon, before we scored our third goal, i was gripped by a feeling that hasn't visited me since the days when we were winning the league title regularly.

 

i can't put my finger on what it was exactly, but i suspect it was a combination of the sense of purpose plus the composure and flow of our play, the almost tangible resignation of the opposition, and the will of the crowd responding to and helping to shape our dominance. it all just felt so familiar.

 

we've won convincingly under Rafa before, the crowd's played its part in lifting our team too, while opposition teams have also looked overwhelmed. there was still something special about the chemistry of those three elements which marked out today as something special.

 

i'm loath to say i expect us to win the title this season as a result of what we did today, but i certainly hope this is the milestone that marks the beginning of our road to another championship.

 

whether we finish top of the league or not, it's great to experience that aura again after so long.

 

Great post. I can feel it too...

[Stevie H]

there does seem a collective intent and purpose to our play which i haven't felt was there previously under rafa. our players now look like they really trust each other.

[Cooldude]

The mentality and the approach of the squad on the pitch is clearly different. Rafa seems different, too. Seems even more of a ruthless f***** than he used to be. The entire club seems to be pushing harder and harder.

 

Even if we don't win it this season, I believe that Rafa will definitely bring the league home very soon.

[hagi_complex]

I know what you mean, Herbie. Something feels different so far this year. It's practically tangible. It's like we're refusing to sell ourselves short and it's a belief and a purpose that champions have. There's a long, long way to go, but we've been building up to this for the last couple of years and it might be our time. It's all in our own hands.

[Guest Phil Eel]

Great post. I can feel it too...

 

I feel exactly the same - there's a solidity and swagger I haven't seen since Barnes and Beardsley were in their pomp.

[Romario]

There is absolutly no reason why we shouldn't challenge with this squad. The only thing missing for me over the last ccouple of seasons was the players and managers mentality towards games.

 

It's exciting again.

[Herbie von Smalls]

i reckon it's the belief that Rafa has conjured up in us all - players, staff and fans. that harmony is like an impenetrable armour, it makes me feel we're invincible right now.

 

only dodgy reffing can halt our march

[So Cal Red]

 

the truth is out there!

[Snookie]

i reckon it's the belief that Rafa has conjured up in us all - players, staff and fans. that harmony is like an impenetrable armour, it makes me feel we're invincible right now.

 

only dodgy reffing can halt our march

 

Herb, how can you say any of this without statistics and an Excel spreadsheet to support your argument...

 

I know exactly what you mean though and it is down to one of Rafa's favourite words: mentality'. the players look like the expect to win.

[Ed the Wool]

I feel exactly the same - there's a solidity and swagger I haven't seen since Barnes and Beardsley were in their pomp.

 

Funnily enough I thought about mentioning that era in my first post. The attacking from those goal clips and what I've seen so far this season reminds me of that era. I hope we can keep it going.

 

also no Gerrard or Carra today, Crouchy not even on the bench. And we still dished out a pasting. Positive stuff.

[Cunny]

the extra pace in the team is making all the difference to our attacking play.

all we need now is for Kuyt to start converting his chances and it wont be the last of the hammerings dished out this season

[Sion]

Gerrard in attempting to smile shocker

 

[Foo]

Not to kill any joy here, but Derby was quite horrible, especially their defence. Shocking is the word.

[Zoob]

Derby were very poor, but we thrashed them 6-0. Toulose were poor and we beat then 4-0. 2 games in a row against poor opposition, but we've been efficient and done what we needed to do.

 

Some of our football was excellent, and Babel's goal was a thing of beauty - from Agger's pass, to Arbeloa's run, awareness and cut back, to Babel's body swerve and defender throwing dummy and keeper tricking finish.

 

I can't imagine we'll actually have an easier game all season, but I was so encouraged by how everyone on the pitch seemed confident on the ball, and were willing to run all over the place to open up space.

[Guest Kaizer]

the extra pace in the team is making all the difference to our attacking play.

all we need now is for Kuyt to start converting his chances and it wont be the last of the hammerings dished out this season

 

Agree, pace is the key.

But the easy solution to your last point is to play Voronin instead of Kuyt most of the time and we even get more pace and more goals.

 

He has scored 2 goals and got 2 assists in 118 minutes of PL football and 3 goals and 2 assists in 196 minutes of competitive football overall this season.

Edited September 1, 2007 by Kaizer

[Guest Luis10]

Yes there is something in the air.......

 

 

 

........the stars were bright, Fernando

[CarraLegend]

Not to kill any joy here, but Derby was quite horrible, especially their defence. Shocking is the word.

 

They might be crap but you dont get 6-0 very often and I'll be shocked if they get beat by that amount again. Got to be delighted with that and the way we just kept going and going. We could of quite easily just played at walking pace for the 2nd half.

[Tosh]

Agree, pace is the key.

But the easy solution to your last point is to play Voronin instead of Kuyt most of the time and we even get more pace and more goals.

 

He has scored 2 goals and got 2 assists in 118 minutes of PL football and 3 goals and 2 assists in 196 minutes of competitive football overall this season.

 

 

And to think, we could have gone crazy and bought his National team striking partner instead....

[Lee W]

All we can do is keep laying down a marker each game and see where it takes us. It'll be very interesting to see where we are after playing Portsmouth, Spurs, Everton and Arsenal.

 

Haven't seen the game yet but we sounded good on Teletext.

[Wilbur]

I haven't enjoyed watching the Reds play this much for fifteen years. Excellent football, flowing, controlling, aggressive. Wow.

 

One thing that really strikes me this season is how differently our defenders are playing. Liverpool defenders for years have played in that flat-back four that seems like it should have Tony Adams in it raising his arm every thirteen seconds. Boring and effective and rigid as a ruler.

 

This year however, the fullbacks are overlapping like crazy, and in this match both Arbeloa and Finnan have been in the opposition's box more than once. Furthermore, instead of the two centre-halves being ten yards apart or less, Hyppia and Agger are frequently way out wide where the fullbacks normally are.

 

In addition, look at how far up the pitch the centre-halves are! Sami's been playing balls from ten yards on the other side of the half-way line very frequently in the matches he has played, and Agger drags the ball around the pitch as if it was "Pretend I am Alonso" day.

 

With this new freedom for the defenders, Pennant running wild on the wings and supplying multiple promising balls into the mixer, it is very exciting to watch.

 

Of course, we will all weep and moan the first time we get caught out and concede, but I still like it.

 

In the front, I think we can all see now why Rafa persists with Kuyt. He really does wll to bring the rest of the attackers into the game, distributing the ball well and causing the defenders a lot of problems. He also gets himself in position to score, and makes chances out of balls behind him and to the side that some players couldn't direct goal-wards.

 

Voronin and Torres both had goal-hanger chances today, which was nice - Voronin put his away, which was even nicer. The best part, however, was having three strikers on while being up by six. Do you not like that?

[Herbie von Smalls]

I haven't enjoyed watching the Reds play this much for fifteen years. Excellent football, flowing, controlling, aggressive. Wow.

 

One thing that really strikes me this season is how differently our defenders are playing. Liverpool defenders for years have played in that flat-back four that seems like it should have Tony Adams in it raising his arm every thirteen seconds. Boring and effective and rigid as a ruler.

 

This year however, the fullbacks are overlapping like crazy, and in this match both Arbeloa and Finnan have been in the opposition's box more than once. Furthermore, instead of the two centre-halves being ten yards apart or less, Hyppia and Agger are frequently way out wide where the fullbacks normally are.

 

In addition, look at how far up the pitch the centre-halves are! Sami's been playing balls from ten yards on the other side of the half-way line very frequently in the matches he has played, and Agger drags the ball around the pitch as if it was "Pretend I am Alonso" day.

 

With this new freedom for the defenders, Pennant running wild on the wings and supplying multiple promising balls into the mixer, it is very exciting to watch.

 

Of course, we will all weep and moan the first time we get caught out and concede, but I still like it.

 

In the front, I think we can all see now why Rafa persists with Kuyt. He really does wll to bring the rest of the attackers into the game, distributing the ball well and causing the defenders a lot of problems. He also gets himself in position to score, and makes chances out of balls behind him and to the side that some players couldn't direct goal-wards.

 

Voronin and Torres both had goal-hanger chances today, which was nice - Voronin put his away, which was even nicer. The best part, however, was having three strikers on while being up by six. Do you not like that?

great analysis. you've nailed our performance and the roles each individual played today

[Snoeker]

great analysis. you've nailed our performance and the roles each individual played today

 

Well seeing its his one post this year, it'd better be good

 

YNWA, where even the lurkers are world class

 

 

Great post Wilbur - lets see some more