http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/15319431.stm Liverpool 25 Reina 02 Johnson 03 Jose Enrique 23 Carragher 37 Skrtel 08 Gerrard 19 Downing (Carroll 80) 26 Adam 07 Suarez 18 Kuyt (Agger 90+1) 39 Bellamy (Henderson 69) Substitutes 32 Doni, 05 Agger, 38 Flanagan, 11 Maxi, 14 Henderson, 20 Spearing, 09 Carroll 1. 2. 3. Thanks.
1. Bellamy - Great to see him starting. He had bundles of energy and showed some nice link-up play both with Enrique and Suarez. 2. Suarez - It's been well documented how many attempts he had, and while many will point to the fact that none of these were converted, the point that he's created so many goal-scoring opportunities is room for optimism. Don't forget that he created some of these out of nothing. 3. Downing - In spite of him playing on the right, he put in three great crosses in the second half. Some of these should most definitely have been converted. Yesterday evening I criticised Carroll for his injury time miss. Having seen it twice since, I maintain that he should have scored. But what shouldn't be forgotten is that Kuyt missed a relatively similar header earlier on, as did Bellamy. I actually think that Kuyt's opportunity was easier. The performance didn't worry me: The very fact that I've chosen three attackers as the top three players is promising. But looking at the table after nine matches, there are some things that are disappointing: Being a point behind Spurs having played a game more; being ten points off the top of the table [not that I saw the team challenging for the title this season, but it's a bit of a gap at this early stage]; and being just two points ahead of Arsenal, in spite of their well publicised disastrous start to the season. As others have rightly pointed out on the forums, we have deserved to win a lot of the matches that we haven't done [having said that, I would argue that we were a bit fortunate to beat Wolves]. The performances aren't bad, but a good performance does not guarantee three points. It's time to start putting more points on the board and fast.