With plenty at stake for both clubs, Tottenham’s Monday night visit to Anfield failed to spark in to life and ended in a drab goalless stalemate.
In Fan vs Fan we get player ratings from bloggers of the opposing sides. This time it’s Graham the LFC fan in red ink vs Harry the THFC fan in blue ink.
Luis Suarez made a return from his 8-match suspension coming on as a second-half substitute and should have won the game with a close-range header in the dieing moments. Shortly before, Gareth Bale could have snatched the points for the away side when he raced clear on to Niko Kranjcar’s through ball but the Welshman struck his shot straight at Pepe Reina.
After a stray cat had held up proceedings for a short time prancing around on the Anfield turf, Liverpool dominated for long periods of the game taking the main share of possession but came up against a resolute Spurs defence. The Reds probed throughout but failed to find that cutting edge which has so often eluded them at home this season.
Tottenham were without manager Harry Redknapp after his flight to Merseyside was cancelled so assistant Kevin Bond took over in his absence. The Lily Whites were comfortable in possession but struggled to stamp their authority on the game lacking their usual attacking threat.
I can’t recall such an unrewarding game having so many grating facets to it.
Kenny Dalglish has taken the siege mentality to new depths. He used to be tight lipped, frequently blunt. He’s deteriorated into an obtuse Magic 8 ball with an increasingly threadbare array of wannabe clever dick comments.
He’s not only allowed a victim culture to permeate Liverpool Football Club, which is sad as it never used to be there. I’d be fascinated to know just who he thinks he’s impressing. The twit that was waiving a green laser pointer in Benoit Ekotto’s face probably thinks King Kenny rocks.
Mind you, I’d crack up if I was beginning to look like a fat Paul McCartney.
Pepe Reina – Nothing more than a spectator for the majority of the contest. However, the Spaniard made a crucial save in the closing moments when Bale beat the offside flag and ran through on goal. Rating: 6
Brad Friedel Self assured, brave in fact all the things you look for in a goal keeper. Or a Lollypop Lady in a particularly rough area. 8
Martin Kelly – Solid defensively and relatively untroubled. Offered Liverpool a constant outlet on the right-hand side when going forward but lacked ideas in advanced positions. Rating: 6
Kyle Walker He defended far far better than I can recall. His forward moves amounted to zip but we hired him to defend 7
Daniel Agger – Assured and composed performance from the Dane. Formed a solid partnership with Skrtel with Spurs never looking likely to break them down. Rating: 7
Michael Dawson Coped with Carroll and just about anything else they had in his stride. It was his kind of game 7
Martin Skrtel – Aggressive and dominant display which restricted Adebayor to virtually nothing all night. Strong in the tackle and won everything in the air. Booked for a fierce stud-raised interception on Bale in the second half even though he played the ball. Rating: 7
Ledley King As ever he added an air of certainty to the back four. 7
Glen Johnson – Played at left-back as cover for the injured Jose Enrique. Defensively sound but lacked his usual fluidity going forward. Provided a constant threat down the left flank linking up with Craig Bellamy but his final ball was disappointing. Rating: 6
Assou Ekotto Not an amazing performance. The lumping it up turns possession into 50/50 balls. If we could lose those kicks and the crappy throw ins/corners from our game, we’d be in clover 6
Jay Spearing – Combative, hustling display which helped to keep Modric at bay. Sloppy in possession at times and misplaced several important passes in key areas. Inches away from giving Liverpool a first-half lead with a swerving 25-yard strike. Rating: 6
Jake Livermore We seem to be getting a different player every time he plays. Last night he didn’t actually do cery much. I’m still unconvinced by him. My fear is he goes from being Dozzell 2.0 to being J**** 3.1 let’s jope not.’ 6
Charlie Adam – Kept the ball ticking over in midfield but struggled to have any defining influence on the game. Lacked a cutting edge or ability to find an incisive pass. Rating: 6
Scott Parker is John McClane, “Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…” He ended up covered in cuts with Bugs Bunny’s footprint for an appendix scar 9
Steven Gerrard (c) – Dictated most of the Reds attack but never grabbed the game by the scruff of it’s neck in a congested midfield. Was at the forefront of Liverpool’s best moves and created the best chance of the game for Suarez. Rating: 6
Modric The FedEX of Spurs. Distributed like a mother 7
Dirk Kuyt – Found himself in good attacking positions but his touch let him down. Sloppy in possession seeing a number of passes going astray. A poor performance from the Dutchman which saw him substituted for Suarez in the second-half. Rating: 5
Gareth Bale You need to stop diving Gaz and the left wing ought to be your default setting. Naff game all round 6
Andy Carroll – One of his best games in a Liverpool shirt and looked sharper than he has. Won everything in the air, held the ball up well and linked up the attack. The Reds best moments revolved around the big striker but he missed a golden opportunity in front of the Kop in the second-half when he blazed over from 10-yards out. Rating: 7
Niko Kranjcar Appears to have rediscovered his mojo somewhat but this wasn’t a game he really made a mark upon 6
Craig Bellamy – Failed to deliver the same impact he’s had over recent weeks but came up against an impressive Kyle Walker. The Spurs full-back more than matched Bellamy for pace and cut out a series of attempted crosses. Plenty of effort from the Welshman but lacked quality before being replaced in the second-half. Rating: 6
Adebayor He appears have two or three players constantly wrapped round him. Arry needs to shake up our tactic to include him more. Struggling 6
Luis Suarez (sub) – Replaced Kuyt with half an hour to go and looked sharp. His movement in and around the penalty area started to make things happen. Had the best chance of the game following a clipped cross from Gerrard but headed straight in to the arms of Friedel from 6-yards out. Booked for a wild kick to Scott Parker’s midriff. Rating: 6
Louis Saha Word is he won lots of headers 4
Stewart Downing (sub) – Came on to replace Bellamy toward the end of the game but failed to have an impact. Had chances to create opportunities from the left-flank but couldn’t manage to find a telling cross. Rating: 5
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