Heroes and Villans

With Spurs holding Chelski to a draw at Stamford Bridge, the stage was set for a Liverpool away win at Villa Park and top the table before the international break. The Gareth Barry saga in summer meant it was not going to be an easy afternoon for Rafa's boys. The fact that Torres limped off in the first half with a hamstring injury did not help matters either. We were already missing our skipper from a groin injury.

I was hopeful perhaps that was the perfect opportunity for Keane to steal the show and finally score his first goal for the club. He was presented with a great opportunity in the second half. With only the goalkeeper to beat, running into the penalty box with 2 defenders chasing him. What did he do? He blasted that ball well above the horizontal. What the %$#!?? I was shocked! That was not the Robbie Keane I saw at White Hart Lane! What kind of a 20 million pound striker did we buy? I have been patient and, even when people were criticising Keane only after his second game for the club, I said time was needed for him to settle. The goals will come.....though I hope it will be sooner rather than later. But to screw up that wonderful opportunity in front of goal was simply unacceptable. Prior to that, we had Kyut missing another opportunity by blasting the ball into the side netting. I mentioned last season that we needed to be more clinical in front of goal. Against top teams like Manchester United and Chelski, chances will be far and few. But when a chance to strike presents itself, we need to make it count. If we keep missing opportunities like these, we will once again find ourselves 1 or 2 goals down before we even know what hit us. Look at the Super Cup game between Man U and Zenith last Sat morning. The Russians were already 2 goals up by half time. Man U was controlling the game, passing the ball around, teasing the Russians with their possession and trying to find a way to penetrate and, when they did, it was wasted with some slack passing or inaccurate shooting. On the contrary, the Russians had far less possession and only 2 clear chances at goal. They scored twice and won the Super Cup.

David Ngog looked sharp and willing when he came on for Torres. However, he could not sustain that brilliance and eventually faded away in the second half. Rafa brought in Audrelio for Keane. That move stunned me. Perhaps it was a tactical substitution but I could not see where the tactical wisdom was. In fact, I hardly even saw Aurelio touch the ball! I have always thought that at 0-0 in the second half away from home, against an opponent struggling to break us down, we should have brought on a match winner and steal all 3 points. Aurelio is not a match winner. Babel is. And why was he sitting on the bench? Agree that he didn't look 100% fit after the Olympics but with 20 mins to go, there must obviously be a better substitute than Aurelio. What about bringing in Nabil El Zhar on the right and Benayoun on the left? Why Aurelio? As far as I am concerned, the so-called "samba" boys in our team (the other one is Lucas Leiva) should be re-named the "sambal" boys. They are brazilians but not the same kind that will dazzle with their fancy footwork and trickery on the pitch.

Ok, ok.....maybe I am a little frustrated by the overall performance and the fact that we could be facing Man U next Sat without Torres and Gerard. Maybe I lost it a little this morning.......but I have to say that I have always stood by the team and kept my faith in them even when they dish out rubbish on the pitch. After losing to Man U for the past xx (I don't even wanna remember how many) consecutive games, I cannot bear to see another one. The last away game against them was a nightmare. I almost threw up after the 3rd goal was conceded. We lost the last 2 home games against them by a 1 goal margin and both goals came from a corner. I don't expect us to win but a good performance will certainly be appreciated.

Perhaps this international break is a blessing in disguise for us. We have 2 weeks to get Gerard and Torres fit. Let's pray something miraculous happens on the 13 Sep (it's my daughter's birthday afterall)......we need 3 points against one of our fiercest rivals. If we manage to do that, it will surely boost our confidence for the rest of the season.

Come on you Reds.....