West Ham VS Liverpool : Match Review

After 8 unbeaten matches on a row, Liverpool were
finally defeated by lowly West Ham yesterday night.
By the look of the team performance, we deserved
a draw or even better if not for the poor goalkeeping
by Reina and the heroic saves made by Green at the
other end.

If I have to point finger of the culprit to the match loss,
it must be the manager himself, King Kenny. I thought
he played a wrong strategy in using Kuyt as the main
striker and Suarez in a supporting role. It should be
entirely opposite switch of role between the 2 players.
Suarez is a fox in the box and we can see that in the
2nd half when he was creating panic and chaos in
the Hammers' box with his swift and pacy twists and
turns. Nevertheless, he created the goal for Johnson to
tap in with all his might and agility. If only he was made
to do the same in the 1st half.

Kuyt if he is playing in the supporting striker can help to
fill up the midfield gap with his tireless workhorse attitude.
Gerrard, Lucas and Meireles just can't dominate the critcal
midfield area and even when Cole was substituted in to replace
the injured Kelly, there is still lots of space for the West Ham's
midfielder to run into. I am convinced that Cole will be the
next "Roy Hodgson" who just about everyone and anyone were
singing praises on the player but he simply cannot perform up
to the standard and quality required. It will be better for Cole to
just ship him out of the club and to another mid-table club where
he may then shine in the team. Look like he got no future in the
club and in my view, even Aquilani is a better player than Cole.

Reina wasn't at his best yesterday and I think he will admit to that
statement himself. He should be able to save the 1st goal by Parker
as he was so close to the ball with his dive. The 2nd goal by Ba was
a diving header and I agree that it is a defensive lapse and it was
amazing how he got so much space to perform such an act.
The third goal by Carlton Cole was simply a speculative shot and
Reina was surprisingly being caught out at his near post which was
a very bad mistake made by the world-class keeper. He need to be
at his very best in the next match against Arch-Rival Man United.

Gerrard had a forgettable afternoon with a below-par performance
and that can be due to his first return match from injury. He need
to lead by example and buck up soon and lead the team to victories
again and again. Meireles had a knock at the knee and was substituted
in the 2nd half. He should be fit again this weekend according to the
post-match interview with Kenny. Lucas was really a by-stander
in the match yesterday and with such inconsistent performance by
the Brazilian, I wonder whether he will still be with us in the next season.


To be frank, I was really hoping that Kenny will bring Carroll to
West Ham and feature him for about 20 minutes of the game, but
I think he intend to unleash him in the Big match this week.
Suarez played reasonably well yesterday and was unlucky not to
have score 1 or maybe even 2 goal if he is fortunate enough, but he
still managed to create the assist with a simple tap-in by Johnson.
Kuyt and Ngog are not really the "right" striker for Liverpool and
with Carroll back in action this week, they are bound to fall in the
pecking order. I look forward to the days that Carroll and Suarez
can work together as a lethal and fearsome strike-force and
score plentiful of goals between the 2, starting from this week
BIG match against Man United.

You Will Never Walk Alone!