Barclays Premier League – Sunday October 25 2009 – Result
Liverpool 2 Manchester United 0
Comments and quotes:
Liverpool boss Rafael Benítez on what this result said about his squad: “The players have answered a lot of questions and that’s the most important thing. The team is better than people think.”
Rafa’s view of the newspaper speculation that had him on the brink of being sacked: “I have not read the papers too much. I was focused on the things we could control – the training sessions and mentality of the players of players. I am really pleased but not just for me – for the players and the fans.”
Rafa gets criticised for just about everything, including the way he rarely shows any emotion during a game. This was no different after Fernando Torres had opened the scoring: “I was enjoying it but on the inside – we were against a good team and I was thinking about how to create chances and control the opposition.”
So was it a good goal in Rafa’s eyes? “It was a great goal – always he is a threat. Torres was a bit tired and it was difficult for him but he made the difference.”
Fernando Torres, who’d needed a pain-killing injection before kick-off, on his performance: “I wasn’t really at my best. We knew before the game I couldn’t play to one hundred percent because I had some pain in some actions, but in games like this the pain doesn’t matter.”
“I feel a bit of pain when I shoot across so I could only shoot towards the near post – it was the only thing I could do! I am really happy for the fans and the players and we will enjoy this.”
Torres was asked if the result put Liverpool back into the title race: “We are in the race again. We knew before the game that we had to win and we did it. Now we have a bit of confidence but we have to keep it going on Wednesday in the Carling Cup against Arsenal, then we have to be focused for Fulham.”
Torres on the team-spirit at the club: “We feel like a strong team again because we’re working all together like in the past. We will see what happens and then look at things at the end.”
Scorer of the second goal, David Ngog, on the goal that confirmed the win: “This was a fantastic moment for me and the team and I would say it’s my best moment in football. I have always dreamed of scoring a goal for Liverpool against Manchester United and now it has happened and it is a really good feeling.
“I dedicate this goal to my family who always support me and the Liverpool supporters. We know how much this victory means to our supporters. I also give thanks to my teammates and the manager for always showing faith in me.”
Ngog’s words hinted that the self-belief was coming back to the squad: “We know we have a lot of quality so this result means everything for the team. We have worked really hard together and I think we deserved to win.”
Pepe Reina was first to congratulate Ngog for his goal, racing at 21mph from his own goalmouth to the Kop end to jump into the arms of the young Frenchman. Ngog said: “I was surprised because the first person to celebrate with me was Pepe but that shows you just what this victory means for us. This was a big moment for the team and everyone wanted this victory. It shows how good the team spirit and togetherness is.” (Attempts have been made in some quarters to suggest Rafa had ‘lost the dressing room’ or that the dressing room was split, Ngog’s comments suggest those claims were very wide of the mark.)
Ngog on the Arsenal game in the Carling Cup on Wednesday and whether he’ll be one of those given a game: “We are looking forward to it and all I can do is keep working hard and show what I can do when I get the opportunity. I just want to do my best for the team.”
Man United manager, Alex Ferguson almost admitting his side’s shortcomings against a side who went into this game well-and-truly on the ropes: “There was a wounded animal aspect to the game and it was something we did not overcome. It was a disappointing performance by us, in the first half in particular.”
Ferguson ensuring he got the customary mention in of how much it was down to the referee: “We did not handle the decisions against us.
Ferguson on the intimidating Anfield atmosphere and – of course – the referee: “All in all Liverpool were the better team but I think it affected our players and the referee. There were so many controversial things that happened we have to feel aggrieved at some of them. The atmosphere is hard to handle for a referee. Every decision, the crowd put the referee under pressure all the time. Whether he had enough experience, I don’t know.
“It was a disappointing performance and Liverpool were better. We never got any luck in terms of refereeing decisions, but we have to hold our hands up: we weren’t good enough.”
Ferguson on Jamie Carragher’s challenge on Michael Carrick: “As far as I’m concerned, Carrick should have had a clear penalty. Carragher’s gone over the top of the ball. He has gone right over the top of the ball. If it is outside of the box it is a free-kick and maybe a yellow card but it was inside the box and nothing was given, and the referee was only six yards from it. It was another bad decision.” (Replays clearly showed Carra had got to the ball, and that none of the United players – including Carrick – had even half-heartedly raised an arm in protest).
Ferguson on Carragher’s challenge on Michael Owen: “The most controversial decision was Carragher bringing down Michael Owen. He was clear through. The laws of the game were altered to prevent professional fouls of that nature and if Carragher goes off, he is their best player and their captain. It would have been a different game. They would have been under pressure.
“The referee was only four or five yards from it so he cannot use a covering defender as an excuse. Michael was clean through. With Michael’s pace he is going to get away from him.”
Ferguson on Vidic being sent off: “The first Vidic booking was the worst decision. It is a foul, fine, but the player has played on, he won the second ball and knocked it for a throw in and got booked. It put Nemanja under pressure.” (If Carra’s foul on Owen was worth a straight red, would the Vidic foul for his second yellow not also have been worth a straight red?)
Ferguson, after making a string of complaints about the referee: “Liverpool created the better chances and I have no complaints. We were not good enough but we will always react to defeat – that is the most important thing about this club.
“I’m not trying to take anything away from Liverpool – they were the better team – but there were so many controversial things that happened that we feel a bit aggrieved.”
“Part of the challenge is how you react to disappointment. We lost 4-1 to Liverpool at home last season, which was a travesty at the time. But the players buckled down and we went on to win the league.”
United full-back Patrice Evra: “The advice was to play our football but we didn’t do that and I don’t know why. Liverpool were aggressive but we didn’t play and that’s why it’s so frustrating to lose.”
Evra refuted his boss’s claims that the intimidating atmosphere had played a big part in United’s defeat: “I’m always happy to play here, I’m not scared.” But he kept to the party line as far as the referee was concerned: “I don’t understand why Carragher only got a yellow card for fouling Owen when I think he was the last man.”
Evra said he and his team-mates were poor: “I look more at the display of Manchester United and the display was poor today. Normally when United play we create at least five or six clear chances but we only had the one when Valencia hit the crossbar. It’s not enough if you want to win against Liverpool.”
Evra on losing against United’s biggest rivals: “It’s the most pain you can have when you play for United. There was a big silence in the dressing room afterwards and we will need a few days to recover from this big disappointment for us, for the staff, for the fans. Now I think we need to do what we did last year – win the league after losing to Liverpool. We also need to make sure we show the real United team at Old Trafford.”
One player most likely to be hurt by the defeat was self-confessed scouse-hater Gary Neville. The Daily Telegraph’s Henry Winter branded the unused sub “a disgrace”: “Inevitably, Ferguson moaned about the referee but really there were two people attempting to run this game, Marriner and Neville. As he warmed up along the touchline, Neville kept lecturing the linesman in-between goading lippy Liverpool fans. Mike Phelan, Ferguson’s No 2, eventually had to bring the club’s stroppy No 2 back into the dug-out.
“Neville’s behaviour was disgraceful. No one expected anything else. This is the fixture of sound and fury signifying everything. The intense rivalry that Ferguson had spoken about was present everywhere from the froideur between the managers, the hatred between the fans and the competitive zeal embodied by Carragher and Torres.”
Liverpool: 25 Reina, 2 Johnson, 5 Agger, 12 Aurelio, 22 Insua, 23 Carragher, 15 Benayoun (37 Skrtel, 90+2), 20 Mascherano, 21 Lucas, 9 Torres (24 Ngog, 80), 18 Kuyt
Unused subs: 1 Cavalieri, 27 Degen, 26 Spearing, 10 Voronin, 19 Babel
Booked: Carragher, Mascherano
Sent-off: Mascherano
Goals: Torres 65, Ngog 90+5
Manchester United: 1 Van der Sar, 3 Evra, 5 Ferdinand, 15 Vidic, 22 O’Shea, 11 Giggs, 16 Carrick, 18 Scholes (17 Nani, 74), 25 Valencia, 9 Berbatov(7 Owen, 74), 10 Rooney
Unused Subs: 12 Foster, 2 Neville, 20 Fabio Da Silva, 23 Evans, 8 Anderson
Booked: Evra, Vidic, Berbatov
Sent-off: Vidic
Referee: Andre Marriner
Attendance: 44,188
Stats: (Liverpool-Manchester United)
Possession: 49%-51%
Shots on target: 6-5
Shots off target: 5-2
Corners: 5-1
Fouls: 20-11
Very very intresting
Esteemed Liverpool author Paul Tomkins was recently invited to meet manager Rafa Benitez at the club’s Melwood training ground, we caught up with Paul to ask him about the day and his new venture ‘The Tomkins Times‘…
Q. Paul, how did the meeting with Rafa come about?
A. I was asked for my phone number by the editor of the website; they only had my old number. I replied, joking that if Rafa wants me to play at the weekend, I’d dig out my old boots. A few minutes later, Rafa’s PA called, saying that he wanted me to come and meet him at Melwood. I was somewhat surprised!
Q. In your article you tell how candidly Rafa spoke about players in the first-team, reserves and youth team, were there any players singled out for praise who surprised you?
A. Not really. I was more surprised by some of the players he seemed more indifferent about – some who were disappointing him a little, and one or two youngsters whose attitudes were not right. Nothing major, though – although even with Torres and Gerrard he was telling me what they need to improve on, which is probably why he is the man who has got the best out of each of them, driving them to more, and more, and more.
I expected him to rave about someone like Pacheco, but he was very positive without going overboard. Perhaps this is because a) Pacheco is getting too much attention for what he’s achieved thus far, which might make people expect too much of a mere kid, and b) he has doubts over the physical side of his game, while we already have a will-o’-the-wisp in Benayoun and a very small side. But these are just my guesses. Clearly the lad has great ability and a good attitude.
What I did discover was that a lot of Rafa’s signings from the Premiership were just tactically unaware; a British failing, it seems, when the emphasis is always on heart and passion, and not enough about thinking. Too many follow the ball and make the team shape too ragged. He said he couldn’t understand why Robbie Keane kept dropping far too deep, despite being instructed not to.
Glen Johnson told Rafa that he’d learned more about tactics in five minutes at Liverpool than he had in the previous two years, and was loving the education.
Q. You speak of Rafa dis-spelling some myths regarding zonal marking and that one team defend similarly to the Reds just they have more tall players – come on then, who is it? Stoke?
A. No, not Stoke! But very much a dead-ball team. Rafa also showed me some examples of Andy Gray’s analysis that were very hypocritical, with some shocking marking only gotten away with because the delivery wasn’t right – he pointed out players free to score if the ball got past the first defender, and so on.
He also showed me how a certain team lined up man-to-man (supposedly), and out of the nine outfield players in the box, four were marking zones! But he does think the Reds lack enough people who can attack the ball. I know he wanted to sign a couple of big lads this summer, but when it came to it the funds were not there. Height is clearly an issue.
Q. You mention Rafa not necessarily having “friends in high places” and the media with England. Do you think Tony Barrett moving to The Times will help him a little, Tony has written a lot already in support of Rafa and it’s nice to see such writing in the national press.
A. He was very complimentary about Tony, as I expected him to be, and as he should be. But he has so few allies, and doesn’t do the whole sucking up thing. He’s also not part of the English establishment, like Ferguson, Moyes, Allardyce, etc, who seem like a cartel to me. Then there’s the FA, where Man United have David Gill in an influential position. I put these points to him, and he acknowledged that it’s true, Liverpool doesn’t appear to have that same far-reaching influence.
Q. Your article about the cost of Premiership success, taken from Red Race, is extremely interesting, how long did it take to research the actual stats and cost of players – and how come the lazy journo’s in Fleet Street can’t do the same?
A. A lot of time researching, and for once I had some help on that front with willing volunteers. It’s almost impossible to get 100% accurate transfer data, due to the many clauses and the misinformation in the media. But even allowing for a tolerance of a few percent, it was eye-opening to discover that the Reds had the 4th most expensive squad in the Premiership at the start of last season, before being overtaken by City in January – and blown out of the water by them this summer.
Liverpool’s current squad is around £50m short of Spurs’, who are ranked 4th.
So Rafa’s supposed to have had all this money to spend, and yet if he had, he’d have a squad £100m more expensive. The trouble is, he’s had to sell so many players in order to buy better ones, or lost players like Crouch due to the inability to tie them to long, lucrative contracts. And then this summer, having sold Keane, Alonso, Leto and Arbeloa for almost £60m in 2009, he could only spend £36m of that money. To me, that is not a club with title ambitions, and maybe the club knows that it needs investment, and better deals – such as the new sponsorship – to bring it in line with the big guns. Christian Purslow seems to have the right idea.
What is more interesting is that the book Soccernomics talks about how important the wages are; that wages dictate 92% of success. In other words, more than nine times out of ten the biggest payers are the biggest winners. And Liverpool are only the 5th-biggest payers, in the 5th-biggest stadium.
Great history and fanbase, but history doesn’t win you trophies; ask Preston, Nottingham Forest and Blackpool.
Q. Have you ever spoke to any journo’s and attempted to put them straight? Any chance you can send a copy of the Premiership Success article to them all?
A. No, although maybe I should. I do tend to take them to task in my writing, and name names. Some are just disgraceful. And even some of the better ones tend to write something very lazy from time to time – such as Martin Samuel this week, who I’ve had to call out in an open letter on my site. There’s only a handful I think are beyond reproach.
I appreciate that it’s difficult for journalists covering all the clubs, as well England, and maybe even other sports, to have specialist knowledge of Liverpool. They tend to base their thinking on the snippets garnered from other sources. Unfortunately, too many just seem to make it up as they go along. Some are good writers who just don’t understand the game enough for my liking. But it’s also difficult due to the demands of editors who want more than the simple, plain truth. It’s not just criticism of Benítez, but all top managers or players during a lean spell – although Rafa does seem to have more than his fair share of real snipers out there.
Some also look at it too much from a player’s point of view – ex-pros certainly do. And too many ex-pros just spout off about what it was like in their day; I’ve used the example many times, but Shankly and Paisley didn’t give a toss about what it was like 20 years earlier, they moved into the future.
It also bugs me that players who drank, gambled, snorted, shagged and pissed away their careers, and who have never managed for any meaningful amount of time, now sit in judgement of a man who has won La Liga twice and the European Cup, both without anything near the most expensive side or biggest wage bill.
still nobody has explained how pepe was the first one to get to n’gog
lfc malta,
where is that paul tomkins interview from?
Widely reported in almost all of the papers today that Man Utd are about to land either or both, David Villa and David Silva from Valencia.
Money talks eh? Utd are struggling at the moment and it makes me sick that they can easily change their fortunes in a split second by signing two superb players.
How i would long for these two at Anfield, just imaging it.
And i also think if we were in a financial position to sign these two, they would easily put Liverpool before Utd.
Mr Villa and Mr Silva…..don’t do it.
cantos i dont believe what the english papers write, did you see the above article?
I did mate. Tomkins is a great writer. He does talk alot of sense.
@Cory, that article is from This Is Anfield – http://www.thisisanfield.com/2009/10/27/this-is-anfield-meets-paul-tomkins-meeting-rafa-the-media-money/