Right. I think I've just about recovered from the harrowing nightmare that was my first ever visit to Anfield. I was 'seated' (we stood the whole game) Block 124, Row 2 Seat 101. Right behind the goal, right next to the kopites. The view was abysmal aside from the 18 yard box, from which I got a perfect view of Howard picking the ball out of his net 3 times and not much else. Being pitchside meant we were open to the elements and we got rained on for most of the match. It was just so bad that I couldn't summon the emotional charge you need to really have a good post-match fume. I merely trundled off, dumbstruck by just how bad a 90 minutes it was that I'd had to endure. It was just torture.
As regards our performance, well in truth we'd been threatening it for some time; been lowering our standards game-by-game, players were starting to lose form, we've generally been out of sorts for and the big issue is that for the first time it is our character not our quality that is being asked to stand up and count. When things aren't going well and you haven't got that innate confidence in your team-mates or yourself, what will you do? Survive, or crumble?
Well, we've completely crumbled.
We wanted to the time to ease ourselves into the match - there wasn't any;
We wanted the space through the middle to play our game - there was none;
We wanted final passes to arrive without the risk, invention or incisiveness required - we made none;
We needeed leadership of both a commanding and inspiring nature either to ensure every player was aware of theeir responsibilities for our solidity and shape or to get hold of the ball from a defence that was clearly struggling to start the play and shoulder that transfer of possession from first to middle third we so sorely lacked, or to refuse to allow the team's collective head to drop when we conceded any one of the goals we did - there weren't any.
In short, we wanted an easy ride.
And I think that was the crucial element. We went to a Merseyside derby at Anfield will far too many favourable conditions required to perform. Martinez claims we can impose ourselves anywhere and I've no doubt we have the quality - as I said we have thoroughly enjoyed proving that all season - but do we have the mental strength? We looked in promising shape in those first 20 minutes but - from a corner of all things - we conceded a poor first goal and you could see the immediate impact, the deflation. Suddenly Barry was panicking in possession, Alcaraz had gone from Beckenbaur to Boyce and Jagielka & Howard resorted to the safety of the long punt.
We give the ball away cheaply, defence positioned poorly, 2-0. We let a long ball bounce, poorly positioned, Howard races off his line into an even worse position (frankly terrible), 3-0. It happened so quickly, so easily and so chaotically that the mental impact was just enormous. We were absolutely shellshocked AND, worst of all, when we came out second half as if roused by some inspirational team talk and had 5 minutes bossing the game with aggressive, incisive attacking play we looked like we'd settled in perfectly, before promptly giving the ball away in our own half and the first time a Liverpool player touches the ball thanks to our mistake, he ends up scoring. That was just killer, because we'd actually managed to regroup well. Then, all hope lost, we just slid into a cautious, pedestrian sideways and backwards game because we just didn't have the heart to take the game to them.
The Liverpool game is done now, as I said I suffered so much particularly in those last 40 minutes that the result doesn't affect me as much, because I've already experienced rock bottom. In the grand scheme of things it's a defeat and 3 points gone, but that's it. Plenty more points to play for: namely, Villa this weekend.
Villa is now the biggest game of our season, without a shadow of a doubt. They play the same style as Liverool; they are perfect for exploiting the weaknesses in a possession-based team low on confidence, like how they did a number on Arsenal at the start of the year. If we play anything like the Derby, Villa will win. They've got an annoyingly good record here as well.
This will really tell us what this team have got. I'm anxious already, but I happily await being made to look a fool for worrying.
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