Football News

Liverpool Red Diary - part 21

by Joel Rookwood

Crystal Palace & Arsenal

I'm really starting to loathe going to London. To be honest, part of me wishes they'd regionalise English football again. Just imagine only having to go to games in the North of England ' Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds. Life would be so easy. There would be no need to go anywhere near that overgrown jungle, no M25, no underground journeys, no £35 match tickets, and no Selhurst Park. I'm sure you've already guessed that I'm about to embark on an account of yet another game in London, a visit that unsurprisingly didn't exactly prove successful, and this week's anti-London rant depicts our visit to the south London club, Crystal Palace.

The truth is I've never been a big fan of Crystal Palace. Their tenants of the last few years, Wimbledon, have always been our bogey team, and we never seem to do well at Selhurst Park. But my loathing for Palace is more complex than merely the fact that we never win at their ground. A painful 4-3 FA Cup semi-final in 1990 is fresh in the memory. Not only did this prevent us from going to a fourth final in five years, but also I have a theory that this game helped change the face of English football. If we had beaten Palace that day and had therefore met Manchester United in the final, we would surely have beaten them. Subsequently, the then under-fire Old Trafford manager Alex Ferguson would have got the sack, and another club, possibly Liverpool, would have dominated the decade that followed. So I don't think I've ever forgiven Palace for the events that sunny April afternoon.

Conversely the biggest ever Liverpool win I've seen was at Anfield against Palace some nine months earlier. It was John Aldridge's final game for the club before setting off for Sunny Spain, and Steve Coppell's side were subjected to a 9-0 annihilation. And although any ounce of respect I had for the club dissipated that glorious evening, in truth I held little reverence for them before that. In fact I think the root of my disliking for the south London club relates to their kit. It just amazes me how they can amalgamate two colours that really don't belong together on the same shirt. Blue and red. Surely anyone can see that doesn't make sense. Football fans not just in Liverpool, but from all over Europe, from Manchester to Milan must share the sense of disillusionment I feel about this unforgivable marriage of colours. So for this childish reason, from an age when I was given a carton of milk every day at school, Crystal Palace has never been my favourite team, and I'm glad to say little has changed.

But with the Eagles languishing in the first division, Liverpool have had little contact with them in recent times, save for a Worthington Cup semi-final in 2001 that is. After a 2-1 victory at home in the first leg Palace were hypercritical of us and paid the price, being as they were subjected to a thrashing in the return leg at Anfield. But it was the 'banter' in the days between the two games that magnified my disdain. Houllier stuck disrespectful quotes about us from the Palace players up on the dressing room walls before kick off in the return leg. It obviously did the trick as we went on to humiliate them 5-0. How their fans must dread coming to Anfield.

So when we were drawn away against the team from south London in the fourth round of this season's FA Cup, I wasn't exactly ecstatic. But with a trip to the capital unavoidable I decided to take the opportunity to lay some ghosts to rest and conduct some unfinished business whilst I was there. After missing the opportunity to see a game at Vicarage Road last weekend I had vowed to make up for it, and with Watford playing at home to West Brom on Saturday I decided I'd make the trip down to London a little earlier than planned. I shouldn't have bothered. After almost dying of a dangerous mix of boredom and hypothermia I left the ground before the game's only goal, only to see I'd got a £40 parking ticket, as the Watford curse continued.

The following morning I travelled to south London for our game with Crystal Palace. After meeting with our group at Selhurst station, we headed for the Cherry Tree pub, in which the singing session could only be described as pitiful. However relative to the match we were about to see, the atmosphere in that pub was outstanding. Outside the ground before the game hundreds of Scousers were bemused by a daylight firework display, as we stood motionless in queues at the turnstiles.

Due to congestion outside the ground we got to our seats after the game had kicked off, but it seemed we had missed very little. After ten minutes I remember thinking this game would prove to be a stalemate, and sure enough a goalless draw was the outcome.

Undoubtedly the most significant event of the game came in the first half when Chris Kirkland's injury jinx continued, as he was stretchered off and taken to hospital, following a challenge from Adebola. The knee ligament damage he sustained has unfortunately ended his season, and meant that Jerzy Dudek, one of the finest goalkeepers I have ever seen despite his troubled season to date, being called upon to take his place. Dudek will now play the remainder of the season, including the cup final and trip to Old Trafford, both against Man United. I think coming out of these two games unscathed, starting with the cup final in a month's time will restore his confidence. He certainly didn't let anyone down on Sunday.

After playing well recently, Liverpool were distinctly average against Palace, with the home side probably enjoying the majority of possession. Neither side successfully opened up their opponent's defence, with Palace lacking the ability and Liverpool the inclination to do so. But while we failed to press the Londoners, we never seemed in any danger of conceding a goal, so I'm not too concerned. Trevor Francis makes his teams work hard against Liverpool, and having already seen Palace this season away at Preston, I would say the Eagles performed to the extent of their potential on the day. A cup upset at Anfield in the replay in ten days time certainly seems unlikely.
Apparently the ground staff had soaked the pitch before the game so to disrupt Liverpool's passing game, and the away side were in truth a little stifled a little in midfield. We were solid at the back, yet a little wasteful with possession in midfield, and against better teams would surely have been punished for our carelessness. But whilst some fans expect all-conquering football, a relentless battering of the opposition, be they Palace or Arsenal, I am a great believer in efficiency, just doing enough to overcome the opposition on the day. And, although we didn't beat the Londoners, the job is half done and will be completed at fortress Anfield in the replay.

Goal scoring opportunities on the day were few and far between. Adebola and Murphy both had chances to open the scoring, though neither was able to break the deadlock. In the second period we seemed more purposeful, attacking the Palace goal more frequently, and after a period of pressure on the Eagles' goal, Palace defender Gray nearly gifted Liverpool the lead, but his touch went just wide of the Palace post. Cheyrou also went close to opening the scoring moments later, but Kolinko in the Palace goal was equal to it. When the Palace 'keeper was finally beaten, midway through the second half, Riise unluckily saw his effort cleared off the line by Hayden Mullins. Palace had chances of their own, notably through Popovic moments from time, but he saw his effort deflected behind for a corner.

The following day the draw for the fifth round was made, revealing a mouth-watering tie between Man United and all conquering Arsenal at Old Trafford. More importantly Liverpool, should they beat Palace in the replay will meet Leeds Utd.

League football was resumed in midweek and with Southampton, Chelsea and more importantly Everton all winning on Tuesday night, Liverpool had slipped down in the league. We knew only a win would do as we went to Anfield the following evening. There was only one problem - we were playing Champions Arsenal, and they weren't in the most charitable of moods.

Now I'll confess that there are times when we as fans wonder why we do it. Why we go to extraordinary lengths to support our team, regardless of what they give in return. And whilst true football support is an unconditional love, it can be hard when you're three goals down in Basle after half an hour in a game you have to win, or when you are watching pitiful displays of football in arctic conditions and seeing your team do little more than embarrass you. But if anyone ever questions why we do it, why we put ourselves through such agony, we point to games like last night's contest against Arsenal. For such was the quality of the game and the spectacle on show, that it made amends for all the misery we've suffered in recent weeks. This was the golden sky after an arduous and lonely walk through a particularly veracious storm.

For if Valencia played the best football I've seen at Anfield this season, then Arsenal came a close second on Wednesday. At times the Champions of England even eclipsed the display of their Spanish counterparts, playing some truly spellbinding football. They were simply sublime and at times as fans you could only stand and applaud. There was the odd bout of frustration voiced from the Liverpool terraces, but the vast majority were in respectful awe of our opponents. The Arsenal fans sung 'you've only come to see the Champions', a song that no doubt gets a run out wherever the Gunners play, and such was the quality of the performance the sentiment could almost have rung true. I would have undoubtedly paid the admission price to see this game even if Liverpool weren't involved. After some dire encounters and dull tactical affairs of late this was a truly fascinating contest, and we loved every minute.

The game saw a contest between two teams differing in styles, history and management, making for an enthralling battle. Liverpool's past is far superior to their visitors from north London, but with Arsenal still in the Champions League and fourteen points clear of us before the game, their present certainly looks brighter. Houllier bases his teams around character and humility, building a side on solid defensive principles. His good friend and countryman Arsene Wenger however is more concerned with battering opponents with sublime attacking play, and letting the defence look after itself. Wenger is also prone to the odd (and by that I mean daily) outburst of arrogance. Winning every competition they enter and going the season unbeaten are just some of the more stupid predictions he's made regarding the forthcoming achievements of his Arsenal team. And while Arsenal have been more successful under Wenger than we have under Houllier thus far, I wouldn't swap circumstances, not even if it meant watching performances like that every week. Our time will come and when it does it will be exacted the 'Liverpool Way': achievement through humility.

But for now the glory belongs to Arsenal, as Liverpool were shown in no uncertain terms the gulf in class between the two teams. On this evidence it has expanded considerably since the Gunners won with ten men in the corresponding fixture last season. The game was played at a terrifying pace, with both teams attacking their opponents with frightening appetite whenever in possession of the ball, the statistic of nineteen attempts on goal in the opening period serving as evidence of the approach adopted by the two teams. But at the interval only a Robert Pires strike separated the teams, at least on paper anyway.

I think I almost applauded the Arsenal players more than their own fans as they re-entered the field of play for the second half, which saw them produce more of the same. Great movement and unstoppable interchanges, to which the travelling contingent from North London were almost indifferent at times. They seemed as arrogant as some of their players, in nonchalantly cheering on their team, when orgasmic screams of adulation would have been more fitting. They are spoilt, and I am green with envy.

The unfunny cockneys in the Anfield Road stand were clearly less impressed with the Liverpool side, and made their feelings known in one simple but monotonous chant: "Ger-ard, Gerard Hoof-ier, Ger-ard, Gerard Hoof-ier." They may appear virtually indifferent to the awe-inspiring performance their side displays but at least they acknowledged its existence.

But although the travelling support mocked our style of play, the home side could not be faulted for its commitment. In the year we won the treble Houllier, it seemed was incapable of conducting a post match interview without mentioning the word 'character' when discussing his side. And that is the one term I would employ to illustrate the application of the home side on Wednesday. Arsenal passed the ball around almost at will, but when they got sloppy or complacent, as they often did, a Liverpool player duly relieved them of the ball.

Arsenal looked at their most menacing when afforded the space to mount attacks and with Liverpool a goal behind, our subsequent search for an equaliser meant we left space behind our defence, thus effectively playing into the hands of the Gooners. This made for an enthralling encounter whether you were a Scouser, a Cockney or a neutral (assuming such a football fan actually exists).

Arsenal were denied several times by a combination of excellent defending, notably by Jerzy Dudek in the Liverpool goal, and poor finishing from the Arsenal forwards, as complacency set in. Vieira had a goal disallowed for a foul on Hyypia, and had that goal have stood, Arsenal would almost certainly have gone on to claim all three points. Instead Riise made some early second half pressure tell with a fierce drive from the edge of the area to level the scores.

Liverpool then began to assert themselves on the game, before Bergkamp's deflected effort presented the Londoners with an ill-deserved lead. Arsenal from that moment looked in complete control, destined to take all three points with them back to the Capital. But with a minute remaining, the travelling support was silenced by a Heskey header at the Kop end to ensure the spoils were shared. With Arsenal having played so well, and conceding the equaliser in the final minute of the game, you would have to say they were unlucky not to have taken all three points. But at the same time there is no way Liverpool did not deserve to get something from the game.
Henry once and for all proved himself to be the greatest player on the planet, Vieira was as commanding as ever, Pires is everything we were wishing Cheyrou could be, Bergkamp, well it would have been possible to enjoy his telling contribution if he wasn't such a bloody idiot. But it is the confidence running through the Arsenal chain that is in the opinion of this humble observer just as important as the ability of its individual links, for on paper they are certainly beatable. Parlour and Gilberto are decent players but certainly no world-beaters. And Arsenal's defence is anything but watertight. If Wenger had have shored up his back line in the summer they would be in a far stronger position to challenge for the coveted European crown. But he didn't and Lauren and Cygan don't look particularly comfortable in the Arsenal defence, and Seaman, well I'm sure I'm not the first to question the reliability of the England stopper. But there is a fluidity to Arsenal's play that serves to cover up the cracks in their side.

Yet whilst Arsenal are certainly beatable, Liverpool at the moment are not capable of surpassing them. The extent of the superiority our London rivals have over us, substantiated by the fourteen-point gap that exists between the two sides, serves almost as a comforting factor in light of our recent dip in form. For even if we had not had gone through the dismal run we have experienced in the past two months, the league title would not have been dragged out of the clutches of Arsene and Co come May. To echo my thoughts in recent weeks we are still a couple of players short of being the best team in the land, and Wednesday night served as a wake up call for all those Liverpudlians impatiently demanding the league title. We are progressing but Arsenal are still a class above us. Liverpool now must ensure that for next term the gulf is diminished and not extended for the second consecutive season.

It was a treat to see Wenger's team perform the way they did, but whilst it was an extremely enjoyable evening, it must be remembered that we celebrated not succumbing to defeat - at home ' hardly the Liverpool I was brought up on. And the ecstatic look on every Liverpudlian, from supporters to the team to the management, to merely have avoided defeat speaks volumes of just where we stand in relation to Arsenal. But we will remain patient, for our day will come soon enough.

On to Red Diary 22

Joel Rookwood

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by Soccerphile Ltd.

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