Liverpool 1 - 1 Arsenal: In-game & post match...seriously? Again!?

Oh well, phase one of the title challenge has been completed. Our first 90 minutes under Roy Hodgson and a well deserved point in the end. The first half was something to forget, our play consisting of erratic passing and a severe lack of fluidity. I'm not going to dwell on it though, it's a transitional period for the next couple of months, we have to be understanding of the predicament our manager and players find themselves in. After the first 45 minutes you'd have thought that Arsenal were the home team, we didn't get into them as I thought we would. NGog missed a few chances and his first touch was relatively poor. Cole looked lost, though that's understandable at the moment, again, players are settling in and forging new partnerships. A classic example was the quick free kick that Gerrard took and Cole had his back turned, it will come though.

Then came the turning point of the game, the Cole sending off. It was most definitely not a sending off, but Twatkinson thought otherwise and off he went. How we reacted was pivotal to what Roy has been trying to implement since his arrival. Had his confidence building work been enough to stem the tide?, or would be fall in on ourselves and display self pity?. Thankfully it was more than that, we responded magnificently and the lads did us proud, well they did me proud anyway. The togetherness, the fight, the desire, the mental toughness, it was there for all to see.

The NGog goal was a sublime finish, a superb pass from Mascherano, yet it shouldn't have been his first goal, he should have scored at least one before that. We were in the ascendency now, the team with ten men that were taking the game to Arsenal!. That's what I'm trying to get across here, we were down to ten men yet we were still taking the game to Arsenal!. I understand that Torres is not fully fit, but I would have gone with Torres from the off today and then substituted him in the second half. The difference in expectation levels when I see Torres or NGog on the teamsheet is like a gulf or chasm. That's no disrespect meant to NGog, it's just that the difference in class should not be that wide between 2 first team strikers. Far too often NGog is wasteful with the ball and we can't afford to have a striker like that in the side. We desperately need another striking option.

Jovanovic was solid, he is a colossus  on the wing and has given us that harder edge to the side. Skrtel and Carra were solid also, though they will face sterner tests during the campaign. Johnson played well overall, a couple of minor blips but we have to accept this I feel if we wish to keep that attacking option down the right flank. Agger was immense, playing through the pain barrier, I am slightly perturbed that he will soon become pissed off at left back though. We must sort the left back berth out soon as Agger is wasted at left back. Gerrard was all over the place and the fire was clearly back in his belly, some awesome passing that was world class at times, a shame we don't have the full quota of top class players to compliment his visionary prowess.

 Mascherano was absolutely f**king awesome, when we went down to ten men his tenacity shone through like a beacon in the mist. Not forgetting his Alonsoesque pass to NGog for that goal. Kuyt, as industrious as ever but we need more from him. As important as work ethic is, Kuyt has to start bringing more to the table. Torres when he came on was understandably off the pace, just glad to see him back for us. We know what this lad can do, we don't have to go on about his potential as he's the real deal. Reina?, so unlucky with that goal, our bad luck and in no way do I blame him, that save from Rosicky was vintage Reina.

In a nutshell, we were substandard during the first half. We wasted chances that Torres would have put away. Cole got sent off unfairly. We were galavanised by the sending off, we raised our game. We didn't go into ourselves, we reacted like warriors. We stood our ground, we fought for the cause and so very nearly won the battle but for bad fortune. We may have been injured in the battle but the war is far from over.

We took a small step today, we fought as a unit and not as individuals. Shoulder to shoulder, and for that I am extremely proud of the lads. The most important thing about that step?, it wasn't that it was small, it was that it was forward. A lot of teams would have folded against Arsenal, we didn't, and that's the biggest positive I could have hoped for.

P.S. Mascherano was f**king awesome! He is an absolute beast of a player and anyone who has stated that he is easily replacable will regret those words. Players like Masch are one of a kind, ever the consummate professional. His possible loss will strike a devastating blow to the heart of this team, though I have a feeling he's going to stay. To put in a performance like that when he is having to deal with family issues is testament to the man that he is. If Mascherano was to play the Elephant Man he would say this, "I'm not a human being, I'm an animal!".

YNWA. IRWT.

Thanks for the good read. Couldn't agree more. +1 to you sir.

Having seen the incident there is no way Cole should have seen red - another blunder from the ref who was unsighted and wants disciplining for the way he handled the game. Definitely a job for Spec Savers.

Not had time to read any other posts. Just thought we were pretty disjointed in the first half. Sending off was a joke, yellow was sufficient. Far better in the second half and deserved to go in front, even if it was not evident at that stage. Usually the case with ten men, the opposition always come on strong in the last 15 mins. That was expected, Pepe's gaff was unfortunate, but for that I think we could have held out. The Arse always seem to get the breaks against us, On another day, i.e. last season, under the same circumstances we could have been on the end of a hiding.  Lot's of positives to take from the match, looking forward to taking on Shitty next week. Oh, and great finish from Ngog even though I still don't rate him.

HKS. Try control alt and c. Think that will get us all on the spelling straight and narrow

Man marking at set pieces good,4-4-2,f*cking useless.Give it up Roy we are set up for 5_3_2_1,just buy the players,to enhance this formation,ffs every other serious team employs the same formation.

Think one of my favourite moments was when Song (?) tried to tackle Jovanovic when he was going on a run and basically bounced off him and hit the deck lmao.

Almost got as excited as when we actually scored.

As someone said above, looks like a true red, he knows what the fans want. If he shows that grit, determination and willigness every match he will be a favourite soon enough

Having Jovanovic and Kuyt running their legs into the ground every match for us will be two massive plus points.

A cruel end of a very entertaining game. A professional performance from everybody, unlucky Pepe..He must be so gutted but he'll move on.

Joe red card was harsh but the reaction of the players was just a real -red- delight to see.

A good point to start the season, a clear signal of our new spirit. Well done boys. YNWA

Still F***ing gutted with the 2 points that got away.

Reminded me so much of last year when lady lucky deserted us.

Pretty ordinary first half but our second half was a fantastic effort against the odds and that c**t of a Ref.

Must say I'm so glad to see the boys back, I've missed the lads terribly. We have now got one tough game out of the way, another one awaits us next week. Just have to put this behind us and move on.

Bad luck Pepe mate, I'll never fault you. You still are a true inspiration.

On a side note, how hot did Nando look when he came on? My man crush went to another level.

look think david ngog has improved leaps and bounds  he is in fernandos torres class 4 goals so far. he will miss sitters what striker doesnt even torres does. plus for david he is not getting injured so much as torres

glad to see us get going again. we did well but one thing i dont understand is why did Roy sub out Masch? Masch has been in fair share of nervous endings. didnt look tired to me either.
subbing out a defensive midfielder who had a great game in last min of the game when we are one nil down doesnt make sense to me. did masch pick up a injury?

glad to see us get going again. we did well but one thing i dont understand is why did Roy sub out Masch? Masch has been in fair share of nervous endings. didnt look tired to me either.
subbing out a defensive midfielder who had a great game in last min of the game when we are one nil down doesnt make sense to me. did masch pick up a injury?

He was down in pain shortly before being subbed, so possibly.

what a F***ing joke of a red card that was, but the FA are an even bigger joke because I gurantee they will refuse to overturn it. good spirited performance by the lads and it could be a good season yet if lady luck decides not to turn her back on us.

Did no one catch the quote from the physio to Roy about Agger? Thought it was hilarious.

"He doesn't know who he is, just tell him he's Pele and send him back on."

Changed my mind today about letting Mascherano go if he doesn't want to stay and then using the funds for a striker.  He was SUPERB today and we will miss him for sure - if a good enough offer close to our top valuation doesnt come in, got to show the guy love and keep him. 

**** and bringing another Argentine like Aguero might help:) [PLEASE GOD, END OUR PAIN AND HAVE THE CLUB SOLD SOON]

1-1.

Knew it would be.

Man marking at set pieces good,4-4-2,f*cking useless.Give it up Roy we are set up for 5_3_2_1,just buy the players,to enhance this formation,ffs every other serious team employs the same formation.

If they're that serious, they'd field 10 outfield players, not 11

Still disappointed to drop 2 points knowing how close we got.

Given the circumstances i.e. some players playing together for the first time, sh*t bag of a ref and the fact we battled with 10 men for a whole half the point seems like a good result. Hard to get your head around it considering how close we were to getting all 3.

Steven Gerrard what a performance son! Take a bow.

I think Wilshere's and Rosicky's tackles were worse than Cole's. They both went directly in with their studs whereas Cole caught Koscielny. And the fact that Koscielny laid on the ground (not that he was faking it), had Cole see red. Just think Cole tried to impress and showed a little too much passion That was an unnecessary tackle in injury time but it was at worst, a yellow card and not red.

I liked how the papers put it in the headlines - " Reina gifts Arsenal an undeserved equaliser".

I thought we were a little slow in the first half but we played well in the 2nd half, everyone of us.

Is it just me or does the Reina howler just bring more confusion and rumour into Brad Jones moving to LFC??

One thing that was consistent throughout the game was the solidarity of our defence. Arsenal could not break through our defence, Carragher and Skrtel were immense and so was Agger. I was glad to see Gerrard, Masch and others throwing their bodies into tackles just to defend the goal.

It was tough with 10 men. The players worked doubly hard, hats off to them for the effort put in and results aside, it was a very positive performance. I am now glowing with enthusiasm for the coming challenges and season. That said though, I am disappointed in the manner in which we conceded the goal. It was really misfortunate for Reina but he's a strong character, he'll bounce back from it.

I think it was a change from what we saw last season. Last season we were disinterested in playing, there was suspicion and mistrust among the players and the manager. Yesterday was a very different performance, everyone had the hunger of wanting to impress Roy, everyone wanted to recorrect the wrongs last season and get 3 points. Unfortunately it was not to be.

David Ngog had an outstanding game, he capped it off with a fine finish that Torres would be proud of. That goal reminded me of the 2-0 victory where Torres beat Ferdinand to smash the ball past Van der Sar!! It would be extremely unwise for us to send him out on loan, at 21 this is the time where he is experiencing rapid development to his game and we should be the ones pushing and improving him to achieve his maximum capability.

I was unimpressed with Johnson in his defensive aspect of the game. He was brillant going forward but put unnecessary pressure on our defence. He was hesitant in clearing the ball, had a poor first touch at times especially deep on our half which was very disappointing to say the least. Johnson needs to step his performances up, he needs to stop being so preoccupied with moving forward such that he neglects his defensive duties.

I would like to point out that it was Johnson's carelessness which played a huge contributing factor to the goal. Instead of just clearing the ball out, he decided to poke it towards Kuyt which went out for an Arsenal throw in. Arsenal scored from the resultant attack.

I would actually consider converting Johnson to a right winger and start playing Martin Kelly at rightback. As a defender your main priority should be defending instead of placing pressure on your own defence, which is ironical.

All in all, a very spirited performance, resilient all round but very unfortunate at the end. A spectacle for any football neutral and it kept me on the edge of my seat

, sh*t bag of a ref and the fact we battled with 10 men for a whole half the point seems like a good result. Hard to get your head around it considering how close we were to getting all 3.

Steven Gerrard what a performance son! Take a bow.

That shitbag of a ref also did us a favour, could easily have booked Gerrard & Agger early on in the game, for very poor tackles.  If that had happened, Gerrard could have got sent off at some point, because his tackling in defensive situations was, to be kind, worrying yesterday.

Is it just me or does the Reina howler just bring more confusion and rumour into Brad Jones moving to LFC??

I believe it is just you as I can't see how it has any bearing on his signing whatsoever. 

Is it just me or does the Reina howler just bring more confusion and rumour into Brad Jones moving to LFC??

What are you suggesting?