Oby’s Opinion…on Boro and the summer signings

Liverpool 3-2 Middlesbrough

The Match

WOW. What a match. From a purely neutral perspective this is one of my favourite score lines as it shows lots of action and of course goals. However I don’t write from a neutral perspective, I write from a Liverpool perspective. And as a Liverpool fan I have to admit, not our best performance. Especially the first 25 minutes. Our passing was off and we weren’t gelling together. . . . Until, El Nino steps up to score two sensational goals to bring us back from the brink of defeat and steer us towards victory. I mean, what a strike for his second goal, its one Gerrard would have been proud of. However, despite these two great goals our performance wasn’t great, for the rest of the first half we dominated and could have gotten more than two. Come the second half our football was much better. Players were gelling and the passing was accurate. It was like the Liverpool we all know and love. And of course once Torres’s 3rd goal came I assumed game over. And what a goal it was, great skill and it shows how much Nando has developed considering he missed an easier open goal chance back in November away to Newcastle. However, this game had more in store for us. Firstly Boro’s 2nd goal scared me when it crossed the line. I felt like Boro were now going to dominate the rest of the game and potentially steal a winner Until, an incident between Javier Mascherano and Jeremie Alliadiere saw the dismissal of the young French striker. In the end the reds got the crucial 3 points that put them above Everton until at least Monday night.

As far as individual performances go Torres speaks for himself. Three great goals. My favourite was his third, the control and calm he needed to execute that was sublime. Other than the goals I felt El Nino had a great game. He was always were we needed him and seemed comfortable on the ball. Other players that deserve a mention are Yossi Benayoun, he played a great game of football once he came on. He dominated the left wing and swung in some tremendous crosses and then did the same on the right when Riise was introduced. Dirk Kuyt. Now I will admit I am not his biggest fan, and today he was played out of position, again. But he put in a solid and reliable performance which has to make him a potential choice, if we are ever short of a right midfielder. Sadly one player who had a poor game was our young Brazilian Lucas. He often gave away the ball and his touch left a lot more to be desired. And finally one last mention to our unsung hero Senor Jose Manuel Reina. I felt he put in a great performance, he came and caught balls that some keepers would punch out and he was very calm and co-ordinated all game.

New Stadium?

I don’t know about you, but when I heard that Liverpool were getting a new stadium I was over the moon. The first designs I saw were very reminiscent of one of my favourite Premiership grounds, The Reebok Stadium, home to Bolton Wanderers. The designs were for a 60,000 capacity state of the art stadium. Then came the very futuristic designs of our alleged 70,000 seater stadium, at first they I didn’t like them. I preferred the first set. After that came news of a decreased capacity then new designs. Then came the news that we may not be getting a stadium at all. Now I don’t know about you but I would like to know weather or not we are getting a stadium. Is this yet another disappointment as far as our American owners are concerned or an actual development. What do you think on the designs, stories and will we or won’t we get a new ground.

Summer Signings.

There’s no doubt that this summer the Reds made some amazing signings. At the same time there’s no doubt that half of them will never play for the first team as they were youngsters bought for the sole purpose of developing our youth teams. But what of our major signings, El Nino, Babel, Lucas, Benayoun or Voronin.

Who was the best?

Obviously, Torres is the big favourite for everyone, I mean he has scored 18 goals in 30 games for the Reds, undoubtedly the best striker at Anfield since Owen or even God himself, Robbie Fowler. Ryan Babel has a very different role to Torres but has still managed to score 7 goals already. He is a very young and talented Dutch winger who I feel should be started in every game. Yossi Benayoun. 2 Hat tricks, 10 goals and only 32 appearances, and of course without his goals against Havant and Waterlooville we may have been very embarrassed. His performances certainly give us something to talk about and he is the most effective winger, however he can be frustrating in his performances as he does often try to do to much. Chelsea have theirs, what about our Ukrainian? Andriy Voronin. Can’t really say he has been given much of a chance this season. One thing I have noticed about Voronin though is that he often cruises through a game unnoticed until he is given an opportunity. Then finally. What of the player who’s name shows he was just meant to play for the Reds. Lucas Leiva. At first this young lad didn’t impress me. However he has had a few steady performances over the last few weeks and is showing signs that he will become a legendary player in the future. He is defiantly a player to watch for the future. And of course I have to mention the spectacular opening goal against Havant and Waterlooville. His only goal. If that’s anything to follow. I can’t wait to see his second.

So again I beg the question, who was our best summer signing? The goal machine, the winger or the Youngster? Who knows. It all comes down to a persons personal opinion and I want to know yours. Post a comment informing me of your opinions and who you think was the best summer signing, our new stadium and your general thoughts about the match.