Some LFC supporters weighed in during the game.
@jimxcomet: Martin Skrtel is not,never was & never will be a right back #YNWA
Skrtel’s inclusion as a right back was always going to problematic over time. He’s a good quick-fix option as we saw against Bolton. Unfortunately, this experiment blew up in LFC’s face when he was matched up against Gareth Bale — one of the best wingers in the game.
In the 58th minute, LFC was down a man, but still had hope of leveling the score if it could only find a way to get and keep the ball. A timely substitution could have done the trick. One supporter perscribed the fix:
@adlinazman: Bellamy needs to come on for Carroll. And Kuyt for Hendo.. #YNWA
In the 73rd minute, Liverpool was trailing 3-1 when Tottenham scored a devestating double shortly after Skrtel became the second LFC player to be dismissed. Sebastian Coates and Luis Suarez were also sitting on yellow cards. Dan Waddell thinks Kenny Dalglish’s friendly meeting with refs’ boss Mike Riley — general manager of Professional Game Match Officials — had something to do with it:
@danwaddell: Well, King Kenny’s chat with the Refs assoc went well eh? #lfc
The match was effectively over by the 75th minute. A week had passed since Adam Gray had seen Liverpool make a pass … or so it seemed to him:
@adamgray50: The last time #Liverpool touched the ball, they were playing Stoke.
Maybe Dalglish should have rushed Steve Gerrard back from injury after all? One supporter thought so a minute later.
@angganurhakim: We need you captain, please come back ASAP ! #StevieG #YNWA
At some point in every game, there’s nothing left to say and there’s nothing you can learn from the proceedings. Should we just ignore the whole thing? LFCtransfernews thought so by the 80th minute:
@LFCtransfernews: Nothing good about this game. Game to forget. #LFC
What was almost lost in the hand-wringing is the fact that Andy Carroll went the full 90 minutes. He was largely ineffective, especially after he moved to the right side of midfield after Charlie Adam’s 28th minute dismissal. Allan Ferguson Cole took note of the young striker’s performance:
@althered68: Carroll has been getting in a really nice light jog for the past 30min. No accelerating at all, just a nice steady jog. Good technique #lfc
Though one supporter is not ready to give up him just yet.
Kieran Williamson: Carroll is 23, give him a chance to develop as a player
140 characters can sometimes sum up the whole affair:
@OliM_Lok: we lacked pace, physical presence, organization, discipline, right formation… in short: everything. #lfc #ynwa
What do you think? Have your say below.
What was the most important factor in Tottenham's mauling of Liverpool?
Photo courtesy of Flickr/allybrazil
